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Hand Analyses 26th July, 2006
In the featured auction, that 2♣ bid is not what it may seem to be. Some partnerships play Drury opposite a 3rd seat major suit opening, whereby 2♣ is used to show a fit for Partner’s major. If you play Drury, you may also want to play it in this situation, where North throws in a take-out Double. Drury is well worth playing in our view, even if you are not big on gadgets.
With or without gadgetry, E-W will cruise into the Heart game. The layout is extremely friendly for Declarer and carefully timed play brings in no fewer than 12 tricks. For more on the play of the hand, see the Play Problem.
No doubt West should have passed 1♠, but there’s method to our madness, as 1NT turns out to present an interesting Play Problem. As for the play in 1♠, it’s hard to predict, but surely Declarer will come away with at least 7 tricks.
It’s always tempting to make white versus red preempts, and that no doubt was South’s excuse for his Weak Two. 2♠ is somewhat on the wild and woolly side, perhaps, but not unreasonable, in our view ... a typical white versus red "adventure". West is good value for that 3♥ bid, and might even have considered bidding game directly ... but, hopefully, only for a brief moment. Who could blame North for taking a crack at West’s vulnerable 3♥? However, the lure of the juicy +200 turns out to be the curse of the dreaded -730, except in the unlikely event that North is clever enough not to lead her Partner’s suit. Who's to blame for that -730? Neither player, in our view ... sometimes those frisky preempts and hair-trigger Doubles work ... and sometimes they don't!
At his first turn, North must choose between opening 1♦ and, er, well, actually there is no second choice, we'd rate this hand as clearly too good for a Weak Two. Correct hand evaluation by North ... in fact, she liked her hand so much that she even she took another call at the 3-level!
The bottom line is that E-W can make 3♥, but that N-S can fortuitously make 10 tricks in Diamonds. It’s hard to see how N-S can reasonably compete that high, and, surely, at most tables, the final result will be 2♥ or 3♥ scoring +140.
At first glance, this might seem like an obvious 3♥ bid for West. For a second glance, see the Bidding Quiz.
If N-S end up in 3♠, with both red Kings in front of the enemy Aces, it looks like down 2, for the dreaded -200. But, that won't always happen. Fortunately for the 3♠ bidders there are a couple of ways for the defense to slop a trick, here they are: (a) East's opening lead is the A♥ ... we've all been warned about leading unsupported Aces, but, when it's our suit and Partner has raised, it's less likely to blow a trick. Even so, we don't much care for the lead, and are hardly surprised to notice that it does indeed give up a trick. (b) East leads a trump ... it looks safe enough, but actually it just puts off the evil hour ... Declarer wins the trump lead, removes the other trumps, and leads a Club. East alertly hops up with the Ace, and may well misguess by cashing the A♥, allowing Declarer to escape for down one.
If E-W play in 4♥ then the friendly layout which allowed them to beat 3♠ by two tricks also allows them to make 10 tricks as Declarer. But, 3♥ making 4 may not score so well ... it will depend on how many of their counterparts bid the game, and how many defend 3♠ accurately.
N-S can make a few Diamonds on this one, but their chance to compete successfully goes out of the window when West opens 1♦. In the final contract of 3♣, 9 tricks will be possible one way or the other.
After three Passes, some players place great store in counting up their Cansino points (Spades plus HCPs), and then passing if the total is less than 15. This procedure would be most unfortunate here, as East would be passing out a hand where E-W can make 11 or 12 tricks in Hearts! Regardless of the Cansino point deficiency, East clearly should open his hand, plain common sense says that it has too much playing strength to pass.
Not only does our featured East open in 4th seat, he also makes a jump rebid to 3♥! We like the bid, it's aggressive to be sure, but the 6-4 shape is quite enticing ("Six-four, bid more"!), especially considering the potential of that lovely Club suit.
In the play of 4♥, South will start with the K♦, and Declarer will ruff the second round. Now, he runs the J♥ successfully, leads another Heart (the Queen popping up), ruffs a Diamond, AK♣, ruff a Club, draw the last trump (pitching a Spade) and Declarer's hand is good. That’s 12 tricks! Yes, the defense could have done better … North can overtake the K♦ and shoot back a Spade, knocking out Declarer's side-suit entry to the long Clubs ... Declarer can still set up the Clubs and enjoy them, but he cannot do that and score two Diamond ruffs, so 11 tricks is the limit.
