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Friday Post Mortem 14th September, 2012
Analysis by Brian Gunnell Click here for thewednesdaygame@yahoo.com Hand Records
NS 5♦; NS 5♣; NS 1N; NS 1♠; W 1♥; Par +400 West North East South 1♦ 1♠ 2♣ Pass 3♣ Pass 3♠ Dbl Pass Pass 3NT Pass 4♣ Pass 5♣ All Pass
- This being the 21st century and all, some North players will open with 1♦. The hand passes the Rule of 20, nothing is wasted, it’s got that yummy void, and many would consider that it’s altogether too good for a Weak Two. - South has a problem at her first turn. The lack of Spade spots are not such that South would insist on 3NT, and it also makes trying to penalize 1♠ unappealing. So South bids an odd-looking 2♣, the only forcing bid which is even remotely descriptive of her hand.
Anyway, 5♣ is a so-so contract, the only game with a decent chance. West leads a low Spade, and Declarer will ponder upon what West has done so far: - Not good enough to raise to 2♠ - But chose to double South’s cue-bid of 3♠ - And then led a low Spade. So, Declarer deduces that West has a Spade honor (presumably the King or Queen). If he also had the ♦K would he not have raised to 2♠ directly? Sure he would, so it’s a fair assumption that the ♦K is offside! That being so, the way to tackle the Diamonds is to cash the Ace and play low from both hands. Nicely done for 11 tricks.
EW 6♠; EW 6♥; EW 5N; EW 5♦; EW 4♣; Par −980 West North East South 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♥ Pass 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass 6♥ All Pass
No doubt, many E-W pairs will get to the poor Heart slam on these cards. In the auction above it was East who charged into 6♥ (5♦ showed one Key Card, using the 1430 responses to Roman Key Card Blackwood). But even if East had been more circumspect then probably West would have got quite excited with his 10-count opposite a 2♣ opener.
As you can see, the poor slam actually makes, and there is even an overtrick if South fails to find the opening lead of a Spade.
S 4♣; NS 2N; NS 2♠; EW 2♥; N 3♣; S 1♦; Par +130 West North East South 1♣ 1♥ Dbl Pass 3♣ Pass 3♥? Pass 3NT All Pass
South’s 3♣ bid is about as good as it can be, so one has to wonder if North should really be trying for game with that 3♥ bid. But fortune often favors the brave and the optimistic. Against 3NT, most Wests will find the opening lead of the ♥A and that will present a grateful Declarer with her 9th trick. The way to beat 3NT is for West to conjure up the highly improbable opening lead of a Club or a Diamond, holding Declarer to 6 Clubs and 2 Diamonds, with no chance for any more.
Suppose that, in the auction, North is less sanguine and passes 3♣. West will probably lead a Diamond won by Declarer’s Ace. Declarer now makes the fine avoidance play of the ♥K! This puts West back on lead, and Declarer’s plan is to get two Heart ruffs without letting in East for a Spade shift. West might exit a Club, but to no avail. Dummy does indeed get two ruffs, and also a Spade pitch on the ♦K. Late in the play Declarer will lead up to the ♠K, but with the ♠A (predictably) offside that will be just 10 tricks. Nicely bid by N-S, and also nicely played … but still losing matchpoints to the 3NT optimists.
NS 2♥; NS 1N; NS 2♣; NS 1♠; NS 1♦; Par +110 West North East South 1♦ All Pass
In the direct seat: - A 1NT overcall is usually played as 15-18 - With a better hand (say, 19-20) we double and then bid No Trump But South is not in the direct seat, she is in the balancing position, in which case the No Trump ranges are: - 1NT shows around 11-15 (but the ranges vary considerably, the main point is that the balancing 1NT overcall is made with a weaker hand) - With a better hand (say 16-18) we double and then bid No Trump
So, if South is in the mood to play this in No Trump she can either double and then bid No Trump, or else bid an immediate (and slightly heavy) 1NT. Our South didn’t like either, preferring to go for a two-trick set, giving N-S the magic +200 on what looks like a part-score deal. A consideration here is that North is likely to be short in Diamonds, and yet could not rustle up a bid over 1♦. That tells South that N-S probably don’t have game on this deal!
