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Friday Post Mortem 10th August, 2012
Analysis by Brian Gunnell Click here for thewednesdaygame@yahoo.com Hand Records
West North East South 3♦ 3NT All Pass
After North’s 3♦ preempt, East must choose between Double and 3NT. That Diamond holding says “Bid 3NT” but the two 4-card majors say “Double!” What do you say? It’s a close choice.
If East doubles, West bids 4♠ and there are 11 easy tricks.
Now we come to the really interesting part! How does 3NT (by East) play? Diamond lead won by Declarer Club to Dummy’s Queen (South should not play the King) Spade to the King Spade duck to North (safety play) Declarer wins Diamond return The A♣ and the Spades are cashed. Here is the end position with one Spade left to play: North ♠ ♥ T8 ♦ KT98 ♣ Dummy Declarer ♠ T ♠ 9 ♥ K96 ♥ AQ52 ♦ ♦ 7 ♣ J8 ♣ South ♠ ♥ J743 ♦ ♣ KT The last Spade is played, and South is squeezed. If she pitches a Heart then that suit provides the 11th trick. If she pitches a Club then a Club is lost to West, setting up a trick in the suit.
That’s a difficult hand to play, especially in the heat of battle. The keys to success are: - Cashing the minor suit Aces before finishing the Spades - Making sure that the last Spade is won in Dummy - Counting the Club pitches to ensure that a Club could safely be lost
West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♠ All Pass - South chooses not to overcall 2♥, which may seem a bit feeble. But two-level Red vs White overcalls can be risky business. On this occasion, 2♥ doubled is down two, which is one too many. - As 2/1 responses tend to show a 5-card suit, West bids 2♣ rather than 2♥, because if fudging is to be done, ‘tis better to do it in the minors. - East’s 3♥ is a splinter in support of Clubs (not everybody plays it that way). - West’s hand is not improved by the splinter, and she shuts things down with a leap to 4♠ (the Principle of Fast Arrival at work).
Against 4♠, we have no idea what South is supposed to lead, but all roads seem to lead to 11 tricks. All that Declarer needs to do is to negotiate a Diamond ruff in Dummy, so he will postpone the drawing of trumps, playing first on Diamonds.
West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3♦ Pass 4NT Pass 6NT All Pass
- South decides that her hand is too strong to open 1NT, what with the maximum point count and that good 5-card suit. - Let’s say that N-S are playing a 2/1 style, and that 2♦ is game-forcing. - South already decided that her hand was too good to open 1NT, so rebidding 3NT (which also shows 15-17) would be somewhat inconsistent. 2NT supposedly shows 12-14, but once in a while it may be bid with 18-19 (a hand too good to open 1NT, in other words). - 3♦ is natural and forcing. - In this auction, 4NT is Roman Key Card (in Diamonds) for many, but N-S are playing Minorwood, so 4♦ is available for that. So, 4NT shows the 18-19 hand mentioned earlier.
There were some special methods in that auction, but we’d expect most pairs to reach 6♦ or 6NT regardless of their methods. Both contracts make 13 tricks when the Diamond finesse works.
West North East South Pass 2♥ Pass 2NT Pass 3♦ Pass 4♥ All Pass
Opposite a Weak Two, South is thinking slam, of course. How do you play 2NT here? There are numerous methods available, this one is a variation of Ogust, Opener’s responses being: 3♣: 5-card suit, any strength (after which 3♦ asks about hand strength) 3♦: 6-card suit, bad hand 3♥: 6-card suit, medium hand 3♠: 6-card suit, good hand Despite the trump fillers and the singleton, North’s meager collection of Queens and Jacks qualifies as “bad” and the slam hunt is abandoned.
Defending against 4♥, how many Easts found that wicked Club lead? Leading away from “King fifth” against a suit contract is usually rather dangerous, but here less so than usual. The strength is clearly marked in Dummy, and if Partner does not have the A♣ then Dummy probably will. Anyway, without a Club lead Declarer has 12 easy tricks when the K♥ is onside doubleton. With a Club lead it’s only 11 tricks. Or is it less? If Declarer is of a nervous disposition she might read the opening lead as a singleton in which case she will fly with Dummy’s Ace. Oops, now it’s only 10 tricks! Nice lead, Mr East!
