Gainesville Bridge Club

 The Kibitzer is Shirley Wright.  Volume 3

Jon Shuster, Gainesville

Shirley Wright wants to discuss this hand from Tuesday May 11.

I looked over a defender’s shoulder and it shows how much information there is out there when you play with a truly dependable partner.   On this hand, at trick 1, East can be nearly certain what shape declarer and partner have.  That should have made the defense a breeze.

You are East, dealer is West, with neither side vulnerable.

                           North (Dummy)

                           S-xx

                           H-AJx

                           D-QJ9xx

                           C-10xx

                                                      East (You)

                                                      S-AQxx

                                                      H-xx

                                                      D-Axx

                                                      C-QJ9x

The bidding:

West                North               East                 South

Pass                 Pass                 1C                   1H

1NT                 2H                   Pass                 Pass

Pass

West opens the C2.

Questions:  (1) How many Spades do West and South have (and why)

                   (2) How many Clubs do West and South have (and why)

                   (3) How many Hearts do West and South have (and why)

                   (4) Put it all together.

Answers:

• (1) West denies 4S by bidding 1NT. Depending upon your systems, with 4S, West either makes a negative double or bids 1S with four. That takes priority over showing a Heart stopper. South does not have 5 Spades for s/he would bid Michaels or overcall 1S rather than 1H with 5-5 in the majors. This is especially reinforced by the following observation. Considering dummy and partner’s 1NT bid, South’s Hearts cannot be very good! Declarer will be marked with 3 Clubs per number 2 below, so cannot have 6H-5S.

Conclusion: West has 3 Spades and South has 4 Spades.

• (2) If you trust your partner, there is no way in the world that partner has 4 Clubs, and yet failed to compete to 3C. It is physically impossible for partner to have a singleton Club. (Think about it for a moment: If partner has a singleton Club, declarer has 4S, 5H, and 5C or 14 cards.)

     

       Conclusion: West has 3 Clubs and South has 3 Clubs.

• (3) Most likely, West has 3 Hearts Kxx or Q10x. It is remotely possible that West

  has two Hearts to the K.

Conclusion: West has 3 (or perhaps 2) Hearts and South has 5 (or perhaps 6) Hearts.

(4) So the likely distribution is West: 3S, 3H, 4D, 3C or remotely 3S-2H-5D-3C   and South has 4S-5H-1D-3C or remotely 4S-6H-no D-3C.  These are the only plausible shapes.

In the actual play I watched, East threw the wrong card in the end game allowing the hand to be made.

Lesson:  At the very first trick, study the hand and the bidding before playing a card.  This applies to both declarer and declarer’s Right Hand Opponent.  If declarer plays instantly from dummy, and you need to play next, pause for at least 30 seconds to make your plan and allow the opening leader (your wonderful partner) to do likewise.                  

 The Kibitzer is Shirley Wright.  Volume 2

Jon Shuster, Gainesville

Shirley Wright is passing this on to readers at this web site.

I watched Board 3, Saturday Night, at the Gator Bridge Sectional, played a number of times.  It has a few valuable lessons.  So let us start by looking at this combination:

Dummy:  S-AJ873

Declarer: S-K52

Suppose your goal is to make as many tricks as possible, and entries are not a problem.  Suppose you play the K and the 4 and 9 fall.  Next, you play the 2 and Left hand opponent plays the 6.  Do you finesse or do you play the drop?

If you have heard “Eight ever, nine Never”, you will finesse the J.  Note that if Spades are 4(on your left) and 1(on your right), you lose one trick no matter what.  Also, when Spades are 3-2, the opponents will presumably play spot cards at random, so the actual played spots are meaningless.

When LHO has the SQ and two others, the Q has six potential “partners”:  Q109, Q106, Q104,Q96, Q94, Q64.  But if the Q is doubleton with RHO, it has only 4 potential partners: Q10, Q9, Q6, Q4.  So the theoretical odds (remember the spots played are meaningless), are 6:4 favoring the finesse.

Having said that, let us now look at Board 3:  (Dealer South, EW Vul):

                       

                                                North

                                               S-1064

                                               H-A5

                                               D-J7

                                               C-1087532

West                                                                            East

S-K52                                                                          S-AJ873

H-74                                                                            H-K10862

D-KQ92                                                                      D-A10

C-AKQ9                                                                     C-J

                                                South

                                                S-Q9

                                                H-QJ93

                                                D-86543

                                                C-64

West                North               East                 South

-                       -                       -                       Pass

1NT                 Pass                 2H(1)               Pass                

2S                    Pass                 3H(2)               Pass

3NT                 Pass                 4H                   Pass

4S

• (1) Transfer to Spades
• (2) Shows Hearts and game forcing

The play: 

North led the Heart Ace, South encouraged with the 9, and North continued with a second Heart to the K in dummy.  Declarer played a Spade to the K and finessed the SJ losing to the Q,  South led back a Heart, which was ruffed and overruffed by North.  Declarer now claimed the rest, making four.

