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].
July 17th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, July 3, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A J 9 8 6 3 2 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
10 7 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 3 |
♠ |
Q J 8 6 5 |
| ♥ |
Q |
♥ |
K 10 7 |
| ♦ |
K Q 10 9 6 |
♦ |
A J 4 2 |
| ♣ |
K 8 6 5 2 |
♣ |
4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 9 7 |
| ♥ |
5 4 |
| ♦ |
8 7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q J 9 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT* |
Pass |
4♦ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♦K
“The best is the best, though a hundred judges have declared it so.”
— Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch
In today’s deal look at just the North-South cards and decide how you would play four hearts.
When South opened a weak no-trump, North thought it would be better for his partner to be declarer, so transferred into hearts at the four-level. (These days the expert community plays a two-level transfer followed by a jump to game as a mild slam-try.)
West led the diamond king and declarer proceeded as most of us would have done. He ruffed in the dummy and cashed the heart ace. When West’s queen dropped, he turned his attention to clubs, running the 10, which lost to West’s king. West now switched to the spade 10. Declarer won and played clubs, but East ruffed immediately and continued spades. When declarer played a third round of clubs, East ruffed with his king and cashed a spade, putting declarer one down.
Unlucky, you might say — the game would have made if either hearts or clubs had behaved better. But declarer was actually slightly careless. Suppose, instead of finessing in clubs, he plays a club to his ace, followed by the club queen. West wins and switches to a spade as before. But declarer wins and plays the club jack, which East ruffs to continue spades. The difference now is that declarer has an established club on which to throw dummy’s last spade. East ruffs impotently with his trump trick, and the contract is made.
ANSWER: Bid five clubs now. Your partner has shown opening values and must have at least six clubs to overcall with what you know to be a poor suit. If he has four spades as well, your fitting cards should get you close to 11 tricks, even if he is at the bottom of his range.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A 9 7 |
| ♥ |
5 4 |
| ♦ |
8 7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q J 9 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
July 16th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, July 2, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
7 4 |
| ♥ |
8 5 2 |
| ♦ |
A 10 5 |
| ♣ |
K Q 9 7 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 8 3 2 |
♠ |
5 |
| ♥ |
J 10 3 |
♥ |
Q 9 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 8 3 |
♦ |
K 9 6 4 |
| ♣ |
10 8 5 |
♣ |
A J 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K J 10 9 6 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
J 7 2 |
| ♣ |
6 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥J
“Actors must practice restraint, else think what might happen in a love scene.”
— Cedric Hardwicke
Against four spades partner leads the heart jack to declarer’s king. At trick two, the club six is played to dummy’s king, partner following with the five. Do you jump on this trick?
If you win the trick, it looks best to return a second heart to the ace. Declarer next plays three rounds of trump, West’s queen winning the third. Partner must play a diamond now, hoping that you have the K-J, in which case you could dislodge dummy’s diamond ace, the entry to the long clubs.
However, you can do no better than win the diamond king and exit with a heart, which declarer ruffs. He then draws the last trump and ruffs the clubs good. The diamond ace remains as an entry to dummy; 10 tricks made.
The key to the defense was partner’s card at trick two. His play of the club five shows an odd number of clubs, so you know the club suit is distributed 5-3-2-3 around the table. (With 10-8-5-4, for example, he should have played the eight to give you the count as clearly as possible.)
If you allow the club king to win trick two, declarer requires two more entries to dummy, one to set up the clubs and one to enjoy the suit. Since the diamond ace is his only entry, he will have no way to access dummy’s winners, assuming best defense. Not capturing honors with honors kills a re-entry within the suit itself and defeats the game.
ANSWER: West’s double calls for East to lead his shorter or weaker major and suggests West has a solid major or the equivalent and a side entry. Since whichever major East leads will find you with nothing, are you prepared to sit this one out and risk a sizable penalty? Run to four clubs and live to fight another day.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 4 |
| ♥ |
8 5 2 |
| ♦ |
A 10 5 |
| ♣ |
K Q 9 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 NT |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
Dbl. |
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 15th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
10 9 8 7 |
| ♥ |
Q J 2 |
| ♦ |
8 2 |
| ♣ |
K J 9 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q |
♠ |
J 4 2 |
| ♥ |
10 9 6 3 |
♥ |
K 8 5 |
| ♦ |
A J 9 6 |
♦ |
K 10 7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
10 8 4 3 |
♣ |
A 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 6 5 3 |
| ♥ |
A 7 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 4 |
| ♣ |
Q 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
3♣* |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| *Four spades and 6-9 points |
Opening Lead:♥3
“A hard beginning maketh a good ending.”
