March 15th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, March 1st, 2011 
| Dealer: South
Vul: E-W |
North
♠ 9 7 3 2
♥10 6 5
♦ A 7 6 3 2
♣ A |
|
| West
♠ 10 8 6 5
♥ J 9 8 3
♦ Q J 10
♣ 7 6 |
 |
East
♠ Q 4
♥ 7 2
♦ K 9 8 5 4
♣ 9 8 5 4 |
| |
South
♠ A K J
♥ A K Q 4
♦ —
♣ K Q J 10 3 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 NT* |
Pass |
| 7 ♣ |
All Pass |
|
|
* Four controls, counting two for an ace and one for a king
Opening Lead: ♦ Queen
“If you want to get ahead, get a hat.”
— British Hat Council
Here is a famous deal, recorded by Eddie Kantar as played by the much-loved Harry Fishbein. Harry was as well-known for the many different-colored berets he sported at tournaments as for his expert play. See if you can match his play on this one. Be sure to cover up the East-West hands.
No bidding is given, but one plausible sequence to the grand slam comes when North shows his controls over the two-club opening bid. Anyway, Harry wound up in seven clubs, and the opening lead was the diamond queen. How would you play?
The problem was that Fishbein didn’t know what to discard on the diamond ace. If hearts were 3-3 or the jack was doubleton, he should discard a spade. However, if the spade queen was singleton or doubleton, he should discard a heart.
Harry solved the problem by ruffing the opening lead and playing the heart ace, looking for the jack. No luck. His next play was the spade ace looking for the queen. Still no luck. Next the heart king. Still no jack. Now the spade king. Success! Finally an honor appeared. Knowing his spade jack was a winner, Fishbein crossed to the club ace and discarded a heart on the diamond ace, ruffed a diamond back to his hand, drew trumps, and made the grand.
Had the spade queen not appeared, Fishbein would have crossed to the club ace and discarded the spade jack on the diamond ace, hoping hearts were 3-3.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 7 3 2 |
| ♥ |
10 6 5 |
| ♦ |
A 7 6 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: The world divides into two camps here — each will defend its choice to the death. Those in group one will bid their long suit, expecting opener to introduce a four-card major next, even when balanced. Those in group two will respond in the major with a weak hand, so opener will rebid one no-trump concealing a major, unless he is unbalanced, with real clubs. Both views make sense. Just be sure you know what your partner likes to do!
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 14th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, February 28th, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ 7
♥ A 10
♦ A K 10 5 4
♣ Q 8 5 4 3 |
|
| West
♠ K 3
♥ K J 8 5
♦ 7 6 2
♣ A K 9 6 |
|
East
♠ 9 8 6 4
♥ Q 6 4 2
♦ 9 3
♣ 10 7 2 |
| |
South
♠ A Q J 10 5 2
♥ 9 7 3
♦ Q J 8
♣ J |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 ♠ |
Pass |
3 ♣ |
Pass |
| 3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
Pass |
| 4 ♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣ King
“To clothe the fiery thought
In simple words succeeds,
For still the craft of genius is
To mask a king in weeds.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
One aspect of bridge that new players and even relatively experienced duplicate players find very hard is to judge when to win tricks and when to duck them. After a few experiences of ducking aces and finding them ruffed away, a defender will hasten to take his tricks before the rats get at them, and his partner will then tell him, “Aces were made to take kings!”
Having been given this hint, play four spades on a top-club lead and heart shift. At the table, declarer took the heart ace and played another heart. Alive to the idea that declarer might be trying to ruff a heart in dummy, East made a nice play. He hopped up with the heart queen and led a trump, and when declarer finessed, West took his spade king and heart winner for down one.
If you focus on today’s theme, you will see that declarer had a very simple resource available to him by following with a low heart from dummy at trick two. Contrast the situation East would now find himself in. If he returns a trump, declarer finesses, wins the heart return with the ace, then crosses to hand and draws trumps. The diamonds provide a home for the heart loser.