South leads the K♣, does well to continue with the A♣, and the defense scores 4 Club tricks on the go. Now, North shifts to a Spade, but Declarer will score 7 tricks. If he tries for a greedy overtrick with the Heart finesse, he’ll be down one.
That 4♦ by South was a flavor of Leaping Michaels, showing at least 5-5 in Clubs and Spades. Perhaps this should slow down West (it now looks like there is Heart length on his left) but he charges in to 6♦ regardless.
The play of 6♦ contains a trap for the unwary and another trap for the greedy ... please see Play Problem # 45.
Of course, N-S have a profitable save in 6♠. North can hardly bid 6♠ with that characterless hand, South must at least have thought about it and decided that it was altogether too much of a gamble. Then again, passing was also a gamble!
6♠ doubled goes down just 4 with careful play ... please see Play Problem # 46.
South and West both have 12-counts, each of which is uglier than the other. We would pass both of these hands, but some players just cannot resist bidding in third seat, and many Wests will try 1♣ or 1♦. We wish that we could report that the winning strategy for West is to pass in third seat, but, alas, this is not the case. Opening with this garbage turns out to be the winner! Both sides have 20 HCPs, but the card gods have decreed that it is E-W that can go plus, not N-S. In fact, if Declarer can guess Diamonds, E-W can make 8 tricks in anything but Clubs, and any N-S pair that manages a plus score will get a good board.
West might well have bid 3NT at his third turn, and it’s something of a toss-up as to whether you would prefer to play this one in 3NT or 4♥.
Against 4♥, it seems reasonable for North to start with the A♠, the unbid suit. Reasonable, perhaps, but unsuccessful. After the A♠ lead, it’s 11 easy tricks for Declarer. Other leads will result in just 10 tricks.
How about 3NT? Against this contract, North will not be so concerned about cashing Spades before they go away, and she may be inspired enough to lead a Club. That holds Declarer to 10 tricks … nice lead! Yes, A♠ opening lead, followed by a shift to the Club Ten also holds Declarer to 10 tricks … nice shift!
That opening 2♥ will not be everybody’s cup of tea, but we like it! But only because it's white against red.
Do you play Lebensohl over their Weak Two, doubled by Partner? It’s a most useful treatment, we commend it heartily. In the featured auction, South’s 2NT was, indeed, Lebensohl. She was telling North to bid 3♣, so that she could place the contract (presumably in 3♣ or 3♦). Needless to say, North had no intention of languishing in a part-score on this hand, so she refused to accept the relay to 3♣, and bid 3NT directly.
For the play in 3NT, please see Play Problem # 47.
Playing 5-card majors, in 3rd seat, once in a while, we can bend the rules a tad. For an example of this, look at the South hand. After her Partner has passed, there is a good chance that N-S will be defending this hand, and throwing in a lead-directing 1♥ bid is not such a bad idea.
In 2♠ there are two Hearts to be lost, and at least one Spade, and a Diamond finesse to be taken … furthermore, a Heart lead looks as if it might result in a trump promotion. On a double dummy line of play, you can make 10 tricks, but most normal lines give you 9.
Any views on North’s 2♣ bid here? Just 12 HCPs, and a crummy suit, but look at all those plus factors! We think this hand is good value for a Two Over One … good 3-card support for Partner, all high cards working, and a sprinkling of fillers ... make that a plethora of fillers.
In the play to 4♥, West will be on lead. It’s hard to imagine that he will lay down his A♣ and get a Club ruff, holding Declarer to 10 tricks. A far more likely result is no Club lead and 11 tricks for Declarer.
