These pages are a record of articles previously published on the site:
http://www.gbcresults.blogspot.com/
STORY TIME (1):
The new PhD-equipped teacher at the local High School soon made his presence felt in the large, busy staff-room. He always drew attention to unwashed cups, etc, temporarily left at the sink as teachers rushed to their next class. Cupboard doors left open soon attracted an advisory comment.
Notices askew on the noticeboard were precisely realigned exactly parallel and evenly spaced, with the inevitable accompanying comment about neat display.
Now this fellow always came to work early and thoroughly wiped down his desk so that not a spot of dust was ever visible. He kept the piles of books and papers elsewhere -- stacked in perfect uniform formation.
Soon, the overcrowded teachers’ desks were under review. Clearly, he was on a crusade.
Near the end of a brief lunch break, in a commanding voice beside another teacher’s desk, he remarked to the whole room: “This desk is too cluttered -- it's a sign of a cluttered mind!”
Moving on, he added: “And this desk is untidy – a sign of an untidy mind.”
Next came: “This desk is in disorder – a sign of a disordered mind.”
Before he found the inevitable dirty desk, one of the staff called out to him: “And your desk is empty!” We never heard another judgemental remark from him. True story!!
It is believed that this fellow took up bridge. Apparently, for years he stared intently at Dummy as the cards were being laid down. With gritted teeth and clenched fist, he had frequent attacks of apoplexy unless Dummy's cards were precisely… well, you can guess what he expected!
Some say that he is applying to be on the Committee of New Laws of Bridge. So watch out – and sit up straight, too!
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STORY TIME (2)
OBLIVION
Fact: players do arrive late at the bridge table for a variety of reasons. Some reasons are valid and excusable; some are ridiculous. Invariably they cause angst to the Director. Tom arrived at the bridge club and settled into a comfy South chair nursing a strong cup of coffee.
Shortly afterwards, Dick arrived and sat at the other end of the room in a North seat, waiting, and chatting sociably with the E-W players.Ten minutes later the session started with the Director (Harry, presumably) impatiently scurrying back and forth, temporarily filling in for the two missing players.
After five minutes, the desperate Director hurriedly consulted the telephone lists and dialled a mobile number. It rang – in the room! Yes, Tom and Dick were regular bridge partners.
(This story is essentially true, so names have been changed to protect their innocence. But you can see them on most Mondays at Gordon.)
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STORY TIME (3)
My son doesn’t play bridge. One day he informed me that some of the engineers he works with get together in their lunch break to play bridge.
I asked him if there were four or eight of them.
He looked truly puzzled and answered "six".
I asked him how they managed to play with six people.
"Well, four of them play while the other two consider the strategies used and then they swap. Why mum, how do they do it where you play?"
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STORY TIME (4)
Two old codgers, Henry and James, had played occasional bridge together with their spouses for decades. Sharing a large glass of milk of magnesia before the game, Henry complained of his aches and pains.
"I've got arthritis and I often lose my glasses. I always forget the opening lead, and my gout is getting worse."
James offered commiserations and said: "Well, I feel like a new-born babe."
Henry enquired: "How come? You certainly don't look like one!"
James explained: " You know that I've got no teeth, and I fall asleep often. There's plenty of wind, and every day I wet my pants."
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STORY TIME (5)
Fred regularly played bridge, and bowls, at the Bowling Club. His recently retired friend, Tom, had just started having basic bridge lessons at the Club. Tom also wanted to learn how to play bowls. Being a bit awkward, Tom decided to be coached at bowls, as well.
At the end of Tom’s first day they exchanged greetings in the car-park.
Fred: “Hi Tom, how did you go today? Did you get close to the Jack?”
Tom: “Yes, I played the 10!”
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STORY TIME (6)
The teacher of the learners’ bridge class was summoned to the table, during supervised play, by a rather pretty buxom female player in a dilemma over which response to make to her partner’s opening bid.
The teacher examined her cards intently. “You have excellent shape”, he whispered closely.
Before any further explanation was possibly she replied: “Thank you, but I would really like to know what to bid”.
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TRUE STORY
In his younger days, one of our Club members (Ed) was endowed with a generous shock of red hair. Some of his mates at work naturally called him Bluey, in long-established Aussie fashion. Same logic as very tall guys being called Shorty, etc.
Ed’s family had a cat also named Bluey because of its slight bluish tint.
One day, a workmate of Ed called on the phone. Ed’s six-year-old daughter answered.
The caller asked: “Can I talk to Bluey, please?”The lass replied truthfully (with that honest sincerity that only children and politicians have): “He’s lying under the house, resting”.
The caller paused for a few seconds, then hung up.
There is no actual record of the comments made to Ed when he arrived at work the next day. One can only imagine – unless Ed gives us the full story.
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First Impressions
Late one afternoon recently, two people were overheard chatting in the street.
First person: “After today’s effort, I realise that I need to improve my bridge.”
Second person: “Why would you do that? I thought you successfully satisfied the contracts.”
