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Board 2: An intersting competitive hand. After two passes, West opens 1S and North overcalls 2D. North might jump, but his good hand should have him thinking "maybe we have a game" not " I need to jam the bidding." East is too weak for 2H or 2NT; what about a negative double? Styles vary; I prefer to have a realtively balanced hand for the double, including two in partner's suit -- partner must bid something, and there's no assurance he will have a second suit, so I think it's prudent to have a tolerance for his announced suit. I'd pass but would not be overly critical of a double. After South also passes, West should re-open the bidding -- it won't pay to sell out to 2 of a suit you are void in. Never minf only 11 hcp, West's shape demands a bid. The choices include double, 2H, and 2S. I like 2S: partner's failure to double reduces the chance of a heart fit (surely he has some values on this auction), chances are good he has two spades, and the bid suggests limited values. I'd hate to double and have partner guess to pass for penalties. North has good defense against spades but the seven diamonds should be rebid; after that North can consider defending. 3D is passed around to West, who should think "6-4, bid one more", especially with the void; I'd try 3H. North passes and East comes alive with a raise to 4H, which ought to end the bidding. If North or South compete to 5D East should double and collect 500.
With his strong spades, North leads out the Ace of trumps, trying to limit West's ability to ruff out the spades. Of course dummy's 5th trump cancels that plan; what next? West has shown 6-4 shape; a singelton or void in diamonds seems likely. Trying to cash the Ace of diamonds will likely set up a discard for a club, and leading clubs may finesse partner. I'd continue with a low spade -- declarer can ruff out the spades, but North can't prevent that. Declarer finesses in trumps, pulls the last trump, cashes the King of spades, ruffs a spade (noting South shows out) and leads a club honor from dummy -- North has shown long diamonds in the bidding and four spades during the play, so it looks right to play South for the clubs. South covers the Queen or Ten and eventually collects the second and last trick for the defense. If declarer plays the clubs "normally", without clues from the bidding, Ace of clubs and a low club to the Queen will give the defense an extra trick.
Several pairs sacrificed at 5D, which proves too expensive. South's relatively flat hand is not suitable for heroics, and as mentioned North has too much defense in West's spades to bid more than 3D.
Board 9: After two passes, South should open 3C. A good six-card suit is fine for that bid when not vulnerable -- better than passing, and you don't have the alternative of a weak two. West doubles with his powerhouse, planning to bid spades later. East beats him to it; should West simply raiase to 4 or contemplate slam? Counting five losers, it seems unlikely partner can cover four of them on a hand that didn't jump, so I'd settle for 4S after some thought. 4S making six was the normal result, one pair bidding slam -- perhaps East did jump, or South failed to open 3C. If West is allowed to open 1S, some "Law of Total Tricks" fans would leap to 4S with East's hand (10 trumps = 10 trick level); I don't think that's sound without the customary singleton but on today's hand West is inspired by the big fit and may continue to slam by way of Blackwood or RKCB. Five clubs doubled -- trying to sacrifice at the five level with only 8 trumps -- got hammered for 1100.
Board 15: Perhaps most would open 3C with West's hand, not vulnerable vs. vulnerable, but my philosophy is that the enemy will usually brush aside such feeble preempts; I prefer around 5-9 hcp and a fair suit for a three bid in first or second seat.
If West does open 3C, East should reason that he can cover all of partner's side-suit losers, and with his King there should be no more than one trump losers, so a Blackwood or RKCB auction should land the partnership in six clubs, an easy contract. If West passes, East opens 2C; West bids 2D negative (0-7), waiting (0+), or semi-positive (4+, where 2H would show a bust); or 2H "no Ace or King", or "steps" (4-6.) Assuming 2D semi-positive, East bids 2H and West bids 3C, natural. It's hard to come up with something other than 3NT by East. West is likely to pass rather than risk taking out what may be the only makeable game.
After a negative or waiting 2D, 3C by West would be a "second round negative" showing a potentially trickless hand; who knows what partner will think of a club leap? This is a trap hand for most partnerships using such methods. I would say four clubs must be natural if 3C is artificial, but I wouldn't assume partner would take it that way without discussion; he might read it as a splinter raise of hearts. Perhaps a negative 3C followed by four or five clubs would be best.
Over a "steps" 2H, East must bid 3H, or a highly distorted 2NT. That's the downside of "steps" : the 2H and 2S responses often jams the bidding. However, I think precise high card information is something most players can understand and use effectively. On today's hand West must bid clubs at the four level, which leaves East with a nearly insoluble rebid problem; I'd assume the clubs were fairly long and raise to five.
