Column Collection 7B01 by Richard Pavlicek
Column Collection 7B01 by Richard Pavlicek
You should find a lot of instructive reading — each article is like a bridge lesson — as well as some occasional bits of bridge history and humor. I hope you enjoy them. But don’t wait for the movie!
Slam Creates Big SwingToday’s deal is from an early round of the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams. The North-South pairs of both teams reached an ultra-sound contract of six spades. (One would want to be in seven spades looking at the North-South hands alone.)
1. 
6 
by South
Both Vul | K J 8 5 A J 5 4 3 Q 8 2 A | |
| 2 9 6 J 9 7 5 Q J 8 7 6 3 | ![[W - E]](t.gif) | 10 9 7 4 Q 10 8 7 10 K 10 9 4 |
| Lead: Q | A Q 6 3 K 2 A K 6 4 3 5 2 |
| West Pass Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 3 5 | East Pass Pass Dbl | South 1 1 4 6 |
The bidding shown occurred at table one. Perhaps South was too quick in jumping to six spades, but it was a wise stop; the foul distribution of the East-West hands would foil any grand slam.
West led the club queen and declarer drew two rounds of trumps with the jack and queen to disclose the four-one break. A club was ruffed in dummy; the spade king was cashed; then South returned to his hand with the heart king to draw the outstanding trump. This line of play would have been proper in a contract of seven spades, but now South was in trouble. With the diamonds four-one and the heart finesse offside, declarer could win only 11 tricks. Down one in six spades was not a pleasing result on a hand that looked cold for seven at the outset.
In the replay at table two the play began in similar fashion: club lead; spade jack; spade queen. But this declarer was more experienced and played with greater care. The diamond queen and both top hearts were cashed, followed by a low diamond from dummy. If East chose to ruff this, he would be ruffing a loser and declarer would easily win the rest. Therefore, East discarded a club and South won the diamond king. A club was ruffed in dummy and another diamond was led. Faced with the same predicament, East again discarded and South won the diamond ace. A diamond was ruffed with the spade king and declarer could not be prevented from winning two more tricks with his remaining ace-six in spades. The well-played slam came home and there was nothing East could have done to prevent it.
Aggressive Bidding Pays OffGabbai took a day off last Saturday to play in the Open Pairs at the Palm Beach Sectional Bridge Tournament. This two-session event was a difficult contest, as the field included top-ranked players from all over the South Florida area. Anxiety was high as players waited for the final scores to be posted, and yes, you guessed it — Gabbai topped the leader board. Today’s deal contributed to his victory.
2. 4 by South
| None Vul | 9 9 8 7 6 4 K Q 10 8 6 Q 2 | |
| 7 6 4 2 Q 5 3 J 9 4 J 8 3 | | K 5 K J 10 A 7 3 K 9 7 5 4 |
| Lead: 3 | A Q J 10 8 3 A 2 5 2 A 10 6 |
| West Pass Pass Pass All Pass | North Pass 2 3 | East 1 Pass Pass | South Dbl 2 4 |
Gabbai’s jump response of two hearts was well judged. If partner held a typical takeout double (with support for both majors), his hand was worth far more than its seven high-card points. The trick-taking potential of a distributional hand is quite high when a good trump fit exists.
On this occasion his partner’s takeout double was based on a spade suit and a hand too strong for an immediate overcall. Some players might have chickened out and passed two spades, but Gabbai kept the ball rolling with three diamonds. His partner, Roger Jourdan of Delray Beach, quite reasonably closed out the bidding by jumping to game in his self-sufficient trump suit.
Four spades is an optimistic venture, but not without chances. Its fate was quickly decided when West routinely led a club, the suit bid by partner. Declarer played low from dummy and captured the nine with the 10 (playing the king would not have helped the defense). After ruffing his club loser in dummy, declarer easily made his contract, losing only one spade, one heart, and one diamond.
Lucky? Not really. Aggressive bidding is rewarded more often than not. Bridge tournaments are usually won by the bold, not the meek. As for Gabbai, it’s back to the office for a while — at least until the next bridge tournament comes around.
The Dummy ReversalNorth-South were playing weak two-bids (strong two-bids are becoming obsolete at duplicate bridge). Therefore, South had to open two clubs, strong and artificial, to which North responded two diamonds, negative (0-7 points). South then showed his real suit and North happily raised. The next two bids were ace-showing (trying for slam), and South took the final plunge into six hearts.
Of the 13 times this deal was played only seven pairs managed to reach the excellent six-heart contract (one pair bid seven hearts — oops!). And of those seven pairs only two were successful.
3. 6 by South
| None Vul | J 8 2 J 9 8 7 A 7 4 3 9 2 | |
| K 10 4 3 6 5 4 K Q 10 8 7 6 | | Q 9 6 2 J 9 6 5 J 10 8 5 4 |
| Lead: K | A 7 5 A K Q 10 3 2 A K Q 3 |
| West Pass Pass Pass All Pass | North 2 3 4 | East Pass Pass Pass | South 2 2 4 6 |
After the obvious lead of the diamond king, the ace was won in dummy. The unsuccessful declarers sooner or later tried to cash three top clubs, intending to discard a spade so that a spade could be ruffed in dummy. When the third club was ruffed, it was all over. Dummy could overruff, of course, but there was nothing declarer could do to avoid losing two spade tricks.
The successful declarers were made of sterner stuff. They recognized the potential of a “dummy reversal” — establishing the dummy’s hand by ruffing losers in declarer’s hand.
After winning the diamond ace, a diamond was ruffed high in the South hand. Two top clubs were cashed (this could have been postponed as the cards lie, but was technically correct), followed by a low trump to dummy and another diamond ruff high. The heart 10 was overtaken by dummy’s jack and the last diamond was ruffed by South. Dummy was entered by ruffing South’s small club and the last enemy trump was drawn. One of dummy’s spade losers could then be discarded on South’s high club. That came to 12 tricks.
Notice that the recommended line required that only two clubs be cashed instead of three — a fact which proved to be the winning edge.
Sparkling DefenseToday’s deal occurred in a secondary event at the most recent N.A.C. in San Antonio, Texas. The bidding was the same at virtually every table. South opened one notrump and North raised to two notrump to try for game. With 17 points and a five-card suit, South was happy to accept the invitation.
4. 3 NT by South
| Both Vul | 9 7 4 A 8 2 J 7 6 5 K 6 4 | |
| 10 8 6 5 3 10 4 3 8 2 A 7 2 | | K Q J Q J 9 7 Q 10 9 3 10 9 |
| Lead: 5 | A 2 K 6 5 A K 4 Q J 8 5 3 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 2 NT | East Pass | South 1 NT 3 NT |
At one table the defense was sparkling. The spade five was led to East’s jack (South ducking) and the spade king was returned to South’s ace. The club suit had to be established, so South led a small club to dummy’s king and then another club back to his jack. West ducked both of these tricks, since his spade suit could not be cashed due to the blockage.
Declarer had little choice but to continue clubs and West perforce won the ace. The spotlight was now on East, who made the fine play of discarding his spade queen! East knew from his partner’s spade plays (five then three) that he held a five-card suit and, therefore, that it was safe to unblock. West could then cash three spade tricks to defeat the contract.
This combination of excellent defense — West holding off the club ace and East unblocking in spades — netted a top score for our East-West pair and, needless to say, a bottom score for North-South.
Could South have made the hand? Yes, an expert South would have won the first spade lead, after which East would be unable to unblock the spade suit. Ducking the first spade lead could gain only if the spades were divided six-two, and this is contraindicated (assuming normal card play) by West’s lead and East’s play — the spade five could not be fourth-best from a six-card suit, nor could it be from a doubleton (East would not play the jack at trick one).
In other words, justice was served.
Dallas Team To Represent U.S.In a play-off held May 3-6 in Memphis the Brachman team defeated a team led by Cliff Russell (non-playing captain) of Miami in a 128-deal final match. The Russell team consisted of Edgar Kaplan (NYC), Norman Kay (Narberth PA), Eric Rodwell (West Lafayette IN), Jeff Meckstroth (Pickerington OH), Bill Root (Boca Raton), and this writer.
On today’s deal Soloway, South, and Goldman, North, used fine judgment and clever tactics to create a swing for their team.
