Better Bridge in Barry County October 3 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Both 6♠

 

North   1D 4NT 6♣	East   Pass Pass Pass	South 1♣ 1NT 5♦ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass Pass

Unlike last week’s slam bidder, this time the North/South team had all of the right ingredients to make a small slam, including the right number of points, enough aces, and plenty of trumps as well as a precious singleton in the North hand. How well did the East/West defenders do against a 6♣ small slam? Not very well. Let’s take a look at today’s hand from a local duplicate bridge club where this hand was played recently eight times during an afternoon session. Out of those eight leads, six of the eight led a small spade against the 6♣ slam. Only two picked another lead. What was the other lead? Pick it if you can.

South opened the bidding with a 1♣ bid, promising at least three clubs, and opening count of twelve or thirteen high card points. In this case, South had fourteen high card points and a long but puny-looking club suit. No one was more surprised than North when he heard his partner bid her club suit. Look at those clubs in the North hand. North’s mind was already racing to slam-heaven in the club suit.

Bidding cautiously, North elected to bid up-the-line and bid his diamonds first. South further described her hand by bidding 1NT, letting her partner know that she had no four-card majors and that her hand was limited to an opening count of twelve to fourteen points. Satisfied with that information, North bid the Blackwood Convention, asking South if she had any aces. When South responded five diamonds, North knew she had one ace, but did not know which ace. Undeterred, North placed the contract at 6♣, and all passed.

Once again, it is the defense that has that all-important first lead of the hand. In this case, West led the small spade, fourth down from her longest and strongest. While not a bad lead, in this case, it proved to be the wrong lead. Did you select another lead? As soon as she saw the dummy, West regretted her lead. Instead of having North/South just make their 6♣ contract, West, by not playing her A♥, allowed the North/South pair to not only make their contract but to use the spades to dispose of the heart on the board. With trumps drawn, it was easy for South to take her winning spade tricks, discard the heart in the dummy, and claim all thirteen tricks for a fine score of 1390.

While four contracts of the eight total were played in six clubs, three make an overtrick because of the lead. The one slam where the A♥ was led was held to the six clubs for a 1370 score. An overtrick does not sound like much, but in a competitive game like bridge, every point extra helps your team. The question then arises: should I lead the ace when I have it, or try and save it to set the contract? While six defenders led the small spade as an opening lead, only two led the A♥ and held the contract to the bid made. Draw your own conclusions, and listen to the bidding. In today’s hand, there was no bid from East or West, so that would suggest that neither one had much. The one advantage of leading the A♥ as an opening lead against a small slam is that you not only get to see the dummy, but you may receive a signal card from your partner encouraging you to lead another heart. Isn’t bridge a fun game?

 

Gerald Stein

Number of words: 837

September 26, 2013

 

Bridge Notes: “Defense in the 21^st Century” bridge class has started in Battle Creek at the Kellogg Community College Technology Center. Beginners to bridge or those who wish to refresh their bridge skills are invited to join “Bidding in the 21^st Century” beginning on the last Monday morning of October for eight weeks. Call the Institute for Learning in Retirement office at KCC at 269-965-4134 to enroll.

Bridge Notes Two: The “Learn Bridge in a Day” program has been rescheduled for Sunday, October 20^th, 2013 at the Kalamazoo Bridge Center. For a bargain of $19.95, you will receive basic bridge instruction, a lunch, handouts, and a chance to begin playing bridge. Visit the Kalamazoo Bridge Center website www.kzoobridge.com for required reservations. Take a youngster along and learn together. In five hours, you will be playing a wonderful card game.