West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass 2♠ Pass 3NT All Pass
As in Board 2, this hand illustrates the dangers of two-level vulnerable overcalls. And it also illustrates the dangers of not making them. First, let us see what happens if North, having passed originally, chirps in with 2♦ over 1♥. Not so unreasonable, you might think, but on the actual hand an aggressive East might go for the jugular by passing, and then passing again when Partner makes a reopening Double. That’s 500 for E-W, and a top board.
In that case, the overcall was not a success, but it will work out fine against a less aggressive East who will end up in 3NT. Now, the 2♦ bid will get Partner off to the right opening lead, holding the opponents’ 3NT contract to 9 tricks instead 10.
Now for the danger of not overcalling 2♦. The auction proceeds as shown above, and, with no North overcall to guide her, surely South’s opening lead will be the J♠. This gives Declarer better timing and now he is cold for 10 tricks, via two Spades, two Hearts, two Diamonds and four Clubs. But it could get even worse for the defense … J♠ opening lead, won by North’s King Diamond return won by Dummy’s Ace A♣ is cashed, then the J♣ (North ducks this in case South has Qx) North wins the third round of Clubs Diamond is won by Declarer’s King The remaining two Clubs are cashed Here is the end-position with one Club still to be cashed: North ♠ ♥ Q64 ♦ JT8 ♣ Dummy Declarer ♠ A76 ♠ Q9 ♥ AKT ♥ 7 ♦ ♦ 54 ♣ ♣ 4 South ♠ J82 ♥ J85 ♦ ♣ On the play of the last Club, South cannot discard a Spade so must part with a Heart, after which Dummy discards a Spade and North a Diamond. South has been squeezed out of her Heart guard and now, after a Spade to Dummy’s Ace and a Spade back to the Queen, it is North’s turn to be squeezed, she must surrender the 11th trick in one red suit or the other. Yes, it’s a Non-Simultaneous Double Squeeze, and it was all North’s fault. First, her silence in the auction did not help Partner find the right lead (though it also avoided the risk of an unseemly penalty), then she failed to break up the double squeeze (she must return a Heart when in with the K♣).
West North East South 1♣ 1♠ 2♥ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ All Pass
West is minimum for that 2♥ bid but figures that the 6th Heart has to be worth something.
Against 3♥, North leads a Spade which Declarer will know to be a singleton. So, he jumps up with Dummy’s Ace, plays the A♥, then A♦, K♦ and a Diamond ruff. Now, a Spade is led from the board and South wins the King and gives Partner a Spade ruff. But, alas for the defense that ruff is with a natural trump trick, so Declarer scrambles home with 9 tricks.
West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♦ 1♥ 1NT 2♥ 3♦ All Pass
Against 3♦, West leads the A♥, then K♥ which you ruff.
Having already lost one Heart, the danger is that Declarer will also lose three Clubs and a Spade. That will be down one even if trumps break 2-2. If trumps are 2-2 and if the Q♠ is onside then you can make your contract easily enough. But, if trumps really are 2-2, then that Spade finesse is only a 50% chance. What’s the 100% line of play?
This one is a classic elimination play followed by a throw-in. After ruffing the second round of Hearts, Declarer crosses to Dummy’s A♦, ruffs another Heart, cashes the K♦ and is relieved to see the trumps split. Now, Declarer crosses to the A♠, and ruffs Dummy’s last Heart. At this point Declarer and Dummy are both out of Heart, and both have one trump left. All that is needed is to cash the other high Spade, and exit a Spade. It doesn’t matter which defender wins that Spade trick, he will now have to concede a ruff and discard, or else break open the Club suit. Either way, there will be only two Club losers, and Declarer makes 9 tricks.
West North East South Pass 2♣ 3♣ Dbl Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
After East barges into the N-S 2♣ auction, what are your methods for Responder (South in this case). Here is one commonly used treatment: - Dbl: A bad hand. How bad? One that might have been about to make a “waiting 2♦” followed by a so-called “second negative”. In other words, less than a King or Ace, probably less than two Queens also. - Pass: Some values (too good for a Double) but also a hand with nothing useful to say (no good suit in other words). - Other: A positive response and a suit worth bidding. If these are the methods in use, then South doubles, she doesn’t have quite enough for a value-showing Pass,
Against 4♠, East leads the Q♣ (West playing the King) and when the J♠ comes down it’s 12 easy tricks. In light of the Club overcall, Declarer might reasonably expect West to have the longer Spades, so an alternative line would be to play a Diamond at Trick 2 losing to West’s Ace. The Club return is ruffed, then it’s over to Dummy with a Diamond, for the losing Spade finesse. Now, Declarer must ruff again and the defense scores a second trump trick as West now has more trumps than Declarer. Making only 10 tricks instead of 12!