— John Heywood
Bridge is a complex game, and the pressure on top-level players is enormous. Consequently, the play in world championship finals is often not of the best. Today’s deal is an example. One team stopped in a spade partscore and collected 10 tricks. The other side bid to game, so there was more at stake.
A heart was led to the queen, king and ace. Declarer cashed the spade ace and led a club to the king and ace. East returned a heart, which declarer won in the dummy. He finessed in spades, drew the last trump, and cashed the club queen. In the light of West’s spade shortage, declarer guessed to play a club to dummy’s nine, thus landing his vulnerable game.
An excellent result, but East made a fairly elementary mistake when he covered the heart queen at trick one. His partner would not be underleading an ace here, so declarer had to hold the ace. In such a situation it is nearly always wrong to cover the first honor — and not just because declarer sometimes has the singleton ace.
Suppose East plays low at trick one and dummy’s queen wins. Declarer plays a spade to his king and leads a club as before. East takes the trick and plays a diamond, allowing West to win and play a second heart. Now East covers dummy’s jack; declarer cannot both play clubs correctly and pick up East’s trumps, so must go one down.
ANSWER: My suggested methods when the opponents intervene over your side’s no-trump opening include doublinh for takeout. Doing so may let the odd penalty double get away, but more often than not, you will find yourself far better placed to compete. And if opener reopens when he is short in their suit, you will end up penalizing the opponents most of the time that it can be done.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 9 8 7 |
| ♥ |
Q J 2 |
| ♦ |
8 2 |
| ♣ |
K J 9 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1 NT |
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 14th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q |
| ♥ |
8 7 4 3 2 |
| ♦ |
A |
| ♣ |
A 8 7 5 4 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 7 4 2 |
♠ |
9 8 |
| ♥ |
A K 6 |
♥ |
Q J 10 5 |
| ♦ |
8 5 |
♦ |
K 7 6 4 2 |
| ♣ |
Q J 9 3 |
♣ |
K 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K J 6 5 3 |
| ♥ |
9 |
| ♦ |
Q J 10 9 3 |
| ♣ |
10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥K
“Be prepared, be sharp, be careful, and use the King’s English well. And you can forget all the [other rules] unless you remember one more: Get paid.”
— Robert N.C. Nix
Bidding the South hand scientifically would be beyond most of us. In third seat, however, tactical considerations are paramount. The issue is not just what is your side’s best contract, but where the opponents might play if you gave them a chance to explore. To prevent them from finding their best fit, the pre-emptive opening gives you two ways to win. Four spades might be your best spot, and it might make your opponents’ lives hard.
When West leads two top hearts, South trumps the second and can see that he must establish his diamond suit without losing control of the trump suit. Although he started life with all the high trumps, he does run the risk of losing the lead twice more and then being forced if he is not careful.
Therefore, after cashing the diamond ace, he must overtake dummy’s spade queen and draw three rounds of trump — promoting a trump for West, but saving a vital tempo. Now declarer drives out the diamond king and is sure of a re-entry to his hand to cash his remaining diamonds.
If declarer cashes the spade queen and gets back to his hand by trumping a heart or club from dummy, he loses control of the hand and can be set so long as the defenders lead hearts or clubs at every opportunity.
Any declarer who cashed the ace, king and jack of spades and discarded dummy’s diamond ace had the right idea, but unfortunately this line fails when diamonds divide 5-2.
ANSWER: Your partner has suggested extra shape but not necessarily extras in high cards. In fact, he is quite likely to have a minimum. Your first action guaranteed that you had at least a nine-count. In context you have a minimum, so you have no need to bid more than two spades now. If partner passes, you will be quite high enough!
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 7 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A K 6 |
| ♦ |
8 5 |
| ♣ |
Q J 9 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦
|
Dbl. |
| Rdbl. |
1♥ |
1♠ |
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 13th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, June 29, 2009
| Dealer: North
Vul: Both |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 2 |
| ♥ |
6 5 4 |
| ♦ |
A K 3 |
| ♣ |
A Q 9 4 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 9 5 4 3 |
♠ |
Q 10 6 |
| ♥ |
J |
♥ |
K Q 8 2 |
| ♦ |
J 10 8 6 2 |
♦ |
Q 9 7 4 |
| ♣ |
6 2 |
♣ |
8 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 7 |
| ♥ |
A 10 9 7 3 |
| ♦ |
5 |
| ♣ |
K J 10 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
1 NT |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♦J
“Necessity and chance
Approach not me, and what I will is fate.”
