October 4th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, September 20, 2009 
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
At a recent event my partner and I played against an inexperienced partnership where dummy revoked. Four cards from the end of the hand, it was discovered that dummy’s diamond ace was hidden under the club 10. My thought was that the whole deal should have been tossed — even though we did get a top score for it. What should have been done?
— Sympathetic, Kenosha, Wis.
ANSWER: Dummy can’t revoke, so there are no revoke penalties. If the failure to put dummy down properly hurts the defenders, the director can restore equity. However, if it hurts declarer, it is dummy’s carelessness that caused the problem and declarer’s failure to count the board. The result should stand, I believe.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Would you run through the basics of key-card Blackwood one more time, please?
— Lost the Key, Sarasota, Fla.
ANSWER: There is always a trump suit, and always five key cards: the trump king and the four aces. Step responses show 0 or 3 key cards, 1 or 4 key cards, two without the trump queen, and two with the trump queen. After the two cheaper responses, the next step that is not the trump suit asks for the trump queen (revert to the trump suit without it and cue-bid your cheapest king if you have it, jumping in the trump suit without any side king). A bid of five no-trump announces possession of all key cards and asks for kings. Responses are either specific or by number, depending on your agreement.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I am often involved in an auction where I open a suit, hear a one-level response, and bid my second suit cheaply at the two-level (as in the auction one heart – one spade – two diamonds). If partner now raises the second suit, is that a real invitation or just a courtesy bid, expecting me to pass unless I hold significant extras?
— Ascending Third, San Diego, Calif.
|
|
ANSWER: Alas, there is no simple answer. Partner could be 4-5 with a seven-count or 4-4 with an 11- or 12-count. You should pass without either real extras or extra shape. Don’t head to three no-trump just because you have a stop in the fourth suit.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If I hold ♠ —, ♥ A-K-9-7-3, ♦ A-Q-9-7-5-3, ♣ 10-3, do I open the major and then bid diamonds twice, or do I open the longer diamond suit and then bid hearts twice? What are the criteria for choosing one plan as opposed to the other?
— Tough Choice, Huntington, W.Va.
ANSWER: My standard advice is that with a strong hand and 5-6 pattern, you have no problem in starting with the six-card suit, then bidding the five or jumping in it.
With a weak opener and the 5-6 in touching suits, open the five and bid the six-carder twice UNLESS the six-carder is good and the five bad. With a minimum opener and 5-6 pattern in a nontouching two-suiter, start with the six and hope to get the five-carder in cheaply.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
With ♠ A-3, ♥ Q-7-3, ♦ K-Q-3, ♣ A-10-7-5-3, I assume that you would open one no-trump, but that you would double one spade rather than making a one-no-trump overcall. Say you double one spade and hear three hearts from your partner. Would you pass, bid three no-trump, or raise to four hearts?
— Lurcher, Vancouver, Wash.
ANSWER: I like the double, but think the best call at your second turn is three spades. This is initially just trying to get to three no-trump. I would not pass three hearts — my values are very crisp, and despite my having only three hearts, the major-suit game might play better than no-trump because of a potential spade ruff in my hand. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
October 3rd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 19, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 8 5 |
| ♥ |
K 8 6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 2 |
| ♣ |
5 3 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
10 7 6 |
♠ |
A Q 3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 7 3 |
♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
7 6 5 |
♦ |
Q 8 4 3 |
| ♣ |
4 2 |
♣ |
K J 9 7 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 9 4 |
| ♥ |
A 9 4 |
| ♦ |
K 10 9 |
| ♣ |
A Q 10 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
1♣ |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
3 NT |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣4
“You can never plan the future by the past.”
— Edmund Burke
Today’s deal from the women’s quarterfinals of the Mind Sports Games last year shows an opportunity missed and one taken.
The Danish declarer elected to play four hearts, not three no-trump. West doubled and led a club to the jack and queen. Declarer laid down the heart ace to find the bad news, then led a heart to the 10 and king, followed by a club to the 10 and a third heart to West.
Now a diamond shift picked up the diamond queen, and declarer led the club ace, ruffed and overruffed. Next came a spade to the king, and two more rounds of diamonds ending in hand. The fourth club allowed declarer to score dummy’s heart eight for her 10th trick.
The French declarer (today’s South) also played four hearts (not doubled) on a club lead, and also cashed the heart ace. Now came a heart to Nevena Senior’s 10, ducked. Senior shifted to a diamond and declarer won cheaply, led the heart nine, covered all around, then played a club to the 10.