How many undertricks are there? Either one or two, but both +100 and +200 are better than the +90 which will accrue if N-S declare 1NT.
EW 4N; EW 3♥; EW 4♦; EW 2♠; EW 2♣; Par −430 West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass
How many Souths made a light third-seat 1♥ opener on this board? We are not sure that it’s such a wonderful idea, at unfavorable vulnerability, it’s not as if South is desperate for a Heart lead. So, suppose that South passes, and that West opens 1NT. East has a miserable 9-count (square distribution, no Tens) but is good enough to invite 3NT, either directly, as shown above, or via a Stayman sequence if the N-S methods use 1NT-2NT for something else (such as Minor Suit Transfers).
Anyway, West is destined to declare 3NT and even though all the suits are doubly stopped, there is much work to be done. The play might go: Spade to Declarer’s King Diamond to North’s King Spade to Dummy’s Ace Club to the Jack and Queen ♦J to South’s Ace Diamond to the Queen Club to the King and Ace At this point it will be apparent to Declarer that South is out of black cards, so a Diamond exit will force South to lead away from her ♥Q. Nice end-play! 10 tricks!
NS 7N; NS 7♥; NS 7♦; NS 2♣; NS 1♠; Par +1520 West North East South Pass 1♦ 2♠ Dbl Pass 3♥ Pass 3♠ Pass 3NT Pass 6♦ Pass 6♥ All Pass - 2♠: With a 7-card suit we normally preempt to the 3-level, but preempting when Red vs White is a dangerous business so West holds back and bids just 2♠ here (which is plenty with that hand!). - Dbl: North can see slam in the cards and could go zooming off to some large number of Diamonds. But it’s matchpoints and 6♥ would score better, so she starts out with a Negative Double. - 3♠: This could be a cue-bid on the way to slam or else could be trying for 3NT. - 3NT: Protecting the ♠K from the opening lead, which on a different layout might be a good reason to play this in No Trump rather than in Hearts or Diamonds. - 6♦: South has something in Spades, and it’s a bit much to expect her to also have the ♣A, ♦K, and ♥AQ as well (such a hand might have opened 1NT). So North jumps to 6♦, offering partner a choice of slam. - 6♥: South has good Hearts and has no reason not to choose the higher-scoring major-suit slam. She might also have considered 6NT.
Against 6♥, let’s say that West leads the ♠Q won by Dummy’s Ace. How do you play this trump suit combination? There is no problem if trumps are 3-2, but suppose that they are 4-1. In that case, the defender with the singleton is likely to be West, he of the long Spade suit. If that singleton is the Ten or Jack then the suit can be picked up with correct play. So, Declarer plays a Heart to the Ace and then back to the King. Bingo! West does indeed have a singleton honor, and now there is a finesse position against East’s ♥J. Trumps are drawn and the Diamond finesse brings in all 13 tricks.
EW 3N; EW 3♠; EW 2♥; EW 3♦; EW 3♣; Par −600 West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass 2NT Pass 3♠ Pass 3NT All Pass
Some Souths might jump right in with a vulnerable 2♥ here, notwithstanding the vulnerability and the weak suit. West will pass (trying not to drool), East will make a balancing Double, passed by West, for a penalty of at least 800.
But in the auction above, South sensibly passes, and E-W eventually reach 3NT. South does not have an attractive opening lead. No doubt a minor, but which one? Leading the ♦A might set up tricks for Declarer, and a better guess would be the ♣T through Dummy’s second suit. Dummy plays low, likewise North, and so must Declarer! Now another Club to North’s Ace and a third round to Declarer’s King. Next Declarer plays on Hearts and the good news is that the finesse wins. But the bad news is that the suit splits 6-1, and now, even with the ♦A in the safe South hand (safe because it does not have the Club winner), Declarer is still not up to 9 tricks. But his luck is in when Spades are 3-3 and the contract limps home.
NS 2♥; EW 2♦; NS 1♠; EW 1♣; Par +100: EW 3♦x-1 West North East South Pass 2♥ 3♦ 3♥ All Pass
North has a super-sound Weak Two, East dredges up a 3♦ bid (which is down one and a good save against a making 2♥), and South guesses wrong when she competes to 3♥. East leads the ♦A, then smartly shifts to trumps, holding Declarer to six Hearts and two Spades. Down one.
