April 4th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 5 Comments 
| Vulnerable: Both
Dealer: South |
North
♠ 6 5
♥ A K 4
♦ 10 9 3
♣ A 10 5 4 3 |
|
| West
♠ Q 10 8 3 2
♥ 7 5 3 2
♦ K 7 6
♣ 8 |
 |
East
♠ K 9 7
♥ 10 8 6
♦ J 5 4
♣ Q J 9 7 |
| |
South
♠ A J 4
♥ Q J 9
♦ A Q 8 2
♣ K 6 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All pass |
Opening Lead: Spade three
“The lucky moment to improve,
And just to stop, and just to move
With self-respecting art.”
— Robert Burns
South opens a strong no-trump, and North has essentially a balanced hand and no interest in a slam, no matter what his partner has. North shouldn’t worry about the small doubleton spade, but simply bid three no-trump and hope his partner can make it. Against three no-trump, West leads the spade three and East plays the king. Plan the play.
There are two sensible options: the first of them is to duck the spade king as well as the next spade. Then you win the third spade and lead the club king and a second club. If you can set up the clubs for four tricks without letting West on lead, you will make your game. And you may also survive if clubs are 4-1 and East has both diamond honors, with the spades originally 5-3. I rate this line at something less than 60 percent. Not bad — but can you do better?
Yes, you can. There is a far surer route to nine tricks. The best approach is to win the spade ace at the first trick, cross to dummy with a heart, and run the diamond 10.
If West wins the diamond with the jack and does not play back a spade, you will be able to repeat the diamond finesse in comfort. If West clears the spades, you will get to test the clubs before repeating the diamond finesse. This line succeeds at least three times out of four.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 4 |
| ♥ |
10 6 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 3 |
| ♣ |
K 9 6 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
| Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
| All pass |
|
|
|
ANSWER: In auctions of this sort, if the choice is between going active with a diamond lead and passive with a trump lead, I tend to favor the active lead. Incidentally, the heart lead is not as passive as you might think; a lead from three small hearts would be far less likely to cost a trump trick.
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].
April 3rd, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, March 20th, 2011
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
How light would you allow a third-in-hand opener of a minor to be, as opposed to opening in a major, assuming you are not at unfavorable vulnerability?
— Hyperactive, Grand Junction, Colo.
ANSWER: Because openings in the minors tend not to be pre-emptive, I prefer to keep my openings either up to strength (maybe a 10-count is acceptable in the right circumstances) or based on good suits. I really don’t see the point of opening a three-card minor with fewer than 12 points. Openings in the majors may, however, be more obstructive.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I doubled an opening bid of one club, holding SPADES J-9-7-4, HEARTS A-Q-7-2, DIAMONDS K-Q-10-3, CLUBS 10 and heard a redouble on my left. My partner now bid one heart and my RHO bid two clubs. Should I have bid two hearts now? I was put off by the redouble, and despite my good shape I felt it was too dangerous to bid again with a minimum. What do you think?
— Yellow Bird, Eau Claire, Wis.
ANSWER: This is a tough one, but just because my LHO has a decent hand doesn’t mean that he is getting ready to sharpen his axe on a two-heart contract — or that things will go so badly if he does. I agree that bidding two hearts here is aggressive, but much depends on whether your partner will compete properly if you pass. If you trust him, you should be more cautious.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner and I had the following problem. I held SPADES A-J-9-3, HEARTS Q-2, DIAMONDS 3-2, CLUBS A-K-10-4-2 and responded two clubs to my partner’s one-heart bid. After he jumped to three hearts, I bid three spades, then converted three no-trump to four hearts. He passed and we missed a slam. (He had A-K-sixth of hearts and A-K-third of diamonds. How should we have bid the hand?
— Missed It, Portland, Ore.