In the identical position to the one that had been reached by the Danish declarer, South led the club ace, but Senior found the winning defense when she pitched a diamond rather than ruffing in. Declarer now tried to cash two diamonds ending in hand, but Senior could ruff in for down one.
Had declarer cashed two diamonds earlier, ending in hand, then led the club ace and another club, Senior would have been able to pitch two spades and maneuver a spade ruff.
ANSWER: Do you overcall or pass? My view is that to come in light, you want to have a good lead-director, or to take up bidding space. I would overcall only at favorable vulnerability here. The point is that if I am on lead against no-trump, I will know what I want to lead; but if partner has a good reason to lead either spades or diamonds, I do not want to prevent him from doing so.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 8 5 |
| ♥ |
K 8 6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 2 |
| ♣ |
5 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
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].
October 2nd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, September 18, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
6 5 |
| ♦ |
K 6 5 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 3 |
♠ |
10 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 8 3 |
♥ |
K J 9 7 2 |
| ♦ |
J 8 3 |
♦ |
Q 4 2 |
| ♣ |
J 6 3 2 |
♣ |
9 8 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K J 9 2 |
| ♥ |
A 4 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 7 |
| ♣ |
A K 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3♥ |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
5 NT* |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣2
“Which of us … is to do the hard and dirty work for the rest — and for what pay? Who is to do the pleasant and clean work, and for what pay?”
— John Ruskin
Today’s deal from the quarterfinals of the World Championships in Beijing contains two problems for the price of one. First, after borrowing a high card to open two no-trump (which usually shows 20-21), how should South play six spades after West leads a club? And, second, what line would you follow after a more challenging heart lead?
On a club lead you win in hand, draw trumps, and then go after diamonds to establish a discard for your heart loser. Best is to cash the king and lead to the nine. If this loses to an honor, you cross back to the club queen in dummy and lead up to the diamond 10. This loses only when West has the diamond queen-jack, when he might have led the suit.
If West finds the heart lead, you need to find an endplay to force the defenders to lead diamonds for you.
Win the heart with the ace, draw trumps, and eliminate the clubs by cashing the three top winners, ending in dummy. Now exit with a heart, assuming that if one defender has no top diamonds, he will win this trick. Therefore, you need to find the queen and jack of diamonds in different hands.
Best defense is for East to win the heart and exit with the diamond queen, giving the declarer a losing option. But if South trusts the defenders, he will fly up with the ace and run the diamond 10 to make his contract.
ANSWER: Anyone who tells you he knows exactly how many points North has is probably fibbing. One no-trump is natural and denies real extras — but do you have enough to try for game? I’d say so. Your fit in diamonds makes this hand worth a call of two no-trump, which means precisely what it sounds like: Bid game with extras, and if it is wrong, it is your fault!
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
6 5 |
| ♦ |
K 6 5 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
1♦ |
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].
October 1st, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, September 17, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 9 7 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 5 2 |
| ♦ |
8 2 |
| ♣ |
A 5 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A 8 6 |
♠ |
Q 10 4 3 |
| ♥ |
9 7 3 |
♥ |
A K J 8 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 7 4 3 |
♦ |
10 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 8 |
♣ |
J 6 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 5 |
| ♥ |
6 |
| ♦ |
A K J 9 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K 10 7 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
1♥ |
| 2♦ |
2♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 3♣ |
Pass |
3♦ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: You decide!
“For I’m not so old and not so plain,
And I’m quite prepared to marry again.”
— W.S. Gilbert
Everybody took a sensible view in the auction on this deal from the quarterfinals of the Mind Sports Games in Beijing last year. Both Souths felt obligated to double two hearts for takeout, and thus both got their side to a reasonable three diamonds, which was threatened by the 4-1 trump break.
The key to the deal, though, turned out to be the opening lead. For the United States, Marinesa Letizia led the heart nine, which clarified her holding and, slightly fortuitously, forced declarer to cover. South ruffed East’s high heart return and immediately played three rounds of clubs. Letizia won and led a third heart. Declarer ruffed and was down to four trumps only. She played three rounds of trump, letting Letizia win and underled her spade ace. Declarer misguessed by playing low from dummy. Mildred Breed scored her queen, whereupon the fourth heart promoted an extra trump trick for the defense for down two.
By contrast, in the other room West led the heart three to the four and East’s jack. Now the defenders could continue hearts but risked eventually setting up a heart in dummy. So East shifted to a trump to the jack and queen. That let West lead a second heart to start reducing declarer’s trumps, but she had lost a vital tempo.
Declarer, Janice Seamon-Molson, simply tested clubs, ruffed the heart return, drew trumps, and eventually led a spade toward the king. She could not be prevented from scoring her spade king for the ninth trick.
