June 23rd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, June 9, 2010 
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K J 10 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 8 |
| ♦ |
9 5 |
| ♣ |
A |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
Q 7 5 |
♠ |
3 |
| ♥ |
2 |
♥ |
7 6 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K 7 3 2 |
♦ |
J 10 8 4 |
| ♣ |
K Q J 5 2 |
♣ |
8 7 6 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 9 8 |
| ♥ |
A Q 10 5 |
| ♦ |
A Q 6 |
| ♣ |
10 9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♥ |
Pass |
| 4♦ |
Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
| 5♣* |
Pass |
6♥ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead: ♣ King
“We stumble and we do not understand.
You only saw your future bigly planned.”
— Charles Sorley
In today’s bidding sequence, North showed the majors and game-forcing values. If South wanted to play in spades, he would have raised that suit to the appropriate level, so his bid of four diamonds was an advance cue-bid, showing a diamond control and good heart support in a nonminimum hand. He cannot have the club ace or he would have cue-bid that first. Now North can take control by asking for key cards, then bidding the heart slam.
(Incidentally, though it may be obvious, the four-diamond bid cannot be natural once South has opened one no-trump; diamonds are no longer a possible trump suit.)
In the play West leads a top club to dummy’s ace, and declarer draws two rounds of trump with the king and ace. If trumps had split, declarer would have drawn them all, then hope to guess spades for the overtrick. But once the 4-1 trump break comes to light, declarer needs to pause before taking out all the trumps. Otherwise, if he loses a spade trick, the club suit will be ready to run against him.
Instead, declarer cashes the spade ace and leads a spade to the jack. While declarer is sure to lose this trick, the maneuver guarantees the contract against any lie of the cards. Whether this loses to the queen or East ruffs in, declarer will be able to win the diamond return with the ace, ruff a club, and draw trumps by overtaking the jack if necessary, then run the spades.
ANSWER: Your side may or may not have more than half the deck, but you surely have no decent trump fit, and the cards appear to be splitting badly. It would be supreme optimism to double now (you do not actually have a sure winner in your hand). Pass and hope to beat it.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 7 5 |
| ♥ |
2 |
| ♦ |
K 7 3 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q J 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
2♠ |
Pass |
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].
June 22nd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, June 8, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 9 7 5 2 |
| ♥ |
9 7 5 |
| ♦ |
K 7 3 |
| ♣ |
K 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q J 8 |
♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
A J 2 |
♥ |
Q 10 8 6 3 |
| ♦ |
9 6 2 |
♦ |
Q J 10 5 |
| ♣ |
Q J 9 3 |
♣ |
10 8 5 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 10 6 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K 4 |
| ♦ |
A 8 4 |
| ♣ |
A 7 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣ Queen
“The ruling passion, be it what it will,
The ruling passion conquers reason still.”
— Alexander Pope
Today’s deal is another from the fertile imagination of Patrick Jourdain in his book “Problem Corner” (published by Master Point Press).
A mundane line in four spades would be to win the lead of the club queen and eliminate the trumps and clubs. If trumps do not split, you hope to hold your losers to one trick in each red suit by finding the heart ace onside – surely not too much to ask.
However, you can see before you touch a card that the only real danger is that the trumps are 3-0 and the heart ace is wrong. Don’t just hope for the best in situations of this sort — plan how to overcome the problem!
The solution is counterintuitive because it involves losing a trick in a suit where you do not have to surrender one so you can increase your chances for a later endplay. You should let the club queen win the first trick!
Your next move will be to win the next club lead (no defense is any better), then draw two rounds of trumps, leaving West with the master trump. Now you take the two top diamonds ending in hand and follow with the club ace, throwing a diamond from dummy. You ruff the third diamond in dummy and finally exit with a trump. West, forced to win the trick, is endplayed.
Incidentally, if East ruffs the second round of clubs at trick two, you will justifiably be able to complain about your bad luck!
ANSWER: Your partner has made a slam-try for spades, showing short hearts, and your decent hand has become spectacular, with no wasted values facing his shortage. Use Blackwood and drive to slam unless two key-cards are missing.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 9 7 5 2 |
| ♥ |
9 7 5 |
| ♦ |
K 7 3 |
| ♣ |
K 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
4♥ |
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].