First: “Once, when crossing to North this morning I realised that I’d previously made a serious error.”
Second: “Perhaps you should check the rules on alerting, then. Did you think to immediately notify the Director?”
First: “Not only was I was blocked with no transport, I was in the wrong suit.”
Second: “As the professional designing engineer, you should have just gone as soon as possible straight to Head Office of Constructions, in your overalls, and report the matter so that it could be fixed. Care for a game at the Club tonight?”
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I’m a light globe...
Tim and Tom worked in the same office and were also very keen bridge partners.
They had planned to play in a bridge tournament that night, but their boss had kept everyone back for a few hours overtime.
Not wanting to miss this important game, Tim suddenly jumped onto the desks with a lampshade on his head calling out repeatedly: “I’m a light globe, I’m a light globe”.
After a few minutes of this, the boss was quite worried about Tim because no amount of cajoling could stop Tim’s erratic behaviour. Fearing an accident or a mental collapse, he told Tim to leave work immediately and get some rest, and perhaps seek some form of medical help.
Moments after Tim left, Tom started to scrabble his things on his desk and clumsily stuff them into his bag. Mumbling incoherently, he then stumbled towards the door, bumping into the furniture on the way out.
The boss intercepted him and demanded to know why he has leaving.
Tom gave him a dead-pan look over his shoulder and said: “You don’t expect me to work in the dark, do you?”
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WHY WE PLAY BRIDGE
Two very elderly gentlemen had been playing bridge together for years. One day one of them looks at his partner intently and says:
"My friend, I know we've been playing together for many years, but I find I've forgotten your name. Would you tell me what it is?"
His partner stared at him for a full minute, and then said:
"When do you need to know?"
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DIRECTOR!! (1)
One of the most annoying situations in duplicate bridge occurs far too often. Scores (or complete boards) become fouled/cancelled because the cards have been returned to the incorrect slots in the board!
The principal cause of this frustrating action is that some players move the board from the centre of the table while it is being played. Empty boards have been placed on the side tables, players’ laps, or even on the floor. No wonder the board becomes turned from the correct N-S position!
Sometimes the Director can restore the hands by consulting the hand record (if there is one), but on many occasions the problems are: When did the switch occur? And who should take the blame? Should the Director penalise one side? By how much?
Apart of the angst that may occur, think of the time wasted….
Because of this common problem, Law 7A has been expressly drawn up:
"WHEN A BOARD IS TO BE PLAYED IT IS PLACED IN THE CENTRE OF THE TABLE UNTIL PLAY IS COMPLETED."
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DIRECTOR!! (2)
Claiming: When a player makes a statement to the effect that a contestant will win a certain number of tricks.
Many disputes occur over an unclear or incomplete claim.
When claiming, the claimer should immediately clearly indicate the line of play or defence, stating the order of intended play of the cards. All play then ceases. If the claim is disputed, the Director must be called.
If there is a trump in one of the opponents’ hands, the Director shall award a trick(s) if:
The claimer made no statement about it, and;
The claimer was probably unaware of it, and;
A trick could be lost to that trump by normal play.
NB. “Normal play” includes “careless play”.
You can see that an unpleasant situation could arise if the claim was not clear or failed to satisfy the three conditions above. Generally, the Laws require that a transgressing player should not be given any advantage. If you failed to follow the correct procedure in claiming, please be gracious and accept any penalty or adverse decision by the Director.
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History Lesson
A bridge club in a mid-west state of the U.S. held its regular sessions upstairs above a bank. In 1962, after the game, when the Director and a married couple (feisty and quarrelsome bridge partners) were about to be served by the teller, an armed robber wearing a mask entered the bank and demanded money from the teller.
While the money was being stuffed into a bag, the mask slipped down.
He panicked about potential witnesses and demanded of the bridge Director: “Did you see my face?”
“Yes, of course” said the Director ethically (as always), whereupon the bandit shot him dead.
Turning to the woman, he asked the same question: “Did you see my face?”
“No”, she said, pragmatically. Then, after a pause for thought, added: “But my husband did.”
DIRECTOR!! (4 )
Slow play is always a problem in all levels of bridge. Sometimes it’s due to unavoidable incidents over which you have little control. Tact and patience are desirable qualities when you find yourself the “victim” of slow play. Occasionally, a general reminder of the limited time remaining may be sufficient to effect “catch up” play.
If a player is persistently slow, discreetly letting the Director know of your concerns is useful in maintaining harmony. If you are frequently still playing when the next round is called then maybe you need to be more aware of slow play.
Generally, Directors try to rectify the situation fairly, especially if the session time is limited, and they will try to balance the needs of all players, some of whom may be handicapped. Not all sessions have a buffer, like a lunch break. To deliberately play unnecessarily slow is unsporting and a violation of the Laws.
When the movement is, say, 7 rounds of 4 boards, being asked to average one board, because of slow play at your table, will not affect the final results by a significant margin. Alternatively, having to change the movement to 6 rounds in order to avoid a late finish to the session, means that every player plays four boards less. How crazy is that!
