Better Bridge in Barry County May 16 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

	North ♠  K J 10 9 6 4  ♥  Q J 5 4  ♦  J 7   ♣  8
West ♠  --- ♥  A ♦  Q 10 6 4   ♣  A J 9 7 6 4 3 2		East ♠  8 5 3 2 ♥  10 9 8 6 2   ♦  K 5 2 ♣  K
	South ♠  A Q 7  ♥  K 7 3 ♦  A 9 8 3 ♣  Q 10 5

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West North/South K♣

 

North   Pass ????	East   Pass Pass	South   ???? Pass	West 4♣ Pass Pass

In today’s column, let’s look at another example of your opponents preempting before you have any chance to bid.  West as dealer opened a preemptive bid of 4♣ with eight clubs, no spades, a singleton A♥ and four diamonds. West effectively shut out the North/South team by bidding so high on the first bid. Is there something South and North can do to salvage this hand?

Indeed there is. Last time we took a look at the bridge adage: “Get fixed. Stay fixed.” In this case, West has certainly put a fix on the North/South team. They have only a few seconds to decide what to do. It is South who needs to make the right bid to save this hand. Bid or pass? It seems easy to just pass and try and set the East/West team as, after all, they do not expect to make ten tricks in clubs. A preemptive bid is an obstructive bid. Its main purpose is to get in the way, and, oh, how effective such a bid is, especially on this hand.

While some bridge players will quietly roll over and pass, the more adventuresome will find the right bid and bid away, even though North/South are vulnerable and most of the bidding space has been taken up by West. With fifteen high card points, South is not content to play dead here. While typically, South should be short in West’s suit, yet by thinking about it, it is easy to do the math. West has just announced that she has eight clubs. South has three more for eleven. That only leaves two out, one for partner North, and one for East. South uses the double on this hand, requiring her partner to either name a good suit or to pass with the intention of setting the 4♣ bid.

North does not need much prompting on her hand and speedily bids four spades, and all pass. The contract is 4♠ in the North. East leads the K♣, and South tables her hand. North likes the possibilities, and she begins to make her plan. In a trump suit, North knows that counting losers is the method to use: in spades, there are no losers; in hearts, there is one loser, the A♥; in diamonds, there is one loser as the other diamonds can be trumped with the long spades. With only one club loser, it looks like 4♠ is a solid makeable contract. North is ready to call for a low club from the dummy.  

East’s K♣ holds the first trick as all have played to it. East shifts to the 6♥, the fourth down in the heart suit. Playing low from the South hand, North is pleased to see the A♥ emerge from the West hand. West returns the A♣, and here is where counting in bridge is so important. North knows that East is out of clubs as well as she is. Taking no chances, North trumps with the 9♠ effectively and efficiently winning the trick. All of East’s trumps are below the 9♠.

North with control of the hand now draws four rounds of spades removing all trumps from the East hand. With all trumps drawn, and the hearts set up, North leads to the short side by playing the 5♥ to the K♥. The 7♥  is led back to the Q♥, then the J♥  follows and North discards a diamond from the South hand. Using the 7♦, North leads to the A♦ in the dummy, and using the now-set-up Q♣, North leads it and discards the J♦. The last trick is the ten of trump, and North claims it, making not just ten tricks but eleven tricks for an excellent score of 650.

What is the message and the take-away for today’s hand? Again, as we saw last week, when your opponents preempt and “fix” you, you have to find a way to “fix” the situation. Here, North and South worked together to end up in a game contract in spades through the use of the takeout double and a strong suit in the North hand. North and South fixed the situation for themselves by bidding instead of relinquishing the preemptive bid to the opponents. Do the same the next time your opponents interfere with your plans by preempting. It will be your turn to “fix” them.

 

Gerald Stein

May 4, 2013

Number of words: 923

Bridge Notes: From time to time, some of our bridge friends move to a new table. As a new writer for this column in the winter of 2012, I received a phone call from Florida and a Barry County bridge player told me how much he appreciated getting the Banner and my bridge column. It was John Walsh, and while I only met him once after that, yet his call and his encouragement meant a great deal to me. Thank you, John Walsh. May you rest in peace.