|
Hand Analyses 7th April, 2010
There’s an abundance of links on this page, here’s what they all mean: - Notations such as Bidding Quiz (North) are links to the weekly Bidding Quiz, a selection of the 15-20 most interesting bidding situations of the week. - Each week we pick out two or three hands which are suitable for presentation in problem format, as in Play Problem 203 (West), linking you to a page with only two hands on display. Solve the problem first, then see the solution and the entire deal. - Some analyses contain references to bidding conventions, and you’ll see links to articles in our Convention Library such as Roman Key Card - In BridgeOpedia we have categorized by theme the entire history of the most instructive Wednesday Game hands, two year’s worth. Occasionally you will see a purple arrow, linking to the relevant BridgeOpedia section. For example, in this week’s Board 1, East had the chance to break up a squeeze against his Partner. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Squeeze Defense”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
Some Souths might well prefer to bid 1NT at their first turn, but it probably won’t matter, as North will keep competing in Clubs until she is allowed to play there.
The play in Clubs looks as straightforward as can be, with Declarer losing a Spade, a Club, and eventually a Heart. 10 tricks for +130. But not so fast! Suppose that East, not unreasonably, starts with his top Spades. Declarer ruffs the second round, knocks out the ♣A, wins the Diamond return in hand, and runs all her trumps. Then, when Declarer crosses to Dummy’s ♦K, West is squeezed in the majors and Declarer has 11 tricks! Yes, trying to cash that second Spade was fatal. In order to break up the squeeze, East had to shift to one of the red suits and then continue the same suit when in with the ♣A. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Squeeze Defense”>>
Depending on their methods, some Wests might prefer a direct response of 3NT, getting the contract played by West.
If East plays 3NT: Here’s an inferior line of play: Diamond lead won by Dummy’s Queen Club to Declarer’s Queen Three rounds of Spades (but what does Dummy pitch?) Lose a Spade Win Diamond return Cash the last Spade Now Declarer does not have the timing to set up a Heart trick and is held to 8 tricks. Declarer would have done better to play on Hearts at Trick 3, leading towards Dummy’s Queen (and, if that had lost to North, by later leading towards his Jack). This works whenever one defender has both high Hearts, and if that turns out not to be the case then Declarer must hope for a 3-3 Spade break.
If West plays 3NT: North leads a Club allowing Declarer to score two Clubs, three Diamonds and four Spades. 9 tricks the easy way!
This is a routine hand. If West makes the obvious lead of Partner’s suit, then Declarer wins that, knocks out the ♥A, and claims 12 tricks. It takes an opening Club lead to hold Declarer to 11 tricks.
At their first turn, some Souths might well prefer to overcall 1NT. That’s not ideal with Axx in Opener’s suit … then again, neither is a Double with 3-3 in the majors. Anyway, let’s assume that South doubles. Now, what would you bid with the North hand? The options are: - 3♠? This bid shows 6 Spades and a weak hand, and the objection to that is that it gives up on the Heart suit. But, switch the red suits around and we would say that the hand is just fine for 3♠. - 2♠? North has the playing strength for this but not the high card strength (needs around 9-11). - 1♠? That would be our choice, and our plan would be to bid Spades again, and then Hearts if the auction permits.
After North bids 1♠, what would your choice as East? Do you play Support Doubles? If that option is available then it would be a good choice. However, many pairs that play Support Doubles choose not to play them when Responder has bid Diamonds. Instead, they play the Double as showing Hearts (the so-called Snapdragon Double). So, if a Support Double is not available (for one reason or the other) then East’s best bid is 2♦, no need to be concerned that it’s only a 3-card suit when it’s that strong.
The auction might now proceed as follows: West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ Dbl 1♦ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 3♠ Pass 4♠ Pass Pass Pass
Yes, getting to 4♠ was a bit of a struggle and it’s a so-so contract. But full marks to North for appreciating the value of her 6-4 distribution. Playing 4♠ Declarer needs two out of three things to happen … the ♠Q coming down, the ♥Q onside, and the ♣K onside. That works out to about 50% and this occasion Declarer’s luck is in. 10 tricks.
