Aces on Bridge — Daily Columns

The Aces on Bridge: Friday, April 30, 2010

May 14th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, April 30, 2010 
Dealer: East

Vul: N-S

 North
♠ 6 4 2
♥ 2
♦ A K 7 5 4 3
♣ J 9 2
West East
♠ 10 9 ♠ K Q 8 5 3
♥ A Q 6 4 3 ♥ 9 7 5
♦ 10 9 8 2 ♦ J
♣ 10 3 ♣ K Q 8 7
South
♠ A J 7
♥ K J 10 8
♦ Q 6
♣ A 6 5 4

 

South West North East
      1 ♠
1 NT 2 ♥ 3 NT All Pass
       
       

Opening Lead: ♠ 10

“Every man desires to live long, but no man would be old.”

— Jonathan Swift

Wales’ two leading teams met in the 64-board final, which featured a husband and wife (Filip and Diane Kurbalija) on opposite sides. The best journalist hand of the match fell to a member of the losing team, Patrick Jourdain, who was declarer.

 

Against South’s no-trump game, the spade 10 went to East’s queen (yes, ducking might have been a better play), and Jourdain ducked. A switch to the heart nine was covered by jack and queen. Now West switched to a low diamond, attempting to cut communication with dummy.

 

Jourdain won with the queen and played a high heart, pitching a diamond from the board. West won and played a second diamond (a club would have defeated the contract, but was not easy to find). Jourdain won dummy’s ace and cashed the diamond king, disposing of a club. He then finessed the spade jack and cashed his two hearts, throwing a diamond from dummy.

 

What could East discard in the four-card ending? If he threw a club, Jourdain would play ace and another club, scoring up the last two tricks in hand with the spade ace and good club. So East came down to a singleton spade. But now Jourdain cashed the spade ace to remove East’s exit card (West throwing a heart), then led a small club. When West played low, Jourdain put in dummy’s nine. East won and had to return a small club, which ran around to dummy’s jack for declarer’s ninth trick.

ANSWER: It looks likely that your side will play five clubs, but it would be premature to jump to game. First of all, repeat the cue-bid in your opponents’ suit, hoping to play three no-trump if partner has a half-stop in diamonds such as jack-third. You plan to bid four clubs next if no-trump looks impractical, suggesting slam interest and club support.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ A J 7
♥ K J 10 8
♦ Q 6
♣ A 6 5 4

 

South West North East
    1 ♣ 1 ♦
1 ♥ Pass 1 ♠ Pass
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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, April 29, 2010

May 13th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, April 29, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: N-S

 North
♠ A J 9
♥ 8 6 3
♦ K 7 5
♣ A Q 10 8
West East
♠ 7 6 3 ♠ 4
♥ A 7 5 2 ♥ Q J 10
♦ 10 9 2 ♦ Q J 6 4 3
♣ 7 4 2 ♣ K 6 5 3
South
♠ K Q 10 8 5 2
♥ K 9 4
♦ A 8
♣ J 9

 

South West North East
1 ♠ Pass 2 ♣ Pass
2 ♠ Pass 4 ♠ All Pass
       
       

Opening Lead: ♦ 10

“Every man is the maker of his own fortune.”

— Sir Richard Steele

Declarer frequently wants to keep one defender off lead for fear of a damaging shift or continuation and is prepared to invest a trick in the effort.

 

In today’s deal from a teams match, both Wests led the diamond 10 against four spades. At the first table South won in hand, drew trumps, then took the club finesse. When East came in with the king, he promptly switched to the heart queen, and down went the game.

 

At the second table South received the same lead. He appreciated the danger if East came on lead, so when East played the diamond six, not the jack at the first trick (would you have worked out to cover your partner’s card as East?), declarer ducked, keeping West on play.

 

The diamond continuation was won with the ace, perforce, and declarer continued with two rounds of trump. (He left a trump outstanding when the 3-1 break came to light, since an extra entry was needed to dummy.)