If North plays in 3NT, against East leads the Q♣ and West unblocks the King. Now, there’s no time to knock out the A♦ and Declarer is happy to score just 9 tricks when the J♠ comes down.
West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♥ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 3♦ 3♠ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass - With that nice 6-4 shape, and a couple of Aces, and no values wasted, North has no qualms about opening 1♦. - If South’s hand were a tad stronger she could have responded with a game-forcing 2♣, but that assortment of quacks was not quite up to scratch, so she contented herself with 1♥. - North rebids 2♦ in preference to 2♣, preferring to limit her hand. This is a bid which tends to show a 6-card suit. - South raises Diamonds on a doubleton, it’s her only sensible game-try. - Perhaps West’s 3♠ bid was a little reckless considering the vulnerability, and South could hardly not double that. But having done so, she had better defend correctly.
Against 3♠ North leads the Heart Four, an obvious singleton. South's initial instinct might be to give Partner a ruff, but now the contract is cold! North cannot profitably attack Diamonds, and Declarer has enough entries with which to establish the Hearts and avoid two Diamond losers. No, the winning defense in this case is to deny Partner her ruff and switch to the J♦. This allows the defense to score four side-suit tricks plus a trump promotion on the third round of Diamonds. Down one!
West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ Dbl Rdbl 4♠ 5♥ Pass Pass 5♠ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass
- South declines to make a vulnerable preempt with that mangy suit. - North’s take-out Double is a tad light, but the shape is perfect, hard to resist. - East’s Redouble showed three-card Heart support. - Having passed originally, South gets super-excited by the Double. Now that she knows her side has a big Spade fit (probably a fit in Diamonds, too), her hand has become pretty good. - West pushes on to 5♥, hard not to with an 8-card suit. - South has very little defense, but spectacular offense, and bids one more time. Yes, South has bid a lot for a passed hand and will beg forgiveness if it works out badly.
But it works out rather well. N-S are -500, a good save against a vulnerable game.
West North East South Pass 1♣ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 3♦ Pass Pass 3♠ Pass Pass 4♦ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass
East obviously belongs to the school of thought which says “Why should the opponents go down when we can?” 3♠ was destined to be down one, but East saved the day (for N-S) when he pushed on to 4♦, also down one. With 11 HCP’s opposite an opening bid, East was reluctant to pass, and it was that extra Diamond that made him bid 4♦ rather than doubling 3♠. A close call either way.
West North East South Pass 1♣ 1♥ Dbl Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass 3♥ Pass 3♠ Pass 3NT All Pass
A convoluted N-S auction! After South’s Negative Double, North was forced to rebid her emaciated Clubs, then 2♥ asked North if she had a Heart stop. North’s 2♠ said “No, but I do have 3 Spades”. Next, South’s 3♥ said “Do you have a half-stop in Hearts, something like Qx or Jxx?” Good bidding by South, with either of those holdings it would be better if North were to play 3NT. But when North could not even oblige with a half-stop, South was forced to play 3NT from her side or else let North play in a 4-3 Spade fit.
Playing in 3NT, West leads a Heart, and Declarer wins the second round. The only real chance is to bring in the Clubs for four tricks without letting East gain the lead. So, Declarer crosses to Dummy with a Diamond and leads a low Club, planning to play the Nine if East plays low. But East plays an honor so now Declarer wins the Ace, plays a Club to the King and out a Club. West must shift to a Spade, presumably the King, and Declarer ducks this. By so doing, Declarer is down one, but if she wins the first Spade it will be down two.
If South chooses the 4-3 Spade fit instead, it will be played by North. East leads the K♥ and Dummy’s Ace wins the trick and a Heart is immediately returned. Declarer goal is to ruff Hearts in the short hand. Of course West can ruff in front of Declarer and the hope is that he will use up natural trump tricks in doing so. Alas, those West Heart ruffs are in the hand with only two trumps, and Declarer is eventually down one.
