July 7th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 
| Dealer: West
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K Q 9 3 |
| ♦ |
5 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
4 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
Q 10 6 2 |
♠ |
9 8 |
| ♥ |
A 8 6 5 |
♥ |
J 7 4 |
| ♦ |
K Q 10 |
♦ |
A J 9 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 |
♣ |
J 8 7 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 7 |
| ♥ |
10 2 |
| ♦ |
8 7 |
| ♣ |
A K 9 5 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♦ |
Pass |
2♦ |
| 3♣ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦ K
“The things we know best are those we have not learned.”
— Marquis de Vauvenargues
A deal from Eddie Kantar’s most recent book, “Take Your Tricks,” demonstrates that sometimes the count in one suit leads to an exact count in all four suits.
Consider today’s three-club contract: the clue is in the opening bid. Once you see six diamonds between your hand and dummy, you have a complete count of both opponents’ hands. East would not raise a minor suit in an uncompetitive auction without at least four-card support, so West must have three diamonds, and therefore should be 4-4 in the majors with a doubleton club. Knowing this might help you in the play, to say the least!
The defenders play three rounds of diamonds (East contributing the ace on the third round). You ruff and cash two top clubs (very happy to see the 10 and queen appear from West since that leaves you with a tenace over East) and lead a heart to dummy. Now you ruff a diamond low as West discards. You have reduced your trumps to two, the same number that East has left.
You play a second heart now, and West can do no better than win and exit with a spade. You win in hand, cross to a top spade in dummy, and lead the heart queen, intending to pitch your last spade. East must follow suit helplessly, and now in the two-card ending the lead is in the North hand. You lead a plain card from dummy and must score your club nine en passant.
ANSWER: Partner’s jump to three hearts is invitational, suggesting 10-11 points and a six-card suit. You may be minimum in high cards, but your doubleton trump and excellent controls make this a clear raise to game. A doubleton trump may not sound great — but it is much better than it might be!
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 7 |
| ♥ |
10 2 |
| ♦ |
8 7 |
| ♣ |
A K 9 5 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♥
|
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 6th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, June 22, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 10 6 5 |
| ♥ |
A K 8 7 6 |
| ♦ |
Q |
| ♣ |
A 5 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
2 |
♠ |
4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 10 9 |
♥ |
J 5 |
| ♦ |
J 9 8 7 6 |
♦ |
A 10 5 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
10 9 8 7 |
♣ |
J 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q J 9 8 7 |
| ♥ |
4 3 2 |
| ♦ |
K |
| ♣ |
K Q 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
6♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣10
“The surest way to prevent seditions (if the times do bear it) is to take away the matter of them.”
— Francis Bacon
One of the terms bandied about in the world of bridge is “strip and endplay.” It is a strategy in which declarer removes all the potentially inconvenient exit-cards from the defenders, then puts them on lead to open up a suit they would rather not have to play.
Sometimes, as today’s deal demonstrates, it may not always be possible to strip a side suit entirely from both your hand and dummy. Still, a partial strip is better than no strip at all.
For example, you arrive at a contract of six spades and West leads the club 10. How can you possibly avoid losing one trick in each red suit? The answer is that there are no guarantees, but you do have a play that will give you a sporting chance.
You draw trumps, strip off the clubs, play the two top hearts, and exit with a diamond. If the player with the diamond ace has no more hearts, a ruff and sluff will be coming your way. You will be able to discard your losing heart while ruffing in dummy.
To succeed in your slam, you needed a specific lie of the hearts. But note that if you do not cash the two top hearts, then when East wins his diamond ace, he exits in hearts, and you must lose a heart at the end.
