Preemptive Strikes

Everyone knows that a preempt is capable of causing havoc at the bridge table – to both sides. (If you want to find out more about this fascinating topic I can recommend Step-by-Step Pre-Empts by Alan Mould.) At the start of the second half of the match between Yeh and Lavazza the preempts came thick and fast.

There was not much wrong with North’s 3{, but it was harshly dealt with. East started with her top clubs and declarer ruffed the third round and played a heart. East took the ace and returned a heart, West (who had pitched a heart on the third club) ruffing and returning a spade. East won with the queen and gave her partner another heart ruff. He exited with a spade and was sure to score two more trump tricks, +800.

South led the six of hearts and declarer allowed North’s king to hold, finishing two down to give Lavazza 14 IMPs. Lovers of Opera will know the soprano was warming up.

West led the king of clubs and having won with dummy’s ace declarer cashed the ace of spades, West pitching the jack of hearts and continued with the queen. East won with the king and returned the four of clubs (she had carefully followed to the first trick with the nine) and West took his tricks for two down.

West led the king of clubs and declarer won with dummy’s ace. Declarer played dummy’s queen of spades and East won with the king, West’s discard of the eight of clubs revealing the break. She returned a spade and declarer won with dummy’s ten, played three rounds of diamonds, East ruffing with the eight of spades, declarer overruffing with the jack, ruffing a club, ruffing a diamond and exiting with a trump – two down, -200.

West led the king of diamonds and declarer won with dummy’s ace, ruffed a diamond and played the ten of spades. West won with the jack and when East discarded the seven of clubs he switched to the four of hearts. East won with the king and returned a heart and declarer was hopelessly placed finishing three down, -500.

There may have been some confusion about the meaning of East’s 4].
North led the five of spades and declarer won with the queen, pitching the three of hearts from dummy and played off his top clubs. South ruffed and could now have played a heart to ensure four down, but her actual choice of the ten of spades was still good enough for a big penalty – North ruffed with the four of diamonds and declarer overruffed with dummy’s eight and pitched a heart on the ace of clubs, but there was no way to avoid three down and -800.
The Soprano was already in full voice as Lavazza marched towards the title.

 

Carousel

Carousel was the second musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The 1945 work was adapted from Ferenc Molnár’s 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline. The story revolves around carousel barker Billy Bigelow, whose romance with millworker Julie Jordan comes at the price of both their jobs. He attempts a robbery to provide for Julie and their unborn child; after it goes wrong, he is given a chance to make things right. One of the songs from the show contains the line: ‘I’d let my golden chances pass me by.’

In the first half of the match between Yeh and Lavazza both sides were given the chance to shine:

It was tough for North to raise to 4 – but on this layout declarer would have had an easy task.

Against 3NT East led the jack of diamonds and declarer won in dummy and played a club. West went in with the ace and played a diamond giving the defenders the five tricks they needed, +50.

West led the two of spades and declarer went up with dummy’s queen, playing a heart to the queen when it held. He could draw trumps and play on clubs, taking eleven tricks,+200 and 6 IMPs for Lavazza.

No doubt there is a logical explanation for West’s decision to bid 5 over 5, but I will have to wait until I next see Norberto to discover it.

However, 6 was by no means certain to fail (there is one lead that is sure to beat it – see if you can spot it!).

South led the king of spades and declarer won perforce in dummy, came to hand with a diamond and ran the jack of spades pitching a heart.  She continued with the ten of spades, deciding to ruff it with dummy’s four of clubs and then played the nine of clubs, North following with the six.

If declarer lets the nine of clubs run she can then ruff a heart, overtake the queen of diamonds and play the ace of diamonds. North is helpless. If he ruffs, declarer overuffs and plays two rounds of trumps, forcing North to lead into the heart tenace. Discarding does not help, as declarer throws a spade, then repeats the procedure by pitching a spade on the ace of hearts, North scoring only one trump trick.

