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Friday Post Mortem 8th June, 2012
Analysis by Brian Gunnell Click here for
thewednesdaygame@yahoo.com
Hand Records
West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 1♥ 2♣ Dbl 3♣ 3♥ All Pass
- East’s Double was a Support Double, showing exactly 3-card Heart support. - We do hope that South had at least slight misgivings about that 3♣ bid. True, she has 4-card support, and the Law of Total Tricks suggests that, with their presumed 9-card fit, and almost half the HCP’s, non-vulnerable to boot, N-S can afford to compete to the 3-level. But South has a pretty yucky 8-count, those Queens may be useless on offense (they are!). But, it’s a bidder’s game, 3♣ is down two, but is never going to get doubled.
Playing in 3♥, West cannot avoid the loss of two Clubs and a Diamond. Can he avoid the loss of a second Diamond and a Spade? North leads the ♣A, then a Club to South’s King Heart shift is won in Dummy Heart to the King Declarer will play on Diamonds next, where is the ♦A? Probably with North, based on the bidding. So, it’s a Diamond to the King (if North plays low), and eventually a Spade goes away on the Diamonds. Not that Declarer was ever going to misguess the Spades (North has ♣AQ and ♦A, as a passed hand she can hardly have the ♠Q as well).
1♦ Pass Pass Pass
Deep Finesse says that East can scrape up 1♦, and that looks about right.
Should North have done something in fourth seat rather than passing? We don’t think so! North is too weak, too vulnerable, and has too many Diamonds. Sometimes you just have to pass (if North does charge in with 1♥, she will just push E-W into a better-scoring Spade contract).
Pass 1♠ 2NT ??
After North’s Unusual 2NT (minors), East has three questions to ask himself: - Do I show my Hearts or simply support Spades? - Is my hand game-forcing or game-invitational? - What methods am I playing today?
Our guesses to the first two questions would be “support Spades, game-invitational”. As for methods, it’s common practice to play some form of Unusual vs Unusual, whereby the cue-bids of 3♣ and 3♦ are used to show decent hands in the majors. There are different flavors, we like this one, it’s simple: - 3♣ is at least game-invitational in Hearts (regardless of whether the opening bid was 1♠ or 1♥). - 3♦ is at least game-invitational in Spades (also regardless) - 3♥ is purely competitive - So is 3♠.
Using that method (where the memory aid is “lower minor shows the lower major”), East bids 3♦. Now, should West, who has opened a 10-count accept the invitation? Of course! Now that a fit has been established this 5-loser hand has great playing strength, so West jumps to 4♠.
Against 4♠, North leads the ♣K, won in Dummy. Now a Spade is led to Declarer’s King, back to Dummy’s ♦A and another Spade is led. South wins that, exits a Spade, putting Declarer back in his hand. With no entries to the board Declarer is forced to drop the singleton offside ♥K, and that’s 12 tricks.
If South were brilliant and Machiavellian, she might trick Declarer into taking the losing Heart finesse. On the first round of trumps, she flies with the Ace and returns a Club. Now, after trumps are drawn, Dummy still has an entry, which can be used for the losing Heart finesse. Sneaky play! But less than brilliant if North has the singleton ♠Q or ♠K!
West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
Against 4♠, North leads the ♥T, and the question is “How do you play trumps?” The general idea should be to finesse the Spade Nine on the second round. So the Heart lead is won in Dummy, a Spade is led to the Queen. That holds, another Spade is led, and it’s 11 tricks.
West North East South 3♦ Pass Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
North’s preempt pushes E-W into 4♥, which is not such a terrible contract. But it won’t make against good defense. North leads the ♦K, and at Trick 2 must shift to a Club. How many Norths found that shift at the table?
West North East South Pass 1♣ 2♣ 3♣ 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
- West’s 2♣ was Michaels (showing the majors), and some pairs make this bid only with weak hands or with strong hands, but not with hands in-between. West’s hand has that in-between look to us (albeit a very nice in-between), so this E-W pair is obviously not too fastidious about their Michaels strength. - North doesn’t have much of a hand, but does have decent support for Clubs. Provided that N-S have an agreement that 3♣ is weak (and that the 2♥ and 2♠ cue-bids, and the Double, are used for stronger hands), then 3♣ is a reasonable gambit (especially at this vulnerability). - East was no doubt nervous about bidding 3♥ here: (a) his hand has soft values, (b) E-W are vulnerable, (c) West might well have a junky hand, (d) East has a fair amount of defense against 3♣.
