Monday, March 11th 2013

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Board 3 South Deals E-W Vul	♠ A 9 7 6 4 ♥ J 8 6 4 3 ♦ 5 ♣ J 5
♠ K J 5 ♥ K 10 ♦ A K Q 8 7 6 ♣ K 6	N W E S	♠ 10 8 2 ♥ A 9 7 ♦ 10 4 3 ♣ A Q 7 4
	♠ Q 3 ♥ Q 5 2 ♦ J 9 2 ♣ 10 9 8 3 2

West has a semi-balanced 19 with strong diamonds and three side Kings. West should want to play the hand in notrump, either upgrading the hand to a 2NT opening or starting with 1D and planning a 3NT rebid if partner responds. A (non-forcing) rebid of three diamonds would not do justice to this hand, and you certainly want the lead coming up to those Kings.

In either case, East is a bit short of slam values: 10+20 = 30, or 8 tricks + 3 = 11. An opening spade lead or succesful guess by declarer yields 12 tricks, but this isn’t a clear slam hand.

Board 8 West Deals None Vul	♠ 8 6 5 ♥ K J 2 ♦ 8 6 ♣ A Q 9 8 5
♠ 7 2 ♥ A Q 10 9 6 3 ♦ 7 3 ♣ 7 6 3	N W E S	♠ A Q J 9 3 ♥ 8 ♦ K J 10 5 4 ♣ K 10
	♠ K 10 4 ♥ 7 5 4 ♦ A Q 9 2 ♣ J 4 2

Board 8: West opens 2H and that ought to end the auction! Sure, East has a fine opening bid, but partner has below opening bid strength. When partner announces a relatively weak hand with length opposite your singleton, pass smoothly. Mel Calchimaro suggests a “Rule of 17” opposite a weak two – add your high card points and length in partner’s suit; if the total is less than 17, pass. Today’s East counts 14+1 heart; there is no fit and little luck. Add any Queen to East’s hand and he can try 2S, forcing; partner may have three-card support. But when West rebids 3H East should pass that. You need a “Mel” 19 or 20 to force to game opposite a minimum weak two. Also, shortness in partner’s suit generally suggests making that trumps, unless you can count nine tricks at notrump with little help from partner. Sure, partner may have an extra trump loser, but the fifth and sixth cards in his suit will be useful as trumps and useless at any other contract.

Quiz time: partner opens 2H and you have AKxx x AKxx AKxx. What do you bid? If you can count on partner for a reasonable suit, bid 4H. If not, ask for more information with 2NT; but 3NT will be hopeless unless partner has values outside of hearts. For those playing Ogust, bid 3NT opposite any “poor suit” response and 4H opposite any good suit.

One thing that puzzles me is how many players do not recognize 6-2 as a fine trump suit and 6-1 as playable. Everyone is eager to find a 5-3 fit, but 6-2 is generally stronger and 6-1 merely requires deducting a point or two.

Board 11 South Deals None Vul	♠ A K 9 8 ♥ 6 ♦ K 9 3 ♣ K Q 8 5 2
♠ 6 3 2 ♥ K J 4 3 ♦ Q J 8 7 ♣ 9 3	N W E S	♠ Q J 10 7 ♥ 10 9 8 7 2 ♦ 6 5 2 ♣ 6
	♠ 5 4 ♥ A Q 5 ♦ A 10 4 ♣ A J 10 7 4

South opens 1NT and North responds 2C, Stayman. South replies 2D to deny a major; North,  with a five loser hand, visualizes slam in clubs unless partner has precisely 3-3-5-2 shape, or two aces are missing. After a Stayman or transfer bid, it is standard and vital to play 3 of a new suit as forcing, to allow exploration on hands such as these. North rebids 3C, catching South with five-card support. But “game before slam” still applies; North’s bid was game-forcing but the goal is usually 3NT, not five or six of a minor. South bids 3H as a notrump probe; this may cover responder’s short suit and allow him to bid 3NT. (South has already denied four hearts so this bid cannot be mistaken for a real suit.) Now the bidding gets murky – North would like to confirm a club fit and check on Aces; how to proceed? I think North can safely assume a fit – with that 3-3-5-2 shape, South would probably have bid 3D over 3C. But would 4NT be ace-asking or a quantitative slam invitation? It’s easy to construct hands that would prefer either interpretation, and few partnerships have clear agreements. I suggest that you decide when Gerber applies; 4NT should never be Blackwood when a Gerber 4C bid was available. And then agree that all doubtful cases are Blackwood when no Gerber bid is available, or agree that notrump over notrump is always quantitative. I usually restrict Gerber to Jump Over Notrump Only ("JONTO", Gerber is a 4C bid if and only if partner's last bid was 1NT or 2NT) or Jump After Notrump Only ("JANTO", as above but also jumps to 4C after opener replies to a Stayman inquiry.)

