Better Bridge in Barry County July 18 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Both J♣

 

North   Pass	East   Pass	South 1NT	West Pass

Today’s column looks at a perennial problem in the bridge world. What do you do when you have a solid no trump opening hand, and everyone passes, and you are stuck with a one no trump contract? The question often arises about the change in the number of points needed for a one no trump opening bid. Most modern players have gone to the 15-17 high card points, no voids or singletons, and only one doubleton. A number of players ask why there is a change from the long-established 16-18 high card range. The response is often given this way: with the lower point range, there is the opportunity to bid more often as well as to more accurately describe your hand and your point count to your partner. Why not take the opportunity to bid and bid often? The dilemma then occurs if the one no trump bid is passed out. Then it becomes a battle between the defenders planning to set the contract, and the declarer hoping that his partner has something to help make the contract. Look and see what happened in today’s hand found at a local game recently.

South with a balanced hand and the right range of 15 high card points elected to open with a 1NT bid. South’s partner had big help in clubs but not enough to go higher. North accordingly and rightly passed as did the defenders East and West.

West with the lead chose the top of the club sequence hoping to make something happen in that suit. West chose the J♣ for her lead. South surveyed the lead and the dummy making a plan after thanking her partner, especially when she saw the strong clubs on the board. South could count four sure tricks: The A♣, the K♣, the Q♣, and the A♥. The other three tricks would have to come from cards held in the South hand. It would not be an easy contract to make.

Wanting to keep an entry in her hand, South called for the A♣ on the first trick, winning that first trick as planned. Next came a heart leading toward her hand, and she put up the J♥, losing to the K♥ in the West hand. West returned the 10♣ driving out the K♣ on the board. South again kept the Q♣ in her hand as an entry. East showed out on the second club, however, sending out an 8♦ as an attitude signal card.

South chose a small diamond, and here East wisely played low in second position. The adage of “Second hand low” had proven its worth again. South put in the J♦, and it lost to the singleton Q♦ in the West hand. West had been counting clubs and knew that the Q♣ was in the South hand. Here West led the 6♣ and even though the clubs on the board look like they could win the trick, South was caught with the Q♣ in her hand. There was nothing more to be gained from the board.

South had won the three club tricks so far, and she had two hearts ready to cash. South cashed the A♥ and the Q♥ winning two more tricks. Five tricks in so far, but South still needed two more tricks to make her contract. South led the 4♠ hoping to make something happen. Something happened all right. West grabbed the A♠, took the good 9♣ and the good 10♥ and exited with a small spade. East took the K♠ and the A♦. North/South ended up a trick short for down 100 points. East/West with good defense together managed to take the necessary seven tricks to earn a positive score of 100 points.

Could South have done something better to prevent the poor score for their side? Perhaps South could have taken the first club trick in her hand and taking the club lead into consideration might realize that West was leading from the top of a sequence of three touching cards. Leading a small club back toward the Ace and King of Clubs, West might have played low, and South could have chosen the 7♣ or the 8♣ for a cheap finesse. Those are post-mortem thoughts, and in the play of the hand, there is little time to consider each and every alternative to making a good play. Sitting back and looking at four hands at once is a great advantage for a reader, but for the player, the plan you make at the beginning of the hand is the plan that you stick with during the rest of the play. Make a good plan at the beginning and plan out the way to get those seven tricks if you end up in a one no trump contract.

 

Gerald Stein

July 13, 2013

Number of words: 995

Bridge notes: “Learn Bridge in a Day” will be offered again in our area for those who want to learn a lot of bridge in one day. While no substitute for taking additional bridge classes, still it is an easy way to learn about bridge in one afternoon. The next class will be held at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center just off West Main in Kalamazoo on September 15, 2013. Consider alerting your friends who have always wanted to learn how to play bridge to take this opportunity. You will have new bridge partners before you know it.

 

 

 

Better Bridge in Barry County July 11 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West Both Pick it

 

North   2♦ 3♥ 6♣	East   Pass Pass Pass	South 2♣ 3♣ 5♣ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass Pass

In another online duplicate bridge event, South was in awe of her hand. She thought, rightly or not, that this particular hand called for a strong 2♣ opening bid. Normally, a 2♣ bid promises huge points in the 22 plus range. The best that South could count was 17 with two worthless doubletons in spades and diamonds. Nine tricks are possible, but three no trump does not look like a favorable place to park a contract.

