December 13th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, November 29, 2009 
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Our opponents came to the wrong table, played a board against us, and got a top! Did we have to keep our bottom, or were we supposed to get an average-plus because of their error?
— Wrong Place at the Wrong Time, Bay City, Mich.
ANSWER: My experience is that when a board is completed at the wrong table, the pairs who will not be able to play the board properly (the East-West pair who should have played it and the North-South pair who may be unable to find appropriate opponents later on) get an average-plus. The pairs who played the board keep their result, though the director may fine the pair who made the mistake if he wishes.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I picked up ♠ Q-7-4, ♥ A-Q-7, ♦ A-5-3-2, ♣ Q-10-3 and opened one club. My LHO overcalled one spade, my partner responded two hearts, and my RHO bid two spades. Do I now describe my hand by passing, by bidding two no-trump, or by raising hearts? If I raise, to what level?
— Storm Clouds, Dover, Del.
ANSWER: Two no-trump suggests a nonminimum hand and a good spade stop — far better than this one — perhaps with a source of tricks in clubs as well. Passing suggests a minimum balanced hand (12-13 points) without much heart support. With such good hearts, it feels right to raise hearts at once since you know you will be facing at least five hearts. With the spade queen likely to be irrelevant, a raise to three hearts looks to be enough.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Does the double of a transfer bid by the opponents after they have opened one no-trump promise a good suit, a good hand, or both?
— Promises Promises, Honolulu, Hawaii
|
|
ANSWER: I do not like to give wishy-washy answers but it does depend a little on what range the no-trump is and whether you are a passed hand. I’d say a double by an unpassed hand after the opponents have opened anything but a strong no-trump shows a good hand and a decent suit at least. Any other double is lead-directing, showing a good suit, but not guaranteeing a good hand.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was in fourth seat with ♠ A-9-2, ♥ 10-7-4-2, ♦ Q-8-3, ♣ K-J-10. The auction started one club, one diamond, one heart to me. What do I call, and why?
— Forced Entry, Newark, N.J.
ANSWER: A double by you would be competitive, not for penalties, nor, by the way would it be that modern invention, the support double to show three-card support. That applies only to opener, facing a response. You should double, which suggests decent values, say upwards of nine points, and four or five spades. If you had five spades it would be a poor suit, as otherwise you would have bid them. The double almost always delivers diamond tolerance or support.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Is there a simple way to explain the principle of restricted choice to someone who does not believe in it? I’ve tried and failed!
— Doesn’t Get It, Great Falls, Mont.
ANSWER: Imagine you are missing the queen, jack, three and two of trumps. You lead to the ace in dummy and your LHO produces an honor. Should you finesse on the way back or play for the drop? Answer: a singleton honor is almost twice as likely as the queen-jack doubleton, even though (say) the queen singleton is less likely than this doubleton. The point is that with queen-jack doubleton, the player has a choice of cards to play; with a singleton honor, he has no choice. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
December 12th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment
| Dealer: North
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 7 5 |
| ♥ |
A 9 7 6 5 |
| ♦ |
K 4 |
| ♣ |
K 4 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
9 8 |
♠ |
J 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K Q 3 |
♥ |
10 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 3 |
♦ |
9 7 5 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 8 2 |
♣ |
J 10 7 6 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 6 2 |
| ♥ |
J 8 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 6 2 |
| ♣ |
A 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♥ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♣ |
Pass |
4♦ |
Pass |
| 5♦ |
Pass |
5♥ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♣2
“The most glorious exploits do not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in men.”
— Plutarch
At last year’s Fall Nationals, slam in this deal was a poor contract whichever major was trumps, since it hinges on playing hearts for one loser.
The expert way to achieve this target is called the intrafinesse (a better shot than finding a doubleton K-Q). In six spades on a club lead, South wins in hand, cashes three top trumps, then goes to the club king and leads low to the heart eight. Next, he wins the diamond ace and runs the heart jack to pin the heart 10.
Of course, that is not the complete story. If you were East, would you think to play the heart 10 on the first round? And if you were declarer and East produced the 10 on the first round of the suit to your jack and West’s king, how would you play the second round? Might you play East for the Q-10 of hearts?
Pride of place from a reporter’s perspective on this deal must go to Andy Bowles of England, who reached six spades. The play went as suggested for the first five tricks. But when declarer led a heart from the board, his opponent did indeed find the deceptive play of rising with the 10. This was covered with the jack and king. Back came a diamond, and Bowles now had to choose whether to play to the heart ace or run the heart eight.
He got it right — primarily, he said, because he did not want to give an opponent the chance to get his name in the papers at his expense!
