August 16th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011 
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: South |
North
♠ 10 6 3
♥ K Q J 7
♦ K 7 5 4
♣ Q 7 |
|
| West
♠ —
♥ 10 8 6 3
♦ Q 9
♣ J 10 9 8 5 4 2 |
 |
East
♠ J 7 5
♥ A 9 5 4
♦ A J 10
♣ K 6 3 |
| |
South
♠ A K Q 9 8 4 2
♥ 2
♦ 8 6 3 2
♣ A |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 4 ♠ |
All pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: Club jack
“There is nothing so well known as that we should not expect something for nothing — but we all do and call it Hope.”
— Edgar Howe
As South you make a slightly heavy pre-empt of four spades. (Many would bid this without a club honor.) So when dummy comes down with trump support and a near opening bid, your partner will feel very disappointed if you cannot find a way to 10 tricks. Of course, if the red aces are poorly placed, you may be doomed — but you should focus on the circumstances you can control, not the ones you can’t.
You win West’s club lead in hand and play a top trump, discovering the 3-0 break. You now realize that you no longer have a sure entry to dummy in the trump suit. What should you do next?
It looks logical to play a heart, and West starts an echo to show an even number, allowing East to take the trick. Back comes the club king, and the natural play is to ruff and try the spade nine. If East wins, you can use the spade 10 as an entry to dummy. But a sly East will duck, and now you will find that you need the diamond ace onside — unlucky!
Maybe a better plan is to duck the club king, pitching a diamond. Unless East started with a singleton diamond, whatever he returns will let you reach dummy to discard two of your diamonds on dummy’s hearts.
The diamond finesse is a 50-50 shot; the chance of a bad diamond break is far smaller, even given the bad trump break.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
J 7 5 |
| ♥ |
A 9 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A J 10 |
| ♣ |
K 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♣ |
1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner’s call of one spade shows at least five (with only four he would have started with a negative double); nonetheless, you should rebid one no-trump. With a completely balanced hand and a decent heart stop, you want to convey your hand-type as accurately as possible; with a side-suit doubleton, a spade raise would be fine.
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].
August 15th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 6 Comments
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: North |
North
♠ K 8 3
♥ Q 8 5
♦ K 4 3
♣ A J 4 2 |
|
| West
♠ A J 7 6 5 2
♥ 2
♦ 7 5
♣ Q 10 8 6 |
|
East
♠ 10 9 4
♥ A K J
♦ 10 8 6 2
♣ 7 5 3 |
| |
South
♠ Q
♥ 10 9 7 6 4 3
♦ A Q J 9
♣ K 9 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| 1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
Dbl.* |
2 ♠ |
| 4 ♥ |
All pass |
|
|
* Three-card heart support
Opening Lead: Diamond seven
“In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers.”
— Neville Chamberlain
Until now, it has not been easy to use the Internet to discuss bridge at a high level. You can follow my column and other bridge blogs at bridgeblogging.com. But two new sites, bridgetopicscom for news and bridgewinners.com for problems and discussions, now give everyone more opportunities to learn about the game. Here is a problem deal posed by Steve Weinstein on bridgewinners; focus solely on the East and North hands.
Against four hearts, partner leads the diamond seven. You play the 10, and declarer wins with the queen. Declarer then leads a heart to dummy’s eight, which you win. What next?
If you played a spade or a diamond back, you missed the point of the deal! There are two basic hand-types your partner could hold where your play is critical. He could have the spade ace and a doubleton diamond (as in today’s deal, when the spade loser could go away on dummy’s clubs unless he cashes the ace) or he could have a singleton diamond and no spade ace — when the diamond ruff might get away unless you play a diamond.
Both of these hands might be consistent with the bidding. But you can cover both bases, as long as you win the heart with the king at trick two and play back a diamond.Although your partner cannot ruff this trick, declarer will surely just play a second heart rather than fool around with the club finesse, so you get your second bite at the apple.
