March 30th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 1 Comment 
| Dealer: North
Vul: E/W
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
A K 9 8 |
| ♥ |
7 6 3 2 |
| ♦ |
J 8 4 2 |
| ♣ |
9 |
| West |
 |
East |
| ♠ |
7 6 4 |
♠ |
J |
| ♥ |
A Q 5 4 |
♥ |
10 9 8 |
| ♦ |
Q 6 |
♦ |
A K 7 5 |
| ♣ |
10 7 4 2 |
♣ |
A K J 6 3 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
Q 10 5 3 2 |
| ♥ |
K J |
| ♦ |
10 9 3 |
| ♣ |
Q 8 5 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
Pass |
1♦ |
1♠ |
| Dbl. |
2♦ |
3♣ |
Pass |
| Pass |
3♠ |
All Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦Q
“None but the brave deserves the fair.”
— John Dryden
To mark the Spring Nationals now being held in Houston, I shall be using deals from last year’s spring tournament, which was held in Detroit. You can follow the tournament by reading the bulletins on the ACBL Web site at acbl.org, or watching live coverage toward the end of the week at bridgebase.com.
The best play that I encountered in the Mixed Pairs found me on the receiving end. I thought Michael Yuen and Angela Fenton did very well here.
My one-spade bid perhaps deserved a fate worse than it got. But given that the contract of three clubs would have produced an easy 150 for East-West, the defenders needed the third undertrick to get back to par.
Against three spades, West led the diamond queen, ducked all around, and led another diamond to East’s king. Yuen made a very thoughtful shift to the heart eight, covered by the jack and queen. (Shifting to the heart 10 would not have made West’s life easy.)
Now the heart ace was led, East playing the nine. Then Fenton played a club to the king, and East continued with the diamond ace and a fourth diamond. Declarer ruffed high as Fenton pitched both her hearts. Now, as declarer, I had to guess spades at once, with no re-entry to my hand. Not surprisingly, I led low to dummy’s spade eight, since the trumps were known to be 3-1. This resulted in down 150 — mission accomplished for the defenders.
ANSWER: The question is whether to lead a spade or a diamond. Normally, you would opt for the fourth suit, or unbid suit. However, North’s failure to double three diamonds makes me think you might do better to lead a spade, although I agree that it is close.
LEAD WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
Q 9 4 3 |
| ♥ |
Q 8 6 4 |
| ♦ |
J 7 6 |
| ♣ |
J 2 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| 1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
| 2♣ |
Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
| 3♦ |
Pass |
3NT |
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.
March 29th, 2009 ~ admin ~ Comments Off on The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, March 15, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
What is the advantage of leading third and fifth (or third and low) as opposed to fourth highest?
— Fearless Leader, Columbia, S.C.
ANSWER: The benefits are relatively small, but in bridge one wants to differentiate between similar holdings. Leading fourth highest, but also lowest from three, makes those holdings hard to tell apart. Leading a higher card from two or four cards, but low from three or five, means that any ambiguity should be between holdings that are two cards apart. You are thus less likely to have that confusion.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If you were dealt ♠ A-J, ♥ K-9-6, ♦ K-10-6-4-2, ♣ 6-3-2, would you open in fourth seat, and would the vulnerability affect the decision?
— Lightweight, Wausau, Wis.
ANSWER: Playing pairs, I tend to open my 11-12 point hands when vulnerable (even when relatively short in spades, a criterion others take seriously). My logic is that my partner is likely to be close to an opener since he passed in second seat. As for my RHO, anyone who passes in third seat nonvulnerable is surely weak, so it rates to be our hand.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Can you explain what is supposed to happen in a tournament if a pair cannot play a board, either because of an accident in the movement or because of a late play.
— Lost in Space, Janesville, Wis.
ANSWER: I’m not an experienced director, but I think if you cannot play a deal because of something to which you contributed (by playing the deal at the wrong table), you get an average or average minus. Your real opponents — who did nothing wrong — get an average plus. |
|
Dear Mr. Wolff:
If you open a major suit and your partner responds one no-trump, are you allowed to invite by bidding two no-trump with a good 16-count, or do you have to pass? What is the minimum you need to rebid two no-trump or even three no-trump?
— A Little Extra, Augusta, Ga.
ANSWER: A jump to three no-trump is very unusual and suggests six decent cards in your major. With a good 17-19 and a balanced hand, you can raise to two no-trump. So what do you do with a balanced 15-16 count? Open one no-trump, temporarily concealing the major in return for showing your high cards at one go. If you have a 5-4 pattern, just bid the second suit and take it from there.
Dear Mr. Wolff:
Say you picked up ♠ Q-2, ♥ Q-6-4-3-2, ♦ 10-7-4, ♣ A-3-2 in third seat and heard your partner open three clubs at favorable vulnerability. Would you pass, bid five clubs, or try to steal the hand at four clubs?
— Bouncing Bob, Mason City, Kan.
