March 2nd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, February 16, 2010 
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
10 6 5 4 3 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 7 6 3 2 |
| ♣ |
6 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
A J 10 9 6 |
♠ |
K Q 7 4 3 2 |
| ♥ |
J |
♥ |
7 |
| ♦ |
K J 9 |
♦ |
8 5 |
| ♣ |
A 5 4 2 |
♣ |
K J 8 7 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
8 5 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 9 8 |
| ♦ |
A 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♠ |
| 2♥ |
4♥ |
5♥ |
5♠ |
| 6♥ |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠A
“Tell me, Muse, of the man of many tricks.”
— Homer
All this week’s deals come from last year’s Yeh Brothers Cup in Brisbane, to mark the tournament taking place now.
In the later stages of the event both Souths in one match reached six hearts doubled. Our hero, Peter Fredin, was one of those declarers, after overcalling a one-spade opening with two hearts, then bidding again. Both Wests led a top spade; both declarers ruffed and drew a round of trumps. The Norwegian declarer cashed the diamond ace, playing for his legitimate chance of the singleton diamond king, then played a second diamond. West won his king and cashed out for down one.
By contrast, Fredin — never afraid to put his neck on the block and risk looking stupid — led a low diamond from hand at trick three. Now you know why the commentators and journalists love to watch him play! Of course, this play gives up on a legitimate chance to make the contract, but some declarers would rather go for what they see as their best psychological line, not the best technical line, and who can argue with success?
Sitting West was a member of the current European Championship winning team — no rabbit. Yes, his decision to duck the diamond might look ridiculous, but Fredin had given him the chance to look silly, and I assume he thought Fredin was not capable of such guile. He knows better now.
ANSWER: The simple answer would be a reopening bid of two clubs. (Pass would be unthinkable — never sell out with shortage in the opponent’s suit at the one-level.) An alternative action, one I marginally prefer, is to double. This caters to partner’s having a penalty double of spades, and if partner picks diamonds, you have no reason to assume he will be wrong to do so.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 5 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 9 8 |
| ♦ |
A 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
1♠ |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
March 1st, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, February 15, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: ? |
North |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
A K J 10 |
| ♦ |
A 10 8 6 5 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 10 8 4 2 |
♠ |
K 9 7 6 |
| ♥ |
9 8 5 4 |
♥ |
6 3 2 |
| ♦ |
— |
♦ |
K J 7 4 |
| ♣ |
J 9 5 |
♣ |
10 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 2 |
| ♣ |
A K 8 7 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
3♣* |
Pass |
| 3♦ |
Pass |
4♠** |
Pass |
| 5♣ |
Pass |
6♦ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥9
“When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me;
When I was shown the charts and the diagrams, to add, divide, and measure them.”
— Walt Whitman
All the deals this week come from The Yeh Brothers Cup, held last year in Australia.
In the featured match on Vugraph, both tables bid to slam. The deal reduces to an exercise in percentages — though not an especially simple one. The issue is how to play the trump suit for one loser in six diamonds: What three sensible options are available?
The first, selected by both Souths, is to run the diamond queen, planning a second finesse. This loses when East has both honors — and therefore works approximately three-quarters of the time. Can you do better?
I first thought that a better approach might be to start by cashing the ace. This loses either when West began with a void, or when he began with both the king and jack and one or two small cards. This is fractionally better, but it too would fail today.
Best — and also successful today — is to run the eight from the North hand. This loses when West has jack singleton or doubleton so long as East ducks stoically on the first round (don’t we all?) and you misguess. However, you can negotiate the 4-0 split in either hand. Accordingly, there is one losing combination fewer and it is the best play.
Note: If you have a 5-4 fit, as opposed to the 6-3 fit, playing the ace no longer loses to a void in West, but from a psychological perspective, running the eight still looks to be the best play.
ANSWER: When nothing seems very attractive, go with leading from your long suit. A low heart will probably not be costly, and may gain if partner has the heart ace, king, or 10. My second choice would be to go passive with the club seven, but a low diamond is certainly not absurd.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 7 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 5 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 4 2 |
| ♣ |
7 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1 NT |
| Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
2♥ |
| 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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
February 28th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 14, 2010
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Where can I find bridge books for absolute beginners?
— One Small Step, Newark, N.J.
ANSWER: You could try a big bridge bookseller like Baron Barclay (who can be reached at http://www.baronbarclay.com/contact.html or by telephone at 1-800-274-2221). They will know just what you need.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
You are third to speak with ♠ J-9, ♥ A-Q-7-3-2, ♦ 10-3-2, ♣ Q-7-4. If there are two passes to you, would you consider opening with a weak-two bid?
