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Hand Analyses         5th September, 2007

 

 

 1

♠ AJT6

65

T86

♣ T964




Bidding Quiz (E&W)

♠ K3

AT92

AK4

♣ J872

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 2

KQ743

Q972

♣ AKQ


Dlr     North   
Vul     None 



 

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♠ Q98754

J8

J53

♣ 53

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1        Pass

2NT     Pass    3♠        Pass

4        Pass    Pass    Pass

 

We come to bury the Jacoby 2NT, not to praise it.  That 2NT showed game-going values and Spade support, an almost universal treatment, at least in the United States, if you will pardon the oxymoron.  East’s 3♠ showed a singleton (but said nothing about strength).  This was not good news for West, three of his points appeared to be worthless, so he signed off in 4.  As for East, he had a little bit extra but (perhaps a little wimpishly) decided not to risk going to the 5-level.  So, 4 was where E-W played, making 12 easy tricks (13 if South fails to find the non-obvious Spade lead).

 

Did E-W screw up?  We don’t think so, they both had a little bit extra, but none of their bids were terrible.  We’d say that they were betrayed by their methods, those standard Jacoby responses are just not effective.  If your partnership would like to put in a little bit of extra work, there are superior methods available.  Please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

 2

♠ QJ3

QT75

J982

♣ J7

 
 

♠ 986

98432

K

♣ Q843

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T7542

AT43

♣ K962

 

Dlr       East
Vul      N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AK

AKJ6

Q765

♣ AT5

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    2NT

Pass    3♠        Pass    3

Pass    4        All Pass

 

4 is not a success, foundering on the rocks of a 5-0 trump break.  Of course, North might have decided, with that quacky collection, to forget about any 4-4 Heart fit and just bid 3NT.  This strategy works excellently when the enemy trumps are 5-0, less well when they are better behaved and a Club ruff in the North hand provides the extra trick for the suit contract.

 

There’s not a huge amount to be learned from this hand, but it does lend weight to our long-held belief that a 5-0 trump break can really cramp Declarer’s style.

 

 

 3

♠ 52

AQ2

AJT

♣ A8653




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ AKT64

KJ43

752

♣ T

          North

West             East

          South

♠ QJ987

T65

8

♣ Q742

 

Dlr     South
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 3

987

KQ9643

♣ KJ9

South   West    North   East 

2        2♠        2NT     4♠

5        Pass    Pass    Pass

 

Most partnerships play that 2NT opposite a Weak Two is artificial and forcing, perhaps asking for a feature, or perhaps some Ogust-style bid.  Do you play that this is still on in competition?  We like to play it that way, but that’s just our preference, more important is that both you and your partner are playing it the same way!

 

In the featured auction, North did intend 2NT as conventional and forcing (for one round) but that did not stop East from preempting to 4♠.  We are always told that once we have preempted we are not supposed to take another call unless Partner asks our opinion.  Well, 2NT was very much asking South’s opinion, and she should feel free to express it with a 5 bid, given her near maximum hand and singleton Spade.

 

Against 5, West leads high Spades and Declarer ruffs the second round.  Now the simple line is to draw three rounds of trumps ending on the board, finesse the J♣, finesse the Q, finesse the 9♣, cash A♣, cross to the A, and pitch away the Heart loser on a Club winner.  12 tricks.  Of course, this line fails if the finesse of the Club loses to the singleton Queen and if the K is offside.  But Declarer might reason that distribution to be unlikely, not so much from the bidding but from the fact that West did not shift to a Heart at Trick Two.

 

How does 4♠ (no doubt doubled) do?  Down just one trick, and a good board for E-W.

 

 

 4

♠ T97

QT

A843

♣ T874




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ KQ32

8732

Q972

♣ J

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A84

KJ6

J65

♣ AKQ5

 

Dlr     West
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J65

A954

KT

♣ 9632

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    1♣        Pass

1        Pass    2NT     Pass

3        Pass    3NT  All Pass

 

 We really don’t think that it should be a capital offense to open the East hand with 1NT, given that square 18-count, but the generally preferred approach will no doubt to open 1♣, planning a 2NT rebid.

 

Against 3NT, South will probably lead a Spade, won on the board.  The J♣ is unblocked, and a Heart led to the Ten, Jack and Ace.  So far, so good for Declarer, he’s now up to 8 tricks, and 9 when Spades are 3-3.

