Better Bridge in Barry County August 7 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Both 10♦

 

West   Pass Pass Pass Pass	North   2♦ 3♠ 6NT	East   Pass Pass Pass	South 2♣ 3♣ 3NT Pass

In today’s hand, South opened with 20 high card points and length in the club suit, and she was thinking slam right from the beginning of her first bid. North, with ten high card points and length in the spade suit, was also sure that a slam was there for their partnership. The question, of course, is which slam would be the best one to be in. Let’s see what happened.

Using the strong two club opening bid, South first bid 2♣ announcing the strong hand. North’s bid was a waiting bid to see what suit South was interested in. South bid the clubs again to let North know her proposed suit. North with ten high card points of her own and a strong suit now bid the spade suit. With the knowledge that there were enough points for game, South bid 3NT, and North took the partnership to slam with 6NT.

West led the 10♦, and South took time to assess the hands, looking, of course, for twelve tricks to insure the small slam. South could count six club tricks, one diamond trick, and one spade trick in her own hand for eight tricks. One trick in the North hand with the A♠ would make nine tricks for the North/South pair, but that was a far cry from the twelve tricks needed. Giving up a heart would gather in one more trick in the heart suit. That still left two tricks short of making the small slam contract.

Eddie Kantar, world-renown bridge player and author, has often recommended that declarer as well as defenders get into the habit of counting points, distribution, and number of tricks taken. Here is a good hand for practicing the counting of the points, the distribution, and the number of tricks needed. From South’s initial plan, she appeared to be short at least two tricks from making the small slam. From looking at the dummy’s hand and the ten points there as well as the twenty points in her hand, South knew that there were ten points out against her. What and where were the ten points? Four would be the A♥ which was going to have to be lost in order to set up a heart winner.

The other six points would be from the K♦ (3), the Q♠ (2), and the J♥ (1). South realized by doing this simple exercise before playing a single card that she was not only short two tricks but also short some necessary points to make the small slam. What about the distribution? Knowing that the long club suit would force unwilling discards from the opponents, South knew that she had to be patient and watch to see what discards were tossed away by East and West. Counting those discards would be the key to making this contract.

With the lead of the 10♦, South was ready to play. She covered the 10♦ with the Q♦, the K♦ came from East, and South won the first trick with the A♦. That lead had also set up the J♦ as one more trick needed. Still, there was another trick that was needed to make the contract. South would need to watch the diamond discards to insure this contract.

Running all the clubs gave South the six promised tricks. Both West and East discarded a number of side suits, including diamonds, and keen-eyed South watched those discards. Unblocking the K♠ next would allow the A♠ to be used. With control of all of the suits, South was now ready for the heart loss. Leading the Q♥ from the short side would allow South the entry to the dummy. What if the opponents held up and did not take their A♥? That might have made things very difficult for South. That, however, did not happen as East took the A♥, and the K♥ was promoted to a winning trick as well as making the A♠ accessible. A spade return from East allowed South to win a spade trick with the J♠. Taking the A♠ and the K♥, South exited with a small diamond to her J♦. The final trick was the 8♦ promoted as a winner because East had discarded one too many diamonds during the club run.

What are the takeaways for today’s hand? It appears that today’s South was only one of three declarers who found the 6NT contract. With a score of 1440, a top board was assured for those three players. Twenty-seven others played in 3NT making six, or going down in flames while trying to make a slam in the spade suit. Counting the number of tricks needed to make the contract right from the beginning, counting out the points as they appeared, and watching the discards of the suit you need help in are all fine bridge techniques to practice and use. Did you count the points as they appeared? Three points came from the K♦ on the first trick from East. The A♥ was also in the East hand. That accounted for seven of the ten points. The other three points ended up in the West hand, and East’s lead of a spade gave South an easy spade finesse. Sometimes South declarers are sharp, and sometimes they are lucky. It is great when they are both sharp and lucky at the same time.

 

Gerald Stein

August 3, 2014

Number of words: 1002