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Board 3: West opens 1C, silencing North. When the enemy opens your best suit, it's usually best to pass and defend -- why volunteer your side to play with such lousy breaks? East responds 1H, which West raises to two. East has more than enough for game -- 13 hcp, two extra trumps and a void. But the void is in partner's first suit, increasing the likelihood of wasted values. East can count five losers (the fourth diamond should be no problem with such a good trump fit) and at three points per trick West may be able to cover four of those, but again values in clubs may not be useful. Visualizing, slam would be easy opposite, say, Ax Qxxx AKx xxxx; in fact that looks good for a grand. But opposite xx Qxxx Axx AQxx ten tricks may be the limit. So East is justified in making a below-game slam try, but should not risk the five level without encouragement from partner. It would be great if partner would take 4C as a "self-splinter", but in partner's suit it sounds more like a double-fit -- 3C might not be viewed as strictly forcing. At the table I might try 2S (initially taken as a game try), but when West leaps to 4H there is still no clear path to slam -- imagine West with the Ace of clubs rather than diamonds. Every pair finished at 4H, making six.
One path to slam would be for East to start with a strong jump shift: 1C-2H; 3H-3S; 4D-4H; 4S-6H or the like. Perhaps the void, even in partner's suit, justifies such bidding. One argument against strong jumps is that you may learn more from opener's rebid over the simple response -- but what could be more encouraging than a raise, yet it's hard to show slam interest after 1C-1H; 2H. As usual, the immediate jump clarifies responder's interest in slam. East can reflect that slam makes opposite Ax Qxxx Axx xxxx, which is less than an opening bid.
Board 4: West's flat 18 is too strong for 1NT -- don't get in the habit of finding excuses to downgrade 18 into the 15-17 range, unless you have no ace. West opens 1D, planning a strong rebid in notrump. North overcalls 2C -- the suit is "topless", only five cards long and N/S are vulnerable, but 2C preempts both major suits. East has enough to bid 2S; would a negative double be better? East would like to check on a 4-4 heart fit, a 5-3 or 5-4 spade fit, and then settle in 3NT; but there isn't enough room to do everything. A trap pass might score a bundle if partner re-opens with a double, but there's too much risk of a major-suit fit weakening the combined defense. All in all, double followed by 3NT may be the best approach, giving up on a possible 5-3 spade fit. See how much havoc 2C over 1D can cause?
West has a serious problem responding to the double -- no four card major, no five card suit to rebid, and no club stopper. I would assume partner is short in clubs and rebid 2D -- better than over-exciting partner by bidding a major you don't have, and a 4-3 diamond fit should play better than either major. You may even survive a 4-2 fit. East rebids 3NT as planned and that ends the auction.
With such a weak hand, South may as well lead partner's clubs despite the singleton. East quickly cashes 11 tricks (clearing the heart suit from dummy before tackling spades) and may take all 13 if North fails to keep two club honors.
Four pairs played 3NT by West, probably on an over-strength 1NT opening. Three Easts played 4S, perhaps with a minor opening and no overcall. Two pairs reached 6S; one path might be 1D-1S; 2NT-3H; 3S-6S . I think the slam can be made on a dummy reversal, ruffing three diamonds in hand along with four hearts, two clubs and the top three trumps.
Board 6: All I heard all day way how poor the E/W cards were -- and here's yet another potential slam! East opens 1D and West responds 1H. 19 hcp might not be enough for game if West has stretched his bid, so East must choose between the value rebid of 2NT (allowing partner to pass a weak hand) or a game-forcing 2S. With every high card working (two AK's along with KQ in partner's suit) I'd choose the jump shift. Responder wonders if he should support diamonds, but rebidding a six-card major is usually best -- you don't want to land in 5D when 4H could make. East raises to 4H -- should West try for slam? I would count West's hand as eight losers and expect partner to cover six of them -- six sounds iffy and the five level may not be safe. Visualizing, partner might have AKxx AK QJxxx xx; not really enough to jump shift yet slam is virtually cold. Good trumps are a must; I'd pass playing normal Blackwood but would risk 4NT playing Roman Key Card. East replies 5C, zero or three key cards (which includes the King of hearts along with the Aces.) Zero would be inconsistent with the jump shift so West can safely assume three. With one key card missing, it would be best not to bid slam without the Queen of trumps. The cheapest "illogical" suit asks aboput the Queen, but are any suits "illogical" here? I always think it's dangerous to make a bid such as 5D here that could, in fact, sound natural, so I would simply gamble 6H now and discuss it with partner later. I prefer not to allow previously-bid suits to be artificial unless it is clear the bidder cannot mean to play in that suit.
As it happened, no one bid 6H and the slam makes only because the ten of spades gets promoted when the QJ fall under the AK. The same tricks are vailable at notrump; perhaps the bidding went 1D-1H; 3NT-pass or 1D-1H; 2NT-3H; 3NT-pass.
Board 10: South opens and the bidding proceeds 1H-2C; 2D, and apparently three Norths rebid 3C, a non-forcing bid in standard, and played it there. With 14 hcp opposite an opening bid, North must force to game. One possibility is an immediate jump to 3C; "only" 14 hcp but four quick tricks and good playing strength does give the hand some slam potential. South rebid depends on the style of jump shifts played -- I favor a very "loose" approach to two level jumps, but the lack of bidding room makes it undesirable to have a second suit for any three level jump. 3NT seems reasonable as any attempt to show South's 5-5 pattern will drive the bidding beyond that level. North should pass 3NT.
Those playing strict 2/1 Game Force have an easier time: 1H-2C; 2D-3C is still game forcing; but again, 3NT (protecting the Kx of spades) seems better than rebidding the poor diamond suit, so the end result is the same. "Scientific" Standard bidders can employ the 4th suit gadget: 1H-2C; 2D-2S, artificial and forcing either one round or to game. (I recommend forcing to game unless the partnership plays that all jump rebids by responder are game-forcing, as was normal in Old Goren.) The 2S bid essentially denies the ability to make a more descriptive rebid; notrump shape with no stopper in spades would be typical, or hand too strong to rebid clubs (as here.) South shows his spade stopper with 2NT and now North can raise to 3NT or rebid the clubs without fear of being passed. Even if you play "4th Suit Forcing one round" the 3C bid should logically be forcing rather than having two different ways to rebid 3C without forcing to game -- but it's simpler just to play "4th suit forcing to game."
It's hard to see getting past 3NT on these cards, but if South rebids 3D rather than 2NT North must, of course, raise.With five losers opposite the equivalent of an opening bid, South may drive to slam, but poor trumps and a misfit for partner's suit look discouraging. Still, 5D is apt to lose matchpoints to 3NT, 6D, or even 4H, so it may be better to drive to slam than languish at five. 3NT making six proved to be a near top, and if only one of the red suits broke well 3NT would outscore any other contract. Bottom line: don't chase minor suit games when notrump may be playable. Showing 5-5 shape isn't as important as getting to the right contract.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Thursday, August 23rd 2012
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Board 5: West opens 1D in fourth seat and East replies 1H. By point-count, West can add 3 for his singleton club in a hand with 4-card trump support; added to his excellent 17 count that makes enough to force to game. West can leap directly to 4H or describe his hand better with a 4C "splinter" raise, promising four trumps, a singleton or void in clubs, and game-going values. The splinter covers one of East's small clubs and the expected 17 hcp might cover 6 more losers; let's try visualizing. AKx Kxxx AKxxx x would make for a laydown slam, so East's hand is worth a try, but East has no control in diamond or spades andso there is no obvious slm try available below game. East can reasonably proceed with 4NT or bid a cautious 4H. As it happens, the slam depends on a diamond finesse, so at matchpoints it's probably better to stop at game since most pairs won't be in slam and down one will be a very cold bottom. Every pair bid 4H, making 6.
Board 6: East opens 1S and West responds 2D or a strong 3D. I was not encouraged by the spade void and opted for 2D myself. East rebids the spades and West can probe further with a 3C or 3H bid -- either should be taken as 100% forcing; the most fundamental principal of American bidding methods is that a new suit-over-suit bid by a responder who has never limited his hand is forcing, and at this level that effectively means game forcing. Over 3H, East bids 3NT, which was enough encouragement for me to try 6D. A better bid would be 4D; although rebidding a new suit is not ordinarily forcing, it would be silly for 4D to mean "let's play a part-score rather than game!" There are occassions when the bidding might die at four of a minor, but when an unlimited hand pulls 3NT to 4C or 4D, it should be taken as a slam try, not weakness. Having limited his hand, East's hand looks quite good; but 4S looks like the obvious call, whether partner takes it as a strong suit or good controls there. RKCB bidders may have some doubt about what suit 4NT by West would be asking about here; I'd be inclined to think spades.