 

A club went to the ace, then came the diamond king, on which South did not discard a heart, but his second club. The scene was set for a ruffing finesse in clubs. East covered the second club, as good as anything. South ruffed, then entered dummy with a trump to discard two hearts on the established clubs.

 

Had the club king not appeared, declarer would have discarded a heart. If West had possessed the club king, he would not have been able to attack hearts from his side of the table.

ANSWER: Partner’s double is negative, suggesting exactly four spades, whereas a bid of one spade would have shown at least five. Your choice is to rebid one no-trump, showing a balanced hand but suggesting a heart stop, or to bid one spade. That call often delivers four spades but on hands like this, it may be the smallest lie.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ A J 9
♥ 8 6 3
♦ K 7 5
♣ A Q 10 8

 

South West North East
1 ♣ 1 ♥ 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, April 28, 2010

May 12th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, April 28, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: E-W

 North
♠ 9 6 3 2
♥ A K J 3
♦ 10 9
♣ A 10 4
West East
♠ K 10 4 ♠ A J 7
♥ 9 7 4 ♥ Q 10 8 5
♦ 6 5 2 ♦ A K 3
♣ 9 6 3 2 ♣ 8 7 5
South
♠ Q 8 5
♥ 6 2
♦ Q J 8 7 4
♣ K Q J

 

South West North East
Pass Pass 1 ♥ Pass
1 NT Pass Pass Dbl.
Rdbl. All Pass    
       

Opening Lead: ♥ 9

“Riches are for spending, and spending for honor and good actions. Therefore extraordinary expense must be limited by the worth of the occasion.”

— Francis Bacon

The negative inferences from partner’s silence in the auction are often just as available — if a little more subtle — than his actual bids. Consider this deal from the 1994 World Championships at Albuquerque.

 

West had been given a good idea of what to lead, but the stakes had been considerably raised. Jimmy Cayne (South) had his work cut out when Lars Blakset obediently led the heart nine against one no-trump , doubled and redoubled. Here the top heart is better than a small-heart lead. As the cards lay, declarer could have ducked the heart four and gained a tempo in some variations.

 

As it was, Cayne took the heart ace, played the diamond nine, which held the trick, then led another diamond, won by Jens Auken (East), who tried a low spade. To make the hand, Cayne had to produce the nice play of the spade queen, which he did. This would gain if both spade honors were right (almost impossible or East would probably have overcalled one no-trump), but would also gain where, as here, the play of the spade queen blocked the spades, preventing West from getting in a second time in spades. West played a second heart, and Cayne won the heart king and cleared the diamonds. The defense could cash out six tricks, but no more.

 

By the way, the 2010 World Championships will return to the United States (in Philadelphia) this October. More details are at http://www.usbf.org.

ANSWER: Your hand seems too good to pass, so you should reopen. However, while a double is takeout, it is far from clear that you want your partner to bid spades. I would bid three clubs, knowing that my partner will correct clubs to diamonds if he has only three cards in each minor.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ Q 8 5
♥ 6 2
♦ Q J 8 7 4
♣ K Q J

 

South West North East
    1 ♣ 1 ♥
2 ♦ 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

May 11th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, April 27, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: E-W

 North
♠ Q 7
♥ A J 5
♦ A Q 5 4
♣ J 8 7 4
West East
♠ K 4 3 2 ♠ 9 8 6
♥ 10 9 8 7 ♥ K Q 6 3
♦ K 10 8 3 ♦ J 9 7 2
♣ 5 ♣ 6 3
South
♠ A J 10 5
♥ 4 2
♦ 6
♣ A K Q 10 9 2

 

South West North East
1 ♣ Pass 1 ♦ Pass
1 ♠ Pass 2 ♥ Pass
3 ♣ Pass 4 ♣ Pass
4 ♠ Pass 5 ♣ Pass
6 ♣ All Pass    

Opening Lead: ♥ 10

“Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense and plain dealing.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Which is more important at the bridge table: technique or table presence? For example, how should you play six clubs today on a heart lead?

