{"id":12838,"date":"2019-12-01T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T04:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funbridge.com\/blog\/?p=3735"},"modified":"2021-02-09T16:04:03","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T14:04:03","slug":"funbridge-exclusive-tournament-milan-macura-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funbridge.com\/blog\/en\/funbridge-exclusive-tournament-milan-macura-13\/","title":{"rendered":"Milan Macura\u2019s Exclusive Tournaments – November – #4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"milan<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

1,566 players joined the last tournament in November<\/strong>: 678 players in MPs and 888 players in IMPs.<\/p>

MPs results<\/a><\/p>

IMPs results<\/a><\/p>

Most rewarding boards<\/a><\/p>

Videos of the tournaments<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

MPs results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We had 7 players getting more than 70%. The best of all was Alexandre (FR) with 76.12%<\/strong> followed by Stakenas (LT) with 74.86%<\/strong> and Vania (FR) with 74.69%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t do very well in the first 6 boards. I took risks on the last two boards \u2013 neither worked out \u2013 and I finished with 45.86%<\/strong>, proving that gambling is not a good strategy. All the favorites from my friends\u2019 list were far behind the winners, the best one was Fionn (UK) with 67.20%<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MP
Top 11 ranking of the MPs tournament – General <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"MP
Top 11 ranking of the MPs tournament – Milan’s friends<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

IMPs results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The IMP tournament offered some crazy swings and we reached the record score of +60 IMPs. The lucky player is clodette (FR)<\/strong> with an impressive average of 7.5 IMPs per board. Second place goes to Mickael (FR)<\/strong> with +50 IMPs and third place is shared by three players with +48 IMPs: Meadie (CA), Angelo (IT) and Antonio (PT).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three players of my friends\u2018 list made it to the top 20, the best one was Janis (DE)<\/strong> with +42 IMPs. I was killed by partner in the first board and finished with +7 IMPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"IMP
Top 11 ranking of the IMPs tournament – General <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"IMP
Top 11 ranking of the IMPs tournament – Milan’s friends<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s go through the most rewarding boards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first board immediately offered a big swing. You get the following hand and your partner opens 1♥.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"first<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

You have a 7-card suit and 15HCPs. But the best indicator for a slam try is the number of losers and missing top honors. You have one in spades, two in hearts, maybe one in clubs and one in diamonds \u2013 altogether 4-5 losers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When partner opens the bidding, you can expect at least 3 top honors in his hand. That means that with 5 losers, you want to invite to a slam. With 4 losers, the slam is almost sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you know you want to play a slam, plan the bidding from the first bid so you can find the necessary information!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The standard response is 2♣ to receive more information, some would choose 3♣ if that shows a slamish hand with long clubs. Partner\u2019s 2♥ rebid shows a minimum hand or that he does not have a better bid. If your 2♣ bid was forcing to game, you can now rebid 3♣ to show slam interest with long clubs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if your 2♣ bid is natural and shows (10)11+ HCP, repeating clubs will be non-forcing. In that case, you have to bid a new suit or jump to 4♣ which either takes you a lot of bidding space or you don\u2019t describe your hand properly. Around 30 players got trapped in this sequence and declared 3♣. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"bidding<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

My partner rebid 3♦ to show values and confirmed a diamond control after 4♣. 4NT was a key card for clubs and 5♠ showed 2 key cards and the queen of trumps. Now you can count with 3 honors covering you the heart, club and diamond losers so the slam is very probable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, you have 2 extra losers, one in spades and one in hearts. The ♥A, ♦A and ♣Q only amount to 10 HCP so partner should have at least one more honor. I tried to ask for kings with 5NT. If partner has none, 6NT can be cold if partner has the ♦Q or very probable with the other two queens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partner responded 6♣ to show one king so I knew I had one more loser, most likely in spades. Since partner has five hearts, I can establish the extra trick by ruffing 2 hearts so I tried for a grand slam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here is the full board :<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I do not\nknow why but Argine lied about the queen of trumps. But you can see that even\nwithout the queen, the grand slam depends on clubs splitting 2-2 or the ♣Q being singleton and hearts splitting\n3-2. That is not a terrible slam. With ♣Q in North, grand slam would be a\ngreat contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously 6♣ or 6♥ led to top scores with +12 IMPs.\nBut the funny fact is that 3NT is down after the spade lead. So isn\u2019t it better\nto play 7♣ instead of 3NT when it has the same chance to make? Here are the most\nplayed contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Another \u201cswingy\u201d board came on board 7<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You have this hand:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

After your 1♣ opening, partner responds 1♠ and the RHO bids 2♠ as natural. What is your bid?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Argine\nexplains 2♠ as natural. Yes, it seems strange, but in this sequence, North can have\nfour small spades and South can have a singleton. A lot of pairs play a special\nconvention in this sequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandwich NT convention<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This\nconvention is used when both opponents bid a suit at the one level and your\npartner passed. Here is the whole structure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Double<\/strong> = 14+ HCP. The more HCP, the less you need cards in the other suits.<\/li>
  • 1NT<\/strong> = 9-14 HCP and minimum 4-4 in the other two suits. Usually it shows 5-4, but with a 12-14 HCP hand, you can have only 4-4.<\/li>
  • 2NT<\/strong> = 5-5 in the other suits and a hand with around 6 losers or less than 4 losers. With 5-5 and 5 losers, you can bid the major first and bid the second suit at the three level later.<\/li>
  • Suit bid<\/strong> = All suit bids are natural including opponents\u2019 suits. You don\u2019t want to be prevented from showing your solid or near-solid 6-card suit.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Let\u2019s go back to our hand. Which contract do you want to play as NS?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The board\nseems to be a misfit. You have 17 HCP so the game is most likely on for your\npair. The biggest potential seems to be in 3NT. But is +600 points for making\n3NT enough? Didn\u2019t opponents just offer you a better score? The answer to the\nquestion lies in counting your defensive tricks and the honors you need from\npartner to make 3NT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Your ♠A, ♥AK and ♣AQ will most likely score tricks in\ndefense. For 3NT, you need the ♣K or a club support with the jack and another 2 honors. That means\npartner can score 2 tricks with his honors and you can score 5 tricks with\nyours. That means 2♠ should be at least two down if 3NT is making. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The math will make the decision for us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    • 3NT making<\/strong> = +600 vs. 2♠x -2 = +500 \u2192 you lose 3 IMPs<\/li>
    • 3NT making<\/strong> = +600 vs. 2♠x -3 or -4 = +800 or +1,100 \u2192 you win 5 or 11 IMPs<\/li>
    • 3NT going down<\/strong> = -100 vs. 2♠x -2 or -1 = +200 or +500 \u2192 you win 7 or 12 IMPs<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      From these analyses, it is worth to double in most cases. And if it doesn\u2019t go well, you do not lose much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Here is the full board:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
      \"full<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      On this board, NS can make 3NT if they play well, but 2♠ is going 3 down if NS defend well. So you should gain +5 IMPs. If some people misplay 3NT or make a mistake in defense in 2♠x, you can even score +11 IMPs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
      <\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Videos of Milan Macura’s tournaments<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      MPs tournament video<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

      Subscribe to be notified directly when my next video is online! Click on the button below:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n