September 27th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments 
| Dealer: West
Vul: None |
North
♠ 10 6 4
♥ K 9 5
♦ Q 9 8 2
♣ Q 9 3 |
|
| West
♠ A 8 5 2
♥ 7 6
♦ 7 4 3
♣ J 10 6 4 |
 |
East
♠ Q 9 7
♥ Q 10 8 4
♦ J 10 6
♣ 8 5 2 |
| |
South
♠ K J 3
♥ A J 3 2
♦ A K 5
♣ A K 7 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
1♥ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ 7
“It takes all sorts of in and outdoor schooling
To get adapted to my kind of fooling.”
— Robert Frost
All this week’s deals come from last year’s Lederer Invitational tournament. You will be able to follow this year’s event on bridgebase.com.
It may come as a surprise to see two Easts open third in hand, but the Board-a-Match scoring encourages such levity. In our featured auction, Alexander Alfrey (East) started with his longest suit, hearts. South drove to three no-trump in short order, and Andrew Robson (West) led a heart to the eight and jack. Declarer did not yet know East had psyched, so he crossed to the heart king and led a spade to the jack, but Robson ducked smoothly. Declarer now misguessed diamonds by finessing dummy’s nine on the third round, losing to East’s jack. Declarer now had only 10 tricks — a triumph for “natural” bidding!
At another table Jon Cooke, a professional poker player, psyched a one-spade opening as East. However, John Matheson (South) brushed aside the psyche by bidding three no-trump on the next round.
West led a normal spade, Matheson won the nine with the jack, and the psyche was fully exposed. Declarer crossed to the heart king and led a heart to the jack. He now cashed the diamonds from the top. When both defenders threw clubs, he took three rounds of clubs, ending in North. This squeezed East in the majors. East had no choice but to bare the spade queen, but South exited dummy with a spade to the queen, king and ace, scoring an improbable 690.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 6 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 4 |
| ♦ |
A 9 6 |
| ♣ |
J 7 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
1♦ |
1♠ |
| 2♦ |
2♠ |
All Pass |
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: A diamond lead might work, but seems far too committal for our side. A passive lead is safer, and a club looks least likely to give away a trick. On this auction partner will have two trumps more often than not (from his failure to compete further in diamonds), so any time he has an honor, a spade lead may cost a trick.
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].
September 26th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
On a sequence where you use fourth-suit game-forcing and then support partner’s second suit, which is known to be four-cards long, does not that delayed support promise only three trumps? I’m thinking of a sequence like 1 ♣ – 1 ♥ – 1 ♠ – 2 ♦ – 3 ♣ – 3 ♠ . The logic is that you would have raised directly with four trumps.
— Stutter Step, Charlottesville, Va.
ANSWER: The problem with your idea is that the fourth-suit call could have concealed a game-forcing or slam-interested hand with four spades. This is because there is no forcing raise of spades for responder at his second turn — bar a jump to four spades. Therefore if (as here) you raise spades after using fourth-suit, it shows four trumps, not three. If you delayed raising spades for one round further, you would show only three trumps, but not by the route you suggest.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Recently you showed a sequence where responder holds a strong hand with four decent clubs and five hearts. He responded one heart to one club and heard partner jump to four clubs. What kind of club suit would you expect for that auction? Does it always show a heart fit too? And why would opener not show shortage in a side-suit instead of rebidding clubs?
— Monkey Business, Vancouver, British Columbia
ANSWER: The jump to four clubs is conventional, in a sense. It shows heart support, good long clubs, and real extras — a hand like this would be a minimum: ♠ 9, ♥ A-J-7-3, ♦ A-Q, ♣ A-Q-10-4-3-2. Normally opener would possess better clubs. Opener rates not to have a void, as he might prefer to show that first, unless his clubs were solid. However, shortage somewhere is guaranteed, since opener has at least 10 cards in clubs and hearts.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was fourth to speak, with a strong no-trump, facing an overcall, when both opponents were bidding their own suits. Before I jump to game in no-trump, how good a stopper would I need in each of the opponents’ suits? What about stoppers in the unbid suit? And if I cuebid, do I promise support here or just show a good hand?