 

 

 5

♠ QT87

KJ7654

65

♣ Q




Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ 62

AT8

AJ87

♣ 9854

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A3

92

K32

♣ JT7632

 

Dlr     North
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KJ954

Q3

QT94

♣ AK

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    1♠

Pass    2♣       Pass    4♠

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

North’s 2♣ was Drury, a passed hand convention showing invitational Spade support.  Yes, North is a bit light on HCP’s, but that shape is good enough compensation.

 

However, it turns out that the hands fit together very poorly (look at all that Club wastage!).  There are 4 top losers for Declarer but it’s possible that one of the Diamond losers will go away on a Club.  It all depends on the opening lead:

-         If West leads a trump, East will win the Ace, and it should be pretty clear to shift to a Diamond looking at Dummy and the K in his own hand.

-         If West leads a Club, it’s all over for the defense.

-         We cannot see any reason for West to start with a red Ace, but that will work fine for the defense.

 

 

 6

♠ T984

K4

Q94

♣ AQ76




 

♠ AJ

876

A853

♣ T932

          North

West             East

          South

♠ Q76

AJ32

J72

♣ KJ8

 

 Dlr     East
 Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ K532

QT95

KT6

♣ 54

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

Pass    1♣       Pass    1

Pass    1♠        Pass    2♠

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

East passes his ugly 12-count, and eventually N-S come to rest in their 4-4 Spade partial.  Declarer loses two trump tricks and one in each side-suit, making 8 tricks for +110.

 

Of course, some (perhaps most) Easts are psychologically incapable of passing any 12-count, even one as bad as this (square, no Tens, 5 points in quacks).  If East does open 1♣, West responds 1NT which East gladly passes, and now one of three things might happen:

-         South tamely passes, allowing E-W to get a good board with their -100.

-         South balances with a Double, North guesses to pass, and this time its -200 for E-W.

-         South balances with a Double, and N-S play it in 2♠ making 8 tricks and -110 for E-W

 

 

 7

♠ 643

T

T652

♣ KQ972

 

♠ QJT8

J652

AJ

♣ T54

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A92

AKQ73

Q9

♣ AJ3

 

Dlr     South
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ K75

984

K8743

♣ 86

South   West    North   East 

Pass    Pass    Pass    2NT

Pass    3♣       Pass    3

Pass    4        All Pass

 

Let’s say that the opening lead is a Heart, and that Declarer draws trumps and takes the Spade finesse.  That loses and a Spade comes back, and now Declarer must choose between two lines of play:

-         Pitch a Club on the long Spade, and take the Diamond finesse, making 11 tricks if that works, and 10 otherwise.

-         Pitch a Diamond on the long Spade, and play on Clubs in search of the 11th trick.

 

The Diamond finesse provides the better odds, of course, but the double Club finesse also works, so either way it’s 11 tricks.

 

 

 8

♠ 65

KJT86

KQ83

♣ 62




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ J3

52

A65

♣ AK9543

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T7

Q73

JT9742

♣ JT

 

Dlr     West
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AKQ9842

A94

♣ Q87

West    North   East     South

1♣       1        Pass    2♠

3♣       Pass     Pass    4♠

Pass    Pass     Pass

 

The featured N-S pair were playing that, opposite an overcall, a new suit was non-forcing (but constructive), so South was obliged to jump the bidding in order to establish a force.

 

Against 4♠, West plays two rounds of Clubs, and gives Partner a ruff (or overruff).  Which red suit should East return?  A Diamond looks safer that a Heart, and, anyway, when West leads his third Club, it will be the lowest one he has, a clear suit preference for signal for the lower-ranking Diamond suit.  But Declarer ruffs this and draws trumps, ultimately needing to guess the Hearts to make her contract.

 

Do you have any ideas for guessing those Hearts correctly?  West does not need the Q to justify her bidding, so that card could be in either hand.  One way for Declarer to improve her chances is to rattle off all her trumps before the fateful guess.  Declarer can be sure (from the bidding and the play) that the A is with West, so here are the possible cases with 3 cards left (after the play of the last trump):

-         If nobody has pitched a Heart, then West started with two and East with three, so perhaps the odds favor the Q being with East’s length.

-         If West has pitched a Heart, then perhaps that pitch was out of necessity, and Declarer can play for the drop in the expectation that the remaining Hearts are 2-2

-         If East has pitched a Heart, then he probably started with 4 of them, and the indicated play is to cross to the King and finesse against East’s Queen.

As it happens, nobody pitches a Heart (the first case), and Declarer presumably finesses against East, successfully.  Running off all the trumps before guessing the Hearts certainly gives Declarer the best chance of making her contract but the downside is that it risks going down two if Declarer ends up finessing into the West hand.

