|
Hand Analyses 7th June, 2006
How about that 2♥ bid? Is 2♦ an alternative? No, the basic rule in this situation, with that 6-4 shape, is to rebid the Hearts with a minimum hand. But see also this week’s Bidding Quiz for more insights on this.
4♥ will be the contract ... please see Play Problem # 17 for the recommended route to 11 tricks.
Nowadays, most partnerships have few qualms about opening 1NT with a 5-card Major, and that certainly seems like a reasonable choice with the East hand. Now, as West, would you invite to game (via Stayman) or Pass? It’s a close call! We like to invite with good 8’s and bad 9’s … those Spade fillers look rather good, but the rest of the hand doesn’t. The winning guess here is to pass, and even 1NT will be tough sledding.
What do you rebid as South? The obvious choices are 1NT (though some players dislike this with a singleton in Partner’s suit) and 2♦. Usually, with this distribution, we would opt for a 1NT rebid. But here the Diamonds are so good, and our majors so weak (non-existent, even), that, if a NT contract is to be played, it would be better to play it from the other side, thereby protecting Partner’s major suit honors. However, 2♦ is not without some down-side, as it will make it impossible to find the Heart fit if Partner happens to be 5-4 in the majors and less than invitational in strength ... so, 1NT is a reasonable alternative.
There is nothing to the play. If you rebid 2♦ you play it there and score +130. And, if you rebid 1NT you play it there and score +120.
N-S should power into slam with their 4-4 Heart fit and combined 32 count. 6♥ makes with some ease, but 6NT is actually a better contract, because it is possible to overcome a bad Heart break (with the aid of a good Diamond guess). But, let’s face it, it’s tough to play in 6NT when we are all so conditioned to play in the 4-4 major fit. Consider also that, without the T♣, 6♥ is a better percentage contract, so let’s not kid ourselves that this is an easy hand to bid to 6NT. Anyway, 6♥ is average plus, and 6NT is close to a top.
Back to the bidding for a moment. What did South mean by that bid of 5♦? Why not 4NT? Blackwood is generally not a good idea when you have two top losers in an unbid suit. For example, North might hold: ♠ JT, ♥ AT54, ♦ AQ3, ♣ AKJ2, and, in response to Blackwood, she would show the same 3 Aces (or Key Cards) as she would with her actual hand. But, as can be seen, using Blackwood does not solve the problem of the 2 fast Spade losers. So, instead of Blackwood, South tries 5♦, he is showing something in Diamonds, and denying a control in Spades and Clubs, both being cheaper cue-bids that she by-passed. In the actual hand, with Spades and Clubs both covered, and a hand loaded with controls, North can leap to slam. With the hypothetical hand, North will see the problem in Spades, and will sign off at the 5-level.
Our featured auction is not all that it appears to be! That 2♣ bid by South was not showing Clubs (even though she has them) ... no, it shows a decent hand and Spade support, it's purely conventional, and is a special treatment used by passed hands opposite an opening bid of 1♥ or 1♠. It's called Reverse Drury.
11 tricks are pretty easy, all that is needed is a Heart ruff on the board.
That 2♣ rebid by West was New Minor Forcing, an artificial bid ... usually Responder is checking to see if there is a playable major fit. His later bid of 3♠ was forcing, offering a choice of games, and East had an obvious preference.
Yes, 6NT certainly has a play, but it’s against the odds, and on the actual layout it has no chance.
Yes, North’s Negative Double, with that minimum square hand, really is scraping the bottom of the barrel (we prefer a Pass here), and such bids often lead to -200 at this vulnerability. But here North is spared that indignity when E-W buy it in 2♠.
In the play, Declarer will lose 3 Heart tricks, and a Diamond, and must guess the Spades for 9 tricks. There's no good reason why Declarer should guess the Spade situation, so that Q♠ will likely be the 5th defensive trick.