Perhaps we misspoke when we said that South guessed wrong to bid 3♥. If N-S defend 3♦ they can indeed beat the contract (with a trump lead). But South is more likely to lead the ♥Q and now it’s too late to stop Declarer from getting a Heart ruff on the board, scoring 9 tricks.
NS 5♠; EW 5♥; NS 3N; S 4♦; N 3♦; NS 2♣; Par +200: EW 6♥x-1 West North East South Pass 1♦ 1♠ 4♥ 4♠ Pass Pass 5♥ Pass Pass 5♠ All Pass
Nine-card suits are rare but this set has two of them (see also Board 22). We suppose that West will be competing up to the 5-level, and were it not for the vulnerability he might well have gone to 6♥, which is down only one and a good save against a making 5♠, even at unfavorable vulnerability.
In 5♠, after an opening Heart lead, Declarer can make 12 tricks with correct timing:Heart lead ruffed by Declarer Cash ♠A Cross to the ♠Q Low Diamond, East playing the Queen, Declarer winning the Ace By delaying the third round of trumps, and keeping a high Spade in her hand as an extra entry, the Diamond suit can be brought home. It takes an opening Club lead to hold Declarer to 11 tricks.
NS 4♠; NS 3♥; EW 1N; EW 2♣; EW 1♦; Par +620 West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♦ 1♥ 1NT Pass Pass Dbl Pass 2♠ 3♣ 3♠ All Pass
When 1NT got back to her, North could show her extra Heart or double to get Spades into the picture. She chose to double on the theory that it’s usually better to offer Partner a choice, and that worked well when the 4-4 Spade fit was found.
Playing in 3♠, Declarer’s plan will be to set up the Hearts: K♣ won by Declarer’s Ace A Heart is conceded ♦A and ♦K are cashed The third round of Diamonds is ruffed ♠J is successfully finessed A♥ is cashed Heart ruffed with the Ten ♠K is cashed then over to the ♠A to enjoy the long Hearts 10 whopping tricks! But Declarer would have been struggling to make her contract if the Spade finesse had lost or if one of the majors had broken 4-1.
EW 4♠; EW 4♦; EW 4♣; EW 2N; EW 1♥; Par −420 West North East South Pass 1NT Dbl Rdbl Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
A strange-looking auction, what does it mean? - 1NT: West has no qualms about opening 1NT holding a 5-card major. - Dbl: E-W are playing DONT, so this Double shows an unspecified one-suiter. - Rdbl: Shows a good hand - South’s Pass: Without the Redouble, South would bid 2♣ to ask “What is your one-suiter?” However, the Redouble relieves her of that obligation and a bid of 2♣ now would say “I have good Clubs, that may be a better spot than your suit”. - 2♠: West guesses that Hearts are North’s suit, but either way it seems like a good opportunity to finally get that 5-card major into the auction.
The play in 4♠ is simple. The defense cashes two Hearts, and now Declarer must finesse twice in trumps to hold his losers in the suit to one. Making 10 tricks.
EW 2♥; EW 2♣; NS 1♠; NS 1♦; Par −110 West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ 2♠ 3♥ All Pass
This hand is not a triumph for the Law of Total Tricks. N-S have 8 Spades and are down one, but unfortunately for West he has an extra trump so he bids on to 3♥ where their 9-card fit scores only 8 tricks. Any pair that actually makes a contract on this board will have done well.