If East returns a heart at trick three, declarer wins dummy’s ace, comes to the diamond queen to ruff his last heart, then ruffs a club and plays ace and another spade to remain in control of the hand whatever the defense does.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 7 4 2 |
| ♥ |
10 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
K J 4 |
| ♣ |
A Q |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 NT |
| Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
| Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
|
ANSWER: I would look here for our side’s most passive lead. Both minor suits look far too committal, and since dummy rates to have four spades, I’d be very reluctant to lead that suit around to an honor in declarer’s hand — though it could be our side’s best lead if my partner has a very strong spade holding. I would expect a heart lead to be more passive, so that would be my choice.
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 13th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 27th, 2011
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
How should we play if my partner makes a Jacoby two-no-trump response to show a raise in my major and the next hand intervenes?
— Staying Cool, Lakeland Fla.
ANSWER: Use three no-trump to show a singleton in their suit, a cue-bid as a void. Bids are natural and show length (thus not denying a side-suit singleton), double shows three-plus cards in their suit with no ace or king. Rebidding your suit suggests extra trump length and a nonminimum; a jump to game is extra trump length and a minimum. Passing says you want to defend, or you plan to bid on with slam interest and some control in their suit. It asks responder to double unless he has a skewed hand.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Playing a team game with both sides vulnerable, my partner made a two-heart overcall (weak) over one club. The next hand made a negative double, and I held SPADES Q-9, HEARTS J-3-2, DIAMONDS K-Q-7-4-3, CLUBS K-9-4. Should I raise to three hearts, or pass?
— On the Razor’s Edge, Twin Falls, Idaho
ANSWER: If you play pre-emptive jumps even when vulnerable (there is surely a case for playing intermediate jumps, but let it pass), then in this auction you should bid on. However, did you consider bidding three diamonds to show a fit for hearts and to direct the lead? I’d argue that you should never need to rescue your side to diamonds here, and it is even clearer if you are a passed hand. Of course, this treatment requires some general partnership agreements.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Do you prefer to lead against no-trump from four-card majors as opposed to four- or five-card minors? I’m considering auctions such as one no-trump passed out, or one no-trump raised to game.
— Firing Mechanism, Pleasanton, Calif.
ANSWER: I’m much more concerned about the quality of the suit I lead from than whether it is a major or a minor. I would not like to lead from ace-fourth, am much happier to lead from honor-fourth, and would certainly prefer to lead from any four-card suit headed by an honor sequence, or any five-card suit, regardless of whether it is a major or a minor. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
How do I set my suit as trumps and then use Blackwood after an opening bid of one or two no-trump?
— Shooting the Moon, Bellingham, Wash.
ANSWER: The simple answer is that a Jacoby Transfer followed by four no-trump is quantitative, not Blackwood. To set your suit as trump and then use Keycard Blackwood, first make a four-level (Texas) transfer into a major, then bid four no-trump. By agreement, one can play that a transfer into a minor, then a bid of the minor at the four-level, should be Keycard Blackwood with the minor agreed.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Recently my LHO was in fourth seat with SPADES Q-9-3, HEARTS A-J-2, DIAMONDS K-J-4, CLUBS Q-8-4-2, and had a two-diamond opening passed around to him. He bid two no-trump and was raised to three, making comfortably enough when dummy had a balanced 12-count. Was this call well judged or lucky?
— Feeling Fixed, Waterbury, Conn.
ANSWER: I’d say a bit of both. I would pass out two diamonds, expecting that game would not be all that attractive our way. The two-no-trump bid suggests 14-17 or so. There are very few hands where game will make, and partner cannot act over the pre-empt. This appears to have been one of them! |
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 12th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ J 9 8 7 6
♥ K J
♦ A 2
♣ 10 8 6 5 |
|
| West
♠ A 5 2
♥ 6 5 4
♦ Q 8 4
♣ Q 9 3 2 |
|
East
♠ Q 10 4 3
♥ 3 2
♦ J 7 6 3
♣ J 7 4 |
| |
South
♠ K
♥ A Q 10 9 8 7
♦ K 10 9 5
♣ A K |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
Pass |
| 3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| 4 ♣ |
Pass |
4 ♦ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5 ♥* |
Pass |
| 6 ♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
* Denying the trump queen and showing two of the five aces, counting the trump king as an ace.