Please, graciously accept the average when asked.
Particularly inconsiderate are those players who start a board with, say, two minutes to go, knowing full well that the session is under time pressure. Just say no!
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DID YOU KNOW THAT… (1)
The number of different deals that are possible in bridge is an enormous figure, 27 digits long! The first two digits in that figure are 53. Do the rest really matter??
There is one very attractive hand that you would love to obtain -- the maximum possible holding with all top honours (four Aces, four Kings, four Queens, and any Jack). You can expect to be dealt that 37HCP hand only once in about 159 billion deals.
If that hand was dealt and played in duplicate bridge, there would be, presumably all equal results of 7NT (making 13 tricks) at each table.
The effect of this on the overall result is similar to that of a board being averaged/cancelled. The score that each of you 7NT Declarers would obtain is 2220 if vulnerable, or 1520 if non-vulnerable.
But, did you know that a miserable 1C or 1D redoubled vulnerable making 13 tricks scores 2630? Now that would be more interesting to play!
What was your highest-ever score? The highest possible score in duplicate bridge is 7600. How could you get this result?
This occurs when you don’t win any tricks in your grand slam attempt, and the ungrateful wretches (sorry, opponents) have doubled your vulnerable contract, and you have unwisely redoubled them.
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DID YOU KNOW THAT…? (3)
A few points worth looking into:
(a) Until a card is led to the next trick, Declarer or either defender may inspect his own last card played, even though it was turned face down. This card may not be exposed to other players, unless they have the right to have it shown.
(b) So long as his side has not led or played to the next trick, Declarer or either defender may require that all cards just played to the trick be faced, (i.e. inspected), provided that the asking player has not yet turned his own card face down. If you have turned down your card, please don’t ask other players to show their cards. Breaking the Laws of Bridge to gain an advantage is unethical.
(c) Once tricks have been quitted (all four face down, and no right to inspect), a player cannot look back through his cards or those of an opponent. For example, if you believe an opponent previously revoked, you cannot ask for any previous trick to be examined until the end of play of that board.
(d) A player cannot touch another player’s cards during play.
(e) After a revoke is claimed, if you mix your played cards in such a way that Director can no longer ascertain the facts, the ruling will be against you. Pulling a card out of quitted tricks without clearly and openly noting its position may cost you dearly!.
CUSTOMER’S LETTER TO BANK
Dear Sirs,
In view of what seems to be happening internationally with banks at the moment, I have a question. I was wondering if you could advise me correctly… If one of my cheques is returned marked "insufficient funds", how do I know whether that refers to me, or to you?
Sincerely,
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Text message sent on a borrowed Blackberry:
Hi Mac,
I’m sorry that I had to cancel today’s game of bridge; and I must agree with you about women drivers. Today, I was driving up the Highway late for our regular game when a woman driving a big BMW came up in the left lane. She braked suddenly to about 80 km/hr close beside me. She didn’t look when I glared at her, because she was putting make-up on with her face almost touching the rear-view mirror!
I rate myself a pretty good driver as I’ve had no accidents this month, but this was a tough situation because her big BMW started to seriously drift into my lane.
I can tell you, Mac, that I don’t scare easily, but I got a fright and the electric shaver fell into my lap while it was still on.
Worse, I dropped the mobile phone onto my meat pie and spilled the hot coffee that I had between my knees, scalding Big Boy and the Pecker Pips.
Unable to continue steering with my knees, I regretted that I had just lit up another ciggie because it, too, fell on to my new tweeds and burned a hole right next to the wet bit, and, damn it, I never ever heard the end of that sexy phone chat.
What a nuisance -- bloody women drivers!
Seeya later, Mac, as soon as I get the car fixed.
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (24)
Here is an example of a card combination of the type that often causes grief to Declarers.
In your NT contract, you have seven cards in this suit (three in Dummy, four in hand). The lead is from NORTH during the game, and you have no further entry to NORTH.
…..NORTH
……Q 9 3
…..SOUTH
…..A J 10 2
Clearly, you would like to capture the K – if it is on the desired side, i.e. in EAST.
You started with the Q as bait, EAST plays low. You finesse, and suppose you add SOUTH’s 2 to that trick, and win. The King is surely in EAST.
To repeat the finesse you need to cross to NORTH. No can do! SOUTH’s cards are too high.
You should have played the 10 or J on that trick’s Q, retaining the 2 to play on the 9. This keeps the lead in NORTH, preserving your finessing ability.
So what is a winning order of play?
Q first, with 10. Then the 9 with the 2. Last, the 3, finessing the J.
Of course, cover with Ace if the King appears.
If EAST has four cards including the King, it may be held up, EAST hoping that SOUTH has only three cards in this suit.
Is there any other way to play to capture the K, if EAST has Kxxx?
Yes. What is it?
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (23)
In this deal SOUTH has opened 1NT and NORTH transferred with a 2H call.