— John Milton
Are more contracts lost by drawing trump too late or too early? It is hard to say, but a little learning can often be a dangerous thing.
One standard bridge play is to generate extra trump tricks by ruffing losers in the short-trump hand. When those losers can be discarded on other winners, such plays may be unnecessary at best and at worst countereffective. In today’s heart game, South has a third-round spade loser. There are two ways to get rid of it: on dummy’s diamonds or on the fifth club. The key here is to avoid losing too many trump tricks.
Accordingly, South wins the diamond lead in dummy and does NOT cash the second diamond — there will be time enough for that later on. His sole focus will be to hold his trump losers to two. The best way to do that is not to lay down the ace — that would look silly if East had a small singleton trump — but to lead to the 10. West will be happy to win his bare trump jack and will elect to defend passively by returning a diamond (although a spade would have forced declarer to rely on a trump break). Declarer wins the second diamond on the board, pitching a spade, and leads a heart, covering East’s card. South still has a spare trump to ruff the next diamond and can draw trumps successfully.
ANSWER: There is no reason to lead anything but a diamond. My choice would be the seven (the four may be too tough for partner to read). This way, partner should be able to avoid finessing against dummy and losing a trick to a singleton honor in declarer’s hand.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
10 4 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 2 |
| ♦ |
7 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A J 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦
|
1♠ |
| 2♦
|
2♠ |
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 12th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, June 28, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
Several of your recent columns showed unorthodox responses to Blackwood four no-trump, For example, there was a five-spade response from a hand that held only two aces. On January 13th a five-club response was explained as showing two aces and the trump king. I am confused!
— Easy Aces, Troy, N.Y.
ANSWER: These days many advanced players use Roman Key-Card Blackwood, where the trump king counts as a fifth ace, Steps are 0 or 3, 1 or 4, 2 without the trump queen, two with the trump queen. You can ask your partner for the trump queen after the first two responses, which have neither promised nor denied that card. These methods generally improve slam bidding — if you can remember the responses and count key-cards. Not all of us can do so.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ K-7-5-2, ♥ 7, ♦ A-K-Q-J-2, ♣ 10-8-5. After one heart is bid on my right, what should I do? If I double and partner bids two clubs (my partners always seem to bid my short suits) and I then bid two diamonds, am I not showing a stronger hand — about 18 points?
— Imperfect World, Janesville, Wis.
ANSWER: A lot depends on style. In my book you would indeed be showing real extras (which you do not have). If you bid again. I would therefore pass two clubs — partner has, after all, bid the suit. It may not be our best fit, but it should be playable. Some people play Equal Level Conversion, meaning a two-diamond call here would not show extras, but would be precisely this sort of hand.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ —, ♥ A-K-Q-6-4, ♦ K-9-6-3, ♣ A-K-7-2, and heard my partner open three diamonds. Is there any way my partner and I could have reached a grand slam? When I used Blackwood and found one ace, I was not prepared to bid seven – but, naturally, partner had the diamond ace and seven was laydown.
— Lying Low, Bellingham, Wash.
ANSWER: In response to an opening bid at any level, a jump to five no-trump is a Grand Slam Force. It asks partner to look solely at trump honors. With two he goes to the grand slam. Opinions differ as to how to handle other cases, but a simple way is to say that you don’t go past six of the trump suit with one, but the more you bid the more you have. So if diamonds are trumps as here, six clubs would say no honors or the queen, six diamonds would promise the ace or king. If hearts were trumps, the scale would be 0,1,ace or king plus extra length. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What is required of a player who discovers he has revoked? Must he say something? And if he revokes again (accidentally or deliberately), what is the penalty?
— Two-Time Loser, Honolulu, Hawaii
ANSWER: The laws forbid a player to deliberately conceal a first revoke by revoking again. If you discover you have a card left, you must follow suit the next time. But you are also not required to say anything if you find you have revoked. The second accidental revoke does NOT carry a new revoke penalty. The first revoke is the only one that counts for the purposes of creating a penalty.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If you play two-over-one, should a jump to game show a minimum hand, or something extra?
— Leap Frog, Macon, Ga.