ANSWER: This hand is just worth an invitational sequence, but a cue-bid followed by a raise of partner’s major gets you to the three-level, which is higher than you might like. The options are to bid one spade (an underbid), then bid hearts in competition, or to jump to two hearts, temporarily losing the spades. I prefer the most aggressive approach — the cue-bid.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 9 7 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 5 2 |
| ♦ |
8 2 |
| ♣ |
A 5 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].
September 30th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
2 |
| ♥ |
K 10 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A Q J 10 3 2 |
| ♣ |
4 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 9 7 5 4 |
♠ |
A 10 8 6 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 |
♥ |
8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
7 5 |
♦ |
K 9 4 |
| ♣ |
J 7 6 3 |
♣ |
K Q 10 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K J 3 |
| ♥ |
A J 9 6 |
| ♦ |
8 6 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠5
“Exercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery. But let this not blind you to what virtue there is; many persons strive for high ideals, and everywhere life is full of heroism.”
— Max Ehrmann
Today’s deal from last year’s Mind Sports Games was flat at seven of the eight tables in play in the quarterfinals.
Every contract was four hearts by South, and every West selected the friendly spade lead. That allowed declarer to win the club shift and pitch dummy’s losing club on the spade king. How would you advance? Each declarer now took the losing diamond finesse, which saw dummy’s trumps shortened by a second club. However, declarer could simply run the heart 10, and whether West won this trick or ducked it, declarer could give up one heart trick and retain control.
The play started in identical fashion when the Romanian declarer was taking on the English. However, when declarer took the diamond finesse at trick four, Tom Townsend (East) tried the effect of ducking this smoothly. Declarer continued with his plan of running the heart 10, whereupon David Gold, West, took his heart queen and tapped dummy in clubs.
Declarer now logically enough crossed to hand by drawing a second round of trumps and repeated the diamond finesse. At this point Townsend won his king and played a third club. Declarer could ruff in dummy and cash one diamond to pitch a loser. However, when East ruffed the fourth diamond, declarer could overruff but was left with an unavoidable black-suit loser. Nicely defended, and it is far from clear that declarer did anything wrong.
ANSWER: You were right to pass initially. (You could not double without more cards in the unbid suits, and one no-trump would show more than you have.) But now one no-trump will show your values accurately, suggesting 12-14 points and a desire to compete, with no long suit, and unsuitable for a takeout double of spades.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 3 |
| ♥ |
A J 9 6 |
| ♦ |
8 6 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
1♣ |
| Pass |
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].
September 29th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
7 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 8 5 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q 9 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
9 6 4 2 |
♠ |
A K 10 8 3 |
| ♥ |
9 7 |
♥ |
J 6 3 |
| ♦ |
8 5 4 |
♦ |
A 10 7 |
| ♣ |
A J 7 4 |
♣ |
9 8 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 5 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
J 6 3 |
| ♣ |
K 10 6 5 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT* |
Pass |
4♦** |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| **Texas transfer to hearts |
Opening Lead:♠6
“To generalize is to be an idiot. To particularize is the lone distinction of merit — general knowledges are those knowledges that idiots possess.”
— William Blake
This week’s deals all come from the Mind Sports Games, held in Beijing last year. In today’s deal declarer had to decide whether to play the percentages or to trust his opponents to be honest. In the quarterfinals of a world championship, which way would you go?
In the match between China and Norway, both tables reached four hearts by South after that player had opened one no-trump. No excitement there? Well, when the Norwegians were defending, 10 tricks did not prove a problem after a spade lead to East’s king and a low diamond shift. (This was an unsuccessful, but a very intelligent, shot by East. Imagine West with, for example, nothing but the diamond jack and club king.) However, as the cards lay, South had 10 painless tricks.
But in the other room, on a spade lead, a club shift to the ace, and a club return, declarer cashed the heart ace-king and observed East following on the second round with the jack. Declarer now had a real problem: should he now rely on the diamond 10 to behave, or should he cash the club king to pitch his possible fourth-round diamond loser?
South tried the latter, and when East ruffed in, he was considerably sadder if not necessarily any wiser. In fact, had he ruffed a spade to dummy to draw the last trump and then advanced the diamond king, followed by a diamond lead to the jack, that would have brought home the contract five times in six.
ANSWER: Whenever you have four trumps and a weak hand in a competitive auction, you should consider pre-emptively raising a five-card major or an overcall to the three-level. Admittedly, this hand is not ideal; you do have a defensive trick and your trumps are weak. But quantity outweighs quality — make the jump raise.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
9 7 |
| ♦ |
8 5 4 |
| ♣ |
A J 7 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
1♠ |
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].
