Better Bridge in Barry County November 15 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

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

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West Both A♣

North Pass 3♠ Pass	East 2♥ Pass Pass	South 2♠ 4♠	West 1♥ Pass Pass

Recently, in the Defense in the 21^st Century bridge class going on currently in the Battle Creek area, the emphasis has been on defensive leads, defensive signals, and being a good defensive bridge player. Because bridge players are on defense 50% of the time, it is important to hone your defensive skills by using defensive signals when it appears that your opponents have overbid. Today’s auction might be just the case. With West opening the bidding at 1♥, which to me seems to be a questionable bid given that most modern players have given up on the 4-card major opening and have gone to the American Standard position of opening majors with a 5-card suit, still it happens, and the astute bridge player will recognize that bridge players like to bid.

Today’s hand, taken from a similar hand found in Mike Lawrence’s 1973 bridge book How to Read Your Opponents’ Cards, shows what can happen when the defense plays their cards right. What do we know about the hands from the bidding? While the bidding on the West hand might be suspect, still it does and will continue to happen. West bid 1♥ with only four hearts and 12 high card points and one length point for 13 total points. North passed, and East supported the heart bid with three hearts, four high card points with the A♦, and several dummy points. Quite a stretch, but nevertheless, it is done all the time.

North and South entered the bidding with South’s overcall of two spades, showing a strong spade suit and good total points to go to the two-level in the bidding ladder. With West passing, North supported the spade overcall and bid 3♠. A pass by East ended the East-West bidding, but South pushed on to 4♠.

With everyone bidding, something seemed amiss. Who had the points? Were there enough points to make a game when we all know that a major suit needs 25-26 points to make a game? Surely, someone was stretching here.

Counting just the high card points, it is easy to see that East-West have 16 high card points between them: 12 in the West hand and four in the East hand. The North-South team has the rest with 10 points in the North and 14 in the South. That amounts to 24 and may or may not be enough to bring home the ambitious game of the North-South team. Will good defense prevail, or will the North-South team carry the day with a squeaky game made and scored?

The defense always has the first shot and the opening lead. This is a crucial time for both defenders to be on the same page. They need to cooperate as a team to defeat the four-spade contract. The opening lead from West was the A♣, not wanting to ruin the strong A♥ Q♥ combination. Here is where East as a cooperating partner must give the proper signal for the defensive team. What did East play as a signal card on the A♣ led by partner West?

Because East-West in their partnership agreement play attitude signals on leads from each other, East must signal to West that she did not want a continuation of the club suit. With attitude signals, a low card as a played card is a discouraging signal; a high card is an encouraging card. In this case, East knew that leading a second club would only set up the declarer’s club suit, and it would be easy for South to make the four-spade contract. East played the 2♣, as discouraging a signal card as she had in her hand. The message here was loud and clear: switch to another suit.

But which suit? Here West must make the right decision. East had signaled a discouraging sign. Find another suit. Ruling out the trump suit since it appeared that North-South have nine trumps between them, there would be nothing there. The heart suit must be protected to pick up two tricks, one with the A♥ and one with the Q♥. The only remaining suit was the diamond suit. West picked a low diamond on the second trick to lead back to her partner East. East took the trick with the A♦ and she knew the lead had to be a heart lead. The small heart lead from East trapped the K♥ in the South hand. West took the two heart tricks that they deserved and handed North-South a minus 100 points, down one trick.

Good defensive bridge work is a team effort. Each part of the team must be aware of attitude signals, switching to another suit, and returning the right suit. The defense is on a race. They have the first advantage, and if they are to be successful defenders, then they must play their cards in the right order and claim the defensive prize. If East-West had not been using attitude signals, it is highly likely that West would have continued the small club lead at the second trick, handing North-South a game that they did not deserve to win. Attitude is the name of the game for defensive bridge players.

Gerald Stein

November 9, 2012

Number of words: 969

Better Bridge in Barry County for November 22 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North North/South Pick it

 

North Pass 2♦ 3♣ 3NT	East Pass Pass Pass Pass	South 2♣ 2NT 3♦ ?	West Pass Pass Pass

Today’s column features a bidder’s dilemma: stop at the safe game in no trump for a sure thing, or keep bidding for that elusive slam. What was South to do with his fourth bid in the auction? Pass for the sure game in 3NT or try for a small slam? Let’s look at the bidding and the points to see if there is any indication which way South should go. Think about the lead from the West hand while you are at it. Good defense is always important for the defenders.

After three passes in this auction, South opened with a strong 2♣ bid, a modern day convention promising at least 22+ points, a forcing bid for partner, and almost always a game or slam try. East/West were silent the entire auction so little or no information could be gained from them. North responded to the artificial club bid by responding 2♦, another part of the convention called a waiting bid, and she waited to hear more about her partner South’s big hand.

South responded to the waiting bid by answering 2NT, another forcing bid with indication that the South hand was a balanced hand and ideal for playing in no trump. With this new information and some points and a four-card major, North elected to bid 3♣, another artificial bid, the Stayman Convention, asking if South had a four-card major. North indeed had a four-card major in hearts to begin this inquiry.