NS 5♥; NS 4N; NS 5♣; NS 2♠; EW 2♦; Par +650 West North East South Pass Pass 1♥ 1♠ 2♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass West leads a low trump to East’s Jack and your Ace. Two more rounds of trumps are drawn (East pitching two Diamonds). At this point you can count 10 tricks and the question is “Can you get an 11th trick from the Spade suit?” Two options: - Play a Spade to the Ace and then lead a low Spade from the board, hoping that East started with Jx or Kx. - Finesse the Spade Ten, hoping West started with the Jack (with or without the King)
There’s no rush to guess the Spades so, after drawing trumps, you lead a low Club from hand and West hops up with the Ace and returns a Club, with East following to both rounds. You win the second Club on the board, ruff a Diamond, and cash a third Club. When West follows (East pitching another Diamond) you have a count on the hand. East started with one Heart, and two Clubs, and cannot have more than two Spades (West overcalled that suit and is presumed to have at least 5). So, East is presumed to have started life with 2=1=7=3. A couple of questions: (a) Can East hold the ♦A? Unlikely, with a 7-card suit headed by the Ace she might well have been heard from in the bidding. (b) Can East hold the ♠K? Again, unlikely! When West flew up with the ♣A on the first round, he had all the appearances of someone trying to avoid an end-play. Well, nice try, Mr West but you’re getting end-played anyway!
Once you conclude that the ♠K and ♦A are with West there is a 100% line of play. Cash the last two trumps (remember to count how many Spades that West discards). When you cross to Dummy with a Club at Trick 10, West will come down to ♠Kx ♦A or else ♠K ♦Ax. As you’ve been counting the Spades, you’ll know whether to throw West in with a Diamond (forcing a Spade return), or whether to drop the now-singleton ♠K.
The keys to success here were: - Realizing that, with that distribution, he was unlikely to hold ♦A - Deducing that West’s play of hopping up with the ♣A surely meant that he held the ♠K and ♦A and was afraid of getting end-played - Making sure that the 4th Club would be won in Dummy, in order to throw in West in the end-game.
EW 4♦; NS 2♠; EW 1N; Par −130 West North East South Pass 1♠ 1NT 2♥ 2NT 3♠ Dbl All Pass
North is a few HCP shy of being able to double West’s 1NT overcall, so she satisfies herself with 2♥, a bid which does not promise a lot, and could well be made with a weaker hand and a 6th Heart.
As for East, he guesses to compete in Diamonds, but if he bids 3♦ directly, Partner will expect more values. Instead, he uses Lebensohl, that 2NT is a relay to 3♣, allowing him to show a weak hand with Diamonds (follow the link for more on this). Now, we suppose that South will push on the 3♠ and that will no doubt be doubled by West (the way the auction has gone he does not know which suit East owns).
3♠ doubled rolls home on normal defense, Declarer losing two Spades, a Heart and a Diamond. Here is an unlikely defense which beats 3♠: Club lead ♠K won by West Club lead ♠Q is cashed Spade to West’s Jack Low Diamond to East’s Queen! Club ruff! That’s 4 tricks with the ♥A still to come. Anyone find that defense?!
NS 3♠; EW 2N; EW 2♥; EW 3♦; NS 2♣; Par +100: EW 3Nx-1; EW 4♦x-1 West North East South Pass 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass
South might have tried a 2♠ opening, but that’s a pretty rotten suit for a vulnerable Weak Two. How about West’s 1NT? Did he miscount his HCP? No, he upgraded his nice 14-count due to the 5-card suit and that working ♥T (we say “working” because it is backed up with another honor and therefore more likely to be useful). Another reason for West to grab the No Trump is that it seems likely that his hand should be Declarer (he wants to protect the ♠K and ♣Q from the opening lead).
Against 3NT, what will North lead? After a 1NT-3NT auction there is a tendency to lead a major, as Dummy presumably has no 4-card major (he didn’t use Stayman). If that is North’s thinking he will lead a low Heart and that is fatal for the defense. Declarer now has 4 Hearts and 5 Diamonds. Any lead but a Heart will lead to down one.
NS 2N; NS 2♥; NS 2♦; N 2♣; EW 1♠; S 1♣; Par +120 West North East South Pass 1♣ All Pass
North’s 1♣ might well get passed out, scraping up 8 tricks or thereabouts. Moving right along.
NS 5N; NS 5♥; NS 4♠; N 5♦; S 4♦; N 3♣; S 2♣; Par +460 West North East South 1♠ 3♣ Pass Pass 3♥ Pass 3NT All Pass
East jumps to 3♣ and for the second time today (see also West on Board 7) we find ourselves in a drooling situation. Here it is South who is eagerly awaiting a reopening Double from Partner and a whopping penalty. But this time, Partner does not oblige, and shows her distributional hand with a 3♥ bid.
