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Wednesday Post Mortem 12th Sept, 2012
Analysis by Brian Gunnell Click here for thewednesdaygame@yahoo.com Hand Records
EW 4♠; NS 4♥; EW 4♦; NS 4♣; Par −100: NS 5♣x-1; NS 5♥x-1 West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ 2♠ 4♥ 4♠ Pass Pass ??
North takes a shot at 4♥, expecting it to make more often than not but, not unexpectedly, those pesky E-W characters bid 4♠, and now North must guess whether to Pass or Double or bid 5♥. How did North get into this horrible mess? It’s simple enough, she misbid earlier! Here’s a better auction: West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ 2♠ 3♣! 3♠ 4♣! 4♠ ?? North’s 3♣ is ostensibly a natural game-try, even though North is going to game regardless. Her goal is to elicit Partner’s cooperation for later in the auction. East bids 3♠ and South, in response to what looks like a game-try, will gladly accept. Does she bid 4♥? No! She’s accepting the game-try because of the Club fit, not because she has extra values or extra distribution, so she shows the Club fit with 4♣. After this co-operative auction, it is clear for North to bid 5♥ over 4♠! She’s not sure who makes what, but she does know that it is a double-fitter, N-S having Hearts and Clubs, and E-W having Spades and Diamonds.
Yes, 5♥ is the winning call! If West mistakenly bids on to 5♠ then N-S will get a plus score. And if N-S are doubled in 5♥ it will be a fine sacrifice against 4♠ making.
EW 3N; EW 3♠; EW 4♣; NS 2♦; EW 1♥; Par −400 West North East South 1NT Pass 4♥ Pass 4♠ All Pass
Not every East will open 1NT with that hand, but it works rather well here, concealing the Club suit and getting the contract played from the strong side. Against 4♠, what would be your opening lead from the South hand? - A trump? Definitely not, that might too easily blow a trick. - A Club? It’s usually not a good idea to go after ruffs when you have natural trump tricks. On this hand it could prove disastrous, sparing Declarer the Club guess and giving him a tempo. At Trick 2, the ♠A is cashed, then a Spade to Dummy’s Queen. Declarer now plays Clubs, and South must ruff in, shift to a Diamond, after which North must shift to a Heart. Down one despite the opening lead! - A Heart? That’s a pretty dangerous lead with the strong hand on the right. Now if Declarer guesses right on the first trick (he probably won’t for the aforementioned reason!), and guesses Clubs correctly (placing the long Clubs with North’s short Spades), he can actually make 4♠. - A Diamond? Yes, this looks the most sensible, and ensures defeat, perhaps by two tricks if Declarer misguesses Clubs.
W 2♠; W 1N; E 1♠; W 1♥; NS 1♦; EW 1♣; Par −110 West North East South Pass Pass 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT Pass Pass 2♠ All Pass
West jumps in at the last minute with a fearless vulnerable balance and lives to tell the tale! The play might unfold as follows: Unfortunate Heart lead won by Declarer’s Jack Spade to Dummy’s King Spade to North’s Ace Heart to Dummy’s Ace Finesse of the Club Nine to North’s Queen Another Heart to Dummy’s King In Dummy for the last time, Declarer finesses the Club Eight and ends up with 8 tricks.
EW 6♦; E 5N; EW 5♠; W 4N; E 1♥; NS 1♣; Par −1370 West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT 2♥ Pass Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass
E-W were playing a 2/1 system in which 1NT was forcing for one round. There’s nothing to the play on this one, Declarer has 11 top tricks, thanks to the 3-3 Spade break.
It’s true that E-W can make 12 tricks in Diamonds, but we cannot see many, if any, E-W pairs getting to six. How good is the slam? If trumps are 2-2, then Spades must be no worse that 4-2 … but if trumps are 3-1, then Spades must be 3-3 (without that Declarer just does not have enough tricks). This works out to just a little over 50%. So the slam is not quite as great as it looks!
