December 16th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, December 2, 2010 
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ Q 6 3
♥ K 2
♦ A J 10 5
♣ J 10 9 8 |
|
| West
♠ A K 10 9 4 2
♥ 10 5 3
♦ 8
♣ K 6 4 |
 |
East
♠ 8
♥ Q J 7 6 4
♦ Q 9 7 6
♣ 7 5 3 |
| |
South
♠ J 7 5
♥ A 9 8
♦ K 4 3 2
♣ A Q 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1♦ |
2♠ |
3♦ |
All Pass |
| |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ K
“Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.”
— Samuel Johnson
The normal effect of a ruff and sluff is to allow declarer to succeed in an otherwise unmakable contract. So how are you to know when the right moment has arrived? In principle, it is when declarer can be placed with all the missing side-suit honors.
In this deal, from the 2008 Warren Buffett Cup, Jill Meyers led her two top spades against three diamonds, then continued with the spade deuce, ruffed by Larry Cohen. East dutifully returned the club requested by Meyers’ suit-preference signal.
Declarer, Sabine Auken, was at the crossroads. Her opponents, who numbered among the cream of the world’s players, were well capable of psychic signaling. Auken reasoned that if West held the club king in addition to her spade honors, she might have made a simple overcall rather than a weak jump.
Additionally, rising with the ace, then discovering later that the club king was onside, could cost heavily in the scoring (which was closer to pairs than teams). Moreover, nobody likes to concede a psychological edge in this way. So South inserted her queen, West captured it, and believing that there were no further plain-suit defensive tricks to come, returned another spade.
This proffered ruff and discard was the killer defense. If declarer ruffed low in dummy or discarded, East would ruff in with the nine, forcing South’s king and ensuring that his queen would score a trick. And if declarer ruffed with the diamond jack, East would discard, establishing a trump trick for himself.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 7 5 |
| ♥ |
A 9 8 |
| ♦ |
K 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: There is no perfect call to describe this hand, but sometimes the simplest ways are best. With the opponents’ suit properly guarded, you can simply jump to three no-trump to show a balanced opening bid and end the auction facing anything but an exceptional hand.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 15th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, December 1, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ 9 6 5
♥ K Q 3
♦ K Q J 7 2
♣ Q 10 |
|
| West
♠ Q J 8 4
♥ 8 6 5
♦ 10 5
♣ J 8 4 2 |
|
East
♠ K 7 3
♥ 7 2
♦ A 6 3
♣ K 9 7 6 3 |
| |
South
♠ A 10 2
♥ A J 10 9 4
♦ 9 8 4
♣ A 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ Q
“I … hold there is no sin but ignorance.”
— Christopher Marlowe
The point of the defense to four hearts in today’s deal is that East must try to kill the diamond suit. If declarer wins the spade lead and takes out all the trumps, then East should hold up the diamond ace until the third round (and West should cooperate by playing high-low to show two diamonds). If declarer tackles the diamonds before exhausting trumps, so as to leave a trump re-entry in dummy, East must win the second diamond and lead a third, giving West a ruff. Thus the defenders should win either a trump or a club in addition to two spades and a diamond.
Can South do better, though? Yes, if he reads the position. South ducks the opening lead and wins the second spade, West having led a low spade to East’s king. Now South plays one round of diamonds. As West will show an even number of diamonds, East holds up the diamond ace. Declarer draws the rest of the trumps, perforce, and reverts to diamonds, East ducking again. Declarer now exits with a spade. West does best to win and lead out his remaining spade winner since he cannot afford to open up the clubs, but South discards a diamond from hand and from dummy on the 13th spade. West now has to lead a club and declarer should guess what to do. (If West had the high club, maybe the defenders would have arranged for East to win the third spade.)
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 7 3 |
| ♥ |
7 2 |
| ♦ |
A 6 3 |
| ♣ |
K 9 7 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| Pass |
1♣ |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Is two clubs natural or artificial? You would get many loud opinions on either side of this issue, but fortunately you do not have to commit yourself. Simply raise to three clubs and let partner tell you how he meant his call. If he intended it as artificial, he will doubtless describe his hand-pattern. If natural, you are in your side’s best strain.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 14th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: All |
North
♠ K Q 3
♥ K 10 7 6
♦ K 8
♣ Q 10 9 4 |
|
| West
♠ J 9 7 6 5
♥ —
♦ 10 7 4 3
♣ 7 6 3 2 |
|
East
♠ 10 4 2
♥ A Q J 8 2
♦ J 9 6
♣ J 8 |
| |
South
♠ A 8
♥ 9 5 4 3
♦ A Q 5 2
♣ A K 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
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|
Opening Lead: ♠ 6
“Sometimes these cogitations still amaze
The troubled midnight and the noon’s repose.”