— Pinochle Deck, Greenville, S.C.
|
|
ANSWER: When you are considering no-trump, weak length in an unbid suit should not worry you. Remember that, as fourth to speak, you can also double for takeout, suggesting a good hand with some length in the fourth suit and support or tolerance for partner. A double covers most awkward hands without three trumps; hence the cuebid would always deliver support here.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was in third seat with ♠ A-Q-7-3-2, ♥ K-10-3-2, ♦ 10-4 ♣ J-2. When partner opened three clubs at favorable vulnerability, what should I do now? Would it affect my call if I thought my RHO had squirmed before passing?
— Tactical Warrior, Bremerton, Wash.
ANSWER: This sort of deal is a good example of how tough the game is. On the surface of it, you don’t fear the opponents playing game in no-trump or either major, so passing seems logical. But you might tempt your RHO back into the auction if you raise to four clubs and pretend you are pre-empting with a fit. Of course, this might backfire on you horribly! If so, please don’t blame me.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I am a beginner who enjoys reading your columns, but I only comprehend about half of them. It would help enormously if you actually showed exactly how the cards are played as you do for the bidding. When I try to understand what’s happening, I get lost in the lingo. (This is just a suggestion and may only apply to a novice like myself.)
— Scooby-Newbie, Texarkana, Texas
ANSWER: You make a good point, one I don’t always take into account. I do try to spell things out in the column — but the problem is one of space. I have a strict limit on the number of words, and it is tough to cram a quart into a pint jar! By the way, the earlier the deal in the week, the easier I try to make it. I don’t always succeed. |
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].
September 25th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ K Q 8 5
♥ A 9 7 5
♦ 9 3
♣ K 8 5 |
|
| West
♠ 10 7 6 2
♥ J 8
♦ Q 8 5 4 2
♣ J 10 |
|
East
♠ 3
♥ K Q 10 2
♦ 6
♣ Q 9 7 6 4 3 2 |
| |
South
♠ A J 9 4
♥ 6 4 3
♦ A K J 10 7
♣ A |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♣ |
Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
| 5♣* |
Pass |
5 NT |
Pass |
| 6♦ |
Pass |
6♠ |
All Pass |
| *Three aces or none, counting the trump king as an ace |
Opening Lead: ♣ J
“Oh! Death will find me, long before I tire
Of watching you; and swing me suddenly
Into the shade and loneliness and mire
Of the last land!”
— Rupert Brooke
In today’s spade slam South could see, when dummy came down, that a grand slam might have been easy to make if spades and diamonds behaved, but he was not going to play carelessly and risk his contract just because his side might have missed the boat.
He won the club lead with the ace, played the spade ace, then led the spade nine to dummy’s king.
Had both opponents followed suit, declarer’s life would have been easy. He would have drawn the last trump and played on diamonds. But when East discarded on the second trump, South resisted the knee-jerk reaction to ruff a club — that would have been fatal as the cards lay. Instead, he ran the diamond nine to preserve entries to hand. West ducked this, so declarer cashed his two top diamonds and ruffed out the diamond queen. Then he ruffed a club low in hand, relieved to see West follow suit, and cashed his last diamond winner while West again had to follow suit. Next, declarer went to the heart ace and ruffed the club king with the spade jack and could take the trump queen in dummy for the 12th trick. He gave up his heart loser at trick 13 as West disconsolately trumped his partner’s winner.
Incidentally, on an initial heart lead, declarer can succeed only by drawing trumps with the spade king and queen, then ruffing out the diamonds — a successful, but far from obvious, line.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 7 6 2 |
| ♥ |
J 8 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 5 4 2 |
| ♣ |
J 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
2♦ |
3♥ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Since a call of two hearts from your partner at his last turn to speak would have shown a good hand, his jump shows a great hand — eight playing tricks or so. Your choice is to pass or bid three no-trump now. Your bits and pieces may be just enough (with the heart queen instead of the jack, I would act), but I’ll guess to pass today.
