September 1st, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 7 Comments 
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ K Q
♥ J 4 3
♦ Q 6 5
♣ Q J 10 9 7 |
|
| West
♠ J 10 9 7 2
♥ 9 7 5
♦ 3 2
♣ A 6 2 |
 |
East
♠ 5 4 3
♥ A Q 10 8
♦ 10 9 8 7 4
♣ K |
| |
South
♠ A 8 6
♥ K 6 2
♦ A K J
♣ 8 5 4 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ J
“He listens well who takes notes.”
— Dante Alighieri
When declarer has limited his hand via an opening bid or a rebid in no-trump, one can often judge just how much help partner’s hand will contribute to the defense.
Here, for example, after West led the spade jack against three no-trump, East knew that his partner had few high-card points. On winning the lead in dummy, declarer continued with the club queen, and East was rather surprised to find that his king held the trick. Now the South and West hands had become transparent. West was marked with the club ace, and having led the spade jack, West probably did not have any other honor cards.
A spade continuation would be a waste of time, East reasoned, as declarer and dummy between them had three stoppers in the suit unless declarer had a doubleton ace — not impossible, but not likely. East would have played for that chance if it was the only way to defeat the contract, but he figured that a more realistic hope would be to take three heart tricks in addition to the two clubs tricks. But which heart should East return?
If East returned a low heart, South would run this to dummy’s jack and still have a second stopper with the king. The card to play was the queen, leaving the jack surrounded. South played his king perforce, but when West got in with the club ace, a heart continuation through dummy’s jack produced the requisite three heart tricks.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q |
| ♥ |
J 4 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 6 5 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 9 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
3♦ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
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|
ANSWER: The most likely game to succeed is three no-trump, so despite your diaphanous diamond stop, you should up and bid it. Of course, if partner has a void in diamonds, you might be on somewhat shaky grounds. Equally, though, if he has a relatively balanced hand or a diamond honor, you might find no-trump far better than clubs (and the opponents do not always lead diamonds on auctions like this).
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].
August 31st, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 6 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: All |
North
♠ J 8 7
♥ A K J 4
♦ A Q 10 9
♣ A 4 |
|
| West
♠ A K 10 5 4 2
♥ 7 3
♦ 6 4
♣ 9 8 2 |
|
East
♠ Q 9 6 3
♥ 5
♦ K J 8 3
♣ J 7 5 3 |
| |
South
♠ —
♥ Q 10 9 8 6 2
♦ 7 5 2
♣ K Q 10 6 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| Pass |
2♠ |
Dbl. |
4♠ |
| 5♥ |
Pass |
6♥ |
All Pass |
| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ K
“Great is the hand that holds dominion over
Man by a scribbled name.”
— Dylan Thomas
Those who reached the small slam in hearts, then tried two diamond finesses, were destined to enter a minus score on the travelling score sheet in this deal from a pairs duplicate at the Marbella Internacional Bridge Club.
At the featured table North inferred his partner had very short spades and bid the slam, and it was up to former Irish international Des Deery to make his contract. On a top-spade lead, Deery crossed to dummy twice in hearts for two more spade ruffs, eliminating that suit and drawing trumps in the process. Declarer then played ace, king and queen of clubs, hoping the jack would drop. Had it done so, not just one but two of dummy’s diamonds would have departed, leaving declarer with the luxury of the diamond finesse for the overtrick.
When the club jack did not appear, Deery now played his last club and was relieved to see West discard. He pitched a second diamond from dummy, and on winning with the club jack, East was endplayed into either leading a diamond around to dummy’s A-Q, or giving a ruff and discard by returning a spade.
You might care to consider how declarer would have played if West had produced the fourth club. He would have ruffed the club, then gotten off play with the diamond queen. If West held the king, it would surely be singleton, forcing him to concede a ruff and discard. And if East had it, he would be endplayed, as before.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 6 3 |
| ♥ |
5 |
| ♦ |
K J 8 3 |
| ♣ |
J 7 5 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
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|
ANSWER: Partner is marked with decent values or the opponents would have tried for game. Double for takeout, and do not worry about your relative lack of high cards. Bid first, and worry about the consequences later. As a general rule, you do not want the opponents to play a contract at a low level once they find a fit, since you probably have a fit too.
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].
