Thursday Bridge

Flying Start

2012-01-29T16:01:00.001Z

26th January – Board 1: Love All. Dealer North.

The two blog hands today were only played once last Thursday due to the format of the competition, but I had already played them in a match a few days previously and I report here what happened in that match. Here a useful gadget helped N/S off to a flying start.

West	North	East	South
	2S*	3S	4S
5H	End

2S was the so-called Lucas 2, showing five cards in a specified major and four or five cards in a minor, but with a limited hand of 5-9 points. East bid 3S probably intending it to be a Michaels type bid but whatever the reason South had an easy raise to game. With a round or two of bidding taken away E/W subsided in game when the heart slam is a 50% proposition depending as it does on the position of the king of hearts. With no barrage in the replay E/W bid the slam giving his side a useful opening board.

Text Book Technique

2012-01-29T15:59:00.000Z

26th January – Board 17: Love All. Dealer North.

What do you make of the bidding on the hand shown below? Lucky or not a good contract was reached, but even so declarer had to show good technique in the play of the hand.

West	North	East	South
	No	No	2C*
No	2D	No	3C
3D	No	No	3S
No	4C	No	5C
End

The bidding may need some explanation. 2C was either a weak two in diamonds or the strongest bid in the system, which might explain West’s reluctance to get involved at the beginning in case South held the former. When it became clear that South was holding the strong variety, game was reached in 5C and West led the king of diamonds. How should declarer proceed? If trumps break 2-2 the contract is trivial so declarer played off two top trumps and discovered the bad news. Instead of drawing the last trump however he led a spade to the king and one back to the queen and ace. West played the queen of diamonds and tried a third but declarer ruffed and now played a winning spade. If that suit had broken 3-3 he would have been able to draw the last trump and claim but as it was the defender with the last trump had four spades so declarer was able to ruff the last spade in dummy after all. It happens in the textbooks all the time but at the table less so. In the reply North/South played in a club partscore.

Too Difficult

2012-01-22T14:50:00.001Z

19th January – Board 2: North/South Vul. Dealer East.

I think most pairs found themselves in a slam on the featured hand and were probably sorry not to have gone the whole way when the spade finesse works – not that you want to be in a grand slam on a finesse of course. A straightforward approach cuts out any possibility of a misunderstanding I suppose and the auction shown below has the merit of simplicity.

West	North	East	South
		No	1H
No	4NT	No	5S
No	5NT	No	6D
No	6H	End

Once South shows the two missing aces and the queen of hearts North can ask for any outside kings and the usual arrangement is to respond on a step sequence. However if South had held the king of spades and not clubs the grand would have been laydown but that depends on South holding the queen of diamonds too. Try as I might I cannot find a convincing sequence which would allow the grand to be bid if South had held a more useful king. Somethings are just too difficult.

The Best You Can

2012-01-22T14:49:00.001Z

19th January – Board 18: North/South Vul. Dealer East.

How would – or did – you defend 4S on the hand shown below from the North position? It might seem that there is little to do, being at the mercy of partner so to speak, but sometimes you have to do the best you can.

West	North	East	South
		1S	No
3S	No	4S	End

West is somewhere between three and four spades at his first call but whatever is chosen East will surely push on to game and equally surely South will start with a top diamond. Now from the North position the best chance of setting declarer lies in the ability of his side to obtain a heart ruff and his sole aim should be to point his partner in that direction. Of course for this plan to work South needs to hold the ace of hearts but getting him to cash it and continue the suit is not easy. But how about this? On the ace and king of diamonds North follows with the nine followed by the ten. This cannot be from a doubleton because they would have been played the other way round but as they are obviously unnecessarily high cards they must mean something. That ‘something’ is a suit preference signal for the higher of the two suits outside trumps, hearts in this case. Obvious, but only once you think of it! What you must not do as North is think for a while and then play to the first two tricks in a meaningful way, something I once saw a famous actor/bridge player do in a big tournament. Not that it did him much good.

Missing Major

2012-01-15T14:58:00.001Z

12th January – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.

There was a great deal of muddled thinking on the featured hand when it came to finding the correct opening bid on the South hand, but the reality is that 1S is the standout bid by a million miles. By not bidding the suit now you stand the very real chance of never mentioning the suit at all, something that indeed happened at several tables.

West	North	East	South
			1S
No	2C	4H	No
No	4S	No	No
5H	Dbl	End

As it happened it didn’t matter very much whether South opened 1S or 1D as East is sure to barrage to 4H giving West an easy sacrifice over either 4S or 5D. (Easier over 5D of course, as he might fancy his chances over a spade game.) On a diamond lead and continuation the defence will come to their four tricks for a 300 point penalty, and everyone should be more or less happy!

Under Control

2012-01-15T14:57:00.000Z

12th January – Board 21: North/South Vul. Dealer North.

Game in a minor is a contract not often seen at the bridge table, especially when the points are more or less evenly divided, so any pair reaching 5C on the deal below can consider they did well. And yet with a controlled auction perhaps it should not be that difficult.

West	North	East	South
	No	No	1D
1H	1S	2D*	3C
No	4C	No	5C
End

There are several things to note during the auction. West is easily worth an overcall of 1H and the 1S bid by North should now promise at least a five-card suit – with only four he should start proceedings with a Sputnik double. Clearly East would like to know how good his partner is for his overcall and the standard way to do this is to make an Unassuming Cue Bid in the opponents’ suit. With his five-loser hand South should not be afraid to introduce his club suit, whereupon West should pass to show he was minimum for his overcall. With a known heart shortage opposite North has an easy raise in clubs although whether that should be to the four or five level is debatable. In any event I cannot see South stopping out of game. There is not much to the play, with declarer losing a heart and a diamond most likely, although you do have to be a little careful in not running out of trumps. (Note that a sacrifice in hearts by East/West would be a costly affair if the opposition get all the ruffs due to them.)

Gone To Waste

2012-01-08T14:13:00.001Z

5th January – Board 9: East/West Vul. Dealer North.

The results on the following board were feeble I’m afraid, which is a shame when a good hand goes to waste, but to my mind the fault can be laid squarely on the shoulders of West who never realized what a good hand he held.