The play in 3NT is straightforward. West leads a Club and that allows Declarer to score 11 tricks (a Spade, 5 Hearts, 4 Diamonds and a Club).
EW 2♥; S 2♦; EW 2♣; NS 1♠; N 1♦; Par −110 West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♦ 1NT 2♦ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass
With such weak Diamonds, after East has already announced Diamond values with his 1NT bid, we’d say that 2♦ (vulnerable) is quite risky. We don’t blame East for finding a matchpoint Double here, especially as the opponents are vulnerable, but it may work out badly. A Heart lead from East will beat 2♦, but a Club lead seems more likely, after which Declarer squeaks home as follows: Club to West’s Ace Diamond to Declarer’s Ace ♠Q covered by the King and Ace ♠J is cashed Spade ruff ♦K is cashed ♣K is cashed Club ruff Now a good Spade is played from the board, on which Declarer pitches a Heart loser. East can ruff, but he is doing so with a natural trump trick. 8 tricks and +180 for Declarer!
W 6N; EW 6♠; EW 6♦; E 5N; EW 3♥; EW 4♣; Par −1440 West North East South Pass 1NT Pass 4NT All Pass
East invites slam and West, with a minimum and square hand, has an obvious Pass.
As North, what is your opening lead? Anything but a Heart, we would say. The opponents obviously have around 30-31 HCP and it would be overly optimistic to try and set up the Heart suit. That lead is all too likely to blow a trick, so North plays it safe with a top-of-nothing lead … and as they didn’t use Stayman, that lead might as well be a Spade. On the actual hand, it doesn’t matter! Thanks to the 3-3 Spade break, Declarer has 12 tricks on any lead … and if North leads a Heart then it runs around to the ♥Q and now Declarer has 12 tricks without even needing the Spades to break.
NS 4♥; NS 3N; NS 2♠; NS 3♣; NS 2♦; Par +620 West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 3♣ Pass 3NT All Pass
North did not consider her hand to be good enough for a reverse of 2♠ but it was too good to pass, so she improvised with an odd-looking 2♣, eventually getting to the obvious 3NT contract.
Against 3NT, West leads a Diamond and Declarer must lead towards the Spades early in the play and guess right, if she is to score 9 tricks.
NS 4N; NS 3♠; EW 3♥; E 3♣; W 2♣; EW 1♦; Par +300: E 5♣x-2; EW 5♥x-2 West North East South 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ 4♥ Pass Pass 4♠ Pass Pass 5♥ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass
West’s 4♥ puts North on the spot. We are always told to “support with support” and nobody would disagree with the assertion that AK96 is fine support indeed. But, the North hand is shapeless … it’s minimum … and that ♥KQ is more useful on defense (it’s one trick) than it is on offense where (opposite Partner’s likely singleton) it is likely to be worthless. But, put those Heart honors in with the Diamonds (somewhere useful, in other words) and we would dredge up a 4♠ bid, being seduced by the magnificent support and undeterred by the minimum values.
North is in the hot seat again on the next round of bidding. When 5♥ comes back to her should she double or bid 5♠? North’s magnificent Spade support remains undisclosed, but that is the extent of the good news for a Spade contract. The rest of that North hand is virtually useless on offense, so we suppose that North should double, but she should not be overly surprised if 5♥ makes. In fact 5♥ is down two tricks.
How many tricks can be made in Spades? 9 or 10 is the answer and it all depends on East. West will probably lead a Heart to East’s Ace. Now what? The wining defense is a Club shift, scoring a ruff and holding Declarer to a 9 tricks. But East could easily go wrong, shifting to a Diamond and allowing 10 tricks to make.
NS 4♠; EW 4♣; EW 2♥; EW 2♦; Par +200: EW 5♣x-1 West North East South Pass 4♠ ?? Double here is usually played as being for penalty or value-showing, rather than for take-out. That being so, how about 4NT? There was a time when that was played as a three-suited take-out, but nowadays the bid is often made with a two-suiter. Anyway, we would say that the choices here are 4NT (planning to pass whatever suit East bids) and 5♣. Either could work, but it’s 5♣ which is the winner on the actual hand. 5♣ is down one, but we suppose that North will bid on to 5♠ and N-S will be down one instead. If West guesses to bid 4NT, East will bid 5♦, and that will be doubled by North, for down 3.