Four pairs stopped at 3NT, two bid 4S, and tthree bid 6D. At my table North led a club; I won in dummy and, not fearing a singleton lead, cashed a high spade and led a diamond to the nine. Disaster! North won, returned another diamnd and South ruffed! Didn't see that coming, but really, since there was no way for me to get back to dummy after pitching a heart I might as well have played Ace and another diamond -- there was little hope if the trumps were not 2-2. Six making would tie for top while down one tied for bottom. Those playing four spades should recognize that other pairs will be in notrump and try to outscore them, but the spade Jack doesn't fall and a diamond must be lost for a poor +650 score.
Board 7: South's hand (10x AQJ9xxx 10x Kx) is a bit too strong for 3H; 10hcp + 2 quick tricks + a good seven card suit = opening bid, with 4H as a plausible alternative. Assuming 1H, North responds 2C -- bid the longer suit first with a full opening bid, there may well be slam in clubs. South rebids 2H (showing little more than minimum values and an unbalanced hand, not specifically 6 card length as most experts play) and North bids 2S, natural and game-forcing. (With a weaker hand, respond 1S.) South repeats the hearts and North ends the bidding at 4H.
West, on lead, considers the strong club holding, but leading it could easily help set the suit up for declarer. Assuming 24-26 hcp for N/S, partner should have 5-7 hcp. Diamonds are the unbid suit but partner may be too weak for that to be effective. When leading, I'm inclined to hope for a King or Ace in partner's hand when I can expect at least 8 hcp; perhaps the club is best after all.
South counts at least 6 heart tricks, a spade, and two clubs. There are finesses in three suits and the possibility of a 3-3 club split. A thoughtful line would be to win the club in hand and lead to the Ace of hearts -- if East has the King, he can be endplayed. When the King drops declarer can use the ten as an entry and proceed with Ace of clubs, ruff a club, trump to the ten, ruff a club, spade to the Queen. East wins that trick and sooner or later the Ace of diamonds, declarer pitching a diamond if needed on the last club.
If instead declarer decides to finesse in hearts, he may win the first club in dummy and lose a trump to West's King. West returns another club to avoid breaking a new suit. Declarer can try a heart to the ten, ruff a club but won't have enough entries to set up a pitch, and will later have to guess to avoid two diamond losers. Or, declarer may hope clubs are no worse than 4-2: win the King of clubs, club to the Ace, finesse the heart. Now West cannot safely continue clubs; counting high cards, partner may have the King of spades and so a low spade looks best -- let declarer guess the diamonds. If declarer plays low, however, East must win his King and grab the Ace of diamonds. All but one declarer finished with ten tricks.
Board 5: West opens 1D in fourth seat and East replies 1H. By point-count, West can add 3 for his singleton club in a hand with 4-card trump support; added to his excellent 17 count that makes enough to force to game. West can leap directly to 4H or describe his hand better with a 4C "splinter" raise, promising four trumps, a singleton or void in clubs, and game-going values. The splinter covers one of East's small clubs and the expected 17 hcp might cover 6 more losers; let's try visualizing. AKx Kxxx AKxxx x would make for a laydown slam, so East's hand is worth a try, but East has no control in diamond or spades andso there is no obvious slm try available below game. East can reasonably proceed with 4NT or bid a cautious 4H. As it happens, the slam depends on a diamond finesse, so at matchpoints it's probably better to stop at game since most pairs won't be in slam and down one will be a very cold bottom. Every pair bid 4H, making 6.
Board 6: East opens 1S and West responds 2D or a strong 3D. I was not encouraged by the spade void and opted for 2D myself. East rebids the spades and West can probe further with a 3C or 3H bid -- either should be taken as 100% forcing; the most fundamental principal of American bidding methods is that a new suit-over-suit bid by a responder who has never limited his hand is forcing, and at this level that effectively means game forcing. Over 3H, East bids 3NT, which was enough encouragement for me to try 6D. A better bid would be 4D; although rebidding a new suit is not ordinarily forcing, it would be silly for 4D to mean "let's play a part-score rather than game!" There are occassions when the bidding might die at four of a minor, but when an unlimited hand pulls 3NT to 4C or 4D, it should be taken as a slam try, not weakness. Having limited his hand, East's hand looks quite good; but 4S looks like the obvious call, whether partner takes it as a strong suit or good controls there. RKCB bidders may have some doubt about what suit 4NT by West would be asking about here; I'd be inclined to think spades.
Four pairs stopped at 3NT, two bid 4S, and tthree bid 6D. At my table North led a club; I won in dummy and, not fearing a singleton lead, cashed a high spade and led a diamond to the nine. Disaster! North won, returned another diamnd and South ruffed! Didn't see that coming, but really, since there was no way for me to get back to dummy after pitching a heart I might as well have played Ace and another diamond -- there was little hope if the trumps were not 2-2. Six making would tie for top while down one tied for bottom. Those playing four spades should recognize that other pairs will be in notrump and try to outscore them, but the spade Jack doesn't fall and a diamond must be lost for a poor +650 score.
Board 7: South's hand (10x AQJ9xxx 10x Kx) is a bit too strong for 3H; 10hcp + 2 quick tricks + a good seven card suit = opening bid, with 4H as a plausible alternative. Assuming 1H, North responds 2C -- bid the longer suit first with a full opening bid, there may well be slam in clubs. South rebids 2H (showing little more than minimum values and an unbalanced hand, not specifically 6 card length as most experts play) and North bids 2S, natural and game-forcing. (With a weaker hand, respond 1S.) South repeats the hearts and North ends the bidding at 4H.
West, on lead, considers the strong club holding, but leading it could easily help set the suit up for declarer. Assuming 24-26 hcp for N/S, partner should have 5-7 hcp. Diamonds are the unbid suit but partner may be too weak for that to be effective. When leading, I'm inclined to hope for a King or Ace in partner's hand when I can expect at least 8 hcp; perhaps the club is best after all.
South counts at least 6 heart tricks, a spade, and two clubs. There are finesses in three suits and the possibility of a 3-3 club split. A thoughtful line would be to win the club in hand and lead to the Ace of hearts -- if East has the King, he can be endplayed. When the King drops declarer can use the ten as an entry and proceed with Ace of clubs, ruff a club, trump to the ten, ruff a club, spade to the Queen. East wins that trick and sooner or later the Ace of diamonds, declarer pitching a diamond if needed on the last club.
If instead declarer decides to finesse in hearts, he may win the first club in dummy and lose a trump to West's King. West returns another club to avoid breaking a new suit. Declarer can try a heart to the ten, ruff a club but won't have enough entries to set up a pitch, and will later have to guess to avoid two diamond losers. Or, declarer may hope clubs are no worse than 4-2: win the King of clubs, club to the Ace, finesse the heart. Now West cannot safely continue clubs; counting high cards, partner may have the King of spades and so a low spade looks best -- let declarer guess the diamonds. If declarer plays low, however, East must win his King and grab the Ace of diamonds. All but one declarer finished with ten tricks.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Sunday, August 19th 2012
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Board 1: After three passes, West opens 1C on Ax x AKxx AK9xxx . If the long suit were a major, a 2C opening would be reasonable, unless perhapp the suit were hearts and you are laying the 2H super-bust method. As is, you are unlikley to miss a game if you open 1C and everyone passes. East, with a flat 10 count, has the shape to respond 1NT, but may prefer 1D with only 10xx in spades. Over 1NT, West bids 2D, a forcing reverse. Why forcing? Anytime opener bids a suit responder skipped over, he must assume responder may be short will have to return to opener's first suit, which makes the 2D bid equivalent in strength to a 3C jump -- at least 17 points in effective value.
So 2D is forcing -- what should East bid? Those familiar with lebensohl may play that any weak hand bids 2NT as a puppet to 3C, while other bids show 8+ hcp and are forcing to game. With that agreement, East can simply raise 2D to 3D, forcing. Many partnerships, however, hoave no clear agrements about bidding over a reverse. In that case 3D sounds weak and must be avoided. A leap to 3NT could be wrong "in spades"; but leaping to 4D or 5D shuts out a notrump game. With a thoughtful partner, 2H is a standout -- once a major suit has been skipped over, it can be used as a "notrump probe", perfect for this hand. Opener feels there may be slam in a minor, but the 2H bid opposite West's singleton suggests wasted values and opener may rebid 2NT, 3C, or 3NT. Over either of the first two responder continues with 3D; now opener must either drive to slam or settle for 3NT. Responder's 1NT followed by 2H makes it unlikely he has either a doubleton club or both minor suit queens along with the promised heart stopper, so I believe I'd settle for 3NT, a contract no one reached today.