Anyway, the 4♥ game is reached, South leads a Club to North’s Ace, and that pretty much tips off Declarer that South has the ♥Q (she did open, after all). So the play might go: Club to North’s Ace Club ruffed in Dummy ♦K is cleverly ducked (North gives count to help South) Heart to Declarer’s Ace ♠Q covered by the King and Ace ♠A is cashed Spade ruff Heart finesse
Nicely timed, Declarer did a few things right here: (a) he deduced from the opening lead and the bidding that South had the ♥Q. (b) he tried to forge a Diamond entry to hand (but was thwarted), (c) he played Spades before trumps, reasoning that South had 4 Clubs at the most, and was likely to have at least three Spades. +650 will be worth a lot of matchpoints for E-W.
West North East South Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
Some pairs play 1♠ 3♥ as invitational, in which case that would be a good choice … others play that 1♠ 2♥ is not game-forcing and that would also be a good choice … but for the 2/1 game-forcing crowd, a Forcing NT is East’s bid. Not that it matters much, E-W seem destined to play in 4♥ one way or another. And, also one way or another, East should score 10 tricks. Strangely, the 6-1 Spade fit produces 11 tricks but that is (a) lucky, (b) requires double dummy play.
West North East South Pass Pass 1♦ 1♥ Dbl 2♥ All Pass
North makes 8 tricks in Hearts, and perhaps East could have been more adventurous, competing to the 3-level in Club (or Diamonds). 3♣ and 3♦ are both down a trick.
West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1♣ Pass 1♦/1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass
Some Easts will respond 1♦ (bidding their suits up the line), and others will respond 1♥ (the so-called “Walsh-style”). Whichever of those responses is made, it won’t affect the final contract (3NT by East), but it will affect South’s opening lead. After a Heart lead it’s hard to see Declarer scoring more than 10 tricks (except double dummy), but look at the play after South leads a Diamond: Declarer wins the ♦T in his hand The ♣Q is led and North ducks (trying to mess up Declarer’s entries) A low Club is led next, won by North’s King Heart shift, won by Declarer’s Queen Diamond to the Jack ♦A is cashed Cross to the Club Ten Cash the ♦K Now Declarer crosses to the ♠A and cashes the Clubs for 11 tricks. North did well to duck the first Club … Declarer did well to lead a low Club on the second round, keeping the Ten as an entry back to hand.
West North East South 1♠ Dbl 2♠ 3♥ 3♠ All Pass
N-S are down one in 3♥, but East has a fairly clear 3♠ bid (some would bid 4♠ but that’s over the top, we think). 3♠ makes 9 easy tricks.
West North East South 1♠ 2♥ 4♠ 5♥ Dbl All Pass
- In terms of HCP, West’s 2♥ is a bit light, but, hey, it’s a lovely 6-4 hand, with two Aces and a void in RHO’s suit, Can’t pass with that, and a preempt seems wrong. - North’s 4♠ bid was preemptive - Over East’s 5♥, it was hard for South to find the winning call of 5♠ (which contract, bear in mind, is somewhat lucky, requiring the Spades finesse to work, and a bit more good fortune in one of the minors). We are always taught to be wary of bidding “five over five”, but this happens to be an occasion when it is the right thing to do.
Playing in 5♥ doubled, North does best to lead a Diamond, that’s down two. But look at the pretty play if North leads a Spade instead: Opening Spade is ruffed Cross to the ♣A Spade ruff Club exit Club ruff Spade ruff Cash ♥A Exit a Heart South is now end-played! Declarer has escaped for down one.
West North East South 1♦ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass
- 2♦ was an Inverted Raise, showing Diamond support and at least-game-invitaional values, and denying a 4-card major. - In response to 2♦, some like to start bidding stoppers, which is one way to help the defense do the right thing. Others, including this West, prefer to bid the general flavor of their hand, and 2NT here was saying “12-14, balanced”. 11 tricks.
If E-W don’t have an Inverted Raise available, East might have to make up a 2♣ response (better than lying about a major). The final contract will be the same 3NT. And still 11 tricks.
West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass Pass 2♣ 2♦ All Pass
West is too weak and too vulnerable to jump in with an early 2♣ overcall. But in the pass-out seat, with such a splendid suit, he can hardly be expected to contain himself. South competes to 2♦.
According to Deep Finesse, North can make 9 tricks in Diamonds, despite the 5-0 trump break. Well, 8 tricks are easy enough, but if you want to go the extra mile you’ll have to be brilliant, as in: Win the Club opening lead Finesse the ♥T to East’s King Win the Diamond return with Declarer’s Queen Spade to the King Heart to the Ace Spade to East’s Ace Spade return won in Dummy Here’s the end-position: Declarer ♠ ♥ Q3 ♦ AQ4 ♣ J West East ♠ J ♠ ♥ J ♥ 76 ♦ ♦ K753 ♣ KQT9 ♣ Dummy ♠ 4 ♥ ♦ T98 ♣ 75 Dummy leads a Spade and ruffs high, squeezing East! East can underruff or pitch a Heart, let’s assume the latter. Now Declarer plays Hearts, and whatever East does, Declarer has her 9 tricks. Exotic stuff!