West will open 1NT, and East will have three possible plans: Plan A: Just play it in 1NT ... those Queens certainly look No-Trumpish, but we do have a singleton Diamond, and the Club suit is so weak that it may not set up unless Partner has a good fit. Plan B: Play it in 3♣. Most partnerships have a way to get out in 3 of a minor after a 1NT opening, most usually after a transfer sequence. Plan C: Play it in 3♣ or 3NT, depending upon Opener’s opinion. If you play 1NT 2♠ as a transfer to Clubs, and if you further distinguish between Opener’s rebids of 2NT and 3♣ (one of these should like Clubs, the other one should not like Clubs), then you can try 3NT if Opener has a Club fit.
We would choose to play in 3♣, regardless of whether Opener said he liked Clubs. Our second choice would be to Pass 1NT. Trying for 3NT is a bit optimistic in our opinion … say that East transfers to Clubs, and West says “I like Clubs!” … now East bids 3NT, and although Opener has a maximum, all Aces and Kings, including 3 Clubs, 3NT has no play on a Diamond lead … even on a non-Diamond lead, Clubs must be 2-2 for the contract to make.
To summarize, we suggest you play it in 1NT (+120 or +180, depending on the lead) or 3♣ (+130). But steer clear of 3NT which deserves to go down, but which might even make on a non-Diamond lead, thanks to the 2-2 Club break. If you bid this crummy game, and made it, then at least show some consideration to the opponents you have just fixed. ... rubbing your hands with glee is not an option!
There’s not much to the play if South leads a Spade ... Declarer runs the Clubs, takes the Heart finesse, holds his breath, and it’s 9 tricks when the Q♥ wins.
But suppose that South dutifully leads Partner's so-called Diamond suit. North will hop up with the Ace, and surely should shift to the K♠. Now, Declarer has 9 tricks without the Heart finesse. Should he go for broke and try for 10 with the Heart finesse? This risks ignominious defeat in a cold contract if the finesse should lose ... but the bidding says that the Heart finesse will likely work, so we say "Go for it!".
A routine auction, but making this contract will not be so simple. Please see Play Problem # 18.
South will end up as Declarer after a 1NT-3NT auction. West has three opening leads that blow a trick, and only a Diamond lead which does not. But nobody will lead a Diamond with this hand, and a Heart seems normal enough. Declarer wins this in her hand and will probably cross to A♠ and take the losing Spade finesse. If West now plays A♥ and out a Heart, Declarer cannot come to more than 9 tricks.
Yes, indeed, South has something of a dilemma here. She hates to go beyond 3NT, which may well be the right spot, but, then again, she has no 3-level bid available. Sometimes 3NT here works like a charm … either their suit blocks, or Partner has a key Club honor, and everything is fine … but, on the other hand, it’s never good for partnership morale to watch them run 6 or 7 Clubs, when 5♦ or 6♦ is cold. So, perhaps a minor suit game is the way to go on this one! Making 11 tricks.
This appears to be the set of perilous 3NT contracts, and here we have another one. Declarer is in search of her 9th trick, and with Clubs not breaking, she is not even certain of 8 tricks. Suppose that Declarer wins the opening Heart lead in hand (ducking is not a good idea, because a Spade shift looks too dangerous). The simple line of play is also probably the best … just lead a low Diamond from the board early in the play (while there are still entries back and forth), hoping that the K♦ is in the East hand. When the Q♦ loses, Declarer ends up down one or down two, depending upon how she tackles Clubs.
South does not have a perfect Weak Two, by any means, with that outside Ace and a void, but we confess that we would bid it anyway ... thousands wouldn't. After East bids 5♥ it would be a breach of partnership discipline for South to bid again, especially at the 5-level (even though it works out well on this hand) ... of course, that's the downside of the original 2♠ bid ... South very strongly suspects that her side should be bidding again, but is afraid that she will run out of partners if she keeps preempting and then bidding again (uninvited) at the 5-level! So 5♥ will usually be the final contract. Making 6 if Declarer is able to guess the Clubs.
However, perhaps North could find it in her heart to bid 5♠, which, of course, will get doubled. If so, will South be able to pull the partnership chestnuts out of the fire by getting out for down 2 and a good board? Or will it be down 3 for close to a zero? See Play Problem # 19.
