Better Bridge in Barry County January 30 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North North/South 5♦

 

North Pass 3♦ (1) 3NT   (1)   Transfer to Hearts	East Pass Pass Pass	South 2NT 3♥ Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

In most online bridge tournaments, there are many, many tables of bridge players, vying for the top scores. On today’s hand, there was an unusually small number of tables. Only five tables signed up to play this particular tournament. To do well in this kind of situation, you need to make your best bridge moves. Let’s see how South fared against four strong contenders.

Today’s South opened the bidding with a 2NT bid even though their partnership agreement required at least 20 high-card points for that particular bid. With 19 high-card points, three suits stopped and good cards in the three suits, South chose the 2NT opening bid. While not a forcing bid in most players’ agreement, North chose the Jacoby Transfer Convention as his way of showing five hearts for partner South. Bidding 3♦ would force South to bid 3♥. The advantage is that the South player has the hand with the most points as the closed hand, and he can be the declarer instead of North with the weaker hand. North then gave South a choice: 3NT or 4♥? South easily chose the 3NT contract as he had stoppers in the other three suits, North had promised five hearts, and nine tricks in no trump is easier than ten tricks in a major suit. South passed, and the contract was 3NT.

West tabled the 5♦ as the lead. Down came the dummy, and South surveyed his partner’s cards. Grateful as always, South prepared his plan; he had five sure tricks: A♥, A♠, K♠, A♦, and A♣. Four more tricks would need to be promoted to make the 3NT contract. Nodding that he was ready, South called for the 6♦, the K♦ came from East, and South took the first trick with the A♦. Next, South led the A♣ with all playing low. South was preparing to unblock the club suit and secure another entry to the dummy. South on the third trick played the Q♣ from his hand. West took the trick with the K♣; South played low from the dummy, and East played the 4♣. South had just succeeded in setting up two club tricks in the dummy, and he still had a small club in his hand to get to them.

West continued with a diamond lead, the 8♦, with South discarding a small heart from the board, East played a small diamond, and South won with the J♦. With no time like the present, South led his small club to the waiting two club winners on the board. South discarded a small heart on the second club winner. The A♥ was South’s next play, and all played a heart.

Leading the 10♠ from the board, South let it ride all the way to West. West won with the Q♠, took the K♥ and the Q♦, but at that point, South was in control. The J♥ on the board was good once the Q♥ had dropped from the East hand. West chose to lead a final diamond, the 7♦, but South won with the 10♦. The final two tricks needed to make the 3NT contract were the top spades in the South hand.

All in all, South took three diamond tricks, three club tricks, one heart trick, and two spade tricks for his nine tricks. The other four tournament players all went set by one trick with one player in 3NT, one in 4♥, and two in 4♠ contracts. Only today’s South found the winning combination in no trump by carefully setting up the diamonds and the clubs. True, if South had played the top spades from the top, he might have made an overtrick, but that is a moot point. Beating the other four players with a top score of 600 points gave him a commanding lead in the tournament.

The takeaway for today? When given a choice by your partner as to the choice of games, in this case, either 3NT or four of a major, look carefully at your hand. If your hand is a balanced hand, you might want to consider staying in no trump where you need only take nine tricks to make game as opposed to needing ten tricks in a major. Some bridge players do not like to play in no trump, but, the fact is, it is sometimes the easiest way to make a game. Do not say, “No more no trump.”  Say instead, “Try no trump more in Two Thousand One Four!”

 

Gerald Stein

January 22, 2014

Number of words: 919

 

Bridge Notes: Interested in the “Learn Bridge in a Day?” seminar to be held on March 1^st at Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center? Wondering about the question mark at the end of the title? Watch for a future bridge column that will address some of these thoughts. Meanwhile, sign up at the Community Education office at 948-4414.

Better Bridge in Barry County January 23 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North Neither 4♠

 

North Pass Pass	East 1♦	South Pass	West Pass

Would you rather defend a bridge hand, or would you rather play a bridge hand? Today’s South had to make that decision on the third bid of today’s hand. A pass from North, a minor suit opening of 1♦ from East, and it was South’s time for a decision. What would you have done with 16 high-card points and a respectable five-card club suit? Would you have bid one no-trump? Two clubs? Double? Or Pass?