5. 6 by South
| N-S Vul | — 8 6 5 K Q 8 6 4 8 7 6 4 3 | |
| 7 5 4 K Q J 7 4 3 5 3 A 10 | | K Q 9 8 6 3 A 10 9 2 10 9 2 |
| Lead: K | A J 10 2 — A J 9 7 2 K Q J 5 |
| West 1 2 Pass Pass | North Pass 2 Pass 6 | East 1 4 5 All Pass | South Dbl 5 5 |
South’s double of one spade was for takeout and North’s two-spade cue-bid showed good support for each minor suit. After East’s raise to four hearts, South suspected that a slam could be made; but he also realized that his nonvulnerable opponents would have a profitable sacrifice bid — East-West could bid six hearts for a deliberate loss of 500 points (down three) rather than lose 1370 points for six diamonds bid and made.
Therefore, South made a tactical underbid of five diamonds. When this was passed around, East took the obvious push to five hearts and South countered with five spades! This cue-bid was an effort to allow his partner to choose the final contract (North might have held longer clubs than diamonds). Six diamonds was easily made, losing only one trick to the club ace.
Holding the West cards, perhaps I should have sacrificed in six hearts anyway; but the uncertain tempo of the bidding led me to pass and try to defeat the slam. In the replay at the other table the six-heart sacrifice was taken, so Soloway’s clever bidding resulted in a handsome profit for his team.
A Chance To Go WrongRichard Coren, a Lauderhill attorney, is a skillful bridge player and well known for his exceptional table feel. His clever defense on today’s deal led to the downfall of an almost impregnable contract. The deal occurred in the Grand National Team Championship, an event in which Coren’s team finished second in all of Florida.
6. 3 NT by South
| Both Vul | Q 4 3 A Q 2 A Q 6 5 10 9 3 | |
| K 10 5 10 8 6 4 3 9 7 4 3 Q | | J 9 8 6 9 7 10 2 A 7 6 5 4 |
| Lead: 4 | A 7 2 K J 5 K J 8 K J 8 2 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
Coren, West, made the routine lead of a heart. This was taken by dummy’s queen and the club 10 was run to the queen. On lead again, Coren realized the futility of continuing hearts and made the cunning shift to the spade five. Declarer played low from dummy and paused to think when East produced the jack.
The location of the spade king was not clear — if West held it, declarer should win the ace; but if East held it, a holdup play would ensure the contract. Also unknown to declarer was the location of the club ace.
Finally, declarer decided that West was unlikely to lead from the spade king and therefore ducked the trick. Curtains! A second spade was returned and ducked to West’s king, then another spade cleared the suit. Declarer had to let East in with the club ace and the 13th spade became the setting trick.
It is obvious that declarer could have made the hand by winning the first spade lead with the ace (or dummy’s queen), but he was given the chance to go wrong by Coren’s defense. Three notrump was easily made at the other table when the West defender was less inspired.
Slim Chance Is Better Than NoneThe optimistic bidding at one table is shown above. North was clearly the more guilty — a simple preference to two hearts at his second turn would have been wiser; and his final jump to four hearts was a wild gamble.
7. 4 by South
| None Vul | Q J 9 8 6 5 J 4 3 K 8 2 3 | |
| 10 4 3 A 5 2 A J 7 4 Q 8 2 | | A K 7 8 7 10 9 6 5 J 10 9 7 |
| Lead: 2 | 2 K Q 10 9 6 Q 3 A K 6 5 4 |
| West Pass Pass Pass | North 1 2 4 | East Pass Pass All Pass | South 1 2 3 |
West made the excellent lead of a low heart in an effort to cut down the dummy’s ruffing power. After winning the heart nine, our South player embarked on an inferior line of play: club ace; club king; club ruff. Stranded in dummy, there was no way to reach the South hand to ruff another club so the contract had to fail.
A clever declarer could have made this hand with proper play, albeit due to a friendly lie of the cards. At trick two a spade should be led to dummy’s eight and East’s king. This leaves the defenders in a predicament. If trumps are cleared, declarer can win the third round in dummy and lead the spade queen for a ruffing finesse; then the diamond king provides an entry to the established spades. If trumps are not led, declarer can also succeed with careful play — leading first to the diamond king; ruffing spade finesse; then crossruffing (or establishing the spades if West wins the diamond ace to lead trumps).
The story contains a moral. When your partner’s overbid (not yours, of course) puts you in a treacherous contract, look for a lie of the enemy cards that will allow you to succeed. Then play on that assumption.
Slam Succeeds — Game FailsWhen Gracie Gabbai, South, passed in second seat, she never dreamed she would become declarer in six clubs; but stranger things have happened at the bridge table.
8. 6 by South
| N-S Vul | A K J 9 7 3 A A 6 4 A K 3 | |
| Q Q J 7 6 3 K J 8 3 J 10 6 | | 10 8 6 5 4 10 9 2 9 7 5 Q 9 |
| Lead: Q | 2 K 8 5 4 Q 10 2 8 7 5 4 2 |
| West 1 Pass Pass Pass | North Dbl 2 3 6 | East Pass Pass Pass Pass All Pass | South Pass 2 2 NT 4 |
West tried to muddy the water with a light opening bid, North doubled, and South was obliged to bid her club suit. North cue-bid hearts to show a strong hand, then South bid two notrump to show a heart stopper. North persisted with another cue-bid and South was forced to bid again. Realizing her partner was not interested in notrump, Gabbai found the key bid — she rebid her clubs to show a five-card suit. This was all North needed to hear to bid the slam.
The play was routine for a skillful player. West led the spade queen to dummy’s king, and the two top clubs were cashed. Gabbai then led the spade ace and discarded a diamond as West ruffed with his natural trump trick. The heart return went to dummy’s ace, and the spade jack was cashed for a heart discard.
The play continued: spade ruff; heart king; heart ruff; spade ruff; then a diamond to dummy’s ace. The sixth spade was now good and provided a discard for South’s last loser. It made no difference if West postponed ruffing with his club jack; declarer would just go about her business of establishing the spades and West could take his trump trick whenever he wanted.
Bidding and making six clubs was especially gratifying to the Gabbai team since the contract at the other table was four spades, down one. The mighty oak fell to the little acorn!
Endplay Avoids Losing FinesseAfter Rogers, South, opened one notrump, North’s two-heart response was the Jacoby transfer bid, showing at least five spades. South obligingly bid two spades and North continued with three diamonds, indicating a two-suited hand. Lacking good support for spades, South wisely signed off in three notrump.
9. 3 NT by South
| None Vul | J 10 5 4 3 J 7 K Q 8 6 5 2 | |
| K 9 8 6 10 8 6 3 J 2 K 9 3 | | Q 2 A Q 2 10 9 4 J 10 8 6 4 |
| Lead: 3 | A 7 K 9 5 4 A 7 3 A Q 7 5 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 2 3 | East Pass Pass | South 1 NT 2 3 NT |
Based on the bidding, West elected to lead the heart three and East won the ace. The heart queen was ducked, and a third heart was won by declarer’s king as dummy shed a spade. Assuming the diamonds divided three-two, declarer had eight easy tricks and it looked as though the contract would depend on the club finesse.
On the run of the diamonds, Rogers discarded two clubs from his hand. The opponents also had to find discards — West threw a club and two spades; East threw a club and a spade (the latter proved to be an error).
Rogers noticed that three spades had been discarded and he devised a foolproof plan for his ninth trick. Instead of taking the club finesse, he led the spade jack to his ace and exited with the heart nine to West’s 10. After cashing the spade king, West was forced to return a club into declarer’s ace-queen.
It is apparent that East-West could have foiled declarer’s plan — East must keep two spades, then West could unblock the spade king under South’s ace to avoid the endplay. Nevertheless, hindsight is always easier than foresight, so Rogers deserves full credit for his fine play.
A Tribute to CharlieI am hardly qualified to comment on his entire career — he was winning bridge tournaments before I was born; but I can express some thoughts on his later years.
Charlie, as he was affectionately known by his friends, loved the competition of tournament bridge. I was most impressed with his accomplishment in March of this year. Despite the pain and suffering of a fatal illness, he attended the Gold Coast Spring Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale. Attended, heck! He won the Swiss Team event with a perfect record (yes, he beat my team too).
I can vividly recall a deal that Charlie played against me about four years ago. As South, Charlie wasted no time in jumping to four spades after his partner’s one-notrump opening.
