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.
|
|
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.
|
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 5th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, February 19th, 2011
| Dealer: East
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ A J 9 7 6
♥ A 8 5 4
♦ 10 3
♣ K 6 |
|
| West
♠ K 5 4
♥ Q 9
♦ Q 9 8 7 6
♣ A 4 2 |
 |
East
♠ Q 2
♥ 10 7 6 3 2
♦ A 4 2
♣ 8 7 3 |
| |
South
♠ 10 8 3
♥ K J
♦ K J 5
♣ Q J 10 9 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♣ |
1 ♦ |
1 ♥* |
2 ♦ |
| Pass |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
| 2 ♠ |
Pass |
3 ♠ |
Pass |
| 4 ♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
* Spades
Opening Lead: ♦ 7
“We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner of doing it.”
— William Hazlitt
In today’s deal from the NEC tournament held 12 months ago in Yokohama, both declarers went down in game in the match between Bulgaria and South Sweden. (The latter team was a medley of Swedish and South African players — hence the amalgamated name.)
For Bulgaria the North-South pair tried three no-trump, which was far from hopeless in theory, but had no chance against repeated diamond leads.
The Swedish declarer was in four spades. West led a diamond and East continued the attack on that suit. Declarer looks in good shape now, doesn’t he? See if you can improve on the line found at the table.
South passed the spade eight to East’s queen. Back came a heart to the jack, queen and ace. The defenders ducked the first club and won the second to play a second heart. This had the effect of removing declarer’s last comfortable entry to hand.
Declarer could no longer draw trumps ending in his own hand. Had he retained the trump eight by leading low to dummy on the first round of trumps, all would have been well. As it was, if he led the spade 10 from hand, it would be covered. So he did his best by playing a trump to dummy’s jack and trying to ruff a heart to hand. However, West could overruff and there was still an inevitable heart loser in dummy.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 8 3 |
| ♥ |
K J |
| ♦ |
K J 5 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 9 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♦ |
1 ♥ |
| 2 ♣ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| 3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: When a minor suit appears to have been agreed upon, it is sometimes hard to tell what a cuebid means. A simple rule is that any cuebid below three no-trump shows a desire to play in no-trump, until it becomes clear to the contrary. That being so, you should bid three no-trump now, since you have a heart stop.
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 4th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: East-West |
North
♠ A Q 3
♥ J 10
♦ A Q 8 5
♣ Q 9 7 6 |
|
| West
♠ 8 7 5 4 2
♥ A 7 6 5
♦ —
♣ 10 5 3 2 |
|
East
♠ K 9 6
♥ K 9 8 4 3 2
♦ 10 9
♣ K J |
| |
South
♠ J 10
♥ Q
♦ K J 7 6 4 3 2
♣ A 8 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♦ |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
| 4 ♦ |
Pass |
5 ♦ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♥ Ace
“And now (as oft in some distempered state),
On one nice trick depends the gen’ral fate.
An ace of hearts steps forth ….”
— Alexander Pope
One exciting round in the finals of the NEC tournament last year in Yokohama pitted two of the top Italians against four of their regular teammates on the national team.
Both tables played five diamonds. For the Zimmermann squad, Fulvio Fantoni unerringly put his fingers on a spade lead. Nunes won the king and shifted to hearts, and the deal was over; down one.
In the other room for the Lavazza team, Norberto Bocchi led the heart ace, knowing South had no major-suit stops. Agustin Madala encouraged the lead; but was that the right thing to do? Perhaps he should have seen that a spade shift might be necessary. Bocchi continued hearts and Pierre Zimmermann ruffed, knowing that if the spade finesse worked, he would have no problem making the hand. To increase his chances, Zimmermann correctly decided to play on clubs before taking the spade finesse.