Bidding commentary:

West made an outstanding bid of 3NT rather than 3S.  By not bidding Stayman, East’s 3H bid must show at least 5 Hearts and 5 Spades, and so East should have respected West’s 3NT choice.  The 4H call is a clear error by East, whose 3H bid already told the story.  EW could have easily wound up in a 5-2 fit, if West had 5-4 in the minors.

Play commentary:

Having looked at the combination above, you might say West played correctly, but was unlucky.  However, that would be looking at the hand in isolation.  That is, not taking account of what may happen around the room.  A good duplicate player is aware of what might occur at other tables. 

• (A) Many EW will play 3NT. A minor suit would probably be led, and declarer will play Spades as above, and make 6 or even 7 if the finesse works. So if your finesse wins, you will make 6H while all others will do better in NT. A finesse, whether it wins or loses, is conceding defeat against those other players. Remember, they beat you whether by 10 or by 1000 at matchpoints.

      (B) Even against Spades, your opponent found the Heart opening lead, even though Hearts were bid twice.  This is devastating.  Imagine playing the hand at another table against a minor suit lead.  Declarer will play Spades as diagrammed above, and if the suit comes in, declarer might make seven while you make only six.  (There is a potential for 5S, 4D, 4C).  The best you can hope for on a finesse is to tie the opponents, whether the finesse wins or loses. 

So playing the finesse is guaranteed to get you a bad board.  You have to put yourself in a position to win matchpoints, even if that bucks the odds.  The opportunity should be seized.   In Hockey, when a team is behind by a goal in the last minute or two of a game, they pull their goaltender for an extra skater to try to tie things up.  This strategy costs more goals than it gains, but avoids more losses than just playing it safe.  Once you were in four Hearts and got the HA as a lead, you were behind the field, and must do the unusual to catch up.

Recommended play:  Win the second Heart in dummy, cash the CJ, and play the SA, then the SK.  (1) If the SQ drops as in the actual deal, pull the SJ and you have the rest.  (2) If the SQ fails to drop with trump 3-2 or LHO started with 4 Spades to the Q,  run your Clubs and pitch Hearts in dummy, making 5.  (3) If RHO started with 4 Spades to the Q10, you should cross to the DA, and lead a Heart.  If RHO started with 4H and 4S, you can ruff this and need to pitch one less Heart in dummy.

So charge declarer with a play error and credit North with a great lead, and South with giving North an important ruff.

 The Kibitzer is Shirley Wright

A Diamond in the Ruff

Jon Shuster

One thing about I can tell you about Shirley.  As the world’s top kibitzer, she watches like a hawk.  Nothing gets past her.  But she is not a “Results Player”.  Sometimes, errors occur and the maker of the error gets a terrific result.  She won’t excuse you for that.  This hand occurred at the Gainesville Bridge Club on Monday, April 12. Hands are rotated to make South the declarer. 

As a kibitzer, it is your job to find all the errors.  After making your assessment, you can read Shirley Wright’s expert analysis.

Board 22: EW Vul, Dealer West

                                 North

                                 S-104

                                 H-AKJ64

                                 D-J65

                                 C-863

West                                                    East

S-A53                                                  S-2

H-Q                                                     H-1098752

D-K972                                               D-Q3

C-A10742                                           C-KQ95

                                    South

                                    S-KQJ9876

                                    H-3

                                    D-A1084

                                    C-J

The Bidding:

West                North               East                 South

1C                   1H                   3C(1)               4S

P                      P                      P

• (1) Preemptive.

The Play: (Cards can help you follow this.)  The leader is underlined, and the trick winner highlighted.

      W          N           E             S

 1.  HQ       HA         H2          H3

 2.  SA        S4          S2           SK

 3.  CA       C3          C9          CJ

4.   C4        C6          CQ          S6

5.   S3        S10         H5           S7

6.   S5        HK          H7          D4

7.   C2       C8          CK           S8

8.   S5        H4          H8           SQ

9.   D7       D5          D3          DA

10. DK     D6           DQ         D8

11. C10

Declarer claimed for down 1.

Shirley Wright’s Analysis.

I really like the bidding.  All players bid correctly.  The preemptive raise by East Vul. Vs. not is aggressive, but it is a good attempt to keep the opponents from finding a Spade fit.  On this hand, it did not work, since South had such a powerhouse suit.  South has a 5 loser hand, and there is no point beating around the bush (3S would be forcing in most systems anyway.)

