The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, July 6th, 2011

July 20th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  4 Comments 

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

 

South	West	North	East
	Pass	Pass	Pass
1 NT	Pass	2 ♣	Pass
2 ♥	Pass	4 ♥	All pass

Opening Lead: Spade 10

“Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,

— T.S. Eliot

Today’s deal comes from the USA’s qualifying match in the 2007 Bermuda Bowl against India; the American team went on to win the silver medal.

The contract in both rooms was four hearts. In the first room Steve Garner declared his game as North on a diamond lead. Winning in the South hand, he entered dummy with the spade ace and played a heart to his king, which held. Now he played a second heart and ducked West’s jack, hoping to drop the ace. Though he was out of luck there, he could win the diamond return, cash his winners in spades and diamonds, then exit with a trump. East was now endplayed into either giving a ruff and discard or opening up the clubs, so declarer could hold his club losers to one..

At the second table the Indian declarer played the hand from the South seat. He won the spade lead in dummy and also played a low heart to the king, under which Ralph Katz, West, made the fine play (a remarkably difficult one to find at the table) of unblocking his jack. Now, when South played a second heart, East, George Jacobs, could win with the 10, cash the heart ace, and exit with a diamond.

Katz’s resourceful unblock meant that declarer had no endplay available. So South had to locate the club jack on his own. When he failed to do so, the game ended one light — a swing I believe Katz had earned.

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, July 5th, 2011

July 19th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  6 Comments 

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

 

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

Opening Lead: Heart seven

“A gaudy dress and gentle air

— Robert Burns

Here is a deal that does not show me in the best possible light. It comes from a Cavendish teams tournament about a decade ago and is something of a rarity since one seldom comes across a hand where game in no-trump is cold and two no-trump is a favorite to go down. However, this was just such a deal.

When our teammates played the deal, their opponents (North-South) overreached to play the no-trump game. On a heart lead there was little choice but to win, lead ace and another club, and cross one’s fingers. With the club king doubleton and the spade suit blocked for the defenders, East-West could not take more than four tricks.

A little lucky maybe, but in the other room, where two no-trump was the contract, I was declarer. I won the heart lead to try a low club from hand, needing only three club tricks, not four. Willie Whittaker of Scotland ducked smoothly, and when dummy’s club queen held the trick, I had to try to work out which defender had made a very nice play. Since I could not survive if West had king-third of clubs, whatever I did, I played East to have ducked the king from an original three-card suit. Accordingly, I decided to finesse in clubs on the second round. Whittaker won and cleared hearts, and now I had only seven 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, July 4th, 2011

July 18th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  9 Comments 

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

 

South	West	North	East
			Pass
2 ♠	Pass	4 ♠	All pass

Opening Lead: Diamond queen

“A man that could look no way but downwards, with a muckrake in his hand.”

— John Bunyan

One of the things that separate the expert from the average bridge player is the ability to see beyond the horizon of the current trick. To see whether you have the capacity to be an expert, put yourself in East’s shoes here, and look only at your cards and those of dummy.

Defending four spades, you see partner lead the diamond queen, covered by the king and your ace. What is your plan to defeat the game?

Most defenders would return a diamond, hoping to cash the diamond winners for their side. They might even succeed in doing so; but the question is whether they can ever defeat the contract this way, assuming declarer has six spades plus two of the top three honors in that suit — surely the least you might expect him to hold from the auction.

If declarer has six spades, your side has probably one spade trick and one diamond trick so you need to find two more winners. The problem with playing a diamond back now is that you establish the diamond 10 for declarer, whether South has two diamonds and two clubs, or his actual hand (when he can discard a club, or ruff and play trump, then set up the hearts to pitch his club losers).

To defeat the contract, you must shift to a club, playing your partner for the club king and one of the two top trumps. If he does not have that hand, you surely won’t beat the 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].

The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, July 3rd, 2011

July 17th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, July 3rd, 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, July 2nd, 2011

July 16th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, July 2nd, 2011 

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

 

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

Opening Lead: Heart five

“Nothing is so useless as a general maxim.”

