Gainesville Bridge Club

 The Kibitzer is Shirley Wright

Part score at the Gainesville Bridge Club

Shirley:  I watched this hand on Monday, January 16.  As a kibitzer, I can see all four hands, while the actual players see only two.  So my criticism needs to have factual basis, and not be based on only the results of the actual hand.  Hands are rotated to make South declarer.

Dlr: East

Vul: None

                                    North

                                    S-K1094

                                    H-102

                                    D-KQJ6

                                    C-1063

West                                                                East

S-A75                                                              S-862  

H-AK4                                                                        H-Q9865

D-73                                                                D-1082

C-QJ952                                                          C-87

                                    South

                                    S-QJ3

                                    H-J73

                                    D-A954

                                    C-AK4

The bidding went:

West                North               East                 South

-                       -                       P                      1NT (15-17)

Dble(1)            2C(2)               P                      2D

P                      2NT                 P                      P

P

• (1) Shows Clubs and possibly a higher suit (JELLO, a modification of HELLO)
• (2) Stayman

West led the C5 (4^th best), the 10 holding in dummy.  Declarer crossed to the DA (EW showing count) and led the SJ, all following low.  Declarer cashed three more Diamonds (West pitching one Spade and one Heart, while East threw a Spade.). Declarer played his two top Clubs and exited with a Spade, West claiming. This resulted in +120 NS.  Can you spot the errors?

On this hand, West made four errors and North made one error. The other players did well.

Error 1: I definitely do not like West’s double of 1NT (showing Clubs), holding such a strong defensive hand.. 

Error 2:  North should redouble to show a good hand, and when West runs to 2C, North will pass this around to South who will double for penalties.  Proper defense would land NS +300.

Error 3: The most obvious error was the opening lead.  Had East held the CA or CK, he certainly would have doubled for a Club lead.  The CQ lead is clearly correct on this hand.  There is a two in three chance that NS have the C10.  Even if East has it, he will play it on the Q lead when indicated.

Error 4: The most serious error, however, was East’s failure to take the SA when the SJ was played.  This is not double dummy.  Let us see how to figure this out.  (a) We know East has 5 or perhaps 6 Hearts, since South denied a major. (b) With the CAK, South surely would have bid 3NT with 16-17 points, so let us credit him with 15 Points.  He has already shown us 12 points (SJ, DA, CAK).  The unknown high cards are the HQJ and the SQ. Possibility #1: Partner has the SQ.  If so, declarer has the HQJ , most likely QJx. 

In with the SQ, East will surely play another Club, and declarer will score 9 tricks, losing only four cards in the majors.  If West correctly rises with the SA and clears Hearts, declarer still makes 9 tricks (1S, 1H, and 7 minor suit tricks).  So this comes out neutral. If partner has 6 Hearts, declarer will surely play the SK on the J, and make 8 tricks, whereas rising with the SA holds declarer to six tricks (down 2).  So at best, playing low on the SJ breaks even.  Possibility #2: If partner’s two points include the HQ (instead of the SQ), ducking lands declarer eight tricks, while going up assures a one trick set.  Note that if you think the SQ might drop under the SK if you take the SA immediately, remember that South has at most 3S (2D response to Stayman), and so East has at least 3 Spades.

Error 5: West again erred by pitching a Heart, rather than a Club on the last Diamond.  This gave declarer an opportunity to make 9 tricks by playing a Spade before cashing the last Club.  (I do not consider the actual play by declarer to be an error, but to cost a trick on a late Spade play, the remaining Hearts would need to be 5-2, with two honors in the East hand.)

Tips: (1) The combination of 1NT and Stayman are wonderful gadgets to get to the right contract.  But the defense can use the information, both the point count and distribution, to pinpoint where the defensive assets are.  (2) Bridge is often a game of recovery.  If you realize you have made an error, don’t give up, catch up. West probably was discouraged from her giveaway on the opening lead, and was thinking back instead of ahead when given the opportunity to make a key play. (3) South exhibited good technique in crossing to his hand and putting West to the immediate test.  Had the first Spade been played off dummy, West would really have a much more obvious defense.  If it happened that East wins the first Spade, then East, known by the rule of eleven to have another Club, would surely return a Club not a Heart.

 

The Kibitzer is Shirley Wright

A case for the Rule Books?

Jon Shuster, Gainesville

Shirley Wright is a fictitious bridge expert who watches real bridge hands, and then quizzes her readers as to what errors were made.  Look at her description of  Board 3 in the final session of the District 9 North American Pairs qualification, January 7, 2006.  More examples can be found at http://www.gainsevillebridge.com/ under tips.  Kirk Becker, a Gainesville bridge expert serves as webmaster for this site.