South opens 1NT, and, if E-W stay silent, South will no doubt play it in 2♥ after a transfer sequence. This will probably be down two for -200. But West may save the day for N-S by getting into the auction … they can make 8 or 9 tricks in either minor, but will realize to their chagrin that they would have been better off defending.
Your call as South. You are not quite good enough to double for penalties, but you certainly want to compete, and there are methods for getting the majors into the auction in this situation (Link).
Let’s assume that these methods get N-S to 2♠, played by North. If the defense attacks in Hearts, forcing Declarer to ruff a couple of times, it will no longer be possible for her to set up the long Clubs and also enjoy them. But she will be able to scramble 9 tricks … opening Heart lead ruffed, Club to the Q, J♦ run around to the K, A♣, Heart ruffed, A♦, Q♦ pitching a Heart, K♣ ruffed by West, Heart ruffed, and now Declarer has 7 tricks with the AK♠ still to come.
Regardless of whether North opens 1♣ (we would), E-W are probably destined to go down two in 3NT. They have 25 HCPs between them but no way to make game. In the play, Declarer should settle gracefully for down two, but if he tries to make 3NT he’ll end up down more. For example, check out this brutal scenario with West as Declarer: low Club to the 9 and ducked, low Club to the Ace, Heart to the Ten losing to the Queen, T♠ covered by the Jack and Queen, Club to the Jack, Spade back, cash the Clubs. Yikes! That’s down 4, as the defense collects a Heart, 3 Spades and 4 Clubs. At matchpoints, it's often best to cut your losses!
South’s hand has some similarities to North’s on Board 1. After 1NT were you tempted to rebid 3♥ or 3♠? Not a good idea in our opinion ... true, you do have 17 HCP's, and that nice 6-4 shape ... but the Q♣ is quite useless ... better to downgrade the hand a little bit, and give your side a better chance to find the right strain.
Anyway, 4♠ is the destination, and down one is the result, thanks to the filthy trump break.
Yes, North might be tempted to try for slam. However, she won’t be quite sure whether South is bidding 4♠ out of necessity, because of an inability to bid 3NT, or whether South is bidding 4♠ with 3-card support. For this reason, perhaps South’s 3rd call should be 4♣, provided that this conveys the message “Partner, I have a serious 4♠ bid here”.
Anyway, the slam is iffy, around 50%, making on normal play, as the cards lie. Actually, without a Heart lead, Declarer has some extra chances, so the practical chances of this slam are rather better than 50%. Excellent bidding (and a top board) if you managed to score +980.
Another hand in the slam-zone. North opens 1♦, South bids 1♠, and North must select her rebid … 2♠ or 3♠? This is surely a 3♠ bid ... only 13 HCPs, but the void and the fillers are most powerful. After 3♠, South has enough to go to slam, one way or another. Good bidding if you got there!
Twelve tricks come home quite easily … the Spade finesse works, but there is a Diamond to be lost. +1430!
A typical cut-and-thrust matchpoint auction. East’s Double was a Support Double, showing 3-card support for Partner’s Spades. South’s 3♥ bid was far from obvious, no doubt showing great respect for Partner’s dummy play. As for West’s 3♠ bid, he no doubt felt protected by the vulnerability. And that final Double was highly speculative! No guarantees on this one.
Down 2 is the target of N-S if they are to beat the other N-S pairs making 3♥. But down 3 is what they will end up getting with proper defense. J♥ lead, covered by the Queen and King, Heart to the Ace, Spade to the Queen, Club to the King and Ace, Heart ruffed by Declarer, Spade to the Ace, Spade finesse coming back. Declarer can come to no more than 6 tricks, scoring two red Aces and four trump tricks. That’s -500!
Were E-W unlucky in the above scenario? No, not at all, West fully earned that zero! Back on 24th May, Board 12, there was a Law of Total Tricks analysis where the Law led West astray. This time, the Law would have pointed West in the right direction. Thanks to the precision of the Support Double, West knows that his side has exactly 8 trumps ... and the N-S bidding strongly suggests a 4-4 Heart fit. That's 16 total trumps, which suggests 16 total tricks. If N-S can make 9 tricks, E-W can make only 7 ... so bidding 3♠ will be a loser in far too many situations: (a) Both sides can make only 8 tricks; (b) N-S can make only 7 tricks, so the chance for a big fat juicy +200 is lost; (c) N-S can make 9, E-W can make but 7 and get doubled in 3♠.