This deal is a tale of two rules: - Rule of 20: Would you open the South hand in third seat? We wouldn’t. To start with it does not pass the Rule of 20. And it gets worse, the hand has no Aces and no Tens. But aren’t we supposed to open light in third seat? Maybe, but only when there is a good reason to do so. Opening this hand 1♦ has little or no preemptive value, and it’s not even a suit which we are desperate for Partner to lead. So we’d pass this one. - Rule of 15: This Rule tells 4th seat players to add their Spades to their HCP and to open if the total is 15 or more. On this basis, West’s 9 HCP and 5 Spades do not qualify, and Rule advises West to pass out the deal.
So, if everybody plays by the “rules”, the hand is passed out. Here’s what happens if the rules are broken: - If South opens 1♦ then West overcalls 1♠, North tries 1NT, East doubles, West bails out to 2♥, and E-W will end up scrambling 8 tricks in 2♥ or 2♠. The N-S reward for ignoring the Rule of 20 is a minus score. - If West opens 1♠ (after South has passed), East bids 2♦, West bids 2♥, and E-W will end up out of their depth, going minus, perhaps in 3♥.
These so-called rules do not always work, but on this hand both of them were spot on!
South’s 2NT was the Unusual No Trump, showing the minors in this case. Given the extreme distribution and the favorable vulnerability, South might have been tempted to bid 4NT instead (which we think should also be for the minors). However, considering that South is in second seat, 4NT is probably not a good idea … but if Partner were a passed hand then we would bid 4NT like a shot.
What are your methods against the Unusual 2NT? We have two cue-bids at our disposal … 3♣ and 3♦. There’s a variety of methods out there, different schemes to use these two cue-bids effectively. This is the so-called “Unusual vs Unusual”. Perhaps the simplest of these is “Lower for Lower”, so-called because the lower-ranking cue-bid is for the lower-ranking major, and the higher-ranking is for the higher.
3♣ Invitational values (or better) in Hearts … as this is the unbid major, we should be showing a 6-card suit (a really good 5 might be acceptable).
3♦ Shows invitational values (or better) in Spades … at least 3-card support.
3♥ Competing in Hearts … 6-card suit, 6-9 HCP.
3♠ Competing in Spades … same sort of hand strength as for 3♥, with 3-card support
Dbl Shows values, invites Partner’s cooperation in competing or doubling their minor suit contract … creates a force, such that either we will play the hand, or they will play the hand doubled.
Pass This could just be a crummy hand, of course … another possibility is a hand which intends to double at least one of their minors, but which does not want to encourage Partner to compete. Passing 2NT, and then doubling them in one of their suits, is very much for penalty.
Using that method West will bid 3♦. “Is the West hand invitational or game-going?”, that’s the next question. We’d say that it was invitational, being prepared to deduct a point for that square shape. But if you were more optimistic and bid the game then you did better than us, as 4♠ is likely to make with careful play.
The Play in Spades The most obvious line of play is: Diamond to North’s Ace Diamond ruff Spade to the King Spade finesse Cash ♠A Heart to the King and Ace Diamond ruff Heart to the Queen ♣Q covered by the King and Ace Now Declarer gets back to Dummy one more time and is able to lead towards his ♥T. Making 10 tricks thanks to the careful use of Dummy entries. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Entry Management”>>
The Play in Diamonds Of course, there is a good chance that North will compete up to 5♦, which will be a fine sacrifice if most E-W pairs are making 4♠ (which we rather doubt). The play can go in various directions, and the end-result will be down one or two.
You may not think much of that 1NT opening but it looks like the best bet to us (second choice would be to open 1♣ and rebid 2♣ if Partner responds 1♠). After the 1NT opening the fate of the deal will be in West’s hands: - If West makes a sensible Pass then East leads a Spade and, as you can see, the defense can take the first eight tricks. But will they? On the fifth Spade East will discourage one minor or the other, but it may not be obvious to West that a Heart shift is required. If West somehow finds the ♥K shift it’s down two for Declarer … otherwise Declarer will rattle off 7 minor suit winners for +90. - If West bravely plunges in (let’s say with a 2♦ DONT bid), then East will declare 2♠. Against this contract the defense can take five minor suit winners, but there is a good chance that they will be unable to untangle these tricks. For example, the defense plays Clubs and Dummy ruffs the third round. Now trumps are drawn, the Hearts cashed, and the Diamond Ten is finessed, losing to North’s Jack. North can cash the ♦A but must now concede a ruff and sluff, allowing Declarer’s third Diamond loser to disappear. It takes a Diamond lead to hold Declarer to 8 tricks (or else the most improbable defense of a Club to North’s King, a low Club back, and a Diamond shift).