ANSWER: This double suggests a heart stack, or just general suspicion that the cards are lying badly for declarer. It is not an absolute command to lead a heart, but it does suggest not leading a diamond unless your own hand tells you it is right, which is not the case today. Start with the heart eight. It is unlikely to do something for declarer that he cannot do for himself.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
8 5 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 7 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
| Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
3♣ |
| Pass |
3 NT |
Dbl. |
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 5th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, June 21, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
To handle interference after partner’s one-no-trump opening, you recommended using “systems on” over a two-club overcall, with a double as Stayman (unless this call shows majors) and to double any natural overcall for takeout but to treat a double of any artificial call as card-showing. Does this apply if we use weak no-trumps? And how many points do you need to double?
— Running Interference, Texarkana, Texas
ANSWER: I’d use the same methods over both weak and strong no-trumps. The weakest hand for a double of two clubs could be quite light — but one must bear in mind that partner can pass. I’d double a natural call if I was short in the opponent’s suit and thought our side had half the deck. If we have a fit, who needs HCP? Partner only passes with trumps — a four-card suit is enough, though.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In a recent column declarer held ♠ K-Q-J-9-7-4, ♥ K-4, ♦ A-K-Q-3, ♣ 10 and opened one spade. Would you consider driving the hand to game by opening two clubs?
— Onwards and Upwards, Harrisburg, Pa.
ANSWER: I’m strongly against shading the two-club opener if I need an ace from partner to make game. Remember, if he has a trick, he is likely to respond to you. The problem with light game-forcing actions is that partner with high cards will take you seriously and go beyond the safe level, looking for slam. There ARE hands where opening one spade will miss game, but few enough that I’ll put that down to bad luck.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Declarer and his partner each had 13 cards, but one opponent had 14 cards and the other 12. It was not noticed until 10 tricks had been played, at which point the contract had gone down two tricks. Is there any penalty, or is it just a redeal?
— Uneven Steven, Palo Alto, Calif.
ANSWER: In rubber bridge this is just a plain old misdeal. For the record, Law 10c covers the discovery (before the end of play) that one player has too many or too few cards and mandates a misdeal. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Should my response of two hearts be forcing after my partner overcalls two diamonds over one spade? There was total disagreement among the five experts I consulted.
— Five Experts, Six Opinions; Grand Forks, N.D.
ANSWER: While this is all about partnership agreement, I believe that facing an overcall at the one-level, new suits are encouraging; jumps are natural and forcing.
Facing a two-level overcall, new suits are forcing; jumps are fit-showing. Never use weak jumps in new suits facing overcalls! But raises and jump raises are weak, so you must cue-bid for all limit raises or better.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ 4, ♥ Q-4, ♦ A-Q-J-9-3-2, ♣ K-J-4-2, I opened one diamond and heard a response of one heart. How do you feel about rebidding two diamonds as opposed to two clubs? Whichever call you choose, partner will bid two spades, which we play as forcing on me at this and future turns. What now?
— Minor Leaguer, Durham, N.C.
ANSWER: You ask a tough question. If my clubs were slightly better or my diamonds slightly worse, I would bid two clubs confidently. As it is, I still do so, but less confidently. Over the two-spade call, I repeat my diamonds if I had rebid two clubs, but introduce the clubs if I had rebid diamonds. I am not prepared to support hearts, but plan to do so next. |
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 4th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, June 20, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A 4 3 |
| ♥ |
A 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 7 5 |
| ♣ |
K 10 6 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K Q J 8 2 |
♠ |
10 7 5 |
| ♥ |
9 5 |
♥ |
J 8 4 |
| ♦ |
K Q 8 2 |
♦ |
10 9 6 |
| ♣ |
J 3 |
♣ |
9 8 5 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
9 6 |
| ♥ |
K Q 10 7 6 |
| ♦ |
A 4 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
1♠ |
2♠* |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 4 NT |
Pass |
5♥ |
Pass |
| 6♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| *Game-forcing heart raise |
Opening Lead:♠K
“A masterpiece of fiction is an original world and as such is not likely to fit the world of the reader.”
