The puzzles below represent a small change from the normal items that fall into this series.  Instead of a play problem, there is a multitude of bidding problems.  Each represents a certain type of bidding error.  If you get none of these right, don’t worry.  Every player that I know got these wrong at least once in their lifetime.

If you get all of these right, I will look forward to reading your articles in future issues of the Bulletin.  In all cases, no one is vulnerable.  You are West.  What is your bid in each bidding situation?

1    

Q 10 8 7 6
J 9 8
3 2
K J 8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

2    

K J 3
J 8 7
K 8 3
Q 7 6 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

3

J 8 2
Q J 8
Q 8 6
K J 7 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

4

Q J 7
8 2
A Q J 7 2
K J 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

5

Q
J 7 6 5 3
8 2
A J 7 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

6

Q 8 7 2
2
J 10 7 4
10 6 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Dbl
?

7

Q 7 5 3
A 8 2
7 6
10 5 3 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	Dbl	2
?

8

Q J 6 4 2
A Q 7 6 3
J 9
8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
2	Pass	2	3
?

9

K J 7 6 2
Q 9 7 6
4 2
K 9

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	1NT*
?

*16-18

10

K 2
Q 9 6 5 4 3
6 5 3
Q 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		2	Pass
Pass	3	Pass	3
?

11

K J 6 3
8
7 2
K 10 9 7 6 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	1	1
?

12

K 9 8 2
9
A J 3 2
A Q 7 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
?

SOLUTIONS

1    

Q 10 8 7 6
J 9 8
3 2
K J 8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

One would be hard pressed to imagine that your first bid as responder could be a difficult one, yet when I give this hand to my students, a majority of them offer the wrong answer.  The correct bid with this hand is two hearts.  It is not one spade.  True, if your partner has spade support, bidding one spade will be OK and may even be best.  If your partner does not have spade support, then he will have to rebid something else and you will be in an awkward position.  Say that you bid one spade and East rebids two diamonds.  You will certainly go back to two hearts but East will not know you really do like hearts.  He will fear that you have something like a small doubleton heart instead of the J98.  When you have the values to show your partner major suit support, you should do so and not get involved in other stories.  Look at it this way.  If you opened this hand one heart, wouldn’t you love to hear partner raise?

2    

K J 3
J 8 7
K 8 3
Q 7 6 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

Raise to two hearts.  Do not bid three hearts and do not use a forcing notrump response if you have that available.  A jump raise promises four card support so jumping is violating a major rule.  In addition, this hand has such poor quality points that a belated raise to three hearts is no better.  This hand has maximum high cards for a two heart raise but it has terrible shape and it has only three trumps.  I rate this hand at about eight and a half support points.  Here is a possible layout.

K J 3
J 8 7
K 8 3
Q 7 6 2

Q 8
A 10 6 5 3
A J 4
K 8 4

South has fourteen decent high card points.  If North jumped to three hearts, South would go on to game.

How will game play?  South has a spade loser, one or two heart losers for sure and maybe three, and a big headache in clubs.  I can imagine South actually going down in two hearts, let alone three or four hearts.  

This hand emphasises three important points.

1.    A fourth trump is worth a lot.  If North had one more heart, the chances are good that there will be just one trump loser.  

2.    Random queens and jacks are not good cards.  Queens and jacks come into their own when they have some supporting honors go go with them.  

3.    Balanced hands are trouble.  4-3-3-3 hands do not play well in a trump contract.  Even when the four card suit is trump, the lack of a ruffing value hurts the hand.

3

J 8 2
Q J 8
Q 8 6
K J 7 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
?

This is another judgment trap hand.  Yes, you have ten high card points but they are lousy points.  One notrump is fine.  For you to make game with this hand, your partner will need a fifteen or sixteen count.  With that good a hand, he might have opened one notrump.

In addition to the worry that comes with getting too high, there is the problem of how to go about doing it.  If one notrump is not the right bid, then what is?  Two notrump?  Spare me.  Two clubs?  The rest of the bidding will be exciting.  Better to respond one notrump and if given another chance, catch up on that extra half a point later.

4

Q J 7
8 2
A Q J 7 2
K J 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

Anyone who has followed my writings over the years will recognize this type of hand.  The correct bid is two spades.  Do not rebid one notrump and do not rebid two diamonds.  If you bid notrump, the opening lead (you can count on this) will be a heart through whatever your partner has in hearts and you won’t like it.  If you bid two spades, you can still get to notrump if it is right and you can get to notrump from partner’s side of the table if that is best.  The other rebid, two diamonds, is seriously flawed too.  Two diamonds should show a six card suit and inferentially it should show a hand that could not rebid one notrump.  Most of the time, when you rebid your minor, you don’t have any support for partner’s major.  If he has five spades to the nine and a stiff diamond and a minimum hand, he will pass two diamonds.  Care to play there?  Raising spades may get you to a marginal two spade contract, but if there is further bidding, your final contract will be excellent and well-reasoned.  I feel quite strongly about this question and its answer.  

