Better Bridge in Barry County June 5 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Neither 4♣

 

North   2♦ 4NT 7♠	East   Pass Pass Pass	South 1♠ 3♠ 5♣ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass Pass

Captain M. North looked over the Barry County Bridge Barge. Newly refurbished and detailed after a long cruel winter, the Barry County Bridge Barge shone like a new vessel waiting for the waters of Barry County. She would not be disappointed long. Captain M. North inspected her from bow to stern, checking the newly-cleaned and repaired outer seats, the replaced console, the cleaned and restored railings as well as the cleaned and polished floating tanks. Yes, there was even a new battery and a new water separator that had been installed after the dreadful calamity of last winter’s roof collapse during storage. Captain North gave a nod of approval. Yes, it was time to take the Barry County Bridge Barge out for a test run before he could give his approval to resume the Bridge and Nature cruises on the Mighty Thornapple River.

This would be just the weekend. Memorial Day weekend would be a perfect time to check out the Barry County Bridge Barge and make sure all was safe and ready for Barry County Bridge players. As long as he was going out on a shake-down cruise, Captain North picked up his trusty fishing pole. “Might as well see if there was one big bass left out there in southern Barry County.”

Captain North was dedicated to two passions: playing and directing bridge games, and fishing for trophy fish, especially joining in with special delight to the annual A and P Fishing Contest held in Barry County. Captain North had made sure to sign up ahead of time, and so with fishing gear in hand, and the Barry County Bridge Barge restored to fine condition, Captain North prepared for a day of fishing.

“What would be the difference between catching a five pound four ounce Largemouth bass and a three pound eight ounce mouth Largemouth bass?” he mused. “Probably the same as making a seven spade contract and making a six spade contract with one overtrick.” Bigger is better. Here Captain North leaned back in his captain’s chair, and he pulled out today’s hand. “Hmmm…” he muttered to himself, “it looks like this is the day for a whopper.”

Looking at the bridge hand, Captain North noticed that South had opened the bidding with 1♠, promising at least an opening hand and five spades. With a pass from West, North bid 2♦, a two-over-one system that forces game at least. South jumped in spades, promising a big hand with at least twenty total points and an interest in slam. North complied with a 4NT bid, a variation of Blackwood called Roman Keycard Blackwood where there are five key cards instead of the four aces found in Blackwood. The king of trump becomes the fifth key card.

South’s response of 5♣ informed North that she had three key cards, and North signed off with a grand slam 7♠ contract. South would be playing the hand, and this one was for all the marbles. West’s lead of the 4♣ was won in the North hand with the A♣. Trumps were drawn in three rounds, the diamonds were solid, and South easily claimed the big prize of the day. Seven spades were bid and made for a strong score of 1510.

While nine players had found the 7♠ contract and made it easily, the other 15 South declarers had failed to pull in the big prize. They had stopped at 6♠ making an overtrick for a score of only 1010, a deficit of 500 points. The nine winning players were definitely in the right contract and had made the right decision to bid all the way.

Just then Captain North felt a mighty strike at the end of his fishing line. With a fight that lasted and lasted, Captain North could only concentrate on staying calm and landing this trophy fish. When, at last, he had netted the huge Largemouth bass, his eyes twinkled with delight. Here was the trophy fish. Here was the five pound four ounce winner. Yes, there was a big difference in first place and second place, and first place is always better.

 

Gerald Stein

May 29, 2014

Number of words: 799

 

 

Better Bridge in Barry County May 29 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

South Neither Q♦

 

North   1♠ 2♦! Pass	East   Pass Pass Pass	South 1♣ 1NT 2♥	West Pass Pass Pass

Today’s column concludes with another bridge convention that you may want to investigate and practice with your favorite partner. This is one of the eight bridge conventions you should know and use. Called the New Minor Forcing Convention, it works like this: South with a minimum hand, no five-card major, opened with 1♣. That bid promised at least three clubs and an opening bid of at least 12 high card points. The opposition was silent on today’s bidding, an essential requirement for using the New Minor Forcing Convention: no intervention from the opponents.

