October 17th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, October 3, 2009 
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
4 |
| ♥ |
K 6 4 |
| ♦ |
K 7 6 3 |
| ♣ |
J 10 9 5 4 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
Q 9 8 5 |
♠ |
K J 7 |
| ♥ |
J 10 9 5 2 |
♥ |
A Q 8 3 |
| ♦ |
8 |
♦ |
J 9 5 |
| ♣ |
A 7 3 |
♣ |
K 8 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 10 6 3 2 |
| ♥ |
7 |
| ♦ |
A Q 10 4 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♥ |
| 2♥* |
4♥ |
4 NT** |
Dbl. |
| 5♦ |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥J
“Nature is under control but not disturbed.”
— Queen Beatrix, on opening a sea barrier
Berry Westra and Enri Leufkens of the Netherlands are the only partnership ever to have won a World Junior Championship and a Bermuda Bowl. They did very well today, first to reach four hearts from East after the four-card major opening, and then to combine well in defense.
North-South’s sacrifice in five diamonds looks very reasonable. Although their opponents’ game could have been defeated, it was never going to be easy for South to lead the spade ace at trick one against four hearts, while five diamonds appeared to be one down at worst. However, despite the big trump fit, five diamonds doubled turned out to be very expensive.
Westra (conveniently sitting West, to make life easy for the journalists) led the heart jack and switched to a trump. Now declarer made the slightly careless play of drawing three rounds of trump, ending in dummy, instead of attacking clubs at once. It is far from obvious why this play is so dangerous; indeed, against most people he would not have been punished. The point is that it looks simple for declarer now to give up two clubs and set up dummy’s suit, but when declarer led a club to his queen, Westra found the fine play of ducking! Westra hopped up with the club ace on the next club play, and led a second heart. Now there were not enough entries to dummy to establish the club suit. With the spade suit similarly dead, declarer finished three down for minus 500.
ANSWER: Unfortunately, your kings may be facing shortage in your partner’s hand, but it is not wise to conceal support from your partner. Raise to three clubs first; worry about future developments later.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
4 |
| ♥ |
K 6 4 |
| ♦ |
K 7 6 3 |
| ♣ |
J 10 9 5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
1♠ |
Dbl. |
| Pass |
1 NT |
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 16th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, October 2, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 8 |
| ♦ |
9 7 6 |
| ♣ |
A 10 8 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 5 |
♠ |
Q 10 9 2 |
| ♥ |
6 5 2 |
♥ |
7 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 5 4 |
♦ |
J 3 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q J 9 |
♣ |
7 5 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 7 6 3 |
| ♥ |
A K J 10 4 |
| ♦ |
A K 8 |
| ♣ |
3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
3♥ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5 NT |
Pass |
| 6♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♣K
“Think nothing done while aught remains to do.”
— Samuel Rogers
Josephine Culbertson was credited with playing today’s deal. As was the style in those days, the bid of four no-trump showed two aces and the king of a bid suit. The response promised two aces.
West led the club king against the heart slam, and declarer could count only 10 tricks: five trumps, the two sets of ace-kings and the club ace. Even if spades produced an extra trick, that would still leave her a trick short. The only hope for an extra trick was to rely on trumps being 3-2 and to ruff three clubs in hand. This would give her six trump tricks, three on power and three from club ruffs.
So she took the lead with the ace and ruffed a club with the 10. Then she crossed to the spade king and ruffed a club high. Next she played the heart four to the eight and ruffed dummy’s last club with the king. When the clubs proved to be 4-4, her chances had improved. Things looked up still further when she overtook the heart jack with dummy’s queen and both opponents followed suit.
After discarding her losing diamond on the third trump, she continued with the spade ace and then a third spade. All she needed now was to be able to play the spades for three tricks. That would come about if the spade queen fell in two or three rounds, or if East had the length in spades. Her luck was in today.
ANSWER: This is a takeout double, and since you have already denied having four hearts or four spades (or you would have bid at your previous turn), you can bid two hearts now to suggest three trumps. You may not be confident you are going to reach a comfortable spot, but you really can do nothing else.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 8 |
| ♦ |
9 7 6 |
| ♣ |
A 10 8 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
1♦ |
Dbl. |
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].
October 15th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 4 2 |
| ♦ |
2 |
| ♣ |
8 7 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
4 |
♠ |
A 6 |
| ♥ |
6 |
♥ |
10 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q 10 9 8 7 5 4 |
♦ |
J 6 |
| ♣ |
6 5 4 |
♣ |
K Q 10 9 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 9 8 7 5 |
| ♥ |
A Q 8 |
| ♦ |
K 3 |
| ♣ |
A J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
5♦ |
Pass |
Pass |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
5♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦A
“Something between a hindrance and a help.”
— William Wordsworth
When I am asked what the secret of bridge is, my answer is that it is a game of error. The people who win make the fewest mistakes and, crucially, help their partners make the fewest errors. There is not much you can do when partner is declaring — except put trumps on your right. But on defense it is a different story.
Take this deal from the match between Israel and Canada in a Junior World Teams tournament, where the Israeli East had a chance to cherish his partner. After both Souths opened one spade, the Wests had to decide how much to bid. Wolpert for Canada at our featured table bid five diamonds, but South ended up in five spades.
After the diamond-ace lead, Wolpert decided to shift and (correctly in my opinion) elected to play his partner for the heart ace rather than very good clubs, or a slow club trick plus a major-suit winner. He shifted to his heart, and that meant 11 tricks for declarer.
By contrast, in the other room the Israeli West bid only four diamonds at his first turn. North bid four spades now, and Amir Levin, East, bid five clubs as a lead director, suggesting clubs and a diamond fit. When North-South pushed on to five spades, the defense led clubs and could now set the game. (Note, by the way, that five spades was necessary insurance over five diamonds, which might easily have made.)
ANSWER: Did you remember the message from today’s deal? Jump to three clubs, a fit-showing jump, to show heart support and a source of tricks in clubs. You could simply raise hearts, but then how would partner know where your cards are if he has to decide what to do over four spades? As a passed hand, the jump should not just be clubs — you would have opened three clubs with that hand.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 6 |
| ♥ |
10 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
J 6 |
| ♣ |
K Q 10 9 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| Pass |
1♦ |
1♥ |
1♠ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
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].
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