Opening Lead: ♥ Four
“Well, sir, you never can tell. That’s a principle in life with me, sir, if you’ll excuse my having such a thing.”
— G.B. Shaw
It has often been remarked that England and America are two nations separated by a common language. For example, in England the vise squeeze is referred to as a vice squeeze — which throws up an entirely different image this side of the Atlantic. Did I hear you ask what a vise squeeze is? Read on.
First of all, consider how to make six hearts today on a trump lead, looking only at the North-South cards.
At first glance prospects look poor. Without that trump lead it would be a simple matter of ruffing two diamonds in dummy, using clubs for transportation.
If one defender has a helpful diamond holding such as Q-J-third, you might still be in business, but not today.
Anyway, you might as well take whatever you can. You win the trump lead in dummy, cash the top clubs, play a diamond to dummy’s ace, and ruff a club. Next comes the diamond king and a diamond ruff. Ruffing dummy’s last club back to hand, you draw trumps and run the rest of your hearts.
You can reduce the hand down to a two-card ending, and while West is under no pressure, East is the victim of the two jaws of the vise. He has to keep his master diamond and must thus reduce himself down to the bare spade queen.
Now the lead of the spade king pins the queen, and on winning with the ace, West must present South with an entry to dummy’s established spade jack for his 12th trick.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 8 7 6 |
| ♥ |
K J |
| ♦ |
A 2 |
| ♣ |
10 8 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♦ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 3 ♣ |
Pass |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner’s actions suggest extras and good diamonds. He will not have three spades or he would have bid three spades. Since you have hearts stopped and are not worried about the spades running against you, it looks straightforward enough to bid three no-trump and try your luck there.
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 11th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, February 25th, 2011
| Dealer: West
Vul: East-West |
North
♠ A Q 10 9
♥ 10 8
♦ A 5 4 3
♣ 6 4 3 |
|
| West
♠ 5 4
♥ A Q J 7 5
♦ Q 9 2
♣ A 10 5 |
|
East
♠ 3 2
♥ 9 4 3 2
♦ J 10 7 6
♣ J 9 7 |
| |
South
♠ K J 8 7 6
♥ K 6
♦ K 8
♣ K Q 8 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♥ |
Pass |
3 ♥* |
| 3 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
All Pass |
* Pre-emptive.
Opening Lead: ♠ Five
“I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
— W.B. Yeats
If you had played this spade game without any opposition bidding, you would doubtless lead a club to the king early on and hope for a favorable outcome in hearts or clubs. You might even survive both aces being offside if the clubs were 3-3 and you could keep East off lead — but not today.
However, the auction was very revealing, and there is an unusual avoidance play to allow you to try to develop the club suit to best effect. You win the trump lead in dummy, advance the club three, and cover East’s card.
Suppose East plays the seven. South plays the eight and West wins the 10. West exits with a second trump, and declarer wins to play three rounds of diamonds, ruffing in hand. Then he crosses to a trump in dummy and ruffs dummy’s fourth diamond, if necessary, to eliminate the suit altogether while using up all of his trumps from hand in the process.
This may seem dangerous, but it is actually perfectly safe. At this point, South leads the club king from his hand, and West is down to clubs and hearts. If he has two clubs, he can duck, but will be endplayed on the next club.
If West has the bare club ace left, he will be forced to let South score his heart king.
As long as West has no more than three clubs, he will be forced to surrender an extra club trick or his second heart trick sooner or later.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 10 9 |
| ♥ |
10 8 |
| ♦ |
A 5 4 3 |
| ♣ |
6 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♦ |
2 ♥ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
3 ♣ |
Pass |
| 3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner has suggested three spades and extra values. However unlikely it might sound, the opponents appear to be lying low with 10 hearts between them. Since it is easy to imagine a minor-suit game having three top losers, I would raise to four spades, opting to play the 4-3 fit because of my strong trump spots.
