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Hand Analyses         18th October, 2006

 

 

 1

♠ 97

JT

K87542

♣ 932




Bidding Quiz (E&W)

♠ AKQ632

K32

9

♣ QT8

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T5

A96

AQ6

♣ AK764


Dlr     North   
Vul     None 



 

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♠ J84

Q8754

JT3

♣ J5

West   North   East     South

                       1NT     Pass

2      Pass     2♠        Pass

4      Pass     4        Pass

4NT   Pass     5♣       Pass

5NT   Pass     6♣       Pass

6♠      Pass     6NT   All Pass

 

This is quite a hand with which to start this week’s Wednesday Game!  We’ll provide a blow-by-blow account of this auction in the Bidding Quiz, but in the meantime, we’ll just say the following:

-         East’s 1NT opening is as good as it can be, some might say that it is too good … we like 1NT here, but if there was a tad more stuffing in the Club suit our plan would be to open 1♣ and rebid 2NT (ostensibly showing 18-19)

-         4 was a Splinter

-         4NT was Roman Key Card, and 5♣ showed 0 or 3 (1430 responses)

-         5NT was the King Ask, asking for a specific King, and 6♣ was the K♣

 

With both black suits breaking, N-S have all 13 tricks in Clubs or Spades or No Trump.  The chances of bringing in both suits are not much better than 50%, and the extra chances offered by the Diamond finesse take the slam up to somewhere in the sixties.  However, we don’t think that bidding those marginal grand slams is a winning strategy at duplicate, especially when, as here, we can win a bunch of matchpoints just by playing it in 6NT instead of 6♠.

 

 

 2

♠ KJ8

QJT3

T954

♣ J6

 

♠ 93

98764

62

♣ A752

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 7642

K5

AJ83

♣ KQT

 

Dlr       East
Vul      N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AQT5

A2

KQ7

♣ 9843

West   North   East     South

                       1        1NT

Pass   2♣       Pass     2♠

Pass   2NT    All Pass

 

After Partner has overcalled 1NT, the common treatment is to play “systems on”, so 2♣ here was Stayman.  No major fit was found, and N-S subsided in 2NT, which was plenty high enough given the combined values.

 

It takes remarkable good fortune to make 3NT:

-         the Club suit must be blocked

-         the K must be doubleton

-         the A must be on-side (and not with the long Club)

 

Everything works, though, and it’s 9 tricks for Declarer.  No need to feel overly proud of yourselves if you bid this game.

 

 3

♠ J865

AT9

KJ653

♣ Q

 

♠ AK

J53

74

♣ J98532

          North

West             East

          South

♠ Q742

K42

82

♣ AKT6

 

Dlr     South
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ T93

Q876

AQT9

♣ 74

South   West    North   East  

Pass     Pass    1        Dbl

2         3♣       Pass    Pass

3         4♣       All Pass

 

West judged well to push on to 4♣, which is an easy 10 tricks, but, in our opinion their opponents gave them an easy ride.  Both North and South might have traded on the favorable vulnerability and mixed things up a bit.

-         North, in 3rd seat, opposite a passed hand, White vs Red, might have tried 2 instead of that uninspired light 1 opening.  True, a Weak Two would be a bit heavy in the HCP department (at least it is if her range is 5-10), and it’s a bit light in the Diamond department, but the odds are that this is the opponents’ hand, so we would be sorely tempted to be more adventurous than a mere 1.

-         South, opposite that pusillanimous 1 bid, might well have bid 3 over East’s Double … after all, she was prepared to bid 3 later, so why not go there directly?  3 won’t always work out well, of course, but you could say the same about most bids.

 

Anyway, a more aggressive strategy by N-S would have made life tougher for E-W.  The actual auction held no terrors for them whatsoever.

 

 

 4

♠ AJ

AKJ4

QT53

♣ AJ4

 

♠ 85

Q93

K9876

♣ 762

          North

West             East

          South

♠ QT9432

T62

A4

♣ 83

 

Dlr     West
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ K76

875

J2

♣ KQT95

West   North   East     South

Pass   2NT     Pass    3NT

Pass   Pass     Pass

 

 

It’s usually not much fun leading into a 2NT opening bidder, the possibilities of blowing a trick are all too apparent.  We certainly wouldn’t blame East for leading s Spade here against 3NT, but it will prove costly, presenting Declarer with a 10th trick.  The Spade lead also presents Declarer with a dilemma:

-         Should she play on Diamonds and make sure of 11 tricks?

-         Or should she play on Hearts, trying for 12 tricks, but with the risk of making just 10?

 

We’d just take our 11 tricks by playing on Diamonds.  We’ll be ahead of the game whenever the Q is off-side, and even if the Q is on-side we’ll still need the Hearts to break if we are to score that 12th trick.  It pains us to observe that 12 tricks are indeed available thanks to the friendly Hearts.

