April 19th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, April 5, 2009 
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
I am novice who has been reading your columns in the Albuquerque Journal. It seems that the players in your articles use a lot of cue-bids. Can you recommend a Web site that explains cue-bids?
— Cueless, Albuquerque, N.M.
ANSWER: Cue-bids fall into two categories: some show controls in the suit bid and help your partner decide when to play slam. More frequently these days (when raises and jump raises of partner are weak in competition) a cue-bid shows a high-card raise for partner without guaranteeing any control in the suit bid, be it a high-card or shortage. Try bridgehands.com/C/Cuebid.htm for a detailed explanation.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I held ♠ A, ♥ Q-9-7, ♦ K-J-7-4-2, ♣ A-K-10-4 and opened one diamond. My plan was to jump to three clubs over a response of one heart. Over a one-spade response, should I jump in clubs or in no-trump?
— Jumping Jack, Saint John, New Brunswick
ANSWER: Neither action would be correct. A simple call of two clubs is enough when your partner’s response makes your hand worse. Just consider a hand opposite with eight points and no fit. Do you really want to play game? If not, don’t drive your partner to the stratosphere — he may be far weaker than that!
Dear Mr. Wolff:
My partner opened one heart, and I doubled a two-club overcall. We disagreed over the meaning of the negative double. I contend it shows ONLY spades. One may or not have a tolerance for diamonds. I also contend that my bid reflects fewer than the 10 points needed to bid two spades here. Was I right?
— Out of Range, Newport News, Va.
|
|
ANSWER: There is NO high-card upper limit for a negative double. Partner assumes you are minimum, but further action from you shows extra shape or points as appropriate. Double of one major normally delivers length in the other major; the double implying that you will be able to cope with a bid in the inconvenient suit. As to a high-card restriction, IF you have five spades, you would have less than 10-11 points on the auction you suggest. But with only four spades you could have 20 HCP.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
I was in second seat with ♠ (A)-10-6, ♥ A-Q-9-4, ♦ A-J-7, ♣ A-10-4 and heard one diamond on my right. I bid one no-trump and then discovered that the spade ace was stuck behind the 10! What should I have done when my partner transferred into spades?
— Fool for Love, Laredo, Texas
ANSWER: The first thing to do is not to panic or let the other players know what has happened. I would jump to three spades rather than go to game. Your partner will play you for four trumps and a maximum. That is as close as you can get after this start.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
When you write your column, do you use any tools of analysis other than an editor? What are the best computer tools to analyze a deal?
— Work in Progress, Casper, Wyo.
ANSWER: These days the ACBL and most clubs that give out hand records add an analysis showing how many tricks can be made against best play and defense. The problem (if there is one) with this analysis is that it assumes you can drop any missing honors and never misguess for a queen. Having said that, Deep Finesse is hard to beat for simplicity and accuracy.
|
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].
April 18th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer:
West
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
J 9 4 |
| ♥ |
8 5 4 |
| ♦ |
K 9 6 5 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 2 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
10 8 |
♠ |
A K Q 6 5 2 |
| ♥ |
2 |
♥ |
7 6 3 |
| ♦ |
Q J 10 8 7 3 |
♦ |
4 |
| ♣ |
A J 4 3 |
♣ |
10 7 5 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
7 3 |
| ♥ |
A K Q J 10 9 |
| ♦ |
A 2 |
| ♣ |
K 9 6 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
3♦ |
Pass |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦Q
“A worker may be the hammer’s master, but the hammer still prevails. A tool knows exactly how it is meant to be handled, while the user of the tool can only have an approximate idea.”
— Milan Kundera
One of my colleagues at world championships for many years, the distinguished New Zealand player and administrator John Wignall, found this nice play in four hearts.
Before you look at the play, consider what material you wish to use for your 10th trick. A squeeze seems unlikely; so how will you utilize those club spots to produce an extra trick?
The defenders started normally enough by leading a top diamond rather than a spade. Declarer won in hand, drew trumps, and now exited with a spade to East.