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 10th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 6 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ 10 8 2
♥ 10 8 4
♦ K Q J 9 2
♣ A 2 |
|
| West
♠ K 7 4
♥ K 7 5
♦ 6 4
♣ Q 10 8 6 3 |
|
East
♠ J 9 6 3
♥ J 9 6 2
♦ 8 7
♣ K 9 7 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 5
♥ A Q 3
♦ A 10 5 3
♣ J 5 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♣ Six
“He hears … the sound
Of public scorn.”
— John Milton
Three of the players who habitually make up the rubber game at the Dyspeptics Club have long believed that South is an accomplished expert in the black arts. What else but witchcraft could explain the rock-crushers that he picks up with such frequency?
South’s complacent response — that he simply gets more out of his cards — frequently makes North choke on his medicinal vodka and tonic. And deals such as today’s weaken South’s case.
He declared three no-trump on the lead of a low club to East’s king and a club continuation. Winning the second club, South crossed to a top diamond to take the heart finesse. The defenders ran the clubs, then exited with a diamond. South took this in hand, cashed the heart ace in case the jack fell, then took the rest of the diamonds, eventually trying the spade finesse. When it lost, South lamented that an unlucky combination of circumstances had defeated him. North snorted and caustically commented that perhaps a 100 percent line had not been good enough for him. Can you see what he was getting at?
North had fractionally overstated his case, but nonetheless the contract could not be defeated as the cards lay. The winning line is for South to take the second club, cash two rounds of diamonds, then exit with a club. West can take his winners, but must then lead a major suit and concede the ninth trick.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 7 4 |
| ♥ |
K 7 5 |
| ♦ |
6 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 8 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♦ |
Dbl. |
1 ♥ |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner has suggested a hand too strong to overcall one spade, probably with a minimum of 17 HCP or so. With strong trump support and three apparently working honor cards, not to mention a ruffing value, do not hang back by raising to three spades. Since you know you want to play in game, just up and bid four spades.
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 9th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: North-South |
North
♠ 8 7
♥ A K Q 8 6
♦ Q 3
♣ 7 6 4 2 |
|
| West
♠ 10 6 5 2
♥ 3
♦ K J 9 4
♣ Q 10 9 3 |
|
East
♠ Q J 9 4 3
♥ J 9 2
♦ A 10 8 5
♣ 8 |
| |
South
♠ A K
♥ 10 7 5 4
♦ 7 6 2
♣ A K J 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
3 NT |
Pass |
| 4 ♣ |
Pass |
4 ♥ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♠ Two
“Whoever in discussion adduces authority uses not intellect but rather memory.”
— Leonardo da Vinci
I remember sitting in on a tutorial given by John Mohan to a class of juniors. He made an excellent point, one that I had never considered previously. He said that there is NO suit combination where you can get more tricks from leading it yourself than having the opponents tackle it for you. Given that clue, how would you tackle four hearts on a spade lead?
I’m guessing that most people would win and draw trumps before going after clubs. Recognizing that they could afford to lose a trick, some would cash the club ace before taking the finesse; others would take both top clubs from hand, but whichever route they went, they would be doomed to one down because of the bad break.
Let’s revisit the deal, remembering John Mohan’s axiom. Win the spade lead, draw trumps, cash the spade king and club ace, then cut loose with a diamond. If East wins to lead a second club through you, either the suit is splitting or East has the length — so you will have no problem making at least 10 tricks. As the cards lie, the defenders must play three rounds of diamonds to prevent you from getting an easy 10th trick. You ruff the third and lead a club from the board. When East shows out, you duck the trick to West and wait for a ruff-sluff, or a club lead into your tenace.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 7 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 8 6 |
| ♦ |
Q 3 |
| ♣ |
7 6 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your quick tricks make this hand much better than the typical 11-count. Instead of inviting slam with a quantitative call of four no-trump (no, this sequence is not Blackwood), offer your partner a choice of slams with a jump to five no-trump. If he stops off to offer clubs, you will pass; otherwise, play six hearts or six no-trump.