Too many ways to lose ... the bottom line here is that bidding 3 over 3 when there are only 16 total trumps is theoretically flawed ... don't try it unless you are non-vul and confident that the opponents would never dare to double you!
The auction could head off in different directions, depending upon whether East’s style is to open that hand 1♣ or 1♦, and also depending upon whether South decides to make a frisky non-vulnerable 1♥ overcall. Some auctions will lead to South playing in 2♠ (after North has made a takeout double), or, perhaps more likely, East playing in 3♦.
In 2♠, West can actually beat the contract two tricks with the K♣ lead (not so difficult if East opened 1♣), then Club to the Ace, Club ruff, Diamond to the Ace, and a Club back. This gives the defense 3 side-suit tricks and no fewer than 4 trump tricks. On the J♦ opening lead, East can still beat the contract (but only by one) if he switches to a low Club at Trick 2 … nice defense!
In 3♦ the play is more predictable, and 9 tricks can be made if Declarer guesses the trump position.
Time for a theoretical time-out … do you play Support Doubles and Redoubles? If you do, you will know that these are a useful device which allows Opener to distinguish between 3- and 4-card support for Partner. Using this method, a Redouble here by South shows 3-card support, and a raise to 2♥ shows 4-card support. This hand is actually an excellent commercial for Support Doubles and Redoubles, allowing them to compete to the 3-level when they have 9 trumps, and letting them bail out at the 2-level when they have only 8 trumps. Yes, it's a repeat of the theme of Board 21.
On the actual hand, E-W will surely buy the contract in Spades, making 9 tricks due to the lucky Diamond position.
North's 2♦ was Michaels, showing the majors. East’s Double shows values, usually with a desire to penalize them in one suit or the other. After that 2♠ bid, should we pass and let Partner jump all over it? No, our hand has way too much offense, surely it is better to bid 3♥ saying “I’ve got the Hearts, kindly entertain the idea of 3NT if you have the Spades”.
Partner has Spades alright, and will bid 3NT. This is a reasonable enough contract, but, on proper defense, it is down one as the cards lie. Unlucky!
How does 2♠ doubled fare? Surprisingly well, as a matter of fact! The defense must be most careful to avoid the unseemly -470 number, but if East leads trumps a couple of times, they can achieve +100.
If North are using regular Stayman over a 2NT opening, then the auction be likely be as shown above. But see also Puppet Stayman.
North has identical black suit holdings, and the auction might well persuade her to lead the most unfortunate J♣ against West's 3NT This gets run around to the K♣, and a Club will come right back … if Declarer is a good guesser, he’ll play low from the board, setting up a 3rd trick in the suit. Now, with the aid of the Diamond finesse and a good Heart guess, Declarer makes no fewer than 11 tricks for a very good board indeed.
On the J♠ opening lead, Declarer will do remarkably well to make 10 tricks. The shortage of entries to the board makes it difficult to develop tricks safely, and it's not out of the question that West might even go down in this contract. For example, on that Spade lead, Declarer might play on Clubs by leading to the Queen (a mistake, better to insert the 9), losing to the Ace ... now a Club comes back, and it's down one! What a difference a lead makes!
Simple auction, straightforward play. Making 10 tricks, losing just 3 Aces.
After the 2♠ call, South has an interesting bid available … she can bid 4♣, showing shortness in Clubs! This so-called “splinter” will not impress North, too much of her high-card strength is opposite Partner’s shortness, and she will sign-off in 4♠.
This auction calls for a Diamond lead, which gets them 2 fast tricks. Can Declarer deprive the defense of a 3rd trick? Yes. One Heart loser goes on the A♣, it looks as if the other one must be ruffed on the board. Declarer will draw two rounds of trumps, with A♠ and Q♠, then cash the A♣, pitching a Heart, K♥, A♥ … now, the fall of the QJ♥ makes the Heart ruff unnecessary. Making 11 tricks.
