Better Bridge in Barry County June 28 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠ AQJ97 ♥ A875 ♦ --- ♣ AJ86
West ♠ 2 ♥ K62 ♦ KQJ93 ♣ 10754		East ♠ K ♥ J1093 ♦ A108742 ♣ Q2
	South ♠ 1086543 ♥ Q4 ♦ 65 ♣ K93

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East East-West A♠

North 2S Pass Pass	East 1D Pass 5D	South Pass 4S Pass	West 2D Pass Pass

Today’s column illustrates the need to be aggressive in your bridge bidding. The East-West team certainly was aggressive with their diamond fit. Unfortunately for the North-South team, they stopped short. They did not get the game contract in spades; they missed a potential slam, and they failed to double the diamond contract. All in all, there are plenty of reasons on this hand to show why you lose at bridge.

East opened the bidding with a rather light diamond suit, opting to bid just one diamond although a weak two-diamond bid would have been suitable as well. It certainly would have given more information to the North-South team if East had opened with a weak-two bid promising between 5-11 high card points and a six-card diamond suit.

South with six spades to the ten would have loved to have bid, but he opted to pass and see what partner could do. With only five high card points, there might be a place for the North-South team, but South chose to wait and see.

West certainly liked the diamond bid of East, and she raised her partner to two diamonds. They have a golden fit in diamonds with at least nine or ten diamonds between them. Enter North into the bidding. North has a number of options here. With a void in diamonds, the best bid that North could make with this beautiful hand is a Takeout Double bid. With 16 high card points and five dummy points, North almost has game in her hand. This is an excellent choice as she can double first, and then name her spade suit when the bid returns to her. The other option is to bid her spades and hope that partner South will have some support. In five of the nine tables, North bid the spades herself. In two of the nine hands, North chose the Takeout Double for a bid forcing partner to choose one of the three unbid suits.

East passed after the 2S bid by North, and now South saw the excellent fit in spades and promptly bid 4S. South knew that they had 11 spades between them. What a golden fit!

West passed after hearing the 4S bid as did North. Here East decided to sacrifice and bid an astonishing bid of 5D. All passed including North who should have reconsidered two options: make East-West pay for their sacrifice, or bid one more to 5S. The first option of doubling and making the East-West pay for their indiscretion would have been a hefty 500 points in the North-South ledger. With East-West vulnerable, it is clear that East-West will lose four tricks: The spade trick, the heart trick, and two club tricks for down two vulnerable and a minus 500 points. That would have been an excellent score for the North-South team. Unfortunately, they let East-West sacrifice for a mere 200 points down, and they received their just rewards: a bottom on the scoring table.

North’s second option would have been to continue bidding with such a wonderful hand: no diamonds, good support from partner South, and with confidence, North should have continued the bidding, going to 5S and possibly even going on to six spades. The maxim and the message for this hand come in from S. J. Simon and his book Why You Lose at Bridge, one of the all-time favorite books of bridge players and bridge writers. Written in the 1940’s, Simon’s words are still relevant to today’s players. In this case, his advice would have been to the North-South team: “When in doubt, bid one more.” All those North-South teams that played in spades made five spades, three made six spades (not bid, however), and one team made seven spades (not bid either.) The message is loud and clear: When in doubt and in a competitive bidding where it appears that your opponents are sacrificing, do something! Don’t let them off the hook. Double for penalty or keep on bidding!

Note: S.J.Simon’s 1946 book Why You Lose at Bridge is available online at www.amazon.com or www.baronbarclay.com. The book is also available as a Kindle edition.

Gerald Stein

June 12, 2012

Number of words: 764

Better Bridge in Barry County June 21 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠ 52 ♥ K862 ♦ AQ9 ♣ AQ92
West ♠ QJ1073 ♥ AJ ♦ K54 ♣ J65		East ♠ AK8 ♥ Q107 ♦ 862 ♣ 10974
	South ♠ 964 ♥ 9543 ♦ J1073 ♣ K3

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Both A♠

North 1NT	East Pass	South Pass	West Pass

In today’s column, another disastrous hand came up for the North-South team in a recent duplicate game. North opened the bidding with 15 high card points, and three of her suits were stopped. She had no voids, no singleton, and only one doubleton in spades. In other words, in today’s world of bridge bidding, North had all of the requisite cards and points for a legitimate one No Trump bid. That is what she bid.

