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Hand Analyses 4th June, 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 6, Declarer has a problem of trump control. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump Control”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
Against 4♥, let’s suppose that, for want of better, East chooses to lead a Spade. How would you play the Hearts? Here are three reasons why Declarer should play East for the Queen: - If you have to lose a Heart it would be better to lose it to West so as to prevent a Club shift through Dummy’s King - East made a nondescript lead of a Spade, perhaps he had nothing attractive to lead. In that case he might well have led a trump … unless, of course, he held the Queen. - An enemy holding of Q9xx can be picked up only if that holding is with East. So, the right play at Trick Two is to play the A♥ and run the J♥. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Combinations”>> So, on this board at least, virtue is rewarded when East does indeed have the Q♥. After trumps are drawn, the Spades are cashed (Declarer pitching a Club). Now 10 tricks are assured and the only play for an 11th is if a defender has Ace doubleton of Diamonds. This turns out not to be the case, so no overtrick on this one … but an undertrick for those who misguessed the Hearts!
Over 1♠ South had a choice between: - The Unusual 2NT, which we don’t like at this vulnerability, too much defense and not enough offense in our opinion. - Pass, which would be quite reasonable - 2♣, getting a lead-director into the auction.
We like the last choice, but regardless of that it seems likely that E-W will play in 3♥ or N-S will play in 3♠. It turns out that both contracts are down one, and in both cases it is a trump promotion that provides the setting trick: - Against 3♥ East cashes the A♠ and K♠ and the 3rd round of the suit promotes a trick for West’s J♥. However, Dummy ruffs the 3rd Spade with the Queen, cashes A♣ and K♣ (pitching a Diamond), and gets his 9 tricks. The winning defense, of course, is to cash the two Diamonds before playing the 3rd round of Spades. Very nicely done by any E-W pairs who managed to beat 3♥. - Against 3♠ the winning defense is easier to find. South cashes the Clubs, shifts to the Q♥ which North must overtake. Now the 3rd round of Hearts is fatal to Declarer.
West’s 3♦ was a “jump reverse”. As the non-jump reverse of 2♦ shows a strong hand (and is forcing) there is no need for 3♦ also to show strength. So, a common treatment is for the jump reverse to be a splinter, for more on which please see the Bidding Quiz. After the splinter, East has his eye on slam, but can hardly charge into Blackwood with small doubletons in both black suits. So, he cue-bids his A♦, after which it is West who trots out Roman Key Card Blackwood. East shows “Two with” and 5NT is the “King Ask”. In this situation, do you play “Number of Kings” or “Specific King”? We suggest the latter (please see the Bidding Quiz), in which case East’s 6♥ denied a side-suit King.
Against 6♥, let’s suppose that South’s opening lead is a Spade, won in Dummy. Provided that trumps are no worse than 3-1 Declarer can count 12 tricks, coming via two Spades, 5 trumps plus a Diamond ruff on the board, one Diamond and 3 Clubs. That’s all well and good, but this is matchpoints, let’s try for 13! The best line seems to be to cross to the K♥ at Trick Two and immediately take the Club finesse. If it wins then Declarer goes after two Diamond ruffs on the board (protecting against 3-1 trumps). As it happens, just about any line of play is good for 13 tricks when the Club finesse works and the trumps are 2-2. In fact, those who got to 6NT will get an undeserved top when not only is the K♣ onside but it is also tripleton, providing four Club tricks for Declarer.
North’s jump to 3♣ was preemptive. What next by South? Well, if South trusts Partner’s preempts then she will pass that lovely 18-count, judging game to be unlikely. Actually, as it turns out, 5♣ does indeed have a play, but with the A♥ offside 10 tricks is the maximum.
Back to the bidding. After the 3♣ preempt, would you be tempted (as West) to balance with a Double? A bit risky at this vulnerability, perhaps, but West might well take the plunge. The good news is that West finds Partner with 4 Spades, but the bad news is that South will double and lead Clubs, causing Declarer to lose trump control. Eventually it will be down one (or maybe two) and a good board for N-S.
