|
Hand Analyses 6th January, 2010
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, Declarer makes an extra trick by establishing his side-suit early in the play. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Establishing Side-Suits”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
East’s 2NT was “Unusual”, of course, showing the minors. What are your methods against the Unusual No Trump? Here is one variation of the so-called “Unusual vs Unusual” that South might be using in this situation: - 3♣ shows values (at least game-invitational) and Hearts - 3♦ shows values and Spades - 3♥ and 3♠ are both natural and competitive In all cases, the meanings remain the same regardless of which major was opened. It’s the so-called “lower for lower” method (because the lower minor always shows the lower major). If those are the N-S methods, what should South bid over 2NT? That hand is not good enough for a game-invitational 3♦, so a competitive 3♠ is called for.
With the opponents both bidding Spades, and holding four small himself, it will be obvious to West that East is short in the suit. That being so, West has a very good hand, and will want to take a shot at game (at least). What are his choices over 3♠? - 5♣ and 5♦ would be to play (usually preemptive) - 4NT would offer Partner a choice of minors - 4♠ would be a slam try (East won’t know which minor West prefers) So, West tries a slightly optimistic 4♠, but East has the worst of the worst and settles for game. Who could blame South for doubling 5♣ and then 5♦?
Against 5♦ doubled, the defense might go one of two ways: - If North leads a trump: Declarer wins the Queen, crosses to Dummy with the ♥K, and plays a Club, planning to finesse the Ten if South plays low. But, whether or not South splits her Club honors, Declarer can scramble 11 tricks, the Club spots are just good enough. - If North plays Spades: Dummy ruffs, and plays on Clubs at Trick 2. Again, regardless of how South defends, the Club suit will set up and it will be 11 tricks.
If we assume that West’s 2♣ was game-forcing, then East’s 3♠ could have meant one of three things: - “I am making a slam try in Clubs” - “I have a very good hand and am interested in slam somewhere else” - “I don’t know where this hand belongs, perhaps you can bid 3NT (with Spades stopped) or suggest some other game”
6NT is a great slam, of course, especially when played from the West side. Making 12 tricks when the Club finesse loses.
South has a typical Rule of 20 opener, with her 5-4 shape and 11 HCP. As for North, she may have only 7 HCP but it looks like a game-invitational raise to us considering the void and nice 5-card side-suit. So North bids 3♠ (or makes a Bergen Raise if those are the N-S methods). South is on a minimum and declines the game-invitation, but the hands fit well together and there are 10 easy tricks when the Clubs break 3-2.
You no doubt noticed that E-W have the majority of HCP and can make no fewer that 11 tricks in Diamonds (but that requires a double dummy finesse against North’s ♥J, with normal play there are only 10 tricks). Which of the E-W pair should have got into the auction? Neither did anything much wrong in our view. West might have doubled 1♠ or overcalled 2♥, and if we had to do one or the other we would prefer to double. But Pass was also a reasonable alternative.
Are you familiar with the Rule of 15 as it applies to Takeout Doubles? Assuming that you have support for the unbid suits (as West does), you count 6 for a void in opener’s suit, 4 for a singleton and 2 for a doubleton. Add that score to your HCP and if the answer is 15 or more then the hand qualifies as a Takeout Double. How does the West hand stack up after the 1♠ opening? 10 HCP plus 4 for the singleton, that’s only 14, it’s one short of the magic number. Further evidence that West was not wrong to pass, merely unlucky.
South might have raised Hearts directly, but it surely would have been a mistake to suppress such a lovely 5-card Spade suit. 4♠ is indeed a better contract than 4♥, though it turns out that there are 11 tricks in either. Against 4♠, let’s say that West leads a Club. Best play for Declarer is to go after Hearts immediately, and on the actual lie of the cards this allows 11 tricks to be made without resorting to the Diamond finesse. So, it will come as a deep disappointment for South to discover that the Diamond finesse works and that 11 tricks are also available via inferior lines of play. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Establishing Side-Suits”>>
On Board 3, West used one of the Rule of 15’s to determine whether or not to make a Takeout Double. Here West uses the other (and more commonly used) Rule of 15 to determine whether or not to open in 4th seat. This Rule of 15 requires the addition of Spades and HCP … West has 12 HCP and three Spades, so that reaches the magic number and (according to the Rule) the West hand should be opened.
