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Hand Analyses 3rd March, 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 6, North has the chance to make a deceptive defensive play. Adjacent to the text for that hand you will see the link >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Deceptive Defense”>> which will transport you to the collection of hands with the same theme.
Would you open the North hand? It’s only 11 HCP and just 19 on the Rule of 20 scale, but we would open 1♣ anyway. Look at all those lovely Tens and Nines and that singleton! We couldn’t imagine passing this hand.
South’s 2♣ was an Inverted Raise, showing at least game-invitational values and forcing for one round. After West butts in with 3♦, the bidding reverts to South. She has 22 HCP, West probably has the ♦KQ, which leaves 13 HCP unaccounted for. North has opened the bidding and might well have all or almost all of those HCP, but she might have an ill-fitting hand such as: ♠ KQx, ♥ KJx, ♦ xx, ♣ QJxxx. With that horror hand, neither 7♣ nor 7NT will make. On many North hands both contracts will make. And, on all hands where North has a singleton Diamond, you can be almost sure that 7♣ will make when sometimes 7NT will not. Playing IMPs it would be pretty clear to boot out 7♣, we think. But at matchpoints? 7NT is awfully tempting, don’t you think?
On the actual deal, 7♣ is cold and 7NT requires Declarer to find the ♠Q. Alas, considering the auction, Declarer will surely get this one wrong and will be down two.
Post Script: What should South bid if she does not have Inverted Minors (or some other forcing minor raise) on her convention card? We suppose that we would trot out 1♦, after which an extremely tortuous Fourth Suit Forcing auction might develop. To avoid this grisly fate, we suggest adding Inverted Minors to your weaponry.
2NT was Jacoby, showing a game-forcing Heart raise. Using the standard responses to this convention, South’s 3♣ showed Club shortness, after which there were a couple of cue-bids, some Roman Key Card, and the great slam was reached with ease. 12 easy tricks!
The standard Jacoby responses worked pretty well on this deal, but, if the truth be told, those responses are not particularly effective, there is a better way! Please follow the link.
Post Script: There’s a conspiracy theory that computers tend to bid slams in pairs, as on this Board 1 and 2. Absolute nonsense! Well, that is unless you consider Boards 11 and 12 to be further evidence of this urban myth.
If North opens 1♠, as in the auction above, East might try a jump cue-bid. What does this mean? Here is the most common interpretation: - If (as here) the jump cue-bid is a major then it says “Bid 3NT if you have their suit stopped". The bid is usually based on a long running minor suit. - If the jump cue-bid is a minor then it is natural and preemptive, based of course on length in Opener’s suit. The actual East hand might be considered somewhat slammish for a 3♠ jump cue-bid, in which case doubling 1♠ and bidding Diamonds later is quite reasonable.
After West duly obliges by bidding 3NT, North might well try 4♠ at that favorable vulnerability, in which case perhaps West will persevere with 4NT. That’s 11 tricks when the Club finesse fails.
However, many Norths will open with 3♠, and perhaps they should considering the vulnerability and the fact that they are opposite a passed hand. If North does open 3♠, then we suppose that East will double, West will bid 3NT and may well play it there.
Our condolences to those E-W pairs who reached slam and went down when the Club finesse lost.
Three choices here: - Pass? No, not when holding a big fit with Partner, and an Ace, and a singleton. Altogether too feeble! - 1♥? It’s not much of a suit, but Hearts may well be the place to play. - 3♦? Assuming that you are playing Inverted Minors, 3♦ would be preemptive and supposedly denies a 4-card major. But it’s not much of a 4-card major and it seems reasonable here (at least to us) to jam the auction with a Diamond preempt.
You can take your pick between 1♥ and 3♦. On the actual deal, 1♥ does not work well. East rebids 2NT and now, using standards methods, it’s not possible to play in 3♦, so West will pass 2NT . But if West preempts 3♦, East will play it there, provided that East does not get carried away with his 18 HCP and bid 3NT. He really shouldn’t, because even if the Diamonds come in for five tricks and even if West has a Club stopper (say Jxx), that is still unlikely to be more than eight tricks. Sure, 3NT will make opposite some 3♦ preempts, but not very often, we suspect.
The bottom line is E-W can make 9 or 10 tricks in Diamonds (probably 9 as there is no obvious reason to guess the Diamonds correctly). 3NT will be down at least a couple.