June 21st, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, June 7, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 8 |
| ♦ |
A 6 |
| ♣ |
K Q 7 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
— |
♠ |
K 10 9 7 |
| ♥ |
9 7 6 3 |
♥ |
10 5 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 9 7 4 3 |
♦ |
K Q 8 5 2 |
| ♣ |
9 4 3 |
♣ |
6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 8 5 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 4 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
A J 10 8 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 3♦* |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
4 NT |
Pass |
| 5♦ |
Pass |
6♠ |
All Pass |
| *Club fit, short diamonds |
Opening Lead: ♦ Jack
“Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous mind.”
— Samuel Johnson
In today’s deal, North was looking for greater things, but when he discovered his side was missing a key card, he settled for the small slam. Note South’s jump to three diamonds to agree clubs. With a good hand consisting of spades and diamonds, South would have made a simple call of two diamonds, since that would have been forcing.
Now consider the hand as a play problem. If you declared six spades on the lead of the diamond jack, how would you play the hand? It looks natural to advance the spade queen, hoping to find the trumps 2-2 with the king well placed. At pairs that might even be a defensible approach. At rubber bridge or teams scoring, where the objective is to make the contract and overtricks are far less important, following that line would be a major error.
South should be aware that the chance of a defensive ruff has evaporated after the opening lead. The only danger is a 4-0 trump split. If West has the length, nothing can be done; his trump spots are just too good. If East has the length, the correct approach will be to cash the ace and lead a low spade to the jack. When East ducks, declarer will take the trick in hand and can get back to dummy with a heart to lead a spade toward his queen.
If declarer makes the right play, then whatever East does, declarer will lose no more than one trump trick.
ANSWER: It looks tempting to lead trumps to try to stop spade ruffs in dummy, but there are two flaws with this approach. The first is that the spades and clubs look to be lying so well that this is unlikely to work. The second is that leading a trump from this holding will frequently give up a trick. Instead, attack with a small diamond.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 5 3 |
| ♥ |
J 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 3 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♠ |
| Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
2♥ |
| Pass |
3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
| All 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].
June 20th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, June 6, 2010
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
My LHO opened one heart, my partner overcalled two clubs, my RHO responded two hearts, and I bid two spades, which was passed out even though game was makable our way. I thought my call by an unpassed hand was forcing even in competition. Was I wrong?
— Stranded, Augusta, Ga.
ANSWER: I think you are extrapolating from an auction that is played as forcing — though not by everyone — where you bid two spades in response to two clubs without a bid on your right. In your example you need to be able to make a nonforcing call, or you may be shut out. With a good hand and spades, to make a forcing call you could start with a takeout double and then bid spades.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In a duplicate pair game I picked up ♠ K-Q-9, ♥ A-Q-3-2, ♦ J-2, ♣ Q-7-4 and opened one club. I then discovered I had only 12 cards. When I found my 13th (at the previous table), it was a king! Can I change my call now? If not, what are the consequences?
— Short-Handed, Boise, Idaho
ANSWER: You may not change your call and should try to avoid giving away to your partner that your hand no longer fits your original action. Otherwise, you get burdened with even more problems. For what it is worth, I’d suggest treating your hand as 18-19 by rebidding two no-trump at your next turn, or jump-raising partner as appropriate.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Frequently I see Odd-Even or Roman Defensive Carding qualified as “first discard only.” Do the ACBL restrictions mean that it can be used only once by a pair for each hand? What is the position about ambiguous carding? Is it permitted?
— Signal Problems, Palm Springs, Calif.
|
|
ANSWER: You may not currently use Odd-Even signals. Each player (not each pair) may use them for their first discard. After that, most pairs prefer to use count signals rather than further attitude signals. I did not know that ambiguous signals were ever permitted. As far as I know, Encrypted Signals, when a signal can be interpreted only by the defending side and not by declarer, are still outlawed.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When you are facing a strong no-trump with an eight-count, what determines whether your hand is worth an invitation?
— Bonus Points, White Plains, N.Y.
ANSWER: First, the scoring: at rubber or teams if vulnerable, you may be a little more inclined to stretch. Possession of a decent five-carder, or both majors, or good intermediates, may all sway you to take a more aggressive position — not to mention the caliber of partner and the opponents. At pairs, though, plus scores are always worth protecting.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
At unfavorable vulnerability I held ♠ A-Q-9, ♥ J-9, ♦ Q-J-8-7-2, ♣ A-8-4 and opened one diamond. My LHO made a three-club overcall and my partner made a negative double. I passed, since gambling out three no-trump seemed too rich for me. This did not work well. Partner had an opening bid with 6-6 in the majors, and we were cold for a small slam. Who was at fault?
