Better Bridge in Barry County October 2 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Both 2♥

 

North   2♠! 4♠ 5♣	East Pass Pass Pass Pass	South 1♦ 4♣ 4NT ???	West Pass Pass Pass

What do you as a bridge player do when you know that you and your partner both have a big hand but that it appears that you do not have a fit together? In today’s hand, South has a powerful hand, and North’s first bid showed an equally big hand. How can you reach the right bid and the right contract? Let’s take a look at the bidding to see if there is a good final bid for the North/South pair. What is your thought, and what will you bid for South?

After East’s opening Pass, South began the bidding cautiously by bidding 1♦. With 19 high card points, unless North had nothing, South was assured of another bid to describe this powerhouse of a hand. When West passed, North used the Soloway jump shift bid, promising a strong suit and at least 17 total points. It did not take South long to count the points between them, adding his 19 and North’s 17 to arrive at 36 total points. Grand Slam loomed in South’s mind. But which Grand Slam?

South’s jump in another suit (4♣ bid) promised five diamonds and 19 high card points and also promised some rebiddable clubs. North reassured South that her spades were genuine, and that she had a maximum hand and six spades. South continued with Roman Key Card Blackwood, asking North for the number of key cards she held with the trump suit being spades. When North responded 5♣, South knew that she had either zero or three key cards. South was able to figure that North held the A♠, the K♠, and the A♥ for the three key cards. With stoppers in the other suits, South placed the contract at 7?

Did you guess 7♠ or 7NT? With a void in the spade suit, South was reluctant to bid 7NT because there might be a transportation problem. However, upon further consideration, the A♥ would be the entry to the dummy hand. South confidently bid 7NT, and all passed.

West tabled the 2♥, a standard lead of the fourth down from her longest and strongest suit, and North placed her mighty hand on the table. The spades were there just as promised. South beamed and thanked Partner North who graciously nodded. Even with a void in diamonds in the North hand and a void in spades in the South hand, the play of the hand looked like this was a makeable contract.

South won the trick in the South hand with the K♥. He immediately played the top four diamonds, discarding hearts and clubs from the dummy. When he saw through counting that the diamonds would not set up the 4♦, he abandoned the diamond suit, and he played the A♣, discarding a small spade.

A small heart from the South hand was won in the North hand with the A♥. The spades were played from the top down, and South claimed all thirteen tricks, making the 7NT contract and a final score of 2220 points.

Reaching a 7NT contract on this hand was not an easy choice as only eight players out of forty-five reached that contract in a recent online tournament.  For their efforts, they, of course, were rewarded with a 92% game. Interestingly, only one player chose the 7♠ contract, trusting his partner to have the solid spades. While 7♠ does indeed make a Grand Slam, the score is reduced by 10 points to 2210 and an 80% game. Again, those ten points in no trump figure to boost your score. Others who played this hand played in 6NT making an overtrick, and quite a few played it at 4♠, not realizing the importance of knowing the messages being shared between the North/South pair. Communication in bridge is, of course, the way to reach the best contracts. In today’s hand, North and South were on the right airwaves, and together they reached the best possible contract and best possible score. May you do likewise!

 

Gerald Stein

September 26, 2014

Number of words: 839

 

Bridge Notes: A Bridge class for beginners will start on Saturday, October 18^th, 2014 through the Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center. Check with them if you or ones that you know would like to “Learn Bridge in a Day?” In a five-hour seminar, you will have the basics to play and enjoy bridge for a lifetime. Sign up today.

 

Better Bridge in Barry County Part Two: September 25 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Both Q♦

 

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

Captain M. North looked over at Rosie and Vera. They had just come aboard the Barry County Bridge Barge with concerns about a 6♠ contract that had gone decidedly bad. Down two tricks and vulnerable, Vera and Rosie had suffered a minus 200 point loss and a bottom board. Now they were consulting with Captain North to see if he could help them understand just what had gone wrong.

