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Hand Analyses 3rd September, 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 4, South finds herself in a suit preference situation. Adjacent to the text for that hand is the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Preference”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
South’s 4♣ was a Splinter, showing game values, shortness in Clubs, and Spade support. North with a minimum hand, the wasted K♣, and the badly placed K♥, could no doubt not sign off quickly enough in 4♠.
The most effective defense is for East to lead the A♥, and give West a ruff. West now returns a trump, and Declarer now has two routes to 10 tricks … either she can cross-ruff the hand (somewhat risky, as East might overruff the 3rd round of Diamonds) … or she’ll draw one round of trumps, get the bad news, and set up the Diamonds, scoring 10 tricks again (5 trumps, just one ruff in Dummy, and 4 Diamonds). 11 tricks are possible if East leads a minor suit, Declarer scoring the AK♦ and all 9 of the trumps via a cross-ruff.
Post Script Is it reasonable to expect East to find that A♥ opening lead? Probably not, unless West specifically asks for a Heart lead. How can she? Some partnerships have a conventional agreement concerning Splinter Doubles, namely that it is lead-directing, but not for suit being doubled! For more on this please follow the link.
After the vulnerable preempt, North needs South to have a very particular hand if slam is to make. Yes, Diamond shortness and the A♠ will do the job very nicely. Well, almost! If Partner is 7=2=1=3 then 6♠ will indeed make, but if Partner is 7=3=1=2 then the A♥ will need to be onside. Anyway, without special methods, North should settle for 4♠ and hope that Partner does not have the perfect hand. However, those of a scientific bent may play asking bids in this situation. One method is that bidding a new suit here asks for the preemptor’s holding in that suit. So, North bids 4♦ here, to which the responses are: - 4♥ (first step) is no first- or second-round control in Diamonds - 4♠ (second step) is a singleton - 5♣ (third step) is a first-round control (Ace or void) 4NT is missing from those step responses and that bid is reserved for Kx(x) in the key suit.
The chance to use that method won’t come up very often, but this deal is tailor-made for it. North bids 4♦, South answers 4♥ and North signs off in 4♠, secure in the knowledge that slam is not a possibility. Well, almost secure. Couldn’t South have the A♠ and A♥? Some pairs have rules about 1st and 2nd seat 3-level preempts, and not having an outside Ace might be one of them (or, if you don’t like that, then perhaps you could prohibit having two Aces).
Anyway, this is a hand where it pays to stay in 4♠. It’s also a hand where it would pay West to find an opening Diamond lead. That holds Declarer to 10 tricks, any other lead and it’s 11 (a Diamond goes away on a Heart).
Assuming that E-W are playing some form of 2/1 system, East’s 1NT was the Forcing NT, 2♠ showed a 6th Spade and a more or less minimum hand, and 3♠ invited game. Should West accept? We think so. It’s only 11 HCP’s, but it all appears to be working and there is that delightful Club singleton also.
It seems natural enough for North to lead the J♥, after which the obvious line of play is to cash two Hearts, ruff a Heart in Dummy, and lead a trump. If South plays low, then the percentage play for Declarer is to finesse the Jack, but that does not work well on this particular hand! When that choice works out badly, Declarer must play the Diamonds for just one loser. Now the percentage play is to cash the A♦ (protecting against a singleton King with South), then cross back to hand and lead towards the Q♦. Making 10 tricks. Declarer should not be frustrated that he guessed the Spade wrong, because (a) playing the Jack is the right play, and (b) many E-W pairs will not reach this game.