September 28th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, September 14, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
9 8 7 5 |
| ♥ |
K 3 |
| ♦ |
J 6 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A K J |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 3 |
♠ |
A K J 2 |
| ♥ |
10 9 8 4 2 |
♥ |
7 6 5 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 |
♦ |
K 9 8 7 |
| ♣ |
8 7 6 2 |
♣ |
5 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q 6 4 |
| ♥ |
A Q J |
| ♦ |
A 4 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥10
“A good decision is based on knowledge and not on numbers.”
— Plato
This week’s deals are from the Beijing Mind Sports Games of last year. Today’s deal is an interesting exercise in percentages.
After an unopposed auction the Dutch South had to play three no-trump on the predictable heart-10 lead. If you play on diamonds, you might go down even when the suit splits since you have to lose two diamond tricks and might lose three spade tricks too. In other words, you need both diamonds and spades to behave against proper defense.
That was the approach South followed, and when diamonds were 4-2 offside, down he went. Every other pair brought home the game, but, to be fair, many declarers reached the contract from the North seat. When East lead a top spade, their task was considerably easier.
Incidentally, if, as South, you do lead the spade nine from dummy and East plays low smoothly, would you not run it (in case West has a doubleton ace or king), thus losing to the actual lie of the cards? Few Easts would be able to play low without a flicker.
When the same deals were played in the women’s event, Sabine Auken (West) earned her swing single-handedly. After the auction shown, where the one-diamond opening guaranteed only two diamonds, she led the diamond queen!
Since this was her partnership’s systemic lead from the king-queen, declarer took the ace, played back the suit at once, and was down immediately.
ANSWER: It is rare to see a hand with no semblance of a sensible lead, but this is it. Since your cards appear to be lying reasonably well on defense, I would feebly suggest the diamond four (second from a bad suit) as the most passive lead. The heart king might work, particularly if you want to get written up in the newspapers. But if you disagree with me, I’m not sure I could defend myself.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 6 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 |
| ♦ |
6 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♠ |
Pass |
2♣ |
| Pass |
2♦ |
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].
September 27th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, September 13, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
With ♠ Q-4, ♥ A-Q-9-3, ♦ Q-3, ♣ K-Q-8-3-2, would you open one no-trump? Would vulnerability or position influence you?
— Fast and Loose, Richmond, Va.
ANSWER: A 15-count with this pattern and guarded honors in the doubletons can qualify for one no-trump, both for tactical reasons (to close out the opponents) and strategic ones (to protect the tenaces). Some might chicken out and open one club if vulnerable at pairs, planning to rebid one no-trump to show 12-14 points. But as my guru used to say, “Who gets to no-trump first wins the board.”
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I opened one heart and when my partner bid two no-trump, Jacoby, to show a forcing heart raise, I jumped to four hearts to show a minimum with no shortage. Over that, my partner bid five hearts. What does that bid mean?
— Raising the Bar, Sunbury, Pa.
ANSWER: Five hearts says, “I hear you have nothing extra, but I’m prepared to try slam if your trumps are better than expected.” Your partner’s trumps should be no better than 10-fourth for this auction; hence, he will have all the side-suits controlled plus a source of tricks.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In third seat you hear partner open one spade and the next hand doubles. You hold ♠ A-8-4-3, ♥ 9-7, ♦ K-J-7-3, ♣ 10-6-4. Your methods only allow you to raise to two or three spades, the latter being pre-emptive, or to bid two no-trump as a limit raise. Which is the least lie?
— Augean Stables, Houston, Texas
|
|
ANSWER: I agree nothing fits, but a limit raise is not such an unreasonable bid, so go for two no-trump. May I make a suggestion? Use a jump in the OTHER major to be this hand — too good for a pre-empt but not enough for a limit raise, with four trumps.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If your opponents lead third and fifth against you, what is the rule that you should substitute for the rule of 11?
— Algebra Class, St. Louis, Mo.
ANSWER: If your opponents lead a fourth-highest card against you, subtract that card from 11 to work out how many higher cards the other three players have among them. As defender or declarer you can see dummy and your own hand and can do the math. If you believe the lead is fifth highest, the number is 10; if third highest, the number is 12.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
With ♠ A-J-9-4, ♥ A-9-5-3, ♦ 3, ♣ A-Q-10-3, I opened one club in second seat. When my partner responded one diamond, I bid one heart. What does one spade from my partner mean now, and what should I do next?