— T.S. Eliot
The friendliness of the competitors and their high standard of ethics contribute hugely to making the Schapiro Spring Foursomes a most enjoyable event. And the standard of play is pretty high too!
The Norwegian international Boye Brogeland found himself in four hearts here when North used Stayman instead of raising directly to three no-trump, the action chosen at the other table. The bad trump break meant declarer would need to be very careful.
West led a spade, won in hand by South with the ace. Brogeland was brought up short when West showed out on the low heart continuation. However, he accurately inserted dummy’s 10, taken by the jack, and won the club return in hand. Three rounds of diamonds were followed by the club ace, then the spade queen and king, on which Brogeland discarded his third club (to avoid an embarrassing ruff from East).
A four-card ending had been reached, declarer having thus far lost just one trump trick, and now came the club queen from dummy. With just A-Q-8-2 of hearts left, whichever heart East chose to play would allow declarer to come to two of the last four tricks. Had East ruffed low, South would have overruffed and put East back on play to lead a trump to dummy’s king. In fact East elected to ruff with the queen, then returned the two, won by North’s six. Now a club from North meant declarer scored either his heart king or nine for the game-going trick.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 3 |
| ♥ |
K 10 7 6 |
| ♦ |
K 8 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner’s invitational sequence suggests about an 11-count with four hearts. Your soft cards suggest four hearts may not make, but with so much of your hand in your short suits, I would not be surprised to discover that two no-trump was easier to make than three hearts. So I would pass, although correcting to three hearts might work if partner turns out to be weak in diamonds.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 13th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ K 10 3 2
♥ K Q 7
♦ Q 9 8 3
♣ A 6 |
|
| West
♠ J 7 4
♥ J 10 9 6 5
♦ A 7
♣ 7 5 3 |
|
East
♠ 9 6 5
♥ A 8
♦ 6 5 2
♣ Q 10 9 4 2 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 8
♥ 4 3 2
♦ K J 10 4
♣ K J 8 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♥ J
“No man lives without jostling and being jostled; in all ways he has to elbow himself through the world, giving and receiving offense.”
— Thomas Carlyle
Today’s deal, from a team game, demonstrates the danger of thinking by rote as opposed to finding the right moment to break the rules.
Declarer knew that the textbooks said to cover an honor with an honor. When West led the heart jack against three no-trump, declarer covered in dummy; East won with the ace and returned his second heart. Declarer ducked in dummy but won the next heart. When West turned up with the diamond ace and an original five-card heart suit, the game had to fail.
Unlucky — but the contract was the same at the second table, after a similar bidding sequence. This declarer was prepared to give the deal the proper amount of attention. Again, the lead was the heart jack, but South ducked in dummy. He had reasoned that if hearts broke 4-3, he would have no problems, but if they were 5-2 with East holding the heart ace and West the diamond ace, the hearts needed to be blocked before the opponents could set them up. Right he was. And note that if the red aces were switched, West would get a cheap trick, but the contract would not be jeopardized since West would not have a re-entry.
Declarer’s line would lose if West had led from a heart holding of A-J-10-9-6 and held the diamond ace, but South correctly reckoned that had that been the case, West would surely have overcalled at his first turn.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 6 |
| ♥ |
K 9 8 4 2 |
| ♦ |
8 3 |
| ♣ |
A 7 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| 1♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
2♣ |
| Pass |
Pass |
2♥ |
2♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Declarer has suggested six clubs and only three spades (or he would have bid spades at his previous turn), while your partner rates to have only two or three small hearts. My instinct would be to lead the diamond eight — the heart lead seems too likely to give up our side’s trick in that suit.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 12th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, November 28, 2010
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Today’s bidding sequence went around the table: 1 ♦ – ♠ – 2 ♥ – Pass – 3 ♥ – Pass. You wrote that the call of three hearts was not forcing. Does this imply that if opener had rebid three diamonds or two no-trump instead, that would also be nonforcing? Equally, does this mean that both three clubs and a cuebid of two spades are forcing bids, with the latter requesting a stopper?
— Who’s on First?, Naples, Fla.