At our table it went pass-1C; 1D-3D. THe 3D bid was an underbid, but I felt I needed some extra values from partner to bid slam, and short of that did not want to rule out 3NT. Over 3D, East should probe with 3H (same logic as above, can't be a real suit) and West bids 3NT. Partner actually bid 5D (reasonable if not best) and I was encouraged to try 6D.
Six diamonds looks like an excellent contract -- solid trumps, no fast losers, and easy to set up 12 tricks if trumps break 3-2 or clubs are no worse than 3-1. Not a lucky day, but how should declarer play? On a spade lead, grab the Ace. That sets up a spade loser but there's no rush to get rid of it -- the Ace of hearts may be needed later as an entry. Now check the trumps -- I'd take the Ace and then Queen. When North shows out, put off pullng the trumps while you check out clubs. All will be well if clubs are 2-2, but what if they're 3-1? That will be OK if you can lead up to the club honors and through the short hand, which is more likely to be South anyway given his known extra length in diamonds. So, low club toward dummy. Ouch, South can ruff and cash a spade. You were never making this one, but South just ruffed your club loser and shortened his own trump holding.
With less horrible luck, South follows to the first club. Declarer returns ot the East hand with a heart, pitches the spade loser, and leads another club toward dummy. Whether SOuth ruffs or not the defense collects only one trick. Remember this device of leading up to honors in a long suit which might not break evenly.
Board 2: East picks up AJx AKJ109 9xx Kx as dealer. If this were a team game, there would be little reason to open anything but 1NT, describing your strength and most of your shape in one quick bid. At matchpoints, it's a bit more complicated -- chances are a little better than 50% you have a heart fit, which will likely produce an extra trick; +420 or +140 will outscore +400 or +120. But consider -- if partner raises to 2H, you must surely make a game try, and every now and then 3H will be too high. If,instead, partner responds 1S, you are too strong to rebid 1NT (suggesting 12-14) and not strong enough for 2NT (18-19.) Some might try a 2D rebid but that risks playing a silly 3-3 "fit" and doesn't really solve anything. Likewise, 2S is a clear underbid. How about 3S? A glance at the actual West hand shows the problem -- if partner is weak, the spades may be a horrible trump sui. ***Never jump raise partner without a genuine fit!*** If I put myselft in this position, I'd stretch for 2NT -- the good hearts and good controls may compensate for the missing points.
All in all, when you have exactly 16 hcp and no more than one doubleton, opening 1NT will, in the long run, probably win more matchpoints than it loses. As it happens, West passes 1NT and North may well bid 2S (I would, despite the vulenrrability, rather than suffering the likely heart lead by South.) West should double (for penalties) and any reasonable defense holds declarer to six or seven tricks. (For those who play "stolen bid doubles" such woud clearly not apply when West passed initially over 1NT.)
Board 6: East opens 1D and West has a classic strong jump shift (2H.) Most North American experts would say this denies a second suit, so East rebids 3C to show a slam control (or 2S, showing the cheapest first or second round control.) I prefer a more flexible style, but East still rebids 3C, this time showing a decent suit. Either way, West rebids 3NT, suggest a balanced 17-19 hcp. East has a fair suit and good controls; picturing, say, Axx AQxxx Qx KQx either 6D or 6NT looks good. With less in clubs, it might be possible to set up the hearts with a ruff, so I think 6D is the proper goal. East can pull 3NT to 4D; this should never be taken as "I'm weak, let's play a part score rather than game!"; that would be silly after West's strong bidding. So 4D is clearly a slam try. With three Aces, West drives to slam, probably after 4NT. A complete auction using Roman Key Card Blackwood might be 1D-2H; 3C-3NT; 4D-4NT; 5H-6D. South is likely to lead a spade, giving declarer time to set up hearts and avoid a club loser. On the more dangerous club lead, declarer would have to guess trumps correctly and I can't see any obvious reason to finesse North rather than play for the drop. 6D making scored a clear top.
At our table South threw a spanner in the works with an agressive 2H weak jump. Double, by West, would be negative, showing spades. West can pass and expect East to reopen, hopefully with a double, but vulnerable partners have been known to pass such hands out; I settled for simple jump to 3NT, making 6, for a decent 5 matchpoints out of 7.
Board 1: After three passes, West opens 1C on Ax x AKxx AK9xxx . If the long suit were a major, a 2C opening would be reasonable, unless perhapp the suit were hearts and you are laying the 2H super-bust method. As is, you are unlikley to miss a game if you open 1C and everyone passes. East, with a flat 10 count, has the shape to respond 1NT, but may prefer 1D with only 10xx in spades. Over 1NT, West bids 2D, a forcing reverse. Why forcing? Anytime opener bids a suit responder skipped over, he must assume responder may be short will have to return to opener's first suit, which makes the 2D bid equivalent in strength to a 3C jump -- at least 17 points in effective value.
So 2D is forcing -- what should East bid? Those familiar with lebensohl may play that any weak hand bids 2NT as a puppet to 3C, while other bids show 8+ hcp and are forcing to game. With that agreement, East can simply raise 2D to 3D, forcing. Many partnerships, however, hoave no clear agrements about bidding over a reverse. In that case 3D sounds weak and must be avoided. A leap to 3NT could be wrong "in spades"; but leaping to 4D or 5D shuts out a notrump game. With a thoughtful partner, 2H is a standout -- once a major suit has been skipped over, it can be used as a "notrump probe", perfect for this hand. Opener feels there may be slam in a minor, but the 2H bid opposite West's singleton suggests wasted values and opener may rebid 2NT, 3C, or 3NT. Over either of the first two responder continues with 3D; now opener must either drive to slam or settle for 3NT. Responder's 1NT followed by 2H makes it unlikely he has either a doubleton club or both minor suit queens along with the promised heart stopper, so I believe I'd settle for 3NT, a contract no one reached today.
At our table it went pass-1C; 1D-3D. THe 3D bid was an underbid, but I felt I needed some extra values from partner to bid slam, and short of that did not want to rule out 3NT. Over 3D, East should probe with 3H (same logic as above, can't be a real suit) and West bids 3NT. Partner actually bid 5D (reasonable if not best) and I was encouraged to try 6D.
Six diamonds looks like an excellent contract -- solid trumps, no fast losers, and easy to set up 12 tricks if trumps break 3-2 or clubs are no worse than 3-1. Not a lucky day, but how should declarer play? On a spade lead, grab the Ace. That sets up a spade loser but there's no rush to get rid of it -- the Ace of hearts may be needed later as an entry. Now check the trumps -- I'd take the Ace and then Queen. When North shows out, put off pullng the trumps while you check out clubs. All will be well if clubs are 2-2, but what if they're 3-1? That will be OK if you can lead up to the club honors and through the short hand, which is more likely to be South anyway given his known extra length in diamonds. So, low club toward dummy. Ouch, South can ruff and cash a spade. You were never making this one, but South just ruffed your club loser and shortened his own trump holding.
With less horrible luck, South follows to the first club. Declarer returns ot the East hand with a heart, pitches the spade loser, and leads another club toward dummy. Whether SOuth ruffs or not the defense collects only one trick. Remember this device of leading up to honors in a long suit which might not break evenly.
Board 2: East picks up AJx AKJ109 9xx Kx as dealer. If this were a team game, there would be little reason to open anything but 1NT, describing your strength and most of your shape in one quick bid. At matchpoints, it's a bit more complicated -- chances are a little better than 50% you have a heart fit, which will likely produce an extra trick; +420 or +140 will outscore +400 or +120. But consider -- if partner raises to 2H, you must surely make a game try, and every now and then 3H will be too high. If,instead, partner responds 1S, you are too strong to rebid 1NT (suggesting 12-14) and not strong enough for 2NT (18-19.) Some might try a 2D rebid but that risks playing a silly 3-3 "fit" and doesn't really solve anything. Likewise, 2S is a clear underbid. How about 3S? A glance at the actual West hand shows the problem -- if partner is weak, the spades may be a horrible trump sui. ***Never jump raise partner without a genuine fit!*** If I put myselft in this position, I'd stretch for 2NT -- the good hearts and good controls may compensate for the missing points.
All in all, when you have exactly 16 hcp and no more than one doubleton, opening 1NT will, in the long run, probably win more matchpoints than it loses. As it happens, West passes 1NT and North may well bid 2S (I would, despite the vulenrrability, rather than suffering the likely heart lead by South.) West should double (for penalties) and any reasonable defense holds declarer to six or seven tricks. (For those who play "stolen bid doubles" such woud clearly not apply when West passed initially over 1NT.)