 

 

 5

♠ KQ7

JT94

42

♣ KJ74

 

♠ A62

AQ6

AJT95

♣ AQ

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T43

8532

873

♣ T86

 

Dlr     North
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J985

K7

KQ6

♣ 9532

West   North   East     South

           Pass     Pass    Pass

2♣      Pass     2        Pass

2NT   Pass     Pass    Pass

 

Assuming that E-W are playing a 20-21 2NT opening, we would say that West’s 21-count is just too good for that bid, those Diamond fillers make the difference.  But, either way, East is not going to contribute anything useful to the proceedings, and 2NT is the likely final spot.

 

As on the previous hand, the opening leader has the dubious pleasure of leading into a very strong and balanced hand.  The K♠ is the winner, on the lie of the cards it gives up nothing, and holds Declarer to a miserable total a just 5 tricks.  All other leads are doubly bad … firstly, they blow a trick on the go … secondly, the other leads give Declarer a tempo, now he can get the Diamonds going before the defense establish both of its black suits.  All of the non-Spade leads result in down just one trick.

 

 

 6

♠ K6

983

874

♣ AKQJ8

 

♠ JT5

T62

AKQ532

♣ 3

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 8742

AQJ75

T

♣ 652

 

 Dlr     East
 Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AQ93

K4

J96

♣ T974

West   North   East     South

                       Pass    Pass

2       3♣       Pass    3

Pass   4♣       All Pass

 

We’ve been seeing (or at least contemplating) some pretty raunchy Weak Two bids lately, especially in 3rd seat, but this time West’s 2 is the real Tabasco.  North can hardly not overcall 3♣, and South is too good to just pass, so she bids 3, angling for 3NT.  The end result is 4♣ down one, and it’s hard to see how N-S can reasonably manage to go plus on this one.

 

 

 7

♠ AKT8

J8432

76

♣ 52




Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ 74

KQT7

JT3

♣ AQ76

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J9652

5

52

♣ KJ943

 

Dlr     South
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q3

A96

AKQ984

♣ T8

South   West     North   East  

1        Pass     1        Pass

3        Pass     3♠        Pass

4       Pass     Pass     Pass

 

N-S got too high here, though the auction was not unreasonable.  South’s 3 was certainly minimum considering the doubleton Q♠ … North might have passed 3, but there was nothing much wrong with 3♠ either.

 

A Club lead is clearly called for on this auction, and that will spell a one trick defeat for the contract.  Of course, Declarer will remember those two “intra-finesse” successes from the previous week, and will see another one here … if West holds QT or KT or Tx, Declarer can hold her trumps to one loser (and make her contract) by leading a low Heart towards her J8xxx, preparing to insert the 8 if West plays low.  But, alas, West does not have the magic holding, and it’s down one.

 

System Note:

It’s a sensible agreement for 3 in the above auction to deny a 4-card Spade suit.  In that case, why would North bid his own 4-card Spade suit?  Two reasons … firstly, it might allow Partner to bid 3NT … secondly, the Spades are so good that the 4-3 fit might play quite well (especially if the short hand can look after the second or third round of Clubs).

 

Let’s look again at the combined trump holding:

                        North

                        J8432

            West                            East

                        South

                        A96

Remember that intra-finesse play from last week?  We lead towards the North hand, planning to insert the Eight if West plays low.  Then, if East wins the trick with the King or the Queen, we’ll later run the Jack, hoping to squash the doubleton Ten in the West hand.  This line picks up the suit for one loser whenever West started with KT or QT or T7 or T5.  That’s 4 chances, at 3.39% per clip, or a 13.56% total chance.

 

Is there an alternative way of playing the suit for just one loser?  Yes, just lay down the Ace, and lead towards North.  Assuming sufficient entries, this also has 4 chances … KQ in either hand, and King or Queen singleton with East.  Does that make the probabilities of the two approaches equal?  Not exactly.  Each individual 4-1 combination is slightly less likely than each individual 3-2 combination … it’s actually 2.83% as against 3.39%.  So, the prosaic laying down of the Ace scores a feeble 12.42% compared with that mighty 13.56% for the oh-so-more-exotic intra-finesse.

 

 

 8

♠ 98763

Q542

943

♣ 6




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ QJ

AKT

AKT652

♣ A2

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A54

986

♣ KJT8753

 

Dlr     West
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KT2

J73

QJ87

♣ Q94

West   North   East     South

2♣      Pass     3♣       Pass

3       Pass     4♣       Pass

4      Pass     4♠        Pass

5NT   Pass     6♣    All Pass

 

West decided to treat this as a strong balanced hand, and as it looked too good for the 20-21 range he upgraded it and opened 2♣, planning to rebid 2NT.  This plan got derailed when East gave a positive response in Clubs, so West showed the Diamond suit after all as it was also the cheapest bid available.  That 5NT was the Grand Slam Force asking Partner to bid 7♣ if he held two of the top 3 honors.  More on this sequence in the Bidding Quiz.

