December 26th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, December 12, 2009 
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 2 |
| ♥ |
5 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 10 9 6 |
| ♣ |
A J 7 5 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
7 |
♠ |
J 9 6 5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 7 4 |
♥ |
Q 10 8 6 |
| ♦ |
4 3 2 |
♦ |
8 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 8 4 |
♣ |
K 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 10 |
| ♥ |
A 2 |
| ♦ |
K J 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
1♥ |
2♥ |
4♥ |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
5♣ |
Pass |
| 6♦ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠7
“Honesty is a good thing but it is not profitable to its possessor unless it is kept under control.”
— Don Marquis
Against six diamonds West led his singleton spade and declarer paused to take stock. Although a heart and a club could be discarded on declarer’s spades, it still looked as if there would be two club losers.
While it was possible that West held both club honors, it was more likely that the honors were split, in which case the best chance was to find one opponent with honor-doubleton of clubs. In order to make it as hard as possible for a defender to unblock his doubleton honor, declarer won the spade lead and immediately played a club, and when West followed low smoothly, declarer put up dummy’s ace. He then drew trumps, cashed his spades, discarding a club and a heart from dummy, ruffed a heart, and led a low club. East had to win and give declarer a ruff and discard for his contract.
As you can see, if East had unblocked his club king, or had discarded it on a trump, declarer would have been able to lead up to dummy’s jack for his contract.
Also note what would have happened if declarer had won the spade lead, immediately drawn trumps, then cashed his spades and heart ace. He would ruff a heart in the dummy before playing the club ace, on which East would now have known to unblock his king. Declarer would then have had to cross to hand with his last trump to lead a club toward dummy’s jack. West would have been able to discard a club, leaving himself with a winning heart to cash when he won the club queen.
ANSWER: It looks tempting to jump to four spades, and indeed you might well make four spades. But since partner might have competed to two spades with little more than jack-fourth of spades and an ace, you should cut him some slack. A simple raise to three spades shows a good hand and lets partner decide how much he had in hand for his first call.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K Q 10 |
| ♥ |
A 2 |
| ♦ |
K J 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♥ |
| Dbl. |
2♥ |
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].
December 25th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, December 11, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
7 6 |
| ♥ |
10 4 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 6 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A 9 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 10 9 5 3 |
♠ |
J 8 |
| ♥ |
8 |
♥ |
9 7 6 2 |
| ♦ |
J 9 7 2 |
♦ |
10 |
| ♣ |
K Q 8 |
♣ |
J 10 7 6 5 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A K Q J 5 |
| ♦ |
K 8 4 |
| ♣ |
3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5♦ |
Pass |
| 6♦ |
Pass |
7♥ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead:♣K
“Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself.
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)”
— Walt Whitman
In today’s deal it looks natural to tackle the heart grand slam by winning the club ace and drawing trumps, then relying on the diamonds to split. That line requires nothing more than diamonds to be 3-2, something that occurs just over two-thirds of the time.
There are two alternative approaches you might reasonably follow. You could win the opening lead and play on spades, ruffing the third spade low and the fourth spade high in dummy. That line would fail when spades split 6-1 (surely impossible with both opponents silent throughout) or when spades split 5-2 with East having the shortage. This is about as good a play as relying on the diamonds to split, but it too would fail today.
An even better approach than those combines the underlying approach of the two lines. You win the club lead and draw two trumps, noting West’s discard on the second round. Then you play to ruff just one spade in dummy, which ought to pass off peacefully enough, and duly does so today. You cross back to hand with the diamond king and run the rest of your trumps to reduce to a three-card ending, where you have a spade menace in hand and three diamonds in dummy. West cannot keep both his spade and diamond guards, so your grand slam comes home on a squeeze.
This line will succeed about four times out of five and is your best chance for the contract.
ANSWER: A simple false-preference to two spades is sufficient here. You have shown at least invitational values with your first call. There is no need to commit the hand to no-trump yet. Let partner move on if he has extras, and if he does not, he will not need to be boosted beyond the two-level.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 6 |
| ♥ |
9 4 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 6 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A 9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
2♣ |
| 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].