Against 3♣, North might well start with a low trump, trying not to blow a trick on the opening lead. Declarer wins that and leads a low Spade won by North’s Ace, on which South plays the, er, yes, what does South play here? The general rule, when Declarer leads a suit, is for the defense to give a count signal, and another general rule is to make that count signal as clear as possible. The Five would be the start of a high-low here (let’s assume “right-side up” carding), and that might be enough to indicate that we have an even number. But, surely we can afford a higher card than that, and we certainly should, we like our signals to be unambiguous. Does that mean that the Jack should be played? Perhaps not. The Nine would be high enough to convey the count message, we’d reserve the Jack for suit preference. Such a violent signal should be saying “Lead a Heart!”. Is this what we want to tell Partner? Probably, she may need to decide whether to shift to a Heart or a Diamond, and with our ♥KT surrounding Dummy’s Queen we’d like to point Partner in the direction of a Heart shift. So, South plays the J♠, and, if North is on the same wavelength, she’ll shift to a Heart. It’s the only play which deprives Declarer of an overtrick! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Preference”>>
In the balancing seat it’s customary to reduce the requirements for a 1NT overcall from 15-18, though there’s no consensus on that reduced range. Some employ quite a wide range, such as 10-16, and have special methods to help them manage that range. For example, opposite a balancing wide-range 1NT, one possible method is: - Systems are on - In response to Stayman the 1NT bidder makes the normal response if at the lower end of the range - If at the higher end of the range, the 1NT bidder responds 2NT, after which 3♣ is “re-Stayman”, asking again for a 4-card major.
Anyway, it’s academic on this deal, East is going nowhere, and North finds herself on lead against 3NT. Poor North is all that we can say! Nothing is particularly appealing, and everything will help Declarer, one way or another. Expect 9 tricks by the time that the dust has cleared.
It used to be that East’s 1♥ bid in this situation showed 5 Hearts, but that treatment is less popular nowadays, and it’s more common for 1♥ to be permissible with only 4 Hearts (but, if North had overcalled 1♥, then 1♠ does show a 5-card suit).
Moving on to the South hand, what would be your choice? At this vulnerability, surely some action is required, and the question is whether to raise Diamonds or introduce the Spades. It may seem strange to ignore a 6-card major, but our suggestion is to make a preemptive raise to 3♦. Perhaps a Spade fit will be lost, but the chances are that this is the opponent’s hand, and it’s a good idea to latch on to the known fit, just in case N-S have a profitable sacrifice. The danger with bidding a preemptive 2♠ here is that (a) it might provoke an unfortunate lead from Partner, and (b) if the Diamond fit is not announced immediately, it may be lost forever.
As it happens, North has a good hand and 3♦ will probably be the end of the auction. Against 3♦, East leads a Club to the Queen, King and Ace. Declarer’s plan is to get some ruffs in Dummy, so the play proceeds: J♣ (pitching a Heart); Club ruff; A♥; Heart ruff; lose a Spade to East; low Diamond to the King and Ace; Heart ruff; Spade ruff. At the end of the day, Declarer will have made her contract by scoring three trump tricks in her hand, three ruffs on the board, and three side-suit tricks.
How would you play 4♠ when South’s opening lead is a trump? Dummy has a promising Club suit, but is alarmingly short of entries. If trumps are drawn immediately and the A♥ is with North (or if South has the Ace and plays correctly) then those Clubs will produce no tricks at all and Declarer is in danger of losing 2 or 3 Diamond tricks. So, at Trick Two, Dummy’s K♣ is played, establishing two Club tricks while Dummy still has a trump entry. Now, with Clubs 3-3, Declarer can use Dummy’s trump entry to rack up 6 trumps, a Heart, a Diamond and two Clubs.
East’s hand is just not good enough to invite game, and that’s unfortunate because West has a maximum and, with the N-S cards as friendly as can be, 9 tricks can be made. But will they? North leads the J♠, won by Dummy’s Queen. A Diamond is led from the board and South smoothly plays the Ten. Good play by South as it gives Declarer a guess. The winning guess is to play the Queen, but Declarer might play low instead, hoping that North has the singleton Ace or King. If Declarer guesses wrong, he’ll be held to 8 tricks, so full marks to South for smoothly ducking the first Diamond. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Smooth Ducks”>>
North has an opening bid, of course, but what is the bid which best prepares her for the likely 1♠ response from South? - Open 1♣, and rebid 2♣? No, that rotten suit is not worth rebidding. - Open 1♣, and rebid 2♦? A little bit light for a reverse, don’t you think? - Open 1♣, and rebid 1NT? No, too strong for that. - Open 1♦, and rebid 2♣? That’s not perfect, either, as it distorts the relative lengths of the minor suits. Nonetheless, it seems to be the least of evils.
