April 2021 - 64
Advanced Players
Mike's Advice
Finding the right defense at trick one
Dlr:
South North (Dummy)
QJ97
Vul:
N-S
A 10 7 5
Q965
K
East (You)
86
43
A J 10 7 3
9842
West North East South
2
4 Pass(1) 5 5
Pass 6
All Pass
(1) Values-showing
Sitting East, you hear South open
2, and your partner jump to 4.
North makes a forcing pass, and you
have to decide on a call. Should you
pass? Should you raise clubs? Might
you bid 4?
Passing is out. West has a weak hand
and so do you. The opponents surely
have a game. A slam isn't unlikely. You
should choose to do something.
5 takes away bidding room from
South. 4 tells partner you want to
save in 5, but you wish partner to
lead a diamond. But it leaves opener
room to bid at the four level. Both bids
make sense. You get to choose.
This time, you chose to bid 5.
South bid 5 and North raised to 6.
One thing about this sequence is that
North-South couldn't use Blackwood.
Sometimes that will be a problem for
them.
West led the 8. Looks like thinking
about the diamond suit was enough to
get West to lead one. Dummy plays the
9. Should you win the ace and return
a diamond? Should you win the ace
and return a club? Should you play
the 10, thus making sure declarer
64 | Bridge Bulletin | April 2021
doesn't get two diamond tricks?
Some decisions don't have clear
resolutions. Some do. Here's one way
to look at this deal. South opened 2.
He has a good hand. Looking at dummy
and your hand, try to envision a hand
that South can have that would bid this
way. Might your partner have the A?
Here's what declarer's hand would look
like:
A K 2 K Q J 9 8 2 K 4 7 5.
This hand doesn't look like a 2 bid
by any standards that I know of. West
doesn't have the A. South needs it for
his opening 2 bid.
Might your partner have the K?
Here's what declarer's hand would look
like:
A 10 2 K Q J 9 8 2 K 4 2 A.
This hand doesn't look like a 2
bid either. South surely has the missing high cards other than the Q J.
There's no way he can open 2 with
any other construction.
If you play the 10, letting South
have his king, you can count the following tricks for declarer: six hearts, four
spades, a diamond and a club. In fact,
if South has two clubs, he will take two
club tricks. Counting his tricks shows
you that South has 12 or 13 tricks unless you take your ace.
So your only prayer is to play the ace
and return the suit. In fact, you have
one extra reason to play two rounds
of diamonds. On the layout here, you
raised to 5. Your partner has no
reason to lead a diamond unless it is a
singleton.
BY MIKE LAWRENCE
michaelslawrence.com
Here are all four hands:
QJ97
A 10 7 5
Q965
K
10 5 4 3 2
86
N
8 W
E 43
8
A J 10 7 3
S
Q J 10 6 5 3
9842
AK
KQJ962
K42
A7
6 is down one if you play two
rounds of diamonds.
Postmortem
The actual South hand isn't much of a
2 bid. He could hardly have less than
he did. South would have been better
off in 6NT. Finding that contract would
not be easy.
Note West's 4 bid. Some would
call it ridiculous. Some would call it
creative. The North-South players
would call it annoying. They might call
it something else.
I have suggested many times that
when your opponent opens 2, you
should try to find a bid. Please, however, check the vulnerability first.