EW 2N; EW 2♥; EW 2♦; EW 1♠; EW 1♣; Par −120 West North East South Pass 1NT All Pass
Against 1NT, South leads a Spade and Dummy wins the third round. Next, the ♦9 is run around to South’s Ace, the Spades are cashed, and that might appear to be the end of that. The defense has 5 tricks, but Declarer now has 8 … a Spade, 4 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and a Club. But, unlike us, Declarer cannot see the Hand Record! As he discards on the Spades, he will pitch a Club, of course, but then he must choose between a Heart or a Diamond, and he has no idea which of those suits is breaking 3-3. However, North might come to the rescue by giving count on the first round of Diamonds, playing the Seven to show an even number. If the signal is to be trusted, that will tell Declarer that Hearts are the only hope for an 8th trick.
Back to the Bidding: Did any South players feel constrained to bid Spades over the 1NT opening? Not a good idea at this vulnerability, with such a shapeless hand. This folly gets suitably punished, it’s down two, for -500 (it’s only -200, but still a bad board, if West forgets to double).
NS 6♠; NS 6♦; NS 6♣; NS 3N; NS 3♥; Par +980 West North East South Pass 1NT Pass 2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass 3♣ Pass 3NT All Pass
East has an obvious Heart lead, and Declarer ducks a couple of rounds before winning the ♥A and leading a Spade towards Dummy. If West ducks, then Declarer returns to hand with the ♦A, and leads another Spade (leading twice towards Dummy protects against West having doubleton Ace). West wins, cashes the last Heart and it’s 9 tricks for Declarer.
Deep Finesse assures us that N-S can make slam in Spades, Clubs or Diamonds! We never argue with Deep Finesse, but we should point out that all it takes to make those slams is the on-side ♣Q, ♦J, ♦Q, and a couple of 3-3 breaks. Chances of success? Approximately 3%!
EW 5♥; EW 4N; EW 3♠; EW 3♦; EW 2♣; Par −650 West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
Would you open the West hand? Those square 12-counts don’t pass the Rule of Twenty, but at least this one has a couple of Aces and a couple of Tens, and even those Nines might be useful. Our West decides to jump right in.
As South, what would you lead against 4♥? Not a trump, that might easily blow a trick … likewise, not a Club … a Spade also looks dangerous. So you find the safe lead of a Diamond.
Now you are declaring 4♥, as East. Can you make 11 tricks? You can count one or two losers in the trump suit (or even three on a very bad day). The only other losers are in Spades … if South has ♠KQ there will be only one Spade loser, otherwise it looks like two losers in the suit.
Yes, this is a perfect set-up for an elimination play. Win the Diamond in hand with the Ace, cash the ♥A, play ♣K, ♣A, ruff a Club, cash ♦K and ♦Q. Now, with the minor suits eliminated, exit with a Heart. As it happens Hearts are 2-2, and whichever defender wins the second Heart (North as it happens) will be forced to: - Either break the Spade suit - Or concede a ruff and sluff. Making 11 tricks.
EW 6♥; EW 5N; EW 5♠; EW 2♦; EW 1♣; Par −980 West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass
West does well to raise to 2♠ with his 3-card support, and East gives up on slam, preferring the possible 9-card Spade fit to the probable 8-card Heart fit.
The Play in 4♠: South might well lead a low Club, which appears to be helpful to Declarer, but it really isn’t. Dummy’s Jack wins that, then ♠A, and another Spade. When North shows out, Declarer plays the Jack, losing to South’s Queen. It’s now essential for South to cash the ♦A, holding Declarer to 11 tricks. But South might get greedy, and lead a low Diamond, hoping that North has the ♦Q and Declarer the ♦J … in that case, Declarer might guess wrong and make just 10 tricks. But there is no guess, Declarer hops up with the King and that will be 12 tricks!
