by Bobby Wolff on
February 8th, 2010
Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 7 3 2 |
| ♥ |
10 6 2 |
| ♦ |
A J |
| ♣ |
10 8 7 5 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
J 8 5 4 |
♠ |
10 9 |
| ♥ |
A 7 5 |
♥ |
K Q 8 5 |
| ♦ |
10 9 8 7 |
♦ |
K 6 2 |
| ♣ |
K 6 |
♣ |
J 9 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 6 |
| ♥ |
J 9 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 5 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦10
“Here lies a clerk who half his life had spent
Toiling at ledgers in a city grey,
Thinking that so his days would drift away.”
– Herbert Asquith
Looking at today’s deal from the 2009 NEC Cup, the source for all this week’s deals, you might think that this is another dull partscore.
You play one no-trump, the defenders leading two rounds of diamonds, and your sole aim is to get two club tricks before the opponents have seven winners. If spades are 3-3 or the club finesse wins, you are home. What if neither eventuality comes in? How should you play clubs to develop an extra trick before you lose two?
While watching this deal on my computer, I heard Jack Zhao opine that it is right to run the club seven at trick three. This loses when East has the doubleton club jack but gains when he has club jack-nine with at least one more additional card. The important thing is that it works here!
The most curious thing of all about the deal is that duplicated hands were in play throughout the event but the only declarers who actually guessed clubs to make their contract were Fu Zhong (Jack’s regular partner) and Ricco van Prooijen of the Netherlands, an ex-teammate of Zhao, who spends a lot of time in the Netherlands. Interestingly, Fu started his attack on the club suit by leading the 10 — equivalent to the eight but with the psychological edge that his play gains when second hand forgets to cover from an original holding of jack-third or jack-fourth, as well he might!
ANSWER: Your partner’s double does not demand a club lead here, but it strongly suggests he has clubs well enough under control that he believes declarer is not odds-on to make his game. I would not lead my singleton club — I have enough time to shift to the suit later on. I would lead a spade, knowing my partner must have at least a couple of cards in that suit.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 10 6 3 |
| ♥ |
J 8 3 2 |
| ♦ |
K 9 4 3 |
| ♣ |
7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
2 NT |
| Pass |
3 NT |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 7th, 2010
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I read your “Aces on Bridge” every day in the Vancouver Sun. Please tell me when it is proper to declare honors.
– Honor-Bound, Vancouver, British Columbia
ANSWER: Honors can be declared after dummy comes down, but it may not be in your interest to do so. So wait until you’ve played them all out, or claim them at the end of the deal. You have until the end of the rubber to claim them if you have forgotten at the proper moment.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In fourth seat at duplicate I held the hand of a lifetime: ♠ —, ♥ A, ♦ A-K-Q-J-7-3-2, ♣ A-K-J-10-3-. Naturally the opponents got in my face, but only to the extent of a two-spade opening on my right, passed around to me. Any thoughts as to the best way forward?
– Ripley’s Revenge, Elmira, N.Y.
ANSWER: After the two-spade call came around to me, I’d bid five no-trump (pick a minor at the six-level, partner) and raise the response to seven. With hearts and a minor I’d cue-bid five spades instead, and work it out from there. I could not stand to stay out of a grand slam with a hand that good.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What behavior is permitted at the table in terms of mannerisms or tempo if the object is solely to confuse or deceive the opponents?
– Truthful James, Pleasantville, N.Y.
|
|
ANSWER: The short answer is that nothing is permitted if the sole purpose is to deceive. You can of course deceive the opponents by the card you play but not the manner in which you play it. You can try to equalize the tempo — do not rush to make your easy plays, thus giving away the show. But you may not hesitate without a reason.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Are there any partnerships left who do not defend against pre-empts by doubling for takeout?
– Old-Timer, Bristol, Va.
ANSWER: Again, the short answer to that question is no. Almost everyone plays takeout doubles to one-suited pre-empts. There are variations possible against two-suited pre-emptive openings, but the simplest and most effective way into most if not all auctions is to double for takeout. After all, if they are long in one suit, you will most commonly be short in that suit, not long.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was in second seat with ♠ A-8, ♥ K-Q-9, ♦ J-7-3-2, ♣ Q-10-3-2 and decided not to open because most of my points were in my short suits. My LHO opened one heart and we ended up defending one no-trump, conceding 120. Everyone else opened my hand and went down in one no-trump our way, sometimes one trick, sometimes more. Was it acceptable for me to pass here?