If SOUTH duly bids 2S, NORTH with 6 HCP will Pass. Yet the partnership makes 10 tricks.
SOUTH’s hand is special. It has three features:
a) Four trumps, including three honours, two of which are top honours.
b) Maximum of 18 HCP
c) Doubleton
Hands such as SOUTH’s are super strong for a 1NT call. To show this, SOUTH should call 3S as the transfer bid – one level higher. This called a SUPER-ACCEPT.
NORTH, with 6 HCP or more (up to 11), will now bid Game (4S). With 0-5 HCP NORTH will Pass. Note that a NT call is not made by NORTH even though it has five trumps. Why? Because SOUTH is known to have four cards in the Spade suit and a nine-card fit is assured.
….NORTH
…..S K9743
…..H Q86
…..D 95
…..C J43
….SOUTH
…..S AQ105
…..H AJ10
…..D AK72
…..C 98
Now let’s add, say, another 6 HCP to NORTH. SOUTH’s hand is unchanged.
….NORTH
…..S K9743
…..H KQ6
…..D 95
…..C A43
….SOUTH
…..S AQ105
…..H AJ10
…..D AK72
…..C 98
After SOUTH’s Super-accept, NORTH can find 6S easily. With 12 HCP or more, a super-accept should be raised to a slam. Don’t bid 4S, as partner (SOUTH, the opener) will Pass! NORTH should ask for Aces. Bail out at 5S if two Aces are missing.
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (22)
Examine the following NORTH-SOUTH holding:
….NORTH
…..S 6
…..H A109
…..D J843
…..C A9653
….SOUTH
…..S J42
…..H KQJ873
…..D 97
…..C 84
EAST-WEST are vulnerable and, after NORTH’s Pass, EAST opened 1S, SOUTH overcalled 2H. WEST raised to 2S and NORTH called 3H. After EAST bids 4S, what should SOUTH call?
How many tricks do you expect SOUTH to lose in a Heart contract?
SOUTH has three cards in Spades therefore NORTH probably has a singleton Spade. SOUTH could lose one Spade trick, two Diamond tricks, and a Club trick.
If SOUTH bids 5H there is bound to be a DOUBLE for penalties, and EAST–WEST would collect 300 points on the scoresheet. That is what SOUTH would expect without seeing partner’s hand.
If E-W is allowed to play 4S they would score 620, because 4S is surely cold.
If the vulnerabilities are exchanged, SOUTH’s sacrifice bid of 5H is not a good idea. Down two, double and vulnerable, is 500, and 4S (non-vul) is worth only 420 for E-W. Clearly a sacrifice in 5H is ridiculous.
NEVER SACRIFICE WHEN YOU ARE VULNERABLE is a sound rule to follow. There always will be exceptions to such rules, but right now I cannot think of an example or remember anyone who profited greatly by ignoring that rule. On further reflection, only a few instances come to mind. Let me know if you come across several such occasions against sensible competent players.
Two Important Points:
1. One good point to remember is “If you have a good defensive hand it may be better to Pass and defeat the opponents’ contract. You will probably need quick winners (e.g. Aces), and/or sure trump tricks.
A long suit, solid from K or Q down in your suit, does not constitute a good defensive hand against their suit contract.
The following SOUTH hand would be better played as a defensive hand against a vulnerable 4S (doubled possibly). You might collect 500 on your side of the scoresheet!
…..S A7
…..H QJ8764
…..D AQ102
…..C 8
2. Sometimes you can SHUT-OUT an opponent from finding their contract by bidding a pre-emptive sacrifice.
For example, after two passes, a third seat might call 4S (non-vul) with this hand of 6 HCP against vulnerable opponents.
…..S QJ1097642
…..H 854
…..D ---
…..C K3
But, be careful: For a DEALER with the above hand, a pre-emptive shut-out can cause you (Dealer) to miss a sound Slam contract. For example, suppose partner (third seat) had the following 13HCP hand. The partnership can make 6H:
…..S 3
…..H AKQ10932
…..D 95
…..C A104
Sound judgement = Good sacrificing!!
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (21)
Sometimes, in a suit contract, Declarer will immediately draw some of the trumps but will not draw the last trump(s) in the opponents’ hand(s) until later, if at all.
The following deal has Declarer in SOUTH seeking 4H.
NORTH
S QJ95
H 1052
D J64
C Q95
SOUTH
S AK
H AKQJ9
D 987
C A63
West rattled off three top Diamonds and switched to Clubs, the trick being won by SOUTH’s Ace. There are now two potential Club losers.
There is an overlap in Spades but the suit is blocked by SAK.
What is a correct line of play?
Declarer can have only two rounds of trumps at most, followed by unblocking the Ace and King of Spades. Then the last trump is drawn in crossing to Dummy to access the Spades for the discarding of the two Club losers. Obviously, the H10 on the H9 is used for your entry to NORTH.