ANSWER: First, playing two-over-one, your partner was wrong to bid three hearts; in a game-forcing auction this shows semisolid hearts (solid, or solid missing the ace or king). With his actual hand a two-heart call would be right. The jump also shows a slightly better hand than a minimum (change the diamond king to the heart queen perhaps). Given the actual auction, I would bid three spades with your hand, but then bid five hearts next, inviting slam and focusing on diamonds, the suit that has not been bid or cuebid. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My LHO opened two diamonds, which my partner doubled. My RHO raised to three diamonds, and I bid three spades holding SPADES K-Q-J-6-4, HEARTS 7-3, DIAMONDS 3, CLUBS 10-9-8-6-4. My partner bid three no-trump now, and I bid four spades. Do you agree? It did not work well because my partner went to six no-trump, believing my bid was a slam try. He said I should not have overruled his three no-trump bid. I felt my bid was justified by my shape and spade strength.
— Overboard, Hartford, Conn.
ANSWER: Your partner failed to appreciate that the three-spade call was nonforcing, so four spades could not possibly be a slam-try. Your bidding was just fine. (Spades could have played far better than no-trump, facing a doubleton or even three small spades, for example.)
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When should I respond to one club with a major, as opposed to responding one diamond, assuming I have equal or longer diamonds?
— Searching, Spokane, Wash.
ANSWER: The idea of responding in a major as opposed to diamonds with limited values is that you will never lose your major fits this way; diamonds are less important to find. Remember, a one-diamond response to one club says either “I have no major” or “I’m about to bid a major, with a good hand.” This way opener never needs to show a major at his second turn unless his hand is unbalanced. Thus opener declares one no-trump without disclosing his majors, and when he does bid a major, his partner knows he has real clubs too. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
April 2nd, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Both |
North
♠ K 6 5 3
♥ A K J 7 2
♦ K
♣ A 6 4 |
|
| West
♠ J 10 8
♥ —
♦ 9 7 2
♣ K Q 10 8 7 5 3 |
|
East
♠ 7
♥ Q 10 9 3
♦ Q 10 8 6 4 3
♣ J 2 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 9 4 2
♥ 8 6 5 4
♦ A J 5
♣ 9 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
3 ♣ |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| 4 ♥ |
Pass |
6 ♠ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♣ King
“Like all weak men he laid an exaggerated stress on not changing one’s mind.”
— Somerset Maugham
Today’s deal was a missed opportunity for both declarers from the Vanderbilt Trophy in Reno last spring. In one room the bidding ended in a hopeless seven heart contract. In the other room the bidding was much better, reaching a playable six spades.
Against this slam West led a low diamond to dummy’s king. Declarer made the mistake of playing a heart toward the ace early on, and West ruffed in, leaving declarer with a heart loser at the end.
Instead, declarer should simply draw all the trumps as East pitches two diamonds. In case hearts are 4-0, declarer must ruff a diamond, cash the club ace, ruff a club, then play a heart to dummy’s ace, noting West’s discard. It is time for him to change plans and search for an endplay.
Declarer has reduced to a five-card ending in which dummy has four hearts and a losing club left, while declarer has a trump, the diamond ace and three hearts.
On the lead of the club six from dummy, East is caught in a nonmaterial squeeze. Which four cards can he keep?
If he pitches a heart, holding two diamonds and two hearts, declarer easily sets up the heart suit by ducking a trick. If East instead pitches a diamond and comes down to one diamond and three hearts, declarer ruffs the club, cashes the diamond ace, and ducks a heart to East for the endplay. East can win this trick but must lead into dummy’s heart K-J at trick 12.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 9 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
J 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You should play the same methods after this two-no-trump rebid as you would do over a two-no-trump opening bid — in other words, Stayman and transfers. Here, you want to check for a heart fit with a bid of three clubs, and head for three no-trump if you don’t get lucky.
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].
