October 14th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, September 30, 2009 
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
9 7 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 |
| ♦ |
A 8 6 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
9 4 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
A Q 8 6 |
♠ |
J 5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
J 6 2 |
♥ |
8 |
| ♦ |
5 |
♦ |
K J 10 7 |
| ♣ |
Q 7 5 3 2 |
♣ |
K J 10 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 |
| ♥ |
A Q 10 7 5 4 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 |
| ♣ |
A 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Dbl. |
| 2♥ |
2♠ |
3♥ |
3♠ |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♦5
“Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.”
— Oscar Wilde
In this deal from the 2006 World Mixed Pairs, Sabine Auken of Germany, admittedly receiving less than perfect defense, nevertheless made the most of her opportunities to bring home her game with an unlikely overtrick.
Against four hearts West led the diamond five, a likely singleton in view of proceedings. Auken played low from dummy, East winning with the king and returning a diamond. If West had allowed South’s queen to hold, the defense would still have prevailed, for declarer needs to set up dummy’s diamonds, then access them for black-suit discards. West’s three-card trump holding can thwart this line, so long as the trumps remain intact.
But West ruffed, and now needed to cash the spade ace to hold South to her contract. However, she returned a club, taken by the ace. Needing two entries to dummy, Auken successfully finessed the heart nine, ruffed a diamond with the trump ace, then returned to dummy via the trump king. Dummy’s established diamonds allowed Auken to take the rest.
At another table David Berkowitz (East), playing with Kathy Wei, shifted to a spade at trick two and South put up the king. Wei won her ace and underled her spade queen so that Berkowitz could win his jack. Now David felt obligated to give his partner the diamond ruff. Had he shifted to a club he would have obtained two down instead of one down, but if he disobeyed his partner twice on the same deal, he was worried about the consequences!
ANSWER: Even though your club honors do not look useful, I think you have to raise to three diamonds. This is not so much because you figure game will be good, but because passing, when it is wrong, disrupts partnership confidence. Support with support and you won’t go far wrong.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
8 |
| ♦ |
K J 10 7 |
| ♣ |
K J 10 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♥ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
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].
October 13th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, September 29, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q |
| ♥ |
9 7 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A Q J 10 6 4 |
| ♣ |
A 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 4 3 |
♠ |
7 6 5 2 |
| ♥ |
K Q 8 |
♥ |
J 3 |
| ♦ |
8 7 5 |
♦ |
K 9 2 |
| ♣ |
9 7 6 2 |
♣ |
K 8 5 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 10 9 8 |
| ♥ |
A 10 6 2 |
| ♦ |
3 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥Q
“They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.”
— Edgar Allan Poe
Today’s deal comes from a recent national tournament, where Han Peters outplayed a multiple world champion in the other room.
Both Souths preferred to conceal their second suit, so played three no-trump. (Of course, four hearts would have been far easier.) As expected, both Wests led a top heart instead of the fatal club.
The unsuccessful declarer won and played a diamond to the queen, which was allowed to hold. Now, on the diamond ace and another diamond, South fatally pitched two hearts. East won her diamond king, cashed the heart jack, and shifted to a spade. When declarer ducked, West could win, take his heart trick, then lead a club, locking the lead in dummy so that the defenders were sure to collect a club. Had South risen with the spade ace to play another spade, dummy would have had to pitch a heart or a club, and the defenders would get their fifth trick before declarer had nine.
Peters did better when on the same start he discarded spades from hand. The defenders unblocked the hearts and led a spade, but he won the ace and played a third heart, setting up his ninth trick before the defenders had their club winner developed.
If East shifts to spades before unblocking hearts, declarer must play for the hearts to be blocked. He finesses in spades, then hops up with the club ace, runs the diamonds while pitching hearts, and exits with a club. The defenders can now take only four tricks.
ANSWER: You have an absolute maximum, but a bad club holding. Instead of committing yourself to a game or a part-score, bid three hearts to show heart values and let partner decide if that makes his hand better or worse. If he signs off in three spades, you should probably pass.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K Q 8 |
| ♦ |
8 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 7 6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
Dbl. |
| 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].