The Play in 4♥: North leads the ♦Q to South’s Ace, at which point South has no attractive return, and will probably play back a Diamond to Declarer’s King. Now, to make 12 tricks, one line for Declarer is to ruff a Diamond, draw trumps, then play a 4th trump and cash the ♠A, leaving this position: North ♠ T ♥ ♦ J ♣ 9865 Declarer Dummy ♠ A74 ♠ KJ9 ♥ 9 ♥ ♦ 7 ♦ ♣ J ♣ AK4 South ♠ Q85 ♥ ♦ ♣ QT7 Declarer knows that North has the ♦J and that South has pitched a Spade. He can go after one of two squeezes: (a) Play ♣A and ♣K, ruff a Club, and now, if the ♠Q is in the North hand, it will show up in the end-game. This squeeze is no more than an exotic way to take the Spade finesse which could have been taken earlier! Anyway, this squeeze does not work. (b) The exotic squeeze (and one which does work!) is to cash the ♠K and ♠A, and now, when Declarer plays that last Heart, N-S are caught in the grip of a Double Squeeze! North must hang on to her Diamond, so pitches a Club. Dummy pitches a Spade, and now whichever card South pitches will give Declarer his 12th trick. Yes, South could have brilliantly returned the ♣Q at Trick 2! That breaks up the Double Squeeze, and now Declarer will resort to the losing Spade finesse, making only 11 tricks.
EW 2♠; NS 2♥; NS 3♣; NS 1N; Par +110 West North East South 1NT Pass Pass Dbl Pass 2♣ Dbl 2♠ 3♣ 3♠ All Pass
If East were non-vulnerable, and feeling frisky, he might have bid over 1NT, but, being vulnerable, that would be a bit much. But West is in the balancing seat, and anyway he has a better hand. This deal turns out to be bad for the DONT brigade. West doubles (which in DONT shows a one-suiter), and East bids 2♣ in order to find out West’s suit. This allows South to show her suit with a Double of 2♣. Now, North competes to 3♣, pushing E-W to the three-level.
3♠ turns out to be one too many, but let’s admire West’s admirable technique in a gallant losing cause: ♠Q won by Declarer’s King ♥Q (good play!) covered by the King and Ace Heart ruff ♣K taken by the Ace Spade return to Dummy’s Ace Heart ruff ♣Q is cashed Club ruff Declarer has played this well. By attacking Hearts at Trick 2 he gave himself the chance to ruff out the ♥J in 3 rounds for his 9th trick. Alas, that did not pan out, and there is no point in leading towards the ♦K, as the Ace is likely to be with North. But Declarer is not done yet! If North started with 3=4=3=3 distribution he can be thrown in with a Heart and end-played! A Heart is led from Dummy, but, alas, it is South who has the ♥J. Declarer ruffs that and exits a Diamond, but it’s down one. Nice try!
NS 4♥; NS 1N; NS 2♦; EW 2♣; NS 1♠; Par +620 West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 3♣ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass
- It’s true that the South hand passes the Rule of Twenty, but it’s a hand with defects, namely that singleton ♣Q and the stranded ♠Q. So, even if the Weak Two range is 5-10, there’s something to be said for opening this one 2♦. - Anyway, back to actual auction. After South’s 2♦ rebid, North has no convenient natural bid. She’d like to emphasize the good Hearts, but 2♥ and 3♥ are not forcing, and 4♥ would be too unilateral. So, South temporizes with a New Minor Forcing type of bid, namely 3♣, and provides N-S with the opportunity to explore the best contract.
Against 4♥, East has no appealing lead and starts with a Spade, to West’s Jack and Declarer’s Ace, Declarer must prepare for a Club ruff before playing trumps, so at Trick 2 she concedes a Club. West continues Spades, but Declarer now has an easy route to 10 tricks.
NS 6N; NS 6♣; NS 3♠; NS 4♦; NS 2♥; Par +990 West North East South 1♣ 2♥ Dbl Pass 3♣ Pass 3♥ Pass 3NT Pass 4NT All Pass
Here’s an interesting auction! - North has an easy Negative Double at her first turn. - Things are tougher for North the next time around. Slam or not slam? Clubs or No Trump? North hedges her bets for a while by cue-bidding 3♥. What does that mean? Not much, really, just a forcing bid, although South would certainly be expected to bid 3NT if she could. - As it happens, South can and does bid 3NT. - Back to North. Now what? 4NT sounds like it should be natural, in which case it’s a fine choice.
South passes 4NT and a rather poor slam limps home thanks to the lucky lie of the cards. Oh, well!
