July 27th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, July 13, 2009 
| Dealer: North
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K J 8 4 |
| ♥ |
10 7 |
| ♦ |
9 |
| ♣ |
K J 9 8 4 2 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
Q 10 6 |
♠ |
7 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K 8 6 5 3 |
♥ |
A J 9 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 6 3 |
♦ |
K 10 7 4 2 |
| ♣ |
Q |
♣ |
6 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 9 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 4 2 |
| ♦ |
A J 5 |
| ♣ |
A 10 7 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♥5
“Great men are they who see … that thoughts rule the world.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today’s deal is a good example of how the Rule of Eleven (which has survived from the days of whist) can be used to help find the winning play.
Consider the auction briefly before looking at the play. North’s sequence, even by a passed hand, was forcing, showing at least five clubs and a four-card major. South had the option to continue by bidding three diamonds, showing values and suggesting a possible weakness in one major, but that might have been too subtle.
Against South’s three no-trump, West led the heart five. East won with the ace and returned the jack, and declarer had to decide whether to cover. The possibility that East held the king can be ruled out, so his only relevant original holdings are A-J doubleton (when it gains to duck) and A-J-9 (when it gains to cover).
The Rule of Eleven tells us that there are six (11 minus 5) cards in the North, East and South hands that are higher than the five, but South can see only five of them (the 10, seven, ace, jack and queen), so East must have one more. Therefore, he cannot have started with A-J alone, so it can never gain to play low on the heart jack.
Incidentally, when South regains the lead, he should start clubs by cashing dummy’s king. If West has five hearts, he is more likely to have a club void than East.
ANSWER: In situations of this sort, you can be sure your partner has stretched to enter the auction with what you know must be limited values. So you should assume that he did so because he wants his suit led. Therefore, lead a diamond (the jack, of course) and not a club.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 7 6 |
| ♥ |
Q 4 3 |
| ♦ |
J 8 |
| ♣ |
K 10 7 5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1 NT |
| Pass |
2♣ |
2♦ |
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].
July 26th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner opened one heart and I responded with a forcing no-trump. (I had 11 points with the J-10 of hearts.) When she bid two hearts, I raised to three, feeling sure she had a six-carder. However, she had bid two hearts simply to tell me she had a minimum hand, and she scolded me for bidding anything over her two-heart bid. Who is right here?
— Apple of Discord, Vancouver, British Columbia
ANSWER: Over the forcing no-trump response, opener bids two no-trump, jumps, or reverses to two spades with a good hand. With a minimum or moderate hand, opener bids a second, cheap, suit if she has one (a three-card minor if no four-card suit is available) or rebids a six-card suit. This does not show a bad hand per se, but the inability to make a strong call. Thus your partner’s two-heart bid showed six; in fact, your choice was between a call of three hearts and four hearts.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In a recent duplicate game I was dealt ♠ —, ♥ 9-6, ♦ K-Q-J-10-8, ♣ A-Q-J-10-6-3. I opened one club and heard one heart on my left, one spade from partner, four hearts on my right. I bid five clubs but passed my partner’s five-spade bid. He had eight spades to the ace-king and a singleton heart with the doubleton diamond ace and two small clubs. Five spades went down when spades proved to be 4-1, while six clubs would have made because the club king was doubleton onside. Who was to blame?
— Missed It, Palm Springs, Calif.
ANSWER: Neither of you was at fault. When you bid clubs to the five-level, maybe your partner should have considered supporting — or at least not committing the hand to spades. I like your pass of five spades; partner was unlucky to go down. Equally, you would have been lucky to make your slam. (On two rounds of hearts you need a singleton or doubleton club king onside.) |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In a recent lead problem where you had a six-count, you advised leading an unbid major against a no-trump contract and suggested leading from queen-third. Would it be better to lead low or high? I worry about blocking the suit and also misleading my partner into thinking I have a four-card major. What about leading from a doubleton spade queen? Would you suggest low or high?
— Floundering, New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
ANSWER: I would always lead low from three to an honor. While it might block the suit, partner in the quoted example rates to have plenty of high cards, so it will not matter. But giving up a trick in the suit will matter a lot, and leading an unsupported honor might cost a trick — especially when partner has not bid the suit. From a doubleton honor lead the honor if it is in partner’s bid suit; otherwise, do not lead it.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Eddie Kantar’s book “Take Your Tricks,” from which you have recently quoted, says, “When you have nine cards between your two hands, a 3-1 break is more likely than a 2-2 break.” But it also says that we should play for the drop when missing four cards to the queen. How can you reconcile these statements?