10. 4 by South
| Both Vul | Q 2 A Q 4 3 A 10 9 8 A J 3 | |
| 9 6 4 J 6 K 7 5 4 Q 9 7 4 | | 8 5 K 10 9 8 Q J 6 2 K 8 6 |
| Lead: J | A K J 10 7 3 7 5 2 3 10 5 2 |
| West All Pass | North 1 NT | East Pass | South 4 |
West attacked by leading the heart jack and declarer could see nine easy tricks. After some quick mental calculations, Charlie grabbed dummy’s heart ace (finesses are child’s play), drew trumps in three rounds (discarding a heart from dummy), then led a diamond to dummy’s eight. That’s right, he put in the eight of diamonds!
As East, what was I supposed to lead now? I defy anyone to beat four spades after this play. A heart return would obviously lose a trick; breaking the club suit gives declarer a second club trick; and a diamond return allows declarer to establish an extra diamond trick with a ruffing finesse (or a loser-on-loser play if East leads an honor).
Charlie, of course, had the ending all figured out as he tabled his hand to claim the contract.
Russell Team Wins Zonal MatchThe Florida team of Cliff Russell (captain), Robert Levin, Peter Weichsel, Alan Sontag, and this writer scored a 48-IMP victory over the Louisiana team of Jack LaNoue (captain), Sidney Lazard, Nancy Alpaugh, Harold Guiver, Frank Hoadley, and John Onstott.
Aggressive bidding and sound technique showed a profit for Florida on today’s deal, declared by Cliff Russell of Miami.
11. 5 x by South
| None Vul | A 10 8 5 4 5 2 A J 9 7 2 3 | |
| Q J 7 10 8 3 6 5 K J 10 9 8 | | K 6 A K Q 9 6 3 A Q 6 4 2 |
| Lead: J | 9 3 2 J 7 4 K Q 10 8 4 7 5 |
| West 3 | North 1 5 | East Dbl Dbl | South 2 All Pass |
After North’s light one-spade opening and East’s takeout double, Russell (South) joined the party by introducing his diamond suit. This prompted North to take an advance sacrifice in five diamonds, leaving East with a tough decision to make at the five level.
Five diamonds doubled is not a very glamorous contract, and obviously could not be made; but Russell made the most of his meager assets. The defenders cashed their three top tricks and exited with a club, dummy ruffing. Apparently, declarer must still lose two spade tricks — but wait!
Russell cashed the spade ace, drew two rounds of trumps, ruffed his last heart, and then exited with a spade. After winning the spade king, East had to concede a ruff and discard, so Russell escaped for minus 300 (down two doubled).
His teammates at the other table scored plus 450 (four hearts making five), so the net gain was 150 points or four IMPs. Not much, it is true; but in a hard-fought match, every little tidbit helps.
Did you notice that East could have been the hero? He could have unblocked his spade king under the ace (or when declarer led the second diamond) to avoid the endplay.
Would you have been so smart?
Always Set Up Your Longest Suit… SometimesWhen today’s deal was played, the contract was only two notrump and West led the four of spades. Declarer gave little thought to the problem at hand; but instead based his play on general principles.
12. 2 NT by South
| None Vul | 7 6 5 8 2 A K J 2 9 8 7 6 | |
| Q 10 8 4 A 9 7 6 10 9 3 J 2 | | K J 2 K 10 5 4 8 7 5 Q 4 3 |
| Lead: 4 | A 9 3 Q J 3 Q 6 4 A K 10 5 |
| West Pass | North 2 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
Declarer ducked the first two spade leads, then won the third round with the ace. Seven tricks were certain — one spade, four diamonds, and two clubs — and declarer considered his prospects. Of course! There were eight clubs between the two hands, so that was the suit to establish.
Declarer crossed to dummy with a diamond and led the club nine, ducking it around to West’s jack. After cashing the last spade, the defenders won their two top hearts to defeat the contract. Unlucky? Not at all. Our declarer took an inferior line of play and deserved his fate.
Declarer’s thinking was one-sided. To be sure, the club suit would provide declarer with his eighth trick; but it also would provide the opponents with their sixth trick (barring a lucky lie of the club suit).
Instead declarer should play on hearts for his eighth trick. By leading twice toward the queen-jack, this succeeds any time East holds either (or both) of the top hearts — better than a 75-percent chance. But most important, it gives the opponents only five tricks.
After winning the spade ace, the play goes: diamond to king; heart to jack-ace; spade cashed (discard a club from each hand); diamond to queen; diamond to ace; diamond jack (discard a club); then a heart. East gets his heart king, but South wins the rest.
The Squeeze Is On
13. 6 by South
| Both Vul | K Q 7 2 A K Q 5 6 5 3 K 5 | |
| 6 5 4 10 2 8 7 4 J 9 8 6 3 | | 3 J 9 7 6 A Q J 10 10 7 4 2 |
| Lead: 8 | A J 10 9 8 8 4 3 K 9 2 A Q |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 NT 4 5 | East Pass Pass Dbl | South 3 4 NT 6 |
After North’s spade raise, South checked for aces with the Blackwood convention and bid the small slam — not the most beautiful auction but certainly practical.
West led the diamond eight (as requested by East’s double of five diamonds) to East’s ace, and the diamond queen was returned to South’s king. The outstanding trumps were drawn in three rounds, then declarer vainly cashed dummy’s top hearts, hoping for a three-three break. When this did not materialize, the contract was doomed.
Our declarer was too anxious. He failed to put any pressure on his opponents. Before cashing the hearts, declarer should lead all of his sure tricks — yes, that includes leading all of his trumps!
One fact is undeniable: If the hearts are three-three, they will always be three-three and nothing will ever change it. The advantage in playing the other suits first is to retain the heart entry to dummy for as long as possible; then if one player (East, in this case) protects both hearts and diamonds, he will be squeezed.
As declarer cashes his tricks, the pressure increases on East. Finally, on the last black-suit winner, East must give up his stopper in one of the red suits. If he discards a heart, dummy’s fourth heart is good; if he discards his last diamond, South’s nine is good.
Either way, South squeezes home the winning run in the bottom of ninth inning.
The Squeeze Is OffThe play began with a diamond lead to East’s ace and a diamond return, South winning the king. By leading all of his black-suit winners, declarer can win the remaining tricks since East is forced to part with his stopper in either diamonds or hearts. If you missed the last column, play it out to verify that it can be made.
Is there any defense to a squeeze play? Well, in baseball a manager might call for a pitchout if he expected the opposing team was planning a squeeze. In bridge, the counterpart to the pitchout is the ducking play. Put yourself in the East chair after partner leads the diamond eight against six spades.
14. 6 by South
| Both Vul | K Q 7 2 A K Q 5 6 5 3 K 5 | |
| 6 5 4 10 2 8 7 4 J 9 8 6 3 | | 3 J 9 7 6 A Q J 10 10 7 4 2 |
| Lead: 8 | A J 10 9 8 8 4 3 K 9 2 A Q |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 NT 4 5 | East Pass Pass Dbl | South 3 4 NT 6 |
With declarer marked for the missing aces, it is obvious that partner cannot hold any significant high cards. The only hope to beat the slam is to take two diamond tricks. You can count 11 tricks for declarer — five spades, three hearts, one diamond, and two clubs.
Remembering your lesson on squeeze plays, you see a grave danger ahead (dummy’s heart holding is ominous). You realize that declarer is most likely to succeed when he can win all but one of the remaining tricks. That will be the case if you win the first trick. Therefore, you duck the diamond lead to South.
After this thoughtful play, declarer is foiled. He must win the king, after which he will run all of his black suits. But now the pressure is slackened and East can survive the ending. The last five cards in dummy will be four hearts and a diamond; East just keeps the same five cards and he must win two tricks.
This deal illustrates how bridge, like baseball, is a game of inches. The squeeze play in either game is a dynamic weapon — sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
The Holdup Play — Not Just For Notrump
15. 4 by South
| E-W Vul | A Q 6 4 3 10 8 J 9 K J 9 3 | |
| J 10 7 J 5 Q 10 7 5 3 8 7 5 | | K 9 8 9 4 2 K 8 6 A Q 6 2 |
| Lead: 5 | 5 2 A K Q 7 6 3 A 4 2 10 4 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 3 | East Pass Pass | South 1 2 4 |
West led the diamond five to the nine, king, and ace; and declarer considered his best move. Unfortunately, he should have made this consideration one trick earlier; for now the contract was unmakable.
South finally led the club 10 to East’s queen, and a diamond was returned to West’s queen. West then shifted to the spade jack to scuttle the contract. There was no way to avoid the loss of four tricks (one diamond, two clubs, and one spade).
