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.

 

 

 

"Eight Conventions You Should Know and Use"

 

KCC’s Life Long Learning Program

         Presents Easy Bridge Lessons in 2014

                         Class #4

“Eight Bridge Conventions You Should Know and Use!”

            Four Weeks of Bridge Classes just for you!

Join your friends and neighbors for four weeks of fun. Learn how to improve your bridge game! For Advanced Bridge

Beginners and Intermediate Bridge Players for a Review of Eight Commonly Used Bridge Conventions

 

Week One: The Stayman Convention and Jacoby Transfer

 

Week Two: Weak Two-Bids and Strong 2♣ Bids

 

Week Three: Take-Out Doubles and Negative Doubles

 

Week Four: Blackwood and New Minor Forcing Conventions

 

Class #4 begins Wednesdays in May 7; 14; 21; 28, 2014 from

 

6:00 PM-8:00 PM at RMTC, 405 Hill Brady Road, Battle Creek for four weeks.

Gerald Stein, ACBL Accredited Bridge Teacher,

Will lead you through a short review of each convention with plenty of practice time. Contact the Life Long Learning to reserve a spot @ 269-965-4134.

Handouts are included for this class.

 

Better Bridge in Barry County May 8 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West Both A♦

 

North   Pass 1NT 3♠	East   Pass Pass Pass	South   1♠ 2♦ ?	West Pass Pass Pass

There is a time for judgment in nearly every bridge hand. South used her good judgment to arrive at just the right contract for today’s hand. Did you “Pass” on South’s third bid, or did you bid “4S” with that encouraging jump-bid by North on her third bid? If you passed, you were in the minority and right! If you bid 4♠, you were in the majority and wrong! What were the informative signs that today’s South picked up on today’s bidding and the subsequent play of the hand? Let’s take a look.

At first glance, South’s hand looked to be very distributional. With five spades and five diamonds, three hearts, and no clubs, South realized early that she was not the only one with a distributional hand. If she had one, most likely there would be others who had unbalanced hands as well. In fourth seat, and strong spades, South opened the bidding with 1♠, promising five spades and at least 13 total points, counting the length in the spade and diamond suits. Although South knew that North was a passed-hand, North’s second bid was 1NT, a forcing bid in their agreement. North promised 6-11 HCP’s and South was forced to bid again. South duly responded with a 2♦ bid, promising at least three+ diamonds and at least 11 HCP’s.

After another pass by West, North provided a jump-bid, promising at least 10 HCP’s, three spades, and an invitation to go to 4♠. Here is where South used good judgment. She knew this about her partner’s hand:  Partner North did not open the bidding, so there were fewer than 12 HCP’s in the North hand. Counting her own high card points, and even giving herself extra points for the club void, South knew that there were too many high card points missing. The best she could come up with for North and South were 22 high card points, quite a distance from the 25-26 points needed for a major game. With the added knowledge that her hand was distributional, it seemed probable that others might also have a distributional hand, including a bad trump split. As a result, South passed, and the contract was placed at 3♠ in the South hand.

West led the A♦ as her opening lead. Not much was gained there with small cards from all players. West shifted to the J♣ on the second trick, covered by the Q♣ in the North, the A♣ in the East, and trumped in the South hand. South then played a small spade to the A♠ in the North hand. Using the K♣ next, South pitched a losing heart on the good club honor. A small club from the North hand was trumped in the South with the 10♠. Next, South played the good K♦ and played the J♦ from the dummy. The 5♦ was played next from the South hand. West, unable or unwilling to trump, threw a club away. That gave South a clear insight into the trump situation. There would be no point in trying to draw trumps if the spade split was 4-1, an unpleasant situation always.

South used the 6♠ to trump the losing diamond from her hand, and East followed with a diamond. Next, South led a small club from the North hand, trumping with the J♠. At this point, South had already won seven tricks to the one by the East/West team. South then played the A♥ winning the eighth trick for the partnership. South would win one more trick with the K♠ for the nine needed tricks while East/West would take four tricks on this hand.

The scoring was a plus score for those five teams who stopped and played at a 3♠ contract. Thirty-four other teams went down to flaming defeat with a wide variety of undertricks. A number of tables went down -1; others went down -2; still others went down -3, and a few went down as far as -4.

The takeaways today are these: when your partner is a passed hand, you know plenty about the points in that hand. It will not improve with any kind of wishful thinking no matter how enthusiastic your partner might be about your named trump suit. The fact that South also realized that the hands could be distributional was based on her own hand with two suits that were five-five with a void as well. If you look at the West hand, you can see the club suit is very long with six cards. The East hand has extra trumps in spades with four. Those teams that went down to defeat most likely tried to pull out all of the trumps and ended up with no trump power at the end of the play of the hand. Using the crossruff to take away losers from the South hand provided South with the winning combination to score well on today’s hand.

 

Gerald Stein

May 1, 2014

Number of words: 978

 

Bridge Notes: “Eight Conventions You Should Know and Use” is up and running at Kellogg Community College on Wednesday nights in May. If interested, there is still time to join for the last three Wednesday meetings. Call the KCC office of Life Long Learning if interested.