May 12th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments 
| Vulnerable: East-West
Dealer: South |
North
♠ A Q 5 2
♥ K Q 6
♦ K 8 6 4 2
♣ 5 |
|
| West
♠ J 10 9 8 6 3
♥ A 2
♦ Q J 3
♣ K J |
 |
East
♠ 7
♥ 5 3
♦ 10 9 7 5
♣ Q 10 8 7 6 2 |
| |
South
♠ K 4
♥ J 10 9 8 7 4
♦ A
♣ A 9 4 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
4 ♣* |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5 ♦ |
Pass |
| 6 ♥ |
All pass |
|
|
*Splinter: a strong hand with short clubs and heart support
Opening Lead: Spade jack
“Once they were not, and now they are not, and this is the sum we know.
Orderly range the seasons due, and orderly roll the stars.”
— Cosmo Monkhouse
English International Gunnar Hallberg is a fertile source of interesting and unusual material. Having had a successful career as a Swedish International, he moved to England more than a decade ago and has enjoyed great success there. In fact, in the last three years he has won two senior world-team titles.
Unlike most modern-day experts, Hallberg has had his nerves hardened in the crucible of high-stake rubber bridge games. At TGR’s bridge club in London, where this hand arose, the auction was more sophisticated than you might expect, and the contract excellent.
West led the spade jack against the heart slam, and although there are various possible routes home, South had to focus on the real danger to his slam. With only a jack-high spade suit for his overcall, West rates to have a six-carder and, if allowed in with the heart ace, can give his partner a spade ruff.
At the table South won the lead with the spade king in hand, cashed the diamond ace to unblock the suit, then played the club ace and another club, ruffed in dummy.
Now came the key play of the diamond king, on which the spade four was discarded from hand. Declarer continued on crossruff lines, and the only trick that the defenders were able to take was the trump ace.
If declarer follows the knee-jerk reaction of winning the spade lead and drawing trumps at once, he runs into a spade ruff for down one.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 5 2 |
| ♥ |
K Q 6 |
| ♦ |
K 8 6 4 2 |
| ♣ |
5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♣ |
| Dbl. |
1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: It is almost impossible for your side to make game here, since your partner produced only a minimum action and did not jump. Nonetheless, you should raise to two spades to show a suitable hand for partner, helping him decide what to do if the opponents compete to the three-level.
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].
May 11th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Vulnerable: Neither
Dealer: North |
North
♠ 4 3
♥ 10 6 5
♦ 10 9 8 4 3
♣ K Q J |
|
| West
♠ 8 6
♥ 9 7 4 3
♦ K 6
♣ 10 7 6 5 4 |
|
East
♠ K Q 10 9 7 5
♥ Q J 2
♦ A 5
♣ 9 3 |
| |
South
♠ A J 2
♥ A K 8
♦ Q J 7 2
♣ A 8 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
1 ♠ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Spade eight
“‘Tis strange — but true; for truth is always strange;
Stranger than fiction.”
— George Gordon, Lord Byron
Are you a gambler at heart? If so, would you back the defense or declarer in this problem proposed by Eddie Kantar, where South plays three no-trump on a spade lead? Assume best defense, of course.
(A note on the auction: doubling, then bidding no-trump, shows a stronger hand than a direct one-no-trump overcall.) Anyway, place your bets.
If you chose the defense, you backed a winner. However, for East-West to prevail, East must not play a spade honor at trick one; the nine will do just fine. South wins the jack and attacks diamonds. As long as West wins the first diamond and continues a spade, driving out South’s ace, declarer has no chance. East remains with winning spades and the diamond ace for an entry.
If East plays a high spade at trick one, South ducks, wins the spade continuation with the jack, and attacks diamonds. Alas, West has no more spades when he gets in with the diamond king, and South has time to drive out the diamond ace while retaining a spade stopper.