ANSWER: Your partner showed a good hand when he redoubled one no-trump, say about nine or 10 points, but he could not raise diamonds or double two clubs, and he surely does not have four spades or he would have made a negative double at his first turn. Your side, it seems, does not have a fit, or enough clubs for a double. So pass, and hope to beat two clubs.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 6 2 |
| ♥ |
J 8 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 6 2 |
| ♣ |
A 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
1♥ |
1 NT |
Pass |
| Pass |
Dbl. |
Rdbl. |
Pass |
| 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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 11th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, November 27, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 6 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 4 3 |
| ♦ |
9 8 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 7 6 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 7 4 2 |
♠ |
A |
| ♥ |
A 10 9 6 |
♥ |
J 7 5 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 4 2 |
♦ |
Q J 10 7 6 |
| ♣ |
8 |
♣ |
K J 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 10 9 5 3 |
| ♥ |
K |
| ♦ |
A 3 |
| ♣ |
A 10 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Dbl. |
| 2♠ |
3♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣8
“The delicate balance between modesty and conceit is popularity.”
— Max Beerbohm
This deal was played in a qualifying session of the Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs last fall and offered interesting opportunities for the defenders against each of the major-suit part-scores.
At one table South sold out to three hearts. Declarer won the opening spade lead, played a heart to the ace, then went after diamonds. South took the second diamond and returned a spade, threatening declarer’s trump control. West ruffed in dummy and led the heart jack, but North was able to hold declarer to nine tricks by ducking this trick. Declarer now needed to play on diamonds and give North his ruff to retain control and make three hearts.
The more interesting contract is three spades, which West doubles, then leads a club. After declarer takes East’s club jack with the ace and knocks out the trump ace, East has a problem. A simple but unsuccessful defense would be to find West with the diamond ace — playing declarer to have the heart ace and the diamond king — and so shift to the diamond queen, trying to score two diamonds plus the club king and a club ruff. Equally unsuccessful is to play the club king and another club, giving partner a ruff. That defeats the contract only if partner has two more tricks to cash.
The winning defense is to play South for the diamond ace and singleton heart king, giving partner the club ruff without cashing the club king. Now as long as partner simply returns a low diamond, East-West can defeat the contract.
ANSWER: Your fourth trump and short clubs demand that you compete further. You cannot bid a red suit (that would show only three spades and six cards in that suit) so simply bid three spades. Just for the record: a double by you would be suggesting a defensive hand with only three spades, and would not show a trump stack.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 7 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A 10 9 6 |
| ♦ |
K 5 4 2 |
| ♣ |
8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Dbl. |
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].
December 10th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, November 26, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 7 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 6 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
A Q 9 8 7 6 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
5 |
♠ |
K Q 10 9 2 |
| ♥ |
9 5 4 3 |
♥ |
K J 10 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 3 2 |
♦ |
A 7 4 |
| ♣ |
J 10 3 |
♣ |
5 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 8 6 3 |
| ♥ |
A 8 2 |
| ♦ |
K J 9 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
1♠ |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠5
“Better to sink beneath the shock
Than moulder piecemeal on the rock.”
— Lord Byron
We are just about to start the San Diego Fall Nationals, so to mark the occasion this week’s deals all come from the Fall Nationals 12 months ago.
In the second round of the Senior Knockout Teams, both tables reached three no-trump in today’s deal. Both Easts were presented with the opportunity to disrupt declarer’s communications, but only one of them made the correct play.
Richard Popper (East) resisted the temptation to win the battle and lose the war. His partner had dutifully led the spade five against three no-trump, and this was ducked around to Popper’s queen. Popper continued with the spade king, even though he knew full well that it would set up declarer’s jack.
He made that play because he could see that it might be essential to dislodge the side-suit entry from dummy to prevent the run of the clubs.
And so it proved: after the second top spade, the club suit remained blocked. Declarer won dummy’s spade ace, unblocked the club king, and tried to use the heart queen as an entry to dummy: down three!
In the other room, Ken Cohen played three no-trump, but from the North seat, on the lead of the spade king. When Cohen ducked, East shifted to a low diamond. Cohen went up with dummy’s diamond king, unblocked the club king, and had 10 tricks when clubs split 3-2.
