January 9th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments 
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Since Christmas Day has just come and gone, what would you wish to happen in 2011 to the world of bridge?
— Late Letter to Santa, Phoenix, Ariz.
ANSWER: Perhaps I should hope for something attainable, and not look for pie in the sky. Maybe we might be successful in persuading a few school districts to teach bridge to their pupils, accepting that it is a fine tool to help children understand mathematics and develop concentration.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ K-8-4, ♥ Q-4, ♦ Q-2, ♣ A-10-6-4-3-2, I assume you would open one club, as I did. When the next hand doubled and my partner bid one heart, I heard a double on my right, which was explained as penalties, not takeout. Would you run to two clubs, or to t turned into a disaster when my partner passed with 4-4 in the majors and a heart suit headed by the 10. We went down 300.
— Revolting Developments, Madison, Wis.
ANSWER: I think your pass was quite reasonable; your partner should maybe have inferred that you were not overloaded in hearts if the opponents were to be believed, so perhaps he could have removed the contract to one spade or even one no-trump.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What is the best way to deal with interference to Blackwood, and how should one show a void when asked for aces?
— Contingencies, Memphis, Tenn.
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ANSWER: A simple answer to your first question is to use double as no aces, pass as one, and then bid up by steps — whether playing keycard or regular Blackwood. With a useful void, don’t show the void with no aces, but with one or three aces jump in the void if it is below the trump suit, or jump in the trump suit with a higher-ranking void. And bid five no-trump with two aces and a void.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ K-Q-5-4, ♥ A-J-3-2, ♦ A-10-7-4, ♣ Q, I thought it was normal to open one diamond and jump to three spades over the one-spade response. My partner suggested I might have gone all the way to game, and even that I might have bid four clubs. But wouldn’t that sequence show a better hand — or even a first-round club control?
— What’s It Worth? Casper, Wyo.
ANSWER: You were quite sensible in your hand evaluation. With the club queen a potentially broken reed, your jump to three spades looks right. If partner cannot bid on, you rate to be high enough. Give yourself the diamond queen instead of the club queen and you might well do more. A jump to four clubs if played as a splinter (a common modern treatment) does indeed suggest a singleton, not a void.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If you play two-over-one game forcing, how can you differentiate between a hand such as a 10-count with six good clubs (not worth a game-force but worth an invitation) and the same hand with an ace less, in response to a one-spade opening.
— Sorting It Out, Bremerton, Wash.
ANSWER: Some people play a jump to three clubs immediately as invitational with a good suit, say 10-11 points, the hand that in old-fashioned Standard American would have responded two clubs, then bid three clubs. For other people the jump to three clubs would be an artificial spade raise or even a weak jump. If so, they would have to respond one no-trump, then bid three clubs at their next turn over their partner’s response with both the invitational hand and the weaker variety. |
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].
January 8th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ 8 7 4 2
♥ A Q 7 5
♦ 6 2
♣ Q 8 6 |
|
| West
♠ Q J 10
♥ 8
♦ K 10 8 7 5 4 3
♣ 10 3 |
 |
East
♠ 3
♥ J 10 9 3 2
♦ J 9
♣ J 9 7 5 4 |
| |
South
♠ A K 9 6 5
♥ K 6 4
♦ A Q
♣ A K 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♥* |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5♦ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All Pass |
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|
| *Cuebid |
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Opening Lead: ♠ Q
“Grace is given of God, but knowledge is bought in the market.”
— Arthur Hugh Clough
Against six spades West leads the trump queen, and when you win and play a second round of trumps, East discards a club. How do you plan to make 12 tricks after this development?
The best approach is to try to remove West’s hearts and clubs, then follow that up by throwing him in with a trump to lead diamonds or concede a ruff and discard. Either way, you will make 12 tricks.
One of the declarers in a team game played three rounds of clubs immediately, but West ruffed the third club and exited safely with a heart. When the diamond finesse lost, that was down one.
The second declarer showed the correct way to play the hand, which relies only on West’s having at least one heart and one club. He cashed the heart king and led a low heart toward dummy. West did not want to ruff a loser and thus set up one of dummy’s heart winners to take care of the diamond queen. Accordingly, he discarded a club, and declarer took the trick with dummy’s heart ace, then returned to hand with the club ace and led another heart. Dummy’s heart queen won, and declarer continued with the two remaining club winners.
