Aces on Bridge — Daily Columns

The Aces on Bridge: Monday, March 1, 2010

March 15th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, March 1, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: None

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

 

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

Opening Lead:♥Q

“To see what is front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”

— George Orwell

As George Orwell nearly said in “Animal Farm,” “All finesses are equal but some are more equal than others.”

 

When you play three no-trump today after a Stayman inquiry, West leads from his heart sequence, and you hold up your ace for one round and win the next heart. Now your contract hinges on a diamond finesse or a club finesse; if one works and the other does not, your play will be critical to the success or failure of the contract.

 

You can either toss a coin or choose the suit that has been luckier for you in the past…. Only kidding!

 

The right way to play the hand is to take advantage of both suits if you can. Since you cannot take both finesses simultaneously, you need to fall back on the only way you can exploit both suits without giving up the lead. Instead of finessing in one suit, you play off your top cards in that suit, and if you have no joy there, you take the finesse in the other suit. So which is the correct suit with which to start? Diamonds, of course.

 

Since you have eight diamonds, the chance that the queen will drop in two rounds is almost one in three. If the diamonds disappoint you, you must play on clubs, running the nine, then the jack. But if, as here, the diamond queen falls, you can scamper home with your nine top tricks, since you no longer need the club finesse.

ANSWER: On slow auctions of this sort, there is a case for going passive — particularly if you think the cards are lying badly for declarer. But, while I would never lead a club on this auction, I would prefer a heart lead to a spade lead. For all you know, a spade lead may just as easily be playing into declarer’s suit as a heart. And the rewards of leading a long suit are more tangible.

LEAD WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ 8 7 2
♥ Q 8 3 2
♦ K 4 2
♣ K Q 4

 

South West North East
      1 NT
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].

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The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 28, 2010

March 14th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 28, 2010 
Dear Mr. Wolff:

What I should do if I am about to be dummy and my partner has incorrectly explained one of my calls?

—  Miles to Go, Wichita Falls, Texas

ANSWER: As soon as the auction is over, tell the opponents what you believe your call meant. If it turns out that your partner was right and you were wrong, no harm has been done. If any damage was done to your opponents, the Tournament Director may need to work his magic. (Note that as a defender, you must wait until the end of the deal before speaking up.)

Dear Mr. Wolff:

With ♠ A-10-3-2, ♥ Q-10-7-4-3, ♦ A-Q, ♣ J-4, I suppose you would open one heart, but what would you rebid over a response of one no-trump, which we play as forcing?

—  Stuck on Two, Great Falls, Mont.

ANSWER: This is why people hate the forcing no-trump! You cannot bid two spades without at least an ace more than you hold, and you cannot rebid a miserable five-carder, so I’d either risk a pass and break partnership discipline, or bid a confident two clubs and hope the auction does not end there.

Dear Mr. Wolff:

I’d like to learn more about duplicate by kibitzing. I live in Washington State and would like to know where to observe good players.

—  Grasshopper, Bellevue, Wash.

ANSWER: The easiest way to learn may be by watching on the Internet. You can see top-level bridge on BBO almost every night. And when major championships happen all around the world, the action is shown live, with commentary, but the quality of the analysis varies. Try going to BBO at www.bridgebase.org for more details.

   Dear Mr. Wolff:

My partner had ♠ A-Q-7-3-2, ♥ 10-3-2, ♦ Q-7-4 ♣ K-5 and overcalled one spade over one club. This was passed around to his RHO, who doubled for takeout. He passed and so did his LHO, and I redoubled. What action would you recommend now?

—  What Goes Around, Riverside, Calif.

 

ANSWER: The redouble is for rescue so the overcaller cannot pass. The simplest bid is one no-trump. If partner cannot stand that spot, he can run himself or redouble for rescue (when I would head for diamonds, I suppose). It seems unnecessary to remove directly to two diamonds until you have to. No-trump could easily be the best spot.

 

Dear Mr. Wolff:

My partner asked me about a suit combination and I disagreed with his answer. How should you play a singleton, facing A-Q-10-9-7-4 if you want to hold your losers to one trick?

—  Puff Adder, Dover, Del.