There is a defensive principle here. When declarer has two stoppers in the defenders’ best suit (here, spades) and the defenders have two entries in declarer’s best suit (in this case, diamonds), the defense should try to force declarer to win the first trick in the suit if possible. Here, it is possible, but only if East resists the pressure to play third hand high.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A J 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 8 |
| ♦ |
Q J 7 2 |
| ♣ |
A 8 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♣ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner heard you show 18-20 at your second turn (that IS what this sequence shows) and opted to get you to pick a partscore — diamonds or spades. So pass two diamonds (though at pairs a call of two spades would not be outlandish). If you bid anything beyond the two-level, you are telling your partner you know what is in his hand better than he does!
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].
May 10th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: North |
North
♠ K
♥ K Q 7 2
♦ 7 5 3
♣ K Q J 10 9 |
|
| West
♠ 9 8 7 4 3 2
♥ J 6 5
♦ Q 9 2
♣ 4 |
|
East
♠ A 10
♥ A 10 9 3
♦ 8 6 4
♣ A 7 6 3 |
| |
South
♠ Q J 6 5
♥ 8 4
♦ A K J 10
♣ 8 5 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| 1 ♦ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Spade nine
“Feigned necessities, imaginary necessities … are the greatest cozenage that men can put upon the Providence of God, and make pretences to break known rules by.”
— Oliver Cromwell
Many of the rules that players learn as they start bridge have sound kernels of common sense, but a top player must think for himself and know when to break the rules.
Consider today’s no-trump game, where you (East) win the spade ace at trick one. What now? A spade continuation will surely achieve nothing. Declarer is marked with the spade queen and jack, and you cannot set up your side’s winners, let alone cash them.
Although it looks attractive to switch to a diamond around to dummy’s weakness, you cannot realistically hope to set up more than one trick for your side in that suit. Together with your three aces that will be a fourth defensive trick, but will not be enough.
Instead, you need to attack declarer’s entry to dummy’s clubs. Switch to a low heart, and as long as declarer did not start with three hearts headed by the jack ,the clubs will be dead. Even if declarer has the doubleton heart jack, you can hold up the club ace long enough to exhaust him of any entry to dummy.
As the cards lie, declarer will be forced to win a heart honor in dummy and play on clubs. You duck your ace twice (taking your club ace on the second round would be a needless risk), then win your club ace and exit with a diamond. Declarer must let your partner in sooner or later for the heart play that will set up the defenders’ fifth winner.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 6 5 |
| ♥ |
8 4 |
| ♦ |
A K J 10 |
| ♣ |
8 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♦ |
1 ♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Did you make a negative double to show your four-card spade suit? That is reasonable, but one has to know that not all four-card spade suits are created equal. Since a 4-3 spade fit might easily be your side’s best game, it feels right to bid one spade and pretend you hold a five-carder. Diamond bids can come later.
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].
May 9th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, April 25th, 2011
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: South |
North
♠ 7 6 3
♥ Q 10 9
♦ A 8 7 2
♣ K 7 2 |
|
| West
♠ Q J 10 9 2
♥ 7 6
♦ J 10 4
♣ 8 5 3 |
|
East
♠ 8 5
♥ 5 4 3
♦ K Q 9 6 3
♣ 10 9 4 |
| |
South
♠ A K 4
♥ A K J 8 2
♦ 5
♣ A Q J 6 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♦ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5 ♦ |
Pass |
| 5 ♠* |
Pass |
6 ♣** |
Pass |
| 7 ♣ |
Pass |
7 ♥ |
All pass |
*Do you have the trump queen?
**Yes, and the club king
Opening Lead: Spade queen
“All too long
Seems the unjust to prosper and be strong,
Till the dark Furies come,
And smite with stern reversal all his home.”
— Aeschylus
Today’s heart grand slam has 12 easy tricks but no obvious route to the 13th. Instead of blaming partner for his aggressive bidding (it was really more your fault than his), focus on trying to find a way to keep destiny at bay.
One possibility is to win the spade lead, draw two rounds of trump, then play your clubs, discarding a spade from dummy. If all this passed off peacefully, you could then ruff a spade in the dummy. However, this needs clubs to be 4-2, and the long clubs to be with the long trump. Your chances of success are slim indeed.