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 he is not demanding a club lead. Do you have a sensible alternative? Here, your chunky diamonds are a good practical choice. I would lead a low one, 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].
August 14th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dear Mr Wolff:
What are the merits of using Minor-Suit Stayman over one- or two no-trump openings, as opposed to using four-suit transfers?
— Milky Way, Vancouver, British Columbia
ANSWER: In response to one no-trump, it seems easier to use two spades and two no-trump as transfers to clubs and diamonds respectively. (At his second turn, opener can then announce how well his hand fits by completing the transfer or using the intermediate step.) In response to two no-trump, three spades can be played equally well as Minor-Suit Stayman or as a transfer to three no-trump to initiate one- or two-suited minor-based slam tries.
Dear Mr Wolff:
If I am holding SPADES K-9-3, HEARTS Q-J-3-2, DIAMONDS A-6, CLUBS Q-8-6-2, it looks normal to open one club and rebid one no-trump over the one-spade response, doesn’t it? My partner, an expert with whom I had only limited partnership discussion, now perplexed me by jumping to four clubs. Shouldn’t that be a good hand with clubs, or is it ace-asking?
— Simple Minds, Tucson, Ariz.
ANSWER: This cannot be clubs. With clubs, one would set up a forcing auction by bidding the new minor, then supporting clubs. Many people would play this jump as Gerber, while others would play any jump to the four-level in an auction of this sort as a self-agreeing splinter with spades as trump (maybe 6-3-3-1 with an 18-count), after which you have an extremely good hand and could cue-bid four diamonds.
Dear Mr Wolff:
Are all artificial defenses against strong-club systems permitted?
— Bucket List, Tupelo, Miss.
ANSWER: You can play anything you like against a strong club except what might be regarded as licensed psyches (e.g., “automatic” one-spade bids). I’d recommend the British version of CRASH — using the majors and one no-trump for two suiters of the same color, rank or shape. Double and one diamond are for hearts and spades respectively, while two-level actions show the suit above or the other two suits.
| |
Dear Mr Wolff:
I was in fourth chair with SPADES A-J-7-3-2, HEARTS Q-8-2, DIAMONDS K-5-4, CLUBS J-10. In an unopposed auction my partner opened one diamond and rebid two clubs over my one-spade response. What are my options now?
— Options Trader, Houston, Texas
ANSWER: Spade bids (whether a weak rebid of two spades or an invitational jump to three spades) are out of the question. Likewise, a simple rebid of two diamonds is a huge underbid. That leaves two hearts as game-forcing fourth suit — an overbid, though not a terrible one — or the two invitational sequences of two no-trump and three diamonds. If you play that your partner can’t be 4-5 for his auction, then three diamonds is acceptable, but two no-trump looks like the normal limiting action.
Dear Mr Wolff:
You have referred a few times to the concept of “system on” when you make a one-no-trump overcall and the next hand bids again. Does this apply to any intervention third hand produces?
— All Systems Go, Pueblo, Colo.
ANSWER: With one possible exception, yes. I believe if third hand bids a new suit, one can sensibly play penalty doubles, not takeout doubles. But if the opponents bid and raise a suit, a double remains takeout since a fit has been found.
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
August 13th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday July 30th, 2011
| Vulnerable: North-South
Dealer: East |
North
♠ K Q 10 9 3 2
♥ A Q 5 3
♦ —
♣ Q 9 6 |
|
| West
♠ —
♥ 10 9 6 4 2
♦ A Q J 9 7
♣ A J 4 |
|
East
♠ J 8 7 6 4
♥ K J 8 7
♦ 4 3 2
♣ 2 |
| |
South
♠ A 5
♥ —
♦ K 10 8 6 5
♣ K 10 8 7 5 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♦ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 2 ♣ |
2 ♥ |
3 ♥ |
4 ♥ |
| 5 ♣ |
Dbl. |
All pass |
|
Opening Lead: Heart 10
“All good things which exist are the fruit of originality.”