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].
September 24th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, September 10, 2010
| Dealer: East
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ 6 3
♥ A Q 4
♦ A K 5
♣ A 10 8 7 3 |
|
| West
♠ 10 7 2
♥ J 10 9 7
♦ 8 6 2
♣ 9 6 2 |
|
East
♠ K Q J 8 5
♥ K 5
♦ J 10 9 4
♣ Q 5 |
|
South
♠ A 9 4
♥ 8 6 3 2
♦ Q 7 3
♣ K J 4 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1♠ |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
3♥ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠ 2
“Our little systems have their day;
They have their day and cease to be…”
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson
When you are playing a vulnerable game at teams, safety plays become highly important. You should be prepared to give up on overtricks to make sure you bring home your games, and equally to insure the defeat of a game or slam without worrying about undoubled undertricks.
That said, can you see which unlikely card in the defenders’ hands might be the key to a safety play in three no-trump?
West obediently led a spade in response to his partner’s opening bid overcall.Declarer ducked his ace until the third round and pitched a heart from dummy. Then he crossed to the diamond ace and advanced the club 10, planning to run that card to keep East off lead if he had the guarded club jack. East covered the club 10, and declarer crossed back to dummy with a second diamond and led the club seven, letting it ride to West’s nine. Surprised, West won a cheap trick and exited with a heart, but declarer wrapped up his four club tricks, three diamonds, and two aces.
It may seem that all declarer had done was to surrender an overtrick, but in the other room West tried the effect of raising one spade to two. (Children, don’t try this at home.) When North doubled and South bid three hearts, it was almost impossible to reach three no-trump now. In fact North did quite well to pass and let South find his way home for nine tricks, but still, a game-swing away.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 4 |
| ♥ |
8 6 3 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 7 3 |
| ♣ |
K J 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
2♣ |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
3♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You may think you can defeat the contract because your side clearly has the balance of high cards, but consider that West knows that and obviously has a great deal of shape. Your partner did not wish to compete any further, but your diamond length argues for competing to three diamonds — though it is a close call.
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].
September 23rd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, September 9, 2010
| Dealer: East
Vul: None |
North
♠ J 8 5 3
♥ A K 6
♦ J 6
♣ Q 10 7 2 |
|
| West
♠ K
♥ Q J 10 9 7 5 4
♦ 10 9
♣ A 6 5 |
|
East
♠ Q 10 2
♥ 8 2
♦ 5 2
♣ K J 9 8 4 3 |
| |
South
♠ A 9 7 6 4
♥ 3
♦ A K Q 8 7 4 3
♣ — |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1♦ |
3♥ |
3 NT |
Pass |
| 6♦ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ Q
“Not with a Club, the Heart is broken
Nor with a Stone —
A whip so small you could not see it.”
— Emily Dickinson
“Cover an honor with an honor” is an oft-quoted but sometimes inappropriate mantra. Today’s deal from a tournament shows just one example of when the saying is not only misleading, but downright wrong.
I was an innocent spectator at one table where, after South made an aggressive but entirely reasonable jump to six diamonds, West led the heart queen to dummy’s king. Declarer then drew trumps and played ace and another spade. With spades breaking 3-1, the slam went down.
The score sheet showed that only one declarer had brought the contract home. Here’s how. After the same lead, declarer next played the diamond ace and a diamond to the jack. When both opponents followed, declarer appreciated from the bidding that West could hold no more than two spades. Seven hearts for his pre-empt, coupled with his partner’s failure to open a club preempt marked him with at least two clubs. (If he held a singleton, East would have had eight and would surely have bid.)
So the play of a spade to the ace, hoping for a singleton honor with East, then a spade toward the jack, which would hold the losers in the suit to one if West had started with three cards to an honor, was destined to fail.