Much better is to play on a dummy reversal. This esoteric-sounding technique is hard to spot because the approach is somewhat counterintuitive, but it is easy to execute. Dummy reversal means that you draw trump with the short trump hand, having used up the long trumps earlier by taking ruffs with them. Here, with a 5-3 trump fit, you take three ruffs with the five-card suit and draw trumps with the tripleton.
Let’s see how that works in practice: Win the opening lead, play a diamond to the ace, and ruff a diamond high. Now play a heart to the nine, ruff a diamond high, play a heart to the 10, and ruff your last diamond high. Finally, lead a club to dummy, draw the last trump, discarding your small spade, and your hand is high.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 6 3 |
| ♥ |
8 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 6 |
| ♣ |
J 8 5 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
| Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
| Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
| All pass |
|
|
|
ANSWER: It feels natural to attack the unbid suit, so lead the diamond queen. This may not work, but it is surely your side’s best chance to generate tricks. My second choice would be a trump. This might be right if declarer cannot establish dummy’s clubs.
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].
May 8th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, April 24th, 2011
| Dear Mr Wolff:
A recent Aces bidding problem saw opener bid and rebid hearts while responder bid one spade, then three clubs. I guess that the three-club bid promises extras, but what if opener supports spades and responder had only four spades? And what would a bid of three diamonds by opener at his third turn mean?
— Tied Up, Bay City, Mich.
ANSWER: The three-club call is almost game-forcing — though responder may be allowed to pass opener’s three-heart bid. Note that with only four spades, responder either has a five-card minor (when he would have bid it initially) or has heart tolerance or length in diamonds, when he can go back to hearts or bid no-trump. A bid of three diamonds over three clubs by opener acts as fourth suit forcing, looking for a partial diamond guard or delayed heart support.
Dear Mr Wolff:
After three passes, my partner also passed, holding SPADES A-10-5-3-2, HEARTS K-9-3-2, DIAMONDS 4, CLUBS A-8-7. With my 11 points and three spades, we could have made a comfortable spade partscore. We got a bottom because everyone else had opened and made a partial in spades. Is it correct to use the rule of 15 in cases like this? And is Drury a valid option after a fourth-position major-suit opening?
— Bump on a Log, Janesville, Wis.
ANSWER: My view on opening here is: think of a number bigger than 100 percent, then double it. There is absolutely no choice: open first, think later. Almost everyone who plays Drury also plays it over fourth-hand opening bids. You don’t use it to regulate psyches, but to avoid the three-level facing an ordinary opening, as here.
Dear Mr Wolff:
My partner opened one heart, and I raised him to two hearts after a two-club overcall. The next hand bid three clubs, and my partner tried for game with a three-diamond bid. I held SPADES Q-6-3-2, HEARTS 9-6-4, DIAMONDS A-J-7-3, CLUBS J-7 and thought my side-suit shape and bad trumps suggested caution. Game our way was on when hearts split. Did I not do enough?
— Fading in the Stretch, Fredericksburg, Va.
ANSWER: Missing a game that needs a trump break is not a major crime. It seems to me you evaluated your hand well. However, give me as little as the trump 10 instead of the four and I might have moved on. It is your weak trumps and the wrong doubleton that turn me off.
| |
Dear Mr Wolff:
I have been playing bridge for some time using bidding boxes. However, I need more information about the “alert” and “stop” cards. When are they used? Are they legal in duplicate?
— Marking Time, Wichita Falls, Texas
ANSWER: When you make a call that constitutes a jump, put the stop card down with the bid. The idea is that the next player rates to have a problem if the auction is competitive and he has values. Because he is forced to pause, you stop him from conveying unauthorized information over your pre-empt, whether he has a 5-count or a 15-count. Any time your partner makes a conventional call, say “alert” and put the alert card on the table. The opponents can ask if interested. This applies to anything not considered standard — so no for Stayman or negative doubles but yes for your defense to a no-trump opening (Landy, e.g.).