E 3♠; EW 4♦; W 2♠; NS 1N; EW 1♥; NS 1♣; Par −140 West North East South Pass Pass 1♠ 2♣ Dbl Pass 2♦ Pass 3♦ All Pass
North does well not to raise to 3♣ with that miserable quacky collection, thereby avoiding a painful -200 (-500 if doubled). Instead, East declares 3♦ and has to decide how to play trumps:
Method A is the better way to bring in the suit for one loser. Method B is the better way to avoid three losers. The bidding suggests that the Ace is likely to be with South, so Declarer adopts Method B and brings in the suit for two losers. Well done, for 10 tricks.
NS 3♠; NS 2N; NS 2♥; EW 2♣; EW 1♦; Par +140 West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ All Pass
North is close to rebidding 3♠, a couple of Tens would have taken that hand over the edge. There’s nothing to the play in 2♠, Declarer must lose a Club and three Hearts. 9 tricks.
NS 6♦; NS 5N; NS 4♣; EW 2♠; NS 2♥; Par +800: EW 6♠x-4 West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♦ Pass 4♥ Pass 4♠ Pass 5♥ Pass 6♦ All Pass
Please follow our blow-by-blow account of the proceedings: - 1♦: Most players open 1♦ when 4-4 in the minors, though it’s really not that important either way. - 2♦: An Inverted Raise, denying a 4-card major, and showing at least game-invitational values. - 2♥: This bid could mean any number of things! It shows something in Hearts, and probably extras (with a minimum hand South might rebid 2NT or 3♦. Game-forcing? Maybe, maybe not, that depends on your methods! - 2♠: Something in Spades. - 4♦: Minorwood! Minor suit slam auctions often run out of space or get too high when 4NT is used as Roman Key Card. So, many pairs use Minorwood or Redwood as a cheaper way of making their Roman Key Card Ask. - 4♥: Using 1430 responses this shows 1 or 4. - 4♠: It’s the cheapest non-signoff, and as such is used as the Queen Ask. - 5♥: It’s customary, when being asked for the trump Queen and when holding said card, to also show a side-suit King. So 5♥ shows the ♦Q, denies the ♣K (because no 5♣ bid) and shows the ♥K. - 6♦: To play, of course, South reasoning that 6NT was somewhat ambitious.
After such a long-winded auction, will South have the energy left to play this slam correctly? South may be so exhausted at this point that she simply draws trumps, loses the Club finesse, finds that the Clubs don’t break, and resorts to the Heart finesse. 12 easy tricks!
But that’s not a good line of play. Can Declarer make 6♦ even if the Heart finesse loses? Yes, with this line of play: Win the ♠A at Trick 1, cross to the ♦A, ruff a Spade high, cross back to the ♦K, and lead a Club towards the board. If West has the King, he must duck, of course, and Dummy’s Queen will win the trick. Now another Club is played and Declarer covers whatever card East plays. West can win the King but now he is end-played, and must surrender the 12th trick in Hearts, or in Clubs, or by conceding a ruff and sluff with a Spade return.
NS 4♥; NS 4♦; NS 2N; NS 1♠; NS 1♣; Par +620 West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♥ All Pass
N-S flirt with game but very sensibly stop short. Sensibly, but unluckily! With Hearts 3-2 and Diamonds 3-3, Declarer does not have to worry about a 3rd Club loser and 10 tricks roll in.
EW 2N; EW 2♥; S 2♦; EW 1♠; N 1♦; Par −100: S 3♦x-1 West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT 2♣ 2♥ Pass 2♠ All Pass
If your partnership plays a 2/1 style then 1NT is forcing (or semi-forcing), which works well here, as it allows East to show weak Spade support the next time around. Then, West has no reason to get overly excited, no need to make a game-try, and 2♠ will be the final contract.
Barring defensive accidents, there are 8 tricks for Declarer.
NS 5♠; NS 2N; EW 3♦; NS 1♥; EW 1♣; Par +450 West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 3♦ 4♠ All Pass
Do you play Support Doubles? If so, North’s 2♠ bid shows 4-card support and makes it easier for South to take a shot at game with the known 10-card fit. Also, the opposition Diamond bidding indicates shortness in the North hand. We imagine that just getting to game will be a good score for N-S … but only if they make it!