 

ANSWER: You plan to lead up to either the 10 or queen, and follow up with the ace, hoping to drop a missing honor. If the suit is 3-3, it is a blind guess. Either line works if the king or jack is doubleton onside; neither line works if the king is doubleton offside. If there is a doubleton jack offside, you must lead first to the queen, then continue by playing the ace and the 10. Thus leading to the queen is right.

 

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.

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The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, February 27, 2010

March 13th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, February 27, 2010 
Dealer: East

Vul: All

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

 

South West North East
      2♠
4♥ All Pass    
       
       

Opening Lead:♣K

“Lookers-on see most of the game.”

— English proverb

One of my readers, Jim Beall, sent me a deal that had appeared in print in another bridge column. He added a perceptive comment. See if you can match his analysis.

 

In a Vanderbilt deal, Ron Smith played four hearts, as did his counterpart, both of whom overcalled East’s two-spade bid. Both received a top club lead and spade shift.

 

The unsuccessful declarer won the spade ace and led the heart jack, which ran to West when East showed out. West continued spades and got a second heart trick via a trump promotion on the third round of spades — down one.

 

By contrast Smith foresaw what might happen if the opposing hearts were divided 4-0 and immediately played the diamond king and ace, then advanced the diamond jack, pitching his spade, to achieve a Scissors Coup before touching trumps. Now the defenders had no communications for the trump promotion.

 

As Beall pointed out, as long as declarer believes East began with six spades, I think the unsuccessful declarer should have been able to avoid losing a swing. To avoid the trump promotion, once trumps are known to split 4-0, South must not let the heart jack run to West. Instead, declarer overtakes the heart jack with his ace, takes the diamond king, finesses in diamonds, pitches his losing spade on the diamond ace, and concedes two trump tricks. He risks going down two, but it is his only chance. Today his luck is in!

ANSWER: It would be possible to start by cue-bidding two hearts to show a limit raise or better. (Remember, a jump to three clubs is WEAK, neither a limit raise nor a forcing raise.) Better, though, is a jump cuebid to three hearts, showing a game-forcing hand in clubs and a singleton heart — a splinter bid. That lets partner decide on which game to play in, with a good idea about your primary support and heart shortage.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ A 7 6
♥ J
♦ A J 5 3
♣ J 10 9 5 4

 

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

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The Aces on Bridge: Friday, February 26, 2010

March 12th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, February 26, 2010 
Dealer: West

Vul: E/W

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

 

South West North East
  1♥ Dbl. 3♥
3♠ 4♥ 4♠ Pass
Pass Dbl. All Pass  
       

Opening Lead:♥A

“In the affluent society no useful distinction can be made between luxuries and necessaries.”

— J.K. Galbraith

Everybody did much too much bidding in today’s deal, a problem originally from a collection by Paul Lukacs and Jeff Rubens.

 

The contract looks like an extremely bad one since you have two red aces to lose and must somehow hold your club losers to one trick. It will not be sufficient to find the ace and queen of clubs onside. That you do not have the club nine means the defenders appear to have two natural tricks in the suit.

 

Accordingly, a series of precisely timed maneuvers is needed, based on the slim chance that West has the doubleton club ace-queen.

 

Ruff the heart and draw only two rounds of trump, then play a diamond. Best is for West to win the ace immediately and continue diamonds. (If he ducks his diamond ace, he will find himself on play with no convenient exit card.) You cash one more round of diamonds, ending in hand, still leaving a trump at large, and play the club jack. What is West to do? If he ducks, you have your two club tricks. If he wins the ace, he will have to give you a ruff and sluff or surrender his club trick, so he must cover your jack with the queen. You take the club king and only now do you draw the last trump, then run the club eight to land the contract.

ANSWER: After the negative double, you might have introduced spades with only three of them, so your partner’s auction suggests 10-11 points with a heart stop and four spades. He has guaranteed four spades or he would have bid one no-trump at his previous turn. Since you have four spades but no game interest, simply bid two spades now.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ A J 9 8
♥ 6 4
♦ K Q 9 8
♣ K 8 7

 

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

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The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, February 25, 2010

March 11th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, February 25, 2010 
Dealer: South

Vul: All

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

 

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

Opening Lead:♠2

“Truth is the most valuable thing we have. Let us economize it.”