— Conflicted, Arlington, Texas
ANSWER: A 3-1 break (on one side or the other) is in abstract more likely than 2-2. But when you are deciding whether to finesse on the second round, only one defender can have three (one has followed twice), so halve that original 3-1 probability. Do note, however, that the odds are very close.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ J-4-3-2, ♥ K-6, ♦ K-Q-4, ♣ A-6-3-2. My partner opened one club and I responded one spade. What would you do when partner raises to two spades? I guessed to bid four spades because of an expected club fit, and found partner with only three trumps. This was NOT a success.
— Making Assumptions, Little Rock, Ark.
ANSWER: Your call was not unreasonable for value, but I would have jumped to three no-trump instead. Partner knows your spade length. so let him correct to four spades with four trumps, or pass with three. Your weak spades should sound an alarm bell. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
July 25th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, July 11, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
2 |
| ♥ |
A 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
10 5 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 8 6 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 6 4 |
♠ |
J 8 3 |
| ♥ |
10 8 5 2 |
♥ |
K 9 3 |
| ♦ |
K Q J 6 4 3 |
♦ |
9 7 |
| ♣ |
— |
♣ |
10 9 7 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 9 7 5 |
| ♥ |
Q J |
| ♦ |
A 8 2 |
| ♣ |
J 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣* |
2♦ |
3♣ |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♣ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
5♥ |
Pass |
| 6♣ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♦K
“Time present and time past
Are both perhaps present in time future.”
— T.S. Eliot
This deal is from the 2004 U.S. teams trials. Declarer, Bob Hamman, reached the excellent slam of six clubs after West had pre-empted in diamonds.
West led his top diamond, and it looked like plain sailing to South. Although the lead attacked an entry, declarer intended to draw trumps and cash his top spades to discard a heart and a diamond. If the spades did not break 3-3 (or the J-10 did not fall doubleton), all that would be lost was one heart trick.
However, Hamman was brought up short when the club jack revealed the 5-0 trump break. He cashed the top three spades, discarding a diamond and a heart from dummy, then ruffed a diamond low in the dummy. Confident from the auction that he had now eliminated all of East’s spades and diamonds, he could cash the top trumps and throw East in on the fifth round of trumps. Because that player was forced to return a heart, South’s hand was now brought back to life, and the slam came home.
In the other room South opened with one spade and West overcalled two diamonds. The club slam was again reached, this time played by North, and the lead was the diamond nine. However, after discovering the 5-0 trump break, declarer decided that West must hold the heart king for his vulnerable overcall, and rather than play on spades early on, he finessed in hearts at once and was down immediately.
ANSWER: Your partner’s double suggests defending. (If he had hearts, he would surely bid them now.) Since you have a singleton in his suit and more defense than he might expect (including two trumps), pass, hoping to beat the contract by quite a few tricks.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
2 |
| ♥ |
A 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
10 5 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 8 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
1♦ |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
2♦ |
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].
July 24th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, July 10, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K J 6 |
| ♦ |
9 4 2 |
| ♣ |
A K 10 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q J 10 7 3 |
♠ |
A 9 8 4 2 |
| ♥ |
4 |
♥ |
7 5 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 8 7 |
♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
J 7 5 |
♣ |
Q 9 8 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
A Q 10 9 8 |
| ♦ |
A K Q 6 5 3 |
| ♣ |
4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 3♦ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 6♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♠Q
“Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.”
— William Golding
One way to take advantage of declarer’s shaky trump holding is to refuse to over-ruff when a defender has as many trumps as the declarer. Today’s deal was created by Terence Reese.
Playing in six hearts, declarer ruffed the spade lead, led a trump to the jack, and found the careful play of returning a low diamond. East did not ruff, so the diamond queen won. A second heart was led to the king and another diamond was won in hand. Now came a club to dummy’s ace, a third diamond to the ace, then a low diamond ruffed by the six. When East wisely refused to overruff, South could return to hand only by ruffing, leaving him with one trump fewer than East and only 11 tricks.
South began the play on the right lines, but his second round of trumps was a mistake. If he had entered dummy with a club at his second and third chance, he would have retained control. If East does not overruff the fourth diamond, declarer still has a trump to return to hand with, and now makes 13 tricks instead of 11. So the best East can do is to overruff and take his one trick.
Reese describes the defense as “obvious” and suggests that most players would have done the right thing, if they bothered to think about it, instead of over-ruffing “in sleep.” I’m not sure I share his confidence!
ANSWER: Bidding again would show considerably more than you actually hold. (A bid of three spades would suggest six spades and an invitational hand, while a call of three diamonds would be game-forcing.) You have a decent lead against a club partscore, so pass and let partner balance with three spades if he has trump support. Otherwise, you should be happy to defend.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 10 7 3 |
| ♥ |
4 |
| ♦ |
J 10 8 7 |
| ♣ |
J 7 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 NT |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
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].
