Nothing gets bridge players to overbid more than competing in the Open Pairs event of a sectional. Check out these beauties from the recently-concluded St. Petersburg event.

SECTIONAL MADNESS

In first seat, I hold: S-Axx, H-Q, D-xxxx, C-AQJxx. Using Precision, I am perplexed as to my opening bid: 2 Clubs would promise five clubs and a four-card major; I can’t open INT with a singleton; so I opt for 1 Diamond (alerted as “could be short”). LHO passes and Adam Kaplan bids 1 Spade. RHO deliberates and finally doubles. I figure that RHO holds a powerhouse so I decide to muddy the waters and I bid 2 Clubs. LHO passes and Adam cooperates by bidding 3 Clubs. Frustrated, but undeterred, RHO bids 4 Hearts. Talk about big, he holds this monster: S-K, H-AJ10xxxx, D-AKQJx, C-void. Everyone passes and I cash the SA before declarer claims. They are cold for 6 Hearts but few get there.

MORE SECTIONAL MADNESS

We are red, they are white, so in first seat I open 3 Hearts with: S-Ax, H-KQxxxxx, D-x, C-xxx. Adam knows I have two of the top three honors, so he bids 1430 and I show 2 controls with the queen of hearts.

In typical bold fashion, Adam bids 6 Hearts. He holds: S-KQxxx, H-Axxx, D-xx, C-AQ. The club finesse works, LHO doesn’t lead a diamond, and I take all 13 tricks.

We get another top by playing excellent defense against a 3-heart contract. With both white, in first seat I hold: S-xxx, H-AKxx, D-Kxxx, C-Jx and I open 1 NT. LHO bids 2 Diamonds, alerted as for the majors. Adam does his best by doubling and RHO bids 2 Hearts. I figure that both sides have about 20 points and N-S have a 4-4 heart fit. So I up the ante by bidding 3 Diamonds and LHO bids 3 Hearts. I lead a low heart to cut down on ruffs and Adam wins his stiff queen. We take the DA and DK plus the ace and king of trumps and get an excellent result.

WHAT SLAM?

In the St. Petersburg Sectional Swiss on Sunday, one of the weirdest hands and results befell Gerry Panos and our partners MaryAnn Dufresne and Annabelle Hills. In third seat, I hold: S-Axxx, H-void, D-AQJ10xxx, C-KJ.

Gerry opens with 3 Clubs and RHO bids 3 Hearts. I would like to bid my lovely diamond suit, but with a heart void and two honors in clubs, I bid 5 Clubs. LHO bids 5 Hearts, and after Gerry and RHO pass, I mull my options. Doubling wild distributional hands usually leads to disaster and putting my partner in a slam seems too rich for my blood. Now I wish I had bid those diamonds. We defend and take a spade and a club but things really get wild at the other table. My hand not only bids diamonds but she bids them twice up to the six level without supporting her partner’s known 7-card suit. Our partners get doubled at 6 Hearts and go down. Gerry and I can make seven in either minor! That board costs us the match.

MAZEL TOV!

Saturday, January 17, 2009 was a red-letter day for the best bridge partner I have ever had. Adam Kaplan led the service at his Bar Mitzvah at Temple Ahavat Shalom in Palm Harbor. Speaking with great fluency, Adam navigated the reading of the Torah before about 100 relatives and friends. One of the reasons you haven’t seen much of Adam in the last two months is that he has been learning Hebrew among his other studies. On Saturday night my wife and I attended a wonderful reception in Port Richey at the Gulf Landings Center.

The food was excellent and an open bar with many fine wines capped off a terrific day. Congratulations Adam.

Sincerely, Jim Somma {easycomments}