Better Bridge in Barry County
By Gerald Stein
North
♠ J3
♥ A
♦ AQ984
♣ KQJ98
| ||
West
♠ A1094
♥ QJ762
♦ 107
♣ A5
|
East
♠ Q762
♥ 9543
♦ 632
♣ 76
| |
South
♠ K85
♥ K108
♦ KJ5
♣ 10432
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
South
North/South
3♥
|
North
Dbl
3NT
|
East
2♥
Pass
|
South
Pass
3♥
Pass
|
West
1♥
Pass
Pass
|
In today’s column, we will take a final look at bidding, planning, and playing a no trump contract, but unlike the past few weeks, this hand will illustrate what happens when the opponents enter the bidding and make life difficult for the North/South team. Let’s see what happened in a recent game at the club.
As dealer, South had inadequate points for an opening bid, but looking at her distribution and good points in three of the suits, South certainly hoped that her partner could enter the bidding. South had a nice hand to respond to the partnership.
West entered the bidding with a rather weak hand, but this is the way bridge is played these days. With only 11 high card points and one point for length in the five-card heart suit, West did what most competitive players would have done, and she opened a 1♥ bid. Those hearts were nothing to write home about, but there were five of them and a few points to spare with two aces in other suits.
North, with a strong hand and with shortness in both hearts and spades, elected to use the Takeout Double for his bid. With 17 high card points, shortness in two suits, and length in the minors, North was hoping to make something happen for his team. His double demanded that his partner bid if East did not bid and for his partner to name her best suit.
East, with a meager hand of two high card points, supported her partner with a 2♥ bid. East knew that there was not much there, but she did know that their partnership had at least nine hearts between them and a golden fit in the heart suit. Again, this is modern bridge bidding. Bid and bid some more!
At this point, South reevaluated her hand and used a cue bid, bidding the opponents’ suit and promised with that bid a limit raise of 10-11 points. This was an extremely accurate bid, plus it was rather intimidating to the opponents to have their suit bid and raised. They sometimes do not know what to do, and this can allow the bidding to falter or stop because of the cue bid.
West duly passed the cue bid, and North evaluated the bidding, and promptly bid 3NT, a most accurate and courageous bid, considering the heart bid by East-West and his meager holdings in spades. But the big reminder here is to remember to trust your partner. Partner must have had something to have bid the cue bid of 3♥.
The final contract was 3NT by North, and East tabled the 3♥, the fourth down of her partner’s suit, and the entire table knew that East-West had nine hearts between them. Unfortunately, for East/West, the hearts were stopped by the A♥ in North’s hand and the K♥ in South’s hand.
North thanked his partner as usual for a good bid and a good dummy, and he took the time to count the immediate winners as we have been practicing the last few weeks: two heart tricks, four diamond tricks, and no certain winners in spades or clubs. North-South had six certain tricks to start. Where would the other three tricks come from?
North certainly liked the dummy and his own hand and how they fit together. With stoppers in hearts, the plan was to knock out the A♣ and run the good clubs for four or more extra tricks. North started that plan immediately, taking the A♥, and then led the K♣. North was virtually sure that West had the A♣ because of her opening bid. West can duck the trick, but that would be only a short-term solution. Instead, West took the A♣, and led back the 2♥. This was won by South with the 10♥, and the rest of the tricks were claimed by North, taking 12 tricks altogether. East-West lost their A♠ because West did not take the ace when she could have.
Did North-South miss out on a small slam in no trump on this hand? They did not miss a small slam. East-West held two aces, the A♠ and the A♣. With both aces in one hand, it is a good bet that when West got in, she would have led the setting trick at once. North-South were tipped off by West’s opening bid of one heart. While not enough for slam, game was a real possibility, and North-South bid it and made it, despite competition from the opponents. Well done, North-South.
Gerald Stein
August 30, 2012
Number of words: 945
Answer to last week’s bridge question: What other slam could have been bid and made despite the fact that there was a Moysian fit? Hearts can make a small slam, and indeed that was bid and made at the Regional Tournament. The Moysian fit suggests a 4-3 fit in the trump suit, a situation most bridge players try to avoid. In this case, the misfit was even worse: all 6 trumps were in the declarer’s hand with none in the dummy; his only plan was to draw trumps with the A♥ and K♥, and then give up a heart trick, regain the lead, draw the last trump and claim the rest, making a small slam in hearts.
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