Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ Q 3 2
♥ 2
♦ A J 10
♣ K J 10 8 6 3
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West
♠ K 8 7 6 5
♥ J 4 3
♦ 9 3 2
♣ A 9
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East
♠ J 9 4
♥ Q 9 7 6 5
♦ Q 8
♣ 7 5 2
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South
♠ A 10
♥ A K 10 8
♦ K 7 6 5 4
♣ Q 4
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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West
North/South
3♥
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North
1♣
2♣
Pass
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East
Pass
Pass
Pass
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South
1♦
3NT
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West
Pass
Pass
Pass
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Bridge teachers like to use easy-to-remember
mnemonics to help their beginning bridge students remember the many facets of
learning and playing contract bridge. One of the more useful memory tricks is
the one that goes like this: “The one who knows goes!” In today’s hand, it was
definitely a valuable lesson to pull out at just the right time.
When North opened today’s hand with 1♣, and South
counted her points, she knew that there were plenty of points for a game. But
where would the game be? North with eleven high card points and two length
points in the club suit rebid the clubs to let South know that she had six
clubs and opening count. South had bid up the line with a five-card diamond
suit to respond to North’s opening bid. South had 16 high card points with
stoppers in the three other suits. When North rebid her clubs, South knew the best
thing to do was to use the concept of Fast Arrival.
Fast Arrival is a method of getting to the correct
contract in a hurry. Because South knew what North had in her hand, there was
little use in continuing the bidding. South was the one who knew the total
number of points in both hands, and since there were enough for a game in No
Trump, South did not hesitate but placed the contract at 3NT immediately. All
passed.
West for her lead chose the heart suit, no doubt
hoping to hit partner East with a long heart suit. West led the 3♥. While East did have a long heart suit, perhaps the
standard lead of the fourth down in the spade suit might have kept North/South
from taking as many tricks as they did. After surveying the dummy hand, South
had her plan in mind. The clubs from Partner North looked especially good once
the A♣ was knocked out.
At any rate, South won the first trick with the A♥. She promptly led the Q♣ to force out the A♣, and
West obliged by taking it immediately. West persisted with another heart lead,
the J♥, and South won the heart trick with the K♥ in her hand. The next five tricks would be five club
tricks from the dummy, with the K♣, the J♣, the 10♣, the 8♣, and the 6♣.
South next played the A♦
from the dummy, and after winning that trick played the J♦. East was forced to play her Q♦, and South won with the K♦
in the South hand. A small diamond was then led back to the good 10♦ on the board. From there, the 3♠ was led to the A♠
in the South, and the final 10♥ was played as a
winning heart trick. All in all, South had just taken in twelve of the thirteen
tricks.
For their good bidding and play, North/South reached
a top board of 690 points and a 94% game for the 3NT plus three overtricks.
Only four of the 24 who played this hand reached that goal. Others made 3NT
plus one while others played elsewhere. The use of the Fast Arrival helped this
North/South team by refusing to divulge information to the East/West team. The
bids were snappy and direct, and South as “The-one-who-knows-goes-bidder” did
indeed go to game without giving away any useful information that might have
helped East/West defend better. The idea of taking your time and reaching a
solid contract is still very valid, but sometimes, when it is apparent to the
one with the knowledge of both hands, it is advantageous to go directly to the
final contract quickly. Try out the Fast Arrival in your New Year plans. See if
you can avoid giving away valuable information to your opponents. You will be
on your way with a Fast Arrival.
Gerald Stein
November 29, 2014
Number of words: 747
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