West North East South Pass Pass 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 3♠ All Pass
At her second turn, South raises Spades on a three-card suit, perhaps reasoning that (a) the Spades are strong, (b) she has a likely ruffing value in Clubs, (c) 2♠ is more preemptive that 1NT, (d) her Partner plays the hands so well. But, apparently, not well enough for South to accept the game invitation.
Even 3♠ is no walk in the park. East leads a Heart for want of a good alternative and that trick is won by West. It won’t be obvious to West how to continue the defense but it will be obvious to Declarer that she must set up the Clubs. So, when she finally gets in, before drawing trumps, she attacks Clubs, the plan being to ruff one in Dummy if the Ten does not fall in two rounds. And if, on that third round of Clubs, East follows suit, Dummy must ruff high, the hope now being that trumps are 3-2. Making 9 tricks.
West North East South 3♥ Pass Pass 3NT All Pass
North’s problem here is similar to that faced by East on Board 1, namely whether to double the opponent’s 3-level preempt in search of a major fit, or whether to take a shot at 3NT. On Board 1 it was a close choice, but on this hand there are two further compelling reasons to bid 3NT: - We’d like to protect the K♥ from the opening lead (remember, Partner will be playing Spades after our Double). - There’s only one potential major suit fit (on Board 1, East faced a 3♦ preempt and had two 4-card majors), therefore less chance to hit the 4-4 major suit jackpot.
Perversely, on this board it turns out that Double is the winning bid! Yes, Partner has four Spades, and she also has the Q♥ (goodbye to the positional benefit of North playing the hand). Even then a good board would have been salvaged by the No Trumpers if Spades had broken 4-1 (not unlikely after the preempt). Yes, we know, sour grapes and all that … anyway, the doublers get to 4♠ and +450, the 3NT bidders get just +430.
West North East South 1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 3♥ Pass Pass 3♠ All Pass
North is too good for a direct (preemptive) raise to 3♠, but not good enough for a game-invitational cue-bid of 3♥, so she contents herself with a raise to 2♠. However, with a known 9-card fit, North can hardly sell out to 3♥ and competes further to 3♠.
Playing in 3♠, there are two Hearts and a Spade to be lost for sure. And, when the Spades behave and the Q♦ is onside it turns out that 10 tricks are available.
West North East South Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
A commendable N-S auction, and now East must find a commendable lead against 4♠. East’s analysis of the situation might be: “Not a Club with that holding, and not a Diamond after that auction. So, a Heart or a Spade? Do we stop the Diamond ruff(s) in Dummy, or do we try to set up a Heart trick? If we had a more robust Diamond holding, say KJTx, we might want to stop the ruffs. But we don’t, so surely the right plan is to attack in Hearts” Indeed it is! A Heart lead holds N-S to 10 tricks, but a passive trump lead allows 11 tricks (the Heart loser disappears on the Clubs).
West North East South 1♦ Dbl 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 3♣ Pass 3♦ Pass 4♣ Pass 5♣ All Pass - Would you redouble with the South hand? Not a good idea! That bid is better used for more balanced hands, not here where South has two 5-card suits and a game-going hand. Better to start bidding suits. So South bids One Forcing Heart. - Do you agree with North’s 3♦? It looks like the best bid to us, considering that, in this situation, 3♣ might be a New Minor type of bid, investigating a 5-3 Heart fit. North is reluctant to go zooming past 3NT to 4♣ at this point. But, when South shows a real Club suit with 4♣, North finally unveils her support.
Against South’s 5♣, the defense starts out with Spades, Declarer ruffing the second round. It would be a mistake to draw trumps before establishing the Diamonds, the third round of trumps is needed as an entry to the board. So the Q♦ is run around losing to the King, the Spade return is ruffed, and with trumps splitting 3-2 the contract is made.
Note for Swindlers From the bidding, Declarer will know that the Diamond finesse is likely to fail and she might try a little swindle instead of the finesse. After ruffing the second round of Spades she leads the 9♦ to the Ace, then a low Diamond from the board. East might mistakenly think that Declarer is about to ruff, and withhold his King. Now it’s 12 tricks! How was East supposed to know? That’s easy, the defenders should be giving count signals when Declarer plays a suit, so on the first round of Diamonds West should play the Eight. With the Three unaccounted for, East will know that Declarer did not start with a singleton.