Board 6: East opens 1D and West has a classic strong jump shift (2H.) Most North American experts would say this denies a second suit, so East rebids 3C to show a slam control (or 2S, showing the cheapest first or second round control.) I prefer a more flexible style, but East still rebids 3C, this time showing a decent suit. Either way, West rebids 3NT, suggest a balanced 17-19 hcp. East has a fair suit and good controls; picturing, say, Axx AQxxx Qx KQx either 6D or 6NT looks good. With less in clubs, it might be possible to set up the hearts with a ruff, so I think 6D is the proper goal. East can pull 3NT to 4D; this should never be taken as "I'm weak, let's play a part score rather than game!"; that would be silly after West's strong bidding. So 4D is clearly a slam try. With three Aces, West drives to slam, probably after 4NT. A complete auction using Roman Key Card Blackwood might be 1D-2H; 3C-3NT; 4D-4NT; 5H-6D. South is likely to lead a spade, giving declarer time to set up hearts and avoid a club loser. On the more dangerous club lead, declarer would have to guess trumps correctly and I can't see any obvious reason to finesse North rather than play for the drop. 6D making scored a clear top.
At our table South threw a spanner in the works with an agressive 2H weak jump. Double, by West, would be negative, showing spades. West can pass and expect East to reopen, hopefully with a double, but vulnerable partners have been known to pass such hands out; I settled for simple jump to 3NT, making 6, for a decent 5 matchpoints out of 7.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Tuesday Evening, 8/7.2012
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Board 8: West opens 2NT, showing a balanced 20-21 hcp. East adds his 12, giving a total of 32-33;
this should be enough for slam if a fit can be uncovered, but is borderline to poor for 6NT.
Playing transfers, East can start with 3H, but how do you continue over partner's (forced) 3S?
Bidding methods matter here: If you play Texas Transfers (4D= hearts, 4H=spades) then it is normal
for responder to use Texas when he wants to stop at the four level OR set the suit and ask for Aces
or Key cards. In other words, with a six card major, use Texas if you rate your hand is clearly
worth 4 or 6, but not for hands in-between. How does that affect this hand? Since Texas-then-4NT is
some form of Blackwood, Jacoby-then-4NT is a quantitative slam try, not an Ace inquiry. That's what
I would bid on this hand, but if you hate to miss a slam on 32 hcp, transfer and then bid 5NT "pick
a slam." Not playing Texas, I'd use transfer-then 5NT if I had discussed it with partner, otherwise I'd just leap to 6NT to keep it simple. gerber is a possibility but it seems to be very error-prone -- everyone tends to bid hearts when they have two Aces, confusing the responses with Blackwood. Over either 4NT or 5NT West bids 6S. Three pairs reached this slam.
North has no good lead -- underleading a King vs. a slam is risky, but anything could be wrong. A
low club may at least avoid setting up a long trick for declarer. What luck! South has the
King-Jack poised over dummy's Queen, so the defense quickly establishes a winner. West must lose a
club and a heart. On any other lead West can afford to pull trumps, lose the heart finesse, and
pitch a club on the fourth heart. Oddly, the transfer backfired: 6S by East is impregnable. But
looking at the E/W hands, West will make slam far more often than not.
Competition Corner -- Board 11: South opens 1C and North raises to two. For those playing Inverted
Minors, North should leap to 3C, a bid which ought to show 6-9 hcp; but many players fail to
specify a lower limit for the jump bid -- a good reason not to play Inverted Minors in a casual or
inexperienced partnership. With no one but partner bidding, it's a fair bet that if you have a weak
hand, partner has a strong one -- so why preempt? The 6 hcp minimum along with 5+ clubs
allows opener to take a shot at 3NT with a balanced hand which was too strong to open 1NT.
Over the club raise, East bids hearts, hoping to double later to show the spades. After
1C-(pass)-2C-(2H), South should immediately bid 3C. A basic rule is that bids in competition are
assumed to be competitive, not game invitational; South should in fact rebid the clubs with almost
any hand containing four clubs, unless the distribution is completely flat (3334) or much of
South's strength is in hearts. What about West? With a known 9-card fit, it would usually be
correct to compete to the 3 level, but that assumes the high card points are split fairly evenly
(generally, at least 17 for each side.) West cannot be sure his side has that much strength and
with a potentially trickless hand I'd pass. North passes and East doubles as planned. South has no
reason to bid again -- it would be poor tactics to bid 4C only to chase the enemy into a game you
might not be able to beat. Always think twice before bidding over three of a major. West bids 3H
(or 3S, but it's doubtful spades will provide an extra trick, so play in the longer trump suit.) 3H
should end the bidding.
South has no sure lead, but it's reasonable to hope partner has the Ace or Queen for his raise, so
a low club looks best. North wins and, seeing little threatening in dummy, returns another club,
ruffed by declarer. East counts one club, one heart, and one or two spade losers; leading the King
of hearts looks right, hoping to set up the Jack as an entry to dummy for the spade finesse. South
wins perforce and tries the Jack of diamonds -- this looks fairly safe since dummy's second-highest
diamond is lower than South's seven. East wins, crosses to dummy with the Jack of trumps, and leads
the Jack of spades. If North had three spades it would be correct to duck the Jack, planning to
cover the last of equal honors; but with only a doubleton it's best to play the Queen immediately.
Either way declarer loses only one spade and finishes with 10 tricks for a very good score -- don't
feel like you should've been in game. Why does the recap show that E/W can only make 3H? South
could theoretically give North a ruff by leading spades at every opportunity.
Board 13: East has a clear 1D opening bid. Even if you discount the Jack of hearts, two five card
suits headed by 3 quick tricks has great potential. With 5-5 shape, be sure to open the higher
ranking suit, planning to rebid the lower suit twice if convenient. South passes -- 9 hcp, a crummy
suit and the poor 5332 shape is well below the mark for a 2 level overcall, especially vulnerable.
West starts thinking slam: a five loser hand with partner opening your second suit! An opening bid
will usually take care of four losers. The simple approach is a strong jump shift (2S) followed by
a diamond bid. East rebids 3C, West bids 3D as planned, and East should love his hand -- the spade
bid covers his weakest suit and the diamond support should help establish club winners. East may be
tempted to leap to 4NT, but Key card bidders should pause to consider -- what would you do over a
5H reply? Better to let partner do the asking. East can simply cue-bid 4C or try a 4H splinter
(showing the singleton, a bid that should be recognizable if the partnership uses splinters in a
variety of auctions.) 4D would keep the ball rolling but I see no reason not encourage partner with
either 4C or 4H. West happily bids 4NT (no response can embarass him), East replies 5H (two Aces or two Key cards missing the Queen.) The missing Queen makes grand slam a poor bet, and also rules out 6NT -- if the diamonds don't run a heart lead would be fatal. Six diamonds is the obvious choice
but in a strong field you might try 6S to grab extra matchpoints (+980 vs. +920.) Only two pairs
bid slam, one in the risky 6NT, so 6D would've scored very well. Declarer pulls trumps in two
rounds and pitches three clubs on the solid spades.
For those misguided souls who play weak jump shifts, or who never think to make a strong jump, West bids a murky 1S -- forcing, but unenlightening. East rebids 2C as planned, and now West must manufacture a forcing bid. In the old days a jump to 3D would be game-forcing, but in the modern style jumps in previously bid suits are merely invitational (unless partner has shown extra strength; 2C doesn't qualify.) West is forced to use the "poor crutch" of Fourth Suit Forcing (an artificial bid of 2H, best played as forcing to game) or to leap all the way to 4D. Either sequence can be disaster-prone -- 4D should be a slam try, but I've seen players pass such a bid! The fourth suit sequence fails to make West's slam ambitions clear, while the 4D leap wastes bidding room. As is often the case, the early jump saves room later.
Board 8: West opens 2NT, showing a balanced 20-21 hcp. East adds his 12, giving a total of 32-33;
this should be enough for slam if a fit can be uncovered, but is borderline to poor for 6NT.
Playing transfers, East can start with 3H, but how do you continue over partner's (forced) 3S?
