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Hand Analyses 21st May, 2008
There’s an abundance of links on this page, here’s what they all mean: - Notations such as Bidding Quiz (North) are links to the weekly Bidding Quiz, a selection of the 15-20 most interesting bidding situations of the week. - Each week we pick out two or three hands which are suitable for presentation in problem format, as in Play Problem 203 (West), linking you to a page with only two hands on display. Solve the problem first, then see the solution and the entire deal. - Some analyses contain references to bidding conventions, and you’ll see links to articles in our Convention Library such as Roman Key Card - In BridgeOpedia we have categorized by theme the entire history of the most instructive Wednesday Game hands, two year’s worth. Occasionally you will see a purple arrow, linking to the relevant BridgeOpedia section. For example, in this week’s Board 5, Declarer manages to execute a Double Squeeze. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Double Squeezes”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
With that East hand, after North’s 3♦ preempt, would you double or bid 3NT? Either could work, and it’s a close decision in our view. That Diamond holding says “3NT”, the two 4-card majors seem to be saying “Double!” If East does double and West bids 3♥ or 3♠ then East will raise to game, of course. With West likely to be short in Diamonds there is an improved chance that he has a 4-card major (substantially better than 50% we would say). But, even so, we’d guess to bid 3NT, it might make the same number of tricks even if there is a 4-4 major fit (remember a 4-1 trump break is an increased possibility after the preempt). But it really is a guess, you could no doubt find many fine players who would opt for a Double.
On to the play. Let’s start with 4♠, which would be played by West. There’s not much to this one, Declarer will safety play the trumps by playing the King on the first round and then finessing the Ten on the second round. Why? He is guarding against QJxx in the South hand. Why not try the safety play the other way? Because North is the one who preempted and therefore the one more likely to be short in Spades. As it happens, it matters not, and the 4♠ Declarers will lose a trump and a Club. 11 tricks and +450 for E-W.
Now we come to the really interesting part! How does 3NT (by East) play? If you are a bottom-line kind of person we can tell you right now that good Declarer play will bring in 11 tricks whatever South leads.
If South leads the T♣: South might spurn North’s suit and try a surprise attack with the T♣. Dummy’s Q♣ wins that first trick, and Declarer can count 10 tricks, assuming that the Diamond finesse is working and that there are 3 Spade tricks to be taken. This being matchpoints, we much prefer 11 tricks to 10. Where is that 11th trick coming from? Please see the Play Problem.
If South leads a Diamond: Declarer wins the opening Diamond lead, and leads a low Club to the Queen (South ducking). Now, Declarer is in a similar situation to above, for more on which please see the Play Problem.
In the E-W 2/1 style, 2♣ was game-forcing. Why not 2♥ instead of 2♣? Well, a 2/1 bid normally shows a 5-card suit, but sometimes we have to fudge things a bit when we have no other convenient bid. And, when there is some fudging to be done, we much prefer to do it in the minor suits than in the majors. Anyway, after the slightly fudged 2♣ the obvious 4♠ game is easily reached.
Against 4♠, we have no idea what South is supposed to lead, but all roads seem to lead to 11 tricks. All that Declarer needs to do is to negotiate a Diamond ruff in Dummy, so he will postpone the drawing of trumps, playing first on Diamonds.
Back to the Bidding. Perhaps we are just getting old, but two-level vulnerable overcalls make us nervous, all the more so when the opponents are not vulnerable. As South, would you have overcalled East’s 1♠ with a 2♥ bid? It’s a little underweight (and a 3♥ preempt would be unthinkable at this vulnerability) but there is the lead-directing benefit. Or is there? The most likely contract at this stage in the proceedings appears to be a Spade contract by East, putting South herself on lead. Anyway, we think that 2♥ by South is distinctly iffy. If South takes the plunge she might well get punished by aggressive opponents. West will make a salivating Pass (if that is not on their Convention Card then it will be a drooling Pass, but either way it must be smooth and in tempo). East will balance with a Double, West will pass, and the defense will rack up 7 tricks and +500 (beating their own non-vulnerable game).