— Vladimir Nabokov
Today’s deal, played by Tim Seres (1925-2007), truly deserves to be called a masterpiece.
When I was asked how I would play this deal in six hearts, I struggled to find a possible lie of the cards that might bring home the contract, knowing it was a problem, and seeing all four hands. Seres found the line at the table, looking only at his own hand and dummy.
Reaching slam was hardly mandatory — North had overbid. In primitive rubber style, the cue-bid followed by the raise to game should have promised an ace more than North actually had.
After the spade king was led to dummy’s ace, Seres saw he needed West to have two hearts and the doubleton club jack along with both top diamond honors. East’s small spade at the first trick suggested that he had three spades.
Seres cashed four rounds of hearts immediately, then took four rounds of clubs to shake the spade loser from his hand. In the four-card ending, North had a small spade and jack-third of diamonds, and declarer had a trump and ace-third of diamonds. But what four cards was West to keep?
To keep the diamonds properly guarded, West was compelled to reduce to only one spade. Reading the ending, Seres ruffed dummy’s spade to hand and exited with a low diamond. West won and was endplayed to lead away from his remaining diamond honor. Contract made!
ANSWER: Your two-heart call showed a limit raise or better in clubs; your partner’s pass suggested a minimum balanced hand. (He would have acted with a good hand and would have repeated clubs with a minimum shapely hand.) You should therefore not drive to game, but just bid two no-trump, suggesting a balanced hand of about this strength. Let partner decide where to go, if anywhere, from here.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 4 3 |
| ♥ |
A 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 7 5 |
| ♣ |
K 10 6 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
1♥ |
| 2♥ |
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 3rd, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 7 2 |
| ♥ |
A 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q |
| ♣ |
A J 7 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q J 9 8 5 |
♠ |
A 6 4 3 |
| ♥ |
9 2 |
♥ |
K 8 6 |
| ♦ |
7 5 |
♦ |
K 10 9 6 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 6 5 |
♣ |
4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
10 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 4 |
| ♦ |
J 8 4 2 |
| ♣ |
K 9 8 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Dbl. |
| 1♥ |
1♠ |
3♥ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦7
“I was a modest, good-humored boy. It is Oxford that has made me insufferable.”
— Max Beerbohm
The site for the smaller world championships has recently tended to be outside Europe and America, because the logistics of organizing such events devolves naturally to the countries with a smaller member base.
The last World Junior Teams Championships in the United States took place in Florida in 1999, and the European contingent, as usual, came to the fore. Three of the four European teams made it through to the semifinals, where Italy beat Israel and USA2 beat Denmark. In the finals Italy won comfortably, demonstrating that they and Poland are the major forces in European bridge now and in the near future.
Even the one European team that failed to qualify, Norway, had its moments, missing out by just one qualifying place. The following board against Brazil showed Boye Brogeland (now a seasoned international) at his best. In the other room his teammates had sacrificed with the East-West cards in four spades doubled, for minus 100. But Brogeland (South) played four hearts after East had doubled one club.
On the diamond-seven lead to the queen and king and a diamond back, Brogeland led a heart to the queen, then played a heart to the ace and a heart back. He won the diamond 10 with his jack, and when West discarded, Boye saw that East’s hand-pattern was likely to be 4-3-5-1. So he cashed the club king and finessed the club seven at the next trick. Contract made, and a big swing to Norway.
ANSWER: Did you jump to three no-trump? That is the natural thing to do, but if you think about it a little more, the way to show this hand precisely is to bid two no-trump. After all, with 15-17 you would have opened one no-trump, so if you jump in no-trump, it shows 18-19. What is a jump to three no-trump?It shows a long solid or semisolid club suit and a heart stopper.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 7 2 |
| ♥ |
A 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
A Q |
| ♣ |
A J 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
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].