Bidding methods matter here: If you play Texas Transfers (4D= hearts, 4H=spades) then it is normal
for responder to use Texas when he wants to stop at the four level OR set the suit and ask for Aces
or Key cards. In other words, with a six card major, use Texas if you rate your hand is clearly
worth 4 or 6, but not for hands in-between. How does that affect this hand? Since Texas-then-4NT is
some form of Blackwood, Jacoby-then-4NT is a quantitative slam try, not an Ace inquiry. That's what
I would bid on this hand, but if you hate to miss a slam on 32 hcp, transfer and then bid 5NT "pick
a slam." Not playing Texas, I'd use transfer-then 5NT if I had discussed it with partner, otherwise I'd just leap to 6NT to keep it simple. gerber is a possibility but it seems to be very error-prone -- everyone tends to bid hearts when they have two Aces, confusing the responses with Blackwood. Over either 4NT or 5NT West bids 6S. Three pairs reached this slam.
North has no good lead -- underleading a King vs. a slam is risky, but anything could be wrong. A
low club may at least avoid setting up a long trick for declarer. What luck! South has the
King-Jack poised over dummy's Queen, so the defense quickly establishes a winner. West must lose a
club and a heart. On any other lead West can afford to pull trumps, lose the heart finesse, and
pitch a club on the fourth heart. Oddly, the transfer backfired: 6S by East is impregnable. But
looking at the E/W hands, West will make slam far more often than not.
Competition Corner -- Board 11: South opens 1C and North raises to two. For those playing Inverted
Minors, North should leap to 3C, a bid which ought to show 6-9 hcp; but many players fail to
specify a lower limit for the jump bid -- a good reason not to play Inverted Minors in a casual or
inexperienced partnership. With no one but partner bidding, it's a fair bet that if you have a weak
hand, partner has a strong one -- so why preempt? The 6 hcp minimum along with 5+ clubs
allows opener to take a shot at 3NT with a balanced hand which was too strong to open 1NT.
Over the club raise, East bids hearts, hoping to double later to show the spades. After
1C-(pass)-2C-(2H), South should immediately bid 3C. A basic rule is that bids in competition are
assumed to be competitive, not game invitational; South should in fact rebid the clubs with almost
any hand containing four clubs, unless the distribution is completely flat (3334) or much of
South's strength is in hearts. What about West? With a known 9-card fit, it would usually be
correct to compete to the 3 level, but that assumes the high card points are split fairly evenly
(generally, at least 17 for each side.) West cannot be sure his side has that much strength and
with a potentially trickless hand I'd pass. North passes and East doubles as planned. South has no
reason to bid again -- it would be poor tactics to bid 4C only to chase the enemy into a game you
might not be able to beat. Always think twice before bidding over three of a major. West bids 3H
(or 3S, but it's doubtful spades will provide an extra trick, so play in the longer trump suit.) 3H
should end the bidding.
South has no sure lead, but it's reasonable to hope partner has the Ace or Queen for his raise, so
a low club looks best. North wins and, seeing little threatening in dummy, returns another club,
ruffed by declarer. East counts one club, one heart, and one or two spade losers; leading the King
of hearts looks right, hoping to set up the Jack as an entry to dummy for the spade finesse. South
wins perforce and tries the Jack of diamonds -- this looks fairly safe since dummy's second-highest
diamond is lower than South's seven. East wins, crosses to dummy with the Jack of trumps, and leads
the Jack of spades. If North had three spades it would be correct to duck the Jack, planning to
cover the last of equal honors; but with only a doubleton it's best to play the Queen immediately.
Either way declarer loses only one spade and finishes with 10 tricks for a very good score -- don't
feel like you should've been in game. Why does the recap show that E/W can only make 3H? South
could theoretically give North a ruff by leading spades at every opportunity.
Board 13: East has a clear 1D opening bid. Even if you discount the Jack of hearts, two five card
suits headed by 3 quick tricks has great potential. With 5-5 shape, be sure to open the higher
ranking suit, planning to rebid the lower suit twice if convenient. South passes -- 9 hcp, a crummy
suit and the poor 5332 shape is well below the mark for a 2 level overcall, especially vulnerable.
West starts thinking slam: a five loser hand with partner opening your second suit! An opening bid
will usually take care of four losers. The simple approach is a strong jump shift (2S) followed by
a diamond bid. East rebids 3C, West bids 3D as planned, and East should love his hand -- the spade
bid covers his weakest suit and the diamond support should help establish club winners. East may be
tempted to leap to 4NT, but Key card bidders should pause to consider -- what would you do over a
5H reply? Better to let partner do the asking. East can simply cue-bid 4C or try a 4H splinter
(showing the singleton, a bid that should be recognizable if the partnership uses splinters in a
variety of auctions.) 4D would keep the ball rolling but I see no reason not encourage partner with
either 4C or 4H. West happily bids 4NT (no response can embarass him), East replies 5H (two Aces or two Key cards missing the Queen.) The missing Queen makes grand slam a poor bet, and also rules out 6NT -- if the diamonds don't run a heart lead would be fatal. Six diamonds is the obvious choice
but in a strong field you might try 6S to grab extra matchpoints (+980 vs. +920.) Only two pairs
bid slam, one in the risky 6NT, so 6D would've scored very well. Declarer pulls trumps in two
rounds and pitches three clubs on the solid spades.
For those misguided souls who play weak jump shifts, or who never think to make a strong jump, West bids a murky 1S -- forcing, but unenlightening. East rebids 2C as planned, and now West must manufacture a forcing bid. In the old days a jump to 3D would be game-forcing, but in the modern style jumps in previously bid suits are merely invitational (unless partner has shown extra strength; 2C doesn't qualify.) West is forced to use the "poor crutch" of Fourth Suit Forcing (an artificial bid of 2H, best played as forcing to game) or to leap all the way to 4D. Either sequence can be disaster-prone -- 4D should be a slam try, but I've seen players pass such a bid! The fourth suit sequence fails to make West's slam ambitions clear, while the 4D leap wastes bidding room. As is often the case, the early jump saves room later.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Sunday, July 15th 2012
Right-click here for hands.
Board 1: East opens 1D. An enterprising South should jump to 2H; only a five card suit, but 4 certain tricks and little defense argues for the preempt. I expect most overcalled 1H or passed. If West were a bit stronger I'd suggest a 2C response, planning to then bid and rebid the spades. Clubs is the better suit and the hand has good slam potential; but with only 11 hcp I'd start with 1S in case the hand is a misfit. North players with only a rudimentary grasp of the Law of Total tricks may think a 4H jump is indicated; this isn't always correct with minimal (5332) shape. What North must do is decide how high he wants to compete and bid it immediately -- 3H, 4H or 5H now, then shut up. Kit Woolsey says to bid to the point you aren't sure what the opponents should do, making them take the last guess. You have an Ace and possible defense in both spades and diamonds; partner's overcall may produce two tricks as well, and it isn't clear the enemy have a spade fit or game anywhere. 4H looks right to me.
East surely bids 4S -- the four-card support and singleton heart argue strongly for bidding rather than defending. If 4S is down 4H may be making. South likely passes. West has a far better hand than he's shown; 6 losers, and while opener may have stretched to bid 4S, he is likely to have something extra. You must be careful not ot punish partner for stretching to a game, especially over competition, but I thnk West is good enough to try for slam. The problem is two quick losers in hearts. West can bid 5S asking partner to bid slam if he controls the enemy suit; or he can try 4NT RKCB and trust that East has a singleton heart, which seems consistent with both his and the enemy bidding so far. East replies 5S (two key cards + the Queen of spades) and West takes the plunge to 6S. Every declarer took the obvious 12 tricks so bidding slam would've been a cold top.
Board 2: A wild hand. East starts by deciding how many clubs to open. Despite only 11 hcp, no Ace and a stiff Jack, the playing strength plus two quick tricks qualify this hand for 1C, but 3C is not clearly wrong. 4C would be misguided, blasting past a possible 3NT game. Over 1C, in the old days South would start with a cue-bid; now that Michaels has become near universal, South must double first and cue-bid the next round. If the enemy would keep quiet, this would gain a round of bidding room; but West preempts with 3C. (Side note: preemptive raises over a takeout double have been standard for 70+ years; there's no place on the card to mark anything else!)
North has only 7 hcp but nine cards in the majors and a club void -- he clearly must bid something. The choices include 3H, which may be too little, and 4C (forcing to game) which may be too much but at least insures partner picks the right suit. I think I'd try 3H and assume the bidding won't stop there.
East is startled by West's preemptive raise; with at least a 12 card fit, how high should he compete? It seems unlikely E/W can take more than one trick on defense against whichever major suit N/S land in; whether they can take all the tricks is unclear. Once again, East should bid as high as he dares now and then sell out. Seven clubs forces them to guess, but against timid slam bidders you might try 5C.