Let’s go back to that first trick. Declarer should have held up his diamond ace, allowing East’s king to win. If East returns a diamond, South wins the ace, ruffs his last diamond in dummy, and draws trumps in three rounds. The club 10 is then led and the contract is assured, regardless of the location of the club and spade honors.
If East instead returns a trump at trick two, South wins and immediately attacks clubs — then if East leads another trump, South draws trumps and leads his last club to establish two club winners in dummy.
Exactly what did the holdup play accomplish? As usual, it broke up the opponents’ communication; and, specifically, it prevented West from gaining the lead to attack spades.
Aces Are Meant To Take KingsOur declarer used this principle to his advantage in the play of today’s deal.
16. 4 by South
| Both Vul | A 6 Q J 10 6 Q 9 4 J 7 4 3 | |
| Q 10 8 4 3 8 2 A 8 3 A 10 2 | | J 9 5 2 5 4 3 7 6 5 K 9 8 |
| Lead: 4 | K 7 A K 9 7 K J 10 2 Q 6 5 |
| West Pass Pass | North 2 4 | East Pass All Pass | South 1 NT 2 |
After South’s one-notrump opening, North employed the Stayman convention to locate the four-four heart fit and promptly bid game.
West, having learned his lesson about laying down aces, led the spade four and declarer surveyed the situation.
The problem was easy to spot. If declarer plays the club suit himself, he is likely to lose three club tricks — and his contract. Therefore, South conjured up a plan that might deceive his opponents and force them to break the club suit.
The spade ace was won in dummy and trumps were drawn in three rounds, ending in the South hand. Declarer then led the 10 of diamonds and, when West naturally ducked, went up with dummy’s queen to give the impression he was missing the jack.
Declarer next returned to his hand with the spade king and led the deuce of diamonds toward dummy’s nine. Now there was no way in the world that our West player was going to play his ace on a deuce; after all, he refused a 10 on the first round! When he ducked again, it was all over.
West perforce won the third round of diamonds and was endplayed. A club lead would give declarer a third-round club trick; and a spade lead would yield a ruff and discard.
A good West player would not have fallen for this ruse — he would have realized that South must hold the diamond jack (otherwise his play of the suit was absurd) and taken his ace on the second round to exit safely with a diamond.
A Communication Breakdown
17. 3 NT by South
| None Vul | 6 4 A 3 K J 9 6 5 2 10 7 5 | |
| J 10 9 8 7 J 10 5 2 — Q 9 6 3 | | Q 2 Q 9 7 4 A 10 7 4 K 8 2 |
| Lead: J | A K 5 3 K 8 6 Q 8 3 A J 4 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East All Pass | South 1 NT |
After South’s one-notrump opening, North correctly raised to game with only eight points. The six-card diamond suit rated to compensate for the point-count deficiency.
West led the spade jack to East’s queen (a proper unblocking play) and South won the king. It was obvious to everyone at the table that dummy’s diamond suit was the key to the hand.
Declarer led a low diamond and, when West showed out, played the jack from dummy. All would have been fine if East had won this trick, but East wisely held up his ace. The next two diamond tricks were won by South’s eight and queen as East obstinately refused to take his ace.
Declarer now had won three diamond tricks, but with only one entry to dummy (the heart ace) the rest of the suit was lost. This left declarer with only eight tricks and a puzzled feeling. What went wrong?
Our declarer played out of habit instead of carefully considering his communication problem. When West showed out on the first diamond lead, the layout was an open book and the continued holdup plays by East should have been foreseen. The correct play is to duck the first diamond lead (or finesse dummy’s nine) to force East to win the trick.
No return by East presents a problem — a heart is won with the king; a club is ducked to West to ensure a double stopper; a spade is won with the ace (or ducked). Then the diamond queen is led and East can take his ace whenever he wants.
The remainder of the diamond suit is easily established and the heart ace provides an entry to cash the long diamonds. Declarer wins nine tricks (two spades, two hearts, one club, and four diamonds) to fulfill his contract.
Broward Lady Tops in WashingtonThis event employs “board-a-match” scoring, which means that every trick of every hand is important. If your contract is assured, you cannot relax — overtricks are worth their weight in gold. Susan demonstrated this fact with her play of today’s deal, which gained a “win” for her team.
18. 3 NT by South
| N-S Vul | A Q 3 6 A J 9 8 6 5 K J 2 | |
| K J 10 9 7 5 4 2 K 7 2 4 3 | | 8 4 A J 10 9 8 5 Q 10 4 9 7 |
| Lead: 4 | 6 2 K Q 7 3 3 A Q 10 8 6 5 |
| West 2 Pass All Pass | North 3 3 | East 3 Pass | South Dbl 3 NT |
West’s opening bid was a weak two-bid (strong two-bids are obsolete) and a competitive auction ensued. North’s removal of South’s double to three spades showed a stopper (with only North-South vulnerable it was likely that more points could be scored by bidding game than by defending) and South signed off in three notrump. West led the heart four to East’s ace (the eight would have been a better play) and the heart jack was returned to South’s king. Eleven tricks were certain (assuming the spade finesse), but that wasn’t enough. Declarer finessed the spade queen, cashed the spade ace, and then produced a barrage of clubs.
Both opponents had problems in discarding. West had to keep a spade winner to protect North’s three and East had to keep a heart winner to protect South’s seven; neither was able to protect diamonds, so dummy’s ace-jack won the last two tricks. (Play it out to verify the defense was helpless.)
This perfectly executed double squeeze gave Susan 12 tricks — one more than was won at the other table.
Fine Play Wins Thirteen TricksOne of the winners was Gracie Gabbai of Ft. Lauderdale, who captured the Women’s Pairs in her first-time partnership with Betty Plappert of Ft. Myers. These two ladies met only five minutes before game time, and thus could discuss only the most basic agreements. Their system was just “good old-fashioned bridge” and common sense.
Today’s deal greatly contributed to their win. Gracie Gabbai, South, became declarer in four spades after a sound auction.
19. 4 by South
| Both Vul | A K 2 Q J 10 9 8 7 A 5 3 6 | |
| Q 7 5 4 3 K Q J 7 10 9 8 4 | | 9 6 5 K 6 2 10 8 6 2 Q J 3 |
| Lead: K | J 10 8 4 3 A 9 4 A K 7 5 2 |
| West Pass Pass | North 1 2 4 | East Pass Pass All Pass | South 1 3 |
Particular note North’s third-round jump to four spades to show three good trumps and maximum values (considering her previous two-heart rebid).
West led the diamond king to dummy’s ace and declarer immediately directed her efforts toward establishing the heart suit. A heart to the ace; a spade to the king; then the heart queen was led. East chose not to cover (it matters not), so South discarded her diamond loser. The next heart lead was ruffed by South and the spade jack was led to the queen and ace.
With one enemy trump still outstanding, declarer continued to lead hearts. Whenever East chose to ruff, South would overruff then return to dummy with a club ruff to cash any remaining heart winners.
The defense was helpless as declarer won all 13 tricks for a top score.
World’s Smallest Finesse Brings Home Contract
20. 5 by South
| E-W Vul | A 10 6 3 8 4 K 9 2 A Q 6 4 | |
| 5 4 2 Q J 10 6 J 5 K J 5 3 | | — A K 9 7 3 2 A 10 8 7 3 8 7 |
| Lead: Q | K Q J 9 8 7 5 Q 6 4 10 9 2 |
| West 2 Pass All Pass | North 1 2 Pass | East 1 4 5 | South 1 4 5 |
From South’s viewpoint it was likely that five hearts would succeed, since his hand might not take a trick on defense. Thus, as often happens in competition, the spade suit bought the contract.
West led the heart queen and continued the suit, South ruffing. Trumps were drawn in three rounds ending in the South hand and the club 10 was led. West covered with the king (this is better than the jack, as it leaves South in doubt as to the location of the remaining honor) and North’s ace won. The fall of East’s seven was duly noticed.
South next led the diamond king to East’s ace and won the diamond return with the queen. Then came the club nine, covered by West’s jack (best) and North’s queen. The appearance of East’s eight was a welcome sight.
In case you’re not following all this, the club suit now consisted of 5-3 in West and 6-4 in North. South came to his hand with a trump to lead the club two. West followed with the three and declarer finessed the four — call the “Guinness Book!” The club six then provided a discard for South’s losing diamond and the contract was made.