— Mark Twain

In today’s deal from the Dyspeptics Club, South was in his accustomed position as declarer in three no-trump, and West accurately led a spade.

 

South cunningly won in hand and crossed to dummy with the diamond queen to advance the club 10, hoping West would win the trick and continue with spades. However, it was East who flew up with the club ace and played a second spade. South ducked the trick, won the next spade, and played a second club, won by West, who cashed his long spade. On this, South pitched a heart from hand and a club from dummy, East letting go of the club eight.

 

If West had returned a heart, South would have rejected the finesse, for if it lost, that would be the defenders’ fifth trick. By rising with the ace, he would have a double chance for nine tricks: Either the diamonds could split 3-3, or, alternatively, the hand with the diamond stopper would also have the heart king. Indeed, as the cards lie, East would be squeezed in the red suits when South cashed his clubs.

 

However, West found the best defense by playing a third club, not a heart, and declarer cashed his club winners. East deliberately pitched two hearts by playing high and then low. Now, after testing diamonds and finding the bad news, South took the heart finesse at trick 12, assuming that East’s echo in hearts was designed to put him off the finesse. Another player fell victim to the double bluff!

ANSWER: It would be lazy simply to jump to four hearts. A better approach is to cue-bid two spades to show a good hand, then to bid hearts or raise partner to game in hearts. The point is that although you have a balanced hand, you are full value for a game bid, and if partner has extras, you might make a slam. Do not pre-empt partner unnecessarily.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ 5 4 3
♥ A Q J 4
♦ A Q 2
♣ 10 9 3

 

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

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The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, February 24, 2010

March 10th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 
Dealer: West

Vul: None

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

 

South West North East
  1♥ Pass Pass
Dbl. 2♦ Pass Pass
4♠ All Pass    
       

Opening Lead:♥Q

“A man is never so on trial as in the moment of excessive good fortune.”

— Lew Wallace

After South captured the heart-queen lead with the ace in four spades, it all looked like plain sailing until the second top trump revealed the 4-1 break. There now seemed to be a loser in each suit, as dummy’s apparent lack of entries precluded any chance of a trump coup. But South was unwilling to give up yet, so soldiered on with a low diamond. West rose with the ace and returned a second heart to South’s king.

 

As East-West were playing five-card majors, declarer knew that East was out of hearts. Therefore, there were two chances left. First, if East had begun with three clubs, they were precisely the queen, jack and 10 — possible, but unlikely, in view of the bidding. Second, and a far better chance, was that East had precisely four clubs.

 

As both possibilities could be investigated by the same play, declarer cashed the ace and king of clubs, then exited with a third club. South was happy to see West show out, and after East won with the nine, any return except a club would hand declarer the contract on the spot. A diamond would give declarer access to dummy, and a spade would give declarer a free finesse.

 

So East returned the club jack, but this only delayed matters. South ruffed, then played the queen and another spade. On lead with the jack of trumps, East had only diamonds to return. So South’s losing heart went away on dummy’s diamond king.

ANSWER: Your three-club call was a second negative, suggesting 0-4 points and not much of a spade fit. Now that partner has shown spades and diamonds, you suddenly have a great hand! A simple raise to four diamonds may not yet get across your suitability, but a jump to five diamonds would suggest fewer high cards. So make the simple raise and be prepared to cooperate at your next turn.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ 3 2
♥ 7 3 2
♦ K 8 5 3
♣ 7 6 5 2

 

South West North East
    2♣ Pass
2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass
3♣ 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, February 23, 2010

March 9th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 
Dealer: East

Vul: N/S

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

 

South West North East
      2♥
Pass Pass Dbl. Pass
2♠ Pass 3♦ Pass
3 NT All Pass    

Opening Lead:♥9

“Be juster, Heaven; such virtue punished thus

Will make us think that chance rules all above,

And shuffles, with a random hand, the lots,

Which man is forced to draw.”

— John Dryden

The mark of good declarer play is to have a second string to your bow when your intended line of play fails to hit the target.

