Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
North
♠ 2
♥ K J 10 9 7 4 3 2
♦ 9 6 4 2
♣ ---
|
||
West
♠ 9 8 7 6 5
♥ ---
♦ Q J 10 7
♣ K 9 7 2
|
East
♠ Q 10
♥ Q 6
♦ K 8 5
♣ Q J 8 6 4 3
|
|
South
♠ A K J 4 3
♥ A 8 5
♦ A 3
♣ A 10 5
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
West
Both
Q♦
|
North
4♥
Pass
|
East
Pass
Pass
|
South
7NT
|
West
Pass
Pass
|
Every bridge player remembers the bid-and-made 7NT
contracts. It is like hitting a grand slam home run, or scoring a hole-in-one
in golf. While a rarity in all fields, it does indeed happen from time to time
in baseball, in golf, and in bridge as well. Today’s hand offers a glimpse of
the thrill of bidding and making a seven no trump contract. Cover the East/West
cards to see if you can figure out how it was done in a recent online
tournament.
After a pass by dealer West, North, with eight
hearts and not much more, preempted with a 4♥
bid. East passed, and South began a short huddle to determine the best contract
for the North/South pair. Knowing that there were eleven hearts between them,
South’s first thought went to a trump suit in hearts, but upon further
reflection, with all suits stopped, South boldly bid 7NT. All passed, and the
contract was set.
West led the Q♦, the
top of a sequence, and it was as good a lead as any. South surveyed the dummy
with all of those hearts, a void in clubs, a singleton in spades, and some
troublesome diamonds, especially given the lead from West. Thanking partner
first was always a given. The plan began next with South counting the number of
winners in both hands since it was a no trump contract. Needing all thirteen
tricks, South counted twelve tricks immediately: Eight heart tricks, two spade
tricks, one diamond trick, and one club trick. Where would the thirteenth trick
come from?
With his plan in place, South won the opening lead
with the A♦ in his hand. A small heart to the K♥ on the board came next with West showing no hearts.
A small heart from the dummy back to the A♥ in
the South hand captured the Q♥ from East. So
much for trump.
South began the spade suit next, leading the A♠, and
all followed, although South did note that East played the 10♠ on the first
trick. Confidently, South plunked down the K♠, and while West followed suit,
and South discarded a diamond from the board, it was the Q♠ that fell from the
East hand. Home free, South led the J♠ discarding yet another diamond from the
board, and East showed out of spades. The A♣ from the South hand made the last
diamond go away, and South claimed the remaining tricks with nothing but trump
left on the board. Thirteen tricks in, bid and made, for a Grand Slam in No
Trump. A score of 2220 resulted in a top board for the North/South team as
other pairs elected to play in hearts for their slam choices.
How often does a Grand Slam, especially in no trump,
show up in a friendly social bridge game or in a competitive bridge tournament?
That is an easy answer. Not often enough!
Gerald Stein
August 4, 2013
Number of words: 637
Bridge Notes: Classes for the fall from Kellogg
Community College’s Institute for Learning and Life Long Learning programs are
now available online. Check and see what bridge courses are available for you
and your partner. You will soon be on your way to that coveted 7NT contract.
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