Seven clubs to South! Does Noth have 5 hearts? Does North have 3 or more spades? Can North cover five losers? Bidding either grand looks too dicey, so I think South must take the sure plus score with a double. If East had bid only 5C, South could try 5S and North should raise. Over 6C South may reasonably gamble 6H. Three pairs reached 6S, plus one E/W at 7C doubled which may have been bid after N/S reached slam.
Board 1: East opens 1D. An enterprising South should jump to 2H; only a five card suit, but 4 certain tricks and little defense argues for the preempt. I expect most overcalled 1H or passed. If West were a bit stronger I'd suggest a 2C response, planning to then bid and rebid the spades. Clubs is the better suit and the hand has good slam potential; but with only 11 hcp I'd start with 1S in case the hand is a misfit. North players with only a rudimentary grasp of the Law of Total tricks may think a 4H jump is indicated; this isn't always correct with minimal (5332) shape. What North must do is decide how high he wants to compete and bid it immediately -- 3H, 4H or 5H now, then shut up. Kit Woolsey says to bid to the point you aren't sure what the opponents should do, making them take the last guess. You have an Ace and possible defense in both spades and diamonds; partner's overcall may produce two tricks as well, and it isn't clear the enemy have a spade fit or game anywhere. 4H looks right to me.
East surely bids 4S -- the four-card support and singleton heart argue strongly for bidding rather than defending. If 4S is down 4H may be making. South likely passes. West has a far better hand than he's shown; 6 losers, and while opener may have stretched to bid 4S, he is likely to have something extra. You must be careful not ot punish partner for stretching to a game, especially over competition, but I thnk West is good enough to try for slam. The problem is two quick losers in hearts. West can bid 5S asking partner to bid slam if he controls the enemy suit; or he can try 4NT RKCB and trust that East has a singleton heart, which seems consistent with both his and the enemy bidding so far. East replies 5S (two key cards + the Queen of spades) and West takes the plunge to 6S. Every declarer took the obvious 12 tricks so bidding slam would've been a cold top.
Board 2: A wild hand. East starts by deciding how many clubs to open. Despite only 11 hcp, no Ace and a stiff Jack, the playing strength plus two quick tricks qualify this hand for 1C, but 3C is not clearly wrong. 4C would be misguided, blasting past a possible 3NT game. Over 1C, in the old days South would start with a cue-bid; now that Michaels has become near universal, South must double first and cue-bid the next round. If the enemy would keep quiet, this would gain a round of bidding room; but West preempts with 3C. (Side note: preemptive raises over a takeout double have been standard for 70+ years; there's no place on the card to mark anything else!)
North has only 7 hcp but nine cards in the majors and a club void -- he clearly must bid something. The choices include 3H, which may be too little, and 4C (forcing to game) which may be too much but at least insures partner picks the right suit. I think I'd try 3H and assume the bidding won't stop there.
East is startled by West's preemptive raise; with at least a 12 card fit, how high should he compete? It seems unlikely E/W can take more than one trick on defense against whichever major suit N/S land in; whether they can take all the tricks is unclear. Once again, East should bid as high as he dares now and then sell out. Seven clubs forces them to guess, but against timid slam bidders you might try 5C.
Seven clubs to South! Does Noth have 5 hearts? Does North have 3 or more spades? Can North cover five losers? Bidding either grand looks too dicey, so I think South must take the sure plus score with a double. If East had bid only 5C, South could try 5S and North should raise. Over 6C South may reasonably gamble 6H. Three pairs reached 6S, plus one E/W at 7C doubled which may have been bid after N/S reached slam.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Friday, July 13th 2012
Right-click here for hands.
Board 1: North likely opens 3H. At this vulnerability, South can expect a broken 7 card suit, so 6 trump tricks and one trump loser seems likely. That leaves 6 side suit losers to dispose of; South's two AK's obviously cover four of those, and if partner has three cards in either minor the fifth club should dispose of another loser. That still leaves a trump and one or more spades. With AKJxxxx North might've opened 4H (I would), so slam looks ambitious and South should simply raise to 4H. Don't even think about notrump on such a hand -- you won't be able to use partner's long suit; it is often correct to raise even with a void, after allowing for an additional trump loser.
As it happens, it's a magic hand -- North's spade void controls that suit and his Qx in clubs allows for two diamond pitches as long as the suit breaks 3-3 or 4-2 (you can set up the last club with a ruff, although repeated diamond leads could leave you short of an entry.) All but two pairs recorded +480. Top score was for 3S doubled -- neither East nor West has a suitable hand to enter this auction (both are 5332, too many losers.)
Board 6: East opens 1S. With 14 hcp and 1444 shape, West simply responds 2C. There could be a slam if a 4-4 fit appears. East rebids 2D -- in the modern style, this new suit by opener after a 2/1 bid is 100% forcing; responder promises a rebid except possibly over 2S, 2NT or 3C according to style. (My recommendation is to play only 2NT as non-forcing.) When groping for the right contract, it's important to be able to bid without fear of being dropped suddenly. Responder should start with 1NT if he's too weak to continue over a 2D or 2H rebid.
After 1S-2C-2D, responder has to think. Slam is possible if opener's diamonds are fairly good, but there's still a bit of a misfit with the spades, and opeenr will need extra strength or perfect cards for 12 tricks. By point count responder can add two for his singleton for a total of 15, suggesting opener needs 18 for slam (16 + two doubletons, for example.) Visualizing, perhaps opener has Axxxx Qx AQxx Kx. That's a King better than a minimum, so any move that takes the bidding beyond 3NT cannot be justified. Those playing 2/1 game force can try a simple 3D raise, hoping to land at 3NT if opener doesn't head toward slam. For standard bidders, 3D might be passed, so the usual gadget is "fourth suit forcing", 2H simply to keep the ball rolling. This is best played as forcing to game. Having shown his 5-4 shape, opener bids a natural 2NT next, and responder can now bid 3D without fear of being passed. (That's why you want to play 4SF to game, not just one round.) Time for opener to consider: 4-4 diamond fit, at least 28 hcp plus some shape; still seems short of slam. Visualising, perhaps responder has Kx xxx AKxx Qxxxx, 12 easy tricks if diamonds split 3-2. When you can picture a minmum hand for partner that requires no more than ordinary luck for slam, it's worth inviting. East may try 3H at this point; however partner interprets that at the moment, any later move toward slam will make it clear that was a cue-bid. West has told most of his story and retreats to 3NT. East makes one more try, perhaps a 4C cue-bid (it can't be a suggestion to play clubs, given the previous bidding.) Now West can proceed with 4NT, Blackwood or RKCB; but wait, his trumps are poor and perhaps so are partner's -- Kxxx opposite Qxxx makes for a lousy slam. West can stall with 4D, but I can't see a good way to stop at 4NT. Neither player has good enough trumps to justify using 4NT, but once it becomes impossible to stop in notrump you may as well head for slam -- 5D will not score well when 3NT was a plausible contract. A complete RKCB auction might be 1S-2C; 2D-2H; 2NT-3D; 3H-3NT; 4C-4NT; 5S-6D; all pass.
South leads a heart or a spade, hoping to get North in to return a club for a ruff. But North has no entry; declarer leads a trump to the King and back to the Queen (smothering North's Jack.) South wins this and exits with his last trump. Either major suit lead gave declarer his twelfth trick; otherwise, a heart finesse or ruffing spade finesse works. 6D making outscores all but one of the two pairs that reached the riskier 6NT.
Board 21: After North passes, East looks at Q1098xx AQx xx xx, not vulnerable vs. vulnerable. Some pairs require 2 of the top 3 honors for a weak two, so this would be an automtic pass (at least in first or second seat.) Other open virtually any 6 card suit with 6-10 or 5-10 hcp, and this would be an automatic 2S. Myself, I like to have a good suit or a fair suit and a good hand. This seems to qualify -- 8 hcp including 1.5 quick tricks, and good intermediates in the spades. The vulnerability is "green" of course, and it's always nice to bid spades. I'd make the same bid at any vulnerability.
West holds AK -- AQ10xxx AJxxx . Partner likely has QJxxxx in spades, which is important since you may need to ruff a heart with one of those top honors. Give partner a fitting King in either minor and chances look good to set up a long card or two. For example, QJ10xxx xxx xx Kx looks like 12 tricks if one of two diamond finesses work, or the Queen of clubs drops. West bids 2NT to get more information. Playing "features", he hopes to hear 3C or 3D; on today's hand East rebids a disappointing 3H. Well, that may protect against a trump promotion, but 4S looks prudent.