Against 3NT, East has an unenviable choice of opening leads. Hearts is the unbid suit, but the lead of the K♥ is an utter disaster! Now, despite the atrocious Club break, Declarer can finesse her way to 9 tricks, scoring 3 Spades, 3 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and a Club. However, if West finds the less aggressive lead of a Spade or a Diamond, Declarer can manage no more than 8 tricks.
North, with a poor hand, bypasses her Diamonds and goes straight to her major suit. On lead against 2♠, East has a miserable set of choices. He hates to start with a singleton trump, that’s a lead with the nasty habit of destroying Partner’s Qxxx or Jxxx holding. A Club looks far from attractive with that holding, the suit having been bid on his left. That leaves the ♦Axx and ♥Axxxx suits. We’d try a low card, not the Ace, on the grounds that if we must make an unpleasant lead then let’s have a little fun by being unorthodox and hopefully deceptive. - If East leads a low Diamond, West wins the King. He’ll assume that Declarer is holding up the A♦ and might find the truly devilish shift of a low Heart. East wins and returns a Heart, in case West is seeking a ruff. Dummy plays low, and West’s Queen wins. Now, West does want a Heart ruff, and he’ll lead a Diamond back to East’s Ace, and get that ruff. Of course, when East led the second round of Hearts he played the Seven, a suit preference signal for the higher-ranking suit. This defense beats 2♠ by one trick. - If East leads a low Heart, Declarer is bound to guess wrong, again West gets his ruff, and again it is down one. If the defense does not attack Hearts in time, the defense will not get its ruff and at least 8 tricks will be made. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Opening Leads - Suits”>>
Against 4♠, West leads the K♥. The first question East asks himself is “What is Declarer’s hand?” If Declarer has 8 Spades then no doubt Dummy’s 8♠ is an entry and Declarer scores 8 Spades and 2 Diamonds for 10 tricks (even if she has no Diamonds). Can the defense take 4 tricks first? The answer is “No!”, there’s a maximum of two Hearts and a Club to be grabbed. Is there a danger that Declarer can take 11 tricks if we don’t cash our winners right away? Only if Declarer has 9 Spades, and that’s quite a long shot. So, there’s really no rush for East here, he should just play low on the opening lead, and let Partner figure out what to do. He’ll probably shift to a trump (fearing a Heart ruff on the board), which may seem bad at first sight as it allows Declarer’s Club loser to vanish. But, no matter, it’s still just 10 tricks for Declarer. One defense to avoid like the plague is to overtake with the A♥ and return a Heart, Partner will think that you want to overruff Dummy, and that will be 11 tricks. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Helping Partner”>>
Let’s assume that South’s 2♥ is game-forcing. If so, what would a rebid of 3♠ show here? This is usually played as showing a good suit rather than a good hand. North is good in both regards but, nonetheless, it seems to us that she is better off going slowly with this hand. A simple 2♠ keeps things low and offers the best chance for finding out what Partner has to say. Next, South’s jump to 3NT shows some extras, with a minimum No Trump hand she would have bid 2NT. Is 4♣ Gerber here? That’s a matter for partnership agreement, and much as we think that Gerber is an overused convention, it’s rather useful on this deal!
Let’s assume, for the sake of argument, that 4♣ is Gerber. What are the responses? Most common is the 0/1/2/3 approach, but here’s an interesting alternative (no doubt influenced by the 1430 responses to Roman Key Card Blackwood): - 4♦ is 1 or 4 Aces - 4♥ is 0 or 3 Aces - 4♠ is 2 Aces and a minimum - 4NT is 2 Aces and a maximum We’d say that the South hand is a maximum, not that North really cared, she was going to 7NT anyway if South had 2 Aces.