With ambitious bidding by South, there is always a danger. What is the danger? The lead, of course, from the West hand is the danger in this hand. What did West choose to lead from this hand at a 6♣ small slam contract? West had heard the bidding as had the rest of the table. Leading away from the honors in spades and diamonds did not sound appealing to West. The hearts had been bid by North so leading away from the Q♥ would be a bad choice. West chose the K♣ as her lead. How did it play out for South?

The K♣ was one of the two leads that helped South to make a small slam in clubs. The bidding was risky, but the play of the hand after the K♣ lead was favorable for South. South took the K♣ with the A♣ and surveyed the dummy. The hearts were certainly appealing, but the lack of entries to use them might prove difficult for South. No problem for South as she began her plan for taking not just twelve tricks but all thirteen tricks. What was the play on the second trick?

South led the K♥ at the second trick and saw a heart from each opponent. So far so good for South. She next led the A♥ and while the Q♥ did not fall, East followed with a heart. The hearts had split 3-2 just as South had hoped for. Using the 9♣ as an entry, South led a small club from her hand and drew the second club from East. Once on the board with the high 9♣, South played a high heart, expecting to trump high in her hand. When East trumped with the 7♣, South overtrumped, and poor West had to play the final heart, the Q♥.

With all trump out, the hearts set up on the board, and an entry via the A♦, South was prepared to claim the rest of the tricks. Making a small slam with an overtrick was a top score for the North/South team with 1390 points on their side of the ledger. They received in a competitive duplicate match 15.5 International Master Points. (IMPS), besting 15 other teams who played the same set of cards.

What about other leads on this hand? What happened if another lead is made instead of the K♣? Leading a small spade, say the 3♠, fourth down from your best suit, would have resulted in down one trick for a plus 100 points for the East/West team. Leading a small diamond, say the 4♦, again the fourth one down in your longest suit, would have resulted in down two tricks for a plus 200 for the East/West team. Leading a heart would not been a good lead for West either, as once South is in with the A♥, she can draw the trumps the same way and still has access to the board via the 9♣ and the A♦.

What about those teams that spurned the club suit and went to a 4♥ contract. Unfortunately, for those North/South teams even with all of those hearts, they will go down two tricks making only eight tricks for a plus 200 for the East/West team.

So, the message to take away from this hand is that the lead by the defender can make all of the difference in the success or the failure of the contract. West listened to the bidding, but it did not help and North/South claimed top spot. That means that East/West gave up the most points and earned the lowest score possible: a zero. With the lead, there is always that chance that as a defender that you will help the declarer succeed, or you will appear brilliant by choosing just the right lead and set the contract for a positive score for your team. What a thing that lead is!

 

Gerald Stein

July 3, 2013

Number of words: 981

Bridge News: Some new bridge classes are beginning to be planned for the fall through Kellogg Community Center and the Kalamazoo Bridge Center. Stay tuned for news about “Learn Bridge in a Day,” “Bidding in the 21^st Century,” and “Defense in the 21^st Century.” Dates and times will be available soon.

 

Better Bridge in Barry County July 4 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Both 10♥

 

North   1NT 3♥	East   Pass Pass	South 1♥ 2♠ 4♥	West Pass Pass

In another recent online duplicate bridge tournament, today’s hand showed up. While getting to four hearts seemed rather routine, in competitive games, it is not enough to make the bid. The key to winning the top place in these tournaments is to reach for and obtain the overtricks. That is what happened in today’s hand. Let’s take a look.

South was the dealer and opened with 1♥, choosing the longer six-card heart suit over the five-card spade suit. Both suits were strong suits, and South had a ready bid for his partner North with the second strong suit. North and South played a 1NT response as a forcing bid, showing between 6 and 12 high-card points in the North hand. As it turned out, six high-card points were about all there was in the North hand.

South had planned to bid the spades anyhow, but now the bid of 2♠ was also a forcing bid. This bid is called a Reverse, bidding one suit higher than the first suit so that Responder is forced to bid again. To use a Reverse, opener must have a strong hand with the high-card points and length in the 17-19 point range. South’s hand certainly qualified for a reverse bid.

North went back to South’s original bid of hearts and bid 3♥. North pushed to game and the contract was set at 4♥. The 10♥ was the lead from West, and South surveyed the dummy and his own hand. There appeared to be no losers in the heart suit, a good chance of promoting the spade suit, no diamond loser with the A♦ sitting prettily in the dummy hand, and one club loser. All in all, South was pleased with the bidding and the contract. The play of the hand would determine how many tricks South could win. Mindful of the competitive nature of the tournament, South knew that overtricks would be most valuable to winning this hand.