By sharpening his finessing sword, South turned a deliberate “sacrifice” into a rewarding plus score. Remember this deal the next time you talk about “insignificant” spot cards.
Greedy Double BackfiresThe six and one-half day tournament was divided into many separate events designed to please both experts and novices alike. Today’s deal, from the Flight A Knockout Teams, created quite a sensation.
21. 6 NT x by South
| N-S Vul | — K 9 8 6 5 3 9 2 A K 7 6 5 | |
| A Q 9 8 7 4 Q 10 7 4 Q 10 8 | | 10 6 5 4 3 J 10 7 6 5 3 9 2 |
| Lead: 4 | K J 2 A Q 2 A K J 8 J 4 3 |
| West 1 Pass Pass Dbl | North 2 5 Pass All Pass | East 4 Pass 6 | South 1 Dbl 6 6 NT |
The bidding, East’s in particular, may not meet with everyone’s approval. With only North-South vulnerable, East was intent on sacrificing — his bid of six spades may seem crazy, but that contract could be set only five or six tricks (doubled) for 900 or 1100 points while his opponents would have scored 1430 points if allowed to play in six hearts.
South was aware of this and pushed on to six notrump, hoping for the maximum plus score. West ended the auction with a greedy double.
To protect his honor holdings, West led his singleton heart (note that any other lead would lose a trick) and South won the ace. Having only 10 sure tricks, declarer decided to run the entire heart suit, discarding one card from each suit.
West had to find five discards. The first four were easy — three spades and a diamond; but then what? After a little agony, West parted with a diamond.
Declarer then cashed the ace-king of diamonds to drop West’s queen and continued with the diamond jack. West now had to find another discard. His only hope was to discard the spade queen (a club discard gives declarer an overtrick), but South was in command of the situation.
The spade jack was led to establish South’s king and West was endplayed. Whichever club he led, declarer would win the rest of the tricks.
Covering an Honor With an HonorIn other words, there is no simple rule that will always work. But there is a general rule that works well over 90 percent of the time: Cover if the honor led is unsupported (unaccompanied by a touching card), and don’t cover if it is supported. This advice would have helped East on today’s deal.
22. 4 by South
| N-S Vul | K J 4 A 7 5 3 Q J 4 K 9 2 | |
| 3 2 J 9 8 6 10 6 2 Q J 10 8 | | 7 6 5 Q 10 4 K 8 7 5 A 7 5 |
| Lead: Q | A Q 10 9 8 K 2 A 9 3 6 4 3 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 3 | East Pass Pass | South 1 4 |
South became declarer in four spades after a sound auction (North-South were playing “five-card majors” so the jump raise with three trumps was proper).
After the club-queen lead, the defenders gathered the first three tricks and then coyly shifted to a trump. Declarer drew trumps in three rounds, ending in dummy, and led the diamond queen. East, possibly a descendant of the Iron Duke, was right there with the king and South captured the ace.
The play continued with the heart king, heart ace, and a heart ruff — then South led his last trump. Curtains! Poor West had to let go a diamond in order to keep his heart winner, after which dummy discarded the losing heart. Declarer won the last two tricks with the diamond jack and nine.
Nicely played? Yes, but declarer cannot take all the credit for squeezing West. East was a contributor when he covered the diamond queen with the king. Had East played low, declarer could not have brought about the squeeze.
In this case it was not necessary for East to foresee the ending; he only had to follow the general rule. The diamond queen was supported by the jack, so he should not have covered the first time.
Broward Players Win in JacksonvilleBroward County players won several events: Susan Sternberg continued her winning ways by capturing the Smoking Swiss Teams; Bill Passell and Richard Coren won the Non-Smoking Swiss Teams; Bernie Chazen, Fred Hamilton, and Allan Cokin tied for first in the Flight A Swiss Teams.
Today’s deal occurred in the Flight A Swiss Teams and features a fine defensive play.
23. 6 NT by South
| None Vul | K Q J 9 Q J 9 9 8 2 A J 2 | |
| 5 4 7 6 3 10 5 4 K 10 6 5 3 | | A 10 8 2 8 4 2 7 6 3 9 7 4 |
| Lead: 7 | 7 6 3 A K 10 5 A K Q J Q 8 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 1 5 | East Pass Pass Pass | South 1 4 NT 6 NT |
After North’s opening bid, South bided his time with a one-diamond response and then pushed to slam via the Blackwood convention. With 19 points opposite an opening bid, only a devout pessimist would do otherwise.
West led the heart seven (the unbid suit), taken by dummy’s queen, and declarer played routinely to develop the spade suit. A diamond to the jack; a spade to the jack (East ducking); a diamond to the queen; then a spade to the queen. Many defenders would have taken the second spade trick, but East ducked again without a flicker.
Declarer was now at the crossroads. Eleven tricks were certain (two spades, four hearts, four diamonds, and one club) and the 12th could come from either spades or clubs. But which suit should declarer try? Should he lead another spade toward dummy? Or should he take the club finesse, knowing that, if it loses, the defenders might be able to cash the spade ace as the setting trick?
There is no obvious answer. Finally, declarer returned to his hand to lead another spade. Wrong! The sight of West showing out was paralyzing.
Note that East’s ducking plays created the losing option for declarer. If East had won the spade ace, declarer could test the spade suit first to see if the club finesse was necessary.
Scientific Bidding Reaps RewardThe traditionalists claim simplicity, decreased chances of partnership misunderstandings, and advantages in competitive bidding. The scientists claim greater accuracy in partnership bidding, especially in the realm of slam bidding. Today’s deal clearly goes to the scientists.
The scene was the premier event at the 1984 Summer North American Championships, the Spingold Knockout Teams. Two Broward players, Dr. Jim Sternberg — the “Dr. J” of bridge — and Bernie Chazen, respectively, held the North-South hands and conducted the auction shown. To an innocent onlooker, the auction is shrouded in mystery; but anyone can see that the final contract was superb.
24. 6 by South
| Both Vul | A Q J 2 9 8 4 K 10 5 A K 3 | |
| 10 6 5 K J 7 6 2 6 10 7 6 2 | | 9 8 4 3 A Q 10 5 J 9 8 4 4 |
| Lead: 6 | K 7 3 A Q 7 3 2 Q J 9 8 5 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 NT 3 5 NT | East Pass Pass Pass | South 3 3 6 |
After North’s one-notrump opening, South’s jump to three diamonds was artificial, showing both minor suits (at least five-four shape). North’s three hearts was an asking bid, and South’s three spades showed a singleton heart (three notrump would show a singleton spade).
This knowledge was good news to North, and his jump to five notrump said in effect, “pick a slam.” South chose six clubs over six diamonds because of his stronger intermediate cards in clubs — a wise decision. Observe that six diamonds would fail with the four-one trump break.
There was nothing to the play. After ruffing the second heart lead, declarer drew trumps and claimed his 12 top tricks. The Sternberg team gained heavily on this deal and went on to finish second in the national championship, narrowly losing a hard-fought final match.
Skillful Play Avoids Ill-Fated Finesse
25. 6 by South
| None Vul | A Q 8 5 10 5 3 7 6 2 K 6 3 | |
| K J 9 7 6 2 — 10 9 8 5 Q 8 7 | | 10 4 3 7 6 4 K Q J 10 9 5 2 |
| Lead: 10 | — A K Q J 9 8 2 A 4 3 A J 4 |
| West 2 Pass Pass All Pass | North 2 NT 3 5 | East Pass Pass Pass Pass | South 2 3 4 6 |
South’s two-club opening was artificial showing a strong hand (other two-bids would show weak hands — the modern style) and West made a nuisance overcall of two spades. North responded two notrump to show eight or more points with a spade stopper, and South bid his real suit.
The next three bids were “control-bids” (commonly known as cue-bids): Three spades showed the spade ace; four clubs, the club ace; five clubs, the club king (once the ace of a suit has been shown, the next control-bid shows the king). South then took the final plunge into slam.
West gave nothing away with his diamond lead, and declarer could count 11 easy tricks. The success of the contract appeared to depend on the club finesse (the marked spade finesse obviously could not be taken), but South was not about to settle for this.
To improve his chances, he led out all of this trumps. West’s discarding made it apparent that he was guarding clubs (he let go three diamonds and four spades), so South rejected the doomed finesse and opted for a throw-in play.
South cashed the club ace, club king, and exited with a club to West, whose forced spade return gave dummy the last two tricks.