South chose to pass this hand. Was it a wise decision, or did the North/South pair miss a game? Let’s take a look. With all passing, South was on lead. The only safe lead appeared to be the top of the doubleton: 4♠. The 9♠ came from the dummy, the Q♠ from North, and East won their first trick with the A♠. A spade was led from the East hand to the K♠ on the board. A small heart was then led from the dummy to the A♥ in the East hand. That was it. East had taken all of the tricks that East/West would take. North/South took the next ten tricks in a row setting East/West four tricks for a minus 200 points.

While a score of 200 is nothing to sneeze about on the North/South side of the ledger, still they might have done better by being proactive instead of sitting back with a solid bank of points, especially in the South hand. What could and what should South have done in this situation?

South’s hand is too strong to sit back and wait for his partner North. North had already announced through his pass bid that he did not have opening count. East opened 1♦ with 13 high-card points, and as it appeared in the post mortem, it was a Convenient Minor opening with three diamonds but two four-card majors. East was waiting for West to respond. Although West had two four-card majors, she had only four high-card points, so she passed. North with seven high-card points had nowhere to go either, and North passed.

The North/South hands had 23 high-card points while the East/West hands had17 high-card points. As a bidder, it is unusual to try for a game with fewer than the 25 or 26 high-card points recommended for a game in no trump or in one of the majors. Yet, this time, as we have seen, the North/South team took ten tricks. Should the North/South team have bid a game in No Trump, making not just three no trump but an overtrick for a plus score of 430?

The answer is yes if you are an aggressive bridge player. With South having East on his right, it would seem that he would know where all of the points would be. An overcall of 2♣ would certainly be justified; a 1 no trump overcall would be a reasonable bid as well. Getting to 3NT might be a difficult challenge, however, and, as it turned out, only one North/South pair dared to go for the gold bidding and making the 3NT bid and pulling in the top score of 430.

Who was the second place winner on this hand? Yes, you guessed it. It was the North/South pair who passed the 1♦ bid and set the East/West pair four tricks down for a 200 score for North/South. Playing it safe on this hand worked out for North/South this time, but the game of bridge is not a game of playing it safe. Allowing any pair to play in a one-level contract seems to be a questionable practice. Going a step further, even allowing a pair to bid to the two-level and play it there is something that seems not quite right. The point is that bridge players are bidders. It is important to bid your hand to the best of your ability and see what happens. In this case, South made a lucky decision, and it turned out well. Making a game, however, would have been more satisfying to most bridge players. Make sure that you bid when you know that bidding is the right thing to do. It will work out as the right thing to do most often.

As an afterthought: how did the one North/South team reach the 3NT contract? Here is the sequence: North: Pass; East: 1♦; South: 2♣; West: Pass;

                 North: Pass; East: Dbl; South: Pass; West: 2♥;

                 North: Pass; East: Pass; South: 2NT; West: Pass

                 North: 3NT; East: Pass; South: Pass; West: Pass

 

Gerald Stein

January 13, 2014

Number of Words: 913

 

Bridge Notes: Your New Year’s Resolution? Learn to play bridge this year? Teach someone how to play bridge this year? Teach a grandchild the fun of knowing how to play bridge? There is good news as a one-day seminar “Learn Bridge in a Day?” is set for March 1, 2014 at the Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center. Sign up today.

Learn Bridge in a Day? Seminar

Bridge in a Day at Hastings Community Education and Recreation Center

 

 

For: Adults & High School Students

Date: Saturday, March 1st, 2014

 

Time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Location:

CERC | Room C

Cost: $30 –

Lunch and a notebook are provided.

Instructor: Jerry Stein

Learn bridge in a day – FUN, FAST, FUNDAMENTALS

Hastings Community Education and Whirlwind Bridge present LEARN

BRIDGE IN A DAY! ™

Bring your high school age son or daughter, grandson or granddaughter or

high school students come on your own or bring your parents or

grandparents . . . BUT COME AND LEARN HOW TO PLAY BRIDGE IN A

DAY!

The five-hour seminar, headed by local bridge instructor accredited through

the American Contract Bridge League and Hastings Banner bridge columnist

Jerry Stein and staffed by experienced bridge players, is for both new bridge

players and those returning to bridge after a long absence. Class instruction

and coached play is included in the seminar, on the following time schedule:

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – Instruction and Play

12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. – Lunch

12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Instruction and Play

Learn Bridge in a Day? Seminar

Hastings Community Education

with

&

Whirlwind Bridge

 

Present

 

“Learn Bridge in a Day?”