— John Stuart
Billy Eisenberg provided the details for this outstanding deal played by Steve Garner in the first qualifying session of the Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs.
Steve was playing with his regular partner, Howard Weinstein, against Tor Helness and Connie Goldberg. When a good player does not overcall but backs in to a live auction, he tends to have real length in the suit you opened. Garner knew his left-hand opponent was a great player, so he played accordingly.
On a heart lead against five clubs doubled, Garner ruffed, ran the club seven successfully, ruffed a diamond, and played the club queen to Helness’s ace. Back came a heart, and Garner ruffed again, then ran his trumps.
In the ending he had reduced to four spades and the ace-queen of hearts in dummy, with East also down to four spades and the guarded heart king. Garner now ran his spades, throwing East in with the fourth spade to lead into dummy’s heart tenace. Beautifully done!
For the sake of completeness, let me say that declarer had a very slight technical improvement to his line. Had he played the spade ace at trick two, he could not have been defeated. The defenders get two trump tricks but declarer can eventually establish the spades. Garner’s line had the minute flaw that if West covers the club seven with the jack at trick two, he can subsequently ruff the first spade, cash his club ace, and play the diamond ace, leaving declarer a trick short.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
J 8 7 6 4 |
| ♥ |
K J 8 7 |
| ♦ |
4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♦ |
2 ♣ |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You have a suitable shape for a negative double but are at (or below) the low end in terms of high cards. While I would pass with the minors reversed, here the short clubs argue for action. A negative double may get your side in trouble but, equally, it may be your side’s last chance to get into the auction easily. So I’d double, and cross my fingers.
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].
August 12th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Vulnerable: Neither
Dealer: North |
North
♠ J
♥ A 9 6 5 4
♦ 10 9 5 2
♣ A K 6 |
|
| West
♠ A 9 5 2
♥ K 10 3
♦ Q J 7 3
♣ 9 4 |
|
East
♠ K 7 6 4
♥ J 8 7
♦ 8 6
♣ J 10 8 5 |
| |
South
♠ Q 10 8 3
♥ Q 2
♦ A K 4
♣ Q 7 3 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Spade two
“It was strange
How things turned out — the chances! You’d just got
To take your luck in life, you couldn’t change
Your luck.”
— Wilfrid Gibson
In this deal from the second round of the Spingold tournament held in New Orleans last summer, Nick L’Ecuyer found an extra chance in a difficult three-no-trump contract.
The defenders lead a fourth-highest spade two and continue the suit. You pitch a heart from dummy, and the defenders erroneously lead a third spade. What do you discard from dummy, and how do you plan the play?
You have excellent chances in either minor, but it’s tough to get any additional chances from the hearts because you have to discard twice from dummy. If you pitch two hearts from the board, you can’t exploit a 3-3 split. If you pitch a club from dummy and cross to the club king to lead a heart up, the defenders will win the heart king and play back a club to kill the dummy.
At one table, declarer simply tested diamonds from the top. He took the king and ace from hand, then led a third diamond, falling back on the club split or a squeeze. This line gave him an excellent mathematical chance — by my calculations about four chances in five, but today was not his lucky day.
L’Ecuyer found an extra chance after pitching a heart from the board. He tested clubs first, West discarding a spade, then cashed the long spade to extract a heart from West. Next he played three rounds of diamonds. West could cash his long diamond but was endplayed at trick 12 to concede two hearts by leading away from his king.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
Q 10 8 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 2 |
| ♦ |
A K 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 7 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♣ |
1 ♥ |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Assuming two spades is a weak jump response (the standard meaning for that action by an unpassed hand in competition), you should raise to three spades now as a barricade. This auction does not show extras; with a game-try you would cue-bid or bid two no-trump, if appropriate. Bidding directly makes West’s decision far harder at his next turn if he has extra shape or high cards.
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].