Dear Mr Wolff:
After you passed your partner’s no-trump opening with SPADES 7-6-4-2, HEARTS 9-3, DIAMONDS K-8-7-3, CLUBS K-10-9, your LHO balanced with a two-heart bid. You recommended reopening with a takeout double, rather than selling out to the opponents at the two-level. If we do not have a spade fit, might we not turn a plus score into a minus?
— Negative Thinking, Jackson, Miss.
ANSWER: If the board belongs to us, do we get a good score by letting two hearts make or by collecting one undertrick? I think not. If we can’t make a partscore, we surely were going to make one no-trump, so we are already heading for a bad score because of the opponents’ bidding instead of passing. The only time doubling works badly is if partner turns a plus into a minus by bidding, while defending two hearts was going to be good for us.
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
May 7th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 7 Comments
| Vulnerable: East- West
Dealer: South |
North
♠ 7 4
♥ K J 10 3 2
♦ A K 5 2
♣ A 6 |
|
| West
♠ —
♥ 8 6 5 4
♦ 10 8 4 3
♣ K J 10 4 3 |
|
East
♠ A K J 10 3
♥ 9 7
♦ 9 6
♣ Q 8 5 2 |
| |
South
♠ Q 9 8 6 5 2
♥ A Q
♦ Q J 7
♣ 9 7 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Club jack
“Grown-ups never understand anything for themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.”
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery
At last year’s Gold Coast Tournament the field reached four spades in today’s deal, generally on an attacking club lead. Declarer wins and immediately plays three rounds of hearts. What should East do?
At one table East pitched a diamond; Steven Burgess threw his club and advanced dummy’s spade four. When East played low, so did declarer! Contract made, but the defenders could have prevailed by playing either a high or medium trump.
At another table the winning defense of ruffing with the spade jack was found. Declarer could overruff and go to dummy with a diamond to play a top heart. But East could pitch his diamond and retain control. The position transposes into the same variations as at Burgess’ table.
What if East had ruffed trick three low? Declarer overruffs, crosses to a top diamond, and leads a master heart. If East ruffs with the 10, declarer overruffs and crosses to a diamond to lead the fifth heart and pitch his club. If East ruffs high, declarer pitches a club, losing just three trumps total. Best is for East to pitch a diamond on the heart. Declarer throws his club away and leads a trump from dummy, which East wins to return a club. Declarer must ruff with the eight or nine, then lead a diamond.
Now when East ruffs and returns a club, declarer ruffs low in hand and overruffs in dummy. The lead of the master heart lets South discard his last diamond for a trump coup at trick 12.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
7 4 |
| ♥ |
K J 10 3 2 |
| ♦ |
A K 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♣ |
| 1 ♥ |
1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Although West may hold diamonds, he might equally well have club support, and your side might be able to compete in either red suit. As basketball coach Jimmy Valvano said, “Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!” Compete with two diamonds and keep the auction going. You’ll be surprised at how many good things can happen.
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].
May 6th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Vulnerable: Neither
Dealer: South |
North
♠ 9 5 3 2
♥ K 6 5 4
♦ A K 9 7 6
♣ — |
|
| West
♠ Q J 10
♥ 8 2
♦ Q 10 5
♣ A Q J 4 2 |
|
East
♠ 6
♥ Q J 9 7
♦ J 8 4 3
♣ K 9 7 5 |
| |
South
♠ A K 8 7 4
♥ A 10 3
♦ 2
♣ 10 8 6 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♣ |
Pass |
| 4 ♥ |
Pass |
6 ♠ |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Spade queen
“That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one.”
— Samuel Johnson
Today’s Gold Coast deal saw both North and South doing a great deal of bidding. In response to the splinter-jump to four clubs, South felt that his controls required him to make one slam-try below game, while North decided that his fourth trump and void must give 12 tricks some play. Thus an exceedingly delicate spade slam was reached. What is the best plan after a trump lead?
Best is to win the trump lead and crossruff, planning to ruff three clubs in dummy while cashing the diamond ace, then ruffing two diamonds in hand. After setting up the diamonds, declarer reaches a six-card ending with the lead in dummy.