“As I said,” Captain North continued, “there was nothing wrong with your bidding. Reaching a 6♠ contract was exactly the right spot to be. The problems, as I see it, are the choices you made after the first trick was taken. Rosie, you took the first trick in your hand with the A♦. Correct?”

Rosie responded with a nod of her head, “That is exactly what I had to do. I had a singleton A♦.”“Right,” responded the Captain. “Then you tried to get rid of your losing clubs by using your side suits first. When West trumped your Q♥, you were sunk. You lost the K♠ and another club later in the hand.” Both Rosie and Vera nodded glumly.

“As I see it,” continued the Captain, “two things happened that as declarer you needed to be aware of. You needed to listen to the bidding, and when West interjected a 4♦ bid, you should have picked up on the interference, but also the number of diamonds in her hand as well as the strong possibility that she would be short in her other side suits.” Again, Vera and Rosie nodded in agreement and understanding.

“The other thing is that you needed to draw those trumps as fast as you could to avoid the loss of your side winners. Even knowing that you would probably lose the spade finesse, you still needed to try it. Hoping for a 3-2 split in spades and even losing the spade finesse would have brought home the contract.” Vera and Rosie sighed in unison.

Rosie spoke up, “So, Captain North, after I won the first trick in my hand, I led the K♥. Did I go wrong on the second trick?” Captain North nodded, “Instead of taking the K♥ first, lead your 4♥ to your Q♥ on the board. You not only have reached the dummy for a spade lead, but you have left yourself a way to get to the board by overtaking the K♥ in your hand with the A♥ on the board.” “Ahhhh,” came the response from Vera and Rosie. “We see your plan indeed.”

“Once you are on the board with the Q♥, then lead a small spade and put up the J♠ to finesse. You will lose the trick, of course, to West as the cards lie on this hand, but it has the advantage of putting West on lead, and you have removed two of the five outstanding trumps. You have three to go, and you should be able to pull them effectively when you regain the lead.” Again, Rosie and Vera nodded in agreement.

The Captain went on, “West will probably lead another diamond hoping that it is partner East who is out of diamonds and can trump for a setting trick. Fortunately for you, there is another diamond in the East hand, and you can win the trick with the K♦. Now you can draw the remaining trumps in two more leads, leaving you with two spade trumps in your hand. Now, here is a tip for you to consider.” Here Rosie and Vera looked up immediately. They were always ready for a valuable bridge tip.

“Go ahead, Captain,” said Vera. “We are all ears.” The Captain smiled again. “You have lost one trick already, and to make your contract of 6♠, you must not lose another trick, or you will be set. So, try this suggestion: make the defenders discard and have them try to save important cards. They will be victims of a squeeze play on your part. They will have a difficult time trying to save the setting trick.”

“What are you suggesting, Captain North?” asked Vera. “Should we play our two spades after we know that all of the trumps are out?” “Exactly!” exclaimed Captain North. “Lead the 6♠ and watch what they discard. Then lead the 2♠ and see what they discard. Both East and West will be hard-pressed to save the right card.”

Vera and Rosie considered that strategy and then wondered what Captain North would suggest next. They could both see that East would probably want to hang onto the clubs while West had easy discards with all of those now-useless diamonds. East had only hearts and clubs left, so East would try and protect the clubs and would throw away the hearts. They began to smile as they saw what Captain North had in mind.

“After the final two spades are played from your hand, Rosie, then play the A♣, and the K♣. When you see that West has no clubs, abandon the clubs as East has saved a winning club. Now is the time for you to lead your K♥ from your hand, and here is the winning play: overtake the K♥ with the A♥. The J♥ will fall from the East hand, and the 7♥ and the 6♥ will be winners. You have just made a small slam in spades. Congratulations.” Here the Captain stood up.

“Thank you, Captain North, for one last adventure on the Barry County Bridge Barge for this season. We will remember your suggestions and try them out this winter on the LOL’s down in the Panhandle!” Vera and Rosie started laughing and walked off the Barry County Bridge Barge together waving to Captain North. “See you next spring,” they shouted. Captain North smiled and sat down.