August 30th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, August 16, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ J 7 6 5
♥ K J 10 4
♦ A 6 4
♣ A 5 |
|
| West
♠ 8 4
♥ 3
♦ J 10 8 7 3
♣ Q 10 9 4 2 |
|
East
♠ A 10 2
♥ A 9 8 7 2
♦ 2
♣ J 8 7 3 |
| |
South
♠ K Q 9 3
♥ Q 6 5
♦ K Q 9 5
♣ K 6 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♥ 3
“Let such teach others who themselves excel,
And censure freely who have written well.”
— Alexander Pope
In today’s deal South plays four spades after he opened a strong no-trump and Stayman located the 4-4 fit. Put yourself in East’s seat: your partner leads the heart three, and you must plan the defense.
Since South has shown a balanced hand, he cannot have a singleton heart. Your partner would have led the top of a doubleton; thus he has clearly led a singleton heart — but don’t give him a heart ruff straightaway. If you do so, you can count on three tricks for your side, but you will have no likelihood of a fourth winner, unless partner’s meager assets include the club king.
The key point to remember is that there is no hurry to give your partner the ruff, because you have the trump ace. Win the heart ace and switch to your singleton diamond. When you win the ace of trumps, you will be able to play the heart nine as a suit-preference signal for the higher of the two nontrump suits. West will give you a diamond ruff for one down.
The lesson from today’s deal is that although it is a priority to give partner a ruff as soon as you can, if your side has a control in the trump suit, you will sometimes be able to work out that other actions should take precedence over immediately giving or taking a ruff.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 7 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 3 |
| ♦ |
8 7 5 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
Pass |
2♦ |
| Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
| All Pass |
|
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| |
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ANSWER: It’s a close choice between a spade and a club, and either declarer or dummy could turn up with length in either black suit. That said, I prefer a club lead. Your holding in the suit is better, and you are more likely to catch partner with a decent unbid club suit than a decent unbid spade 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].
August 29th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, August 15, 2010
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Was I just unlucky here, or could I have done better? My RHO opened one heart and I had 13 points and 3-4-3-3 shape. He had bid my four-card suit, so I passed. My LHO bid, and my partner passed. They ended up in a part-score and made it. As it turned out, my partner had eight or nine points, and at the other tables our direction was bidding and making a part-score.
— Outmaneuvered, Charleston, S.C.
ANSWER: You were blameless. I’m not sure if your LHO responded at every other table (I’d guess not) or if your partner might have stretched to balance, but you were surely not at fault. Bidding with the shape you describe is not a great idea. However, doubling a minor suit with this pattern is acceptable if you have some extras in high cards, though not enough to overcall one no-trump.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was second to speak with ♠ A-9, ♥ Q-10-9-3-2, ♦ A-J, ♣ K-Q-7-4. After my RHO opened one club, I was not sure whether to venture one no-trump, one heart, double or even pass. What would you advise?
— Multiple Choice, Raleigh, N.C.
ANSWER: Passing cannot be right, as you surmised. I’m also not keen on doubling, since I’d have to overstate my values at my next turn whatever partner did. That said, I may find it hard to catch up if I bid just one heart, but somehow my shape argues for that call rather than one-no-trump, which is right on values but wrong on shape.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I recently learned a new response to a strong two-club opening, where two diamonds suggests some values with no clear call. A bid of two hearts is fewer than three HCP, while two spades shows spades, and two no-trump shows hearts. We describe these bids in the response-rebids area of the convention card, but does this method of responding have to be announced, alerted or neither?
— Fancy Pants, Portland, Ore.
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ANSWER: This would simply require an alert. The announcement procedure is limited to the very specific positions highlighted in blue on the convention card (such as the no-trump range, transfers, etc.). Every other conventional action requires a simple alert, and the opponents can then ask if they want.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Are there any rules about the right way to deal the cards? I frequently see players dealing into piles of five, or dealing back and forth rather than in cyclical order.
— Neatness Counts, Sioux Falls, S.D.
ANSWER: The laws mandate proper shuffling, then dealing into four piles. But frankly, I’ve never been convinced of the need for following the precise requirements of the laws here. Although I do what I’m supposed to, I doubt whether people who follow their own procedures are doing so to gain advantage. Live and let live, I say.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
At favorable vulnerability, I got scolded by my partner for making a one-diamond overcall over a third-seat one-club opening bid. Holding ♠ 10-4, ♥ 9-8-3-2, ♦ A-K-Q-2, ♣ 10-7-4, I thought it was a cheap way to let partner know what to lead.
