May 24th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 6 Comments
I’m a games player by nature. Don’t get me wrong. Nothing that involves movement. Like leaving my chair.
Maureen Lipman
S |
North |
Both |
♠ A 8 6 4 2
♥ K 5
♦ 8 5 4
♣ A 7 5 |
West |
East |
♠ K J 9 3
♥ 2
♦ A 10 7 2
♣ J 9 3 2 |
♠ Q 10 7
♥ J 9 8 6
♦ 9 6 3
♣ 10 6 4 |
South |
♠ 5
♥ A Q 10 7 4 3
♦ K Q J
♣ K Q 8 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♣ |
Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
5 ♦* |
Pass |
6 ♥ |
All pass |
|
|
*Three keycards
♦A
This is a problem with no sensible answer. If you bid two diamonds, you will force the hand to game without any real confidence in a fit or source of tricks. You could raise either clubs or hearts to the three-level to invite game, which somewhat overstates your trump support in either case, or you could go very low by bidding only two hearts. If you twisted my arm, I would bid three hearts, but don’t expect me to like it.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ A 8 6 4 2
♥ K 5
♦ 8 5 4
♣ A 7 5 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
? |
|
|
|
May 23rd, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 24 Comments
Self-sacrifice is a thing that should be put down by law. It is so demoralizing to the people for whom one sacrifices oneself. They always go to the bad.
Oscar Wilde
S |
North |
N-S |
♠ 7 6 3 2
♥ 7 6 2
♦ A K 5 4
♣ 8 4 |
West |
East |
♠ K Q J 9 4
♥ Q J 9 8 4
♦ 9 7 2
♣ — |
♠ 8 5
♥ 5
♦ Q J 10 8 6 3
♣ 10 9 5 3 |
South |
♠ A 10
♥ A K 10 3
♦ —
♣ A K Q J 7 6 2 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
1 ♣ |
2 ♣* |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
2 ♥ |
3 ♦ |
3 NT |
4 ♦ |
5 ♣ |
All pass |
|
|
*Majors
♠K
The simplest path is to raise to two spades, since you have bad trumps and good defense. You might compete to three spades later, depending on how the auction works out. An immediate jump to three spades would be a pre-emptive raise, and this hand is too strong for that. A fit jump to three diamonds, showing a spade fit and a diamond suit you want partner to lead, would be possible if you had a fifth diamond.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ 7 6 3 2
♥ 7 6 2
♦ A K 5 4
♣ 8 4 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
Pass |
1 ♣ |
1 ♠ |
Dbl. |
? |
|
|
|
May 22nd, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 13 Comments
Clever men will recognize and tolerate nothing but cleverness; every authority rouses their ridicule, every superstition amuses them, every convention moves them to contradiction.
Henri-Frederic Amiel
N |
North |
Both |
♠ A 9 6
♥ A 10 7 2
♦ A K
♣ 10 9 8 4 |
West |
East |
♠ Q 8 7 4 3
♥ K J 8
♦ 10 8
♣ K J 7 |
♠ K 5 2
♥ 6 4 3
♦ 7 6 4 3 2
♣ 5 2 |
South |
♠ J 10
♥ Q 9 5
♦ Q J 9 5
♣ A Q 6 3 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
♠4
This auction is maybe more about partnership agreement than it is about judgment. I play that when the opponents respond in a new suit after my partner has doubled, a double by me is penalty, not responsive, and a call of two spades says “That is what I would have bid without intervention.” Either of those actions is possible, but the simple two-spade call has a lot to recommend it.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ Q 8 7 4 3
♥ K J 8
♦ 10 8
♣ K J 7 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♦ |
Dbl. |
1 ♠ |
? |
|
|
|
May 21st, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 3 Comments
The better part of valor is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life.
Falstaff
S |
North |
None |
♠ Q 4
♥ J 8 7 4 3
♦ A 7 5
♣ A 10 3 |
West |
East |
♠ K 8 6 3
♥ K 6
♦ 10 9 6
♣ 9 7 6 2 |
♠ 10 9 7 5 2
♥ Q
♦ J 8 4 3
♣ K Q 8 |
South |
♠ A J
♥ A 10 9 5 2
♦ K Q 2
♣ J 5 4 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
All pass |
|
|
♦10
Even though the opponents’ auction here would tend to get you to look at majors rather than minors, jack-fourth is hardly the most attractive of options. So I would lead from my five-card suit as being a far more promising line of attack than a four-card suit.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
♠ J 8 4 2
♥ 10 8
♦ Q 7 4 3 2
♣ A 4 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
|
May 20th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 4 Comments
Do you have any plans for a follow-up to “The Lone Wolff”? Would you ever do a book consisting of bridge hands as opposed to an autobiography?