— Lord Macaulay

Knowing when to duck and when to win a trick can be very difficult to judge. Consider the play in three no-trump today and ask yourself: would you have gotten the play right, even looking at all four hands?

At both tables West led a low heart. The Italian world champion sitting South ducked East’s queen and then the king. Now, when West turned up with the long hearts and the club king, declarer had to go down.

In the other room, where Tarek Sadek of Egypt was declarer, the auction followed the route shown. After North bid his shape out, South’s three hearts was a cue-bid agreeing clubs, but North’s hand seemed unsuitable for a five-level contract.

Here, too, West led the heart five to the jack, queen and four. When East continued with the heart king, Sadek, for Egypt, after considerable thought, went against conventional wisdom by taking his heart ace on the second round. Then he played ace and another club. West won the king and switched to a spade, so Sadek realized that this meant that the defenders could not run the heart suit.

Accordingly, he found the elegant (and far from obvious!) play of cashing his clubs, then exiting with a heart. East had to win and play either a spade or a diamond, thus giving declarer his ninth trick. Had West risen with the heart 10, crashing his partner’s nine, and played another spade, declarer’s heart eight would have been established.

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, July 1, 2011

July 15th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, July 1, 2011 

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

 

South	West	North	East
		Pass	Pass
1 ♥	Pass	2 ♥	Pass
2 NT	Pass	4 ♥	All pass

Opening Lead: Diamond queen

“Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world.”

— George Washington

South needs to look beyond the first trick when West leads the diamond queen against today’s contract of four hearts. Since declarer does not want East to gain the lead and put a spade through, his strategy at trick one depends on East. If East plays low, so does he. If East plays the diamond king, declarer wins and relies on West to have the diamond jack. As long as this is the case, South’s diamond 10 can keep East off lead.

But let’s suppose East ducks at trick one, as most defenders would. Declarer wins the second diamond, draws two rounds of trump, ruffs a diamond, and now needs to set up a club winner without letting East gain the lead for the fatal spade shift.

If declarer simply plays three rounds of clubs, he goes down without a fight. If he ducks a club to West, that player wins and exits with a club. Declarer now gets to test clubs and fall back on the spade finesse, but this will not be his lucky day.

Better is for South to cash the club ace before leading a club to the 10. After winning his now bare club jack, West has only spades and diamonds left, so he must either lead away from the spade ace or concede a ruff and discard. Either way, South has 10 tricks.

If West had a third club to return, declarer would still be able to discard a spade on the fourth club at his leisure.

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 June 30th, 2011

July 14th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  3 Comments 

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

 

South	West	North	East
		1 ♠	Pass
2 ♦	Pass	2 ♥	Pass
2 NT	Pass	3 NT	Pass
4 NT	Pass	6 NT	Dbl.
All Pass

Opening Lead: Spade eight

“Be careful what you set your heart upon — for it will surely be yours.”

— James Baldwin

Conventionally, a double of a final no-trump contract, assuming the doubler’s side has never bid, calls for a lead of dummy’s first-bid suit. Of course, after you get the lead you wanted and win the first trick, you have to know what to do next!

Today’s hand from a team’s trial was reported by Eddie Kantar. To put you at ease, you can’t do worse than the expert in the East seat did.

As East you double to help partner on lead; partner obediently leads the spade eight, declarer plays low from dummy and you decide to grab the king, felling declarer’s jack. What would you lead now? After you decide, take a look at the full deal.

The expert in the East seat shifted to a heart. Oops … Declarer was able to take nine tricks in the red suits plus three spades. How should East have known to shift to a club rather than a heart?

East has to reason like this: If declarer has the heart ace along with the jack or queen, there is a good chance that partner’s club ace will vanish into the ether — just as it did. However, if South has the club ace and partner the heart ace, South will need four club tricks (thus a holding of A-Q-J-x or A-Q-10-9) for the defense to lose the heart ace.

If declarer’s clubs are just a touch weaker (say A-Q-10-7), the club shift won’t cost. So East should go with the odds and shift to a club.