West was now fixed. If he ruffed either of these, he would have to play a diamond away from the king. When he declined to ruff, declarer threw him in with a trump for the same outcome — 12 tricks to declarer.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
3 |
| ♥ |
J 10 9 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 9 |
| ♣ |
J 9 7 5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
1♥ |
1♠ |
| ? |
|
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| |
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| |
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ANSWER: It is possible to be too intellectual about problems of this sort. The simple approach facing an overcall is that when the opponents appear to own the deal and your side has a fit, you are obligated to pre-empt to the limit, even at unfavorable vulnerability. Bid four hearts first; worry about the consequences later. Indeed, you might think about bidding five hearts if nonvulnerable!
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].
January 7th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 8 Comments
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North
♠ 8 5 3 2
♥ 6 4 2
♦ A 10 6 5
♣ A 6 |
|
| West
♠ J 9 6
♥ J 10 9 7 5
♦ 9 8 4
♣ 9 3 |
|
East
♠ Q 10 7
♥ 8 3
♦ J 7 3 2
♣ J 10 7 5 |
| |
South
♠ A K 4
♥ A K Q
♦ K Q
♣ K Q 8 4 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
6 NT |
All Pass |
| |
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|
Opening Lead: ♥ J
“All men know the utility of useful things, but they do not know the utility of futility.”
— Chuang-tzu
How would you play six no-trump after West leads the heart jack? The declarer at one table in a teams match believed he was very unlucky to go down. He took the heart lead, cashed the diamond king and queen, and crossed to the club ace. At this point, slightly late in the day, he realized that there was no other entry to dummy, so he played the diamond ace, discarding his spade loser.
Next, he played the king and queen of clubs, revealing the 4-2 break. Declarer now conceded a club trick, but East had a diamond to cash for the setting trick.
While the first declarer was surely unlucky that the diamond jack had not fallen in three rounds and that one defender had both four diamonds and four clubs, it was left to the second declarer to show how the hand should have been played. This declarer won the heart lead and unblocked the top diamonds from hand, then played a low club from both hands at trick four. He was able to win the return, cross to the club ace, and make a spade, three hearts, four diamonds and four clubs.
The difference between the two approaches was that by giving up a club early after unblocking the diamonds, declarer surrendered his chance of an overtrick. But in return he had insured that the defenders would not be able to cash a diamond winner when on lead.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
6 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A 10 6 5 |
| ♣ |
A 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♠ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
2♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
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|
| |
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ANSWER: Although you have a good hand, it seems to be more useful on defense than on offense. Your partner had the chance to compete to three diamonds, but did not take it, so presumably he does not have greater than expected offense either. That being so, pass and hope to beat two spades. If double shows this hand, it might also be an option, but it might suggest better 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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
January 6th, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ 8 4
♥ 10 8 7
♦ 10 9 7 2
♣ A 10 9 5 |
|
| West
♠ Q 10 9 7 3
♥ K 4 3
♦ K 5
♣ 7 4 3 |
|
East
♠ J 6 5
♥ Q 6 5 2
♦ 6 4 3
♣ K 8 6 |
| |
South
♠ A K 2
♥ A J 9
♦ A Q J 8
♣ Q J 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ 10
“But society has now fairly got the better of individuality; and the danger which threatens human nature is not the excess, but the deficiency, of personal impulses and preferences.”
— John Stuart Mill
Some deals that require nothing more subtle than basic technique nonetheless can be surprisingly difficult until you see the point.
In today’s deal from the Dyspeptics Club, South was at the helm in three no-trump. He started well when he ducked the opening spade lead and won the second. Then he took the club finesse, won the spade continuation, and ran off his club winners before taking the losing diamond finesse. Alas for him, West had two spades to cash — down one.
North snapped his pencil and muttered something uncharitable about bridge in the slow lane. Was he right to be upset?
I can understand his frustration, although I suspect I might have been sympathetic to an inexperienced partner who had made the same mistake. Nevertheless, South had a blind spot, the point being that he needed to establish both minors, but also had to keep the danger hand (West) off lead once spades had been established.
The right approach on winning the first top spade is to play the diamond ace followed by the diamond queen, not caring who takes the trick. As it happens, West wins the diamond king and plays a third spade to your ace. Now South can run the club queen; East can take his king when he likes, but cannot prevent declarer from scoring three clubs, three diamonds, two spades and one heart.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 4 |
| ♥ |
10 8 7 |
| ♦ |
10 9 7 2 |
| ♣ |
A 10 9 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
1♥ |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 3♣ |
Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: When you passed initially and made a minimum raise of clubs at your second turn, you essentially denied holding more than about a six-count. Now that partner has made a try for game, you cannot treat your hand as a minimum anymore. In context, your values must be enough to give partner a play for game, so bid five 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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
January 5th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, December 22, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ 9 4
♥ Q J 9 7
♦ 8 6 4 2
♣ K 8 3 |
|
| West
♠ 6
♥ 6 5 3 2
♦ K 5
♣ Q 10 9 7 6 4 |
|
East
♠ 8 7 3 2
♥ 4
♦ 10 9 7 3
♣ A J 5 2 |
| |
South
♠ A K Q J 10 5
♥ A K 10 8
♦ A Q J
♣ — |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 5 NT |
Pass |
6♦* |
Pass |
| 7♥ |
All Pass |
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|
Opening Lead: ♥ 2
“The danger chiefly lies in acting well;
No crime’s so great as daring to excel.”