– Slow Coach, Doylestown, Pa.
ANSWER: Your judgment was quite sound although I might not have been as discreet as you. I’d look at the guarded honors and simply open one of the minors. With 4-3-3-3 pattern or with the spade nine instead of the heart nine, I would pass, disliking the honor locations and the balanced nature of the hand. But you and I might be in a small minority here. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 6th, 2010
Dealer: West
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 3 2 |
| ♦ |
A Q J 2 |
| ♣ |
A 9 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 10 9 8 7 6 |
♠ |
4 3 2 |
| ♥ |
A 10 9 5 |
♥ |
J 6 |
| ♦ |
K |
♦ |
10 9 7 3 |
| ♣ |
4 3 |
♣ |
K 10 8 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J |
| ♥ |
K 7 4 |
| ♦ |
8 6 5 4 |
| ♣ |
Q J 7 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♠ |
Dbl. |
2♠ |
| 2 NT* |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| *Minors |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠10
“Miss not the occasion: by the forelock take
That subtile Power, the never-halting Time.”
– William Wordsworth
In today’s exhibit from the 2010 NEC Cup, Tom Hanlon reached a delicate contract, and when he was given a small chance, grabbed it with both hands.
Against three no-trump you could make a case for leading the spade queen, but declarer can still succeed at double dummy. The only lead to set the game is a low heart from West. On West’s normal lead of the spade 10, Hanlon scored his spade jack and planned to take an immediate diamond finesse. The sight of the diamond king was both good and bad news; now he needed to find three more tricks from the hearts and clubs. The natural thing to do was to lead a heart to the king.
When West won the ace, that player knew his partner needed to hold very good clubs for the defense to prevail, so he shifted to a club, ducked by Hanlon. (A spade continuation by West would not have worked any better although it might have given declarer some losing options.) East won his club king and now reverted to spades, so Hanlon won in dummy, ducked a heart, and won the spade return.
When declarer cashed his red-suit winners, East had to pitch a club on the last heart. Hanlon now threw him in with the losing diamond at trick 12, forcing him to lead a club to declarer’s queen at trick 13 for the ninth trick.
ANSWER: Your partner’s two-spade bid is a game-try, suggesting extras and spade length. A singleton spade is good news, but you do have only three trumps and a minimum, with club cards that rate not to be pulling their weight. I’d sign off in three hearts rather than make the more constructive effort of two no-trump (which I would bid with the diamond queen instead of a small diamond).
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J |
| ♥ |
K 7 4 |
| ♦ |
8 6 5 4 |
| ♣ |
Q J 7 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 5th, 2010
Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
9 7 4 |
| ♥ |
10 8 7 5 4 |
| ♦ |
K J |
| ♣ |
Q 10 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K J 10 5 |
♠ |
Q 8 6 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 3 |
♥ |
J 2 |
| ♦ |
A 10 8 7 |
♦ |
6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A 9 3 |
♣ |
8 7 5 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 6 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 5 2 |
| ♣ |
K J 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥3
“Thou art a fool –
Indeed, the greatest of fools thou art,
To be led astray by the trick of a tress
By a smiling face or a ribbon smart.”
– Paul Dunbar
Today’s deal, from the World Teams finals at Maastricht, saw Lorenzo Lauria at the helm in four hearts.
On a spade lead you would seem to need trumps to play for no loser to have any real chance. However, the opening lead is the heart three, which goes to East’s jack and your king. A diamond to dummy’s king holds the trick, and when you lead a second heart from dummy, East follows suit with the remaining small spot. What next?
Lauria now had to decide whether West had led a small trump from his doubleton queen (where he might have had hopes of scoring that card if he had not led the suit) or whether he had led a singleton trump.
Lauria eventually guessed right for three reasons. The first was that East might have followed with the heart queen from a three-card suit at the first trick, thus making the doubleton-holding more likely. The second and more important reason was that if the finesse lost, a spade back would doom him. However, if he misguessed by playing trumps from the top, he could now revert to playing on diamonds. If the diamond 10 fell in three rounds, he would have two discards for dummy’s spades. And the third reason was that to fall into a deeply laid trap of this sort in the heart suit often feels like a huge psychological blow. Better to give up on fractionally the best percentage line to avoid being fooled in this way!