If, against 4♠, West leads a Diamond, it’s plain sailing. Declarer wins and, before touching trumps, will lead a low Heart from her hand. West wins and belatedly finds a Club switch. Dummy’s ♣A takes that, the ♥K is cashed, pitching a Club. It looks relatively safe to ruff another Heart now, in case the Queen comes down on the 3rd round, but when East shows out there is no reason not to take the Spade finesse after crossing back to Dummy with a Diamond ruff. Making 10 tricks.
Next, suppose that an inspired West leads the ♣K. Ouch! Now there is the danger of two Club losers, along with the ♠K and ♥A. Declarer ducks the opening lead (playing for the 5-2 break), and wins the Club continuation. Then she crosses to the ♦A and leads a Heart. West jumps up with the Ace, and, to the utter joy of Declarer, is unable to play a Club. 10 tricks once again, assuming that Declarer takes the normal trump finesse.
EW 6♣; EW 3N; NS 2♠; NS 2♥; NS 1♦; Par −920 West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass ??
Do you have any good ideas here? We certainly don’t, we were hoping that you might. Is 3♣ forcing? Whatever your answer, are you quite sure that Partner is on the same wavelength?
Anyway, here’s an alternative not-quite-kosher auction which will get E-W to the desirable Club slam:
West North East South 1♣ Pass 3♦ Pass 3♥ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣ Pass 4NT Pass 6♣ All Pass
3♦ was a splinter (some play it as natural and preemptive), showing a big fit, shortness in the bid suit and (supposedly) no 4-card major. It’s a bald-faced lie, of course, but not completely unreasonable, considering the extreme fit and the slam potential. It’s also a bid that will get E-W to5♣ instead of 3NT when that is right. West is gambling that showing an extreme Club fit is more likely to work out well than finding a 4-4 Spade fit. After 3♦, East rather likes his hand and bids 4♣ (Minorwood). 4NT was “two with” and the good slam is reached.
S 2N; E 2♠; N 1N; W 1♠; EW 1♥; NS 1♣; Par +120 West North East South 1♦ 1♥ 1NT All Pass
West might have been tempted to compete further, but that was rather risky at this vulnerability. If West had pushed on to 2♥ then would you try a “matchpoint double” with the South hand? Pretty tempting, we would say, but it requires careful defense to beat this contract (the defense must avoid playing on Spades).
How about North’s contract of 1NT? Suppose that East politely leads Partner’s suit. The ♥A, ♥K are cashed and West exits a Heart, won by Declarer. Now a Club to the Ace, and the ♣9 is run around to East’s Ten. Why play the Clubs that way? Well, Declarer’s hand is short of entries, and the immediate finesse of Nine is the best way to protect against a 4-1 break (which is quite likely, considering the Heart situation). If the play were to go Club to the Ace and back to the Queen, then East can duck that trick and shut out the long Club. Anyway, it’s a complicated hand, and one of many possible lines of play would be: ♥K and ♥A are cashed Declarer wins the ♥Q Club to the Ace ♣9 to East’s Ten ♠T won by Dummy’s Ace (necessary to preserve the entry to the Clubs) Club lost to East’s King ♠9 is ducked (also necessary, this time to keep West off play) Declarer wins the next Spade Last two Clubs are cashed Now a Diamond is played at Trick 12 for Declarer’s 7th trick.
EW 6♥; EW 6♣; EW 5N; EW 1♠; EW 1♦; Par −1430 West North East South 1♣ 2♠ Dbl Pass 3NT Pass Pass Pass
Against 3NT, North leads the ♠J, won by Declarer. Now, how does Declarer play the Clubs? The old, old rule is “Eight ever, nine, never”, meaning that with a 9-card fit one should not finesse against the Queen. But here there are two excellent reasons to break that rule. Firstly, the bidding tells us that North has long Spades, and that increases the chances that South has longer Clubs. Secondly, it’s essential to keep South off lead, as a second Spade through Declarer will be fatal. So, Declarer cashes the ♣A, crosses to the ♥K, takes the Club finesse, and when that works he is up to 10 tricks. Dare he cross to the ♦A and take the Heart finesse for 11? The danger, of course, is that, if the ♥Q is offside, the defense might wind up scoring 4 tricks (♠A, ♥Q and two Diamonds). Yes, it’s possible, but the defenders will have to discard accurately and the Heart finesse would have to lose. On balance, it seems right to go for 11 and risk getting only 9.
