Going Both Ways
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|  K 7 5 |
|
|
 A 9 5 |
|
|
 A K 8 5 3 |
|
|
 J 3 |
|
| ------ |
|
Q 10 8 6 4 3 |
| K J 2 |
|
7 4 |
| J 10 7 2 |
|
Q 9 4 |
| A Q 10 8 7 6 |
|
K 5 |
|
A J 9 2 |
|
|
Q 10 8 6 3 |
|
|
6 |
|
|
9 4 2 |
| Vul: No One |
Bidding Box
| South | West | North | East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| Pass |
1 |
1 |
2 * |
| 2 | Dbl |
All | pass |
|
*Inverted minors |
This hand took on some interest in regard to misfits, and as easily could have been put in good fits, because both sides had a very respectable 8-card fit and a miserable 6-card fit, and pairs in both directions frequently ventured into the lesser fit for a final contract. Indeed, the E-W pairs above split 50-50 between spades and clubs. As for the N-S pairs, the preponderance who got the bid were in hearts, but there was a sizable minority in diamonds. One woman, I recall, bid 4 diamonds after the heart fit was found. People, I'm telling you, those A K empty suits work very, very well as side suits for two quick tricks. You don't need them to be trump to get those two tricks (by and large).
Hearts would seem to be cold for 9 tricks, losing two clubs and one trump by leading the Q 10 toward the ace, and I guess a spade at the end. Diamonds were hopeless as trump, and indeed, all diamond declarers were at the bottom of the listing. Spades were also hopeless even at the two level. And clubs? At my table, my partner led the A, K of diamonds and gave me a ruff. I underled my ace of spades, declarer ruffing, and now came a lead to the king of clubs and a finesse of the jack of hearts, establishing a heart winner, and on another diamond lead, declarer ruffed with the five, allowing an overruff. Since he still had to lose a heart, he was down two, winning only 6 clubs and the king of hearts.
Declarer had two chances to pick up an 8th winner and a more respectable board, both of them rather routine plays. One would have been to take two rounds of trump before taking the heart hook. Now, we have no more trump, and he'll get a diamond winner. The other would have been to sluff off on the fourth diamond lead, conceding the ruff (if I started with 3, which I did), but then getting that trick back by way of a heart ruff. There was no point in ruffing when he held the high diamond and the only two trump out can beat the 5. If I couldn't overruff the 5, then I can't ruff at all, and he'd actually make his contract by sluffing a heart. He would realize seven club winners, counting one ruff in dummy, a heart and a diamond. To be sure, I did have another trump, meaning he gets no diamond winners, but he'd cash the K of hearts and ruff a heart, for 8 winners.