Over North’s Double, what would be your choice as East? One possibility is a 3♦ preemptive raise, and this could well shut out the opponents and turn out to be the winning call. But there are too good reasons for not making that bid: - East has a 4-card major (just because North has made a Takeout Double does not mean that E-W cannot have a Heart fit). - East has too much outside strength for a preempt, it runs the risk of missing game if West has some extras. So, East bids a simple 1♥, planning to compete up to 3♦ later, if necessary.
Having passed originally, North has a perfect Takeout Double, and in fact it would also be suitable for a Double even as an unpassed hand (yes, it passes the other Rule of 15, with 11 HCP plus 4 for the Diamond singleton). After South bids 1♠, it would be a mistake for North to pass in the vain hope of playing there. East is surely going to bid over 1♠, so North does better to jam the E-W auction by bidding 2♠ directly.
Against 3♦, North must lead a Spade to set the contract by one trick (or a Diamond lead and a Spade shift).
However, suppose that N-S compete on to 3♠, played by South. The play might go: Diamond to Declarer’s Ace Spade to the King Spade to the Jack, Queen and West’s Ace Shift to the Club Ten, won by Dummy’s Ace Spade Ten draws the last trump Heart to West’s Ace Club to East’s King Diamond won by Declarer (pitching a Club) Heart to the King Heart to East’s Queen Diamond ruff ♥T is cashed, pitching a Club Club ruff Well played for 9 tricks! To beat the contract West must find the opening lead of the ♣T, allowing the defense to untangle its second Club trick before Declarer can set up a Club pitch on the 4th round of Hearts.
4♠ is a pretty good contract but it won’t make after a Club lead, thanks to the 4-0 trump break and the unfortunate Club situation. But if the defense attacks Diamonds then life is more complicated: Two Diamonds are cashed by the defense The third Diamond is ruffed A Heart is lost to West’s Ace A Club is won in Dummy At this point, Declarer feels pretty happy. His plan is to cross to hand with a trump, ruff a Heart, come back to hand and draw the remaining trumps for 10 tricks. But when East shows out on the first round of trumps Declarer must change direction. She cannot ruff a Heart and get back to hand without promoting a trump for West, so she abandons all thoughts of a Heart ruff and rattles off her trump suit. Look what happens! Declarer’s ♥9 acts as a threat against East, who must also hold on to ♣Qx. In other words, on the last trump, East is squeezed and Declarer has her 10 tricks. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “BasicSqueezeTechnique”>>
What would you open with the South hand? It surely cannot be right to pass, so the alternatives are 1♥ (reasonable, it does score 19 on the Rule of 20 scale, that’s close enough in an emergency), 3♥ (our own favorite though it could work out badly), and 4♥ (perhaps a bit much). If South does open 3♥ she is likely to hit the jackpot, as it will now take two dubious actions for E-W to reach their best spot of 5♣ … firstly, East must dredge up a 5♣ bid over 4♥ … and, secondly, West must refrain from bidding slam with that splendid hand. Of course, if South starts out with a 1♥ opening, E-W will have an easy ride to 5♣.
Yes, E-W easily make their 5♣ game, and N-S also make 4♥. But we cannot see many N-S pairs finding the good save in 5♥.
West has an obvious 4♠ opening bid and will likely play it there. Although N-S have a combined 24 HCP, they have no way into the auction (and cannot make much of anything anyway!). As it happens 4♠ is cold thanks to the favorable Spade situation, Declarer scoring 8 Spades and two red Aces. Remarkably, E-W can also make 3NT on their combined 16 HCP!
Some 2/1 pairs prefer that North’s 3♦ rebid show a stronger hand than that, and so will rebid 2♠ (not necessarily showing a 6th Spade). But whatever the methods we’d expect most of the field to be in 4♥.
As South, declaring 4♥, how would you play the trump suit? The percentage play with that holding is to run the Queen on the first round … if the Queen holds you finesse the Jack next … and if the Queen is covered by East’s King or loses to West’s King then you finesse the Nine on the second round. Well, it maybe the percentage play but, on this deal, it doesn’t work so well, losing two tricks to West’s T8. The winning (against-the-odds) play on the actual layout is to lead a low Heart from Dummy on the first round (or to simply cash the Ace). Anyway, it seems obvious for West to lead a Club, and that holds Declarer to 10 tricks with normal play (he’ll lose two Hearts and a Club).
This is not an exciting hand! Nobody can make much of anything, and 2♠ by E-W is the highest successful contract, scraping up exactly 8 tricks.