 

 9

♠ 8642

K82

4

♣ AQ987


 

Bidding Quiz (N&S)

Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ AKQ9

T753

AK8

♣ T2

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J3

J964

JT52

♣ K64

 

Dlr     North
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ T75

AQ

Q9763

♣ J53

West    North   East     South

            Pass    Pass    Pass

1NT     Pass    Pass    Pass

 

Left to their own devices, E-W will wind up in 1NT, making 7 or 8 tricks depending upon Declarer’s Greed Quotient.  North leads the 8♣ and, one way or the other the K♣ scores a trick.  Now Declarer can choose between a certain 7 tricks, or he can try for 8 (maybe even 9) by taking the Diamond finesse.  Of course, if the Diamond finesse loses the defense will have 8 tricks of their own, so the sensible course is surely to take the plus score.

 

Next question: Do you think that N-S were rather pusillanimous in selling out to 1NT?  And if so, which player was the culprit?  Please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

 

 10

♠ A97432

AK2

T3

♣ J2

 

♠ 86

JT743

A6

♣ KT54

          North

West             East

          South

♠ JT5

96

KQ85

♣ A863

 
Dlr     East
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KQ

Q85

J9742

♣ Q97

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

Pass    1♠        Pass    1NT

Pass    2♠        All Pass

 

Another uneventful auction, one in which South was most wise not to take a second call.  Sure, she has something extra with her 10 HCP’s, but it’s a truly crummy 10 and game is unlikely.  Playing in Spades, North has a routine 9 tricks when the trumps behave.

 

Would you balance with the West hand, when 2♠ is passed around to you?  Here are some thoughts on the matter:

-         The vulnerability should be a serious deterrent here, we like to balance but think it’s a bit much here … but, hey, it might work!

-         If you had a gun pointed at your head and were forced to balance, what would be your choice?  We’d suggest 2NT, not necessarily for the minors, a more useful interpretation is “two places to play”.

-         Now put yourself in the South seat.  You passed 2♠, lefty balanced with 2NT, then 3♣ on your right.  We would double now.  We wish we had less of our high cards in Partner’s suit, and sometimes this kind of Matchpoint Double leads to an ignominious -670.  But we can’t let the opponents push us around!  And, more often than not, we’ll score +200.

 

 

 11

♠ 832

K95

T642

♣ KT8

 

♠ AQ7

J73

AQ

♣ QJ952

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KT6

Q84

KJ8

♣ A763

 
Dlr     South
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J954

AT62

9753

♣ 4

South   West    North   East 

Pass    1NT     Pass    3NT

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

After this simple auction, it’s a routine 9 or 10 tricks for Declarer, depending upon North’s opening lead.  On this one we consulted our old friend Dr Goodlead, fresh from his 3 for 3 triumph last week.  “Not a minor suit after that Staymanless auction.  I suppose I’ll lead my better major, but which card?  A low one might block the suit, the unblocking King lead might be misleading or costly.  I’m in two minds here, but definitely a Heart”.  The Doctor extends his winning streak to 4!  If North leads a low Heart, South must insert the Ten, that way the defense scores 4 tricks (a Club and three Hearts).  If South makes the mistake of rising with the A at Trick One, she’ll never score the 13th Heart.

 

 

 12

♠ T3

J9865

AK

♣ 8653

 

♠ AKQJ6

A2

JT2

♣ J74

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 74

Q43

Q864

♣ AKT2

 
Dlr     West
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 9852

KT7

9753

♣ Q9

West    North   East     South

1NT     Pass    3NT     Pass

Pass    Pass

 

Would you open the West hand 1NT?  We have no problem with the practice of opening 1NT with a 5-card major, but this hand does have so much of its strength in that major, and, furthermore, the West hand does not need to be protected from the opening lead.  For example, if East has Ax, or ♣ ATx, or the actual Qxx, the hand would be better played from that side.  So West opening 1NT here is far from ideal, then again nor is the alternative of finding a good rebid after the auction starts 1♠ 1NT.  Pick your own poison on this one.

 

If West is Declarer, North will lead a Heart, low from Dummy, the Ten from South, won by Declarer’s Ace.  Now, if Declarer loses the Club finesse, a Diamond comes back, then another Heart.  Declarer can minimize his losses by playing low and blocking the suit, but that is still down one.  But, just as the 1NT-3NT auction wrong-sided the contract on this occasion, it was also most uninformative.  After winning the T on the first trick, South, looking at two small Spades in Dummy, will probably shift to that suit.  But she’ll get a second chance for the Diamond shift after Declarer takes the ill-fated Club finesse, and again Declarer goes down.