The correct continuation at trick four is the spade jack, playing East for K-Q-2 and West for the bare 10. It also has the psychological advantage that East might instinctively cover the jack with the queen or king from a three-card holding — which was exactly what happened.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 8 5 3 |
| ♥ |
A K 6 |
| ♦ |
J 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Playing for penalties looks too dangerous. So the choice is to cue-bid two clubs, to jump in spades, or to bid no-trump. My instincts are to respond one no-trump, which, by a passed hand in this auction, should show 10-13 or so. My honor location is such that spades does not look a great spot to play in unless partner has extra shape, in which case he will surely bid again.
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].
September 22nd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, September 8, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ Q 10 6
♥ Q 7
♦ 7 5 2
♣ Q 10 9 6 3 |
|
| West
♠ K J 7 4 3 2
♥ A 10 8
♦ J 8
♣ 7 5 |
|
East
♠ 8 5
♥ 5 2
♦ K Q 10 9 4 3
♣ K 4 2 |
| |
South
♠ A 9
♥ K J 9 6 4 3
♦ A 6
♣ A J 8 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
1♠ |
1 NT |
2♦ |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦ J
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume;
For every atom belonging to me, as good belongs to you.”
— Walt Whitman
Today’s deal, from the Forbo-Krommenie Nations Cup a few years ago, saw 64 top-class teams from all over the world competing. This deal shows declarer reading the location of the opponents’ cards accurately.
Fred Gitelman was the man at the helm. He had been given an idea of the location of the high cards from the auction. The key to success was to prevent a trump promotion.
West led the diamond jack against four hearts, overtaken with East’s queen, and South ducked the trick. If declarer had won, then when West got in with the heart ace, he would have had a second diamond to play. At that point a third diamond from East would have resulted in the heart 10 being promoted to the setting trick.
At the table, when the diamond queen held, East switched to a spade. Confident that East would not have underled the king, Gitelman won this with the ace and returned a second spade. West took his king and could do no better than press on with a third spade. Dummy’s spade queen was ruffed by East and overruffed by declarer.
Now Gitelman played a low heart, and when dummy’s queen held, he was able to take two successful club finesses before reverting to trumps. The heart ace was the last trick for the defense.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 10 6 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 |
| ♦ |
7 5 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 9 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your call of two no-trump was natural and game-forcing. With a really weak hand, a second negative of three clubs was available, so you suggested 4-7 points. Since no suit has been agreed upon, your partner’s call should be quantitative. My best guess now would be to bid slam, offering six clubs as an alternative contract. Partner can always correct to hearts or no-trump as appropriate.
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].
September 21st, 2010 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ A 5
♥ A K 7 6 4
♦ J 5 3
♣ 10 6 2 |
|
| West
♠ J 9 7 2
♥ Q J 8 3
♦ Q 7 2
♣ Q 5 |
|
East
♠ K 8 6 3
♥ 10
♦ 10 9 6 4
♣ J 9 7 4 |
| |
South
♠ Q 10 4
♥ 9 5 2
♦ A K 8
♣ A K 8 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3♥ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
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|
Opening Lead: ♠ 2
“Reminiscences make one feel so deliciously aged and sad.”
— George Bernard Shaw
Today’s deal was played almost 50 years ago as evidenced by the bidding. It is a good example of the edge declarer can create for himself if he knows the opponents to be honest.
The auction predated transfer responses to a no-trump. Despite holding three-card heart support, South, with his sterile 3-3-3-4 shape, exercised good judgment in rebidding three no-trump rather than four hearts — a contract that would have been doomed.
Playing fourth-highest leads, West led the spade two to East’s king, and the return of the spade three removed dummy’s ace, as well as almost guaranteeing the 4-4 spade break.
One heart trick had to be lost inevitably, so declarer led the heart four from the table at trick three. Winning with the 10, East played a third spade, won by South’s queen. Declarer fell from grace by next playing a heart to dummy’s ace. With no outside entry to dummy, the 4-1 heart break spelled defeat, eight tricks now being the limit of the hand.
Do you see what declarer should have done better, or differently? Once both East and West had followed to one round of hearts, the contract was assured, so long as the defensive carding in spades was honest.