If, at first, all the trumps are drawn then the contract fails. There is an insignificant minimal risk of the top two Spades being ruffed – a risk that you must take.
Here is a little extra something to re-activate the brain:
SOUTH is Declarer in 4S, after opening 1S (playing 5-card majors), and is now on lead at Trick 2 having won Trick 1 with a side suit. The Jack of Spades is led. You have the Queen as shown. What do you do?
……….Dummy
……….S A754
WEST
S Q63
……….SOUTH
……….S J is led
You know the old rule: “Cover an Honour with an Honour”, so do you cover the J with the Q?
You know that SOUTH has five or six Spades most probably including the King, and therefore you can expect that the other old rule: “Eight ever, nine never” to be followed, and Declarer will surely play the Ace for the drop of the Queen, i.e. the Jack will not be let run for a finesse.
Now suppose (at your turn to play a card) that you pause a little more than usual to recall these rules, or fumble a tiny wee bit, making one of those strange “brain-activity murmurs” indicating indecision. What will Declarer do? Yes, the finesse will be successfully taken and your Queen will be dropped in the next two rounds.
Did you really expect Declarer never to lead a trump? It is possible, but highly unlikely in most suit contracts. “Wow, look, he has the Jack of trumps! Who would have thought that!
Clearly you should have planned ahead to play a low Spade with a normal smooth action. Not ultra fast, either. Just be normal. Declarer will play the Ace. Later, you will take a trick with the Queen.
If Declarer invariably takes the finesse with these holdings, then he is playing a losing strategy. I like playing against such generous people.
Now for the bad news. Suppose that you, WEST, did not hold the SQ, and had, say, only a low singleton Spade. You paused, fumbled, made those murmurs, etc, so that Declarer decided to finesse and EAST won the trick with his doubleton SQx. That is not only bad, it is downright cheating!! There are remedies for such people. But the stain lingers for years…
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (20)
In most suit contracts trumps are drawn first. If Declarer elects to ruff losers before this occurs it is usually better to ruff by using trumps in the shorter holding, so that your long suit of trumps is not diminished in length.
In the following deal, Declarer is SOUTH playing a 6S contract. Lead: HK
………..NORTH
……….S QJ8
……….H A743
……….D A64
……….C A54
………SOUTH
……...S AK1094
……...H J
………D KQ75
………C K93
Suppose that Declarer wins Trick 1 and then draws trumps in three rounds. You can see that there will be a Club loser and a Diamond loser (unless E-W carelessly discard their winners!). This is not the best way to play this slam…
What do you notice about the strength of the trump suit? Yes, N-S have all the tops from 8 up.
In bridge, one way in which a loser can be discarded is to utilise an overlap. For example, a three-card suit in one hand opposite two cards of the same suit in the other hand.
Can you find a play to make this contract using this information?
Your plan might be: At Trick 2 ruff a low Heart with a high trump, cross to Dummy’s CA, ruff another Heart (high), return to DA and ruff a Heart again using a high trump that cannot be over-trumped. Now you have an overlap. It is in Spades!
Cross back to Dummy in trumps and draw all the remaining trumps, and discard a loser on the third Spade! Take care here not to block yourself – work out exactly which cards you will play and in what order.
This method of play is called Dummy Reversal. Why?.
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (19)
One of the fundamental “rules” for a Declarer playing a No-trump contract is first count your certain (“immediate”) winners to see if need to establish additional tricks to make the contract. Don’t play all your immediate winners until this establishing is done.
In the following deal, SOUTH is Declarer in 3NT. The opening lead is CQ.
…………NORTH
………….S AQ7
………….H 7543
………….D KQ53
………….C 75
WEST…………… EAST
S 865……………. .S J10432
H K1082…………..H J9
D J9………………..D 10862
C QJ109…………..C A8
…………SOUTH
………….S K9
………….H AQ6
………….D A74
………….C K6432
At Trick 1, EAST overtook WEST’s Queen with the Ace. EAST returned a small Club, won by the King in Declarer’s hand.
Count the certain (“immediate”) winners: Spades = 3; Hearts = 1; Diamonds = 3; Clubs = 1 (won at Trick 2). Total = 8
One more trick has to be found. Perhaps the fourth Diamond? (Surely EAST players would keep their fourth Diamond.) You could try the Heart finesse. These plays are guesswork and too risky.
EAST has shown two Clubs, therefore WEST had, at most, only four Clubs. If WEST led from a doubleton then EAST had, at most, four Clubs. This means that SOUTH’s fifth Club will become a winner if it can be established. If E-W have three Clubs each, then Declarer can win two more Clubs, giving an overtrick.
The play: Declarer must start on that Club suit immediately, leading a Club knowing that any return will be won by N-S.
Another Club is led! Again, the return is won by N-S. You can see why we want to keep our winners for control over these returns.
SOUTH’s play has guaranteed the contract as the thirteenth Club is now a winner. Nine tricks. Game. Success guaranteed by pursuing and establishing the long suit. If the Clubs were not attacked immediately the contract could be defeated. Always make sure that you keep an entry to get access to your thirteenth Club!
