Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
|
|
North
♠ 8 6 3
♥ A J 5 2
♦ A Q 10 4 2
♣ K
|
|
|
West
♠ 9 7 2
♥ K Q 7 6
♦ K 8 5
♣ J 10 3
|
|
East
♠ K Q 5
♥ 10 4
♦ 9 6 3
♣ Q 9 7 5 4
|
|
|
South
♠ A J 10 4
♥ 9 8 3
♦ J 7
♣ A 8 6 2
|
|
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
West
Both
2♠
|
|
North
1♦
2♦
3NT
|
East
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
South
1♠
2NT
Pass
|
West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As a bridge player, are you just content to make
your contract and consider that enough of a challenge? Or are you becoming more
and more competitive as you play more bridge in your circle of friends? Are you
trying for overtricks to get the most out of each hand? Let’s take a look at
today’s hand and see if you are content with nine tricks, ten tricks, or even
eleven tricks in today’s no trump contract.
With North opening the bidding with a show of strong
diamonds and fourteen high card points, South as the Captain of the partnership
knew that game was the place to be. But what game? Being in a minor game never
really appeals to those who have played bridge for a while. It is too difficult
to take eleven tricks in a minor suit to arrive at a game contract. A better
choice is always to consider the major suits first and then no trump.
When South realized that her partner was not interested
in the majors and had bid the diamonds twice, the logical spot seemed to be no
trump. South invited her partner by bidding 2NT, and North readily accepted,
placing the contract at 3NT with South as the declarer.
West chose a passive lead of the 2♠ even though
South had bid spades. Was there a better lead than into South’s spades?
Probably there was, but that was the lead. South looked at the dummy hand put
down by partner North and began to make her plan. Needing nine tricks as a
minimum, South counted five sure tricks: the A♠, the A♣, the K♣, the A♥, and the A♦. Which
suit looked to bring home extra tricks? If you said, “diamonds,” you were
thinking overtricks right from the play of the first card. That is where you
should begin planning for overtricks. On the first lead from your opponent,
take your time and look for ways to pick up extra tricks.
Only missing the K♦
to set up the diamond suit, South began with the J♦
and let it ride after winning the first trick with the A♠. When the J♦ won, South continued with the 7♦ and won the trick in the North hand with the 10♦. Unblocking the K♣ came next, and then the A♦ was played dropping the K♦
finally. With the diamonds set up, South was able to count on five diamond
tricks.
South next led a spade from the dummy, and East
pounced on the trick with the K♠. A return of a spade saw South win with the J♠.
The 10♠ was a promoted winner for three tricks in the spade suit to go along
with the five diamonds. Two club winners were used as well as the A♥ for a total of eleven tricks taken, making the 3NT
contract with two overtricks.
And how did South fare with two overtricks in this
tournament played with 44 tables? Nine South declarers found the two overtricks
for a 91% average, a top score in any bridge player’s book. Five declarers who
made one overtrick claimed a 72% average, still not too bad of a score. Three
players who made just the 3NT contract received a 58% score, considerably down
from the top players. All others finished well below average with some not even
getting to 3NT.
What are today's takeaways? Overtricks in bridge are
important whether you play social bridge, Chicago bridge, marathon bridge, or
duplicate bridge. Adding up those extra points is like adding ice cream to the
birthday cake. You can have your cake and ice cream and eat them too.
Where do you start considering the overtrick
possibilities? Before you play one card as declarer, look to see how you will
play the hand. Are there opportunities to gain an extra trick or two? Work hard
with a partner, encouraging her to try for overtricks as well. You will be
surprised how those extra tricks turn into extra points on your tally sheet.
Gerald Stein
July 20, 2014
Number of words: 848
No comments:
Post a Comment