July 2nd, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, June 18, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K J 6 |
| ♥ |
A 8 5 |
| ♦ |
A K 7 6 |
| ♣ |
9 5 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
— |
♠ |
8 7 5 2 |
| ♥ |
K Q J 10 9 7 4 3 |
♥ |
— |
| ♦ |
9 3 |
♦ |
Q 8 5 4 |
| ♣ |
K 6 4 |
♣ |
J 10 8 7 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 10 9 4 3 |
| ♥ |
6 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
4♥ |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥K
“This is the hardest of all: to close the open hand out of love and keep modest as a giver.”
— Friedrich Nietzsche
At the Dyspeptics Club, South’s high opinion of his own declarer-play skills is matched only by North’s low opinion. In today’s deal North was a little concerned that he might have missed a slam. So he was less than pleased when declarer went down in game.
Against four spades West led the heart king, and without giving the matter much thought, South called for the ace from dummy. Declarer looked aggrieved when East ruffed, and even more so when the club jack was returned. The queen lost to the king, West cashed a heart, and eventually South lost a diamond to go one light.
Four hearts was a big bid for West to make, vulnerable, and South should have guarded against the bid being based on an eight-card suit. Declarer can afford to play low on the heart lead, and low again on the heart continuation. Should a third heart be played, East ruffs the ace, but South overruffs, pulls trumps, then runs the diamond 10. Although this loses to East’s queen, there is now a diamond available on which to discard the club loser, and declarer’s losses are held to two hearts and one diamond.
Nor does it help the defense if East trumps his partner’s second heart lead and returns a club. South rises with the ace, then draws trumps, again losing just three tricks since a loser can be pitched on the heart ace.
ANSWER: Your partner’s call, opposite your balanced raise to game suggesting 13-15 points, indicates he has slam interest and a good club suit. Your club support may be weak, but your controls are superb and you have a maximum in high cards. So cue-bid four diamonds and be prepared to cooperate in any slam venture.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K J 6 |
| ♥ |
A 8 5 |
| ♦ |
A K 7 6 |
| ♣ |
9 5 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
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 1st, 2009 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A |
| ♥ |
A Q J 6 |
| ♦ |
10 7 4 |
| ♣ |
9 7 6 3 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K J 8 7 6 4 |
♠ |
10 9 5 3 |
| ♥ |
10 7 |
♥ |
8 5 4 3 |
| ♦ |
A 9 5 |
♦ |
Q 8 3 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q |
♣ |
J |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q 2 |
| ♥ |
K 9 2 |
| ♦ |
K J 6 |
| ♣ |
A 10 8 5 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
1♠ |
Dbl. |
2♠ |
| Pass |
Pass |
4♣ |
Pass |
| 5♣ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠7
“In such cases instead of getting bogged down in guesswork, I repeat the words of the merry king in my favorite fairy tale: ‘Which arrow flies forever? The arrow that has hit its mark.”
— Vladimir Nabokov
It may be a truism, but if there is a safe route to your contract — one which eliminates guesswork — then that is the best route to follow.
Consider Tor Helness of Norway, who was at the helm here against Italy. At one table, Helness’ teammate had been set 500 in four spades doubled, but in the other room the Italians did not compete beyond the two-level, and Tor Helness became declarer in five clubs. To produce a small gain instead of a big loss, can you find the best route to 11 tricks?
A trump trick has to be lost, and although one of South’s diamonds can be discarded on dummy’s fourth heart, at first sight it seems that a successful guess in diamonds is needed. However, should West be the player with the doubleton club honor, he can be endplayed.
Helness won the spade lead, played a club to his ace, then ruffed the spade queen to eliminate that suit. Four rounds of hearts came next, and it would not have helped West’s cause to ruff with his master trump, as he would then have been endplayed. Refusing to do so only delayed the inevitable, however, for Helness then threw him in with the club king.
West was left with the choice of playing a diamond, which would guarantee declarer a trick in the suit, or presenting him with a ruff and discard, in which case a diamond would disappear from hand.