West	North	East	South
	No	2C/2D	No
2D/2H	No	3NT	No
4H*	No	5NT	No
6S	End

Whether playing Benji Acol or not East will surely show a flat 25/26 point hand, although the sequence to 3NT can hardly be described as dainty. (In fact Eric Kokish from Canada has devised a method round this, but never mind.) Over 3NT surely, surely, West would want to show a six-card spade suit and this should be done via a transfer. Why a six card suit? Well with only five, playing in a possible 5-2 fit might not be so appealing. For the record over 3NT in this auction one should play red suit transfers and a 4C bid as asking for opener to bid four-card suits upwards. Anyway back to East. Even if partner has zero points but with six small spades, even then six spades would just require a 2-2 break. So what is wrong with bidding Josephine, 5NT, asking partner to bid 7S holding both the king and the queen. Only one pair reached a slam and that was 6D!

Unnecessary Risk

2012-01-08T14:11:00.001Z

5th January – Board 19: East/West Vul. Dealer South.

East took the right view in the bidding but the wrong view in the play leading to a catastrophic result, but as so often happens when under pressure all reasoning goes out the window.

West	North	East	South
			No
No	4H	Dbl	End

To my mind it is clear-cut that East should bid 4S over 4H and not double. Too many times I have seen games making in both directions so if for no other reason I would have taken out insurance. Maybe playing pairs things are different and certainly the winning action here is to defend as neither game should make. However… East started correctly by cashing two top spades and a top club, getting the correct count signal from his partner in both suits. (Hi-Lo = even, Lo-Hi = odd). Now if partner has the ace of diamonds it is not going to run away so a trump exit looks safe but in the heat of battle East switched to a diamond, but unfortunately for him the nine. You can see what happened. With the super diamond impletion declarer covered with the ten and that was that. Even if East had started with more than two diamonds he would have been squeezed in the minors on the run of the hearts. If East had been a little more patient and with careful discarding his side would have come to the setting trick in diamonds in the fullness of time.

One Way Or Another

2011-12-11T09:47:00.001Z

8th December – Board 8: Love All. Dealer West.

This board proved to be frustrating for those holding the East hand as their four-loser collection of cards was cruelly ignored. What is more whichever minor they decided to attack after cashing two spades, declarer could turn to his advantage.

West	North	East	South
No	1H	Dbl	3H
No	4H	End

After a double on the right South is entitled to add one for the road and North is just about worth a raise to game. East will surely cash two top spades but if he now switches to a top diamond declarer can win, draw trumps and use the ten of diamonds to force out the other high card in that suit, establishing a parking place for the jack of clubs in the process. And if East is inspired enough to have lead a low spade to his partner at trick two, a club return from that quarter fares no better. Declarer simply wins with the ace, draws trumps and uses the jack of clubs to force out the king. Then the queen of that suit will enable the losing diamond to fly away.

Heavy Weather

2011-12-11T09:46:00.001Z

8th December – Board 20: Game All. Dealer West.

A lot of pairs made heavy weather of the featured hand but maybe that was because some basic bidding theory was missing – namely that when partner has responded to your opening bid of one in a major by responding at the two-level in a minor (as here) a jump to four in that minor by opener is game forcing. The reason for that is clear, because it enables responder either to start a cue-bidding sequence at a low level if appropriate or to give delayed support for opener’s major.

West	North	East	South
No	No	1S	No
2C	No	4C	No
4S	End

With such a poor club suit and with wasted values likely in hearts West should have no ambitions beyond game and I imagine that South would lead the jack of hearts, whereupon declarer has an easy route to at least twelve tricks, but even if South is inspired enough to lead a diamond the defence are only likely to make three tricks at most. Looking at the two hands you can see that four spades is easily the best contract, needing as it does just for the club finesse to work or for the trumps to be 3-3 or for a non-diamond lead.

No Problem

2011-12-03T14:03:00.000Z

1^st December – Board 16: East/West Vul. Dealer West.

There were a trillion different results on the following board but I’m not exactly sure why. Playing teams North might be tempted to retreat to 2C over 1NT. The downside to doing that however is that it gives both East and West the chance to compete when the strength of the opposing pair is shown to be limited. (Over South’s 1NT it would be harder for West to enter the bidding as North could have a powerhouse.) In any event at pairs the lure of having six potential tricks in that North hand dictates a pass, which I imagine would end the bidding.

West	North	East	South
No	1C	No	1D
No	1S	No	1NT
End

A heart is the likely lead against 1NT, which does declarer no real harm. Even the bad club break is only mildly inconvenient, as declarer would be forced to duck the first round, but would still have seven easy tricks. I know it is tempting to want to bid over 1C on that East hand but as all the options are flawed it must be better to keep quiet.

Strange Happenings

2011-12-03T14:02:00.000Z

1st December – Board 19: East/West Vul. Dealer South.

Sometimes a result comes along which is just too difficult to explain and the fact that the same thing happened twice last Thursday leaves me to wonder if my analytical powers are waning. Any suggestions – especially from the persons involved – would be greatly appreciated.

West	North	East	South
			2H
End

I can’t see that there is much to the bidding. South will open a weak 2H and North should probably leave alone. Any game enquiry via 2NT (Ogust) would be too pushy and any defensive procedure unnecessary with five cards in the other major and good defensive prospects. At the table where I was watching West tried three rounds of diamonds. Declarer ruffed, took a trump finesse after entering dummy with a club and upon regaining the lead with a club drew the remaining trumps in one round. He then played a spade to the ace and a spade to the queen. Even though that lost West was endplayed having only minor cards to play, and the spade loser in declarer’s hand vanished. All very normal you would think except that two pairs sitting N/S bid and made game. Bidding it I can sort of understand but making it I can’t. Even if West leads the king of spades at some time declarer still has a loser in that suit. I remain, Puzzled, Southampton.

A Different View

2011-11-27T11:02:00.001Z

24th November – Board 3: East/West Vul. Dealer South.

Just because you have a ‘gadget’ does not mean you have to use it come what may, and that fact is illustrated most clearly in the following hand which arose last Thursday. At the vulnerability South might be tempted to open with a weak 2S, but this six-loser hand is far too good to do that. (The diamond suit is a one-loser suit because of the good impletion.) With his weak no-trump hand North should have no game ambitions and would either pass or at the very most raise to 3S as a defensive measure, not forward going as he would use Ogust if that were the case, and as a result the cold game would be missed. But if South took a different view and imagined that his partner had opened one-no trump then surely he would have a shot at game. The bidding would proceed:

West	North	East	South
			No
No	1NT	No	2H
No	2S	No	4S
End

The game is a good one and is not particularly lucky to make – the trump finesse is right but the diamond finesse is wrong. Just remember that a weak two is the sort of hand which would make a weakness take-out if partner opened one no-trump.

