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Hand Analyses 3rd May , 2006
East’s 2NT showed the minors, the so-called Unusual No Trump. This bid offers to the opening side two cue-bids, in this case, 3♣ and 3♦. Most tournament players put these cue-bids to good use with well-defined meanings … please follow the link to “Unusual vs Unusual”. There are various “Unusual vs Unusual” methods out there, the N-S pair in the featured auction were using a method whereby 3♠ was purely competitive, typically showing a decent 6-card suit and about 6-9 HCPs. True, South happens to have 10 HCPs, but those minor suit holdings look pretty useless.
North understandably pushes on to 4♠, but that contract is doomed to down one on a defensive Diamond ruff. The good news for N-S is that this is a cheap save against E-W’s making 4♣ contract.
Needless to say, West’s hand is not worth an invitation, that square and empty 8-count does not qualify. As it happens, notwithstanding the combined 24 HCPs, even 1NT is difficult to make and we predict just 6 tricks for Declarer at most tables. To be sure, Declarer can organize an end-play against North, but it seems more normal to win the Spade lead, lose a Heart, win another Spade, lead towards the Q♣, making 8 tricks on a good day, and just 6 tricks on this particular day.
How do you and your Partner play that 3♣ bid by West? Modern tournament practice is to play this jump cue-bid by the Partner of an Overcaller as a so-called “Mixed Raise”, which is to say that it is somewhere in between a 4-card preemptive raise and a 4-card limit raise. West’s actual hand is very much at the top end in terms of HCPs, but that Q♣ is not worth much, so it looks like a Mixed Raise to us.
The final contract of 4♠ is no sure thing, but it makes with careful play. Please see Play Problem # 5.
E-W stumbled into 4♥ in the featured auction … perhaps East did not quite have the values to take things to the 3-level when he bid 3♥, but he wanted to show support, of course … and West, with his lovely 3-4-6-0 shape quite reasonably took a shot at game. Notwithstanding their mere combined 18 HCPs, E-W are able to score up 11 tricks and +650 when both red suits behave.
We could move on to the next board right now, and perhaps we should, but we just cannot resist a little foray into the world of the Good-Bad 2NT. Please proceed directly to Board 5 if you have no appetite for obscure bidding science. Anyone still there? OK, then put yourself in East’s position on his second bid. If North had not bid 2♠, then East would have had a 2♥ or 3♥ or 4♥ bid available with which to agree Hearts … three bids, one each for minimum support, extras, and game values. But that 2♠ bid took away one of those three options, drastically reducing Opener’s ability to describe his hand. No problem, here comes the Good-Bad 2NT to the rescue! It’s a Lebensohl type of bid … over 2♠, a bid of 2NT is a relay to 3♣, allowing Opener more scope to describe his hand … we won’t go into the details here, but we’ll publish some articles on the subject within the next few weeks.
South’s Double opposite a silent partner shows 18+ HCPs. However, West is opposite a partner who has shown some values, so his Redouble merely shows extras, enough for him to believe that his side has the majority of the points, let’s say 15+ or thereabouts.
West has a difficult choice when 2♥ comes back around to him. First, he must consider whether or not Partner’s Pass of 2♥ was a Forcing Pass. In other words, when West redoubled 1NT, was he essentially saying “This is our hand, Partner … either we play it, or they play it in a doubled contract”? You may get differing opinions on this one, but we say that this is not a forcing situation … South has shown 18+ HCPs, so we classify this as a competitive situation. As such, we think that West should be allowed to pass here, though some might disagree (if everything was clear-cut, this game would not be so fascinating!).
If we assume that West is allowed to pass, the next question is should he pass? Here are his options: (a) 3♣: On this particular hand, we might like 3♣ to be non-forcing, but clearly that is not the case … 3♣ here would show a big hand with distribution … perhaps something like: ♠ A93 ♥ -- ♦ KJ9 ♣ AQJT974. In other words, a hand which is looking for the best game (or slam). Alas, bidding 3♣, hoping to be allowed to play it there, is not on the table. (b) Dbl: As a general rule, a low-level balancing Double such as this is optional … the Double simply asks Partner to make his best guess on the hand. (c) 2NT: In the absence of agreements to the contrary, this bid is natural, and, on the actual hand, quite reasonable. (d) Pass: Now that we have established (or at least asserted) that Partner’s Pass was non-forcing, we can further say that Pass is a reasonable choice on the actual hand, though perhaps a tad feeble.