— Shout-Out, Carmel, Calif.
ANSWER: If it is any consolation, I agree with a nonvulnerable overcall here, although I would rather have an additional value somewhere (wouldn’t we always?). Another queen would make your call unexceptionable. Regardless of the result, your reasoning was intelligent. |
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].
August 28th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, August 14, 2010
| Dealer: East
Vul: All |
North
♠ J 9 4 3
♥ A 9 6 2
♦ K 8
♣ 9 4 3 |
|
| West
♠ K 6 5
♥ Q J 10
♦ A 6 4
♣ K 10 6 2 |
|
East
♠ 8
♥ 7 5 3
♦ Q J 9 7 5 3 2
♣ J 7 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 10 7 2
♥ K 8 4
♦ 10
♣ A Q 8 5 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ Q
“Behold now this vast city (London); a city of refuge, the mansion-house of liberty, encompassed and surrounded with His protection.”
— John Milton
How would you tackle today’s deal from a duplicate at London’s Young Chelsea Bridge Club? You are in four spades on the lead of the heart queen. North had a maximum for his initial raise, so he bid four hearts over South’s game-try of three hearts, a more accurate help-suit try than three clubs, since possessing the club king is not that important here. South naturally corrected to four spades.
The key to this deal (and so many others) is to combine all your chances. The urgent need is to dispose of your third-round heart loser if possible. So win the heart king and play a diamond. West rises with the ace and plays another heart, which you win with the ace as East follows. The play in hearts suggests the suit is 3-3 (East would probably have echoed with a doubleton), so cash the diamond king pitching a heart, ruff a heart with the spade 10, and now play the spade ace and another spade. West does best to win and exit with his last spade, but you win in dummy, cash the long heart while discarding a club, and lead a club to your eight. This endplays West, who must either give you a ruff and discard or lead a club into your tenace.
Even if East were able to win the spade king and switch to a club, when you play the eight, it would endplay West.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 4 3 |
| ♥ |
A 9 6 2 |
| ♦ |
K 8 |
| ♣ |
9 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
4♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: You may well ask what four diamonds shows. The answer is a good raise to four hearts with four trumps and a very good six-card diamond suit. With your two working cards, you are fractionally too good to bid only four hearts. A call of five hearts suggests a slam-try with no control in the black suits. Let partner bid on if he can control those suits.
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].
August 27th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, August 13, 2010
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North
♠ K J 2
♥ 9 3
♦ A 10 8 7
♣ A 6 4 2 |
|
| West
♠ 10 7
♥ K Q 10 8 6 4
♦ Q 9 6
♣ J 9 |
|
East
♠ 9 8 6 5 3
♥ 5
♦ J 5
♣ K Q 10 8 7 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 4
♥ A J 7 2
♦ K 4 3 2
♣ 5 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
1♥ |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
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Opening Lead: ♥ K
“Live as long as you please, you will strike nothing off the time you will have to spend dead.”
— Michel de Montaigne
All instruction books on card play are unanimous on the importance of thinking before you play to trick one, particularly from dummy. Would you have gotten today’s hand right? Look at just the North-South hands while forming your plan.
Against your no-trump game, West leads the heart king. If you duck, as you should, West will switch to the spade 10. Suppose you win and play three rounds of diamonds. West wins the third round and presses on with a second spade. You win in dummy and duck a club. East takes this and plays a third spade. You win this, take the club ace, cash your good diamond, and lead dummy’s heart nine, ducking it to West. He will be endplayed, forced to lead into your heart tenace to give you nine tricks. Nicely played! Well, not so nicely, because West meanly allows your heart nine to hold the trick. This is your eighth trick only, and all dummy has left are clubs, so East must make the last two tricks.
Technically, you could have avoided this by ducking a club before playing on diamonds — but why would you do that? No, the simplest thing of all would have been to unblock dummy’s heart nine at trick one under the king. After all, when you think about it, it is a card that is not likely to be useful to you. Now, in the ending, when you lead a heart to West, he can no longer duck the trick and is endplayed.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 2 |
| ♥ |
9 3 |
| ♦ |
A 10 8 7 |
| ♣ |
A 6 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
2♦ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
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| |
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| |
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ANSWER: Facing a takeout double of a weak-two bid, you have the values for game, but no reason to assume that your hand is overburdened for defense against diamonds. Passing might work out, but the middle-of-the-road action is just to 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].
