IMPROVE YOUR PLAY #27 with Larry Matheny
Playing duplicate bridge with matchpoint (pairs) scoring is a difficult game.  Most people just "play bridge" and don't understand how different a game matchpoints is.  At this form of scoring, making or defeating the contract is not your objective.  Rather, you must attempt to make the largest plus or the smallest minus in your direction.  Here is a good example.


SCORING: Matchpoints

Hand #27
Dlr   S
Vul N-S
S 754
H 8
D J104
C AKQJ97
S 63
H AJ763
D 83
C 8653
    
S QJ92
H 9542
D AK7
C 42

S AK108
H KQ10
D Q9652
C 10
West North
 East
 South

 
1D
 Pass 2C  Pass 2D
  Pass     3C     Pass
     3NT
All Pass
    



BIDDING:  This partnership plays a 2/1 response forcing to game so although North was a bit light in high card points, the strength of the club suit made up for it. 

PLAY:  West led a low heart won by declarer with the ten.  South then led a low diamond to the jack was won by East with the king.  Without giving it much thought, East returned a heart, his partner's suit.  Declarer now led out all of dummy's clubs and East had to make a discard from DA and SQJ92.  Behind him, declarer held DQ and SAK108 so he made eleven tricks for a top board.  If East had stopped and REMEMBERED THE BIDDING and COUNTED declarer's points, he would have realized that West could not hold more than one high honor card.  Also, the fact that declarer did not run clubs right away was a clue as to what was about to happen.  Just hold the East hand for a moment and try to imagine what you are going to discard on the run of the club suit and you can more easily see the problem.  After winning the diamond king, East should have also cashed the ace of diamonds before returning a heart to his partner's ace.  Just holding North-South to ten tricks would have resulted in an average score.

Copyright ©2007 Larry Matheny.