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Hand Analyses 5th September, 2007
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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