As North, having passed originally, what is your choice the second time around, after Partner has opened 1♠? We’d say that there are two answers to this question, depending upon whether your general style is SAYC-based or 2/1: - Playing SAYC: In these methods, this hand is too good for a 1NT response, and the obvious bid is 2♥, after which South rebids 2NT, and that is the end of that. - Playing 2/1: If this is the method in use then North has the Forcing NT at her disposal (or, as she is a passed hand, let’s make that the so-called semi-Forcing NT). This 1NT is more wide-ranging than “standard” methods and is a viable alternative to that 2♥ bid. We actually like 1NT here, the hand has a No-Trumpish look about it, and 1NT could well be the right place if Partner has opened light in 3rd seat. If Partner has 4 Hearts then she’ll tell us … and if she has 3 Hearts we’ll just have to hope that No Trump plays better than the 5-3 Heart fit.
Either way, on the actual hand, it looks as if N-S are destined to play this one in 2NT, though, depending on the methods in use, it could be played from either side: - If North plays 2NT: The best that the defense can do is to scoop up 5 tricks, and the only way to do that is if East finds an opening Heart lead. But a Club lead seems more likely, and that allows Declarer to set up the Spades and establish 9 tricks before the defense can get to their 5. - If South plays 2NT: In this case, Hearts will have been bid by North and a Heart lead is even more unlikely. West has an ugly choice of opening leads, let’s say that he guesses to lead a Diamond. We’ll leave it up to you to figure out the details, but this time it is 10 tricks.
So, we are predicting a bunch of +150 and +180 scores on this board, with a top for those optimistic N-S pairs who stumbled into game.
This looks like an uncontroversial auction, at least until that final 4♠ bid. Did West miscount his points? Was he desperate for a top? Or did he just do some sensible hand evaluation? Please see the Bidding Quiz.
Against 4♠ the defense starts with Diamonds, Declarer ruffing the second round. The bidding and the play of the Diamonds surely marks South with the K♣, so a good ploy at Trick Three would be to lead the Q♣. The play might be as follows: K♦ wins the opening trick Another Diamond is ruffed Q♣ covered by the King and Ace Spade to the Ace T♠ is cashed Now, Declarer plays another Club while there is still a trump in his hand to handle a Diamond continuation. If the J♣ is with North (the actual case), then it will be 11 tricks. And also 11 tricks if South started with KJ doubleton in Clubs and is unable to give North a ruff. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump Control”>>
East was certainly maximum for that 1NT response, perhaps he was tempted to upgrade on the basis of those useful fillers. But, as a converse argument, his hand was square, so 1NT looks fine to us.
Against 3NT, South has an obvious T♥ opening lead, to North’s Queen and Declarer’s Ace. The key to making 12 tricks here is to find the winning plays in the Spade suit and the Diamond suit: - Spades: If the T♠ is doubleton or if the suit is 3-3 then it doesn’t really matter how Declarer tackles this suit. But he can give himself an extra chance by leading twice towards Dummy’s KJ93, in case South started with the doubleton Ace. - Diamonds: There is a tiny advantage (just 2%) in cashing the A♦ and then finessing towards the long hand. Bridge is often an unfair game, but on this deal the percentage play in both suits is also the play that wins! So, 12 tricks come rolling in, at least for some Declarers.
Pity poor West on this deal! He has a two-loser hand, his Partner has some values, and yet even game is impossible! After West’s 2♣, we wouldn’t advocate a positive 3♦ response from East, that suit is weak, and 3♦ will have a cramping effect on the auction. So East temporizes with a waiting 2♦, then shows Diamonds next time around. West bids Spades, then Hearts, then more Spades, and East, with nothing in Partner’s two suits, sensibly passes.