The extra chance of giving up a club after drawing trumps was the hope that either defender had a doubleton club king or that East would be awkwardly placed on winning the trick. Accordingly, he ducked a club to Madala. Then he could win the spade return before crossing to the club ace at trick nine. Had the club king not fallen, declarer would have played off his trumps and taken the spade finesse. When the king popped up, declarer could claim without needing the spade finesse. Very nicely done.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 7 5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A 7 6 5 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
10 5 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♦ |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 3 ♣ |
3 ♦ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You may have only a four-count, but you appear to have a useful hand on offense. You need to weigh the chances that the opponents can make five diamonds against your chances of competing in clubs. With a side-ace and a trump void, take your chances they can’t make game, so compete to four 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].
March 3rd, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ Q 6
♥ Q 2
♦ 10 8 2
♣ K Q J 7 5 2 |
|
| West
♠ 5 4
♥ A 7 5 4
♦ A Q 5 4 3
♣ 9 8 |
|
East
♠ A J 10 9 7 2
♥ J 10 8
♦ 9 6
♣ 10 6 |
| |
South
♠ K 8 3
♥ K 9 6 3
♦ K J 7
♣ A 4 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
2 ♠ |
| Pass |
Pass |
3 ♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠ Five
“The effort really to see and really to represent is no idle business in face of the constant force that makes for muddlement.”
— Henry James
Today’s deal comes from the finals of the NEC tournament, held in Japan last February. Over the years some eyebrows have been raised when I criticized the use of MUD leads (middle, up, down) from three cards. I accept that it may occasionally be useful to know that your partner has led from an honor. But, more frequently, when you lead the middle card, partner might not interpret your holding till it is too late. Watch one of the world’s top pairs experiencing this problem.
Both tables reached three no-trump, and both declared it the wrong way up. Both Wests led a spade, and both declarers found the correct technical move of rising with the spade queen, forcing East to win the trick and thus cut himself off from the long spades. Had declarer not inserted the spade queen, then he would have had no chance, whatever he did.
So far, so technically competent; but the difference was that in one room Agustin Madala as East knew from the lead of the spade five that his partner had at most two spades. He shifted to a diamond and found his partner with the perfect hand to defeat the game. In the other room Adam Zmudzynski had to deal with the possibility that his partner had started with either the 5-4 or 8-5-4. He guessed wrong, continuing spades. Declarer won in hand, set up first a heart, then a diamond winner, and claimed nine tricks.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 8 3 |
| ♥ |
K 9 6 3 |
| ♦ |
K J 7 |
| ♣ |
A 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
| 2 ♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dbl |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: With a balanced maximum you are entitled to redouble here, asking your partner to opt for defense if he is suitable. This will allow your partner to double the opponents with three trumps if appropriate. Having shown you are at the top end of your range, you can leave the decision to your partner from here on.
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 2nd, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, February 16th, 2011
| Dealer: South
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ K 9 8
♥ 6 5 2
♦ A Q 8 7 5 3
♣ J |
|
| West
♠ A 7 6 4
♥ A
♦ 9 2
♣ Q 10 8 7 6 5 |
|
East
♠ Q J 5 2
♥ Q J 9 4
♦ J 6 4
♣ 3 2 |
| |
South
♠ 10 3
♥ K 10 8 7 3
♦ K 10
♣ A K 9 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♥ |
2 ♣ |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 ♥ |
Pass |
| 4 ♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣ 7
“Speak now, and I will answer / How shall I help you, say.”
— A.E. Housman
In today’s deal from last year’s NEC invitational teams tournament, you will see two declarers tackling the same four-heart contract. One gets the most challenging lead and makes his contract; the other gets a helpful lead … and guess what happens to him.
In one room the Swedish declarer received a low club lead. He won in dummy and decided to lead a heart to his king, figuring that if West had a singleton heart honor, it was more likely to be the queen or jack. It was a reasonable play, but the wrong day for it.
West won his heart ace and cashed the spade ace. The defenders then sat back to see how many more trump tricks they could collect. Declarer played for a trump reduction and managed to escape for down one.
By contrast Claudio Nunes as South received a diabolical low spade lead from Craig Gower. Nunes guessed well to rise with dummy’s king and, even better, to lead a trump to the eight and ace, making the trump position clear.
Gower played two more rounds of spades. Nunes ruffed and immediately cashed three rounds of diamonds. When East followed suit, Nunes pitched a club, led a trump to the queen and king, and now could play the club ace, ruff a club, then run the diamonds.