7NT was a reasonable gambit, we’d say, and it was unfortunate that South had a Spade void. That reduced the chances of success considerably, but the polite Spade break brings home the contract anyway. In fact, 7NT might even make if the Spade are unkind, provided that the Hearts behave and there is some luck in one of the minor suits. All in all, 7NT was a reasonable gamble, and North’s boldness earns her side a top board.
When 3♥ came back to West he might well have passed and that would have worked out rather well. Against 3♥, East leads the K♠, shifts to a Diamond won by West, the A♠ is cashed, a Spade is ruffed, back to the A♣, and now East gets a second ruff. That’s down two, and a nice fat +200 for E-W.
If West doubles 3♥, as in the auction above, East bids 4♣ making 10 tricks, or he might try 5♣ which, strangely enough, will make 11 tricks. Here’s how. The defense cashes two Hearts and shifts to a Diamond, South’s Queen forcing Dummy’s Ace. First, let’s assume that East is in 4♣. He’ll try for an overtrick but not to the extent of risking his contract, and the safest way to do that is: K♠, cross to Dummy with a Club, A♠, ruff a Spade. Now, if the Queen comes down tripleton, Declarer can draw trumps, ending on the board, and the Diamonds losers all go away on the Spades. When that doesn’t happen, Declarer loses a Diamond but still makes his 4♣ contract.
Next, imagine yourself in 5♣. Now, the best chance appears to be to take the ruffing finesse in Spades, so the play goes (after winning the A♦): K♠, cross to Dummy with a Club, J♠ which is run around if North plays low. Next comes a Spade ruff, after which trumps are drawn and the Diamond losers disappear on the Spades. Making 11 tricks.
East was a couple of points light for a Penalty Double of 1NT so instead he competed with 2♥. South leads the T♦, which North can readily identify as a doubleton. Dummy’s Ace wins, and a Heart led from the board. North must split her honors, then win the second round of Hearts, cash the K♦ and give Partner her Diamond ruff. Now a Spade through Dummy and the defense collects 6 tricks (two Spades, a Heart, a Diamond, a ruff and a Club).
That was good defense by North, but +50 is not much compensation when N-S are cold for 2♠ (well, almost cold, Declarer must guess the Diamonds). How can N-S get to 2♠? With great difficulty, as most pairs play that a double of 2♥ by South is not Negative but penalty (or card-showing). And a Double by North? As North is under the Heart bidder, this is often played as take-out, but North does not really have right hand-type, what with that square distribution and good Heart holding. Just a difficult hand for N-S.
West is close to a 3♥ rebid, put that J♣ in with the Diamonds and 3♥ would certainly be appropriate. How about the East hand? Yes, that’s also close to a game invitation (at IMP’s it would be worth an invitation), but East reasoned that, with soft values and a singleton in Partner’s suit, perhaps caution was required. That caution is rewarded when the Spade finesse loses and 9 tricks are the maximum.
Let’s assume that South’s 2♦ is forcing to game, and that North’s 2♠ rebid tends to show a 6-card suit (though it may occasionally be made out of convenience with only a 5-card suit). Now, South’s 3♠ raise is more encouraging than a jump to 4♠. So far, so good. After 3♠, is North obliged to show that A♣ now, by making a cue-bid of 4♣? Or can she decline to cue-bid if she really doesn’t like her hand? Needless to say, there are different opinions and styles here, and let’s say that the N-S preference was for the cue-bid to be voluntary, and that here North could decline to cue-bid the A♣ if she had a poor hand. Does North have such a poor hand? No, we think not, it may only 13 points, but none of that is wasted, and the QJT in Partner’s Diamonds is a fine holding indeed. South makes a return cue-bid of 4♦, and North is unable to cue-bid 4♥ and has no reason to bid beyond 4♠.