 

Against 6♣, North will lead a major, let’s say a Spade for the sake of argument.  Declarer needs to establish a long Diamond trick, and must use his entries carefully.  Win the Spade lead on the board, K♣, A♣, ruff a Diamond, draw the last trump, cross on a Heart, ruff a Diamond, cross on a Heart.  Diamonds must be 4-3, Declarer’s hand does not have enough entries to cope with 5-2.  All’s well on the actual hand and 12 tricks are made.  

 

6♣ is a pretty high percentage slam … for it to fail there must be a trump loser (47%) and a bad Diamond split (38%) … that comes out to an 82% chance of success.  And, on an opening Heart lead, the odds are even better.  Declarer wins the lead in his hand, ruffs a Diamond (mustn’t waste that entry!), then proceeds as before.  But now, if Diamonds don’t break 4-3, he has an extra string to his bow … he can try the Spade finesse for his 12th trick.  So a Heart opening lead improves the odds to 91%.

 

 

 9

♠ A982

KQT3

J

♣ Q762

 

♠ KT

9

T753

♣ AK9854

          North

West             East

          South

♠ QJ4

8752

A986

♣ T3

 

Dlr     North
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 7653

AJ64

KQ42

♣ J

West   North   East     South

           1♣        Pass   1

Pass   1        Pass    3

Pass   Pass     Pass

 

Against 3, East will perhaps lead the Q♠.  Assuming that both majors are divided 3-2 Declarer can score 2 Spades, 2 Diamonds, 4 trumps and a ruff in one hand or the other, for a total of 9 tricks.  But if Hearts are 4-1 there will be control problems.  It’s not a good idea to test trumps with a couple of rounds, if they turn out to be 4-1, it will be too late to recover.  Best play is to win the Spade and lose a Diamond at Trick Two.  Declarer wins the trump return on the board, cashes two Diamonds (pitching Spades), and exits a Spade.  Because West has all the entries and East has the remaining trumps, it is possible for Declarer to set up a cross-ruff situation for the last 6 tricks … the trump spots are not good enough to make all 6 remaining tricks, but even so 9 tricks will be made.  There are numerous variations on the above, but the bottom line is that Declarer does best to postpone the drawing of trumps and to go after the Diamonds right away.

 

Walsh Note:

Walsh players in the South seat will disdain that Diamond suit and respond 1, which will land N-S in the same contract but from the other side.

 

 

 10

♠ AK4

QT3

63

♣ AJ984




Bidding Quiz (East)

♠ 932

A985

AKQ84

♣ Q

          North

West             East

          South

♠ Q865

762

J5

♣ KT62

 
Dlr     East
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ JT7

KJ4

T972

♣ 753

West   North   East     South

                       Pass     Pass

1       2♣       Pass     Pass

Dbl     Pass    2♠     All Pass

 

East had a close decision after his Partner came back in with a re-opening Double.  The choice is between passing the Double in hope of a penalty, or bidding 2♠.  As they are vulnerable, it’s awfully tempting to take a shot at that +200, and we like to think we would go that route in the heat of battle.  But it’s aggressive, we don’t fault 2♠, either.

 

In 2♣ doubled Declarer does indeed go down at least one trick.  The defense attacks with Diamonds, fatally weakening Declarer’s trump holding.  The best that Declarer can do is something like this:

            Opening lead of the J, and a Diamond to the Queen

            A ruffed by Declarer’s 9, East pitching a Heart

            A♣ and a low Club to East’s Jack

            A Heart to the Ace

            Another high Diamond, North ruffing with the 8, East pitching a Heart

            Now, East can take his 2 trump tricks when he likes.

That’s still down one, though, and Declarer gets the dreaded -200.

 

If East doesn’t have the optimism to pass the Double, he’ll play in Spades, which will make a hard-to-determine number of tricks.  South will probably lead a Club, and one disastrous line of defense would be for North to try and stop the ruffs on the board by shifting to A♠, K♠ and out a Spade.  That stops the ruffs alright, but with Declarer holding the magic J he can now score no fewer than 9 tricks.

 

The defense does better to go after Hearts at Trick Two, knocking out Dummy’s entry to the Diamonds while the trump suit is under control.  So, a Heart to Dummy’s Ace, a Diamond to the Jack, K♣ and a Club ruff, and cash A.  Now, another Diamond forces North to ruff, but, whether she ruffs high or low, it’s two more tricks for Declarer … but that’s still down one, which is the best that Declarer can do if the defense finds the early Heart shift.