July 23rd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, July 9, 2009
| Dealer: East
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 2 |
| ♦ |
10 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
7 |
♠ |
K Q 9 8 6 5 |
| ♥ |
9 3 |
♥ |
J |
| ♦ |
A K 9 8 4 |
♦ |
J 7 6 3 |
| ♣ |
K J 7 6 2 |
♣ |
10 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 10 4 |
| ♥ |
A K 10 7 6 5 4 |
| ♦ |
Q |
| ♣ |
Q 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
2♠ |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦K
“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.”
— Hippocrates
Today’s heart game occurred during a recent Women’s Trials. In one room West started with a top diamond. Her partner (using count signals) played the seven and declarer the queen. Since declarer would have been perfectly capable of dropping the queen from Q-J-x, West still did not know what to do, so played a second diamond in the hope of giving her partner a ruff.
This gave declarer a chance to shine. After ruffing, she played the heart ace, a heart to the dummy, ruffed dummy’s last diamond, and played the club queen, covered by the king and ace. Now, knowing the complete distribution of both defenders’ hands, she led the club nine. East was forced to win the trick and broach spades, allowing declarer to make a trick with her jack. Even if West had been able to win, the best she could have done was to switch to a spade. Declarer would have ducked in dummy, and East would have been endplayed to give South a second spade trick.
In the other room West chose to lead her singleton spade at trick one. While this could easily have been wrong, she thought that the circumstances for giving her partner a diamond ruff were unlikely and that leaving her diamonds intact would give her more options later on. Declarer now would have needed to read the position very accurately to make her game, and did not do so.
ANSWER: Although you may be worried that you will find a dummy with only three-card support for your clubs, it looks right to bid three clubs now. You have a decent hand, a decent suit and no great defense to either diamonds or spades, so get into the auction while you can.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 2 |
| ♦ |
10 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
Pass |
| Pass |
1♠ |
Dbl. |
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].
July 22nd, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 7 |
| ♥ |
3 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 10 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 6 4 |
♠ |
A 5 |
| ♥ |
A K J 9 5 |
♥ |
Q 10 8 6 |
| ♦ |
J 4 |
♦ |
8 7 3 |
| ♣ |
J 5 2 |
♣ |
9 8 4 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
10 9 8 3 2 |
| ♥ |
7 4 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 6 |
| ♣ |
K 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| Pass |
1♥ |
Dbl. |
3♥* |
| 3♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| *Pre-emptive raise of hearts |
Opening Lead:♥K
“For fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”
— Alexander Pope
Defense has sometimes been described as the art of the possible. When you are playing teams or rubber bridge, overtricks tend to be irrelevant. You should try to picture a hand that will let you defeat the contract, and then go for it, no matter how unlikely it is.
Conversely, if you think you can set a contract easily, you should concentrate on covering the bases, defeating the contract even when declarer has a better or different hand than his expected one.
Defending today’s three spades, you lead the heart king and partner’s signal tells you he has four hearts. (It is a good idea to use count signals on the lead of a king in a bid and supported suit.) Should you cash a second top heart? Yes — declarer may (and today he will) pitch his second heart on a high club if you don’t take it at once.
It should then be apparent that three spades can be defeated only if East holds the spade ace or diamond ace. He cannot hold more than that for his pre-emptive raise — with as much as a limit raise, East would have jumped to two no-trump.
Thus, West should shift to his diamond jack at trick three. Careful defense from this point on, with West winning the first round of spades (and East steeling himself to duck his ace if a trump is led from dummy), will result in a diamond ruff from West to beat the contract.
ANSWER: Your diamond rebid showed 12-14 and your second minor. (This sequence is not a reverse.) When partner invites game, you are certainly not minimum — but how to advance? The best way is to bid three spades, suggesting only three, since you would have bid the suit on the previous round with four. Let partner pick a game or partscore now.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 7 |
| ♥ |
3 2 |
| ♦ |
K Q 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 10 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
1♥ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 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].
July 21st, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, July 7, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 9 |
| ♥ |
10 8 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K 2 |
| ♣ |
8 7 6 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 7 |
♠ |
J 6 4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q J 7 2 |
♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
7 6 3 |
♦ |
Q J 10 9 8 4 |
| ♣ |
K Q 10 4 |
♣ |
9 5 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
10 8 5 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 6 5 |
| ♦ |
A 5 |
| ♣ |
A J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♣* |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| *Drury: a maximum pass with heart support |
Opening Lead:♣K
“Sailin’ ’round the world in a dirty gondola
Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola!”