Unfortunately, her partner South did not have his thinking cap on that day. He looked at his hand, saw only four high card points, shrugged his shoulders, and pulled out the Pass card. Likewise, West decided to play along too, and she also pulled the Pass card out. The final contract was 1 No Trump in the North, a most unfortunate bid for the North-South team. Could they have done better if South had been awake? Let us see.

The opening lead of the A♠ showed signs of disaster immediately for North. She could only watch in dismay as the East-West team ran off the first five tricks in spades. Should East-West  have been bidding the spade suit? It appears so.

West finished off the last spade trick and looked to take even more against the hapless North-South team. West led a small club that made it around to the K♣ in the dummy. The lead of a J♦ might have saved another trick or so for North, but West coolly played second-hand low, and the J♦ held. Leading the 10♦ again provided another duck, but now North could no longer get to that good diamond trick in the dummy. Nor could North lead a small heart from the dummy toward her K♥ in her hand. The results were unfortunate for most of the teams playing no trump in the North-South hands. Of the nine times this hand was played, five North-South teams were set one, two, or three tricks vulnerable. This was not a good scoring day for the North-South teams.

Was there a better way for North-South to make something positive on this hand? Two North-South teams managed to eke out a one no trump positive score, but the defense appears to have slipped and allowed that to happen. Two East-West teams played in two spades, making two spades for a plus score for East-West on offense.

What should South have bid with his meager four high card points? Time for the thinking cap, Mr.South. In an effort to create a better situation and a better contract for his partner North, South should have bid two clubs! This appears to be the standard Stayman Convention of two clubs, asking if partner has a four card major suit. The missing ingredient, however, is that the Responder promises at least eight points and at least one four-card major. In this case, there is a four-card major, four hearts, but certainly no eight points. How then can South ever justify making a Stayman Convention bid?

The answer is, of course, that South can bid a seldom-used bid of two clubs with less than eight high card points. He must, however, be short in the club suit, meaning a void, or one, or two at the most. In this hand, South had the right number of clubs: two including the K♣ and the three of clubs.

North, trusting her partner, would naturally respond two hearts, informing her partner that she indeed has four hearts as requested. When the bidding came around to South again, he would have passed immediately, and unless East-West intervened with a spade bid, North would have played the hand in two hearts, making two hearts and receiving a positive score for their partnership.

And just what is this bid called? And how do you tell your partner that you have lied to her about your hand? This is a bid called Garbage Stayman, and it works like this. With a garbage hand like South has, he looks to see if he is short in clubs. If so, he bids two clubs, initiating the Stayman Convention. However, no matter what his partner North answers, South is prepared to pass immediately. South will pass two diamonds gladly since he has four of them; South will pass two hearts gladly since he has four of them; he will pass spades reluctantly as he only has three of them, but the outcome is much better than playing in one no trump going set. While not often does this scenario appear, when it does, thinking of Garbage Stayman might just save the day for your partnership. Think about it.

Answer to last week’s bridge question: What does it mean “to cut the muster”? Once again, Rosy has mangled the English language: Her response of “to cut the mustard” was an incorrect usage. “To cut the muster” is a military term meaning that one is eligible or prepared for military service. “To not cut the muster” means one is ineligible or ill-prepared for military service.

Gerald Stein

June 11, 2012

Number of words 903

Better Bridge in Barry County June 14 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠ 7543 ♥ K987 ♦ A53 ♣ K2
West ♠ KQ6 ♥ 10642 ♦ K84 ♣ 754		East ♠ 109 ♥ QJ53 ♦ 762 ♣ QJ96
	South ♠ AJ82 ♥ A ♦ QJ109 ♣ A1083

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West None 2♥

North Pass 1♥ 3♠ 4♦ 5♦ Pass	East Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass	South 1♦ 1♠ 4♣ 4NT 6♠	West Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass

Captain M. North surveyed the deck of his pride and  joy. The Barry County Bridge Barge was all set to leave shortly from the Charlton Park Pier. What was he missing? Or who was he missing? This nagged at the captain as he set about aligning chairs and tables for the trip down the mighty Thornapple River for the weekly cruise and bridge tournament.