 

Let us look at the technically superior line first. You can increase your chances over a simple finesse in either spades or diamonds by winning the heart ace, then playing the diamond ace and ruffing a diamond high. Next, you cash the club ace, lead the club 10 to the jack, and ruff another diamond. If the diamond king has fallen, you have a home for your heart loser. If not, you take the spade finesse now. This line allows you to take your chances in order; the bad news is that the extra chance you have created for yourself is really not all that significant — less than 10 percent.

 

Personally, I much prefer the psychological line of winning the heart ace at trick one and, without hurrying your opponents inappropriately, smoothly calling for the spade queen and observing your RHO’s reaction. Even against a real expert, I would wager that if East has the king, he would have to be truly inspired not to cover the queen, or at least to consider doing so. If the spade queen is not covered, then you should assume it is because West has the king. Accordingly, you should rise with the spade ace, draw trumps, and take the diamond finesse to discard your heart loser. Against anything but outstandingly quick-witted defenders, this line will succeed approximately three times in four.

ANSWER: The range for an overcall of one no-trump in the balancing seat is approximately 12-15 (maybe a little less if you overcall the opening of a minor suit). So in context you are far from a minimum and should raise to three no-trump, UNLESS you think your partner does not know, or has forgotten, what the range of your action was!

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ Q 7
♥ A J 5
♦ A Q 5 4
♣ J 8 7 4

 

South West North East
  1 ♥ Pass Pass
1 NT Pass 2 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Monday, April 26, 2010

May 10th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, April 26, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: E-W

 North
♠ A J 5
♥ K J 6
♦ Q 6
♣ K 7 4 3 2
West East
♠ 9 8 7 2 ♠ Q 4
♥ 7 4 ♥ 9 8 5 3 2
♦ 10 8 3 ♦ 9 7 4 2
♣ 10 9 8 5 ♣ J 6
South
♠ K 10 6 3
♥ A Q 10
♦ A K J 5
♣ A Q

 

South West North East
2 ♣ Pass 2 ♦ Pass
2 NT Pass 7 NT All Pass
       
       

Opening Lead: ♣ 10

“To do nothing and get something formed a boy’s ideal of a manly career.”

— Benjamin Disraeli

Grand slams are rare and, as today’s deal demonstrates, it pays to play them carefully. West led the club 10 against seven no-trump, and declarer could count 12 certain tricks. The 13th could come from finding a 3-3 club break, and if that failed, successfully picking up the spade queen.

 

Declarer tried clubs first, cashing those in hand, then crossing to dummy with the diamond queen to play the club king, discarding a spade from hand. No joy there. Since there was no hurry to play spades, South began cashing red-suit tricks, hoping to glean further clues. The first came when hearts broke 5-2. Hearts had to be cashed before diamonds as one club discard could be made on the third diamond, but what should be sluffed on the fourth?

 

Had West followed to the last diamond, spades would have split 3-3, still leaving South unsure of the location of the queen. But when West showed out on the fourth diamond, his shape was revealed as 4-2-3-4, which meant East was marked with a doubleton spade. West had already been forced to discard one spade on a heart, and another had to go on the last diamond to retain the club guard.

 

With spades now 2-2, declarer could cash the ace and king, certain that the queen would fall, promoting the 10 into the 13th trick.

 

This position is sometimes referred to as a show-up or pop-up squeeze.

ANSWER: Dummy rates to be strong, with five clubs and four hearts. The best suit for your side to try and develop winners in appears to be hearts. Lead a small heart to avoid confusing your partner about your length in that suit.

LEAD WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ J 7
♥ 10 6 3
♦ A J 9 4
♣ 10 4 3 2

 

South West North East
  1 ♣ Dbl. 1 ♠
2 ♦ 2 ♥ Pass 2 ♠
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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, April 25, 2010

May 9th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, April 25, 2010 
Dear Mr. Wolff:

What is the best book to teach me to play bridge in the style described in your columns?

—  Bookworm, Phoenix, Ariz.