 

In today’s deal North’s sequence of doubling, then bidding a suit, suggested 17-20 points and good diamonds. Accordingly, since South had a heart stop and scattered values, he had more than enough to take a shot at three no-trump.

 

West led a heart as instructed, and East erred by cashing a second top heart (dummy pitching a club) before switching to the club jack. This play had removed East’s only re-entry for a second club play.

 

Declarer won with the ace, cashed one more top heart, and played a diamond, intending to take the ace, king and another diamond to minimize the possibility of East’s gaining the lead to play another club.

 

When East showed out on the diamond ace, declarer had to think again. Fortunately, there was an elegant solution available. South cashed dummy’s three top spades and exited with a low diamond to his nine. If West let this hold, declarer would end up with four spades, a club, and two tricks in each red suit. So West took the trick but, after cashing the club king, had the unenviable choice of returning a diamond into the tenace (in which case dummy would be high) or giving the rest of the tricks to declarer by playing a club around to his queen. If he did that, South would cash his three winners in hand.

ANSWER: Opener’s cuebid showed a game-forcing hand, looking for a spade stop or some other descriptive action from you. It did NOT promise heart support. Here, you have a straightforward call of three clubs, implying at least secondary club support and waiting to find out where partner is headed.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ 10 8 6 3
♥ Q J 10 3
♦ 9 8
♣ A Q 5

 

South West North East
    1♣ Pass
1♥ 1♠ 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: Monday, February 22, 2010

March 8th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, February 22, 2010 
Dealer: North

Vul: E/W

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

 

South West North East
    Pass 1♦
4♥ Dbl.* All Pass  
       
       
*Negative

Opening Lead:♦K

“When first we met we did not guess

That love would prove so hard a master.”

— Robert Bridges

Today’s deal is a classic example of identifying what your best chance is to make your contract, then playing for it.

 

South sensibly jumped to four hearts over East’s one-diamond opening. West’s double showed cards and encouraged East to bid four spades if he had a four-card suit, or to make any other appropriate call with significant extra shape. As it was, East had nowhere to go but to pass and hope he could beat the game.

 

West led out the diamond king and queen, then the 10 to East’s ace. South ruffed in and laid down the heart ace, but now had a choice. He could play the heart queen to try to pin the jack, or he could play a low heart and try to drop the king. He actually played for the second choice and quietly went down a trick.

 

When he told his partner that it was a blind guess as to what to do, he received a less than sympathetic answer. “Imagine that East DID have the doubleton heart king. What would have happened to you when you led out the low heart and the king captured thin air? East would have been able to lead the fourth diamond now, re-promoting West’s heart jack to the setting trick. So your best chance was to try to pin the heart jack by leading the queen. If that works, there can be no promotion.”

ANSWER: This double calls for an unusual lead. It suggests your partner has a good suit of his own and is asking you to lead your shorter major on the chance of finding his suit. Therefore, lead the heart 10 — and hope partner does not have six spades ready to cash!

LEAD WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ 10 8 4 3
♥ 10 3
♦ Q 9 8 7
♣ J 7 4

 

South West North East
      1 NT
Pass 3 NT Dbl. 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].

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The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 21, 2010

March 7th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, February 21, 2010 
Dear Mr. Wolff:

When your RHO opens one club, should you overcall in spades or in hearts, holding ♠ J-9-8-4-3, ♥ A-Q-7-3-2, ♦ 10, ♣ Q-4? The heart suit is what you want partner to lead, but if you bid that first, you may lose the spades altogether.

—  Tough Choice, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

ANSWER: These days it is almost mandatory to play some form of two-suited overcalls, focusing on the majors. The most common method is to cue-bid a minor-suit opening to show 5-5 in the majors. This is called a Michaels Cuebid and works well in conjunction with the Unusual No-Trump to show the two lowest unbid suits.

Dear Mr. Wolff:

When the auction gets into slam territory, how do you let your partner know you want to stop at four no-trump, not get a Blackwood response?

—  Emergency Brake, San Luis Obispo, Calif.