In the three-card ending, East could do no better than discard a spade. Nunes pitched his master club and led a diamond at trick 12 to ensure one more trump trick for himself and bring home his contract.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 9 8 |
| ♥ |
6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
A Q 8 7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♠ |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: There is no set rule about whether this auction should be forcing, but facing a two-level overcall (which shows close to an opening bid at minimum), it is logical to play a change of suit as forcing. Regardless, South’s hand has heart support and a ruffing value, and the spade king looks well placed. Accordingly, a raise to three hearts seems right on all counts, whether North’s bid was forcing or not.
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 1st, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: N-S |
North
♠ 7 4 2
♥ 9 7 6 2
♦ J 5
♣ K Q 9 3 |
|
| West
♠ J 10 3
♥ A Q 10 5
♦ A Q 2
♣ J 8 4 |
|
East
♠ 5
♥ K J 3
♦ 9 8 7 3
♣ A 10 7 6 2 |
| |
South
♠ A K Q 9 8 6
♥ 8 4
♦ K 10 6 4
♣ 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| 4 ♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣ four
“Learning, that cobweb of the brain,
Profane, erroneous, and vain.”
— Samuel Butler
To celebrate the NEC invitationals teams currently taking place in Yokohama, all this week’s deals come from last year’s event.
In the later stages of the qualifying tournament there were many Souths who attempted four spades, running into an unfavorable lie of the minor-suit cards and going two down at almost every table.
At many tables West had doubled the opening spade bid (a call I heartily agree with, despite the balanced nature of the West hand, since it is safer to get into your opponents’ auction at your first turn than to wait till they have defined their hands and can thus judge better how to handle your intervention). Where that was the case, East had no trouble defending correctly.
When Sartaj Hans of Australia played the spade game on an unopposed auction, he received a low club lead. Following the BOLS bridge tip given by Tony Forrester about the power of the closed hand (the defenders cannot see declarer’s hand), he smoothly called for a low card from dummy at trick one.
Fooled, East won the club ace and tried to give his partner a ruff. That let declarer discard both his heart losers on the club winners and play a diamond. He now had the tempo to set up a diamond and ruff a diamond in dummy, making 10 tricks. Hans was the only declarer in the field to bring home his game contract.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K Q 9 8 6 |
| ♥ |
8 4 |
| ♦ |
K 10 6 4 |
| ♣ |
5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♦ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
| 1 ♠ |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
3 ♣ |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: On auctions of this sort, where your partner had the opportunity to support you cheaply but did not do so and where your red-suit holdings look exceedingly vulnerable, pass and hope that a bad trump break will embarrass declarer.
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].
February 28th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, February 14th, 2011
| Dealer: East
Vul: N-S |
North
♠ J 8 7 6
♥ K 10 9 7
♦ 10 7 3 2
♣ J |
|
| West
♠ 9 5 3
♥ A J 6
♦ K Q J 6
♣ 10 9 5 |
|
East
♠ 2
♥ Q 8 4 3
♦ A 9 8 5
♣ A Q 8 6 |
| |
South
♠ A K Q 10 4
♥ 5 2
♦ 4
♣ K 7 4 3 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1 ♣ |
| 1 ♠ |
2 ♦ |
3 ♠ |
4 ♦ |
| 4 ♠ |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
Opening Lead: ♦ King
“But sequence ravelled out of reach
Like balls upon a floor.”
— Emily Dickinson
The NEC tournament in Yokohama takes place over Valentine’s Day every year. To mark this year’s event, I am using deals from the excellent 2010 bulletin, which can be found online at The NEC Bridge Festival Home Page.
Peter Gill contributed a nice play by Brian Senior in today’s deal, where he declared four spades doubled. West led a diamond and accurately shifted to a trump. It looks natural to win this cheaply in dummy and lead a club, but the defenders have the upper hand if they win and lead a second diamond. Declarer can crossruff the minor suits to set up the clubs, but will run out of trumps in the process. At the very end, West can keep a master diamond and the heart ace.