South responded to the Stayman request with an appropriate artificial bid as well, bidding 3♦, denying that he had a four-card major. At this point, North had done all she could and placed the contract at 3NT. South, however, was not so sure this was the best contract for the North/South team. Would it be possible to make a small slam in no trump with South’s 23 high card points, missing one A♠ and partner’s 6-9 total points? Remember that a small slam needs 33 points to make on most slam tries. Would there be enough to make a small slam with fewer than 33 points? Adding up the 23 and 6-9 left South a bit short of 33 points. Did South bid again, or did he pass? What would you have done?

South basically had three choices: pass, bid, or bid. The pass would have ended the auction, and North/South would have played the hand in 3NT. The first bid was an invitation to go to slam. How did it work? By bidding 4NT, South asked North if there was a possibility for slam. That put a lot of responsibility on North who cannot see the South hand. With 7 high card points and one for length in the diamond suit, North can only count the 22 South has bid and her 8 for a total of 30 points, 3 away from the 33 needed. North has only two choices here: bid 6NT or pass. What did North do?

The final choice is with South, the original bidder: instead of putting all of the responsibility on partner North, South can blast his way to 6NT and hope for the best. While this might not be scientifically sound bidding, it does put the contract in 6NT without the danger of a pass by partner North.

With three choices, South was the one to make the decision for the partnership on this hand. A pass would be to play in 3NT with the strong possibility that there would be overtricks because of South’s strong hand and good cards. A 4 NT bid would create a hesitant position on South’s part, putting all of the responsibility on North to make the slam decision. If North passed 4NT and it made 6NT, that would look bad for North. If North pushed to 6NT, and it did not make, then it looked like North made the wrong call. South made the choice for the partnership and pulled out the 6NT card. Three passes ended the auction: 6NT in the South. West would have the lead. What defensive lead might provide a winning defense for East/West?

West had had a lot of time to think about the lead after all of the bidding by the North/South team. With one sure trick in the A♠, should West lead the A♠ and then look for another trick somewhere? What about the Q♥? Might that be a potential defensive trick for East/West? Or should West play a safe lead by leading a diamond or a club in hopes of finding partner with a trick? Again, what would you do in this same situation?

West did know something from the bidding of the Stayman Convention: North had one four-card major, and South had neither a four-card heart suit nor a four-card spade suit. Would leading a major suit be the proper lead here?

After much agony, West pulled out the A♠ for his lead against 6NT and led it. He was pleasantly surprised to see only one spade in the dummy, and he was glad that he had not led a heart. With not much help in the spade suit with only the J♠, still East wanted West to know that there was something in her hand in spades, so East encouraged West with the 7♠, promising something, even if it were just the J♠. West continued the spade suit with the 9♠ hoping that East had the K♠ for the setting trick. Alas, South had the K♠, and the remaining tricks, running the clubs, the diamonds and finessing the Q♥ for 12 tricks and the small slam in No Trump.

Both teams worked hard on this hand to reach the right decisions. While North/South prevailed this time, East/West had all of the right thoughts about making a good defensive plan. It did not work this time, but watch out, North/South.  The defensive team of East/West will get you another time.

 

Gerald Stein

November 10, 2012

Number of words: 1100

Better Bridge in Barry County November 8 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Both 7♣

 

North 1♥ 2♦ 3♥ 4♦ Pass Pass	East Pass Pass Pass Pass Dbl	South 1♠ 3♣ 4♣ 5♣ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass

 

Today’s column illustrates the wild distributional swings that can happen in a hand of bridge. Look at the hands and decide where you would want to play this hand. Would you consider hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades, or no trump? As it turned out, no trump did not make three; hearts did not make four; spades did not make four; and diamonds did not make five. The only suit to make five was clubs and doubled at that. How did it happen?

Point-wise, North and South have almost the same number. North opened with one heart, the higher of the two six-card suits, and she had 16 total points. South responded with one spade, and he had 15 total points. With 31 points between them, how was it possible to make only one game with such powerful numbers?

Actually, a bidding war of sorts went on between North and South, with South prevailing to the five club level, only to be doubled by East. That was a good piece of information for South to know. The dangerous opponent would be on his right hand side, and South would always play after East had played.

After all three passes, the contract was set at five clubs doubled in the South hand. West duly led a trump, the 7♣, to her partner East who had doubled the contract. East took the first trick with the A♣, then took the A♠, for the first two tricks for East/West. Where would the setting trick come from?

Hoping to set up the 9♠ as the setting trick, East led the 10♠ hoping that partner might have the K♠ or could provide a ruff. No such luck. In fact, East/West have a Golden Fit in spades with eight spades between them.

South captured the 10♠ with the J♠, and drew three rounds of trump, depleting East of any trump tricks. The 9♥ to the A♥ in the dummy was led next. The A♦ from the dummy took care of the singleton diamond in South’s hand. A diamond led from the dummy was trumped in the South hand. Playing the top spades, the K♠, the Q♠, the good 8♠, and a final trump brought home the contract of five clubs doubled for the North South team and a well-deserved 750 points on their side of the score sheet.