 

 11

♠ 8642

A532

Q7

♣ 532


Bidding Quiz (East)

Play Problem # 82  (North)

Play Problem # 83 (West)

♠ KT973

7

JT5

♣ AKT4

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AQ5

Q86

K984

♣ Q86

 
Dlr     South
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J

KJT94

A632

♣ J97

South   West     North   East  

Pass    1♠         Pass     2

Pass    3         Pass     3♠

Pass    4♠        All Pass

 

Most of the time, a “two over one” is made with a 5-card suit, but sometimes we just have to improvise.  However, East’s hand does raise the question: “Opposite a 1♠ opening bid, what does 3NT mean?”  Please see the Bidding Quiz for some alternatives. 

 

Anyway, whatever the route, the destination will surely be 4♠.  North is on lead and has a chance to be a star, so for only the second time in the history of The Wednesday Game, we offer an opening lead problem (Play Problem # 82).  And, for the first time ever, we have two Play Problems on the same board … the first was the aforementioned lead problem … the second is how to cope with it as Declarer (Play Problem # 83).

 

 

 12

♠ AJ7

T92

AT765

♣ 96




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ 63

AKQJ53

2

♣ AQ84

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KQT

8

984

♣ KJT732

 
Dlr     West
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 98542

764

KQJ3

♣ 5

West   North   East     South

1      Pass     1NT     Pass

4      Pass     Pass     Pass

 

 

Once East has made a noise, West should feel free to insist on game with his 4-loser hand, and 4 looks like the obvious choice.  Why mess around?

 

Looking at all 4 hands, it’s easy to see that North must cash her two Aces on the go or else Declarer will claim 12 top tricks.  Should she cash out?  Having seen the whole layout, we didn’t trust ourselves to be objective on the matter so we consulted an anonymous expert whom we shall call Dr Goodlead.  He didn’t think it such a difficult problem at all: “Defintely not a trump, that won’t achieve anything.  Not a Club, that needs too much help from Partner.  So, I lead the A, it’s less likely to blow a trick than A♠”.  Nice going, but there was another hurdle to be overcome.  “Dummy goes down with blah, blah, and Partner plays the King on the first trick.  What next, Doctor?”  He thought for a while and decided to cash the A♠, figuring that the odds were better that this would cash rather than a second Diamond.

 

 

 13

♠ AQ3

8652

AJ

♣ K543

 

♠ 9654

A3

9742

♣ J97

          North

West             East

          South

♠ JT72

4

KQT853

♣ QT

 
Dlr     North
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ K8

KQJT97

6

♣ A862

West   North   East     South

           1♣       2        2

3       3       Pass     4

Pass   Pass    Pass  

 

It’s hard to imagine how N-S would not get to 4, and even harder to imagine how 11 tricks would not be made.  You see, even computer hands can be boring once in a while!

 

 

 14

♠ J76

64

T872

♣ T832




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ AT2

A875

KQ5

♣ AK6

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 98543

KT3

A43

♣ Q4

 

Dlr     East
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KQ

QJ92

J96

♣ J975

West   North   East     South

2NT   Pass     3        Pass

3♠      Pass     3NT     Pass

Pass   Pass

 

West was offered the choice between 3NT and 4♠ and wisely opted for 3NT, eschewing the 8-card Spade fit because of the square shape and control of the side-suits.

 

11 tricks are fairly routine in both contracts, although in 3NT the (unlikely) lead of a Heart will make Declarer a little nervous.  He’ll play low from the board (better to play North for the Nine than to play her for both the Queen and the Jack).  South’s Nine forces the Ace, but, fortunately for Declarer, South is forced to win the first Spade for the defense and cannot continue the Heart attack.

 

 

 15

♠ 872

Q9

T7

♣ T98742

 

♠ J954

T72

QJ932

♣ Q

          North

West             East

          South

♠ K63

AK4

AK84

♣ AK3

 

Dlr     South
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AQT

J8653

65

♣ J65

South   West     North   East  

Pass    Pass      Pass    2♣

Pass    2         Pass    2NT

Pass    3♣         Pass    3NT

Pass    Pass      Pass

 

West’s 3♣ was Puppet Stayman, a convention used by many partnerships opposite a 2NT opening (or 2♣ followed by 2NT), and East’s 3NT denied a 4-card or a 5-card major.

 

Declarer has 10 tricks, with the chance of an 11th in Spades if the A♠ is with North.  South leads a Heart and North inserts the Nine if Dummy plays low … now a Club to the Queen and a Spade to the King and Ace.  South continues Hearts and 10 tricks are the maximum.

 

Yes, Declarer can make 11 tricks on a Strip Squeeze (aka Throw-In Squeeze), though we don’t recommend this line of play (but it is fun!):

            Win the Heart lead

            Cross to the Q♣

            Cross back to A

            Cash the AK♣, pitching Spades

            Run the Diamonds, pitching a Spade

In the 4-card ending Dummy will hold ♠ J9 and two Hearts … Declarer will have ♠ K6 and K4.  If South comes down to two Hearts and two Spades, the play of K and a Heart will throw South in and force him to concede a Spade … if South comes down to the A♠ and 3 Hearts, then Declarer can score a Spade trick by force.

