August 6th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, July 23, 2009 
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K J 10 7 4 3 |
| ♥ |
9 6 2 |
| ♦ |
7 4 |
| ♣ |
8 4 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
Q 9 5 2 |
♠ |
8 |
| ♥ |
K 8 4 |
♥ |
A Q J 7 |
| ♦ |
8 5 |
♦ |
K Q 10 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 2 |
♣ |
9 7 6 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 6 |
| ♥ |
10 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A J 7 6 3 |
| ♣ |
A K 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
| Pass |
3♣ |
3♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣Q
“Civilizations break down and go to pieces if and when a challenge confronts them which they fail to meet.”
— Arnold Toynbee
From a pair game in the finals of a recent U.S. Nationals came a deal misplayed by almost every declarer who encountered it. Can you do better? You may want to consider it as a single-dummy problem by covering up the East and West cards.
Having been pushed to three spades, how should you play this contract on the lead of the club queen?
Assume from East’s takeout double that the most likely lie of the cards includes a 4-1 trump break onside. If so, you have eight easy tricks but no comfortable route to reduce your trumps, a necessary move to achieve the trump coup that will allow you to score an extra trump trick in dummy.
The right line (which combines deception and technique) is to duck the first club smoothly. There is no way the defenders will be able to work out what is going on in this suit. Win the expected club continuation and play a third club to pitch a diamond from dummy. Now lead a spade to finesse dummy’s 10, then play a diamond to the ace and ruff a diamond. After a spade to the ace (as East discards), dummy is down to three trumps. You can now ruff a diamond and exit with a heart. The defenders can cash three rounds of that suit, but must then lead a plain card, allowing the spade K-J to take the last two tricks.
ANSWER: Did you look at your eight-count and heave a sigh of relief that the auction is over without the opponents getting to game? That is the wrong approach. The opponents have announced a fit and stopped low. It is up to you to double two diamonds for takeout, forcing them to fight harder if they want to buy the contract.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 5 2 |
| ♥ |
K 8 4 |
| ♦ |
8 5 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
|
|
|
|
| Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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].
August 5th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, July 22, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 2 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
A 7 6 |
| ♣ |
A K J 9 4 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 7 4 3 |
♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 5 2 |
♥ |
9 7 6 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K 9 5 |
♦ |
Q J 8 3 |
| ♣ |
6 |
♣ |
Q 10 7 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q J 10 9 6 5 |
| ♥ |
8 |
| ♦ |
10 4 2 |
| ♣ |
8 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
5 NT |
Pass |
| 7♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥Q
“In history an additional result is commonly produced by human actions beyond that which they aim at and obtain — that which they immediately recognize and desire.”
— G.W.F. Hegel
These days the grand slam force is rarely seen because the call of five no-trump is more often used to ask partner to pick a slam. But a jump facing an opening bid still retains its original meaning: bid the grand slam with two top honors.
How would you play today’s seven-spade contract on a heart lead? The lead is inconvenient in that it has taken out one of the late entries to dummy, and you will need to set up the clubs to make your contract.
A simple line would be to win and draw trumps, then play three rounds of clubs, ruffing the third. This line needs nothing but 3-2 clubs or a singleton club queen, but today you would be out of luck. An improvement to this line would be to draw just one round of trumps with the king before playing on clubs in case one hand had both black-suit singletons, but this would not help you today.
The winning line is to realize that you have the opportunity to use your discard on the top heart in dummy to greater effect. What you should do is cash the two top hearts and pitch a club from hand. Now you can take just one top club, ruff a club high, and draw two rounds of trumps ending in dummy. Then ruff another club high in hand, draw the outstanding trumps, and cross to the diamond ace to discard your diamonds on the clubs in dummy.
ANSWER: There is no need to panic just because partner has shown a good hand with long clubs and four diamonds. Do not pass in the middle of a forcing auction. Instead, repeat your hearts to show five, and let partner decide where he wants to go from here.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 7 4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 5 2 |
| ♦ |
K 9 5 |
| ♣ |
6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
|
|
|
|
| 1♥ |
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].
August 4th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 5 |
| ♥ |
7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
10 8 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J 8 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
— |
♠ |
10 8 4 3 |
| ♥ |
A Q J 10 5 3 2 |
♥ |
K 9 8 |
| ♦ |
Q 7 5 4 |
♦ |
6 |
| ♣ |
6 4 |
♣ |
A 10 9 7 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 9 7 6 2 |
| ♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
A K J 9 3 |
| ♣ |
K 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
5♥ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
5♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥A
“He seems so near and yet so far.”