October 12th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, September 28, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 4 |
| ♥ |
10 8 7 |
| ♦ |
10 9 7 2 |
| ♣ |
A 10 9 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 9 7 6 3 |
♠ |
J 10 5 |
| ♥ |
K 4 3 |
♥ |
Q 6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 |
♦ |
6 4 3 |
| ♣ |
7 4 3 |
♣ |
K 8 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 2 |
| ♥ |
A J 9 |
| ♦ |
A Q J 8 |
| ♣ |
Q J 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠6
“It is far more important to be able to hit the target than it is to haggle over who makes a weapon or who pulls a trigger.”
— Dwight Eisenhower
Everybody knows how to take a finesse, right? Of course, part of bridge expertise is knowing when not to take a finesse. A fine example of that theme comes in today’s three-no-trump contract.
The opening lead of the spade six goes to East’s 10, and you duck. You win the spade return and take the losing club finesse, win the next spade, then run dummy’s clubs and eventually take the diamond finesse. Alas, both finesses lose and the spades are 5-3. You go down one and complain about your bad luck.
… or do you? You were trying to take as many tricks as possible, but your target should have been to take nine tricks — not the same thing. Since you know West is the danger hand because he has the long spades, you should knock out the diamond king, his only possible entry to the spades, as quickly as possible. Go back to trick three and play the diamond ace followed by the queen. West wins his king and is likely to play a spade to your ace (a heart shift might be more sensible, but it achieves nothing today). Now you run the club queen and East can take his king when he likes. But he cannot prevent you from scoring three clubs, three diamonds, two spades and one heart.
If you do not believe me, try replaying the deal with the minor-suit kings swapped. The recommended line gives up on overtricks, but does not jeopardize the contract.
ANSWER: Whatever anybody tells you, I will be convinced to my dying day that when fate deals you an A-K-J, it is so that you will know what to lead at trick one. Yes, declarer might have long clubs, with a top club lead costing a tempo. Equally, declarer may well have only three clubs, and not leading a club will make partner’s job on defense impossible — he will never guess you have so much in that suit.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
10 9 5 |
| ♦ |
10 9 |
| ♣ |
A K J 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| Pass |
1♥ |
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].
October 11th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, September 27, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner and I play support doubles, so that in competition a raise promises four trumps, while a double shows three-card support. In auctions where you raise partner, should you alert the call?
— Fair Warning, Durango, Colo.
ANSWER: The technical answer is no. At the end of any auction involving such calls, I always tell my opponents whether we play support doubles. I consider that a courtesy, but not technically required by the laws. However, I think one ought to clarify the auction for the opponents if there is a chance they might not know their way around.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I assume you would open one spade with ♠ A-Q-8-4-3, ♥ A-9, ♦ 3, ♣ Q-10-7-5-4. If so, when the next hand overcalls two diamonds and partner makes a negative double, you would probably bid three clubs, but what would you do when partner now rebids three spades?
— Late-Breaking News, Rockford, Ill.
ANSWER: Your partner’s bidding suggests a little less than a limit raise in spades, probably with three spades and four or five hearts. You have a minimum in high cards, but your extra shape should probably persuade you to raise to game.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What should I do if my LHO, while arranging his cards, drops them in my lap, showing me the club queen and heart jack? Can I play the hand out, using that information? Should we call the director and ask him to adjust the score?
— Double Exposure, Dover, Del.
|
|
ANSWER: It is one thing if a player shows you his hand and another thing if you try to look at it. Here, you have done nothing wrong. Unless you feel you cannot sensibly play the hand anymore, just go ahead and complete the deal as best you can. By the way, if you see cards in your partner’s hand, things get much messier.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
With ♠ A-J-6-3-2, ♥ K-10-3, ♦ Q-7, ♣ 10-3-2, I responded one spade to one diamond. When partner rebids two diamonds, should I pass or bid two no-trump?
— Wild Thing, Cartersville, Ga.
ANSWER: I don’t like either option: I would raise to three diamonds, expecting, if partner is minimum, that this may prove an easier part-score. Although partner might conceivably have only five diamonds (with four hearts and a minimum, unsuitable for a one-no-trump rebid), it is still possible even then that diamonds might be best.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Partner deals and opens one diamond. RHO passes and I respond one heart. LHO overcalls two clubs, and partner bids two spades. What kind of hand should I expect from partner?
— Painting by Numbers, Selma, Ala.