Fighting Spirit

2011-11-27T11:00:00.000Z

24th November – Board 21: North/South Vul. Dealer North.

It becomes easy after a while to know how to bid games with oodles of points but the sad fact is that most bridge matches are won and lost during the part-score battle when too many people give up too easily. Take the following deal as a case in point where East often took an over cautious approach. I think the bidding should be more competitive and go something like:

West	North	East	South
		1D	1H
No	2H	Dbl	No
3D	No	No	??
End

There are several things to note. South might be tempted to double initially but that I think is wrong because of the danger of partner bidding clubs; better to bid your five card suit first and see what transpires. Then North should raise to 2H – not as a forward going move showing game aspirations (because if he had those he would start with a 2D cue-bid) – but merely to make it harder for E/W to compete. However East should not be deterred but should make a take-out double because it is highly likely that there is a fit of sorts somewhere and at the prevailing vulnerability there is little risk. See what happens – 3D is cold for E/W and 3H is defeated by one trick, so whatever action South decides to take at his last go will lead to a negative score.

Perceived Injustice

2011-11-13T13:02:00.001Z

10th November – Board 2: North/South Vul. Dealer East.

I remember now why I gave up playing pairs many years ago. It was because of hands like the one shown below where a number of perceived injustices can lead to a humiliating result.

West	North	East	South
		1NT	No
2C	No	2S	No
3NT	No	No	Dbl
End

The bidding went as shown with South resisting the temptation to overcall with 2S initially, although I am not totally sure why. This would have posed a problem for West who would do best to double and enter 200 on their scorecard although many people play a double as for take-out in that position. However when South passed West not unnaturally employed another well-known convention and hearing that her partner had spades and not hearts settled for the obvious 3NT. But South was having none of it and doubled, even though East was known to have four spades, and I suppose that at pairs if you are shooting for tops this is a risk worth taking. It certainly was in this case as a bemused declarer lost the first six tricks.

Way Forward

2011-11-13T13:00:00.000Z

10th November – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.

Weak twos in the major are a good idea designed to cause confusion to the opposing side but occasionally partner is caught with the problem rather than the opposition. So it is just as well to have some constructive way forward…..

West	North	East	South
			No
2H	No	2NT	No
3H	No	3NT	End

2NT is the so-called ‘Ogust Convention’, named after its originator, and the responses show the exact nature of the opening two with respect to both points and quality of suit. Here the response of 3H shows a hand within the top-end range of points, 8-9, but lacking two of the top three trumps. Knowing that the opener can have at most five points in hearts it is easy to see that he must have another useful card somewhere, the queen of clubs perhaps, or better still the ace of diamonds. All of this makes 3NT the bid of choice and indeed that contract was reached at several tables but not always made. Nor should it be really due to the hateful diamond layout, but I imagine after a club lead declarer ran the spade suit and a somnolent North threw a diamond or two. Easy to do of course but it can hardly be wrong to pitch a couple of clubs to clear up the position in that suit.

Matters Of Judgement

2011-11-05T14:05:00.001Z

3rd November – Board 5: N/S Vul. Dealer North.

Sometimes a hand low in point-count can suddenly seem so much better when a fit with partner comes to light and such was the case with the hand shown below:

West	North	East	South
	No	No	1D
No	1S	No	2S
No	3H	No	4S
End

Even though that North hand is low in points it is high in potential and at any rate an ace and a king is so much better than an assortment of queens and jacks – or ‘quacks’ in bridge parlance. Once South has raised spades it is worth a game try and a long suit trial bid of 3H seems the best way forward. In effect it is asking opener to reconsider his 2S bid and whether he considers himself to be good or bad for the bid, and if in doubt to consider the trial bid suit. Here South would have no hesitation in going straight to game and with the nice lie of the cards should come to an easy eleven tricks.

Protection Racket

2011-11-05T14:03:00.000Z

3rd November – Board 14: Love All. Dealer East.

It’s all to easy to go quietly at times when really one should be more pro-active, and if you are in the ‘pass out’ or protective position you should be really sure that you are not being bludgeoned into submission. That was the case for North on the featured hand when in fact he had a sound alternative to staying quiet.

West	North	East	South
		1H	No
4H	Dbl	No	4S
5H	5S	Dbl	End

West might have considered a splinter bid of 3S at his first go but it does tend to give a blue-print of the hand if you are not the declaring side and maybe a simple raise to game is enough. (Not showing many points of course because there are so many other options available if that is the case.) Instead of going quietly North should double, essentially for take-out but with high-card points should his partner choose to pass for penalties. South would be charmed to bid 4S and I dare say but West would surely up the ante. At equal vulnerability North is also likely to have one more go and East would close proceedings with a double. OK, I know that E/W can make 6H if they are in it but it is anti-percentage and they won’t bid it anyway! 5S will go one or two off depending how declarer views the club suit, but even two down doubled would show a profit.

Guessing Games

2011-10-30T14:58:00.000Z

27^th October – Board 5: N/S Vul. Dealer North.

Some hands are just so difficult to bid with any degree of certainty. All kinds of things might have happened – and indeed did – on the featured hand, but who was right and who was wrong is hard to say.

West	North	East	South
	1H	No	2D
2S	4H	4S	No
No	5D	End

South might conceivably have bid 1NT at his first turn, lest partner got too excited, but I can’t see that 2D can come to too much harm, and 1NT seems just a bit too off-centre for my liking. West is bound to compete giving North a tough decision, but with the good diamond fit a direct bid of 4H does not look unreasonable. Of course East should not be silenced at that vulnerability but with no wasted values in spades opposite North should probably have one more go with 5D. In truth nobody really knows who can make what and 6D is on the (failing) diamond finesse. And if West decides to compete at the five-level then he will find that to be a cheap save against the vulnerable game.

Wildly Different

2011-10-30T14:57:00.000Z

27^th October – Board 19: E/W Vul. Dealer South.

I watched the hand shown below at a couple of tables last Thursday and witnessed a couple of wildly different results, largely depending on whether West elected to open the bidding or not. Put me down for a definite ‘yes’, partly because of the intermediates and partly because the hand is playable in three suits.

