Better Bridge in Barry County December 11 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West North/South K♠

 

North   Dbl 5♣ Pass	East   4♠ Pass Pass	South   Pass 6♥!	West 2♠ Pass Pass

In today’s hand, we see another common example of highly distributional hands. Look at the East/West hands and count those spades. There were twelve spades between the two players, and yet they did not get the contract. Now look at the North/South hands and count the club suit. There were ten clubs, and yet the contract was not in clubs. What happened here?

One of the most difficult skills for bridge players to master is the ability to count. Count everything you can, but in the bidding portion of the game, count the points between you and your partner, and see if you can count the points in the opponents’ hands. Remember there are only forty high card points to count, but when it comes to distribution, that creates another problem for counters.

West opened with a Weak Two Spade bid: 6+ spades and ten or fewer high card points. That is a given. So let’s count West’s points to see if that was correct. Yes, West had ten high card points and a long spade suit, just as promised. North used a take-out double for her bid. A take-out double showed shortness in the bid suit and support for the other three suits and usually 12+ high card points. What did North actually have? Yes, she was short in spades with none. She had fifteen high card points and an impressive club suit with seven. She was a little short in hearts, but a Q♥ and a J♥ might come in handy. North was probably going to bid the clubs on the next round as her double for take-out was a forcing bid. South would have to bid unless there was an intervening bid.

There was an intervening bid, and East with six spades as well used the Fast Arrival bid, jumping to 4♠. East had a useful hand for West with a void in clubs, an A♦, and six spades. With six high card points, it was still a useful bid for East to bid 4♠.

So far in our counting, we can count ten points for the opener, at least twelve points for the overcaller with the take-out double, and a minimum of six points for East. That accounts for 28 of the forty high card points. South must have between ten and twelve to make up the forty points, more or less. In fact, South actually had just nine high card points. While high card points are a guide to reaching game, sometimes wild distribution makes things challenging for both pairs.

After the 4♠ bid from East, North bid 5♣ as she had planned. With 15 high card points, a void in spades, and strong clubs, North expected to make a 5♣ bid. Imagine her surprise when Silent South bid a small slam in hearts, a suit that had never been mentioned until the sixth level. All passed, and South prepared to play a small slam in hearts.

When West led the K♠, and South saw the void in spades, she made her plan and thanked her partner for her hand. Trumping with the J♥ in the dummy, South next led the Q♥ letting it ride all the way to West’s K♥. West continued with the A♠, and South discarded a small diamond and trumped in her hand with the 6♥. She next played the A♥, the 10♥, and all of the trumps were accounted for. The A♣ was led from the South hand, and then a small club was led to the dummy, and the dummy’s clubs were played from the top down. The last trick was the K♦ which was trumped by the last heart in the declarer’s hand.

For their efforts, North/South were only two of 38 tables who played this hand who found the 6♥ slam. 1430 was their score for bidding and playing well. On a count of the points between North and South, we can see only 24 high card points, yet 6♥ was bid and made on distribution. East/West had 16 points, but they could have easily made 4♠ with this hand. They would use the void in clubs and the A♦ to create an effective crossruff and handily win their game.

For those wondering about 5♣ which many tables chose to play, most of them were defeated one trick by the East/West team for a paltry score for the North/South team. East/West would probably score a trick with the A♦, trump a diamond, and win a heart trick with the K♥ later for down one.

For those of you who follow syndicated bridge columnist Frank Stewart in the area papers, his advice is as follows about counting: “Counting is not an arcane process, only a matter of focus and practice. Anyone can do it.” You can count on it!

 

Gerald Stein

December 7, 2014

Number of words: 913

Better Bridge in Barry County December 4 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West North/South 3♥

 

North   1♣ 2♣ Pass	East   Pass Pass Pass	South   1♦ 3NT	West Pass Pass Pass

Bridge teachers like to use easy-to-remember mnemonics to help their beginning bridge students remember the many facets of learning and playing contract bridge. One of the more useful memory tricks is the one that goes like this: “The one who knows goes!” In today’s hand, it was definitely a valuable lesson to pull out at just the right time.

