The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, August 21st, 2014
Everyone has talent. What's rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads.
Erica Jong
| North | North |
|---|---|
| North-South | ♠ K Q ♥ Q 8 6 5 ♦ 8 7 5 ♣ K 5 4 2 |
| West | East |
|---|---|
| ♠ J 9 8 4 2 ♥ J 10 7 2 ♦ 3 2 ♣ A 9 |
♠ 10 6 5 3 ♥ K 9 4 ♦ Q J 10 ♣ 10 6 3 |
| South |
|---|
| ♠ A 7 ♥ A 3 ♦ A K 9 6 4 ♣ Q J 8 7 |
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass | Pass | ||
| 1♦ | Pass | 1♥ | Pass |
| 2 NT | Pass | 3 NT | All pass |
♠4
The final of the World Junior Teams between the USA and Italy was a generally well-played match, though it ended in a comfortable win for the Italians. The following board turned out to be a victory for neither side, but it highlighted the difference between the "scientific" and the "practical" approach.
Both tables played three no-trump by South on a spade lead — not a great contract but no game is really any better. Tom Carmichael followed the best practical chance for his contract here by taking the spade, knocking out the club ace, and winning the spade return to run the clubs.
This reduced everybody down to seven cards, and would have squeezed a defender who held five spades, the heart king and three diamonds. But it did not work this time, since all West had to do was hold his spades, while East could let a spade go in comfort to retain the red-suit guards.
At the other table, Mario D’Avossa found the remarkable line of cashing both spades at the first two tricks before exiting with a club. This diabolical line works if the defense rectifies the count by cashing all their spades; now when declarer runs the clubs, East is squeezed in the red suits! But Willenken as West could see this coming. He did well to play the heart jack at trick four instead of cashing the spades. This defeated the hand, since East had a spade discard he could afford on the run of the clubs.
Your 10-count would be at the lower cusp of an invitational jump to two hearts, until your RHO devalued your hand still further. Now it sounds as if both your minor-suit holdings are grounds for pessimism. I would bid just one heart now, planning to compete further if the opportunity arose.
BID WITH THE ACES
| ♠ K Q ♥ Q 8 6 5 ♦ 8 7 5 ♣ K 5 4 2 |
| South | West | North | East |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♣ | Dbl. | 1♦ | |
| ? |
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Hi Bobby,
South has one further try at the first table. West throws 2 diamonds on the clubs so South now plays the DA. If South has HAKx he has 9 tricks anyway but a panicked spade discard lets declarer duck a diamond and make 9 tricks. Of course west should get this right but pressure can play tricks.
Regards,
Iain
Hi Iain,
Yes, any extra annoyances the declarer can give the defense (and vice versa) are worth trying in order to coax an error.
However, among the players participating in this 1999 Junior Final, it apparently would have taken either a hurricane or a tsunami to secure such a thing. That was no doubt because of the special natural training and overall ability of all (or almost all) the players playing.
It was a wonderful event to watch, trumpeting in a new era for junior bridge, the result of both bridge in the schools in Italy (and other countries in Europe) and a concentration of effort in the USA.
3NT: ” not a great contract but no game is really any better.” Hmm. At the 3d table, the bidding started the same: 1D-1H-2NT, but N, afraid of both S & H now bid 3C, S raised to 4 & N bid 5C. E rather naturally led the DQ, N played trumps, and when W won his A, he naturally returned a D. Won in dummy, finished drawing trump, eliminated S, and threw E in with the 3d D, forcing him either to lead away from the HK or give up a ruff-sluff. Making 5. Admittedly W could have saved the day by shifting to a H when in with the CA, but I submit that the correct defense is much harder to find here than at 3NT.
Hi David,
All true, well presented and guessed.
However for North to introduce his paltry club suit when most elite partnerships play some form of checkback or sign-off (below game) convention involving the use of that bid (three clubs). Even if they just played it natural, to make that bid now is, shall we say, counter intuitive, but hey, that is what could sometimes be called progress, if, in fact, some worthy partnerships thought that meaning is worthwhile.
The horrible duplication in spades is, of course, the fly in the ointment for making a NT game, and that insect, like in real life, while even with swatter in hand, sometimes comes out of it alive. No doubt, to live to torture the opponents next time with TOCM tm.
A well played hand by both D’Avossa and Willenken !
Masterly.
Why don’t we hear abymore from that Young Italian Master ?
BWTA:
Partner and me jump on an eight count ?
Is that wrong ?
Not jumping here seems to us as taking a big bet……