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 |
| |
|
|
|
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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| |
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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 ♦ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
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| |
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|
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 |
| |
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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 |
| ? |
|
|
|
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 |
|
| 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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| |
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| |
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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 |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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].
November 7th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, October 24th, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ A K 9 5
♥ 9 7
♦ 8 3
♣ J 9 7 5 4 |
|
| West
♠ 2
♥ K 10 6 3 2
♦ K J 9 4
♣ A 6 2 |
|
East
♠ J 10 8 7 6 3
♥ 5
♦ 10 7 6 5
♣ K 3 |
| |
South
♠ Q 4
♥ A Q J 8 4
♦ A Q 2
♣ Q 10 8 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
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Opening Lead: Diamond Four
“The eye may see for the hand, but not for the mind.”
— Henry David Thoreau
Many years ago I played a bridge match against a school for the blind. We used Braille cards, and when playing a card, we naturally announced what it was, for the benefit of our opponents. The convention was that only cards over a certain rank were named entirely, the others being described merely as “small.” But “small” is not good enough on some hands. Cover up the East-West cards before planning your line of play in three no-trump on a “small” diamond lead to the 10 and your queen.
You really need to know what that small diamond was, don’t you? If diamonds break 4-4, which you would expect if West had led the four, then there is time to knock out both top clubs, establishing nine tricks with three spades, one heart, two diamonds and three clubs. On the other hand, if diamonds are 5-3, that line of play will probably lead to defeat because East will win the first club and clear diamonds so West can cash the suit when he gets in with the club ace. If diamonds are 5-3, the best chance is to play on hearts, which provide a reasonable chance of four tricks. However, on the actual layout, any reliance on heart tricks is doomed while the club play succeeds.
I would probably play the same way on the lead of the diamond five, but on a higher spot-card lead, I’d assume the lead was fourth highest from five.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
A 5 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 4 2 |
| ♣ |
A 5 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♣ |
1 ♥ |
1 NT |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your values suggest your partner is limited to a 10-count. The weaker his hand, paradoxically, the better his suit rates to be, relative to his hand, since otherwise he might not have felt it worthwhile to come into the auction at all, with a bad suit and bad hand. So I would lead the heart ace, prepared to surrender a trick to gain a tempo in establishing 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 6th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
|
What is the best way to learn bridge? Did you start by playing pairs or team games, or did you learn rubber bridge first? And what would you recommend for me?
Absolute Beginner, Pleasanton, Calif.
When I learned, rubber bridge was far more common than it is now. So I think your chances for learning quickly would be improved by playing in a duplicate club. You can take classes as well as playing in events. Team strategy is easier to learn than pairs, I would say.
I had the following problem in a local duplicate and had no idea what to do next. My partner opened one spade, and I responded one no-trump holding ♠3, ♥7-3-2, ♦K-Q-10-3-2, ♣K-10-4-3-2. Now my partner bid two hearts, and I could think of nothing intelligent to say. What would you have done?
If the Hands Don’t Fit…, Durham, N.C.
There is no good answer here; passing may be disastrous facing a good hand with only four hearts, while bidding two no-trump might get your side overboard. Correcting to two spades also looks very dangerous. So pass and apologize effusively as you put dummy down.
Can you explain to me what happens when a player makes a slow bid and his partner might have taken an inference from the tempo of that call? Recently I removed a slow double of my partner (I thought I had a reason!), and the Director awarded an adjusted score but I did not understand why.
Swift Justice, Great Falls. Mont.
|
Very briefly: if your partner broke tempo and you subsequently took an action that might have been suggested by that tempo, and that was not the next-best thing to automatic, the Director may adjust the score. If he does so, he will have to work out what would have happened in the revised contract. In such cases the offending side normally gets the worst of it.
How would you respond to a three-heart pre-empt at unfavorable vulnerability, holding ♠K-10-3-2, ♥J-9, ♦A-J, ♣ A-Q-7-3-2? I passed, but caught my partner with seven solid hearts, which surprised me, since I was not expecting that much.
Undercooked, Greenville, S.C.
Pre-empts vary enormously according to position and vulnerability. Your partner appears to have a normal if maximum holding for a second seat pre-empt at unfavorable vulnerability, so you might conceivably have done more. In first chair I might open his hand at the one-level. Even a four-heart opening is conceivable, particularly if the side-suit pattern is not too balanced.
I assume you would open one diamond with this hand: ♠A-7-3-2, ♥K-J-4-2, ♦J-10-4, ♣Q-10. But if you do so and hear a two-club overcall, your partner will bid three clubs to show a limit raise or better in diamonds. What would you do now?
Risk Averse, Union City, Tenn.
I hate to bid three diamonds now — that could easily be a 4-3 fit. I’ll gamble out three no-trump serenely – I can survive if my partner has any of the missing top club honors. Presumably my LHO will never guess what is going on in the suit (unless I’ve bluffed him out before). Take away my club 10 or beef up my diamonds and I might go the other way. It is a close call, but bidding a major instead would be worse — it would guarantee real diamonds.
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November 5th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
| Dealer: West
Vul: North-South |
North
♠ A K J 3
♥ —
♦ A 9 5 3
♣ A K Q J 8 |
|
| West
♠ 7 6 4 2
♥ A K Q 10 7 2
♦ K Q
♣ 6 |
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East
♠ 5
♥ 6 5 3
♦ J 8 6 4
♣ 10 9 4 3 2 |
| |
South
♠ Q 10 9 8
♥ J 9 8 4
♦ 10 7 2
♣ 7 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
2 ♥ |
6 ♠ |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: Heart King
“Ah! the clock is always slow;
It is later than you think.”
— Robert Service
In today’s deal from a rubber bridge game, South was a valiant performer, but had a weak heart. When his partner jumped to six spades, he turned so pale that North insisted on getting him a glass of water before letting him play the hand.
But South’s mood was improved when nobody doubled the slam, and his complexion recovered a little on the sight of dummy, as he realized that the contract actually had some play.
West led the heart king, and declarer made his first good play when he ruffed with dummy’s spade ace. The objective on the deal was to come to six spade tricks, five clubs, and one diamond, but just in case clubs were not breaking, South decided to take out a little insurance.
As West was likely to have at least two diamonds just to make up his point count for the opening bid, South found the excellent play of ducking a diamond at trick two. He won West’s trump return (the best play) in hand with the spade 10, ruffed a heart high again, then cashed the diamond ace, overtook the spade jack with the queen, and played the spade 10-9, discarding diamonds from table.
The clubs failed to break, as South had foreseen, but his secondary chance came in when East was now squeezed in the minors, and so the contract came home.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 10 7 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q |
| ♣ |
6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
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ANSWER: It seems that you must raise spades now, but you do have a choice between raising to the three- and four-level, or producing a splinter-jump to four clubs. With such bad spades, it feels wrong to take any action at the four-level. The simple raise to three spades keeps open the option of playing in some other strain. (Even a 6-1 heart fit could be right, for example.)
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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