We wouldn’t argue too much with Double or 2NT or Pass, any of these bids could work. And the winner is? Not Pass, that is the route to a minus 110 as the opponents enjoy their 9-card fit at the 2-level. Bidding 2NT works a treat, and 8 tricks and +120 is the result. As for Double, Partner will now bid 2NT (the winner) for the same +120, or 3♦ which is destined for +110 or -100, either of which is preferable to -110, of course.
A complicated hand! Hope we didn’t make it even more so!
Against 2♠, West will no doubt lead the J♥, won by East’s King. Now, the best that the defense can do is organize a Club ruff or a Diamond ruff for a total of 4 tricks.
Yes, indeed, West might well have considered a rebid of 3♦ with that magnificent 14-count. However, suppose that you manage to stay low in 2♦ … North leads the Heart Two … how do you propose to make 8 tricks? Please see Play Problem # 6.
In this Jacoby Transfer sequence, 3♦ was natural and game-forcing. Over 3♦, Opener has these options: (a) Agree Spades with 3♠ or 4♠; (b) Bid 3NT; (c) Bid anything else to agree Diamonds.
So, in the featured auction, 3♥ agreed Diamonds. At this point, South has a perfect hand for Roman Key Card Blackwood, and there are various ways that this can be done, depending on partnership agreement: 4NT: We’ve seen before that using 4NT in minor suit auctions can be ineffective, there’s not always enough bidding space (though on this deal the straightforward 4NT works just fine); Redwood: Some partnerships use 4♦ as Blackwood with Clubs agreed, and 4♥ as Blackwood with Diamonds agreed; Minorwood: This is the method used in the featured auction … Diamonds are agreed, the auction is game-forcing and 4 of the agreed minor is available as Blackwood.
North’s 5♣ showed 2 Key Cards with the Q♦, so now South can reasonably bid a grand slam. But, which one, 7♦ or 7♠ or 7NT? True, 7♠ will score better than 7♦, but, as a matter of fact, 7♠ is the one grand that you should not bid … if 7♠ makes then so will 7NT. It’s possible to construct hands where 7♦ makes when 7NT does not (for example when the Spades need a ruff to set up the suit). Then again, the reverse applies, it maybe possible to make 7NT when the Diamonds do not come home. All in all, it seems pretty clear to go for the maximum and bid 7NT.
This is not the most exciting deal in the set, expect a mixture of 90’s and 120’s as the E-W pairs play 1NT.
After all the high-tech gadgetry of some of the other auctions, this Flintstone-era sequence is refreshingly simple. 11 tricks will be the end result here, though South can make Declarer’s task a tad more difficult by not leading her singleton Spade. Suppose that South leads the K♣ … Declarer wins the Ace, draws trumps in three rounds, ending on the board … now, the Q♠ is led, after which the Spades are brought in for just one loser.
What do you open as East on this deal? You have a balanced 22 HCPs, which fits into the 22-24 range that requires a 2♣ opening followed by a 2NT rebid. But, we’ve been doing some bashing of those 4-3-3-3 hands lately … is this hand a candidate for downgrading to 21? Well, by all means deduct something for that ugly shape, but then start adding back on for these plus factors: 3 Aces: it’s generally agreed that, in the 4-3-2-1 point count scale, Aces are somewhat undervalued. No Queens: it’s further agreed that Queens are overvalued, so add on a bit more for their absence. 2 Tens: Tens figure not at all in the HCP scale, so when we have a couple of them, with supporting high cards, that is another plus.
Anyway, after all this upgrading and downgrading, you’ll be back where you started, with a hand that is worth a 2♣ opening. Most pairs will get to 6NT on this board, but will they make it? Please see Play Problem # 7.
West’s 1NT rebid, opposite a silent Partner, shows 18-19 HCPs. Transfers are not on in this sequence (not when E-W have already bid a suit naturally), so East becomes Declarer in 2♥. South will no doubt lead the K♠, and that will be 9 easy tricks for Declarer.
Looking at all 4 hands, a Diamond lead looks more promising, but Declarer can still score 9 tricks with this pretty line of play … win A♦ … 4 rounds of Clubs, pitching Declarer’s Diamond losers … the 4th round of Clubs is won by South (no, it does not help the defense if North ruffs the 4th round) … now, the defense is unable to orchestrate a Spade trick and a Spade ruff.
