May 2012 - 53

advanced players section

My Bridge and Yours
In a sectional open pairs, the first
three rounds have gone well. Our
opponents for the fourth round are a
seeded pair; I hope we won't have to
sit by with no cards while they control
our fate. Neither side is vulnerable,
and as South I pick up:
K 8 7 3 A J 9 7 4 10 5 K 4
East deals and passes. With my
good majors I'm tempted to open
light. If I pass and West passes, North
might be reluctant to open in fourth
seat if he has a light hand without
major-suit length, and a passed-out
deal might be disastrous. Still, there is
a danger of getting too high if I open.
In any case, I can't take too long to
think about it. I pass.
West also passes, and to my relief,
North opens 1. I respond 1. Even
though I have a near-opener, I need
not jump; North will make his normal
rebid unless he opened with sub-minimum values. He raises me to 2.
Now my hand has improved. My
fifth heart will be a winner, and I can
ruff my fourth spade in dummy if I
need to. Moreover, North presumably has a sound hand to raise my
passed-hand response. So I jump to
4, and everyone passes. West leads
the J.
Q642
KQ2
AK83
76
K873
AJ974
 10 5
K4

Most players would have rebid 1
with North's hand, but I understand
his action. He expected me to have a
decent heart suit. It would be risky for
me to respond 1 as a passed hand
with x-x-x-x because I might be
dropped there in an inferior contract.
By raising, North limited his
strength and suggested a trump suit
quickly. If instead he had bid 1 and
heard me continue with 1NT or 2,
he wouldn't be strong enough to bid a
third time to show his heart support,
and we might miss a good fit.
We've missed our 4-4 spade fit,
but it may not matter after this club
lead. East takes the ace and returns a
club, and I win and cash the K Q. If
trumps break 4-1, I'll have to start the
spades next while dummy still has a
trump to protect against club forces,
but both defenders follow.
Now I wish I could take the A K
and ruff a diamond to get information,
but then I'd have only one trump left,
and I may have to lose the lead twice
in spades. At least I can cash the
A K, and East follows with the 6
and queen.
Now I'm sure West has the A.
East didn't open the bidding and has
shown the A Q and Q, and somebody has the J. So I draw the last
trump, lead a spade to dummy's queen
and play low from my hand on the
next spade - an obligatory finesse.
As it happens, West has to win, and I
can claim the rest, making five.
See next column
If North had rebid 1, we'd probably
have ended at 4. To play at a 4-4 fit

Frank Stewart
frs1016@centurylink.net

A9
 10 5
J9742
 J 10 8 3

Q642
KQ2
AK83
76
N

W E
S

 J 10 5
863
Q6
AQ952

K873
AJ974
 10 5
K4

can be attractive, especially at matchpoints, because a ruff in either hand
provides an extra trick - often, a
vital trick. In this deal, winning extra
ruffing tricks was not a factor, so
playing at the strong 5-3 heart fit was
fine. (Choosing between two possible
trump suits can require delicate judgment. For a treatment of the subject,
see On Bidding by Albert Morehead,
revised by Alan Truscott and Phillip
Alder.)
Our plus 450 matchpointed well
because luck was with us. At many
tables, North became declarer at 4,
and East led a red suit. North won
and naturally started the trumps by
leading to the king. After that, he was
fortunate to take 10 tricks.
r
May 2012 Bridge Bulletin

53
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May 2012