Would you open the West hand 2♣? It has only three losers (or 2.5 losers by some measures), and is strong enough to make game opposite some yarboroughs. Nonetheless, opening 2♣ is not a good idea, much better to start bidding the suits right away with a 1♣ opening. The follow-up plan would be a jump shift to 2♠, followed by a rebid of 3♠, which would confirm the 5-6 distribution. Well, that’s the plan, but sometimes the opponents get in the way, and the actual auction takes a different turn: West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ 3♦ ?? Now, South could jump to 4♠, but it seems to us that 3♠ should be forcing and that would be our choice. Now we look at East’s hand: West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ 3♦ 3♠ Pass ?? Do you bid 4♥ or 4♠? Surely 4♥ is the way to go. That 1♥ did not promise more than a 4-card suit, and East has a good 6-card suit. 4♠ is a possibility, but that could well be a 4-3 fit, and one which is likely to play badly (because Diamonds will need to be ruffed in the long hand, and loss of trump control is likely to result). The auction proceeds: West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ 3♦ 3♠ Pass 4♥ Pass 4♠ Pass ?? Is the East hand worth another bid? It’s a close decision! Partner has shown 5-6 in the black suits, and is surely short in Diamonds, perhaps even void. East’s Spade intermediates look especially useful and it’s possible to see the play going one of two ways: (a) if North leads a trump then it might be possible to establish either the Hearts or the Clubs, or (b) if North leads a Diamond it might be possible to scamper home on a cross-ruff. OK, if you like East’s hand enough to take another call, then what is your choice? Surely 5♠, a slam try denying a control in Diamonds.
West’s 2♦ was an Inverted Raise, showing Diamond support (often 5 of them, but not always), game-invitational values or better, and denying a 4-card major. What are your methods after an Inverted Raise? The two most commonly used natural follow-ups to 1♣ 2♣ or 1♦ 2♦ are: - Show Stoppers, attempting to determine if a No Trump contract is viable. So, 1♦ 2♦, 2♠ says “I have a Spade stopper but not one in Hearts”. And 1♦ 2♦, 2NT says “I have a stopper in both majors”. - Show Hand-Type: 1♦ 2♦, 2NT shows a minimum balanced hand, and may or may not have major suit stoppers. 1♦ 2♦, 3♦ is also minimum, and usually unbalanced or with extra Diamond length. Responder may pass either of these sequences with a minimum
To us the stopper method seems somewhat unstructured, we prefer the Hand-Type method. Using that approach, Opener shows a minimum balanced hand and West goes to game.
Against 3NT, South leads a Club won by Declarer’s Ace. The ♦A is knocked out and South continues Clubs or maybe shifts to Spades. Either way, Declarer has a choice to make … he can cash 9 tricks and give up … or he can lead towards the ♥K, trying for an overtrick but risking the contract if the ♥A is with North. We’d say that the odds favor going for the overtrick, it’s better than a 50-50 shot. How so? Well, the ♥A may be onside (that’s 50%) but even if it is offside Declarer will survive if (a) the Heart suit is blocked (South might hold QJx or QTx or JTx, for example), or (b) the defense manages to block the Heart suit (North might go wrong holding AQJx or AQTx or AJTx), or (c) the Heart suit might be there for the defense to take but they might neglect to do so. So, it’s +630 for the bold Declarers, only +600 for the wimps. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Matchpoint Decisions”>>
West’s Double of 2♥ showed something in Hearts, no doubt at least a decent 5-card suit (in this case we’d expect West to hold the ♥QJ). Do you raise to 3♥? Devotees of the Law of Total Tricks will consider it automatic to compete to the three-level, notwithstanding the vulnerability. Another consideration in favor of bidding 3♥ is that it is unlikely to get doubled (N-S don’t have any trump tricks).