 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County January 16 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

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

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

East Both K♣

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

Today’s column returns to that kind of hand when the trump suit is not ideal. In today’s hand North/South reached a 2♥ contract but did not have the golden fit in the trump suit. Eight is always a good number to shoot for in the trump suit, but sometimes a seven-card trump suit can bring home the contract. That is what happened in today’s hand. Played online in a thirty-table tournament, South found himself in a Moysian fit, a fit when the declarer has five trumps but the declarer’s partner has only two. There can be some problems, but this South found the right path to success. Let’s take a look.

South opened the bidding with twelve high-card points and two five-card suits, hearts and diamonds. Bidding the higher of the two suits is the way to proceed, allowing you to bid the second suit later without getting too high in the bidding. With nine high-card points and a five-card spade suit, North bid 1♠. East with six clubs, nine high-card points, and a chance to let partner know about a possible club lead, bid 2♣. At this point, South easily was able to bid 2♦, and North, not knowing that South had five diamonds, returned South to 2♥ even with the two small hearts. The contract was placed at 2♥.

Heeding the overcall bid of partner East, West chose a club lead. Leading the higher of a doubleton in partner’s suit informed her that she had two cards in that suit. That is a very useful defensive signal. Called high-low, most bridge players find this a most effective way to communicate with their partner. West led the K♣.

South looked at the dummy, thanked his partner as always, and began his plan. The hearts and diamonds looked the best to him, but a shortage of trumps is always a concern. South, knowing that the trump split will seldom be 3-3 and most often 4-2 for the opponents,  realized from the bidding that most of the points for the defenders should be in the East hand. South had seen the K♣ as the lead, took the A♣ from the dummy, and he now knew where the rest of the clubs were. Declarers also know about the high-low signal, and so South knew that West only had one more club in her hand. Time to get the kiddies off the street!

Trusting that East had points, South led the 2♥ from the board. East ducked smoothly, and South played the J♥, winning the trick. Here is where South made a key play. Most of the other 29 declarers tried to set up a side suit first, but not this South. South led the A♥ next, pulling a trump from both West and East. Only then did this South lead the A♦ from the South hand with all following.

On the fifth trick, South led a small diamond from his hand toward the Q♦ on the board, but West intervened and took the K♦. South discarded the Q♦ from the board to unblock the diamond suit. East discarded the 9♣ for an obvious request to return a diamond for a ruff.  West complied by returning a diamond, small from the board, and trumped by East with a small heart. East then led the Q♣ and South followed with the 10♣. East then played the K♥ drawing yet another of South’s trumps, but now South was in control of the trump suit.

East led the J♣, but South trumped with the 4♥ and then to  make sure that all hearts were out, next played the Q♥ with no hearts remaining out. With the top diamonds gone and all trump out, South confidently played the 10♦ and the 9♦ for the seventh and eighth trick of the contract. South lost the last spade to the A♠ in the West hand.

The takeaways for today’s hand? With a Moysian fit, drawing trump early as South did in this hand prevented West from trumping in on a club return. Listening to the bidding also helped South to place East with high-card points although if you look at the East and West hands, they appear to have an equal number of high-card points. Unblocking the Q♦ also was a savvy plan for South as he was able to play the good diamonds from his hand at the end once the trump was out. Out of the 30 tables playing these cards, only one declarer found the right solution. Moysian fits need not give you fits!

Gerald Stein

January 11, 2014

Number of words: 927

Bridge Notes: A Learn Bridge in a Day Seminar will be held on Saturday, March 1^st, 2014 at the Hastings Community and Recreation Center. See the online posting or consult your recent catalog of classes. Open to high school students and adults, this five-hour bridge class will give you the basics of bridge by the end of the day.

Better Bridge in Barry County January 9 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

North East/West 8♦

 

North Pass 2♥ 6NT	East Pass Pass Pass	South 2♣ 3NT Pass	West Pass Pass Pass

Captain M. North stood outside of the Kalamazoo Bridge Center on New Year’s Eve. He had driven down from Barry County to enjoy the last day of the year with bridge friends. On the way down, he had recounted the year in passing: there had been another successful season of bridge cruises on the Thornapple River with the Barry County Bridge Barge now securely under wraps for the winter months. He smiled with delight as he remembered his trip to the wilds of Western Ontario and the Lake of the Woods fishing and bridge-playing on a remote island fishing lodge. Now as the year’s last hours wound down, he would settle in for an evening of bridge and socializing in Kalamazoo. He was looking forward to a great evening. He did not know just how great one of his bridge hands would be. It would be a fine ending to 2013.