Check what happens if Declarer cashes only the AKQ♣, pitching just one Diamond loser. Now, Declarer plays a trump from the board, North jumps up with the K♥ (great play!) … North shifts to a Spade, the Ten forcing the Ace … another trump, won by the A♥ … K♠ cashed, over to North’s Diamond winner, and a Spade ruff! Great play by N-S, but Declarer could have prevented those heroics at his expense by playing that 4th round of Clubs early on, pitching another Diamond. It's the so-called Scissors Coup, snipping the enemy communications.
After the 20-21 2NT opening, West’s 3♣ was Puppet Stayman, a variation designed to ferret out both 4- and 5-card major suits from Opener. North’s Double was lead-directing, of course … an over-active bid in our view, North is far from certain that she wants a Club lead in preference to a Diamond lead.
At first glance, the play appears to be routine … K♣ ducked, win the A♣, cross to the board, losing Heart finesse, making 10 tricks. But, Declarer has trouble untangling his tricks. If he crosses to the board at Trick 3 with a low Spade to the Queen, and then takes a losing Heart finesse, a Diamond return will knock out Dummy’s entry before the Spades can be unblocked. So, Declarer does best to cash the AK♠ first, then cross to the board on a Spade and take the losing Heart finesse. Now, it’s plain sailing, and 10 tricks are made.
Pretty simple, eh? Not exactly! Don’t be fooled by that “plain sailing” red herring, South has the chance here to be a star. When East takes the Heart finesse, South smoothly ducks! Now, East is mentally scoring up 11 tricks and +660, as he finesses the Heart again. Instead, it’s curtains for Declarer … South wins, a Diamond comes back, and suddenly, the contract is down one, as Declarer is cut off from his winning Hearts. Imaginative play by South … though not without risk … she would look quite foolish if it turned out that North started with Jxx of Hearts! But at least South has the comfort of knowing that she can rely on Partner’s legendary sense of humor in such situations. Right?
A straightforward auction, and the final result will be 11 tricks if East makes the obvious lead of one of the majors. Less obvious, but more successful, is a Diamond lead, holding Declarer to 10 tricks.
With 9 HCPs, a 5-card Diamond suit, and those Diamond fillers, East is good value for 3NT here. But, if he is understandably nervous about the Heart situation, he might try a little gadget … yes, yet another one! Opposite 1NT, some players play that 3 of a major shows: (a) a singleton in the bid suit; (b) exactly 3 cards in the other major; (c) 5-4 in the minors; (d) values for game.
What’s the point, you ask? Well, if Declarer is weak in the short major, the partnership can steer towards a 4-3 fit in the other major, or, failing that, 5 of a minor. On the board in question, Hearts are the least of West’s worries, so 3NT will be the final contract.
Against 3NT, North leads the 8♣, which holds the trick. Now, another Club, which Declarer should again duck, won by South’s Queen. If South now shifts to a Spade, the defense scores 6 tricks. A Heart shift also works, as it happens Declarer cannot untangle his tricks.
North’s 2♣ was DONT, showing Clubs and another suit, and 2♦ was an attempt to find that other suit. When it turns out to be Hearts, should South, with her 14 HCPs, try for game? The hand certainly has some nice features, but not enough distribution to make game likely. We would pass here, preferring to stay low, and reckoning that the occasional missed games would be far outnumbered by the times when 8 tricks is the limit on the hand. On the actual hand, going past 2♥ would indeed risk going minus.
Against 2♥, East will probably lead a trump, leading to an instructive Play Problem # 8.
North has a typical Rule of Twenty hand with her 5-4 11-count, and most players nowadays would open those cards with 1♠. After South decides to force to game with that 2♣ bid (1NT is definitely an option with an empty 12-count), she gets confronted with an impossible rebid problem at her second turn ... now, we think that 2♠ is the best of a bad job, after which the featured auction arrives at an optimistic game, but at least looking at the N-S hands, it's the only game that has a chance.
4♠ needs some luck in the trump suit, and doesn't get it. When they break 4-2, and the Queen is off-side, that's down 2. Some other pairs will no doubt be in 3NT, also down 2, so N-S should salvage some crumbs out of this mess.
