Better Bridge in Barry County April 10 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Both 4♦

 

North 1♠ Pass	East Pass Pass	South 1NT	West Pass

One no trump contracts show up with great regularity in the bridge bidding world. With North opening the 5-card major with 12 high card points and one length point, there is no point in going further when South responds 1NT with nine high card points and two length points in the diamond suit. With just over half of the points in the deck between their two hands, South is content to play in no trump for a part score after hearing about spades, the suit she is short in.

With not much to go on from the bidding, West selected the 4♦, hoping to set up the K♦ for a trick later on. Did you notice that West avoided leading a spade or a heart? Perhaps a club lead might have been a better lead with four of them.

South surveyed the dummy, thanking partner as always. Making her plan, South counted three sure tricks with the A♥, the A♦, and the A♣. All of the rest of the tricks would have to be promoted to make the 1NT contract. South called for the Q♦ and won the trick in the dummy for trick number one. Leading the J♦ next was a shrewd move for South as she knew that those diamonds could be set up with a 3-2 split in the diamond suit. The percentage for that split is 68 percent and would provide extra tricks if it worked. South used the A♦ to be in her hand to lead another diamond. When both East and West played a diamond, South knew that the split was as expected. Her 10♦ lost to the K♦, but the diamonds were all set up.

A small club from the West hand was won by the North hand with the A♣ for the third trick. Leading the Q♥, South planned to promote heart tricks as well and let the Q♥ ride all the way to the West hand. West won with the K♥. Taking the A♠ next was West’s next move, but she failed to continue the spade suit. Instead, she shifted to a heart, and South won the trick with the J♥ for their fourth trick.

Another heart from the board to the A♥ in the South hand was won for the fifth trick. The 10♥ had also been promoted and became the sixth winner for South. Once in her hand, South was able to play the three promoted diamonds for nine total tricks in no trump. A club to the East gave the East/West team the last trick with the Q♣. 

With nine tricks, did North/South miss a game in no trump? That is doubtful, since East/West missed out on taking the K♠ and several club tricks. The defense was a bit lax on this hand, allowing North/South to score 100 points and a top board on those playing the same hand with 100%. That suggests that no other team was able to match what this North/South team was able to accomplish.

What are the takeaways for this hand? A frequent bid in bridge is the opener bidding at the one-level, and the responder, not finding a fit together, places the contract at 1NT. Making a plan to take seven tricks through counting the sure winners first and then planning on how to promote a long suit was a success story on this hand. In this case, South took a good look at the eight diamonds and saw the potential of winning extra tricks, knowing that the typical split would be 3-2, a 68% likelihood. In this hand, that is exactly what happened, and South took her losing diamond as early as she could and saved an entry back into her hand.

Playing in no trump at the one level is a bid that will come up frequently in your bridge hands. Be ready to count the winners, look for ways to promote long suits, and hope that the defenders are a bit lax. You may end up with extra tricks and extra points if you do.

 

Gerald Stein

Number of words: 848

March 30, 2014

 

Bridge Notes: Another Learn Bridge in a Day? Seminar is planned for Saturday, May 3, 2014 at the Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center. A five-hour seminar is planned for those who have always wanted to learn bridge, or for those who want to review and investigate the latest changes in the bridge world. If interested, sign up at the Community Education office by calling 269 948-4414.