So, West plays in 4♠, and it is up to North to find an opening lead. What is your choice? Dr Goodlead’s thoughts on the subject were: “Not a Heart, course, and the other three suits are all fraught with danger. Declarer might be 7=4=0=2 and Dummy might have the A♣ and the K♦ … if that’s the case then laying down the A♦ will let Declarer’s Club loser vanish. Or, Declarer might be 7=4=2=0 and Dummy might have A♣ in which case a Club lead will give him an entry to the board and a Diamond pitch, a double disaster. And leading a singleton trump is always dangerous. I suppose I’ll lead a trump, my holding in Declarer’s second suit does rather suggest that lead”. Yes, a trump lead works fine, holding Declarer to 9 tricks, so does a Diamond lead. The key is to avoid the Club lead, that is fatal for the defense (likewise a Heart, of course).
After West’s Double, North will, of course, be raising Partner’s Spades, but how? With a 9-card fit, North is prepared to compete to the three-level, but this hand is too good for an immediate 3♠, that would be preemptive. On the other hand, North is not good enough for a 2♣ cue-bid. It’s somewhere in between a preempt and a cue-bid, in that zone known as a “constructive” raise and the common treatment is to raise to 2♠ and then to compete further to 3♠ if necessary. However, there is a gadget for this hand type, for more on which please see the Bidding Quiz.
Over to the West who is given the job of making the final decision in this competitive auction. The choices are: - Pass: This seems altogether too feeble, don’t you think? East has opened, West has two Aces and 10 points, surely West will not give up so easily. - Double: This could work, but the opponents are non-vulnerable, and it will take a two-trick set to get a worthwhile score. As the opponents have a 9- or 10-card fit that might be expecting a bit too much. - Bid 4♣: Partner does not have many Spades, and has denied 4 Hearts, so it seems fair to assume that he has at east 5 Clubs. Hopefully the 9-card fit, the Spade shortness and the good controls will be enough for 10 tricks.
4♣ is probably the winning bid. 4♣ will make 10 tricks with careful play, and 3♠ doubled is down one for sure, and down two if Declarer misguesses the Diamond situation (or if the defense makes the mistake of breaking the suit).
It turns out that the E-W hands fit together rather poorly and that 4♥ is a terrible contract. Nonetheless, it is a contract which makes given careful play by Declarer, even if South finds the dynamic lead of the Q♠. Now it looks as if Declarer must lose two Spades and the minor suit Aces. But not so! Please see the Play Problem.
Now here’s a wild deal! First of all, let’s look at some of those bids: - South’s 2♥: Some might frown on the moderate Heart suit, but “Phooey” to them. The hand has some shape and some fillers, N-S are not vulnerable, so we’d get in there and create some mayhem. - West’s Pass of 2♥: Salivating is generally frowned upon at the bridge table, for reasons of hygiene and unauthorized information. So, West dryly passes while eagerly awaiting a balancing Double from Partner. - East’s First Double: Normally we would bid a 5-card Spade suit in this situation, but not here. East is void in Hearts, North failed to raise Hearts, so the chances are that West has a bunch. So, East doubles, catering for the possibility of a penalty pass from West. - North’s 3♦: North would have loved to have bid a non-forcing 3♦ on the previous round, but that was not an option. Now, North is delighted to run to 3♦ with that splendid suit.
Against 3♦ (no doubt doubled) East leads the K♠, and when Dummy goes down North will be a happy camper. But not for long! North’s apparently certain 7 tricks will be a good save against the enemy game, but it doesn’t turn out that way: K♠ opening lead Spade continuation to West’s Ace Club to East’s Ace Another Spade is cashed Club to West’s King Club ruffed low by Declarer Diamond to Dummy’s Ace Heart is lost to West The defense has already got 6 tricks in, and the 7th materializes through a trump promotion when West leads a Club. That is down three for -500, more than the E-W game. True, E-W can actually make 6♣ (and even 6♠) but those are not good contracts and unlikely to be bid. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump Promotion”>>
There are a number of really interesting boards in this set, but Board 12 is not one of them. 2♠ makes 8 tricks.
After a routine auction, South finds herself on lead against 3NT. What’s your choice? Once again, we enlisted the services of Dr Goodlead. “It would be great to lead to Partner’s Ace and get a Heart switch, but who’s to say where that Ace is, if Partner even has one. So, I’ll lead a Heart. But not a small one, Dummy is unlimited and if I give them a Heart trick on the go, that might be the lead that lets them rattle off 12 tricks. So, I’ll lead the K♥ and get a look at Dummy”.
