November 16th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment 
| Dealer: South
Vul: Neither
|
North
♠ A 9 8
♥ J 6
♦ Q 5 4
♣ A Q 9 4 2
|
|
| West
♠ 10 6 3
♥ Q 10 5 4
♦ K 8
♣ J 7 6 3
|
 |
East
♠ K 7 4 2
♥ 9 8 3
♦ J 10 7 6
♣ K 10
|
| |
South
♠ Q J 5
♥ A K 7 2
♦ A 9 3 2
♣ 8 5
|
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♦ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
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Opening Lead: Heart Four
“My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me.”
— Emily Dickinson
It is rare to find both tables in a match exploiting the power of the closed hand (i.e., the idea that declarer can put pressure on his opponents by leading toward his hand and not toward the exposed holding in dummy). However, in a recent European Championship we were lucky enough to observe just that.
This hand cropped up in the match between France and Germany in the 1995 European Championship and is a nice example of good play by both declarer and the defense.
Against three no-trump Paul Chemla led a natural if unfortunate low heart, won by dummy’s jack, and it is worthwhile taking a few seconds to consider how one would proceed from here as declarer. Klaus Reps found the excellent shot of a low club from dummy, but Michel Perron played his club 10 in perfect tempo, which held the trick. Back came a second heart, and Reps won the heart ace, to play a second club. He took some time over his decision, but eventually played dummy’s queen (which would only be wrong if Perron had ducked from the doubleton K-10, as indeed he had). Now a third round of hearts left Reps without resource.
The contract and opening lead were the same at the other table in this match. The French declarer also found the low club lead from dummy at trick two, but the German defender rose with the king, and now declarer had no further problems.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 8 |
| ♥ |
J 6 |
| ♦ |
Q 5 4 |
| ♣ |
A Q 9 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 ♣ |
1 ♥ |
| 2 ♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner’s pass of the double of two hearts suggests a minimum hand, with no more than a moderate heart stop. Since you have denied four spades (or you would have made a negative double on the round before), it looks right to temporize with two spades now. If your partner has a heart stop, he will surely bid two no-trump next, and you can raise to game.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 15th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ 9 4
♥ K J 9 3 2
♦ 8 7 6
♣ 7 6 5 |
|
| West
♠ A Q J 10 8 3
♥ 10
♦ Q 5
♣ Q 10 3 2 |
|
East
♠ —
♥ Q 8 5 4
♦ A 9 4 3 2
♣ A K J 8 |
| |
South
♠ K 7 6 5 2
♥ A 7 6
♦ K J 10
♣ 9 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
| All Pass |
|
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Opening Lead: Spade Ace
“There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth.”
— Mark Twain
Conventional wisdom says not to reopen with a takeout double over a passed-out one-bid when you hold a void in the opener’s suit. Partner is too apt to pass, and since you won’t be able to lead a trump or two through declarer, partner will surely be endplayed once or twice by the end of the hand.
However, as Eddie Kantar recounts, when South opened a little light, Kantar’s partner, Billy Eisenberg, passed in the West seat as did North. Sitting East, Kantar decided to reopen with a takeout double, spade void notwithstanding. This is what happened.
Billy made the great lead and continuation of the spade ace, then queen, hoping to get in again and draw declarer’s trump. South gulped when East discarded a low heart and a low diamond (implying club strength) at the first two tricks, and was in with the spade king. At trick three declarer cashed the heart ace (little did he know that this was his last trick!) and led a heart toward dummy. Eisenberg, alive to what was going on, ruffed the heart, drew declarer’s trump, and (now playing no-trump) shifted to a club. Four club tricks later saw the hand reduced to two cards with Kantar on lead. He had the A-9 of diamonds, declarer the K-J and Billy the Q-5. He switched to a low diamond, declarer played the jack, and the defenders took the last two tricks.
East-West had defeated the hand five tricks for a score of plus 1400. As Kantar commented, “so much for conventional wisdom!”