Board 17: After North and East pass, South opens 2C. Only 18 hcp, but plenty of tricks and slam controls. One guideline is "more quick tricks than losers"; South has 4.5 QT's and only 3 losers; another is "game in hand" with at least four quick tricks including two Aces. A typical auction might be 2C-2D; 2S-2NT; 3S-3NT; 4H. South emphasizes the spades before introducing the hearts. With 9 hcp opposite a 2C opener, North should proceed toward slam once the fit is discovered, with 4NT revealing three Aces or four key cards.
Against 6H, West leds the King of clubs, won perforce by South's stiff ace. Making slam requires setting up the spades with no loser. If both majors break 3-2, a single ruff will suffice; can declarer plan for one bad break or the other? A 4-1 trump break can be handled only if the Jack or Ten drops singleton and declarer retains a finessing position over the other honor. That suggests cashing the Ace of hearts and, if either the honor drops, continuing with the Queen or low to the King as appropiate. But you still have to ruff a spade, or resort to the finesse, so it will be hard to cope with four tumps in West's hand.
What about spades 4-1? You'll need two ruffs, which means you can't pull three rounds of trumps, which means there's a risk of dummy being over-ruffed. On today's hand a succesful line would be to cash a high sapde and ruff one before pulling any trumps. The King of trumps in dummy protects against West ruffing with the ten. return to hand with a club ruff, ruff another spade, and then pull trumps. I'm not sure what the best theoretical line is.
Board 23: West opens 1C; if North can bid 3C naturally, this is a good hand for it -- good offense, little defense. East bids 3S, West raise to 4S, East asks for key cards and West shows two with 5H. That leaves only the fifth diamond as a possible loser; 7S should be cold but 7NT looks to be a heavy favorite since AKQJ is likely to pull all the remaining diamonds, or partner may have a side King, or the Ten of diamonds, etc. You want very good odds to bid any grand slam but 7NT looks to be a good bet. Declarer claims 17 tricks on any lead -- OK, they'll only let you score 13.
Playing simple Blackwood, West shows one Ace and then two Kings. East cannot be sure tha includes the King of spades, but West should realize that and raise six spades to seven. That's why you NEVER bid 5NT after 4NT without all the Aces -- 5NT doesn't merely ask for Kings, it confirms all the Aces (or key cards) and invites grand slam.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
Friday, February 17th 2012
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Board 3: West opens 1D; East has an excellent 15 hcp with 5-5 in the black suits. Simple Losing Trick Count would rate East's hand at 4 losers, enough for slam opposite an less than an opening bid. But that's fairly optimistic; first, you must locate a fit, and even then it's more reasonable to look sceptically at the fourth card in both suits unless partner shows four-card support. The opening bid in your singleton isn't encouraging; partner rates to have wasted values and there's a fairly small chacne of getting a useful discard. Still, it's a powerhouse; how to proceed? A jump shift would show slam interest immediately, but won't leave enough room below 3NT to show the 5-5 shape. A simple 1S is probably best for the moment, planning to jump in clubs later.
West rebids 1NT. "Keep It Simple" bidders must jump to 3C to force to game; this won't promise 5-5, and doesn't really do justice to the playing strength. West rebids 3NT (most of his points are in the red suits) and East must decide to pass or continue with no known fit. I think pass is prudent.
If your partnership plays New Minor Forcing, the jump to 3C can be more specific. A typical game-invitational or better hand with five spades would bid 2C (artificial) to check back for 3 card support, so the jump in a new suit can be defined as 5-5 or better (game-forcing.) West would be aware of the 5-3 club fit, but would still bid 3NT with so much in the red suits. Slam makes, but wouldn't if clubs split badly or the heart finesse were off. If West were 4-4 in the minors rather than 5-3, slam would be excellent.
Board 9: East opens 1H and South may overcall white vs. red despite only 6 hcp. Regardless, West bids 2C, but 2/1 Game Force bidders should be aware that such a bid is not forcing to game over interference. East raises to 3C -- this should promise extra values and be game-forcing. With a minimum hand East rebids hearts before supporting clubs. West adds his 16 hcp to opener's 14+, defintely slam territory after the raise; but West is noticebly lacking in key cards. It's too much to count on partner for 3 key cards and a 5D or 5H resposne to 4NT makes it impossible to stop at 5C. 5NT may be playable but is apt to be risky. Instead, West bids 3D over 3C. Initially this sounds like a probe for 3NT ("game before slam" is one of Karen Walker's key bidding principles.) East rebids the hearts, looking for two-card support. West could raise hearts but that would give up on slam, so West makes another try with 3S. Notrump probe or slam try? Sounds like a slam try since West could bid notrump himself with stoppers in both diamonds and spades.