We are not going to claim that the featured auction is the only way to bid the hand. Certainly not, it involves a number of special methods not universally used. On top of that there are some judgment issues, and, as if to add to the confusion, the final contract of 6♦ is not the par spot, N-S should surely be playing this one in 6NT. But the featured auction at least raises some interesting points, so let’s start there: - 1NT: Two issues here. Do you open 1NT with a 5-card major? Yeah, that’s what we say, please follow the link. But, even if you buy into that 5-card major thing, you may think that the South hand is a bit too good, what with the 5-card major and the maximum 17-count. We think that it’s OK for 1NT, others might not. - 2NT: As played by this N-S pair, 2NT is a transfer to Diamonds. - 3♣: Again, as played by this pair, 3♣ says “I don’t like Diamonds” (many pairs, maybe most, play it the other way around, whereby 3♣ says “I like” and 3♦ says “I don’t”). - 3♠: A common treatment for those playing Minor Suit Transfers is that this bid shows shortness. It’s not necessarily a slam try, it could merely be an attempt to find the best game. - 4♦: Played by this pair as Roman Key Card (Minorwood). Other pairs prefer Redwood and would therefore use 4♥ as Roman Key Card. But, either way, we strongly suggest that you use one or other of Minorwood and Redwood (or even Bothwood), because using 4NT for Roman Key Card in minor suit auctions is simply not effective. - 4NT: Two Key Cards without the Queen of trumps. - 6♦: Perhaps North should have tried 6NT but he could not be sure about the Spade situation. A gadget-laden auction to the second-best spot.
Suppose that South decides to open 1♠. Here’s what might happen: 1♠ 2♦, 3NT 4♦, 4♥ 5♦, 6NT. 2♠ was game-forcing, 3NT showed 15-17, 4♦ was natural and forcing (not Minorwood as Diamonds not agreed), 4♥ was Redwood (now agreed inferentially), etc. We are not entirely convinced by this auction either, so we’ll just say “Well done!” to all those pairs who reached the optimum spot of 6NT.
The play of the hand is so much easier than the bidding, it’s 13 tricks in both Diamonds and No Trump when the K♦ is onside.
Opposite a Weak Two, South is thinking slam, of course. How do you play 2NT here? There are numerous methods available, our own favorite is a variation of Ogust, Opener’s responses being: 3♣: 5-card suit, any strength (after which 3♦ asks about hand strength) 3♦: 6-card suit, bad hand 3♥: 6-card suit, medium hand 3♠: 6-card suit, good hand Despite the trump fillers and the singleton, North’s meager collection of Queens and Jacks qualifies as “bad” and the slam hunt is abandoned.
Defending against 4♥, how many Easts found that wicked Club lead? Leading away from a “King fifth” holding against a suit contract is usually rather dangerous, but here less so than usual. The strength is clearly marked in Dummy, and if Partner does not have the A♣ then Dummy probably will. Anyway, without a Club lead Declarer has 12 easy tricks when the K♥ is onside doubleton. With a Club lead it’s only 11 tricks. Or is it less? If Declarer is of a nervous disposition she might read the opening lead as a singleton in which case she may fly with Dummy’s Ace. Oops, now it’s only 10 tricks! Nice lead, Mr East!
As in Board 2, this hand illustrates the dangers of two-level vulnerable overcalls. And it also illustrates the dangers of not making them. First, let us see what happens if North, having passed originally, chirps in with 2♦ over 1♥. An aggressive East might go for the jugular by passing, and then passing again when Partner makes a reopening Double. That’s an easy 500 for the defense and a top board. In that case, the overcall is not a success, but it will work out fine against a less aggressive East who will end up in 3NT, making 9 tricks after South’s dutiful Diamond lead.