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 4 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 3 2 |
| ♦ |
8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
7 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1 ♣ |
| Pass |
1 ♦ |
1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Jump raises of overcalls and of opening bids in competition are best played as pre-emptive — you will always have a cue-bid available to show better hands. Here, a jump to three hearts suggests these values with four or five trumps. With a little more shape in the side-suits, you might bid four hearts.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 14th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ J 10 9 8
♥ 8 4 2
♦ Q 10 9 8
♣ 6 2 |
|
| West
♠ 5 4 2
♥ —
♦ A J 6 4 2
♣ Q J 10 9 7 |
|
East
♠ Q 7 6
♥ 9 5 3
♦ 7 5 3
♣ 8 5 4 3 |
| |
South
♠ A K 3
♥ A K Q J 10 7 6
♦ K
♣ A K |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
Pass |
| 6 ♥ |
All Pass |
|
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Opening Lead: Club Queen
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Many inexperienced bridge players love to take their winners as fast as possible. They flit from suit to suit like grasshoppers, but at the end of the deal they have scattered a trail of losers behind them, unaware of the fact that by not taking all their winners at once, they would have left themselves far better off.
To mix similes and metaphors, bridge, like jiu-jitsu, is an activity where you want your opponents to do all the hard work so that you can exploit their actions.
Here, for example, declarer in six hearts wins the club-queen lead with the ace and cashes the trump ace. If both opponents had followed, the diamond queen would have been established as a home for the spade loser, with dummy’s heart eight the entry to use it.
However, West’s discard is only a minor inconvenience, so long as declarer lets his opponents do the hard work for him. It would be a huge mistake to try to cash the two top spades in the hope that the queen would fall. Instead, declarer plays off the club king and spade ace, then exits with the diamond king. Since it is West who has the ace, the contract is certain, so long as East has at least one card remaining in each of the side suits. Here West takes the diamond ace then must give declarer his 12th trick.
If East had the diamond ace, he would have to exit in spades, forcing declarer to hope that the spade queen is onside.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 7 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 9 5 4 |
| ♣ |
7 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
| Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 NT |
| Pass |
3 NT |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: This auction strongly suggests that your partner has the clubs under control, but is not a demand for a club lead. If you have a sensible alternative, you can always make that lead. Here, your chunky diamonds are a good practical alternative, so lead one. My choice would be a low diamond, not the 10.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 13th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, September 2nd, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ K 5
♥ A 6 3 2
♦ Q 10 8 6 2
♣ J 4 |
|
| West
♠ Q 9 8 3
♥ K Q 7
♦ K 7 5
♣ 9 8 3 |
|
East
♠ 10 2
♥ J 9
♦ J 9 4 3
♣ A 10 7 5 2 |
| |
South
♠ A J 7 6 4
♥ 10 8 5 4
♦ A
♣ K Q 6 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| 4 ♥ |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: Club 9
“So, the powder’s low, and the larder’s clean,
And surrender drapes, with its blacks impending,
All the stage for a sorry and sullen scene:
Yet indulge me my whim of a madcap ending!”
— Helen Gray Cone
After a simple auction to four hearts, West has no reason to avoid leading one of the unbid suits. With his potential defensive tricks, a passive defense seems right, so the club nine looks like the most helpful card. East wins his ace and cannot sensibly switch to any other suit, so continues with a second club.
South takes the second trick and cannot draw trumps at once. If he plays a trump to dummy’s ace and a second trump, the defense might win and play a third round. Even if trumps split, this could leave him with a problem, as there would be only one trump in dummy to cope with two or more possible spade losers.
An alternative approach might be to draw no trumps at all and play on a crossruff. The danger with following that route (or even drawing exactly one round of trumps with the ace) is that the defense may make their three high trumps separately. Try it, and you will see that the defenders are likely to win out.
The simplest winning line is to give up a trump at trick three. You can win the return, then play the heart ace, and only now will you tackle the spades. After the spade king and a spade to the ace, you ruff a spade. You can later ruff another spade to establish your fifth spade in hand. The defense wins the first trick, the heart you give up, and one more trump at the end, but that is all.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 8 3 |
| ♥ |
K Q 7 |
| ♦ |
K 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 8 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 3 ♠ |
4 ♦ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your three-spade call was a limit raise and was not forcing. Hence, your partner’s pass of four diamonds is also not forcing. Since part of your assets consist of an apparently badly placed diamond honor and you have a minimum hand with no aces, you should have no problem in passing now.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 13th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, October 30th, 2011
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
What are my ethical obligations if my RHO plays a card and I realize that I have not played immediately, even though I have no problem? Should I say something, or would that make matters worse?
— Time Sensitive, Eau Claire, Wis.