East, with three key cards (at clubs) plus a void should drive to slam after this bidding -- it sounds like West has the tricks but did not want to risk 4NT himself (as was, in fact, the case.) East bids 4NT followed by 6C over partner's one-Ace reply. Should West correct to 6H? I'd say no -- some pairs will miss slam altogether, and 6C protects the King of spades and stands to gain on almost any lead. Also, hearts might fail on a bad trump split, while the nine-card club fit may allow setting hearts up with a ruff. As it happens, South has the spade Ace and hearts break 3-2, but 6C scores about average. At a team game 6C would be clear-cut.
At our table North doubled 3D for a lead, and at least one N/S pair reached 5D (-800.) Looks like South has a reasonable Michael's cue-bid, 2H over 1H showing 5-5 with spades and a minor. West doubles to show a strong, relatively balanced hand (11+ hcp, much like a redouble of a takeout double.) North bids 2NT to ask for South's minor; East guesses (correctly) South has diamonds and bids 3C in front of him. South bids 3D; what now for West? It's not hard to picture partner with AQ of hearts, AK of clubs and short diamonds for his unforced 3C bid, so I think West can drive to slam.
Board 17: North opens 1D, South responds 1H and East can consider bidding any number of spades from one to four. Twelve highs would be too much for an opening preempt, but with both opponents bidding and partner passing description isn't the chief priority. Still, West has about six losers and East might cover three of them. Pure preemption argues for 3S, but the chance they can make 4H or you can make 4S argues for 1S (to give partner a chance to double them later) or 4S (make 'em guess!) The suit, while possessing good intermediates, lacks top tricks so I decided on 1S. North can rebid 2C (or employ a Support Double, opener's double of an overcall showing exactly 3 card support for responder's major. This is a popular expert gadget but is frought with danger for most partnerships.) South looks askance at his Queen of spades, but his shape is good and with 11 hcp South jumps to 3D, inviting game. North bids 3H, accepting the game try and showing delayed (three-card) support. South raises to game.
It's usually a poor strategy to let the opponents exchange information and then sacrifice; they'll generally guess correctly whether to double you or bid on. Here, however, West can reasonably hope to take 7 tricks with his own hand and with the enemy announcing a double-fit, it's reasonable to hope for one trick from partner for a paying sacrifice -- if they can make 4H. On defense, only a couple of tricks seem likely, and no reason to expect partner to provide two. I did in fact bid 4S at this point, doubled -300 and a good score. N/S can make 5H or 6D, but I don't see a clear case for either to risk the five level.
Board 3: West opens 1D; East has an excellent 15 hcp with 5-5 in the black suits. Simple Losing Trick Count would rate East's hand at 4 losers, enough for slam opposite an less than an opening bid. But that's fairly optimistic; first, you must locate a fit, and even then it's more reasonable to look sceptically at the fourth card in both suits unless partner shows four-card support. The opening bid in your singleton isn't encouraging; partner rates to have wasted values and there's a fairly small chacne of getting a useful discard. Still, it's a powerhouse; how to proceed? A jump shift would show slam interest immediately, but won't leave enough room below 3NT to show the 5-5 shape. A simple 1S is probably best for the moment, planning to jump in clubs later.
West rebids 1NT. "Keep It Simple" bidders must jump to 3C to force to game; this won't promise 5-5, and doesn't really do justice to the playing strength. West rebids 3NT (most of his points are in the red suits) and East must decide to pass or continue with no known fit. I think pass is prudent.
If your partnership plays New Minor Forcing, the jump to 3C can be more specific. A typical game-invitational or better hand with five spades would bid 2C (artificial) to check back for 3 card support, so the jump in a new suit can be defined as 5-5 or better (game-forcing.) West would be aware of the 5-3 club fit, but would still bid 3NT with so much in the red suits. Slam makes, but wouldn't if clubs split badly or the heart finesse were off. If West were 4-4 in the minors rather than 5-3, slam would be excellent.
Board 9: East opens 1H and South may overcall white vs. red despite only 6 hcp. Regardless, West bids 2C, but 2/1 Game Force bidders should be aware that such a bid is not forcing to game over interference. East raises to 3C -- this should promise extra values and be game-forcing. With a minimum hand East rebids hearts before supporting clubs. West adds his 16 hcp to opener's 14+, defintely slam territory after the raise; but West is noticebly lacking in key cards. It's too much to count on partner for 3 key cards and a 5D or 5H resposne to 4NT makes it impossible to stop at 5C. 5NT may be playable but is apt to be risky. Instead, West bids 3D over 3C. Initially this sounds like a probe for 3NT ("game before slam" is one of Karen Walker's key bidding principles.) East rebids the hearts, looking for two-card support. West could raise hearts but that would give up on slam, so West makes another try with 3S. Notrump probe or slam try? Sounds like a slam try since West could bid notrump himself with stoppers in both diamonds and spades.