 

Gerald Stein

September 17, 2014

Number of words: 1082

Better Bridge in Barry County September 18 2014: Part One

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Both Q♦

 

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

Captain M. North looked over the Barry County Bridge Barge. It had been another fun summer cruising on the Thornapple River, playing bridge, and taking in the local nature sites. Even if it had been a cooler than normal summer, still the enthusiasm for the river trips had not waned. Now it was time to pull the Barry County Bridge Barry from the river and stow her away for another winter. Hopefully, this coming winter would not be as severe as last winter had been. Captain North shuddered when he thought of the damage that had had happened to the B.C.B.B. when the roof where she was stored had given way under the heavy snows. Not again, he hoped.

As Captain North mused about the last winter, he heard the sounds of “Yoo-hoo, Captain North! Yoo-hoo!” Who could that be? he wondered. The last bridge cruise had been over Labor Day weekend, and all of the bridge players had said adieu until next spring. Captain North stood up to see Rosie and Vera, two of his favorite bridge players, getting ready to board the Barry County Bridge Barge.

As they quickly were making their way toward him, they seemed to be in an excited, even agitated state. Whatever could be the matter? “Oh, Captain North, are we ever glad to see you,” exclaimed Rosie, the more talkative of the two. “We played a hand of bridge this past week, and we wrote it down for some of your expert help.” Captain North smiled. “Of course. Let’s see the situation.”

Vera spoke up next. “Captain North, the bidding was pretty straightforward as you can see. We reached a 6♠ slam contract with Rosie as the declarer. But, unfortunately, we went down two tricks for a minus 200 points and a bottom score.”

Here Rosie chimed in, “I might add, Captain North, that we were not the only ones to go down to defeat on this hand. In fact, only one declarer made a 6♠ contract while over twenty other declarers went down two tricks or more. It is a pickle.” Here she stopped long enough to straighten her glasses.

Here Captain North looked at the bidding. It seemed straightforward as Rosie and Vera had said, but something bothered him. “What about this 4♦ bid from West? Did you think about the meaning of that bid?”

Rosie and Vera looked blankly at each other. “Of course not,” they responded in unison. “That was just an interference bid.” Captain North persisted, “How many diamonds did West have? How many points did West have?” Again, Rosie and Vera shrugged. “How about eight diamonds in the West hand and not too many points. Probably short in one or two other suits. Did you think about that?” Rosie and Vera squirmed a bit. Rosie spoke up. “I see what you are suggesting, Captain North. We should have taken the 4♦ bid as not only an interference bid but also a suggestion of shortness in the other suits.” “Bingo,” said Captain North.

“With that kind of knowledge, you need to make a plan that will make sure that you are not a victim of that shortness,” said the Captain. “What was the lead and how did you play the first three tricks?” Here Vera spoke up, “Since I was the dummy, I watched West play the Q♦ from her hand. It was probably the top of a sequence, suggesting that she had the J♦ behind the queen. I had the K♦, so I guessed that my partner Rosie had the A♦.” Rosie spoke up. “I had the A♦ as a singleton. I won the trick in my hand. By the way, I did thank Vera for such a nice hand.” “Oh, yes, she did,” giggled Vera. The Captain smiled.

“Rosie, what did you do on the second trick? That is the key to making this hand, you know.” The Captain waited for Rosie to answer. “I led the K♥ from my hand, and my plan was to use as many of my side suits as possible before drawing trumps. I played the K♥, led a small heart to my A♥, played the K♦, and played the Q♥. I was pitching clubs while doing that. Unfortunately, West trumped the third heart with the 9♠. I lost the K♠ to West as well and eventually lost a final club to East when West had no clubs. Can you tell me where I went wrong?”

Captain North looked up and said, “Rosie, the bid of 6♠ was the correct bid on this hand. You mainly forgot several points of business before you cashed your side winners. What is the first rule of bridge?” He looked up with a smile. Vera and Rosie responded together. “Get the kiddies off the street.” Did you do that first?” Rose shook her head, “No, but…”

What should Rosie have done next? Tune in next week for the second part of Rosie and Vera’s talk with Captain North on the 6♠ contract.

TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK

 

Gerald Stein

September 14, 2014

Number of words: 961

Better Bridge in Barry County September 11 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Neither 3♥

 

North Pass Pass	East Pass Pass	South 1NT	West Pass

In your bridge world, how many times have you seen or experienced this kind of auction? One bidder has a 1NT opening bid, and all pass. Some players dread this contract; others welcome it as a chance to not only make the contract but to take overtricks as well. Let’s see how well South was able to do with today’s hand and a 1NT contract and not vulnerable.

South has the ideal hand for a 1NT opening bid: with a balanced hand, stoppers in three of the four suits, and a range of points between 15-17, it is easy to see why South opened 1NT. Of course, he would have liked partner North to have enough to go on, but often that is not the case. North with seven high card points bid as she should have: without eight high card points, the best place to play this hand would be in 1NT. Accordingly, North passed as did everyone else.

West chose the standard lead of fourth down from her longest and strongest, an effective lead in no trump. West tabled the 3♥, and North placed her cards on the table. South promptly thank her for her hand, a courtesy that cements a partnership and creates good will each and every time it is done. South paused long enough to make a plan, one of the best things a declarer can do instead of promptly calling for that first card without taking the time to think things through.

South could count five sure winners in both hands: A♥, A♦, K♦, A♣, and the K♣. The other tricks would have to come from spades if possible, and the club suit looked promising. The heart suit certainly looked shaky to South as he saw the opening lead. This would take some careful playing of the hand.

South called for a small heart, and East rose with the K♥. South won the trick with the A♥. At least, now South knew where the Q♥ was, as East would have played the lower of the two honors if she had had the Q♥. On trick two, South began work on the 4-4 fit in clubs, a good strategy for gaining an extra trick. South played to the A♣ on the board with all playing a club. A small club return to South’s J♣ was won by the Q♣. South was satisfied with that as the clubs had split 3-2, and there would be an extra club winner eventually.

West shifted gears and led the 10♦, hoping to reach her partner East. Both the dummy and East played low, and South won the trick with the A♦. Using the K♣ next saw the 10♣ fall from the East hand, and the 9♣ was played next for three tricks in the club suit. West discarded two small spades, perhaps suggesting to partner East that she had something in spades. South meant to find out and led a small spade toward the K♠ on the board, hoping that West would either play the A♠ or duck and let the K♠ win. West won the trick with the A♠.

Taking her Q♥ was West’s next move which was all right with South as that now set up the J♥ in the South hand. West led the 9♦ next, and South won that trick with the K♦. On trick ten, South played the good J♥ winning. With the K♠ all set up, South led a small spade to his K♠ on the board, and was he delighted when East’s Q♠ fell on the K♠. The 10♠and the 9♠ had been promoted and were the final two winning tricks for South.

The final score for this hand? South had taken ten tricks in no trump, making three overtricks for a fine score of 180. That was good enough to earn top honors on this hand as most of the other tables managed to take just two overtricks and not the three. South earned a 95% on this hand as did two other South declarers.

What is our takeaway for today? While a 1NT hand can be a difficult hand to play, it can often lead to a good score for you and your partner if you look at the hand as an opportunity instead of a dreaded contract. The 1NT auction is here to stay; it will not go away. Take the time to make a plan; take the time to thank your partner; and take your time to be patient for the tricks to set up for you. With that kind of attitude, you will be the envy of your bridge table. They will or should all congratulate you on a fine play of the hand. Now what could be better than that? Happy Bridge playing!

 

Gerald Stein

September 5, 2014

Number of words: 941

 

Bridge Notes: “Learn Bridge in a Day?” seminar is being planned now for October 18^th at the Hastings Area Community and Recreation Center. Check out the details in the latest flyer or stop by their office for signup and registration.