A Most Unlikely Bid
by Larry Cohen
With 100 guesses, you'd never imagine what your LHO's first call
was on this auction. (Of course, when put that way, you might guess on your
first try!). From the 2005 Spingold Teams in Atlanta, my opponent, Aaron
Silverstein, held:
A K 8 7 6 4 3
2
10 8 5 4
3
With both sides vulnerable, he heard his partner deal and open 3.
This was already a surprise. (If I held this hand, my partner would probably
preempt in hearts or clubs). After the 3
opening, Aaron's RHO (David Berkowitz) jumped to 5.
What now? Aaron bid 5,
no doubt hoping to buy it there. If his partner had the top diamonds, this
contract would probably make.
No such luck. He did not buy it there. His LHO (that would be me) started to think. And think. And what was the final decision? Are you ready?
FIVE SPADES! Yes, LHO bid a natural 5,
probably the last thing Aaron expected. This was the full deal.
| -- |
Vul: Both | ||
| J 7 4 |
Dlr: North | ||
| A K J 9 7 6 2 |
|||
| Larry | 10 8 7 |
David | |
| Q J 10 9 5 2 |
-- |
||
| Q 10 8 5 |
A K 9 6 3 |
||
| 3 |
Q |
||
| A 2 |
Aaron | K Q J 9 6 5 4 |
|
| A K 8 7 6 4 3 |
|||
| 2 |
|||
| 10 8 5 4 |
|||
| 3 |
|||
| WEST (Larry) | NORTH | EAST (David) | SOUTH (Aaron) |
| 3 |
5 |
5 |
|
| 5! |
|||
So, what happened next? North passed, but thankfully David wasn't done. He didn't want to table his hand in 5♠, so he pulled to 6♣. Now, Aaron figured he had no defense (how could the ♠AK cash?), so he sacrificed in 6♦. It would have been nice if we could have figured out to bid 6♥, but we doubled.
| WEST (Larry) | NORTH | EAST (David) | SOUTH (Aaron) |
| 3 |
5 |
5 |
|
| 5! |
Pass | 6 |
6 |
| X | Pass | Pass | Pass |
We collected the obvious 2 tricks for down 1 and plus only 200. Our teammates had to sacrifice in 7♦X against 6♥, for -500 and we lost 7 imps.
Still, what I will always remember about this deal is how South got to hear his opponent bid to make on the 5-level, when he himself was holding ace-king-seventh in the suit!