— Risky Business, Levittown, Pa.
ANSWER: This pattern is not ideal for a weak-two bid. (We all know the bid promises six, but in third seat who’s counting?) If you are going to open a five-card suit, you’d like more internal solidity or a side four-card suit, providing more offense and fewer quick losers. Opening one heart in third seat would not worry me as much, though.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What are the instances, if any, of a two-trick penalty for a revoke? I understand the laws have changed.
— Keystone Kop, Memphis, Tenn.
ANSWER: The 2007 laws have simplified the revoke penalties. There is no penalty if the revoking side won no tricks after the revoke, and a maximum of one if they won only one trick. That said, unless the player who revoked won the trick himself with that “revoking card,” it is a one-trick penalty. If he personally won the trick and his side subsequently won at least two tricks, it is a two-trick penalty. If the penalty does not restore equity, the Director has powers to adjust the result.
|
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Yesterday at the club many players encountered a hand that caused them considerable problems. They held ♠ Q-3, ♥ A, ♦ A-Q-2, ♣ K-Q-J-9-7-4-3 and opened one club, hearing two diamonds on their left and two spades from their partner. What would you do next?
— Upward Mobility, Wausau, Wis.
ANSWER: This hand has such huge slam potential that you should ignore the possibility that it is right to stop in three no-trump. Jump to four clubs to show a good club suit and a good hand, prepared to bid six clubs on your own if partner simply raises. If he can cue-bid a red suit, the sky is the limit.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In a recent question you had one player responding one no-trump to his partner’s overcall of one spade over one heart. At his next turn, after his partner introduced a diamond suit, responder then bid the opponent’s suit. If the first call of one no-trump showed a heart stopper, surely the second call could not be a cuebid and must be showing a genuine heart suit. Am I correct?
— The Riddler, Pueblo, Colo.
ANSWER: Many bridge players normally assume that you cannot play in the opponents’ major suit, unless you have a specific agreement that such a call is natural. That rule applies here: a two-heart call simply shows a good hand and extra diamond support — maybe five trumps and a 10-count, a little too good for a simple raise to three diamonds. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
February 27th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, February 13, 2010
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
10 2 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 6 |
| ♦ |
K J 9 |
| ♣ |
K J 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A Q J 9 5 4 3 |
♠ |
6 |
| ♥ |
8 |
♥ |
9 7 5 4 2 |
| ♦ |
7 3 |
♦ |
A Q 10 6 |
| ♣ |
10 9 7 |
♣ |
8 6 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 8 7 |
| ♥ |
A K 3 |
| ♦ |
8 5 4 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
3♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣10
“The brave man inattentive to his duty is worth little more to his country than the coward who deserts her in the hour of danger.”
— Andrew Jackson
When this deal came up in a teams match, both Wests judged well not to lead a spade against three no-trump. A spade lead might be vital if partner has two small spades and an entry, but the lead will concede an important trick if partner has one spade or none, and it may still be fine not to lead the suit if East’s doubleton spade includes the 10.
Both Wests instead selected the club sequence; this was entirely reasonable, and it was just bad luck that a diamond might have worked better. That said, how would you declare three no-trump on the top club lead?
One declarer quite reasonably led a diamond to dummy’s nine. A spade shift by East let West cash his two spades and play a second diamond, establishing the defenders’ fifth trick.
In the other room South preferred to rely on an endplay rather than hoping to find West with a key diamond card. At trick two he exited from hand with a spade to cut the defenders’ communications. West won the trick and could not cash his spade ace or it would have established the ninth trick for South. So West found the diamond shift, and East won the trick cheaply. Back came a club, and declarer led a diamond to dummy again. He eventually got in again to set up his diamond eight for his ninth winner, while he still had a heart entry to hand to cash it.
ANSWER: You invited to game, and your partner turned you down, suggesting diamonds would be a safer partscore. Yes, you have splendid fillers in diamonds and have hearts well under control, but with no quick tricks in the side suits you will surely be vulnerable to attack in spades if you play in no-trump, and the defenders will have time to work that out. So pass three diamonds and hope he makes it.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 2 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 6 |
| ♦ |
K J 9 |
| ♣ |
K J 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
1♥ |
| 2 NT |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
February 26th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, February 12, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 7 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 5 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 4 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A J 6 4 |
♠ |
K 10 8 5 |
| ♥ |
A K 10 2 |
♥ |
9 8 6 4 |
| ♦ |
8 |
♦ |
7 |
| ♣ |
10 8 6 5 |
♣ |
J 9 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
9 2 |
| ♥ |
7 |
| ♦ |
A K J 10 9 6 5 3 2 |
| ♣ |
4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
5♦ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥K
“How delicious is the winning
Of a kiss at Love’s beginning,
When two mutual hearts are sighing
For the knot there’s no untying!”