ANSWER: Let’s contrast what a one-spade call — if available — would show (4-4 in the suits, any range hand) with what this auction shows. Opener would always pass with any minimum hand without support, unless he had real extra shape. He would wait for partner to double or make a suitable call with extras. So here, his decision to bid a suit higher than partner’s suit shows a real reverse. Both extra shape and high cards would be expected. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
October 10th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 26, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 6 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 4 |
| ♣ |
K 9 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 9 |
♠ |
8 |
| ♥ |
A J 10 4 3 2 |
♥ |
7 |
| ♦ |
A 10 5 |
♦ |
K J 8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
7 5 |
♣ |
Q J 10 8 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 7 6 5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K 8 5 |
| ♦ |
3 2 |
| ♣ |
A 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
2♥ |
2 NT |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣7
“The little girl had the makings of a poet in her who, being told to be sure of her meaning before she spoke, said, ‘How can I know what I think till I see what I say?”
— Graham Wallas
Over West’s two-heart pre-empt, North, with a balanced 16 points and a heart stopper, correctly bid two no-trump. The pre-emptive opening warns of bad breaks, so it is often right to play in no-trump rather than a suit contract.
West led the club seven against four spades. Declarer won in the dummy and drew two rounds of trump ending in his hand. Two losers in each red suit looked inevitable, but look what happened when declarer played on the only suit in which the defenders had communications — diamonds.
East beat dummy’s diamond nine with his jack and continued clubs. Declarer won with the ace, played a low heart to dummy’s queen, and played a low diamond. West won the 10 and continued with the diamond ace. Declarer ruffed in hand, crossed to a top trump, and led the club nine, discarding a heart from his hand. East had no choice but to give a ruff and discard, declarer’s last heart disappearing from his hand: four spades bid and made.
After the defenders did not take the heart ruff, there were two chances for them to beat the contract. Either West must go in with the diamond ace on the first round and play a second club. East can then win the second diamond and play a third club, neutralizing declarer’s possibilities in that suit. Alternatively, East must rise with the king on the second round of diamonds and again play a club.
ANSWER: I’m often asked whether the problems I set are for pairs, teams or rubber. With a hand like this, some might argue that South’s bid depends on the form of scoring or vulnerability. Do NOT listen to them! Weak-two-bids suggest at least a decent suit, with a limited amount of defense outside. In first chair this is too weak a suit for a pre-empt at any vulnerability or any form of scoring.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 7 6 5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K 8 5 |
| ♦ |
3 2 |
| ♣ |
A 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].
October 9th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K 8 7 |
| ♥ |
A 8 7 4 |
| ♦ |
A 4 |
| ♣ |
A K 8 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 9 5 |
♠ |
6 |
| ♥ |
5 |
♥ |
Q J 10 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 9 8 6 5 |
♦ |
10 7 3 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 5 |
♣ |
7 6 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 10 4 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 6 |
| ♦ |
K Q 2 |
| ♣ |
9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
Pass |
6♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣Q
“We can’t afford the wrath of Heaven. We survived a deluge by the skin of our teeth, but an economic crisis would be disastrous.”
— Friedrich Durrenmatt
Just because your main chance of success in a contract fails to materialize, there is no excuse for failing to keep your head and looking for other possibilities.
Cover up the East-West hands and plan the play in six spades on the lead of the club queen, won by the king.
Superficially, it looks as if the contract depends on the play of the spade suit. So after winning the club king, you cash the ace and king of spades. This is the correct play in the suit, although the calculations are so close that if you know East has a long suit, the second-round finesse becomes the percentage play.
Much to your annoyance, East shows out on the second round and the slam seems doomed. However, your remaining chance is that West began life with ether a singleton or a doubleton heart, not that unlikely a shot. Take your diamonds, discarding a club from the dummy, and then cash your clubs and the heart ace. Finally, exit with a trump. West can win his queen, but has to give you a ruff and discard. You ruff in the dummy, discarding your heart loser from hand. Six spades bid and made.
If declarer had reason to suppose that East had the heart shortage, he could have won the lead in the dummy, drawn one round of trumps, cashed his minor-suit winners (again discarding a club from dummy), played a heart to his king, and run the spade jack. If East had won the spade queen but had had no hearts to play, then declarer would have again succeeded.