 

 

 16

♠ J643

J6

T53

♣ AQT3




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ KT8

AKQ75

92

♣ K52

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A72

932

74

♣ J9874

 

Dlr     West
Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q95

T84

AKQJ86

♣ 6

West   North   East     South

1NT   Pass     Pass    Dbl

2      Pass     Pass    3

Pass   Pass     Pass 

 

We like that 1NT opening (many won’t), please see the Bidding Quiz.  South’s Double showed a long suit somewhere, but West intervened by showing his Heart suit.

 

3 can make 9 tricks, but perhaps some Declarers will find themselves going off.  There are 4 top losers and 8 winners …if Declarer goes for the 9th trick by finessing against the Spade Ten he’s down one … but the odds surely favor taking the Club finesse, which is the successful line of play.

 

 

 17

♠ QJ93

QJ2

K8

♣ KQ97




Bidding Quiz (East)

♠ A864

874

Q96

♣ A65

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 52

AK53

AJ73

♣ 842


Dlr     North   
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KT7

T96

T542

♣ JT3

West   North   East     South

           1♣       Pass     Pass

Dbl     Pass    2        Pass

Pass   Pass

 

After West’s balancing Double, it behooves East to be somewhat circumspect.  As the old advice says “Don’t punish Partner for balancing”.  As West is apt to bid with less in the balancing seat, East is obliged to have more than usual when he responds.  In these situations, it’s helpful to use the “King Rule” … East assumes that his balancing partner has “borrowed a King” for his bid, so he must bid as if he has a King less in order to compensate.  On that basis, East with his nice 12-count has only just enough to bid 2.

 

The cards are most friendly to Declarer, with trumps breaking and the K on-side, so the precarious contract squeaks home with 8 tricks.

 

 

 18

♠ J98643

K2

Q9

♣ 542

 

♠ A7

QT6

8652

♣ AT98

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KQT52

AJ

KJT3

♣ J6

 

Dlr       East
Vul      N-S 

 


 
 
 
 
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987543

A74

♣ KQ73

West   North   East     South

                       1♠        Pass

1NT   Pass     2        Pass

2NT   Pass     3NT   All Pass

 

West’s 1NT was the Forcing No Trump, and his 2NT was maybe a tad light in terms of HCP’s, but look at those lovely Club spots!

 

South will no doubt lead a Heart, presumably the Nine, and North does best not to play the K at Trick One, keeping Declarer in the dark about his third Heart stopper.  The play might develop as follows:

            9 lead, low from North, won by Declarer’s Jack

            J♣, covered by the Queen, won by Dummy’s Ace

            Club to South’s Queen

            Heart to the King and Ace

            Cross on a Spade

            Cash the Clubs

            Marked Spade finesse, for 10 tricks.

 

Suppose that, at Trick One, Declarer plays the Q from Dummy, hoping to smoke out the King, and further suppose that North cleverly plays low.  Now, Declarer is in Dummy and the entry situation dictates that he play on Diamonds next:

            9 lead, won by Dummy’s Queen

            Diamond to the Jack and Ace

            Heart to the King and Ace

            J♣ to the Ace (whether it is covered or not)

            Diamond to the Queen and King, then cash the Diamonds

            Cross to the A♠, cash the Heart, and a Spade finesse for 11 tricks.

That will be a great result for Declarer, but South could have done better.  She should duck the first round of Diamonds!  Now, Declarer does not have the entries for both the Spade finesse and a repeat of the Diamond finesse, and, not knowing that the Q is now singleton, he’ll use the sole entry to build two more Diamond tricks rather than one more Spade trick.

           

 

 19

♠ 765

963

752

♣ J654

 

♠ QJT42

85

AK3

♣ QT7

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 98

KT742

QJT9

♣ A3

 

Dlr     South
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AK3

AQJ

864

♣ K982

South   West     North   East  

1NT     Pass     Pass    Pass

 

 

E-W were scared off by the vulnerability, no doubt.  West doesn’t quite have enough to enter the fray in our opinion, another Spade or a bit of shape would be required.  East might well have ventured a two-suited bid if he had one available.  For example, using DONT he could bid 2 showing Diamonds and a major, in which case he would play it there.  And, playing Cappelletti, he could bid 2 (Hearts and a minor), and would no doubt play in the 5-2 fit.

 

It appears that both of those two-level E-W suit contracts will limp home for +110 (or maybe +90), but that will not be enough to beat those E-W pairs who passed out 1NT, they will get it down 3, scoring +150.