East, with three key cards (at clubs) plus a void should drive to slam after this bidding -- it sounds like West has the tricks but did not want to risk 4NT himself (as was, in fact, the case.) East bids 4NT followed by 6C over partner's one-Ace reply. Should West correct to 6H? I'd say no -- some pairs will miss slam altogether, and 6C protects the King of spades and stands to gain on almost any lead. Also, hearts might fail on a bad trump split, while the nine-card club fit may allow setting hearts up with a ruff. As it happens, South has the spade Ace and hearts break 3-2, but 6C scores about average. At a team game 6C would be clear-cut.
At our table North doubled 3D for a lead, and at least one N/S pair reached 5D (-800.) Looks like South has a reasonable Michael's cue-bid, 2H over 1H showing 5-5 with spades and a minor. West doubles to show a strong, relatively balanced hand (11+ hcp, much like a redouble of a takeout double.) North bids 2NT to ask for South's minor; East guesses (correctly) South has diamonds and bids 3C in front of him. South bids 3D; what now for West? It's not hard to picture partner with AQ of hearts, AK of clubs and short diamonds for his unforced 3C bid, so I think West can drive to slam.
Board 17: North opens 1D, South responds 1H and East can consider bidding any number of spades from one to four. Twelve highs would be too much for an opening preempt, but with both opponents bidding and partner passing description isn't the chief priority. Still, West has about six losers and East might cover three of them. Pure preemption argues for 3S, but the chance they can make 4H or you can make 4S argues for 1S (to give partner a chance to double them later) or 4S (make 'em guess!) The suit, while possessing good intermediates, lacks top tricks so I decided on 1S. North can rebid 2C (or employ a Support Double, opener's double of an overcall showing exactly 3 card support for responder's major. This is a popular expert gadget but is frought with danger for most partnerships.) South looks askance at his Queen of spades, but his shape is good and with 11 hcp South jumps to 3D, inviting game. North bids 3H, accepting the game try and showing delayed (three-card) support. South raises to game.
It's usually a poor strategy to let the opponents exchange information and then sacrifice; they'll generally guess correctly whether to double you or bid on. Here, however, West can reasonably hope to take 7 tricks with his own hand and with the enemy announcing a double-fit, it's reasonable to hope for one trick from partner for a paying sacrifice -- if they can make 4H. On defense, only a couple of tricks seem likely, and no reason to expect partner to provide two. I did in fact bid 4S at this point, doubled -300 and a good score. N/S can make 5H or 6D, but I don't see a clear case for either to risk the five level.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday, February 12th 2012
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Board 12: West deals and opens 2C. East has a straightforward positive response in diamonds (3D). Any other bid, such as 2D waiting, risks missing slam when you cannot portray such a good hand later. For those who use step responses, East bids 2S to show 7-9 hcp; there should be time to bid the diamonds later. Over 3D, West bids 3NT, suggesting a balanced 22 or more; the bid is unlimited and forcing -- a positive response should be treated as forcing to at least 4 hearts. That gives both players some time to describe their hands. 4C would suggest that West was weak in one of the majors, perhaps with a singleton. East raises 3NT to 4NT with his minimum (no point in mentioning the anemic hearts, you wouldn't want to play slam in such a poor suit); a sound principle is that "notrump over notrump" is never Ace-asking, except when responder makes a strong jump shift and follows immediately with 4NT -- that bid always asks about Aces, or key cards for responder's suit, regardless of opener's rebid.
It looks like an easy raise to 6NT -- opener has 24 hcp, not 22, and either clubs or diamonds should provide the necessary tricks. But partner's bidding suggests no outside entry -- with AKxxx in diamonds and the King of clubs on the side, responder would bid 6NT himself. The clubs may need some work to set up. 6D would be a thoughtful bid.
At 6NT, West can count four major suit winners, at least three diamonds, and at least two clubs after losing a trick to the King. So declarer must find three more tricks. If diamonds split 3-3 the suit can be run and the club finesse attempted, but more club tricks will be needed. (Declarer doesn't know the Jack of spades will provide a trick; it would be foolish to cash the AK of spades before playing on clubs.) Win the opening lead (probably the ten of spades), cash the Queen of diamonds, overtake the Jack, cash the last high diamond, finesse the Queen of clubs, and finally play the Ace and pray. The King falls and declarer gives up to the ten of clubs before claiming.
