Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ 3
♥ K J 10 3
♦ 10 9 8 6 3
♣ K 6 5
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West
♠ A Q 10 9
♥ Q 7 5 2
♦ 7 2
♣ 10 9 3
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East
♠ J 7 6 5 4
♥ 8 6
♦ J 5
♣ 8 7 4 2
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South
♠ K 8 2
♥ A 9 4
♦ A K Q 4
♣ A Q J
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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North
North/South
Pick it
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North
Pass
2♦
3♣
3NT
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East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
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South
2♣
2NT
3♦
?
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West
Pass
Pass
Pass
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Today’s column features a bidder’s dilemma: stop at
the safe game in no trump for a sure thing, or keep bidding for that elusive
slam. What was South to do with his fourth bid in the auction? Pass for the
sure game in 3NT or try for a small slam? Let’s look at the bidding and the
points to see if there is any indication which way South should go. Think about
the lead from the West hand while you are at it. Good defense is always
important for the defenders.
After three passes in this auction, South opened
with a strong 2♣ bid, a modern day convention promising at least 22+ points, a
forcing bid for partner, and almost always a game or slam try. East/West were
silent the entire auction so little or no information could be gained from
them. North responded to the artificial club bid by responding 2♦, another part of the convention called a waiting
bid, and she waited to hear more about her partner South’s big hand.
South responded to the waiting bid by answering 2NT,
another forcing bid with indication that the South hand was a balanced hand and
ideal for playing in no trump. With this new information and some points and a
four-card major, North elected to bid 3♣, another artificial bid, the Stayman
Convention, asking if South had a four-card major. North indeed had a four-card
major in hearts to begin this inquiry.
South responded to the Stayman request with an
appropriate artificial bid as well, bidding 3♦,
denying that he had a four-card major. At this point, North had done all she
could and placed the contract at 3NT. South, however, was not so sure this was
the best contract for the North/South team. Would it be possible to make a
small slam in no trump with South’s 23 high card points, missing one A♠ and
partner’s 6-9 total points? Remember that a small slam needs 33 points to make
on most slam tries. Would there be enough to make a small slam with fewer than
33 points? Adding up the 23 and 6-9 left South a bit short of 33 points. Did
South bid again, or did he pass? What would you have done?
South basically had three choices: pass, bid, or
bid. The pass would have ended the auction, and North/South would have played
the hand in 3NT. The first bid was an invitation to go to slam. How did it
work? By bidding 4NT, South asked North if there was a possibility for slam.
That put a lot of responsibility on North who cannot see the South hand. With 7
high card points and one for length in the diamond suit, North can only count
the 22 South has bid and her 8 for a total of 30 points, 3 away from the 33
needed. North has only two choices here: bid 6NT or pass. What did North do?
The final choice is with South, the original bidder:
instead of putting all of the responsibility on partner North, South can blast
his way to 6NT and hope for the best. While this might not be scientifically
sound bidding, it does put the contract in 6NT without the danger of a pass by
partner North.
With three choices, South was the one to make the
decision for the partnership on this hand. A pass would be to play in 3NT with
the strong possibility that there would be overtricks because of South’s strong
hand and good cards. A 4 NT bid would create a hesitant position on South’s
part, putting all of the responsibility on North to make the slam decision. If
North passed 4NT and it made 6NT, that would look bad for North. If North
pushed to 6NT, and it did not make, then it looked like North made the wrong
call. South made the choice for the partnership and pulled out the 6NT card.
Three passes ended the auction: 6NT in the South. West would have the lead.
What defensive lead might provide a winning defense for East/West?
West had had a lot of time to think about the lead
after all of the bidding by the North/South team. With one sure trick in the A♠,
should West lead the A♠ and then look for another trick somewhere? What about
the Q♥? Might that be a potential defensive
trick for East/West? Or should West play a safe lead by leading a diamond or a
club in hopes of finding partner with a trick? Again, what would you do in this
same situation?
West did know something from the bidding of the
Stayman Convention: North had one four-card major, and South had neither a
four-card heart suit nor a four-card spade suit. Would leading a major suit be
the proper lead here?
After much agony, West pulled out the A♠ for his
lead against 6NT and led it. He was pleasantly surprised to see only one spade
in the dummy, and he was glad that he had not led a heart. With not much help
in the spade suit with only the J♠, still East wanted West to know that there
was something in her hand in spades, so East encouraged West with the 7♠,
promising something, even if it were just the J♠. West continued the spade suit
with the 9♠ hoping that East had the K♠ for the setting trick. Alas, South had
the K♠, and the remaining tricks, running the clubs, the diamonds and finessing
the Q♥ for 12 tricks and the small slam in No
Trump.
Both teams worked hard on this hand to reach the
right decisions. While North/South prevailed this time, East/West had all of
the right thoughts about making a good defensive plan. It did not work this time,
but watch out, North/South. The
defensive team of East/West will get you another time.
Gerald Stein
November 10, 2012
Number of words: 1100
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