Now for the danger of not overcalling 2♦. The auction will proceed as shown above, and, with no North overcall to guide her, surely South’s opening lead will be the J♠. This gives Declarer better timing and now he is cold for 10 tricks, via 2 Spades, 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 4 Clubs. But it could get even worse for the defense! Look at how the play might unfold: J♠ opening lead, won by North’s King Diamond return won by Dummy’s Ace A♣ is cashed, then the J♣ (North ducks this in case South has Qx) North wins the third round of Clubs Diamond is won by Declarer’s King The remaining two Clubs are cashed Here is the end-position with one Club still to be cashed: North ♠ ♥ Q64 ♦ JT8 ♣ Dummy Declarer ♠ A76 ♠ Q9 ♥ AKT ♥ 7 ♦ ♦ 54 ♣ ♣ 4 South ♠ J82 ♥ J85 ♦ ♣ On the play of the last Club, South cannot discard a Spade so must part with a Heart, after which Dummy discards a Spade and North a Diamond. South has been squeezed out of her Heart guard and now, after a Spade to Dummy’s Ace and a Spade back to the Queen, it is North’s turn to be squeezed, she must surrender the 11th trick in one red suit or the other. Yes, it’s a Non-Simultaneous Double Squeeze, and it was all North’s fault. First, her silence in the auction did not help Partner find the right lead (though this did also avoid risking an unseemly penalty), then she failed to break up the double squeeze (she must return a Heart when in with the K♣). >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Double Squeezes”>>
West was rock-bottom minimum for that 2♥ bid but figured that the 6th Heart had to be worth something.
Against 3♥, North leads a Spade which Declarer will know to be a singleton. So, he jumps up with Dummy’s Ace, plays the A♥, then A♦, K♦ and a Diamond ruff. Now, a Spade is led from the board and South wins the King and gives Partner a Spade ruff. But, alas for the defense that ruff is with a natural trump trick, so Declarer scrambles home with 9 tricks.
Against 3♦, East leads the A♥, then K♥, which Declarer ruffs. If trumps are 2-2 and if the Q♠ is onside then Declarer can make her contract easily enough. But, if trumps really are 2-2 then that Spade finesse is only a 50% chance. What’s the 100% line of play? Please the see the Play Problem.
South’s Double, in the N-S partnership methods, showed a poor hand, for more on which please see the Bidding Quiz. Anyway, on this deal, it looks as if East’s pesky 3♣ bid might have backfired as it pushes N-S into a 4♠ contract when otherwise they might have ended up in the inferior 3NT.
Against 4♠, East leads the Q♣ (West playing the King) and when the J♠ comes down it’s 12 easy tricks. In light of the Club overcall, Declarer might reasonably expect West to have the longer Spades, so an alternative line would be to play a Diamond at Trick Two losing to West’s Ace. The Club return is ruffed, then it’s over to Dummy with a Diamond, for the losing Spade finesse. Now, Declarer must ruff again and the defense scores a second trump trick as West now has more trumps than Declarer. Making only 10 tricks instead of 12!
If North plays in 3NT, against East leads the Q♣ and West unblocks the King. Now, there’s no time to knock out the A♦ and Declarer is happy to score just 9 tricks when the J♠ comes down.
Another cut-and-thrust auction! If South’s hand were a tad stronger she could have responded with a game-forcing 2♣, but that assortment of quacks was not up to scratch and she contented herself with 1♥. Next, how about North’s rebid of 2♦? Why not 2♣ instead? That’s a fair question, one which we attempt to answer in the Bidding Quiz. Back to South who also has a rebid problem. She’s way too good to pass, but still not good enough to bid Clubs, so she raises Diamonds on her doubleton, the only sensible game-invitational bid available. Perhaps West’s 3♠ bid was a little reckless considering the vulnerability, and South could hardly not double that.
The defense to 3♠ is most interesting, look at it from the South perspective. North leads the Heart Four, an obvious singleton. What is North’s distribution? South can count her Partner for probably 2 Spades (surely West has 6), which means that she is either 2=1=6=4 or 2=1=7=3. Where are Partner’s high cards? Probably nothing in Spades, also nothing in Hearts. We doubt that Partner has AK♣ (most players would start with the A♣ in that case), and probably not AK♦ either.
So far, so good. Let’s start by giving Partner 2=1=7=3, perhaps: ♠ xx, ♥ x, ♦ AQxxxxx, ♣ Axx. What happens if we give Partner her Heart ruff at Trick Two? Now the contract is cold! North cannot profitably attack Diamonds, and Declarer has enough entries with which to establish the Hearts and avoid two Diamond losers. No, the winning defense in this case is to deny Partner her ruff and switch to the J♦. This allows the defense to score 4 side-suit tricks plus a trump promotion on the third round of Diamonds. Down one!