August 11th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday July 28th, 2011
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: South |
North
♠ 10 7 4
♥ Q 10 5
♦ K J 6
♣ A K 5 2 |
|
| West
♠ K J 5 2
♥ 9 8 4
♦ 9 3
♣ Q 10 8 4 |
|
East
♠ A Q 9 8 3
♥ 7 3
♦ Q 10 8 5 2
♣ J |
| |
South
♠ 6
♥ A K J 6 2
♦ A 7 4
♣ 9 7 6 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
2 ♠ |
| Pass |
3 ♠ |
4 ♥ |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Spade two
“To the victor belong the spoils of the enemy.”
— William Marcy
During the Spingold tournament, at last summer’s Nationals in New Orleans, Milan Macura of the Czech Republic generously volunteered this deal, where he had missed a small extra chance.
Macura declared four hearts, and a spade lead and continuation saw declarer ruff and take two rounds of trump. He next took the two top clubs. The 4-1 club split appeared to force declarer to rely on the diamond finesse, but Macura could tell from the discarding that the diamond finesse was unlikely to succeed. Accordingly, he now played ace, king and a third diamond, hoping to endplay East for a ruff and discard. Alas for him, Rose Meltzer as West alertly ruffed her partner’s diamond winner to cash her side’s club tricks for down one.
As Macura pointed out, a better line would have been to ruff the spade continuation at trick two, draw two rounds of trump ending in dummy, and ruff a third spade. Then declarer can lead a low club from hand, planning to duck the trick altogether.
If East wins the trick and has a club left, declarer is in no danger. If not, the defenders must concede a ruff and discard or lead diamonds into the tenace, unless East has the third trump. If West puts up a high club on the first round of the suit to avoid an endplay on his partner, declarer wins in dummy, and the club spots are now good enough to hold the losers to one trick.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 9 8 3 |
| ♥ |
7 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 5 2 |
| ♣ |
J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: This hand is ideal for a Michaels cue-bid, invented by Mike Michaels 50 years ago. The cue-bid of either major at one’s first turn to speak shows a two-suiter, at least 5-5 pattern, with the other major and a minor. This hand is minimum in both shape and values; indeed at unfavorable vulnerability one might simply overcall one spade rather than cue-bid two 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].
August 10th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 8 Comments
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: South |
North
♠ Q 4 2
♥ Q 10 8
♦ 7 4 2
♣ J 10 6 3 |
|
| West
♠ A 3
♥ K 4 3 2
♦ Q J 8 3
♣ Q 8 4 |
|
East
♠ 10 9 8 5
♥ 9
♦ K 10 9 6 5
♣ 9 7 2 |
| |
South
♠ K J 7 6
♥ A J 7 6 5
♦ A
♣ A K 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| 4 ♥ |
All pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: Diamond queen
“Vicissitudes of fortune, which spares neither man nor the proudest of his works, which buries empires and cities in a common grave.”
— Edward Gibbon
During the first day of the Swiss Teams last summer in New Orleans,, JoAnna Stansby found herself in a delicate heart game, but read the position nicely to bring home a big swing for her side.
JoAnna won the diamond ace and led a low trump to the queen and East’s nine, a revealing spot card, since it alerted declarer to the possibility of bad trump breaks. She next led a spade to the 10, king and ace, ruffed the diamond return, then cashed the club ace and crossed to the spade queen to ruff another diamond and extract West’s exit card.
She had now reached a position where she needed four of the last six tricks, but was down to two trumps in each hand while West had king-third of trump left. However, when she next led the spade jack from her hand, West was in a quandary. He chose to ruff (nothing else was any better, since if he discards a diamond, declarer ruffs his spade loser in dummy and plays clubs from the top). West was now on lead and endplayed in three suits. A trump or club would give up his natural trick in those suits, so he elected to play a fourth diamond, but the ruff and discard let declarer ruff in dummy and pitch her club loser.