Correct technique at this point (particularly because you believe from the opening lead that trumps rate to be 3-1) is to leave two trumps outstanding and to cash the diamond king, pitching your last club loser.
After West ruffs in, South can regain the lead whatever he does, draws the last trump, then crosses to dummy with the heart king to pitch his losing heart on dummy’s fifth diamond.
Declarer will go down only if West started with precisely 2-4-4-3 shape; in that case East would ruff the fourth diamond and lead a club for the trump promotion. This line survives against all other 4-3 diamond breaks, whether or not trumps break.
After the slam made, it was either humorous or disconcerting for South to discover that his teammates had conceded 12 tricks as well — but they were defending three spades.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
6 |
| ♥ |
Q J 9 7 |
| ♦ |
J 8 4 3 |
| ♣ |
K 9 7 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♦ |
1 ♠ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: It may look tempting to raise to three clubs now, but that should be a real game-try, not a pre-emptive attempt to keep the opponents out. If West competes to two spades, you can always reraise clubs later. But the opponents’ silence suggests partner may well have four spades. So I’d pass and await developments.
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].
May 5th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, April 21st, 2011
| Vulnerable: Neither
Dealer: West |
North
♠ A J 8 6 4
♥ A Q J
♦ 7 5
♣ K Q 2 |
|
| West
♠ 7 2
♥ 10 3 2
♦ Q 10 6
♣ J 10 6 5 3 |
|
East
♠ K Q 9 5 3
♥ K 9 7 6 4
♦ 8 4 2
♣ — |
| |
South
♠ 10
♥ 8 5
♦ A K J 9 3
♣ A 9 8 7 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3 ♣ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| 4 ♣ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
Dbl. |
| Pass |
Pass |
5 ♣ |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Heart two
“All men are equal — all men, that is to say, who possess umbrellas.”
— E.M. Forster
At the Gold Coast Tournament in Australia last year, the quarterfinal teams match between a Polish squad and the Australian Juniors squad led by Barry Goren of the United States was dead level with one deal to go.
At one table the Poles played in four no-trump, while the Goren team played in five clubs. You would not fancy the Goren team’s equity here, would you? If the no-trump game made, the Polish team would gain at least an IMP and win the match. In four no-trump the Polish declarer (North) won the heart lead and tested clubs. Then he followed the perfectly sensible but disastrous line of taking two diamond finesses against the 10 and queen. Since West had shifted to spades rather than continuing hearts at trick three, the defenders beat the game by only one trick.
Thus the fate of five clubs would determine the need for overtime. Andy Hung finessed the heart at trick one, won the heart return, and played three rounds of diamonds at once, ruffing low when the queen appeared.
Now came the top trump from dummy, but it was plain sailing from here on. Two rounds of hearts stood up, then came the spade ace and a spade ruff, followed by the fourth diamond ruffed by West and overruffed by dummy. In the three-card ending, declarer led a plain card from dummy and ruffed it low. West could overruff, but then had to lead into the trump tenace at trick 12 to concede the contract.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 9 5 3 |
| ♥ |
K 9 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
8 4 2 |
| ♣ |
— |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
3 ♣ |
Pass |
| Pass |
Dbl. |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: When the opponents double you for penalties at a low level, unless you know they’ve done the wrong thing, you tend to assume they have a trump stack. Here, when East passes West’s takeout double, you KNOW you’re in trouble. Redouble for rescue. You have a fair chance to find an eight-card fit — maybe one not splitting so badly.
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].
May 4th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
| Vulnerable: Neither
Dealer: South |
North
♠ Q 10 9 4 2
♥ 10 7
♦ Q 10 4
♣ Q 10 8 |
|
| West
♠ 8 6
♥ 8 6 5 2
♦ A K 9 6 3
♣ J 6 |
|
East
♠ K J 7 3
♥ J 3
♦ 8 7 5
♣ A 9 7 2 |
| |
South
♠ A 5
♥ A K Q 9 4
♦ J 2
♣ K 5 4 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
| 2 ♠ |
All pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: Diamond king
“The extremists’ oversimplifications and their baseless generalizations reflect the softness of those who cannot bear to face the burdens of a continuing struggle against a powerful and resourceful enemy.”