Good choice, Doctor. When Dummy goes down, South can see that 12 tricks is unlikely for Declarer, and a shift is safe enough. A Spade shift looks more promising than a Diamond, so South plays the 8♠ at Trick Two, and the T♥ is fired back. Down two!
When the opponents get into a 2/1 auction it is usually a good idea to keep quiet and let them get on with it. But North has a really good hand, she’s non-vulnerable, so who can blame her for throwing in a 2♠ bid, if only for its lead-directing benefit.
Against 3NT, South dutifully leads Partner’s Spade suit, and now it’s 11 tricks for Declarer. The winning lead by South is actually a Heart, holding Declarer to 10 tricks. So much for lead-direction!
South’s 2♦ showed invitational values in Spades, but North was going nowhere with that minimum overcall. However, over 3♣, we would say that South had a close decision between passing and bidding 3♠. True, she has only 3 Spades, but the singleton Club looks promising for the offense. It’s difficult to say which is the winning bid, because the play in Spades is hard to predict. Here is one line that leads to 9 tricks by Declarer: Q♦ opening lead overtaken by West’s Ace Club to Dummy’s Ace Diamond to the King J♥ won by West’s Queen Low Diamond, North pitches a Club, East ruffs Club ruffed on the board Spade to the Nine Heart finesse A♥ is cashed, West declines to ruff, Declarer pitches a Club Heart ruff That’s 7 tricks already for Declarer, and her Spade spots in the end-game are good enough for two more. The way for the defense to hold Declarer to 8 tricks is for East to start out with his singleton trump. Far from obvious!
Once West has opened that somewhat dubious 1♦, E-W will have a struggle on their hands to avoid the doomed slam. It may be doomed, but actually, the slam is better than 50%, making an overtrick whenever the Diamond finesse succeeds, and also making whenever the defense fails to lead a Spade.
In the featured auction, 2♦ was “Inverted”, showing at least game-invitational values. The 2NT rebid showed a minimum balanced hand and 4NT was quantitative.
Against 4NT, North leads the Q♠, which (against NT contracts only) conventionally asks Partner to play the Jack if she has it. This is a useful treatment on this hand, because if South were not to play the Jack and Declarer were to duck the trick, then North would be wondering whether or not Declarer were holding up with AJx. Now, look at things from Declarer’s point of view. He can count 13 tricks if the Diamond finesse works, but if that finesse is due to fail he’ll need to hold up in Spades in order to ensure his contract. Playing at teams it would be an obvious choice to hold up (twice) in Spades, but at matchpoints Declarer might as well just play for the max by wining the first trick. True he’ll be down if the Diamond finesse loses, but he’ll still beat the slam bidders who will be down even more. So, we’d win the first Spade, cash the Clubs and Hearts (maybe the defense will pitch some Spades), and then run the Q♦. When that loses, provided that the defense has discarded correctly, Declarer will be down an ignominious two tricks.
Back to the bidding. Was North asleep during the auction? Apparently so, because she declined to bid that lovely Spade suit at favorable vulnerability. Surely it’s worth a 1♠ overcall, notwithstanding the mere 6 HCP’s. Better still, why not a bold 2♠? We don’t suppose that a 2♠ preempt will slow down East too much, but at least South will be reassured to see that her Partner is awake and in the game.
Having passed already, North’s 1NT can hardly be natural, and even if N-S are not playing the Sandwich No Trump, it seems pretty clear that 1NT is for the unbid suits. Why would North not bid 2NT or Double instead? Well, 2NT would be weaker and more preemptive, and we’d say that North is too good for that (as passed hands go, we’d say that North has a pretty good collection). And Double would be more appropriate without that 5-card Heart suit, let’s say a hand which is 4-4 or 4-5 in Hearts and Clubs, with 10 or 11 HCP’s.
South should reasonably assume that North has 5 Hearts for that 1NT bid, and that allows her to complete to the 3-level on the known 9-card fit. Similarly, if we assume that E-W are playing Support Doubles, then East’s 2♠ shows 4-card support. So, West knows that his side also has a 9-card fit, making it easy for him to compete to the 3-level.