West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
West bid a Forcing NT followed by 3♠ to show a 3-card game-invitational Spade raise for which East had an easy acceptance. By the way, do you agree with East’s 2♠ rebid or does the word “pusillanimous” come to mind? A less timid East might prefer 3♠ here (yes, only 13 HCP’s, but also only 5 losers).
Against 4♠ South has a natural J♦ lead, won by Dummy’s Ace. Not knowing that trumps are 4-1 Declarer is hoping for six Spades, two Hearts and a Diamond. That’s 9 tricks, and there are various ways to try for more. The J♥ could be finessed, there could be a Club trick, and there is the possibility of a Club ruff on the board. The “all or nothing” line, the one where even 11 tricks might be possible, is to lead up to the K♣ at Trick 2. If the Ace is onside, Declarer now scores a Club trick and a Club ruff. However, when the Ace takes the King it is curtains for Declarer. South sacrifices a trick by returning a trump but this defense holds Declarer to just 9 tricks, as by now there are insufficient Dummy entries to score a third Heart trick.
Perhaps a better line (though no more successful) is for Declarer to finesse the J♥. When that wins things are looking good, but now they start to go awry. The A♥ is unblocked and a low Club is lead towards the Jack, Declarer’s hope being that the Q♣ is with South. But North has the Queen and unkindly gives South a Heart ruff. South exits a Diamond ruffed by Declarer, and Declarer exits a Club. Back comes another Diamond, and Declarer’s last hope is dashed when trumps turn out to be 4-1. Down one, as before.
West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 3♦ All Pass
West is a dreamer if he thinks that 2♦ will get passed out by North, so he throws in an obstructive 3♦, which steals the contract. Making 9 tricks.
Of course, N-S were criminally somnolent during the entire proceedings, failing to make a single peep when they are cold for 12 tricks in Clubs! Well, alright, they don’t actually belong in the Club slam, but 5♣ is an excellent contract. Who was the guilty party? - South’s original Pass was fine, even at favorable vulnerability we would not want to preempt 3♣ with such a rotten suit and with such good major suit holdings. - Should North have made a takeout double of 1♦? We don’t think so, North’s shape is far from ideal, and there are no compensating extras. - South might have considered bidding over 1♥, but Pass was not terrible, either. - After 1NT, North still had nothing to say, but surely South must bid something over 2♦. This is a pre-balancing situation. Both East and West have limited their hand, so North is known to have some values, and South must get in there with 3♣. Now the auction could take a surprising turn: West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ ??
Suddenly, North is looking at a terrific hand! All of those Diamond bids have made her hand better and better, surely Partner is short in the suit, and three small opposite shortness is a great holding. It would be a bit extreme for North to jump to 5♣ now, but 4♣ does not seem like enough, that is a purely competitive call. Perhaps North should bid 3♥ here, hopefully South will read this as a game try in Clubs, and if she does then we would say that South should accept the invitation.
With South playing in Clubs, West leads the A♦ which is ruffed, trumps are led, the defense continues Diamonds and trumps are drawn. Now, with the bidding to guide her, Declarer plays the K♥ and double hooks the Hearts. That works, so does the Spade finesse, and it’s 12 tricks.
West North East South Pass 1♣ 1♥ Pass 1♠ 1NT Pass 2NT All Pass
Over West’s 1♠, what would a Double by North show? It’s not a penalty double of 1♠, it’s more takeout-oriented, perhaps the same hand with the major suits reversed. That being the case, North’s best bid is surely 1NT. Opposite a silent Partner this ideally shows about 18-19, but the North hand is close enough. South is good enough to invite game in No Trump, and North politely declines.
Let’s say that East leads his own Heart suit rather than Partner’s Spades. The entry situation will force North to get the Diamonds wrong and when the dust has cleared Declarer will have scored 9 tricks, thanks to the friendly (but not unexpected) Spade position.
West North East South Pass Pass 1♦ 1NT Dbl 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass
North’s Double of 1NT is for penalty and is about as minimum as that bid can be. E-W were playing “systems on” in this situation, so 2♦ was a transfer, after which 2♥ was speculatively doubled by South.
Deep Finesse says that, on a double dummy basis, 2♥ is down one. That looks about right to us, we'll leave you to discuss how the play went at your table.