ANSWER: My philosophy here is simple. I’ve no idea who can make what, so I want to give my opponents the hardest problem I can. I suspect they can make a game, so let’s see them work out what to do over my jump to five clubs. Yes, we might go for 800, but maybe I can give my partner a spade ruff, or he can set up the hearts and get out cheaply — or the opponents might overbid. I would do this at pairs, teams, or rubber. |
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.
March 28th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 8 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: None
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
A Q 4 3 |
| ♥ |
6 4 |
| ♦ |
8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
A K J 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
6 |
♠ |
7 5 2 |
| ♥ |
9 8 7 3 |
♥ |
Q 10 5 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 10 9 5 4 2 |
♦ |
K J |
| ♣ |
9 3 |
♣ |
Q 10 5 4 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
K J 10 9 8 |
| ♥ |
A K J |
| ♦ |
A 3 |
| ♣ |
8 7 6 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
1NT |
| Pass |
2♣ |
Pass |
2♠ |
| Pass |
4♦* |
Pass |
6♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
*Balanced slam-try in spades
Opening Lead: ♣9
“Multiplication is vexation, Division is as bad;
The rule of three doth puzzle me, And practice drives me mad.”
— Anon.
It is insulting to tell a declarer that he has taken a practice finesse, since that means he has risked his contract for a finesse that he did not need. Sometimes what may seem unnecessary to one person is essential to a declarer who has seen further into the problem than his colleague. Witness today’s deal, where slam seems a decent bet until the opening lead tilts the balance against declarer.
West leads the club nine, top of a doubleton, against South’s six spades, leaving declarer to find a way to avoid losing a trick in each minor. After drawing trumps, declarer should take the heart finesse (which superficially looks like a practice finesse) and run the rest of his trumps.
The reason for taking the heart finesse is to leave declarer with a master in both red suits — he needs to keep a high heart in hand to exert pressure on East.
After two hearts, a club, and five rounds of spades, East has to keep three clubs and thus can hold only two red cards. Declarer can now execute what is sometimes called a striptease coup. South cashes the winners in the red suit East has discarded, forcing East to pitch his other red-suit losers. Then South takes the rest of his red winners, reducing him to all clubs in the three-card ending. Finally he runs the club eight around to him, forcing him to concede the last two tricks to dummy’s club tenace.
ANSWER: Double. Doubling under the trumps and not over them emphasizes takeout. Plan to cue-bid three hearts next, in case you belong in three no-trump. An alternative approach would be to cuebid three hearts directly to get to three no-trump facing a heart stopper.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
A Q 4 3 |
| ♥ |
6 4 |
| ♦ |
8 7 6 |
| ♣ |
A K J 2 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
1♠ |
| 2♥ |
Pass |
Pass |
? |
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.
March 27th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 4 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: Both
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
9 3 |
| ♥ |
8 5 3 |
| ♦ |
Q 9 8 7 3 |
| ♣ |
8 7 2 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
Q 8 5 4 |
♠ |
6 |
| ♥ |
9 2 |
♥ |
Q 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
J 6 |
♦ |
10 5 4 2 |
| ♣ |
J 10 9 5 3 |
♣ |
A K Q 6 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A K J 10 7 2 |
| ♥ |
A K J 10 |
| ♦ |
A K |
| ♣ |
4 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
2♣ |
| Pass |
2♦ |
Pass |
2♠ |
| Pass |
3♣* |
Pass |
3♥ |
| Pass |
3♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
*Second negative
Opening Lead: ♣J
“Insurance: An ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table.”
— Ambrose Bierce
Sitting South, plan the play in four spades after the defense starts with two rounds of clubs. Remember, when a contract looks undemanding, that is the time to consider what might go wrong. It is all too easy to feel overconfident, perhaps wondering if you might make a slam if both major-suit queens drop.
If you simply play out your top spades, you will be fine if spades break 3-2. But suppose someone shows out. When you knock out the trump queen, the defenders will force you again in clubs. Now if you draw the last trump, you will have no trumps left. When the defenders win the heart queen, they will have at least one club to cash and you will go down. If you leave the trump out, West ruffs away your fourth heart winner.
Can you see a solution? At trick two, you should play the JACK of spades — retaining the spade nine in dummy for emergencies. Suppose West wins with the queen and continues clubs. You ruff and play the JACK of hearts. If East wins, he cannot attack clubs again because you can ruff in the dummy, cross to your hand with a diamond, and draw trumps.
Incidentally, it would not do West any good to duck the jack of spades. You simply cash the ace and king of spades and lead out your hearts. You have gained a tempo in the trump suit, and thus have a trump to spare.
ANSWER: If you had a full opener, you would reopen with a double for takeout in case partner was sitting with a penalty double. Here I would be reluctant to do this and would simply pass the hand out, hoping that the opponents have missed a game. Although your partner might have a decent hand with a spade stack, that may not be enough to set one spade!
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
6 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 6 4 |
| ♦ |
10 5 4 2 |
| ♣ |
A K Q 6 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
Pass |
Pass |
1♣ |
| 1♠ |
Pass |
Pass |
? |
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.