Shirley:  Here is what actually happened at the table I watched:

Dlr: South

Vul: EW

                                    North

                                    S-102

                                    H-K843

                                    D-AQ73

                                    C-652

West                                                                East

S-K9863                                                          S-54

H-QJ976                                                         H-105

D-J2                                                                D-K865

C-10                                                                C-AKJ93

                                    South

                                    S-AQJ7

                                    H-A2

                                    D-1094

                                    C-Q874

The bidding went:

West                North               East                 South

-                       -                       -                       1NT (12-14)  ¹

2H²                  P                      P                      P

1. No Range announced
2. At least 5 cards in each major.

The play went as follows: 

North led the C5 (middle-up-down) to the A.  The CK was cashed with declarer sluffing the S3.  The S5 was led, South taking the Ace. South played the HA and H2 to North’s K.  North exited with the C6 to the 9, Q, and ruff.  Declarer pulled two more rounds of trump, on which South discarded a Club then a Diamond.  Here is the position

at this point with West on lead, having scored five of the first eight tricks:

                                    North

                                    S-10

                                    H-None

                                    D-AQ73

                                    C-None

West(Declarer)                                                East (Dummy)

S-K98                                                              S-None

H-None                                                           H-None

D-J2                                                                D-K86

C-None                                                           C-93

                                    South

                                    S-QJ7

                                    H-None

                                    D-109

                                    C-None

Declarer played the SK and exited with a Spade.  South cashed another Spade and led a Diamond to North’s Ace.  Down 1, for +100 NS.

Can you find all of the errors?
Shirley Wright’s Synopsis:

Bidding errors .

The only error in the bidding was that the point count range of the 1NT opener was not announced.  Otherwise, the bidding was acceptable, although a strong case can be made for passing 1NT rather than showing 5-5 in both majors at this vulnerability.  In addition, a double of 2H, holding a nice 9 HCP opposite the 12-14 1NT is acceptable in some circles, but the actual pass is preferred by me.

 Play errors:

If you thought declarer should sluff a Diamond at trick 2, you are wrong.  The Spade sluff by declarer at trick 2 is absolutely correct.  The DJ should not be blanked.

Error 1: Playing the SA at trick 3 was a serious defensive error.  The proper play is to play low at trick 2.  Declarer will surely grab the K, or partner will win the K.  The SA is not going anywhere.

Error 2: Playing the Club at trick 6, (after the two rounds of Hearts were played) was the worst play of the entire hand.  This set up two winners in the suit, with the DK as an entry to them.

The play of the SK rather than the S9 was not an error, though good card reading gets declarer home against some strong NT holdings on this exit.

Error 3: The play of the Spade at trick 9 was incorrect, but not for the reason you might think.  It is actually the correct play if indeed declarer was facing a strong 1NT opener.  Let us see how the actual declarer described the reasons for the Spade play.

Information gathered: The 1NT opener had shown up with the SA, HA, CQ.  As poor  a play as the SA was (knowing declarer had five), the only justification is that the 1NT opener also must have the SQ.  (With AJx(x), plying the Ace could set up the KQ) Similarly, with Ax(xx), it removes a guess for declarer.  So declarer has accounted for 12 points in the 1NT opener’s hand and just 3 points (HK) in the responder’s hand.  The only cards not accounted for are the DA, DQ, and SJ (7 more points).

Had declarer known that the opponents played a 12-14 point 1NT, the DA would be marked, and declarer would have led a Diamond toward the K, making three. (1S, 3H, 1D, 4C). 

Against a 15-17 point South hand, the inferences change: (a) If LHO has the SJ, a Spade will endplay RHO, who would be down to only Diamonds (+110).  (b) Even if the 1NT opener has S-QJ and the DA (17 points), a Spade exit earns -100, while a Diamond to the K leads to -300.  So the only holding where the Diamond play gains vs. a strong 1NT is specifically  LHO holding the DA and RHO holding the SJ and the DQ.

Shirley’s Footnote:   As noted above, there was no announcement as to point count of the 1NT opener.   Although relatively few players play the weak no trump, it is understandable that players forget.  As important as the choice of plays would be, declarer should have checked out the opposition’s card, and in my view assumes ultimate responsibility for the poor score.

I do recommend that the rules be amended as follows.  For players who play 1NT strong (14-17, 15-17 or 15-18), no notification should be needed.  For players using a weaker NT (12-14  for example), this should be announced before the  round or match starts.  This is important, for example, whenever the pair, using a weak 1NT opener, bids one of a minor, since the possibility of the balanced 15-17 point hand could influence their opponent’s competitive plans for the one level..