ANSWER: The simplest way to describe this hand is to jump to four hearts, so long as your agreement is that this sequence shows a minimum hand with no slam interest. There are other (perhaps better) ways to use that jump to game, but sometimes simplicity and elegance do not go hand in hand.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 8 6 3 |
| ♥ |
A 8 2 |
| ♦ |
K J 9 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 9th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, November 25, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 9 4 |
| ♥ |
A 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 4 2 |
| ♣ |
10 7 5 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 8 3 |
♠ |
7 5 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 9 8 7 6 |
♥ |
J 3 |
| ♦ |
9 7 |
♦ |
Q 10 6 5 |
| ♣ |
6 2 |
♣ |
Q J 9 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 6 |
| ♥ |
K 5 |
| ♦ |
A J 8 3 |
| ♣ |
A K 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
6 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥10
“The old order changeth, yielding place to new;
And God fulfills himself in many ways,
Lest one good custom should corrupt the world.”
— Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Today’s six-no-trump deal, from the second qualifying session of last year’s Life Master Open Pairs, offers some fine technical points.
Say you receive a heart lead, the most awkward for you because it potentially damages the entries to dummy. The way forward is not clear, but you cash the club ace and nothing good happens. Do you play the club king and another club? That could be right if East has honor-doubleton in the suit, but as the cards lie, that line would lead to instant defeat. At the table, South guessed well to duck a club at trick two. The defenders won and cleared hearts. When declarer cashed the remaining top club, he found the bad news. What now?
At this point, declarer fell from grace. He crossed to dummy with the diamond king to finesse in diamonds, but he no longer had the communication for a squeeze. If he runs four spades first, he ends up in the wrong hand, and cashing only three spades to end in dummy exerts no pressure.
The right line is to use the spade jack as the entry to dummy. Cash three spades, ending in dummy, finesse the diamond queen, and then take the fourth spade, planning to pitch dummy’s heart unless it is good. As the cards lie, this line will squeeze East in diamonds and clubs, but would also exert pressure on West in the unlikely event that he had 1-6-4-2 shape without the diamond queen.
ANSWER: This double shows a good hand for defense. Since your hand is a maximum and it too is suited for defense, you have no reason to remove the double, especially when you have only three trumps and not particularly good ones. If your partner wanted to make a try for game, he would bid three hearts; a call of three spades would be purely competitive.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 4 |
| ♥ |
A 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 4 2 |
| ♣ |
10 7 5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
3♦ |
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].
December 8th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, November 24, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
4 |
| ♥ |
9 8 5 |
| ♦ |
A K Q J |
| ♣ |
10 6 5 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A Q J 9 8 |
♠ |
6 2 |
| ♥ |
K 4 3 |
♥ |
10 7 6 2 |
| ♦ |
8 4 |
♦ |
10 9 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A 9 7 |
♣ |
K 8 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 7 5 3 |
| ♥ |
A Q J |
| ♦ |
7 6 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
1 NT* |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3♦ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦8
“If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands.”
— Douglas Adams
Today’s deal, from last year’s Fall Nationals, shows a disadvantage of the forcing no-trump response. North would like to respond with a nonforcing no-trump and play there. Indeed, if West makes the quite reasonable decision to double in the balancing seat, North would get to play one no-trump redoubled!
At the table, though, South was obligated to introduce his three-card diamond suit and North had too much to pass, so South was left in a very delicate spot. Against three diamonds, West led the trump eight. Declarer won in dummy and played a club to the queen and ace. Back came a second trump, and declarer, in dummy again, led another club. It looks natural for East to win and shift to a heart, but declarer can take two hearts, four diamonds and three clubs for plus 110.
After East wins the second club, a spade shift is better. West can win cheaply and exit with a club. Declarer will have to concede the last two tricks for one down.
Even better, though, was for East to duck the second club, the play found at the table. Declarer gets a cheap club trick, but is stuck in the wrong hand. Declarer drew a third round of trumps and took a heart finesse. West won the heart king, played a club to East’s king for a spade through, and exited with a heart. Declarer was held to one club trick, four diamonds and two hearts for two down.
ANSWER: You showed a limit-raise or better in spades, following which North’s four-club bid showed short clubs and a slam-try. You now have more than enough to bid four hearts, showing a heart control and denying a diamond control. The question is whether you have enough to bid on if partner signs off in four spades. I think not — but it is close.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 7 5 3 |
| ♥ |
A Q J |
| ♦ |
7 6 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
2♣ |
| 3♣ |
Dbl. |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 7th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
5 |
| ♥ |
9 8 6 3 |
| ♦ |
K 10 7 2 |
| ♣ |
A J 8 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A Q 10 9 |
♠ |
J 8 7 3 2 |
| ♥ |
7 5 4 |
♥ |
K 10 2 |
| ♦ |
J 9 8 4 |
♦ |
Q 5 3 |
| ♣ |
10 6 |
♣ |
K 9 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 6 4 |
| ♥ |
A Q J |
| ♦ |
A 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 5 4 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♥7
“The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work.”