 

 

 20

♠ 982

J75

A98

♣ 7532




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ QT54

K9842

T65

♣ 6

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A73

63

74

♣ AKQJT9

 
Dlr     West
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KJ6

AQT

KQJ32

♣ 84

West   North   East     South

Pass   Pass     1♣       1

Dbl    Pass     2♣        Dbl

Pass   2        3♣     All Pass

 

Perhaps East could have rebid 3♣ directly, but either way that is the likely final contract. 

 

Against 3, South will attack with Diamonds.  Declarer will ruff the 3rd round, draw trumps, and leads a Heart towards the King.  South can rise with the Ace, and lead another Diamond, exhausting Declarer of trumps.  But, with both Spades on-side, there is no misguess possible in that suit, and 9 tricks are made.

 

 

 21

♠ A5

J98

A974

♣ KJ94


 

Bidding Quiz (North)

Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ K73

AKQ

K2

♣ AT752

          North

West             East

          South

♠ QJ92

6543

QT85

♣ Q

 

Dlr     North
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ T864

T72

J63

♣ 863

West   North   East     South

           1♣        Pass    Pass

2NT    Pass     3♣       Pass

3       Pass     3NT   All Pass

 

Do your partnerships have a clear agreement as to the meaning of a balancing 2NT bid?  For the time being, let’s assume that it is not the Unusual Two No Trump, but 19-20 and natural.  For more on this please see the Bidding Quiz.  East’s 3♣ was regular Stayman and the world’s favorite contract was duly reached.

 

Say that North leads a Diamond and it goes Eight, Jack, King.  Now, Declarer cashes the 3 top Hearts, noting the kind 3-3 break.  Then a Diamond towards the board, which North does well to duck, and the 13th Heart is cashed, Declarer pitching a Club.  Now, Declarer a Spade to the King and Ace, and North gets out with the K♣, squashing Dummy’s Queen and losing to the Ace.  Now a Spade to the board, and, depending on what North pitches, Declarer will score his 9th trick in the minors.

 

Can South do better for the defense by ducking the first Diamond?  The short answer is “No”, though it does make things interesting.  We’ll leave it to you to work out the route to 9 tricks.

 

 

 22

♠ T

T52

QJ7

♣ QJ9532




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ A93

KJ863

K932

♣ 7

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J8654

Q4

A4

♣ AKT6

 

Dlr     East
Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KQ72

A97

T865

♣ 84

West   North   East     South

                       1♠        Pass

2      Pass     2NT     Pass

4♠      Pass     Pass     Pass

 

Playing a 2/1 game-forcing system, West’s 2 might be a slight overbid but we like it anyway.  After a Forcing No Trump it would be difficult to get Hearts into the auction effectively.

 

In 4♠, suppose that South leads a Diamond.  Declarer will no doubt recognize yet another intra-finesse position in the trump suit, but will also note that he has two Club losers to take care of.  Perhaps the best line of play is to play on Hearts immediately, and the play might go as follows:

            Win the opening lead with the A

            Q to South’s Ace

            Win the Diamond return

            Cash two Hearts, pitching a Club

            Club to the Ace, then King, and ruff a Club (South pitching a Diamond)

            Cash A♠, then the 9♠ to South’s Queen

            Diamond ruffed by Declarer

            Now South gets one more trick, and Declarer ends up with 10.

Perhaps the line is a bit “double dummy”, but there is a lot to be said for not playing on trumps immediately (even though it might see like fun to try another one of those “intra-finesses”).  Of course, Hearts did not have to be 3-3, but if North has only two we are in the over-ruffing position, and if South has two it may not help her to ruff the third Heart (she might have KQx, Kxx, Qxx, KQ, Qx, or Kx, for example).

 

If you want to be really double dummy you will make 11 tricks by running the Jack of Spades, pinning North’s singleton Ten.  If South covers the Jack with an honor, Declarer can later amuse himself by returning to his hand and running the Four.

 

 

 23

♠ T752

KT

AQT843

♣ A




Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ K4

A8652

2

♣ JT762

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J83

QJ94

K75

♣ K95

 

Dlr     South
Vul     Both 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AQ95

73

J96

♣ Q843

South   West     North   East  

Pass     Pass     1        Pass

1♠        Pass     3♠        Pass

4♠        Pass     Pass     Pass

 

Spirited bidding by North, wouldn’t you say?  Only 13 HCP’s, but there she is making a jump rebid in support of Spades.  But rightly so, we think, the North hand has only 5 losers, but even if North is not into the Losing Trick Count, she perhaps recalls that old advice of “Six-four, bid more!”.

 

Against 4♠, a Diamond lead from West will make Declarer distinctly nervous.  No doubt it’s a singleton (unless Zia is West, in which case it could be from any holding whatsoever, though probably not a void), so Declarer rises with the Ace, and then plays on trumps.  The finesse of the 9 draws the King, and thanks to the onside A, 10 tricks will result.