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 June 29th, 2011

July 13th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  4 Comments 

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

 

South	West	North	East
	3 ♦	Dbl.	Pass
3 NT	Pass	5 NT	Pass
6 ♣	Pass	6 ♥	Pass
6 NT	All pass

Opening Lead: ??

“Where the good and the bad and the worst and the best

— Edgar Allan Poe

What would you consider to be the most unsuccessful opening lead of all time? I’m sure there are many possible candidates for that title, but it would be hard to argue that today’s deal doesn’t deserve a place on the short list.

It took place at the North American Fall Congress held in Honolulu and would command a prominent place in anyone’s collection of bridge curios because the opening lead determined a swing of a huge number of tricks. My thanks for the hand goes to Brent Manley, editor of the Daily Bulletins in Hawaii, where it first appeared.

Two top-class pairs were in action: World Champions Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes of Italy were pitted against Larry Cohen and David Berkowitz of the United States. North guessed to drive to slam facing the three-no-trump response, and his call of five no-trump offered a choice of slams. Trying to protect his diamond king, Cohen eventually opted for no-trump.

It is reported that West took a full five minutes before choosing his opening lead: a heart. Cohen then took considerably less time to wrap up all 13 tricks: seven hearts and six clubs.

Had West hit upon a spade lead and East returned the diamond 10, then so long as West immediately unblocked the spade queen, the defenders could have come to all 13 tricks: seven diamonds and six spades. A grand total of 26 tricks hung on that opening lead!

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 June 28th, 2011

July 12th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  4 Comments 

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

 

South	West	North	East
			1 ♥
4 ♠	5 ♥	5 ♠	Dbl.
All pass

Opening Lead: Heart seven

“The more things change, the more they are the same.”

— Alphonse Karr

Today’s deal emphasizes the importance of forming a plan before playing from dummy at the first trick. But that is not the end of the story. You must not stick blindly to your approach when the opponents’ carding suggests a fatal flaw in the idea. Be prepared to adapt as circumstances change around you. Today’s deal is a classic in that sense. As Yogi Berra said, you can observe a lot by watching.

Against five spades doubled, West leads his fourth-best heart and South wins his ace. The spade ace is cashed, and South’s first thought should be to take three rounds of clubs, ruff a heart, and throw East in with the spade king, hoping that that player started with only three clubs. In that case he would now have to lead around to the diamond king or concede a ruff and discard. In either eventuality declarer would hold his losers to one diamond and one spade.

But when the club 10 puts in an appearance on the second round of the suit, South should change his plan. If he plays another club, East can ruff and get off play with a heart. Instead, South should ruff the heart himself and then throw East in with a trump.

Now if East has a club to return, it is into the A-9; if he does not, he must lead a diamond or a heart. Either way, the second diamond loser is eliminated.

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 June 27th, 2011

July 11th, 2011  ~  admin  ~  8 Comments 

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

 

South	West	North	East
		3 ♦	Pass
4 ♥	All pass

Opening Lead: Club king

“The spots on the dice are the music signs of the songs of heaven here.”

— Carl Sandburg

Today’s deal is an example of the play in a single suit, where the success of the contract hinges on a proper appreciation of the spot cards.

The auction was unremarkable. When North pre-empted, South wisely decided to bid what he thought he could make, knowing that slam was unlikely and that hearts would almost certainly play better than spades, even if dummy had more spades than hearts.

West led the club king, on which his partner dutifully followed with the queen to suggest good clubs. It would have been easy for West to continue clubs, but he realized that the contract was highly unlikely to go down if declarer could run the diamonds. If not, the best defense had to be to shift to a top trump to kill the potential spade ruff. How should declarer play now?

At the table South made the most of his resources. He won the trump and played two more rounds of trump, ruffed the club return, then carefully led a low spade toward dummy’s jack. It was unlikely, if not impossible, that the jack would score. More practical was that the spade 10 would come down in three rounds and that declarer’s spade nine would control the fourth round of the suit. As you can see, if declarer tackles spades from the top, he stands no chance, but with today’s lie of the cards, he can come home if he follows the recommended 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].