Undeterred, South invokes Roman Key Card and gets a response of “Two without”. What next? South is clearly going to slam, but which one? As North has failed to cue-bid Hearts there is the danger that 6♠ might be derailed by an opening Heart lead through South’s King. On the other hand, in 6NT, there is the danger that there will not be enough tricks. South can count 6 Spades (probably), two Diamonds, and a Club, which comes to 9, with just 8 or 9 of North’s points accounted for. Where are the rest of North’s points? The K♣ would get the trick total up to 11, with the K♥ a possible 12th. Or something good in Diamonds would also get the job done. On the assumption that North’s 4♣ cue-bid was not “obligatory” and showed a positive attitude, we’d bid 6NT here, partly to protect the K♥, and partly for the better No Trump score.
Playing in 6♠, East will indeed lead a low Heart, and Declarer will no doubt guess right and make her contract. Against 6NT, with the K♥ protected, there is no guess, it’s 12 anxiety-free tricks and a better score, too.
East’s Double was DONT, showing an unspecified one-suiter. Most pairs play “systems on” in this situation, so South was unable to compete with 2♦, that would have been a transfer to Hearts. However, when 2♣ came back around, 2♦ was now natural.
If South ends up declaring 3♦, West leads a Club, won by Dummy’s Ace. Declarer now exits a Club, hoping that something good will happen. West wins this trick and must decide on a shift. A Spade might seem like a good idea but that would be a dead giveaway, surely nobody in their right mind would underlead the Q♠ looking at that Dummy. If Declarer comes to that conclusion she’ll rise with the A♠, play A♦ and out a Diamond, later guessing to drop the doubleton Q♠, and escaping for down one. Perhaps that was a bit deep, in real life we suppose that down two is more likely.
If West ends up declaring 3♣, then E-W will have cleverly right-sided the contract by playing it from the short side. With East on play, a Diamond lead through the King ensures 5 tricks for the defense. But, with West on play, South never does get in for that Diamond lead, and Declarer is able to set up the Spades for a pitch.
North’s 2♣ was game-forcing, and N-S finally play in 5♣ when it becomes apparent that neither player has a stopper in the Spade suit. 5♣ is indeed the better contract, always being cold for 11 tricks. But those who get to 3NT will escape unpunished when the enemy Spades are 4-4. So, although the contract may not be the same at all tables, it’s reasonable to expect that the score will be.
East’s 3♦ rebid was a waiting bid, not necessarily showing Diamonds as with those under firm control East would bid 3NT (unless too strong). We’d say that, more often than not, for that 3♦ bid, East will have Club support but will not want to go past 3NT. When West bids Hearts for the third time East trusts that the suit is playable opposite the void, reasoning that Hearts is the better-scoring contract.
As it happens, 4♥ scores considerably better than 5♣, to the tune of +620 versus -100! Playing in 4♥, there are two Diamonds and a trump to be lost, and in 5♦ it’s two Diamonds and a Spade.
After South’s balancing Double, North is not quite good enough for 3♦. As for South, what should her 2NT show? Obviously, a hand that was too good to balance with 1NT, and that’s a bid which is typically in the 10-15 or 11-16 range, give or take a point or two. In the circumstances, we’d say that North’s 3NT bid was somewhat optimistic and that 3♦ is a reasonable alternative.
Playing in Diamonds, N-S have 9 easy tricks. How about 3NT? That’s more interesting, particularly when the Diamonds don’t break, please see the Play Problem.
South raise to 2♦ with only 3-card support might seem a trifle unusual but it strikes us as quite sensible, limiting the hand and suggesting a Diamond lead. East could hardly reopen with a Double, considering the doubleton Spade, so he tried 2♥, striking gold and reaching game.