Bookworm, Duluth, Minn.
My book is far more about my life and times than it is about bridge hands. Almost every deal in the book (of which there are very few) is there to advance the story or to make a point. Yes, if asked, I would consider trying to put together hands from the columns for a book. But nobody has been beating down my door with lucrative offers recently.
In a recent column, you have a player with 12 points and 4-4 in the minors opening the bidding with one club. However, in a bidding problem, you suggest opening one diamond. Which is your recommended strategy?
Desperate Dan, Virginia City, Nev.
Much inappropriate and misdirected thought has been wasted on this question; I’m sorry if I innocently added to the confusion. There is no technically superior answer to the question of which suit to bid, but there is a practical answer: I’d recommend always opening the better suit. The reason is that if the opponents end up declaring the hand, you’d rather your partner led your good suit, not your bad one. This also applies when a hand is too strong to open one no-trump.
Have you ever played a forcing pass method or a system that didn’t conform to a standard base? If so, did you enjoy the process?
Lumpfish, Trenton, N.J.
We were all young once, but ever since I grew up, I have tended to follow normal methods. However, that does remind me that 40 years ago it took a lot of persuading to convince one of the top American women that if her opponents played an opening pass as a strong hand, she could not double the pass to show a good hand herself!
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At my local club, I picked up ♠ A-Q-3, ♥ 10-5-3-2, ♦ A-Q-7-4, ♣ Q-3 and responded with a two-no-trump call to my partner’s opening bid of one heart, to show a forcing raise. When my partner bid three hearts, showing extras but no shortage, what should I have done?
Half Mast, Harrisburg, Pa.
In context, you have nothing to spare. You have bad trumps and at most a queen more than a dead minimum, so I would sign off now. If all your partner needs is two aces, he can use Blackwood to find out more. For the record, if your hearts were J-10-x-x, you might bid three no-trump, meaning it as having nothing to spare, and not being unsuitable for slam but without extras.
What scheme of responses to weak twos do you recommend? Does it depend on the degree of discipline your partnership imposes on pre-empts? If you ask for features, what holding outside the trump suit is needed for the weak-two opener to treat his hand as maximum?
Forward Progress, Portland, Ore.
Briefly, if playing Ogust (which assumes a pre-empt may be on only a moderate suit — or worse), what constitutes a good suit and a good hand may still depend a little on the vulnerability. A good suit should have decent play for one loser facing a doubleton (a minimum of six to the king-queen). The range is 6-10, no matter what style of responses you play; and if you have a maximum, show a feature with an ace, king or guarded queen.
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May 19th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 8 Comments
As man under pressure tends to give in to physical and intellectual weakness, only great strength of will can lead to the objective.
Carl von Clausewitz
W |
North |
None |
♠ K 2
♥ K 10 9 7 6 4
♦ J 4 2
♣ 9 4 |
West |
East |
♠ Q 9 7 4
♥ 8
♦ A 9 7 3
♣ K Q 6 3 |
♠ J 8 5
♥ J 5 3
♦ K 10 6
♣ 10 8 7 5 |
South |
♠ A 10 6 3
♥ A Q 2
♦ Q 8 5
♣ A J 2 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Dbl. |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
All pass |
|
|
♣K
Are you a man or a mouse? Most experts would re-open with a double with barely a second thought. If West has been lurking with a powerhouse, you might regret it. But say your partner has five spades to the king and three little hearts. Then no matter what the rest of his hand is, either four spades should come close or the opponents can make game — and sometimes both games will make.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ Q 9 7 4
♥ 8
♦ A 9 7 3
♣ K J 6 3 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
? |
|
|
|
May 18th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 5 Comments
Sole survivor, cursed with second sight Haunted savior, cried into the night.
Eric Bloom
E |
North |
None |
♠ A 7
♥ Q 9 2
♦ K 5 4
♣ A Q 10 9 5 |
West |
East |
♠ Q 9 8 6 3 2
♥ 10 8 6 4
♦ A 10 7
♣ — |
♠ 10 5 4
♥ A 3
♦ Q 8 6
♣ J 7 6 4 3 |
South |
♠ K J
♥ K J 7 5
♦ J 9 3 2
♣ K 8 2 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
1 ♦ |
2 ♠ |
3 ♣ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
|
|
♠6
You showed 15-17 at your first turn. Then completing the transfer showed three trumps. In context, you have a minimum, plus soft cards in the opponents’ suit. You have absolutely no reason to think of bidding now. Partner is in control of the auction, and he wants to sell out. Respect his authority.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ A 7
♥ Q 9 2
♦ K 5 4
♣ A Q 10 9 5 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Dbl. |
2 ♥ |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
Pass |
? |
|
|
|
May 17th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 19 Comments
The fixation on school has become a class trait. It manifests itself as a mixture of incurious piety and parlor game.