December 24th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, December 10, 2009
| Dealer: East
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A J 8 3 |
| ♥ |
8 5 4 |
| ♦ |
Q J 4 |
| ♣ |
J 9 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
— |
♠ |
10 7 6 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 6 |
♥ |
J 7 3 2 |
| ♦ |
8 6 5 3 |
♦ |
10 7 |
| ♣ |
A Q 10 6 4 3 |
♣ |
K 8 7 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 9 5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 |
| ♦ |
A K 9 2 |
| ♣ |
— |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| 1♠ |
2♣ |
2♠ |
3♣ |
| 3♦ |
Pass |
4♣ |
Dbl. |
| Rdbl. |
5♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 6♣ |
Pass |
6♥ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
Pass |
7♠ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead:♣A
“We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it — and stop there; lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again — and that is well; but also she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.”
— Mark Twain
The Lederer Invitational Teams is a world-class event held every year in London. As the last round of the 2008 tournament started, the gap between the leaders, Team Gold Cup and the chasing teams of England and Ireland (who played each other in the last round) had closed. On the final deal, Forrester and Bakhshi for the leaders had only to bid a small slam to win the event. The players did not know this, of course, and there was another possible twist to the tale.
The key bid was by South, David Bakhshi, three diamonds showing his second suit, which made North, Tony Forrester, like his hand much more. He had nothing wasted in clubs, and had a fourth trump, which he had not promised. When Bakhshi made a grand-slam try with a six–club bid, he was pleased to cooperate. He chose six hearts, as he did not want to play in diamonds.
Now Bakhshi indicated, completely in tempo, that he was not worth any more himself; and that might have ended the auction. But Forrester re-evaluated his diamond holding one more time and bid the grand slam. Right he was! They played the small slam in the other room.
Interestingly, East, Gunnar Hallberg, could, and probably would, have sacrificed in seven clubs if Forrester had passed six spades. Had North-South then defended to seven clubs, down only 800, the IMPs dropped by the Gold Cup team would have let their pursuers (Ireland) overtake them.
ANSWER: The jump to four hearts is a splinter, showing short hearts and a slam-try for diamonds. In context you now have a marvelous hand – remember, thus far you have promised nothing. With two working honors, you will commit the hand to slam, but start by cue-bidding four spades, planning to raise five diamonds to six.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 8 3 |
| ♥ |
8 5 4 |
| ♦ |
Q J 4 |
| ♣ |
J 9 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3♦ |
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 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
December 23rd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, December 9, 2009
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 7 |
| ♥ |
A Q 8 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K J |
| ♣ |
Q 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 3 2 |
♠ |
10 4 |
| ♥ |
10 7 |
♥ |
J 5 |
| ♦ |
A 7 6 4 2 |
♦ |
Q 5 |
| ♣ |
9 5 3 |
♣ |
A K J 10 8 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
9 8 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K 9 6 3 |
| ♦ |
10 9 8 3 |
| ♣ |
7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
3♣ |
| Pass |
4♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: Can you guess?
“But search the land of living men,
Where wilt thou find their like agen?”
— Sir Walter Scott
The Alcatraz Coup is a deceptive but illegal play by which declarer exploited a loophole (now blocked) in the revoke law. No illegal subterfuge took place in today’s deal, but Tom Townsend and David Gold did break a seemingly unbreakable contract. How on earth could anyone defeat today’s heart game? It looks easier to make 11 tricks than 10.
The auction to four hearts was normal, though Townsend’s three-club pre-empt showed a respectable hand in their methods. Nonetheless, Gold, who was desperate for tricks against the heart game, tried the diamond four as his opening salvo! Declarer got the suit wrong, of course, putting in dummy’s jack. Townsend won and cashed the club king, on which Gold gave count to show that he had originally started with three clubs, and thus no more club winners were cashing.
Townsend now went back to diamonds, and West won with the ace and continued to conceal the diamond two by returning the diamond six, consistent with an original four-card holding.
Now what is declarer to do? South guessed wrong by ruffing with the eight (playing East to have begun with three diamonds, or any heart holding without an honor), rather than committing himself to the less likely 2-2 trump break. One down!
At the other table East led a mundane club against four hearts and very soon declarer wrapped up 11 tricks by guessing diamonds after drawing trumps.
ANSWER: This hand is far too powerful for a jump to four spades, which is consistent with a near-Yarborough. Far better even than a constructive raise to three spades is the splinter jump to four clubs. This shows a raise of spades with a singleton club and, in principle, either moderate values or at least one high-card control (here, the heart king).
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 8 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K 9 6 3 |
| ♦ |
10 9 8 3 |
| ♣ |
7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
2♣ |
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].
