Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ Q 9 4 2
♥ A K 9 3
♦ 4
♣ 9 8 5 4
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West
♠ J 8 6 5
♥ 10 5
♦ Q 5
♣ A K J 7 2
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East
♠ K 10 7 3
♥ 6 2
♦ A K 6 3
♣ Q 10 3
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South
♠ A
♥ Q J 8 7 4
♦ J 10 9 8 7 2
♣ 6
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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South
North/South
A♥
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North
Pass
2♥
Dbl.
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East
1♦
2♠
Pass
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South
Pass
1♥
4♥
Pass
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West
1♣
1♠
4♠
Pass
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In a recent hand taken from an American Contract
Bridge League tournament in Lansing, there was fierce competition for the final
contract. With East/West not vulnerable, it seemed a smart move on their part
to push on to 4♠. After all, East/West had 23 high card points between them and
had a fit in a major suit. North/South with only 17 high card points also made
a valiant attempt to reach a game in hearts. With two singletons in the South
hand and one in the North hand, they were fairly assured of making the 4♥ contract. East/West did not allow the North/South
pair to steal the contract and take away a 620 point gain. Instead, they were
willing to go set one or two tricks as a sacrifice bid.
It did not take North/South to realize that knocking
out the trump suit might be the best defensive move. According, after North
took the first two heart tricks with the A♥ and
the K♥, there was no reason to lead another
heart and let West use one of his eight trumps and throw away a loser card. However,
wisely North shifted to his singleton diamond on the third trick instead of
leading a spade. South put up the 7♦, and West
won the trick with the Q♦. It was obvious to
South that North had led his singleton diamond after winning the first two
heart tricks. North wanted a diamond return for a ruff and down at least one
trick.
West was in a dilemma now with the trump suit.
Should she lead out trumps or play off the minor suits. West chose to lead a
small trump to the 10♠ on the board. South took her A♠ and promptly led a
diamond back to North. North trumped with the 4♠ for down one. North led a club
and let West work the minor suits. It did not take West long to realize that
North would also win another trump suit with either the 9♠ or the Q♠ for down
two doubled.
In competitive auctions in duplicate bridge, there
is often the opportunity to sacrifice going down two tricks not vulnerable for
a minus 300 points for East/West. They did well to compete to 4♠, even at a
doubled contract as they gave up 300 points in going down, but had they allowed
North/South to play their contract in 4♥, they
would have been sorry to have given up 620 points to North/South when
North/South brought home the contract. Of course, the singletons in the
North/South hands would have given them the advantage of making the 4♥ contract.
All in all, duplicate bridge is an exciting and
pleasurable way to play bridge. Because each hand is scored independently, it
is easy to see that if one board does not go your way, just wait until the next
board arrives shortly. You can start afresh every eight minutes, the average
time it takes to play a hand of duplicate bridge.
Gerald Stein
August 2, 2015
Number of words: 748
Bridge Notes: Are you interested in learning about
duplicate bridge and playing it either at home or in a club? Nearby clubs
include clubs in Battle Creek, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Kalamazoo. Most of
the clubs offer a variety of times for players to enjoy competitive bridge,
with most of the games in the daylight hours. Club games are not the only ways
to play duplicate bridge: Tournaments called Sectionals, Regionals, and
National Tournaments are held in cities around the United States. Many players
make these tournaments as vacation destinations, playing bridge as well as site
seeing or even fishing for walleye in Lake of the Woods, Ontario. If interested
or if you would like more information, visit the Home Page for the American
Contract Bridge League website: www.acbl.org
for lots of information and free downloads.
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