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (18)
This week we have two deals that make an interesting comparison. In the first, there is a 4S contract with more than thirty HCP, and the second example a Spade contract makes thirteen tricks with less than thirty HCP.
Examine the deals. How do they differ? How would you play as Declarer in South in each case?
Example 1
4S, Lead: CJ
NORTH
S 10754
H KQJ
D J10
C AQ52
SOUTH
S AKQ3
H 643
D AQ
C K863
Example 2
6S!, Lead HK
NORTH
S KJ4
H A87
D 86432
C A9
SOUTH
S AQ1092
H J
D AK
C K8753
In Example 1 the hands are flat with exactly equal number of cards in each suit. With 31 HCP, you only make 10 tricks! Points without power!
Example 2 has shape, with overlapping cards in every suit, giving strength in length, and ruffing opportunities. Note the top trumps.
The play: In Example 1, there are three losers. Draw trumps first. If the Diamond finesse is attempted before trumps are drawn it may lose and a ruff in Clubs is quite likely. You only delay drawing trumps if there is a compelling reason.
Since you are not playing No-Trumps, you obviously don’t try to establish the Hearts by driving out the Ace before trumps are cleared. A Club ruff could follow.
You may be able to force an endplay in Clubs and gain one extra trick, depending on the opponents’ holdings.
In Example 2, if trumps are drawn first you end up with two losing tricks. Your best chance is to play your top Clubs and ruff Clubs twice (if they split 4-2) using the Diamonds to return to hand. Then draw trumps.
You have top trumps and therefore cannot be over-ruffed if there are bad splits in the opponents’ hands. You can establish your fifth Club and collect 13 tricks, with only 29 HCP!
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (17)
Declarer should develop a plan of likely play as soon as possible after Dummy is seen. This plan may have to be abandoned several times during play according to the circumstances.
You should always have a plan of some sort, even though it may prove to be the wrong line of play. Don’t be a “monkey at the keyboard”—or else you might type “BoTtOm BoRd”!
N-S had a brave shot at 6S in the following deal. What plans are developed?
NIL Vulnerability, Dealer SOUTH. Opening lead: DK.
……………….NORTH
……………….S A754
……………….H J8
……………….D 75
……………….C AKQ53
WEST…………………….EAST
S 2………………………..S 963
H K1073………………....H 96542
D KQJ8…………………..D 6432
C 10964………………….C J
…………….....SOUTH
……………….S KQJ108
……………….H AQ
……………….D A109
……………….C 872
THE PLAN: SOUTH elected to win Trick 1, planned to draw trumps (3 rounds leaving SA in Dummy), and then run the Clubs which would enable two losing Diamonds to be discarded. The Slam would be made if all went well.
However, EAST had only a singleton Club, therefore WEST had four Clubs. So a new plan had to be formulated, since WEST had a potential Club winner. What is the new plan?
CONSIDER THIS PLAN: Play CQ and ruff the fourth Club. The C3 is now high on which you could cast a Diamond loser later. To do that you must cross to Dummy by using a trump to the SA (your last trumps), finally leaving a Diamond loser in hand and a finessing possibility in Hearts. Not a very comforting position.
Can you formulate a new, and better, plan after the Club ruff?
THE MODIFIED PLAN: The opening lead gives you a clue to the whereabouts of the DQJ – clearly in WEST. Why not give up a Diamond now – after all, it is an inevitable loser, isn’t it?
Then what is the end position?
NORTH
………………S A
………………H J8
………………D –
………………C 3
WEST
S –
H K10
D QJ
C –
………………SOUTH
………………S 8
………………H AQ
………………D 9
………………C –
A Diamond return from WEST can be ruffed in Dummy, leaving the C3 and HA and a trump in hand as the final tricks for N-S. Slam made.
Alternatively, a Heart return from WEST gives SOUTH two Heart tricks and a cross-ruff. Twelve tricks.
WEST has been END-PLAYED -- a much better plan (100%) than a 50% chance of a Heart finesse.
A VERY IMPORTANT POINT: If you gave up a Diamond trick immediately after EAST showed out of Clubs, WEST would be able to lead back a Club and you would be unable to exploit the endplay difficulty that WEST has as shown above. In other words you must “strip” WEST of all escape cards before you “throw” him into the lead.
This hand was played in an Open session and half the room got it wrong! A 4S contract with two overtricks is reasonable, but not making 12 tricks is a poor result on the scoresheet.
May I suggest that supervised/improver players lay out a pack of cards and replay this hand properly (and improperly) to embed the correct method into the brain.
Now you can type TOP BOARD with your eyes shut!
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (16)
Duplicate bridge is not a just a game to make contracts, preferably with overtricks. Competitively, it has a delicate balance, seen on the scoresheet, of the N-S results along with those of the E-W players. More precisely, it is a comparison of your, say, N-S score with the other N-S players’ scores. If your E-W opponent pair gets a top (best) E-W score, you get awarded a bottom N-S score for that board.