http://www.michaelslawrence.com
April 2021
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2021
In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
Inbox -Letters to the Editor
A Message from the President
Brand Refresh
Belated Honors - Palmer & Sutherlin enter HoF
2020 Mini-McKenney Winners
Grand Reopening
Ace of Clubs Winners
Masterpoint Race Winners
Your Mother and Father Should Know
A Helping Hand
Scoring at Bridge
Consults with the Doctor - Dr. James Sternberg
In Memoriam - Gary Zeiger (1953-2021)
Club News
Ruling the Game
The Bidding Box
It's Your Call
Card Play 101 - Phillip Alder
Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
West Hands -Bidding Box
Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
Lessons Learned by Michael Berkowitz
Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
Mike's Bridge Lesson- by Mike Lawrence
Committee Appointees
East Hands -Bidding Box
Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
Defensive Maneuvers - Paul Ross
The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
Challenge of the Month
Boehm on Bridge
Better Bridge with Bergen
Bidding Matters - by Karen Walker
Test Your Play
Election Notice
Mike's Advice - Mike Lawrence
Solutions to Test Your Play
My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
Bridge with the Abbot - by David Bird
Big Games
George's World - by George Jacobs
New Life Masters
Life Master Milestones
Obituary -Enrico Pagani Sommi (1943-2020)
In Memoriam
Obituary - Roman Rommelfanger (1944-2021)
Obituary - Marvin Shapiro (1927-2021)
Obituary - Gerald S Kibbey (1927-2020)
Tournament Directory
April 2021 - 1
April 2021 - 2
April 2021 - 3
April 2021 - 4
April 2021 - 5
April 2021 - In First Seat - Paul Linxwiler
April 2021 - Inbox -Letters to the Editor
April 2021 - 8
April 2021 - A Message from the President
April 2021 - Brand Refresh
April 2021 - 11
April 2021 - Belated Honors - Palmer & Sutherlin enter HoF
April 2021 - 13
April 2021 - 2020 Mini-McKenney Winners
April 2021 - 15
April 2021 - 16
April 2021 - 17
April 2021 - Grand Reopening
April 2021 - 19
April 2021 - Ace of Clubs Winners
April 2021 - 21
April 2021 - 22
April 2021 - 23
April 2021 - Masterpoint Race Winners
April 2021 - 25
April 2021 - Your Mother and Father Should Know
April 2021 - 27
April 2021 - 28
April 2021 - 29
April 2021 - A Helping Hand
April 2021 - 31
April 2021 - Scoring at Bridge
April 2021 - 33
April 2021 - Consults with the Doctor - Dr. James Sternberg
April 2021 - In Memoriam - Gary Zeiger (1953-2021)
April 2021 - Club News
April 2021 - 37
April 2021 - Ruling the Game
April 2021 - 39
April 2021 - The Bidding Box
April 2021 - 41
April 2021 - 42
April 2021 - 43
April 2021 - It's Your Call
April 2021 - 45
April 2021 - 46
April 2021 - 47
April 2021 - Card Play 101 - Phillip Alder
April 2021 - Parrish the Thought - Adam Parrish
April 2021 - Reasoning with Robert - Robert Todd
April 2021 - Startup Bridge by Lynn Berg
April 2021 - Lessons Learned by Michael Berkowitz
April 2021 - Bidding Basics by Larry Cohen
April 2021 - 54
April 2021 - Ask Jerry - by Jerry Helms
April 2021 - Committee Appointees
April 2021 - Chalk Talk- Eddie Kantar
April 2021 - Defensive Maneuvers - Paul Ross
April 2021 - The Real Deal - by Larry Cohen
April 2021 - Challenge of the Month
April 2021 - Boehm on Bridge
April 2021 - Better Bridge with Bergen
April 2021 - Election Notice
April 2021 - Mike's Advice - Mike Lawrence
April 2021 - Solutions to Test Your Play
April 2021 - My Bridge and Yours - by Frank Stewart
April 2021 - Dear Billy - by Billy Miller
April 2021 - Big Games
April 2021 - New Life Masters
April 2021 - Life Master Milestones
April 2021 - Obituary -Enrico Pagani Sommi (1943-2020)
April 2021 - 72
April 2021 - 73
April 2021 - 74
April 2021 - Obituary - Marvin Shapiro (1927-2021)
April 2021 - 76
April 2021 - Obituary - Gerald S Kibbey (1927-2020)
April 2021 - 78
April 2021 - Tournament Directory
April 2021 - 80
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