Someone once said, in reference to bidding after an enemy preempt, “Put your faith in the long suit”. The rationale here is that, even if you find a 4-4 fit there is a good chance it will get derailed by a 4-1 break and/or by a forcing defense. In other words, it often works better to bid your long suit and hope for the best. Good advice, at least on this hand, where bidding the long Club suit turns out to be the winning action.
EW 5♥; EW 3N; NS 1♠; EW 1♣; Par −650 West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 2NT Pass 4♥ All Pass
There are quite a few reasons for West not to open the bidding: only 11 HCP, doesn’t pass the Rule of 20, miserable distribution, and vulnerable to boot. But having said all that, it’s such a magnificent suit, so West opens 1♥ anyway. Having opened a hand like that, it’s always a good idea to have a carefully-worded and groveling apology handy in case it propels the bidding too high.
After 1♥, East bids the Jacoby 2NT, and West makes whatever bid says “I have a terrible hand”. In the standard Jacoby responses that bid is 4♥, and that’s where West plays it.
This one is our official nomination for “Flattest Board of the Day”, 11 tricks whichever way you slice it.
EW 4♥; EW 5♦; NS 2♠; EW 1N; W 1♣; Par −400 West North East South Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♦ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
As West, what would you bid after Partner accepts your transfer to Hearts? Here are two reasonable approaches: - Bid 3♦ (natural and game-forcing), encouraging Partner to play in the 5-3 fit, which is something Partner might choose not to do with a square hand. - Bid 3NT, taking a chance on the Spades. Remember, if Spades actually are the weak link in 3NT, there is still a good chance that South will lead from the Ace or King, allowing the singleton ♠Q to score.
If West chooses to bid 3♦, his side will end up in the theoretically better contract of 4♥. That makes 10 easy tricks.
If West bashes into 3NT, then South will no doubt lead a low Spade, and that will also be 10 tricks (and a great board!). Of course, if South is an absolute genius she will lay down the ♠K at Trick 1 and that will be down two! Did anyone find that lead?
EW 4♥; EW 1N; EW 2♦; NS 1♠; EW 1♣; Par −500: NS 4♠x-3 West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 3♣ Pass 4♥ All Pass
East has a classic Rule of 20 opener, with 10 HCP and 5-5 distribution. And a decent hand, wouldn’t you say, with all the HCP in the long suits. That propels E-W into a difficult 4♥ contract:Spade won by North’s King Heart shift won by ♥A Club to the Ace Spade ruff Cash ♣K Club ruff, Spade ruff Club ruff, Spade ruff Cash ♥K and ♦A South claims the last two tricks with her good trumps, but Declarer has his 10 tricks. It was fortunate that the ♥Q was in the hand with the long Clubs, so that there was no overruff on the 4th round of Clubs. But even if there had been an overruff, Declarer still had the Diamond finesse to fall back on for his 10th trick.
EW 3N; EW 4♦; EW 2♥; N 1♠; EW 1♣; Par −600 West North East South 1NT Pass Pass ??
The N-S methods could play a big role in this one. - If N-S are playing DONT: In this case there is no Penalty Double available so North can choose between Pass (feeble), or 2♣ (planning to show a Club-Spade two-suiter), or 2♠ (Spade one-suiter), or Double followed by 2♠ (also a Spade one-suiter, but a stronger hand). Perhaps showing a strong Spade one-suiter is the way to go. - If N-S are not playing DONT: In this case N-S probably have a strength-showing Double available. Should North use it? We bet that most would, and perhaps they are right. But we have a sneaking suspicion that 2♠ might be the winning bid more often than not. Take your pick.
If North does bid 2♠, she’ll probably play it there, undoubled for down one.
If North doubles, South will run to 2♥, after which it is hard to predict what might happen: - 2♥ will go down three, -300 for N-S, and -800 if doubled. - 2♥ may get doubled, and North might pull to 2♠. West will now feel free to double. -200 for N-S. - West might guess to compete in Diamonds. -130 for N-S.
