The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, September 11th, 2011

September 25th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  2 Comments 

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.

The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 10th, 2011

September 24th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  4 Comments 

Dealer: West Vul: Both	North ♠ J ♥ A J 9 7 6 ♦ A 9 8 5 ♣ J 7 6
West ♠ 10 9 8 5 3 ♥ Q 8 ♦ Q 7 4 ♣ 9 8 5		East ♠ A K 7 6 ♥ 10 5 4 3 2 ♦ 2 ♣ A 4 2
	South ♠ Q 4 2 ♥ K ♦ K J 10 6 3 ♣ K Q 10 3

 

South	West	North	East
	Pass	1 ♥	Pass
2 ♦	Pass	2 ♥	Pass
2 NT	Pass	3 ♦	Pass
3 NT	All Pass

Opening Lead: Spade 10

“Good families are generally worse than any others.”

— Robert South

Michael Seamon of Florida is part of one of the most distinguished families of bridge, four of his family having participated successfully in world championships. Seamon found a fine play in this deal from a recent U.S. trial — based on a second-degree assumption of how he needed the cards to lie.

Seamon’s call of two diamonds was forcing to game, so his quiet two-no-trump bid on the second round did not end the auction. North’s failure to raise diamonds directly had suggested that he had only three diamonds — hence the decision to play the inferior no-trump game.

West led the spade nine to the jack and king, and East returned a low spade to Seamon’s queen. Declarer had a spade trick now, but was still a long way from home. He needed to find the diamond queen and also to negotiate the heart suit for three tricks — a fairly unlikely combination of events.

However, his first move was to cash the heart king, noting the fall of West’s eight. Needing this to be from shortness (specifically the queen-doubleton), Seamon inferred that all the probabilities in that case would indicate that West would have longer diamonds than East. He backed his judgment by cashing the diamond king and finessing West for the queen on the next round. When the heart ace brought down the queen, he had nine tricks without touching clubs — a game swing. It was a hand for us all to admire.

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Friday, September 9th, 2011

September 23rd, 2011  ~  admin  ~  4 Comments 

Dealer: South Vul: East-West	North ♠ K 10 8 4 3 ♥ 8 6 ♦ 9 6 4 ♣ A K 6
West ♠ Q 9 2 ♥ 9 5 4 ♦ A Q 5 2 ♣ J 9 2		East ♠ 7 6 ♥ J 7 2 ♦ J 10 8 7 3 ♣ 10 7 4
	South ♠ A J 5 ♥ A K Q 10 3 ♦ K ♣ Q 8 5 3

 

South	West	North	East
1 ♥	Pass	1 NT*	Pass
3 ♣	Pass	3 ♥	Pass
3 ♠	Pass	4 NT	Pass
5 ♥	Pass	6 ♠	All Pass

*Spades

Opening Lead: Diamond Ace

“Speech was given to the ordinary sort of men whereby to communicate their mind, but to wise men, whereby to conceal it.”

— Robert South

As a defender, whenever you hold the trump queen, you look for ways to protect it. Similarly, when you can infer that declarer is trying to find the trump queen and you know your partner has it, go out of your way to suggest that you have that card. Surely one of the most imaginative ways to put declarer on the wrong track came on the following deal from the European Championships between Iceland and Romania. It arose over 20 years ago — a highly relevant fact, in a curious way.

North-South reached the small slam in spades after South had shown a strong 3-5-1-4 shape. Gudmundur Arnarson led the diamond ace, which dropped declarer’s king. He could have continued with another diamond, in which case declarer would surely have guessed trumps correctly (since even 4-1 trumps onside might be negotiable via a trump coup).

But instead, Arnarson found the deeply devious shift to the spade nine at trick two. Declarer hopped up with dummy’s 10 and then decided to play a spade to his jack — can you blame him? This protected against the 4-1 splits — although it severely underestimated Arnarson, who would surely have pressed on with a diamond at trick two, had that been the case.

Had the Romanian declarer encountered the deal after Arnarson won the Bermuda Bowl in 1991, I doubt if he would have followed such a deeply unflattering line…

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, September 8th, 2011

September 22nd, 2011  ~  admin  ~  15 Comments 

Dealer: North Vul: Neither	North ♠ K 10 8 7 3 ♥ Q ♦ A 10 3 ♣ A J 5 2
West ♠ 5 4 ♥ 7 5 3 ♦ K J 6 2 ♣ K Q 10 8		East ♠ A Q J 9 2 ♥ A K 9 8 ♦ Q 8 5 ♣ 3
	South ♠ 6 ♥ J 10 6 4 2 ♦ 9 7 4 ♣ 9 7 6 4

 

South	West	North	East
		2 ♠*	Pass
3 ♣	Pass	Pass	Dbl.
All Pass

*Spades and clubs, 11-15

Opening Lead: Heart 3

“Though I beheld at first with blank surprise

— William Wordsworth

Twenty years ago Tony Forrester wrote a bridge tip about the power of the closed hand, and how declarer can generate tricks if he conceals his assets well. One of my favorite closed-hand stories deals with what I am convinced will be close to a world record when it comes to stealing tricks.