Next, let’s give Partner the 2=1=6=4 hand: ♠ xx, ♥ x, ♦ AQxxxx, ♣ Axxx (the actual case, of course). If we (as South) give Partner her Heart ruff at Trick Two, we will also give Partner a chance to go wrong at Trick Three: - If she plays on Diamonds that will be Declarer’s 9th trick. - If she cashes the A♣, then Declarer will unblock the King, and again has a chance to set up the Hearts (imagine the actual hand, slightly changed, such that Declarer has the T♠ and can ruff a Heart with that, and such that Declarer also has the all-important Three of Spades and can use that as a later entry to the board). - If she finds the passive trump exit the contract will be down one.
All in all, this seems like a hand where South should take charge of the defense. So, she shifts to the J♦ at Trick Two, setting up a trump promotion whichever of the two cases exists. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Deadly Shifts”>>
Who knows what is right with the South hand after East’s 1♣ opening? We wouldn’t overcall 1♠, we would either pass or bid a preemptive 2♠ (yes, despite the vulnerability and the rotten suit). Our featured South chose, not unreasonably, to pass, and then got super-excited after North’s slightly light but perfectly shaped Double.
The end-result of the above auction is a great result for N-S, they are -500 against the alternative of -650 defending 5♥. Our bet is that most N-S pairs will be defending an E-W 4♥ contract for a lesser result.
East obviously belongs to the school of thought which says “Why should the opponents go down when we can?” 3♠ was destined to be down one, but East saved the day (for N-S) when he pushed on to 4♦, also down one. With 11 HCP’s opposite an opening bid, East was reluctant to pass, and it was that extra Diamond that made him bid 4♦ rather than doubling 3♠. A close call either way, we would say.
A convoluted N-S auction! After South’s Negative Double, North was forced to rebid her emaciated Clubs, then 2♥ asked North if she had a Heart stop. North’s 2♠ said “No, but I do have 3 Spades”. Next, South’s 3♥ said “Do you have a half-stop in Hearts, something like Qx or Jxx?” Good bidding by South, with either of those holdings it would be better if North were to play 3NT. But when North could not even oblige with a half-stop, South was forced to play 3NT from her side or else let North play in a 4-3 Spade fit.
Playing in 3NT, West leads a Heart, and Declarer wins the second round. The only real chance is to bring in the Clubs for 4 tricks without letting East gain the lead. So, Declarer crosses to Dummy with a Diamond and leads a low Club, planning to play the Nine if East plays low. But East plays an honor so now Declarer wins the Ace, plays a Club to the King and out a Club. West must shift to a Spade, presumably the King, and Declarer ducks this. By so doing, Declarer is down one, but if she wins the first Spade it will be down two.
If South chooses the 4-3 Spade fit instead, it will be played by North. East leads the K♥ and Dummy’s Ace wins the trick and a Heart is immediately returned. Declarer goal is to ruff Hearts in the short hand. Of course West can ruff in front of Declarer and the hope is that he will use up natural trump tricks in doing so. Alas, those West Heart ruffs are in the hand with only two trumps, and Declarer is eventually down one.
Here, N-S flirt with the hopeless 4♠ contract (which has 4 top losers), but they manage to pull back from the abyss in the nick of time. The bids of note are: - South’s 2♠: As North has passed originally, South is allowed to pass that 1♠ bid. Should she? We can see a Pass here, or 1NT, or a 2♠ raise, all three of these seem to be at least semi-reasonable. Please see the Bidding Quiz. - North’s 3♠: North may have only 8 HCP’s, but that lovely distribution dictates a game-try of some sort. There are different methods available, our featured North took the subjective route by bidding 3♠, saying “If you like your hand bid game”. - South’s Pass: South does not especially like her hand, especially in the context of the earlier bidding. South would have passed 1♠ on the previous round if she had the same shape and a truly rotten hand. Her hand was marginally above that rotten status (thanks to the fillers), and that was what induced her to keep things alive with a 2♠ raise. But enough is enough, South clearly must decline that game invitation.
N-S did well to stay out of game, but even 3♠ is no walk in the park. East leads a Heart for want of a good alternative and that trick is won by West. It won’t be obvious to West how to continue the defense but it will be obvious to Declarer that she must set up the Clubs. So, when she finally gets in, before drawing trumps, she attacks Clubs, the plan being to ruff one in Dummy if the Ten does not fall in two rounds. And if, on that third round of Clubs, East follows suit, Dummy must ruff high, the hope now being that trumps are 3-2.
