Better Bridge in Barry County October 30 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Both 10♠

 

North   2NT 7♣!	East Pass Pass Pass	South 2♣ 3♣ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

What happens in a bridge hand when one partner forgets or ignores the partnership agreements and goes off on his own? Usually disaster results, and today’s hand is a good example where South ignored his partnership agreements with North and ended up in a highly unusual contract. Let’s see what mistakes South made on today’s hand.

After a pass by East, South had the opportunity to bid his beautiful spade suit. With strong spades, eighteen high card points, and twenty total points counting the length points in the spade suit, what did South do wrong? South opened 2♣, a strong opening bid usually promising more points than South was holding. What was South’s reasoning on this bid? Most likely, he was concerned that a 1♠ bid would be passed out, and he would have to play in 1♠. By bidding 2♣, he could force his partner North to bid and hopefully reach a game in spades. Oh boy! Mistake number one.

After a pass by West, North responded to South’s opening bid with 2NT. This was a positive no trump bid, promising 8+ high card points. North bid properly, trusting his partner and his partner’s opening bid. South bid again, and not really thinking carefully, bid 3♣, thinking that he could use the Stayman Convention to inquire about a major suit. What was South thinking? He already had a major suit! In addition, this was not a Stayman Convention bid at all. It informed North that South had 5+ clubs, 19+ high card points, and up to 23 total points. Mistake number two. “Worser and Worser,” says Alice in Wonderland.

West passed, and now the trouble vaulted upward. North with 12 high card points placed the contract at 7♣. By now, South began to realize the foolishness of his bidding. How could he escape? What had he done? Again, by not thinking clearly, a flustered South sought an out as quickly as he could. He passed. Yikes! The contract was 7♣ in the South. South could have saved himself a lot of grief by bidding the spades at the seven level, but that bid was not even thought of by that time. South had a “brain malfunction.”Mistake number three.

With the 10♠ as the lead, South was nervous about playing this hand. And rightly so, as he had made three serious errors already. Could he salvage the hand? Seeing the three aces from his Partner North, South thanked his partner and prepared to play7♣ instead of 7♠. Making a plan was the only way to salvage his mistakes and escape with some of his dignity intact. With stoppers in all suits, his only hope was that the club suit would split 3-3 and that the spade suit would carry him home.

As it turned out, South must have lived a charmed life, as the clubs did in fact split 3-3, and South ended up taking all thirteen tricks. Was he lucky after so many mental errors on his part? Of course, he was. Did he receive a top score for all of his errors? He did not, as a number of sound bidders reached the 7♠ contract and scored the top scores on this hand.

What are the lessons learned from South’s attempts to push the bidding into a dangerous area? South gave away a wonderful opportunity to take and make a 7♠ Grand Slam. Instead, he settled luckily for a 7♣ Grand Slam that no else in that tournament even considered. Sometimes in bridge you are lucky, and it seemed that this time South, despite all of the errors that he had made, ended up in second place on this hand instead of reaching a complete disaster. Let’s hope that South learned from his mistakes and won’t repeat them in the future.

 

Gerald Stein

October 17, 2014

Number of Words: 773

Bridge Notes: How do I know so much about South’s poor bidding on today’s hand? Yes, you guessed it. I was the one who made all of today’s mistakes. GS.

 

Better Bridge in Barry County October 23 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South East/West 2♦

 

North   2♠ Pass Pass	East   Dbl 4♠ Pass	South 1♣ 4♣ 5♣	West 1♠ Pass Pass

In today’s hand there was a battle for the final auction. South finally won out with a 5♣ bid. Was this a safe bid with any chance of making it when East/West were sure to have a game in the spade suit? Let’s take a look at the bidding to decide if the North/South pair was foolhardy to bid that high. Or were they shrewd bridge players who know that a sacrifice is sometimes a worthy path?

South opened the bidding with 1♣, promising at least three clubs and a minimum of 11-12 high card points. West overcalled at the one level with five good spades and a high card count between 8-17. North used a cue bid, bidding the opponents’ spade suit to promise a limit raise or better. South could count on North for 11+ high card points. When East doubled, the implication was that there were three spades in the East hand and 7-9 high card points.

South was not content to sell out at the three level and rebid the club suit at the four level. This promised at least 6 clubs and a range of points between the 11-12 all the way up to 21. East pushed the East/West team to 4♠, and South dared to go one more and bid 5♣. All passed, and the contract was placed at 5♣ in the South.