 

Not surprisingly, E-W do better if East is Declarer.  Well, maybe:

-         If South decides to lead the stronger Heart suit, it’s curtains for the defense.  Declarer wins the Queen, for her 9th trick, and can score a 10th in the Club suit.

-         If South leads the longer Diamond suit, hopefully it will be the Seven, a “second best from four small” lead which, by partnership agreement, warns Partner to expect no strength in the led suit.  If so, North should find the Heart shift easily enough, and that will be down one.

 

 

 13

♠ Q965

KT

Q6

♣ AJT63




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ 843

AQ932

J93

♣ Q7

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AKJT

7654

42

♣ K92

 
Dlr     North
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 73

J8

AKT875

♣ 854

West    North   East     South

            1♣       1♠        2

2♠        Pass    Pass    3

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

South’s 2 showed a good hand, but was not game-forcing.  What are your partnership agreements for staying short of game in this situation?  Please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

The featured auction was not a great triumph for E-W, they ended up competing in their 4-3 major when they had a 5-4 major available.  It was Professor Oddbid who forced us to type 1♠ in the East column, he’s quite the fanatic when it comes to overcalling good 4-card suits for the purpose of lead-direction.  It’s not a bad strategy, at least most of the time, but here it results in E-W selling out to 3 (making 3) when they had a 9-card Heart fit (also making three).  If East were to make the non-professorial Double of 1♣, then we can be sure that West would compete up to 3.  Of course, all of you Total Trick aficionados are no doubt rubbing your hands with glee, you’ve known for a while that 4-card overcalls are the work of the devil.

 

 

 14

♠ Q843

AJ92

A

♣ A953


 

♠ AT97

KQ64

J732

♣ 6

          North

West             East

          South

♠ J62

T8753

T9

♣ K87

 

Dlr     East
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ K5

KQ8654

♣ QJT42

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1

Pass    1        Pass    2♣

Pass    2♠        Pass    3♣

Pass    3NT     All Pass

 

We’d say that the N-S auction was far from convincing, but it’s a difficult deal.  Let’s look at the last four bids:

-         North’s 2♠:     This was the so-called “Fourth Suit Forcing” (4SF), an artificial bid saying nothing about Spades.  The simplest and most goof-proof treatment is that 4SF is forcing to game.  Here, North uses 4SF because she’s not sure where the hand is headed, her holding in the 4th suit is hardly robust, not to the extent that she wants to insist on 3NT.  So, she temporizes with the 4th suit.

-         South’s 3♣:    South makes the most descriptive bid, confirming a 5th Club.  As the auction is forcing there is no need to make a jump bid, even though South does have a very nice hand.

-         North’s 3NT:  Now things start to get uncomfortable for N-S.  It would be nice if 3♠ here showed Club support (a good treatment, in our view!), but in the absence of that agreement, North bids 3NT, no doubt reluctantly.

-         South’s Pass:  Just as uncomfortable as North’s 3NT!  North just needs some well-placed cards to make a minor suit slam, but no good way of investigating further.

 

It turns out that 6♣ needs the Club finesse and ends up down one.  As for 3NT, that contract would be better played from the South side, at least on the actual lie of the cards.  A Spade lead from West allows 10 tricks to be made, but from East only 9.  It’s somewhat random, though, put the A♠ with East and you’d rather play this from the North side.

 

 15

♠ T975

A8

73

♣ 98642




Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ 3

KQJ73

JT98

♣ QJ3

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AKQ6

T6

Q642

♣ AKT

 

Dlr     South
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J842

9542

AK5

♣ 75

South   West    North   East 

Pass    Pass    Pass    1

Pass    1        Pass    2NT

Pass    3        Pass    3NT

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

We’d say that West is fairly close to opening that hand, it’s only 19 on the Rule of Twenty scale, but there are those lovely Diamond fillers, and the Spade singleton must count for something.  Anyway, West passes, and must then decide what to do after Partner’s 2NT rebid.  We like the actual choice of 3, a forcing and descriptive bid, for more on which please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

Against 3NT, the defense has 3 cashing tricks and even if they fail to cash them early, Declarer can come to no more than 10 tricks, so this one should be 430 at almost every table.