North’s problem here is similar to that faced by East on Board 1, namely whether to double the opponent’s 3-level preempt in search of a major fit, or whether to take a shot at 3NT. On Board 1 we expressed a slight preference for 3NT, and that was rewarded when some nifty squeeze play brought in 11 tricks in No Trump (the same number as were available in the 4-4 Spade fit). On this hand there are two further compelling reasons to bid 3NT: - We’d like to protect the K♥ from the opening lead (remember, Partner will be playing Spades after our Double). - There’s only one potential major suit fit (on Board 1, East faced a 3♦ preempt and had two 4-card majors), therefore less chance to hit the 4-4 major suit jackpot.
So, we’d bid 3NT more confidently here than we did on Board 1. That only goes to show how much we know because on this board it turns out that Double is the winning bid! Yes, Partner has 4 Spades, and she also has the Q♥ (goodbye to the positional benefit of North playing the hand). Even then a good board would have been salvaged by the No Trumpers if Spades had broken 4-1 (not unlikely after the preempt). Yes, we know, sour grapes and all that … anyway, the doublers get to 4♠ and +450, the 3NT bidders get just +430.
North is too good for a direct (preemptive) raise to 3♠, but not good enough for a game-invitational cue-bid of 3♥, so she contents herself with a raise to 2♠. However, with a known 9-card fit, North can hardly sell out to 3♥ and competes further to 3♠.
Playing in 3♠, there are two Hearts and a Spade to be lost for sure. And, when the Spades behave and the Q♦ is onside it turns out that those are the only losers and that 10 tricks are available.
A commendable N-S auction, and now East must find a commendable lead against 4♠. Time for Dr Goodlead! Here is his analysis. “Not a Club with that holding, and not a Diamond after that auction. So, a Heart or a Spade? Do we stop the Diamond ruff(s) in Dummy, or do we try to set up a Heart trick? If we had a more robust Diamond holding, say KJTx, we might want to stop the ruffs. But we don’t, so surely the right plan is to attack in Hearts” Indeed it is! The Doctor’s Heart lead holds the enemy to 10 tricks, but a passive trump lead allows 11 tricks (the Heart loser disappears on the Clubs).
Would you redouble with the South hand? Not a good idea! That bid is better used for more balanced hands, not here where South has two 5-card suits and a game-going hand. There’s unlikely to be a worthwhile penalty as the opponents have at least an 8-card Spade fit and can play at the one-level. So surely it’s better to start bidding suits right away in search of the best game.
After South’s 3♣, do you agree with North’s 3♦? It looks like the best bid to us, considering that, in this situation, 3♣ might be a “New Minor” type of bid, investigating a 5-3 Heart fit. It would certainly be wrong for North to go zooming past 3NT to 4♣ at this point. But, when South shows a real Club suit with 4♣, North finally unveils her support.
Against South’s 5♣, the defense will start out with Spades, Declarer ruffing the second round. It would be a mistake to draw trumps before establishing the Diamonds, the third round of trumps is needed as an entry to the board. So the Q♦ is run around losing to the King, the Spade return is ruffed, and with trumps splitting 3-2 the contract is made.
Note for Swindlers From the bidding, Declarer will know that the Diamond finesse is likely to fail and she might try a little swindle instead of the finesse. After ruffing the second round of Spades she leads the 9♦ to the Ace, then a low Diamond from the board. East might mistakenly think that Declarer is about to ruff, and withhold his King. Now it’s 12 tricks! How was East supposed to know? That’s easy, the defenders should be giving count signals when Declarer plays a suit, so on the first round of Diamonds West should play the Eight. With the Three unaccounted for, East will know that Declarer did not start with a singleton. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Deception & Swindles”>>
West bid a Forcing NT followed by 3♠ to show a 3-card game-invitational Spade raise for which East had an easy acceptance. By the way, do you agree with East’s 2♠ rebid or does the word “pusillanimous” come to mind? Please see the Bidding Quiz.