As Captain North greeted the players at the club, he found himself paired with Don Jay, as fine a bridge partner as he could find. The Captain smiled to himself. This was going to be fun.

The fifth hand of the evening came to Captain North and Don as they greeted their East/West opponents, Edie and Wendy, two of the veteran players at the club. As dealer, Don passed, Edie passed, and Captain North took a look at his hand in detail. With 21 high card points and a solid spade suit, most experienced players might have opened the hand with 2NT. The trouble with that bid is that it is not forcing, and the Captain’s partner might pass out the hand, and a game might be missed. “Not tonight,” thought the Captain. “I will use the strong 2♣ opening and see what kind of response I receive from my partner Don.” Captain North bid 2♣, promising a big hand and demanding a response from partner Don.

A normal response without much to offer is a 2♦ waiting bid, but this New Year’s Eve, the bridge cards were aligned in the right patterns. Partner Don responded 2♥ promising a good five-card heart suit and at least eight points. This was the kind of news Captain North was looking for. He needed help in hearts, and his partner Don had promised help in hearts. What could be better? Captain North did not even hesitate and plunked down the 3NT bidding card. What a surprise he received when Partner Don plunked down the 6NT card. “Oh, boy! What fun,” thought Captain North.

Wendy West played the 8♦ as her opening lead, a safe lead, from her point of view. As Partner Don tabled his cards, Captain North began his plan. He thanked his partner Don and began to count the tricks that he could take immediately. He counted nine sure tricks, with three in diamonds, two in hearts, two in clubs, and two in spades. Where would the other three tricks come from? Perhaps the heart finesse might give an extra trick. Perhaps the diamonds would break favorably and the fourth diamond might give an extra trick. Still, there looked to be a trick or two short of the twelve tricks needed to make a New Year’s Eve small slam.

Captain North won the diamond lead in his hand with the A♦. Not hesitating a bit, Captain North went after the heart finesse, playing the J♥ on the second trick. When it lost to Edie’s Q♥, Captain North’s own heart sank a bit. Still, one never knows…

A dutiful partner, Edie returned the diamond lead, and Captain North took the trick with the K♦. He planned to lead another heart to see how the hearts would break, but he was sorely disappointed when Wendy showed out of hearts on the fourth trick. “Ouch. A bad heart break,” thought Captain North. “Edie had all of the hearts. There would be no extra tricks out of the hearts tonight.”

Captain North forged onward. He played a small diamond from his hand, and he was pleased to see Wendy put up the J♦, setting up the fourth diamond with the 10♦ on the board. When the Captain played the fourth winning diamond trick from the board, he noticed that both Edie and Wendy discarded a small spade each. The Captain had five tricks in and needed seven more. He played the K♥ while he was still on the board, and he discarded a small spade and saw Wendy discard another spade as well. Captain North then led a small club to his K♣ winning that trick and then played the A♣ winning that trick for eight tricks in.  

The moment of truth had arrived. Captain North had four spades left in his hand. He had counted four spade discards, two from Wendy, one from Edie, and one from him. There were two spades on the board. There were only three spades unaccounted for. Captain North played the A♠ and saw Edie play the Q♠. Wendy had also played a spade on that trick. Captain North played the K♠ and captured the J♠ in Wendy’s hand. The last two little spades in his hand were good, and Captain North claimed twelve tricks and made the small slam in spades.

Congratulations flowed from the table to Captain North on his fine play. He thanked everyone, and his partner Don commented that even though Captain North had five spades in his hand, he had never mentioned them in the bidding so that East and West had little idea that he had five spades back there. East and West were holding on to clubs and hearts and had pitched the spade suit.

At the end of the evening when the scores were posted, only Captain North and his partner Don had bid and made the 6NT slam hand. Others had tried, but failed. Only one other pair had found a small slam in diamonds and had made 6♦. Captain North left the bridge club feeling good. “Yes,” he said. “The final night of 2013 had turned out all right. All right indeed.”

 

Gerald Stein

January 3, 2014

Number of words: 1125