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 8th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Both |
North
♠ A K 3
♥ 7 5 4
♦ J
♣ Q J 10 8 7 6 |
|
| West
♠ —
♥ K Q 6
♦ K Q 9 7 5 4
♣ K 9 3 2 |
|
East
♠ 7 6 4
♥ J 10 9 8
♦ 10 8 6 3
♣ 5 4 |
| |
South
♠ Q J 10 9 8 5 2
♥ A 3 2
♦ A 2
♣ A |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
2 ♦ |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
| 3 ♥ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
Pass |
| 6 ♠ |
All pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦ King
“Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you’ll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?”
— William Wordsworth
Three years ago IBPA’s Book of the Year Award went to “I Love This Game” by Germany’s Sabine Auken. Telling a story against herself, Auken describes the following deal from the German trials, which identifies the “kill point” — where a player’s actions sealed the fate of the contract.
Against six spades the lead was the diamond king — fortunately for declarer — rather than the fatal heart. South won in hand and led her spade queen, and when West showed out, the contract’s fate had already been sealed.
Auken now unblocked the club ace and led a spade to dummy to play the club queen and discard her diamond deuce. But West thoughtfully allowed the club queen to hold, and East ruffed the next club. With clubs still not established, the slam now had to fail.
To cater for a 3-0 trump break plus the club king with West, the club ace must be cashed at trick two. Then, when West shows out on the spade queen, you overtake that card for an immediate ruffing finesse in clubs (pitching a heart from hand). Even if West wins and returns a diamond, forcing dummy to ruff and leaving it with just one trump compared to East’s two, dummy’s master clubs can be co-opted as a second “trump” suit.
Declarer leads out winning clubs, but what can East do? If she ruffs, South overruffs, re-enters dummy in trumps, collecting the last spade in the process, then discards the second losing heart on the club 10.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 6 4 |
| ♥ |
J 10 9 8 |
| ♦ |
10 8 6 3 |
| ♣ |
5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Opinions differ as to what to do with a very weak hand with three trumps on this auction. A jump to four spades does show a blizzard, but tends to suggest either four trumps or a little more in the way of ruffing values. I prefer to make a second negative of three clubs (a more popular style nowadays than bidding two no-trump) and raise spades on the next round.
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 7th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, February 21st, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ K 3 2
♥ A J 10 4
♦ Q 10 7 2
♣ 7 4 |
|
| West
♠ 9 6
♥ Q 9 8 3
♦ A 3
♣ Q J 8 6 3 |
|
East
♠ 10 8 7 4
♥ 6 5
♦ 9 8 6 4
♣ K 9 5 |
| |
South
♠ A Q J 5
♥ K 7 2
♦ K J 5
♣ A 10 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♣ Six
“What would life be without arithmetic, but a scene of horrors?”
— Rev. Sydney Smith
When the opponents find the most damaging lead against your no-trump contract, how you continue may depend on your reading of the distribution of the danger suit.
Against three no-trump West led the club six. East played the king, which declarer ducked. When East returned the club nine, declarer ducked again and won the third club, pitching a spade from dummy.
Declarer has seven tricks on top and must decide where to try for the other two. It all depends on how he reads the early play. Two clubs are still outstanding.
If East and West have one apiece, the play is to continue with a diamond. The defenders will end up with three clubs and a diamond trick, but declarer gets home, regardless of which defender has the diamond ace.
However, East’s play in clubs indicates that the suit was probably breaking 5-3. The clue is the return of the nine at trick two. Had East started with four, the normal return is the lowest of his remaining three cards, but with three, the top of his remaining doubleton.
South therefore decided to rely on West to hold the heart queen, rather than East to have the diamond ace. South cashed the heart king, finessed the heart 10, then ran the spades, ending in hand. He successfully finessed again in hearts, with the heart ace providing the ninth trick.