ANSWER: Although your partner does not promise the world’s fair when he comes in over a strong two-club bid, you have enough in diamonds to raise the ante to three diamonds. This is not so much because you hope to buy the hand, but because you want to rob the opponents of a round of bidding and would like to try to get a diamond lead against a final contract declared by West.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 7 4 |
| ♥ |
10 8 7 5 4 |
| ♦ |
K J |
| ♣ |
Q 10 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
2♣ |
2♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 4th, 2010
Dealer: North
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K J 8 |
| ♥ |
8 7 5 |
| ♦ |
Q J 10 9 8 |
| ♣ |
J 9 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 9 |
♠ |
3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 4 3 |
♥ |
A J 10 6 |
| ♦ |
K 7 6 |
♦ |
3 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 7 5 |
♣ |
8 6 4 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 7 6 5 4 |
| ♥ |
K 2 |
| ♦ |
A 5 4 |
| ♣ |
K 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠10
“Thou dost leave
The world’s mad turmoil and incessant din,
Where none in others’ honesty believe.”
– Albert Pike
When this deal came up at the Dyspeptics Club, West rejected the idea of leading from his heart queen against four spades, although this lead is scarcely more dangerous than the trump lead he selected.
South won in dummy and passed the diamond queen. West took the trick and belatedly shifted to hearts, choosing the three. East won and decided to return the suit. The contract made, and there was much gnashing of teeth. Who was most to blame for the defensive fiasco?
Today’s lesson is that it is not sufficient to select the right suit, but you must also select the right card. There is a time and a place to confuse declarer, but more important is to let partner know what is going on.
Upon winning the diamond king, West should realize that the only chance to set the contract is if East has the heart ace. To suggest to East that he return a club upon winning the heart ace, West should lead back a high heart, either the queen or the nine. If West leads a low heart, as happened at the table, one can hardly blame East for returning a heart, playing West for precisely king-third of hearts.
Curiously, the defense is only a little easier on the initial heart lead when West will lead a low card, of course. Now the club shift still looks right, but one could understand a defender electing to continue the attack on hearts.
ANSWER: Your partner has forced to game and has shown long clubs and four spades. The simple way not to mislead your partner about what you have is to give preference to three clubs. Your trump spots suggest you have the equivalent of three-card support, and since your call is economical, it will give your partner a chance to describe his hand further at a convenient level.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 8 |
| ♥ |
8 7 5 |
| ♦ |
Q J 10 9 8 |
| ♣ |
J 9 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 3rd, 2010
Dealer: East
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 8 7 |
| ♥ |
K Q J 9 5 |
| ♦ |
Q J 3 |
| ♣ |
A K |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
5 2 |
♠ |
K J 9 6 3 |
| ♥ |
A 7 6 4 |
♥ |
8 2 |
| ♦ |
7 5 2 |
♦ |
A 9 8 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 7 5 4 |
♣ |
9 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 10 4 |
| ♥ |
10 3 |
| ♦ |
K 10 4 |
| ♣ |
J 10 8 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| Pass |
Pass |
1♥ |
1♠ |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠5
“Oh, tempt me not! I love too well this snare
Of silken cords.”
– Laurence Housman
When West leads the spade five against three no-trump, declarer must plan to knock out both red aces. (It should also be clear that East does not have both aces, by virtue of his failure to open the bidding).
At first glance, it seems that South must guess which ace East holds, and to isolate the spades, attack that suit first. But in fact that may not be necessary if East falls for the bait and covers North’s queen with his king. The safe way home now is to duck this trick. If East continues spades, declarer wins in hand and can attack either red suit, as spades are not established, and even if West gains the lead with his ace, he will have no spade left to play to his partner.
Note though, that East has a counter. By withholding the spade king at trick one, he leaves declarer on a straight guess as to which red suit to play on for his contract. South fails if he attacks hearts before diamonds, as West has a second spade to play through to his partner, and East will get in with the diamond ace to run his spades.
If South plays low from dummy at trick one, would East be up to playing the nine rather than the jack? I do not know. But bear in mind that it might even be necessary to cover if declarer had a four-card spade suit, holding South to two tricks.
