Better Bridge in Barry County May 7 2015

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East North/South 10♥

 

North   2♣! 3NT	East Pass Pass Pass	South 1♣ 2NT Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

In today’s hand, it looks like North and South have a great fit in the club suit, but making a game in clubs with a 5♣ bid spells disaster almost immediately. Instead of trying for eleven tricks in the club suit, consider the possibility of a game in no trump. 3NT requires nine tricks instead of the eleven tricks, and the long clubs will be a most useful help in making this contract. Let’s take a look at the bidding and the play of the hand.

After a pass by East, South opened a rather weak hand with one club. There does not seem like there is a second bid available for South. Even 1NT looks scary with two jacks in the majors. North, however, used a 2♣ bid as an Inverted Minor bid, a forcing bid that promised clubs as well as points and forced South to bid 2NT. South complied, and North placed the final contract at 3NT.

West on lead had not much of a choice but elected to use the 10♥, the top of a three-card sequence, to see if he could reach his partner. Down came the dummy hand, and South began her plan, thanking her partner for the 15 high card points and the long clubs. There appeared to be six club winners, two diamond winners, and a heart winner or two as well as a possible spade winner. 3NT should be made easily if all went well.

South played the Q♥ on the 10♥ and saw East win the trick with the A♥. Back came a small heart, and South won with the K♥ in the dummy. The next six tricks were club tricks starting with the short side first with the A♣ and the Q♣ and finishing with the winners in the North hand. So far seven tricks had been accounted for, and the three remaining winners would bring the total up to ten tricks. Would there be another overtrick with the spade suit? Let’s see how South managed to play the remaining cards.

After playing the last club winner, South first played the K♦ from the North hand. Did it make a difference? You bet! A small diamond was then led to the A♦ in the South hand, and then South played the good J♥ for trick number ten. At this point, spades had not yet been played. Where was the A♠? This was the question in South’s mind. With nothing to lose as the contract had been made, South led the J♠ tempting West to take the trick and then West would have to lead a final spade to the waiting K♠ in the North hand. West did not cover the J♠, and then South was in a quandary. Was West being cagey? South decided to go up with the K♠, and it won the eleventh trick. The last trick would indeed go to West’s A♠.

For their efforts, North and South took eleven tricks, scoring well in an online tournament. Three NT was the contract of choice while those few who ventured into a 5♣ contract saw it go down to defeat with the loss of the A♥ and two spade losers. When your minor suits show up, always consider a 3NT contract before blasting off to a 5♣ or 5♦ contract. The long minor suits will be useful in no trump, and overtricks will pay big rewards when the final scores are tallied. Nine tricks most of the time are easier to take than eleven tricks. A useful way to remember this is to know that 3NT and 4H and 4S can make their games usually on 25-26 high card points. Games in the minors with 5♣ and 5♦ require 29 high card points and eleven tricks. With only 40 high card points in the deck, make your games in no trump and the majors. You will be a bridge winner!

 

Gerald Stein

April 25, 2015

Number of words: 811

 

Bridge Notes: A beginning bridge course has just started at Kellogg Community College’s Life Long Learning Program. The first class met this past Monday, but there is still time to join in for the next seven lessons. Call KCC at their office at 269-965-4134 for further information.