Playing in 4♥, with the K♠ onside, Declarer has only 2 obvious losers in Diamonds, but that’s all. However, does he have 11 tricks? Assuming that the defense starts with 3 Diamonds, how do you make the all-important overtrick? Please see the Play Problem.
What does South’s Double mean? You could make an argument that it should be a take-out Double for the minors, or, alternatively, that South is showing a good (passed) hand. South was following the general guideline that doubles of No Trump bids are usually value-showing, after which West beat a hasty retreat to 2♥.
Playing in 2♥, Declarer will obviously score at least 7 tricks, via 5 trumps, the K♠ and the A♣. But will the defense manage to get their 6 in time? The danger is that the 13th Diamond will set up a Club or a Spade pitch, as in this line of play: Diamond the South’s Ace J♦ covered by the Queen and Ace Club shift won by Dummy’s Ace (good play to decline the finesse!) Trumps are drawn A Diamond is conceded to South Now that 13th Diamond is indeed established for a Spade pitch. The initial Diamond lead was not fatal to the defense, but at Trick Two it was essential for South to shift to the Q♠ (ducked by North), giving the defense the timing to set up their 6 tricks. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Deadly Shifts”>>
East had a difficult choice when 3♣ came around to him, and Double, or 3♥ or Pass would all be reasonable choices.
The winning bid is Pass, but only if West finds the dynamic Q♦ opening lead. Declarer does best to duck this in Dummy, after which West continues the suit to East’s A♦. Now, K♥, A♥, Heart ruff, Diamond ruff, and Declarer is down two for -200. If West leads the J♠, then Dummy’s Ace wins, trumps are drawn, and Declarer leads a low Diamond, planning to play the Ten from Dummy if West plays low. Either way, Declarer manages to score a Diamond trick and escapes for down one.
If East bids 3♥ he will play it there, and N-S can get 4 fast tricks with the improbable defense of Spade to the Ace, Spade ruff, low Club to North’s Jack, and a second Spade ruff, after which Declarer takes the rest. That might be a fun defense but N-S make life more difficult for Declarer if they lead Clubs. For example: A♣ opening lead K♣ is ruffed in Dummy Q♦ covered by the King and Ace Heart to the Queen J♠ run around to South’s Queen Q♣ is cashed Now South leads another Club and North ruffs with the Jack, promoting a trump trick for South. Down one! Yes, there are ways to make 3♥ after the defense starts with two rounds of Clubs, but they seem somewhat improbable.
Finally, if East doubles, West will declare 3♠. That looks like a reasonable contract and on normal play it will probably make 9 tricks. “Nine tricks?” says Deep Finesse, “that’s for wimps, I can make eleven tricks!” Well, it always helps when you can see all four hands, so here’s how you might make 11 tricks on a double dummy basis: A♣ is cashed Club ruff Q♦ is run around A♦ is cashed Back to the Q♥ Diamond ruff K♠ won by North’s Ace Club ruff At this point North has more trumps than Declarer, but to no avail. This is the end-position: North ♠ 742 ♥ J7 ♦ ♣ West East ♠ JT ♠ 8 ♥ 8 ♥ AK96 ♦ J7 ♦ ♣ ♣ South ♠ ♥ T3 ♦ ♣ Q87 Now, Declarer cashes the Hearts (not the Diamonds), and cross-ruffs the last three tricks. Making 11 tricks.
The stuttering N-S auction arrives in a precarious contract. Playing in 4♥, the N-S trumps are not good enough to go for a cross-ruff, so the success of the contract will depend upon bringing in the Clubs. Suppose that West starts with A♠ and a Spade to East. A trump is returned, West’s Nine forcing Dummy’s Ace. With trumps 3-2 and Clubs 3-3, it is an easy matter to score the rest of the tricks: cash A♦ (pitching a Spade), A♣, ruff a Club, Heart to the King, ruff a Club, ruff a Diamond, draw the last trump … making 11 tricks. However, if trumps are 4-1 or Clubs 4-2 that line would fail, and a safer line seems to be to cash the A♦ at Trick Three (pitching a Spade), then finessing the Q♣. If the finesse wins, then Declarer cashes A♣, ruffs a Club, and when the suit is 3-3 Declarer is home free even if trumps are 4-1. On the actual layout, it’s 11 tricks again.