A club shift would have been immediately fatal, so East could do nothing but play off the three top spades. When West discarded, that marked him as having been dealt a 2-1-6-4 shape.
Now all Wignall needed was for West to hold the club ace. He ruffed the third spade and led out his penultimate trump, dummy still having three diamonds and three clubs. What five cards was West to keep? If he kept two diamonds and three clubs, declarer would pitch a club from the board. Then he would ruff out the diamonds and use the club queen as an entry to North’s winner. By contrast, if West pitched a club, then declarer would lead to the club queen and duck a club on the way back. West’s ace would fall on empty air.
Either way, declarer was home, for a game swing to his side when the line was missed in the other room.
ANSWER: Partner has shown clubs and spades and a good hand — and no interest in defending facing heart length or he would have doubled. You have useful cards for partner in each of his suits so should bid, not pass; and since your partner’s clubs should be longer than his spades, you should bid three clubs now.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
J 9 4 |
| ♥ |
8 5 4 |
| ♦ |
K 9 6 5 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1♣ |
1♥ |
| Pass |
Pass |
1♠ |
2♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 17th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, April 3, 2009
| Dealer:
South
Vul: E/W |
North |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 9 6 |
| ♥ |
8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
K 6 4 |
| ♣ |
9 7 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
5 2 |
♠ |
10 7 4 3 |
| ♥ |
10 7 6 4 |
♥ |
J 9 2 |
| ♦ |
J 5 |
♦ |
A 9 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q 8 3 2 |
♣ |
J 6 4 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K 8 |
| ♥ |
A K Q |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 7 3 |
| ♣ |
A 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣3
“Being fooled, by foolery thrive;
There’s place and means for every man alive.”
— William Shakespeare
The jury is still out on whether you can be a champion if you focus solely on playing well, as opposed to making your opponents play badly. Whatever the case, learning the basic elements of deception cannot be a bad idea. Witness today’s deal, from the recently published “25 Ways to Be a Better Defender” by Barbara Seagram and David Bird.
West leads the club three against three no-trump, and declarer’s cause looks hopeless. But say South takes the first trick and cashes the spade king and ace, then plays the diamond queen.
If East believes that declarer has a doubleton ace-king of spades, he will duck, to keep declarer out of dummy, and South will run for home having stolen his ninth trick. Note that ducking might well be right if declarer had a 2-4-4-3 shape with two club stops. So West must tell East he has two spades by echoing in that suit. Then East can suspect the ruse and win the first diamond to cash out.
Since we are trying to take a fair and balanced approach, note that on a different day, if West had 10-fourth of spades, he might be reluctant to echo in spades. This would be in case declarer had king-third of spades, and worked out to finesse on the third round of the suit. In reality one cannot make an omelet without breaking the odd egg or two. If West’s spades are better (or worse), the echo will surely not cost.
ANSWER: How painful can it be to bid one spade here? After all, your partner asked you to bid. Although you do not exactly have a monster, you do have four spades and six more points than you might. Yes, you are at the bottom of your range, but the safest time to come into this auction is right now and not later.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q J 9 6 |
| ♥ |
8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
K 6 4 |
| ♣ |
9 7 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1♣ |
Dbl. |
1♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 16th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Thursday, April 2, 2009
| Dealer:
South
Vul: Both |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 9 8 |
| ♥ |
K 6 5 4 3 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
Q 8 6 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q J 4 3 |
♠ |
6 5 |
| ♥ |
A 8 7 |
♥ |
J 10 |
| ♦ |
10 6 3 |
♦ |
J 9 8 7 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A K 3 |
♣ |
10 4 2 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A 7 2 |
| ♥ |
Q 9 2 |
| ♦ |
A K Q 4 |
| ♣ |
J 9 7 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣K
“And nothing brings me all things.”
— William Shakespeare
Creating trump tricks from thin air is an art form, and there were a number of artists at work on today’s hand from the 2001 World Championships.