— Robert Frost
Because the Nationals start on Thursday in San Diego, all the deals this week are from last year’s Fall Nationals. In the Board-a-Match Teams, Alex Ornstein (East) had the opportunity to make a master play and grabbed it with both hands.
On West’s revealing lead of the heart seven against three no-trump, declarer played low from dummy and Ornstein played the king. South won it and immediately ran the club queen — the right play because after the lead, West was far more likely to have three clubs to the K-10 than the singleton king.
At any rate, Ornstein won the club king and shifted to the spade jack — curtains for declarer. East’s logic was that if West had led a heart from three low cards with what clearly was a four-card spade suit, then he must have the spade ace-queen, and unless West had the spade 10, nothing could help the defense’s cause.
As you can see, if East had shifted to the more mundane low spade at trick three, declarer simply plays low, and West must win the first spade. Now declarer’s spade king is protected from further attack.
One further point: Was West wrong not to lead a spade at trick one? I’d say not. At matchpoint pairs or Board-a-Match, the main objective on defense to a normal contract is to avoid giving away unnecessary tricks. Yes, you sometimes fail to set a contract that you might have beaten, but if on three other occasions you save an overtrick, that is a fine investment.
ANSWER: West showed 5-5 in hearts and diamonds, and subsequently settled in four spades, probably therefore with one club and two spades. The danger with leading ace and another trump is that it gives up trump control. Maybe a better lead is your small trump! Now you may be able to get in and draw dummy’s last trump before cashing your clubs. This idea comes from Krzysztof Martens’ “University of Defence: Opening Leads.”
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 5 |
| ♥ |
9 8 |
| ♦ |
K 10 7 2 |
| ♣ |
A K J 8 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
2 NT |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 6th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, November 22, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
My RHO dealt and opened one spade, and I held ♠ Q-2, ♥ Q-7, ♦ K-J-7-6-5-3, ♣ Q-8-3. What are the pluses and minuses of acting. Would the vulnerability be critical?
— Weighing In, Dayton, Ohio
ANSWER: Your hand looks more useful on defense. (All those queens might score tricks on defense, but are less likely to be winners when you are declarer.) Also, you have a moderate suit without intermediates. Look at it this way: I’d expect an extra king for a two-level overcall. Move a queen from the majors into diamonds, and a weak jump would be acceptable at any vulnerability but unfavorable.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Please explain the stop-card procedures. I am new to duplicate bridge and do not really understand why I need to use them when I raise one no-trump to three.
— Slow Coach, Mitchell, S.D.
ANSWER: By using a stop card whenever you make a skip-bid, you allow your LHO time to decide whether he has a problem — indeed, even when he is not likely to have a problem. Sometimes a player DOES want to double when the opponents reach game, or does want to sacrifice. In addition, when your RHO pre-empts or makes a weak jump raise, you will often need time to think. By introducing a mandatory pause, you try to eliminate the passing of information that comes from an otherwise slow action.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was in third chair with ♠ Q-J-10, ♥ Q-6-5-3-2, ♦ K-J-7, ♣ Q-9 after three clubs from partner and double on my right. Should I raise to four clubs, or do my soft defensive cards tell me to sit back and go passive? My partner actually had seven clubs and four diamonds, enough for a cheap save over four spades.
— Calculating Risk, Springfield, Mass.
|
|
ANSWER: Don’t be swayed by one deal into thinking you should act with a hand like this, with all those defensive cards. Yes, when partner has extra shape, you might have a save in five clubs, but equally, when all he has is six clubs to the ace-king (it happens!), they cannot make anything at the three-level. You were right to pass, and you did it for the right reasons.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Often, when I open one club, my LHO overcalls or doubles, my partner raises to two clubs, and the next hand either supports his partner or bids a new suit. If I have clubs (say four in a balanced or semibalanced hand), should I bid three clubs? What if I have five clubs in a balanced hand?
— Gone Clubbing, Jackson, Tenn.
ANSWER: When your partner raises clubs, you hope he will have five, but expect him to have additional shape or values if he has only four. Hence, if you have four clubs and any additional side-suit shape, you should feel happy to compete to the three-level. With five trumps I would always bid on to three clubs, even if I had a balanced minimum.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ 9-4-2, ♥ A-Q-7-4-2, ♦ K-5-3, ♣ 8-3. My partner opened one club, and my RHO bid one spade. Is my hand good enough for me to bid two hearts? I thought not, so I made a negative double, and now heard a raise to two spades on my left, passed back to me. What is appropriate now?