ANSWER: Four no-trump should normally be taken as Blackwood unless the last call was in no-trump, or no fit has been found plus the previous call was a cue-bid or fourth suit forcing. Then four no-trump will be quantitative and invitational. However, when one player bids three no-trump and at his next turn bids four no-trump, that is generally a sign-off, not Blackwood.

Dear Mr. Wolff:

Your LHO bids three clubs, passed around to you. With ♠ A-K-3-2, ♥ A-8-2, ♦ K-Q-4-2, ♣ Q-4, you double and partner responds three hearts. Should you raise to game, or pass?

—  Stretch, Spartanburg, S.C.

   ANSWER: You have extras, though the club queen is of dubious value. Imagine partner with five hearts to the king-queen plus the club king. You still have not made game — and partner might have bid four hearts with that hand. So I suppose you would have to pass now.

 

Dear Mr. Wolff:

The old-fashioned bridge books, and even some of my current teachers, set 13 HCPs as a minimum for an opening. An HCP of 12 is acceptable only if the hand includes a good six-card suit. What is your rationale for recently describing a 12-point hand as sufficient for an opening bid?

—  Audit Needed, Bay City, Mich.

 

ANSWER: Inflation strikes us everywhere! These days any 12-count with a five-card suit or two four-card suits will normally qualify as an opening. The reason is that you want your minimum rebid in no-trump to show 12-14 (a two-point range is unnecessarily narrow) and the no-trump opening to be 15-17. If you still play 16-18 no-trumps, you might stick to the idea that the rebid is 13-15. But you would be swimming against the tide.

 

Dear Mr. Wolff:

At a club duplicate at favorable vulnerability, you hold ♠ —, ♥ A-Q-10-7-3-2, ♦ J-2, ♣ A-Q-9-7-4. Your RHO passes, you open one heart, and LHO bids two diamonds, passed back to you. What do you bid?

—  The Spin Room, Sunbury, Pa.

 

ANSWER: I would bid three clubs, not confident that I am right, but hoping that we have a fit somewhere. But where are the spades? Partner rates to have five or more of them, and thus probably a weak hand or he might have doubled, but he might also easily have four clubs. If that is so, we can make a club contract, while they cannot make much.

 

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.

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The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, February 20, 2010

March 6th, 2010  ~  admin  ~  Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, February 20, 2010 
Dealer: West

Vul: N/S

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

 

South West North East
  Pass Pass Pass
1 NT Pass 3 NT All Pass
       
       

Opening Lead:♠K

“God sent his Singers upon earth

With songs of sadness and of mirth.”

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

In today’s deal from the finals of the Yeh Brothers Cup, Huub Bertens of the Netherlands must have hoped for a more favorable comparison in the scoring than he achieved.

 

Playing in three no-trump, he ducked the top spade lead, won the heart shift cheaply in hand, and ducked a diamond in both hands. Back came a low heart, so he won and led a diamond to the king and ace. Now, rather than test diamonds, Bertens read the position accurately and gave up a heart, letting East cash the 13th heart. On this trick, declarer pitched a diamond from dummy and a spade from hand.

 

In the six-card ending, East made the natural but erroneous return of a spade. (It was hard to see at the table, but a club would have disrupted declarer’s communications.) Bertens won in hand and crossed to the club king to take his diamond winner, pitching a spade from hand. This had the effect of squeezing West in the black suits, so the contract came home.

 

So why was he disappointed when it came to the scoring? In the other room, his teammate as West opened a 10-12 no-trump, and then the doubling started. Eventually East wriggled out to two hearts. The defenders doubled and cashed two diamonds, three clubs and a spade. Finally South led the 13th club, ruffed high by North, to promote an extra trump trick for South, for a penalty of 800.

ANSWER: It seems cowardly to sell out and pass. Better is to balance — but with what? The simple call is two diamonds, but I marginally prefer one no-trump. The range for this action in balancing seat is wide — about 11-16 points — NOT the traditional strong no-trump you would hold in direct seat. Partner can find out about your shape and range with a two-club inquiry if he has game interest.

BID WITH THE ACES

South Holds:

♠ 7 6 3
♥ Q 7 4
♦ A Q 6 5 4
♣ K 8

 

South West North East
  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].

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