Under any such agreement Gerber won't be an option here (no jump), so North can jump to 4NT, confident partner will respond with Aces or perhaps club key-cards. With no clear agreement, I think North should still try 4NT on the basis that partner will be more likely to bid slam with a club fit and/or two Aces than otherwise, and if partner passes 4NT may be high enough.

South shows 3 Aces; North may settle for 6C or aim for grand slam with 5NT. That confirms all the Aces or all five key cards plus the Queen, but North cannot really count 13 tricks even if partner has clubs, three Aces and a King; and there may be only 11 tricks at notrump, so any response to 5NT other than 6C may land the partnership too high. Reflecting that this isn’t an easy slam to bid, I think 6C is enough. Although there is some sort of squeeze to make 13 tricks, I would expect declarer pull trumps, ruff two spades in dummy and try the losing heart finesse. With only 10 or 11 tricks available in notrump on a black-suit lead, +920 scored 11 out of 12 matchpoints.

Board 17 North Deals None Vul	♠ 8 2 ♥ J 9 8 5 2 ♦ K J 7 ♣ 7 6 4
♠ A K Q 4 ♥ K ♦ 10 3 ♣ A K J 10 5 3	N W E S	♠ J 10 3 ♥ A 10 6 4 3 ♦ 5 2 ♣ Q 9 2
	♠ 9 7 6 5 ♥ Q 7 ♦ A Q 9 8 6 4 ♣ 8

In first or second seat South should be reluctant to open a weak two with a side four-card major; I might break the rule with a stronger suit but AQ empty is not a suit that “must be bid.” I third seat, however, I would open 2D, leaning more toward preemption opposite a passed hand. If 2D has been assigned some other meaning, South might try a light 1D or an aggressive 3D; I would certainly hate to pass.

Two diamonds gives West a serious problem – 3C does not do justice to the hand, 4C (strong over a weak bid) risks buring a spade fit, and doubling invites partner to leap in hearts. I try to avoid doubling with a singleton in an unbid suit, especially a major, but here that looks like the least evil choice. North raises (preemptively) to 3D; now East has a problem – he’d like to bid hearts but 7 hcp is a bit thin to volunteer the three level. The fifth heart tips the balance and East tries 3H. South has nothing further to say; West shows his powerhouse with 4C or 5C. In a partnership where it is clearly understood that double-then-bid shows a powerful hand 4C is best in case partner can support spades – though the responder to a takeout double should generally bid spades before hearts. East, with good support and a side Ace, raises to game (and should be wondering if there’s a slam.) The defense collects two diamond tricks. As it happens, spades also makes 11 tricks with the solid 4-3 fit and doubleton club in dummy.

Board 32 West Deals E-W Vul	♠ J 6 5 3 ♥ K Q 10 6 5 ♦ 10 ♣ K Q 4
♠ 8 7 2 ♥ 8 3 ♦ K 9 7 3 2 ♣ A 7 2	N W E S	♠ A Q 9 ♥ J 9 2 ♦ 8 5 ♣ 10 8 6 5 3
	♠ K 10 4 ♥ A 7 4 ♦ A Q J 6 4 ♣ J 9

South opens 1NT. North should use Stayman, not a transfer, planning to raise either major to game; when South replies 2D, North jumps in hearts to show game values and 4-5 shape. (Smolen bidders jump in the shorter major, gaining a transfer effect, but this is not a terribly important gadget.) South raises to 4H. East can picture South with two or three spades, three hearts, four or five diamonds, and two to four clubs; giving the opponents 24-26 hcp, partner rates to have about 7-9. I’d lead a trump since dummy may have ruffing values in two suits and we may be able to lead trumps two or three times; a diamond lead might gain a defensive ruff but risks establishing discards for declarer.

North wins the trump lead with his ten and immediately runs the ten of diamonds. If this loses, West cannot profitably attack spades, and declarer collects five trumps, three diamonds and two clubs for +420. As it happens, the spades lie favorably and a ruffing finesse in diamonds can set up 11 tricks, but that looks riskier than the straight finesse. Declarer takes the finesse early, keeping a high trump in dummy as an entry.