5

Q
J 7 6 5 3
8 2
A J 7 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Pass
1	Pass	1	Pass
?

Bid one ugly notrump.  Do not bid two hearts on such a terrible suit and do not bid two clubs.  The main point of this hand is that a two club bid, tempting as it is, would show at least ten high card points.  When you bid two clubs, your partner will not know you are bidding on cheese in hopes of finding a safe home.  He will think you are bidding constructively.  If he has a fifteen point or better hand, he will continue until you get to game.  Your hand will be a sad sight for him if he sees it and if he doesn’t see it, he will wonder why you are losing so many tricks.  At the conclusion of the hand, he will definitely be wondering what you had.  You can alibi it away for a round or two, but eventually, he will see those cursed hand records and the truth will be out.

6

Q 8 7 2
2
J 10 7 4
10 6 5 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	Dbl
?

There is a fallacy in bridge that has tenaciously stuck around in spite of fifty years of publicity to the contrary.  I expect that most readers of this article will be in agreement with the bid I am suggesting but my readers will admit that they know many who have not yet accepted this rule.

RULE – When your RHO makes a takeout double, a jump raise by you has a totally different meaning than when your RHO passes.  You should bid three spades with this hand.  If your RHO passed, a three spade bid by you would show either a limit raise if that is your system, or a game forcing raise if that is your system.  When there is a takeout double, the jump raise no longer shows a good hand.  It shows a weak hand with good shape and FOUR or more card support for your partner.  This hand, weak as it is, is a fine example of a jump raise over a takeout double.

As noted, there is a good chance that you are already using the bid this way, in which case you fairly may ignore these comments and proceed to the next hand.  If, however, you still use a jump raise as a limit raise or as a game forcing raise, you are losing out on a wonderful opportunity to mess with your opponents’ bidding.  I promise that using the jump raise as weak is the best treatment for this bid.  If you have a good hand, you can redouble or can bid two notrump, a special bid that has become a standard way to show support with points.  I can’t discuss the details of that bid here, but since it is so popular nowadays, you should be able to get some information on it.

7

Q 7 5 3
A 8 2
7 6
10 5 3 2

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	Dbl	2
?

Did you bid two spades?  There is an area of bidding where the fear in us comes to the fore.  “Bid two spades with only six high card points and a bad four card suit?  Oh, my.”

There are reasons why you should bid two spades and I can tell you the reasons that many do not bid two spades.  First, the reasons why you should bid two spades.

You have six good-looking high card points and you have some shape.  In support of spades, you have seven decent points.  Your suit is poor, but your partner promises support so you will be safe in two spades.  By bidding, you put your side into contention to make something AND you do something else which is valuable.  Even if the hand does not belong to your side, you may push their side to the three level which may be higher than they are safe.  All of this is in addition to the modest chance that your side can make a game.

If your partner opened one spade or overcalled one spade, would you not raise to two spades?  Yes, you would.  When partner doubles one heart, he is doing something similar to bidding one spade.  He is showing spades, along with other suits as well.  Since your partner often has four spades, is it not a wise idea to bid two spades, which is more or less the same thing as raising spades?

Why do many players fail to bid two spades?  One reason is that they view a two spade bid as ‘bidding’ spades as opposed to ‘raising’ spades.  Partner’s double is a question which asks you if you have spades.  When you do, you should try to say yes.

Another major reason why players do not bid spades with hands like this one is that in the recent past, they did bid spades with this kind of hand only to find that partner did not have support.  Partner, it turns out, has doubled for takeout with only two spades.  Fresh with the memory of playing in a four-two fit, players resolve that it will never happen again.  This is what happens when you make a poorly judged takeout double and your partner is left high and dry in a stinky contract.  Partners remember this kind of treatment.  

Be sure that when you make a takeout double, you have what you are supposed to have and in time your partner will learn that bidding two spades with this hand is a good thing to do.

8

Q J 6 4 2
A Q 7 6 3
J 9
8

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
2	Pass	2	3
?

 Did you pass?  Well done.  Did you think of bidding three spades? A bad tendency.  Did  you actually bid three spades?  Quite gross!  You bid two clubs, showing five-five in the majors, and dragged a preference out of East.  At this stage in the auction, if someone asked you what East has, you would guess that East has from zero to eleven points and two or more spades.  Not much of an insight.  If someone asked East what you have, he would say that you have five-five in the majors with eight or more points.  

Interesting, isn’t it, how accurately East pegs your hand?  

The question for the moment is simple.  Who knows better how many spades your side can make, you or your partner?  Given that you have a near minimum hand, it must be right to defer to your partner’s judgment.  If your partner has some bits and pieces, he will bid again.  Give East this hand:

10 8 7 3
K 9
A 8 7
9 7 6 3

He will know that his fourth spade is gold and his high cards are fitting and he will continue to three spades.  

Give East this hand instead:

9 5 3
10 5
K 8 6 5
Q J 5 2

East will know he has nothing for you and will pass three clubs in a flash.  The key to this competitive bidding decision is the common one that says when you have a minimum for your prior bidding, you should let partner make the last decision.  West, having shown his shape, should make no more voluntary bids.