3NT will no doubt be played at almost every table, and the end-result will depend on the opening lead. In the featured auction, West ends up on lead, and might well lead a Heart, which gives Declarer the timing for 9 tricks. At other tables, North might decline to respond 1♦, and decide to grab the No Trump herself … 2NT here is not a good bid in our view, with that feeble Spade holding, and it gets its comeuppance when East has an obvious Spade lead against 3NT.
Here’s our nomination for this week’s “Same Auction and Result at Every Table” Award. +450 for N-S.
South’s hand is strikingly similar to the one that she held on Board 17. In both cases, she has a 2-3-3-5 12-count. And, on both boards, Partner opens one-of-a-suit in front of her. The problem is the same, but on this hand, whatever South does, her side will surely end in 3NT, which will make 10 tricks on normal lines of play.
It’s routine for E-W to get to 4♠ and downright unlucky that the trump suit is so unfavorable. Nothing else works on this hand, either, so expect a couple of vulnerable undertricks for most Declarers.
When West reasonably competed to 2♠, his side was in -200 territory. But, equally reasonably, South bids on to 3♣ and plays it there.
The defense will no doubt start out with a Spade lead, and the play of the hand will resemble a ping-pong match … A♠ wins the first trick … then Declarer will lose a Club, ruff a Spade, lose a Club, ruff a Spade, lose a Club, ruff a Spade. At this point, everybody is out of trumps, and the defense (East) has one Spade left. So, it shouldn’t be too difficult for Declarer to take the Diamond finesse through East … she’ll end up scoring 3 trump trick (all of them Spade ruffs!), A♠, AK♥, and three Diamonds. Making +110.
Some interesting bidding decisions to be made on this board! Let’s go through the N-S sequence bid by bid:
1♣: Do you open South’s hand 1♣ or 2♣? Many players would cite the fact that South has a two-loser hand and so should open 2♣. We prefer 1♣, most of the time it’ll make the subsequent auction easier (if, indeed, there actually is a subsequent auction!). 1NT: Not much to discuss here, North hardly has much choice. 2♦: A reverse, and, as such, it is forcing. 2♥ would also have been a reverse, but, as North has already denied 4 Hearts by his failure to make a Negative Double, a 2♥ reverse would be quite futile. 2♠: We like this bid! North’s hand has suddenly got much better, and simply to raise 2♦ to 3♦ seems inadequate. N-S are not exactly in a commonly discussed sequence here, but it seems to us that the 2♠ bid should show an unusually good hand with Diamond support, and should not necessarily send any special message about the Spade holding. 4♠: Yes, if N-S are playing Exclusion Key Card then 4♠ is surely that … the bid asks Partner to make her Blackwood response excluding the A♠ (if, indeed, she holds that card). Normally, South will be void in the excluded suit, of course. Pass (after West’s Double): Most partnerships have an agreement on what to do when the opponents overcall the Blackwood ask (typically DOPI up to 5 of our suit, then DEPO), but not so many have discussed what to do after the Double. You could just ignore the Double and make the normal response, but why not take advantage of those 2 extra bids (Pass and Redouble) by using ROPI? In this method, North’s Pass of the Double shows one Key Card (excluding the A♠). 6♦: Yes, it’s cold, and should be a well-deserved good board, most pairs are likely to miss this one.
And, there are a couple of notable points in the E-W bidding, too. Some Total Tricks purists will be asking why East did not throw in a 3♠ preempt over 1NT, but that’s just asking to go for 800 against a mere game … on the actual board it might keep N-S out of the slam, but going for 1100 (against a rarely bid slam) will not be much of a board either. However, we do like West’s Double of 4♠, testing the N-S agreements in an uncommon situation.
For those pairs who still prefer a 2♣ opening with the South hand, does anybody out there have a credible auction which gets to 6♦?
On the N-S cards, 4♠ is actually a pretty decent contract, though it turns out to be doomed by the 4-1 trump break. In the more placid waters of 3♦, 9 tricks are possible, notwithstanding the 4-1 Diamond break.
Another miserable No Trump hand. It’s hard to fault N-S for getting to 2NT, and it’s also hard to see how they can avoid going down two. The good news, of course, is that they won’t be alone.
E-W can make 3♣ here, but it seems quite normal for East to invite game in No Trump. North will probably lead a Spade, but the defense gets the chance, when in with the A♣ and K♣, to attack Diamonds, getting their 6 defensive tricks before the Clubs can be enjoyed. So, down one if the defense shifts to Diamonds in time.
