March 20th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, March 6th, 2011 
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
I know that in sandwich seat, after both opponents have bid, you prefer to play a strong no-trump overcall by an unpassed hand, but a passed hand uses the call to show a two-suiter. Given that, how weak or strong should the two-suiter be?
— Sandwich Shop, Laredo, Texas
ANSWER: As a passed hand you will generally come in with 5-5 and a top honor in each of your suits. At unfavorable vulnerability you’d need some protection in the form of decent intermediates. While bidding with five to the Q-10 and five to the K-J looks fine to me, beware of tipping off the opponents to possible bad breaks just for the sheer pleasure of hearing the sound of your own voice.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Do you encourage your readers to play third-and-fifth leads against suits? If so, what would you lead from interior sequences such as K-J-10 or Q-10-9?
— Running Bear, Bay City, Mich.
ANSWER: I believe you get more out of third-and-fifth leads by treating your whole holding as a single unit and leading third from the top, so you should lead the 10 from the first holding and the nine from the second. And as a further thought, even if you do not do this at the first trick, you may find it helpful to make these plays in midhand. The disadvantage of these leads at trick one before dummy comes down is that you may be helping declarer.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What would you bid with SPADES J-9-8-4, HEARTS A-3-2, DIAMONDS K-10-3-2, CLUBS A-4 when your LHO opens one diamond and your partner overcalls one heart? Would you bid no-trump, or raise hearts — and would you let your partner out below game?
— Third-Hand Dilemma, Walnut Creek, Calif.
|
|
ANSWER: I would raise hearts rather than bid no-trump, but I would start with a cue-bid of two diamonds to show a limit raise or better, prepared to give up in two hearts facing a minimum hand. This is not worth driving to game with or even to the three-level facing, for example, a five-card suit in a 10-count.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In asking for aces, is it permitted to declare “I am asking”? We have been told that is no longer allowed.
— 20 Questions, Janesville, Wis.
ANSWER: You alert ( by rapping the table or using the alert card) your partner’s bids, not your own, if conventional. The alert lets the opponents ask if they are interested. The only bids of your partner that you should announce are your no-trump range and the fact that a call is a transfer, or that a no-trump response is forcing or semiforcing. But no other explanations should be made unless the opponents request it. For two reasons don’t alert your own ace-asking call. First, your partner does it, not you; second, you don’t alert any calls higher than three no-trump, whatever they mean!
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My RHO opened two spades. I held SPADES J-9-6, HEARTS Q-7, DIAMONDS K-J-2, CLUBS A-Q-10-4-2 and passed. When my partner balanced with a double, how should I have advanced — and do you agree with my initial pass?
— Stop and Go, Union City, Tenn.
ANSWER: Yes, passing is correct (with a sixth club you might act but not otherwise). I would cuebid three spades at my second turn and pass a three-no-trump bid, but bid five clubs over a red-suit action by my partner. It is not perfect — but nothing is! |
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 19th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: E-W |
North
♠ A K 10 3
♥ 5 4 2
♦ J 10 5 4 3
♣ 8 |
|
| West
♠ 8 6 5
♥ Q J 10 8 6
♦ 7 2
♣ J 6 5 |
 |
East
♠ Q J 9 2
♥ K 7
♦ A K 6
♣ 10 9 7 3 |
| |
South
♠ 7 4
♥ A 9 3
♦ Q 9 8
♣ A K Q 4 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 2 ♦ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ Queen
“The most positive men are the most credulous.”
— Alexander Pope
From the last European Open Championships, Ismail Kandemir and Suleyman Kolata found an elegant way to beat three no-trump.
When Kademir led a top heart, instead of overtaking to unblock the suit, East deliberately ducked, persuading declarer to duck once, and then again on his partner’s low heart continuation to the king. Kolata now found the killing shift to a top spade, won in dummy. He ducked the diamond play and won the second diamond to play a second top spade, surrendering a trick to cut declarer’s communications.