ANSWER: In the first instance, the correct solution is to try to play every card in consistent tempo, and that means not playing too fast, even if you have a singleton or no problem. If you realize you have broken tempo with a singleton, you probably do best to apologize and say “I’m sorry, I didn’t see your card” or words to that effect.
By the way, pausing as third hand at trick one is always acceptable.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
How should I have responded to my partner’s two-club opening when I held SPADES J-9, HEARTS -3-2, DIAMONDS K-10-3, CLUBS Q-J-10-4-3-2? I did not think this hand was strong enough for a three-club bid, so I responded two diamonds. When my partner now rebid two spades, I could not bid three clubs, since we play this to be a second negative, with two no-trump showing scattered values. Any thoughts?
— Caught in the Middle, Dallas, Texas
ANSWER: I agree with bidding two diamonds (unless you held a decent minor suit — this one does not quite qualify. One possible way to show moderate hands with clubs is to subvert the immediate two-no-trump response to two clubs to make it show a club suit and these values. With a balanced positive, start by bidding two diamonds to conserve space. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
How does one ask for kings after using Gerber? Is there more than one sensible option?
— Royal Hunt, Raleigh, N.C.
ANSWER: Before answering the question, I should say that I tend to use Gerber as a jump, and only after no-trump openings or rebids. In that context, after the ace response, I prefer to use five clubs as key-card. Sliding Gerber (where the next step asks for kings) works perfectly well, but requires partnership agreement.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What would you bid after your RHO opened one heart and you held SPADES J-9-7-5-2, HEARTS 3, DIAMONDS K-10-3-2, CLUBS A-Q-4? I assume you would act rather than pass, but with such weak spades and a hand worth only one bid, would you double instead of making a one-spade overcall?
— Direct Hit, Honolulu, Hawaii
ANSWER: I feel strongly that when you have spades, you should bid them rather than risk losing the 5-3 fit. However, as you surmised, with weak spades and a minimum hand for an overcall there is a second side to this case. The combination of circumstances makes double reasonable, but I’m still marginally in the camp of “spades first, questions afterwards.”
Dear Mr. Wolff:
How old does one have to be to play in Senior Events in the United States? Is the age requirement the same the world over?
— Up There, Hartford, Conn.
ANSWER: Somewhat paradoxically, the ACBL retained a lower age limit of 55 while the World Bridge Federation upped the requirement to 60. The ACBL will sooner or later conform to the WBF rule, but for now, it is 55. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
November 12th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ A
♥ J 6 3
♦ 10 6 4 3
♣ Q 9 8 4 3 |
|
| West
♠ Q 9 8 2
♥ 7 4
♦ K Q J 7 2
♣ K 6 |
|
East
♠ 6 5
♥ K Q 10
♦ A 9 8
♣ J 10 7 5 2 |
| |
South
♠ K J 10 7 4 3
♥ A 9 8 5 2
♦ 5
♣ A |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| 4 ♥ |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: Diamond King
“In nature there are neither rewards nor punishments — there are consequences.”
— Robert Ingersoll
Bob Hamman once won a U.S. trials by refusing to overruff dummy’s small trump with the 10 when the four top trump honors were all still out. Hamman’s victim then was Larry Cohen, and it was Cohen’s partner, David Berkowitz, who pulled off this similar coup several years later.
After South ended in four hearts, West led and continued diamonds, declarer ruffing the second. South next cashed dummy’s spade ace, returned to the club ace, and cashed the spade king. Declarer continued with the spade jack, with the nine appearing from West, and had South let the knave run, he would have been heading for home. But with no indication that spades were not breaking evenly, declarer ruffed in dummy.
Berkowitz was wise to discard rather than overruff — the same decision he would have made had dummy ruffed low. South re-entered hand with the heart ace and ruffed another spade, and again East discarded. Declarer trumped a club in hand and had reduced to a position with two master spades and two low hearts. East had the two master trumps; West, a small heart. The lead was in declarer’s hand, but if he now played a trump, East would draw trump and take the rest. Declarer tried a spade, trumped by Cohen with the seven. With the heart king and queen still to come for East, that spelled one down. Had Berkowitz overruffed dummy at either opportunity, declarer would have regained trump control and made his game.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 8 2 |
| ♥ |
7 4 |
| ♦ |
K Q J 7 2 |
| ♣ |
K 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your hand is a bare minimum for a takeout double, but you should definitely make that call. There is no reason why this should not be your hand, or that by bidding, you might force the opponents up beyond their safety level. Bidding now is far safer than backing in when the opponents have limited their hands and found a fit.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 11th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ —
♥ A K J 8 6 4 3
♦ A J 9
♣ A 10 6 |
|
| West
♠ K 10 7 4
♥ 9 7
♦ K 8 6
♣ K 9 8 3 |
|
East
♠ A Q J 9 8 5 2
♥ —
♦ 7 5 4 2
♣ J 7 |
| |
South
♠ 6 3
♥ Q 10 5 2
♦ Q 10 3
♣ Q 5 4 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
3 ♠ |
| Pass |
4 ♠ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 5 ♥ |
Pass |
6 ♥ |
All Pass |
| |
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Opening Lead: Spade Four
“Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken…”
— John Keats
The “over-my-shoulder” style was mastered by Terence Reese in “Play These Hands With Me,” in which Reese explains his thought processes as each deal unfolds.