Consider the following hand and the consequences of the bidding:
Dealer: SOUTH
Nil Vulnerability
……………NORTH
……………S A53
……………H 1043
……………D 864
……………C KQ42
.WEST…………………….EAST
.S 10982…………………S KQJ6
.H KQ…………………….H 865
.D A32……………………D 1097
.C 7653…………………..C AJ9
……………SOUTH
…………….S 74
…………….H AJ972
…………….D KQJ5
…………….C 108
It is possible that SOUTH, with 11HCP may Pass. In that case, EAST may call 1C, SOUTH overcalling Hearts and WEST bidding a 1S. The contract may well end with E-W bidding and making 2S. Not a good result for N-S. If the hand is passed in at other tables, N-S get a bottom score.
Every player has had the experience of a hidden Ace during sorting, resulting in Passing when you should have opened the bidding, and subsequently failing to convince partner of the true value of your hand. That’s usually a disaster on the scoresheet.
Compare that unfortunate situation with the above result (2S by E-W). If SOUTH had opened 1H, WEST passes, NORTH raises to 2H and EAST would find it difficult to call at that level with 11 HCP. The 2S contract might not be found.
SOUTH’s hand can be opened 1H, even though holding only 11HCP. The hand has extra value in the accompanying four-card suit. North would raise to 2H.
The RULE OF TWENTY is applied in this case:
Add your HCP to the number of cards in the two longest suits. If the total is 20 or more, then an opening bid is possible.There is a proviso. Don’t open if your honours are not in the two longest suits. Some experts recommend also having two quick tricks. The hand above is OK. A hand full of Q and J is not biddable.
If the above Ace and King were in the other suits, you are better placed as a defensive hand.
So you make 2H, and the score now is on your side of the scoresheet!
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (15)
One of the basic techniques in card play in NT is to first count your immediate winners. Then, if short of the contract, you usually begin establishing future winners. This may involve initially losing some tricks.
In a suit contract it’s usually best, when Dummy is displayed, to count your losers. Then plan a way to get rid of those losers before the opponents catch you with them.
The following hand shows the pitfall of ignoring losers. SOUTH is Declarer in 4S and WEST led CQ. How do you play this contract?
………NORTH
………S J 9 7 2
………H Q J 6
………D K Q
………C K 7 5 2
WEST……………EAST
S 5……………….S A 4
H 8 4 3………......H A 10 9 7 2
D A J 9 6 3……...D 8 5 4 2
C Q J 10 8……....C 9 6
………SOUTH
………S K Q 10 8 6 3
………H K 5
………D 10 7
………C A 4 3
Suppose Declarer wins Trick 1 and starts to draw trumps. EAST wins the SA and leads another Club, won by N-S. The last outstanding trump is drawn and when Declarer starts on the necessary remaining suits, E-W grab a Club trick. DOWN!
How many winners are there in N-S? Count them: S five, H two, D one, C two. There are 10, yet the contract failed. Why?
Did Declarer count the losers? Obviously not. How many are there? Four -- one in each suit. So the 4S contract cannot be made unless a loser is discarded. Question: Therefore what should Declarer do when the first trick is won?
Yes, you’re right! Look at the Heart suit – it has an overlap of honours. That means you will be able to discard a loser in SOUTH on an established Heart.
You must play Hearts to force out the HA, while you still have the Clubs controlled, and get rid of that losing Club on the third Heart. Draw trumps after the discard. Ten tricks!
Many players find it difficult to accept that a partnership in a suit contract could have, say, ten winners and also, say, five losers because there are only thirteen cards in a bridge hand, not fifteen.
Look at the next hand, with SOUTH as Declarer in a Spade contract:
……….S 10 9 7
……….H 10 8
……….D A K Q J
……….C 9 8 7 6
S J ………………...S 6 5 3
H 7 6 5 4 3……….. H A Q J 9 2
D 10 9 8 7 6 2…... .D 5
C K………………...C A Q J 10
.............S A K Q 8 4 2
……….H K
……….D 4 3
……….C 5 4 3 2
Count the winners in N-S. Count the losers in N-S.
There are ten winners and five losers. On a Club lead, say, there are four unavoidable Club losers and a Heart loser. On a Diamond lead or trump lead Declarer can easily make 4S by drawing trumps and discarding two losers on the Diamond winners. An easy hand to play (on a suitable lead), but it illustrates an important principle: Use the overlapping winners to discard losers, as you did with Hearts in the first example above.
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (14)
The Rule of Two and Three can be applied to the following hand, where Dealer is North (non-vulnerable). Adding three tricks to six playing tricks allows a pre-emptive opening bid of 3C.
South, with suits well stopped and four sure tricks (and finessing opportunity), bids 3NT.