V.S. Pritchett
S |
North |
None |
♠ 9 8 3
♥ A K J 7
♦ K 8 6 4
♣ A 5 |
West |
East |
♠ A 10 7 4 2
♥ 9
♦ J 9 2
♣ J 8 4 3 |
♠ K 5
♥ Q 10 4 3 2
♦ Q 5
♣ 10 7 6 2 |
South |
♠ Q J 6
♥ 8 6 5
♦ A 10 7 3
♣ K Q 9 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
1 ♦ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
|
|
|
|
♠4
This sort of deal demonstrates why it is a good idea for the opener to be allowed to break the transfer whenever he has four trumps and anything but a dead minimum, and also perhaps when he has three good trumps and a maximum. The point is that when opener doesn’t break the transfer, you can pass two hearts and not risk going overboard, since game is unlikely to be good.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ K 5
♥ Q 10 4 3 2
♦ Q 5
♣ 10 7 6 2 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
? |
|
|
|
May 16th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 3 Comments
Brazil? He twirled a button Without a glance my way: But, madam, is there nothing else That we can show today?
Emily Dickinson
E |
North |
E-W |
♠ Q 9 2
♥ 6 5 4
♦ A Q 3
♣ K 8 4 3 |
West |
East |
♠ 10 6
♥ 10 9 8 2
♦ 5 4
♣ 10 9 7 5 2 |
♠ K J 7
♥ A K Q J
♦ 10 9 7 6
♣ Q J |
South |
♠ A 8 5 4 3
♥ 7 3
♦ K J 8 2
♣ A 6 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 NT |
2 ♠* |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
All pass |
|
|
*Spades and a minor
♥10
This hand comes down to the Law of Total Tricks. When you cue-bid two hearts, you showed a limit raise with at least three trumps. (Some pairs might have a way to show a limit raise with four trumps, but we do not.) You should assume your partner does not have enough to bid to three spades, and your balanced hand argues for defending, as you have only three trumps. So pass three hearts.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ Q 9 2
♥ 6 5 4
♦ A Q 3
♣ K 8 4 3 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
Dbl. |
2 ♥ |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
? |
|
|
|
May 15th, 2018 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 8 Comments
Art is not a mirror to hold up to society, but a hammer with which to shape it.
Bertolt Brecht
S |
North |
None |
♠ 9 7 4 3
♥ 10 5
♦ A J 9 5
♣ A J 3 |
West |
East |
♠ K 5
♥ J 9 6 4 2
♦ K 10 2
♣ 9 5 4 |
♠ 10 8 6 2
♥ K Q 3
♦ 7 6 4
♣ 8 6 2 |
South |
♠ A Q J
♥ A 8 7
♦ Q 8 3
♣ K Q 10 7 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
|
|
|
|
♥4
Had East not bid one heart, you would probably have bid two spades. As it is, should you bid two spades anyway, or is one spade enough? I think it is right to bid two spades, since you would compete to one spade on the same hand without one of the aces — that call really doesn’t show anything more than fourplus spades, though it denies weakness.
BID WITH THE ACES
♠ 9 7 4 3
♥ 10 5
♦ A J 9 5
♣ A J 3 |
South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣ |
Dbl. |
1 ♥ |
? |
|
|
|
|
One of my occasional correspondents is Maureen Hiron, who lives in Spain but writes a newspaper column for Ireland. She commented that she had first met this type of hand early in her bridge career, and her partner bawled her out for going down. When a similar situation arose a short while later, she knew what to do. As Hiron said, the good bridge player only makes the same mistake four times. By the fifth time, she has learned her lesson.
Barring bizarre distribution, the only thing that could go wrong in six hearts was the trumps breaking 4-1 or worse. If West holds the length, you are doomed; but if East has the critical holding, you may be able to survive as long as you take the appropriate precautions early.
Against the slam, West cashed the diamond ace and continued the suit. Hiron won in hand and noticed that if East did indeed hold jack-fourth in trumps, she would need to reduce her trump holding to parity with East, ending with the lead in dummy.
So at trick three, she took the spade ace then ruffed a spade, reducing South’s trump holding to five. Then came the heart ace and a heart to the king to find the bad news.
However, another spade ruff reduced the South trump holding to the same length as East’s. Hiron could then take her minor-suit winners, ending in dummy with the club ace, and she was happy to see East follow throughout. In the two-card ending, a spade from dummy caught East’s trump jack under South’s Q-10 of hearts.