Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
|
|
North
♠ 8 4 3 2
♥ Q 9 6 3
♦ 4 3 2
♣ 6 4
|
|
|
West
♠ K 10 9 6
♥ 8 5 4 2
♦ 10 9
♣ Q 7 5
|
|
East
♠ J
♥ K J 10 7
♦ Q J 7 5
♣ J 9 8 3
|
|
|
South
♠ A Q 7 5
♥ A
♦ A K 8 6
♣ A K 10 2
|
|
|
Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
|
East
North/South
2♥
|
|
North
2♦
3♣
4♠
|
East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
South
2♣
2NT
3♠
Pass
|
West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In today’s hand the need for counting was never more
evident. Look at South’s whopper hand. Now look at North’s hand. What a
contrast in the two hands! South has 24 high card points in her hand with
almost game there. North has two points with the Q♥.
Together, however, they have the magic number of 26, the number of points
needed for a game in a major or in no trump. How did North and South arrive at
the optimum contract of 4♠? Let’s take a look.
After a pass by dealer East, South looked carefully
at her hand. What a beautiful Christmas present! All those points and
what-to-bid ran through her mind like sugar plums dancing there. South wisely
chose the forcing strong club opening bid of 2♣, promising a strong hand of 22
plus points, but more importantly, a forcing bid for partner North. The advantage
of opening 2♣ is that partner is forced to take the partnership to game by
keeping the bidding open even with as weak a hand as North has.
After South’s opening bid of 2♣, North offered the usual
2♦ waiting bid for South to further describe her
hand to North. With a stopper in all suits, South chose the 2NT bid to suggest
no trump in the event that North had a good heart suit. North chose to use the
Stayman convention of 3♣ after the 2NT bid to ask for a four-card major in the
South hand. North complied with a bid of 3♠ and four of that suit. North
finished the bidding by taking South to game in spades at 4♠, and all passed.
The 2♥ was the lead
from West, and South looked at a grim board. True, there were the four spades
as promised, but there was little more that South could use. With 26 points
between them, South was unsure how the remaining 14 high card points would
split in the East/West hands. South would have to do her best to bring home the
Christmas presents today.
With the heart lead, South had no choice but to win
the trick in her hand with the A♥. What was the
plan now? With short clubs in the North hand, South started with the K♣ and
played a club from the board. She played the A♣ and another club from the
board. Hoping that the clubs would be split enough to get in a club ruff, South
led the 2♣ and exhaled softly when West showed up with the Q♣. South ruffed the
club with the 2♠ and won the trick.
Next South led a small spade from the board, saw the
J♠ emerge from the East hand, put up the Q♠, and lost to the K♠ in the West
hand. West continued with a small heart all the way to the South hand where
South trumped low to win the trick. Even though she knew that there was one
more club out, it was bigger than her 10♣ and was therefore another losing
trick that needed to go away. South led the 10♣ and watched as West trumped
with the 10♠ winning the trick. South was not too unhappy as that eliminated
another trump from West. South pitched a small diamond from the board.
West persisted by leading yet another heart, and
South trumped with the 7♠. South had kept count of the trumps, and used the A♠
to pull another spade from West with East showing out. West had another trump,
and there was another one on the board but smaller that West’s. South had to
keep the lead to force West to trump and then the last trump would be good on
the board. South led the A♦, the K♦, and a small diamond. West followed suit to the
first two diamonds and discarded her last heart. When West discarded a heart on
the small diamond, South trumped with the 8♠, and the last trick went to West
with the last spade trump.
North/South had made the 4♠ contract despite the
fact that the trump split was 4-1, a rather unpleasant piece of coal in her
stocking. However, with all of those points in the South hand, South was able
to wrap up her Christmas present with a fine 620 point score and a 4♠ contract.
How did others manage on this hand? Some South
players opted to open 2NT on this hand, but were sorely disappointed when their
partner passed the bid. 2NT is not a forcing bid, and South was unhappy with
her choice of bids. Others were even more disappointed when they opened with a
minor suit of 1♣ or 1♦ planning to jump on their
second bid. They never received a second bid but only a pass from North. Here
you are with a fistful of high card points playing a 1♣ or 1♦. How disappointing. Others went to the other extreme
and bid up past 4♠, trying for a slam in spades, and ending up in defeat.
What is the takeaway present for today? With a big
hand, with 22 plus points, open a forcing 2♣ bid and work with your partner to
get to the best game. Despite the meager showing from North, yet the total
count was 26 high card points and the good play by South brought home the
contract. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Barry County bridge players
and their families!
Gerald Stein
December 20, 2014
Number of words: 1022
No comments:
Post a Comment