South has a natural J♦ lead, won by Dummy’s Ace. Not knowing that trumps are 4-1 Declarer is hoping for 6 Spades, two Hearts and a Diamond. That’s 9 tricks, and there are various ways to try for more. The J♥ could be finessed, there could be a Club trick, and there is the possibility of a Club ruff on the board. The “all or nothing” line, the one where even 11 tricks might be possible, is to lead up to the K♣ at Trick Two. If the Ace is onside, Declarer now scores a Club trick and a Club ruff. However, when the Ace takes the King it is curtains for Declarer. South sacrifices a trick by returning a trump but this defense holds Declarer to just 9 tricks, as by now there are insufficient Dummy entries to score a third Heart trick.
Perhaps a better line (though no more successful) is for Declarer to finesse the J♥. When that wins things are looking good, but now they start to go awry. The A♥ is unblocked and a low Club is lead towards the Jack, Declarer’s hope being that the Q♣ is with South. But North has the Queen and unkindly gives South a Heart ruff. South exits a Diamond ruffed by Declarer, and Declarer exits a Club. Back comes another Diamond, and Declarer’s last hope is dashed when trumps turn out to be 4-1. Down one, as before.
West’s 3♦ was preemptive, making it harder for N-S to get into the auction. In the play, 3♦ is good for 9 tricks.
Of course, N-S were criminally somnolent during the entire proceedings, failing to make a single peep when they are cold for 12 tricks in Clubs! Well, alright, they don’t actually belong in the Club slam, but 5♣ is an excellent contract. Who was the guilty party? South’s original Pass was fine, even at favorable vulnerability we would not want to preempt 3♣ with such a rotten suit and with such good major suit holdings. Should North have made a takeout double of 1♦? We don’t think so, North’s shape is far from ideal, and there are no compensating extras. South might have considered bidding over 1♥, but Pass was not terrible, either. After 1NT, North still had nothing to say, but surely South must bid something over 2♦. This is a pre-balancing situation. Both E-W players have limited their hand, so North is known to have some values, and South must get in there with 3♣. Now the auction could take a surprising twist: South West North East Pass 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ ?? Suddenly, North is looking at a terrific hand! All of those Diamond bids have made her hand better and better, surely Partner is short in the suit, and three small opposite shortness is a great holding. It would be a bit extreme for North to jump to 5♣ now, but 4♣ does not seem like enough, that is a purely competitive call. Perhaps North should bid 3♥ here, hopefully South will read this as a game try in Clubs, and if she does then we would say that South should accept the invitation.
With South playing in Clubs, West leads the A♦ which is ruffed, trumps are led, the defense continues Diamonds and trumps are drawn. Now, with the bidding to guide her, Declarer plays the K♥ and double hooks the Hearts. That works, so does the Spade finesse, and it’s 12 tricks.
Over West’s 1♠, what would a Double by North show? It’s not a penalty double of 1♠, it’s more takeout-oriented, perhaps the same hand with the major suits reversed. That being the case, North’s best bid is surely 1NT. Opposite a silent Partner this ideally shows about 18-19, but we’d say that the North hand is close enough. South is good enough to invite game in No Trump, and North declines.
Let’s say that East leads his own Heart suit rather than Partner’s Spades. The entry situation will force North to get the Diamonds wrong and when the dust has cleared Declarer will have scored 9 tricks, thanks to the friendly (but not unexpected) Spade position.
North’s Double of 1NT is for penalty and is about as minimum as that bid can be. E-W were playing “systems on” in this situation, so 2♦ was a transfer, after which 2♥ was speculatively doubled by South.
Deep Finesse says that, on a double dummy basis, 2♥ is down one. That looks approximately right to us, but it’s a messy hand and we decline to predict how the play might go.
2♣ was a game force, and 2♥ neither showed nor denied extras. North had a good hand so she bid a forcing 3♥, more encouraging than a direct 4♥ bid (following the Principle of Fast Arrival). After 3♥ is South obliged to cue-bid an Ace, or can she choose not to when she has a rotten hand? You’ll get advocates for either approach, so take your pick. A third approach is to use 3NT as the so-called “Serious 3NT”. With this gadget a bid of 3NT (over 3♥) says “I have a serious slam try” whereas a direct cue-bid says “This is merely a courtesy cue-bid, I have no extras”. Finally, we have those who switch the meanings (so that 3NT is the bad hand and cue-bids are the good hand) and that rejoices in the name of the “Frivolous 3NT”.