Unfortunately declarer overtook the nine of clubs and now the 4-1 trump break meant she had to go one down.

Have you worked out the winning lead?

South must start with a trump, which leaves declarer a trick short.

If South leads a diamond or a heart declarer can play to reduce her trumps by cross ruffing.

 

North led the nine of spades and declarer won with the ace and played the nine of clubs to the jack. When that held it was natural to continue with the ace, but it proved to be fatal. South pitched the three of spades and declarer continued with a club to North’s ten. A spade to South’s queen was followed by the five of hearts and when the queen lost to the king South’s king of spades was the setting trick.

I confess that once partner has volunteered 5 I might not be able to resist the temptation to bid 6 with the South hand. If your partner is a Rabbi you can be confident he will not lose a trump trick!

There were three aces to lose, one down.

Five Diamonds was designed to help partner if the opponents bid on to 6.

There was no swing.

North led the four of clubs and South won with the king and continued with the ace, which declarer ruffed with the ten of spades. He fatally played the jack of diamonds to dummy’s ace and South ruffed and exited with a spade. Declarer could pick up the trumps, but had to lose a heart for one down.

If declarer crosses to dummy with a heart he can then run the eight (or queen) of spades and has the eleven tricks he needs.

Here is something for you to consider as North.

Should you have led a diamond at trick one?

I’m sure you would have done that if partner had doubled 5, wouldn’t you?

West led the king of diamonds and declarer ruffed and cross ruffed spades and diamond s before playing a heart to the king for +550.

A Game of Two Halves

At the half way mark in the match between the CCBA and Lavazza things were looking bleak for the team from Turin. However, as any self respecting pundit will tell you, Bridge is a game of two halves.

South did not see the double of 1 so her 2 was Drury. That left her awkwardly placed and when she decided against punting 4 the game was missed, +170.

2SA = Limit raise or better

East led her heart, so declarer drew trumps and claimed. Rest assured that after East’s double he would always have taken ten tricks. It was 10 IMPs to Lavazza on the comeback trail.

West led the jack of diamonds and East overtook with the ace and returned the queen, the defenders taking the first seven tricks, three down, -300.

East led….(drum roll please) the four of spades, +660 and another big swing hand gone to the trailing team.

South led the king of diamonds and North was content to follow with the eight. South coped with that, switching to the two of hearts, one down, -100.

It was not easy for EW to double 5, but 5 was down in double quick time, the defenders cashing a diamond (here North overtook the king) and switching to a heart, +500.

It was not quite enough to save the match, but Lavazza had avoided a catastrophe.

The Brick Wall of China

When Lavazza faced off against CCBA they found themselves banging their heads against a brick wall.

West led the ten of hearts and the defenders played three rounds of the suit, declarer winning with the queen, crossing to the ace of diamonds and running the jack of clubs, +430.

East led the two of hearts and East put in the nine allowing declarer to win with the jack. That turned out be a very astute move, as declarer now played the jack of clubs and when East followed impassively with the seven he went up with the king – and down went the contract.

Don’t look away now, as we come to what Zia Mahmood described as the best hand of the tournament so far:

Unwilling to open a red suit East started with the ten of spades and declarer won with the jack, cashed the ace of clubs and played a club to the jack and king, East pitching the six of hearts. West returned the seven of spades and declarer won with the ace, crossed to dummy with a spade (West pitching the two of hearts) and cashed the queen of clubs pitching a diamond as West followed with the ten and East threw the nine of spades.

Now declarer did something very subtle – he played a heart to the ten, creating the impression that he had started with the ]AJ10. East won with the queen and played the king of diamonds, collecting the four from partner.

In the cold light of day you could argue that West’s ten of clubs must have shown a preference for hearts over diamonds, but that is easy to overlook and declarer’s deception was rewarded when East continued with the six of diamonds. That got declarer up to nine tricks and when East pitched a diamond on the ace of spades declarer had an overtrick.

