June 19th, 2009 ~ admin ~
Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, June 5, 2009 
| Dealer: South
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 7 4 |
| ♥ |
7 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K 10 8 5 |
| ♣ |
A 3 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
9 5 |
♠ |
8 6 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K J 9 5 |
♥ |
A 10 6 |
| ♦ |
J 4 |
♦ |
A 3 2 |
| ♣ |
Q 9 7 5 2 |
♣ |
10 8 4 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q J |
| ♥ |
Q 8 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 7 6 |
| ♣ |
K J 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♦ |
Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣5
“Remember that all tricks are either knavish or childish.”
— Samuel Johnson
The role of deception at the bridge table should not be underestimated. Deception does not mean misleading body language or demeanor. But you will frequently be able to mislead the opponents about your holding in a particular suit by sacrificing a potential trick.
South, in three no-trump, received a friendly club lead. He could see that if he allowed the lead to run around to his jack, then when a defender came on lead in diamonds, it would have been relatively clear that a rapid heart switch was required. How to persuade the defense otherwise? South won the opening lead with dummy’s ace and played a diamond to his nine and West’s jack.
Look at the position from West’s perspective. The play to trick one strongly suggested that East had to hold the club jack. So West returned the club two and was dismayed when South produced the jack. South continued with a diamond to the king and ace, and now it was East’s turn to be fooled.
By the club spots played, East knew that South held one further club. But declarer’s play of the club ace at trick one left East under the illusion that South was marked with an initial holding of Q-J-third, leaving his partner still in possession of the club king.
Whether East ought to have bought into the deception or not, the ploy worked, for a third club was led, and the contract rolled home.
ANSWER: Your opponent appears to have mistakenly wandered in where he does not belong. Do not let him get away unscathed! Redouble, to show a good hand, so that you can try to catch your opponents for a penalty. And be prepared to double your opponents wherever they settle.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 7 4 |
| ♥ |
7 4 3 |
| ♦ |
K 10 8 5 |
| ♣ |
A 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Dbl. |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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 18th, 2009 ~ admin ~
2 Comments
| Dealer: West
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q J 10 8 5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
2 |
| ♦ |
4 |
| ♣ |
J 7 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
9 2 |
♠ |
7 6 |
| ♥ |
10 |
♥ |
6 3 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 7 6 |
♦ |
K Q 8 5 |
| ♣ |
K 5 4 3 2 |
♣ |
A Q 10 8 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
A K Q J 9 8 7 5 4 |
| ♦ |
J 3 2 |
| ♣ |
9 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
4♦* |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♥10
“Man is still the most extraordinary computer of all.”
— John F. Kennedy
People often complain about freakish computer-dealt hands. But those hands reflect the true odds, while the imperfect human method leads to unnaturally balanced hands. The following deal, though, from the National Women’s Teams in the UK, would have added to such paranoia.
At one table South became declarer in four spades after North’s Namyats opening bid to show a strong hand with spades. She received the opening lead of the heart 10. The two was played from the dummy, East began a high-low with the six, and Dhondy won with the king. Dhondy next led the heart four from her hand. West discarded, as did dummy, and East had to follow with the three. When did you last win the second round of a suit with the four?
At another table North decided to start with her system’s strong bid, two diamonds. South launched straight into Blackwood. North responded five diamonds to show one or four keycards with diamonds as trump, and South KNEW this must be four to justify the two-diamond opening. So she bid seven no-trump.
West first checked that she was on lead, then doubled and led the diamond ace. Seven no-trump was soon down 10 for a 2600 penalty.
Although North’s opening bid was ill-judged, South’s bidding was very wild. North might have shown three keycards, after which South would not have known if there was an ace missing. In addition, South should have bid seven hearts, not seven no-trump, because North might have had a heart void.
ANSWER: While it might be right to sit back and defend, my instincts with this pattern are to compete in a minor. The best way to do this is to bid four no-trump for the minors. This way you rate to get to play in your longest combined minor-suit holding.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 2 |
| ♥ |
10 |
| ♦ |
A 10 9 7 6 |
| ♣ |
K 5 4 3 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
3♥ |
Dbl. |
4♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
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 17th, 2009 ~ admin ~
2 Comments
| Dealer: East
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
9 |
| ♥ |
7 4 |
| ♦ |
K 9 7 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A 9 7 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 5 |
♠ |
7 6 4 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 5 3 2 |
♥ |
A J 6 |
| ♦ |
J |
♦ |
A Q 8 6 |
| ♣ |
K 10 5 4 3 |
♣ |
Q J 6 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K Q J 10 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K 10 9 |
| ♦ |
10 5 |
| ♣ |
8 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1 NT |
| Dbl. |
Rdbl.* |
3♦ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| *Two suiter with clubs and another suit |
Opening Lead:♦J
“Beyond the obvious facts that you are a bachelor, a solicitor, a Freemason, and an asthmatic, I know nothing whatever about you.”
— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Leading a singleton against a suit contract can work well, but sometimes it sets up a lot of tricks for declarer, and even though you get your ruff, it can let home the contract. It is important to think about all the defensive tricks that are needed, not just the ruff.
Cover up the West and South hands here and see if you can work out the best defense for East after West has led the diamond jack against four spades. The lead is obviously a singleton. Why? With North having shown a decent diamond suit in the bidding, West would surely have tried to establish tricks in hearts or clubs rather than lead top of a doubleton diamond.
The jack is covered by the king, ace and five. How do you defend as East?
In one room East cashed the diamond queen (South following) and continued with the eight. However, South ruffed high and soon claimed the remainder of the tricks.
In the other room East was not so optimistic about West being able to overruff. He returned the diamond six immediately, asking for a club. West ruffed and switched obediently to the four of clubs. Declarer won with the ace and played a heart to his king and a second heart. East took the trick and played a trump, and now declarer had to go one down, losing two hearts, the diamond ace and a diamond ruff.
It was important for the defenders to avoid setting up dummy’s diamond suit while there was still an entry to reach it.
ANSWER: Your action here should be dependent on the form of scoring and the vulnerability. Nonvulnerable, I’d be inclined to bid two diamonds, trying to make it hard for my opponents to judge their major-suit fits. If vulnerable, I might risk two diamonds at pairs, but at rubber or teams my partner would expect a better suit for that action. I’d settle for a simple overcall of one diamond.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 |
| ♥ |
7 4 |
| ♦ |
K 9 7 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A 9 7 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
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].
June 16th, 2009 ~ admin ~
4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 10 |
| ♥ |
K J 7 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 6 2 |
| ♣ |
A 6 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 4 |
♠ |
3 2 |
| ♥ |
A 6 5 |
♥ |
Q 10 9 3 |
| ♦ |
10 5 |
♦ |
K J 7 4 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 9 7 4 |
♣ |
K 8 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 9 8 7 6 5 |
| ♥ |
8 4 |
| ♦ |
A 9 8 3 |
| ♣ |
2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
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|
Opening Lead:♣Q
“Most of the sighs we hear have been edited.”
— Stanislaw Lec
In today’s deal from an international match, three no-trump was played at one table and had gone down (though it should have made); at the other table the contract was four spades, which looked harder to make.
Against four spades West led the club queen, dummy’s ace winning the trick.. Declarer then ruffed a club and led the spade jack. When it held, he continued with another spade to the king and ace, and ruffed another club, East’s king appearing.
South now led a heart to dummy’s jack and East’s queen. (There was certainly a case for leading a heart to the king since if East had the club king and heart ace, he was less likely also to have the diamond king.) Clearly East could not play diamonds to advantage, so he continued with a heart to West’s ace. West now played a third round of hearts, declarer discarding a diamond.
Declarer was now pretty sure that East held the diamond king. It looked as if West had started out with Q-J-10-x-x-x in clubs, as well as the spade king and heart ace. Surely he would have overcalled three clubs had he held the diamond king as well. Accordingly, declarer played dummy’s last heart. When East followed, declarer simply discarded a diamond and East had to lead away from his diamond king. Had East discarded on the fourth round of hearts, declarer would have ruffed the trick and run the diamond nine, again endplaying East.
ANSWER: This sequence is NOT Gerber. It is a self-agreeing slam-try for spades, suggesting a singleton club. In that context your hand is magnificent (great trumps and nothing wasted in clubs). Bid five clubs now, suggesting the club ace and no first-round red-suit control; but be prepared to bid slam over a sign-off. You can hardly do less.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 10 |
| ♥ |
K J 7 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 6 2 |
| ♣ |
A 6 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1 NT |
Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
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].
June 15th, 2009 ~ admin ~
Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, June 1, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 10 4 2 |
| ♥ |
10 |
| ♦ |
J 9 8 6 5 |
| ♣ |
K 4 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A 9 6 |
♠ |
J 8 5 |
| ♥ |
A J 9 8 3 |
♥ |
6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
A 10 4 2 |
♦ |
7 3 |
| ♣ |
A |
♣ |
J 10 7 5 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
7 3 |
| ♥ |
K Q 7 4 |
| ♦ |
K Q |
| ♣ |
Q 9 8 6 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
1♥ |
1♠ |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2 NT |
Pass |
3 NT |
Pass |
| Pass |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
Opening Lead: Your choice…
“Great lords have their pleasures, but the people have fun.”