Against 4♥, West has no obvious and attractive lead and will probably try a Spade. It looks as if the best line is to get a couple of Diamond ruffs on the board, so the play commences as follows: Spade to Dummy’s Ace Diamond to the Ace Diamond ruff Club to the Ace Diamond ruffed with the Eight and overruffed Club ruff Q♥ covered by the King and Ace Heart to the Jack At this point the enemy trumps have been drawn, and there is no reason not to take the Spade finesse. When East wins the trick he has no Diamonds left, so eventually Declarer’s Diamond loser goes away on the K♣. Making 11 tricks.
System Note After 2♥, what would a leap to 4♦ by North show? As 3♦ would be forcing, there is no reason for 4♦ to be natural, nor is there any reason for it to be Minorwood (that can be invoked after agreeing Diamonds first with 3♦). No, the obvious treatment is for 4♦ to be a splinter in support of Hearts. Opposite such a bid, South has a pretty suitable holding in the splinter suit, but a miserable hand otherwise, so surely she should bid just 4♥.
This E-W pair were playing that Double showed a strong hand, after which 2♣ was natural with a bad hand, and 2♠ was also natural. Strangely, the auction would have been identical if E-W were playing DONT, although the meaning would be quite different … Double would show a one-suiter, and 2♣ would ask for the suit.
North has an obvious Q♥ lead, after which Declarer has 10 tricks. A Heart ruff provides an entry to Dummy and allows the Spade finesse to be taken. The way to hold Declarer to 9 tricks is for N-S to keep playing the minors, making sure that the J♦ is not allowed to provide a Dummy entry. After that defense, Declarer must play Spades from his hand and cannot avoid 4 losers.
After East’s Double, South must choose between 1♠, 2♦ and Pass. We don’t like Pass much, altogether too feeble in our view, particularly when there are descriptive alternatives available. Nobody would argue too strenuously with a 1♠ bid here, it’s the bid that South would have made without the Double. But the double has reduced the probability of a N-S Spade fit, so there is a lot to be said for bidding 2♦ here, giving up on the Spades, supporting Partner and limiting our hand into the bargain. But whichever South chooses, West will jump to 3♥, showing game-invitational values. East has a minimum Double (and only 3 Hearts) so 3♥ is the final contract.
Accurate defense will set 3♥. North cashes the AK♦, then shifts to the K♣. Later, North will get in with the K♥, get to Partner’s hand with the A♠, and the Club ruff is the setting trick.
If South decides to bid 1♠ over the Double, North might well compete up to 3♠. Here’s how the play might go: East leads a Heart to West’s Ace Heart to Declarer’s King J♠ is run around and wins Low Spade, East splits and the Ace wins A♦ is cashed, then the K♦ Now that the Diamonds have split, Declarer must not get too greedy. She should ruff a Heart and cash Diamonds, allowing East to take his two trumps whenever he likes. That will be 9 tricks.
DONT works well with two-suiters, but South of course has a three-suiter. We like the 2♦ choice here, treating the hand as a two-suiter in Diamonds and an undisclosed major, simultaneously bidding her best suit and giving her side a chance to play in the better-scoring major.
Playing in 2♠, Declarer can scramble her way to 10 tricks in this fashion: Heart ruffed by Declarer Cross to Dummy’s A♣ Finesse the Q♦ (a certainty to win on the bidding) Cash A♦ Ruff a Diamond Ruff a Heart Cash K♣ Ruff a Diamond with the Ace Ruff a Heart Declarer has the first 9 tricks and is down the just two trumps, one in each hand. She leads a Diamond winner ruffing on the board with the Ten. East can overruff but that just promotes the 10th trick for Declarer’s Queen. Nicely timed play by Declarer!
After East’s transfer West has a super-accept and then some. In the E-W methods, West’s 2NT showed a maximum super-accept. Sure, West has only 15 HCP’s, but there’s also the 5th Heart to consider, three Aces, and an all-around nice hand with no defects. East’s 4♦ was a “re-transfer” to Hearts, getting the contract played from the strong side. Not that this is such a benefit on the actual hand, East might have thought about protecting his K♠ by bidding 4♥ directly.