Alternatively, in the five-card ending, South could have crossed to the club king, cashed the spade ace, and exited with the spade queen to endplay West in clubs. Either way, West was helpless to defeat the contract.
Oh yes, the Passell team went on to win the event.
The Compound Squeeze — a Rare BreedThe top three finishers were: 1. Helen Shanbrom, Emily Nevins; 2. Gracie Gabbai, Fred McBride; 3. Jackie Molovinsky, Evelyn Patten.
Some of the deals were quite challenging, including this gem from the second session. Several pairs went for all the marbles by bidding seven notrump — not unreasonable with the North cards after partner has opened the bidding.
26. 7 NT by South
| Both Vul | A 5 2 9 A K Q J 5 A K 9 4 | |
| J 7 4 3 8 3 10 7 2 10 8 6 3 | | Q 8 6 Q 10 6 2 6 4 3 Q 7 2 |
| Lead: 3 | K 10 9 A K J 7 5 4 9 8 J 5 |
| West Pass Pass Pass | North 2 3 7 NT | East Pass Pass Pass All Pass | South 1 2 3 NT |
West chose to lead a club, taken by dummy’s king, and declarer had little choice but to try the heart finesse. When this held, South had 12 sure tricks (assuming the diamonds ran); but where would the 13th trick come from? With hearts splitting four-two, the contract seems hopeless.
Enter, the compound squeeze! To facilitate following the play, readers may wish to lay out the diagram with a deck of playing cards.
After finessing the heart jack, South cashes the heart king to discard a club from dummy. The diamond suit is then run, South throwing two hearts and a spade. East is caught in a triple squeeze and must find two discards — the best he can do is discard two spades (other variations are left for the reader to solve).
The spade ace is then cashed, followed by a spade to the king, and East is squeezed again (poor guy). East can postpone the denouement by discarding a club, but now it is West’s turn to get crunched. The heart ace neatly squeezes West in the black suits and the optimistic contract is made.
The False CardAs a defender, however, the falsecard must be used with discretion. Defenders must rely on each other’s plays whenever there is a defensive decision to be made. If your partner is a wanton falsecarder, you may as well have no partner at all.
Today’s deal, from a local club game, illustrates the power of the falsecard.
27. 3 NT by South
| None Vul | 6 4 3 K J 3 A K J 2 J 6 5 | |
| J 10 8 7 10 7 5 2 Q 10 7 7 3 | | 9 5 2 A Q 9 8 6 5 Q 10 9 8 |
| Lead: J | A K Q 8 6 4 9 4 3 A K 4 2 |
| West Pass | North 3 NT | East Pass All Pass | South 1 NT |
After South’s rather lopsided (but eminently correct) one-notrump opening, North quickly raised to game.
West led the spade jack, and declarer led a diamond at trick two. Instead of following low, West played a diabolical 10 and declarer finessed dummy’s jack. The diamond king was cashed and West continued his deception by dropping the queen.
These plays had the effect of establishing South’s nine as a winning card, thereby convincing declarer that diamonds were not divided three-three.
Quite naturally, declarer led a diamond to his nine, noting with particular displeasure that West followed to this trick. Declarer still could have made the hand (cashing the top spades before leading a heart would endplay East), but he was not up to any brilliancies. He led a heart to the jack-queen, won the spade return, and tried a heart to the king and ace — down one.
The opportunity for West to falsecard was well chosen. It passed two important tests: (1) it would not mislead partner — the exact diamond situation was not critical to East, and (2) it contained a purpose — declarer was given a losing option in the play of the diamond suit.
A Kingdom For a FinesseThe bidding leaves something to be desired, but that is the way it occurred. South’s jump to Blackwood did not show good judgment in view of his two losers in each red suit (a four-club cue-bid is recommended), but this player was inexperienced and knew of no other method to explore for slam.
28. 6 by South
| None Vul | Q 8 5 2 A J 9 A Q 7 8 6 4 | |
| K 6 K 6 5 3 10 8 5 2 9 5 3 | | 4 3 8 7 4 2 K J 9 3 10 7 2 |
| Lead: 2 | A J 10 9 7 Q 10 6 4 A K Q J |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 3 5 | East Pass Pass Pass | South 1 4 NT 6 |
South’s inexperience showed even more in the play. West led a diamond and declarer naturally tried a finesse with dummy’s queen — no luck. East won the king and returned a club, then declarer crossed to the diamond ace to lead the spade queen for a finesse — still no luck.
Later, after drawing trumps, declarer was obliged to try the heart finesse. Perhaps the guardian angel of bridge allowed this finesse to work, if only to boost South’s spirits for the next hand. It made little difference, since the contract was already set.
Instead of trying each finesse in the order presented, declarer should have considered the overall picture. He should decide the relative importance of each finesse, perhaps by asking himself these questions: (1) If the diamond finesse works, is the contract assured? No, the spade or heart finesse is still needed. (2) If the spade finesse works, is the contract assured? No, one of the red-suit finesses also must work. (3) If the heart finesse works, is the contract assured?
Yes! Barring freak distributions, declarer can discard his diamond loser on the third round of hearts before the opponents gain the lead.
Therefore, the proper play is to win the diamond ace, lead the spade queen to the ace (leading the queen costs nothing and may tempt East to cover if he holds the king), and then lead the heart queen for a finesse. The contract is made, losing just one trump trick.
Thoughtful Play Brings Home Doubled Contract
29. 5 x by South
| N-S Vul | Q 3 J 4 3 2 6 4 9 7 6 5 4 | |
| 10 9 6 K Q 10 9 8 7 3 K J 10 | | 8 2 A 6 5 K J 9 7 A Q 8 3 |
| Lead: 3 | A K J 7 5 4 — A Q 10 8 5 2 2 |
| West 5 Dbl | North Pass All Pass | East 1 Pass | South 4 5 |
West led his diamond to the king and ace. The bidding made it clear that West’s lead was a singleton, but it was still necessary to establish the long diamond suit. South considered her options.
One possibility was to lay down the diamond queen, conceding the ruff. No good — West could return a trump after ruffing and declarer would have to lose two more tricks. Another possibility was to cross to the spade queen and take the marked diamond finesse. Still no good — West surely held three or more trumps, and this would not succeed.
After a little thought, Thelma came up with the winning play. At trick two she led a small diamond from the South hand, giving East a cheap trick.
After that it was an easy matter to ruff one diamond in dummy (with the spade queen if necessary) to establish the suit and make her contract.
Poland Wins World Bridge OlympiadToday’s deal occurred in the semifinal match between Poland and Austria. The Polish bidding is shown. South’s rebid of two notrump seems questionable, but he chose not to repeat his spades because of the poor suit quality. When North raised to three notrump, South invited slam with a natural four-notrump bid. North accepted and offered a choice of slam contracts by raising South’s spade suit. The contract was excellent.
30. 6 by South
| N-S Vul | J 10 5 7 5 2 A Q 10 K Q 6 2 | |
| K 9 K Q 8 4 J 7 6 3 2 J 4 | | 7 3 9 6 3 9 5 4 10 8 7 5 3 |
| Lead: K | A Q 8 6 4 2 A J 10 K 8 A 9 |
| West Pass Pass Pass | North 2 3 NT 6 | East Pass Pass Pass All Pass | South 1 2 NT 4 NT |
Six spades was also reached by the Austrian team and the declarer was defeated: After winning the heart-king lead, South played three rounds of clubs for an immediate discard — oops!
The Polish declarer did better: After the same lead, South cashed three rounds of diamonds, shedding a heart, and then led a spade to the ace. Three rounds of clubs followed and West ruffed with the spade king just as declarer discarded his last heart — making six spades.
Who played it right? On balance it appears that justice was served. Although the Austrian declarer had slightly better prospects if the third round of clubs were ruffed on his right (he could overruff and still try the spade finesse), this was more than offset by the two chances he abandoned: (1) the actual lie of the cards, or (2) a singleton spade king.
The Polish declarer played it right.
U.S. Tops Britain in Women’s Bridge OlympiadIt was no surprise when the women’s final came down to the U.S. versus Great Britain, a long-standing rivalry. The match was close, but the American team of Kathie Wei, Judi Radin, Jacqui Mitchell, Gail Moss, Betty Ann Kennedy, and Carol Sanders led all the way to bring the trophy back home once again.
Today’s deal occurred in an earlier match and features two fine plays by the American women — one as a defender; another as declarer.