 

 

 24

♠ AT43

J754

632

♣ KT




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ 75

A96

KQJ97

♣ QJ8

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J982

Q3

T4

♣ A6532

 

Dlr     West
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KQ6

KT82

A85

♣ 974

West   North   East     South

1       Pass    1♠        Pass

1NT    Pass    Pass    Dbl

2       2        All Pass

 

Not a particularly exciting deal.  West was happy to play in 1NT, but rebid his Diamonds when South balanced.  But to no avail, N-S were able to buy the contract in 2.  The Hearts can be brought in for one loser, and with two more losers in each minor suit, 8 tricks is the maximum.

 

 

 25

♠ AJT7

K3

986

♣ QJ32




Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ 8

QJT85

QJ7

♣ K974

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KQ943

964

KT63

♣ 8

 

Dlr     North
Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 652

A72

A42

♣ AT65

West   North   East     South

           Pass    Pass     1♣

1      Dbl      2         Pass

Pass   3♣       All Pass

 

E-W declined to push on over 3♣ and rightly so, as neither of them had the extra trump needed to give them safety at the 3-level.

 

In 3♣ Declarer can score just 8 tricks, with a Spade, 2 Hearts and a Heart ruff, a Diamond and 3 trump tricks.  And, if E-W had mistakenly competed to 3, they would also have been down one, lose a trick to each of the 5 Key Cards.

 

 

 26

♠ Q

QJ83

QT42

♣ 9754




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ AJ7652

9

K

♣ AKQJ2

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 3

T54

AJ9865

♣ 863

 

Dlr     East
Vul     Both 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KT984

AK972

73

♣ T

West   North   East     South

                       2        3

Pass   3        Pass    Pass

Dbl    Pass     Pass    Pass

 

How do you play a cue-bid of 3 over a 2 opening?  For more on this, please see the Bidding Quiz.  In the featured auction, 3 showed the majors, North chose Hearts, of course.  West’s Double was probably made as much out of frustration as anything else.

 

No doubt East will lead a singleton to Partner’s Ace, and West will be at the cross-roads.  If he leads his trump, Declarer will draw trumps, and take a ruffing finesse against the J♠ for 9 tricks.  To justify his Double West should cash the K, and then must return a Spade … Dummy ruffs high, trumps are drawn, and eventually Declarer loses 2 Spades, 2 Diamonds, and a Club, for down one.

 

 

 27

♠ AJ76

AT3

3

♣ T8632

 

♠ 85

7

9876

♣ AQJ954

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KQT4

QJ64

Q542

♣ K

 

Dlr     South
Vul     None 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 932

K9852

AKJT

♣ 7

 

South   West     North   East  

1        3♣        3        Pass

Pass    Pass  

 

West was dicing with death there for a while … if North passes and waits for Partner to reopen with a Double, she can pass and collect a juicy +500.  But she not unreasonably elected to support Partner.  After all, it’s easy enough to visualize layouts where E-W can make 7 tricks in 3♣ doubled (say, 6 Club tricks and a side suit trick), where N-S can make 11 or even 12 tricks in Hearts.

 

On the actual layout, 3 is plenty high enough, especially on a Spade lead.  Declarer will fear a singleton and rise with the Ace, and now we think her best shot is to take an immediate Diamond finesse.  If it wins, Declarer will be in great shape, if it loses she can still get home if that Spade was indeed a singleton.  When it wins, she can cash a couple more Diamonds, pitching Spades, then ruff a Diamond on the board, and exit a Club.  By this time Declarer has racked up 5 tricks and her trumps will be good for 4 more, given that she is in the over-ruffing position in both black suits.

 

 

 28

♠ Q654

65

Q72

♣ 8532




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ AKT3

J92

J654

♣ 94

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 72

KT83

K

♣ AKQJ76

 
Dlr     West
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J98

AQ74

AT983

♣ T

West   North   East     South

Pass   Pass     1♣        Dbl

1♠      Pass     3♣        Pass

3      Pass     3NT  All Pass 

 

Good bidding by West here!  He could have lazily bid 3NT over 3♣, but correctly concluded that there was no benefit to playing the contract from his side … much better to put the strong opponent on lead, and protect Partner’s red Kings, if he has any.

 

How right West was!  With North on lead the contract is down, whichever red suit North decides to lead (in the absence of a 3 bid, presumably it’ll be a Diamond).  But, with East at the helm, South seems destined to give this contract away with her opening lead.  Of course, a passive black card lead holds Declarer to 8 tricks, but surely South will want to attack with something red, and that will be Declarer’s 9th.  But not so fast!  The A will beat the contract, setting up 3 quick Diamonds and 2 Hearts for the defense.  We wondered if that lead could be found without seeing all 4 hands, so we consulted Dr Goodlead one more time.  After almost five minutes thought he said “I lead the Ace of Diamonds!”.  His logic was “Not a black card, they may have 2 Spades and 7 Clubs to cash … a Heart will surely blow a trick … that leaves a Diamond, and I’ll start with the Ace, hoping to catch a singleton honor in Declarer’s hand”.  Nicely done, Doctor!