9

K J 7 6 2
Q 9 7 6
4 2
K 9

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		1	1NT*
?

*16-18

There is one and only one bid for this hand.  Double.  If you fail to double with this hand, you will end up defeating one notrump a couple of tricks and will receive a boring one hundred points for your efforts.

That one notrump overcall announces a big hand, to be sure, but it is not such a big hand that South can be sure of making one notrump.  When he bid it, he was hoping that his partner would produce a few points.

How many points do you have?  You have nine high card points.  

How many points does your partner have?  You don’t know for sure, but it is fair to guess that he has at least twelve and can have more.

This means your side has twenty-one high card points minimum and can easily have more.  

Here is the hand that South has.

Q 9 3
A K 10
A Q 8 5
Q J 8

South has a good hand, as announced by his one notrump bid.  How many tricks will it take in notrump?  Well, if his partner has the king of spades and the king of clubs, South will make a notrump or two.  If his partner produces no high cards or perhaps a jack, South’s hand will make four red suit tricks and perhaps one more trick along the way.

West knows with his nine high card points that South is going to find a terrible dummy.  South is not going to get to dummy to take any finesses.  Because of this he will spend the entire hand leading away from his tennaces instead of up to them.  

This is a lovely opportunity for West and he should take advantage by doubling and leading his fourth best spade.  True, South will make one notrump on occasion when everything is sour for East-West, but that will be rare.  My guess is that South will go down about eighty percent of the time, which adds up to a fine score for you.

I suggest that whenever your opponent overcalls one notrump you double it with nine or more high card points and with any eight point hand that offers a decent lead.  

10

K 2
Q 9 6 5 4 3
6 5 3
Q 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
		2	Pass
Pass	3	Pass	3
?

Hard to believe, but there is a good bid you can make with this piece of cheese.  Double.  The meaning of double is that you wish partner to lead a spade.  You promise a high spade honor for this bid. The ace, king, or queen all meet this requirement.

The one thing that double does not mean is that you remember the bidding and want partner to know it.  Doubling with two little spades or even three little spades is misguided.  The opponents won’t play it in three spades doubled and your double will give the opponents more room to sort out what they want to do.  The only thing your double will do is convince partner that you want a spade lead.  If he leads a spade and you can only produce a little card, your partner will feel deceived.  Say you have a hand like this one.

7 6 3
K J 9 7 6
8 7
K 9 3

If you double three spades, your partner, if on lead, will lead a spade and that may not be good.  If you pass three spades, your partner will think to himself that you did not ask for a spade lead.  If, with this information, your partner still leads a spade, it is because his spades are good enough to do so.  If you pass three spades and partner’s spades aren’t all that good, he will know to look elsewhere.  Perhaps you will get lucky enough to see him lead a heart.  

That can happen, but not if you make a spontaneous double without good reason.

11

K J 6 3
8
7 2
K 10 9 7 6 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
	1	1	1
?

Bid two clubs.  A new suit in response to an overcall is not forcing.  It says you have some points and feel safe in bidding.  If your partner wishes to pass, he can and if he can bid on, knowing you have a few points, that is OK too.  If East does rebid, say two hearts, you don’t have to fret that you have promised him a good hand.  You can and should pass two hearts knowing that East bid it without encouragement from you.  

Think how you would feel if you passed one spade and heard opener rebid two diamonds.  If this was passed to you, might you not feel like bidding three clubs now?  Better by far to bid two clubs at your first opportunity. That way, you won’t have to decide to bid three clubs later.  

It surprises me how many partnerships play that a new suit is forcing.  Some play, so help me, that a new suit promises a fit for partner’s suit.  It may give the partnership some comfort to play this way, but it means that you will be doing a lot of passing while you wait for the right hand.  That is not my style and it should not be yours either.  Bid two clubs on hands like this one and get involved in the auction.  

NOTE that if you bid two clubs and they buy the hand, you prefer a club lead from partner.  Obviously, if he has great hearts, he will lead them, but if he has a broken heart holding, he will be pleased to follow your hint.

12

K 9 8 2
9
A J 3 2
A Q 7 3

WEST	NORTH	EAST	SOUTH
			1
?

 The right bid is pass.  I regret that this is not unanimous.  There is a measurable number of players who insist on doubling with this hand and it saddens me that they do not go for five hundred points each and every time.  Bridge is a forgiving game and you can make bids like this now and then and get away with them, but not if I am watching.  

The right bid with this hand, good as it is, is to pass.  If you double, your partner will bid hearts.  

If he bids one heart, you will have to leave him in one heart which he will hate or you will have to bid something to escape.  Doubling and bidding a new suit or bidding notrump shows a much bigger hand.  

Things could be worse.  Your partner might bid two hearts or even three hearts.  You will hate both of these bids too.  

A thoughtful player might bid one spade which is pretty close to being a good bid.  With better spades, it would be a good bid.  But you have poor spades, so that bid is out.