August 26th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, August 12, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ K Q 6
♥ A K 6 2
♦ A
♣ K 7 6 5 2 |
|
| West
♠ 4
♥ J 10 9 7 5 4
♦ K Q J 5 4
♣ J |
|
East
♠ J 8 2
♥ 8 3
♦ 8 7 3
♣ A Q 10 9 4 |
| |
South
♠ A 10 9 7 5 3
♥ Q
♦ 10 9 6 2
♣ 8 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| Pass |
Pass |
1♣ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
3♥ |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
| |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♠ K
“I don’t think we enjoy other people’s suffering, Hennessy. It isn’t actually enjoyment, but we feel better for it.”
— Finley Peter Dunne (Mr. Dooley)
On the following deal North-South were pleased with their penalty against West’s three hearts doubled — until they scored up. North kicked off with two rounds of spades. Declarer ruffed and played the diamond king to North’s ace, and North thoughtfully switched to a club. Declarer unwisely won dummy’s ace and played a heart. South won and played a second club, ruffed by declarer, who next played a high diamond. North ruffed, drew two rounds of trumps, and led the club king, forcing out declarer’s last trump. Declarer could cash one more diamond, but then had to concede the rest of the tricks to the defense for an 800 penalty.
However, in the other room South stretched to open a weak-two in spades and North bounced to six spades. West led from his diamond sequence rather than his singleton club. Declarer won dummy’s diamond ace, played a heart to his queen, and thoughtfully played the diamond 10, covered and ruffed. He cashed dummy’s top hearts, intending to discard both his clubs, but East ruffed in on the second, and declarer had to overruff. Then came the diamond nine, covered and ruffed, and the fall of the diamond eight meant that South’s six was good. Declarer cashed the spade king; then, to avoid a diamond ruff, he advanced the club king. Since East held the ace, there was nothing the defenders could do anymore. Note that if West could have won the first club, he would have been able to give his partner a diamond ruff.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 6 |
| ♥ |
A K 6 2 |
| ♦ |
A |
| ♣ |
K 7 6 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: A simple solution would be to bid four spades, but you are just a little too good for that, particularly if two spades is forcing for one round. Best is to jump to four diamonds, suggesting your precise hand-pattern, with a little extra in reserve, even given your reverse on the previous round.
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].
August 25th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, August 11, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North
♠ 7 6
♥ J 9 3
♦ Q J 4
♣ J 9 8 7 4 |
|
| West
♠ J 4
♥ A Q 8 6 2
♦ K 6 5
♣ 5 3 2 |
|
East
♠ K 10 9 2
♥ 5 4
♦ 10 9 7 3 2
♣ 10 6 |
| |
South
♠ A Q 8 5 3
♥ K 10 7
♦ A 8
♣ A K Q |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣* |
1♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
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|
Opening Lead: ♥ 6
“Do not do unto others as you would they should do unto you. Their tastes may not be the same.”
— George Bernard Shaw
When there is a blockage that prevents access to winning tricks, declarer will sometimes have to turn to the defenders for help.
In three no-trump West had a straightforward lead of his fourth-best heart, and dummy’s nine held the trick. It seemed that declarer was in dummy for the last time. Even without the club blockage, South seemed to be a trick short. Either a successful diamond or spade finesse would supply one extra trick; but that would not be enough, given declarer’s inability to cash five club tricks.
South saw one glimmer of light. If West held five hearts (likely on the lead), but no more than two spades, he could be endplayed into opening up the diamonds, which would at the same time allow access to dummy.
Therefore, at trick two, declarer finessed the spade queen. Then came the three top clubs and the spade ace, the jack dropping from West and providing a hopeful sign that all was going to plan. South now got off play with the heart king and was relieved to find East following suit. After cashing four heart tricks (declarer ditching the club four and the diamond four from dummy, and two low spades from hand), West had no option but to open up the diamonds. Dummy’s Q-J of diamonds now provided a sure entry, and the fifth club was the game-going trick. Contract made — declarer finishing up with one heart, four clubs, and two tricks in each of the other suits.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 6 |
| ♥ |
J 9 3 |
| ♦ |
Q J 4 |
| ♣ |
J 9 8 7 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
1♦ |
Dbl. |
| Pass |
1♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner’s double, facing a hand that has not acted, is simply for takeout. His likely hand-pattern is four spades and five or six diamonds, with extra values. You do not yet need to bid more than two diamonds, but should plan to compete to three diamonds if necessary.