— Peter Cottontail, Durham, N.C.
ANSWER: The simple answer is that one should never make a negative double if a forcing suit-bid would describe the hand better. Your partner should have bid spades, then hearts if necessary, to get you to choose a contract. When she hears you raise spades, she might as well just bid slam. Your bidding is hard to criticize, though you might have bid three diamonds instead of passing out three clubs doubled. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
June 19th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, June 5, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 6 3 |
| ♥ |
A K 5 |
| ♦ |
8 5 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q 7 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 10 9 2 |
♠ |
5 4 |
| ♥ |
4 |
♥ |
Q J 10 8 6 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q J 9 4 3 |
♦ |
6 |
| ♣ |
9 6 |
♣ |
J 10 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 8 7 |
| ♥ |
9 7 3 |
| ♦ |
A 10 7 |
| ♣ |
A 8 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
3♦ |
4♦ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦ King
“If we do not find anything pleasant, at least we shall find something new.”
— Voltaire
I have been remiss in failing to mention the death last year of one of the most influential bridge players in the world. Al Roth revolutionized the world of American bidding in the 1950s. He invented the negative double, as well as countless other cornerstones of modern bidding, and was a fascinating writer and problem-setter. Here is one of his best problems.
You are in four spades (reached after an auction reeking of the 1950s!). West leads a top diamond, which you duck. You win the next diamond as East pitches the heart eight. You lead out the spade ace, cross to the spade king, then play a third trump. To your surprise it is East who discards, pitching the heart six. Play on!
You draw the third round of trumps and deduce from the discards that East started life with six hearts and four clubs. Your only chance for a 10th trick is to get a ruff in hand. How do you manage it?
The solution is to cash the heart ace, take the club king and ace, and lead toward the club queen. West pitches a diamond, so you win the queen and lead the fourth club, pitching your losing diamond. East wins his club jack (West discarding another diamond) and has only hearts to lead. What can West do? If he ruffs, you have the last two tricks, so he must discard. You win the heart king, ruff dummy’s diamond, and concede trick 13 to both opponents.
ANSWER: You should balance with a takeout double. Yes, you have a flat hand, but when the opponents are almost guaranteed to have eight or more hearts between them, your side is equally likely to have at least an eight-card fit. Nobody ever got rich at bridge by letting the opponents have the hand cheaply when both sides have a fit.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 8 7 |
| ♥ |
9 7 3 |
| ♦ |
A 10 7 |
| ♣ |
A 8 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
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].
June 18th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, June 4, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K |
| ♥ |
Q 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A K 8 6 4 |
| ♣ |
7 6 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 8 4 3 |
♠ |
10 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
J 10 9 7 6 |
♥ |
8 2 |
| ♦ |
— |
♦ |
Q 9 7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 8 4 |
♣ |
9 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q 9 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 4 |
| ♦ |
J 10 2 |
| ♣ |
A K J 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
6 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥ Jack
“The policeman buys shoes slow and careful; the teamster buys gloves slow and careful; they take care of their feet and hands; they live on their feet and hands.”
— Carl Sandburg
South is in six no-trump and West leads the heart jack. Can declarer guarantee his contract?
Apparently yes; but if South wins the lead and runs the diamond jack, he will go down when East has all five outstanding diamonds and the club finesse is wrong.
The only danger in the hand appears to be a terrible split in diamonds. If West has the length, there should still be no problem, so it is only if East has all five diamonds that declarer must take care. Having spotted that, the trap is to relax. It looks easy to win the opening lead with the heart queen and play a diamond to the jack. The problem is that when this holds, declarer must cross to the board with a spade to lead a second diamond. However, now East hops up with his queen and immediately dislodges the second spade entry, leaving the diamonds blocked and forcing declarer to fall back on the losing club finesse.
Once declarer has spotted this defense, he can devise a counter. He should win the opening in hand, cross to a spade, and play a low diamond to his jack. Then he can cross back to dummy with a spade and lead another low diamond. East can rise with the queen and play a heart, but declarer can take this in hand, unblock the diamonds, and now nothing can prevent him from making four diamond tricks and his contract.