— Broken Hearts, Elkhart, Ind.
ANSWER: You were right not to bid two hearts, although you might have taken that action as a passed hand. The minimum for a two-level bid should be an invitation facing a suitable 12-14 balanced hand. So with a sixth heart (or the heart jack instead of a small card), bidding two hearts would be fine. On the actual auction I’d regretfully pass out two spades. It may not be our best possible plus-score, but it looks like our best chance to go plus. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
December 5th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, November 21, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
9 8 4 |
| ♦ |
J 9 8 7 2 |
| ♣ |
J 8 6 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K J 3 2 |
♠ |
10 8 7 4 |
| ♥ |
J 10 6 5 2 |
♥ |
K 7 3 |
| ♦ |
5 |
♦ |
K Q 6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 4 |
♣ |
7 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 9 6 5 |
| ♥ |
A Q |
| ♦ |
A 10 |
| ♣ |
A K 10 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♣* |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♥5
“His imagination resembled the wings of an ostrich. It enabled him to run, though not to soar.”
— Lord Macaulay (on Dryden)
If you want a challenge, cover up the East and West cards and see if you would have done better than the top-class international who misplayed this hand.
Against three no-trump West led the heart five to East’s king and South’s ace. Declarer started by playing ace, king and another club. East discarded a couple of diamonds as West won and continued with the heart jack. What next?
South won the heart queen and ran the clubs. Since East seemed to have started with the guards in diamonds, if he also held the spade king, he would be squeezed if West cashed his hearts. So South now exited with a heart. But West cashed his hearts as East discarded spades easily. Now a diamond exit from West forced declarer to lead away from the spade tenace and go one down.
Do you see where South went wrong? East appeared to have begun life with at least five diamonds when he discarded two of them on the early rounds of clubs. If he had started with four or fewer diamonds, he would surely have had spare hearts or spades to throw. So When South won the second heart, he should have cashed the diamond ace. Now he takes the remaining club winners and exits with a heart from dummy, and West has to lead a spade for South at the end.
When defending, remember that it is often much easier to pitch from a five-card suit than a four-carder — and declarer knows that too!
ANSWER: You are not overly endowed with high cards, but you do possess nice shape and apparently (facing relatively short hearts and a decent hand) have your cards in the right place. Jump to four spades rather than signing off in three spades or (horrors!) passing two no-trump.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 3 2 |
| ♥ |
J 10 6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
5 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
1♠ |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 4th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 10 4 |
| ♥ |
10 8 5 |
| ♦ |
A 7 5 |
| ♣ |
A 8 7 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 7 5 2 |
♠ |
6 |
| ♥ |
J 9 6 |
♥ |
Q 7 4 3 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 |
♦ |
K J 10 2 |
| ♣ |
K J 10 2 |
♣ |
Q 5 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q J 9 3 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
8 6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠2
“It’s never too late — in fiction or in life — to revise.”
— Nancy Thayer
It is always difficult to reject a good plan when circumstances render it unlikely to succeed. Today, West found the only lead to give South a problem in his contract of four spades — namely, a trump. On any other attack, declarer wins, plays ace and another diamond and, when on play again, a third diamond. If the diamond suit fails to break 3-3, South’s fourth diamond can be ruffed in dummy.
South appreciated that the plan of playing on diamonds was now unlikely to work, since the defenders would probably be able to play two further rounds of trump, stripping dummy of ruffing values.
The winning line involved a dummy reversal, with declarer taking three ruffs in his own hand. Declarer carefully won the opening trump lead with his king. Then the ace and king of hearts were cashed, a club played to dummy’s ace, and a heart ruffed high. A club was ducked, and on winning, West returned another trump. This was won in dummy and a club was ruffed high. (Notice that care was needed when winning the opening lead and on ruffing a heart, so that dummy’s trump entry was not compromised.)
Now a diamond to dummy’s ace and a further club ruff took the trick tally to nine: two top hearts, the club and diamond aces, two trumps and three ruffs in hand. Although the South hand was now bereft of trumps, the master spade remaining in dummy was the 10th trick.
ANSWER: Your partner’s call of two diamonds shows a good spade raise. You have enough to be interested in game facing extras, but nothing clear to say. Fortunately you have a way to show this hand after East’s double: pass, which shows a better hand than a reversion to two spades. In all similar auctions, returning to the trump suit is the weakest action, while passing suggests extras.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q J 9 3 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
8 6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
1♦ |
| 1♠ |
2♣ |
2♦ |
Dbl. |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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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