Senior figured out that he needed the heart ace onside, come what may. So he took the trump shift in hand and led a heart up. West ducked, and now declarer could win dummy’s heart king and lead a club. The defenders could take the club ace and cross to the West hand with a heart for the second trump play, but now declarer was in control and could establish clubs.
Had the defenders played to force declarer at trick five, the fact that the heart trick was in the bag would have made the critical difference. Even though the defenders could in fact have prevailed by winning the heart ace and playing a second trump, that does not detract from Senior’s play.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 7 4 |
| ♥ |
K 9 5 3 |
| ♦ |
9 7 4 |
| ♣ |
9 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♦ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
| Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
3 NT |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
ANSWER: To have a shot to beat this contract, you will need to find partner with close to an opening bid. If he does have that hand, maybe he has stayed silent in this auction because he has some length in dummy’s first-bid suit, so lead the diamond nine. At matchpoints a spade might be less “do or die.”
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].
February 27th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 13th, 2011
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
I can’t find an answer in any of my books to the following scoring problem. Say you play in two spades doubled and make it. Do you get the 300 bonus for making game or just the 50 for the insult? My reputation rests upon your answer!
— Stumped, Walnut Creek, Calif.
ANSWER: The simple answer is yes, you do get the bonus. To clarify the source: Law 77 refers to the score for all possible contracts (bid and made), undoubled, doubled and redoubled, and says that a trick score of 100 or more constitutes game. Overtricks are dealt with separately. So in two spades doubled the trick score of 60 per trick times two is 120. That constitutes game, since it exceeds 100.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Recently you discussed how to bid this hand: SPADES 10-6, HEARTS K-J-9-4, DIAMONDS 7-4-2, CLUBS 10-9-4-3. Your partner opened an artificial two clubs and rebid three clubs over your response of two diamonds. You recommended a club raise — a decision you marginally preferred to showing the heart values. Two questions: Does three clubs guarantee an unbalanced hand, and would three hearts from you promise a five-carder?
— Power Point, Sioux Falls, S.D.
ANSWER: The three-club bid shows an unbalanced hand; it might be only five, but would then be in an unbalanced hand with a four-card major. Even a 2-4-2-5 hand might elect to rebid two no-trump, for example. Your three-heart bid might be a good four-card suit, but partner tends to expect five and might even raise with just three trumps.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Your articles occasionally refer to an endplay. In simple terms, what constitutes an endplay?
— Stuck on Lead, New York, N.Y.
| |
ANSWER: The short and sweet answer to this is that you put an opponent on lead to force him to open up a suit to your advantage or do something equally unpalatable such as give you a ruff-sluff. Generally, he has to lead away from an honor, or locate a card for you that you would otherwise have to find for yourself.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In a pairs game at unfavorable vulnerability, my partner held SPADES Q-9-3, HEARTS A-Q-2, DIAMONDS K-9-4, CLUBS K-J-4-2. My RHO bid three diamonds and I doubled. Partner bid three no-trump now on the grounds that one has to try to ensure the plus score when possible. But what would should I have done when the next hand bid four diamonds, which was passed back to me?
— Middle Ground, Bristol, Va.
ANSWER: It seems clear to bid four no-trump now. Declarer rates to have an eight-carder and thus seven tricks in diamonds, so doubling four diamonds won’t score enough for our side. Even if my RHO gets the lead early on, I might still survive if my partner has a singleton diamond, or if the diamond spot-cards work out to my advantage.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When the opponents double my partner’s opening bid, do you play a redouble as the only bid to show hands of 10-plus HCP or are there exceptions? And how strong is a response of one no-trump?
— High Heels, Saint John, New Brunswick
ANSWER: Redouble only if you can cope with the opponents intervening at the two-level. With a one-suiter you can bid at the one-level, so do so at once no matter how strong it is. The range for one no-trump is approximately 7-10 HCP. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011.