West	North	East	South
			No
1D	Dbl	2D	No
3D	3S	End

That was how the bidding went at one table and there were a lot of critical decisions. East might – should - have bid 1H instead of raising diamonds but when West raises the suit North is much better placed to picture a singleton heart opposite which is the key to 4S being lay down. And West did well to raise the ante by bidding 3D, not constructive in any sense because there are so many other options open, but merely putting extra pressure on North. The latter chose to bid 3S, correctly in my view, and perhaps South was unduly pessimistic to pass. At another table West passed initially and North opened 2NT. What should happen is that South bids 3H, a transfer to spades, and North breaks the transfer by bidding 4C, an advanced cue-bid in support of spades in case of better things. Ideally South should re-transfer by bidding 4H (discuss with partner) and 4S by North should end the auction. In the event the auction was not a pretty one and a no-play slam was reached when Blackwooditis made a premature and unjustified appearance.

A Little Ingenuity

2011-10-23T15:49:00.002+01:00

20^th October – Board 17: Love All. Dealer North.

Being old and set in my ways I have never been a fan of inverted minor suit raises but I have to confess it would have made West’s task somewhat easier on the hand shown below. Nevertheless a little ingenuity might have saved the day.

West	North	East	South
	No	1D	No
1H	No	2C	No
2S	No	3S	No
4D	No	4S	No
6D	End

If an initial 2D response by West is not forcing then he has to invent a bid and I would try 1H and hope for the best! 2S becomes fourth-suit forcing prior to raising diamonds and the 3S bid by East shows a good hand for the bidding so far. Of course it denies a four-card spade holding or he would have bid that suit over 1H but it does show values there and a hand too good to bid a stultifying 3NT. 4D is game forcing and looking for more which in turn poses a problem for East who can hardly bid RKCB because a response of 5H would push you to 6D with two key cards missing. A well-thought out 4S should allow West to make a sound judgement with his three big cards, and indeed he would bid the same holding the ace of clubs and not the ace of spades. I know it’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be.

Good Judgement

2011-10-23T15:48:00.001+01:00

20^th October – Board 17: Love All. Dealer North.

Both East and West showed good judgement when they bid to the five-level on fairly minimum values but the contract they reached was a sound one.

West	North	East	South
	No	1D	1S
No	3S	4C	No
5C	End

I report the auction as it actually happened although I think it was faulty in one respect. North should really have made an Unassuming Cue Bid of 2D in response to his partner’s one-level overcall, for the latter bid could have been made for a variety of reasons and with a hand ranging from about eight points upwards. The corollary to all this is that any immediate raise of the suit by the responder to the overcaller is NOT showing a good hand in terms of high card points but a more distributional one – and it is fairly common practise to bid to the same level as the number of trumps are held. So North was right to have four trumps but perhaps wrong in that he held too many points. Nevertheless it posed a problem for East who solved it admirably by introducing his second suit and finding his partner well at home. The play in 5C was trivial with declarer able to set up the diamond suit with a couple of ruffs.

Unhappy Outcome

2011-10-14T11:43:00.000+01:00

13^th October – Board 12: North/South Vul. Dealer West.

East would doubtless feel disappointed if his partner failed to land the slam on the hand shown below but in truth the layout was not kind for declarer.

West	North	East	South
1NT	No	2H	No
2S	No	3D	No
4S	No	6S	End

East takes a practical approach when his partner shows positive spade support with West unable to hold enough ‘right’ cards for the grand slam to be viable. However on the normal looking lead of the jack of hearts declarer is faced with a series of guesses. If the diamond finesse is working there is clearly no problem but as long as the defence keep completely passive and fail to open up any other suit declarer will ultimately be faced with the decision of whether to hope for the 3-3 break in diamonds or take a finesse against the ten. My instincts tell me the latter is right but I know I would do the former!

Missed Opportunity

2011-10-14T11:42:00.001+01:00

13^th October – Board 18: North/South Vul. Dealer East.

Most people know that a double of an opening 1NT is for penalties but somehow lose sight of the fact that the same rules should apply after an opponent has made an overcall of 1NT. That’s what happened on the hand shown below although the outcome for N/S wasn’t as good as it might have been.

West	North	East	South
		No	1H
1NT	Dbl	End

Knowing that his side has the majority of the points North was quite right to double and South waited eagerly for the heart lead. He is still waiting, but North could hardly be blamed for leading his own suit. With diamonds acting kindly E/W escaped for one down although of course on a heart lead an alert defence would make sure that declarer never came to a spade trick and chalk up a 300 point penalty as a consequence. As a corollary if North did bid 2S over the intervention this should show a very weak hand but with a six card suit – but a hand definitely not good enough to double 1NT. And opener would be expected to pass.

Impossible Rebid

2011-10-09T18:44:00.001+01:00

6^th October – Board 15: North/South Vul. Dealer South.

What would – or did – you respond on that East hand if partner opens with a weak no-trump bid?

West	North	East	South
			No
1NT	No	2NT	No
3C	No	3S	No
5D	End

The above sequence was the one Nick and I had but I have to admit there was a certain amount of guesswork from both sides of the table. 2NT was a transfer to diamonds and 3C showed positive support, usually a top honour to three or better. Now East had an impossible rebid because although 3NT might still be the best game, to bid it with a singleton heart and with a known diamond fit opposite might be a bit risky. On the other hand 3S should show a spade suit…As it happens both games are likely to make but I find it hard to provide a convincing route to either.

Bidding Theory

2011-10-09T18:43:00.001+01:00

6^th October – Board 20: Game All. Dealer West.

It is easy to be convinced that partner is giving real support for one of our suits when in reality all he is doing is giving some mild sort of preference. In the featured hand it is almost certain that West only has two card support for hearts but the reason may not be immediately obvious.

West	North	East	South
1C	No	1H	No
1S	No	2D	No
2H	No	3D	No
3NT	End

With a minimum opener and a 4-3-1-5 distribution you obviously would want to open 1C but over the 1H response it is correct to bid 2H and not 1S. The reason for this is that if you have a strong hand – say 15 or more points – you do rebid 1S but then if partner returns to your first suit and bids 2C you now complete the picture of your hand by bidding 2H. In the sequence above West has not bid 2H immediately and yet over the fourth suit forcing bid of 2D he has made the weak bid of 2H, but if he had started with three card support he would have bid 2H as his rebid and not 1S. Geddit? So with a known doubleton diamond opposite East should rebid the suit in the hope that his partner can bid 3NT with an independent stop. All that East is ever trying to do is to find the best game contract, which he is fairly certain must exist somewhere.