— Baron de Montesquieu
In England there is an annual bridge match between the Houses of Commons and Lords at the Portland Club. Today’s deal comes from a match a few years ago that was won comfortably by the Commons, bringing the overall standing to a 15-15 draw.
Look first at the North-South bidding, where both North and South bid too much. An overcall does not have to be as strong as an opening bid, so South should simply have responded one no-trump. North would then probably remove to two diamonds and end in two spades. Equally, with only nine points, North had no reason to bid over two no-trump.
Now, as West, would you double the final contract? At the table the double was based more on West’s four tricks and a general lack of confidence in the auction than anything else. Having decided to double, have you chosen your lead? West led his fourth-highest heart and declarer could not be prevented from making eight tricks. It was not a triumph — but not a tragedy either.
Later, West asked the onlookers if they would have led the heart jack to pin dummy’s 10. While that lead is a true long-shot, a good case can be made for leading the heart ACE. There is no prospect of partner gaining the lead, so West has to defend this hand on his own. That lead works against this layout, and also against a singleton king or queen or a doubleton 10 in the North hand.
ANSWER: Just as in today’s deal, there is a lot to be said for the lead of the spade ace. You are not likely to be able to get partner on lead for the duration of the hand, and would like to try to pick off a doubleton king or jack of spades in declarer’s or dummy’s hand. Leading the ace gives you the flexibility to continue with a high or low spade.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 10 7 4 2 |
| ♥ |
10 2 |
| ♦ |
A 3 |
| ♣ |
K J 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
| Pass |
2♥ |
Pass |
2 NT |
| Pass |
3 NT |
All Pass |
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
June 14th, 2009 ~ admin ~
Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, May 31, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner opened one no-trump and I transferred to a major. After my partner completed the transfer, I bid a new suit. Is that last bid nonforcing, game-forcing, or forcing for one round only?
— Force-Feeding, Bay City, Mich.
ANSWER: It would be nice to have a way to transfer and then invite, other than by rebidding two no-trump after the transfer. But to do that, you would not be able to transfer and then agree on a suit below game. Play the sequence as game-forcing; I’ll suggest a solution to the problem I’ve raised in a future column.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ Q-7-3, ♥ A-2, ♦ Q-10-9-6-4, ♣ A-10-3, I doubled a one-heart opening on my right, my partner responded one spade, and my RHO bid one no-trump to end the auction. What should I lead?
— Open Sesame, Newark, N.J.
ANSWER: I would lead a diamond — a small one, not the 10, despite my interior sequence. The odds that partner has a doubleton honor are just too high for me to be able to risk wasting a high spot-card.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When can a player who makes an insufficient bid using a bidding box retract his call without penalty? I thought committing this crime would always lead to a penalty.
— Loophole Larry, Kansas City, Mo.
ANSWER: Let’s distinguish between physical and mental errors with bidding boxes. If you intend to do one thing and end up doing another, that is a physical error. There is no penalty for that. A mental error occurs when you do what you intended to do, but you missed a call or simply failed to realize your bid was not sufficient. In that case, the rules about insufficient bids apply. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
What is the range for responding with a call of one no-trump to a minor-suit opening? Does it vary in competition?
— Free-Range Chicken, Memphis, Tenn.
ANSWER: While some people believe a response of one no-trump to one club should be 8-10 and not 6-10, this requires specific partnership agreement. I do not play it that way myself. But in competition, a bid of one no-trump generally shows about 8-10. With less, pass first and hope to introduce no-trump later, if appropriate.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Holding ♠ Q-9-6-4-2, ♥ K-9-7-3-2, ♦ 4, ♣ J-7, how would you develop the hand when partner opens one club and the next hand overcalls one diamond? Would you bid a major –and if so, which — or would you make a negative double?
— Choice of Weevils, Eau Claire, Wis.