Generally, South became declarer in four hearts after opening with one no-trump and completing the transfer. However, four hearts is a poor contract — poorer still after the ace and king of clubs are cashed. For trumps to play for one loser, either the heart J-10 must be doubleton, or one hand must hold the ace plus just one other heart, with declarer having to guess well.
At some tables, after West cashed the two top clubs and continued with a third, declarer won with the club jack and played a low heart toward the king, which held, gathering the 10 from East. A low heart from the table brought the jack, and after South’s queen lost to the ace, the nine was established: contract made.
Other declarers thought that West’s having the top clubs made it more likely that East had the heart ace. They crossed to dummy to lead a trump to their queen. If West takes this, declarer has little option but to play the king when back on lead, with gratifying results.
However, see what transpired when West smoothly ducked the heart queen. Seemingly, the only reasonable shot left for South was to play East for A-10 bare, continuing with a low heart from both hands. East now made the jack, with the heart ace still to come; down one.
ANSWER: Cue-bid two clubs, which sets up a force until a suit is agreed upon. If your partner responds in a major suit, raise to game. (You may not make it, but how will you know till you try?) If partner responds two diamonds, bid two hearts and take it from there. You may be able to stop in three of a major, facing a minimum hand.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 10 9 8 |
| ♥ |
K 6 5 4 3 |
| ♦ |
— |
| ♣ |
Q 8 6 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 15th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer:
West
Vul: None |
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 10 9 6 4 |
| ♥ |
A 8 3 2 |
| ♦ |
A Q 6 |
| ♣ |
10 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 3 |
♠ |
Q 5 |
| ♥ |
J 7 |
♥ |
K Q 10 5 4 |
| ♦ |
8 4 |
♦ |
K J 10 9 2 |
| ♣ |
K Q 8 6 5 4 2 |
♣ |
9 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 7 2 |
| ♥ |
9 6 |
| ♦ |
7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A J 7 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
3♣ |
Dbl. |
Pass |
| 3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠8
“I see and approve better things, but follow worse.”
— Ovid
Where would you rather play today’s deal, in three no-trump or four spades? At our featured table, South had a difficult choice of response to North’s takeout double of three clubs. He followed Bob Hamman’s rule that if one of your choices is to bid three no-trump, then you should do so, but he arrived in a poor spot.
On the helpful lead of the spade eight, declarer realized that West’s pre-empt suggested that East had most of the red-suit high cards, including the diamond king. So he played the spade 10 from dummy, which held the trick, and made a start on disrupting his opponents’ communications by playing a low heart from the dummy. East went in with the queen and switched to the club nine, ducked to West’s queen. West now led the diamond eight. Declarer ducked this, but won the diamond continuation with the ace. Correctly reading West for 2-2-2-7 distribution, South cashed the heart and spade aces, stripping West of all his side-suits, then exited with the club jack. West was now forced to lead from his 8-6 of clubs into declarer’s A-7, giving declarer a second club trick for his ninth winner.
In the other room West passed, and North declared four spades after East had shown the red suits. East led the heart king, which declarer won, only to misguess spades, losing a trick to East’s queen. That player exited with a club, and West eventually won the heart jack to lead diamonds and ensure one down.
ANSWER: Tempting as it is to bid two no-trump, it would be wiser to give false preference to two hearts here. Your partner has shown no extras in high cards, and though you appear to have spade stops, your absence of builders in partner’s suits means you have really nothing but those quick tricks to offer. Your side will have time to set up extra tricks in hearts, but not in no-trump.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A J 7 2 |
| ♥ |
9 6 |
| ♦ |
7 5 3 |
| ♣ |
A J 7 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1♥ |
1♠ |
| 1NT |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 14th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Tuesday, March 31, 2009
| Dealer:
South
Vul: N/S |
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K |
| ♥ |
8 7 6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
7 6 4 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
7 2 |
♠ |
5 4 3 |
| ♥ |
K 4 3 |
♥ |
Q 10 9 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 8 3 |
♦ |
K J 9 |
| ♣ |
K 9 7 2 |
♣ |
8 6 5 3 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q J 10 9 8 6 |
| ♥ |
A J |
| ♦ |
A 5 2 |
| ♣ |
A 4 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
| 3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠2
“It is normal to give away a little of one’s life in order not to lose it all.”