Playing in 3♥, South has an easy route to her 9 tricks, but life is more difficult for those declaring 3♠. This one is an interesting Play Problem, please follow the link.
Surely no Norths decided to preempt with the North hand after West’s Negative Double. Perish the thought! North has way too much defense, we’d say that 2♦ is a reasonable place to start. It’s hard to fault West for going to game with that lovely 10-count, the hand has so many plus points … the K♠ over the Spade bidder, void in an enemy suit, and a 5-card fit with Partner’s first suit. Alas for E-W, everything is wrong, and Declarer has some undertricks in his future (two or three of them).
We don’t think that South should be opening that hand with a 2♣ bid, those auctions which begin 2♣ 2♦, 3♦ are notoriously awkward. However, given the same hand but with the 5-card suit in one of the majors, we certainly would open this 3-loser hand with 2♣.
It’s unusual to make a Takeout Double with 5 Spades, but it’s a reasonable choice for East here, given such an otherwise perfect shape and such a rotten Spade suit. Anyway, South makes a strength-showing Redouble, followed by a further strong bid of 2♥, and when this fails to stir North into action, South settles for a part-score in Diamonds.
Playing in Diamonds, South makes 11 tricks unless the defense starts out with a Club won by East, followed by a Spade shift, grabbing their three tricks while the grabbing is good.
It turns out that East’s decision to double 1♦ worked out badly. If he had balanced with 1♠, West would have been aware of the 8-card fit, and might well have competed to 3♠. That is a fine contract, scoring 9 or 10 tricks. It will be 9 tricks if South starts out with Hearts, but 10 tricks if she starts with a high Diamond, allowing East to execute this neat little Dummy reversal: A♦ ruffed by Declarer Spade finesse Diamond ruff Spade finesse Diamond ruff Cross to Dummy’s J♣ Draw the last trump Cash the Clubs That’s 10 tricks for Declarer, with the defense taking the last three. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Dummy Reversal”>>
We can see many N-S pairs missing this dubious 3NT game, and we’d characterize South’s 2♥ as a tad ambitious. Anyway, if North ends up in 3NT, she will find that, on this board at least, fortune favors the bold. East leads a Heart and West has nothing better to do than persevere with Hearts. Now, Declarer wins, crosses on a Diamond, takes the Club finesse, and (before cashing the Diamonds) cashes the A♣. When the K♣ comes down doubleton, Declarer can count 10 tricks. The way to hold 3NT to just 9 tricks is for East to lead the T♠ at Trick One. But even making just 9 tricks in 3NT should be a good board, we doubt that many N-S pairs will bid this game.
This hand is a good commercial for the practice of super-accepting major suit transfers when holding 4-card support. West’s 2NT said “I have 4 Hearts and a good hand” (there are other methods in use, too), then 3♦ was a re-transfer to Hearts which is where West played the hand. Against 3♥, North leads the K♦, won by Declarer. Without an entry to the board for the trump finesse, Declarer does best to cash the A♥ and play a second Heart. South wins this, and shifts to a Spade, and now Declarer cannot avoid 5 losers for down one.
What’s so great about that, you say? The super-accept got E-W too high, they could have made a 2♥ contract. Yes, but if West bids just 2♥ over 2♦, any self-respecting matchpoint player will balance with a 2♠ bid as South. If West now bids a belated 3♥, North will perhaps compete to 3♠, making 9 tricks. So, the super-accept may have got E-W too high, but its preemptive value wins the day.
Do you play “New Minor Forcing”? Most players do (or else they use a variant such as Two-Way Checkback), but on this particular deal the convention is a liability. The South hand looks more useful for suit play, and a natural 2♦ would describe this hand perfectly. As that is not available we suppose that South should pass, it would be a pure guess (but a successful one) if South were to bid 2♠.