NS 4N; N 4♣; EW 2♠; NS 2♥; N 3♦; S 3♣; S 2♦; Par +500: EW 5♠x-3 West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♥ 2♥ Pass 3♣ All Pass
North’s 2♥ cue-bid showed game-invitational values. Yes, it’s only 8 HCP’s, but those two Aces and the singleton are enough. Against 3♣, West is likely to lead the ♠A, after which the defense can do no better than score 3 tricks. A more inspired (but unlikely) defense is: Heart ruff, back to West with a Spade, then another Heart ruff. That’s 3 tricks, and the 4th is a natural trump trick.
Yes, N-S can make no fewer than 10 tricks in NT on a combined point-count of only 22 HCPs. But it’s a very lucky contract indeed, requiring a blocked Spade position and a couple of finesses. If you were -630 on this one, you no doubt feel quite aggrieved L
NS 6♥; NS 5♣; EW 3♠; EW 3♦; NS 1N; Par +800: EW 6♠x-3 West North East South Pass 1♥ 2♥ 3♠ Dbl Rdbl 4♠ 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass 6♥ All Pass
West’s 2♥ was a Michaels Cue-Bid, showing Spades and a minor. Now, what would you bid as North? There’s actually an argument for bidding any one of the 4 suits! - 2♠? Game-invitational values (or better) in Hearts. Let’s scratch this off the list, that’s a bid which might be made with a more balanced hand. The actual hand appears to call for more dramatic and descriptive action! - 4♥? No, this hand is way too good to be preempting. It’s only 6 HCP but there is immense playing potential. - Splinter? North could bid 3♠ or 4♦, either one of which would be a splinter, showing shortness and Heart support and game values. - 3♣? Natural and forcing, the plan here being to support Hearts later. That’s quite a selection of bids from which to choose! Let’s say that North goes the splinter route with 3♠.
South’s Redouble? After the Double of Partner’s splinter this shows a first-round control, presumably the Ace. West no doubt has extreme distribution for his Red vs White 4♠, after which North, she of the mighty 6-count, launches into Roman Key Card. And why not, Partner implies extra values and slam interest with her Redouble, and all that North is missing is Key Cards and the ♣K.
That was well bid by North, and 6♥ is a fine contract, but an unlucky one. Provided that West’s opening lead is the ♦A, 6♥ is destined for down one due to the 3-0 trump break. Sure, Declarer could play for the 3-0 break and pick up the trumps with a first-round finesse, but that’s rather a deep position to take.
NS 4♠; N 5♦; N 5♣; S 4♣; NS 2N; S 3♦; EW 1♥; Par +620 West North East South 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass
That 1NT may be somewhat off-shape, but this auction has the benefit of forcing West to make his opening lead with very little information. What will West lead against 3NT? His longest suit is Hearts and that is the winner. Declarer will win her Heart trick, try the Spade finesse to get up to 9 tricks, but will wind up down two.
Some Wests might reason that, as their hand is entryless, there is no point in trying to set up Hearts, as Partner will probably need 4 cards in the suit for the lead to be a success. With that thought in mind, West might try the lead of the ♠6, trying to find Partner’s suit. Now, Declarer must guess to rise with Dummy’s Ace. He then plays on Diamonds and winds up with 10 tricks. The Spade opening lead turns out to be disastrous but it’s far from unreasonable.
N 6♠; S 4♠; NS 2N; N 3♦; NS 1♥; S 1♦; NS 1♣; Par +980 West North East South Pass Pass 1♣ 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass - We hope that North was at least tempted to open 1♠. - South has a classic 4-card overcall (decent hand, good suit, length in RHO’s suit). If Partner raises with three-card support, the 4-3 fit should play well (with Club ruffs in the short hand). - North’s 2♣ showed Spade support, after which N-S inch their way up to game in unconvincing fashion.