February 26th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both |
North
♠ K 10 7 5
♥ 8 7 3
♦ A 10 9 3
♣ K 4 |
|
| West
♠ Q 8 3
♥ Q J
♦ 6 5
♣ A 8 7 6 5 2 |
|
East
♠ 2
♥ A 10 9 5 4 2
♦ Q 8 4
♣ 10 9 3 |
| |
South
♠ A J 9 6 4
♥ K 6
♦ K J 7 2
♣ Q J |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
3 ♠ |
Pass |
| 4 ♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ Queen
“Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You’ll never get out of the jungle that way.”
— Arthur Miller
When South played four spades on the lead of the heart queen to the ace and a heart return, he won, cashed the spade ace and king, then played a club. West took the ace, cashed the spade queen, and exited with a club. When East turned up with six hearts, declarer played West for the diamond length and went one down.
Let’s revisit declarer’s play. At trick three it looks far better to lead the club jack. If West ducks, you win and take the top spades, East pitching a heart, planning to ruff a heart and then play a club. If West captures the club jack at trick three and exits with a club, you win and take the top spades, then ruff a heart and exit with a spade.
Either way, West will be on lead and has only minor-suit cards left. He should know that a club would give a ruff and discard, but since declarer has a 4-4 diamond fit, a ruff and discard will do him no good.
So West exits with a club, and declarer needs to guess diamonds himself. But now he has a better count of the East-West hands. While East might have started with 1-6-1-5 shape, his heart discards combined with his play of the club nine and 10 on the second and third round of the suit make it more likely that he had three clubs and thus began life with 1-6-3-3 pattern. If so, declarer should play East for the diamond queen.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 7 5 |
| ♥ |
8 7 3 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 3 |
| ♣ |
K 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1 ♣ |
1 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Opinions differ as to whether it is acceptable to introduce a moderate four-card major here. I say no, when the alternative of showing a strong diamond raise exists via the cue-bid of two clubs. If partner has extras and a four-card major, he will bid it now. If he has a minimum, it looks better to stop low in diamonds than to shoot the moon in an optimistic spade game.
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2011. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
February 25th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 8 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: N-S |
North
♠ A J 8 5 2
♥ 10 6 3
♦ K 9
♣ J 10 4 |
|
| West
♠ K 10 3
♥ Q 9 5 2
♦ 10 8 5 2
♣ 9 6 |
|
East
♠ 9
♥ K 8 7 4
♦ A Q 7 6
♣ 8 7 3 2 |
| |
South
♠ Q 7 6 4
♥ A J
♦ J 4 3
♣ A K Q 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♥ |
Pass |
| 3 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♠ |
Pass |
Opening Lead: ♥ two
“Dangers by being despised grow great.”
— Edmund Burke
Today’s deal exemplifies one of my favorite themes, which crops up here in two variations. No more clues — plan the play in four spades as South when West leads the heart two to East’s king.
The extra trick you could make by winning the ace and establishing the heart 10 is an illusion, because when West takes his heart queen, he will play a diamond through dummy’s king and put you back on what is at best a diamond guess. As the cards lie today, you cannot guess right.
However, you can in fact guarantee your game if you can keep West off lead. Duck the heart lead and win the continuation. That is necessary, but not sufficient. If you play the trump suit in mundane fashion (low to the jack, then the ace), West will regain the lead prematurely by ruffing the third club and can then deal you a mortal blow by shifting to diamonds to establish a fourth winner for his side.
The secret of the deal lies in making an avoidance play in both hearts and spades. Having ducked the first heart and won the second, you must run the spade queen from hand. West will cover, of course, and if either the nine or 10 falls from East, you cross back to hand with a heart ruff and play a spade to dummy’s eight, insuring you can keep West off lead for the duration of the hand.
Today this line yields an overtrick — a nice reward for your care and attention.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 8 5 2 |
| ♥ |
10 6 3 |
| ♦ |
K 9 |
| ♣ |
J 10 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
1 ♦ |
| 1 ♠ |
3 ♦ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: The double of three diamonds suggests extras and no clear bid. (East rates to be strong and balanced without a good diamond stop, or to have long clubs.) Since you have a few extras and a diamond guard, it looks logical to bid three no-trump and take it from there. Partner can bid again if he has an unusual hand-type.
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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