Our opponents reached 6C after a bidding mistake -- East replied 2D waiting, and tried to follow with a natural 3D. But the agreement was "cheapest minor = 2nd negative" and West was afraid to bid 3NT with no help in diamonds. Over 4C, East leaped to 6C but admitted 6NT was probably a better shot. Declarer tried to play clubs out of her hand and lost tricks to both the King and ten. I really hate "2D waiting" as a response scheme; I'd rather play any of 2D negative (0-7), 2H bust (so 2D shows some values), or step responses (high cards please, not controls.) The "roaming 2nd negative" is a real pain when opener rebids 3C or 3D rather than the expected 2H, 2S or 2NT.
Board 14: East opens a weak 2S. South doubles as his 19 hcp is too strong for a simple 2NT (15-18, same as 1NT over 1 of a suit.) West should raise to 3S! No high cards but three trumps and a singleton; West does not expect 3S to have any play at all but N/S surely have a game or slam that is worth more than setting 3S doubled.
North has a five-loser hand; the double should provide 4 cover cards and the spade bids suggest little of partner's strength is opposite the void, so a slam looks likely. Opposite any normal takeout double 6H would be right; but the suit could use help and 6D or 7D might be better. The trick is to avoid making a bid partner can pass short of slam. 4S would certainly be forcing but it's hard to come up with a way to show both suits. I think 6H directly is the practical bid, or possibly 5S (showing the void) followed by 6H to allow partner a chance to bid the grand. Six making seven was worth a solid 5.5 out of 8 matchpoints.
Board 18: East may open 2S in a very undisciplined style, but most would pass owing to the poor suit and/or side four-card major. Afer South passes West opens 2D, weak, or if 2D would mean something else, a very agressive 3D -- North is marked with a good hand and it pays to jam the bidding in third seat. North's monster 1-5-1-6 hand is hard to bid; experts play "Leaping Michaels", where a leap to 4C or 4D over a weak two shows a strong two-suited hand with the bid suit and an unbid major. Lacking that treatment the usual procedure is for North to double and then bid one of his suits to show a strong hand. I avoid doing that with a singleton in an unibd major (sapdes in this case), but North is so strong that he can afford to show his club suit at the five or even six level if necessary.
South jumps to 3S, showing about 9-11 in value and four or more spades. For those playing lebensohl, South can clarify his spade length by bidding 2NT (a relay to 3C) followed by 3S, showing only a four card suit. Lacking that agreement, South jumps to 3S and North bids 4C. That should be forcing where 4H risks partner's passing. South ahs already shown a good hand, but the club support and two Aces are unexpected assets and it makes sense to cue-bid 4D. North bids 4H (another cue-bid, no way to show the hearts on this auction), South cue-bids 4S, and North bids 4NT to ask for Aces or key-cards. Over Sout's 5H reply North bids 5NT to confirm all the Aces and a good trup suit, but South is done and bids 6C to deny any side Kings or other assets that would justify bidding seven. Declarer pulls two rounds of trumps and then tries to ruff a heart before pulling the last trump. When West drops the Queen, South can pull the last trump and concede one heart to the Jack, or try leading the ten of hearts -- if East covers, ruff and it's OK if West over-ruffs; if East plays low, pitch from dummy. If West wins the Jack the rest of the hearts are good and the last trump can be pulled; on today's layout West ruffs but there is still a trump in dummy to ruff out the Jack.
Board 12: West deals and opens 2C. East has a straightforward positive response in diamonds (3D). Any other bid, such as 2D waiting, risks missing slam when you cannot portray such a good hand later. For those who use step responses, East bids 2S to show 7-9 hcp; there should be time to bid the diamonds later. Over 3D, West bids 3NT, suggesting a balanced 22 or more; the bid is unlimited and forcing -- a positive response should be treated as forcing to at least 4 hearts. That gives both players some time to describe their hands. 4C would suggest that West was weak in one of the majors, perhaps with a singleton. East raises 3NT to 4NT with his minimum (no point in mentioning the anemic hearts, you wouldn't want to play slam in such a poor suit); a sound principle is that "notrump over notrump" is never Ace-asking, except when responder makes a strong jump shift and follows immediately with 4NT -- that bid always asks about Aces, or key cards for responder's suit, regardless of opener's rebid.
It looks like an easy raise to 6NT -- opener has 24 hcp, not 22, and either clubs or diamonds should provide the necessary tricks. But partner's bidding suggests no outside entry -- with AKxxx in diamonds and the King of clubs on the side, responder would bid 6NT himself. The clubs may need some work to set up. 6D would be a thoughtful bid.