— T. Campbell
There is no correct answer to the question of whether to lead an ace or a king from a suit headed by both cards. This column favors the lead of the king, but to express a fair and balanced view, I am going to quote a contrasting opinion from “Defensive Signaling” by David Bird and Marc Smith, from the Bridge Technique Series (Master Point Press).
They suggest that on the lead of an ace or queen, you signal attitude; on the lead of a king, give count. If partner leads an ace against a suit contract at the four-level or lower, you assume that he also holds the king, as unsupported ace-leads are rarely successful.
However, when the contract is at the five-level or higher, the lead of an ace denies the king, as partner would then have led the king from ace-king, asking third hand to give count. That player should encourage a continuation only when holding the king.
Here, South has opened five diamonds, and you lead the heart king. Partner gives count with the heart eight — a standard high-low when holding four. Partner rates to have four cards, not two, on the auction, so you continue with the spade ace, this time asking for attitude. East encourages with the spade 10 to indicate possession of the king. Another spade from you sees the contract go down. Had you continued with the heart ace at trick two, declarer would have ruffed and later discarded the losing spades on dummy’s winners.
ANSWER: If you were unambitious, you would simply raise to four hearts; but a better and almost risk-free course of action would be to jump to four diamonds. This cannot be natural (three diamonds would be diamonds, game-forcing), so the call shows short diamonds and sets hearts as trumps, promising some slam interest. Let partner decide whether he wants to advance past four hearts.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 6 4 |
| ♥ |
A K 10 2 |
| ♦ |
8 |
| ♣ |
10 8 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 NT |
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].
February 25th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, February 11, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q J |
| ♥ |
Q 10 2 |
| ♦ |
A Q 10 7 6 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 8 4 3 |
♠ |
K 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 5 3 |
♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
J 9 5 |
♦ |
K 8 3 |
| ♣ |
10 |
♣ |
K J 9 5 4 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 9 2 |
| ♥ |
A 8 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
4 |
| ♣ |
A 8 7 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| Pass |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣10
“Henceforth take warning by the fall
Of cruel Barbara Allen.”
— Ballads
When opponents have confidently bid unopposed to game and you have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them, it is a bad idea to warn them.
West doubled today’s final contract of four hearts and led the club 10 to the queen, king and ace. South appreciated that West’s double must be based on a trump stack, so set about trying to score his trumps singly.
Declarer led his singleton diamond to dummy’s ace, then ran the spade queen, which held. A diamond was ruffed back to hand, then came the spade ace, a spade ruff with dummy’s heart two, and another diamond ruffed in hand. With seven tricks in the bag, South next played a low club, on which West made the natural move of discarding his last spade, leaving himself with just his five trumps.
East won the trick, but there was no longer any defense to the contract. Whether East played a club or a spade, West could do no better then ruff low. Declarer could overruff in dummy, ruff a diamond with the heart ace, and ruff a club with the heart queen for the 10th trick.
The defenders had missed their chance. When declarer plays a low club at trick eight, West must ruff his partner’s winner, rather than discard, then continue with the heart king! (A low heart would not be good enough.) Now declarer ends up a trick short.
ANSWER: Two spades is an “impossible” bid. Since your partner denied four spades at his first turn, the call is not natural. Instead, it should logically be played as a good raise to three clubs — the direct club raise would suggest more trumps and fewer high cards. You do have aces, but also a minimum. Bid three clubs now and wait to see if your partner can produce a further call.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 2 |
| ♥ |
A 8 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
4 |
| ♣ |
A 8 7 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
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].
February 24th, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 9 3 |
| ♥ |
A J 5 |
| ♦ |
A K J 10 7 |
| ♣ |
8 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 10 8 6 |
♠ |
7 5 |
| ♥ |
9 7 3 2 |
♥ |
Q 10 8 |
| ♦ |
8 5 |
♦ |
9 6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q 5 |
♣ |
K J 10 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 4 2 |
| ♥ |
K 6 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 2 |
| ♣ |
9 7 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 3♣ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♠6
“But if the while I think on thee, dear friend,
All losses are restored and sorrows end.”