Zia was a big supporter of North’s choice of opening bid, but when South was unwilling to dredge up a 1NT response he was left to play there. From memory he took ten tricks.

East led the seven of hearts and West took the ace, cashed the king of diamonds and the ace of clubs and played a second club. Declarer won with dummy’s king, played a spade to the queen, drew trumps via the marked finesse and was home, +730.

Declarer ruffed the spade lead and attempted to cash the top diamonds. North ruffed and forced declarer with a spade. When a club to the jack held declarer ruffed a third spade and played the ace of clubs and a club. North won and switched to the king of hearts so the contract was three down – still a swing to CCBA who had dominated the first half of the match.

Too Difficult by Half

Some deals are very tough – and you can be sure that determined opponents will do their best to make sure you can’t reach the optimum spot.

Facing what might be a three-card suit East was not in a position to raise the ante, but NS never found their diamond fit -and the twelve tricks that would have gone with it.

Here East was able to take away a whole round of bidding – and that left South with no real alternative to 4 – it would have been quite something to have tried 5.

If South had bid 3 would North be worth a jump to 4?
You will observe that if you do play a slam on the NS cards you should be in spades as opposed to diamonds. Do you see why?It’s because a spade lead (easier from the West hand) threatening a ruff is too difficult to cope with.

Could North have bid 5? Would it have been enough to persuade South to bid 6? I doubt it.

West cashed the ace of diamonds and switched to the six of spades, East winning with the ace and returning the queen of diamonds, on which West pitched a club (strictly speaking West has to ruff and switch to a club, setting up the defensive cross ruff). Declarer won with dummy’s king and played the king of hearts. When that held she played a club to the queen and West won with the king and returned a club, the defensive cross ruff plus the ace of hearts meaning the contract was one down, -100.

East led the ten of spades and declarer won with dummy’s queen and played a heart to the king. When that held he took a club finesse; West won and made the fine (but not strictly necessary) play of cashing the ace of diamonds before returning a spade. East won with the ace and it should have been clear to play the queen of diamonds, establishing a seventh trick for the defence. However, East played a third spade and that put declarer in control as there was no longer diamond trick to be had.

A Star is Born

42nd Street is an American musical and its 2001 Broadway revival won the Tony for Best Revival. Based on the novel by Bradford Ropes and the subsequent 1933 Hollywood film adaptation, the show focuses on the efforts of famed dictatorial Great White Way Director Julian Marsh to mount a successful stage production of a musical extravaganza at the height of the Great Depression.
It contains the lines ‘keep your feet on the ground and your head on those shoulders of yours and go out, and Sawyer, you’re going out a youngster but you’ve got to come back a star!’

In the match between Yeh and Lavazza, it fell to the least well know member of the team to make a brilliant play.

In the Closed Room Giorgio Duboin and Sylvie Willard had bid and made 4 – South had opened 1NT and bid 4 over North’s 4. After a club lead to the ace and a diamond switch declarer had gone up with the ace, pitched a diamond on the king of clubs and played on cross ruff lines.

With what looked like a robust holding in the unbid suit South did not bother investigate the possibility of a 5-3 heart fit, settling for the nine-trick game.

If West leads a club East can win and return the suit. Then all West needs to do is go up with the ace of spades and play a third club, establishing five winners for the defence.

However, West went with the four of spades and declarer won with dummy’s king and ran the ten of diamonds, repeating the finesse when it held. West won and switched to the queen of hearts. Declarer won in hand with the king and cashed her diamonds, throwing two spades and a club from dummy, while the defenders parted with clubs.

Seeing no danger, declarer ran the nine of hearts to East’s queen to leave this position:

The rest of team Lavazza were gathered in the beautiful auditorium of the Lavazza Hall della Innovation, following the play. They realised that East now had the opportunity to make a special play, but they could only hold their collective breaths as she searched for a solution.

Eventually she played a card. It was the ace of clubs, which executed the rare feat of the defenders squeezing declarer.