ANSWER: You obviously have enough to go to game — in fact, your hand is hugely suitable for slam. But letting partner know about your club ft and spade control is not easy. My choice would be to bid four spades now — a jump to three spades would be a splinter in support of clubs, but this sequence shows no spade loser. After that I would trust my partner if he signed off in five clubs.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A |
| ♥ |
A Q J 6 |
| ♦ |
10 7 4 |
| ♣ |
9 7 6 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
1♠ |
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].
June 30th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, June 16, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 3 |
| ♥ |
10 3 |
| ♦ |
A K 10 8 7 5 |
| ♣ |
K 10 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 9 7 2 |
♠ |
A |
| ♥ |
7 5 2 |
♥ |
K 9 8 6 4 |
| ♦ |
6 4 2 |
♦ |
J 3 |
| ♣ |
J 9 4 |
♣ |
A 8 5 3 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 10 8 6 5 4 |
| ♥ |
A Q J |
| ♦ |
Q 9 |
| ♣ |
Q 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
1♦ |
2 NT |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥7
“Sciences may be learned by rote, but wisdom not.”
— Laurence Sterne
In today’s spade game the natural play in trumps appears to be a lead to the queen. It seems to be the best way to unblock the suit (and indeed that would be so if, say, South’s eight were the nine). This approach would also pay dividends if West had a singleton honor.
But what if the auction had suggested that if anybody had a singleton honor, it would be East? Now the approach taken might have to be rather different. When Sally Brock debuted for Great Britain against the Polish women in Lausanne in 1979, she was confronted with just such a position, and was not found wanting.
With the heart finesse sure to work (given the auction), four spades seems to hinge on holding the trump losers to two. Sally won the lead of the heart seven cheaply in hand and played the club queen. When East won and returned a heart, Sally finessed again. This was not a practice finesse but an attempt to preserve her side’s trumps. Then she crossed to dummy with a top club and led a low spade, protecting against the very trump distribution that existed at the table.
South’s ace collected only the two, three and four — commonly known as a wish-trick — and Sally had certainly had her wish granted. All the defense could collect was one subsequent trump trick. As you can see, the natural play of leading the first round of trumps to the queen and ace would have created an extra trump loser.
ANSWER: Pass. You should only be tempted to compete further in auctions like this with real extras in high cards or shape. You have shown your hand nicely with the overcall; now leave it up to partner in case he has reserves. Do not tell the same story twice.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 3 |
| ♥ |
10 3 |
| ♦ |
A K 10 8 7 5 |
| ♣ |
K 10 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| 2♦ |
2♥ |
3♦ |
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].
June 29th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, June 15, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q 4 3 |
| ♥ |
J 5 |
| ♦ |
A Q 10 3 |
| ♣ |
7 5 4 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 9 8 2 |
♠ |
K J 7 |
| ♥ |
9 |
♥ |
10 8 6 |
| ♦ |
8 4 2 |
♦ |
K J 9 |
| ♣ |
K J 9 8 6 |
♣ |
A Q 10 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 6 5 |
| ♥ |
A K Q 7 4 3 2 |
| ♦ |
7 6 5 |
| ♣ |
— |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♠10
“I found myself in a dark wood, for the straight way was lost.”
— Dante Alighieri
After North’s one-no-trump response, South has no way to find out if partner’s values are in the right suits — diamonds and spades. It seems like a logical gamble to bid four hearts. However, if South’s second bid were only three hearts, North would have adequate values to bid four hearts.
How should you play the hand on the lead of the spade 10? The compulsive finesse taker will have to decide which finesses to take and which to avoid.
With both diamond honors offside, South will be set if he plays dummy’s spade queen at the first trick. Instead he should win the spade ace, draw trumps in three rounds, then lead a diamond to dummy’s 10. He can ruff the club return and take another diamond finesse. Even though that loses, the 3-3 diamond split means he no longer requires the spade king to be onside — and a good thing too, as the cards lie.