She could cash the club king, ruff her fourth spade in dummy, and concede just one more trump trick, losing one trump and two spades in total.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
Q 4 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 8 |
| ♦ |
7 4 2 |
| ♣ |
J 10 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♦ |
2 ♣ |
Dbl. |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: If you play, as I prefer to do, that two-level overcalls promise decent hands and good suits (typically a six-carder unless the overcaller has a good five-carder with compensating extra high-cards), then this hand is a no-brainer. You must raise to three clubs to take away a round of the auction from your opponents. The raise is a quasi-pre-emptive action, not a game-try.
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].
August 9th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 9 Comments
| Vulnerable: North-South
Dealer: East |
North
♠ A K 7
♥ J 4 3
♦ K Q J 5
♣ J 4 2 |
|
| West
♠ 9 8 6 4
♥ 9 2
♦ A 3 2
♣ 10 8 5 3 |
|
East
♠ 3
♥ A K Q 7 6
♦ 9 8 7 6
♣ Q 7 6 |
| |
South
♠ Q J 10 5 2
♥ 10 8 5
♦ 10 4
♣ A K 9 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♥ |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
| 2 ♠ |
Pass |
3 ♠ |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Heart nine
“Readers, be ruled by me; and make
Here a well-placed and wise mistake.
You must transpose the picture quite,
And spell it wrong to read it right.”
— Richard Crashaw
Everyone knows that bridge is an easy game (at least on paper). In real life, it’s not so easy. Consider this deal from the second qualifying session of last summer’s Von Zedtwitz Life Master Pairs.
North had already earned his side a good score by stopping in three spades. Let’s go through the play — you can add your comments.
West led the heart nine to East’s king. East cashed the heart queen, then the ace, suggesting mild suit-preference for clubs. West pitched an encouraging diamond, so East shifted to a diamond to the ace. West returned a club, and declarer claimed. Who goofed?
West “knew” declarer had five spades, two club winners and two diamonds. How to keep declarer from scoring the diamonds? West must win the diamond and return the suit. Now declarer has no entries to diamonds outside the trump suit when spades turn out to be 4-1. A double finesse in clubs doesn’t work, so declarer is down.
Note that at trick four if East avoids the fatal club shift, but plays a trump instead, declarer can succeed by force. Declarer plays three rounds of trump, ending in dummy after getting the bad news. Next he plays the club jack, covered by the queen and ace, then pulls West’s last trump and leads a diamond. West must duck, but is endplayed on the second round of diamonds, forced to lead a diamond, or a club into declarer’s K-9.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A K 7 |
| ♥ |
J 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K Q J 5 |
| ♣ |
J 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: There is a case to be made for opening one diamond,in third seat to get your partner off to the right lead and to avoid setting yourself up for a penalty. Then again, you may miss a game if you treat your hand as a balanced minimum, and equally you let the opponents into the auction far more comfortably. I could take either side of this argument!
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].
August 8th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Vulnerable: North-South
Dealer: North |
North
♠ 9 7
♥ K Q 10 2
♦ 10 9 8 7
♣ 10 5 3 |
|
| West
♠ 5 2
♥ 9 6 5 4
♦ A K J 5 3
♣ J 2 |
|
East
♠ Q 10 3
♥ A J 8
♦ Q 6 2
♣ Q 9 7 6 |
| |
South
♠ A K J 8 6 4
♥ 7 3
♦ 4
♣ A K 8 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 4 ♠ |
All pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: Diamond king
“There is a pleasure in poetic pains
Which only poets know.”
— William Cowper
With the U.S. Nationals being played all week in Toronto, all this week’s deals come from last year’s championships in New Orleans.
Two highly capable declarers, one a former world champion, missed the extra chance that would have brought the four-spade contract home. When West led two top diamonds, both declarers simply ruffed, forced a dummy entry in hearts, then took the spade finesse. After drawing trump without loss, they played three rounds of clubs, but when East turned up with four clubs to the Q-9, they were one down.