On the other hand, look at all those side-suit losers! East has no ruffing values, and whatever side-suit strength that West has will be sitting in front of the strong North hand. It looks 3♥ looks frightfully dangerous to us.
The Bottom Line - If East does bid 3♥ then North will probably compete to 3♠ and play it there. That’s 10 tricks (provided that Declarer guesses the Diamonds). If North is a timid individual and passes 3♥ then she will profit greatly, as 3♥ is down two for +200 to N-S. - If East passes, then 2♠ making four will be the result.
Against 3NT, South leads Partner’s Hearts, and Declarer takes his Ace. At Trick 2, Declarer leads a Club, posing a dilemma for South: - Perhaps the winning play is to grab the Ace and continue Hearts, hoping that North’s suit is now good. That would be right if Declarer had the ♦K and not the ♠Q, as Declarer would steal his contract with two Spades, a Heart, five Diamonds and a Club. However, South should reason that Declarer would have ducked a Heart (or two) if he did not have a second stopper in the suit. - Alternatively, South could duck the first Club and wait for a signal from North (perhaps N-S are playing Smith Echo).
Anyway, when South does win her ♣A, she does best to shift to a Diamond, holding Declarer to 9 tricks. But let us suppose that South blunders by continuing Hearts. Now Declarer has the chance for 10 tricks. Do you see how? Please see the Play Problem.
West has an in-between sort of hand. The Law of Total Tricks tells us that this hand should compete up to the 3-level, based on the 9-card Spade fit. But West is too good to bid 3♠ immediately (that would be preemptive) and not good enough to Redouble (nor to use Jordan, nor maybe even Drury). So, playing standard methods, the solution is to bid 2♠ here, and to be prepared to compete later to the 3-level if necessary.
However, there is a useful gadget for this hand, namely “Constructive Raises in Competition”. Playing that gadget, West bids 3♣ or 3♦ to show a four-card raise and a half-decent hand, in other words, something in between a preempt and a game invitation. One common treatment is that bidding 3♣ is a constructive raise with a singleton, and that 3♦ is a constructive raise without a singleton.
The bottom line is that East will probably declare 3♠, which is down one provided that South defends accurately. She’ll cash a couple of Diamonds and will see the danger of Dummy’s Heart suit. So, she’ll shift to Clubs at Trick 3, setting up the defense’s Club trick before it goes away on the Hearts. On the actual hand, the Club shift could have waited, but that’s only because Declarer had three Hearts. If Declarer’s shape had been 5=2=3=3 then failing to shift to a Club would be the difference between 9 and 10 tricks.
We are not convinced that North should be bidding 3♠, but it’s a distinct possibility, so we predict that most tables will see N-S playing in 4♥, with perhaps a few playing in 3♠ doubled. The play in both contracts is interesting!
The Play in 3♠ Doubled: West leads the ♥K, overtaken by the Ace. A Heart is returned to West’s Jack, then another Heart which Dummy must ruff (with the Nine or the Jack). Of course, East does not overruff, instead he pitches a Club. Now a trump is led from Dummy, and East hops up with his Ace, cashes the ♣A, crosses to West’s ♣K and gets a Club ruff. With the ♦A still to come, that is a lovely +800 for E-W. But, if E-W find any other defense, then N-S will escape for a profitable sacrifice of 500.
The Play in 4♥: If North finds the terrific opening lead of a Club, then Declarer has no chance of scoring more than 10 tricks. But on any other lead (let’s say a Spade), good Declarer play hauls in 11 tricks: Spade lead won by Dummy’s Ace ♦A is cashed Another Diamond is won by North’s Jack (South pitches a Spade) Declarer’s King wins the Club shift Declarer continues Diamonds, won by North’s King Now, Dummy’s ♦T is led, and whether South ruffs or not, Declarer will get a Club pitch at some point, scoring 11 tricks for a great board.