Back on Board 16, North held KQT96 and, against No Trump, led the Q♠, asking Partner to drop the Jack if she had it. Here, East is on lead against No Trump, with KQT5. Is this the same situation? No, this holding is not quite strong enough, it would be most vexing to lead the Queen and get the Jack from Partner, only to discover that Declarer has A98x, and that a second stopper has just been presented to Declarer. So, East leads the K♥ and gets the encouraging Seven from Partner, allowing East to continue the suit with a low one. At the end of the day Declarer will count himself lucky to get out for down one, and down two is perhaps more likely. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “No Trump Opening Leads”>>
We cannot imagine passing the South hand, nor would we preempt with an outside Ace and King, so the obvious course of action (at least for us) would be to open 1♦. This does not work well, however, propelling N-S to a precarious 4♠.
Against 4♠, East might well lead his singleton Diamond, signaling a quick defeat for the contract. In fact, Declarer must play with care to avoid down two: Diamond to West’s Ace Low Diamond (suit preference) ruffed by East Club to the Ace Another Diamond ruffed high by Declarer Heart to East’s Ace Now, Dummy’s King will provide somewhere for Declarer to park her slow Club loser. Note the importance of playing a Heart while Dummy still has an entry in trumps.
Both sides have a 9-card fit and felt comfortable competing up to the 3-level. But disciples of the Law of Total Tricks may be devastated to discover that there are not 18 total tricks on this hand, just 16 in fact.
If South buys it in 3♣ (unlikely) it will be down one, though even down two is not out of the question: Spade lead won by Dummy’s Ace Club to the Jack and West’s Ace K♠ is cashed Diamond to East’s Ace Diamond back … and what? Should Declarer finesse the J♦ in an attempt to make her contract? The danger, of course, is that if the finesse loses, a Diamond ruff will put her down two. Then again, she might also be afraid that, if she plays the King, West might ruff and again she’ll end up down two. We suspect that most Declarer would finesse here, all the more so as even down two is likely to be a good result considering that N-S can make something in Spades.
It’s more probable that the final contract will be 3♠, played by East. South must avoid the highly dangerous (and fatal to the defense) lead of a Club or a Diamond, either of which give Declarer 9 easy tricks. A safer lead would be a trump, won by North’s Ace. Now a Club comes back, won by Dummy’s Ace. Declarer draws the trumps and exits with a Club, which South wins. That was a good play by Declarer because South must now guess how to get out safely. Not with a Club, of course, that would concede a ruff and sluff. Which is your choice, a Heart or a Diamond? South should reason that a Heart is surely less dangerous, that requires North to hold the Q♥ or the A♥. That’s a better bet than a Diamond which stakes everything on Partner holding the A♦.
West’s 2♦ was “Inverted” (see also Board 16), after which 3♦ showed a minimum and unbalanced hand. A straightforward auction to a sensible spot. The play in 3♦ is also straightforward, Declarer losing just 3 Aces.
Of course, N-S can make a fairly large number of Hearts. Was either player at fault for not getting into the auction? Surely not South, who of us would seriously advocate a 1♥ overcall with that collection of junk? How about North, should she have done something? It’s not obvious that she should. Sure, she has a much better hand than South, and she is non-vulnerable, but by now the opponents have gotten into a forcing auction and any action looks dangerous. However, if N-S do somehow get into a Heart contract they have 9 easy tricks, and 10 if Declarer is inspired enough to lead the Q♥ on the first round of trumps.
After the 1♠ opening, West knew that it was odds-on that 4♠ would be the destination, he simply had to choose the correct route: - 2NT? No, the Jacoby 2NT normally shows 4-card support, and furthermore Partner will expect more playing strength. - 4♠? Absolutely not! That bid is preemptive, obviously not appropriate. - 1NT? If you play this as forcing then another plan is to bid 1NT and rebid 4♠, showing game values and 3-card support. The trouble with this plan is that it might crowd Partner if he has slam aspirations. - 2♣? This would be our choice, creating a forcing auction, planning to support Spades next.
After East rebids 2♥, West supports Spades, then jumps to game the next time around to show no interest in slam.