— William Shakespeare
Today’s deal arose at rubber bridge in the United States, where multiple world-champion Benito Garozzo of the famed Italian Blue Team now resides.
Nine tricks can be taken at no-trump, but after careful exploration, neither North nor South fancied three no-trump without a club stop between them. The game they finally chose was the Moysian fit of four spades. West led the spade six; plan the play.
Admittedly, had Garozzo inserted dummy’s nine, he could have run 11 tricks, but he had another plan in mind: the spade six was allowed to win the first trick! Puzzled, West now switched to a heart, which South won in hand. A trump to the ace found both defenders following, so Garozzo finished drawing trumps, then ran the seven red-suit winners for his contract.
Garozzo had appreciated that by ducking the first trump lead, he would be in control regardless of the continuation as long as spades broke no worse than 4-2. See what would transpire if Garozzo had taken the ace and king of spades, leaving one trump in dummy to take care of a club attack, and had then gone after diamonds. West ruffs the third round of diamonds, cashes the club ace, then plays a club to East. Now a fourth diamond promotes a second trump trick for the defenders. The alternative of drawing three rounds of trump, then playing on diamonds, allows the defenders to take three club tricks and one trump.
ANSWER: You are in a forcing auction, and your partner’s pass suggested a balanced hand with no clear-cut action. You can bid one spade now, since your partner may easily have four spades, but not have wanted to get in your way. Unless he now shows extras, you will probably end up in a low-level partscore, but there is no need for you to make the decision for the partnership yet.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 4 2 |
| ♥ |
K 6 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 2 |
| ♣ |
9 7 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Dbl. |
| Rdbl. |
1♥ |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
February 23rd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, February 9, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 8 6 5 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A J |
| ♣ |
Q 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A 9 |
♠ |
10 3 |
| ♥ |
10 3 |
♥ |
J 7 6 2 |
| ♦ |
9 6 2 |
♦ |
10 7 5 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A K J 10 4 2 |
♣ |
9 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 7 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 |
| ♦ |
K Q 8 |
| ♣ |
8 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
2♣ |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣K
“All that a man hath will he give for his life; and while all contribute of their substance the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country’s cause.”
— Abraham Lincoln
In today’s deal, when West intervened with a natural call of two clubs, North cue-bid rather than double, not being keen on looking for a penalty against nonvulnerable opponents.
That got him to the spade game — but incidentally, had the two-club call been artificial, North would have doubled, using that call as Stayman, with three clubs now being natural and forcing.
West led the club king and, on inspecting dummy, appreciated that partner was bereft of points. Even more disconcerting was to see five trumps in dummy, which meant that the defensive trumps were splitting 2-2. Where was he to go for the fourth defensive trick? West could see just one chance — which involved playing East for the spade 10 or jack.
He cashed his second top club, then played a third. Having seen East’s high-low in clubs, denoting a doubleton, South trumped with dummy’s spade king, then guessed to lead a spade to his jack. West captured this with the ace and played a fourth round of clubs. East did indeed have the spade 10 and cooperatively ruffed West’s club with it. South had no choice but to overruff, promoting West’s spade nine to the setting trick.
If declarer believed West had the spade ace, his only legitimate chance would have been to find East with both the spade nine and 10 by leading a trump to his seven, not to his jack. It would not have worked, but he would have gone down fighting.
ANSWER: This is a tough problem. You are too good to rebid three clubs, you cannot raise diamonds, and you would prefer better heart support than the doubleton 10. The choice is to bid two no-trump with only one spade stop (far from unreasonable) or to bid two spades. Using the fourth suit here not only suggests doubt about which strain to play in, but also suggests a little extra in high cards, so it would be my choice.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 |
| ♥ |
10 3 |
| ♦ |
9 6 2 |
| ♣ |
A K J 10 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 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].
February 22nd, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, February 8, 2010
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 8 3 |
| ♥ |
J 7 |
| ♦ |
8 5 2 |
| ♣ |
J 8 6 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 6 2 |
♠ |
9 7 5 4 |
| ♥ |
9 4 2 |
♥ |
K Q 10 8 |
| ♦ |
K J 9 |
♦ |
10 7 6 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 7 2 |
♣ |
4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K |
| ♥ |
A 6 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 4 |
| ♣ |
A K 9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3♣* |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣2
“Certain phrases stick in the throat, even if they offer nothing that is analytically improbable.”
— John Russell
“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush” is a fair statement to make. But what if you need two birds? Would you be prepared to grab the first and not go after the second?