Declarer knew he could afford to lose two tricks in each of the majors. Therefore, by ducking in hearts for a second time (leading a second low heart from each hand), South would have assured himself the three heart tricks needed to fulfill the contract.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 7 2 |
| ♥ |
Q J 8 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 7 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You had planned to bid hearts at your next turn if partner showed a minimum and the opponents competed. Instead your partner has shown 18-20, so all you have to do is decide on which game is best. You might cuebid two clubs, hoping partner will introduce hearts. But equally sensible is a jump to three no-trump. (You may not want to play a 4-4 heart fit even if you have one.)
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].
September 20th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ J 4
♥ A 6 2
♦ 10 9 8 4 2
♣ Q J 5 |
|
| West
♠ A 9 7 2
♥ K Q 10
♦ 6 5 3
♣ 9 8 4 |
|
East
♠ Q 10 8
♥ 7 4 3
♦ K 7
♣ 10 7 6 3 2 |
| |
South
♠ K 6 5 3
♥ J 9 8 5
♦ A Q J
♣ A K |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠ 2
“Do not block the way of inquiry.”
— Charles Peirce
On today’s deal both the defenders and declarer had the chance to do better. See where you think most of the blame should fall.
South, playing five-card majors, opened his better minor. His rebid showed a balanced 18-19, and North had an easy raise to three no-trump. When West led a fourth-highest spade, South won and immediately played on diamonds, letting East win and cash out the spades. West could then switch to a top heart, leaving declarer struggling to escape for down one because the diamond blockage prevented establishment of that suit.
Both declarer and the defenders had a chance to do better. To start with, after winning the spade lead, all South had to do was cash both top clubs, then play the ace and queen of diamonds. The best East can do now is to return the spade and let West cash out (dummy discarding the losing hearts), then play a top heart. Declarer wins in dummy and cashes the remaining top club, discarding his unblocking diamond honor. Dummy is now high.
So how could the defenders have done better? West’s opening lead was to blame. Although I won’t go so far as to say that leading from ace-fourth into a strong no-trump is never right, my experience tells me that whenever a viable alternative exists, it should be taken. In this case, on a top heart lead declarer must duck dummy’s ace, and when East discourages hearts, the spade shift establishes five tricks for the defenders before declarer can take nine.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 3 |
| ♥ |
A J 4 |
| ♦ |
10 7 4 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
1♠ |
| 2♦ |
2♠ |
3♦ |
3♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: If you are going to lead a diamond, as I would, my instincts are to lead the 10 or the seven, not a smaller one. The reason is that with partner almost guaranteed to have five or six diamonds, I want to avoid letting declarer score a singleton honor (with the bare queen facing king-third, for example).
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].
September 19th, 2010 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
How often in a five-card major system will a one-diamond opening be based on a three-card suit? Does it matter if you occasionally open one diamond with 3-3 in the minors for lead-directing purposes?
— Bloodhound, Pueblo, Colo.
ANSWER: The three-card suit comes up only about one time in 50 for a one-diamond opening bid. However, opening one diamond with 3-3 would affect the calculation considerably. My advice is that, except in third seat, one should never open one diamond with fewer than four, or specifically a 4-4-3-2 pattern. In third seat a lead-directing call is acceptable with three — if you must.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ K-9, ♥ 2, ♦ A-Q-J-10-3, ♣ A-10-4-3-2, I responded two clubs Stayman to my partner’s strong no-trump, then bid three clubs, and next introduced my diamonds. We made six clubs after a tortured auction, but we could have made six no-trump. How could we have gotten there?
— Road Map, Danville, Ill.
ANSWER: I’d respond three diamonds initially, natural and game-forcing, planning to bid six clubs at my next turn to offer a choice of slams. I’d bid the minors in this order because of the suit disparity. Six no-trump may be too tough to reach unless partner can bid it on his own after this start.
Incidentally, an alternative approach is to use direct calls of three clubs and three diamonds conventionally to show 5-5 in the minors, invitational and game-forcing respectively, while bids in the majors show 5-4 in the minors and show my shortage.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My bridge partner says that if I open one of anything, then when my LHO passes and she responds three of a suit, that it is not a jump-shift, but a reverse pre-empt. Have you ever heard of this?