December 22nd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, December 8, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A J 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 6 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 9 7 |
♠ |
Q 8 6 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K 10 9 7 |
♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
Q 7 2 |
♦ |
10 9 8 4 3 |
| ♣ |
10 4 3 |
♣ |
J 9 7 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 5 |
| ♥ |
A J 8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A J 6 |
| ♣ |
8 6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
Pass |
5♥ |
Pass |
| 6♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠10
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed (and hence clamorous to be led to safety) by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
— H.L. Mencken
The “Play With the Experts Pairs” at a recent Brighton Summer Congress contained many column-worthy hands. Today’s is one of them.
The auction to six hearts looks normal enough. North’s five-heart call asked his partner to bid slam with decent trumps, and South had just enough to accept. West led the spade 10, and South won with the king.
Although this was a pairs event, it was IMP scoring. Therefore, entering dummy and playing a heart toward hand in the hope of an overtrick if East held the singleton or doubleton heart king was not paramount, but making 12 tricks was of critical importance. Given that, how should you play?
To cater to four hearts with East, the right play is to lead a low heart toward dummy’s queen. If West shows out and the queen loses to the king, two further leads from dummy toward the A-J-8 picks up the 10 and nine.
However, at the table the trump queen would hold, with East showing out. It now appears that there are two trump losers, but there is one chance — a trump endplay on West. For this, West must follow suit to all (or most) of declarer’s plain suits.
Dummy’s top clubs are safely cashed, then the spade ace and a spade ruff stand up. West must also follow to the king and ace of diamonds and a diamond ruff. Finally, a low heart from both hands leaves West on play, forced to lead a trump from his king into South’s ace-jack.
ANSWER: A simple raise to four spades might look sufficient, but it is also acceptable to bid four clubs. (You cannot have just clubs, or you would not have bid two no-trump, and you would have rebid three no-trump at your third turn.) The four-club call is an advance cue-bid, setting spades as trumps and implying suitability for slam.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 6 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 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].
December 21st, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, December 7, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A J 10 9 |
| ♥ |
10 6 3 |
| ♦ |
10 9 5 2 |
| ♣ |
10 8 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
— |
♠ |
5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 8 7 5 4 |
♥ |
J |
| ♦ |
Q 7 4 |
♦ |
K 8 6 |
| ♣ |
A Q J 7 |
♣ |
K 6 5 4 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 8 7 6 3 |
| ♥ |
A K 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 3 |
| ♣ |
9 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Dbl. |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
| Rdbl. |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥7
“Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to.”
— Mark Twain
In today’s deal, from an online tournament, South’s redouble was far from unreasonable — but as matters progressed, declarer was pleased he could not see the faces of the other three players at the end of the deal!
West led the heart seven against four spades doubled and redoubled. South played low from dummy and East played the jack — a card to which declarer paid too little heed. Declarer could have drawn trumps ending in dummy and taken a diamond finesse. Later he could cross back to dummy with another trump for a second diamond finesse. That would work if the diamond honors were divided, but South thought he could see a way to do better. If he could eliminate the clubs and hearts before diamonds were played, he would succeed even if West held both diamond honors.
So at trick two South played a trump. When West showed out, declarer realized he could not draw all the trumps before playing a club, as he might run out of entries to dummy. So at trick three he played a club. West won and surprised South by giving his partner a heart ruff. Now East switched to a diamond, and declarer could not afford to duck because he would lose another heart ruff. So he rose with the ace, belatedly drew the last trump, and eventually had to lose two diamond tricks for one down.
The flaw in South’s plan was failing to draw a second trump before playing the club. That would have prevented the defenders from getting two ruffs.
ANSWER: You would normally lead your long suit here, but your opponents’ auction does strongly suggest concern over clubs. Unless East is the sort of smart aleck who might be trying to put you off a diamond lead, I would go with the club 10 and apologize to partner later if declarer has fooled you.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 3 |
| ♥ |
J 4 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 7 6 |
| ♣ |
10 9 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
Pass |
1♠ |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
3♦ |
| Pass |
3♠ |
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].
December 20th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, December 6, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
I opened a strong two clubs and my partner gave the weak response of two diamonds. I had 22 high-card points but no long suit, so I bid two no-trump. At this stage, can my partner use the conventions of Stayman or Jacoby Transfers, just as if I had opened the bidding in no-trump?