Some interesting choices in the featured auction! (a) East’s 2♦: We much prefer to bid the long suit first when our hand is so strong … that Spade suit can wait. (b) West’s 2♠: In earlier days, that 2♠ bid might have been deemed as showing extras … but in a 2/1 style it’s merely bidding out your shape. (c) East’s 3♠: This is a stronger bid than 4♠ … this is the Fast Arrival Principle at work … East’s dearest wish is that his Partner can cue-bid something. (d) West’s 4♦: No Club control is the bad news. But, at least Partner has the K♦, which is a big card. Was West obliged to cue-bid here, regardless of the utter awfulness of the rest of his hand? Some partnerships would say “Yes”, West must cue-bid here, if he can, it’s the so-called “obligatory cue-bid”. We agree, in this situation West should cue-bid if he can … if he hated his hand so much, he should not have opened. (e) East’s 4NT: What’s going on here? Blackwood with a void? Have your Wednesday Analysts become unglued? Hopefully not. Assuming that West has the A♥, then surely 6NT is as likely to make as 6♠, so what better way to explore this option than via Roman Key Card Blackwood? (f) West’s 5♣: As E-W are playing the 1430 responses to RKCB, the 5♣ bid shows 1 or 4, in this case clearly 1, and, more precisely, the A♥, as the A♣ was denied earlier in the bidding. (g) East’s 6NT: Bingo!
Very nice bidding by East, but, when Dummy goes down, he will surely be less than thrilled. Dummy is as bad as it can be … thank you, Partner! … but at least it’s better than 6♠ from the other side. When the Spades come in (the hard way), it’s +990 for a well-deserved top.
For this hand, the spotlight is on South. After Partner opens 1♦, and RHO overcalls 1♠, would it make any sense for South to pass, planning to convert Partner’s reopening Double into a vulnerable penalty? The answer is emphatically “No!”, of course, this hand has much too big a fit for Partner’s Diamonds to contemplate a low-level penalty. The way to go here is a cue-bid of 2♠, usually showing a good raise in Diamonds. North’s 3♦ was not particularly encouraging, now what? South should want to play this in game, and smelling a cross-ruff and maybe a slam she tries a 4♥ splinter bid. With all those wasted values in Hearts, North has no slam aspirations and signs off in 5♦.
However, even 5♦ can be beaten if East's opening lead is A♦ or a Club ... leads trumps on the go or a Club. On a major suit lead Declarer can cash her side-suit winners and then cross-ruff her merry way to no less than 12 tricks.
How about 3NT? That turns out to be a reasonable contract, too, all of North’s meager 12 points are working well. But, it needs the A♣ to be on-side, so down one.
Back to the bidding ... anyone for a 1♥ opening bid by North? Back on Board 13, we suggested a 1♥ third seat opening bid holding ♥ AK62, for it's lead-directing benefits, notwithstanding the lack of a 5th Heart. Is this a similar situation in second seat? Please see the Bidding Quiz.
North’s opening 1♥ was another of those 5-4 11-count Rule of Twenty efforts … West’s Redouble was intended to show a decent hand, presumably with something in Clubs … and, how could South possibly resist a non-vulnerable balance of 3♠? There's not much to the play in 3♠, score it as down one.
How does 3♣ fare? Careful play brings in 9 tricks, as follows: (a) If South leads a Heart, the defense gets two quick Hearts and a ruff ... South shifts to the K♦ won by Dummy's Ace ... now a Club finesse of the Queen (must to this before taking the Spade ruff on the board) noting the fall of the Jack, then two top Spades and a Spade ruff, followed by another Club finesse. (b) If South leads the K♦, Declarer should take an immediate finesse of the Q♣ ... then cash A♣, AK♠, ruff a Spade, and lead a Heart from Dummy, setting up a 9th trick in Hearts.
Not such an exciting board. This contract is going down, it’s a question of how many, and the end-result is subject to all manner of random factors. No predictions on this one.
After South’s Weak 2♠, and West's Double, the featured auction uses Lebensohl, just as occurred back on Board 19. East was planning to end up in 3NT, but, according to his methods, he had to go via a 2NT relay (bidding 3NT directly would have denied a Spade stopper). Whatever the methods, though, it seems that the whole room will be playing this one in 3NT from the East side. Making 11 tricks.
South is too good to overcall 1♠, so how about Double? That might work, at least it keeps all of the unbid suits in the picture … but the 5-card Spade suit is a negative. Our own choice would be 2♥, a Michaels Cue-Bid, showing Spades and a minor. North’s 3♣ now asks Partner to pass if her minor is Clubs, otherwise to bid 3♦. South does neither, her hand is too good not to try for game, so she bids 3♥, announcing a strong hand.
Suppose, against 3NT, that East leads a Heart, won by Declarer’s Jack. At this point, it would be normal for Declarer to play on Clubs, and, when the Club King turns out to be with West, that will be down one. The inferior line of playing on Spades turns out to be the winner (Spade to the Queen, back to the Q♦, Spade up planning to duck if East pops the King).