 

 

 16

♠ 6

AT72

Q9843

♣ J32


 

Bidding Quiz (E&W)

Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ KJT875

3

J65

♣ T75

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 42

QJ98654

A7

♣ 94

 

Dlr     West
Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AQ93

K

KT2

♣ AKQ86

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    2        Dbl

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

Preempting at unfavorable vulnerability is highly hazardous, as E-W discovered in the featured auction.  Here, East even had an extra trump, good fillers, and an outside Ace for his preempt, but that was not enough to save him from a bottom board.  Nice pass by North, but not one she would make at any other vulnerability.  She knew that the Double was no sure thing and that it might well net -670 once in a while.  But she figured she had two ways to win here:

-         N-S might be unable to make more than a part-score of their own, and might be able to improve on that with +200 for beating 2 doubled by one trick

-         N-S might make game, but beating 2 doubled by two tricks for +500 would score better.

 

How does 2 fare?  It’s down two or three, depending upon how Declarer guesses to play the trumps, but, either way, N-S will beat all those other N-S pairs playing in game.

 

Yes, it’s true that N-S can make slam in 6♣ or 6 (or even 6NT if played by South), but they are poor slams indeed.  At the very least they require to find the J and 3-2 in Diamonds.  Playing in Clubs is especially bad because, if the defense leads a Heart initially, Declarer needs to find the A doubleton because of the entry situation (with three to the Ace the defender will duck twice).

 

 

 17

♠ AKQJ9

7

976

♣ KQ85




Play Problem 188 (North)

♠ 6

AKT6

QT53

♣ AJ62

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T53

985

KJ84

♣ 974


Dlr     North   
Vul     None 



 

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♠ 8742

QJ432

A2

♣ T3

West    North   East     South

            1♠        Pass    2♠

Dbl      3♣       Pass    4♠

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

If N-S are playing Bergen Raises, they should have no trouble getting to 4♠.  South will respond 3♣ (or 3, depending on their agreement) showing a 4-card constructive raise and North will bid game directly.  Our featured pair was using simpler methods, so South raised to 2♠ and accepted North’s natural game try.

 

It’s not a particularly good game.  Declarer can count on 5 Spade winners in her hand plus the A.  That’s only 6 tricks and to drag herself up to 10 she’ll need to score two Club tricks and two ruffs on the board.  That will certainly be achievable if West has the A♣ (most likely), and if trumps are 2-2 (not so likely).  Can Declarer prevail if the trumps are 3-1, and East’s opening lead is a trump?  Please see the Play Problem.

           

 

 18

♠ K62

Q943

♣ KQT754




Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ AJT75

J8

KJ9

♣ A98

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 843

52

QT843

♣ J32

 

Dlr       East
Vul      N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q9

AKT76

A7652

♣ 6

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1

1♠        2♠        Pass    3

Pass    3♠        Pass    4

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

 North certainly had choices over West’s 1♠, and opted for the simple support-showing cue-bid instead of 2♣ or a Splinter of 4.  For more on this, please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

Making 11 tricks, losing just the black Aces.

 

 

 19

♠ 975

AQ5432

96

♣ A7

 

♠ AQ8632

K843

♣ J83

          North

West             East

          South

♠ K4

JT97

AT2

♣ T652

 

Dlr     South
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ JT

K86

QJ75

♣ KQ94

South   West    North   East 

1♣       1♠        2        2♠

Pass    Pass    3        Pass

Pass    3♠        All Pass

 

What do you think of that 2♠ bid by East?  We rather like it, it hardly seems right to pass with that East hand, even though Total Trick purists will no doubt roll their eyes.  Alas, 2♠ is not a great success on this hand, it will only provoke West into competing to the 3-level, going down one instead of getting the enemy 3 down one.  Hey, sometimes this Total Trick stuff works rather well, perhaps East should stop breaking The Law!

 

 

 20

♠ 986

KT84

KQ

♣ 9876




Bidding Quiz (South)

♠ QT74

AJ5

T3

♣ AT54

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KJ32

963

J62

♣ KJ3

 

Dlr     West
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ A5

Q72

A98754

♣ Q2

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    Pass     1

Dbl      1        1♠        2

2♠        Pass    Pass     Pass

 

 

South had an interesting 4th seat decision on this board.  With a moderate hand and only two Spades she might well have passed out the board.

 

Against 2♠, South leads a Heart, won by North’s Ten.  Then K, Q, and out a Heart to Dummy’s Ace.  A Spade is lost to the Ace, the defense cashes a Heart, and now Declarer can ruff the third round of Diamonds high and draw trumps.  All that remains for Declarer to make his contract is to guess the Clubs and that should be easy enough.  South has shown up with A♠, Q, and A, surely the Q♣ is with her in order to make up her opening bid.

 

Actually, N-S do well in Diamonds making 9 tricks thanks to the successful finesse against the J.