The best declarer could do now was cash the spade 10, pitching a diamond from hand, then take the heart ace, but South could keep his clubs and take the last two tricks.
The same sort of defense was found by Thomas and Michel Bessis. A top-heart lead was overtaken by East and ducked by declarer, for a high-spade shift by East. Declarer won and continued with a diamond to the nine. When this held, he continued with the diamond queen. South won this and continued with the spade jack, taken in dummy with the king.
Declarer did not succeed from this point, but in fact South did have a resource, as demonstrated at yet a third table, by French international Pierre Zimmermann, He cashed his three clubs and his heart ace, then exited with a diamond. East now had a club to cash but only two spades left, and dummy had a spade and diamond winner.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 9 2 |
| ♥ |
K 7 |
| ♦ |
A K 6 |
| ♣ |
10 9 7 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♣ |
Dbl. |
1 ♥ |
1 ♠ |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Even if your partnership plays New Minor Forcing after a no-trump rebid, that does not apply in competition. In this sequence the call of two diamonds simply asks you to pick between the suits at the two-level, and since you have a marked preference for diamonds, you should simply pass.
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 18th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 6 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: E-W |
North
♠ Q 5 3
♥ A J
♦ Q 6
♣ 10 7 6 5 4 2 |
|
| West
♠ 9 8 7 2
♥ Q 10 9
♦ J 10 9 8 5
♣ J |
|
East
♠ K 6
♥ 8 7 6 5 3
♦ K 7 3 2
♣ K Q |
| |
South
♠ A J 10 4
♥ K 4 2
♦ A 4
♣ A 9 8 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♦ Jack
“An active, ardent mind;
A fancy pregnant with resource and scheme
To cheat the sadness of a rainy day.”
— William Wordsworth
When you cannot use your major source of tricks, it may be a case of any port in a storm. However, you may need to husband your resources carefully.
West led the diamond jack against three no-trump, and South correctly tried dummy’s queen. (If dummy had held three diamonds, it would have been right to duck and preserve the tenace, but not here.)
As South had feared, East covered the queen with the king. South withheld the ace, but was forced to take the next round. Clubs were a broken reed now, for to take five club tricks, declarer would have to surrender the lead, and the defenders would surely have five tricks before declarer could run nine.
The remaining possibility was that hearts would supply three tricks, and spades, four. So at trick three, declarer finessed dummy’s heart jack, which held. One hurdle was overcome — but would spades be equally obliging?
About to call for dummy’s queen, South paused. If spades broke 3-3 with the king onside, it did not matter which spade was led. But what if East had a doubleton spade king? He would cover the queen, and there would be a fourth-round spade loser.
Changing tack, South led a low spade to the 10, which held, then re-entered dummy with the heart ace and led another low spade, on which East’s king was a welcome sight. It only remained to cash dummy’s spade queen, then re-enter hand with the club ace to take the remaining two winners.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 10 4 |
| ♥ |
K 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A 4 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
2 ♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: There are a few minimum hands where slam will make, but even if your partner provides you with a maximum hand with both black suits, you may need a split, or the right doubleton, opposite. If you want to try for slam, you can bid three clubs — a help-suit game try, ostensibly for game. But my instincts tell me it is right just to 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 17th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 6 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: Both |
North
♠ 3
♥ 10 9 8 5 3
♦ K 10 8 3
♣ Q 6 4 |
|
| West
♠ Q 9 8 6 5
♥ J 7 6 4
♦ J 6
♣ J 10 |
|
East
♠ A K 10 7 4
♥ Q 2
♦ 7 4
♣ A 9 8 7 |
| |
South
♠ J 2
♥ A K
♦ A Q 9 5 2
♣ K 5 3 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1 ♠ |
| 2 ♦ |
3 ♠ |
5 ♦ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♠ Queen
“Hypocrite reader — my double — my brother!”