The South hand has only 11 HCP and does not qualify according to the Rule of 20, but nonetheless we could not imagine staying silent with those lovely Clubs, all the more so being non-vulnerable. After East doubles, here are South’s choices: - Redouble: If N-S are playing Support Doubles then they will use the Redouble here to show 3-card support for Partner’s Spades. - 2♣: The main reason that South opened this hand was the fine Clubs, so perhaps the suit is worth rebidding. - Pass: Some players, maybe feeling guilty about opening the hand, might pass in an attempt to show weakness. We don’t think this is a good idea, surely it’s better to keep faith with the original opening and bid out the rest of the hand. Actually, we don’t have a strong preference for Redouble or 2♣, either could work. But we do have a strong preference not to pass.
Against 2NT, East leads a low Heart, and Declarer does best not to hold up her Ace, as Hearts are likely to be 4-4, and as a Diamond shift could be painful. At Trick 2, the Club finesse loses, then the defense cashes its Hearts. It’s 8 tricks when the ♦A is mercifully onside.
East’s 3♦ was preemptive, typically showing 5 Diamonds and very little in the way of side-suit values. Of course, this bid would not normally be made when holding a 4-card major, but the East hand is too weak for that. But there’s no such thing as being too weak to preempt when White vs Red, all that really matters is the number of trumps. So, East has an obvious 3♦ bid, we would say.
West has a pretty good hand, but it’s hard to see how a preempting Partner can adequately cover those black suit losers. East might have a singleton in one of the suits, but to expect that and an Ace or a well-placed King in the other black suit is a little bit much to expect. So, West makes a disciplined Pass.
But North is not done yet, and bids 3♠ which South gleefully raises to game. There is absolutely nothing to the play, with the defense cashing its three red tricks and Declarer claiming the rest. 10 tricks and +620 for N-S.
East has an awkward rebid problem. He doesn’t want to leap to 4♠ as West might have a 4-card suit … bidding 4♥ would work out badly if West had long Spades and Heart shortness … bidding 3♥ would be an underbid. The best solution appears to be a game-forcing jump shift to 3♣. Yes, it does look a trifle odd to rebid a doubleton, but it’s the best way to create a forcing auction. If West takes the Club bid seriously and raises then East can always scurry back to Hearts.
Against 4♥, South will lead a minor suit at which point it becomes a five-or-seven hand … if Declarer guesses the Spades correctly it will be 13 tricks … if Declarer misguesses the Spades it is just 11 tricks. The natural way to play the Spades is to cash the Ace and then run the Ten, so we expect 11 tricks at most tables.
Flannery Note: Flannery addicts will be quick to point out that this is an easy hand for E-W to bid. In their methods, a 1♠ response to a 1♥ opening shows a 5-card suit, so East simply raises to 4♠, having no need for that convoluted fake jump shift to 3♣.
West has a pretty good hand and would like to get into the auction. But over the 1♣ opening there is no ideal way to do that … West cannot double holding only two Spades (unless his hand were really good) … there is no 5-card suit with which to overcall … and the hand is not quite good enough to overcall 1NT. It’s time for the 4-card overcall! West has a Heart suit that he would like Partner to lead if North ends up as Declarer, and is not too worried about hearing a 3-card raise from Partner as the hand is likely to play well. How so? Well, with Club length in the South and West hands, there is a chance that both North and East will be short, in which case East is in the overruffing position. In the auction given, East does indeed make a (rather bold) 3-card raise on 4 HCP, but, even so, the 4-3 fit plays well for 8 tricks.
However, it is more likely that South will declare 3♣. At first glance it looks as if the defense has 5 tricks (a Spade, three Hearts and a Diamond), but things may not work out that way as West will be under some pressure as the play develops. West cashes a high Heart and gets a discouraging signal from East. Best defense is the safe shift to trumps, after which Declarer can be a star! Please see the Play Problem.
There’s not much to the auction, nor to the play. Against 3♥, South does best to lead the ♦Q, after which the defense sets up its Diamond trick in time and holds Declarer to 9 tricks. We don’t like the opening lead of the ♠A, but South will get away with that if he promptly shifts to the ♦Q at Trick 2 (and looking at Dummy that should be pretty obvious).
After South’s raise to 2♥, North might have made a delicate game-try, but there’s a lot to be said for just blasting into game with that kind of hand, that way the opponents get less information and less chance to compete effectively.