April 1st, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Both |
North
♠ A Q 10 8 5
♥ 9 5
♦ K 10 6
♣ 6 5 3 |
|
| West
♠ J 7 6 4 2
♥ 3 2
♦ J 9 7
♣ 10 8 4 |
|
East
♠ K 9 3
♥ K 7
♦ A Q 4 2
♣ A J 7 2 |
| |
South
♠ —
♥ A Q J 10 8 6 4
♦ 8 5 3
♣ K Q 9 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 NT |
| 3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♠ four
“It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important.”
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
In this deal from the 2009 Lebhar IMP Pairs at the Reno spring nationals, Marty Hirschman’s partner, Frank Kasle, led a low spade against four hearts. Declarer put in dummy’s 10, forcing the king. Declarer ruffed and innocently put the heart queen on the table. If Hirschman had fallen for the bait and taken the trick, declarer could have made the contract. He’d win the trump return in dummy, pitch diamonds on dummy’s top spades, cross to a club, and run the trumps. In the three-card ending, dummy keeps the diamond K-10 and a club, declarer has the club Q-9 and the diamond eight, and East must come down to a singleton in one minor or the other, whereupon he will be endplayed in that suit.
Hirschman, however, ducked the heart queen! Declarer now had no trump losers, but the spades were dead and nine tricks were the limit.
At another table David Grainger declared four hearts from the North seat, and East elected to lead a low trump. Grainger won dummy’s heart nine at trick one, then went for his best legitimate choice of finding the doubleton heart king with East. He cashed the spade ace, pitching a diamond, led a club to the queen, ran the hearts, and squeezed East.
If East pitched from either minor, he would be endplayed with that ace and forced to concede a trick in the other minor. A spade discard would allow declarer to endplay him in either minor. Whatever East did, declarer had 10 tricks.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 10 8 5 |
| ♥ |
9 5 |
| ♦ |
K 10 6 |
| ♣ |
6 5 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♦ |
| 1 ♠ |
1 NT |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: When your partner doubles one no-trump, it is for penalties, suggesting that your side has the balance of high cards and perhaps that he has a good holding in declarer’s first-bid suit. You may not be proud of your hand, but on a spade lead you have no reason to assume that declarer will make his contract, so pass as instructed.
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].
March 31st, 2011 ~ admin ~ 5 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: Both |
North
♠ 10 9 7 2
♥ K Q 6 5
♦ 10 7
♣ 6 5 3 |
|
| West
♠ K J 4
♥ J 4 2
♦ 9 8 3 2
♣ Q J 7 |
|
East
♠ 8 6 3
♥ 10 9 8 3
♦ 6 5
♣ 10 9 4 2 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 5
♥ A 7
♦ A K Q J 4
♣ A K 8 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦ nine
“I hear a knocking at the south entry.”
— William Shakespeare
This week’s deals all come from last year’s spring nationals at Reno, marking the current event taking place right now in Louisville.
On this deal from the first qualifying session of the North American Pairs-A, Allan Popkin of St. Louis earned a near-top. Popkin, playing with his wife, Nancy, stayed out of what appeared to be a very playable slam. However, with the spade honors offside, 11 tricks seem to be the limit on normal play.
Against four no-trump, West led the diamond nine, taken in dummy with the 10. Popkin played a spade to the queen and West’s king. He won the diamond continuation in hand and played three more rounds of the suit, pitching a spade and two clubs from dummy. East discarded two spades and a club; West, a heart.
This persuaded declarer not to repeat the spade finesse. Instead, Popkin cashed the spade ace, and now, to guard hearts, East had to unguard clubs. But next came three rounds of hearts, which squeezed West in the black suits in the three-card ending. The perfect nonsimultaneous double squeeze for 12 tricks earned the Popkins 23.5 out of 25 matchpoints.