Two points in the above line of play: - Declarer did well to play on Diamonds immediately, that was his only chance to avoid a Club loser. - South goofed on defense! When those Diamonds were being played she had to pitch Clubs, not Spades, setting up a Club ruff to foil Declarer’s plan and hold Declarer to 10 tricks!
We are not 100% sure that West’s attempt to penalize 2♥ was necessarily a good idea, given that E-W have a 8-card Spade fit, but on the actual deal 2♥ doubled is down no fewer than four tricks. But, fortunately for N-S, North had an obvious escape in Diamonds (down only two) and E-W ended up playing in 4♠ anyway.
As South, what is your opening lead against 4♠? You can be fairly certain that North has less than two Hearts, and that West has 4 or 5. It’s possible that both North and East have singletons, but nonetheless we’d lead a Heart hoping to give Partner a ruff. Which Heart? The Two! If Partner can ruff the opening lead, we hope that she will read our Two as a suit preference signal for Club. By the same token, we’d lead the Eight if we wanted Partner to return a Diamond. As it happens, Partner does not ruff the opening Heart lead, but you get a second chance, grabbing the ♠A on the first round and giving Partner a Heart ruff. 10 tricks only with this defense, but 11 with any other opening lead. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Preference”>>
East would like to invite a No Trump slam on this hand. Would 4NT do the job? Yes, but only if your partnership has clear agreements in this situation, and if you can be sure that Partner will not take this as Roman Key Card for Hearts. Our suggestion is that 4NT should not agree Hearts here, if that is your intention you could bid Fourth Suit Forcing (2♠), then support with 3♥ (forcing), then bid 4NT. With that agreement, then 4NT directly over 1♥ can be slam-invitational in No Trump.
Should West accept the slam invitation? Probably not, a 13-count with no 5-card suits and no Tens is at the low end of opening bids.
Playing in No Trump, East has 11 tricks if he can guess the Club suit correctly. Let’s say that South leads a Spade. Declarer can count 10 top tricks, with extras possible in Diamonds and/or Clubs. As it happens the Diamonds do not break. How about Clubs? Declarer can pick up the suit if he guesses to finesse the Nine on the third round of the suit. But he probably won’t guess right, reasoning that as North has only two Diamonds she is unlikely also to be short in Clubs. Therefore, 10 tricks only.
Double Dummy Line for 12 Tricks Notwithstanding the above, provided that South does not lead a Heart, Declarer can actually make 12 tricks! It’s a double dummy line: ♠Q wins the opening lead Three Diamonds are cashed (North can afford to pitch one Heart) Four Clubs are cashed (North must now pitch two Spades) The ♠A and ♠K are cashed Now North is down to ♥KQx, so East runs the ♥J around to North, who is end-played!
The Power of Intermediates As you saw, with normal play Declarer has only 10 tricks. But look at what happens if we beef up West’s Heart spots by including the Eight and the Nine. Now 6NT is a fine contract! There is a 75% chance of collecting three Heart tricks, all that is needed is for South to hold at least one of the missing honors. If that is the case, then Declarer has three tricks in each suit.
East has transferred to Spades, what are your methods? Many pairs play some form of “super-accept”, in which Opener declines to bid just 2♠ when he has four cards in Partner’s major. There are various methods, here is our favorite: 1NT 2♥ 3♠ Medium hand with 4 Spades.
1NT 2♥ 2NT Maximum with 4 Spades.
1NT 2♥ 2♠ May have 4 Spades but a rotten hand (quacky and/or square)
There are other methods. For example, some play that 1NT 2♥, 3♣ shows, in addition to the 4 Spades, a doubleton Club … this is all very scientific, but why should Declarer want to tip his hand to the defenders like that? Most of the time, Responder will not care about that doubleton, he’ll already know where the hand is headed. Better to use a method which keeps Declarer’s hand a mystery to the defenders. So, playing the suggested methods, we’d say that West has a medium super-accept of 3♠, which will be raised to game.
The play is straightforward. 11 easy tricks when the ♦K turns out to be onside and doubleton.