East sensibly declines West’s game invitation, having close to a minimum hand, with no Tens and a poor Diamond holding. That is most unfortunate when the ♥K and the ♣K are both onside, and the Hearts break 3-3 and the trumps 3-2. Declarer scrapes up 10 tricks via three natural trump tricks plus a Heart ruff, three Heart tricks, a Diamond and two Clubs. This board will be a triumph for the overbidders.
Even playing matchpoints, a West rebid of 2♥ would be too feeble, so he dredges up 2NT and East goes to game.
North leads the Spade Four to South’s King and back comes a Spade to the Ace and a third Spade to Declarer’s Queen. Declarer has 8 tricks and the 9th will have to come from a successful Diamond guess. The Hearts are run and North must be careful to pitch two Diamonds and just one Club. Now the moment of truth has arrived and Declarer leads a Diamond towards his KJ. Here’s what might happen: - The initial thought might be to play the King, trying to keep North (who appears to have the 13th Spade) off lead. But that’s false logic, all that really counts here is to guess Diamonds right for the 9th trick. - A more thoughtful Declarer might ask himself “Why didn't North duck the second round of Spades?” The answer is that North has an entry and doesn’t need to duck the Spade. Ergo, she has the ♦A! That being so, Declarer will finesse the ♦J and make his contract. - But we are entering the realms of bluff and double-bluff here. If North is of a devious disposition she might duck the second Spade anyway, even though there is no need to do so! This might prompt our thoughtful Declarer to place the ♦A with South, in which case the right play would be to hop up with the King (for down one!). >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Deceptive Defense”>>
Perhaps North’s 4♥ is something of an overbid, but even if she had merely invited game (with 3♣ or 3♦, because 3♥ here is purely competitive) then South would have accepted. Either way, once West has supported Spades, East will bid on to 4♠, expecting (or at least hoping) that it will be a good save. Indeed it is, as 4♥ makes 10 tricks and 4♠ is down only one.
This is a good hand for “Constructive Raises in Competition”. Playing that gadget, over East’s 1♠, South bids 3♦ to show a four-card raise and a half-decent hand, in other words, something in between a preempt and a game invitation. After a 3♦ constructive raise by South, West will be frozen out of the auction, he’s just not good enough to bid 3♠. True, East might be tempted to try 4♠ when 4♥ comes back to him, but that would be quite a gamble.
East’s 4♦ was a Texas Transfer, getting E-W to the obvious contract, making 11 tricks. But the question is “Should East be making a slam try with that hand?” Perhaps he should, considering that West might hold something like: ♠ Ax, ♥ AQx, ♦ Axx, ♣ AQxxx. With that perfecto there are no fewer than 13 tricks in No Trump or Hearts, and it must be possible to come up with a number of semi-perfectos where 12 tricks are possible. So, maybe East should try: 2NT 3♦, 3♥ 4♥. Assuming that E-W are indeed playing Texas, going to game the slow way (via a Jacoby Transfer) is played by most as a mild slam try. And if East does make a mild slam try, should West accept? Probably not, but if we changed the ♦K to the ♦A we might give slam a whirl.
It’s hard to predict what might happen on this wild deal. We wonder whether West should bid 2♠, vulnerable, in the face of a strong N-S auction, on a hand that looks like it might be a horrible misfit. We also wonder about East’s 3♠ raise, with only three trumps and no high cards. And, finally, having stumbled upon the Spade fit we wonder whether West might try 5♠, all he needs from East is ♠KQxx and Heart shortness. Anyway, 5♠ doubled would be a disaster (-500), all the more so as N-S do not even have game.
Even if you have no qualms about opening 1NT with a 5-card major, you wouldn’t want to do so with that East hand … the 17-count, plus the 5-card suit, plus two useful-looking Tens, make the hand altogether too good.
West’s response will depend on the E-W methods. If E-W are 2/1 bidders then West can bid a Forcing NT (though 2♦ followed by 4♥ is also tempting), if E-W are “standard” bidders they’ll bid 2♦. In the auction above, after a Forcing No Trump, North gets Clubs into the auction, East shows extra values with his Double, and South makes a spectacular leap to 5♣. That’s quite a bid, vulnerable with just one HCP, but justified by the extreme distribution.
