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Hand Analyses                26th April, 2006

 

 

 1

♠ Q873

JT6

A92

♣ T83

 


Bidding Quiz (North)

Q9853

T874

♣ K764

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KJT962

2

K653

♣ 92


Dlr     North   
Vul     None 



 

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♠ A54

AK74

QJ

♣ AQJ5

West    North  East     South

            Pass    2♠       Dbl

Pass    2NT    Pass    3NT 

Pass    Pass    Pass 

 

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.

 

 

 2

♠ Q43

AJ975

AJ2

♣ K8




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ 862

K63

53

♣ AQJ54

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AKJ9

QT4

764

♣ T73

 

Dlr       East
Vul      N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ T75

82

KQT98

♣ 962

West   North   East     South

                       Pass     Pass

1♣      1        Dbl      Pass

2♣      Dbl      Rdbl    2

Pass   Pass     Dbl      Pass

2♠       Pass    Pass     Pass  

 

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

♠ A

KT7

762

♣ KJT543

 

♠ KT65

Q964

T43

♣ A9

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J97

J53

AQJ98

♣ Q2

 

Dlr     South
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q8432

A82

K5

♣ 876

South   West    North   East  

Pass     Pass    1♣       1

1♠        1NT     2♣       Pass

Pass     2        Pass    Pass

3♣        Pass    Pass     Pass   

  

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.

 

 

 4

♠ T653

T862

QT853




 

Bidding Quiz (East)

♠ 972

AKQ75

7

♣ AKJ7

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AKQ94

93

KJ2

♣ T85

 

Dlr     West
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J

J4

A964

♣ Q96432

 West   North   East     South

1      Pass     1♠        Pass

2♣      Pass     2        Pass

2♠       Pass    4♠         Pass

4NT    Pass    5♠        Pass

6♠       Pass    Pass     Pass

 

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.

 

 

 5

♠ 86543

J95

QJ6

♣ Q8

 

♠ AQT7

Q32

K92

♣ JT5

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KJ92

T84

T4

♣ 7632

 

Dlr     North
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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AK76

A8753

♣ AK94

West   North   East     South

           Pass    Pass     1

Pass   1♠        Pass     2

Pass   2♠        Pass     3♣

Pass   3        Pass     4

Pass   5        All Pass

 

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.

 

 

 6

♠ JT84

AT72

AT4

♣ 93

 

♠ AKQ95

J63

95

♣ A65

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 62

K95

Q863

♣ KJ72

 

 Dlr     East
 Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 73

Q84

KJ72

♣ QT84

 West   North   East     South

                       Pass     Pass

1♠       Pass    1NT      Pass

2♣       Pass    2♠    All Pass 

 

A hand where nobody can make anything.  Next board, please!

 

 

 7

♠ KQ8743

Q9

J97

♣ 74




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ AT9

AT876

K

♣ AQT2

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J5

KJ53

AT62

♣ K86

 

Dlr     South
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 62

42

Q8543

♣ J953

South   West     North   East  

Pass     1        1♠        2♠

Pass     3♠        Pass     4

Pass     4NT     Pass     5

Pass     6        All Pass    

 

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.

 

 

 8

♠ T52

J9764

J43

♣ 43




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ AQ86

KQT8

87

♣ T96

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 73

A2

AK962

♣ QJ72

 

Dlr     West
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KJ94

53

QT5

♣ AK85

 West   North   East     South

Pass   Pass     1        Pass

1      Pass     2♣        Pass

2NT   Pass     3NT  All Pass  

 

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!

 

 

 9

♠ 54

AKJ93

K42

♣ A73




Bidding Quiz (E-W)

♠ AKJ87

Q62

J3

♣ J54

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T92

85

AT8765

♣ KT

 

Dlr     North
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q63

T74

Q9

♣ Q9862

West   North   East     South

           1        Pass    1NT

Pass   2♣        Pass     2

Pass   Pass     Pass

 

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.

 

 

 10

♠ AQ832

J93

K752

♣ 3


 

Bidding Quiz (North)

Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ J6

T742

6

♣ QJT842

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 75

KQ865

AQ

♣ AK97

 
Dlr     East
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KT94

A

JT9843

♣ 65

West   North   East     South

                       1        Pass

2      2♠        4        4♠