Taking Out Insurance

2011-09-30T12:46:00.000+01:00

29th September – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.

Bidding decisions at the five-level are notoriously hard to get right on a consistent basis and the hand shown below was no exception. I have to say that I would have made the wrong decision, taking out insurance on the East hand to safeguard against a potential catastrophe.

West	North	East	South
			1H
1S	2C	4S	5C
Dbl	No	????

I think it is right to double 5C on the West hand because there are likely to be two quick winners in diamonds but I’m not at all sure that I would have left the double in with the East hand. There is unlikely to be a trick in spades and while there may well be a trump trick in the offing the risks of them making a doubled contract are too high. Certainly in teams I would have no hesitation in bidding 5S, in pairs it is less clear-cut. But without partner’s double bidding 5S would be automatic.

Misdirection

2011-09-30T12:44:00.000+01:00

29th September – Board 15: North/South Vul. Dealer South.

Sometimes the brain gets distracted from taking the right approach because we are so used to following a certain path, and that was certainly the case on the featured hand where most pairs failed to make their no-trump game because they didn’t look far enough ahead.

West	North	East	South
			No
No	No	1S	No
2H	No	2S	No
2NT	No	3NT	End

I’m not sure that the above bidding is the route that I would have followed but the game is sound enough and it doesn’t really matter whether it is played by West or East. On a club lead (say) it looks tempting to play on spades hoping for a kindly break, but the sad reality is that when that suit doesn’t behave there are five losers in one spade, two diamonds and two clubs. If the spades are breaking they can be kept to later and the suit that should be attacked from the start is diamonds. When the nine obligingly falls at an early stage declarer can rack up the contract by making three spades, two hearts two diamonds and two clubs.

Strangely Similar

2011-09-25T16:09:00.000+01:00

22nd September – Board 20: Game All. Dealer West.

The featured hand seemed strangely similar in makeup to a hand from last week when it arose on Thursday and what happened depended largely on what course of action North decided to take for his opening bid. It is miles too good for 3D and not offensive enough for 1D so the choice lies between opening 4D and 5D. While I originally inclined towards the latter I can see now that perhaps it might be more prudent to open at the lower level. That would give South an easy bid of 4H, to play, but if North chose instead to open 5D most players would now play 5H to be a cue-bid and a grand slam try in diamonds….. Not so good.

West	North	East	South
No	4D	No	4H
End

4H makes an easy eleven tricks but 5D can be defeated on a spade lead. Suppose three rounds of spades are led. West can trump the third round with the king of diamonds – the so-called uppercut – thus promoting the jack of that suit in his partner’s hand.

Too difficult

2011-09-25T16:08:00.000+01:00

22nd September – Board 25: East/West Game. Dealer East.

Some hands are just too difficult even with the benefit of hindsight and I have to confess that I would have ended up almost certainly with a minus score on a hand where game was almost cold in another denomination. As it was my partner saved me from that particular fate.

West	North	East	South
		1D	No
1H	No	2C	No
2NT	No	3D	End

Our sequence was the one given above and as can be seen 5D is more or less laydown, requiring as it does just something nice to happen in trumps. That 3D bid might seem a bit on the weak side and I have to confess I would probably have tried 3NT, but see what that would get us. North would have no reason not to lead a heart and the contract would flounder almost before it got going. Even a club lead and a heart switch would prove too much to cope with and it is only really a spade lead out of the realistic choices that would give any hope at all. So if anyone reached 5D don’t be shy. Tell me how you did it!

Opening Dilemma

2011-09-18T12:38:00.001+01:00

15^th September – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.

There were many varied results on the hand shown below and what happened at the table was to a large extent determined by what South chose to open. My own personal choice would be to go all the way and kick things off with 5C, which I guess East would double. That would beat par in that 5C is only two down while 5D is a make, but a slower approach by South might reap dividends (although in fact it wouldn’t.)

West	North	East	South
			1C
1H	No	4H	5C
No	No	Dbl	End

South is likely to ‘save’ over 4H by bidding 5C but just suppose he didn’t. It would be superhuman of North not to lead his singleton club and then a successful trump finesse allows West to make an easy twelve tricks. But just imagine North leads a diamond instead. Now the defence can take the first four tricks, which goes to show I suppose just how difficult the game can be.

Over Optimistic

2011-09-18T12:37:00.001+01:00

15^th September – Board 16: East/West Game. Dealer West.

Like losing a tennis match when your opponent has a winning net-cord at match point it is infuriating when the opponents at the bridge table earn a huge swing due to the vagaries of Lady Luck. At least three pairs reached a grand slam in diamonds on the hand shown below, a contract with a chance of success somewhat less then 20% instead of the near 70% required. The main fault lay with the choice of opening bid, and while I appreciate that the West hand is a three-loser that is only a good thing if a fit is found. Imagine a hand opposite with a void diamond and a small doubleton club and you will see what I mean. I think the auction might go something like:

West	North	East	South
1D	No	1H	No
2C	No	2S	No
4D	No	4H	No
5C	No	6D	End

2S is fourth-suit forcing of course and 4D sets up a game-forcing sequence. East should not get over-excited because good as his long suits are they are not going to be useful in getting rid of any trump loser! The play in 7D is not a problem; win the opening lead and play ace and a low club to ruff on table. With the fall of the club king all that is now required is to hope for the favourable trump position and when that occurs to try not to gloat.

Plan The Play

2011-09-10T20:30:00.001+01:00

8th September – Board 7: Game All. Dealer South.

Guest Blogger: Nick

When this was played at our table, it seemed like it would be a pretty flat board. We were all surprised to see that at least twice 3NT had gone down. This perhaps illustrates the importance of planning the play as declarer.