Best is to pass and see if the bidding won’t go better for you later.  If your LHO bids hearts and your RHO raises, you can double for takeout.  That will be a fair description of your hand and with luck, your side will win out in the bidding.  

RULE – When you have an opening bid and your RHO opens first, it is not necessary to bid.  You will try to bid and often there will be a good bid available, but when there is not, it is best to pass instead of making up a bid for the occasion.  

The post Play Too Fast Series – 12 Bidding Situations appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North J 7 6 5 2 J 6 A K J 10 9 8
West K Q 10 9 8 4 A 5 9 3 K 7 6
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       1 1 1NT 2 5 Pass Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

West is on lead against five clubs.  His choices include the king of spades and the ace of hearts.  I am a big advocate for keeping aces in my hand until their moment arrives and I would lean towards the king of spades.

South ruffs the first lead and goes to dummy with the ace of diamonds, East playing the eight.

Dummy leads the nine of clubs and runs it to your king.  If you wish to duck it, you are welcome to do that, but it might be expensive.  Better to win the trick.  Doing so almost guarantees defeating five clubs.  Do you see why?  It is very important for you to see why five clubs is in trouble.

What should West lead now?  

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North J 7 6 5 2 J 6 A K J 10 9 8
West K Q 10 9 8 4 A 5 9 3 K 7 6		East A 3 Q 10 9 8 7 3 8 7 6 2 2
	South – K 4 2 Q 5 4 A Q J 10 5 4 3
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       1 1 1NT 2 5 Pass Pass Pass

Believe it or not, almost any card will set five clubs barring the two that most players would be leading now.  

Any spade other than the queen, a diamond, and a club are all nearly certain to defeat five clubs.

A heart is hugely dangerous.  Here are the reasons.

South has a maximum of six club tricks.
He has a maximum of four diamond tricks.
South has no spade tricks coming so if he is going to make five clubs, he has to get a heart trick.  

How can he do that?

It is possible that East has the king of hearts, but it is not a lock.  The good news is that if East has the king of hearts, the defenders will get two more tricks before the hand is over.  South, no matter what his hand, will have to deal with the heart suit.

The hand that West is catering to is the one where South has the king of hearts.  If he does have it, West’s not leading a heart now will force South to play on the hearts himself.

South has the six club tricks you expected and the four diamond tricks you worried about, and he has so many hearts that he can’t get rid of them on the diamonds.  West, if he ever leads a heart, will give South the contract.  As long as West counts declarer’s tricks, he will see that there are not enough.  West does not bang down the ace of hearts because he knows that doing so might give South that elusive eleventh trick.  A thoughtful defense.

BONUS.  I won’t give you the answer to this question.  Work out how South can make five clubs if West ducks the first club.

The post Play Too Fast Series – 11 appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North A 5 2 Q 8 K 10 8 4 J 9 6 3
	South Q 9 A K 2 A J 5 A K Q 10 2
Lead: 10 Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       2 3 Dbl Pass 3NT Pass 4NT Pass 6 Pass Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

North-South reached a good slam after some competitive bidding from West.  South started with a fine two club bid and West took advantage of the vulnerability to bid three hearts.  North doubled for takeout, a sensible treatment.  It is odd, in that some pairs use a double by North to say that they have nothing.  Different strokes for different folks.

South bid three notrump with misgivings.  He might have had a little less, but he was missing so many fillers that he settled for a modest game.  North felt he had a tad extra, and showed it by making a quantitative notrump raise.  This was all South needed to hear and he went directly to six clubs.  

West led the ten of spades.  How should South play?  One very acceptable line is to play low from dummy, allowing East to have the king of spades.  That will leave you with twelve top tricks, regardless of where that queen of diamonds is.

Do you see a better line?

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North A 5 2 Q 8 K 10 8 4 J 9 6 3
West 10 J 10 9 7 6 4 3 Q 7 7 5 4		East K J 8 7 6 4 3 5 9 6 3 2 8
	South Q 9 A K 2 A J 5 A K Q 10 2
Lead: 10 Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH       2 3 Dbl Pass 3NT Pass 4NT Pass 6 Pass Pass Pass

While you are thinking about this, you might wish to wonder what West has in spades.  It strikes me that the ten of spades might be a singleton.  It does not have to be, but it is possible.  The nine is not top of a sequence so it rates to be from shortness.

Do you see a good enough reason not to finesse in spades?

There is a good reason.  Your slam is virtually cold and does not require taking the risk that West has a stiff spade.

I will give you that trumps divide three-one.  I don’t want anyone to get lost in thought about the chances that clubs divide four-zero.

Given that clubs divide, the winning play is to go up with the ace of spades.  Draw trump.  It takes three rounds, West having the long trump.  You can, if you wish, try to guess diamonds and perhaps make an overtrick, but that is poor thinking.  A bad guess in diamonds and you may go down.  Better to do something else which ensures taking twelve tricks.  Do you see the correct line at this point?