ANSWER: Bidding a hand like this is largely a generational issue. Those over 40 will double, convinced that an overcall could never describe a hand this strong. Those under 40 will be happy to overcall one heart here, believing that as the auction advances, they can come in again to show extras. They worry that if they start by doubling, pre-empting by the opponents will make it hard to bid the hand at a safe level.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 8 7 |
| ♥ |
K Q J 9 5 |
| ♦ |
Q J 3 |
| ♣ |
A K |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 2nd, 2010
Dealer: West
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 10 8 5 3 |
| ♥ |
J 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 4 3 |
| ♣ |
J 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K Q 4 2 |
♠ |
7 6 |
| ♥ |
K 7 |
♥ |
5 4 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 6 5 |
♦ |
K 9 2 |
| ♣ |
8 4 3 |
♣ |
K 10 7 5 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 9 |
| ♥ |
A Q 10 9 8 6 |
| ♦ |
8 7 |
| ♣ |
A Q 9 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Dbl. |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦5
“How can I then return in happy plight
That am debarr’d the benefit of rest?”
– William Shakespeare
Bjorn Fallenius of Sweden has been a resident of New York for two decades and has been a regular player in the Cavendish tournament for many years. When this deal came up in the Cavendish Teams, he found a way to demonstrate how to eat your cake and have it too when he received the lead of a small diamond against his four-heart contract. The first important issue was whether to win or to duck. Fallenius correctly worked out that he could not duck this trick for fear of a heart switch, so he took dummy’s diamond ace. The next question was how best to combine the chances in hearts and clubs. Clearly the contract hinges on holding the combined losers in the two suits to one. The correct answer, which Fallenius found, was to play a low club to the queen, preserving dummy’s club jack.
If this finesse lost, then he would still have the necessary side-suit entry to dummy to pick up the heart king doubleton or tripleton onside, and if the finesse won, as happened in real life, he could simply ruff a club in dummy for his 10th trick. (Note that if he had led the club jack from dummy and the finesse had lost, he would have needed to ruff a club to dummy to to play on hearts; so he would not have been able to pick up a twice-guarded heart king onside.)
ANSWER: Sometimes the simplest answers are best: raise your partner’s reverse into diamonds (which shows a good hand and four diamonds together with five or more clubs) to three diamonds. Your raise is forcing to game and will let partner describe his hand further so that you can work out whether to play in diamonds, spades, or no-trump.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 10 8 5 3 |
| ♥ |
J 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 4 3 |
| ♣ |
J 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
February 1st, 2010
Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 4 |
| ♥ |
A J 10 9 5 |
| ♦ |
A 6 3 |
| ♣ |
K 9 8 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A Q 10 7 2 |
♠ |
6 5 3 |
| ♥ |
7 |
♥ |
Q 8 6 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q 7 2 |
♦ |
J 10 |
| ♣ |
J 10 7 |
♣ |
6 5 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K J 9 |
| ♥ |
K 4 3 |
| ♦ |
9 8 5 4 |
| ♣ |
A Q 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
1♠ |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠7
“Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”
– Lewis Carroll
Today’s deal presents a problem for North-South in both the bidding and the play. Look first at South’s rebid. Although he has three-card support for his partner, the positional nature of his spade stop suggests rebidding no-trump rather than raising hearts. After South’s rebid, North has no interest in any game other than no-trump.
West might do better as the cards lie to lead a low diamond, but after South’s opening call, his choice of a low spade looks natural enough. How should declarer play when allowed to win the first spade cheaply?
The key is that South must set up four heart tricks. He does not mind losing the lead to West, but must prevent East from getting on play, or a second spade lead through his tenace will spell disaster. He must therefore lead a club to dummy’s king, then lead an intermediate heart from dummy, playing low from his hand unless East covers. When the finesse wins, South can repeat the heart finesse through East if necessary, untangle the heart winners, then get back to dummy in the minors, ending up with 10 tricks.
The contract is ironclad, no matter how hearts divide, by taking a first-round finesse through East. The second-best play, of cashing the heart ace before finessing, loses when East has four or five hearts to the queen.
ANSWER: Your partner rates to have a zero-count; the most he could have is a red jack, so you really do not want to lead either of those suits. Safest is to lead a spade rather than a club, and the spade nine covers the unlikely possibility that your partner has four spades to the 10, when a low-spade lead might cost your side control of the fourth round of spades.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A 4 |
| ♣ |
J 6 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
2♣ |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
2 NT |
| Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
6 NT |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
by Bobby Wolff on
January 31st, 2010
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Do you recommend using trumps just to show suit preference, or can they signal other things as well?