— Albert Camus
Today’s deal is from Eddie Kantar’s “Take Your Tricks,” a series of helpful tips supported by deals that show you how to implement the advice he has given you.
Before you read today’s tip, consider the contract of four spades on a trump lead. Then read Kantar’s advice to see if you spotted declarer’s potential problem.
Kantar says, paraphrasing Gertrude Stein: a finesse is a finesse is a finesse, but not when there is a shortage of entries. With three red-suit losers staring at you, you must work with those clubs. Don’t finesse! If the finesse loses and a trump is returned, the clubs are blocked with no way to untangle them. You will be left with a club loser and three inevitable red-suit losers, while dummy’s club winner withers on the vine.
Once you see the problem, your urge to finesse will vanish. Simply play the club ace and a second club at once, unblocking the clubs and establishing your 10th trick in clubs with the spade king as your entry.
If the club finesse is right and the clubs are 6-2, so that the defenders ruff away your second club winner, then please ask for a refund … but do not hold your breath!
(Incidentally, on an initial heart lead, win and lead a LOW club from hand. When you win the return, unblock the clubs and cash both spades; then try to take the third club winner.
ANSWER: It may be tempting to bid no-trump, but this is not the time. First raise diamonds — your hand may actually be very suitable for play in that suit, especially facing short hearts. As the auction progresses, you will have a better feel about whether to play in no-trump.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A K |
| ♥ |
8 7 6 5 2 |
| ♦ |
7 6 4 |
| ♣ |
Q J 10 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1♦ |
Pass |
| 1♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 13th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Monday, March 30, 2009
| Dealer:
South
Vul: Both |
North |
|
| ♠ |
6 4 3 |
| ♥ |
7 4 3 |
| ♦ |
A K 7 4 |
| ♣ |
10 6 5 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 8 |
♠ |
5 2 |
| ♥ |
9 8 2 |
♥ |
K 10 6 5 |
| ♦ |
Q J 10 8 |
♦ |
9 6 3 |
| ♣ |
Q J 4 2 |
♣ |
9 8 7 3 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q J 10 9 7 |
| ♥ |
A Q J |
| ♦ |
5 2 |
| ♣ |
A K |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
| 2♠ |
Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
| 4♣ |
Pass |
4♦ |
Pass |
| 4♥ |
Pass |
5♦ |
Pass |
| 6♠ |
All pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦Q
“The good things of life are not to be had singly, but come to us with a mixture.”
— Charles Lamb
How do you plan to make 12 tricks in six spades after West leads the diamond queen?
If you had four entries to dummy, you would take the trump finesse at trick two and use the other entries to take as many finesses as necessary. However, because you only have two entries to dummy, you have to decide which major-suit finesse to take.
The difficulty that ensues when you take the trump finesse and it loses is that you will have only one entry to dummy left to take a heart finesse. This means you will lose a heart trick unless East has an unlikely singleton or doubleton heart king.
Let’s see what happens if, instead, you play a heart to the queen at trick two. When the queen holds (and a holdup is very unlikely here as West does not know who has the heart jack), you should plan to continue with the ace and queen of trumps. You will use the remaining diamond entry to dummy to repeat the heart finesse. If West takes the heart queen with the king and plays a second diamond to dummy’s king, you will lead a trump, hoping that East has a singleton or doubleton trump king.
In summary, each of the major-suit finesses is equally likely to succeed. However, if your first finesse loses, there is far more chance of picking up the trump suit with one finesse than of achieving the same result in hearts.