With clubs 5-3, even if the heart finesse had lost, declarer still would have been safe as long as the diamond ace was with East.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 4 |
| ♥ |
Q J 8 6 |
| ♦ |
10 6 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♣ |
| Pass |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
1 ♠ |
| Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 NT |
| All pass |
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ANSWER: When in doubt against no-trump, try to lead declarer’s shortage. On this auction it is most likely hearts. The question is whether to lead the queen (the best shot if declarer has a bare 10 or nine) or a low heart, which rates to work better if declarer has a bare ace or king. Since declarer has suggested a strong hand, I marginally prefer the low-heart 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].
March 6th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 20th, 2011
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
How does the rule of 11 work if your opponents play third and lowest leads, not fourth highest?
— Number Cruncher, Texarkana, Texas
ANSWER: Just to clarify for nonexperts: With fourth-highest leads, third hand and declarer can subtract the spot-card lead from 11 to find out how many cards higher than the lead are held by the other three players. If partner leads the six, with K-10-4 in dummy and the A-J-8 in your hand, declarer won’t be able to beat the eight, since you can see five cards higher than the six. Against a third-highest lead, you subtract the spot-card led from 12. If you believe the card is lowest from five, subtract it from 10.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
South held SPADES K-Q, HEARTS J-3-2, DIAMONDS Q-7-4, CLUBS Q-J-10-9-4. After a three-diamond bid by West, North doubled, and you recommended a bid of three no-trump as the game most likely to succeed despite the “diaphanous diamond stop.” What lies behind the expert decision to trade the near certainty of a smaller plus for the uncertainty of the higher score?
— On the Line, Casper, Wyo.
ANSWER: I might feel different if my side-cards were sure tricks. But consider that facing a minimum double with the club ace-king and spade ace, three no-trump our way and three diamonds their way might make! The softer my side-suit cards are, the less I feel like defending. And in this example I don’t really have a sure trick in my hand.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner and I were on completely different wavelengths when I opened one diamond and heard two clubs on my left, pass from my partner, and a two-spade bid on my right. When I doubled for takeout, my partner assumed that I actually had spades! Who is right here?
— Trump Trouble, Little Rock, Ark.
ANSWER: In the old days a double here would have been intended to expose the psyche, but perhaps we are less suspicious these days. The general rule is that all doubles (except perhaps those of a no-trump call) facing a partner who has not bid, or has only passed, are for takeout. This is simple and pretty close to optimal.
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Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner disagreed with my bidding. Holding SPADES A-J-3-2, HEARTS K-Q-7-4, DIAMONDS K-J-4-3, CLUBS Q in fourth seat, I opened one diamond and heard a one-heart overcall. When that was passed back to me, I thought our best chance to go plus was to defend, but I found my partner with five small spades and ace-third of clubs. Even four spades had a chance to come home on accurate card-reading.
— Missed Moment, Atlanta, Ga.
ANSWER: You certainly have my sympathy. Imagine finding ace-fifth of clubs and three small spades opposite instead! Yes, bidding one spade here might be a reasonable choice, I agree, but quite sensibly you assumed that the one suit you wouldn’t be facing was spades, in the absence of even a negative double, and you surely weren’t going to find diamond support as you hadn’t been raised. Chalk it up (or down) to bad luck!
Dear Mr. Wolff:
With no one vulnerable, I opened one diamond, my LHO said one heart, and my partner had a dilemma with this hand: SPADES A-Q-2, HEARTS 7-3-2, DIAMONDS 7-4-2, CLUBS K-10-4-3. A bid of one no-trump would promise a heart stop, double would promise four spades, two diamonds could catch partner with a three-card suit, and two clubs is an overbid by a queen or so. What do you suggest — other than an out-of-tempo pass?
— None of the Above, Houston, Texas
ANSWER: As you suspected, there is no right answer. I’d guess to double, and hope we don’t find a 3-3 spade fit facing a hand without a heart stop. A bid of two clubs is too much for me. (The club jack or a fifth club might make it palatable, especially by a passed hand.) Bidding two diamonds with no honor in the suit just feels wrong. So double looks like the least lie, with passing a close second, planning to back in as appropriate, or to defend one heart and hope for 100 if all pass.
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If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
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