………NORTH
………S 8 2
………H 10 7
………D 6 4
……....C A K 9 8 7 5 2
WEST
S J 10 9 7 4
H 8 5 3
D J 9 5 3
C 10
………SOUTH
………S A Q 3
………H A Q 6 4
………D A K 8 7
………C 6 4
WEST’s opening lead is SJ. EAST’s King goes under the Ace.
Declarer counts six immediate tricks, and expects four more from Dummy’s Clubs. Declarer determines that E-W have four Clubs. These will split 3-1 (or 1-3) more often than 2-2.
Therefore, because there are no entries to Dummy in other suits, Declarer (you) must duck the first Club, win any return, and lead another Club. Now the Clubs can be run, losers discarded, and 11 tricks scored. If Declarer finesses the HQ there are 12 tricks.
If the first Club is not given to the opponents, the 3NT contract fails because you cannot get Dummy’s Clubs to run (EAST has CQ stopper).
Let’s change things a little. Suppose that NORTH has DQ. Now there is no need to duck -- just play CA, K and another Club to drive out EAST’s third Club, and proceed as before. The DQ is a sure entry to Dummy to access the established Clubs.
You play this way (with an entry to Dummy) because the Clubs may divide 2-2 and then you don’t lose any Clubs! .
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (13)
This is a suit where Declarer has lead the Q. You are WEST. Do you play “second hand low”? Or do you play the 7 as an encouraging signal to your partner? Or perhaps play the K knowing full well that the Ace in Dummy will beat it?
......... Dummy
……...A J 5 3
K 7 2
……...Q led
Of course you chose “play the King” because of the Rule known as "Cover an honour with an honour". But why do we have that rule?
West’s aim is to promote a winner in partner’s hand. Suppose that EAST had 10 8 6 and Declarer had Q 9 4. Can you see that the 10 will be promoted to a future winner ONLY if the K covers the Q. If not covered, the Q is run and the finesse wins. A second card led from hand ensures that the K will be captured, and the J drops the 10.
Now consider this combination in a No-Trump contract:
..............Dummy
…….....A J 10 9 3
WEST
K 8 6 4
……......Q led
Assume Dummy has no entries in other suits, and also assume that N-S will need tricks in this suit to make the contract.
Do you follow the Rule and cover the Q with the K?
If you said “Yes”, those cards in Dummy will win five tricks. So in this case, WEST should “hold up”. The Q is run (Dummy plays low).
Will you cover the next card led from hand? No, still hold up the K otherwise the same result will occur.
Now, if EAST followed suit on the second round of this suit, you have the COUNT of the cards. South has no more cards in this suit, the K cannot be dropped, and the suit in Dummy is stopped by the K in WEST. Clearly, you DO NOT “cover an honour with an honour” in this case.
Covering an honour with an honour is not always correct play. Do so when it won’t cost you a trick, and especially if you feel that there is a possibility that your partner will have a middling card promoted to become a winner. Making the opponents use two honours on one of yours is often to your advantage..
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Grandad’s Lesson of the Week (3)
NORTH
S 8 7 5 2
H A 7
D K J 9 8 5 4
C 8
………...EAST
………...S 6 3
………...H K 9 5 3
………...D A Q 3
……….,.C J 10 9 6SOUTH
S A K 4
H Q J 8
D 10 7 6
C A K 8 3
South is Declarer in a 3NT contract. West’s opening lead of SQ is won in hand, and D10 is led. West follows with D2, Dummy low. Should East hold up?
Yes, East should allow N-S to win the first Diamond trick, thereby ensuring that the last Diamond in South will be covered by the Ace. Count the Diamonds.
There is one outside entry to Dummy – the HA. When East first wins a diamond, the HK must be played to knock-out the Ace entry. If Dummy ducks, simply lead another Heart. The contract now fails. You conceded a Heart trick but you stopped Dummy winning three more Diamond tricks.
This is the last of the “no entry” lessons for a while, so Grandad will soon delete the accompanying photograph. This “no entry” photo was taken in an historic Irish gaol from which, we’re told, Patrick O’Patrick and his partner Maureen Oh Maureen were transferred to the Botany Bay bridge club as a lesson to others.
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Is that the Director at the right? .GRANDAD’S LESSON OF THE WEEK (1)
Dummy
S A 7
H 6 5 4 3 2
D A K J
C K Q 6
Declarer
S K Q J 10 9 4
H Q
D 6 5 3
C 8 5 4
Declarer’s contract is 4 Spades. There are six winners in Spades, two in Diamonds, and one to come in Clubs. Declarer is one trick short of Game.
E-W have led two top Hearts, the second of which Declarer ruffed.
How should Declarer play this hand?
First, draw trumps -- assume the likely 3-2 split.
Dummy has many entries, so after setting up a Club winner, Hearts should be ruffed twice more until the H6 is established as the 13th Heart. You can see why entries are so important.
You only need to have defenders’ Hearts dividing 4-3 (or 3-4). This has double the likelihood of a disastrous 5-2 split, and is much more likely than the 50% chance of the Diamond finesse.
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