31. 4 by South
| N-S Vul | 9 4 2 J 9 8 A K 6 4 2 Q 6 | |
| J 10 Q 10 6 Q 7 5 A J 10 5 4 | | K 7 6 5 7 5 J 8 3 K 8 3 2 |
| Lead: J | A Q 8 3 A K 4 3 2 10 9 9 7 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 3 | East Pass | South 1 4 |
Gail Moss, West, led the spade jack against the enemy bidding shown (three hearts was a limit raise, and also a slight overbid) and declarer won the queen. The top diamonds were cashed, followed by a diamond ruff to establish the suit, then declarer led a low heart toward dummy.
Instead of winning her queen as many players would, West played low, allowing dummy’s eight to win the trick. Declarer tried her best by leading a good diamond, but East ruffed and the contract could not be made.
Observe that if West takes the heart queen, the defense is helpless. Declarer can draw trumps ending in dummy and use the good diamonds.
In the replay at the other table, Judi Radin was declarer and demonstrated superior technique. After establishing the diamonds, she first cashed the heart king and then continued with a low heart toward dummy. Now West could not gain by ducking (East would be out of trumps) so the defenders could make only one heart and two club tricks.
Fall Championships Draw Large AttendanceThe schedule included many events to satisfy players of all levels of skill. One does not need to be an expert to enjoy the challenge of duplicate bridge.
Today’s deal occurred in a secondary event, in which most of the participants were average players. The bidding was the same at most tables: North opened with a preemptive bid of three diamonds and South signed off in three notrump.
32. 3 NT by South
| None Vul | 4 8 2 A K 7 6 5 3 2 8 6 4 | |
| K 7 2 Q 10 5 4 J Q J 7 5 2 | | J 10 6 5 3 J 9 6 Q 4 K 9 3 |
| Lead: 5 | A Q 9 8 A K 7 3 10 9 8 A 10 |
| West All Pass | North 3 | East Pass | South 3 NT |
At first glance it appears that 11 tricks are available — one spade, two hearts, seven diamonds, and one club; but a closer look reveals the blockage in the diamond suit.
After the club-five lead to the king and ace, the play took several paths. At one table declarer tried to run the diamonds by cashing the ace-king, only to leave four good diamonds stranded in dummy.
At another table declarer did better by ducking the second round of diamonds to East’s queen. This allowed the diamond suit to be run; but alas, the opponents won four clubs and one diamond to defeat the contract.
Is there a solution? Yes, South should plan to discard one of his blocking diamonds on the club suit. After winning the club ace, South must return a club! If West cashes another club, South discards a diamond and later the diamond suit can be run. If West cagily returns a diamond (an expert play), declarer wins in dummy and leads a club himself to dispose of a diamond.
Observe that East-West can win no more than four club tricks and the contract is made.
Tournament Players To Converge in HollywoodAttention novice players! In addition to the regular events catering to veteran players, the local Unit is making a special effort to introduce new players to the fun and excitement of tournament bridge. Beginning Wednesday, December 12, every afternoon and evening will include a one-session novice event. Game times are 1:30 and 8:00 P.M. daily (except Sunday: 12:30 and 6:30 P.M.). If you need a partner, just come about a half-hour early and check in at the partnership desk — they’ll fix you up for an enjoyable game.
Today’s deal offers a good lesson in trump management. Four spades was reached after a routine auction (playing five-card majors).
33. 4 by South
| Both Vul | K 10 5 7 5 3 A K 5 3 Q J 7 | |
| 6 4 3 Q J 10 8 2 7 6 A 9 2 | | 8 2 A 9 6 4 Q 8 2 8 6 5 4 |
| Lead: Q | A Q J 9 7 K J 10 9 4 K 10 3 |
| West Pass All Pass | North 3 | East Pass Pass | South 1 4 |
West led the heart queen to East’s ace. The heart continuation was ruffed and declarer promptly drew three rounds of trumps — a fatal mistake. When the diamond finesse lost, South was forced out of trumps with another heart lead and West eventually cashed two heart tricks when he won the club ace — down two.
The proper play is to draw only two rounds of trumps and then force out the club ace. The heart return is ruffed and the diamond jack is led, losing to East’s queen. At this point East cannot benefit by leading another heart. Declarer can ruff in one hand and draw West’s outstanding trump after crossing to the other hand.
In other words, declarer cannot be forced out of trumps so the rest of the tricks are his.
Trump Coup Brings Home Difficult ContractNorman Kay of Narberth, Pa. (a suburb of Philadelphia) is that player. As a frequent teammate of his over the last six-odd years, I can recall no situation in which he had a critical remark to make about anyone — if he disagreed with a particular bid or play, he would say only that it was a “close guess.” Couple this with his own flawless play and a better teammate would be hard to find.
Kay’s delicate play of today’s deal led his team to a first-place tie in the Reisinger Team event at the recent North American Championships in San Diego.
34. 4 by South
| N-S Vul | 10 2 A Q 8 K Q 8 3 A Q J 9 | |
| K Q J 9 6 4 6 5 7 5 4 7 2 | | 5 3 K 10 7 2 A 10 6 10 8 5 4 |
| Lead: K | A 8 7 J 9 4 3 J 9 2 K 6 3 |
| West 3 | North 1 4 | East Pass All Pass | South 1 |
The bidding was routine until West’s bold three-spade preempt, which compelled North to raise to four hearts with only three trumps.
Kay, South, won the spade king with the ace (the bidding made it too dangerous to duck), and a heart was led to the queen and king. East returned a spade to West and a third spade lead put declarer at the crossroads.
Backing his judgment, South ruffed with dummy’s ace (East shed a diamond) and then passed the heart eight for a successful finesse. South was still not home (dummy lacked another trump to repeat the finesse), but the rest was routine for a player of Kay’s stature.
A diamond was led to East’s ace and the diamond return was won by the jack. Three rounds of clubs were cashed, ending in dummy, and the fourth club was led. When East followed, South discarded his last diamond and easily won the last two tricks with the J-9 of trumps poised over East’s 10-7.
Unusual Finesse Brings Home SlamRussell, South, became declarer in an ambitious slam contract and brought it home with elegant play.
35. 6 by South
| Both Vul | 4 2 A J 8 7 4 J 9 8 A 7 4 | |
| Q 10 7 6 K 10 9 5 10 7 8 6 5 | | J 8 5 3 Q 6 2 3 2 K Q J 2 |
| Lead: 8 | A K 9 3 A K Q 6 5 4 10 9 3 |
| West Pass Pass Pass | North 1 4 6 | East Pass Dbl All Pass | South 1 3 4 |
The bidding was routine until North’s four-club bid, which was intended as an advance control-bid (showing the club ace). East then doubled to request a club lead, South showed his spade ace, and North optimistically bid the slam.
West led the club eight, ducked to East’s jack, and the club king was returned to dummy’s ace. Declarer knew his only chance to make the slam was to establish dummy’s heart suit to obtain a discard for his losing club.
Declarer cashed the heart ace, ruffed a heart (with the diamond queen), and led a small diamond. When West followed low, declarer finessed dummy’s eight. This strange play was necessary to obtain the required entries to dummy to set up the heart suit.
The play continued: heart ruff (high); diamond to the jack; then another heart ruff. The top spades were cashed and dummy was entered by ruffing the spade nine. Finally, the heart jack was cashed to discard declarer’s club loser and the contract was home.
Lady Luck was smiling for declarer with the favorable distribution of the East-West cards, but that does not detract from his skillful play. Russell knew exactly what he needed to make his slam and played accordingly.
Free Finesse Turns Out To Be CostlyThe bidding is shown as it occurred at one table. South’s two-club opening was strong and artificial (the popular method of players who use weak two-bids in the other three suits) and North’s two-diamond response was negative (less than 8 points). After that the bidding was natural, South showing a long spade suit and North a heart suit.
36. 4 by South
| None Vul | 10 4 Q J 9 6 5 5 3 J 10 6 2 | |
| J 3 10 7 4 A Q 8 4 8 7 4 3 | | 9 6 5 A K 3 2 10 9 7 6 Q 9 |
| Lead: 3 | A K Q 8 7 2 8 K J 2 A K 5 |
| West Pass Pass Pass | North Pass 2 3 4 | East Pass Pass Pass All Pass | South 2 2 3 |
Against four spades West chose a club lead. Declarer happily accepted the free finesse as dummy’s jack was covered by the queen and king. But this was declarer’s last happy moment. Try as he might, he could win only nine tricks. West stubbornly held on to his club length (preventing dummy’s fourth club from being high) and the contract was defeated.