Very nicely played – but was there anything the defenders could have done? Yes, indeed. When West won the first spade, he should have shifted to a top club. This disrupts the timing, since now dummy has to abandon one of the menaces in the majors, or to discard the club that is the entry to the South hand.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 4 |
| ♥ |
J 4 2 |
| ♦ |
9 8 3 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| 3 ♣ |
Pass |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner is biding out his shape and suggesting a singleton heart in a 4-1-3-5 pattern. You cannot bid no-trump now but actually appear to have some useful holdings in the black suits, so should not sign off in four clubs. Having already denied four spades, you should bid three spades now, to help partner work out where your honors are.
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].
March 30th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 5 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ A 10
♥ A J 7 3
♦ K J 10 3
♣ 10 9 8 |
|
| West
♠ J 9 7 5
♥ 6 4 2
♦ 9 5 4
♣ 6 5 2 |
|
East
♠ Q 8 6 3
♥ Q 10 8 5
♦ 8 6
♣ A K 3 |
| |
South
♠ K 4 2
♥ K 9
♦ A Q 7 2
♣ Q J 7 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♠ five
“Don’t let us make imaginary evils, when you know we have so many real ones to encounter.”
— Oliver Goldsmith
When this deal was originally published in the Daily Bulletin from the Spring National Tournament in Reno last year, the author asked every East-West pair who had commented after defending three no-trump, “Well, it’s cold!” to take a second look, and then apologize to Brigidda, the Goddess of Bridge.
In three no-trump South ducked the first spade, won East’s continuation of the spade three, and guessed well to knock out the club honors and claim 400. All declarer lost was the two clubs, the spade queen, and the fourth spade. So what’s the point of the hand? Declarer guessed correctly to play on clubs and not hearts — big deal.
All that is true, but East was asleep at the wheel. By counting the high-card points, he knows partner has precisely jack-fourth of spades, but he also knows that declarer can’t see through the backs of the cards. East should return the spade eight at the second trick, simulating a remaining doubleton, then hop up with the club ace at his first turn and play the spade six back.
Surely declarer’s best line now must be to take an immediate heart finesse before tackling clubs again, a line that would lead to immediate defeat if West had five spades and the club king. If the heart finesse loses and spades are 5-3 as expected, then declarer can revert to clubs and still succeed if East has the missing club honor. Unlucky! The losing heart finesse represents the defenders’ fifth winner.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 10 |
| ♥ |
A J 7 3 |
| ♦ |
K J 10 3 |
| ♣ |
10 9 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: In theory you could pass, bid either red suit, or double and hope your partner does not respond in spades. All of these are at least partly flawed, as indeed is the answer I’d advocate here, which is to bid one no-trump. The club stop is less than robust, but you are defining a hand in the 11-15 range with this action so at least you limit your hand nicely.
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].
March 29th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ K 4
♥ K Q 10 4
♦ A K 9 5 3
♣ 10 2 |
|
| West
♠ A 8 7 3
♥ 8
♦ Q 6 4
♣ A K 9 8 6 |
|
East
♠ 5 2
♥ 9 6 5 2
♦ J 10 8
♣ Q 7 4 3 |
| |
South
♠ Q J 10 9 6
♥ A J 7 3
♦ 7 2
♣ J 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣</span |
1 ♦ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♣ King
“Gallantry to the ladies was among his principles of honor; and he held it as much incumbent on him to accept a challenge to love, as if it had been a challenge to fight.”
— Henry Fielding
From the first round of last year’s Vanderbilt Knockout Teams in Reno, where all this week’s deals come from, we see a fine play by Canada’s George Mittelman.
At one table, where South played in four hearts, West cashed two high clubs and shifted passively to a trump. It was easy enough to draw two rounds of trumps with dummy’s king and queen, find the bad news, then knock out the spade ace. West could duck the first spade, win the second, and play a third round. But South simply ruffed high in dummy and claimed by drawing trumps.
At the other table, North became declarer in four hearts, also on a club lead. Mittelman, West, won the top two clubs and played a third round, knowing from the auction that if his partner had four clubs, then he had no other high cards of any significance.