Today’s deal saw a greedy declarer go for the maximum and finish up with less than he needed. Declaring three no-trump after an auction in which North had used Stayman to look for a 4-4 major fit, he was delighted to receive the lead of the club two. He won cheaply in hand with the nine, cashed the two top spades to unblock the suit, then tried the club ace. When the suit split 4-1 — as he should have known that it probably would have — he could no longer reach dummy to take the two spade winners there. Eventually, he had to lead hearts and diamonds out of his hand, ending up with only seven tricks.
The prudent declarer who looks ahead appreciates that the club jack in dummy is his passport to the winning spades. But he can only utilize that card if he preserves both small clubs in his hand. Accordingly, he avoids the false economy of winning the first trick cheaply in hand. Instead, he captures the club lead with his king, unblocks the A-K of spades, and later uses the club jack as an entry to the board to take dummy’s spade winners.
ANSWER: This auction should not dissuade you from leading a club. When the opponents bid like this, they do not announce a lock on the club suit. Partner may or may not have length or strength there, but no other lead looks remotely attractive. So you might as well lead from what you know to be length, rather than hit one of declarer’s suits.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 3 |
| ♥ |
J 7 6 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 6 |
| ♣ |
K J 9 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
Pass |
1♠ |
| Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
2 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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
February 21st, 2010 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 7, 2010
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
You recently presented a hand where opener raised his partner’s one-level response with three trumps, rather than introducing a second suit. How does the partner ever find out how many trumps he will be facing if the raise can be made with either holding? And why not rebid one no-trump with only three trumps, if the hand is almost balanced?
— Doubting Thomas, Galveston, Texas
ANSWER: Raising partner is the best way to get to game when you have a fit — and to stay low when you know you don’t have a fit. If responder wants to find out about the range of the opening hand after a raise, a sophisticated way is to ask with a relay of two no-trump. Responses are by steps: three trumps, minimum hand; three, maximum; four, minimum; four, maximum.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ 9, ♥ J-9-3-2, ♦ A-10-3-2, ♣ K-Q-7-4. As a passed hand I responded one no-trump to one spade, and the next hand butted in with two diamonds. What did my partner show by doubling? Was it extra values, takeout or penalty?
— No Compass, Atlanta, Ga.
ANSWER: While there is no firm agreement on what a double means here, I like it to be takeout, and this is what your hand suggests it to be. Partner’s typical shape would be a 5-3-1-4 pattern. (With both majors one might simply bid hearts, not double.) So with your actual hand, passing would not be absurd, but maybe cue-bidding three diamonds also works. You plan to bid no-trump over a three-spade call, raise hearts, or cue-bid your diamond ace over a club call, looking for a club slam.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I play rubber bridge every week with the same group. One of the players tends to win more often than the others. Some say it’s because he gets all the cards. Over the years, would you not expect the cards to average out?
— Lucky Charms, Montreal, Quebec
|
|
ANSWER: Unless your friend is good at dealing himself aces (but you would have noticed that!), I’d say the luck evens out. But beware: the better players always seem lucky. As Gary Player said, “The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ Q-10-9-5-3, ♥ 2, ♦ 10-3, ♣ A-K-Q-7-4, the young Turks in our neighborhood open one spade, planning to rebid the suit after a two-level red-suit response. The old-timers, like me, prefer one club, planning to rebid spades twice, with the partnership agreement that this does not promise extras. What say you?
— Show and Tell, Durham, N.C.
ANSWER: My first instinct is to go along with you, bidding suits I want my partner to lead. The problem auctions sometimes come at your third turn after opening clubs and bidding spades: How do you distinguish a minimum 5-5 from one with an extra ace? It is not an easy problem! But perhaps you open one spade with much better spades than clubs, or with a stronger hand — and open one club with this hand.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I assume you would open one club, planning to rebid one no-trump over any one-level response, with ♠ K-J-9, ♥ J-10-2, ♦ 10-8, ♣ A-K-Q-7-4. That was what I did. I heard one diamond on my left, a negative double from partner, and now I had to guess what to do. The deal came up at pairs, with no one vulnerable.
— Gerry Meandering, Sioux Falls, S.D.
ANSWER: I agree with your decision to open one club, although in playing strength the hand resembles a strong no-trump. Now you have to decide what to rebid. If partner has a diamond stop, you may be best off in no-trump; but I would guess to bid one heart because even facing one diamond stopper, you may find you need to take diamond ruffs in the short trump hand. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
|
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related