 

ANSWER: You will need more than books to play like the masters. You will need a certain spark! That said, I’m always delighted to encourage players to read about bridge. You’d be amazed at how practice makes perfect. Books by Hugh Kelsey, Terence Reese, Eddie Kantar or Mike Lawrence are all good reads and will help you improve your game.

Dear Mr. Wolff:

Holding ♠ K-Q-7-4, ♥ A-J-10-3-2, ♦ K-5, ♣ J-4, I opened one heart. When my partner responded with a forcing no-trump, I was tempted to pass, but assuming that I would not breach discipline in that way, what should I do?

—  Trapped, San Francisco, Calif.

 

ANSWER: You actually have a hand that would accept any invitation, so should not pass and risk missing a game. Instead, your choice is to rebid two hearts, showing an imaginary sixth heart, or bid two clubs, pretending you have three of them. Unless partner passes, you ought to be well placed. And even if he does pass, he may have five trumps.

 

Dear Mr. Wolff:

What is your opinion about leading from partner’s suit with a low sequence such as 9-8-6 or 10-9-5? Does it matter whether you have supported your partner or not as to which card to lead?

—  Tops and Bottoms, Dodge City, Kan.

   ANSWER: It is impossible to generalize here, but my instinct is to lead a low card from 9-8-6 if I have not supported my partner. Otherwise, I would lead the nine. With 10-9-5 I would lead the top card in either scenario. Never, ever, lead the middle card, which can often cause confusion.

 

Dear Mr. Wolff:

My partner held ♠ Q-4, ♥ Q-9-3-2, ♦ A-8-2, ♣ K-6-4-3. I made a two-heart overcall over one spade and he jumped to four hearts. Now the next hand bid four spades and I passed. Was that forcing on him to bid? He did bid five hearts and we went down 500.

—  A Bridge Too Far, Lakeland, Fla

 

ANSWER: There are two issues here. The first is that the jump to four hearts is consistent with a pre-emptive raise, so that does not even announce ownership of the hand, no less set up a forcing pass. The second is that instead of bidding four hearts, maybe your partner does better to cue-bid two spades to show a high-card raise in hearts. That may make your decision easier in a competitive auction.

 

Dear Mr. Wolff:

Is it legal for players to consult their own convention cards during the play of the hand? We seem to have a great many players who look at their cards often, and I feel that doing so is comparable to an open-book exam.

—  Is There a Proctor in the House? Troy, N.Y.

 

ANSWER: No, it is inappropriate to consult your own convention card as an aide-memoire. If you cannot remember all the conventions you play, you should switch to a simpler card.

 

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2010.

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The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, April 24, 2010

May 8th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, April 24, 2010 
Dealer: East

Vul: N-S

 North
♠ 9 5 4
♥ K 7 4
♦ A K Q J 8
♣ K 7
West East
♠ A 7 ♠ Q J 8 3
♥ Q J 8 5 3 ♥ 10 6 2
♦ 7 6 4 ♦ 10 2
♣ 8 6 5 ♣ 10 9 4 2
South
♠ K 10 6 2
♥ A 9
♦ 9 5 3
♣ A Q J 3

 

South West North East
      Pass
1 ♣ 1 ♥ 2 ♦ Pass
3 NT Pass 6 NT All Pass
       

Opening Lead: ♦ 7

“Whether I shall complete what is here started,

Whether I shall attain my own height, to justify these, yet unfinished …

Depends, rich persons, upon you.”

— Walt Whitman

The bidding in today’s deal left a lot to be desired. To start with, West produced a rather flimsy overcall, then South jumped to three no-trump, promising a suitable minimum.

 

North thought (correctly, I believe) that South had real extras and so landed his partnership in a slam that was not overly blessed with high cards. Not that slam was hopeless — far from it — but it does seem to hinge on a spade finesse which, as you can see, will not succeed.

 

However, watch what happened. West sensibly led a diamond rather than a heart, and declarer cashed five rounds of diamonds, pitching two spades from hand. Then he took the four club winners, and as the last one was led out, he had two cards in each major in hand, while dummy had three hearts and two spades and had yet to discard.