EW 4♠; EW 3♥; EW 2N; EW 3♣; NS 1♦; Par −420 West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
We’ve seen some optimistic bidding in this set, here we go again! East’s 2♦ is New Minor Forcing, and West admits to 3-card Spade support. East perhaps should invite game but instead he showed great faith in his Declarer play by bidding the game.
Against 4♠ South leads the ♦J, and North ducks this. Why not fly with the ♦A? Because if Declarer has ♦Kxx he has just been presented with a second Diamond trick. Anyway, here is how the play might unfold in this optimistic contract: ♦J won by Declarer’s King Diamond won by North’s Ace Spade ducked to South’s Ten Club to Dummy’s Ace Spade finesse ♠A is cashed At this point Declarer has lost two tricks and must also lose the ♥A. How does Declarer avoid losing a second Heart? There are various ways, if you look at all 4 hands, but how would you play, looking at just two hands?
Maybe the Clubs will come in, that would certainly solve the problem. But taking an immediate Club finesse is putting all of your eggs in one basket. So you play a Club to Dummy (just in case there is a doubleton Queen lurking out there). The Queen does not drop, so now you play the ♣J from the board. East plays low without a care in the world and you sensibly ruff that. Alas, West shows out, and now it is all down to the Heart suit.
What is the enemy distribution? Let’s start with Diamonds. East has shown enough HCP for a 1♦ overcall and as he didn’t make one we can presume that he has less than five Diamonds. How many Diamonds does West have? Probably less than six as there was no Weak Two opening. So let’s give West five Diamonds and East four. If you trust that logic then you have a complete count on the hand! West obviously started out with 2=4=5=2 distribution and that’s bad news! With Hearts 4-2 there no point in finessing against West’s hoped-for Jack, as West (if he has that card) will cover and the defense will eventually score their second Heart trick (on the 4th round of the suit).
So, you don’t finesse against West for the ♥J, instead you play East to have the doubleton Jack. Good choice!
Declarer did a few right things here: - She exited a Diamond at Trick 2 in order to get a favorable return - She counted out the enemy distribution by considering the bids which were not made - She combined her chances in Hearts and Clubs instead of staking everything on the Club finesse.
EW 5♠; EW 5♣; N 3♥; NS 4♦; S 2♥; EW 1N; Par −450 West North East South Pass 2♦ 2♠ 3♠ Dbl Pass 4♠ Dbl All Pass
Although the North hand passes the Rule of 20 North reasonably chooses to open 2♦ anyway. Those dangling side-suit quacks aren’t pulling their weight for one thing, added to which the hand has very little defensive strength. Looks like a preempt to us.
As for East, he sees no reason to let his meager 8-count deter him from bidding. “Six-five, come alive” as the old saying goes, so East cheerfully bids 2♠. This is a hand with a lot of playing strength (only 6 losers) and E-W have the vulnerability in their favor, so West is prepared to introduce Clubs later, if necessary.
On to the South hand. Anyone for 3NT? That might seem tempting with Spades doubly stopped, but a little thought brings South to the conclusion that 3NT is unlikely to make. Partner will need Clubs to be stopped, of course, and the ♦A, but even that won’t be enough. Just about the only hand-types that will work for 3NT will be: (a) ♦A, plus a major-suit Ace, plus Qxx in Clubs, or (b) ♦A and QT9x in Clubs. In the circumstances, South is wondering about 5♦ (that just requires two Aces), and cue-bids 3♠, hedging her bets and awaiting developments.
After 3♠, West is not good enough to bid 4♠, but he can double the cue-bid. Now East’s hand gets even better and he takes a shot at game. We suppose that most players in the South seat would double this but that turns out to be a disaster!
In 4♠ doubled, as Declarer (East) how do you play the Spade suit? If the suit is 2-2 it doesn’t matter, there will be one loser regardless. And if the suit is 3-1? Then there will be two losers except in these cases: South has singleton King (♠A is cashed, then a Club towards the Jack) South has singleton Queen (same line of play) North has singleton Ten (Declarer must lead the Spade Jack from his hand) The superficial conclusion is “Two chances are better than one” leading Declarer to lay down the ♠A. But the bidding suggests that the third case is more likely, and that Declarer should play South for KQ6. This is the winner, bringing in the trump suit for one loser and scoring a surprising 11 tricks!