ANSWER: Absolutely right, and very clearly and concisely expressed. Any action by either opener or responder that sounds nonforcing at the second turn will indeed be nonforcing. The cuebid initially asks for a stopper, but may conceal a strong hand with support. A direct three-level (as opposed to two-level) action by responder should be played as game forcing, though.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ K-9-3-2, ♥ Q-2, ♦ A-10, ♣ A-10-8-4-3, I opened one club and heard one diamond to my left. My partner bid one spade, the next hand bid three diamonds, and I joined in with three spades. The next thing I knew, my partner had the five-spade bid on the table. What does that mean? I thought my trumps were not good enough to go on, but slam was cold our way.
— Timid Tim, Staten Island, N.Y.
ANSWER: When the opponents bid a suit, as here, one should play jumps to the five-level in a major to ask for a control in their suit, not for good trumps, unless one member of the partnership has already announced a control in the danger suit. Here, partner wanted a diamond control, and your choice is to cue-bid six diamonds to announce a first-round control, or to cautiously raise partner to six spades because your hand is minimum in other respects.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What card should you lead from a six-card suit if playing third-and-fifth or third-and-low leads? If the answers are different, which do you recommend?
— Get the Lead Out, Vancouver, British Columbia
|
|
ANSWER: From a theoretical viewpoint, the answer is not close. Third-highest leads (as opposed to fourth highest) are designed to make it easy to distinguish the length held by the opening leader immediately. Leading the four from both Q-10-8-6-4-2 and the same holding without the two violates the whole principle of the lead system. I’d lead third highest from both four and six cards and low from three or five cards.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ K-J-10-3, ♥ A-10-8-6-4-3, ♦ Q-3-2, ♣—, would you pass or would you open some number of hearts in first seat? Would the vulnerability or form of scoring matter?
— High Hopes, Monterey, Calif.
ANSWER: Two hearts is out of the question. If you are not playing Flannery (few do these days, whatever its technical merits), your choice is to open one heart (and be stuck for a satisfactory call if partner responds one no-trump), or to pass and hope to make up for it later. I say “Thrice blest is he who strikes the first blow” and open one heart.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner told me that occasionally the response of two no-trump to a takeout double is not natural. I know that some play Lebensohl after the double of a weak two-bid, but this was a more complex sequence. Please explain the idea of a scramble.
— Escape Artist, Waterbury, Conn.
ANSWER: If you pass initially, then balance with a double of a two-level bid, your side will rarely want to play game, but it may not be clear to partner what his side’s best fit is. He can offer a choice of the minors (or two lowest unbid suits) with a call of two no-trump. If he subsequently corrects his your response to the next suit up, it shows the other two suits. This approach also works with a response of four no-trump to a takeout double, but three no-trump is always to play. |
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 11th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, November 27, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ Q 7 6 4
♥ J 6 3
♦ J 7 4 2
♣ A 5 |
|
| West
♠ A J 5 2
♥ 8 5
♦ A 6 3
♣ J 10 9 7 |
|
East
♠ —
♥ Q 10 9 4
♦ K 10 9 5
♣ Q 8 6 4 2 |
| |
South
♠ K 10 9 8 3
♥ A K 7 2
♦ Q 8
♣ K 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
3♣* |
Pass |
| 3♦** |
Pass |
3♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
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| |
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| *6-9 high-card points with four or more trumps |
Opening Lead: ♣ J
“Expert men can execute, and perhaps judge of particulars, one by one; but the general counsels, and the plots and marshalling of affairs, come best from those that are learned.”
— Francis Bacon
To mark the U.S. Nationals currently being played in Orlando, all this week’s deals come from last year’s championships in San Diego. Today’s three-spade contract comes from the Senior Knockout Teams, quarterfinal round.
Declarer Melih Ozdil won the club lead in hand, led a club to dummy’s ace, then crossed with a spade to his king. West ducked and East pitched a club. This was good defense by West. Now, although declarer can negotiate trumps easily enough, he still needs to hold his heart losers to one, which is not so easy to do. With East apparently having the heart length, Ozdil advanced the diamond eight (the queen is technically the best play, forcing West to win the first diamond) and ran it to East’s nine. Back came a diamond to the queen and ace, and West now continued diamonds. Ozdil ruffed the third diamond and advanced the spade eight, ducked, East discarding another club. Then he led a third spade, East discarding his last club. West won and could do no better than play back a fourth spade as East pitched a heart.
Ozdil won the trump in dummy and exited with a diamond to East, throwing a heart from hand, endplaying East to open up hearts for declarer’s ninth trick.
