Better Bridge in Barry County January 16 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

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

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Both K♣

North 1♠ 2♥	East Pass 2♣ Pass	South 1♥ 2♦ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

Today’s column returns to that kind of hand when the trump suit is not ideal. In today’s hand North/South reached a 2♥ contract but did not have the golden fit in the trump suit. Eight is always a good number to shoot for in the trump suit, but sometimes a seven-card trump suit can bring home the contract. That is what happened in today’s hand. Played online in a thirty-table tournament, South found himself in a Moysian fit, a fit when the declarer has five trumps but the declarer’s partner has only two. There can be some problems, but this South found the right path to success. Let’s take a look.

South opened the bidding with twelve high-card points and two five-card suits, hearts and diamonds. Bidding the higher of the two suits is the way to proceed, allowing you to bid the second suit later without getting too high in the bidding. With nine high-card points and a five-card spade suit, North bid 1♠. East with six clubs, nine high-card points, and a chance to let partner know about a possible club lead, bid 2♣. At this point, South easily was able to bid 2♦, and North, not knowing that South had five diamonds, returned South to 2♥ even with the two small hearts. The contract was placed at 2♥.

Heeding the overcall bid of partner East, West chose a club lead. Leading the higher of a doubleton in partner’s suit informed her that she had two cards in that suit. That is a very useful defensive signal. Called high-low, most bridge players find this a most effective way to communicate with their partner. West led the K♣.

South looked at the dummy, thanked his partner as always, and began his plan. The hearts and diamonds looked the best to him, but a shortage of trumps is always a concern. South, knowing that the trump split will seldom be 3-3 and most often 4-2 for the opponents,  realized from the bidding that most of the points for the defenders should be in the East hand. South had seen the K♣ as the lead, took the A♣ from the dummy, and he now knew where the rest of the clubs were. Declarers also know about the high-low signal, and so South knew that West only had one more club in her hand. Time to get the kiddies off the street!

Trusting that East had points, South led the 2♥ from the board. East ducked smoothly, and South played the J♥, winning the trick. Here is where South made a key play. Most of the other 29 declarers tried to set up a side suit first, but not this South. South led the A♥ next, pulling a trump from both West and East. Only then did this South lead the A♦ from the South hand with all following.

On the fifth trick, South led a small diamond from his hand toward the Q♦ on the board, but West intervened and took the K♦. South discarded the Q♦ from the board to unblock the diamond suit. East discarded the 9♣ for an obvious request to return a diamond for a ruff.  West complied by returning a diamond, small from the board, and trumped by East with a small heart. East then led the Q♣ and South followed with the 10♣. East then played the K♥ drawing yet another of South’s trumps, but now South was in control of the trump suit.

East led the J♣, but South trumped with the 4♥ and then to  make sure that all hearts were out, next played the Q♥ with no hearts remaining out. With the top diamonds gone and all trump out, South confidently played the 10♦ and the 9♦ for the seventh and eighth trick of the contract. South lost the last spade to the A♠ in the West hand.

The takeaways for today’s hand? With a Moysian fit, drawing trump early as South did in this hand prevented West from trumping in on a club return. Listening to the bidding also helped South to place East with high-card points although if you look at the East and West hands, they appear to have an equal number of high-card points. Unblocking the Q♦ also was a savvy plan for South as he was able to play the good diamonds from his hand at the end once the trump was out. Out of the 30 tables playing these cards, only one declarer found the right solution. Moysian fits need not give you fits!

Gerald Stein

January 11, 2014

Number of words: 927

Bridge Notes: A Learn Bridge in a Day Seminar will be held on Saturday, March 1^st, 2014 at the Hastings Community and Recreation Center. See the online posting or consult your recent catalog of classes. Open to high school students and adults, this five-hour bridge class will give you the basics of bridge by the end of the day.