Anyone for 6♣? It’s hard to reach and not a favorite to make. But, make it does, thanks to those most obliging Spades. No reason to brag too much if you ended up +1370 on this one.
System Note: After that Michaels 2♥ bid, showing Spades and a minor, there are two common methods in use for asking which minor the Michaels bidder holds. A. Bid 2NT, after which the Michaels hand simply bids his minor. B. Bid 3♣, after which the Michaels hand passes with Clubs, or bids 3♦. Method A is the "traditional" approach, is there any benefit to Method B? Yes, we think so, it makes 2NT available for constructive purposes, the most useful of which is to show a decent hand with support for (in this case) Spades. True, it means that 3♣ is no longer available as a natural bid, but that is a small price to pay.
East has yet another one of those 5-4 11 HCP hands … it has no serious flaws, so no reason not to jump into the fray with 1♥. What should East rebid after Partner responds with 1♠? The answer is clearly 2♦! Some might be tempted to rebid 1NT here, but that would be inconsistent … East opened that hand on distribution, and his next bid should keep faith with that.
A likely final contract will be 2NT played by West. It’s a perilous resting place, but it might even make, especially if North finds the unfortunate lead of a low Club.
The bidding requires no comment. And the play? Difficult to predict with any certainty. Down one or two seems likely.
After this auction, North will likely lead the T♥ (top of an interior sequence). Declarer leads the K♣, knocking out North’s Ace. She’ll probably continue Hearts, for want of better, and Declarer will duck and then win the 3rd round of the suit. To complete the narrative, go to Problem format.
In fourth seat, with that lovely South hand, what is your pleasure? Here are the choices: (a) 2NT? … no, this hand is just too good … true, it is balanced (sort of) and it is in the 20-21 HCP range, but it just has too much playing power for that bid (b) 2♣, planning to rebid 2♠? … maybe that is going too far in the other direction (c) 1♠? … not unreasonable, but you risk getting passed out when game is available. (d) 2♣, planning to rebid 2NT? … yes, that would be our choice, it’s worth upgrading our hand to the 22-24 range.
If you follow our advice with that last option, then you must hope that Partner has the restraint to leave you in 2NT, making +120. If Partner takes the optimistic plunge to 3NT then -50 will be your reward.
A reasonable auction to a doomed contract. For this one to make, the Club finesse must work, and, when it doesn’t, that's down one.
Would you invite to game holding that North hand? It’s marginal to say the least, especially if Partner is known to make fairly light opening bids. But, inviting game is the winning call, as it happens, assuming that South decides to accept with her square 14-count.
Against 4♥, East will probably lead his singleton J♠. When Dummy goes down, North will be far from impressed. Two Diamond losers are likely (maybe even three), at least one Heart, that opening lead looks alarmingly like a singleton, and there is a Club finesse to be taken. Oh, yes, and she’ll also need 3-2 trumps. However, everything works out just perfectly! Declarer wins the A♠, plays A♥ and out a Heart, getting lucky when the long trump is not with the Spade singleton. Eventually, the last trump will be drawn, and, with the A♦, Q♦, K♣, Q♠ all on-side, no fewer than 11 tricks roll in. Most fortuitous, and a triumph for over-bidding! If you are bemoaning the fact that you missed this “cold” game, then don’t … instead, take comfort from the fact that, if bridge were played counter-clockwise, the limit on the hand would be a mere 8 tricks.
After the take-out Double, East's 2NT was Jordan, showing a limit raise or better, and the invitation was readily accepted by West with that lovely 6-loser hand.
Against 4♠, North will start with a couple of high Clubs, and Declarer will ruff the second round. Declarer would like to get to Dummy for a Spade finesse, but crossing to the Q♥ is not a safe way to get there … there is the danger (as on the actual hand) that the trump finesse will lose and be followed by a Heart ruff. It’s better to cross on a Diamond, which means taking the Diamond finesse at Trick 3. This wins, but the Spade finesse loses, and it’s 11 tricks and what should be a fairly flat board.
Suppose that the Diamond finesse loses, and a Heart comes back. Now, the smart play is to cash the A♠ and lead towards the Q♠, protecting against an adverse ruff.