There's nothing wrong with the bidding, but the end result is a not particularly elegant contract! North leads 6♦ ... if North has led from a 4-card suit, Declarer has a chance if the Spades can be brought home for one loser. Yes, the Spades come in, but, alas for Declarer, North has 5 Diamonds, so it’s a quick down one.
Now here’s a lively deal! North opens 1♠, East tries 1NT. After South passes the spotlight is on West. His bid will be dictated by the partnership's system. If E-W have some conventional bid available here, something which shows both minors, then that would be a good choice. Do you play “systems on” opposite a 1NT overcall? And do you play Minor Suit Transfers? Maybe not, but in the above auction that is exactly what you are playing ... West is transferring to Diamonds with that 2NT bid, and is planning to announce Clubs, also, in the fullness of time.
Anyway, as West is getting his minors into the auction, North is far from done, and bids 4♥ at her second turn, after which you can be sure that South will compete to the 5-level. 5♥ actually makes … win the minor suit lead, lose a Spade, win the return, cash one Heart, ruffing Spade finesse … North eventually scores 2 Spade tricks, 5 Heart tricks, 3 Spade ruffs, and A♣. Even the improbable opening lead of a low Heart by East does not prevent 11 tricks, it merely trades a trump trick for a Spade trick.
We foresee a few unseemly -850 scores for E-W. In
fact, if we were East, we'd get one too.
East will likely open 1NT and play it there. N-S might well get 7 tricks on the go in Spades and Diamonds for down one. Some Easts might find themselves tormented with a passive Heart lead, temporarily raising Declarer’s hopes. He now plays AK♣, notices ruefully that the Queen does not drop, and now goes down two!
What would you rebid as Opener? We like 1NT, there does not seem to be much point in rebidding 2♣ when we have scattered values and such a mediocre Club suit. However, put that Q♠ somewhere else, such as the Club or Heart suit, and 1NT becomes less attractive, we'd rebid 2♣. After the 1NT rebid, East uses an artificial bid of 2♣ (New Minor Forcing) to investigate further, and eventually drives to slam.
6♥ turns out be a so-so slam ... trumps need to be 3-2, and there is still some work to be done in the minors, either by setting up the Diamonds, or finding the Q♣ on-side (or singleton off-side). As the cards lie, Declarer is destined to go down one, unless South finds the (deservedly) unfortunate lead of a Heart. However, with more friendly breaks, it turns out to be a fascinating Declarer problem ... we've doctored the N-S hands, see if you can make 6♥ with the revised layout in Play Problem # 20.
Did anyone get to 6♣? In theory, it's an inferior contract to 6♥, but on the actual lie of the cards it's the only slam that is likely to make. North will probably lead the J♠, won by the Ace, and now South will shift to the Q♦, for lack of a better alternative. Declarer will win the Ace, play the K♣, dropping South's Queen. At this point, Declarer could just draw trumps and hope for a 3-2 Heart break, but he can do better than that ... he finesses the Club 9, and plays AK♥ ... if Hearts are 3-2, he reverts to drawing trumps and his hand is now good ... but, if Hearts are 4-1, he has given himself the extra chance that the long trumps are in the hand with the long trumps ... on the actual layout, this extra chance is the only way that Declarer can make his contract. Nice play if you made 6♣, but maybe not such nice bidding (you really belong in 6♥)!
In the featured auction, N-S did well not to compete to 3♥, as both 2♠ and 3♥ are destined to fail.
Against 2♠, North has no attractive lead, and will probably start with the A♥, then a Heart to the King, and a third round of the suit is ruffed. Declarer plays A♠, and another Spade won by the King ... now, provided that South returns a minor, the defense will eventually come to 2 Spades, 2 Hearts, and 2 Clubs.
If N-S do push on to 3♥, East will lead the obvious Q♠ ... now, as long as the defense shifts to trumps, Declarer will lose 3 Diamonds, a Spade, and a Club. Actually, the defense gets a second chance with the trump shift, because one Diamond ruff does not help Declarer, she needs two ruffs to make her contract.
© BES, Inc All Rights Reserved | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home Hand Analyses Bidding Quizzes Play Problems System Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