ANSWER: If it was a clear choice between a club and a heart, there would be fewer arguments in the world! Some will tell you always to lead a major against no-trump; but when the opponents pass out one no-trump, all you know is that dummy won’t have a long major. I believe a top club is less likely to cost a trick and more likely to set up our suit than a low heart. But it IS a close choice.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 4 3 |
| ♦ |
A 7 4 |
| ♣ |
J 10 8 5 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
|
1NT |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 12th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 3 Comments
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
As a relatively disciplined player, I wonder how the experts treat pre-empts these days. Do they require decent suits, or will position and vulnerability influence their decisions to bid or pass?
— Leaps and Bounds, Dover, Del.
ANSWER: At all forms of scoring, you can expect nonvulnerable players in first or third seat to be very aggressive, and also in second seat at favorable vulnerability. Conversely, when vulnerable, many experts (not all!) in first or second seat have very close to perfect hands for their pre-empts. Those playing strong club systems may be lighter (their opening thresholds are generally weaker).
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Is your method of discarding standard or nonstandard?
— Perfect Pitch, Mobile, Ala.
ANSWER: There may be some minor technical superiority to a method like Odd-Even, where odd cards encourage and even are suit preference; but in reality any expert pair playing standard signals also can show suit preference, pitching high or low cards in suits where their holdings are already defined. Standard has worked fine for me for 50 years, and I have never really seen a reason to change.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
In second seat, holding ♠ A-J-10-2, ♥ A-K-7, ♦ 4, ♣ Q-10-6-3-2, I opened one club and heard one heart from my partner and two ♠ on my right from the passed hand. I doubled and was told by my partner that this just showed a good hand. If I can’t double for penalties here, how do I show my hand?
— Forced Out, Riverside, Calif.
|
|
ANSWER: Your partner might have a point. First of all, I’m not sure you want to defend with such good hearts. Second, whenever you have a good hand without four hearts, you have to bid something, and double may be your only choice to show a good hand with no clear action.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Say you pick up ♠ A-Q-2, ♥ K-7-4-2, ♦ Q-J-7-4, ♣ 10-5 and open one diamond. Partner jumps to three clubs, strong, and you bid three no-trump. If partner now bids four diamonds; what would you do?
— Heads Up, Huntington, W. Va.
ANSWER: I can sign off (and if so, how?), or cue-bid (and if so, what?). Since slam may be laydown opposite your hand and you have already shown a minimum, I would not sign off in either four no-trump or five diamonds. I would cue-bid my spade ace, not my heart king; partner is more likely to want to hear about first-round controls.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
You mentioned that Standard American uses five-card majors and short minors for opening bids. However, our bridge group uses these criteria to bid in second or fourth position after an opponent has opened. Is this wise?
— Coming In, Eau Claire, Wis.
ANSWER: Overcalls in any suit, be it a major or a minor, show at least five cards, and strongly suggest six at the two-level. If you have enough to want to act but can’t overcall or bid one no-trump — showing 15-18 with a stop — you double with support for the other three suits; otherwise, pass. (By the way, responses to partner’s opening only guarantee a four-card suit.) |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave comments at this blog. This column is reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Copyright 2009.
April 11th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments
| Dealer:
North
Vul: N/S
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
K 7 |
| ♥ |
5 3 2 |
| ♦ |
K 9 7 3 |
| ♣ |
K Q 7 3 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 10 8 3 2 |
♠ |
A 9 4 |
| ♥ |
8 7 4 |
♥ |
Q J 10 |
| ♦ |
J 5 |
♦ |
Q 10 2 |
| ♣ |
6 5 4 |
♣ |
J 10 9 8 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
J 6 5 |
| ♥ |
A K 9 6 |
| ♦ |
A 8 6 4 |
| ♣ |
A 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
Pass |
Pass |
| 1NT |
Pass |
3NT |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♠3
“In every parting there is an image of death.”
— George Eliot
Today’s deal includes a point of declarer-play technique at no-trump that comes up more often than you might think.