Against 4♥, East leads the ♦K and Declarer holds up the Ace, then wins the Diamond continuation, cashes the ♥A and ♥K, ruffs a Diamond, ruffs a Club, and successfully finesses the ♠J. Ten tricks are now assured, and the question is “Can Declarer make an overtrick by avoiding a second Spade loser?” If Spades are 3-3 then it does not matter how Declarer plays the Spades, so we need only worry about the 4-2 breaks. The two possible lines of play are: - Cash the ♠A, hoping that East started with a doubleton King - Cross back to hand with a Club ruff and lead the ♠Q. This caters for West holding a doubleton Ten or doubleton Nine, allowing Declarer’s mighty ♠7 to set up! That should be an easy decision! Kx with East is one chance … Tx or 9x with West is two chances. Which do you prefer? So, 11 tricks for those Declarers who give themselves two chances instead of one! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “SuitCombinations”>>
Hard as we might try, it’s just plain difficult to get excited about some hands. How could E-W not end up in 4♥? How could they not make 11 tricks? And why did the computer give us this deal?
South has no qualms about opening 1NT with a 5-card major and that gets her to 3NT in a hurry (some Norths might use Stayman with that hand). A minor suit lead from West will immediately donate to Declarer his 9th trick. A Heart opening lead makes life a lot tougher, but if that Heart is the top-of-nothing Seven, it will offer some clues to an alert Declarer. She will deduce that West’s Spades are even weaker than the Hearts, and will suspect that there is probably no third Spade trick. That being so, she wins the opening lead in hand and leads a Diamond towards the board. Now it’s possible to score a trick in each minor suit, and 9 tricks in all. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “ReadingTheLead”>>
Those who are rigid about their suit requirements for a Weak Two: (a) Don’t have as much fun! (b) Make life too easy for the opponents. Here, South’s Weak Two makes life difficult indeed for E-W, and they are likely to end up in 3NT played from the wrong side. The winning contract is 6NT (or 6♦) played from the East side, but that’s hard to achieve after the 2♥ opening.
Against 3NT, North leads a Heart, and Declarer holds up for one round, then wins his Ace. Declarer has a choice now … he can either finesse the Diamond, trying for 12 tricks (and ending up with only 7!) … or he can cross to the ♦A, finesse a Spade into the safe hand and score 10 tricks (he actually has 11 tricks but cannot untangle all of them them against accurate defense).
West’s sequence shows 22-23 HCP which puts East’s shapely 8-count in the slam zone. How does East investigate for a minor suit slam in this situation? One method is to play 3♠ as a relay to 3NT, after which Responder will describe the nature of his slam try as follows: - 4♣: One-suited slam try in Clubs - 4♦: One-suited slam try in Diamonds (some players switch the meanings of 4♣ and 4♦ in order to get the strong hand as Declarer) - 4♥: Heart shortness with both minors - 4♠: Spade shortness with both minors - 4NT: Both minors, no major shortness That’s the easy part! After Responder has described the nature of his slam try, what is Opener supposed to do? 4NT is generally used as a natural bid, discouraging slam and guaranteeing a good holding in the majors, and other bids can be a response to Roman Key Card. One small problem is that, after 2♣ 2♦, 2NT 3♠, 3NT 4♥, there is not yet an agreed suit … Opener knows but Responder doesn’t. So, one solution is to assume that there are six Key Cards (four Aces and two minor suit Kings): - Step 1: 3 or 6 Key Cards (zero is impossible) - Step 2: 1 or 4 Key Cards - Step 3: 2 or 5 Key Cards, no minor Queens - Step 4: 2 or 5 Key Cards, lower ranking Queen (Clubs) - Step 5: 2 or 5 Key Cards, higher-ranking Queen (Diamonds) - Step 6: 2 or 5 Key Cards, both Queens But, remember that 4NT is not included in these steps, that’s the bid which says “I don’t like slam”. With these somewhat obscure agreements in place the complete auction would be: West East 2♣ 2♦ 2NT 3♠ 3NT 4♥ 5♦! 6♣ (Opener would convert to 6♦ if that was his preferred suit) Pass Yes, that 5♦ was the third step (not counting 4NT). Needless to say, 6♣ is cold, and will make all 13 tricks if the defense does not cash the ♥A at Trick 1. 6NT is less successful, that is down four on a Heart lead!