Two pairs reached 6S. South expects partner to be broke and punts with a trump lead, rather than guessing which King to underlead. East can cash the AK of trumps but has no convenient entry back to hand. The goal is to lose no more than one minor suit card; clubs look safer in terms of ruffing a card back to your hand, but that requires a 3-3 split to set up a trick. Unfortunately Ace and low diamond allows the defense to attack your club entry back to dummy; leading the Queen of diamonds gives up the one unavoidable trick while preserving both Aces as entries back to dummy. South wins and attacks clubs, but declarer grabs the Ace, ruffs a club high, pulls South's last trump, and finally finesses the ten of diamonds. Well played!
On a heart leads, East wins the Queen and may as well finesse a diamond immediately. When this holds East cashes the two top trumps and the Ace of diamonds, ruffs a diamond high, pulls trumps and returns to dummy with the Ace of clubs to cash diamond winners.
Board 1: North likely opens 3H. At this vulnerability, South can expect a broken 7 card suit, so 6 trump tricks and one trump loser seems likely. That leaves 6 side suit losers to dispose of; South's two AK's obviously cover four of those, and if partner has three cards in either minor the fifth club should dispose of another loser. That still leaves a trump and one or more spades. With AKJxxxx North might've opened 4H (I would), so slam looks ambitious and South should simply raise to 4H. Don't even think about notrump on such a hand -- you won't be able to use partner's long suit; it is often correct to raise even with a void, after allowing for an additional trump loser.
As it happens, it's a magic hand -- North's spade void controls that suit and his Qx in clubs allows for two diamond pitches as long as the suit breaks 3-3 or 4-2 (you can set up the last club with a ruff, although repeated diamond leads could leave you short of an entry.) All but two pairs recorded +480. Top score was for 3S doubled -- neither East nor West has a suitable hand to enter this auction (both are 5332, too many losers.)
Board 6: East opens 1S. With 14 hcp and 1444 shape, West simply responds 2C. There could be a slam if a 4-4 fit appears. East rebids 2D -- in the modern style, this new suit by opener after a 2/1 bid is 100% forcing; responder promises a rebid except possibly over 2S, 2NT or 3C according to style. (My recommendation is to play only 2NT as non-forcing.) When groping for the right contract, it's important to be able to bid without fear of being dropped suddenly. Responder should start with 1NT if he's too weak to continue over a 2D or 2H rebid.
After 1S-2C-2D, responder has to think. Slam is possible if opener's diamonds are fairly good, but there's still a bit of a misfit with the spades, and opeenr will need extra strength or perfect cards for 12 tricks. By point count responder can add two for his singleton for a total of 15, suggesting opener needs 18 for slam (16 + two doubletons, for example.) Visualizing, perhaps opener has Axxxx Qx AQxx Kx. That's a King better than a minimum, so any move that takes the bidding beyond 3NT cannot be justified. Those playing 2/1 game force can try a simple 3D raise, hoping to land at 3NT if opener doesn't head toward slam. For standard bidders, 3D might be passed, so the usual gadget is "fourth suit forcing", 2H simply to keep the ball rolling. This is best played as forcing to game. Having shown his 5-4 shape, opener bids a natural 2NT next, and responder can now bid 3D without fear of being passed. (That's why you want to play 4SF to game, not just one round.) Time for opener to consider: 4-4 diamond fit, at least 28 hcp plus some shape; still seems short of slam. Visualising, perhaps responder has Kx xxx AKxx Qxxxx, 12 easy tricks if diamonds split 3-2. When you can picture a minmum hand for partner that requires no more than ordinary luck for slam, it's worth inviting. East may try 3H at this point; however partner interprets that at the moment, any later move toward slam will make it clear that was a cue-bid. West has told most of his story and retreats to 3NT. East makes one more try, perhaps a 4C cue-bid (it can't be a suggestion to play clubs, given the previous bidding.) Now West can proceed with 4NT, Blackwood or RKCB; but wait, his trumps are poor and perhaps so are partner's -- Kxxx opposite Qxxx makes for a lousy slam. West can stall with 4D, but I can't see a good way to stop at 4NT. Neither player has good enough trumps to justify using 4NT, but once it becomes impossible to stop in notrump you may as well head for slam -- 5D will not score well when 3NT was a plausible contract. A complete RKCB auction might be 1S-2C; 2D-2H; 2NT-3D; 3H-3NT; 4C-4NT; 5S-6D; all pass.
South leads a heart or a spade, hoping to get North in to return a club for a ruff. But North has no entry; declarer leads a trump to the King and back to the Queen (smothering North's Jack.) South wins this and exits with his last trump. Either major suit lead gave declarer his twelfth trick; otherwise, a heart finesse or ruffing spade finesse works. 6D making outscores all but one of the two pairs that reached the riskier 6NT.
Board 21: After North passes, East looks at Q1098xx AQx xx xx, not vulnerable vs. vulnerable. Some pairs require 2 of the top 3 honors for a weak two, so this would be an automtic pass (at least in first or second seat.) Other open virtually any 6 card suit with 6-10 or 5-10 hcp, and this would be an automatic 2S. Myself, I like to have a good suit or a fair suit and a good hand. This seems to qualify -- 8 hcp including 1.5 quick tricks, and good intermediates in the spades. The vulnerability is "green" of course, and it's always nice to bid spades. I'd make the same bid at any vulnerability.
West holds AK -- AQ10xxx AJxxx . Partner likely has QJxxxx in spades, which is important since you may need to ruff a heart with one of those top honors. Give partner a fitting King in either minor and chances look good to set up a long card or two. For example, QJ10xxx xxx xx Kx looks like 12 tricks if one of two diamond finesses work, or the Queen of clubs drops. West bids 2NT to get more information. Playing "features", he hopes to hear 3C or 3D; on today's hand East rebids a disappointing 3H. Well, that may protect against a trump promotion, but 4S looks prudent.
Two pairs reached 6S. South expects partner to be broke and punts with a trump lead, rather than guessing which King to underlead. East can cash the AK of trumps but has no convenient entry back to hand. The goal is to lose no more than one minor suit card; clubs look safer in terms of ruffing a card back to your hand, but that requires a 3-3 split to set up a trick. Unfortunately Ace and low diamond allows the defense to attack your club entry back to dummy; leading the Queen of diamonds gives up the one unavoidable trick while preserving both Aces as entries back to dummy. South wins and attacks clubs, but declarer grabs the Ace, ruffs a club high, pulls South's last trump, and finally finesses the ten of diamonds. Well played!
On a heart leads, East wins the Queen and may as well finesse a diamond immediately. When this holds East cashes the two top trumps and the Ace of diamonds, ruffs a diamond high, pulls trumps and returns to dummy with the Ace of clubs to cash diamond winners.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sunday, June 24th 2012
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Board 3: E/W vulnerable, South deals and the auction proceeds:
1D-(pass)-1H-(2S)
1NT-(2S)-?
As North you hold: -- QJ109842 A9 8652 . What's the best bid?
With no competition, you might settle for 2H or an invitational 3H over partner's 1NT rebid. But in a competitive auction, most bids are presumed to be competitive; Kit Woolsey says more matchpoints are won or lost in the battle for part-scores than anywhere else. So 3H would be merely competitive here, perhaps with a small spade and only six hearts. As game might make, it's best in competition for North just to bid it; South might have J9xx Kx KQxx Ax, for example. That might go down on a club lead, but should be an easy 10 tricks on the likely spade lead. Even if 4H won't fetch, it has an extra chance to win on this sort of bidding: East or West will often take a phantom sacrifice at 4S. Every now and then 4S will make, but with a side Ace opposite an opening bid, North should not worry too much about that (and should double 4S if they do bid it.) As it happens, 4H makes an overtrick while 2S doubled goes off two tricks on the King of diamonds lead.
Board 6: South opens 1S and the auction proceeds as follows:
1S-2C
2H-3S
Simple bidding would continue 4NT-5D; 6S. That's what I intended, but mistakenly passed partner's 5D(!) thinking "6S looks right." At 6S, West is apt to lead a diamond and South can quickly grab five spades, five clubs and two diamond tricks for a top board.
A more scientific auction would have South control cue-bid 4D; when North signs off at 4S or cue-bids either minor, South can guess there are two quick heart losers and stop at 4S or 5S. At a team game that would be good bidding; but at matchpoints, an alert West will try a heart lead and cost you a key overtrick.
Board 7: South deals and opens 1S; North, looking at KQJ9xx x AK10 KQx may as well blast into Blackwood. South replies 5H (two Aces or key-cards) and North signs off at 6S. Declarer claims immediately after pulling trumps, conceding the Ace of hearts. Although 6NT also makes, that depends too much on the location of the enemy heart honors.