Preamble to the play analysis: a) On the bidding and lead of the HQ (South following), what can East  infer about West’s shape.  Answer: At trick 1, we can infer that West has a singleton Heart, and more Clubs than Diamonds.   (With the same number, the proper opening is 1D not 1C.)  So the possible shapes are 2S-1H-4D-6C, or 3S-1H-3D-6C, or 3S-1H-4D-5C.)

               b) At trick #6 where West ruffs the Heart, what can West and South infer about East’s shape?  East is known to hold 1S, 6H, and 4C.  (South also knows West holds 3S and 1H, and 9 cards in the minors. South knows East holds 4+ Clubs on the bidding.  So the only plausible number of Clubs is 4 for East.  Conclusion, East has 2D.

Now let us follow proper play and defense.

The opening lead of the HQ is an excellent choice.  West hopes to get in with the SA, and reach East to get a Heart ruff. 

Error 1:  Declarer, upon winning the HA should have played another high Heart, discarding the CJ.  There is nothing to lose, and who knows, West may have another Heart. 

Error 2:  The choice of leading a Spade to the K might work out if (a) West(marked with the A on the bidding) wins the A and Spades are 2-2.   However, West erred by taking the SA.  (It is generally a good principal not to release trump control to the opponents unless you have urgent needs to do so.)  Playing low guarantees a set, while playing the Ace probably should have resulted in the hand making by proper play and less than absolutely brilliant defense, as discussed below) It is clear from the bidding that declarer has solid Spades except for the Ace. (Partner almost certainly has a singleton and South has seven.)  Note that if West plays low on the SK, declarer never can reach dummy, and must lose 2 Diamonds and the two black aces. 

Error 3:  West should have noted East’s H2 (a suit preference for Clubs), and returned a low Club to East for a potential Heart ruff at matchpoints.   West has no reason to suspect that South has a singleton Heart.  This ruff could save an overtrick.  Error 3 would place huge pressure on East.  If the Club underlead is made, and East returns a Heart hoping to promote a trump trick for West, the hand is made.  Declarer pitches a Diamond with West ruffing,  the S10 will pull the remaining trump, and declarer can win 6S, 3H, and  1D for 10 tricks!  

So ironically, although West’s not trusting East’s H2 play at trick 1 was a clear error, it worked out favorably for EW!   In Bridge, errors are not always punished.

Error 4:  (A tough one) When in with the S10 in dummy, declarer erred by trying to pitch a Diamond on the high Heart.   There are still two potential Diamond losers.  If the Heart gets ruffed, the hand can no longer be made.  It would be far better to hope that East has D-Qx or D-Kx.  You need to start Diamonds immediately.  So instead of playing the high Heart now, lead a low Diamond and finesse the 10.  When West takes the K, you will pull trump when in, drop the DQ, and get to dummy with the DJ.  You win 6S, 2D, 2H!  (Yes, West can beat the hand by ducking the D10.  Declarer will pull trump, and cannot avoid the loss of two Diamond tricks.  But that won’t happen in the Gainesville Bridge Club.)  The key is to play on Diamonds from dummy when you have this last chance.

Error 5: (A tough one) At trick #10, West clashed the Diamond honors, a clear mistake.  West might argue that if declarer has the DQ, the hand makes if West ducks.  But let us see what West should know about the East hand:  East had 1S (pitched on the second), 6H (South had a singleton), and 4C (South had a singleton).  East therefore had two Diamonds, including the 3, the lowest visible Diamond.  With any holding other than Q3, East would show count (high low for an even number).  Ergo, East has the DQ.  

Moral of the story:  Count, count, count, and watch partner’s discards and suit preferences.

Here is how the hand should be played and defended: (Cards can help).

After the HQ is led, declarer wins the HA and plays the HK, pitching the CJ.  West ruffs and plays the CA, ruffed by declarer with the J (declarer needs to keep 2 Spades lower than the 10).  Now declarer plays a low Spade toward the 10 (West, the opening bidder is marked with the Ace.)  (a) if West wins, and plays another Club, declarer ruffs and leads another low Spade to the 10, extracting all of the remaining trump, takes a high Heart sluffing a Diamond, and leads a low Diamond to the 10 and West’s K.  Later, when the DQ drops declarer has 10 tricks:  6S, 2H, 2D.  (b) The hand gets most interesting if West plays low on the Spade lead to the 10, leaving the blank SA as the only remaining EW trump.  Ironically, it would be fatal to play the high Heart at this point.  West would ruff, and declarer would lose 2D along with the SA and a ruff.  It is better to play a Diamond to the 10.  (1) If West wins the K, the A drops the Q, and all EW can win is 1S, 1H ruff, and 1D.  (2) Note than West cannot gain by ducking the D10 this time.  But you have to be careful.  The plan is to ruff the last Diamond, without letting West pull dummy’s last trump.  So you lead a low Diamond now to East’s Q.  East returns something for you to ruff and you cash the DA and ruff a Diamond in dummy, as West helplessly follows.  Your 10 tricks are 6S, 1H, 2D, 1D ruff.