South	West	North	East
1H	No	2D	No
2H	No	3NT	End

At our table, S5 was led to trick one. Declarer has 8 top tricks, S A, K, H A, D A, K, Q and C A, K, and has two potential sources of a ninth trick – diamonds or hearts. Diamonds will give the crucial ninth trick if they break no worse than 4-1 (and will give a tenth trick if they break 3-2). To gather an extra trick in hearts, the plan would be to finesse twice, hoping that East holds King or Queen of hearts to two or three (in which case declarer will make 12 tricks, and bemoan that he is not in slam). Declarer can afford to lose the lead once, at which point the opponents will clear the spades, and then may have enough spades to cash to get him down. How to choose which line to follow? Can declarer combine his chances and avoid putting all his eggs in one basket? If he comes to hand with a diamond at trick 2, one of his questions will be answered. If both opponents follow, then he can play on diamonds for his ninth trick (he doesn’t need to make 12 tricks, 9 is the target) - just play out three more rounds of diamonds, losing the fourth round to East’s jack, but securing the 9th trick with his fifth diamond. If West shows out on the first diamond, it means that diamonds are no good for declarer and he can try the hearts by finessing twice.

Some observations:
If you exchange the diamond 9 and 7 in the north and south hands respectively, declarer can overcome a 5-0 diamond split if East has the void - he should therefore play the diamonds by first cashing the queen in dummy, because if East shows out, he can finesse twice against West’s J,10, and force the 9th trick in that way. And there’s nothing the defence can do to stop him!! However, this doesn’t work with the current diamond pips, and declarer may need DQ as an entry to dummy, so he should start with a low diamond to the King or Ace.

It's not all about declarer - as West, did you think to play your SJ under the Ace at trick one, to unblock the suit – if you didn’t, then declarer can get home even if diamonds are 5-0 with East – losing just three hearts and a spade.

The only really impossible situation is if diamonds split 5-0 with East, and West holds the heart honours, and unblocks the spade – in which case there is nothing much to do, other than rail against fate!!

I know that sometimes in pairs, if things aren’t going well, you may try to ‘shoot the moon’ going for 12 tricks and a ‘top’, rather than just securing your contract – but such strategies are probably well beyond all of us on a Thursday night – I for one am just glad when I make the contract (my partner is both glad and surprised!!)

Ace for Attitude, King for Count

2011-09-03T14:45:00.003+01:00

1st September – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.
Guest Blogger: Jill
I love to read David’s blogs, but I sometimes think they’re a bit too difficult for we mere mortals. And will I remember what he’s said (eg in Fire with Fire below) when the same situation comes up in three years’ time?! Here’s something that’s dead easy to remember and comes up quite often.

South	West	North	East
1S	2C	3S	No
End

You might or might not agree with the bidding, but South is declarer in 3S. West leads out the A and K of clubs and everyone follows. What next? Who has the remaining club? If it’s declarer, West can lead another club knowing that partner can ruff (or over-ruff) North. But if partner has the last club, that will give declarer a ruff and discard. You need to know how many clubs partner had to start with. You won’t often lead the Ace or King without having both, so you can lead the Ace when you want to know partner’s Attitude to the suit, and the King when you want to know Count – the number of cards he has in the suit. So in this case, West leads the King first. As partner has an even number of cards, he plays a high one followed by a low one (with an odd number, he plays his lowest card first). In another situation, if you want to know attitude, you lead the Ace. If partner likes it (eg if he has the Queen), he plays a high card. If not, he plays a low one and you can switch to another suit.

Keeping The Lead

2011-09-03T14:43:00.004+01:00

1st September – Board 18: North/South Game. Dealer East.

Guest Blogger: Jill

East	South	West	North
No	No	1H	No
2C	No	2H	No
4H	End

Again, you might not agree with the bidding (I’m not sure I would usually open that West hand, but it was practically the last session and I hadn’t played a hand; also North might double and when South bids 2S, I’ll pass; and partner’s 4H shows more confidence in my play than my usual partner!)

North led a club and, at the time, I thought the opponents were uncharacteristically generous in letting me make the contract – there are two top hearts and two top diamonds to lose, and I might lose a third heart if I guess wrongly. But actually, as the cards lie, unless a red card is led at trick one, you can always make the contract as long as you don’t let them in to take their winners. Win the CQ, play SA and ruff a spade. Next play CA and CK. You might discard 2 spades, but that still leaves the same four top losers. So discard the two diamonds from hand which means you can ruff a diamond and then ruff a second spade. Now play the CJ. South can ruff with the HK, but that’s a natural winner, and you just discard your last spade, and can afford to lose two more heart tricks. If he ruffs with the J or 9, you overruff, and then lose two trumps and a spade. At the table, he discarded a diamond, so I discarded my last spade. Another diamond ruff means I have to lead away from my remaining H Q1076. As long as North doesn’t play the Ace (why ever would he?), opponents take three trump tricks, but the contract is safe.

Difficult Choice

2011-08-27T21:08:00.003+01:00

25th August – Board 6: East/West Game. Dealer North.

I wonder how many pairs got too high on the hand shown below? What is sure is that East will open the bidding with 1S and that South will overcall with 2H. But what next? I have to say that if I were at the table I would have ended up with a minus score but, honest as the day is long, this is how I believe the auction would go.

West	North	East	South
	No	1S	2H
2S	No	3C	No
3S	End

I certainly think that West should compete with 2S and at first glance and with an eye to the Losing Trick Count East might just go all the way. But I think caution should be applied a little because quite often partner will raise spades with just a trebleton and it is quite likely that there will be some wasted values in hearts. So I would bid on and the most flexible way is to make a trial bid of 3C, saying in effect that game might be on if West has either a decent raise or has good help in clubs. With such a feeble hand West would surely sign off and best defence would defeat this contract by a trick. But it strikes me that if partner held a fourth spade then game would not be such a bad bet.

Fire With Fire

2011-08-27T21:06:00.001+01:00

25th August – Board 10: Game All. Dealer East.

There is certainly nothing predictable about bridge as the hand shown below will give testament to, where a contract of 6S can be made – easily – even with a 5 - 0 trump break, while the equally obvious 6H might be defeated by four tricks although here the trumps break 3 - 2!