Board 21: North opens 1D or 1C according to taste; while it's normal to open 1D with 4-4 in the minors to prepare for a non-reverse 2C rebid, on today's hand North plans to rebid notrump, and opening 1C may catch a diamond fit in an up-the-line style. Assuming 1D, South responds 2C. With game-going values, South should bid naturally (longest suit first) rather than automatically bidding the major. However, this requires good agreements about opener's rebids after 1D-2C, or the major suit fit may be lost. I recommend that opener rebid 2D on almost any hand with 5+ diamonds; 2H or 2S "up-the-line" on relatively balacned hands with one or both four-card majors; 3C with club support and extra values; and 2NT on a minimum with none of the above. Unfortunately, many textbooks and players insist reversing into 2H or 2S shows extra values. This is an obsolete relic of Old Standard American where a minimum 4-5 red suit hand could open 1H and where 2C might be only 8 hcp plus some shape. Yes, 2H and 2S force the bidding to a higher level, but in the modern style 2C promises enough strength for 2NT or 3 of some suit and therefore opener does not need any extra values for these bids. If you haven't discussed this with partner, it may be better to simply repond in the major and talk about it later.
North rebids 2NT on today's hand and South shows game-going values with 3H (this might not be a ral suit if North's 2NT denies a major as recomended above.) Under the asumption South would've simly raised to 3NT if that looked correct, North proceeds with 4C. South bids 4NT and proceeds to slam after the 1 Ace or 2 Key card reply. 12 tricks are made easily as long as trumps divide 2-1.
Why shouldn't North simply raise 2C to 3C? Well, if you bid that with today's minimum, what would you bid with xx Kx Axxxx AKxx ? Suit bids at the three level must be either clearly forcing or non-forcing, and if you play most of them non-forcing, you will have no way to describe stronger hands.
If South starts with 1H, a reasonable auction might begin 1D-1H; 1NT-? Hard to find the club slam, isn't it? I suppose 3C-4C might work, but wouldn't you bid that way with a strong 5-5 hand? Then North would rebid 3H rather than 4C with Qx Kxx Axxx Kxxx.
Board 25: North opens 1S, South responds 2H. By the way, that promises 5 hearts; with only four South should start with 2C or 2D. For example, with xxx AQxx QJx Axx, South bids 2C and supports spades next unless North bids hearts. With any other distribution South will have a four-card minor along with his four hearts.
After 1S-2H, North should rebid 2S. This would be correct even with only five spades -- once again, freely bidding a suit at the three level should promise extra values and be forcing to game. With only 12 and a void in partner's suit, North wants to slow the bidding down. South continues with 3D; this new suit by responder is not only forcing one more round but logically creates a game force since there may be no playable spot below 3NT. North considers 3NT but with KQxxxx -- Axxx Kxx either 4S or 5D looks more attractive, so North riases to 4D. South visualizes dumping a club or two on North's spades and decides slam is a reasonable gamble. 4NT produces a one-Ace or one-key-card reply. Playing straight Blackwood South may as well bid slam; it's rarely correct to stop at 5 of a minor when either 3NT or 6 could be better. Key-card bidders, however, will know that two Aces or one Ace and the King of trumps are missing and pass the 5D reply for a good board. Four spades is actually the best contract thanks to the lucky 3-3 suit split. Six diamonds would require West to have K10 doubleton of trumps.
Board 3: E/W vulnerable, South deals and the auction proceeds:
1D-(pass)-1H-(2S)
1NT-(2S)-?
As North you hold: -- QJ109842 A9 8652 . What's the best bid?
With no competition, you might settle for 2H or an invitational 3H over partner's 1NT rebid. But in a competitive auction, most bids are presumed to be competitive; Kit Woolsey says more matchpoints are won or lost in the battle for part-scores than anywhere else. So 3H would be merely competitive here, perhaps with a small spade and only six hearts. As game might make, it's best in competition for North just to bid it; South might have J9xx Kx KQxx Ax, for example. That might go down on a club lead, but should be an easy 10 tricks on the likely spade lead. Even if 4H won't fetch, it has an extra chance to win on this sort of bidding: East or West will often take a phantom sacrifice at 4S. Every now and then 4S will make, but with a side Ace opposite an opening bid, North should not worry too much about that (and should double 4S if they do bid it.) As it happens, 4H makes an overtrick while 2S doubled goes off two tricks on the King of diamonds lead.
Board 6: South opens 1S and the auction proceeds as follows:
1S-2C
2H-3S
Simple bidding would continue 4NT-5D; 6S. That's what I intended, but mistakenly passed partner's 5D(!) thinking "6S looks right." At 6S, West is apt to lead a diamond and South can quickly grab five spades, five clubs and two diamond tricks for a top board.
A more scientific auction would have South control cue-bid 4D; when North signs off at 4S or cue-bids either minor, South can guess there are two quick heart losers and stop at 4S or 5S. At a team game that would be good bidding; but at matchpoints, an alert West will try a heart lead and cost you a key overtrick.
Board 7: South deals and opens 1S; North, looking at KQJ9xx x AK10 KQx may as well blast into Blackwood. South replies 5H (two Aces or key-cards) and North signs off at 6S. Declarer claims immediately after pulling trumps, conceding the Ace of hearts. Although 6NT also makes, that depends too much on the location of the enemy heart honors.
Board 21: North opens 1D or 1C according to taste; while it's normal to open 1D with 4-4 in the minors to prepare for a non-reverse 2C rebid, on today's hand North plans to rebid notrump, and opening 1C may catch a diamond fit in an up-the-line style. Assuming 1D, South responds 2C. With game-going values, South should bid naturally (longest suit first) rather than automatically bidding the major. However, this requires good agreements about opener's rebids after 1D-2C, or the major suit fit may be lost. I recommend that opener rebid 2D on almost any hand with 5+ diamonds; 2H or 2S "up-the-line" on relatively balacned hands with one or both four-card majors; 3C with club support and extra values; and 2NT on a minimum with none of the above. Unfortunately, many textbooks and players insist reversing into 2H or 2S shows extra values. This is an obsolete relic of Old Standard American where a minimum 4-5 red suit hand could open 1H and where 2C might be only 8 hcp plus some shape. Yes, 2H and 2S force the bidding to a higher level, but in the modern style 2C promises enough strength for 2NT or 3 of some suit and therefore opener does not need any extra values for these bids. If you haven't discussed this with partner, it may be better to simply repond in the major and talk about it later.
North rebids 2NT on today's hand and South shows game-going values with 3H (this might not be a ral suit if North's 2NT denies a major as recomended above.) Under the asumption South would've simly raised to 3NT if that looked correct, North proceeds with 4C. South bids 4NT and proceeds to slam after the 1 Ace or 2 Key card reply. 12 tricks are made easily as long as trumps divide 2-1.
Why shouldn't North simply raise 2C to 3C? Well, if you bid that with today's minimum, what would you bid with xx Kx Axxxx AKxx ? Suit bids at the three level must be either clearly forcing or non-forcing, and if you play most of them non-forcing, you will have no way to describe stronger hands.
If South starts with 1H, a reasonable auction might begin 1D-1H; 1NT-? Hard to find the club slam, isn't it? I suppose 3C-4C might work, but wouldn't you bid that way with a strong 5-5 hand? Then North would rebid 3H rather than 4C with Qx Kxx Axxx Kxxx.
Board 25: North opens 1S, South responds 2H. By the way, that promises 5 hearts; with only four South should start with 2C or 2D. For example, with xxx AQxx QJx Axx, South bids 2C and supports spades next unless North bids hearts. With any other distribution South will have a four-card minor along with his four hearts.
After 1S-2H, North should rebid 2S. This would be correct even with only five spades -- once again, freely bidding a suit at the three level should promise extra values and be forcing to game. With only 12 and a void in partner's suit, North wants to slow the bidding down. South continues with 3D; this new suit by responder is not only forcing one more round but logically creates a game force since there may be no playable spot below 3NT. North considers 3NT but with KQxxxx -- Axxx Kxx either 4S or 5D looks more attractive, so North riases to 4D. South visualizes dumping a club or two on North's spades and decides slam is a reasonable gamble. 4NT produces a one-Ace or one-key-card reply. Playing straight Blackwood South may as well bid slam; it's rarely correct to stop at 5 of a minor when either 3NT or 6 could be better. Key-card bidders, however, will know that two Aces or one Ace and the King of trumps are missing and pass the 5D reply for a good board. Four spades is actually the best contract thanks to the lucky 3-3 suit split. Six diamonds would require West to have K10 doubleton of trumps.
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