Playing in 4♠ there is the K♣ to be lost and at least two trump tricks. What is the percentage play to avoid a third trump loser? Obviously the goal is to avoid losing a trick to the T♠ and the best way to do that is to lead low towards the Q83. If the Queen loses to North’s Ace or King, then the plan for the second trick is to lead low from Dummy, and finesse the Nine if North plays low. This works just fine on the actual board, and 4♠ makes 10 tricks.
Anyone for 3NT? Did any Wests look at their square hand and say “Perhaps this hand will play better in 3NT”? Well, once in a while, perhaps it will but we would say that the odds are against it. The West hand may be square but we would hesitate to call it “No Trumpish”. There are no fillers, no tenaces, no slow tricks, and no reason not to gravitate to the 8-card major fit. It’s true that Dummy does not have a ruffing value to provide an extra trick, but it is also true that Declarer’s trumps may be needed to defend against an attack in one of the minor suits. On the actual hand, in 3NT, a Diamond attack will get the defense’s Diamonds going before Declarer can get his Spades going, so a Spade contract is the place to be.
If East had a good hand (let’s say a nice 9 or better), he would usually double 1NT, saying to Partner “I have a pretty decent hand, perhaps they are in trouble”. East is not good enough for that, so he chooses to compete with 2♦. Opposite an opening bid, new suits by an unpassed hand are usually forcing, but in this sequence that is not the case.
The bottom line on this hand is that nobody can make much of anything. 2♦ will be held to 7 tricks, and it’s one of those hands where it pays to defend rather than to declare.
We are sure that nobody considered passing the West hand, all the more so considering the vulnerability. The 3♣ preempt pushes the opponents to 3♠, a contract that is down one.
North’s Pass of 1♠ looks eminently sensible to us, and 1♠ just might steal the pot. In a Spade contract there are 4 sure tricks for the defense, with probably another one in the wash. We predict 8 tricks for Declarer.
North’s 2NT was “Unusual”, in this case showing the minor suits. Do you play “Unusual vs Unusual”? The basis of this convention is that, with the enemy having bid (or at least shown) two suits, there are two available cue-bids. The common approach is to use one cue-bid to show a good raise for Partner’s major, and the other one to show a decent hand with the other major. Please see the Bidding Quiz for more on this.
With the above in mind, we know that East had a cue-bid available if he wanted to show a good (invitational) Heart raise. So, 3♥ by East (over 2NT) does not promise much. But, can it really be bid on as little as three Jacks (one of which is obviously useless)? We think so! That 4th trump counts for a lot, and so does that lovely Club singleton.
Playing in 4♥, West racks up an easy 11 tricks. But should South let him play there? Hopefully South was at least highly tempted to bid 5♦, and if she was she should bid it directly over 3♥, no reason to mess around with a 4♦ bid along the way, that would be altogether too gentle towards the enemy. Spoilsports might make two objections to a direct 5♦ bid, but we say “Phooey!” to both of them: - First Objection: If South leaps to 5♦ then West can bid 5♥ which makes. Maybe, but bidding “5 over 5” leaves little margin for error, and at equal vulnerability West will surely double. - Second Objection: 5♦ can actually be beaten three tricks, and when doubled that is more than the value of the E-W game. Quite true, but that requires two Club ruffs by East, which in turn requires that West lead the A♣ at Trick One. It ain’t happening! So, well done, those buccaneering Souths who bid 5♦, we’d be astonished if the opponents get you for 500.
West’s Spade suit was perhaps less robust than usual for a 4♠ preempt but it doesn’t pay to pussyfoot around with 8-4 distribution. We have to admire East’s heroic self-restraint in this auction, many (perhaps most) would at least check for Key Cards here. Against a Spade contract (however high) North will lead the Q♣ and now 10 tricks is the limit.
At first glance, one might think “Shame on N-S!” for selling out to 2♥ when they can make higher part-scores in no fewer than three denominations. But perhaps there was method in their feebleness because they do better defending 2♥. At least they do if North is smart enough to lead a trump. Dr Goodlead did, saying simply “A lead with a purpose, no second choice”. Yes, repeated trump leads prevent a Spade ruff in Dummy, and Declarer can now come to no more than 5 Heart tricks and the A♦. That's down two for the dreaded -200.
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