 

 

 29

♠ J94

AKT6

AK

♣ Q765

 

♠ 76

QJ97

987654

♣ 4

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AT32

8542

3

♣ AK98

 
 
Dlr     North
 Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KQ85

2

QJT2

♣ JT32

West   North   East     South

           1NT     Pass    2♣

Pass   2        Pass    3NT

Pass   Pass     Pass

 

Opposite a 15-17 1NT opening, a better than average 9-count is enough to go to game, and we’d say that those minor suit Tens cause this hand to qualify.  Not that it really matters on this hand, as North has a maximum anyway.

 

We have no idea what East will lead against 3NT, perhaps the K♣, but we can say with some certainty that 10 tricks should (and maybe even will!) be made by all Declarers.

 

Nowadays, against suit contracts, most players lead Ace from Ace-King, and the once popular King from Ace-King is fading into disuse.  But, against No Trump contracts, things are different, and the most commonly used method is as follows:

-         The lead of the Ace against a No Trump contract asks Partner to unblock an honor if he has one.  If he has no honor, he is required to give count.  Such a lead would normally indicate a strong holding, AKJTxx for example.

-         The lead of the King requires Partner to give attitude, usually for the Queen, and might be the choice from a holding such as AKJx.

 

 

 30

♠ QJ984

AT92

J65

♣ J




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ A652

Q76

98

♣ 8763

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KT7

K4

AKT4

♣ T952

 

Dlr     East
Vul     None 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 3

K653

Q732

♣ AKQ4

West   North   East     South

                       1        Pass

1♠      Pass     2♠        Dbl

Pass   Pass     Pass

 

Quite an eventful auction for an innocent-looking part-score hand:

-         South’s Pass:  We’ve know some people who would be unable to resist 2♣ here, but, as will be seen, Pass works out better, at least on this deal..

-         East’s 2♠:       Raising Partner’s potential 4-card suit with just 3 trumps is fine, at least when we have decent trumps and a ruffing value, as East’s hand does.

-         South’s Dbl:   This is the so-called “pre-balance”, with support for both unbid suits, endeavoring to push them to the 3-level.

-         North’s Penalty Pass:  Well, it wasn’t too difficult for North to find this Pass, but she is expected to keep the drooling to an absolute minimum.

 

Against 2♠ doubled, the J♣ seems like the obvious lead.  South should overtake, cash the high Clubs (North pitching Diamonds), then lead a 4th round, ruffed by North, who now exits a Diamond.  After this start, the defense already has 4 tricks, with the A and 2 trump tricks to come.  That’s +300 for N-S on a part-score hand, never a bad thing.

 

 

 31

♠ J6

T85

AT943

♣ T87




Play Problem # 84 (West)

♠ K9

43

K52

♣ KQ9653

          North

West             East

          South

♠ QT75

A62

J7

♣ AJ42

 

Dlr     South
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ A8432

KQJ97

Q86

South   West     North   East

1♠        2♣        Pass     2♠

Pass    3♣        Pass     Pass

3       Pass      Pass    4♣

Pass    Pass      Pass

 

We don’t know whether we would have the courage to make that intrepid vulnerable 3 balance, but it was certainly the winning bid on this deal, pushing E-W to a perilously high 4♣.  It takes fine Declarer play to make 10 tricks in this contract, please see Play Problem # 84.

 

 

 32

♠ QJ8763

T

Q987

♣ 97

 

♠ T943

987

A54

♣ J54

          North

West             East

          South

J542

KT2

♣ AK8632

 

Dlr     West
Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AK5

AKQ63

J63

♣ QT

West   North   East     South

Pass   2♠        Pass     4♠

Pass   Pass     Pass

 

                          

North’s minimum but reasonable Weak Two gets her side too high, but it’s somewhat unfortunate that the hands fit so badly.  East will lead the A♣, take one look at Dummy’s menacing Heart suit, and promptly cash out for down one.

 

Suppose that you are playing that, after a Weak Two, 2NT asks for a “Feature”, which would typically be a King or an Ace.  Would this be a good occasion for the convention?  After all, if Partner doesn’t have a minor suit feature, they’ll probably be able to cash 4 tricks on the go.  We wouldn’t bother, most of the time Partner will have a feature (after all, she doesn’t have much in Spades!), and all that we will have done by asking for it is to help the defense find the right opening lead.  So, even playing “Feature”, we would suppress our inner scientist and still bid 4♠ directly.

 

Against suit contracts, when Partner leads the Ace of a suit, and Dummy has the Queen, it has become customary for third seat to give count.  This is useful on the actual hand, as East will see West’s 4-spot and will know for sure that a second Club is cashing.  Without receiving that count signal he would be agonizing over whether to try to cash one Club and three Diamonds, or two in each suit.

                              

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