— Bob Dylan
If a contract looks impossible, relinquishing the lead to the opponents at an appropriate moment can have a remarkable effect. In the 2001 Bermuda Bowl the VuGraph audience in Paris applauded when Jacek Pszczola (then of Poland, now of the United States) known to everyone as Pepsi, brought home his contract of four hearts against Indonesia, despite the vile trump break.
The contract was the same at both tables, both Easts having intervened in diamonds. In the Closed Room, after a diamond lead taken by the ace, declarer cashed a top heart and discovered the poor break. He continued with a spade to the nine and jack, and now the contract had to fail.
On VuGraph, West led the club king, won by South. After the heart ace had brought the bad news, Pszczola exited with his club jack to West’s queen. Declarer won the diamond switch in dummy, ruffed a club to hand, then finessed the spade queen. He ruffed dummy’s last club, then cashed the diamond and spade aces.
Now came a third round of spades to East’s jack. In the three-card ending, dummy had three trumps, while declarer held the K 9 of trumps plus the spade 10. West had Q J 7 of trumps left, and whether East led a spade or a diamond, West could do no better than ruff high to prevent dummy’s 10 from scoring. Then he was forced to lead a heart into declarer’s trump tenace: contract made!
ANSWER: You may decide to pass and hope to defend, or you may step in at once. If you do bid, remember that you CAN bid two hearts, natural, to show a good hand with five or more hearts. This is not a two-suiter: with a double or a jump in no-trump available for the unbid suits, you do not need a third artificial call.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 8 5 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 6 5 |
| ♦ |
A 5 |
| ♣ |
A J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
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].
July 20th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, July 6, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
J 10 6 |
| ♦ |
A K 7 6 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
K 6 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
J 5 4 3 |
♠ |
6 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 7 2 |
♥ |
A K 9 5 4 3 |
| ♦ |
9 |
♦ |
Q J 10 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 9 |
♣ |
8 7 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q 10 9 8 7 |
| ♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
8 5 |
| ♣ |
A 5 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
1♥ |
| 2♠ |
3♥ |
4♦ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
Pass |
5♦ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♣Q
“A thought that does not result in an action is nothing much, and an action that does not proceed from a thought is nothing at all.”
— Georges Bernanos
Today’s six-spade contract requires just a modicum of care. And that is all the more true because when dummy comes down, you might imagine that you missed a grand slam.
The auction is somewhat old-fashioned — South’s jump to two spades is strong rather than weak. After the opponents intervene, it is difficult to develop the hand scientifically, so at the end South closes his eyes and jumps to what he thinks he can make.
South must win the opening club lead in hand with the ace, thus protecting the side entry to dummy’s diamonds. At this point the natural and correct play is to draw trump. You cash the three top trumps, in the process finding out you must lose a spade trick to West, and now you must establish dummy’s diamond suit for club discards.
By leading to dummy’s diamond ace, returning to hand by ruffing a heart, and leading a second diamond toward dummy, you can establish the diamond suit against any 2-2 or 3-1 division. Assuming West does not trump the second diamond (if he does trump, the suit is automatically established), declarer wins dummy’s diamond king and ruffs a low diamond in his hand. If West does not overruff, declarer gives up a spade to the jack and claims the rest of the tricks.
Note that you must drive out West’s master trump to let you run the diamonds at your leisure.
ANSWER: Leading the fourth suit on auctions like this has not worked well for me. I would lead a top diamond, hoping to catch partner with four good diamonds so that he can put me back in with a club for a second diamond through the dummy.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
10 7 4 |
| ♦ |
J 10 4 |
| ♣ |
A 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♠ |
Pass |
2♣ |
| 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].
July 19th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, July 5, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Do you approve of Rosenkranz doubles, whereby the partner of an overcaller can raise the suit without a top honor, but double or redouble to show a raise with a top honor? Is another approach better?
— Acting Up, Portland, Ore.
ANSWER: Rosenkranz doubles and redoubles are not my cup of tea. (I like to keep the bid for other purposes — namely, to show good defensively oriented hands.) These doubles are traditionally used only by fourth hand facing an overcall, and I can see the logic in using them by a passed hand — but I would not advocate them in any other sequences.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ J-2, ♥ A-K-9-7-6, ♦ 9-7-4, ♣ A-Q-10, I opened one heart and heard one spade on my left. When this came back to me, I doubled for takeout. My partner passed and my RHO now rescued himself. Since I have a decent hand, should I have doubled a rescue in either minor, or is it better to pass and await developments?
— Ax-Wielder, Detroit, Mich.