— Brown Study, Topeka, Kan.
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ANSWER: Let’s differentiate between single and double jumps. A bid of three hearts in response to one diamond is normally played as weak — about the values for a minimum three-level pre-empt (say, seven hearts to the K-J, but you might have a queen on the side). The single jump — three hearts over one spade — can be played as weak, strong or invitational and requires agreement. In a two-over-one base it won’t be strong. I’d call it a jump shift, not a reverse pre-empt!
Dear Mr. Wolff:
You posed a recent query with ♠ Q-3-2, ♥ A-K-7-4, ♦ Q-2, ♣ Q-J-10-9. After doubling one diamond, your LHO raises to two diamonds and your partner doubles for takeout. When you bid two hearts, partner says two no-trump. You suggested this denied hearts, but is he not showing four hearts and a diamond stop, allowing you to choose strain and level?
— Lost in Translation, Pottsville, Pa.
ANSWER: Without getting into specifics, the responsive double says “both majors OR spades, and able to correct hearts to no-trump to get my values across.” Here the continuation of two no-trump must deny hearts unequivocally. In my old-fashioned style, I raise hearts as advancer if I have them, or probe with three diamonds if I want to keep no-trump in the picture.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In first seat I held ♠ J-9-5-4, ♥ A-Q-7-3-2, ♦ K-10, ♣ J-4. Do you agree with my decision to open one heart? After my partner responded with a forcing no-trump, what should I do now?
— Stuck for an Answer, Jackson, Tenn.
ANSWER: It is precisely because I have no rebid over a forcing no-trump (or indeed over a two-diamond response) that I would pass this hand. With 11-counts, the ease of rebid is critical to deciding whether to open. Here, unless you want to break discipline and pass the forcing no-trump (I might!), you have to bid two clubs and hope you emerge relatively unscathed. |
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].
September 18th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 4, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ 9 8 4 3
♥ K 8
♦ K Q 5
♣ K 7 5 2 |
|
| West
♠ Q 5
♥ Q 10 7 6 4
♦ J 9 4 3
♣ J 8 |
|
East
♠ 10 7 6 2
♥ A 5 2
♦ A 10 7 6
♣ 10 9 |
| |
South
♠ A K J
♥ J 9 3
♦ 8 2
♣ A Q 6 4 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: ♥ 6
“A ROMAN Master stands on Grecian ground,
And to the people at the Isthmian Games …
Proclaims THE LIBERTY OF GREECE…”
— William Wordsworth
As a commentator at world championships, I was constantly amazed by the skill of Lorenzo Lauria. His play in today’s deal was most impressive.
In three no-trump on repeated heart leads (suggesting West had started with five), you win the second and plan to cash as many clubs as you can before deciding whether to set up a diamond for your ninth trick, or to fall back on the spade finesse.
On your third club winner, West discards an encouraging diamond three, while East lets go the diamond six. You lead a spade to the king, then cross back to the club seven, on which both opponents again let go of small diamonds.
I just had time to say, “I’ve seen this sort of position for 50 years and no one has ever successfully dropped a doubleton queen offside” when Lauria did find the play!
Lauria had decided that the diamond discards suggested West had begun life with either a small doubleton spade or the doubleton queen. If so, why had East not pitched a spade? After all, he knew he could afford one.
Lauria had reasoned as follows: “East thinks if he lets go a small spade, it might persuade me to play for the drop. Since East wants me to think he is keeping spades because he has something, he really has nothing in the suit. If he had started life with queen-fourth of spades, he would have pitched one to make me play for the drop.”
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 8 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K 8 |
| ♦ |
K Q 5 |
| ♣ |
K 7 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
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1♣ |
| Pass |
1♥ |
2♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
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ANSWER: If your partner has come into the auction with a relatively poor suit, he rates to have either extra length or extra high-cards. Either way, bidding three no-trump now seems the practical option. If nothing else, it should teach your partner that two-level overcalls are not to be taken lightly.
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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