ANSWER: With no club stop, it looks dangerous to bid three no-trump here, but when the opponents have told you what the danger suit is, you should bid no-trump if you have that suit stopped, and not worry about an unbid suit. While five diamonds might be better if partner is very short in clubs, this auction does not suggest that. So bid three no-trump now, and dare them to lead clubs.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 10 4 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 6 |
| ♦ |
K Q 2 |
| ♣ |
9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♠ |
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].
October 8th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, September 24, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
10 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K 6 3 |
| ♦ |
9 7 2 |
| ♣ |
J 10 6 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
4 3 |
♠ |
9 7 2 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 9 |
♥ |
A 8 7 4 |
| ♦ |
J 4 |
♦ |
Q 10 8 5 |
| ♣ |
K 9 7 3 2 |
♣ |
8 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q J 8 |
| ♥ |
5 2 |
| ♦ |
A K 6 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥Q
“Believe me, wise men do not say, ‘I shall live to do that’; tomorrow life’s too late: live today.”
— Martial
Consider the play in four spades today, a contract that looks likely to be comfortable until the heart ace turns up offside. The defenders lead three rounds of hearts, forcing you to ruff in hand. Have you formed a plan yet?
Well, if you ruffed the third heart low (sacrificing your only entry to dummy), you can kiss your contract goodbye. You must ruff high, then plan how to dispose of either your club or diamond loser.
One chance is simply to rely on the club finesse after ruffing a fourth diamond high in dummy; but that is no better than a 50 percent chance. Can you do better?
An alternative approach would be to guess to lead out the club ace, then the queen, hoping to draw trumps ending in dummy, then pitch your diamonds on the two winning clubs. Alas, the defenders can lead a third round of clubs when in with the king, ruffing away one of your potential homes for a diamond loser. It would be unlucky to run into this bad club break, but hardly unexpected.
Better still is to cash precisely one high trump, then lead out the club queen. If West wins the trick, you will win the return and unblock the club ace, then draw trumps ending in dummy and claim. If West ducks, you play the club ace, then three rounds of diamonds. You can now arrange to ruff the diamond loser in dummy for your 10th trick.
ANSWER: Your partner’s auction suggests 16-18 and real clubs and spades (else he would have opened one no-trump or jumped to two no-trump at his second turn). With less in high cards, he would have simply passed two clubs. You have decent playing strength, enough to move to game, and I guess that three no-trump will play as well as five of the minor. So bid three no-trump now.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 9 |
| ♦ |
J 4 |
| ♣ |
K 9 7 3 2 |
| 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].
October 7th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, September 23, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 8 2 |
| ♥ |
9 7 2 |
| ♦ |
4 3 |
| ♣ |
A 10 4 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
7 |
♠ |
10 5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
A 10 8 3 |
♥ |
J 6 5 4 |
| ♦ |
9 8 5 |
♦ |
Q 10 7 |
| ♣ |
Q J 9 7 6 |
♣ |
K 8 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q J 9 6 |
| ♥ |
K Q |
| ♦ |
A K J 6 2 |
| ♣ |
5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5♥ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣Q
“For the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth.”
— Genesis 8:31
We have all played with partners who, as defenders, think it clever to win a trick with the higher of touching honors, or who play high-low when they have an odd number, etc. They generally succeed only in confusing their poor, long-suffering partners. But at the Dyspeptics Club, East has stated that he has no worries about disconcerting his partner in this way, asking rhetorically how it would be possible to improve on the perfect job nature had done when it came to confusing West.
Look at today’s hand to try to find a way for the defenders to persuade declarer to go down in his six-spade contract. West led the club queen and declarer won with dummy’s ace, planning to cash the ace and king of diamonds and ruff a diamond with dummy’s trump eight. With the queen falling in three rounds, there would have been no further problems. Declarer would be able to draw trumps and concede a heart to make his slam.
However, when declarer started on his plan, East brightly contributed the diamond queen on the second round of the suit. Declarer now logically ruffed a diamond with the spade ace. When East followed with the diamond 10, declarer was very suspicious, but he still did not see any reason to take an inspired first-round finesse of his spade nine. He therefore lost a trump trick as well as the heart ace and went one down.