As East, when South’s preemptive 3♦ bid gets passed around, what would be your choice? Pass is not an option, it’s between 3♥ and Double. We think that Double is the way to go here, but it's a close decision. On the one hand we would like Partner's opinion (arguing for a Double), on the other hand we do have a rather nice 6-card suit (arguing for 3♥).
The winning call is, indeed, Double, after which West will bid 3♠. This will no doubt be the final contract, and it turns out to be a reasonable spot ... rotten luck in the trump suit is offset by good luck in the side-suits, and the end result should be +140.
Here’s another auction which could be repeated many times. And another hand where the opening lead is crucial. If West leads a Heart, as most would, Declarer can come to 11 tricks. If West finds the unlikely Spade lead from J65, things are a bit more complicated … Declarer will duck a Spade, win the continuation, knock out one of those missing Aces, win the Spade return, and knock out the other Ace. As you can see, it all depends on which Ace Declarer knocks out first … if she goes after Hearts first, the defense will ultimately score 4 tricks … if she goes after Clubs first, East has no entry to that finally established Spade, and Declarer will score 10 tricks. Yes, it’s pretty random, no obvious reason why Declarer should get this one right.
North’s innocuous 14-count may not look that spectacular, but it turns out to be one of the most instructive hands of the set. Clearly, North has an opening bid here, but it’s as well to have rebid in mind when one opens the bidding. If South opens 1♣, the most likely response from Partner is 1♠, the suit we are short in, and it pays to be ready for that bid. Here are some possible plans: (a) Open 1♣, planning a reverse to 2♥ … no, no, no, this is a major overbid; (b) Open 1♣, planning a rebid of 1NT … no, this is an underbid … the 1NT rebid shows 12-14 HCPs, but our 14 here is just too muscular … look at the good 5-card suit and all the useful fillers; (c) Open 1♣, planning a rebid of 2♣ … yes, this is quite reasonable … the 2♣ rebid has a bit more potential extra strength that a 1NT rebid, and if it encourages Partner to take one more bid, we might find our way to game. (d) Open 1NT! … perhaps it seems a bit bizarre to open 1NT with just 14 HCPs and a singleton, but we kind of like the bid … after all, if we deem it too good for a 1NT rebid, then surely it is good enough for a 1NT opening bid.
Opening 1NT opening works rather badly on the actual hand, we regret to inform you! If that 1NT opening seems to be a bit “out there”, then we suggest opening 1♣, and rebidding 2♣. But we really don't like a 1♣ opening followed by a 1NT rebid ... just not enough in our view.
Notwithstanding the bidding of the hand, the play is likely to be quite miserable for N-S … they’ll end up playing in Spades or NT, and, with the unfriendly lie of the cards it will be an exercise in minimizing undertricks.
On this hand, as East, after that Double, do you preempt or do you bid constructively? Preempting to 4♥ holding that outside Ace is not a good idea, in our view, it’s too likely to cause Partner to misjudge things later in the auction. OK, if we decide to make a constructive bid, what are our options? Not 3♥, that’s normally played as preemptive. That leaves: Redouble: No, that cannot be right, East has to find a bid which shows Heart support. Jordan 2NT: Some partnerships play a convention known as Jordan over the opponent’s take-out Double … in this method, 2NT shows a limit raise or better. Drury: If you play Drury, it’s a good idea to extend its usage to this situation. There are different flavors of Drury, please check the link.
So, our choice would be a Drury bid of 2♣ or 2♦ (depending on which type of Drury is being used), showing values and a fit. South will now bid 2♠, and West will take a shot at 4♥. North will probably bid 4♠, not sure whether she is bidding to make, or bidding as a sacrifice. This will be doubled by West, and E-W will go plus on the board.
But, look what happens if, over that take-out Double, East decides to roll the dice with a bid of 4♥. We’d expect South to bid a feisty 4♠, which will no doubt induce West to bid on to 5♥ … from West’s point of view, if Partner has no defense, then 4♠ will be making, and 5♥ is likely to be a profitable save.
At her second turn, North might have bid 3♠, and we would certainly not disagree with that bid. It may be possible to make 10 tricks double dummy, but normal play will lead to 9 tricks.
A tame ending to an interesting set. West’s 2♥ was a transfer, of course, and, against the final contract of 2♠ we’d expect the J♥ opening lead. Provided that the defense diligently denies Dummy’s Diamond ruff, 9 tricks will be the end-result.
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