No doubt many of you have some opinions about East’s bidding. Let’s start with that 1NT opening. “What 1NT opening?” some might say, and they have a point. The hand is minimum in terms of HCP, and becomes sub-minimum when one considers (a) the square shape (subtract a point for that), and (b) the astonishing absence of Tens. So, we don’t think that East has a 1NT opening, we’d pretend we had a 14-count and open 1♣. Now, provided that West does not get too ambitious, it should be possible to play in the safe part-score of 2♠.
Anyway, let’s say that East (like many others) mistakenly opens 1NT. West tries Stayman, and East’s next decision is whether or not to show the 4-card major when holding a square hand. The argument for not doing so is that East has no ruffing value, the counter-argument is that maybe it is Partner who has the ruffing value(s). To be honest, what to do here is something of a guess, but there is a gadget which gets around the problem. If you cannot remember the last time you had an auction which began 1NT 3♦, then consider using that sequence as a “Stayman in Doubt” inquiry. The bid says “I have game values, my distribution is 3=4=3=3 or 4=3=3=3, don’t bother to show me your 4-card major if your hand is also square”. That way, you avoid playing in 4♥ or 4♠ with mirror square hands.
Back to the actual hand. Thanks to East’s overstated opening, 4♠ is reached and it’s a very poor contract indeed. Looking at just the E-W hands, there are two Heart losers, there will be two Club losers most of the time, there is a Diamond loser to be avoided, and also the danger of a 4-1 trump break. As it happens, the trumps do break 4-1 and 8 tricks is the maximum (maybe 9 if South leads the ♣K).
On the previous board we had a dubious 1NT opening, here is another one! But this one perhaps errs in the opposite direction, instead of a 15-count with minus factors we have a 17-count with plus factors. Those plusses are the 5-card suit, and a couple of useful-looking Tens. On the other hand, there is that unsupported Queen, so take your pick on this one or flip a coin. Of course, to be consistent, if you think the hand is too good for a 1NT opening then you will open 1♣ and rebid 2NT, pretending to have 18-19 HCP.
It’s too bad for N-S that South was unable to get his Spades into the auction (at any other vulnerability we would be tempted to open 2♠). But on that auction, North will no doubt lead the ♦Q and Declarer quickly scoops up 10 tricks.
You would open the South hand, wouldn’t you? Sure you would, those 5-5 10-counts pass the Rule of 20 test, and additionally this hand is positively overflowing with intermediates. True, that doubleton Queen is something of a minus, but still a 1♠ opening in our book.
We are not entirely sure that North’s 2♣ is entirely perfect, but then again it doesn’t pay to remain silent with highly distributional hands. Anyway, E-W appeared destined to play in 3NT, probably down a couple of tricks.
East has these choices at his first turn: - 4♣ (splinter): True, East has 4-card Heart support, game-going values and Club shortness, but somehow it seems wrong to use all that bidding space to show the Club singleton when it’s possible to show that excellent Diamond suit more cheaply. - 2♦, planning to raise Hearts next (or if West rebids 2♥ to make a delayed splinter of 4♣) - Jacoby 2NT: Here, East decides not to describe his hand, instead taking charge of the auction and asking Partner about his hand. The trouble with that approach is that West might be looking at ♦Qx and will have no idea what a dynamite holding that happens to be.
The splinter is a bad idea, Jacoby 2NT might work, but our own preference is for 2♦.
As luck would have it, having turned up our editorial noses at the 4♣ splinter it turns out to be the bid most likely to succeed! Now South cannot get Spades into the auction (unless she wants to go for 800) and North probably won’t find the Spade lead that holds Declarer to 11 tricks. Without a Spade lead it’s 13 tricks provided that Declarer negotiates three Club ruffs in Dummy.
Bidding Afterthought: Do you think that West underbid his hand? Perhaps so, and after East’s 4♥ he might well make a slam try with 5♣. The bidding will then stop in 5♥ when neither partner can cue-bid Spades.
This is a sorry hand for N-S, let’s just call it -100 or -200 and move on.
Would anyone open the East hand 2♦? We certainly hope not! It’s way too good for starters, passing the Rule of 20. Additionally, it’s not a good idea to open a Weak Two with an outside Ace and a void, and having a 4-card major on the side is another negative. So, a clear 1♦ opening bid!