East’s 3♠ was a Splinter, showing Club support and shortness in Spades. With most of his points in Partner’s short suit, West had an easy 3NT bid, but East was far from done. How the auction proceeds from here will depend upon the partnership’s methods. Here are some possibilities: (a) Minorwood: In a game-forcing auction, with Clubs agreed, some play that four of the agreed minor can be used as Roman Key Card … so, 4♣ here would ask, and the 4♠ response would say “two without”. (b) Redwood: Similar to Minorwood, except that, when Clubs are agreed then 4♦ asks, and when Diamonds are agreed then 4♥ asks. (c) 4NT: In the absence of a Redwood or Minorwood agreement, 4NT here would be Roman Key Card.
Whatever methods are used, East will discover that Partner has the missing Key Cards and the K♠. He’ll reasonably assume that Partner has 6 Clubs, and can count 12 tricks in No Trump. He’ll try for 7, get no further help from Partner, and reluctantly settle for 6NT. Here’s the full Minorwood auction in all its glory.
West East 1♣ 1♦ 4♣ is RKCB. 2♣ 3♠ 4♠ shows 2 without. 3NT 4♣ After 4♠, 4NT and 5♣ are sign-offs, so 5♦ is the King Ask. 4♠ 5♦ 5♠ is the K♠ 5♠ 5NT 5NT simply says “I’m still trying for 7 here” 6♣ 6NT 6♣ says “I’ve nothing more to offer” Pass
The only chance for a 13th trick, playing in Clubs or No Trump, is a 3-3 Heart break, so, on the lie of the cards, 12 tricks turns out to be the limit.
After the Jacoby Transfer, 2NT was a Super Accept, in this case showing 4-card support and a strong hand (there are other methods available, too). South then re-transferred, and 3♥ was the final contract. Yes, South was close to bidding game, and, again, the bold bidders are likely to be rewarded, as 4♥ has good practical chances.
Against a Heart contract, East does not have an attractive lead. The least attractive is a Club, and, perversely, that is the only lead which will beat the contract, assuming normal Declarer play. On a Club lead, the defense should score a trick in each suit … the percentage play (for no losers) in the trump suit is to finesse the Queen, playing for doubleton King on-side. But, if East leads a trump, that might persuade Declarer to play RHO for KJx.
An opening Spade lead is not good enough to beat 4♥. Dummy’s Ace wins, then a finesse of the Q♥, A♥, A♦, lose a Diamond, ruff a Spade, ruff a Diamond. Now the Diamonds dispose of the Club loser, and it’s 10 tricks. The play is similar on the opening lead of the K♦.
For the second time in three boards, E-W’s minor suit RKCB agreements are put to the test. Again, we’ll review the options: (a) Minorwood: If you play this convention, are you sure that this is actually a Minorwood situation? We think it should be, but the situation is a little murky … was 3♥ absolutely game-forcing? … are Clubs firmly agreed? (b) Redwood: Yes, 4♦ here is clearly RKCB for the Redwooders. (c) 4NT: In the absence of Redwood and Minorwood, 4NT sounds like it should be RKCB.
This time, we’ll take Redwood out for a spin West North East South 1♣ 2♥ 3♥ Pass 3NT Pass 4♦ Pass 5♣ Pass 7♣ Pass Pass Pass
4♦ was RKCB, 5♣ showed 2 with the Queen of trumps.
7NT requires a 2-2 Club break or a 3-2 Diamond break, so, in real life it is a most unlucky down one. Double dummy, the Diamonds can be brought in by running the 9 on the first round, but who is going to find that play?
To say that the N-S hands don't fit well together would be a serious understatement. It looks like 6 tricks for the defense, unless East has the tragic misfortune to lead a Spade!
Another tame part-score deal ... 2♥ should limp home on most lines of play. Were it not for the vulnerability, E-W might have got involved in Spades or Clubs. In Clubs it looks like 8 tricks for Declarer.
How about 2♠? Super-duper defense beats this one trick. North leads a Diamond to Partner's Ace ... Spade ducked to North's Queen ... Diamond back, won by Declarer ... Heart towards the board, North flying with the Ace and continuing a Diamond ... next the K♥ is cashed ... then A♣ on which North spectacularly drops the King! ... now, South gets in with the second round of Clubs, and shoots back a Spade, and that's just 7 tricks for Declarer.
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