At 6NT, West can count four major suit winners, at least three diamonds, and at least two clubs after losing a trick to the King. So declarer must find three more tricks. If diamonds split 3-3 the suit can be run and the club finesse attempted, but more club tricks will be needed. (Declarer doesn't know the Jack of spades will provide a trick; it would be foolish to cash the AK of spades before playing on clubs.) Win the opening lead (probably the ten of spades), cash the Queen of diamonds, overtake the Jack, cash the last high diamond, finesse the Queen of clubs, and finally play the Ace and pray. The King falls and declarer gives up to the ten of clubs before claiming.
Our opponents reached 6C after a bidding mistake -- East replied 2D waiting, and tried to follow with a natural 3D. But the agreement was "cheapest minor = 2nd negative" and West was afraid to bid 3NT with no help in diamonds. Over 4C, East leaped to 6C but admitted 6NT was probably a better shot. Declarer tried to play clubs out of her hand and lost tricks to both the King and ten. I really hate "2D waiting" as a response scheme; I'd rather play any of 2D negative (0-7), 2H bust (so 2D shows some values), or step responses (high cards please, not controls.) The "roaming 2nd negative" is a real pain when opener rebids 3C or 3D rather than the expected 2H, 2S or 2NT.
Board 14: East opens a weak 2S. South doubles as his 19 hcp is too strong for a simple 2NT (15-18, same as 1NT over 1 of a suit.) West should raise to 3S! No high cards but three trumps and a singleton; West does not expect 3S to have any play at all but N/S surely have a game or slam that is worth more than setting 3S doubled.
North has a five-loser hand; the double should provide 4 cover cards and the spade bids suggest little of partner's strength is opposite the void, so a slam looks likely. Opposite any normal takeout double 6H would be right; but the suit could use help and 6D or 7D might be better. The trick is to avoid making a bid partner can pass short of slam. 4S would certainly be forcing but it's hard to come up with a way to show both suits. I think 6H directly is the practical bid, or possibly 5S (showing the void) followed by 6H to allow partner a chance to bid the grand. Six making seven was worth a solid 5.5 out of 8 matchpoints.
Board 18: East may open 2S in a very undisciplined style, but most would pass owing to the poor suit and/or side four-card major. Afer South passes West opens 2D, weak, or if 2D would mean something else, a very agressive 3D -- North is marked with a good hand and it pays to jam the bidding in third seat. North's monster 1-5-1-6 hand is hard to bid; experts play "Leaping Michaels", where a leap to 4C or 4D over a weak two shows a strong two-suited hand with the bid suit and an unbid major. Lacking that treatment the usual procedure is for North to double and then bid one of his suits to show a strong hand. I avoid doing that with a singleton in an unibd major (sapdes in this case), but North is so strong that he can afford to show his club suit at the five or even six level if necessary.
South jumps to 3S, showing about 9-11 in value and four or more spades. For those playing lebensohl, South can clarify his spade length by bidding 2NT (a relay to 3C) followed by 3S, showing only a four card suit. Lacking that agreement, South jumps to 3S and North bids 4C. That should be forcing where 4H risks partner's passing. South ahs already shown a good hand, but the club support and two Aces are unexpected assets and it makes sense to cue-bid 4D. North bids 4H (another cue-bid, no way to show the hearts on this auction), South cue-bids 4S, and North bids 4NT to ask for Aces or key-cards. Over Sout's 5H reply North bids 5NT to confirm all the Aces and a good trup suit, but South is done and bids 6C to deny any side Kings or other assets that would justify bidding seven. Declarer pulls two rounds of trumps and then tries to ruff a heart before pulling the last trump. When West drops the Queen, South can pull the last trump and concede one heart to the Jack, or try leading the ten of hearts -- if East covers, ruff and it's OK if West over-ruffs; if East plays low, pitch from dummy. If West wins the Jack the rest of the hearts are good and the last trump can be pulled; on today's layout West ruffs but there is still a trump in dummy to ruff out the Jack.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Super Sunday, February 5th 2012
Right-click here for hands. Watched my annual football game -- why do they bother with the first 55 minutes? A good game anyway.
Board 4: North may open a weak 2D if that bid hasn't been designated for some other use. Did you know it's the most effective weak two bid? Preempting both majors, the enemy misses their fit now and then. Weak twos in general show a small profit and are simple and effective bids.
What about North's four-card heart suit? My attitude is that if the diamonds are strong and the major is weak, I'll go ahead and open 2D. Here the diamonds are borderline good -- AQ but no 10 or 9 -- and the hearts are fairly poor; I'd vote for 2D. One consideration is that if you have both a heart and diamond fit then E/W likely have a spade fit and it won't matter much which red suit you compete in -- but every once in a while you'll miss a good 4H.