If declarer threw a heart from dummy East would be able to exit in that suit and West would take the last two tricks, so declarer threw a spade, hoping that East had started with only one spade. Now the jack of spade gave West three tricks in the suit and the contract was two down.

 

When the ace of clubs appeared on the screen there was an explosion of joy from the rest of the Lavazza squad – Emanuela had come back a star!

Triumph and Disaster

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling

The final session of the match between BBO and Lavazza was a source of both pleasure and pain – depending on where you were sitting.

Keeping things simple the Lavazza team are all employing the World Bridge Federations Standard Card: http://www.ecatsbridge.com/documents/files/2016YehOnlineWorldCup/Lavazza%20Team/WBF%20Standard%20Card%202016%20-%20Lavazza%20team.pdf

South led a club and declarer took North’s queen with the ace, crossed to dummy with a heart, ruffed a diamond, went back to dummy with a heart and ruffed another diamond. She went to dummy for a third time with a spade, drew the outstanding trump and claimed, +1430.

West intended his 4{ to be a cue bid agreeing hearts, but revealed that this was un discussed. It appeared to the commentators that there was some danger of 7] being reached, a contract that could not be made on this layout, but when East eventually selected 6NT it became clear that the message that 4{ had intended to convey had not been received.

Declarer won the lead of the jack of spades with dummy’s king, played a heart to the king and a club to the jack and king. He won the return and played a second club, settling for one off – no doubt hoping that there might have been an accident in the other room.

It cost BBO 17 IMPs.

Double Three card support, non-minimum or strong hand

When South led a spade declarer had no hope and was soon one down,

South led the three of spades and declarer won with the ace, played a diamond to the ace, and played a heart to the king. South won with the ace and returned the nine of hearts. Declarer can still get home from here, but short of time she allowed North to get in with the king of clubs and he returned a heart for South to ruff.

One winning line is to run the eight of clubs at trick two. Say North wins with the king and returns a spade. Declarer ruffs in dummy, draws trumps, runs the jack of clubs, eventually pitching a spade on the fourth club and gives up a heart.

Noises Off

Noises Off is a play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. The idea for it came in 1970, when Frayn was watching from the wings a performance of The Two of Us, a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, “It was funnier from behind than in front, and I thought that one day I must write a farce from behind.” The prototype, a short-lived one-act play called Exits, was written and performed in 1977. At the request of his associate, Michael Codron, Frayn expanded this into what would become Noises Off. It takes its title from the theatrical stage direction indicating sounds coming from offstage.

The Commentators, including the legendary Zia Mahmood, were out in force for the third session and kept the audience entertained with their lively discussions, which were not always confined to bridge, with Poker and Golf being just two of the other sports to be mentioned. There was some excellent bridge too.

West led the six of clubs and declarer won perforce with the ace and played a spade to the king. She ruffed the club return and calmly played the two of hearts from her hand. East won with the seven and played a third club and declarer ruffed and cross ruffed hearts and spades for eleven tricks, +600.

East led the queen of clubs and declarer won with dummy’s ace, played a diamond to the queen, East pitching the two of clubs and played a heart to the jack and queen. West was not slow to return her remaining trump and declarer won in hand and played a spade to the king. When East was able to win with the ace declarer could only ruff two hearts in dummy and had to go one down, -100 and 12 IMPs.

South led the four of diamonds and the defenders played three rounds of the suit. Declarer won in hand and ran the jack of spades to North’s king. The heart switch was taken by dummy’s ace and declarer played a thoughtful  club to the ace, followed by the queen of clubs. When South won with the king two more diamonds meant the contract was two down, -200.

South led the queen of hearts and continued with the eight when it held, declarer winning in dummy and playing a club to the queen and king. South returned the three of spades and when declarer played low North won with the king and played a third heart. Declarer won with the king, cashed the clubs and then overtook the jack of spades with the queen and cashed the ace, one down when the ten did not fall but it was worth 3 IMPs.