North’s 2NT was the Unusual No Trump, showing, in this case, Hearts and Diamonds, after which East must decide how to raise Spades. What are your methods here? Many partnerships play “Unusual vs Unusual”, utilizing the cue-bids in the two enemy suits to show different hand-types. But different partnerships use the cue-bids in different ways, are you and Partner on the same wave-length? Our own Unusual vs Unusual preference is “Lower for Lower”, primarily for its simplicity: - 3♣ is a minimum hand with long Clubs - 3♦ (the lower cue-bid) is a better hand with the lower of the two E-W suits (long Clubs) - 3♥ (the higher cue-bid) is a better-than-minimum hand with the higher of the two E-W suits (Spade support) - 3♠ is a minimum hand with Spade support. - Pass is none of the above. Based on that, East has a 3♠ bid, we would say … Spade support but not enough extras for a 3♥ cue-bid.
East finds himself in another methods situation when the bidding comes back around. West’s 4NT was Roman Key Card (1430), and that 5♦ interference has changed the responses. The most common tool here is known as DOPI, standing for “Double 0, Pass 1”, which in the world of Roman Key Card translates to “Double is 0 or 3, Pass is 1 or 4”.
But, the examination of the E-W methods is not yet over! West’s 5NT is the King Ask, so what does East do next? Of course, that depends upon whether he plays “Number of Kings” or “Specific Kings”. The latter is more common, if only for the reason that it seems to work better! Here, there is no King to be shown (perhaps West could have deduced that from the earlier bidding, but hope springs eternal!), and in the Specific King method that is a 5♠ bid.
It turns out that 7♠ (or even 7NT) both make when the Heart and Club finesses work, so that is an easy +1460 for E-W. Actually, it was altogether too easy! N-S could have been more active considering the favorable vulnerability. They could have preempted more vigorously, and they had a good sacrifice in 7♦. Good is a relative term here, as 7♦ doubled is -1400, but at matchpoints that’s an absolute bargain when compared to the -1460 for defending 6♠.
North’s hand is worth a game invitation and the common style is for 3♠ here to be preemptive and for 2NT to be an asking bid of some sort. There are numerous different methods in vogue, here’s a set of responses to 2NT that we like (follow the link for more on this treatment): - 3♣ shows a 5-card suit (any hand-strength) - 3♦ is a 6-card suit and a minimum hand - 3♥ is a 6-card suit and a medium hand - 3♠ is a 6-card suit and a maximum hand. Using this schema, we suppose that South just about has a 3♠ response, being maximum in terms of HCP’s (though suspect in other ways, such as no shortness, moderate trumps, dubious Q♥).
The final 4♠ contract is a touch-and-go affair. An opening Heart lead would be highly dangerous (and disastrous on the actual deal) so West starts with a Diamond. Then the J♠ is played and West tries to be difficult by holding up. He wins the second round of trumps and returns a Diamond, won on the board. A Diamond is ruffed high, the last trump is drawn, and the K♣ led. West wins this and can do no better than return a Club. Now the long Diamond can be established for the 10th trick. West did well to refrain from leading or switching to Hearts, that would be likely to result in 11 tricks for Declarer.
