Better Bridge in Barry County January 30 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North North/South 5♦

 

North Pass 3♦ (1) 3NT   (1)   Transfer to Hearts	East Pass Pass Pass	South 2NT 3♥ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

In most online bridge tournaments, there are many, many tables of bridge players, vying for the top scores. On today’s hand, there was an unusually small number of tables. Only five tables signed up to play this particular tournament. To do well in this kind of situation, you need to make your best bridge moves. Let’s see how South fared against four strong contenders.

Today’s South opened the bidding with a 2NT bid even though their partnership agreement required at least 20 high-card points for that particular bid. With 19 high-card points, three suits stopped and good cards in the three suits, South chose the 2NT opening bid. While not a forcing bid in most players’ agreement, North chose the Jacoby Transfer Convention as his way of showing five hearts for partner South. Bidding 3♦ would force South to bid 3♥. The advantage is that the South player has the hand with the most points as the closed hand, and he can be the declarer instead of North with the weaker hand. North then gave South a choice: 3NT or 4♥? South easily chose the 3NT contract as he had stoppers in the other three suits, North had promised five hearts, and nine tricks in no trump is easier than ten tricks in a major suit. South passed, and the contract was 3NT.

West tabled the 5♦ as the lead. Down came the dummy, and South surveyed his partner’s cards. Grateful as always, South prepared his plan; he had five sure tricks: A♥, A♠, K♠, A♦, and A♣. Four more tricks would need to be promoted to make the 3NT contract. Nodding that he was ready, South called for the 6♦, the K♦ came from East, and South took the first trick with the A♦. Next, South led the A♣ with all playing low. South was preparing to unblock the club suit and secure another entry to the dummy. South on the third trick played the Q♣ from his hand. West took the trick with the K♣; South played low from the dummy, and East played the 4♣. South had just succeeded in setting up two club tricks in the dummy, and he still had a small club in his hand to get to them.

West continued with a diamond lead, the 8♦, with South discarding a small heart from the board, East played a small diamond, and South won with the J♦. With no time like the present, South led his small club to the waiting two club winners on the board. South discarded a small heart on the second club winner. The A♥ was South’s next play, and all played a heart.

Leading the 10♠ from the board, South let it ride all the way to West. West won with the Q♠, took the K♥ and the Q♦, but at that point, South was in control. The J♥ on the board was good once the Q♥ had dropped from the East hand. West chose to lead a final diamond, the 7♦, but South won with the 10♦. The final two tricks needed to make the 3NT contract were the top spades in the South hand.

All in all, South took three diamond tricks, three club tricks, one heart trick, and two spade tricks for his nine tricks. The other four tournament players all went set by one trick with one player in 3NT, one in 4♥, and two in 4♠ contracts. Only today’s South found the winning combination in no trump by carefully setting up the diamonds and the clubs. True, if South had played the top spades from the top, he might have made an overtrick, but that is a moot point. Beating the other four players with a top score of 600 points gave him a commanding lead in the tournament.

The takeaway for today? When given a choice by your partner as to the choice of games, in this case, either 3NT or four of a major, look carefully at your hand. If your hand is a balanced hand, you might want to consider staying in no trump where you need only take nine tricks to make game as opposed to needing ten tricks in a major. Some bridge players do not like to play in no trump, but, the fact is, it is sometimes the easiest way to make a game. Do not say, “No more no trump.”  Say instead, “Try no trump more in Two Thousand One Four!”

 

Gerald Stein

January 22, 2014

Number of words: 919

 

Bridge Notes: Interested in the “Learn Bridge in a Day?” seminar to be held on March 1^st at Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center? Wondering about the question mark at the end of the title? Watch for a future bridge column that will address some of these thoughts. Meanwhile, sign up at the Community Education office at 948-4414.