Today Reese has South playing six hearts — a delicate contract, one needing a little luck in both red suits.
The spade lead is ruffed high, a trump is led to the 10 (East discarding a spade), South’s second spade is ruffed high, and West’s last trump is drawn with the queen. Now comes the diamond queen, and when West covers without pain, three rounds of diamonds can be cashed, ending in hand.
The crux of the hand is the handling of the heart suit. East has seven spades and at least three diamonds — but who has the 13th diamond? Reese favors East, explaining that if West had begun with four diamonds to the king, he might not have released the diamond king so freely. If South had started with four diamonds to the Q-10, West’s covering would have set up an extra diamond winner for declarer.
Therefore, Reese infers East’s shape to be 7-0-4-2, and suggests running the club queen. If East has the king, he is endplayed, forced to return a club into dummy’s tenace or to give a ruff and discard. In fact, West covers, dummy wins, and the trump three to declarer’s five allows a second club to be played toward the 10. If West has the jack, that is the defense’s only trick, and if East wins his bare jack, he is now endplayed.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 7 4 |
| ♥ |
9 7 |
| ♦ |
K 8 6 |
| ♣ |
K 9 8 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: This hand falls precisely on the cusp of the simple response of one spade and a jump to two spades. If your club king were the ace, I think it would be a clear-cut two-spade bid. As it is, imagine partner with 4-4-4-1 shape and the aces in his long suits; game is nearly hopeless facing that hand. This suggests taking the low road and bidding one spade, hoping for more action.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 10th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, October 27th, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ A Q 10 8 6
♥ 9 8
♦ Q J 8
♣ Q 4 2 |
|
| West
♠ 7 3
♥ A J 6 5 3 2
♦ 6 3
♣ 10 7 3 |
|
East
♠ K J 5
♥ Q 4
♦ K 4 2
♣ J 9 8 6 5 |
| |
South
♠ 9 4 2
♥ K 10 7
♦ A 10 9 7 5
♣ A K |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♦ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
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|
Opening Lead: Heart Five
“There are occasions when it is undoubtedly better to incur loss than to make gain.”
— Plautus
Let’s see how imaginative you are. Look at all four hands in the diagrammed deal and try to figure out how South went down in three no-trump. Bear in mind that South was an expert player and was unlikely to do anything absurd.
On West’s low heart lead against three no-trump, East played the queen and South had to win the king. South decided to live or die by the diamond finesse and not mess with the spades. Going for five tricks in spades, necessary if hearts were not 4-4, would require West to have both spade honors.
Accordingly, South cashed the two top clubs, then crossed to the spade ace to take the diamond finesse. But a funny thing happened on the way to that finesse, East dropped the spade king under the ace!
Now who can blame South for thinking that it would be safer to play West for the spade jack than East for the diamond king? After all, if South can score five spade tricks, he doesn’t need the diamond finesse. South crossed to the diamond ace and ran the spade nine. Shock! East won the jack, returned a heart, and six tricks later (the opponents were able to cash five more hearts and the diamond king, plus the spade jack), South wound up down three!