— Alfred Lord Tennyson
How should you plan the play in five spades? If trumps are no worse than 3-1, your contract will be easy. You just draw trump, ending on the table, and run the diamond 10. You will lose at most one club and one diamond.
The situation becomes trickier if trumps split 4-0. After you ruff the heart ace and play a trump to the queen, you may lose control if West has a guarded diamond queen since you have to surrender early tricks in both clubs and diamonds. The defenders will force you each time they gain the lead by returning a heart. You will then end up with fewer trumps than East and finish a trick short. Is there anything better?
East appears to have some values for bidding on to the five-level, so play him for the club ace. Cross to the spade queen at trick two to find the bad news, and at trick three play a low club toward your hand. If East plays low, your king wins the trick. You can now draw trumps and give up a diamond trick. You make six trumps, four diamonds and a club.
What happens if East plays the club ace and forces you with another heart? After you ruff, cash the club king and cross to dummy with the trump jack to play dummy’s two club winners, throwing low diamonds from hand. Then, after drawing trumps, you cash the ace and king of diamonds for the 10th and 11th tricks.
ANSWER: This is a takeout double, and you have no reason to assume that partner does not have four clubs and a decent hand. With the choice of playing in either minor, it looks right to play in clubs so that you can take ruffs in North and still be able to draw trumps easily. So bid two clubs, perhaps with the idea of competing further if the opponents bid to two of a major.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 5 |
| ♥ |
7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
10 8 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J 8 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
1♥ |
|
|
|
|
| Pass |
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].
August 3rd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, July 20, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 10 7 4 |
| ♥ |
8 7 4 |
| ♦ |
10 3 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
9 5 |
♠ |
K 6 |
| ♥ |
A Q J 10 9 6 2 |
♥ |
K 3 |
| ♦ |
A 9 5 |
♦ |
K 8 7 6 2 |
| ♣ |
6 |
♣ |
Q 10 7 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 8 3 2 |
| ♥ |
5 |
| ♦ |
Q J 4 |
| ♣ |
K J 4 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
4♥ |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣6
“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.”
— Shakespeare
When this hand came along in a World Championship pair event, some declarers failed to follow the advice given by every bridge teacher to every beginner: “Before touching a card from dummy — even a singleton in the suit led — plan the play of the whole hand.”
Every West led the club six against four spades, and most Souths inserted dummy’s nine. East played the queen, South won with the king, but now had no quick entry to dummy for the spade finesse. She could try a club toward the ace, but West was able to ruff, and the game ended two down.
At one table, though, the bidding and lead were identical, but declarer paused for thought at the critical moment.
Recognizing the lead as likely to be from shortage, South rose with dummy’s club ace to play the spade queen, catering to East’s holding the guarded spade king. When this held, a low spade collected the missing trumps. Eventually, one of dummy’s clubs went on the diamond queen, and a subsequent successful finesse of the club jack landed the game.
The key to this deal is to work out that West’s opening club lead is far more likely to be from shortage than from length. If so, there is no need to take an immediate club finesse. You can do that after drawing trumps since you can always reach dummy with a diamond ruff.
ANSWER: Dummy will be putting down a strong hand with four diamonds and five clubs. Declarer’s direct jump to three no-trump suggests he has spades well under control, and your partner’s failure to overcall makes it unlikely you can accomplish much in spades. So, with misgivings, I’d lead the heart nine. Maybe declarer has a weak four-card suit and dummy some vulnerable honors.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 4 |
| ♥ |
9 8 7 |
| ♦ |
J 8 4 3 |
| ♣ |
K 9 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
|
|
|
|
| Pass |
2♦ |
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].
August 2nd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, July 19, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ A-K-Q-J-2, ♥ A-Q-6, ♦ A-K-Q-J, ♣ A and opened two clubs. When my partner showed a bust, I bid four no-trump, so I could bid five no-trump to see if she had the missing king. She didn’t, so I bid six spades. LHO led the heart jack, and the rest was duck soup. I don’t think I’ll ever see a hand like that again!
— Card Rack, Seven Lakes South, N.C.