— Goldfinger, Worcester, Mass.
ANSWER: What a sensible question! Yes, after this start, one plays exactly the same as over a two-no-trump opening bid. And the same applies when you overcall a weak-two bid with a natural two-no-trump call. As soon as one player has made a natural call, though, transfers no longer apply.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I’ve played bridge for 40 years, but I still cannot keep track of all 52 cards! When it’s a suit contract, I keep track of the trump cards, especially the honors. In no-trump, I remember the high cards, but have difficulty in accounting for the intermediates, which are sometimes crucial in making the game or defending successfully. Any ideas?
— Inventory Clerk, New Orleans, La.
ANSWER: Most expert declarers count only the suits that matter to them. When dummy comes down, I strongly recommend thinking only about trumps and ONE other suit. With trumps, add up the number in your hand and dummy and subtract that from 13; then ONLY count the opponents’ trumps from there on. With a side-suit, you can do that too, or focus on the total count.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I am in third seat with ♠ A-8-4-3, ♥ A-9-7-3, ♦ Q-7-3, ♣ 10-3 and hear the bidding start with a weak two hearts from my partner and a double on my right. Should I pass, or should I raise hearts? If the latter, to what level?
— Excelsior, Grenada, Miss.
|
|
ANSWER: Raising to three hearts looks right to me. I’d expect game my opponents’ way to be unmakable. Taking away one round of bidding makes it much harder for them to get their act together, and the raise exposes our side to virtually no risk, given our good fit.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In defending against three no-trump and on lead holding spades K-Q-10-4, I say lead the king. My partner says it is right to lead the 10. What do you say?
— High-Middle-Middle, Trenton, N.J.
ANSWER: Your choice from K-Q-10-4 depends on what your agreed style of honor leads is. Let’s say your agreement (like that of most partnerships) is that at trick one against no-trump, the ace or queen asks partner to unblock an honor (or to give count if he lacks an honor), and the king asks for attitude. OR you play that the king asks for an unblock (or count) while the ace or queen asks for attitude.
Depending on which agreement you have, you lead either the queen or king from this holding, NEVER the 10. Only very rarely would you lead low.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Is it appropriate to open with a pre-empt in third seat holding ♠ 4-3, ♥ K-7-3, ♦ K-Q-9-7-3-2, ♣ K-3? I assume you would never pass, but do you prefer to bid one diamond, two diamonds, or three diamonds?
— How High the Moon?, Jackson, Tenn.
ANSWER: You are right that I would not pass. Nonvulnerable, I might mix it up with a call of three diamonds, but a simple opening of one diamond may prove even more obstructive, since the pre-empt can be a confession of weakness sometimes. |
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 19th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, December 5, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 10 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A J 7 6 |
| ♣ |
J 9 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K |
♠ |
7 6 5 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 7 6 |
♥ |
10 3 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q 10 4 |
♦ |
9 8 5 2 |
| ♣ |
8 6 3 |
♣ |
A 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 9 8 4 |
| ♥ |
J 8 |
| ♦ |
3 |
| ♣ |
K Q 10 7 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
2♦ |
2♠ |
3♥ |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥K
“He can run. But he can’t hide.”
— Joe Louis
Against four spades West led the heart king and switched to the diamond king, East playing the nine to show an even number. Declarer won in dummy and played a second heart. West won the ace and led the diamond queen. Declarer ruffed and played a club to dummy’s jack, which East won with the ace to play a trump. Declarer rose with the ace, dropping West’s singleton king, and thus made his contract. Where did the defense go wrong?
The defenders should not have allowed declarer to place all their high cards. South knew that East could not have the trump king, because he had passed the one-heart opening bid and had shown up with the club ace.
Should East have ducked his club ace? I think so: he should have realized that if his partner did not have a black-suit trick, the contract would be laydown (and a club loser would not go away). However, West should also have taken steps to protect his singleton king. The initial diamond switch was fine, but when he got the lead with the heart ace, he knew his diamond queen would not stand up. (If East had only two diamonds, declarer would have tried to draw trumps and not let the defenders take a diamond ruff.)
A third round of hearts would have put the lead in dummy, and now the best declarer can do is to advance the club jack. If East ducks that smoothly, declarer would probably take the spade finesse.
