|
Hand Analyses 26th April, 2006
Do you play Lebensohl over Weak Twos doubled? In this (highly recommended) method, the 2NT bid in the featured auction is a relay to 3♣, usually as a prelude to showing a weak hand (say less than 9 or so HCPs). Here, South is just too strong to accept the relay, and takes a shot at 3NT, a contract which makes 9 tricks.
If N-S were not playing Lebensohl, North would no doubt bid 2NT naturally here … it’s a bit of an overbid, but nothing else appeals. Playing Lebensohl, though, North was stuck for a plan, and was no doubt headed for 3♥ before South saved the day by bidding 3NT. Much as we like Lebensohl, it does take away the natural 2NT bid, and occasionally, as here, that turns out to be inconvenient.
West’s light 3rd seat 1♣ opening sets off a complicated auction. What do all those Doubles and the Redouble mean? East’s first Double was Negative, of course. North’s Double of 2♣ was just showing some values, and trying to get Partner into the auction. East’s Redouble showed a good hand (considering that he passed originally), and then his Double of 2♦ was competitive, refusing to sell out yet. All of this back and forth action somehow managed to propel E-W into the perfect spot of 2♠, making 8 tricks.
3♣ seems like a normal spot on a straightforward hand. North, as Declarer, can see that Diamonds are likely to be 5-3, so she can safely go after a Diamond ruff on the board before drawing trumps. Having got that ruff, it would be normal to finesse the J♣ on the first round of trumps, so that will be 9 tricks, and +110.
2♦ was Fourth Suit Forcing, in other words a purely artificial bid the purpose of which is to establish a forcing sequence … for the sake of simplicity, we suggest that you play it as game-forcing. After West’s 2♠, he is likely to be 3-5-1-4, so East is not overly enamored of his K♦, it looks like a wasted value. Therefore, he leaps directly to 4♠, expressing disinterest in more than game. But West reasonably ploughs on to slam, via Roman Key Card Blackwood.
6♠ is a decent slam, but suffers from the defect of going down two if South leads a Club (then a Diamond back for a second ruff), or down one if South leads A♦ and shifts to a Club.
Back to the bidding. Suppose that North had doubled 6♠ … what would this mean? This out-of-the-blue bid, against their slam, is the so-called Lightner Double, asking for an “unusual” lead … traditionally, it meant that you wanted the lead of Dummy’s first-bid suit, perhaps for a ruff. Nowadays, the treatment is more flexible, and the general message is “I have a lead that I want, Partner, please figure out what it is”. If North does double, South will surely figure out that a Club lead is more promising than a Heart, based on her own length in these suits. Yes, it would be a quite magnificent coup if N-S scored +500 in 6♠ doubled for a complete top. But, somewhat less than magnificent if the Double chased E-W into the making contract of 6NT for -1440 and a complete bottom.
South’s 2♥ reverse showed a good hand, but was not game forcing. This was followed by a series of natural bids, as N-S stumbled into game. They did well to choose 5♦ rather than 3NT, as the latter has no play.
Against 5♦, West has no obvious lead, and a low trump seems the least undesirable. The Q♦ wins the trick … now, 3 rounds of Clubs, pitching a Heart, then AK♥, ruff a Heart, trump to the Ace, and suddenly this shaky contract makes an overtrick! Hearts are 3-3, the JT of Clubs comes down in three rounds, and trumps are 3-2. All in all, a most friendly hand.
A hand where nobody can make anything. Next board, please!
East’s 2♠ showed a limit raise or better, and we really like that 3♠ by West. He could have tried 3♣ instead, but that would (initially, at least) be no more than a game-try … by going to 3♠, he is clearly making a slam try. East was happy to cooperate, good old Roman Key Card was wheeled into action, and the fine slam is reached.
How good is the slam? Well, it’s 58% to pick up the Q♥, in which case the slam is cold. And even if the Q♥ doesn’t come down, there is still the possibility of getting the Spade loser away on the Clubs before the enemy can ruff in. So, all in all, well worth bidding.
Over East’s 1♦, South must suffer the frustration of passing that nice 13-count … Double is not an option with that doubleton Heart and those moderate values … unless you have a really good hand, you just cannot make a take-out Double without at least 3 cards in any unbid major.
Against 3NT, what would you lead from the North hand? It hardly seems right to lead a Heart into the Heart bidder, and, anyway, even if the suit miraculously set up, North has no entries. Not a Diamond, sounds like East has 5 of those. Looks like something black is called for. In these situations, it often works well to lead through Dummy’s second suit, so a Club is quite tempting. But, alas, this is the wrong hand for it … leading the unbid Spade suit holds them to 9 tricks, but leading a Club lets them make 10 … so much for the theory of leading through Dummy’s second suit. Maybe next time!
This is the latest in our “Who’s the Wimp?” series. How did E-W end up defending 2♥ when they have half the deck (well, almost) and an 8-card Spade fit? Which of those 5 E-W Passes was the culprit?
East’s First Pass: No wimpishness here, this is not a vulnerable two-level overcall in the direct seat. West’s First Pass: West could well have bid 2♠ here. True, the hand is quacky and shapeless, but at least the suit is strong. We would not say that Pass is clearly wrong here, but it is certainly timid. East’s Second Pass: We like a 2♦ bid here … East has already denied the ability to make an immediate 2-level overcall, so bidding now is not going to cause Partner to go overboard … in our view, this was the best chance for E-W to get into the auction. If East does bid 2♦ here, that will be sufficient encouragement for West to try 2♠. West’s Second Pass: If West thought that 2♠ was too risky before, it is even riskier now, with the opponents having exchanged additional information. East’s Third Pass: By now, it’s too late … it would be bizarre to make a balancing Double with 3-6 in the unbid suits … and going out on a limb with 3♦ would be quite extreme.
So, it was a joint effort, in our view, either player could have got into the auction, especially East at his second turn.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