Just then two of the bridge players prepared to board the BCBB for the afternoon’s session. Rosy and Vera, two experienced players, were bouncing up the gangplank. “Oh, Captain North! We are so glad to see you!”

Captain North looked up with a smile. “Of course! Rosy and Vera! Where have you two been the last couple of weeks? We all missed you and your bubbling personalities.” “Captain North, you say that to all of the ladies,” retorted Rosy. But the Captain could see that they were happy to be back. “Where have you two been recently?” he asked.

The Captain realized too late that he had asked the fatal question. Now he was a captive as Rosy and Vera pulled up empty chairs, and he knew that they would tell all. He shrugged and smiled. “Fire away,” said the Captain.

“Oh, Captain North, we have had the best vacation ever!” started Vera, with a huge smile. “We left Barry County for the northern-most regions of the Upper Peninsula.” “Da Yooper!” giggled Rosa, and they broke into laughter. Captain North waited.

“Yes,” interjected Rosy, “we wanted to play bridge in another state so we went to the Upper Peninsula to a huge bridge tournament near a town called Escanaba. You may have heard of it?” Before the captain could respond, Vera said, “Youbetcha!’ and they again broke into peals of laughter.

Regaining their composure, Vera and Rosy continued with their northern adventure. “We went to the north to play in the WUMBA tournament. It’s an old Indian word for Wisconsin Upper Michigan Bridge Association, and they run the tournament for a week up there. Can you imagine?” The Captain sat still.

“Well, we had a wonderful time, and we found one bridge hand that we just had to share with you. Here it is,” and Rosy pulled out today’s hand. “The bidding was quite extraordinary as you imagine, Captain North.” “Yes,” said Vera, “imagine getting all the way to a six spade contract with that hand, eh?”

The Captain looked over the hand in question. “Hmmm…the North-South team doesn’t seem to have enough points for a small slam hand. How did they…?” But he was too late. Rosy and Vera were ready for him. “Captain North, we will tell you how it happened.”

“West led the safe 2♥ for an opening lead. South took the A♥,  having made her plan. There looked to be definite losers in the spade trump suit. Wouldn’t you agree, Captain North?” asked Rosy. The Captain could only nod.

“From then on, South was in charge all the way. She led the 9♦, the 10♦, and the J♦ finally capturing West’s K♦ with the A♦ in the dummy. South then played the K♥ and threw away the good Q♦. Imagine that!” said Rosy.

“Then, Captain North, South called for the K♣ and played a small club from her hand. She led a small heart from the dummy and trumped it in her hand with 2♠. She then led the A♣ from her hand and played the small club from the dummy. She then led the 8♣ from her hand and trumped it on the board with the 3♠. She then led the 9♥ from the dummy and trumped it in hand with 8♠.” Here Rosy paused to catch her breath. Her eyes were dancing with excitement.

Vera continued, “This is the best part, Captain North. Did you notice South has not drawn one trump yet?” Captain North could only nod. “South then led her last club planning to trump on the board. West is in a predicament with K♠, Q♠, and 6♠. If she trumps with the 6♠, then South will call for the 7♠ on the board. So just what did West do, Captain North?”

The Captain waited. Rosy jumped in immediately. “West put up the Q♠ and took the trick, but now she is in a no-win situation. She was stuck in an end-play. She led the 6♠, with everyone following to South’s J♠ which won the trick. South’s A♠ took the 12^th and final trick, making the six spade small slam! How about that, Captain North!”

The Captain rose from his seat. “Congratulations, Rosy and Vera. Who of you played South on this hand?” They both began to giggle immediately. “Oh, Captain North, neither of us played that hand. We found it on the hand records after the tournament, and we thought you might like to hear about this hand that we didn’t play.” They broke into laughter.