EW 4♣; S 3♦; EW 1N; N 2♦; NS 1♠; NS 1♥; Par −130 West North East South Pass Pass 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ 3♣ 3♠ 4♣ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass For the second straight board South doubles the opponents and once more she is likely to regret it! North leads a Spade won by Declarer’s Ace. Next Declarer plays the ♦Q and, if North wins the Ace and returns a Club, Declarer can make an overtrick by ruffing out South’s ♦K. So, North ducks, and South wins her ♦K. The ♠K is cashed, after which Declarer can continue Spades in one of two ways: - If South plays a high Spade (setting up Dummy’s Jack) then Declarer ruffs low. Now Declarer cannot return a Heart without setting up a trick in Dummy, and cannot return the ♦A without setting up two Diamond tricks for Declarer. So he tries a surprising low Diamond exit but even that is not good enough: Declarer’s Jack wins that trick, then a Diamond ruff, the ♠J is cashed (pitching the last Diamond), followed by the Club finesse. 10 tricks! - If South plays a low Spade (after winning the second round of Spades) then Declarer pitches a Diamond and North ruffs. Now Declarer can ruff his two Diamond losers on the board and still have a trump left with which to take the finesse against South’s King.
EW 4♥; EW 5♦; EW 5♣; NS 2♠; Par −400 West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ Pass 3♠ All Pass
How do you like East’s original Pass? The hand is good enough for a Weak Two, and no doubt some Easts will indulge. But is it the right hand-type for a Weak Two. Perhaps not, considering (a) it's such a rotten suit, (b) there is so much outside stuff. While we are on the subject, how about an opening bid of 1♦? A tad light, but not egregious.
Over to North’s hand. She might have been tempted to preempt the first time around. True, she has 12 HCP, but the hand is all about Spades, and Partner is a passed hand. Anyway, let’s say that North declines to preempt and makes a simple overcall instead. Partner raises to 2♠ and it’s back to North. There is no chance of game here, and the two questions are “Will the opponents let us play in 2♠?” and “If they don’t, will we want to bid on to 3♠?” North decides that the answers to those questions are “No” and “Yes” respectively, so she bids 3♠ immediately, making it harder for East to compete effectively. Could 3♠ be construed as a game try? It shouldn’t, if North has a strong overcall with game interest she can bid anything but 3♠.
Who makes what? 3♠ is down one. As for E-W they can make a whopping 11 tricks in either minor! Not that they really want to be in game, both contracts require friendly breaks and the ♦J must be found.
EW 2N; EW 2♠; E 2♥; EW 2♦; W 1♥; NS 1♣; Par −120 West North East South 1♣ Dbl Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT All Pass
As a general rule, we avoid making a Takeout Double with two cards (or less) in an unbid major. The exception to this is when we have a really strong hand. Opinions differ as to what “really strong” means, some would say as low as 16 HCP. But the modern trend is to have a higher upper limit for our overcalls, let’s say 18 or so. Here, the West hand actually is good enough to double with only two Hearts, and his general plan is to follow up with a No Trump bid, showing a hand which was too good to make a 15-18 1NT overcall, something in the 19-20 range, in other words.
Against 1NT North will probably lead a Club, which South ducks. Declarer would love to get to the board and finesse against the ♠J, so he leads the ♦K which South sensibly ducks. Realizing that he must play Spades from his hand, he leads the ♠K and now it is North’s turn to withhold her Ace, giving Declarer a guess. Let’s say that he guesses correctly, playing the ♠Q, forcing the Ace out and squashing South’s Jack. Another Club to South’s Ace, and a third round clears the suit. Declarer cashes his Spades and gives up a Diamond, scoring 8 tricks, via 3 Spades, the ♥A, 2 Diamonds and 2 Clubs.
N 2♠; NS 2♥; NS 3♣; NS 1N; N 2♦; S 1♠; S 1♦; Par +110 West North East South Pass 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass
North has a typical Rule of 20 opener, one of those 11-counts with 5-4 shape … South goes to game with minimum values … there’s no fit, no source of tricks … and that’s how N-S get to a truly ugly 3NT contract. Down two in all probability.
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