Looking at the four hands in a post mortem, it is easy to understand why East/West thought they had a good chance to set the contract. With the North/South team struggling to find a trump fit, it seemed obvious to the East/West team that North/South were mismatched. This time, the North/South team had the right combination to make a difficult contract in spite of not having a good trump fit together. The wild distribution in the North/South hands paid off big dividends for them this time. Another time, a wild distribution might cause North/South to exclaim that no one can make anything with such wild distribution. We know better, however. It can be done.

 

Gerald Stein  November 1, 2012 Number of words: 624

Better Bridge in Barry County November 1 2012

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

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

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South East/West 3♠

North 4♠

East Pass

South 2♠ Pass

West Pass Pass

Captain M. North looked over the Barry County Bridge Barge as it lay at rest at the Charlton Park Pier. It was time for winterizing the trusty vessel and time for putting her away for the winter. Captain North mused that it had been a successful year of bridge voyages up and down the Thornapple River, starting at Lake Thornapple, stopping at points along the way including the Charlton Park Pier, the Tyden Park Pier, and the Irving Township Pier. These weekly voyages had been successful bridge tournaments as well, with as many as seven tables each week on these popular cruises. Captain North was doing all of the last minute details before the Barry County Bridge Barge would be pulled from the river, wrapped in shrink-wrap, and stored away until spring came back again.

A call from the shore caught Captain North’s attention. “Oh, Captain North. Captain North, it’s Vera and Rosy to see you. May we come aboard?” Captain North turned toward his two favorite bridge players, and he waved for them to step aboard. “Be careful,” he warned. “I am preparing the BCBB for her winter’s rest. There will be no more voyages this season.”

As Vera and Rosy came aboard, they were breathless with excitement. “Oh Captain North, we know that there will be no more bridge cruises this year, but we just have to bring you something special.” Captain North looked up, amused as usual. “What did you bring me, Vera and Rosy?” he asked.

“Tricks and Treats!” they both exclaimed in unison with peals of laughter coming from both of them. Captain North shook his head. “Do you mean Trick or Treat? This is Halloween time, you know.”

“Oh, Captain North, we know about Trick or Treat. This is more than that. We are talking bridge talk here, you know.” Captain North knew that it was time to take a break from his winter prep work. “Sit down, Vera and Rosy, and let’s hear your story about Tricks and Treats!”

Vera and Rosy took a seat at one of the last card tables still up. Rosy began as usual, “Captain North, we must tell you about our recent success playing at the Kalamazoo Club. We had such a day. May we share just one hand with you?”

Captain North was relieved. “I think I have time to hear about one of your latest hands. Go ahead, please.” Vera chimed in. “You won’t be disappointed, Captain, on this hand. It has to do with the Law of Total Tricks. Do you know about the Law of Total Tricks, Captain North?” Captain North suppressed his smile and nodded.

Rosy spoke next. “Captain, I was South in this hand, and I had a good six-card spade suit, and not many points. Only about nine high card points, but a good time for a weak-two bid with six spades and most of my points in spades. I opened as the dealer with two spades.”

Vera immediately took up the thread. “I looked at my hand carefully, and I saw four more spades in my hand to go with Rosy’s six spades. My spades were good too with the A♠ and the 10♠ as well as two others. Do you know what I bid, Captain North?” Before he could answer, Vera almost shouted out, “I bid four spades, Captain North. Can you believe it?” Captain North only nodded.

Rosy spoke again. “The contract was four spades in the South, and I was playing the hand. The lead was a safe trump lead since our opponents knew we had a lot of spades between us. The lead did not hurt us.” Here she paused for a second.

“I thanked Vera for her wonderful bid. We have been playing the Law of Total Tricks lately, and Vera knew that I had six good spades, and she had four good spades. We added them together, got to ten, and we knew we had a good shot of making ten tricks with spades as trump. Such fun, Captain North.” Captain North could only nod and smile.

“Making my plan was the next step on my way to making four spades. I saw that we had three losers once trumps were drawn. We would lose the A♣, the A♦, and the A♥ for three losers. Once the trumps were drawn, I led the J♦, set up the diamonds, and lost the three tricks as expected. But, we made our contract of 4♠.”

Captain North nodded and commented, “Well done, Rosy and Vera. It sounds like you enjoy using the Law of Total Tricks to find a trump fit in your two hands.”

“Oh, we do, Captain North. That is why we called out to you about ‘Tricks and Treats’ just a bit ago. We took our ten “Tricks” and we were one of the few pairs to make the right bid and so we took top “Treats” as well in the scoring column.” Both Vera and Rosy burst into laughter as Captain North could only smile and say, “Tricks and Treats? Yes, I see your point.” Vera and Rosy beamed as the Captain slowly stood up to finish the winterizing of the Barry County Bridge Barge. “See you in the spring,” he said, as Vera and Rosy skipped off the BCBB.

Gerald Stein

October 26, 2012 Number of words: 1055

Bridge Question for this week: What is Captain North’s first name? It has never been mentioned in all of the bridge columns about Captain North and Vera and Rosy. The correct answer will win a copy of the Hastings Banner with my autograph. Send your entries to the editor of the Banner. Answer will be announced next week if there is a winner.