The winning defense is for West to shift to hearts after taking the diamond ace. Try as he might, declarer can no longer endplay East at the right moment.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
Q 10 9 4 |
| ♦ |
K 10 9 5 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 6 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: It is tempting to try to improve the contract by bidding three no-trump. In practice, while three spades may be an unhappy contract, you will likely find it far harder to score partner’s small spades in a no-trump contract. I would pass now and hope partner finds a way to go plus in the partscore.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 10th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, November 26, 2010
| Dealer: North
Vul: All |
North
♠ 9 3
♥ A K 8 5 2
♦ Q J 9 8 4
♣ A |
|
| West
♠ J 8 4
♥ 7 6
♦ K 10 6
♣ K Q 6 3 2 |
|
East
♠ 5
♥ Q J 10 4 3
♦ 7 3 2
♣ 10 9 8 7 |
| |
South
♠ A K Q 10 7 6 2
♥ 9
♦ A 5
♣ J 5 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♥ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5♣* |
Pass |
| 5 NT |
Pass |
6♥ |
Pass |
| 7♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| *Zero or three key-cards, counting the trump king as an ace |
Opening Lead: ♣ K
“A man must be a little mad if he does not want to be even more stupid.”
— Michel de Montaigne
On this deal from the first session of last year’s Blue Ribbon Pairs, South, with eight tricks in his hand facing an opening bid, decided to eschew a scientific approach. It is better to play the direct four-no-trump response as asking for straight aces, but North and South were at least on the same wavelength. After discovering that his partner held the relevant key-cards, South took a shot at seven spades.
At first things were going smoothly, but then came a hitch. Nikolay Demirev (West) rejected the traditional (but perhaps overrated) lead of a trump in favor of the club king. That appears to be a catastrophic decision when you look at all four hands, as declarer can now ruff two clubs in dummy.
South took trick one with dummy’s ace, cashed the top hearts, discarding a diamond, crossed to the diamond ace and ruffed a club. He now played the diamond queen, ruffing it in hand, and ruffed his last club.
He only had to get back to hand to draw trumps to land his ambitious contract, and we can see that a diamond ruff is the way to do it. However, there was a problem, because on the second round of diamonds West had followed with the king!
That brilliant falsecard induced declarer to return to hand by ruffing a heart, which West was able to overruff. How much more satisfying than to lead a trump and defeat the contract in more pedestrian fashion.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 8 4 |
| ♥ |
7 6 |
| ♦ |
K 10 6 |
| ♣ |
K Q 6 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your no-trump response suggested 8-12 points, so you are at the lower end of your range. But your trump support is outstanding. Not only might you make game, but you may not have much defense against a spade or diamond contract. I would raise to three clubs now, which does not promise the earth. (The “impossible” bid of two spades, or a cuebid of two hearts, would show a stronger hand.)
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 9th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, November 25, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ K 7 6 4
♥ A 8 3 2
♦ 6 2
♣ Q J 4 |
|
| West
♠ Q 10 3
♥ Q 7
♦ Q 10 5 4
♣ K 10 8 2 |
|
East
♠ J 9 8 5
♥ K J 10 4
♦ J 9 8 7 3
♣ — |
| |
South
♠ A 2
♥ 9 6 5
♦ A K
♣ A 9 7 6 5 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦ 4
“Thou’lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never!”
— William Shakespeare
At no-trump a simple rule is that it never makes sense to play on the opponents’ suit and set it up for them before you play on your own. But never say never, as demonstrated in today’s deal, which comes from last year’s Fall Nationals, at San Diego.
Consider the contract of three no-trump on the lead of the diamond four. You take East’s diamond jack with your king. What now? A simple approach would be to play a spade to dummy and go after clubs. That covers most of the bases, but not the 4-0 break when West has the length. Since this is a team game, where the object is to insure the contract, better is to lead a low club up to dummy at trick two. Lo and behold, East shows out.
Now you have to be careful. If you cross back to hand with the spade ace to lead a club up, West wins the club king, leaving clubs blocked, and plays a second diamond. Now you can’t unscramble your tricks.