West	North	East	South
		1S	2NT
3C	5C	5S	No
6S	End

The bidding might well require some explanation but most of it can be explained away by South’s 2NT, the so-called unusual no-trump showing both minors in a limited hand. In such circumstances it is good policy to fight fire with fire because West, in this example, can use both cue-bids in the minors to have a special meaning. So 3D shows a high card raise to 3S or more with at least four card support, 3C shows a good hand with three card support and at least four cards in the other major, while 3S is a weak raise. (If, after the 3C bid the opener wishes to know how many hearts partner has he bids 3D to enquire.) I know it’s complicated but it’s beautiful at the same time. Anyway here North should barrage with 5C and from then on it’s all a bit of a guessing game but I think none of the bids shown are unreasonable. If mistakenly East chose to double 5C he would have to lead a trump to defeat it and that would be the right thing to do because when the opposition have bid to a high-level with scarce values they can only make loads of tricks by cross-ruffing, and that is the case here. As an aside then the par contract is 7C doubled! For a loss of 800.

So Lucky

2011-08-21T10:14:00.002+01:00

18th August – Board 13: Game All. Dealer North.

I love hands where a moment or two of clear thinking will lead you to the right approach and even more so when that approach is rewarded by a favourable lie of the cards. West was so lucky on the layout shown below, but he had to be aware of his luck in the first place.

West	North	East	South
	No	1C	1S
Dbl	No	2D	2S
3H	No	4H	End

The bidding might vary from that shown in several ways, and the final contract is highly ambitious, but the problem is how to play 4H when the defence starts with three rounds of spades. South has been clever in playing that third round because he wants declarer to ruff in dummy thus ensuring himself two trump tricks, so declarer must be careful to ruff in hand instead. He then crosses to dummy with a diamond, say, and leads a trump. South rises with the ace and leads a fourth round of spades and West should realise the futility of ruffing with anything other than the seven or eight. If he ruffs with the two he will clearly be overruffed and if he ruffs with the jack he must lose a trick later to either the ten or the queen. As it happens the medium size ruff will work and now declarer enters dummy once more to take a trump finesse against the queen. Declarer actually needed South to hold precisely AQ10 in trumps for the contract to make.

Faint Hearted

2011-08-21T10:12:00.001+01:00

18th August – Board 20: Game All. Dealer West.

You cannot afford to just sit there at the bridge table and assume the worst when in fact a more pro-active approach can reap dividends – especially in the pairs game when you sometimes have to move Heaven and Earth to get a good score. Take the hand shown below for example where at a number of tables South was strangely silent, although I think the bidding should go something like the following:

West	North	East	South
1H	No	3S	4D
4H	No	No	4S
5H	5S	Dbl	End

3S is a splinter of course showing a limited raise to 4H with a singleton or void spade. (I’m not totally convinced that it wouldn’t be better to bid 2C instead, as splintering with an ace is not usually a good thing.) However after the splinter South has an easy bid, I think, of 4D with a view to bidding 4S later. Why? Well partner is going to be really short in hearts and therefore extremely likely to have a fit in one of South’s main suits. What happens after 4S is a little speculative, but even if North passes 5H he will now surely lead a diamond and hold declarer to eleven tricks when at the table most made twelve. Several North’s led a trump but I am not a fan of leading a singleton trump as it usually carves up partner’s holding of Qxx. It is worth noting that even 5H fails on a club lead and a diamond switch while at the very worst 5S is only down two. And even vulnerable 500 is less than 620.

No Problem

2011-08-14T13:26:00.002+01:00

11th August – Board 2: North/South Game. Dealer East.

Some hands are difficult and some aren’t and the featured hand should belong firmly to the latter camp. Amazingly all sorts of things happened at the table leading to a variety of – er – interesting results. This is most definitely what should happen:

West	North	East	South
		1D	1S
4H	Dbl	End

Given that East opens the bidding South has an easy spade overcall and West surely has the right cards to preempt with 4H. (Even after two passes I would open that hand 4H, given the prevailing vulnerability.) North would surely be affronted and double and this contract would fail by one trick assuming West ultimately takes a double diamond finesse. (It works wonders!) That might not seems the best score in the world until you realise that N/S are cold for 3NT, so any further bidding by them after 4H would end in failure.

As Well To Know

2011-08-14T13:25:00.002+01:00

11th August – Board 6: East/West Game. Dealer East.

Many E/W pairs got carried away on the hand shown below quite often due to over-exuberance by both parties in the partnership. Initially it all comes down to East’s rebid after his partner has upset North no doubt by bidding something he wanted to bid himself! This is how I think it should go however:

West	North	East	South
		1D	No
1S	No	1NT	No
No	2S	End

I hate the idea of reversing on that East hand, being below par for that action in any event and having a singleton in partner’s suit. And while 1NT isn’t ideal I think it is the best of a bad lot and West would be happy to pass. Not so North of course who should enter the auction by bidding 2S, natural, for what else could it be? As it happens1NT by East is an easy make and 2S by North drifts one down for a small gain so no harm done. At one table E/W arrived at 3NT played by East and South was inspired enough to lead a spade. In fact North should have doubled the final contract, asking for an unusual lead which is usually the first suit bid by dummy. Just as well to know that.

The Hardest Part

2011-08-07T11:40:00.002+01:00

4th August – Board 8: Love All. Dealer West.

Bridge is not an easy game and the hardest part by far is defence. I think everyone was in 3NT on the featured hand and all bar one made it - some with an overtrick – when in reality declarer should have been hard pressed.

West	North	East	South
1NT	No	3NT	End

East might have started with Stayman but with such a balanced hand I think that is unnecessary. When you have a holding such as North did in clubs then you have a choice between leading the ace or the king and they should ask partner to tell different things about his holding in the suit. So the Ace should ask for Attitude while the King should ask for Kount. (Ok, I know.) Here North would lead the ace and South should discourage by playing the two, an unequivocal statement that he does not hold the queen – or if he does it is now singleton and the suit is blocked. So North must switch and knowing that his partner holds 1, 2 or 3 points only he has to find the safest suit to switch to and that is hearts. Declarer will win perforce and cash three more tricks in the suit and North must not shed a diamond else declarer has four winners there, and his best bet is a low club. If declarer now cashes the ace of spades North must be careful to throw his king under it to avoid being end-played in diamonds to lead away ultimately from his remaining club holding. See what I mean about it being difficult?

Icy Calm

2011-08-07T11:39:00.004+01:00

4th August – Board 14: Love All. Dealer East.