East had visualized declarer’s problem and gave him a losing option. South swallowed the bait.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 10 8 6 |
| ♥ |
9 8 |
| ♦ |
Q J 8 |
| ♣ |
Q 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
2 ♦ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Although South’s hand is a normal overcall of one diamond, you should pass over a pre-empt in direct seat (though you might act in balancing seat). The drawbacks to acting with marginal values when relatively long in your opponent’s suit are obvious — and not just that you might run into a penalty. Your partner will certainly expect you to be stronger or more offensively suitable than this.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 9th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: North-South |
North
♠ J 9 6
♥ 9 7
♦ K Q 6
♣ A Q 10 8 3 |
|
| West
♠ 3
♥ Q 10 5 3 2
♦ A 10 9
♣ 9 6 5 2 |
|
East
♠ A 7 5
♥ A 8 4
♦ J 8 7 5 4 2
♣ 7 |
| |
South
♠ K Q 10 8 4 2
♥ K J 6
♦ 3
♣ K J 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: Heart Three
“I pray thee, understand a plain man in his plain meaning.”
— William Shakespeare
The sending of unambiguous signals is an obvious advantage to defenders. However, you may be unable to do so without your partner’s co-operation.
In today’s deal, West led his fourth-highest heart (the three) against the spade game.
On winning with the ace, East then switched to his singleton club. Declarer won in hand and played a trump to dummy’s jack, West following, and East took the ace.
Because West’s initial heart lead could have concealed the king, East returned a heart. Declarer pounced with the king, drew trump, and ended with 11 tricks, the losing diamond and heart in hand going on dummy’s long clubs.
You can see the difference if East holds off the first trump lead, but then plays the ace on the second instead. West is unlikely to have more than one quick entry, so no more than one club ruff can be expected.
South’s two-spade rebid promised six cards in the suit; therefore, West will have an opportunity to signal his entry, but not until the second trump lead. Then, the diamond 10 from West provides an unequivocal road-map to the successful defense. A diamond to the ace and then a club ruff leaves declarer with just nine tricks.
Two more thoughts — for the expert only: should West’s club play at trick two be suit preference? In this context, I’d say yes. And should West be able to signal suit preference in trumps? Again I’d say yes — but this sophisticated agreement requires partnership discussion.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 6 |
| ♥ |
9 7 |
| ♦ |
K Q 6 |
| ♣ |
A Q 10 8 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 ♥ |
Pass |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 ♣ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
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ANSWER: Your partner’s bidding suggests a strong hand with 4-5-1-3 pattern. Although you may feel tempted to temporize with three diamonds, then bid three no-trump at your next turn, I believe it is best to retreat to three no-trump at once because of the wasted values in spades. You want your partner to look for slam only if he has real extras.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
November 8th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 10 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ Q 7 2
♥ Q 4
♦ K 8 7 4
♣ A 9 7 4 |
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| West
♠ K 10 6 3
♥ K 7
♦ Q 10 9 6 2
♣ 5 2 |
|
East
♠ J 9 8 4
♥ J 10 6 5 3
♦ J
♣ K 10 3 |
| |
South
♠ A 5
♥ A 9 8 2
♦ A 5 3
♣ Q J 8 6 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: Diamond Six
“It is admirable to consider how many Millions of People come into, and go out of the World, Ignorant of themselves, and of the World they have lived in.”
— William Penn
Part of the trouble with finding the best opening lead is that we are initially taught a number of rules: “lead partner’s suit,” “fourth highest of your longest and strongest,” etc. These rules are no substitute for listening to the bidding and making a logical deduction.
Let’s look at the West hand. What would you lead against three no-trump? While it could be right to lead a spade, the decent five-card minor is more promising. (When in doubt, pick a major over a minor against no-trump; here you are not in doubt. Five-card suits are more attractive than four-carders.)
Now, which diamond would you pick? The 10 is the obvious choice, but there is a strong case for hanging on to your top cards in the suit. North rates to have minor-suit length since he did not use Stayman, and if he has diamond length, it would be a mistake to squander the queen, 10 or nine.
As the cards lie, a high diamond would be fatal since you would no longer be able to set up the suit effectively. Declarer is under no pressure at all and has plenty of time to establish his nine tricks.
However, look at the play on a low diamond lead. Declarer must duck East’s jack, or else West can use his two entries to establish and cash his diamonds. If East’s diamond jack holds and he finds the incisive spade switch, declarer will lose two spades and one trick in each of the other suits.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 5 |
| ♥ |
A 9 8 2 |
| ♦ |
A 5 3 |
| ♣ |
Q J 8 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♣ |
1 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
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| |
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ANSWER: It would be premature to bounce directly to three no-trump. Your side could be laydown for a slam or you might have a better game in either red suit. For the time being, it is quite sufficient to cue-bid two clubs, planning to bid three no-trump at your next turn.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
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