— William Fulbright
Today’s deal from the Gold Coast Congress — set in sunny Brisbane, Australia — features a delicate point or two on defense.
Whatever you think of South’s strong no-trump opening (and my opinion would not be suitable for tender ears), it got North-South to a reasonable two-spade contract.
When West led a top diamond, how should East signal? At the table East encouraged the lead to prevent an unwelcome shift. Continuing diamonds would not do anything for declarer that he could not do himself. Accordingly, the defenders played three rounds of diamonds, declarer pitching a club. Then South led ace and a second spade to the 10 and jack, and East had his second problem.
The obvious answer is that if partner has a high club or heart, the contract is going down; if not, there seems little hope for the defense. But if East is going to shift to a heart, he should play the low one, not the jack. This was what happened at the table where Pablo Lambardi and Barry Rigal were defending. Not being blessed with second sight, declarer quite reasonably tried to cash three top hearts to pitch a club loser from dummy; this would be safe as long as East had three or four hearts. Alas for declarer, East could score his trump seven for down one.
Note that if West could have shifted to the heart jack, declarer could have used the heart 10 as an extra entry to assist in the process of drawing trump.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A 5 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 9 4 |
| ♦ |
J 2 |
| ♣ |
K 5 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Although you have an attractive hand, you do not have enough to force to game, so a jump to three clubs would be a wild overbid. Best is either to bid two clubs and convert a minimum response to two no-trump, or simply to raise to two no-trump directly. With such weak clubs, I prefer the no-trump call. On a hand with the same shape, but the spade ace in the clubs, I’d certainly go the other way.
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].
May 3rd, 2011 ~ admin ~ 17 Comments
| Vulnerable: East-West
Dealer: North |
North
♠ A 10 9 4 3
♥ A K 10 6
♦ 10 8
♣ 10 2 |
|
| West
♠ K 8 7 2
♥ 5
♦ A Q 2
♣ A Q 9 7 4 |
|
East
♠ Q 5
♥ 3 2
♦ 9 7 6 4 3
♣ J 6 5 3 |
| |
South
♠ J 6
♥ Q J 9 8 7 4
♦ K J 5
♣ K 8 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Club ace
“For her own breakfast she’ll project a scheme,
Nor take her tea without a stratagem.”
— Edward Young
In today’s deal from last year’s Gold Coast Tournament in Queensland, Steve Hamaoui declared four hearts. West kicked off with the club ace, then continued the suit.
Declarer inferred that West’s decision to lead a club marked the diamond ace offside, and the spade honors were surely split. It seemed likely that West had been reluctant to lead a spade from three or four to an honor. If East had the spade king, there was no way to keep him off lead, but just in case he had the spade queen, declarer crossed to a top heart at trick three and led a low spade from dummy to his jack! Can we all honestly put our hands on our hearts and say we would have risen with the queen?
Once West won the spade king, the hand was over. In fact, West had to cash the diamond ace to prevent Hamaoui from making overtricks on a deal where almost everyone else in four hearts went down at least a trick.
By contrast, at the table where the winners of the Senior event were defending, West led a low spade. Declarer went up with the ace, drew trumps ending in dummy, and ran the diamond 10, hoping for a miracle. It was not to be; West won and led a low spade to his partner’s queen for the club shift. That set up five defensive winners and gave East-West a great result.
BID WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
J 6 |
| ♥ |
Q J 9 8 7 4 |
| ♦ |
K J 5 |
| ♣ |
K 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
1 ♣ |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Many players would add up their 11 points and make a simple overcall in hearts. A better way to look at this hand is that facing a passed partner, you have a six-card suit and a hand with very few controls. This argues for pre-emption, not a simple overcall, so bid two hearts. The action makes it far harder for your opponents to bid accurately, while not putting your side at significant risk.
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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