North’s response of 1♠ promised at least six high card points and at least four spades. However, by looking at her hand, how can North relay the crucial information that she has five spades and is looking for a Golden Fit in the spade suit? Here is where the New Minor Forcing Convention takes over. South’s rebid of 1NT showed a minimal hand without much more than 12-14 high-card points. The sequence of a minor suit (1♣), then a five-card major suit (1♠), then a 1NT rebid by the opener, allowed North to bid the other minor suit, diamonds. This is an artificial bid, and it must be alerted to your opponents that you are informing your partner that you have a five-card major suit, you have at least ten high-card points, and you are looking for a fit in the major suits.

South had a four-card heart suit and bid the suit. 2♥ is passed all around. North with only three hearts knew that a part score in hearts was possible even though there were only seven hearts between them. South was the declarer in a 2♥ contract.

The lead from West was the Q♦, the top of a sequence, and North tabled her cards. Thanking partner as usual, South surveyed the possibilities of making her plan for eight tricks. With only seven trumps, there were six out against her, and the odds were that they would split 4-2, and not the desirable 3-3 split that all bridge players hope for. Drawing trumps would not be a part of South’s plan on this hand. Using the trumps to her advantage would hopefully produce the eight needed tricks to secure the contract.

With the Q♦ from the West, South could picture the J♦ and probably the 10♦ in the West hand. Accordingly, South played low from the board, low from East, and South won the trick in her hand with the A♦. Leading her remaining diamond to the K♦ put South in the dummy and her second trick. A small diamond from the board was trumped by East with the 7♥. South overtrumped with the 8♥. It appeared that East was in a big hurry there. Perhaps it would have been better to discard instead of trumping.

With her third trick in, South led the A♣ and played the singleton club from the board. A small club from her hand was trumped on the board with the 2♥. Back came a diamond again, and this time East discarded a club. South trumped with another small heart in her hand. At this point, South had taken the first six tricks. She was assured of two more tricks with the A♥ and the K♥, making her bid of 2♥.

Bidding and making a 2♥ contract gave North/South a score of 110. Using the New Minor Forcing Convention helped them avoid playing in no trump. Using the seven heart trumps effectively with the shortness in clubs and diamonds allowed North/South to end with a positive score. The New Minor Forcing Convention is a useful way to let your partner know that you have a five-card major, that you have at least 10 high-card points and that you are looking for a fit in the majors if possible. This is a convention that you need to practice with your partner as it a forcing bid for one round whereas not using the New Minor Forcing and bidding a second minor suit would suggest at least four cards in that suit and could be passed by the opener. Try out the New Minor Forcing Convention. Remember there can be no intervening bids from your opponents. The opener’s bidding will suggest a minimum hand and finding the right fit is the ultimate goal when you are using the New Minor Forcing Convention. Good luck trying out and using the New Minor Forcing Convention.

 

Gerald Stein

May 21, 2014

Number of words: 851

Better Bridge in Barry County May 22 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Neither 3♠

 

North   Dbl (1) 5♦	East Pass 2♥ Pass	South 1♦ Pass Pass	West 1♥ Pass Pass
(1)   Negative Double

Last week we looked at the Take Out Double as one of the major bridge conventions that you should know and use. This week let’s take a look at the Negative Double, another use for the double besides penalty and take out purposes. Knowing and using the Negative Double helped North/South to a game contract in diamonds. Let’s see what happened.

As dealer, East passed with a very weak hand. South with twelve high card points and two length points had a minimum hand that was good for at least an opening bid. South bid 1♦. West with ten total points and a five-card heart suit overcalled with 1♥. North with a nice hand and fifteen high card points elected to tell partner South that she had four spades. How could she do that?

The Negative Double is a most useful way for partners to share information with each other without wasting any bidding space. In today’s hand, following an opening bid by partner South, an overcall in hearts by West, it was desirable for North to use the Negative Double. The double as used here in this situation informed South that she had the other major, spades, and that she had exactly four of them. The minimum number of points is usually six at the one level and eight at the two level. North certainly had enough points to use this bid. If there was no intervening bid by the opponents, South must bid again as no one wants to double for penalty at the one level.

In this hand, however, East with at least three hearts, a void in the opponents’ bid suit of diamonds, threw in a 2♥ bid. South did not know how many points North actually had and passed, waiting to see what North would do on her second bid. In this case, not hearing much from South again, North realized that South’s hand was a minimum hand in the 12-14 point range, and that it was up to North to place the contract. The best contract for North/South? Did you say 5♦? Would you believe that there is a better contract than 5♦’s? Yes, 3NT is a far better contract, making 3NT and three overtricks for a top score.