ANSWER: That might indeed be the strongest hand in high cards that I’ve seen for many years. One does see two-suiters with no likely losers. Your hand might have lost two tricks on a bad day, but 30HCP is 30 points! Another approach would be to open two clubs and simply bid two spades over the negative response. It is a forcing call, of course. Then you can bid diamonds. You can always use Blackwood later, and diamonds might be the best slam.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was not familiar with a gadget used in a recent bridge column. Is there a name for the convention in which the response to partner’s opening one no-trump is a jump to three hearts to show short hearts with both minors? Are there high-card point requirements for this convention? And do you need two five-card (or longer) minors? And can partner have two hearts and still be considered “short”?
— Marginal Decision, Phoenix, Ariz.
ANSWER: I do not think the convention has a name. It is part of a scheme whereby all direct three-level actions show the minors. Three clubs shows a 5-5 invitation, three diamonds is 5-5 game-forcing, while the majors show nine-plus points with 4-5 or 5-4 in the minors, precisely one card in the bid major, and three in the unbid major. This way you reach three no-trump only when opener has stops in responder’s short suit.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ A-K, ♥ J-10-9-8-6-4-3-2, ♦ 4, ♣ 10-2, I opened three hearts. My LHO doubled for takeout, and my RHO bid three no-trump. At favorable vulnerability in a pairs game, I decided to sacrifice. That resulted in a bottom and a scowl from my partner, who thought I should have let the opponents have the contract. I know I was undisciplined, but I thought I might get out for less than their game.
— Shelling Out, Fredericksburg, Va.
ANSWER: You might have opened four hearts — most would play it as pre-emptive and not strong. Once you did not, the problem with your approach was two-fold. First, you gave the opponents fielder’s choice — to bid on or to double you. Second, if partner has one heart and the opponent’s hearts are 2-2, they won’t always make their game, since partner might stop one or more of their minor suits. So, regretfully, I agree with your partner. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Will you ever join us in the 21st century and put your column on line?
— Lollard, Sioux Falls, S.D.
ANSWER: This March, thanks to the ingenuity of my publisher, Ray Lee of Master Point Press, the column made its appearance on line, 14 days after print publication. You can find it, and many other bridge-related articles, at http://aces.bridgeblogging.com/
Dear Mr. Wolff:
RHO bids a pre-emptive three clubs and you hold ♠ K-10-2, ♥ K-J-10-8-6, ♦ K-Q-4, ♣ 3-2. Would you pass, double, or bid three hearts?
— On the Spot, Madison, Wis.
ANSWER: That’s a tough one. I would double rather than bid three hearts, and pay off to missing a 5-3 heart fit. I cannot pass with relatively short clubs and an opening hand, though I admit it might be right. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
August 1st, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, July 18, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 10 |
| ♥ |
9 5 3 2 |
| ♦ |
A K 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q 7 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 4 3 |
♠ |
J 7 6 |
| ♥ |
Q J 6 |
♥ |
10 8 7 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 8 7 6 |
♦ |
10 3 |
| ♣ |
9 2 |
♣ |
10 8 4 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q 9 8 5 2 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
J 5 4 |
| ♣ |
A J 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
6 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣9
“Ignorance itself is without a doubt a sin for those who do not wish to understand; for those who, however, cannot understand, it is the punishment of sin.”
— St. Augustine
When this hand arose in a recent Cavendish pairs, quite a few of the world’s best players lost themselves some money by their ignorance of a key suit-combination.
If you are going to play slam, six clubs might be best here, but six no-trump looks normal enough. How should you play the spades? It looks natural to lead out the ace and follow up with the 10. When East plays low, you should rise with the queen. That picks up the doubleton jack offside. However, when the suit is 3-3, it is a blind guess whether to play low or to rise with the queen against competent opponents. Bear in mind that if West started life with the doubleton king, there is no winning option. You have to lose two tricks, whatever you do next.
So far so good, and most people’s analysis would stop there. But actually the best play in the suit does not start with cashing the ace, but with running the queen! If the suit is 3-3, we know that it is a complete guess as to how to play the suit. If the suit is 4-2, you can pick up three of the four honor-doubletons by leading the queen. No other play caters to that.
It is only fitting that Fred Gitelman, author of BridgeMaster, which features this precise combination in its training section, was one of the declarers in six no-trump. He made the right play and was rewarded when the cards cooperated.