Play three rounds of hearts and discard one of dummy’s spades.  Now give East his king of spades.  On this trick, you will see with satisfaction that West has just one spade.  Finessing at trick one would cost ;you the slam.  East is in now with the king of spades and is faced with the classic choice of leading a diamond, finding the queen for you, or leading a spade, giving you a sluff and a ruff.

The endplay is easy enough, but it is possible to have a blind spot towards the need for discarding a spade from dummy.  If you don’t see that, you will have to try to find the queen of diamonds. 

 Note West’s three heart bid. Even though it will go down five tricks, it is still a good bid.  West did not HAVE to find East with a hopeless hand.  In the meantime, the bid will expose a flaw in most partnership bidding methods.  Very few North-South pairs will be happy to welcome this kind of bidding after their two club opening bids.

The post Play Too Fast Series – 10 appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: N Vul: Both	North A K 9 3 Q J 9 7 6 4 A K 6
	South K 8 7 J 7 5 2 A 3 2 J 7 5
Lead: Q Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH   1 Pass 1 Pass 3 Pass 3NT Pass Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

Playing in a pair game against competent opponents, you are doing nicely until this hand comes along.  With both sides vulnerable, your side bids to three notrump.

The auction is one of those Standard American sequences that leaves no one satisfied.  North has too good a hand to rebid two diamonds and the suit is a bit poor to bid three diamonds.  The K93 of hearts are tempting too, but there is no way to do everything.  North falls back on three diamonds, which is the bid that most players would make.

South, holding a diamond honor and fair points, has a pretty routine three notrump bid.  South has to make a few wishes of his own, but this is the way that you have to bid hands like this.  

West leads the queen of spades, won nicely by dummy’s ace.  This start doesn’t hurt you any.  Three notrump is virtually cold against all but the cruelest lie of the cards.  Actually, South should be wondering how many tricks he should play for.  On a good day, he might take two spades, a heart, six diamonds, and three clubs.  This is optimistic, for sure, but it could happen.

At trick two, South starts diamonds, leading the queen for a finesse.  It wins, East and West both following with little diamonds.  Only the king and ten are remaining.  This means that the really nasty distribution does not exist.  Three notrump is going to make.  At trick two, South led another diamond and captured East’s ten with the ace, West showing out.  

South suddenly got hit with the urge to think.  What is South thinking about now?

South is thinking that he isn’t so safe in three notrump any more.  He proceeded to prove the wisdom of that thought.  South saw that taking the king of spades now would be fruitless since that would establish a ton of tricks for the opponents.  He tried something else.  South led a third round of diamonds to East’s king.  South rooted hard for a spade return but East seemed to be doing some thinking of his own and wasn’t listening to South.  East returned the ten of clubs.  South’s efforts from this point on failed and after it was all over, East-West marked up plus one hundred.

Click the tab to view the four hands.

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: N Vul: Both	North A K 9 3 Q J 9 7 6 4 A K 6
West Q J 10 5 3 10 8 4 5 Q 8 3 2		East 9 6 4 2 A Q 6 K 10 8 10 9 4
	South K 8 7 J 7 5 2 A 3 2 J 7 5
Lead: Q Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH   1 Pass 1 Pass 3 Pass 3NT Pass Pass Pass

Looking at all four hands, you can probably see a way to make three notrump after giving East his diamond trick.

Looking at all four hands after the fact is not a good way to play bridge.  Do you see a way to make three notrump that feels right during the play?  In other words, how should South have played the hand without looking at all four hands?

The answer is remarkably simple.  Taking the diamond finesse was right, but the remainder of the play was filled with greed.  South should have led a small diamond from dummy at trick three and when East follows with the ten, LET HIM HAVE THE TRICK!  Now South can come to his hand with the ace of diamonds, cash the king of spades, and then take the rest of his winners.  Since the opponents have spade tricks waiting, South will have to play his winners from the top.  With nothing good happening, he is held to his nine tricks.  A minimum result, but much better than the one South got in practice.

The post Play Too Fast Series – 9 appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: S	North 9 6 5 3 A 10 9 7 3 2 A 8 6
	South A K 7 2 K 5 3 A J 7 4 10 7
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH – – – 1NT 2* Dbl* Pass 2 Pass 3 Pass Pass Pass

By Mike Lawrence

The bidding on this hand showed many of the modern treatments in action.  

West’s two club bid* showed a diamond suit OR a five card major and a five card minor.  East usually bids two diamonds to see which hand West has.  These two-way conventions are nasty things to play against and you’d better have some understandings about how to bid when you run into them.

Here, North’s double* was not for penalty, it was Stayman.  South showed his spades and North properly raised to three.  South has a minimum and elected to stop in three spades.  

West started with the king of diamonds.  East played the six and South played the seven, allowing the king to win.  If West led another diamond and gave East a ruff, it was likely that East would be ruffing with a trump trick.   

At trick two, West switched to the two of hearts.  What do you think this is and how should South play from this point?