Here, however, North placed the contract at 5♦, and all passed. The lead was, of course, the singleton 3♠, and South won the trick in her hand with the K♠. Drawing trumps in three rounds was the next step, with East showing out on the first diamond lead. Playing all of the spades next showed that West was out of spades as expected, and so drawing and counting trumps was crucial to this hand. Concentrating on the trump suit first was the way to success for making all eleven tricks. The losing spade in the North hand was easily trumped in the South hand.

Losing two heart tricks were the only losers for the South declarer. There was no need to take a club finesse with only one club in the South hand, but it would always work. With plenty of trumps, South was able to claim the eleven tricks needed and scored an 83.9% game along with eight others. The 3NT bidder and winner? With a club lead, there was only one declarer who ended up with twelve tricks and a top board at 100%.

While this hand was played thirty-three times, only the top ten tables scored well. The secret to success was the use of the Negative Double that let South know that North had at least a four-card spade suit and at least six points. While the contact did not end up in spades, it is easy to see how useful the spade suit was for this contract. Sharing information through the Negative Double is a useful and important bidding tool to include in your partnership agreement. Share it with your partner today.

 

Gerald Stein

May 18, 2014

Number of words: 768

 

 

 

Better Bridge in Barry County May 15 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East North/South J♠

 

North   Pass Dbl Pass	East 1♠ 2♣ Pass Pass	South Pass Pass 2♥	West 1NT Pass Pass

The Take Out Double is a most useful convention in our list of conventions to have and to use from this day forward. Let’s take a look at today’s hand, especially at the bidding to see how North/South ended up with the correct contract.

East, as dealer, opened the bidding with 1♠, promising at least five spades and twelve high card points. With a pass from South, West with seven high card points and a singleton spade used a one no trump forcing bid. East was obligated per their partnership agreement to bid again, even if it were a three-card suit. East bid the cheapest bid she could, and she bid 2♣. South passed again, West passed, and now North came to life.

Having listened to the bidding and looking at his hand, North used the Take Out Convention to tell partner South that he was short in both of the bid suits: spades and clubs. Short means short: a void, a singleton, or in this case, a doubleton in each suit. As always, if East passed as she did, South was forced to bid one of the two unbid suits. South, accordingly, bid the only suit she could: the heart suit. She had no diamonds. What a surprise when South ended up the declarer when everyone passed, and South would play the contract in 2♥.

The play of the hand followed with a lead of the J♠ from West. South won the trick in the North hand with the A♠. A small diamond came from the North hand and was trumped in the South hand for trick number two. A small club was led to the K♣ in the North hand and back came another diamond and another heart trump. The A♣ was played next from the South hand, and a small club was then trumped in the North hand. Back came another diamond that was trumped in the South hand. At this point, South has taken the first seven tricks without drawing a single trump.

At the eighth trick, South led the 8♣ that lost to the 10♣ in the West. South elected to pitch the 8♠ on West’s winning trick. Back came a diamond from West, and South used the Q♥ overtrumping the 8♥ from East. A small spade from South was trumped in the North with a small heart. The J♥ was led and was allowed to win for North, but West would win the last two tricks with the 10♥ and the A♥. South had taken ten tricks with hearts as trump for a successful 170 points and a top board on that hand.

While this hand was played numerous times, only eleven teams found the Take Out Double as a way to find the fit in the heart suit. Without using the Take Out Double, most of the unsuccessful North declarers used a diamond overcall and went down to defeat when partner South showed up without a single diamond. Listening to the bidding was crucial on this hand. North was patient,  listening to the bidding and was ready for action once it looked like East and West would be playing in the club suit. Short in the two suits that had been bid, North gave South the choice of her best suit. South, of course, had only one choice left once the bidding returned to her. With no diamonds, and knowing that North was short in spades and clubs, it was an easy choice to bid the major suit. Hearts were just the ticket for today’s hand.

 

Gerald Stein

May 10, 2014

Number of words: 758

 

Bridge Notes: The Take Out Double is one of the “Eight Conventions You Should Know and Use.” The Stayman Convention and the Jacoby Transfer Convention are two others. What are the other five? Check in next time for a continuation of useful conventions that you and your partner should know and use.