As usual, the 1NT contract turns out to be the hardest to play, hardest to defend, and hardest to analyze. Let’s predict 7 tricks for Declarer and leave it at that.
North could bid 2♠ over 1NT. Of course, she does not really have enough in the way of HCP for such a bid, so if North makes this bid she will be planning her post mortem strategy, mentally rehearsing those tried and tested excuses such as “The vulnerability was favorable” and “I wanted a Spade lead”. Planning for the post mortem is an indispensable tool when making unsound bids, but how much better to make the correct bid! Over 1NT North should use Michaels. Yes, it’s still on this situation, and conveys the general nature of the hand. No excuses needed for this bid!
After the 2♥ Michaels bid, here are East’s options: - Pass: A hand with nothing extra to say. But this hand does have something to say, given the sound values and good distribution. - Double: You could use this to show good Hearts, but it’s better for the Double to show a good hand, with defensive values. - 3♥: This shows a hand that would have bid 3♥ if North had passed. Ideally, that would be a 5-loser hand with 6 Hearts, though in competition one has to shade things a little, once in a while. So, 3♥ it is and E-W reach the fine contract of 4♥.
4♥ may be a fine contract but it is doomed to failure. South leads a low Spade to North’s Ace. Back comes a Diamond, a return which has “singleton” written all over it. South grabs her Ace and returns the Diamond Ten, which is suit preference for the higher-ranking suit. North ruffs, gets back to South’s ♠K, gets a second ruff and Declarer is down two! Unlucky for E-W, all they needed to make 4♥ was a 3-2 Diamond break.
Back to the bidding. Some Souths, influenced strongly by the vulnerability, will be tempted to take the sacrifice in 4♠, unaware that it is actually a phantom. 4♠ will be doubled, and East leads a high Heart (which one it is will depend on the E-W carding agreements). On this trick, West will be sure to drop the Queen, after which it is easy for East to cash the ♣A, and underlead a Heart to Partner’s Jack. West cashes the ♣K, gives Partner a ruff and it is down two and +300 for E-W.
Reaching 4♠ looks routine enough, and the question is “How many tricks can you make after an opening Club lead?” Assuming a 3-2 trump break, Declarer can count 4 natural trump tricks and 6 side-suit tricks. That’s 10 tricks and Declarer can get the total up to 11 by taking a Club ruff in Dummy. It won’t help to try for 12 by getting a second Club ruff, that will only promote a second trump trick for the defense. Does that mean that 11 tricks is the limit? Not at all! What is needed here is a Dummy Reversal. Instead of ruffing two Clubs in Dummy, Declarer will plan to ruff Diamonds in hand, setting up a long Diamond in the process. The play goes as follows: Opening Club lead won by the Ace Cash ♦A Cash the three Hearts Cross to the ♠A Diamond ruff Cross to the ♠K Diamond ruff Cross to the ♣K Now Declarer ruffs another Diamond. West can over-ruff this, in which case Dummy takes the last two tricks with the last trump and the long Diamond … or West declines to ruff (pitching a Club), in which case Dummy scores the Spade Four en passant by leading a Club. Either way, it’s a lovely 12 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “DummyReversal”>>
There’s absolutely no good reason to look for a 4-4 Spade fit, so East simply places the contract in 4♥ via Texas (or using a Jacoby Transfer if not playing Texas). The play is as routine as the bidding, 11 tricks at every table.
Somehow or other we’d expect most N-S pairs to reach 5♣, making 11 tricks.
A simple auction to the best slam: - 2♦: South’s reverse shows extra values (with longer Clubs than Diamonds). - 3♠: Many play that 2♠ here is a weak bid, so North jumps to 3♠ showing good Spades and enough for game. - 4NT: Roman Key Card - 6NT: The obvious matchpoint bid
Against 6NT East does best to bang down the ♥A, write -1440 on his scoresheet and move on to the next board. But suppose, instead, he chooses to lead a Club (though we cannot imagine why he would). Now Declarer has some fun. He cashes all the Clubs, then all the Spades and, on the last Spade, East finds himself squeezed in the red suits for -1470 and a well-earned zero.
South’s hand is just too good for a 2♥ raise and her jump to 3♥ gets N-S to their good game. East will probably lead a Spade and here is the wrong way to play the hand: Win the ♠A Ruff a Spade low Club to the King Ruff a Spade low ♥K losing to West’s Ace Heart return won in Dummy Now Declarer is stuck in Dummy and cannot draw the last trump. He loses a Diamond the West’s King, and can count herself fortunate that the defense are now unable to arrange a Club ruff (as they could if East had one of the high Diamonds). So, North’s inferior play goes unpunished.