Anyway, North leads the Q♠, covered by the King and Ace, after which it’s easy enough for Declarer to score 11 tricks. One of the Diamonds goes on a Spade, and when the K♦ is singleton the second Diamond loser also vanishes.
Against 3♣, the defense plays Spades and Declarer ruffs the third round. Now the Q♣ loses to the King and South fiendishly persists with a 4th round of Spades. Declarer ruffs this with the Jack, and North declines to overruff and Dummy pitches a Diamond. Declarer plays the 9♣, won by North who gets out with a Diamond, won in Dummy. Here is the end-position: North ♠ ♥ 54 ♦ 76 ♣ 83 Declarer Dummy ♠ ♠ ♥ AKJ8 ♥ Q7 ♦ JT ♦ KQ ♣ ♣ T7 South Immaterial
Now, North is about to fall victim to a Trump Coup. The Hearts are cashed and North’s apparent trump trick vanishes in a puff of smoke, when, sooner or later, she must ruff in front of Dummy. South defended well when she played that 4th round of Spades, and Declarer’s Trump Coup was a pretty counter.
N-S might be tempted to push on to 3♠, perhaps lulled into a sense of false security by the vulnerability. East will double that, no doubt with a “Nobody steals from me!” look on his face. The auction calls for a trump lead, followed by trumps at every opportunity. This defense holds Declarer to just 5 trump tricks and 2 Clubs. Down 2 and a lovely +300 for E-W. If East fails to lead a trump Declarer can get an 8th trick via a ruff on the board, and the resulting +100 for E-W will be far from lovely. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump Coups”>>
If E-W are playing Support Doubles then East’s raise to 2♠ shows 4-card support. That being the case, we’d say that West showed admirable restraint by not bidding game directly. A good choice because the defense has 4 cashing tricks.
North chose to bid only 3♣, not wishing to bypass 3NT. It’s hard to see E-W avoiding the doomed 4♥ contract, and that will be down one.
North reasonably chose to bid her Hearts directly rather than to show her strength through a Double. The defense gets its Spade at Trick One, but Declarer has the rest when the Heart finesse works.
In competition, it’s usual to play 2/1 auctions as not game-forcing, so 3♦ in this auction can be passed. East created a force by cue-bidding the enemy suit, and West was unable to bid 3NT so she made a cue-bid of her own with 4♣, an encouraging bid in the circumstances. Now, 4♦ was, in the partnership methods, Minorwood, after which 4♦ was “0 or 3” (1340 responses). East’s majestic leap to 7♦ was, perhaps a bit too majestic, but Declarer could count 11 tricks and was sure that, at the very least, there would be a play for 13 tricks (with a 3-3 Heart break). Of course, West might also have had the Q♥ which would have made the grand slam an excellent proposition.
South leads a Spade, and Dummy’s hopeful Queen is covered by the King and Ace. When Dummy fails to show up with the Q♥ the contract depends on 3-3 Hearts or Q doubleton. There are insufficient entries to Dummy to allow ♥Qxxx to be ruffed out, and also to take the Club finesse for the 13th trick. But all’s well that ends well, at least for Declarer, and 13 tricks roll in.
Would you open the West hand? It’s not often that an 8-count passes the Rule of Twenty, but this one does! But, more to the point, if West does not start bidding his long suits right away he will never get to describe that hand. By the time West has bid 2♠ he is likely to have at least 6 Clubs and 5 Spades, as most players nowadays open 1♠ with 5-5 in the black suits. Then, 3♣ should be suggesting 7-5. After West’s 3NT, East can hardly pass, not because his hand is highly distributional (he’s already told Partner that), but because his hand is so bereft of high cards (the downside of opening 1♣ originally). So, West bids 4♠, which is a suggestion to Partner that 4♠ might be playable (given his good intermediates). East’s honor doubleton in Spades is a fine holding in the circumstances, so 4♠ is where West plays it.
North will lead a red card, and 4♠ limps home. There is no reason why Declarer should guess the Club situation, but fortunately the Spades are 3-3 and that is good enough for 11 tricks.
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