Better is to make the somewhat unnatural-looking move of crossing to your diamond ace at trick three. This sets up the opponents’ diamonds, but in return you get to play a second club up toward dummy while leaving your entry protected. This lets West win his club king and cash the diamonds. But you can win the spade return in dummy, unblock clubs, and come to hand with the spade ace to claim the balance.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 7 6 4 |
| ♥ |
A 8 3 2 |
| ♦ |
6 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 NT |
2♣ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: These days it is relatively rare to run into opponents playing natural overcalls of one no-trump. But whatever the meaning of the two-club overcall (unless it specifically guarantees both majors), it is best to use the double of two clubs as Stayman — as if the opponents had not intervened at all — and to play the rest of your normal system as if the opponents had not bid at all. For higher-level intervention, takeout doubles work fine from both sides of the table.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 8th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 7 Comments
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North
♠ K Q 10 8 7 5
♥ 10 9 8
♦ K 3
♣ 8 3 |
|
| West
♠ 3
♥ K 7 6 2
♦ J 8 6 5
♣ K Q 10 6 |
|
East
♠ J 6 2
♥ J 5 3
♦ Q 10 9 2
♣ A 5 4 |
| |
South
♠ A 9 4
♥ A Q 4
♦ A 7 4
♣ J 9 7 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
4♥* |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣ K
“They fight with the wiles of fiends escaping
And underhand.”
— William Rose Benet
In honor of the Thanksgiving National Tournament being held this week in Orlando, this week’s deals all come from last year’s Fall Nationals, held in San Diego.
On today’s deal most of the field played four spades, emerging with 10 tricks by taking two heart finesses. At one table, though, South was declarer (and always is in print), and West knew no better than to lead the club king. The contract is still impregnable, but Eric Leong as East was not going to let that put him off. He overtook the club king with the ace and returned the club five, looking like a man who wanted to get a club ruff or an overruff. Suitably fooled, West won the club 10 at trick two and played back a low club to go for the trump promotion.
Declarer now had three plausible strategies available. He could ruff high in dummy and hope to negotiate trumps and hearts, with some excellent endplay chances if trumps split. He would ruff with a middle trump, hoping the spade jack was well-placed for him, or he could discard a heart, hoping for the actual lie of the cards or for a winning heart finesse.
I’m not sure what is best, but when declarer followed the first line, by ruffing with the spade queen, then laying down the trump ace and king, he had turned plus 620 into minus 100 and Leong into a hero — if just for one day.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
3 |
| ♥ |
K 7 6 2 |
| ♦ |
J 8 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K Q 10 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
2♦ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
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ANSWER: Your partner’s double of the weak two-bid is for takeout. Though your spade shortage may lead you to suspect that partner has an unusual shape for his action, you have no reason not to show your invitational hand with hearts by jumping to three hearts. Now your partner can introduce a long spade suit if he has an atypical double with extra values, letting you bid three 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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 7th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, November 23, 2010
| Dealer: North
Vul: All |
North
♠ K J 10 9 3
♥ A J 4 3
♦ J 4
♣ K 5 |
|
| West
♠ 8 7 4
♥ K 9
♦ 10 9 8 5 2
♣ J 6 2 |
|
East
♠ A Q 6 2
♥ 10 7 6 2
♦ A 7 3
♣ Q 4 |
| |
South
♠ 5
♥ Q 8 5
♦ K Q 6
♣ A 10 9 8 7 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: ♦ 10
“Man is sometimes extraordinarily, passionately, in love with suffering.”
— Fyodor Dostoyevsky
To coincide with the Fall Nationals now being played in Orlando, all the deals this week come from last year’s championships, in San Diego.
While the championships used to be almost exclusively an American event, this is no longer the case. National squads from all over Europe are regular visitors. In this deal from the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs, Victoria Gromova and Tatiana Ponomareva — part of the Russian ladies’ national squad — defended very nicely against the no-trump game.
Gromova led the diamond 10 to Ponomareva’s ace, and South won the diamond continuation in hand. This had the effect of removing declarer’s fast entry to the clubs. It might be right to play on one of the majors at once, but neither suit seemed exactly promising, so South could think of nothing better to do than play three rounds of clubs, pitching a heart from dummy and hoping the defenders would continue the attack on diamonds. Gromova won the club jack, and her partner (playing upside-down discards, where a small card encourages) thoughtfully pitched the spade two.
Gromova obediently shifted to a spade, and Ponomareva won the queen and ace and played a third spade, locking declarer in dummy, forcing him to surrender a heart for down one.
While declarer could have succeeded by taking an early heart finesse, it is far from clear that that would have been a sensible approach on a different lie of the cards.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
5 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 5 |
| ♦ |
K Q 6 |
| ♣ |
A 10 9 8 7 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| ? |
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ANSWER: A jump to three clubs used to be a forcing raise. Then came limit raises, and these days inverted raises prevail. By this I mean that many players (including me) use a simple raise to two of partner’s minor as at least a limit raise in that suit, with a jump to three as pre-emptive (about 3-7 HCP). It doesn’t matter what system you play, as long as you and your partner are on the same wavelength.
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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
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