I can’t think of any heart holding other than a singleton that would cause West to lead a heart.  East is pretty well marked with the missing five hearts.  In a way, this is bad news, but in a way it is good news.  If West is trying for a ruff, it is likely that he has two or three spades and means spades will divide favorably.  

South can see that trumps better divide else the contract is down.  
South can also see that making three spades will require ruffing a heart and a club in his hand or two diamonds in dummy.  

Assuming that trumps are three-two, there is a one hundred percent line.  If you don’t see it, take a moment to look for it.  

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: S	North 9 6 5 3 A 10 9 7 3 2 A 8 6
West J 10 2 K Q 10 9 8 5 K 4 3 2		East Q 8 4 Q J 8 6 4 6 Q J 9 5
	South A K 7 2 K 5 3 A J 7 4 10 7
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH – – – 1NT 2 Dbl Pass 2 Pass 3 Pass Pass Pass

Try this.

Win dummy’s ace of hearts.  Second hand high!

Play the top spades.  When they divide, you can go about ruffing diamonds in dummy.  Play the ace and ruff one in dummy.  If
East ruffs in at any time, that is OK because you will still be able to ruff your last diamond.

South’s play was necessary.  If he plays dummy’s ten of hearts, East will cover.  South can’t risk leading clubs or hearts now else West will get to ruff a heart or two.  South has to draw two trumps immediately.  Now he can ruff a diamond in dummy, East carefully refusing to use his queen of spades yet, but declarer can’t get back to his hand to ruff the last diamond.  East can’t be stopped from getting in and when he does, he will cash the queen of spades to stop diamond ruffs in dummy.  Odd as it looks, that second hand high play at trick two is the winner on this hand.

As a test, you might give this hand to your partner as a problem from the East point of view.  Show him the North and East hands and present him with this line.  West leads the diamond king and switches to a heart.  Declarer finesses the nine and East covers with the jack, declarer taking the ace.  After two rounds of spades, declarer leads the ace of diamonds.  See if your partner is willful enough to refuse ruffing the ace or overruffing when declarer next tries to ruff a diamond in dummy.  If your partner refuses to squander his queen of trumps, keep him.  He is defending very well.

 

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Part One

Dealer: W	North J 8 4 A J 8 7 3 5 3 Q 8 3
		East 6 9 6 5 4 A Q 10 9 8 6 A 10
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass Pass 1 2 2 3 Pass 5 All Pass

By Mike Lawrence

Against five clubs, West chose the king of hearts.  This surprise attack was not immediately effective.  Dummy won the ace and ruffed a heart at trick two with the five of clubs.  Next came the jack of clubs from South.  East spotted that he might get a spade ruff so he took the club and returned his six of spades.  Do you agree?  That was not the best defense.  Take a look at the four hands.

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: W	North J 8 4 A J 8 7 3 5 3 Q 8 3
West Q 7 5 3 2 K Q 10 K J 7 2 4		East 6 9 6 5 4 A Q 10 9 8 6 A 10
	South A K 10 9 2 4 K J 9 7 6 5 2
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass Pass 1 2 2 3 Pass 5 All Pass

South took the spade return, went to dummy with the queen of clubs, and ruffed another heart in his hand.  This dropped West’s queen.  The eight of clubs was the needed entry to the hearts so South was able to discard his two spade losers.

Do you see how the defense could have prevailed?  All East has to do is let South win the king of clubs.  This play will definitely stop South from setting up and using the hearts.  If West has a spade trick, almost a guarantee on this bidding, five clubs will go down.  A snap decision by East was the loser, as it is so often.  

In the bidding, East had a decision to make in third seat. Should he open one diamond or two diamonds or should he pass?

East hated to open two diamonds in third seat with this good a hand and with a four card major on the side so tried one diamond instead.  
This is an acceptable evaluation but it caused his side to defend against five clubs rather than bid to five diamonds, which has excellent chances of making.  Perhaps East should have bid three diamonds over three clubs. Perhaps West should have bid five diamonds over five clubs.  So many ifs.  

The post Play Too Fast Series – 7 appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: N	North 7 6 2 A K J 10 8 8 A Q 6 2
West A 9 5 3 5 4 K Q J 10 9 9 8		East 8 4 Q 9 7 6 3 6 4 2 7 5 3
	South K Q J 10 2 A 7 5 3 K J 10 4
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass 1 Pass 1 2 2 Pass 4 All Pass

By Mike Lawrence

South gave the hand a rather poor play.  Disappointed with the trumps in dummy, he let his frustration get to him.  West lead the king of diamonds.  South took it and ruffed a diamond.  A spade was led to the king and West let it win.  South ruffed another diamond, discarded his remaining diamond on a heart and came to his hand with the king of clubs.  South, hoping for a good trump break, led a trump, won by West.  West continued diamonds and the result was that South ended up with an emotional ten tricks.  Considering that South started with three spades, two hearts, a diamond, and four clubs, plus some number of diamond ruffs in dummy, getting ten tricks was not a triumph.