ANSWER: A negative double here should show 4-4 in the majors. It is rare that you would have one five-card major, let alone both. With your hand it is easy to bid spades, then hearts, and let partner pick where he wants to play. If partner rebids two clubs, I would let him play there. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, e-mail him at [email protected]. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
June 13th, 2009 ~ admin ~
Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Saturday, May 30, 2009
| Dealer: East
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 8 5 |
| ♥ |
9 4 3 |
| ♦ |
A K 8 2 |
| ♣ |
A 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 9 7 6 4 |
♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
6 2 |
♥ |
A K J 10 8 7 5 |
| ♦ |
10 5 4 |
♦ |
9 7 |
| ♣ |
9 8 3 |
♣ |
10 7 4 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q |
| ♦ |
Q J 6 3 |
| ♣ |
K Q J 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
3♥ |
| Dbl. |
Pass |
4♥ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
Pass |
5♠ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
Opening Lead:♥6
“Suffering isn’t ennobling; recovery is.”
— Christiaan Barnard
In today’s deal, your partner (North) was far too strong simply to jump to four spades in response to your takeout double. His cue-bid, coupled with a raise to five spades, denied a heart control. As South, you have extras and a control in the heart suit, thus an easy raise to six spades.
You ruff East’s second top heart with a low trump, but alas East discards a heart on your trump ace. How do you plan to make the slam if West began with exactly two hearts?
Your first move should be to lead the trump three, winning West’s nine in dummy. Then you cash the ace-queen of diamonds and continue with the ace and king of clubs. Next, you play the club queen. When West follows, you discard a diamond from dummy and persist with the club jack. West ruffs and you overruff.
West is now known to have 5-2-3-3 shape, so it is safe to cash another diamond. You have taken 10 tricks and make the last two on a high crossruff.
The play is similar when West holds four clubs, in which case you will discard two diamonds from dummy and only then lead a third diamond. Dummy will overruff West, and again you will score the last two tricks on a crossruff.
It would not matter if West could ruff the third club, for then his original distribution would be 5-2-4-2. You would overruff and cash the two remaining diamond winners before taking the last two tricks, as before, on a high crossruff.
ANSWER: Partner’s range is 6-10 points. With no real source of tricks beyond what you have shown, you should pass rather than raise to two no-trump. It is close, though. If you had as little as a 10 in one of your long suits, you might invite game with a raise to two no-trump.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q |
| ♦ |
Q J 6 3 |
| ♣ |
K Q J 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♥
|
Pass |
| 1♠
|
Pass |
1 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].
June 12th, 2009 ~ admin ~
Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, May 29, 2009
| Dealer: West
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 9 4 |
| ♥ |
A 10 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
10 7 5 4 |
| ♣ |
K |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 7 3 |
♠ |
5 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 6 4 |
♥ |
K 8 2 |
| ♦ |
8 |
♦ |
A Q J 6 3 2 |
| ♣ |
J 9 7 5 3 |
♣ |
A 2 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q J 10 6 |
| ♥ |
J |
| ♦ |
K 9 |
| ♣ |
Q 10 8 6 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
Pass |
Pass |
1 NT |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦8
“He hears
On all sides, from innumerable tongues,
A dismal universal hiss, the sound
Of public scorn.”
— John Milton
The players at the Dyspeptics Club are united by a common lack of respect for one another’s game. East in particular has been known to speculate that West got into the gene pool while the lifeguard was not watching. But he got his comeuppance in today’s deal.
After East opened a tactical strong no-trump, South elected to overcall in spades, and subsequently was not going to let the chance of a vulnerable game escape him.
West led his singleton diamond, which East won with the ace to return the suit-preference two, ruffed by West. A club to East’s ace saw the diamond queen ruffed by declarer’s ace. What should West discard?
Had West discarded a club, declarer would have cashed the club queen, ruffed a club with the spade nine, played a spade back to his ace, and ruffed another club with the spade king. Now all that remained was for declarer to cash the heart ace, ruff a heart back to hand, and draw trumps. The clubs would all be good.
It is no better if West discards a heart, because declarer changes tack and ruffs two hearts in hand to set up that suit.
However, West found the right defense when he underruffed the spade ace. (It spoiled the performance a little when he tried to gather in the trick, thinking South had ruffed low.) Declarer now did not have the entries to set up dummy’s hearts, and he could not ruff three clubs in the dummy without letting East score his lowly spade five.
ANSWER: Your partner’s call is encouraging but not forcing, and you have a minimum hand, but you should still raise to two spades. Since you have stronger bids available, this is more of a courtesy raise than a real game-try, and its purpose is almost as much to keep the opponents out as it is to invite game.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 9 4 |
| ♥ |
A 10 7 5 3 |
| ♦ |
10 7 5 4 |
| ♣ |
K |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
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].