West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass - 2♣ was a game force in the N-S methods. - 2♥ neither showed nor denied extras. - North had a good hand so she bid a forcing 3♥, more encouraging than a direct 4♥ bid (following the Principle of Fast Arrival). - South shows a minimum by bidding 4♥.
Against 4♥, West has no obvious and attractive lead and will probably try a Spade. It looks as if the best line is to get a couple of Diamond ruffs on the board, so the play commences as follows: Spade to Dummy’s Ace Diamond to the Ace Diamond ruff Club to the Ace Diamond ruffed with the Eight and overruffed Club ruff Q♥ covered by the King and Ace Heart to the Jack At this point the enemy trumps have been drawn, and there is no reason not to take the Spade finesse. When East wins the trick he has no Diamonds left, so eventually Declarer’s Diamond loser goes away on the K♣. Making 11 tricks.
West North East South 1NT Dbl Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ All Pass
This E-W pair were playing that Double of 1NT showed a strong hand, after which 2♣ was natural with a bad hand, and 2♠ was also natural. Strangely, the auction would have been identical if E-W were playing DONT, although the meaning would be quite different … Double would show a one-suiter, and 2♣ would ask for the suit.
North has an obvious Q♥ lead, after which Declarer has 10 tricks. A Heart ruff provides an entry to Dummy and allows the Spade finesse to be taken. The way to hold Declarer to 9 tricks is for N-S to keep playing the minors, making sure that the J♦ is not allowed to provide a Dummy entry. After that defense, Declarer must play Spades from his hand and cannot avoid four losers.
West North East South Pass 1♦ Dbl 2♦ 3♥ All Pass - After East’s Double, what should South bid? Pass is rather feeble, and it’s hard to fault a 1♠ bid here, it’s the bid that South would have made without the Double. But the Double has reduced the probability of a N-S Spade fit, so there is a lot to be said for bidding 2♦ here, giving up on the Spades, supporting Partner and limiting the hand into the bargain. - Whichever South chooses, West will jump to 3♥, showing game-invitational values. - East has a minimum Double (and only three Hearts) so he declines the invitation.
Accurate defense sets 3♥. North cashes the AK♦, then shifts to the K♣. Later, North will get in with the K♥, get to Partner’s hand with the A♠, and the Club ruff is the setting trick.
If South decides to bid 1♠ over the Double, North might well compete up to 3♠. Here’s how the play might go: East leads a Heart to West’s Ace Heart to Declarer’s King J♠ is run around and wins Low Spade, East splits and the Ace wins A♦ is cashed, then the K♦ Now that the Diamonds have split, Declarer must not get too greedy. She should ruff a Heart and cash Diamonds, allowing East to take his two trumps whenever he likes. That will be 9 tricks.
West North East South Pass 1NT 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass 2♠ All Pass
DONT works well with two-suiters, but South has a three-suiter. She chooses 2♦ here, treating the hand as a two-suiter in Diamonds and an undisclosed major, bidding her best suit and also giving her side a chance to play in the better-scoring Spade fit.
Playing in 2♠, Declarer can scramble her way to 10 tricks in this fashion: Heart ruffed by Declarer Cross to Dummy’s A♣ Finesse the Q♦ (a certainty to win on the bidding) Cash A♦ Ruff a Diamond Ruff a Heart Cash K♣ Ruff a Diamond with the Ace Ruff a Heart Declarer has the first 9 tricks and is down to just two trumps, one in each hand. She leads a Diamond winner ruffing on the board with the Ten. East can overruff but that just promotes the 10th trick for Declarer’s Queen. Nicely timed play by Declarer!
West North East South Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 4♦ Pass 4♥ All Pass - After East’s transfer, West has a super-accept and then some. In the E-W methods, West’s 2NT showed a maximum super-accept. Sure, West has only 15 HCP’s, but there’s also the 5th Heart to consider, three Aces, and an all-around nice hand with no defects. - East’s 4♦ was a “re-transfer” to Hearts, getting the contract played from the strong side. Not that this is such a benefit on the actual hand, East might have thought about protecting his K♠ by bidding 4♥ directly.
Anyway, North leads the Q♠, covered by the King and Ace, after which it’s easy enough for Declarer to score 11 tricks. One of the Diamonds goes on a Spade, and when the K♦ is singleton the second Diamond loser also vanishes.