 

West correctly decided he needed to keep the spade ace guarded, so came down to two hearts only, dummy threw a spade, and East, needing to keep three hearts to protect against dummy’s long heart, threw a spade honor.

 

Declarer triumphantly cashed the ace and king of hearts, then led a spade to the queen, king and ace. At trick 13, West had to play his spade, and declarer’s 10 took the trick.

 

This position is referred to as a vise squeeze. As the jaws close, East is forced to unguard spades, and subsequently West has to give the lead back to declarer.

ANSWER: You have just enough values to go to game. Standard practice is to use the same conventional continuations over the delayed two-no-trump bid as you would over an opening two no-trump. Since a response of three clubs to two no-trump would be Stayman, bid three clubs as Stayman here.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ Q J 8 3
♥ 10 6 2
♦ 10 2
♣ 10 9 4 2

 

South West North East
    2 ♣ Pass
2 ♦ Pass 2 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Friday, April 23, 2010

May 7th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, April 23, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: Both

 North
♠ J 6 5 2
♥ A 3
♦ Q J 10 8 5
♣ A 5
West East
♠ Q 9 8 7 3 ♠ K 4
♥ J 6 2 ♥ 10 9 8 5
♦ A 7 ♦ K 4 2
♣ 10 8 4 ♣ J 9 7 3
South
♠ A 10
♥ K Q 7 4
♦ 9 6 3
♣ K Q 6 2

 

South West North East
1 ♣ Pass 1 ♦ Pass
1 ♥ Pass 1 ♠ Pass
1 NT Pass 3 NT All Pass
       

Opening Lead: ♠ 7

“I pass with relief from the tossing sea of Cause and Theory to the firm ground of Result and Fact.”

— Winston Churchill

Eddie Kantar, one of the game’s best writers, explains what an expert thinks about when the dummy comes down. If the contract looks nearly hopeless, the expert places the opposing cards where he needs them to be to make the hand. If the contract looks relatively easy, he asks himself what can go wrong and what, if anything, he can do about it.

 

In three no-trump East plays the spade king at trick one, and the attention shifts to you (South). What is your plan?

 

Diamonds have to be set up before the opponents can establish three spade tricks. If spades are 4-3 and West has the queen, which is apparent from East’s play of the king, the hand cannot be defeated whether you win the first spade or not. However, if spades are 5-2 and the diamond honors are divided, the hand can be defeated if you take the spade ace. East can win the first diamond and return a spade, allowing West to win the queen and drive out the jack. When West gets in with the other diamond honor, he has the setting trick in spades.

 

But if you duck the first trick, win the second, and now knock out a diamond honor, you are home free. If East wins the trick, he has no spade to return and the diamonds can be easily established. So, to protect against 5-2 spades and split diamond honors, duck the opening lead. See how easy it is!

ANSWER: The jump to four clubs shows six good clubs, four hearts and extra values. The simple way forward is to use Blackwood. Yes, you have no diamond control, but how can partner not have a one? Even if he does not, who is to say that the opponents will lead that suit?

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ A 10
♥ K Q 7 4
♦ 9 6 3
♣ K Q 6 2

 

South West North East
    1 ♣ Pass
1 ♥ 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, April 22, 2010

May 6th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, April 22, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: Both

 North
♠ K Q 3
♥ A 6 3
♦ 7 3
♣ A K 9 4 2
West East
♠ A 10 8 2 ♠ 9 6 5
♥ K Q J 10 5 ♥ 9 4 2
♦ 4 ♦ K 9 8 2
♣ J 7 5 ♣ Q 10 6
South
♠ J 7 4
♥ 8 7
♦ A Q J 10 6 5
♣ 8 3

 

South West North East
3 ♦ 3 ♥ 5 ♦ All Pass
       
       
       

Opening Lead: ♥ King

“A fool … is a man who never tried an experiment in his life.”

— Erasmus Darwin

Bridge literature is full of exotically named coups. My favorite has always been “the coup without a name.” (Does this mean it DOES have a name?) Nowadays it is known simply as the Scissors Coup.