— Charles Churchill
In today’s deal, when the heart fit came to light, you could not conveniently use Blackwood because of your void. However, this is one of the rare sequences these days when you can use a jump to five no-trump as the grand slam force to discover if North holds the trump queen, not to offer a choice of slams. The conventional responses are by steps, so your partner shows the trump queen — enough for you to take a shot at the big prize. West leads a trump against the grand slam, and East follows. How do you plan to make your ambitious contract?
It may seem that you will need to finesse in diamonds at some stage. However, you have 11 winners — four in trumps, six in spades and one in diamonds. Can you generate two extra trump tricks by ruffing in dummy? No, but all you need to do is to ruff two clubs in your hand and you will have a total of 13 winners.
You win the trump lead with dummy’s nine and ruff a club with the ace (retaining the 10). You re-enter dummy by overtaking the trump 10 with the queen and ruff a second club with the trump king.
Next, you return to dummy with the spade nine to draw West’s remaining trumps with North’s J-7, discarding the diamond Q-J from hand. As your hand will have only winners left, your slam has rolled home.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 7 3 2 |
| ♥ |
4 |
| ♦ |
10 9 7 3 |
| ♣ |
A J 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♦ |
| Pass |
1♠ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
2♦ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
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|
ANSWER: Your partner is not supposed to bid again here without significant extras in shape or high cards, so his pass over two diamonds is not a danger signal. Although you have diamond length, you have no strength in that suit, so it seems right to try to push the opponents up a level by bidding three clubs now.
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].
January 4th, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, December 21, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ K 5
♥ 7 6 2
♦ A 10 9 3
♣ A 9 4 3 |
|
| West
♠ J 10 9 7 4
♥ Q 10 5
♦ Q 8 5
♣ 10 2 |
|
East
♠ Q 8 3
♥ 9 8 4 3
♦ J 7 6 4
♣ 6 5 |
| |
South
♠ A 6 2
♥ A K J
♦ K 2
♣ K Q J 8 7 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
| 6 NT |
All Pass |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ J
“We know too much, and are convinced of too little.”
— T.S. Eliot
Six clubs would have been easy today — your jump to six no-trump is explicable only because the game is pairs. When West leads the spade queen, how do you plan to make 12 tricks?
You have 11 top tricks, with chances of a 12th trick in either hearts or diamonds. Your aim should be to combine these chances to best advantage.
As you want to put the defenders under pressure by running five rounds of clubs while throwing a heart from dummy, you will need a late entry to the diamonds. So, you win the first trick with the spade ace and then run the clubs. West does best to trust his partner’s encouraging signal at the first trick and throw three spades, while East discards three hearts on the clubs.
Next you should attack diamonds. The best way to tackle that suit is to cash the diamond king and then lead the diamond two, covering a low card from West with dummy’s nine. When East wins with the jack and exits with a heart, you will rise with the heart ace and cross to dummy with the spade king. You play the diamond ace, throwing a spade from hand. When West produces the queen on the third round of the suit, you will make 12 tricks on this layout. But of course if diamonds had not been so friendly, you would have fallen back on the heart finesse.
This plan brings home the slam about three times in four.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 5 |
| ♥ |
7 6 2 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 3 |
| ♣ |
A 9 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
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|
ANSWER: Your partner’s sequence is not a drop-dead confession of weakness. He could have made a weak jump overcall initially, so this sequence typically shows 10-13 or so and six or more spades, not enough for an invitational jump to three spades. That said, you have just enough to invite game by raising to three 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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
January 3rd, 2011 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, December 20, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ 8 4 2
♥ 8 7
♦ A K Q 4 3
♣ 5 3 2 |
|
| West
♠ 10 7 6 3
♥ J 9 6
♦ 9
♣ 10 9 7 6 4 |
|
East
♠ J 9 5
♥ Q 10 5 3 2
♦ J 10 6
♣ J 8 |
| |
South
♠ A K Q
♥ A K 4
♦ 8 7 5 2
♣ A K Q |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5♠* |
Pass |
| 7 NT |
All Pass |
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| *Two of the five aces (counting the trump king as an ace) plus the trump queen |
Opening Lead: ♣ 10
“Only by unintermitted agitation can a people be kept sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.”