West North East South Pass Pass 1NT All Pass
We make no predictions in the play, other than it looks like 7 tricks. For one side or the other.
West North East South Pass 1NT 2♦ 2NT Pass 3♣ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
Any violent objections to a 1NT opening, holding a good 6-card suit? Fair enough, we hear you, but West’s Qx and AQx and Kx are all holdings which suggest that West should have the opening lead coming up to his hand.
2♦ was DONT, showing Diamonds and a major, putting the spotlight on East. Assuming that E-W are mercifully unburdened with any “stole my bid” agreements, and are playing Lebensohl, then East has four ways to bid Hearts here: - 2♥, which is purely competitive. - 2NT (Lebensohl), relaying to 3♣ (the plan being then to invite game with 3♥) - 3♥, game forcing, offering a choice between 3♥ and 3NT - 4♦ (Texas), transferring to Hearts (usually shows more than a 5-card suit)
Our East took the invitational route and ended up declaring 4♥. The defense can score three Aces and a Club ruff, but the ruff may elude them. Whether South leads a Diamond or a Spade, North will take a look at those threatening Clubs in Dummy and may try to cash a second Spade. That will not be a success.
West North East South 1♦ 2♣ Pass 3NT All Pass
West’s 1♦ opening looks reasonable to us, it is a quite lovely 10-count, and surely too good for a Weak Two (even disregarding that beefy 4-card major, which makes it unsuitable for a Weak Two).
How about the play in 3NT? - If West leads his long suit, Declarer has time to lose a Club, and scores 11 tricks. - If West leads a Spade, Declarer cannot afford to give up a Club (the defense would then have 5 tricks), so she plays on Diamonds and makes do with 9 tricks.
West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ All Pass
Deep Finesse assures us that N-S can make 8 tricks in Spades. After the defense starts out with a Club to West’s Queen, followed by three rounds of Hearts, making 2♠ is a tall order. We’ll let you fill in the gaps.
West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♠ Pass 2NT Pass 3♦ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
North’s 3♦ was New Minor Forcing. Nothing of interest in the play. 11 tricks in Spades.
If N-S somehow stray into 3NT, they may get lucky. West will lead one of the unbid suits, and if he guesses to lead a Heart, Declarer scoops up 11 tricks and a top board, instead of the 9 tricks she deserves on a Diamond opening lead.
West North East South 1♠! Pass 2NT Pass 3♣ Pass 4NT Pass 5♣ Pass 5♦ Pass 6♠ All Pass
You may not be impressed with this auction, but we’ll explain it anyway. - South has a 5-6 10-count, which passes the Rule of 20 test, though there is that deficiency of the doubleton ♥Q. South might pass, open 1♦ or open 1♠. We rather like 1♠ (pretending to be 5-5), but that won’t be a universal choice. - North has a game-going hand, 4-card Spade support, and Diamond shortness. Does that mean that she should splinter with 4♦? We don’t think so, the hand is too good, and North will be none the wiser if the auction goes: 1♠ 4♦, 4♠. Lots of space used up and nothing achieved. So, North takes charge with a Jacoby 2NT, showing game-values and Spade support. - South should not get cold feet here! Just because she has opened a 10-count does not mean that she should leap to 4♠ (saying “bad hand”). No, she makes her shortness-showing bid of 3♣. - 4NT was Roman Key Card. - 5♣ was 1 or 4 (1430 responses) - 5♦ was the Queen Ask. - 6♠ said “I have the ♠Q but no side-suit Kings”
Yes, 7♠ makes thanks to no untoward breaks, but we’ll bet that 6♠ making 7 is a great result. If you got to 7♠ then that was very well done.
1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ All Pass
Oh dear, here we have another 5-6 hand where the 5-card suit is opened. This is a dangerous hand for E-W. Many Easts (after counting 11 HCP’s) will rebid 3♠, which is down two, but our protagonist takes a dim view of all those Queens and Jacks, and bids only 2♠. Yes, it’s true, 3♦ and 3♥ both appear to be making contracts.
West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1♠ Pass Pass? 2♦ 2♥ 3♦ All Pass
Do you think that East was somewhat wimpy on this deal? We do. It’s true that East has an appalling hand, but he does have 4-card Spade support, and it is White vs Red. If 3♠ is available as a preemptive bid (with Drury used for the better hands), then perhaps East should give it a whirl. West might then push on to 4♠, but it won’t get doubled and will be down two for a mere -100. On the actual auction, E-W are -130.