At the other table declarer did not receive such a “friendly” lead. West led a heart to East’s king and East returned a trump, effectively preventing declarer from reaching dummy to take a finesse. After drawing trumps, declarer in desperation cashed the top clubs.
Bingo! With the queen falling, dummy’s jack and 10 were left unmolested to provide declarer’s ninth and 10th tricks.
And so it was. The declarer who received a favorable lead was defeated; and the declarer who received no help from the opponents made his contract.
Could there be a lesson here?
Bad Trump Break Is Too Tough For Teenager
37. 6 x by South
| None Vul | 7 A Q J 9 6 4 K 3 2 A 10 2 | |
| Q J 10 8 6 K 10 8 7 5 — K 5 3 | | A 9 3 3 Q 7 6 5 4 9 8 7 6 |
| Lead: Q | K 5 4 2 2 A J 10 9 8 Q J 4 |
| West 2 Pass Pass | North Dbl 4 NT 6 | East 2 Pass Dbl | South 1 3 5 All Pass |
Richie, South, began with a borderline opening bid and West’s two diamonds showed five cards in each major (known as a Michaels cue-bid). This suppressed my desire to bid hearts, so I doubled to show a good hand. Mabel, East, bid her better major and South with youthful abandon repeated his diamonds (having opened such a minimum hand, he should have passed). Somehow I thought we had a slam and proceeded to six diamonds via Blackwood. East did not think we had a slam and promptly stated her opinion.
After the spade queen lead to the ace and a club return, the five-zero trump break proved to be too much for the 14-year-old to handle and the slam was down one — score this round for Mother.
Interestingly, the contract can be made with exacting play: Win the club return in dummy (queen-king-ace) and lead a low diamond to the eight. Cash the spade king (discarding a heart), finesse the heart queen, and lead the heart ace. Assuming East discards a spade, South does also (if East ruffs, South overruffs and the contract is still makable). Lead another low diamond to the nine and cash the remaining club winners ending in dummy. Ruff a heart then ruff your last spade with the diamond king.
At this point you are left with the ace-jack of diamonds and must win the last two tricks with the lead in dummy.
Losing Your Ace Can Sometimes Reap RewardsThe setting was the All Southern Regional, held January 1-6 in Tampa, and the event was the Men’s Pairs. South opened one spade and North was obliged to respond one notrump — unappealing with five-five distribution, but necessary since he lacked the high-card strength to respond at the two level. South might have bid diamonds as an exploratory move, but his jump to four spades cannot be criticized.
38. 4 by South
| N-S Vul | 4 J 9 5 4 3 K J K 7 6 5 4 | |
| Q J 10 9 K 2 9 8 6 5 10 8 3 | | 5 2 Q 10 8 7 6 Q 10 3 A 9 2 |
| Lead: Q | A K 8 7 6 3 A A 7 4 2 Q J |
| West Pass All Pass | North 1 NT | East Pass Pass | South 1 4 |
West’s spade lead from his solid sequence was effective, as it eliminated any possibility of a diamond ruff in dummy. South won with the king and cashed the ace, discarding a heart from dummy. The club queen was led, East ducking, followed by the club jack.
East knew this was his last chance to win the club ace since West had followed suit up-the-line (indicating three clubs); but he also knew that winning his ace would establish the remaining clubs for declarer. After careful consideration, West ducked again. He was not sure this play would gain anything, although he felt at worst it would break even.
But gain it did! As hard as South tried, he could not avoid the loss of two diamond tricks and two spade tricks for down one. Observe that declarer would have succeeded if East had taken the club ace — one diamond is discarded on the club king and another on the club seven.
Overplay Is Necessary To Justify Overbid
39. 6 NT by South
| Both Vul | J 9 6 4 5 3 2 A K 7 A 7 4 | |
| 10 8 J 10 9 10 8 6 4 9 5 3 2 | | K Q 7 3 8 7 4 9 3 Q J 10 6 |
| Lead: J | A 5 2 A K Q 6 Q J 5 2 K 8 |
| West Pass Pass Pass All Pass | North 1 1 5 6 | East Pass Pass Pass Pass | South 1 4 NT 5 NT 6 NT |
Erwin Cutler of Margate held the South hand and heard his partner open the bidding one club (a dubious action which is clearly accountable for the subsequent overbid). After temporizing with a one-diamond response, South jumped into Blackwood to ask for aces. When North admitted to holding the two missing aces, South continued to five notrump to ask for kings and then settled for a small slam in notrump. This contract appeared to be doomed, but Cutler found a way to justify his bidding.
West led the heart jack to South’s queen and four rounds of diamonds were cashed, discarding a spade from dummy. East had to make two discards and let go a heart and a spade. The ace-king of hearts were cashed (East shedding a club), followed by the good heart six, on which West and North discarded clubs. East, now holding K-Q-7 in spades and Q-J-10 in clubs, had a difficult discard to make. If he let go a spade, declarer could establish a spade trick. If he let go a club, declarer could cash the top clubs (ending in the South hand) and lead a low spade to dummy’s nine — forcing East to win and lead away from his remaining spade honor.
Cutler read the situation correctly and scored up his contract. This was a top score as no other pair bid (much less made) the thin slam.
Three Bids With No Points
40. 3 NT by South
| None Vul | A K 8 6 4 A K Q 2 A 2 A 3 | |
| Q 9 2 8 6 Q 9 4 K J 8 4 2 | | J 10 5 J 10 9 4 K J 8 6 Q 7 |
| Lead: 4 | 7 3 7 5 3 10 7 5 3 10 9 6 5 |
| West Pass Pass All Pass | North 2 2 3 | East Pass Pass Pass | South 2 2 NT 3 NT |
South perked up slightly when his partner opened two clubs — a strong, artificial bid (popular among modern players who play weak two-bids). He dutifully made the negative response of two diamonds (0-7 points) and North mentioned his real suit. This was forcing so South kept things going with two notrump (a kind of “second negative”).
North continued by bidding his second suit, and South was forced to bid again. What does North want from this poor guy! Lesser players have been known to pass in these situations, but South was a dependable partner — a forcing bid is a forcing bid. Lacking a fit for either of North’s suits, South ventured three notrump. And there he was.
West led his fourth-best club and South paused to think. If the spade suit divided favorably (three-three), he could set up nine tricks provided the opponents could not cash more than three club tricks. This was no problem if the clubs were four-three; but what if they were five-two?
A holdup play was likely to be futile, since East could unblock (if necessary) to allow West to win the enemy spade trick. Thinking further, South realized he could force a blockage in the club suit (East was marked with a doubleton honor since West would lead the king from K-Q-J-x-x).
Therefore, South rose with the club ace, cleared the spades, and became an instant hero. But pity those who must listen to his story: “I bid three notrump with no points and made it in a breeze…”
Dull Bidding Leads To Interesting Play
41. 3 NT by South
| None Vul | A Q 2 K 8 A 10 6 5 4 4 3 2 | |
| J 7 5 3 6 5 3 2 K J A 9 5 | | 9 6 4 10 9 7 4 Q 8 7 Q J 10 |
| Lead: 3 | K 10 8 A Q J 9 3 2 K 8 7 6 |
| West Pass | North 1 3 NT | East Pass All Pass | South 2 NT |
After a major-suit lead from West, declarer’s hopes lay in establishing the diamond suit. This itself was not a problem with the three-two diamond break; but when East gained the lead with the diamond queen, a shift to the club queen would give the defenders five tricks — one more than declarer could afford. The play of the diamond suit was critical.
One successful declarer began by winning the spade 10 and leading a low diamond toward dummy. When West produced the jack, declarer ducked (East could not overtake this without losing the defenders’ second diamond trick). West returned a spade, taken by South’s king, and another diamond was ducked when West’s king appeared. This effectively established the diamond suit without allowing East to gain the lead to produce the devastating club lead.
Simple and foolproof! Right?
Well, not quite. Although nothing can detract from declarer’s thoughtful play, a skillful defender might have found the winning counterplay. On the first diamond lead, West must put up the king — an unusual play in view of dummy’s holding, but one that an expert probably would make. Whether or not declarer ducks this trick, East cannot be prevented from winning the third round of diamonds, after which a club lead defeats the contract.
So the defense can prevail after all. Nonetheless, I suspect that most of the declarers who went down were victims of their own careless play.
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