North’s Double was a tad light, no doubt she was encouraged by the vulnerability. East made a Support Redouble, showing three Spades.
As it happens, there are 13 tricks available. Let’s say that North finds the best opening lead of a low Heart, knocking out a Dummy entry. Even so, Declarer can win Dummy’s ♥A, finesse the ♠J, finesse the Diamond Queen, cross back on a Spade, draw the last trump, run the Diamonds and claim all the tricks. But that is a dangerous way to play the hand and could result in defeat if the ♠Q and one of the Diamonds were offside. A far safer line would be to cross-ruff as follows: Win the ♥A Ruff a Heart Cash ♣A Finesse the ♦Q Cash the ♦A Ruff a Heart Ruff a Club Ruff a Heart Ruff a Club Ruff a Diamond (North pitches a Club) Declarer has 10 tricks under his belt, with a high Spade still to come. He now leads another Club and gets lucky when South turns out to have the missing Club and the ♠Q. Making 12 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Cross-Ruffing”>>
North has no good bid here! At least she doesn’t if, like most players (including us), her Fourth Suit Forcing is forcing to game. So, in the circumstances, you could make a case for: - 2♦ anyway, overbidding in an attempt to find the best spot (which maybe 4♥) - 2NT without a stopper in the 4th suit - A similarly stopperless underbid of 1NT - 3♣ which shows the right values but could land the partnership in the soup (this particular soup might turn out to be a 3-3 fit!)
It’s a pretty appalling bunch of options. The winner turns out to be 2NT which South will pass, and which is good for 8 tricks with careful play.
If you happen to play that Fourth Suit Forcing is not game-forcing then you will rejoice that your methods land you in 2NT with no guesswork required.
We rather like 2♠ here though it won’t be the universal choice. Assuming that North does open 2♠, East has no reason to get involved and South will launch into Roman Key Card. That keeps N-S out of slam and there are 11 easy tricks.
Footnote 1: After a Weak Two, some partnerships use 4♣ for Roman Key Card. Not a bad idea.
Footnote 2: Some partnerships modify their Roman Key Card responses when they are being made by a preemptor. Using the logic that a preemptor cannot have more than two Key Cards, one such set of responses is: 1st Step No Key Cards 2nd Step One KC, no trump Queen 3rd Step One KC, with trump Queen 4th Step Two KC, no trump Queen 5th Step Two KC, with trump Queen Obscure stuff!
Pass is not an option, of course, so how many Clubs do you bid? Not 3♣, not 4♣, both would be quite feeble. That leaves 1♣ or 5♣. Violent preempts with an outside Ace are not ideal, but even so we’d bid 5♣ here, and that will get passed out. Down two. Oh well! The good news for the 5♣ bidders is that things are no better if East opens 1♣. As West will push on to game for the same -200.
Back on Board 17, East got his side into hot water by opening 1NT with a square 15-count which had no Tens. We are delighted to announce that East has finally learned his lesson! Here he has a square 12-count with no Tens and sensibly passes in first seat.
After this auction it seems that East should lead the ♦K and that holds Declarer to 10 tricks. Declarer might duck the first Diamond, win the second one, and knock out the ♣A.
A simple auction to a sensible contract. 8 tricks on this line of play: ♥K is taken by Dummy’s Ace Spade is led and South’s Ten is allowed to win the trick Heart to North’s Queen Another Heart, low from Dummy, ruffed by South, overruffed by Declarer Spade won by North North cashes her last Spade The defense has four tricks with just the ♣K to come. Declarer scored two tricks in each suit.
Here is another square 12-count (see also East’s hand on Board 26), this time with West, and again we advise a Pass in first seat. Then, in an echo of Board 17, West must decide whether to use Stayman with that square hand. That’s the winning bid, as there 10 tricks in 4♠ and only 9 in 3NT.
Being opposite a passed hand, South makes a reasonable Pass over 4♠ and that’s where the matter rests. That will be down one provided that South does not find the disastrous opening lead of a Diamond.
