Better Bridge in Barry County July 17 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Neither 3♥

 

North   2♣ 3♦ 4♦ 5♦ 5NT Pass	East   Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass	South 1♦ 2♠ 3NT 4NT 5♥ 6♦	West Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass

After a long and complex auction, North and South arrived at a tenuous 6♦ small slam contract. With only 25 high-card points between them, North and South certainly were in over their heads at this contract. However, did you notice the distribution? Ahhh, the saving grace for bridge players is to find a wild distributional hand that can be used for your advantage. Let’s see how South managed to pull out the tough diamond slam.

First, the bidding: South began with 1♦, a convenient minor, promising opening count and at least three diamonds. North with six ratty-looking clubs bid them at the two level, a forcing bid promising 11+ high card points. South bid his four-card major spade suit, a new suit and also a forcing bid to Partner North.

North raised the bid to 3♦, another forcing bid to South, instructing South to bid 3NT. South bid the 3NT and was content to play there with the long diamonds. North had other ideas and bid 4♦, promising six clubs and 4-5 diamonds. At this point, South recognized a slam invitation when he heard one, and bid 4NT, Roman Key Card Blackwood, asking North for the number of key cards she held. North’s response of 5♦ promised one key card.

South continued the investigation by asking North if she had the Q♦, the trump queen. North responded that she indeed had the Q♦, but no lower king (the K♣). South signed off at 6♦, and all passed.

West tabled the 3♥ for the lead, and South graciously thanked his partner and prepared his plan. The hearts looked good for two tricks. The diamonds were solid and would be adequate to do the job. The singleton A♣ was in the right spot for South. It was the spades that worried South the most. Where was the A♠?  How could South get rid of three spade losers? Was this small slam makeable?

South won the first trick in his hand with the A♥. A small diamond to the A♦ on the board revealed that East had no diamonds and that West had two more diamonds. Drawing West’s last two trumps first would be a disastrous plan for South. Instead South called for the 9♠, and East, fearful that she would lose the A♠, took the trick immediately and led out the top of the club sequence with the K♣.

South pulled in the trick with the A♣, and led the 8♠ trumping it on the board with the 2♦. A small club from the dummy was trumped high with the K♦. No use taking any chances at this point. The last losing spade, the J♠ was led next and trumped on the board with the 4♦. Now was the time to draw the rest of the diamonds and finish the contract. South led the Q♦ from the North hand, and West played one of the two remaining diamonds that she had. South led another small club and trumped it high again to get back into his hand. The 10♦ drew the last trump out of the West hand.

The 9♦ was a good trick, the K♠ was another, and the K♥ on the board was the twelfth and final trick for South. Making this diamond slam had not been easy. Realizing that the spades were losers and needed to be trumped before drawing the outstanding trumps was the most important part of South’s plan. Finding East with the A♠ was also a lucky move. Sometimes good play and good luck go hand in hand for a good score.

The takeaways are several on this hand: only one South declarer found the right play of the hand and succeeded in making the small diamond slam. The fact that there were only 25 high-card points between them did not deter North and South from reaching the small slam in diamonds. The distribution was right for South to use the singleton spade to trump the loser spades away. Without the singleton, South goes down to defeat. It bears repeating that sometimes slams can be made on fewer than the requisite points of 33 or more. Distribution will make up for those missing high card points.

 

Gerald Stein

July 11, 2014

Number of words: 922

 

Bridge Notes: Ready to try using the Roman Key Card Blackwood System? Here are the basics:

1.      There are five key cards: the four aces and the king of trump.

2.      After an invitation to slam with a 4NT bid, the responses are as follows:

a.       5♣= 0 or 3 key cards.

b.      5♦= 1 or 4 key cards.

c.       5♥= 2 key cards without the queen of trump.

d.      5♠= 2 key cards with the queen of trump.

3.      Give it a try with your favorite partner and see how you like using Roman Key Card Blackwood.