ANSWER: Jumps in no-trump in game-forcing auctions should always be extras (about a strong no-trump). Simple no-trump bids show less — or more if bidder intends to push on over partner’s sign-off perhaps. Jumps in suit contracts require partnership agreement. It is simplest — but not best — to play these jumps as sign-off. However, some play them as always showing good trumps and denying any control in an unbid suit, which is theoretically sounder, but harder to play. |
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 11th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 8 4 2 |
| ♥ |
A K |
| ♦ |
7 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A 6 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 9 5 3 |
♠ |
J 10 6 |
| ♥ |
5 |
♥ |
9 7 3 2 |
| ♦ |
A Q J |
♦ |
10 5 |
| ♣ |
K Q 10 8 4 |
♣ |
J 9 7 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 7 |
| ♥ |
Q J 10 8 6 4 |
| ♦ |
K 9 8 6 |
| ♣ |
5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♣ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣K
“Delay always breeds danger; and to protract a great design is often to ruin it.”
— Miguel de Cervantes
In today’s deal South plays in four hearts after West has opened one club. The club king is led and South should win the club ace — but what next?
The simple player will draw two rounds of trump and find the bad news, then lead a diamond to the king and ace. West will win and press on with clubs at every turn. Eventually declarer will run out of trumps — he has to ruff three clubs — and so East will be able to trump the fourth diamond and set the game.
By contrast, would a more thoughtful approach be to take the ace and king of hearts, then duck two diamonds, hoping the ace was doubleton with West? Probably, but as the cards lie, that would be equally unsuccessful.
So what can declarer do? The answer is simple only if you realize that the danger of a bad trump split can be overcome by not drawing trump, instead using dummy’s trumps to ruff clubs.
Declarer wins the opening lead and ducks a diamond, ruffs the next club, and ducks another diamond. When a third club is played, he ruffs and plays a third diamond. West wins the ace and must return a trump or spade (either of which gives declarer a critical tempo) or cede a ruff and discard. In the latter case declarer ruffs in dummy, plays the remaining high trump, then crosses to his spade ace. He can now draw trump and score his long diamond in peace and quiet.
ANSWER: Jump to two spades to suggest four trumps and a little extra in high cards. This sequence is encouraging but nonforcing. (Since partner could have as little as four spades in a six- or seven-count, there is no need to go overboard.) Wait for your partner to do more if he has extras.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 5 3 |
| ♥ |
5 |
| ♦ |
A Q J |
| ♣ |
K Q 10 8 4 |
| 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 10th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
7 |
| ♥ |
K 9 4 |
| ♦ |
A 9 8 7 6 5 |
| ♣ |
J 9 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
9 8 5 |
♠ |
Q 6 4 2 |
| ♥ |
2 |
♥ |
Q 7 6 5 3 |
| ♦ |
Q J 10 2 |
♦ |
4 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 5 4 3 |
♣ |
6 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K J 10 3 |
| ♥ |
A J 10 8 |
| ♦ |
K |
| ♣ |
A K 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣* |
Pass |
1♠** |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
| 3♥ |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 5 NT |
Pass |
6♦ |
Pass |
| 6♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
| *17-plus, any shape |
| **One ace and a king, or three kings |
Opening Lead:♦Q
“Young ladies should take care of themselves. Young ladies are delicate plants. They should take care of their health and their complexion.”
— Jane Austen
Alphonse “Sonny” Moyse was a great advocator of playing in 4-3 fits. He may have gone overboard in espousing it, but it is true that players tend to shy away automatically from such a fit without giving enough consideration to its merits.
This Moysian fit, from the 1972 Vanderbilt semifinal, demonstrates that the key is frequently the possession of good trump intermediates.
In one room South played the apparently normal contract of six no-trump. Even on a helpful club lead, declarer was not well placed. He could do little except pass the heart jack at trick two, because of the lack of entries to dummy. When that lost and the spades were unfriendly, he had to go one down.
In the other room my teammate Jim Jacoby played six hearts on the lead of the diamond queen to his king. He took the spade ace-king and ruffed a spade low. Then came the diamond ace (on which a club was thrown), and the club ace-king. Now, when everyone followed, his slam was cold against any lie of the cards.
He played a third spade and could ruff with the heart king for safety if West followed suit. Then he could ruff a club with the trump ace and ruff another spade with the heart nine. Since he held the J-10-8 of trumps in hand, he was sure to take three of the last four tricks against any defense.
ANSWER: Although you have no serious prospects of buying the contract, the best thing to do is to reraise to three diamonds. This is NOT a game-try. If you had extras, you would bid a new suit, so this is a bar bid, just trying to block the opponents and take away their bidding space.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
7 |
| ♥ |
K 9 4 |
| ♦ |
A 9 8 7 6 5 |
| ♣ |
J 9 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
Pass |
1♣
|
| 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].
|
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