— Fancy Footwork, Dayton, Ohio
ANSWER: There is not much agreement among the experts whether one spade guarantees length, or even invitational values or better. But since most of the time, with 6-9 points and spades, partner will simply bid one no-trump, it looks best to play one spade as either invitational values and four spades, or any game-force. Either way, you can describe this hand nicely by jumping to three spades to show your three-suiter and extra values. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
September 26th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, September 12, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 10 8 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
K J 6 |
| ♣ |
6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 9 2 |
♠ |
A 7 6 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K J 10 4 2 |
♥ |
9 7 |
| ♦ |
Q 4 |
♦ |
8 7 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 3 |
♣ |
A J 10 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
A 6 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 5 2 |
| ♣ |
K 8 7 5 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♠ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 3♣ |
Pass |
4♦ |
Pass |
| 5♦ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♦4
“How hard to make a man appear a fool, a blockhead, or a knave, without using any of those opprobrious terms!”
— John Dryden
Good players make fewer mistakes than bad ones, but sometimes playing against experts becomes easier because you know what they are supposed to have for the bidding and play thus far.
Sometimes these inferences about the opponents’ hands can be overdone — although in the deal that follows I do have sympathy for South, declaring five diamonds in the European Women’s Championships. Cover the East and West cards and decide how you might play that contract on the lead of the diamond four.
South’s auction had suggested significant length in both minors, and dummy was quite likely to put down its actual shape. Needing to be in dummy at trick two to play a club, and believing that East has the diamond queen, you carefully win dummy’s diamond king and play a club toward your hand. When East takes the club ace and switches to a heart, you rise with the ace, thoughtfully ruff a club high in dummy, and finesse in trumps. Then you draw the last trump and have 11 tricks whenever clubs are 3-3 and diamonds are not 4-1.
However, there is one other small snag, as you will see when you look at the defenders’ hands. Do you like Madeleine Swanstrom’s initial trump lead in this deal from Sweden-Italy in the 1989 European Championships? Try to beat the contract on any other defense! As it was, South almost fell off her chair when West produced the diamond queen — always a satisfying moment for any defender.
ANSWER: You may not like your prospects on defense, but your partner knows approximately what you have and has suggested defending. Since your side clearly has no fit in the majors, you would probably be best advised to pass rather than make matters worse by looking for a better place to play, when there clearly is none.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 10 8 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
K J 6 |
| ♣ |
6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
1NT |
2♣ |
| Pass |
Pass |
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].
September 25th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, September 11, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
10 7 6 4 |
| ♥ |
A J 5 |
| ♦ |
A 7 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K |
♠ |
Q 9 3 |
| ♥ |
10 9 7 3 |
♥ |
Q 8 4 2 |
| ♦ |
J 8 |
♦ |
Q 9 6 3 |
| ♣ |
A K J 8 7 3 |
♣ |
9 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 8 5 2 |
| ♥ |
K 6 |
| ♦ |
K 10 5 2 |
| ♣ |
6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
2♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3♦ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣K
“Life is short, the art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment treacherous, judgment difficult.”
— Hippocrates
Singleton trump honors can be a mixed blessing. If a defender holds the singleton trump ace, it is often clear that it should be unblocked as soon as possible, but such a play is harder when the singleton honor is the king or queen.
After his opening bid to show six clubs and fewer than 16 points, West led a top club, played a second top club, then a third club. On this trick East thought for a while, then ruffed with the nine and was overruffed. Declarer now cashed the two top hearts, ruffed a heart, took the king and ace of diamonds,s and led a low spade. When East followed low, declarer decided that East’s pause at trick three indicated he had started life with a top spade honor; therefore, whichever honor West had was singleton. So he played low, and West had to win and was endplayed. Whatever he led gave declarer a ruff and discard, and dummy’s last diamond disappeared.
West missed his chance to beat the game, though in practice few would have found the defense. He could have shifted to the spade king, leaving declarer with no chance as the cards lay. While it is true that unblocking the spade king would have worked well on this layout, West might have looked rather foolish if declarer had held better spades and weaker diamonds. However, perhaps a heart switch at trick two might have given West a chance to find the winning defense later on.
ANSWER: In this auction the call of two hearts is the fourth suit, asking you to describe your hand. You can show support for partner, or promise extra length in your own suits, or bid no-trump with hearts guarded. A single guard in hearts is more than sufficient here, so bid two no-trump. Do not jump to three no-trump, which should show extras, not a minimum.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 8 5 2 |
| ♥ |
K 6 |
| ♦ |
K 10 5 2 |
| ♣ |
6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
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].
|
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