The Play in 5♣ Doubled: The defense can go one of two ways: - Either, they will lead trumps and the play goes: Declarer wins the trump, loses a Spade, wins the trump continuation, and loses a Heart. Now the defense must grab its Diamond trick while the grabbing is good, otherwise Declarer will make 11 tricks (Declarer’s Diamonds go away on the Spades). If the defense does get the Diamond trick it’s down only one. - Or, the defense can force Dummy with Diamond leads. This is a difficult defense to find, but it works well, knocking out Dummy’s trump entries before the Spades can be established. On this defense Declarer can manage only 9 tricks (5 natural trump tricks in her hand and 4 ruffs on the board). >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “ForcingDefense”>>
The Play in Hearts: This is straightforward enough. The defense leads Clubs, Dummy ruffs the second round, the ♥A is cashed, and the trump finesse is taken. That works, but with the trumps 4-1, there is still a trump to be lost. 11 tricks.
Another Trump Coup! Last month (Board 20) 6♠ was made with correct play by pulling off a trump coup. Well, this month we have another trump coup, one which allows 6♥ to make, though this line of play is strictly double dummy. But fun anyway: Club is cashed Club ruffed on the board Finesse the ♥J Cash a Spade Cash three Diamonds Ruff a Diamond Cross to the ♥A Now more Diamonds are played, and, whether North ruffs in or not, her ♥Q will be unable to score a trick. Note that it was essential for Declarer to ruff a Diamond in order to shorten his trumps, and that one Spade had to be cashed before that Diamond ruff. Declarer also had to preserve the ♥A as a late entry to the board. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump Coup”>>
What’s your bid as East? It’s conceivable that West has the ♥AQ and ♣A, in which case East can count 11 tricks. Where would the 12th trick be found? Perhaps West will have a doubleton Diamond, in which case Declarer (West) can hope to ruff the ♦Q out, failing which he can hope for the doubleton ♣Q, and if that fails then there is always the Spade finesse. So we would say that 6♥ is (just about) worthwhile if West has the perfect hand. East could try 4NT (Roman Key Card) but that might get E-W dangerously high if West has an unsuitable hand, such as: ♠ xx, ♥ AJTxxx, ♦ xxx. ♣ xx. One solution is to use 4♣ here as Roman Key Card, which on the actual deal would allow East to try for slam and get out at the four-level. Another wrinkle is that some players like to modify the Roman Key Card responses, when made by a preemptor, to the following: 1st Step No Key Cards 2nd Step One KC, no trump Queen 3rd Step One KC, with trump Queen 4th Step Two KC, no trump Queen 5th Step Two KC, with trump Queen The logic of these revised responses is that it is not possible to have a preemptive hand with three or more Key Cards (assuming that 10 HCP is your max for a Weak Two).
Anyway, after all that science, you will see that West has an unsuitable hand for slam but that 12 tricks can be made anyway, with the aid of a couple of finesses.
It might seem obvious to bid 1♦ here, and the auction might develop as follows: 1♣ 1♦, 1♠ 2♥, 3♣. That 2♠ was Fourth Suit Forcing but now what? You could agree Clubs with 4♣ but that doesn’t get you very far, and the continuation of this auction will probably be rather foggy.
Perhaps a better way for East to tackle the hand is to respond 1♥. Now the auction goes: 1♣ 1♥, 1♠ 2♦, 2♥ 3♥, 3♠ 4NT, 5♦ 6NT. In this case it is 2♦ that is Fourth Suit Forcing, allowing a more economical major suit auction. Nothing foggy about that!
Anyway, we suppose that most E-W pairs will get to 6NT, one way or another, and that 12 tricks will be made by all.
West has a pretty good hand and slam is a possibility if Partner has the right hand. So, rather than just bidding game, West might decide to try a MinMax asking bid. As is commonly played, a bid of 2NT here asks for more information, and the responses are as follows: - 3♣: 3-card support, minimum. - 3♦: 3-card support, maximum - 3♥: 4-card support, minimum - 3♠: 4-card support, maximum You can embellish these responses by agreeing that 4♣ and 4♦ would be splinters and on the actual hand, West would love to hear a splinter bid. But, alas, he doesn’t, he gets a response of 3♦. Slam is still possible, and some E-W pairs might bid it anyway. That turns out be unlucky when North has an obvious ♦Q lead and 6♠ is down one in a hurry. The real trick on this hand is to play 6♠ from the East side but we have yet to figure out how that might be done.