In 4♠, West can hold Declarer to 10 tricks by leading the ♦J. But a low Club is more likely. Declarer wins, unblocks the ♥Q, ruffs a Club, cashes ♥AK (pitching Diamonds from Dummy), finesses the ♠Q, and racks up 12 tricks.
EW 7N; EW 7♥; EW 7♣; EW 5♠; EW 4♦; Par −2220 West North East South Pass Pass Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3♣ Pass 3♥ Pass ??
So far, West has shown 22-24 HCP (or thereabouts), and there is a Heart fit. East is worth a slam try here, what are the choices? - 4♦? It would be great if this were a slam try in Hearts, but not many partnerships have that agreement, so we can scratch that one off the list. - 6♥? The direct route has something to recommend it, but maybe this is a slight overbid. - 5♥? What does this bid mean? Sometimes it means “I have two losers in the enemy suit (or perhaps the unbid suit)” but no such suit exists. Other times it means “Bid slam with good trumps”, but with Key Card available that seems not to be particularly useful. Here, we think it should simply mean “Do you like your hand?”- 4NT? It’s generally frowned upon to bid Roman Key Card with zero Key Cards. Others frown when someone bids Roman Key Card with two losers in a side-suit. Anyway, we rather like 5♥, asking our trusty Pard for his valued opinion, which, as it happens, will no doubt be to bid 6♥.
Looking at the E-W hands, you can see that 13 tricks are possible in Hearts or No Trump, thanks to the kind Club situation.
Expert Trick! Suppose that you are defending 6♥ as South, with Dummy as East. Trumps are drawn, and a Club is led from Dummy, Declarer finessing the Queen. Now the ♣A is cashed. Which card do you play? Yes, of course, you play the King! By now the ♣K and ♣J are equals and in this situation it’s invariably right to play the card you are known to hold, namely the King. This smart play gives Declarer a losing option! He may now decide to play you for ♣Kx, in which case he will take the ruffing finesse against North’s hoped-for ♣J. Note that playing the ♣J on the second round of the suit is a complete give-up, if you do that then Declarer cannot possibly go wrong.
EW 1N; E 1♠; S 1♥; EW 1♦; EW 1♣; Par −90 West North East South 1♣ 1♠ 2♣ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass
This is a messy hand, nobody can make much of anything, let’s move on to something more interesting!
EW 6♣; EW 2N; EW 1♠; NS 1♦; Par −920 West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1♣ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♣ Pass 3NT All Pass
A difficult deal for E-W! We don’t find fault with the auction but it deposits E-W in a doomed 3NT contract when 6♣ is cold (well almost)! The good news is that the other E-W pairs will be having trouble with this deal, too.
Playing in Clubs, let’s say that South leads a Diamond. Assuming that trumps are 2-1, Declarer can count two natural trump tricks, six ruffs, and three side-suit winners. That’s 11 and the 12th comes from setting up Dummy’s long Spade. Declarer will take care to win the opening lead in hand, then unblock the ♠A, before crossing to the ♣Q, ruffing a Spade, crossing back to the ♣J, etc. That line of play uses Dummy’s entries judiciously, and allows the Spades to be ruffed out.
NS 5♥; NS 4N; NS 4♣; NS 1♦; Par +650 West North East South 2♠ Dbl 3♠ 4♥ All Pass - “It was White vs Red” is the post mortem defense that West has prepared as he opens a rather sparse 2♠. - That’s not much of a Double by North, but there is an onus on the player who is short in the enemy suit to take action. - East’s nudges the auction to 3♠, all the better to inconvenience South. - The nudge succeeds and South is now under severe pressure! North has doubled and South has 17 HCP. Kind of slammish, wouldn’t you say? However, South’s hand does have one severe defect, namely the wastage in Spades. Partner is likely to have a Spade singleton on this auction and those Spade honors would be better employed elsewhere. Perhaps South’s 4♥ is a bit feeble, but it’s certainly the winner on the actual deal. 11 easy tricks in 4♥.
We predict that some N-S pairs will get too high on this deal, but only at those tables where West opens 2♠! Without the preempt, missing two Aces, N-S should be able to avoid slam.