– Signal Corps, Davenport, Iowa
ANSWER: Some people play a trump echo as indicating a desire to ruff; others use it to show an odd number of trumps. However, a trump signal to show suit-preference is far more useful. You can convey the desire to ruff just as well by giving appropriate suit preference. Moreover, your number of trumps normally becomes apparent very early on in the hand for other reasons and is rarely critical to the defense.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When your partner opens a weak two-bid in hearts and the next hand doubles, what is the right action with ♠ A-J-3, ♥ K-4, ♦ A-Q-3-2, ♣ J-10-3-2? If you redoubled, would you do the same with a heart less and a spade more?
– Off and Running, Albany, Ga.
ANSWER: In my opinion redoubling announces ownership of the deal and asks your partner to act — normally by doubling the opponents but occasionally by rebidding his suit with extra trump length and no defense. If you had a 4-1-4-4 shape and were about to double the opponents wherever they stopped, you would pass, then double, and not give partner the chance to act.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Is there any literary work that portrays bridge seriously as opposed to mentioning the subject in passing?
– Bookworm, Cincinnati, Ohio
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ANSWER: Recently some bridge-themed action novels have come out; I can’t whole-heartedly recommend any of them as a great read. But in my youth I read “Duplicate Death” by Georgette Heyer and “Cards on the Table” by Agatha Christie, both of which took bridge seriously. Comic author S.J. Simon was a superb player, and Somerset Maugham a very keen one. Both wrote fiction that touched on the game.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If you were third to speak, holding ♠ A-9-6-4-2, ♥ K-10-3, ♦ 7-3-2, ♣ K-2, would you open? Would you overcall an opening bid on your right? Does the vulnerability matter?
– Active Andy, Danville, Ill.
ANSWER: I must confess that whether it is winning tactics or not, I would open this hand at all vulnerabilities. I realize that this may trigger a penalty larger than our opponents’ partscore or game, but I feel that if I do not bid, I make life too easy for my opponents. Yes, I would overcall any bid on my right — one cannot afford to lose the spade suit. It is not so clear to bid with the same hand but with a diamond or heart suit, and I would NEVER overcall at the two-level.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was confused with a recent answer to a “Bid With the Aces” quiz. Your answer was that if you opened one club and jumped to four clubs after a response of one spade, you had six clubs and four spades. Is this a convention and is it in standard use?
– Missing the Point, Texarkana, Texas
ANSWER: Yes, it is commonly understood that this sequence shows good clubs (six of them at least) and four spades, with the values to drive to game. This helps partner envision a source of tricks for his side in a spade slam. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
by Bobby Wolff on
January 30th, 2010
Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 4 |
| ♥ |
K J 8 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 8 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 3 |
♠ |
7 6 5 2 |
| ♥ |
9 5 4 |
♥ |
A Q 10 6 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 3 2 |
♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 7 |
♣ |
6 5 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 10 9 |
| ♥ |
7 |
| ♦ |
K 9 8 6 4 |
| ♣ |
A K 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
Pass |
6♦ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣Q
“I could have stemmed misfortune’s tide,
And borne the rich one’s sneer,–
Have braved the haughty glance of pride,
Nor shed a single tear.”
– Anna Peyre Dinnies
Declarer sees that six diamonds is cold if the trumps break 2-2 or 3-1. He should therefore plan to do what he can against a possible 4-0 split. The first move is to lay down the diamond king, as he can pick up four trumps if in West’s hand, but not if in East’s. Since the missing trumps include the jack and 10, declarer must lay down the honor in the hand with one high trump to be able finesse twice if necessary.
When the 4-0 split is revealed, the next move is for South to give up a heart, hoping to guess the suit if possible. The plan is to establish the North hand by ruffing two hearts and eventually discarding the other on South’s fourth spade. Entries must be manipulated so that trumps can be led twice through West, picking up his guarded jack, and South can be left with an eventual re-entry. South wins the club lead, cashes the diamond king, then leads a heart. East wins and returns a club, which South wins. South leads a trump to dummy and plays back a heart to ruff with the eight or nine.
South leads another trump and repeats the finesse. He exits dummy with another heart, ruffed with his last trump. A spade puts the lead back in dummy and a high spade is led. Declarer can claim the rest, pitching North’s heart loser on the good spade.
ANSWER: Although most experts play responsive doubles (meaning that a double of a bid-and-raised suit in response to their partner’s double is for takeout), this situation is not parallel. Spades have not been raised; hence, the double shows defense to spades, typically four cards or more in that suit. So pass and find out more about what is going on.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 4 |
| ♥ |
K J 8 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| Dbl. |
1♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact theLoneWolff@bridgeblogging.com. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact reprints@unitedmedia.com.