North-South had got themselves into their best fit, albeit a level or two too high, and East had done well to find a takeout double, converted to penalties by West.

As the auction had shown, East was a thoughtful and competent player. But West was a weaker player, and instead of leading the obvious trump against three clubs doubled, he decided to lead a heart. East won this to switch to his singleton club. South took this in dummy and decided to try for a crossruff. Since East was clearly stacked in spades, he led a low spade from dummy, hoping to give East a problem.

Everyone followed in tempo, but South was more than a little surprised to find his six taking the trick! East, who knew that declarer had at most one spade for this line of play, had gone with the percentages, hoping his partner had the spade six so that he could continue the attack on trumps. Unluckily for him, his play not only allowed declarer to steal a trick, but also to establish a heart trick. Now a mini-crossruff saw him escape for two down.

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, September 7th, 2011

September 21st, 2011  ~  admin  ~  2 Comments 

Dealer: South Vul: Both	North ♠ — ♥ 8 7 6 ♦ K J 9 6 5 4 3 ♣ A 10 7
West ♠ A J 10 9 8 5 ♥ — ♦ Q 10 7 2 ♣ K 5 3		East ♠ 6 3 ♥ A Q 10 4 ♦ — ♣ Q J 9 8 6 4 2
	South ♠ K Q 7 4 2 ♥ K J 9 5 3 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ —

 

South	West	North	East
1 ♥	1 ♠	2 ♦	3 ♣
Pass	5 ♣	5 ♥	Dbl.
All Pass

Opening Lead: Club 3

“World is crazier and more of it than we think,

— Louis Macneice

What do you think the result of a heart contract for North-South might be on this deal? With trumps 4-0 and a foul spade break, it seems you would be struggling in game however you play it, but appearances are sometimes deceptive.

Both tables in a USA-Netherlands match competed to five hearts, and were doubled. When Bob Hamman and I were defending, Hamman led a club. Declarer took the ace in dummy and played a heart to the king, followed by the diamond ace. I ruffed, cashed my top trumps, and then exited with a spade. Hamman won the ace and thoughtfully continued with a diamond, breaking up any pressure in the endgame and collecting two more spade tricks for a penalty of 800.

By contrast, in the other room our teammate Richard Freeman won the club ace and chose to play a heart to the jack. Such a small difference, but now he could advance the spade king from hand, covered and ruffed, and then lead a second heart from dummy. With the defensive spade communication cut, all East could do was win his ace and play a second spade. Freeman took the queen and played the heart king and another heart; East got his two trump tricks, but had only clubs left to lead. Freeman ruffed and led his last trump, and West was painfully squeezed in spades and diamonds. Whatever he did, declarer had the rest, for plus 850 and 17 IMPs to the USA!

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, September 6th, 2011

September 20th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  3 Comments 

Dealer: North Vul: East-West	North ♠ K J 6 5 4 ♥ J 7 ♦ 8 7 4 ♣ A 4 2
West ♠ Q 9 8 7 2 ♥ K Q 8 3 ♦ A Q J 6 ♣ —		East ♠ — ♥ 10 9 6 ♦ 10 5 3 2 ♣ Q 10 9 7 6 5
	South ♠ A 10 3 ♥ A 5 4 2 ♦ K 9 ♣ K J 8 3

 

South	West	North	East
		Pass	Pass
1 ♥	1 ♠	Pass	Pass
Dbl.	2 ♦	Dbl.	Pass
2 NT	Pass	3 NT	All Pass

Opening Lead: Diamond Queen

“The superior man is distressed by his want of ability.”

— Confucius

One of the frequently debated questions in bridge is whether technical skills are more important than table presence. For what it is worth, my view is that you can aspire to be a very good player by doing nothing more than master the percentages. But to excel at the top level, you need that indefinable ability to play against the percentages, and also to be able to encourage your opponents to play badly.

Today’s deal is from the qualifying round of a world championship. North and South were playing a weak no-trump and four-card majors; hence, the opening bid. When West overcalled, North could not make a penalty double of the one-spade overcall, so passed for the time being, and South, Kitty Teltscher, reopened with a takeout double.