A better line is to play on Diamonds at Trick 2, planning to set up a Diamond trick and rely on just one Spade ruff. And, if the defense forces Dummy to ruff Spades twice then Declarer can get back to hand with the ♣K. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “EntryManagement”>>
South bids what she thinks (or at least hopes) she can make. West leads a low Heart, won by East who shifts to the ♠K. Declarer has a choice now: - Be a Wimp: This unambitious line of play involves ducking a couple of Spades. After taking the Ace, Declarer cashes a high Club (noticing the fall of the Queen), then tests the Diamonds and, when they don’t break 3-3, she cashes the ♥KQ, and finesses the Club. Why the finesse? Because the Rule of Restricted Choice suggests that the Jack is likely to be with West once East has played the Queen. When that works, it’s a rather feeble 10 tricks for Declarer. - Go for the Max: As even making 9 tricks is no sure thing, Declarer might as well try for all the marbles and win the Spade shift immediately at Trick 2. Now, as before, Declarer cashes a high Club, then cashes Dummy’s red suit winners, and takes the Club finesse for 12 tricks.
Can East do better for the defense by playing the ♥T at Trick 1? At first glance this appears to hold Declarer to 11 tricks (by depriving her of the second Heart trick). But look what happens! The play starts: Heart to Declarer’s King, Club to the Ace, Diamond to the Ace, Club finesse. Now the Clubs are run and this is the position with one Club to go: Declarer ♠ A42 ♥ ♦ T9 ♣ 5 West East ♠ T87 ♠ KQ ♥ J5 ♥ A ♦ J ♦ 875 ♣ ♣ Dummy ♠ J3 ♥ Q ♦ KQ4 ♣ On the last Club East is squeezed in three suits: - If he pitches a Spade then Declarer’s Jack is the 12th trick - If he pitches the ♥A then Declarer’s Queen is the 12th trick - If he pitches a Diamond, then the Diamonds provide the 12th trick. Even worse for the defense, the last Diamond squeezes East again and Declarer ends up with 13 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “ExoticSqueezes”>>
Against 3NT, East will presumably lead the ♥Q to West’s Ace. The ♥9 is returned and let us say that Declarer ducks that trick and wins the third round with her King (pitching a Diamond from the board). At this point (assuming that the Clubs come home) Declarer can count just 8 tricks and she will eventually take the Spade finesse in search of the 9th trick But, before that happens, West must find three pitches on the run of the Clubs. He can safely pitch one Diamond and must dump his last Heart and pitch only one Spade. Meanwhile East will probably pitch a Spade and three Diamonds (one will be the Queen to tell West that he does not possess the King). Here is the end-position: Declarer ♠ AQ3 ♥ ♦ K ♣ West East ♠ K87 ♠ T ♥ ♥ J ♦ A ♦ JT ♣ ♣ Dummy ♠ J964 ♥ ♦ ♣ At this point, Declarer might make 9 or 10 or 11 tricks: - If Declarer makes the mistake of leading a low Spade from Dummy and finessing the Queen, then it will be 9 tricks. - If Dummy’s Jack is led and West refrains from covering then it will be 10 tricks (the Spades block and West wins the last trick with the ♦A. - If Dummy’s Jack is led and West makes the mistake of covering with the King then the Spades set up for four tricks and it’s 11 tricks! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “StripSqueezes”>>
The modern style is for West’s 1♥ not to guarantee a 5-card suit. After 1♣ by Partner, 1♦ overcall on your right, it’s OK to bid 1♠ or 1♥ on a 4-card suit. The corollary to this is that a Negative Double of 1♦ shows both majors. Let’s not confuse this auction with the situation where we are making a Negative Double of 1♥. Now the Double shows 4 Spades and a 1♠ bid does show 5+ Spades.
We’ll assume that E-W are playing Support Doubles, so East’s raise to 2♥ shows 4-card support. Now, over 2♠, what is your choice as West. Looks like a clear 3♥ bid to us! Yes, West is quite minimum, but 3♥ is purely competitive, and Partner is not expected to bid again. If West wanted to make a real game try he would have bid 3♣ or 3♦ instead of 3♥.