Not everybody will approve of that Weak Two, given that the suit is mediocre and that there is that 4-card major on the side, but on this board it certainly makes it easy for E-W to get where they want to be. We are not sure that the 5♦ and 5♥ bids make much sense, but we threw them in there so that South would get the chance to labor in 5♥. Deep Finesse tells us that 11 tricks can be made in Hearts and it is your job to find out how. Please see the Play Problem.
What are East’s choices? - A Pusillanimous Pass? Perish the thought! - A Club Raise? No, it wouldn’t do to give up on Hearts completely. - A Boisterous 2♥? No, that would be an over-bid. Much as we like the 6th Heart, the singleton in the enemy suit and the Club fit, Partner will expect us to have more high-card values for this bid. - A Negative Double? That would be our second choice. - A Preemptive 3♥? That’s the ticket! Sure the suit could be better, but it’s a hand with lots of offense (thanks in part to the Club fit) and very little defense. Such hands should be preempted, especially at this vulnerability.
After East bids 3♥, we suppose that South might eke out 3♠ (just barely), in which case North has an easy 4♠ bid. Back to East. Yes, at this vulnerability, we think that East should try 5♣. Of course, if this were to work out badly, East can look forward to the standard lecture from Partner, the one that goes “Once you have preempted you have told your story, you’re not supposed to bid again” But, as it happens there will be no lecture as 5♣ doubled is a fine save against 4♠, down two tricks for -300.
If N-S play in Spades they can make 11 tricks, but with normal play it is 10 tricks only.
At favorable vulnerability, it’s hard to argue with North’s 3♦, but how about South’s Pass. Not worth a shot at 3NT? Maybe, that largely depends upon your preempting style. If, at this vulnerability, North is likely to bid 3♦ on all sorts of garbage, then the chances of finding her with the ♦AK are somewhat remote. And, even if she has those cards, there is the possibility that the opponents might rattle off five Heart tricks. But those Souths whose partners preempt more soundly would no doubt bid 3NT in a heartbeat (which on the actual hand is down only four with careful play).
In the auction above West is happy to balance with a Double, which East will probably pass, and South will be delighted with this turn of events. However, good defense beats 3♦ a trick: Spade lead, ducked Spade to the Ace Spade ruff Finesse of the Diamond Seven (nicely done!) ♦Q loses to the King Thanks to Declarer’s inspired guess in the trump suit (well, maybe not that inspired considering the bidding) accurate defense is required. East should realize that a trump promotion is the defense best hope, so the play continues: Club to Dummy’s Ace Declarer exits a Heart to East’s Queen Club to Dummy’s King Now a Heart is played and West must alertly hop up with the King and give Partner a trump promotion by leading a Club. Down one! >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Trump Promotion”>>
As it happens, E-W can squeak out 4♠, though we don’t see many pairs getting there, and even if they do, they’ll probably go down (the play is fiendishly complicated). Assuming that East is declaring Spades, the play might go: Diamond ruff; lose a Club; Diamond ruff; cash ♥A; lose a Club; win the Club return (North pitching a Heart and Declarer a Diamond); another Club is ruffed and overruffed; Spade to the Ten; cash three Heart (with the help of a finesse), etc. That was very delicately timed play and some good guessing by Declarer, there are numerous other lines of play where 10 tricks are not made.
In the auction above: - 2♣ was Reverse Drury, showing good values for a passed hand and Spade support - 2♥ said “I have a full opening hand and something in Hearts” - East’s 4♠ seemed reasonable enough, he does have a maximum hand for his original Pass and some fitting cards in Hearts.
It turns out that 4♠ is a terrible contract, due mainly to the huge duplication of values in the Heart suit. But it also turns out to be a lucky contract and will probably make at most tables. North leads the ♥J won by Dummy’s Queen and the ♠J is led. South shows out but Declarer lets it ride anyway. North will win (or maybe duck the first round and win the second) and may shift to sneaky low Diamond, hoping that Declarer has Jx and guesses wrong. But there is no guess and Dummy’s King wins. Now it is essential for Declarer to use that Dummy entry to good effect by finessing the Club before drawing trumps. If, instead, Declarer draws trumps first, he will be unable to finesse twice in Clubs and will be down one.
Yes, N-S can beat the contract but it’s difficult. North’s opening lead must be a Club and South must guess to duck this. Then, when North gets in with the ♠K he can reach Partner’s ♣A and get a ruff.