West chose a good moment to rebid two diamonds, and now North doubled to show a penalty double of spades and some diamond length. Teltscher judged well to remove this, rightly fearing that declarer might be able to make a lot of tricks on a crossruff. Thus North-South reached a normal game, but had been armed with considerable additional information.

West led a helpful diamond queen, but even so, it was hard to see any hope of a ninth trick. However, declarer spotted a chance. She won the diamond king and played the spade three. West sleepily played the two, so dummy’s four won the second trick! After that, it was a simple matter to finesse in clubs and spades to arrive at nine tricks.

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Monday, September 5th, 2011

September 19th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  2 Comments 

Dealer: South Vul: North-South	North ♠ K 4 2 ♥ Q 10 7 3 ♦ 9 8 2 ♣ J 7 3
West ♠ Q 9 ♥ A J 8 4 ♦ K 6 4 3 ♣ 6 4 2		East ♠ 10 8 6 3 ♥ K 9 2 ♦ J 10 7 5 ♣ 8 5
	South ♠ A J 7 5 ♥ 6 5 ♦ A Q ♣ A K Q 10 9

 

South	West	North	East
2 NT	Pass	3 ♣	Pass
3 ♠	Pass	3 NT	All Pass

Opening Lead: Club 6

“The thirteenth generation —

— Abbie Farwell Brown

Would you open that South hand one club or two no-trump? With such an easy rebid, I think one club is impeccable, but at one table in an international multi-teams event held in The Hague, South opened two no-trump. Now a revealing auction in which South showed spades and North implied hearts saw South arrive in three no-trump on the lead of the club six — which could have been from just about anything.

Declarer’s approach was to win in dummy and lead a low spade to the jack and queen. Back came a second club, and South ran the clubs, played the spade ace and a spade to the king, and when that suit did not behave, he took a diamond finesse. When this lost, he considered himself unlucky. Do you agree with his assessment?

South was not unlucky; he had simply overlooked the textbook solution to maximize his chances for nine tricks. Win the first club in hand and play the spade ace, followed by a spade to the king; then play a third spade toward the jack. As the cards lie, this makes nine tricks easily.

You might object that this line gives up a trick unnecessarily if the spade queen were onside, with the suit 3-3, but the point is that you only need three spade tricks for the contract. You can afford to let the opponents get away with an overtrick from time to time — as long as you make all the contracts that you can.

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, September 4th, 2011

September 18th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, September 4th, 2011 

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.

The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 3rd, 2011

September 17th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 3rd, 2011 

Dealer: East Vul: North-South	North ♠ Q ♥ 10 8 ♦ Q J 7 5 ♣ A Q 10 9 7 3
West ♠ K 7 6 5 ♥ J 4 2 ♦ A 9 8 4 2 ♣ 5		East ♠ A J 9 8 2 ♥ K 3 ♦ 10 6 3 ♣ J 8 6
	South ♠ 10 4 3 ♥ A Q 9 7 6 5 ♦ K ♣ K 4 2

 

South	West	North	East
			Pass
1 ♥	Pass	2 ♣	Pass
2 ♥	Pass	3 ♦	Pass
4 ♣	Pass	4 ♥	All Pass

Opening Lead: Club 5

“It is a fine thing to be out on the hills alone. A man can hardly be a beast or a fool alone on a great mountain.”

— The Rev. Francis Kilvert

Henry Francis, Editor of the ACBL bulletin for three decades, reported the clash of a Canadian and a Mexican team in the 1985 North American championships.

Henry described the play in four hearts, on a club lead to dummy’s queen. Declarer played a diamond to his king and West’s ace. Now West crossed to his partner via the spade ace for the club ruff.

West, Miguel Reygadas, exited with a diamond, and now declarer led a trump to dummy’s queen, on which Reygadas deposited the jack. Taken in by this, South tried to cross to dummy with a club to repeat the trump finesse, and Reygadas swiftly produced the heart four to set the hand by a trick.

There are two reasons why declarer’s line was questionable: the first and most powerful is that if the cards lay the way that declarer hoped for, West ought to have shifted to a spade after taking the club ruff, to protect his partner’s heart honor. By forcing dummy to ruff, he would ensure the defeat of the contract.

But the most conclusive reason to get the hand right would have been to prevent West from having bragging rights over you for the rest of his life! Having said that, all credit to Reygadas for finding the falsecard as his only chance to set the hand. Had declarer not seen the heart jack appear, he would have had no chance but to play for the outstanding trumps to split, thus making his contract.

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].

The Aces on Bridge: Friday, September 2nd, 2011

September 16th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  4 Comments 

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

Opening Lead: Club 9

“So, the powder’s low, and the larder’s clean,

— 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.

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].