S 4♥; EW 3♠; N 3♥; EW 2N; EW 2♦; NS 1♣; Par +200: EW 4♠x-1 West North East South Pass 2♠ 3♥ 4♠ 5♥ All Pass
Unlike on the previous board, here’s a Weak Two that nobody would quibble with! Anyway, if played by South, 4♥ makes 10 tricks (thanks to 3-3 Clubs), so West does well to jump straight to 4♠. He won’t know whether he is bidding to make or as a sacrifice, and it turns out to be the latter. This puts North to the test, and she follows the old adage of “support with support”, being reluctant to end the auction with undisclosed 4-card support in Partner’s suit.
Back to West. Should he double 5♥? It’s tempting, and it’s the winner on this board. But it’s also rather greedy! If 5♥ is down one, E-W probably already have a good board and the Double is unnecessary. If 5♥ makes, then it’s a zero if doubled. Even so, it’s still awfully tempting!
EW 4♠; NS 2♥; EW 3♣; EW 2♦; Par −420 West North East South Pass 1♥ 2♥ 4♥ Pass Pass Dbl Pass 4♠ All Pass
- West’s 2♥ is a Michaels Cue-Bid, showing a two-suited hand, in this case Spades and a minor. - 4♥ is preemptive. - That Double by West announces a good hand, and East has an obvious 4♠ bid, making 10 easy tricks.
If N-S push on to 5♥ they will be doubled, and will take fine defense by E-W to extract the required penalty of 500. Put yourself in the West seat, on lead.
One possible source of 5 tricks is two Diamonds, two black tricks and a Diamond ruff. You lead the ♦K (the normal lead from AK when holding a doubleton). Partner plays the Nine (showing the Ace or Jack, he’ll be assuming that you have led from KQ). What next? You’d like to cash the ♦A and cross to Partner’s hoped-for ♠A or ♣J. When you cash the ♦A you expect Partner to give suit preference now that he knows you have a doubleton. He’ll hardly give suit preference for the ♣J, but he might well give preference for the ♠K, encouraging you to underlead the ♠A if you have it. What’s the solution? Yes, at Trick 2, cash the ♣Q! It’ll take a few seconds for Partner to figure this one out, but when it holds the trick he’ll conclude that you have the ♣AKQxx. Suddenly that ♣J is a big card! At Trick 3, West cashes the ♦A and East gives suit preference with the ♦3! Now the Club underlead gets to the East hand, and the Diamond ruff achieves the much-to-be-desired +500! Subtly done by West!
NS 1N; EW 2♦; NS 2♣; EW 1♠; NS 1♥; Par −90 West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT Dbl Pass 2♦ All Pass
After East’s Double, West is close to showing values with a jump to 3♦ and might well have done so. But 2♦ turns out to be the spot, making 8 easy tricks. Easy, that is, if Declarer makes sure of two Heart ruffs in his own hand.
EW 6♠; EW 4N; EW 5♦; NS 2♥; EW 2♣; Par −1100: NS 7♥x-5 West North East South 1♠ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass 4♠ All Pass
- East’s 2NT shows a game-forcing Spade raise (Jacoby 2NT) - 3♥ shows shortness. - East is minimum and he jumps to 4♠.
12 tricks are possible thanks to a few finesses, and North might give the whole game away if she (not unreasonably) leads a low Diamond. When South plays the ♦7, Declarer’s train of thought will be as follows: - Surely South, by the play at the first trick, cannot have both the ♦Q and ♦T, so it is apparent that North’s lead is from Diamond length. - If North has Diamond length then South is more likely to have Spade length. - So, Declarer plays the ♠K on the first round, noting the fall of the Jack. - On the second round of trumps, following the Principle of Restricted Choice, the percentage play is to finesse against South’s hoped-for ♠Q. Now the trumps have been picked up, and Declarer cashes the ♦A, finesses the Diamond, and has 12 tricks.
That was a most unfortunate lead! If North had led a top-of-nothing Club, Declarer might well have played the Spades the other way, cashing the Ace first and losing a trump trick. Then, later in the play, there would be no reason to take a deep Diamond finesse of the Nine. Does that mean only 10 tricks for Declarer? No, Declarer can still make 11 if he plays the Clubs first, eventually catching North in a red suit squeeze!
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