With the lead of a trump card, South was assured of winning and drawing all of the trumps easily. Instead, South won the first trick with the A♥, and he led a small heart to the Q♥ on the board. Here South stopped to think about needing a trump to take care of a losing spade trick. Knowing that the spades would typically split 3-2, when there are five out against you, the question for South was this: “Do I follow the old bridge adage of “Eight ever, Nine never” when missing the Q♠ and finesse for it? Or do I play the A♠, the K♠ and see what happens?” Most bridge players would follow the tried-and-true method, finesse for the Q♠ and lose it to West.

Not South. This time South on the third trick, knowing that there was still one trump out, but still having one trump on the board, led a small spade from the board and played the A♠ and then immediately after that played the K♠. When South saw the Q♠ fall and East follow with a spade, there was an inner smile floating around in South’s mind. South took the J♥ next, pulling the last trump, and proceeded to play the J♠, capturing the last spade of East. The 5♠ and the 2♠ had been promoted to discard the sad-looking clubs, and South then played all of the hearts as well. The A♦ was the 12^th trick for South, and as he saw at the first trick, the only losing trick was the final club trick losing to the A♣ saved by East.

A number of things happened on this hand. First, even though North/South did not have the requisite number of points for a game in the major, where typically 25-26 points will bring home a game, yet South had two very strong suits that became the method to secure two overtricks on this hand. Second, the proper use of the reverse bid kept the bidding alive, and North was forced to bid a second time choosing his better suit. Third, South chose to ignore a long-established bridge axiom to take the finesse missing the Queen in a suit. Taking the Ace and then the King and hoping for the drop worked this time for South. Was South lucky? Perhaps. But when it all came down to the final analysis, here were the final standings: of the 34 times this hand was played in the duplicate bridge tournament, only one South managed to take twelve out of the 13 tricks for a score of 680. Earning a 100% on one hand is always a high-water mark for a bridge player. South earned that high distinction on today’s hand. Well-done, South.

 

Gerald Stein

June 25, 2013

Number of words: 889

Better Bridge in Barry County June 27 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East North/South 3♠

 

North   3♥ 6♣	East Pass Pass	South 1♣ 5♣	West Pass Pass

In a recent online duplicate bridge tournament, this hand caused some problems for a number of the tables who played it. Bidding and making a slam are two different things. Sometimes bidding is the key, and sometimes the play of the hand is the key. When both work together, the results can be a top board and a top score. Let’s see what happened with today’s hand.

South opened 1♣ with five clubs and 15 high-card points. Partner North used a splinter bid of 3♥ to show that he was short in hearts and had good support for clubs. With fifteen high-card points, North was certainly encouraging South to bid on. When South leaped to game, North pushed on to a small slam in clubs. Now to make that bid is the rest of the column.

West with a pathetic-looking hand did not have much of a lead although to her credit, she did listen to the bidding and knew that leading a heart when North had announced to the table that he was short in hearts did not make good sense. As a result, West chose the other major and led the fourth down, the 3♠. South played the Q♠ from the dummy, East covered with the K♠, and South won the trick with the A♠. So much for trick one.

South next unblocked the diamond suit by playing the A♦ from his hand. Playing the good J♠ next cleared the spades in the dummy. The 2♠ was led next from South’s hand, and here South played high from the trumps in the dummy, playing the Q♣. Leading the J♣ came next, and East played low. South played low, and the trick held. South was in the right spot to lead again from the dummy with the 10♣, and again East played low. On the third lead of trumps, with the 9♣, East was forced to cough up the K♣, and South played the A♣ winning. The 5♠ from the South hand was led next and was trumped on the board with the last club there, the 6♣. From there it was easy. South played the top diamonds starting with the K♦, the Q♦, and the J♦. South was able to pitch all of the losing hearts, making and claiming all thirteen tricks for a top board on this hand.

All in all, this hand was played a total of 24 times. Only three of the 24 made the top score of all thirteen tricks with a 1390 score. Four of the 24 made a small slam taking twelve tricks for a score of 1370. What are the takeaways from today’s hand? Basically, the best things that a partnership can achieve together are good communication and trust. In today’s hand, South listened to his partner’s bid, and he bid sensibly reaching for a game in a minor suit. North put the partnership into a slam position, and it resulted in an excellent score for the North/South team. Well done, North and South.

 

Gerald Stein

June 21, 2013

Number of words: 651

 

Bridge Notes: By the way, did you notice that if West leads a heart at trick one, the East/West team will win the first trick and limit North/South to twelve tricks instead of thirteen? Bridge is such a fun game!