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: N	North 7 6 2 A K J 10 8 8 A Q 6 2
West A 9 5 3 5 4 K Q J 10 9 9 8		East 8 4 Q 9 7 6 3 6 4 2 7 5 3
	South K Q J 10 2 A 7 5 3 K J 10 4
Lead: K Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass 1 Pass 1 2 2 Pass 4 All Pass

The solution?  Slow down.  Declarer gave away the show at trick one.  South can make eleven tricks by doing something strange at trick one.  Let West have the king of diamonds.  What can West do now?  If West leads another diamond, South ruffs it in dummy and draws trump.  The diamond ace remains as a stopper so West can’t force South’s trumps.  

Basically, West is helpless.  South can win any return, go about the business of drawing trump, and take one diamond ruff in dummy in the process.  South gets all of his high card tricks, gets a diamond ruff in dummy, and maintains trump control.

Having made eleven tricks, South can now get around to complementing North on his raise.*

*If you are using Support Doubles, North will double two diamonds to show exactly three cards in spades.  Curiously, this bid may not help because South may aim for notrump rather than play in a four-three fit.  If South did bid three notrump, North would probably pass.  Going back to spades with the 762 of spades would not appeal.  North probably hated raising with such crummy spades in the first place and would resist

An odd hand.  If South does bid notrump, he will play it there and he will go down.  Too much learning can be dangerous. 

The post Play Too Fast Series – 6 appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: N	North A Q K 6 K J 10 9 3 A 10 7 3
	South K 7 2 8 7 4 A Q Q J 9 6 4
Lead: J Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH – 1 Pass 2 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 5 All Pass

Where Am I?

By Mike Lawrence

Where Am I?

When you play a hand, you must always lead from the right hand, hence the title of this article, “Where am I?”

 

On the hand at left, West leads the Jack of spades.

How do you play?

Here is how one South played the hand.  He won with the ace of spades and came to his hand with the ace of diamonds.  He took the club finesse, won by East with the king.  West, most annoyingly, ruffed the diamond return, and the ensuing heart lead gave East two heart tricks.

How should South have played?  Should he have plunked down the ace and another club?  That would fail if West had the king and East had the ace of hearts.  Is there a safer line yet?

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: E Vul: N-S	North A Q K 6 K J 10 9 3 A 10 7 3
West J 10 9 3 Q 10 9 5 3 2 4 8 5		East 8 6 5 4 A J 8 7 6 5 2 K 2
	South K 7 2 8 7 4 A Q Q J 9 6 4
Lead: J Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH – 1 Pass 2 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 5 All Pass

There is.  In the first line, declarer came to his hand with the ace of diamonds and took the club finesse at trick three.  Better is for South to finesse in clubs at trick two.

The way to do that?  

Overtake dummy’s queen of spades with the king.  You only get two spade tricks by playing this way, but you get to draw trumps more safely.  In any event, the lost spade trick can be retrieved by using the diamonds later.  What difference does it make how may spade tricks you get if you only need two?

If you take the king of spades at trick one and finesse in clubs, East will win, but he can’t get West in for a heart lead.  In fact, if East doesn’t take his ace of hearts, you will discard all three of your little hearts on the diamonds and will ruff your little spade later in the play.  Such a difference.  False economy costs you two tricks.  It is sad since saving the third spade trick could not gain you a trick.  It was an illusion only.

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Part One

Dealer: E Vul: N-S	North A 7 6 A 5 A K Q J 10 7 A Q
	South K J 2 K J 9 6 2 6 3 10 9 2
Lead: 8 Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH Pass Pass 2 Pass Pass Dbl Pass 4 Pass 4NT Pass 5 Pass 7 All Pass

By Mike Lawrence

North had the kind of bidding problem that we all dream about. East opened a weak two spade bid, and when that bid came around to North, he found himself with a lot to think about. How would you handle the North hand with its twenty-four high card points? Actually, calling this a twenty-four high card point hand does it an injustice. It has controls, excellent quality points, and a solid suit. North ‘solved’ the problem by starting with a takeout double, reserving his decision until later. This worked well because South had enough to jump to four hearts. North still was not out of the woods but solved the problem in typical fashion.

He used Blackwood, found that South had one key card, and selected seven diamonds as the final contract. This auction had the effect of getting East to lead out of turn, but he was stopped before any damage was done. West, when informed that it was his lead, showed that he had heard East’s spade bid and led the eight of spades.

* * *

Declarer played the hand rapidly and efficiently. He played low at trick one and took East’s queen with the king. West had four diamonds so it took four rounds to get them all. Turning to hearts, South played off the ace and king and ruffed a heart in dummy. If

they divided or if the queen came down, seven diamonds would make, but not today. West had four hearts to the queen-ten, meaning South could not set up an extra trick there. This left South with the club finesse. He came to his hand with the jack of spades and tried finessing the queen of clubs. East produced the king and that was that.

What went wrong? Was the contract too aggressive or should it have been made?

Looking at the two hands, especially given that East opened two spades, bidding seven diamonds is reasonable. It makes if something good happens in hearts or if the club finesse works.