Not everyone will rebid 2NT with the East hand, there will be those who prefer 2♠ or 3♣ depending on their methods. Not that it matters much, it seems that all E-W pairs will end up in 4♠ played by East.
After the opening lead of the ♥J, it looks to us as if the best line of play is to ruff a couple of Clubs on the board: ♥J won in Dummy A Club is ducked Another Heart is won in Dummy Club ruff Cash ♦A and ruff a Diamond Now, a Club is led: - if South ruffs that high then Dummy pitches a Heart (and, if necessary, ruffs a Heart later in the play) - if South discards a Heart then Dummy ruffs and plays a Spade to the Ace. Nicely played for 10 tricks!
Lots of interesting stuff here! - East sensibly decides that his hand is not worth a vulnerable overcall. - Having passed originally, West can Double next time around. This bid show around 10 HCP and pretty much guarantees at least 4 cards in both the unbid suits. - If N-S are playing Support Doubles then North can Redouble to show 3-card support and raise to 2♥ to show 4-card support. - East can be sure of a 9-card Spade fit so he bids his hand to the max with a bold leap to 3♠, applying maximum pressure to the opponents … - … but South is up to the challenge! She likes the 9-card fit and her Spade singleton and takes a shot at game.
There is not much to the play: - If N-S play in Hearts they have 11 tricks (or 12 if the defense forgets to cash a Spade pronto) - If E-W play in Spades (presumably at the 3-level doubled) then they have 8 easy tricks.
Let’s assume that East’s 1NT was a Forcing No Trump and that you are West, faced with a rebid problem. Do you make the “obvious” call of 2♦? We don’t think so. That splendid Heart suit passes for a six-bagger and 2♥ is surely more descriptive than introducing a 3-card Diamond suit.
Now look at the South hand. She might have doubled the first time around, but that would be a bit much considering that she has minimum values and only three Spades. But when 2♥ is passed back to South she surely has to take action, notwithstanding the vulnerability, it doesn’t pay to let the opponents play in cozy two-level contracts. Double is the recommended bid and that gets N-S to the fine contract of 3♣.
Against 3♣ (played by North), the defense leads a Heart and Dummy ruffs the third round (East pitching a Spade). The success of the contract depends upon guessing the trump suit and before attempting to do so, Declarer might go on a fishing exhibition. After ruffing the Heart, a low Diamond is led from Dummy and West will no doubt insert the Jack, which wins the trick. West persists with Hearts, again ruffed in Dummy with East pitching another Spade. Now another Diamond is led and let’s say that West plays his King and leads his last Heart. Declarer ruffs this, East declines to over-ruff, of course, and now the moment of truth has arrived. West probably has less than four Diamonds (from the bidding) and East has denied four Spades (also from the bidding). Clearly West 4=5=2=2 or 4=5=3=1 shape. Who has the ♣Q? East surely has the ♦A and the only possible other high card he can hold is the ♣Q. We’d say that the indications are than the ♣Q is with East (though it’s no sure thing), so Declarer cashes the ♣A and finesses the Ten. Bingo! 9 tricks. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “”Fishing For Clues>>
Would you open the North hand? It does pass the Rule of 20, but it’s a hand with flaws. The doubleton ♥KQ is considerable wastage, look how much better the hand would be if it were: ♠ KQ85, ♥ 42, ♦ AQ983, ♣ 65. Now that does look like an opening bid! It’s a basic fact that it’s generally better to have the high cards in the long suits, and our own choice would be to pass that North hand.
After North passes, East is likely to compete up to 3♥ and may well get doubled. Dummy is a great disappointment and the defense has five tricks and +200 (if doubled).
If North does open the bidding it will be N-S who go minus, playing in 3♠ or 4♠.
Would you use Michaels with the North hand? Some partnerships have the agreement that Michaels should be used with good hands or bad hands, but not with middling hands (let’s say that covers the 11-15 range, or thereabouts). Given that agreement, North would be strong enough for a “good” Michaels, her plan being to bid again later. So, when 3♠ comes back to North, she doubles to show her extras. South won’t sit for that, she’ll bid 4♥, and will probably play it there (perhaps East should double).