East has a borderline hand -- 11 hcp and good shape, but no ace and forced to bid at the three level over 2D. Still, the suit is sturdy and I imagine few Easts passed. South pictures six diamond tricks, four side quick tricks, good chances to set up the fifth and possibly fourth hearts, and the possibility North has a side trick. The two Axx black suits afford excellent prospects for pitching losers on the hearts. Finally, North might have three hearts -- would Qxx be lovely? Three hearts is a forcing bid -- if you play "New Suit Non-Forcing" over a weak two, you must check the red box on your convention card and alert the opponents. I think it's poor strategy to argue over long suits with weak hands and leave yourself no way to explore with strong hands such as South has here.
North, of course, raises hearts and South contemplates slam. If 4NT is RKCB, grand slam could make if partner happens to have the Queen of hearts. But that seems to require both red suits to behave, and I think I'd just bid 6D over 4H -- partner can correct with good hearts. North does just that with four card support.
West likely leads a club (no reason I can see to guess the killing spade lead) and South simply wins and plans to cash two high trumps, expecting to win 6 diamonds, the two black aces, and four or five trumps. Attempting to ruff a club before pulling trumps could be fatal. When East shows out on the first trump, South must lead low toward the Jack. West can win and force dummy with another club, but there's a low trump to ruff with, and South then cashes the Jack, returns to hand with a diamond, pulls the last trump, and runs the diamonds. If diamonds trumps were 3-1 while diamonds were 4-1 South would be able to set the diamonds up with a ruff and return to dummy with a club ruff.
Board 9: North opens 1C and East overcalls 1H, 2H or more -- at this vulnerability, I'd settle for 2H, showing much the same as an opening weak two in my style. South bids 2S, more or less a game force -- partner wasn't expecting to have to find a rebid over 2S. West considers a raise -- usually correct with three trumps -- but decides to pass based on the flat shape, weak hand and adverse vulnerability. Good choice -- 3H can be hammered for -800. North has a huge hand in support of spades; how best to bid? It's hard to imagine stopping short of slam, so North should either bid 6S or probe for grand slam, possibly in a minor -- partner could have Kxxxx xx KQxx Qx, for example. A simple approach would be to bid 3D planning to follow with 6S -- that should suggest the heart void and perhaps only three card spade support.
South considers 3NT -- he has a heart stopper -- but the shapely hand argues for a suit contract, and 6D is plausible. South raises to 4D. Now North wants to play in the stronger trump suit, always a sound policy with slams. 4S or even 5S might be passed, so North must either follow through with his planned 6S bid or try to learn more without risking a bidding accident. 4NT with a void is usually not recommended, but here North will be OK if South either has both missing key cards or North guesses that East, not South, has the Ace of hearts. over 4NT (RKCB) South replies 5S, two key cards plus the Queen of diamonds. The heart Ace will eliminate a spade loser if diamonds are trumps, so North confirms all the key cards with 5NT. If the style is number of (side-suit) Kings, South replies 6D; my usual "specific Kings" style doesn't work so well here -- perhaps 6C should mean "one King somewhere" while 6D says "no side Kings, no interest in grand slam."
I can be assumed South would've bid 7D with the KQ of spades in addition to all he's shown, so North can pass 6D or try for extra matchpoints at 6S. 6D is surely safer, so how many pairs will bid either slam? Four out of nine in today's game, so I think 6D was the proper spot.
East leads the King of hearts and North must plan how to win 12 tricks. Beginners are typically advised to "count losers" at trump contracts, but I find that at slam and often at game it's more important to count winners. Possibilities include establishing spades, establishing clubs, or cross-ruffing. The diamonds spots are strong -- only the nine is missing -- and it looks like 5 side quick tricks and seven or eight tricks on a crossruff are available. When crossruffing it's important to cash your side winners early, else a defender may discard in one of those suits and later ruff your winner. Ace of hearts (pitch a spade, low spade to the Ace, AK of clubs (pitching spades since you know you can ruff hearts safely), spade toward the King. East ruffs "air" and does not have a trump to lead to break up the crossruff, but a club return forces dummy to ruff high and sooner or later West scores the nine of trumps. Double-dummy North could cope with all the bad breaks but I think it unlikely at the table.
Board 4: North may open a weak 2D if that bid hasn't been designated for some other use. Did you know it's the most effective weak two bid? Preempting both majors, the enemy misses their fit now and then. Weak twos in general show a small profit and are simple and effective bids.