ANSWER: You have two ways to raise clubs. (Do not be tempted to pass!) The courtesy raise to three clubs suggests a minimum and decent trumps. If you bid two spades, it is a cue-bid (since you can’t have length there), promising a maximum and values in spades. Your two aces and fifth trump should convince you to take the more aggressive position, but either action is acceptable.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 8 2 |
| ♥ |
9 7 2 |
| ♦ |
4 3 |
| ♣ |
A 10 4 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
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].
October 6th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 9 |
| ♥ |
8 7 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A 6 5 |
| ♣ |
10 9 5 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 6 3 2 |
♠ |
8 7 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 6 |
♥ |
9 3 |
| ♦ |
K Q J 8 |
♦ |
10 9 2 |
| ♣ |
K 7 |
♣ |
J 8 6 4 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K J 4 |
| ♥ |
A K J 5 |
| ♦ |
7 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
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Opening Lead:♦K
“If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.”
— G.K. Chesterton
We saw yesterday that there is rarely any hurry to take a finesse. If it can win at the start of the deal, it is likely to be winning later on. And sometimes there are better things to do than risk a 50-50 play.
That said, how would you set about playing four hearts today on the lead of a top diamond?
The best play is to take the diamond king with the ace and play off your two top hearts, rejecting the finesse. The point is that you cannot afford to surrender the tempo if the finesse loses to a doubleton or tripleton queen. Your priority is to dispose of your losing diamonds without running into a ruff.
Next, take four rounds of spades, pitching diamonds from the board. It would do neither defender any good to ruff in on the fourth round of spades, even if he could. Of course, West will still be hoping to win his club king and draw two trumps for one. But you will disappoint him again. You ruff a diamond in dummy, come to hand with the club ace — rejecting a finesse for a second time — then ruff your fourth diamond.
You can now concede a club and a heart trick, making your contract with an overtrick. But had you taken an early heart finesse, you would have gone down. Had you taken a club finesse, you would have made only 10 tricks.
ANSWER: Your partner’s auction shows 18-20 or so. With a little less, he would have bid one no-trump at his first turn, and with a balanced 12-14 he would have passed after doubling, or not bid at all. Your decent intermediates make you just worth a game-try of two no-trump, although a pessimistic pass (especially if your partner’s calls or card-play can’t be trusted) would be understandable.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 |
| ♥ |
8 7 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A 6 5 |
| ♣ |
10 9 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
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].
October 5th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, September 21, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 9 6 |
| ♥ |
9 8 5 4 |
| ♦ |
8 5 4 |
| ♣ |
A 9 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 8 4 3 |
♠ |
10 7 5 |
| ♥ |
6 |
♥ |
J 7 |
| ♦ |
Q 6 2 |
♦ |
A K 7 3 |
| ♣ |
K Q J 7 5 |
♣ |
10 8 6 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 2 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 10 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 9 |
| ♣ |
2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
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| |
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| |
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Opening Lead: ♣K
“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”
— Theodore Roosevelt
It takes most beginners a while to master the concept of the finesse, but once they have grasped the idea, they tend to overuse it. Look at today’s deal in four hearts. If you want a hint about playing the contract, remember that no suit exists that plays better if you lead it, as opposed to having the opponents lead it for you.
On a top club lead, what would happen at most tables? The average player would draw trumps, take the spade finesse, and complain about his luck after going down a trick.
By contrast the expert wins the club ace and ruffs a club. Then he plays three rounds of trump ending in dummy and ruffs the last club. Having eliminated that suit, he exits with a diamond and waits for the defenders to cash their three diamond tricks. But what do they do next? If West is on lead, declarer can claim the rest immediately. But if East is on lead, the best he can do is exit with a spade. Declarer plays low from hand (the finesse of the spade jack can wait, but declarer must get the most out of dummy’s spade nine). When the queen pops up, declarer has 10 tricks. If West has the spade 10 but not the queen, South is still safe; he wins dummy’s spade king and finesses the jack.
ANSWER: From three small spades I might lead high here because there is the possibility of a successful shift. But with four spades, fourth-highest is the least confusing card here. Since our side has nine spades, our best defense will surely be to lead and continue spades.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 5 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 4 |
| ♣ |
K 10 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
1 NT |
| 2♠ |
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].
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