Against 4♥ (played by South), the defense plays Spades and Dummy ruffs the second round. For want of entries, he plays the ♥A … the good news is that the King drops … but the bad news is that this portends a 4-1 break. Next, Declarer plays the ♣A and exits with the ♣Q to East’s King. Another Spade is ruffed in Dummy, at which point East has three trumps and Dummy only two. Undaunted, Declarer cashes Clubs and eventually scrambles her way to 9 tricks.
Can 4♠ make? The answer is “Yes!”, though the line of play that you are about to see may seem a little far-fetched. Or maybe not. Suppose that North has used Michaels and then doubled 3♠ (as above), showing a good hand. This might persuade Declarer (West) that the best chance of success is to play North to hold virtually all the missing HCP and to be precisely 1=5=2=5. If so, Declarer can prevail even against a forcing defense. Check this out: ♥A is cashed Heart continuation is ruffed ♠A is cashed Diamond to the Ace Low Diamond to North’s King Another Heart ruff ♦Q is cashed Club to North’s Ace Now Declarer can score the ♣K and cross-ruff the rest of the hand. Nicely played. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “Remembering the Auction”>>
If N-S are playing DONT then N-S have two ways to show a Spade one-suiter … bid 2♠ directly … or double first and then bid 2♠. Bidding 2♠ directly is the weaker way to show Spades so that is North’s choice. East shows his Hearts and West tries 3NT in an attempt to protect his Spade holding from the opening lead.
Against 3NT, North leads a 4th best Spade, won by Declarer’s Jack, and let’s say that, when Declarer is running the Hearts, North pitching the ♦T and the ♣J. If Declarer reads the ♣J as a singleton, and the ♦T as showing the King, then he will cleverly exit a Spade! North cashes 5 Spades, but cannot reach South’s ♣A and finds herself end-played in Diamonds! A miracle (but perhaps far-fetched) escape for down one. It will be down two with less inspired Declarer play.
If East declares 4♥, that will also be down two, but if E-W manage to get 4♥ declared from the West side, it’s down only one.
Do you open the West hand? We wouldn’t. If you like the Rule of 20, you will know that square 12-counts don’t pass the test … and if you don’t like that Rule then hopefully you have got into the habit of deducting a point from those square hands.
So, let’s suppose that you pass as West and then hear East open 1♦. What now? Do you bid your 4-card Spade suit or trot out 2NT? We suggest the latter, all those Queens look rather No Trumpish to us.
After 2NT, East has an easy raise to 3NT and North will probably lead a catastrophic Heart. The play goes: Heart to South’s Ace ♦K shift is ducked Diamond continuation won by Declarer’s Ace ♣A and ♣K are unblocked Cross to Declarer’s ♥Q and cash the ♥J Cash ♣Q Exit a Diamond
Declarer’s hope now is that the defense is end-played in Spades. That turns out to be the case when South cashes a couple of Diamonds but is now forced to lead a Spade. Declarer still has to guess the Spades correctly, but having played the hand so well up to this point we must assume that he won’t go wrong now!
Post Script: Those Wests that mentioned their Spade suit will end up in 4♠ down one with careful play.
It would be criminal not to bid here, in third seat, non-vulnerable. The only question is whether to open 1♠ or 2♠. The problem with opening 2♠ is that the hand has a fair amount of defense, and not a lot of offense (no singleton to start with). Also, if we open 2♠, then North might take it upon herself to sacrifice, a course of action which could be too expense or maybe a phantom save. No, a light 1♠ is the way to go here, we think.
After South opens 1♠, West will overcall 2♣ and North will compete to 3♠ one way or another. If N-S play it there they will probably escape a Double but will be disappointed to find that every card is wrong and that 3♠ is down three, and +150 for E-W.
Of course, unfriendly cards for N-S means friendly cards for E-W and they can make 11 tricks in Clubs or Diamonds, thanks to three winning finesses and a 2-2 Diamond break. So, assuming that E-W play in a minor suit part-score, they will score the same +150 as the defenders of 3♠. Some optimistic E-W pairs will reach the lucky contract of 3NT. The defense will lead a major suit and when the Diamonds behave that is also 11 tricks.
Here are West’s options: - Pass: Not unreasonable, but presumably South will lead a Club and the defense takes the first seven tricks. - 2♣ planning to use Garbage Stayman: This will work out badly if East is 2-2 in the majors, but on the actual deal it gets E-W to 2♥ on a 4-3 fit. Declarer can make 9 tricks with careful play (when the defense starts out with the ♣A and ♣K he must refuse to ruff at Trick 2). - 2♣ planning to pass 2♦: This finds the 5-4 fit and it turns out that there are no fewer than 11 tricks available (but only with very fine play by Declarer). Any of these three choices could work on any given day. Our own preference is to bid 2♣, though we are not sure whether we prefer to pass 2♦ or use Garbage Stayman. Probably depends on the day of the week.