South was probably more than a little surprised when he heard the hand on his right open 1S on the hand shown below, but at these times it is best to remain icy calm and concentrate best on how to help partner if he bids. In fact North has a mild problem as several candidates could be considered but I think a full-value 2H is the best bet. (It might look as though a double would bring home the bacon as South would surely pass but of course West should redouble to demand his partner thinks again and the club fit would come to light.) I think the bidding should go as shown:

West	North	East	South
		1S	No
No	2H	No	3H
No	4H	End

I do not think South’s raise on a doubleton is merely hindsight as there is a strong possibility that his partner holds a six-card suit. Why? Because he is known to be very short in spades and with a 1-5-4-3 distribution he might well have doubled in preference to bidding 2H. And with two five-card suits he would probably have used Michaels. 4H should be easy even if East finds the best defence of ace and a low spade with West uppercutting with the jack of hearts. Playing on diamonds at an early stage should restrict declarer’s losers to just two trumps and a spade.

Its Own Reward

2011-07-31T09:42:00.002+01:00

28th July – Board 5: N/S Vul. Dealer North.

Now and again a textbook play comes along and while in the books they always work in reality virtue sometimes has to be its own reward. I don’t know whether you would feel up to opening that North hand or not and I only would if I was allowed to bid 1NT if partner responded 1H. Not ideal but that’s what they do these days. Anyway East would doubtless overcall with a number of hearts, two or three depending on his mood, and South would almost certainly close proceedings with a bid of everyone’s favourite contract.

West	North	East	South
	1C	2H	3NT
End

Assuming West leads a spade declarer can see that he not only needs to make a bundle of club tricks but that he cannot afford to lose two in the process. If the suit divides 3-3 the odds are even whether you should play low to the ten or low to the queen after cashing the ace first. However if they divide 4-2 then you can only cater for East holding doubleton jack, and you do that by cashing the ace and then leading towards the queen. It is true that if East holds doubleton king it is better to lead low towards the ten but you still would have to lose a trick to the jack. As you can see the correct line leads to an incorrect result which might suggest that perhaps North shouldn’t open after all.

Too Hard

2011-07-31T09:40:00.001+01:00

28th July – Board 8: Love All. Dealer West.

Some hands are just too hard to bid to the par contract but that doesn’t mean you should be a million miles away. On the hand shown below South should have tried to adopt a strategy which indicated he had a strong two-suiter, even if that meant biding his time for a while. I know the auctions were many and varied but something approximating to the following could not be criticised:

West	North	East	South
1NT	No	2C	No
2H	No	No	4H
No	5C	No	5D
End

1NT is a sensible opening bid with the hearts too awful to wish to repeat but it does give his partner a problem. One solution might be to transfer to clubs in whatever way is available but I think a better idea would be to bid Stayman, aiming to pass a response in a major but to remove 2D to 3C. South should lurk as 2C is forcing but when 2H comes back to him he should come clean by bidding 4H, surprising everyone no doubt but clearly showing a two-suiter with spades and a minor. North would bid 5C in the expectation that his partner held spades and clubs and South would remove to 5D. It might seem a huge gamble but the reality is of course that North needs very little to make game viable. And as you can see a slam is cast iron, but that is just too hard.

Ashes To Ashes

2011-07-23T16:53:00.001+01:00

21st July – Board 7: Game All. Dealer South.

South must have thought Christmas had come early when he opens 1C and hears his partner respond 1S after an overcall of 1D by West. A slam looks possible but his ardour is somewhat dampened when East bids 4H, and especially so when his 4S bid is doubled and fails by three or four tricks…..

West	North	East	South
			1C
1D	1S	4H	4S
Dbl	End

Not of course that any of that actually happened although I certainly think it should. That 4H bid by East may look odd but with such a good fit for partner and without needing much in the way of heart support I think it’s a standout. 4H is cold as it happens despite losing two trumps and so for that matter is 5D. But the penalty gained from doubling 4S is greater than any successful game call.

Space-Age Acol

2011-07-23T16:52:00.001+01:00

21st July – Board 13: Game All. Dealer North.

Any strong hand with five spades and four in another suit can be difficult to bid if partner responds 1NT to the opening bid of 1S. For this reasons many people play that a rebid of 2C by opener in this sequence shows at least 16 points with an unspecified four-card suit on the side. In reply responder bids 2S with three-card support and a minimum, 2D with a minimum without three spades or five hearts and 2H with a minimum and five hearts. With a maximum 1NT bid of 8 or 9 points responder bids 3S with three-card support, 2NT without three spades or five hearts and 3H with five hearts. As a corollary after an opening bid of 1S has received a response of 1NT then 2H/2D are limited with less than 16 points. Of course if opener has a limited hand with five spades and four clubs then he has to pass 1NT…..

West	North	East	South
	No	No	1S
No	1NT	No	2C
No	2NT	No	3H
No	3NT	End

In this auction South has shown a hand with sixteen points or more with five spades and four hearts while North has shown eight or nine points without three spades or four hearts.

In reality 3NT is not a good contract but with the jack of spades falling in three rounds and the diamond suit being as benign as it possibly could there are nine tricks available. If South chose to rebid 2H then North would have to pass as his partner could have a complete minimum.

Textbook Triumph

2011-07-17T10:27:00.001+01:00

14th July – Board 9: East/West Game. Dealer North.

Sometimes a hand comes along that could be taken directly from any bridge textbook and the featured hand is a case in point. I wonder whether any of the players on Thursday found it?

West	North	East	South
	No	No	No
2D	No	2H	No
2NT	No	3NT	End

I hope no players opened that West hand 2NT! It is too good by miles. With three tens, a nine and a five-card suit it must be worth upgrading to 2D, or 2C if you are not playing Benji. I think it is right to rebid 2NT though because if you rebid 3D partner could – would – be stuck in finding the only making game of 3NT. (After 2NT I would actually bid 3C on that East hand in an effort to find a 5-3 spade fit, but it’s close.) North will probably lead a low spade and declarer should see that the contract is safe as long as he can make four diamond tricks. In such situations always expect the worst, and while just banging out the two top diamonds would bring home the bacon it is not the right thing to do. As long as diamonds are no worse than 4-1 the game is secure. Win the first spade in hand and cash the ace of diamonds. Then lead low towards the jack. If North started with a four-card suit he is restricted to just making the queen, while if he shows out on the second diamond declarer plays the jack from dummy losing to the queen in the South hand. But now he can win the spade return in dummy and take a marked diamond finesse against the ten. As usual virtue would have to be its own reward.