 

 

 21

♠ 864

987654

973

♣ 8

 

♠ A

AKT3

T52

♣ KT942

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KT953

2

AQ84

♣ AJ6

 

Dlr     North
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ QJ72

QJ

KJ6

♣ Q753

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1♠        Pass

2♣       Pass    2        Pass

2        Pass    3♣       Pass

3NT     Pass    Pass    Pass

 

In this already game-forcing auction, 2 was natural.  Whatever North leads, there will be 11 tricks in No Trump, provided that Declarer plays Clubs correctly.  And he should, of course, the percentage play with that holding is to cash the A♣ and finesse against South for the Queen.  This caters for a singleton Queen with North, and Qxxx with South.  As usual, the age-old advice of finessing towards the long hand provides us with the percentage play, and, on this occasion, also the winning play.

 

Deep Finesse tells us that 6♣ can be made from either side against any lead, but we haven’t figured out how yet.  In practice, 6♣ will no doubt be going down.

 

 

 22

♠ 32

KJ87

A652

♣ 953




 

♠ K65

T53

KQ3

♣ AQT4

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AT8

A9642

874

♣ 87

 

 Dlr     East
 Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ QJ974

Q

JT9

♣ KJ62

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    Pass

1♣       Pass    1        1♠

Dbl      Pass    2   All Pass

 

West’s Double was a Support Double, that useful convention which allows Opener to show 3-card support for Partner after RHO has intervened. 

 

2 is a nice, comfy contract, but it deteriorates when trumps are 4-1.  Even so, 9 tricks can be made on this careful line of play:

            Q♠ opening lead, won by Dummy’s King

            Heart to the Ace

            Finesse of the Club Ten

            Heart won by North’s Jack

            Spade won by Declarer’s Ace

            Finesse of the Club Queen

            Cash A♣, pitching a Spade

            Heart won by North’s King

            Heart won by Declarer’s Nine

Declarer has 7 tricks at this stage, with a trump and a Diamond still to come.

 

 

 23

♠ KT9

KQ2

T3

♣ KJT98

 

♠ 852

8653

AKQ

♣ A65

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AQJ3

J94

J974

♣ Q2

 

Dlr     South
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ 764

AT7

8652

♣ 743

South   West    North   East 

Pass    1        Pass    1♠

Pass    1NT     Pass    2NT

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

No, with that West hand, we wouldn’t accept the game try either, which is unfortunate because 3NT happens to make 9 tricks.  In fact, if North makes the optimistic but dangerous (at least at matchpoints) opening lead of a Club, it will be 10 tricks with the aid of a couple of Spade finesses.

 

 

 24

♠ T7

T76

AQ3

♣ QJ432




 

♠ K4

AK93

T864

♣ 865

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AJ985

842

KJ7

♣ KT

 

Dlr     West
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q632

QJ5

952

♣ A97

West    North   East     South

Pass    Pass    1♠        Pass

1NT     Pass    Pass    Pass

 

 

 In a 2/1 system, the Forcing No Trump becomes only “semi-forcing” by a passed hand, so East has an easy Pass, keeping things mercifully low.

 

North has an obvious Club lead, but which one?  Against a suit contract, we’d never dream of leading low from QJxxx, but against No Trump, without any intermediates in the suit, it is the correct lead.  So, North leads her 4th best Club, and Declarer is faced with a choice.  No doubt he will guess wrong, reasoning that North is more likely to have led from AJ or AQ (two possibilities) than from QJ (one possibility).  So, he will hop up with Dummy’s King and the defense will rattle off 5 Club tricks for starters.  After this start it’s possible for Declarer to scrape up 7 tricks by playing on Diamonds, but he may well look to the Spade suit instead, and that will be down one.

 

 

 25

♠ KJ3

AT9

KJ9

♣ KQ94




 

♠ Q8654

K2

43

♣ T876

          North

West             East

          South

♠ A

J87643

QT5

♣ J32

 

Dlr     North
Vul     E-W 

 


 
 
 
 
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♠ T972

Q5

A8762

♣ A5

West    North   East     South

            1NT     Pass    2♣

Pass    2        Pass    3NT

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

East leads a Heart, at which point Declarer has exactly two Heart tricks, whichever card she plays from Dummy.  No doubt she’ll jump up with Dummy’s Queen, hoping for an entry to the board for the Diamond finesse, but that hope is dashed when West plays the King, won by Declarer’s Ace.  Now, a Diamond to Dummy’s Ace, and a losing Diamond finesse.  East cashes the J, and exits a Heart, holding Declarer to 9 tricks.