ANSWER: In this sequence I urge all players — even the gadget-hungry — to play a bid of one no-trump as natural and strong. As a passed hand, you may, if you like, play the bid as weak and two-suited, but as an unpassed hand, you need a way to show strength. Since you already have double and two no-trump for the two-suiters, you do not need a third call.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K |
| ♥ |
Q 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A K 8 6 4 |
| ♣ |
7 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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].
June 17th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, June 3, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
A J 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 9 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 10 9 4 |
♠ |
Q 7 6 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 6 3 |
♥ |
K 9 7 |
| ♦ |
J 9 |
♦ |
A 8 7 4 |
| ♣ |
10 5 3 |
♣ |
8 7 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 8 |
| ♥ |
10 5 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K J 6 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT* |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| *12-14 |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠ Jack
“Not all that tempts your wand’ring eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize;
Nor all that glisters, gold.”
— Thomas Gray
When today’s hand arose at the Dyspeptics Club’s rubber bridge table, South’s exploits had already put North in a bad mood. So as soon as South got his hands on another three no-trump contract, North was already mentally sharpening his ax.
West led the spade jack and declarer saw that the best chance of a ninth trick lay in the diamond suit. South ducked the lead, won the spade continuation, then led a diamond to the king.
East rose with the ace and returned a spade. South won, entered dummy in clubs, and played a second diamond to the 10 and West’s jack. Now the contract had to fail when diamonds proved to be 4-2.
As North bitterly commented, South only needed two tricks from the diamond suit — not three. So it was indeed right to duck the first spade lead, catering to a 5-2 break. If East held the diamond ace, he would have no spade to return when on lead with that card, and a heart switch would set up the ninth trick for declarer in that suit.
Equally, it was correct to play a diamond to the king and ace. But when East returned a spade, South knew that spades had split 4-3. The right play now is to lead out the diamond queen. Here, the jack falls doubleton, so the hand is over. But had it not done so, South could enter dummy in clubs next and play the third diamond toward the 10 to set up the game-going diamond trick.
ANSWER: Your partner’s double is not for penalties. It is a responsive double, primarily for takeout, but focusing on the minors rather than spades. This is because your partner would have bid spades if he had them. Accordingly, simply bid three clubs and await developments, if any.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K 8 |
| ♥ |
10 5 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K J 6 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♥ |
| Dbl. |
2♥ |
Dbl. |
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].
June 16th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, June 2, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 6 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 5 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 6 |
| ♣ |
A 6 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q J 9 8 |
♠ |
10 7 5 |
| ♥ |
4 |
♥ |
J 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 7 2 |
♦ |
9 8 5 4 3 |
| ♣ |
J 10 8 7 |
♣ |
K Q 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 3 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 10 9 8 6 |
| ♦ |
K |
| ♣ |
9 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| Pass |
Dbl. |
Rdbl. |
3♦ |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠ Queen
“There can be no progress (real, that is, moral) except in the individual and by the individual himself.”
— Charles Baudelaire
In today’s deal North’s raise to two hearts was very heavy, but playing the forcing no-trump, he felt he was short of a limit raise and had at least shown values this way. With less, he would have bid one no-trump and then given preference to hearts.
West felt honor-bound to balance, but North redoubled to show extras, persuading South to bid the heart game — “to teach his opponents a sharp lesson.”
West dithered between the black suits for a lead, but luck was not with him when he chose the spade queen. Declarer could see nine obvious tricks, but digging up the wherewithal for a 10th took some doing. One possibility would be to try to steal the diamond king, but in fact there is a sure-trick line, and South eventually observed that it would come from dummy’s diamond spots.
Realizing that he had to preserve dummy’s three entries until they were needed, he won the lead in hand, drew trumps with the ace and king, and then advanced the diamond king.
West won with the ace and switched belatedly to a club. South won in dummy, then played the diamond jack, discarding a club. In with the diamond queen, the defense could cash one club, but South’s spade loser then vanished on the diamond 10.
On an initial club lead, this line would not have worked. West wins the first diamond and cashes the club winners. The defenders collect a diamond or a spade in the ending.