When North opened today’s hand with 1♣, and South counted her points, she knew that there were plenty of points for a game. But where would the game be? North with eleven high card points and two length points in the club suit rebid the clubs to let South know that she had six clubs and opening count. South had bid up the line with a five-card diamond suit to respond to North’s opening bid. South had 16 high card points with stoppers in the three other suits. When North rebid her clubs, South knew the best thing to do was to use the concept of Fast Arrival.

Fast Arrival is a method of getting to the correct contract in a hurry. Because South knew what North had in her hand, there was little use in continuing the bidding. South was the one who knew the total number of points in both hands, and since there were enough for a game in No Trump, South did not hesitate but placed the contract at 3NT immediately. All passed.

West for her lead chose the heart suit, no doubt hoping to hit partner East with a long heart suit. West led the 3♥. While East did have a long heart suit, perhaps the standard lead of the fourth down in the spade suit might have kept North/South from taking as many tricks as they did. After surveying the dummy hand, South had her plan in mind. The clubs from Partner North looked especially good once the A♣ was knocked out.

At any rate, South won the first trick with the A♥. She promptly led the Q♣ to force out the A♣, and West obliged by taking it immediately. West persisted with another heart lead, the J♥, and South won the heart trick with the K♥ in her hand. The next five tricks would be five club tricks from the dummy, with the K♣, the J♣, the 10♣, the 8♣, and the 6♣.

South next played the A♦ from the dummy, and after winning that trick played the J♦. East was forced to play her Q♦, and South won with the K♦ in the South hand. A small diamond was then led back to the good 10♦ on the board. From there, the 3♠ was led to the A♠ in the South, and the final 10♥ was played as a winning heart trick. All in all, South had just taken in twelve of the thirteen tricks.

For their good bidding and play, North/South reached a top board of 690 points and a 94% game for the 3NT plus three overtricks. Only four of the 24 who played this hand reached that goal. Others made 3NT plus one while others played elsewhere. The use of the Fast Arrival helped this North/South team by refusing to divulge information to the East/West team. The bids were snappy and direct, and South as “The-one-who-knows-goes-bidder” did indeed go to game without giving away any useful information that might have helped East/West defend better. The idea of taking your time and reaching a solid contract is still very valid, but sometimes, when it is apparent to the one with the knowledge of both hands, it is advantageous to go directly to the final contract quickly. Try out the Fast Arrival in your New Year plans. See if you can avoid giving away valuable information to your opponents. You will be on your way with a Fast Arrival.

Gerald Stein

November 29, 2014

Number of words: 747

Better Bridge in Barry County November 27 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West North/South K♠

 

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

Paul Soloway (1941-2007) was one of the leading bridge players of the past. With over 65,000 masterpoints given out by the American Contract Bridge League for his many wins in world-wide bridge tournaments and competitions, Paul Soloway gave much to the bridge community during his time as a bridge player. One of his best known contributions to the bridge world was the Soloway Jump Shift, aptly named after him. Once popular in the days of Charles Goren, the Soloway Jump Shift has disappeared from a lot of players’ bag of conventions. In today’s hand, however, three of the twenty-eight South players dusted off the Soloway Jump Shift and put it to good use.

After West passed as the opening bidder, North opened with 1♣, a promise of at least three clubs and a minimum of twelve points. With East passing, the opportunity for using the Soloway Jump Shift emerged for South. With 18 high card points, South was prepared to jump shift to the 2♥ level. Just what was South promising to his partner North?

As with all conventions, both partners needed to be on board to communicate in the bidding process. South had just promised North by jumping and shifting to the 2♥ level that he had five hearts, 17 or 18 total points, and that this was a forcing bid. North, with three hearts, promptly raised the hearts to 3♥, and South raised to 4♥. No mention was made of the club suit because a major fit had been found easily by South’s bid. Besides, North’s club suit could be just three cards as it turned out to be.

With a solid hand in the South, did North/South stop too soon? Did they miss out on a heart slam? Let’s see how the play of the hand turned out.

With West leading the K♠, it was evident that there was at least the Q♠ behind that lead. North tabled his twelve high card points, and South promptly thanked him and prepared to make a plan to take a minimum of ten tricks with hearts as trump. It was evident that there was a spade loser, no diamond losers, no club losers, but there were some gaps in the heart suit. South would play for a three-two split in the heart suit, his best hope for losing just one heart trick.