— Charles Baudelaire
Stuart and Gerald Tredinnick are one of the pairs of twin brothers who have represented Great Britain successfully. Among other things they were part of the team that won the world junior championships 20 years ago.
Here is Gerald at work in five diamonds. Knowing that they had at most one spade trick to take on defense, West started off by leading the spade queen to try to retain the lead. Then, worried that declarer might be able to set up some hearts, West switched to the club jack, which ran around to declarer’s king.
Declarer now played the heart ace and king, then cashed the diamond ace and played a diamond to dummy’s king. He then ruffed a heart, ruffed a spade, ruffed a heart, and played a low club. When West played the 10, Gerald ducked. With nothing left but spades, West had to give declarer a ruff and discard. South ruffed in dummy, discarding one club from his hand, and then discarded his last club loser on dummy’s fifth heart.
Nicely played, but declarer would have needed to see through the backs of the cards if West had continued with a second spade at trick two. At trick three, declarer must play a club from dummy himself. Now come the heart ace and king, followed by a finesse against the diamond jack!
This enables him to ruff a heart, cross to the diamond king, and ruff another heart, before playing a low club to reach the same position as before.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 8 6 5 |
| ♥ |
J 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
J 6 |
| ♣ |
J 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1 ♣ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: It is a part of normal modern bidding style for responder to be able to find out more about opener’s hand here with a forcing bid of two diamonds — known as “New Minor.” This acts like Stayman, asking opener to show three-card support, or four cards in the unbid major. If you are playing this convention, two hearts by you is natural and weak, denying invitational values, and therefore ideal.
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 16th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011
| Dealer: East
Vul: Neither |
North
♠ K Q 10 5
♥ J 5
♦ 10 3
♣ A Q 10 7 2 |
|
| West
♠ J 8 7 3
♥ A K Q 10 9
♦ 2
♣ 8 6 4 |
|
East
♠ 9 6 4 2
♥ 8 7 2
♦ K 6 4
♣ 9 5 3 |
| |
South
♠ A
♥ 6 4 3
♦ A Q J 9 8 7 5
♣ K J |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
Pass |
| 1 ♦ |
1 ♥ |
2 ♣ |
Pass |
| 3 ♦ |
Pass |
3 ♠ |
Pass |
| 4 ♦ |
Pass |
5 ♦ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♥ King
“Boldness, and again boldness, and always boldness!”
— Danton
During the auction North can build up a fair picture of his partner’s hand, once he has opened and made a jump rebid, Despite the clear absence of a heart stop, North’s high cards entitle him to proceed to five diamonds, which at worst will depend on a trump split or a successful finesse.
West’s opening lead is the heart king, and East has to be wide awake. He can see from the dummy and his own hand that the defense has no chance of making a trick in the black suits. Even if declarer is missing the club king, the finesse is working for declarer, so either the contract is down in top tricks, or the defenders must generate a trump trick.
As long as partner has both top hearts, which is probable, the contract can be set if dummy can be forced on the third round of hearts, so that East’s trump king cannot be picked up. Accordingly, East should echo in hearts to encourage his partner to play a third round, and once that is done, the contract cannot be made. Even if East is not sufficiently alive to make this play, it is probably the right defense for West to continue hearts unless East discourages hearts, then signals for spades on the second heart. West can see that prospects of making a club trick are poor (given the likely discards coming on the spades), and so the best hope of a third trick lies in trumps.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 10 5 |
| ♥ |
J 5 |
| ♦ |
10 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q 10 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 ♣ |
Pass |
1 ♥ |
Pass |
| 1 ♠ |
Pass |
4 ♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: This auction shows a spade fit and a singleton diamond — a classic splinter bid, though not necessarily in a standard sequence. To cooperate in a slam venture, you need some extras, or a well-fitting minimum with extra shape. This hand does not quite qualify for a five-club cue-bid. Maybe with the club king instead of the queen I’d move on; here, it looks right to retreat to 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 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].
|
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