ANSWER: Unless your partner has taken leave of his senses, he has at least 5-5 in the minors (probably more shape, because a call of one no-trump by a passed hand would show that pattern). Since the opponents must be cold for at least game in one of the majors, take their bidding space away by jumping to five diamonds. You may not make it, but you won’t make your opponents’ life easy either.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 6 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
9 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
1♥ |
|
|
|
|
| Pass |
1♠ |
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].
July 31st, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, July 17, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q J 9 2 |
| ♥ |
7 |
| ♦ |
A K |
| ♣ |
A K 7 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
6 3 |
♠ |
10 5 |
| ♥ |
A J 10 6 5 2 |
♥ |
4 3 |
| ♦ |
J 10 5 |
♦ |
Q 7 6 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 |
♣ |
J 6 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
8 7 4 |
| ♥ |
K Q 9 8 |
| ♦ |
9 8 |
| ♣ |
10 9 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
2♥ |
3♥* |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
6♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦J
“An optimist is a guy who has never had much experience.”
— Don Marquis
In today’s deal you can hardly blame North for getting carried away when you admit to a spade suit. And since the club queen on its own might be enough for slam, he can hardly expect you to cooperate intelligently in any slam venture.
Let’s look at the prospect for making six spades when West starts with the diamond jack. The simple hope is to find trumps 2-2 and the heart ace onside, but in the real world, West’s pre-empt when vulnerable will guarantee possession of the heart ace.
Another chance is to find the Q-J of clubs doubleton. Is there any other way to avoid a club loser? Only if you can somehow find a home for dummy’s clubs. And is there any hope of that? The answer, rather surprisingly, is yes, but only if you are careful about it.
Start by winning the diamond, drawing trumps, then cashing the second top diamond and the two top clubs. Assuming the missing club honors do not both fall, you lead dummy’s singleton heart and put up an honor from hand. West must win this trick with the heart ace and cannot play a diamond or you ruff in hand and pitch dummy’s clubs on this trick and your remaining top heart.
Equally, if West leads a heart, whether a big or a small one, you run the lead around to your hand, then establish a second discard from the heart spots while you still have the spade re-entry to your hand.
ANSWER: Your partner’s sequence suggests a very strong hand, which may or may not have heart support. You are best advised to bid two no-trump (after all, you have the next best thing to a club stop) and let partner decide where to go from here. Repeating your hearts would be consistent with a far weaker hand than this.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
8 7 4 |
| ♥ |
K Q 9 8 |
| ♦ |
9 8 |
| ♣ |
10 9 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
|
|
|
|
| 1♥ |
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].
July 30th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, July 16, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 7 3 |
| ♥ |
A K 7 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A Q 10 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 10 4 |
♠ |
9 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 3 |
♥ |
J 9 6 2 |
| ♦ |
K 9 5 |
♦ |
7 6 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A K J 6 3 |
♣ |
9 5 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q J 6 2 |
| ♥ |
10 8 |
| ♦ |
J 8 4 |
| ♣ |
8 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1 NT |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣K
“I can see with half an eye.”
— Miguel Cervantes
In today’s deal from the Dyspeptics Club, neither North nor South did anything unreasonable to reach a thin game, but it would have required South to find a good play to bring home 10 tricks. Maybe North was optimistic in accepting South’s invitation to game with such bad trumps and a possibly wasted club holding.
Defending to four spades, West cashed two top clubs, then paused for some while, trying to remember if East had echoed in clubs. Eventually he played a third club. Declarer ruffed in dummy and saw the danger of taking a trump finesse. If the cards lay as they actually did, West could win and lead a fourth club, letting East promote a trump trick for his partner by ruffing with his spade nine.
So South played the ace and queen of spades, a good try but not good enough. West won his king and switched to a heart. Declarer tried to ruff the third heart back to hand, but West could overruff for down one.
North is generally South’s sternest critic, but even he was hard-pressed to berate South too sternly on this occasion. Nonetheless, South had gone halfway down the road to success. It was a pity that he had not worked out that he needed to cash the two top hearts before playing the ace and queen of spades. That way, West must put declarer back in hand to draw the last trump, and the contract comes home.