ANSWER: Despite holding only three clubs, you have just enough in defensive tricks to double a run-out to that suit. But I would never double a diamond call with such weak trumps. Wait for partner to act if he can.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
You recently wrote that it is not a reverse if you open one club, then rebid two diamonds after an overcall of one heart and a negative double from partner. If your partner had responded one heart and you had then bid two diamonds, would this have been a reverse? Or do you just play reverses when the second suit is a major?
— Strong Poison, Worcester, Mass.
ANSWER: You got the distinction absolutely right at your first try. Without the double, the two-diamond bid would have been a reverse. Key here is that when partner asks you to bid a suit and you do so as here without a jump, it just suggests a nonmaximum hand, together with that suit. In an uncontested auction, bidding a lower-ranking suit, then a higher-ranking suit at a higher level, would constitute a reverse and thus show real extras. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was in fourth seat with ♠ 4-3, ♥ K-8-2, ♦ K-Q-10-7-4, ♣ 6-3-2. LHO had opened with a weak two hearts, doubled by my partner. We play no conventional responses here, so I just bid three diamonds and played there, missing game in no-trump or diamonds. What could I have done?
— Undercooked, Tupelo, Miss.
ANSWER: If two no-trump was natural, I might have gambled it out, although I realize that this could look very silly. But the simplest way around the problem is to use two no-trump as a transfer to three clubs (to show a weak hand in clubs or diamonds), while a direct call of three diamonds shows an invitational hand. This is an extension of a popular convention called Lebensohl.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My RHO opened one diamond, and I held ♠ A-K-10-2, ♥ Q-J, ♦ K-Q, ♣ Q-J-6-3-2. All of my choices at this point seemed bad. What call do you think is appropriate?
— Salvage Job, East Brunswick, N.J.
ANSWER: I would overcall one no-trump. The hand is a little strong but the red-suit honors are emphatically not pulling their weight. Two clubs and one spade are both wrong (though neither is impossible) because of suit length and quality issues. Even a double is not out — although if partner bids hearts, I would have to bid clubs, not no-trump. (The latter would show 18-20 balanced, but a better diamond stop than this.)
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Has the recent decline in the economy affected the major tournaments around the world? Are all the championships still scheduled to take place?
— Budget Conscious, Bristol, Conn.
ANSWER: There is considerable belt-tightening in the major events, but so far none of them been canceled. However, a few have been rearranged. For example the 2010 event in Saint Petersburg, Russia, may be moved to the United States if adequate funding can be guaranteed. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
July 18th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 5 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
K Q 7 4 |
| ♦ |
K Q J |
| ♣ |
A 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 10 6 |
♠ |
9 8 7 3 |
| ♥ |
5 3 |
♥ |
J 9 8 6 |
| ♦ |
10 9 4 2 |
♦ |
5 3 |
| ♣ |
J 10 6 5 |
♣ |
Q 7 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q J |
| ♥ |
A 10 2 |
| ♦ |
A 8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
K 9 8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♦ |
Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
6 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: You decide!
“Success is like some horrible disaster
Worse than your house burning.”
— Malcolm Lowry
In choosing an opening lead against six no-trump I wavered before settling on a disastrous heart. Afterwards I was meditating on the futility of life, when a colleague pointed out that he had made the contract on a low club lead.
Declarer won dummy’s club ace and took a spade finesse. West won and continued with the club jack. This marked West with an original holding of at least four clubs, for had he started with J-10-x, he would have led the jack, and with jack-third he would not have risked playing a second club. Declarer now cashed his spades, noting that both opponents followed throughout. He then played three rounds of diamonds, discovering that West had begun with four.
Since West had four diamonds, four clubs and at least three spades he was known to have at most two hearts while East had at least four. It was therefore odds-on to tackle hearts by playing low to the 10, as East was more than twice as likely as West to hold the jack.
As an aside, do you know what the best play of the hearts is, in abstract? Cashing the top honors is best, while playing the king or queen first and then taking a finesse is next best. The first-round finesse, as recommended above, is a straightforward 50-50 chance. However, the percentages are so close that any knowledge about the opponents’ distribution in the side-suits (as here) may tip the balance.
ANSWER: Partner’s sequence shows 18-19 or so. Despite your sterile distribution, you have enough to drive to slam. A simple call of six no-trump looks right. Note, incidentally, that had partner jumped to three no-trump, that would have suggested good long clubs, not a balanced hand. You might then have opted to play six clubs.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
5 4 2 |
| ♥ |
K Q 7 4 |
| ♦ |
K Q J |
| ♣ |
A 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
1♠ |
| Dbl. |
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].
|
Subscribe to our feed
Bridge-related