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].
August 24th, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North
♠ A K Q 6
♥ 8 7 6
♦ K Q 7 6 2
♣ J |
|
| West
♠ 10 5 4
♥ K 9 4 2
♦ 9 3
♣ Q 9 7 3 |
|
East
♠ 8 3 2
♥ Q 10
♦ J 8 5 4
♣ 10 8 6 5 |
| |
South
♠ J 9 7
♥ A J 5 3
♦ A 10
♣ A K 4 2 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
| 4 NT* |
Pass |
6 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠ 4
“A knowledgeable fool is a greater fool than an ignorant fool.”
— Moliere
At the 2006 Invitational Lederer Memorial Trophy in London — the 60th — which was covered on Bridge Base Online, nearly half the field had their mind on lofty targets.
There were eight tables in play, and the contract at three of them was a mundane three no-trump, but five pairs drove to slam, two of them ending in six diamonds and the other three reaching six no-trump.
Before you read any further, cover up the East and West hands and decide how you would have played the no-trump slam.
Regardless of which slam is attempted, everything hinges on the diamond suit providing five tricks. There will always be a heart loser. One of dummy’s hearts can depart on the second club, but there is no parking place for the other.
If the diamond 10 had been in the long diamond hand, then it would have been right to play diamonds from the top. It is just over even money that the jack will drop in either two rounds or three, whereas the straight finesse is a 50-50 shot.
But the odds change dramatically when the 10 is doubleton, accompanied by a higher honor, as in South’s hand. A 3-3 break is only fractionally better than a one-third chance, whereas the finesse is 50 percent. Unsurprisingly, considering the quality of the eight teams that were invited to take part in the Lederer, almost every declarer did indeed finesse the diamond 10 and brought home the slam.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K Q 6 |
| ♥ |
8 7 6 |
| ♦ |
K Q 7 6 2 |
| ♣ |
J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| ? |
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| |
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ANSWER: In all sequences where a simple raise of your suit would be forcing, a jump in a new suit of this sort should conventionally be played as a splinter. That means your partner suggests a spade fit, slam interest, and short hearts, a development that improves your hand no end. Today, simplest is best. Bid Blackwood and head for the stars.
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].
August 23rd, 2010 ~ Bobby Wolff ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North
♠ K 5 2
♥ 7 5 3
♦ K 10 6 2
♣ K 10 4 |
|
| West
♠ Q 9 7 6 4
♥ K 9
♦ Q
♣ J 9 7 6 5 |
|
East
♠ 10 8
♥ A Q J 6 2
♦ J 4
♣ A Q 8 2 |
| |
South
♠ A J 3
♥ 10 8 4
♦ A 9 8 7 5 3
♣ 3 |
|
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
1♥ |
| 2♦ |
Dbl. |
3♦ |
All Pass |
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Opening Lead: ♥ K
“The quarrel is a very pretty quarrel as it stands; we should only spoil it by trying to explain it.”
— Richard Sheridan
If you want to do well at pairs, there are two essential ingredients — skill and luck. This deal, from the Women’s Pairs at San Remo last summer, features current world champion Nevena Senior, formerly of Bulgaria, now part of the English ladies’ squad that took the world title in Beijing in 2008.
Against three diamonds West led the heart king and continued the suit when East encouraged. East won the trick, cashed a third heart, and switched to the spade 10. That ran to dummy’s king. Declarer now drew trumps, West discarding a club on the second round.
From the cards played so far, Nevena Senior thought it likely that West had 5-2-1-5 distribution, so she cashed the spade ace and played a club to dummy’s 10. East could win, but was endplayed. East had no spade to lead, a heart would give a ruff-sluff, and a club would give up a trick to North’s king.
Very nicely done, but can you see how the defenders might have done better? Had East not encouraged a heart continuation at trick one, West ought to have found a club shift. That would let the defenders take their four top winners, exit with a trump, then sit back and wait for their spade trick. One of the hardest things to do at the bridge table is give up on an apparently successful plan to change it for a better one.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 7 4 |
| ♥ |
7 6 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♦ |
| Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
2♦ |
| Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
| All Pass |
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ANSWER: Clubs look like a more promising line of attack than spades. (Partner might have a reasonable club suit and have stayed silent, but not a spade suit.) However, I prefer a heart lead through dummy, the suit that declarer strongly rates to be short in. I’d lead the seven, though some partnerships prefer the six, second from a bad 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].
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