ANSWER: You have already shown a balanced positive but still have some extras. Your choice would be to drive to slam (with either a bid of six no-trump, or five no-trump to get partner to pick a slam). Alternatively, you could advance with four no-trump and let partner pass with a dead minimum. That would be my choice, given your sterile hand-pattern.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 6 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 5 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 6 |
| ♣ |
A 6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
2♣ |
2♠ |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
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].
June 15th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, June 1, 2010
| Dealer: North
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K J 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q 10 9 4 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 9 8 6 |
♠ |
Q 5 2 |
| ♥ |
7 3 |
♥ |
A K J 8 6 |
| ♦ |
A 7 5 |
♦ |
6 3 |
| ♣ |
10 9 8 4 |
♣ |
7 6 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 7 3 |
| ♥ |
10 9 5 4 |
| ♦ |
J 8 |
| ♣ |
K J 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
1♥ |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥7
“The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,
The higher he’s a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he’s to setting.”
— Robert Herrick
Everyone knows that if you are on lead against a no-trump contract and hold A-K-fifth with no entry, leading a small card makes a lot of sense. The same logic (of ducking or playing low) applies when third to play to the opening trick, but sometimes the situation is not so straightforward.
Consider what happens when partner leads the heart seven against three no-trump and declarer plays the queen from dummy. It feels automatic for East to win the trick — but if he does, he can say goodbye to any chance of setting the game. From the auction and opening lead, declarer is surely marked with at least four hearts to the 10-9. If East wins the heart king, he will be able to take only three winners in that suit, and his partner will surely be unable to contribute two further tricks on defense.
However, if East plays low at trick one, all he will need is for partner to hold the diamond ace and a second heart. When West wins his diamond ace, he will be able to play another heart, and the defense will be in position to take four more tricks.
If West began life with a singleton heart, it is highly unlikely that East could ever have beaten the contract, whatever he did. Note also that if declarer had played low at trick one, then East would have had to play low as well, thus preserving the entry to his suit.
ANSWER: Even if you play two-over-one as forcing in a noncompetitive auction, this sequence is clearly nonforcing. Partner would have strained to bid game and take you off the hook at his second turn, so you now have no reason to bid any more, facing what you know to be a minimum. Pass, and hope you can make it.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 5 2 |
| ♥ |
A K J 8 6 |
| ♦ |
6 3 |
| ♣ |
7 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
1♠ |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
3♥ |
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].
June 14th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, May 31, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 7 5 |
| ♥ |
A 10 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K 9 4 |
| ♣ |
K J 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A 10 6 4 3 |
♠ |
Q 9 |
| ♥ |
8 7 5 |
♥ |
K 9 2 |
| ♦ |
J 3 |
♦ |
Q 10 6 5 |
| ♣ |
10 8 4 |
♣ |
9 7 5 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K J 2 |
| ♥ |
Q J 6 |
| ♦ |
A 8 7 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠4
“What is reasonable is real; that which is real is reasonable.”
— Friedrich Hegel
When this deal came up, South was the sort of player who prided himself on calling a spade a spade and who would have regarded the failure to win a trick when he had a high card available to take it as showing a lack of machismo.
Accordingly, when declaring three no-trump, he captured the spade queen with the king, took a heart finesse, and went down at once when East took his heart king and the defenders rattled off four spade tricks.
South’s comment after the deal was that he had been very unlucky when two major-suit finesses had lost. That was all well and good, but declarer had failed to appreciate that he was still laydown for his contract if he had exercised just a little care and attention.
Instead of taking the first spade trick, South must let the spade queen hold. East may clear the spades, but later, when the heart finesse loses, East has no spades left to play. If East has a third spade to lead after taking the heart king, the suit will have split 4-3, and South will lose just one heart and three spades.
Students of the game will note that if the heart king and queen are switched, declarer has another textbook play available. He must win the first spade and play West for the heart queen. If the heart finesse loses to West, no return can hurt South.
ANSWER: You should definitely lead a club, not a spade. A low club might work if partner has club length and only one top club honor. This lead might generate an extra club trick if declarer misguesses. Equally, however, the play might block the club suit by leaving us on play at the end of trick two, instead of our partner. You should probably lead the club queen and tell partner you did “think about it” if the low club would have worked.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 10 9 4 2 |
| ♥ |
6 5 |
| ♦ |
J 10 7 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1 NT |
| Pass |
2♣ |
Dbl. |
2♦ |
| Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
| All 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].
|
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related