West North East South Pass 3♠ 3NT All Pass
An unhappy hand for E-W. It’s true that 5♦ makes (if Declarer guesses the trump suit correctly), but many pairs will languish in 3NT. That is not a hopeless contract, but it needs more luck than it gets. Escaping for down one may not be such a bad result.
West North East South Pass 1♠! Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
We are having quite a few of these light distributional openings this week! We started with some 11-counts, graduated to 10-counts, and here we have a 9-count that is worth serious consideration as an opening bid. West liked the 6-5 shape, the void, the two Aces, and it carried the Rule of 20 seal of approval.
East’s 3♥ was forcing (E-W playing a 2/1 system).
Playing in 4♠ there are 11 tricks. Declarer can set up the Spades, or he can cross-ruff, either way coming to 11 tricks.
West North East
South West’s 1NT is opposite an overcall, and the range generally played in that position is 8-11 or thereabouts. East will certainly push on the 3♥ (for 9 easy tricks) and North might well compete to 3♠ (also 9 tricks).
West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass 3♥ All Pass
East has14 HCP’s, just about enough for a jump raise, considering the singleton and the source of tricks in Clubs. But West is going nowhere, and is left with the task of making 9 tricks. One friendly defense would be: ♦K opening lead holds the trick Diamond continuation is ruffed Cross to the ♣A Ruff a Diamond Cash ♥A and ♥K Run the Clubs
A more testing defense is: ♦K wins opening lead Dummy’s Ace wins Heart shift Cross to the ♣A Lead a Spade Declarer has timed things well! When Declarer leads a Spade towards Dummy, the defense has two losing choices: - If North hops up with the ♠A then she can persist with trumps, but will have handed Declarer a Spade trick in the process - If North plays low and South takes Dummy’s Jack with the King, then no Spade trick is given away, but South cannot continue trumps without losing his trick in the suit.
West North East South Pass Pass 1♠ 1NT? Pass Pass 2♣ 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ 4♣ Pass Pass 4♦ All Pass
Both pairs can make 10 tricks in their minor, so we’d expect N-S, with their higher-ranking suit and 10-card fit, to prevail. We are not sure about that 1NT overcall, it’s not the best of Spade holdings (ATxx would be so much better), and 2♦ might be more descriptive. A close decision, eh?.
West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ Pass 1NT 2♥ All Pass
East does well to overcall with that hand, if he had bid the hand more strongly (doubling and then bidding Hearts) then things would have got out of control, with West and his long Spades coming to life.
Even 2♥ is a poor contract, down one on accurate defense. And it will be down two if, at some point, North shifts to the ♦J and Declarer finesses. To get out for down one, Declarer must play South for ♦Kx (which he probably should, considering the auction).
West North East South Pass Pass 1♠ 1NT Dbl 2♦ Pass 2♥ All Pass
East makes the customary light third-seat opening, South dredges up a 1NT overcall (nothing wrong with 2♦, either), West doubles to show values, and North bails out into 2♥ via a transfer. Pinpoint bidding by N-S as 8 tricks is all they can make.
But, E-W missed their 9-card Club fit, which allows them to make 3♣. West could have bid 2♣ over 1NT, of course, but he did have a rather good passed hand, with hopes of extracting a decent penalty from his vulnerable opponents. Sure, West could have bid 3♣ later, but that would have been something of a guess.
West North East South 2♥ 2♠ 3♥ All Pass
If you think that East’s 2♥ was just too good for a Weak Two, we’d be inclined to agree with you (10 HCP’s, all of them working, a singleton, and some nice Heart fillers). But here, the rather tepid 2♥ opening keeps E-W out of trouble, and they make their 3♥ contract.
Those Easts who (most reasonably) opened the hand 1♥, will get too high, in 4♥. Not that 4♥ is a hopeless contract, but it does need the onside ♥J. So, down one for the aggressive East players.
West North East South 2♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
We like West’s bid-what-you-hope-Partner-can-make approach to this hand, and his uninformative auction.
South leads the ♠Q, Dummy gets a Diamond ruff, then plays trumps. But the suit is 4-1, so 10 tricks only.
West North East South 1NT Pass Pass Pass
1NT is likely to go down two, for an unpleasant -200. That’s not a good result for N-S, but some East players will come charging to their rescue by competing in Spades. It will feel like a great triumph for East as he racks up 8 (maybe even 9) tricks in 2♠. But it is certainly not a triumph and silence by East would have been golden. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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