 

Double Dummy Note

Warning!  If you don’t like obscure squeezes, please proceed immediately to the next board.  According to Deep Finesse, it’s possible to make 10 tricks in No Trump.  And so it is, it’s strictly double dummy, but very pretty nonetheless:

            Heart opening lead, low from the board, King, Ace

            Low Spade (!) to East’s Ace

            Heart to Dummy’s Queen

            Spade finesse

Now, at this early juncture, Declarer is poised to cash the K♠ and squeeze East in three suits:

                                    Declarer

                                    ♠ K

                                    T

                                    KJ9

                                    ♣ KQ94

            West                                        East

            Q86                                      ♠

                                                         J87

            43                                         QT5

            ♣ T876                                    ♣ J32

                                    Dummy

                                    T9

                                   

                                    A8762

                                    ♣ A5

Here are East’s unpleasant choices:

-         Pitch a Heart, in which case Declarer cashes 3 Clubs, throws in East with a Heart … East scores both his remaining Hearts but must now give up the 10th trick in Diamonds

-         Pitch a Diamond, but that is hopeless, of course, that’s 12 tricks

-         Pitch a Club, which allows Declarer to cash two Diamonds, then K♣ and A♣ … now it is West who gets thrown in (with a Spade) … West can cash two Spades but is now end-played in Clubs.

Does it help if West withholds the K on the first trick?  No, because now Declarer can duck the second Heart, giving her the timing to set up tricks in both Spades and Diamonds.

 

 

 26

♠ KJ5

QJ4

A8432

♣ A2

 

♠ A9

T75

KQ76

♣ JT86

          North

West             East

          South

♠ T87632

932

T

♣ Q94

 
Dlr     East
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q4

AK86

J95

♣ K753

West    North   East     South

                        Pass    1♣

Pass    1        Pass    1

Pass    3NT     All Pass

 

East will presumably lead a Spade, more in hope than expectation, and Declarer has 9 easy tricks.  The simple way to try for a 10th is to lose a Club at Trick Two, hoping that the suit is 3-3, about a 35% chance.  More exotic (and less likely to succeed) is to lead a low Diamond towards Dummy’s J9x, planning to play the Nine if East plays low.  It’s the so-called “intra finesse” which has the following ways to succeed:

-         East may have the doubleton Ten, in which case the Nine forces the Queen, and on the second round the lead of the Jack from the board squashes East’s Ten and sets up Declarer’s Eight.

-         East may have the KT or QT doubleton, which is good news for Declarer if she can guess the situation.

-         East may have the singleton Ten, more good news if Declarer guesses right.

 

The rule for East in this situation is to play the Ten whenever he holds Tx or KT or QT, thereby giving Declarer the maximum amount of guesswork.  On the actual hand, when East plays the Ten on the first round of Diamonds, if Declarer knows East to be a resourceful fellow, he won’t know whether that Ten is from T, Tx, QT or KT and may well guess wrong.

 

 

 27

♠ AK954

K863

KJ

♣ J6

 

♠ J32

J5

9875

♣ A954

          North

West             East

          South

♠ Q87

9742

T6

♣ KQT8

 
Dlr     South
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ T6

AQT

AQ432

♣ 732

South   West    North   East 

1        Pass    1♠        Pass

1NT     Pass    2♣       Pass

2        Pass    3NT   All Pass

 

North’s 2♣ was “New Minor Forcing”, her plan being to unearth a 5-3 Spade fit or a 4-4 Heart fit.  South had nothing in the majors and her 2 merely showed a decent 5-card Diamond suit without 4 Hearts and without 3 Spades.  North tried 3NT, no doubt feeling highly nervous about the Club situation.  But, as luck would have it, the missing Clubs are 4-4, so it’s 9 tricks for Declarer.

 

 

 28

♠ KJT86432

2

4

♣ A87




Bidding Quiz (North)

♠ 97

QJ763

T72

♣ K42

          North

West             East

          South

♠ AQ5

984

KQJ8

♣ J96

 
Dlr     West
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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AKT5

A9653

♣ QT53

West    North   East     South

Pass    4♠        Pass    Pass

Pass

 

 North had choices for her opening bid, please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

Playing in a Spade contract, how would you handle that trump holding?  If  trumps are 3-2 then there will be 2 trump losers regardless, Declarer just leads honors from her hand.  How about the 4-1 breaks?  If one defender has AQ9x, then there is no escaping 3 trump losers.  But, if trumps are 4-1, with the singleton Queen or Nine in one hand or the other, then the lead of the King is the way to go, holding the trump losers to just two tricks.

 

But, the suit is 3-2 and the Spade play turns out to be academic, and it’s 10 tricks for Declarer.