If by chance East had both diamond honors and the suit does not split, South can later fall back on the spade play by leading toward the dummy’s queen
In summary, by playing low from dummy and winning the spade ace, declarer overcomes the poor lie of the diamond honors whenever diamonds divide 3-3 OR if the spade king is right. Rising with the spade queen means he can not exploit the favorable diamond split, because the defenders take four tricks before he can take his discard.
ANSWER: This double sounds as if it requires an unusual lead — either a diamond or a club. Since you MIGHT have led a diamond without the double, it looks right to lead a club. Lead a middle spot card to dissuade partner from underleading his heart ace if he ruffs the lead!
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
3 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 4 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 7 5 |
| ♣ |
9 6 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
1♥ |
1♠ |
| 3♥ |
4♠ |
Pass |
6♠ |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
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].
June 28th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, June 14, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
A term often seen in your columns is “endplay.” Please explain how that works.
— Daily Gleaner, Dodge City, Kan.
ANSWER: One little known fact about bridge is that you can NEVER gain from leading a suit yourself, as opposed to having the opponents play it. An endplay results when you deliberately lose a trick to an opponent so that he is forced either to lead a danger suit for you, or to do something equally unpalatable such as give you a ruff-sluff.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
As dealer, holding ♠ 10-7-4-2, ♥ A-K-Q-J-4, ♦ 7-3, ♣ 9-8, I opened two diamonds, duly alerted and explained as Flannery. When dummy came down, the director was called and re-summoned at the end of the deal. (We went down 200, but our opponents could have made five clubs.) Was he correct to adjust our score?
— Stolen Bid, Princeton, N.J.
ANSWER: You can always use your judgment to upgrade or downgrade hands, though once you have a partnership history of such actions, you may need to alert and explain them. That said, to adjust a score, the director needs to find both an infraction and damage. Here there was neither! You elected to upgrade your hand and that kept your opponents out. Too many people nit-pick because they see a variation of this sort. They have to learn this is just random good or bad luck.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Recently you ran a problem in which your partner overcalled in one suit and then, after you raised that suit, bid a second suit. What does the call in the second suit signify?
— Side Trip, Saint John, New Brunswick
ANSWER: Since a suit has been agreed upon, the call of a second suit should be a try for game, looking to find a maximum hand opposite, or to locate a good fit in that second suit — an action often referred to as a help-suit try. The ideal holding with which to make such an effort would be three or four cards to one top honor. Fitting holdings opposite would be length with at least two of the top four cards, or shortage and extra trump length. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Is there any merit to limiting Stayman to hands of at least game-invitational strength? That way opener can make his normal response with a minimum or medium hand and jump to the three-level with any maximum — or perhaps with a five-card suit.
— Stayman With a Twist, Greenville, S.C.
ANSWER: There are two disadvantages to your suggestion. The first is that you can’t stop at the two-level when responder is weak with both majors. And if you use Stayman on strong hands with a long minor and a four-card major, opener’s rebid will take you beyond your comfort level. Your approach has merit after a balancing no-trump, though. Advancer won’t have a good hand with a long suit or he would have bid already. And the range of the balancing no-trump is wider.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner, in fourth seat, opened one diamond. I held ♠ K-10-8-7-4, ♥ K-6-4, ♦ 9, ♣ Q-J-6-4 and responded one spade. What should I have done over my partner’s rebid of one no-trump? Should I have passed, rebid my spades, or stretched to use the New Minor (suggesting 10-plus points)?
— Quandary, Indio, Calif.
ANSWER: If you believe that with a moderate balanced hand but three decent spades partner might pass one spade quite often or even raise spades, then you should probably pass one no-trump. Partner won’t have three good spades unless he has a maximum or has decent cards in the other suits. The decision is close between passing and reverting to two spades — the New Minor is too much of a stretch. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
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