— Wendell Phillips
Nobody’s brain functions particularly well first thing on a Monday morning. Perhaps it is the weekend that slows thinking down, but I always feel that the reader may benefit from a less challenging deal to recharge the mind.
That said, how would you set about playing seven no-trump, reached after South sets diamonds as trump and uses keycard Blackwood? The four common responses to the inquiry treat the trump king as one of the aces, or keycards. In order, the answers are to show zero or three keycards, one or four, two without the trump queen, and two with. After the first two responses the inquirer can then ask for the trump queen. So here, North with the fourth-step response showed the two missing keycards (the diamond ace and king) and the trump queen, and South closed his eyes and bid the grand slam.
Having bid the hand accurately, South made no mistake in the play. He won the club lead and led the diamond seven to the queen, cashed the diamond king and parked his diamond eight under it, then took the diamond ace and unblocked his diamond five. Now he triumphantly played the diamond three and followed with his remaining diamond spot, the two. That left him in dummy to take the fifth diamond winner and rack up his contract.
Note that without the triple unblock, declarer would have been unable to cash the long diamond in dummy when diamonds split 3-1.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 3 |
| ♥ |
J 8 5 |
| ♦ |
10 5 4 2 |
| ♣ |
8 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
2♣ |
3♥ |
| Pass |
4♥ |
5♣ |
5♥ |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
| |
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|
ANSWER: Whenever the opponents appear to be sacrificing and have no legitimate chance to make their contract, the logical opening lead is a trump to cut down on a possible ruff. Here, there is surely no hurry to cash winners, but is it farfetched to envisage dummy with, for example, three trumps and one club? Now a trump lead looks essential.
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].
January 2nd, 2011 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
What is “Italian Cuebidding”? I’ve tried bidding with an Italian accent, but I still don’t do any better when it comes to reaching good slams or avoiding bad ones.
— Roman Candle, Macon, Ga.
ANSWER: In regular cuebidding, one cuebids aces before second-round controls, while Italian-style cuebidding focuses on always making the most economical cuebid. So bypassing a suit denies any control in that suit, and a repeat cuebid by responder promises a control in all bypassed suits as well as in the suit in which you now make a cuebid.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
At pairs I held ♠ K-10-3, ♥ 10-4, ♦ A-K-3-2, ♣ A-8-7-4 and opened one diamond. After a one-spade response, I could not decide whether to raise spades, introduce clubs, or rebid one no-trump. When I chose the last-named bid, we made nine tricks in the no-trump game for a bottom because others made more in spades. (My partner had six bad spades and a balanced opening bid.) Was I right to open diamonds first? Do you have any comments on the subsequent calls?
— Left in a Bad Place, Nashville, Tenn.
ANSWER: Regardless of which minor I opened, I would raise one spade to two. This hand has decent trumps and a ruffing value, and if no-trump is right, it should be played by partner to protect the hearts. Incidentally, even if your call was not best, your partner made the last and worst mistake when he opted unilaterally for no-trump.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
How should an aspiring tournament player deal with bad results? Is there any point in discussing the result at the table, or should it wait until after the game?
— Blame Game, North Bay, Ontario
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ANSWER: Never criticize partner for his declarer play — that is his problem, not yours. Likewise, when you mess up as declarer, do not apologize. Your partner probably knows you were not trying to upset him. Bidding foul-ups only merit discussion at the table if you think the accident needs mentioning to avoid having it happen again in the set. The same broadly applies to problems in defense, though in my experience these are the hardest accidents to pass over.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I picked up ♠ K-3, ♥ K-Q-5-4, ♦ A-J-7-3-2, ♣ A-10 and opened one diamond, planning to reverse into two hearts over a one-level response. In fact my LHO overcalled one heart and my partner doubled for takeout. Now came two clubs on my right. What should I have done now?
— What’s Left? Torrance, Calif.
ANSWER: When you now volunteer a call of two no-trump, you show 18-19, approximately the values you hold. If you had a balanced 12-14 hand, you would simply pass and wait for partner to compete further if he had extras.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If you could, would you field a team for the United States that did not include a sponsor? Would it make an appreciable difference to our chances of success in world events?
— Logo a Go-Go, Miami, Fla.