The singleton 2♦ was a good lead from West, and South looked over his board from Partner North. There would be some holes in the play of the hand, but South would have to do the best that he could. Playing low from the dummy, South won the first trick with the K♦. A small club from his hand was won in the North with the A♣. South had to conserve his trumps to make the spade losers go away. A spade from the North hand was trumped in the South with a small club for the third trick.

South chose to lead a small heart from his hand toward the K♥ on the board. The finesse failed as East had both the A♥ and the Q♥ and took both tricks for East/West. On the third heart lead, South was able to trump with a small club. A small diamond to the A♦ won trick number five for North/South. Another spade lead from the dummy was trumped in the South for trick number six for South.

When the Q♦ was led from the South, it was trumped by West with a small club. The lead of the A♠ was trumped by South with the Q♣. South then led the K♣ for another trick, but the East/West would get the J♣ for another trick for East/West. The last trick would go to North/South with the last club in the North hand. All in all, North/South had taken nine tricks while East/West had taken four tricks. Down two tricks, North/South lost 100 points to East/West. Was that a good score for the North/South team?

As it turns out, it was an excellent score, and only one South declarer managed to find the right bid for a sacrifice bid. For giving up only 100 points on this hand, one North/South pair earned a 100% score and a top board. Those North/South teams who let East/West play in spades regretted their decision, especially those who doubled the 4♠ contract. Most of the 32 tables who doubled the contract saw East/West who were vulnerable not only make their contract but take an overtrick as well. Most of those North/South teams who doubled 4♠ saw an East/West pair gain 990 points on their side of the ledger.

Sometimes in a highly contested bridge auction, a sacrifice bid is in order where you lose only a small amount versus a huge sum on the opponents’ side of the score sheet. When the times are right, go for the sacrifice. It might make you a winner in the long run.

 

Gerald Stein

October 9, 2014

Number of words: 774

 

Better Bridge in Barry County October 16 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Neither 7♣

 

North   2♦ 6NT!	East   3♣ Pass	South 1♥ 3NT Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

Were you surprised at the bidding in today’s hand? Would you have been so bold as to bid 6NT? Was there a better bid and a safer contract? Let’s take a look at today’s hand that was played recently in an online bridge tournament with 42 tables.

South opened the bidding with fourteen high card points and two length points for a total of 16 points. After West passed, North bid 2♦, a forcing bid as North/South play a Two-Over-One System. North was promising at least 13 high card points and biddable diamonds. This bid was forcing to game, and South was ready to comply by bidding 3NT. Imagine South’s surprise when East interjected a 3♣ bid, an obvious obstructive bid as well as a lead-directing bid, promising 5-11 high card points and twice rebiddable clubs.

Undeterred, South bid what he had planned to bid and bid 3NT. Imagine his greater surprise when Partner North jumped to 6NT. All passed and the contract was 6NT in the South. Keeping partner happy, West chose the top of his club suit, the 7♣, planning to show a count of two clubs if he ever got a chance to play the 6♣. High/low is a standard counting technique to show partner an even-number of cards in a hand.

As in past hands, South needed to listen to the bidding to find out where the cards were. The 3♣ bid promised six or seven clubs in the East hand. Fortunately, South had two stoppers in clubs, the A♣ and the K♣. East was bound to have the Q♣ from the club bid, but South played the J♣ anyway to keep an entry on the board.

South looked at the dummy hand and counted the winners: four spade winners, two heart winners, two club winners, and one diamond winner. That number was nine, a far cry from the twelve tricks needed to make 6NT. Where would the other three tricks come from? Not from spades and not from clubs. Hearts and diamonds would have to be the suits to go to for extra tricks. But was that even possible?

Taking the time to make a plan helped save South on this hand. South could count only six hearts so he knew that there were seven hearts out against him. Counting the diamonds and arriving at seven diamonds left him a little better chance to succeed. There would be six diamonds out against him, and knowing the odds and the probabilities of card-splits, it was likely with the kind of bid that East had bid that the diamonds would split 4-2 instead of 3-3. What were the key diamonds out against him? South could count the K♦, the Q♦, and the 10♦, as his chief concerns. How would he play the hand?

With stoppers in the three other suits, South went immediately to work on the diamond suit. From his hand, South led the 3♦ on the second trick. West played the 10♦, one of the cards that South was concerned about. South drew a deep breath and put the J♦ on top of the 10♦. The trick was won by East with the Q♦. There was the second diamond that South was concerned about. Only the K♦ was out against him.