The real error was in the play. On the lie of the cards, seven diamonds was cold. The fault? The fault, as so often is the case, was the play to trick one.

Question. After East opens two spades and West leads the eight, what are the chances that East has the queen of spades?

50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
99% GREATER

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: E Vul: N-S	North A 7 6 A 5 A K Q J 10 7 A Q
West 8 Q 10 8 7 8 5 4 2 8 6 5 4		East Q 10 9 5 4 3 4 3 9 K J 7 3
	South K J 2 K J 9 6 2 6 3 10 9 2
Lead: 8 Bidding:   WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH – – 2 Pass Pass Dbl Pass 4 Pass 4NT Pass 5 Pass 7 All Pass

I can’t imagine East not having the queen of spades. This is as close to 100% as anything I have ever seen at the bridge table. It is not necessary for you to play low from dummy at trick one. There is no need to ‘take’ the free finesse and there is a good reason not to. As long as you are willing to credit East with the queen of spades, you can make seven diamonds via the following.

Win the ace at trick one.
Draw four rounds of trump, keeping all of your hearts.
Play two rounds of hearts and ruff one in dummy. You will see that West still has a heart stopper.
Finesse the jack of spades. It is a little unfair to describe this as a finesse because a finesse is usually associated with some amount of risk. In this case, you know it will work.
Ruff another heart in dummy.
Now, courtesy of your play at trick one, you still have an entry to your hand to use the good heart. Play to your king of spades and discard dummy’s queen of clubs on the good heart. Making seven.

Except for the fact that East has a light weak two bid, the cards are more or less as you would expect.

One last question in closing. Would you have opened the East hand with two spades in first seat, not vulnerable against vulnerable?

I hope so. This is a continuing theme that is proved over and over on a daily basis. Quiet opponents are overcome more easily than busy opponents. Don’t be quiet. Don’t be passive. Be heard, over and over and over. Eventually, you will find the proper level of being expressive. Keep trying until you find it. In your search, you should note the level that works for your opponents against you. In time you will achieve that most rewarding accolade. “Oh. I am so glad that we are skipping over your table.”

The post Play Too Fast Series – 4 appeared first on Michael Lawrence.

Part One

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North K 8 7 6 K 5 3 K 4 K 5 3 2
	South A J 10 9 5 4 3 2 A 2 A 8 4
Lead: Q

By Mike Lawrence

South reached six spades after a weak jump overcall by West. North’s four diamond bid promised spade support and game going values. It was not a random noise. When an opponent makes a simple overcall, it is useful to play that a cue-bid shows a balanced game forcing raise and a jump cue-bid shows a singleton with a game forcing raise. When an opponent makes a preemptive overcall, there is not as much room available so you must use the cue-bid to show a good hand with support with no hint that you do or do not have a singleton. On this hand, South knew only that North has a good hand with spade support. South bid Blackwood and found that North had a key card. Knowing that an ace or the king of spades was missing, South stopped in six. Perhaps South was being optimistic. In any event, the play is usually the best critique of your auction.

West leads the queen of hearts. Over to you.

If West had not led hearts, you might draw trump and lead hearts yourself. Six spades will make if West has the ace of hearts. Actually, on the bidding, you should suspect that East has the ace of hearts. The opening lead confirms that for you, absolutely. No sane defender in the West seat would lead the queen of hearts from a suit headed by the ace-queen. No. With this opening lead, you know for sure that East has the ace of hearts. Does this mean you are doomed?

In fact, you are not doomed. You actually have a very good chance to make six spades. You have to play carefully at trick one, though. No emotional play allowed.

The correct play is?

Part Two: All 4 hands

Dealer: S Vul: N-S	North K 8 7 6 K 5 3 K 4 K 5 3 2
West Q Q J 10 J 9 8 7 6 5 4 J 7		East 8 A 9 8 7 6 4 Q 10 Q 10 9 6
	South A J 10 9 5 4 2 2 A 2 A 8 4
Lead: Q

The correct play is to play low from dummy. Do not make the instinctive play of covering. Here is what you are hoping for.

Let the queen of hearts hold. West will continue with another heart and you will again play low from dummy, ruffing in your hand. Now you play all of your trumps. Here are the final five cards after finishing your spades.

Let the queen of hearts hold. West will continue with another heart and you will again play low from dummy, ruffing in your hand. Now you play all of your trumps. Here are the final five cards after finishing your spades.

– –
K
K 4
K 5

– –
– –
A 2
A 8 4

You know that East started with the ace of hearts. You hope he started with four or more clubs too. If that is true, you can play the ace and king of diamonds, squeezing East. He will have to hold on to the ace of hearts and he will also need to hang on to three clubs to protect that suit too. He can’t do that. He is allowed to keep three cards, not four. Here is the entire hand.

East has four clubs and the ace of hearts so the squeeze works. You are home with your slam.

Now comes the reason for playing correctly at trick one. If you had put up the king of hearts in a pique, East would win and now your squeeze won’t work. West can keep his heart stopper and East can keep his club stopper. Six spades will go down.

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