October 2017 - 27

Karaivalov (South) opened a Precision 2♣ (11-15 HCP, six or more
clubs), and a series of relays revealed
that South was 2=4=1=6 with a maximum. North, therefore, drove the
partnership to 3NT, and West led a
fifth-best ♥3.
The 3 went to the 4, 2 and 5. Declarer
next took the losing diamond finesse,
won the club return in dummy, and ran
three more diamond tricks, pitching
two clubs and a heart from the closed
hand. To avoid squeezing the closed
hand, Karaivalov switched to a low
spade from the table, playing the 10
from his hand, as West won the queen.
The spade return went to dummy's
jack, East ducking. Declarer finished
running his diamond winners in
dummy to make his contract.
Why is this unusual? Because, as
Karaivalov pointed out, the only trick
he won in his own hand was the ♥5.

Nice agreement
By Oren Kriegel

You can never be sure just how good
your result is until you compare with
your teammates. Here was a board
from the GNT quarterfinal match that
my team (District 13) lost to the eventual winners of the event (District 21).
Dlr: West ♠ Q J 7 5 3 2
Vul: N-S ♥ 5 4 3
♦8
♣Q73
♠4
♠8
♥ J 10 9 6
♥A872
♦63
♦ A K Q 10 7 4
♣AJ9654
♣ 10 2
♠ A K 10 9 6
♥KQ
♦J952
♣K8
At my table, I passed the West cards
as dealer. My partner, Ron Smith,
opened 1♦ as East, Lew Stansby overcalled 1♠, I doubled, JoAnna Stansby
bid 4♠, and we eventually sacrificed in
5♥ down two. Minus 300 seemed like
a good result, as the opponents are cold
for plus 620 in 4♠, but I was counting
my chickens a little early.

At the other table, Kit Woolsey was
West, and he opened 3♣. Preempting
wouldn't necessarily keep North-
South out of the bidding, and it might
make it harder to find the sacrifice,
depending on how the auction times
out, but East-West had the agreement
that 3♦ over 3♣ was nonforcing.
South had a strong hand, but with
dangerous holdings in both of the
opponents' suits and only five spades,
can you really fault him for passing?
West had an easy pass, and North
could hardly balance at the three level,
vulnerable, with two queens and a
jack. 3♦ made on the nose for plus
110 and 9 IMPs to District 21. Martel
and Woolsey found the best kind of
sacrifice - one that makes!
Picked clean

By Jeff Lehman

On this deal from the second qualifying session of the von Zedtwitz Life
Master Pairs, I declared 3NT against
experts Eric Greco and David Bakhshi
and was treated to a particularly tough
defense. My partner was Alan Frank.

a diamond (I pitched a club from
dummy), sticking me in my hand. So
I cashed my last diamond, pitching
another club from the table, and
arrived at this position:

♠-
♥K52
♦-
♣65

♠QJ
♥98
♦-
♣J

♠-
♥AJ4
♦-
♣AQ

♠97
♥ 10
♦-
♣K4

Double dummy, I can make the
contract by now playing the ♥J to
West's king, pinning East's 10: West
would be endplayed. I misread the
heart position largely due to Bakhshi's
nice play in hearts earlier. I instead
cashed the ♥A and exited with a low
heart, hoping the suit was 3-3 and that

Dlr: South ♠ Q J 6 5
Vul: N-S ♥ 9 8 6
♦KJ
♣ J 10 9 8
♠ 10 8
♠97432
♥KQ52
♥ 10 7
♦Q865
♦A43
♣765
♣K42
♠AK
♥AJ43
♦ 10 9 7 2
♣AQ3
West North
Greco Frank
Pass
Pass

1♠
3NT

East
South
Bakhshi Lehman
1♦
Pass
2NT
All Pass

Greco led the ♣7, and dummy's 8
held the trick. I unblocked the ♠A K
and led a diamond. When West played
low, I misguessed and played the king.
East won the ♦A and returned a
careful ♥7, ducked to Greco's queen.
West then cashed the ♦Q and exited
October 2017 Bridge Bulletin

27
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2017
