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Hand Analyses March 21st, 2007
After 1♣ 1♦, 1♥, most partnerships play that 1♠ is natural (and forcing) and that 2♠ is the artificial “Fourth Suit Forcing”, and so it was in the featured auction.
Against 4♠, leading the unbid suit is not an option, and it seems reasonable to try one of Dummy’s suits. A Club lead looks more promising than a Heart, and the play might go as follows: J♣ lead (obvious singleton or doubleton) won by West’s Queen Heart to the King and South’s Ace Club return, won on the board Diamond to the Nine and North’s Ten Heart to Dummy’s Queen Cash A♠ and K♠ Cash A♦ Ruff a Diamond (doesn’t help North to ruff with the Queen) Ruff a Heart Now, Declarer runs his Diamonds and North can take her Q♠ whenever she likes. 10 tricks.
Walsh Note This week there are no fewer than 6 deals where Walsh-style auctions will come into play. In this week’s Bidding Quiz we’ll review all these auctions and see what impact this style of bidding has on the outcome.
West’s game-forcing 2/1 auction got his side too high, but we have sympathy for the approach that he chose, it was unfortunate that East had so much stuff opposite his void.
An alternative approach for West would be to try a Forcing No Trump, but that does not work any better. North rebids 2♠, and now West has an awkward choice between: - Either, inviting to 3♠ with small doubleton support (while keeping those 11 red cards a closely guarded secret!) - Or, bidding 3♥ (invitational) on a rather poor suit. Whichever way West goes, we’d expect East to bid on with that lovely shape, so it looks to us that most E-W pairs will play in game, after which it depends on the opening lead.
North can beat 4♥ two tricks by leading a trump (or even a Spade), but that is not going to happen, she’ll lead a minor suit: - If she leads a Club, Declarer finesses the Club and cashes the A♣, pitching away his Spades … now Declarer can scramble 9 tricks, he doesn’t quite have the timing to set up the Diamonds and also enjoy them. - If North leads a Diamond, this rotten contract actually makes! Declarer overtakes the T♦ with the Jack, ruffs a Diamond, cashes the A♣ (pitching a Spade), and plays the K♥. Whether South ducks or wins, Declarer can come to 10 tricks.
How about 4♠? It looks to us that 9 tricks will be made on either minor suit lead.
A long-winded auction gets N-S to 3♣. We like South’s choice of 3♣ over 2NT, clearly she is a devotee of the Kokish Rule, which says something like this: “When we have a 6-card minor, it rarely pays to play in 2NT. Either we can establish the minor in time and belong in 3NT, or else we cannot establish the minor and belong in 3♣ where the long suit can score tricks regardless”
Kokish comes up trumps on the actual deal … 2NT cannot be made, the defense establishes its major suit tricks before the Clubs get going and 7 tricks is the limit … but in 3♣, Declarer makes 9 tricks.
Walsh Note This week there are no fewer than 6 deals where Walsh-style auctions will come into play. In this week’s Bidding Quiz we’ll review all these auctions and see what impact this style of bidding has on the outcome.
2♠ was Fourth Suit Forcing and the normal 3NT was eventually reached. It’s a friendly hand, it’s hard to see how anything other than 11 tricks can result.
Walsh Note This week there are no fewer than 6 deals where Walsh-style auctions will come into play. In this week’s Bidding Quiz we’ll review all these auctions and see what impact this style of bidding has on the outcome.
E-W did well to play this one in 3NT rather than 4♠. 11 top tricks are available in either contract, that is unless North walks into a rather pretty squeeze. Suppose that North finds a Diamond opening lead, which is ducked. North persists with a Diamond, and Declarer cashes 5 Spades. Here is the position with 6 cards left: North ♠ ♥ T ♦ KJ ♣ QT7 Declarer Dummy ♠ ♠ 4 ♥ KQ63 ♥ A8 ♦ T ♦ ♣ J ♣ A92 South ♠ ♥ J954 ♦ ♣ K5 When Dummy’s last Spade is cashed, South is squeezed out of a Club card, she has to hang on to those 4 Hearts. Declarer pitches a Heart from his hand, and then cashes the top three Hearts. Now it is North’s turn to be squeezed! When the third Heart winner is cashed she will have to unguard one of the minors and it will be 12 tricks for Declarer. This one has a fancy name, it’s called a Non-Simultaneous Double Squeeze, no less!
If North had been of an unsporting disposition she would have broken up the squeeze by shifting to a Club at Trick Two. Far from obvious.
Playing standard Jacoby 2NT methods, South has a rebid choice between 3♥ (shortness) and 4♦ (a good 5-card suit). In the featured auction South chose the latter course, which did not do much to inspire North … she tried a cue-bid of 4♥, then gave up when South bid 4♠.
How good is the slam? It’s somewhat iffy! A Club lead creates the biggest problems for Declarer, and she does best by jumping up with the Ace, cashing the A♥, and (before tacking trumps) taking the ruffing finesse in Hearts, pitching the Club loser when East plays low. With trumps 2-2 and Hearts 4-3 this line leads to 12 tricks.
After opening 2♣, South’s plan was to rebid 2NT, even after a 2♦ response by Partner, and notwithstanding the singleton K♠. Please see the Bidding Quiz.
Opposite a 2♣ opener, North has quite a hand, clearly this one is a six or seven deal. North’s 2♠ was a positive and natural response showing a decent suit, we’d say that AJTxxx is quite good enough, especially considering all of the side-suit values. After 3NT, North was in an awkward situation, for more on which please see the Bidding Quiz.
In the featured auction, 4♥ was a cue-bid, after which 4NT was Roman Key Card. 5♣ showed one or four, 5♦ was the Queen Ask, and 5♠ denied the Q♠. With all the extra values North sensibly chose 6NT in preference to 6♠.
This is a strange deal, with N-S able to make precisely 12 tricks in all four suits and also in No Trump! 6♠ can be made despite the 5-1 trump break, but only with double dummy play as follows: East leads the J♣, won by Declarer’s King K♥, then Q♥, then A♥ are cashed Club ruff A♦ and K♦ are cashed Q♣ is cashed. Now, Declarer and West are both down to nothing but trumps in this end position: Declarer ♠ AJT65 ♥ ♦ ♣ West East ♠ Q9842 ♠ 7 ♥ ♥ J ♦ ♦ J8 ♣ ♣ J Dummy ♠ K ♥ ♦ Q7 ♣ Q8 Now, Dummy plays a Diamond (or Club) and West must ruff. South overruffs, crosses to the K♠, and plays another minor suit card. Again West must ruff, and his second natural trump trick has disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Another 4-suit auction, where 1♠ is natural. Against 1NT South will probably lead a Diamond, and eventually Declarer will get to the board (probably with a Heart finesse) and take the losing Club finesse, making 7 tricks.
Walsh Note This week there are no fewer than 6 deals where Walsh-style auctions will come into play. In this week’s Bidding Quiz we’ll review all these auctions and see what impact this style of bidding has on the outcome.
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