West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♦ 1♠ Pass 2♠ 3♣ All Pass
Against 3♣, the defense plays Spades and Declarer ruffs the third round. Now the Q♣ loses to the King and South fiendishly persists with a 4th round of Spades. Declarer ruffs this with the Jack, and North declines to overruff and Dummy pitches a Diamond. Declarer plays the 9♣, won by North who gets out with a Diamond, won in Dummy. Here is the end-position: North ♥ 54 ♦ 76 ♣ 83 Declarer Dummy ♥ AKJ8 ♥ Q7 ♦ JT ♦ KQ ♣ ♣ T7 South Immaterial
Now, North is about to fall victim to a Trump Coup. The Hearts are cashed and North’s apparent trump trick vanishes in a puff of smoke, when, sooner or later, she must ruff in front of Dummy. South defended well when she played that 4th round of Spades, and Declarer’s Trump Coup was a pretty counter.
N-S might be tempted to push on to 3♠, perhaps lulled into a sense of false security by the vulnerability. East will make a “Nobody steals from me!” Double, after which the auction calls for a trump lead, followed by trumps at every opportunity. This defense holds Declarer to just five trump tricks and two Clubs. Down 2 and a lovely +300 for E-W. If East fails to lead a trump Declarer can get an 8th trick via a ruff on the board, and the resulting +100 for E-W will be far from lovely.
West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♥ 1♠ 2♥ 2♠ Pass 3♠ All Pass
If E-W are playing Support Doubles then East’s raise to 2♠ shows 4-card support. That being the case, we’d say that West showed admirable restraint by not bidding game directly. A good choice because the defense has four cashing tricks.
West North East South 3♣ 3♥ 3♠ 4♥ All Pass
North chose to bid only 3♣, not wishing to bypass 3NT. It’s hard to see E-W avoiding the doomed 4♥ contract, and that will be down one.
West North East South Pass Pass 1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 3♥ 3♠ 4♥ All Pass
North reasonably chose to bid her Hearts directly rather than to show her strength through a Double. The defense gets its Spade at Trick 1, but Declarer has the rest when the Heart finesse works.
West North East South Pass 1♥ 1♠ 2♦ Pass 3♦ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣ Pass 4♦ Pass 4♠ Pass 7♦ All Pass
- In competition, it’s usual to play 2/1 auctions as not game-forcing, so 3♦ in this auction can be passed. - East created a force by cue-bidding the enemy suit. - West was unable to bid 3NT so she made a cue-bid of her own with 4♣, an encouraging bid in the circumstances. - 4♦ was, in the partnership methods, Minorwood, after which 4♦ was “0 or 3” (1340 responses). - East’s majestic leap to 7♦ was, perhaps a bit too majestic, but Declarer could count 11 tricks and was sure that, at the very least, there would be a play for 13 tricks (with a 3-3 Heart break). Of course, West might also have had the Q♥ which would have made the grand slam an excellent proposition.
South leads a Spade, to the Queen, King and Ace. As Dummy fails to provide the hoped-for Q♥ the contract depends on 3-3 Hearts or Q doubleton. There are insufficient entries to Dummy to allow ♥Qxxx to be ruffed out, and also to take the Club finesse for the 13th trick. But all’s well that ends well, at least for Declarer, and 13 tricks roll in.
West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass 2NT Pass 3♣ Pass 3NT Pass 4♠ All Pass - Would you open the West hand? It’s not often that an 8-count passes the Rule of Twenty, but this one does! But, more to the point, if West does not start bidding his long suits right away he will never get to describe that hand. - By the time West has bid 2♠ he is likely to have at least 6 Clubs and 5 Spades, as most players nowadays open 1♠ with 5-5 in the black suits. - Then, 3♣ should be suggesting 7-5. - After West’s 3NT, East can hardly pass, not because his hand is highly distributional (he’s already told Partner that), but because his hand is so bereft of high cards (the downside of opening 1♣ originally). So, West bids 4♠, which is a suggestion to Partner that 4♠ might be playable (given his good intermediates). - East’s honor doubleton in Spades is a fine holding in the circumstances, so 4♠ is where West plays it.
North will lead a red card, and 4♠ limps home. There is no reason why Declarer should guess the Club situation, but fortunately the Spades are 3-3 and that is good enough for 11 tricks. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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