The extra chance is to find East with the spade 10 as well as the queen. Play three rounds of clubs before touching trump. When you regain the lead, you can ruff the fourth club in dummy and take the spade finesse.
Could this play cost your contract? Well, not if clubs are 3-3, but if West has the spade 10 and either player has a doubleton consisting of two of the top three missing clubs, the defense may get a trump promotion when you would have succeeded with the more straightforward line.
The answer is to cash one top club at trick three. If the queen, jack or nine appears, revert to Plan A, leading a heart to dummy to take the spade finesse. If only low clubs appear, continue with a second and third round of clubs. And if a defender has played the club nine from a doubleton nine, good luck to him!
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A 7 2 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
J 4 2 |
| ♣ |
4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 ♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
3 NT |
| All pass |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Despite the fact that you have a sure side-entry, this hand looks wrong for a heart lead. Your partner had a chance to raise and did not do so, and your RHO’s jump to the no-trump game argues for discretion. The choice is between the spades and diamonds. The fact that the opponents have not looked to play spades persuades me to lead that suit; I’d lead the two, of course.
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].
August 7th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday July 24th, 2011
| Dear Mr Wolff:
You’ve mentioned McCabe in a recent answer as a gadget available after the opponents intervene over your partner’s weak-two bid. Can you run through this in greater detail please?
— Detail-Oriented, Honolulu, Hawaii
ANSWER: McCabe only applies after a weak-two is doubled by the next hand. Responder can pass, bid a new suit at the two-level, or raise naturally. Redouble shows a good hand, a new suit at the three-level shows tolerance for partner and is lead-directing, jumps are fit-showing with a real side-suit. To sign off in a minor, bid two no-trump to puppet three clubs from your partner. This method lets you help partner in the auction and on lead.
Dear Mr Wolff:
Is there a penalty when a player who is not the dealer reaches into the bidding box for a call, but is corrected before the bid hits the table? Her partner did not see the precise bid, but knew she was going to open.
— Jumping the Gun, Macon, Ga.
ANSWER: I take a very relaxed view here. Yes, there is some unauthorized information to the bidder’s partner, but not enough to influence the likely course of events. As an opponent I’d tell the partner to ignore what she’d seen, and just make her normal call.
Dear Mr Wolff:
I have a problem in carding as a defender on the second round of a suit partner has led. Should I signal attitude, count, or suit preference?
— Semaphore, White Plains, N.Y.
ANSWER: You never ever give attitude on the second round of a suit. Sometimes — perhaps half the time, or even more — your signal on the second round will show count, but only when that might be relevant to your partner. In the other cases in the early play there may be some suit preference signaling — a high card for the higher of the other side-suits and a low card for the lower suit.
| |
Dear Mr Wolff:
In a recent problem, you held SPADES K-8-4, HEARTS Q-5-4-2, DIAMONDS A-3-2, CLUBS 10-7-6. What are the merits of raising a one-heart opening to two, as opposed to making a limit raise to three hearts?
— Level-Headed, Kenosha, Wis.
ANSWER: Before we start, let’s agree that this hand is on the cusp of those two actions. It is indeed for that reason that Bergen raises (which differentiate between pre-emptive, mixed and limit raises) have become popular. But in the absence of such methods, I have three key-cards for partner, so will stretch to a limit bid of three hearts. Switch the location of my queen and king, and two hearts is enough, since the queen might be nearly worthless.
Dear Mr Wolff:
What qualifications should a suit satisfy for a pre-empt on opening bid as opposed to the qualifications for a pre-emptive overcall?
— Feeling Jumpy, Huntington, W.Va.
ANSWER: My position may not be entirely logical, but I tend to open pre-empts only with decent suits or with extra playing strength when vulnerable or in second seat. At favorable vulnerability I’m less disciplined than when both sides are nonvulnerable. When vulnerable, my jump overcalls might be closer to intermediate strength, but nonvulnerable I might yield to temptation and act to get in the opponents’ way with a less appetizing holding.
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
|
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related