ANSWER: You have a decent hand, but your heart queen looks wasted. Your first thought might be to jump to five diamonds — but might partner have only a three-card diamond suit? The simple action is to raise to four diamonds and let partner decide which minor he wants to play in.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 10 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A J 7 6 |
| ♣ |
J 9 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
2♣ |
2♥ |
| 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].
December 18th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, December 4, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 4 |
| ♥ |
J 9 5 4 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
8 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
9 7 |
♠ |
8 6 |
| ♥ |
K 8 |
♥ |
A Q 10 7 6 3 |
| ♦ |
A J 10 9 5 |
♦ |
3 2 |
| ♣ |
A 7 6 5 |
♣ |
Q 10 9 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 10 5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
K 4 |
| ♣ |
K J 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
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| |
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| |
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Opening Lead:♥K
“A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.”
— James Joyce
Peter Weichsel was declarer in this deal from the U.S. International Trials of 1973.
What should West lead against the spade game?
It is difficult for West to know whether to be aggressive or passive on defense. I’m sure many of you would have settled for the quiet trump lead, which, as it happens, would defeat the contract. The heart lead did not cost a trick, but it did allow declarer to threaten club ruffs. After the heart lead there was still plenty of work to do in four spades. Can you see declarer’s best play?
Weichsel ruffed the heart lead and immediately led a low diamond from his hand. When John Swanson (West) ducked, North’s diamond queen won the trick. Declarer could lead a club to the jack, and eventually a club could be ruffed in dummy for the 10th trick.
It would have done West no good to take his diamond ace at once. If Swanson had risen with the diamond ace and shifted to a trump, Weichsel could have won in hand and cashed the diamond king. Now a spade to the jack draws all the trumps. The diamond queen is good for one discard of a club, and declarer can lead a club to the jack and ace, establishing his club king for the 10th winner.
ANSWER: When you responded only one heart, you showed a bad hand (no more than nine points), and your partner’s jump to three hearts was a strong raise. I’d expect about a 20-count and four or five hearts opposite. I think you have just enough to bid four hearts since your fifth trump and side-suit pattern look to be useful, though I would not redouble!
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 4 |
| ♥ |
J 9 5 4 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
8 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
1♠ |
3♥ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
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| |
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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 17th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, December 3, 2009
| Dealer: East
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K |
| ♦ |
K 5 3 2 |
| ♣ |
K 9 7 6 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
9 4 |
♠ |
K Q J 7 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 8 7 5 3 |
♥ |
10 6 4 |
| ♦ |
8 7 |
♦ |
Q 9 6 |
| ♣ |
A 8 4 |
♣ |
J 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
10 8 2 |
| ♥ |
A 9 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 10 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| Pass |
2♦* |
Dbl. |
2♥ |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
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| |
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| *Weak-two in hearts or spades |
Opening Lead:♥7
“Which came out of the opened door — the lady or the tiger?”
— Richard Stockton
At the finals of the World Championships in Beijing, the ladies from England won their first-ever world title, beating the hosts, China. The following deal arose very early in the match and set the tone for the early encounters.
When the Chinese were East-West, the English sold out to three hearts, and the incisive trump lead led to a penalty of 150. That was good, but was it enough?
In the other room, when North doubled the artificial two-diamond opening to show a semibalanced 13-16 points, South jumped to the most practical game (three no-trump).
West led the heart seven to dummy’s king. With some good guesses, 11 tricks can be made, but when declarer started with a club to the queen, Heather Dhondy as West made the critical play when she ducked. Naturally, declarer took the club finesse of the jack next, allowing East to win cheaply. East now played the spade king, but then went back to hearts. Declarer ducked, won the next heart, and knocked out the club ace. She imagined that all she needed to do now was locate the diamond queen and she would have nine tricks — except that it was West who produced the ace and proceeded to cash her heart tricks for three down, and a 10-IMP gain for England instead of 10 IMPs the other way.
Had Dhondy won the first club and switched to spades, the defenders might still have prevailed. But this was a far better defense since once declarer had misguessed clubs, her fate was sealed.
ANSWER: The range for a call of one no-trump in balancing seat is considerably lower than in the direct seat, where the expected strength is 15-17. In protective position over a minor, your partner should expect you to hold 11-14. (Over a major-suit opening, the range would be 13-16 perhaps.) Therefore, you have just enough to balance with a one-no-trump call.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 8 2 |
| ♥ |
A 9 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 10 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
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|
| |
|
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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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