March 26th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 5 Comments
| Dealer: South
Vul: None
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K Q 10 5 |
| ♦ |
J 7 4 |
| ♣ |
7 6 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
8 7 4 2 |
♠ |
9 |
| ♥ |
A 8 4 |
♥ |
9 6 3 2 |
| ♦ |
Q 5 3 2 |
♦ |
A 10 9 6 |
| ♣ |
Q 5 |
♣ |
J 8 4 2 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 10 3 |
| ♥ |
J 7 |
| ♦ |
K 8 |
| ♣ |
A K 10 9 3 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
1♣ |
| Pass |
1♥ |
Pass |
1♠ |
| Pass |
4♠ |
Pass |
4NT |
| Pass |
5♦ |
Dble |
5♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♦2
“The day is for mistake and error, sequence of time for success and carrying out. The one who anticipates is master of the day.”
— Johann von Goethe
Sally Brock has just won England’s first world title at bridge since Great Britain split into its constituent parts for major international events. Sally, an excellent journalist, wrote up this deal from one of the domestic tournaments. It contains a point that could benefit all of us.
At her table, Sally had stopped safely in four spades and thought no more of the board. But in the featured room, North-South got one level higher, and East-West did well to make them pay.
The defenders played two rounds of diamonds, South winning his king. Declarer now played a spade to dummy’s king and a spade back to his ace, East discarding the heart six, showing an even number of cards in the suit. So now, when declarer played a heart, West was able to duck the first heart and win the continuation. Now the diamond queen forced declarer to ruff. Locked in his hand, declarer tried two top clubs and a club ruff, but this allowed West to discard a heart and the contract could no longer be made.
The cause of South’s downfall was that he ruined his communications by playing two rounds of trump too early. He should simply have played a heart at trick two. If West wins the second heart as before and continues diamonds, declarer ruffs a diamond high, draws trumps, and claims the remainder.
Message: Drawing trumps too soon can be as fatal to contracts as drawing trumps too late.
ANSWER: It would not be absurd to pass, since your side has at most 25 HCP. But if partner has a maximum, he might not be too pleased, so perhaps you should invite to game. Best is simply to raise to two no-trump. (You know your side does not have a spade fit or your partner would probably have bid one spade at his previous turn.)
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 6 5 |
| ♥ |
K Q 10 5 |
| ♦ |
J 7 4 |
| ♣ |
7 6 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
1♣ |
Pass |
1♥ |
| Pass |
1NT |
Pass |
? |
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.
March 25th, 2009 ~ admin ~ 12 Comments
| Dealer: North
Vul: Both
|
North |
|
| ♠ |
K Q 9 3 |
| ♥ |
A 9 6 5 |
| ♦ |
K 8 3 |
| ♣ |
10 8 |
| West |
|
East |
| ♠ |
10 6 2 |
♠ |
7 5 |
| ♥ |
Q 7 3 |
♥ |
10 4 2 |
| ♦ |
10 9 7 6 4 |
♦ |
A 5 |
| ♣ |
A 6 |
♣ |
K Q 7 5 4 3 |
|
South |
|
| ♠ |
A J 8 4 |
| ♥ |
K J 8 |
| ♦ |
Q J 2 |
| ♣ |
J 9 2 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
1♦ |
Pass |
1♠ |
| Pass |
2♠ |
Pass |
4♠ |
| All Pass |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Opening Lead: ♣A
“Some men a forward motion love,
But I by backward steps would move.”
— Henry Vaughan
Twenty-four teams were invited to play in the 20th Bonn Nations Cup. Joining in was John Carruthers of Canada — to whom I am indebted for this hand – who formed a partnership with the Swedish international P.O. Sundelin. The journalist team proved to be an exception to the bridge rule that those who can do, those who can’t, write.
Against four spades, West found the useful lead of the club ace and, encouraged by East’s signal, continued the suit. After a third club was ruffed in dummy, Sundelin drew trumps in three rounds, then led the diamond jack. He was surprised to see East capturing this with the ace. Because modern players usually strain every sinew to get into the action, failing to overcall with a six-card suit headed by the K-Q plus an outside ace is a rarity.
East passively returned a club, which took out Sundelin’s last trump. Declarer now cashed the king and queen of diamonds. When East showed out, his original 2-3-2-6 shape was revealed.
Surely East would have entered the bidding if he held the queen of hearts in addition to his other assets. Sundelin certainly thought so, and thus ruled out taking the straightforward finesse of the heart jack. Instead, he led out the heart jack. West covered, dummy’s ace won, then a backwards finesse of the heart eight gave declarer his game.
ANSWER: Although this is more a matter of style, I do not think it is appropriate to compete in these auctions without extra values or extra shape. You have shown what you have (if you believe, as I do, that takeout doubles promise appropriate shape and high cards), so it is up to partner to bid again with a fifth heart or extras.
BID WITH THE ACES
South Holds:
| ♠ |
K Q 9 3 |
| ♥ |
A 9 6 5 |
| ♦ |
K 8 3 |
| ♣ |
10 8 |
| West |
North |
East |
South |
|
Pass |
1♣ |
Dbl. |
| 2♣ |
2♥ |
3♣ |
? |
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.
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