Declarer ruffed in dummy and immediately played to the spade king, then led a spade to the queen and ace. Mittelman played back a third spade, ruffed high by declarer.
To succeed in his contract from here on, declarer had to cash just the heart queen, then play for trumps 4-1 by taking the diamond ace and king and ruffing a diamond. Then he could ruff a spade with the heart 10 and achieve a trump coup at trick 12. When declarer actually cashed both his top hearts at once, he could not avoid shortening himself and losing trump control — down one.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 10 9 6 |
| ♥ |
A J 7 3 |
| ♦ |
7 2 |
| ♣ |
J 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣</span |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You do not have quite enough to drive to game here, but a simple scheme will be to find your side’s best fit and invite game. The way to do that is to cuebid two clubs, asking your partner to bid a four-card major. When he does so, you will raise to the three-level and let him out short of game if he has doubled with a real dog. An alternative is to jump to two spades, which limits the hand at once.
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].
March 28th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ J 10 4 2
♥ Q 5
♦ A K 10
♣ Q J 10 2 |
|
| West
♠ A K
♥ J 10 9 7 3 2
♦ J 6 2
♣ 5 3 |
|
East
♠ 5
♥ A 8 6 4
♦ 9 8 7 3
♣ A 8 7 6 |
| |
South
♠ Q 9 8 7 6 3
♥ K
♦ Q 5 4
♣ K 9 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| Pass |
Pass |
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| 4 ♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ Jack
“This could but have happened once —
And we missed it, lost it forever.”
— Robert Browning
All this week’s deals come from last year’s spring national tournament in Reno, marking this year’s event currently taking place in Louisville, Kentucky.
Take a look at all four hands of this deal from the first qualifying session of the Lebhar IMP Pairs. As you can see, North and South have four “top” losers in four spades — and yet the most common result achieved by North-South was plus-620 in four spades. Of course, at some tables, East-West went overboard in hearts, but at many more tables, the defenders could not work out how to untangle their winners against four spades, and the real problem took place at trick one.
Take a look at East’s problem at trick one. Everybody knows “third hand plays high,” so why did so many Easts duck their heart ace and allow South’s king to score?
The answer is that East was worried that declarer might have three hearts to the king, and playing the ace would give South a free discard. That is true, up to a point, but take a second look at that North hand.
If there are any club losers, they are fast ones — either the ace and king are missing or they aren’t. And East has no diamond honors. What trick could possibly go away on that “bonus” discard? The right defense is for East to cash both aces and play a second club. Mrs. Guggenheim wouldn’t have gotten it wrong!
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 9 7 |
| ♥ |
Q 3 |
| ♦ |
8 6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A J 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♥ |
1 NT |
| Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
|
ANSWER: Your double of the one-no-trump overcall was for penalties and simply suggested your side had the balance of high cards. Although it may cost your side a trick to lead the heart queen, this is your side’s most likely source of tricks. While a deceptive low heart could work out very well, it might also confuse your partner unnecessarily.
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].
March 27th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, March 13th, 2011
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
What should I do if I think that one of my opponents has taken advantage of his partner’s slow double? When should I say something?
— Kindergarten Cop, Olympia, Wash.
ANSWER: It is very important to call the director and, as politely as you can, explain the situation. The director will listen to both sides and, if all agree about the hesitation, will generally ask you to call him back if you think you’ve been damaged. You can then wait till the end of the deal to reassess the position and decide on what action to take.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What would you bid with SPADES J-9-6-4-3, HEARTS A-2, DIAMONDS K-10-3-2, CLUBS Q-7 when your partner opens one club and your RHO makes a one-spade overcall? Would you play for penalties, or would you bid no-trump yourself?
— Attack or Defend?, Elmira, N.Y.