The Captain was speechless. “Oh Captain. We also stopped at the Fort Michilimackinac once we crossed the bridge. We wanted to enlist in the British army, but they told us we were “trolls” because we lived under the bridge, and that we couldn’t cut the mustard. I think they were wrong.” Both Vera and Rosy started laughing again. The Captain walked away shaking his head once again. “Welcome back, Rosy and Vera,” was all he could muster.

Recent answers to Bridge questions: “To cut one’s leg off” in bridge lingo means that your opponents have won a game and your part score was eliminated.

“A Golden Fit” in Bridge lingo means that you and your partner have an eight-card or more trump fit.

Today’s question: What does it mean to “cut the muster”?

Gerald Stein

June 7 2012 Number of words 1037

Better Bridge in Barry County June 7 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

	North ♠ 42 ♥ QJ9865 ♦ KQ42 ♣ 9
West ♠ KJ95 ♥ 102 ♦ 8 ♣ AQ10432		East ♠ Q10876 ♥ A3 ♦ 1097 ♣ J86
	South ♠ A3 ♥ K74 ♦ AJ653 ♣ K75

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South East-West Pick it

North 2H 4H	East 2S Pass	South 1NT 3H Pass	West 2C 3S Pass

After a competitive auction, the North-South team in today’s hand arrived at a Four Heart contract. With an opening bid of 1NT by South (15-17 high card points and a stopper in every suit), the North-South team seemed to have the edge in the auction. North knew that his partner had at least two hearts in his hand to make the no trump bid, so the North-South team was extremely confident that they had a Golden Fit in hearts with six hearts in the north hand, and three in the south hand.

Conversely, the East-West team, while trying to compete in this auction, was either outgunned or frightened off by the one no trump opening bid by South. This team too had a Golden Fit in two suits: spades and clubs with nine cards in spades and nine cards in clubs. The four heart bid eliminated the four club bid, which, by the way, can make four clubs in the East-West hands.

That leaves the only open bid for the East-West team at four spades, but with unfavorable vulnerability, it appeared that the East-West team was unwilling to go for the four spade bid even though it might have been a good sacrifice to do so.

Looking at the total points in the four hands, it is not too difficult to see East-West’s thinking on the bidding from their perspective. What was known from the first bid was that South had at least 15 high card points. West, with a fine six-card club suit was well-situated to overcall in clubs and enter the bidding war with ten high card points, two more length points plus a singleton in diamonds and a doubleton in hearts. West was comfortable with her bid.

North entered the bidding next with a free response bid of two hearts, having six hearts, eight high card points, and shortness in clubs and spades. North knew that no trump would not be a good contract and steered the auction to a heart contract.  East, then, used the spade bid as a way to enter the bidding and to let his partner know that he had at least five spades, seven high card points, and shortness in hearts.

Looking, then, at the total number of points spread around the table, it is easy to see that the North-South team has the preponderance of points with 23 high card points and a good fit in hearts. However, the East-West team, even though they have a club fit and a spade fit, can muster only 17 high card points, a far cry from the 25-26 points needed for a game in a major suit.

Interestingly, the contract was won out by the North-South team, and they can make four hearts easily indeed if they are handed the contract by the East-West team. If they take an extra trick at this contract, due to poor defense by the East-West team, they will do even better, and they will win the majority of points on this hand.

Unfortunately for the East-West team, even though they had only 17 high card points, they are the self-inflicted victims here of non-aggressive bidding. For, it is clear to all that the East-West team can prevail at four spades. The team will lose one spade, the Ace of spades; they will lose one heart trick, since they have the Ace of hearts to cover the other loser; and they will lose one diamond trick. True, East will have to finesse the King of clubs, but that is a given with the one no trump bidding by South. All in all, the East-West team, thinking that they should not sacrifice because of the unfavorable vulnerability, missed a game that could have put them on the top of the list on that hand instead of at the bottom. Bridge is a bidding game. Bid and you will see that aggressive bidding is the norm in today’s bridge world.

Bridge Question for this week: What is meant by a Golden Fit in bridge lingo?

Gerald Stein

May 30, 2012

Number of words 750