Some bold Souths might take a shot at 5♦ and they may live to tell the tale. West will probably lead the ♠Q, won by Dummy’s Ace, Declarer pitching a Heart. [Question: Why not pitch a Club? Declarer’s rationale was that finding the ♣Q with West (based on the auction) was more likely than Hearts breaking 3-3] Now the ♦J is finessed, losing to West’s Ace. The moment of truth has arrived! Will West find the Club shift to set the contract? Maybe, maybe not!
The "Surely" Trap - When defending against 5-level (and 6-level) contracts it is customary to give count rather than attitude on opening lead. But maybe that agreement can be thrown out of the window when East’s count is already known. Here, the vulnerable 4♠ opening, missing ♠AQ, surely means that East has 8 Spades. Then again, one man’s “surely” is another man’s “perhaps” or “probably” or “not in a million years”. - Nonetheless, let’s assume that, at Trick 1, East believes the auction has freed him of his “give count” shackles. What Spade should he play which will persuade Partner to give him a Club ruff.? As attitude is known, and as count is presumed, surely (there’s that word again) this is a suit preference situation. That being the case, East would play the King if he wanted a Heart shift, play something in the middle if he had no preference, and play the Three if he wanted a Club shift. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Count Signals”>> >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Preference”>>
Some Ethical Thoughts - This is a situation where a bit of Active Ethics is required. After Dummy’s Ace is played, it’s hardly sporting to think for two minutes, then firmly thumb your lowest Spade on the table, while staring at Partner as if to say “This card means something”. It shouldn’t need to be said, but we’ve all seen this happen many times. - Declarer also has an obligation at Trick 1. When that opening Spade lead is made, it will be immediately apparent to Declarer that he will win the Ace and play on Diamonds. But that does not mean that she should call for the Ace within a microsecond of Dummy being tabled. She should wait for about 10 or 15 seconds, giving East the chance to plan his play and avoid being tainted with a slow signal.
How do you like East’s bidding? We’d say that it was spot on! It should go without saying that the hand is too good for a Weak Two, but what about that second bid? Some might say that, having opened with an 11-count, East has done his all and has no obligation to make additional bids unless forced to do so. That’s bad thinking. E-W are in a forcing auction once West bids 3♦ so it’s important for East to let Partner know that he has a 6th Spade and a decent suit. Bidding 3♠ here makes E-W’s life easy, and the best contract of 4♠ is reached.
Against 4♠, South leads the ♥K which is won by Declarer’s Ace. Next is a Heart ruff, and a Spade to the Ten (based on the assumption that South is more likely to hold the King than the Jack because of her two-level overcall). South wins her ♠K and has no good shift … if South shifts to a Club then there is only one Club loser (as it happens that was always the case) … if South shifts to a Diamond then Declarer will set up the Diamonds, playing for a 3-2 break. So, on the ♥K opening lead, there are always 12 tricks … it takes the spectacular opening lead of the ♣K to hold Declarer to 11 tricks. Did you find it?
With four losers, West is pretty minimum for his 2♣ opening so, after East raises to 3♠ (stronger than bidding 4♠ directly), West declines to cue-bid and simply bids 4♠. Against 4♠, let’s say that North leads the ♦K, won by Declarer. At this point, Declarer might lead the ♣K, and South makes Declarer nervous by ducking! Now, continuing Clubs would be dangerous (there is the danger of running into a ruff), but it’s probably the best line of play anyway. South wins the second Club and persists with Diamonds, ruffed by Declarer. At this point Declarer wants to avoid losing the lead because (a) if trumps are 4-1 he may lose trump control, and (b) there is still the danger of a Club ruff. So, Declarer cashes ♠AK and gets lucky when North’s Queen falls! The last trump is drawn and it’s 11 tricks when the Heart finesse loses.
South’s Double is off-shape but at least she has the majors well-covered. Change the shape from 4=4=2=3 to, say, 4=2=4=3 and Double would definitely not be a good idea, as doubling with less than three in an unbid major is generally not a good idea (unless the hand is extra strong). As for North, she goes for the better scoring major fit, which is just as well in this case as Hearts are worth 9 tricks and Diamonds only 8.
© BES, Inc All Rights Reserved | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home ThisWeeksHands PlayArchives BiddingArchives Conventions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