ANSWER: There are two questions to address: Do you want to reopen the bidding, and if so, with what call? Since your side should have half the deck, it is reasonable to bid. Best would be two hearts because of the strong heart spots, rather than doubling for takeout or repeating a five-card spade suit.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q J 6 2 |
| ♥ |
10 8 |
| ♦ |
J 8 4 |
| ♣ |
8 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♥ |
Dbl. |
|
|
|
|
| 1♠ |
2♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
July 29th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Wednesday, July 15, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 3 |
| ♦ |
A 7 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A 9 7 3 |
♠ |
Q 10 5 |
| ♥ |
8 7 5 |
♥ |
J 10 4 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 2 |
♦ |
10 5 |
| ♣ |
A K 7 |
♣ |
9 8 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K 8 |
| ♥ |
A K 6 |
| ♦ |
K J 8 4 3 |
| ♣ |
J 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
2 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠3
“On reflecting that he had done nothing to help anybody all day, Emperor Titus uttered these memorable and praiseworthy words: ‘Friends, I have lost a day.'”
— Gaius Suetonius
Today’s hand is from Julian Pottage’s monthly “Test Your Defence” spot in the UK’s Bridge Magazine, the world’s oldest extant bridge publication (www.bridgemagazine.co.uk.)
West leads the spade three against two no-trump, and East’s 10 loses to the king. South leads a diamond to dummy’s ace, then finesses the jack, losing to West’s queen. (East signaled to show an even number, almost certainly two.) What next?
South must have 15 or 16 points, leaving East with two or three points in his hand. Where to go for honey? To play East for very strong hearts would be too optimistic. The best chance is to aim for three spade tricks, which would be enough to set the contract.
Partner’s contribution of the spade 10 at trick one is consistent with holdings that include the queen, so it would seem best to play East for that card — hopefully in an initial three-card holding. However, if the seven is returned and East started with Q-10-8, he might not know whether to play high or low. Even more importantly, if East has Q-10-5, West must lead the nine to smother South’s eight.
There is one more trap to avoid, should your spade nine hold. If you simply play a third spade, East’s queen will take that trick, but what should he return next? If he shifts to a heart, declarer would be home. So, help partner by cashing the club king before playing another spade.
ANSWER: This sequence shows good clubs (six of them at least) and four spades, with the values to drive to game. You have enough to cue-bid four diamonds, though from here on you should let partner take control. With any luck he can use Blackwood and decide where he wants to play.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 3 |
| ♦ |
A 7 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
|
|
|
|
| 1♠ |
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].
July 28th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K J 10 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 |
| ♣ |
8 6 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K Q 9 |
♠ |
J 10 8 3 2 |
| ♥ |
9 8 7 |
♥ |
Q 6 5 4 |
| ♦ |
J 9 7 6 |
♦ |
A |
| ♣ |
10 9 2 |
♣ |
J 7 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
4 |
| ♥ |
A 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 3♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
Pass |
5♦ |
All Pass |
Opening Lead:♠K
“You in the West have a problem. You are unsure when you are being lied to, when you are being tricked. We do not suffer from this; and unlike you, we have acquired the skill of reading between the lines.”
— Zdenek Urbanak
North-South bid intelligently to five diamonds. When North followed a delayed route to three no-trump, he showed doubt about the final contract. So South knew it would be wrong to pass with a singleton spade. He could safely show his heart doubleton, since he would have supported his partner earlier had he held three hearts.
West led the spade king, and declarer’s only problem lay in the handling of the trump suit. It is normal to lead low toward the king, then back toward the queen, intending to insert the 10. However, in this deal there were problems with entries. If declarer ruffs a spade to his hand and leads a diamond to the king and ace, he then needs to cross to the heart king to lead a second round of diamonds. But he might need to take the heart finesse for his contract if clubs did not split.
An alternative would be to cash the diamond queen on the second round of the suit, thus leaving the heart position intact in case it is needed later; but then 4-1 trump breaks cause problems.
However, declarer found the best play when he led a low diamond from the dummy at trick two, intending to play the 10 if East played low. When East actually played the ace, it became clear that South had done the right thing, as both of the alternative plays would have resulted in three diamond losers.
ANSWER: To show a limit-raise or better in hearts, you must cue-bid three diamonds. Remember, a jump to three hearts would be pre-emptive (four or five trumps and 4-7 points), not a high-card invitation. In all competitive auctions the jump raise tends to be weak, while cue-bidding the opponent’s suit shows a good hand.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K J 10 2 |
| ♦ |
K 5 |
| ♣ |
8 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
1♥ |
2♦ |
|
|
|
|
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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].
|
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related