 

But today’s deal features the coup en passant, which is a way to negotiate a finesse in trumps, despite the fact that the hand you lead from has no trumps left. Does that sound impossible? Read on….

 

Consider the play in today’s five diamonds. South wins the opening heart lead in dummy and leads a diamond for the winning finesse. A club back to dummy lets declarer take a second diamond finesse, and the bad split shows up. Having to lose a heart and a spade, declarer has got to pick up the trump king to make his contract. He therefore must shorten his trumps for a possible endplay.

 

He should lead another club to dummy and ruff a third round of clubs. Next he leads a spade, and West must put up the ace. (If he does not, dummy’s good club will be cashed and South will shed his losing heart.)

West takes his heart trick and only helps declarer if he leads a third round. The best he can do is exit with a spade. South wins the trick in dummy and leads the third heart, which he ruffs. He gets back to dummy with the remaining spade at trick 11, and the lead from dummy at trick 12 picks up the guarded trump king.

ANSWER: Your partner’s two-spade call shows a good hand (since he is bidding on over a weak bid from you) and asks about your suitability for no-trump. He is likely to have two or three spades and 16-18 points. With a partial spade stop and a nonminimum, I would simply gamble on three no-trump now.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ J 7 4
♥ 8 7
♦ A Q J 10 6 5
♣ 8 3

 

South West North East
    1 ♣ Pass
1 ♦ Pass 1 ♥ Pass
2 ♦ Pass 2 ♠ 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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

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The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, April 21, 2010

May 5th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 
Dealer: North

Vul: N-S

 North
♠ K 10 6 4 3
♥ A K 4
♦ A 7 5 3
♣ 4
West East
♠ 5 ♠ J 9 8 2
♥ 8 3 ♥ 9 7 5
♦ K Q J 10 8 4 ♦ 9
♣ J 8 7 5 ♣ 10 9 6 3 2
South
♠ A Q 7
♥ Q J 10 6 2
♦ 6 2
♣ A K Q

 

South West North East
    1 ♠ Pass
2 ♥ 3 ♦ 4 ♦ Pass
4 NT Pass 5 ♣* Pass
5 NT Pass 6 ♥ Pass
7 ♥ All Pass    
       

*Three of the five "aces", counting the trump as an ace

Opening Lead: ♦ King

“A learned man is an idler who kills time with study. Beware of his false knowledge: it is more dangerous than ignorance.”

— George Bernard Shaw

In today’s auction South asked for specific kings with his call of five no-trump, but North bid six hearts, unwilling to go past that contract with just the spade king. However, South knew his partner had to have at least one king for his bidding so far, so quite reasonably moved on to the seven-level.

 

A casual look at the deal suggests there should be no problem taking 13 tricks in hearts: declarer has 10 tricks in the majors and four tricks in the minors. A second glance reveals the bad spade break, but that appears only to reduce 14 tricks to 13.

 

The real problem comes with the lead of a diamond, which removes the side-suit entry to the spades. This means real care is necessary — but what else would you expect in a grand slam?

 

South won the diamond lead in dummy and, after counting the top tricks, prepared to protect himself against possible bad breaks. Since the auction showed that West was the hand far more likely to be short in spades, South decided to protect against this eventuality, with West also holding no more than two trumps. Instead of drawing all the trumps, he cashed the trump ace and queen, then took two top spades. Had they split, he would have completed drawing trump. When they broke badly, he ruffed out the spades, went back to the board with the trump king, and pitched his diamond on the 13th spade. Contract made.

ANSWER: Whether the jump to three clubs is weak or invitational, you cannot afford to sell out now. You must act, and the choice is to double for takeout or bid your spades. While spades might be your best suit, considerations of safety should suggest that the double will help you find your best fit whenever possible (and who knows, partner might pass for penalties).

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ K 10 6 4 3
♥ A K 4
♦ A 7 5 3
♣ 4

 

South West North East
  1 ♣ Pass 3 ♣
?      
       
       

 

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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

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