June 11th, 2009 ~ admin ~
Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, May 28, 2009
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
8 3 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 5 |
| ♦ |
6 2 |
| ♣ |
A Q 8 5 4 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A J 10 7 |
♠ |
4 |
| ♥ |
10 7 3 2 |
♥ |
K 6 4 |
| ♦ |
Q 5 3 |
♦ |
K 10 9 7 4 |
| ♣ |
K 6 |
♣ |
10 9 7 3 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 9 6 5 |
| ♥ |
A J 9 8 |
| ♦ |
A J 8 |
| ♣ |
J |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
| 2♥
|
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♦3
“It’s them that take advantage that get advantage in this world.”
— George Eliot
What do you think declarer’s chances are in today’s four spades? You might say “not good,” but if you knew that declarer was the redoubtable Boris Schapiro, you might adjust your thinking.
The scandal in Buenos Aires has tended to cloud people’s recollection of him as a player, but you had to get up very early in the morning to outfox Boris!
The deal occurred in the European Championships held in Ireland 50 years ago.
Against four spades (reached after an old-fashioned but reasonable auction), West led the diamond three to East’s king and South’s ace. It looks as if declarer must lose a diamond and three spades, but watch the master at work.
Schapiro led the club jack, covered by the king and ace, and then the heart queen, also covered by the king and ace. He now cashed the heart jack and led the eight. West understandably (but wrongly) played low, so Schapiro discarded dummy’s remaining diamond. Note that this was a no-cost play — at worst he was swapping one loser for another.
Now declarer ruffed a diamond in dummy, ruffed a club in hand, and ruffed his last diamond in dummy. This brought his trick total up to eight. He now played dummy’s club queen and discarded his last heart. West ruffed, but Schapiro’s last four cards were the K-Q-9-6 of trumps and he could not be prevented from making two more tricks.
ANSWER: You might guess which major to bid at the one-level and hope you were lucky. Alternatively, you might cue-bid two clubs. Since you are a passed hand, this suggests values, but not necessarily a game-force. So if partner now bids a major at the two-level, you can simply pass the response, assuming he has no extras. With a good hand, he should do more than make a minimum response.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 10 7 |
| ♥ |
10 7 3 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 5 3 |
| ♣ |
K 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
|
1♣ |
| Pass |
Pass |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
June 10th, 2009 ~ admin ~
1 Comment
| Dealer: South
Vul: All |
North |
|
| ♠ |
— |
| ♥ |
Q 6 3 |
| ♦ |
K Q J 10 9 8 7 |
| ♣ |
A 9 8 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
A K 9 8 7 3 2 |
♠ |
J |
| ♥ |
10 4 |
♥ |
J 9 8 2 |
| ♦ |
A |
♦ |
6 5 4 3 2 |
| ♣ |
6 4 3 |
♣ |
K 7 5 |
| |
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q 10 6 5 4 |
| ♥ |
A K 7 5 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
3♦ |
Pass |
| 3 NT |
All Pass |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Opening Lead:♣6
“By day thy warning ringing bell to sound its notes,
By night thy silent signal lamps to swing.”
— Walt Whitman
The Chinese women’s team is surely the strongest team never to have won a world championship, but they are closing in, losing the World Championship last fall by just 1 IMP. When their B team won the prestigious China Cup teams competition, this deal contributed to their semifinal victory.
Against three no-trump West led the club six, an attitude lead (the lower the card, the more the leader likes the suit). Plan the play as declarer.
When South played low from dummy on the club, East won and switched to the spade jack, covered by the queen and king. West was now able to continue with the ace and nine of spades. When she got in with the diamond ace, she had four more spade tricks to take, and declarer went four down.
If declarer had won the club ace at trick one and played a diamond, West could have put her partner in with the club king, but as East has the spade jack, the defenders can take only two spade tricks, and three no-trump comes home.
Should declarer have known what to do? The high spot-card lead suggests the club finesse will lose. If you play low at trick one and lose to the club king, you will go down after a spade shift on almost every layout. However, if you play dummy’s club ace, you will succeed when East has the spade jack, regardless of who has the club king.
ANSWER: Although it is possible to construct hands where your side can make slam, it is too long a shot to look for the perfect hand opposite. Just bid four spades and hope you can make it. The adage that one should never look for the ideal hand opposite because partner never has it has more than a grain of truth to it.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 10 6 5 4 |
| ♥ |
A K 7 5 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♠ |
2♥ |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
For details of Bobby Wolff’s autobiography, The Lone Wolff, contact [email protected]. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, please leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009. If you are interested in reprinting The Aces on Bridge column, contact [email protected].
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