Better Bridge in Barry County October 24 2013

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Neither 5♠

 

North Pass Pass	East 1♦ Pass	South 1NT Pass	West Dbl

Captain M. North lounged in his sunroom, looking out at the rain and the incoming sleet during the end of October days. The summer bridge cruises on the Thornapple River were over. The Barry County Bridge Barge had once again been cleaned, covered, and stored for the winter. Now relaxing in his wicker rocker, Captain North reflected back on the summer, his trip to Ontario’s Lake of the Woods, and one of the hands that he had played during his vacation. It was a hand to remember as he as South had been the declarer in a doubled 1NT contract. His overcall with thirteen high card points was a balancing bid, but when he was doubled and everyone passed, Captain North wondered if he had done the right thing, especially with the weak clubs in his hand. Oh, well, he thought. Here goes…

Needing seven tricks in a 1NT contract, Captain North was surprised when West led the 5♠. “Why did she lead the 5♠?” wondered Captain North. “Could it be that she had no diamonds to lead to partner’s opening bid?” Most partnerships expect a lead to partner’s suit if possible. That keeps the partnership very happy. In this case, the lead was a telling lead. West had no diamonds. Captain North had a count of the diamonds immediately with that first lead. East had five diamonds, and Captain North and his partner had the other eight diamonds between them.

Captain North surveyed the dummy, seeing the four useful diamonds and the A♠. Not a lot to go on, but remembering his Latin, “Dum spiro, spero!” (While I breathe, I hope.), Captain North thanked his partner and planned the play of the hand. With three sure tricks, two in spades and one in hearts, Captain North needed to drive out the A♦ to promote the diamonds. Still that might not be enough. That would only bring the total number of tricks to six, one short.

Captain North won the first spade trick in his hand with the K♠. Leading the 10♠ from his hand, Captain North saw West cover with the J♠. Captain North won the trick with A♠ in the dummy, and he was delighted to see the Q♠ fall from the East hand. Things were looking up for Captain North. The 4♦ from the dummy was ducked by East, and the Captain won with the J♦ for his third trick.

Leading the Q♦ from his hand, Captain North saw East take the A♦ and then lead and win with the K♣. Here East did a strange thing, and often it is our opponents who make the mistakes that allow us to make the contracts. Instead of continuing the club suit, East shifted to a heart leading the Q♥. Perhaps West did not signal with a high club and instead played the low 4♣, a discouraging signal. At least that is how East interpreted the shift to a new suit. Starting a new suit as a defender can be a disastrous play.

At any rate, with the Q♥ as a lead from East, Captain North rose with his A♥, and he won his fourth trick. The 9♠ had been promoted to a winning trick, and the Captain played that next for his fifth trick. His sixth trick was the K♦, and his seventh trick with a lead from his hand of the 3♦ found a happy home with the 10♦ in the dummy, winning his seventh trick.

Captain North smiled in his warm and cozy sunroom as the rain continued to beat against the window panes. A doubled no trump contract gave him a score of 180 on his side of the ledger. A 98.5% score showed him that he was near the top of all players playing that hand. Someone else had also found the same play, but the Captain was indeed proud of his bid and his play of the hand.

The Captain mused about the defense’s play. What had prompted East to shift to a heart after winning the K♣ lead? Was it the lack of an encouraging signal from West? The Captain knew that he had to think of things like that because as a bridge player he knew that he would be a defender 50% of the time. He did not want to make the same mistakes that these defenders had done. Also, he wondered about West’s double instead of bidding the hearts. And he wondered about the lead of a spade instead of the hearts. The Captain had the rest of the afternoon to ponder these defensive moves, but for now, he slowly rocked back and forth in his wicker rocker, smiling at the falling rain outside.

 

Gerald Stein

October 19, 2013

Number of words: 933

 

Bridge Notes: A Beginning Bridge class is set to start on Monday, October 28, 2013 in Battle Creek at the Kellogg Community College Technology Center on Hill Brady Road. Call to enroll in the Institute for Learning in Retirement program today.