East returned a small club, and South took the trick with the K♣ on the board. The moment of truth had arrived. South played the A♦, and to his relief the K♦ fell from the West hand. The four remaining diamonds were played in succession with South pitching hearts and a club from his hand. South saved the four spade tricks and the two heart tricks as his final six tricks, making 6NT. South had found the right way to play the hand, and for his efforts, the North/South team received 990 points for a small slam bid and made. They also garnered an 89.3% game.

Was that the top score for this hand? While you may think so, there was one better play that only two South declarers found that could beat a 6NT small slam. Did you figure it out? When East threw in an obstructive bid, even though he knew that North/South had a game at least from their opening bids, it was South who stopped for a moment and thought about the gain that might be made from another bid altogether. What if…?

What if South doubled the 3♣ bid as a penalty double? Would that be a more profitable gain than making a 3NT contract? Remember, South had no inkling that North would bid 6NT at this time. As it turned out, two South declarers did just that. They doubled for penalty. North passed the double, and with the cards and points in their favor, North and South cleaned house royally. The final damage when the last trick was played had East/West down five tricks for a minus 1100 points. For their efforts, two North/South teams were the first place winners on this hand and scored a 98.8% game for a most impressive score.

What a range of play on a hand of bridge! Strategy and counting and making a plan are all important ingredients to a successful finish. For today’s hand, there were several ways to get all of the high scores. Well played, both on defense and on offense, North and South pairs!

 

Gerald Stein

October 8, 2014

Number of words: 1006

 

Better Bridge in Barry County October 9 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Neither K♥

 

North Pass Dbl	East 2♠ Pass	South Pass Pass	West Pass Pass

Today’s South showed great restraint when East opened the bidding with a Weak Two Spade bid. Promising six spades and little more, East stepped into a hornet’s nest when South smoothly passed with five good spades and 14 high card points. South was hoping that Partner North would reopen the bidding with a Take Out Double. With little to help Partner East, West passed and North, with twelve total points, did reopen the bidding with a Take Out double informing Partner South that she was short in spades but could support the other three unbid suits. East passed, and South pounced on the Take Out Double and turned it into a “Hungry Double,” a penalty double by passing. Alas, for East, there would be little smiling after this hand.

South’s choice of a lead was the standard lead of the top of a strong sequence. South led the K♥, and North encouraged with the 5♥. The trick held, and South led the 7♥ to North’s waiting A♥ for trick number two for North/South. North led back the 2♥, and South won with the 9♥ for the three tricks in the heart suit.

On trick number four, South shifted to his singleton diamond and led the 2♦. North won both the A♦ and the K♦ for two more tricks for North/South. On the sixth trick, North led a small diamond and South promptly trumped with a small spade. North/South had taken the first six tricks in a row.

With nothing to lose, South led the final heart, the Q♥, and North played the 8♠ forcing East to win with the 10♠ for East/West’s first trick of the hand. East next led the K♠ losing to South’s A♠ and the seventh trick for North/South. East would win the A♣ on the next trick and two more trumps trick for a total of four tricks taken. North/South would end up with nine tricks doubled for an expensive loss for the East/West team.

What was the final outcome for the East/West team? Down four tricks, East/West suffered a minus 800 point loss and a bottom board. North/South vaulted to the top on this hand by being patient and by playing exceptional defense. They limited East to just the four tricks that East managed to pick up. East, of course, was dazed by the outcome of the hand. Usually a weak two bid does not end up so disastrously, but this time, South, by passing smoothly and hoping that North would reopen the bidding, found the right contract to defend and to clean up. South was hungry indeed, and the Take Out Double converted to a Penalty Double paid huge dividends for the North/South partnership.

What are the takeaways for today’s hand? With East jumping into the bidding with an obstructive bid, South was in no position to bid. A double from the South hand would have been taken as a Take Out Double, and North/South would have been hard-pressed to find a fit in one of the other three suits. Even if they had ended up in hearts, the best that they probably could have taken was eight or nine tricks, and a paltry score of 110 or 140 instead of the 800 that they gained. Having a partner bid with good points, even though she had passed originally, was the key play here. When North reopened the bidding and was not content to let East steal a 2♠ contract, she set the stage for South to either bid or convert the Take Out Double into a Penalty Double. While East/West were commiserating over their bad luck, North and South were pleased with their partnership agreement to reopen the bidding if one of them ended up in the Pass Out Seat, the last spot before the auction is finished and the contract is set. In today’s hand, that is the way North/South played it, and they ended up with a top board.

Gerald Stein

October 3, 2014

Number of words: 765