What about North's four-card heart suit? My attitude is that if the diamonds are strong and the major is weak, I'll go ahead and open 2D. Here the diamonds are borderline good -- AQ but no 10 or 9 -- and the hearts are fairly poor; I'd vote for 2D. One consideration is that if you have both a heart and diamond fit then E/W likely have a spade fit and it won't matter much which red suit you compete in -- but every once in a while you'll miss a good 4H.
East has a borderline hand -- 11 hcp and good shape, but no ace and forced to bid at the three level over 2D. Still, the suit is sturdy and I imagine few Easts passed. South pictures six diamond tricks, four side quick tricks, good chances to set up the fifth and possibly fourth hearts, and the possibility North has a side trick. The two Axx black suits afford excellent prospects for pitching losers on the hearts. Finally, North might have three hearts -- would Qxx be lovely? Three hearts is a forcing bid -- if you play "New Suit Non-Forcing" over a weak two, you must check the red box on your convention card and alert the opponents. I think it's poor strategy to argue over long suits with weak hands and leave yourself no way to explore with strong hands such as South has here.
North, of course, raises hearts and South contemplates slam. If 4NT is RKCB, grand slam could make if partner happens to have the Queen of hearts. But that seems to require both red suits to behave, and I think I'd just bid 6D over 4H -- partner can correct with good hearts. North does just that with four card support.
West likely leads a club (no reason I can see to guess the killing spade lead) and South simply wins and plans to cash two high trumps, expecting to win 6 diamonds, the two black aces, and four or five trumps. Attempting to ruff a club before pulling trumps could be fatal. When East shows out on the first trump, South must lead low toward the Jack. West can win and force dummy with another club, but there's a low trump to ruff with, and South then cashes the Jack, returns to hand with a diamond, pulls the last trump, and runs the diamonds. If diamonds trumps were 3-1 while diamonds were 4-1 South would be able to set the diamonds up with a ruff and return to dummy with a club ruff.
Board 9: North opens 1C and East overcalls 1H, 2H or more -- at this vulnerability, I'd settle for 2H, showing much the same as an opening weak two in my style. South bids 2S, more or less a game force -- partner wasn't expecting to have to find a rebid over 2S. West considers a raise -- usually correct with three trumps -- but decides to pass based on the flat shape, weak hand and adverse vulnerability. Good choice -- 3H can be hammered for -800. North has a huge hand in support of spades; how best to bid? It's hard to imagine stopping short of slam, so North should either bid 6S or probe for grand slam, possibly in a minor -- partner could have Kxxxx xx KQxx Qx, for example. A simple approach would be to bid 3D planning to follow with 6S -- that should suggest the heart void and perhaps only three card spade support.
South considers 3NT -- he has a heart stopper -- but the shapely hand argues for a suit contract, and 6D is plausible. South raises to 4D. Now North wants to play in the stronger trump suit, always a sound policy with slams. 4S or even 5S might be passed, so North must either follow through with his planned 6S bid or try to learn more without risking a bidding accident. 4NT with a void is usually not recommended, but here North will be OK if South either has both missing key cards or North guesses that East, not South, has the Ace of hearts. over 4NT (RKCB) South replies 5S, two key cards plus the Queen of diamonds. The heart Ace will eliminate a spade loser if diamonds are trumps, so North confirms all the key cards with 5NT. If the style is number of (side-suit) Kings, South replies 6D; my usual "specific Kings" style doesn't work so well here -- perhaps 6C should mean "one King somewhere" while 6D says "no side Kings, no interest in grand slam."
I can be assumed South would've bid 7D with the KQ of spades in addition to all he's shown, so North can pass 6D or try for extra matchpoints at 6S. 6D is surely safer, so how many pairs will bid either slam? Four out of nine in today's game, so I think 6D was the proper spot.
East leads the King of hearts and North must plan how to win 12 tricks. Beginners are typically advised to "count losers" at trump contracts, but I find that at slam and often at game it's more important to count winners. Possibilities include establishing spades, establishing clubs, or cross-ruffing. The diamonds spots are strong -- only the nine is missing -- and it looks like 5 side quick tricks and seven or eight tricks on a crossruff are available. When crossruffing it's important to cash your side winners early, else a defender may discard in one of those suits and later ruff your winner. Ace of hearts (pitch a spade, low spade to the Ace, AK of clubs (pitching spades since you know you can ruff hearts safely), spade toward the King. East ruffs "air" and does not have a trump to lead to break up the crossruff, but a club return forces dummy to ruff high and sooner or later West scores the nine of trumps. Double-dummy North could cope with all the bad breaks but I think it unlikely at the table.
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