4♥ by South is the obvious contract and the K♠ is the obvious lead. This is an unlucky hand, with both minor suit Kings offside. Furthermore, if trumps had been 2-2 there would have been end-play possibilities against West. But, with normal play, 4♥ is destined to go down one. If normal play doesn’t work, how about some abnormal play? Deep Finesse, whom we trust implicitly, tells us that 4♥ can be made if played on a double dummy basis. It only took us half an hour, but we finally figured out how 4♥ can actually be made: K♠ opening lead is allowed to win Spade continuation won by Dummy’s Ace Spade ruff Cash just one high trump Lead the Q♦ (yes, really!) losing to West’s King Nine, Ten, Jack, Ace of Diamonds Diamond to West’s Eight This bizarre sequence of plays has end-played West! Here is the end-position: North ♠ ♥ T54 ♦ 7 ♣ Q8 West East ♠ 54 ♠ ♥ ♥ J8 ♦ ♦ ♣ KT94 ♣ 7652 South ♠ ♥ KQ6 ♦ ♣ AJ3 West can lead a Club or a Spade, but whichever it is Declarer has the rest of the tricks. Hands up all you Declarer’s who found that line of play!
North’s 4-card overcall gets her to 2♥ on the 4-3 fit. Will her play justify her bidding? Against 2♥, East leads the Q♣, and Declarer’s first job is to get that Club ruff on the board. So, she calls for Dummy’s Ace and leads a second round of Clubs. West shifts to the K♠, ducked by Declarer. Now another Spade, won by Declarer’s Ace, followed by a Club ruff on the board. Next comes a Spade, Declarer ruffing with the Nine. When that wins, all that is needed is to set up a Diamond for 8 tricks. Nice scrambling by North! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Scrambling Tricks”>>
South did well not to get overly excited with that 17-count, perhaps she didn’t like that square distribution too much. West leads a Spade, the defense takes the first two tricks and Declarer claims the rest. A routine +660.
West’s 2♣ was an Inverted Raise, showing at least game-invitational values and no 4-card major. This didn’t frighten N-S who competed to 3♠, but West had too many Clubs to let them play it there, so he pushed on to 4♣.
With normal defense, East makes 9 tricks in Clubs: Spade to the Queen (ducked by Declarer), A♠ wins the second round, trumps are drawn, and Declarer leads a low Diamond, finessing the Ten. When that forces the King, Declarer can pitch one of his Heart losers. Does the defense do better to lead Hearts initially? Actually, no! Heart to the Nine and North’s Ten Low Spade to Declarer’s Ace (North is trying to force an entry to South’s hand) K♣ is cashed Declarer exits a Spade, won by South The defense takes two more Hearts This clever defense has accomplished its goal of scoring three Heart tricks, but now North is end-played and the defense never scores its Diamond trick. Making 9 tricks once again.
Not everyone will approve of that 1NT opening, they will reason that West can open 1♦ and then has an easy rebid of 1♠ after Partner responds 1♥. True, but when East rebids 1NT, West might then get a queasy feeling, wondering whether or not to invite game. On this board that invitation will get E-W dangerously high, whereas the slightly off-shape 1NT opening keeps things comfortably low. The bottom line on the hand is that only 7 tricks are likely to be made in No Trump, which is most unfortunate for those in 2NT.
Had South miscounted her points when she bid 4♠? Not at all, she reckoned that E-W could probably make 4♥ and that 4♠ would be a good save. That being the case she bid 4♠ immediately, putting West to the guess. Who can blame West for guessing wrong with that hand? Mind you, N-S had better be on top defensive form if they are to beat 5♥. North leads the Q♠ which holds the trick. North will know from the bidding that South has the missing Spades and must find the right shift at Trick Two. Suit preference will come to the rescue. South can choose between the 9♠ and 8♠ at Trick One, and, as South’s attitude to the Spades is known (she must have the Ace), and, as her count is also known from the bidding, this can be a suit preference situation … the higher Spade for a Diamond, and the lower Spade for a Club. If N-S are on the same advanced (some would say obscure) wavelength, then South plays the 8♠ and North shifts to a Club at Trick Two, ensuring a third defensive trick. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Suit Preference”>>
Look what happens if South optimistically tries to buy the contract in 3♠. West is under no pressure when he bids 4♥, and now, if South pushes on to 4♠ she is asking to bet doubled (presumably by East).
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