ANSWER: I’m not sure it would make a big difference. (Our women’s teams have been dominant in the last 40 years while our men’s team has shared the limelight with a powerful Italian team.) That said, while sponsorship allows good players to concentrate on bridge and thus to get better, I’d still like to see a system that allows the three best pairs to make up our team. |
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].
January 1st, 2011 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: All |
North
♠ A 8 7
♥ K 5 2
♦ Q J 7 6 5 2
♣ A |
|
| West
♠ Q J 10 5 4
♥ Q 10 6
♦ 9 8
♣ 9 3 2 |
|
East
♠ 9 6
♥ A 9 4 3
♦ A 10 4
♣ J 10 8 7 |
| |
South
♠ K 3 2
♥ J 8 7
♦ K 3
♣ K Q 6 5 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
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| |
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|
Opening Lead: ♠ Q
“Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; therefore, we must be saved by hope.”
— Reinhold Niebuhr
Today’s deal is from the 2002 European Mixed Teams Championship. Although most Souths were successful in three no-trump, best defense would have posed South a very knotty problem.
When West led the spade queen, declarer won in hand, played a club to the ace to unblock that suit, and followed with a diamond to the king. When this held, just one top club from hand was cashed, then diamonds were continued. East could win the ace but now, with the spade ace as an entry to the established diamonds, declarer could not be denied nine tricks.
Compare the situation if East rises with the ace when the first diamond is led. South must unblock the king; otherwise, a further spade removes dummy’s last sure entry. But the unblock leaves declarer without access to the clubs in his own hand. East returns a spade, and now declarer has to run the diamonds, to reduce everyone down to four cards. He keeps two clubs and two hearts in hand while focusing on West’s discards.
South must assume that East has the heart ace, or West will have an entry to the spade suit, and must decide in the ending how many hearts West has kept. If West has kept all his spades, declarer advances the heart king, smothering West’s queen. But if West parts with a spade, he is thrown in with dummy’s last spade. After cashing his second spade winner, West will be endplayed in hearts to concede the ninth trick.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 3 2 |
| ♥ |
J 8 7 |
| ♦ |
K 3 |
| ♣ |
K Q 6 5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♥ |
1♠ |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Whether or not this hand is worth driving to game, you should bid four hearts now. Your spade king rates to be working as well as an ace, and you have a useful ruffing value in diamonds. Even your heart intermediates may contribute to the chances of making 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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 31st, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ A 10 7 5
♥ Q
♦ A 9 7 5 4
♣ K 7 4 |
|
| West
♠ K J 9 8 6 4
♥ 8 7 5
♦ J 8 2
♣ 5 |
|
East
♠ Q 3
♥ 9 6 2
♦ K 10 3
♣ A J 10 9 3 |
| |
South
♠ 2
♥ A K J 10 4 3
♦ Q 6
♣ Q 8 6 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♣ 5
“The twilight of our mysteries
Shines like high noonday on her face;
Our piteous guesses, dim with fears,
She touches, handles, sees, and hears.”
— Robert Hugh Benson
I notice that Jeff Wolfson has come out of retirement, if only temporarily, 10 years since he gave up the game to concentrate on family life after his squad played in the 2000 World Championships.
Here is a deal from the last set of the trials that qualified his team for the Bermuda Bowl. Because his opponents had made three no-trump here, Michael Rosenberg (for the Wolfson team) would have to make his heart game to avoid a substantial loss.
On a low club lead to East’s nine (this would have been a fine time for a falsecard) and South’s queen, the issue was how to get a 10th trick if East had all the top clubs.
It seems impossible to build a trick from the diamond queen. However, Rosenberg went for a completely different play, electing to ruff out the spades before drawing trumps. As soon as West was known to hold six spades, East was marked with the diamond king. (If West had held that card, he would surely have overcalled.)
That made Rosenberg’s life much easier. He now ran all the trumps, forcing East to come down to three clubs and two diamonds.
Rosenberg now endplayed East with a club, to lead diamonds in the two-card ending, and the diamond loser had vanished. Very nicely judged. Of course, had East kept all of his clubs, he would have been forced to bare his diamond king.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 10 7 5 |
| ♥ |
Q |
| ♦ |
A 9 7 5 4 |
| ♣ |
K 7 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
1♠ |
Pass |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: It is very tempting to act again in sequences of this sort, but bear in mind that you showed the unbid suits and values, and your partner declined to bid beyond the one-level. Yes, you only have one heart, but how many do you think your partner has? I’d guess four or five — and he might have only three spades! Play it safe and 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 2010. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
|
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