Let’s see what might happen at a typical table in three no-trump on the lead of the spade three. Declarer must play low from dummy to ensure he can collect at least one spade trick. (If he wastes dummy’s king, he is down at once.) East inserts the spade nine, so declarer wins the jack and tries to set up a diamond winner. Alas, the defenders get in and cash four spade tricks for down one.
At the end of trick one, South has eight tricks, but cannot afford to lose a trick in a red suit, or the defenders will take their four spade winners. Of course, spades may be 4-4, but then declarer can set up a diamond trick later.
At trick two, South should play back a spade, hoping that if the defenders take their spades, a squeeze will develop. (It is almost guaranteed that neither defender started with more than five spades.)
Now watch what happens: East takes his spade ace and is likely to play back a spade. (Shifting to the heart queen is better, but declarer would win and play a third spade himself.) Now if West cashes the rest of his spades, East is squeezed to a pulp. If West does not cash his fourth and fifth spades, declarer can get his ninth trick by conceding a diamond trick to East (the safe hand).
ANSWER: In the modern style, your two-heart bid showed a limit-raise or better in clubs. A jump to three clubs would have been pre-emptive, not limit. Your partner’s call suggests spades and clubs, but not necessarily any extras. Since you have no more than you promised for your first call, simply bid three clubs and await developments — if any.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K 7 |
| ♥ |
5 3 2 |
| ♦ |
K 9 7 3 |
| ♣ |
K Q 7 3 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
|
1♣ |
1♥ |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
April 10th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Friday, March 27, 2009
| Dealer:
South
Vul: None
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
9 6 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 5 |
| ♦ |
A J 10 7 |
| ♣ |
7 4 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
K 8 2 |
♠ |
J 7 |
| ♥ |
9 |
♥ |
A K J 8 6 4 2 |
| ♦ |
K 9 8 6 |
♦ |
4 |
| ♣ |
10 9 8 6 3 |
♣ |
Q J 5 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 10 4 3 |
| ♥ |
10 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 5 3 2 |
| ♣ |
A K |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
2♠ |
4♥ |
| 4♠ |
Dbl. |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♥9
“Every great mistake has a halfway moment, a split second when it can be recalled and perhaps remedied.”
— Pearl S. Buck
In today’s deal, it did not hurt that West could not see through the backs of the cards, but declarer did earn his good result.
Against four spades doubled, West led the heart nine, to the five, jack and 10, then discarded a small club on the heart-ace continuation. South correctly ruffed the heart king with the trump 10. West did well not to overruff, discarding a second club.
Now declarer needed trumps to break, and he decided that East was likely to hold the spade jack because West might have overruffed with that card. While the diamond finesse was likely to work, there was a real risk of a 4-1 split. Trying to avoid letting the defenders get a cheap ruff, he cashed the spade ace. When both defenders followed, he advanced the diamond queen, hoping for the reflex cover by West, and got it. Then a trump to the jack, queen and king left West on lead.
That player innocently exited with the club 10 (a diamond would have been more testing), and declarer captured this with the king as East followed with his five. The club ace drew the jack from East, and now declarer tried to count out the hand. East’s original shape was now known to be either 2-7-2-2 or 2-7-1-3, and declarer inferred that the play in clubs suggested he had the queen-jack.
Accordingly, diamonds were 4-1, so South boldly led a low diamond to dummy’s seven and claimed the rest when East showed out.
ANSWER: You would normally raise to two spades here, but consider that your entire hand is in the opponents’ suits, and you do not want partner to lead a spade from a broken suit if West becomes declarer. I would have bid two spades if I thought this might be our hand or if I had a spade honor, but here a discrete pass seems best.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
9 6 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 5 |
| ♦ |
A J 10 7 |
| ♣ |
7 4 2 |
| South |
West |
North |
East |
|
1♥ |
1♠ |
2♥ |
| ? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave a comment at this blog. Reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc., Copyright 2009.
|
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