South called for the A♠ and won the first trick in the dummy. Two rounds of drawing trump saw the three-two split as expected with the J♥ as the outstanding trump. South had won the second heart trick in his hand with the K♥. He played the A♦ next and played the 6♦ from the dummy. He next led the Q♦ from his hand and overtook the Q♦ with the K♦. The J♦ was then led, and South discarded the losing spade from his hand, making that loser go away. With no more diamonds, West trumped with the J♥ winning the trick for East/West.

Leading the Q♠ was West’s next move, but it was too late, and South trumped with a small heart. He played the A♣, the K♣, and the Q♣ next. When the J♣ did not surface, South led the 5♣ anyway and trumped it with the last heart on the board. The final two tricks were won in the South hand with his two remaining trumps. South had just taken twelve of the thirteen tricks. Did the South declarer miss the small slam this time?

Indeed, South missed the small slam, but so did most of the field. Only three pairs found the small slam of 6♥ for a fine score of 1430 and a 96% game. The three pairs who found the 4♥ plus two scored next best with a score of 680 and an 84% game. Others played in no trump and several even attempted to try a grand slam of 7♥ only to go down to defeat.

The interesting thing about this hand is that only three South declarers of the 28 teams who played this hand made use of the Soloway Jump Shift convention. Today’s South made use of this convention to describe accurately his hand to his partner. While not reaching their full potential, still today’s North/South pair ended up ahead of most of the field for a fine performance.

 

Gerald Stein

November 22, 2014

Number of words: 830

 

 

Better Bridge in Barry County November 20 2014

Better Bridge in Barry County

By Gerald Stein

 

 

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

 

 

Dealer: Vulnerable: Lead:

West Both 5♥

 

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

“Double, double, toil and trouble,” chant the three witches in William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. Their incantations spell gloom and doom for Macbeth and those around him. While bridge players do not rely on chants or incantations against their opponents, still they have a useful device at their disposal when they feel that their opponents have bid too high. The use of the penalty double can bring rewards to discerning bridge players.

In today’s hand, West opened the bidding with twelve high card points and bid the four-card diamond suit first. North with nothing passed. East with five good diamonds used the 2♦ bid as a forcing bid, promising five diamonds and ten-twelve total points. South with a long and strong heart suit pushed the bidding up quickly by bidding 4♥. East pushed back to 5♦. Here is where South heeded the witches’ advice as East had just put their partnership in hot water. South was wise to double 5♦, especially when he knew that East/West were vulnerable.

When North led the 5♥ as the opening lead, West as declarer knew, once she saw the dummy hand that East placed on the table, that she had a number of losers. While there would be no diamond losers, there looked to be one heart loser, one club loser, and two spade losers. That would be costly as down two doubled and vulnerable would yield a minus 500 points and a huge loss. Minus 500 points is never a winning score unless North/South as vulnerable can make a 4♥ contract. The question then becomes this: can North/South make 4♥ on this hand?

On this hand, if South steals the contract at 4♥, he will be unable to make the contract. He will lose one spade, two diamonds, and one club for down one. If East had been sharp, she would have doubled the contract of 4♥, and collected 200 points since North/South were also vulnerable. It would have been East/West who would have been doing the smiling with a nice 200 point gain since they cannot make 5♦ on this hand.

Bidding up to the four and five level in a competitive auction is dangerous stuff. While game is a worthy goal whenever possible, there has to be some caution at times; the bidder must not get carried away with the prospects of making a game. Remember to make a game in a minor suit, East/West would have needed 29 points together. While we can see by counting the points ourselves, East/West have 22 high card points between them while North/South have 18. Those are pretty telling numbers. Someone is going down on this hand.

South was lucky he was not doubled for a loss on this hand. East pushed too hard and should have put on the brakes. East should have doubled South for trying to interfere. Instead East was caught up in the auction and forgot to use two of her basic tools of bridge. She forgot to count the points, and she forgot to double.

The witches had it right even though each time they gave equivocal messages to Macbeth. He always misinterpreted the words that the witches were sending his way. The message here is clear. East had the count of the points. She knew that when West opened, West promised at least 12 high card points. East had 10 high card points. Combining the East and West hands, we see that the East/West team had the preponderance of points with 22. North/South can only have 18 of the total 40 points in a hand. East must make North/South pay by doubling and giving them all kinds of “toil and trouble.”

Gerald Stein

November 16, 2014

Number of words: 722