Now for the N-S bidding. After South had raised Spades, North’s plan was to invite game with 3♠. Does anything change when West butts in with 3♥? Yes, it does! Now, 3♠ is best reserved for purely competitive purposes. That’s great except for one small detail … how does North make a game-try if 3♠ is competitive? West had no such problem, he could compete with 3♥ and try for game with 3♣ or 3♦, but North has no space, there is no intervening bid available. That’s why they invented the Maximal Double! A Double by North in this situation invites game. How do you recognize a Maximal Double? That’s easy enough, it comes into effect at the 3-level, when our suit is one above their suit. The basic situations are a Double of 3♥ when we have bid and raised Spades, or a Double of 3♦ when we have bid and raised Hearts.
After North makes her Maximal Double, South pushes on to game, and the success of 4♠ will depend on the trump guess. East will cash a high Club, and shift to the ♥Q. After taking the two Hearts, West reverts to Clubs, ruffed in Dummy. By now, East will be marked with 11 HCP and for his opening bid presumably has either the ♠Q or a 5th Club. We don’t see that it’s obvious for Declarer to guess this one right. So, 9 or 10 tricks depending on that guess.
Guess what? Despite being outgunned in the HCP department, E-W make 10 or 11 tricks in Hearts, and which it is will depend upon another guess, this time in Clubs.
We like to preempt just as much as the next guy (probably even more) but it pays to be more circumspect when Red versus White. Sure, South has good distribution, but at this vulnerability and with such a rotten suit, we’d advise caution. After Partner overcalls 1♥ and East preempts with 3♦, is the South hand worth 3♠? No, we don’t think so. If North has a minimum overcall we are probably well out of the auction, otherwise we hope to hear from her again. As it happens, North backs in with 3♥ and now we think that South is worth a bid of 3♠. This is a constructive effort, not a desperate attempt to avoid a Heart contract. After 3♠ North reasonably takes a shot at 4♠.
Against 4♠, West leads the ♦K. Dummy wins that, cashes the ♠A, then cashes two Hearts, pitching the Diamond loser. Next, she leads a Spade to East’s King, and ruffs the Diamond continuation. The ♣K loses to West’s Ace and Declarer has 11 tricks one way or another (it won’t help West to cunningly duck the Club!).
West’s hand has a couple of flaws (those unsupported minor suit quacks) and East is somewhat minimum for his 4♥ raise. So it’s hardly surprising that 4♥ is a rather perilous contract. But it will make with a little bit of luck and some careful play.
First of all, suppose that North finds the unfortunate opening lead of a Diamond. Dummy plays the Ten, covered by the Jack and Declarer’s Queen. Now Declarer can get greedy and finesse the ♦T, cash the ♦A (pitching a Club), finesse the ♠Q, cash ♠A, ruff a Spade, and finesse the Heart. When the dust has cleared, Declarer has a surprising 11 tricks, losing just a Heart and a Club. Yes, the lead was unfortunate, but South could have done better! Her defense was perfect, right up to the point where she played the ♦J at Trick 1. If South lets Dummy’s ♦T hold the first trick then Declarer has only two Diamond tricks, and there is no Club pitch. That holds Declarer to 10 tricks.
A more challenging opening lead from North would be a low Spade. Go to the Play Problem and see if you can make 10 tricks now!
How about 3NT? It will be played by East and again, much will depend on the opening lead: - If South leads the Club Ten: The ♣T is covered by the Jack, Queen, King; Heart finesse; then ♦Q covered by the King and Ace; another Heart finesse; ♥A is cashed (removing South’s exit card); Diamond to the Ten and South’s Jack. Nicely played by Declarer! He can already count 9 tricks, and whatever South does next will hand Declarer a 10th trick. - If South leads a Spade: Now 3NT is going down with normal play, but here is a double dummy line which brings in 9 tricks: ♠J wins the first trick; Spade to the King and Dummy’s Ace; ♦Q covered by the King and Ace; Heart finesse; ♠A is cashed (this is the double dummy part, stripping South of her exit card); Diamond to the Ten and South’s Jack. Now, if South exits with a minor suit she gives Declarer a minor suit trick and an entry for the Heart finesse. That would be 10 tricks so South does better to exit a Heart, holding Declarer to 9 tricks.
© BES, Inc All Rights Reserved | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Home ThisWeeksHands PlayArchives BiddingArchives Conventions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