OK, how does Declarer manage 11 tricks playing in Diamonds? The defense starts with Clubs and Dummy ruffs the second round. Declarer uses that entry to successfully run the ♠Q. Trumps are drawn, and the ♥T is finessed, losing to North’s King. Back comes a Heart won by Declarer’s Ace, and now the remaining trumps are run, squeezing North in the majors. Here is the position, with one trump left to play: North ♠ KT ♥ 97 ♦ ♣ Dummy Declarer ♠ J9 ♠ A5 ♥ Q6 ♥ 5 ♦ ♦ 5 ♣ ♣ South ♠ 8 ♥ ♦ ♣ QT9 When the last trump is played, Dummy pitches a Spade and North is helpless. It’s Declarer’s lowly Spade Five which takes the last trick if North pitches a Spade, and Dummy’s Heart Six has that honor if North pitches a Heart.
Declarer had to time the play just right to bring about the squeeze: - It was essential to take a Spade finesse at Trick 3, using that precious Dummy entry to good effect. - It was necessary not to cash the ♥A before finessing the ♥T, otherwise North breaks up the squeeze by returning a Heart. >>BRIDGEOPEDIA: “”Basic Squeeze Technique>>
West’s 2♠ might seem a bit much, but it is a good suit and a hand with very little defense. If you don’t like 2♠ then at least throw in a 1♠ overcall, if only as a lead-director. Anyway, once E-W get Spades into the auction, they will compete to the 4-level (making 10 tricks, or 11 if the defense tries to cash two Diamonds before cashing Hearts) … and once N-S get Hearts into the auction they’ll push on to the 5-level (maybe doubled, though that’s not clear, making 10 tricks).
Back to the South hand. Anyone for a 3♦ opening? True, the hand does have 11 HCP, and it does score a whopping 21 on the Rule of 20 scale, and it does have a (so-called) 4-card major on the side. Apart from those trifling details the hand is a perfect preempt, lots of offense and very little defense. Opening 3♦ may be somewhat “out there”, but we don’t think that it is completely bizarre. You may disagree, of course.
North’s 2♣ was DONT, getting North as Declarer in 2♦ for 8 tricks and +90 for N-S. However, West might compete to 2♥ and South will think that Christmas has arrived early. She won’t double 2♥ (for fear that they have a better place in Spades) and will no doubt be most disappointed to discover that her side can beat this contract by just one trick. That’s a mere +50 for N-S!
North’s 3♣ was a bit risky, considering the vulnerability, and we are not convinced that South should give a preference back to Spades, considering that the Clubs are so much better (and also considering that it might be easier for the opponents to find a Double of 3♠).
It turns out that both 3♣ and 3♠ make 9 tricks, thanks to 3-3 breaks in the black suits. So, a good board for those who played in the higher-scoring major.
East’s 1NT is hardly perfect, but probably the least bad bid available. But, either way, it seems that North will play this one in 2♠. Will she make her contract? That depends on the opening lead. If East tries the ♦K it will collide with Partner’s Ace and set up Declarer’s 8th trick. But if East dutifully leads Partner’s suit (or a Heart) then Declarer has just 7 tricks (provided that East does not get the urge to shift to the ♦K when in with the ♠Q).
A remarkably uninteresting deal. Perhaps you were in a 15-table Mitchell and did not have to play this flat board. 10 tricks for E-W.
Extremely optimistic Wests might invite game with 2NT, but surely that is bit much with 10 HCP, no 5-card suit and no Tens. N-S did well to sell out to 1NT, if they step into the fray then West will double 2♥ or 2♠ and that will be +300 for E-W.
Against 1NT, South leads the Spade Four, which Declarer will conclude that this is 4th best from a 4-card suit (he can see the Two and Three). Declarer might hold up on the first trick, then win the ♠A (he doesn’t want a Heart shift) and test the Clubs. When that suit does not break, he plays a Diamond towards his King, but when the ♦J is off-side, it’s down one. It takes an inspired guess in Diamonds (a backward finesse) to make this contract (with an overtrick).
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