Hand of the month - If only it was a Sims

If Only it was a Sims.

I was looking at the World sims website and noticing some amazing variations on the frequencies, from +thousands to -thousands on most hands. How do people bid let alone score slams on boards where you can't make game? Then Kettering Bridge Club's dealing machine threw up this hand the following week:

Board 3.

E/W Vul.

Dealer S

	A 9
	K Q 6
	8 5 4 3
	J 6 3 2

	J 10 8 5 4
	10 9 7 4
	2
	A Q 9

	N
W		E
	S

	Q 7 2
	A 8 5 3 2
	10
	K 10 5 4

South

North

	K 6 3
	J
	A K Q J 9 7 6
	8 7

3 NT
4

6 NT
-

The bidding will require some explanation. With E/W silent, I opened the south hand 1. Partner replied 2. We play 5-card majors, so I might only have had three diamonds. For some still not-understood reason, I momentarily thought she was agreeing diamonds. After a minor-suit agreement, we use the next bid as fourth-suit forcing to explore notrumps, so with seven top tricks I bid 2. I then woke up and realised I had reversed into a singleton. Partner now bid a genuine fourth-suit forcing 2 so I panicked and bid 3 notrumps, hoping to get away with it. No luck. Partner's 4 was key-card Gerber (with a key-card in the highest-ranking naturally bid suit - hearts) so I replied 4, showing one or four keycards. After my 'reverse' and jump partner knew it was four, so she bid 5 asking for kings. With a sinking feeling I replied 5, two kings without the queen of hearts. Partner jumped to 6 notrumps. Nobody doubled.

West led the J, from a sequence or broken sequence. Realising there were probably five losing top tricks I calmly thanked partner (no sense alerting the opponents to something) and reckoned my chances. I could only see one - the aces had to be split, and the opponents had to misdefend. I called for the A noting east's 7, then the 6 before they could start signalling. East won and returned the Q, so far so good. I took the king and drew the diamonds in one round. Then a diamond to the eight allowed me to cash dummy's hearts, throwing clubs, with funny looks from the opponents. I now ran the diamonds and prayed my pseudo-squeeze would work. At trick 12 a confused west had to decide whether to keep the A or 10 and guessed wrong, allowing me to fulfil my contract with the 6.

So that's how they do it.