ANSWER: This is a tough call. My inclination is to play for penalties, so I would pass smoothly and await a reopening double from my partner, when I can pass it out. Using negative doubles, my partner will know to reopen with shortage, catering for this sort of position.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When my partner opened one heart, I responded two clubs on a hand with opening values, five clubs and four diamonds. My partner raised me to three. I now wanted to get to no-trump, but had only two spades to the queen. Should I bid three spades or just gamble on no-trump?
— Shooting Craps, Houston, Texas
|
|
ANSWER: First of all, when two suits have been bid as here, you bid where you live, so a call of three diamonds might get you to no-trump when it is right. Your partner could now repeat his hearts if he wants to be raised on a doubleton, or he could bid three spades as a probe for no-trump, allowing you to bid three no-trump with your actual holding.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What do you think my partner should have done with SPADES 10-6, HEARTS K-J-7-3-2, DIAMONDS Q-10-9-7-2, CLUBS 6 when I opened one spade and rebid two diamonds over his one-no-trump response? He passed, claiming I would not make game because I had not jumped to three diamonds at my second turn. He was wrong: I made slam!
— Level Best, Saint John’s, Newfoundland
ANSWER: A jump to three diamonds by you would have been a game force – rarely made except with 18-plus in high cards or real freak distribution. But your partner does not have to guess. He should raise to three diamonds and allow you to tell him what you have. My guess is that you will know better than he!
Dear Mr. Wolff:
You recently published an auction where one player responded five diamonds to a four no-trump inquiry. This means, to my knowledge, that he has one ace, whereas he actually had two aces. Please explain this bidding.
— Puzzled, Panamas City, Fla.
ANSWER: You are absolutely right; a footnote was missing. The partnership was playing a variation of Keycard Blackwood (where the trump king counts as one of the five aces). Here the variation they played meant South had shown zero or three key cards, and South had in fact three key cards. Apologies! |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
March 26th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, March 12th, 2011
| Dealer: East
Vul: Both |
North
♠ K 9 6 2
♥ 9 6 2
♦ K 10
♣ 10 8 6 2 |
|
| West
♠ Q 10 8 7 4
♥ A 8
♦ 9 7 6 3
♣ Q 7 |
|
East
♠ J 5
♥ Q 3
♦ A 8 4
♣ A K J 9 5 4 |
| |
South
♠ A 3
♥ K J 10 7 5 4
♦ Q J 5 2
♣ 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♣ |
| 1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
2 ♥ |
3 ♣ |
| 4 ♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣ Queen
“The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a wilderness.”
— Havelock Ellis
Sometimes one has to consider a single suit in the context of the bidding and play thus far. One auction by your opponents may push you one way; another auction may drive you in a different direction.
You reach four hearts after East has bid strongly in clubs, and ruff the second club, West showing a doubleton. Now a spade goes to West’s queen and dummy’s king, and now a trump to the …?
If East had the doubleton heart ace, he would surely have risen with it and played a third club for the trump promotion. If your opponents are competent enough to find this play but did not do so, it was presumably because West does not have the heart queen. So play a trump to the jack — this also caters for most of the 3-1 breaks too.
Conversely, say you reach four hearts with the same North-South cards but after West opened the bidding and showed both minors. West leads a top club (East playing a discouraging card) and shifts to a diamond; you call for dummy’s king and East plays the eight — presumably top of a doubleton.
How should you play trumps? The point now is that you need East to have one of the top hearts if you are to have any chance. If he has the queen, then West will take the first trump and give his partner an overruff in diamonds. So your only chance to make the hand — unlikely as it may be — is to lead a trump back to your king.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 9 6 2 |
| ♥ |
9 6 2 |
| ♦ |
K 10 |
| ♣ |
10 8 6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣ |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Although you have a minimum hand, your spades are decent. However, you have weak hearts and perhaps a wasted diamond king. It is a tough call whether to sign off in three hearts or advance with three spades. I prefer the latter if only because spades might play so much better than hearts on the right day.
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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