Suppose declarer unblocks the jack of spades under the king? Now North must be wide awake and switch to the ace of diamonds and a diamond – how easy would that have been?

 

 

The case of the Dubious Double

Perry Mason is a fictional character, a criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason is featured in more than 80 novels and short stories, most of which involve a client’s murder trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client’s innocence by implicating another character, who then confesses. Every Perry Mason story has a title that begins ‘The Case of…..’.

On this deal from the second set of the match between CCBA and Yeh even Perry Mason would not have been able to secure an acquittal for one of the players.

North led a diamond and declarer won in dummy and as on a deal from the first half of the match had to try and locate the jack of spades. A spade to the king was followed by a spade to the jack and South switched to a heart. When the queen held declarer played a club to the nine and South won and returned the king of hearts. Declarer won with the ace, played a club to the ten and cashed the ace of clubs. The appearance of the king meant there were eight tricks, but that was all, -100.

Having decided to pass initially South could not resist getting involved on the next round, but it turned out badly.

East cashed the king of diamonds and switched to a spade. With perfect defence declarer can be held to just four tricks, for example: West wins with the nine and returns a spade, declarer winning and playing a heart. West wins and switches to a club, declarer winning with the queen and playing a second heart. West takes that and plays a club and East cashes two tricks in that suit followed by a spade. In the three card ending East can play any of his reaming cards and declarer, down to KJ J opposite 10 Q5 cannot avoid the loss of another trick to West’s ]8 {98 – whatever declarer does West discards his heart and will get a trump trick.

However, it generally proves to be difficult to collect all ones tricks in this type of situation and when declarer played dummy’s four on the spade switch West won with the king and returned a spade, so declarer managed a fifth trick, ‘escaping’ for -800.

First Light

When play got under way in the Yeh Online Bridge World Cup the sun was still below the horizon. It did not take long for the interesting deals to start to appear:

West led the nine of hearts and declarer ducked East’s jack, won the heart return with dummy’s ace and played a club to the queen. When that held she continued with the queen of diamonds, covered by the king and ace, came to hand with the jack of diamonds, East pitching the six of clubs and played the seven of spades, West following with the five. This was the critical moment. If declarer  lets the seven run she will finish with ten tricks. However, she went up with dummy’s king and ran the ten of spades to West’s jack. Back came a diamond and declarer won and continued with the queen of spades. West won,and cashed his diamonds, and when declarer parted with the nine of spades the contract was two down, -100.

Should declarer have taken the winning view in spades?

She knew that West held five diamonds and had found a short suit lead. In addition East’s discard of the 6 suggested a five card suit, which meant West must be 4-3-5-1. I guess you know the answer to my question.

West led the six of diamonds and declarer won with the ten, and with time in hand, played a spade to the king and ran the ten of spades to West’s jack. Back came the nine of hearts and declarer ducked East’s jack, won the next heart perforce with dummy’s ace, played a club to the queen, ran the queen of diamonds and forced out the ace of spades, +400 and 11 IMPs.

East must have been surprised to see North open 1. When the opponents died in 2 West came to life and now East must have considered making a contribution.

North led the ace of spades and when South pitched the two of diamonds, he switched to the seven of clubs. Declarer won in dummy and played a heart for the four, five and eight. North returned a club to dummy’s ace and declarer played a heart for the queen and ace, North parting with the four of spades. Declarer cashed the queen of clubs and three rounds of diamonds before exiting with a spade. He was sure to score a heart, +110.

Here it was North who got the surprise in the spade suit.

North led the seven of clubs and declarer won perforce in dummy and played the jack of spades, North winning with the queen as South threw the four of hearts. A club return to dummy’s king saw declarer cross to hand with a diamond and play the five of spades. North took the king and played a third club, but declarer could win, go to dummy with a diamond and force out the ace of spades. North could cash a club, but declarer had the rest, +400 and 7 IMPs.