 

 

 29

♠ T6

T7652

T65

♣ T87


 

Bidding Quiz (East)

Bidding Quiz (West)

♠ AQ9842

K9

♣ KQ632

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 5

AK984

AJ72

♣ A54

 
Dlr     North
Vul     Both 


 
 
 
 
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♠ KJ73

QJ3

Q843

♣ J9

West    North   East     South

            Pass    1        Pass

1♠        Pass    2        Pass

3♣       Pass    3NT     Pass

4♣       Pass    4        Pass

6♣       Pass    Pass    Pass

 

 What a fascinating hand, both in the bidding and the play!  For the bidding, please see the Bidding Quiz.

 

How about the play in 6♣?  Let’s say that North starts with a trump (good lead!).  Dummy wins the trick with the Ace and Declarer can count 10 tricks if the trumps break.  The extra tricks can come from Spade ruffs, and if Spades are 3-3 then 13 tricks will be made.  The play unfolds as follows:

            Club opening lead won by Dummy’s Ace

            Spade to the Ace

            Spade ruff

            A and K are cashed

            Heart ruff

            Another Spade is led but North ruffs in front of Dummy.

North does best to get out with her last trump, leaving this position:

                                    North

                                   

                                    T7

                                    T65

                                    ♣

            Declarer                                  Dummy

            Q                                          ♠

                                                         98

            K9                                        AJ7

            ♣ Q6                                       ♣

                                    South

                                    K

                                   

                                    Q843

                                    ♣

Now Declarer cashes his last two Clubs, and although, in reality, only one player (South) is squeezed, the end position plays like a double squeeze.  South must hang on to his K♠ and must come down to two Diamonds, and North must hang on to the T and must also come down to just two Diamonds.  So, it really doesn’t matter who has the Q because after Trick Ten it will be doubleton.

 

 

 30

♠ 9765

AQ3

KQ73

♣ J7


 

♠ 83

KJ95

JT8642

♣ 2

          North

West             East

          South

♠ 42

4

A9

♣ AQT98654

 

Dlr     East
Vul     None 


 
 
 
 
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♠ AKQJT

T8762

5

♣ K3

West    North   East     South

                        1♣       1♠

Dbl      2♣       3♣       4♠

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

Some comments on the bidding:

-         South reasonably chose to bid her magnificent Spades rather than show both majors with a Michaels bid.

-         Some might consider West’s Negative Double to be rock-bottom minimum.  And, that’s the charitable view, the rest will say that it is sub-minimum.

-         North’s 2♣ showed invitational values with Spade support.

-         East might have jumped to 4♣ over 2♣, which we suppose to be non-forcing.

-         South’s 4♠ seems eminently reasonable, with the well-placed K♣ and the 5-5 distribution.

 

Against 4♠ West will lead a Club, and the defense will end up with a Club, Club ruff, A, and a Heart, for down one.  East did well not to bid 5♣ with that 8-card suit, that will be a painful down three, no doubt doubled.

 

 31

♠ A5

A54

KJ7

♣ 98543

 

♠ J8

QJ962

62

♣ QJ72

          North

West             East

          South

♠ KT632

73

AQ985

♣ T

 

Dlr     South
Vul     N-S 


 
 
 
 
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♠ Q974

KT8

T43

♣ AK6

South   West    North   East 

1♣       Pass    2♣       Pass

2NT     Pass    3NT     Pass

Pass    Pass

 

North’s 2♣ was an inverted raise, showing invitational values (or better), Club support, and no 4-card major.  South’s 2NT showed a balanced hand (12-14) and many partnerships require that it shows a stopper in both majors, with only one major stopped they would bid that major.

 

The resulting contract is somewhat dicey, all the more so because North’s Diamond holding is not protected from the opening lead.  Against 3NT, West leads the Q won in Dummy.  Now the AK♣ and Declarer gets the bad news, after which 7 tricks is the maximum she can manage.

 

 

 32

♠ K64

653

AKQJ4

♣ J6

 

♠ AT975

Q98

53

♣ T82

          North

West             East

          South

♠ Q2

AK74

T82

♣ A743

 

Dlr     West
Vul     E-W 


 
 
 
 
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♠ J83

JT2

976

♣ KQ95

West    North   East     South

Pass    1        Pass    1NT

Pass    Pass    Pass

 

Another unsuccessful No Trump contract for N-S!  Against 1NT West leads the Spade Ten to East’s Queen, then the K shift.  The defense cashes its Hearts and black Aces and that is down one.

                                                     

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