A Spider and A Fly

West led ♣Q and South won with the ♣A and ran the ♠8. Sitting East was alert and sharp! As soon as West showed up with the ♣QJ, East knew that declarer had all the missing points. (Note that he could see all four Jacks.) So, East realised declarer would make his contract unless given a nudge in the wrong direction.  So, East won the second trick with the ♠A. Then he cashed the ♦A and continued with the ♦5 and waited motionless, the way the spider waits for the fly!

South, thinking that the only way he could fail would be to duck this trick to West’s ♦Q and watch East receive a diamond ruff: Naturally, South won the ♦5 with the ♦K and took a second spade finesse. Imagine his surprise when East produced two deadly queens: first the ♠Q, then the ♦Q to put the contract down.

May all the sweet magic of Christmas conspire, To gladden your hearts and fill every desire!

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Suit Provides an Opportunity

Here is a juicy deal by ‘Apro’ sweet Dara!

Here is a long suit which provides an opportunity to set up two discards. The spade suit is more solid than it might first appear. West’s ♠8 lead is almost certainly top of a double ton and South can discard two diamonds from hand.

At trick one, declarer should play low from dummy, allowing his ♠9 in hand to force East to play ♠J. When East switches to ♦K, declarer can win, cash ♥K and overtake ♥Q with ♥A in dummy to lead ♠K. If East covers, declarer ruffs; if East plays low, South discards a diamond. This play can be made three times, providing the two discards required to pitch South’s diamond losers.

“Opportunities are like Sunrises, if you wait too long you miss them”

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A change of partner

West led ♠2 to East’s ♠10 and South won with ♠A. He led a trump to dummy’s ♥K, losing to East’s ♥A. East cashed ♠K and led the ♠Q. If South ruffs low, West over ruffs; if South trumps high, West holding is promoted into a trick. If South crosses to dummy’s ♣A and leads a heart from table, East can rise with the ♥A, and plays two spades, declarer can afford to trump high without setting up a trick for West.. Now South can cash ♣KQ, pitching spades from dummy.

But East can thwart this superior line. He wins ♥A and cashes ♦A and leads a low spade, which forces West to ruff. If West does not appreciate that East’s ♦A was a singleton and he has striven to put West on lead to return a diamond, there is one further plan East could adopt: ‘a change of partner’!

If “Plan A” didn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters!

Stay cool!

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Winning Trade

After cashing the ♦K, West continued with the ♦A, dropping East’s ♦Q, West next leads the ♦10. East ruffs, South over ruffs and pulls trump in one round.

West, who had opened and raised, almost surely had the ♥K.  After South ruffs the third diamond, he should cash every one of trumps and then the ♣K and ♣A.

With three tricks left, South has the ♥AQ and a club. Dummy to lead, has two hearts and a diamond, and West must likewise keep a high diamond and the ♥K8.

South then leads the diamond and throws his losing club. He trades one loser for another, but it’s a winning trade; West must lead from the ♥K, yielding the contract. It wasn’t Christmas cake walk indeed!

‘Bridge is like a hot bath. It feels good while you’re in it, but the longer you stay in, the more wrinkles you get’.

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REWARD IS WORTH IT

Some North’s, playing negative doubles, would double instead of bidding 1♠, playing that the direct bid of 1♠ should show a five card suit.

It’s a matter of style and distribution-showing bids, and the issue of distribution may be a major clue to this hand. West led the ♥K and continued with the ♥Q as East followed with the ♥3 and ♥6. West then shifted to the ♠J.

South now must avoid a club loser. South must take his time.

While this hand looks simple (East either has the ♣Q or doesn’t), there is another element to play that many players don’t appreciate. If one can be patient and attentive, counting out a hand will pay dividends.

It seems clear that West has exactly five hearts. This is confirmed by both the bidding and East’s plays of the ♥3 and ♥6. If South takes the time to count out West’s hand, there will be a significant revelation about the club suit. South should win the ♠K and trump a spade with a high diamond. Then ♦A is followed by a second diamond to dummy’s ♦10. West will show out on the second diamond and yet again, on the play of the ♦J. When the declarer then plays the ♠A, discarding a small club, West will show out on that suit as well.

Thus, West will have started with five hearts, two spades and one diamond, leaving five clubs. Now, the only hope is that East’s one club is either the ♣Q or ♣10. Here, a club from the dummy reveals East’s singleton ♣10. South can now win the ♣K and lead a low club, finessing dummy’s ♣9 if West follows low.

Counting a hand requires a little time and effort but the reward is worth it!

‘Effort and time will release its reward only after you refuse to quit!’

Wishing my readers ‘A Very Merry Christmas!’ and a lot of happy bridging!

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Twitter ID  : @HemaDeora

Simple Deceptively difficult

Bombay Gymkhana is holding Mohan Advani Memorial Bridge Tournament today. It will be Mohan’s third death anniversary. His wife, fondly known as ‘Guddi’ and his dapper son, Amit, together sponsor this tournament generously every year. Dr.Dhanandjay Subarao always makes this event very memorable. Mohan was an ardent bridge player. He had his calm ways to be on and off the table. May his soul rest in peace. We miss you Mohan!

This is a deceptively difficult deal. West starts with the three top clubs. East following throughout. After ruffing the third club, it looks obvious to cash the ♥K and play a heart to dummy’s Ace. If East has Jack four times, you can pick up and run the diamonds. Here, though, where West has the four hearts, you are suddenly in big trouble. You may move to diamonds, but West ruffs the third round and returns his last trump. He must eventually score the ♠K to defeat the contract.

The answer is to cash the ♥KQ from hand. If they split 3-2, draw the last trump and run the diamonds. But when they go 4-1, switch immediately to diamonds. An opponent may ruff in, but you win his return and play a heart to dummy’s Ace, which simultaneously draws the last trump and gives you access to the remaining diamond tricks.

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Simple Defence

Over the last three days, the Ashok Kapur Memorial bridge tournament was being held at Catholic Gymkhana. His beloved wife Madhu Kapur has been sponsoring this tournament for the last six years.

What do you know‘Apro’ Dara is back in action! With this interesting deal!

Wes led ♠6. Declarer won and drew a second round of trumps. He played ♦6, East following low, West beating the ♦9 with his ♦K. West switched to a heart; declarer won and played a second diamond. East hoped up with ♦A and switched a club, but South simply won with ♣A and pitched his two losing clubs. East should rise with ♦A and switch to ♣. Contract goes down!

‘Generosity is giving without

expecting anything in return!’

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Additional Precautions

North’s 1NT shows a balanced 16-18 points and stopper inspades. South’s 4♦, transfer to 4♥ is a trifle optimistic, but when an opponent has opened the bidding, it is often easier to pinpoint where the high-cards lie.

West leads the ♦K, taken by the ace. You cash the ♥A, West playing the Jack and continue with a second Heart. East rises with the ♥K and West discards a spade. East switches to the ♠7.

It is highly likely on the bidding that the ♣K will be with West but you should not just rely on that. A little care at this point will be rewarded. On ♠7 if you play low from hand. West will insert the ♠10 to force out the Queen. When East comes in with the ♣K. A second spade will take you down.

To circumvent this defence, play your ♠K on East’s ♠7. If West ducks, you lose just one spade trick. If West wins with the ace and returns a spade, you with the Queen and draw East’s trump. Now when East wins with the ♣K, East has no spade to return to West and you can later discard your spade loser on dummy’s fourth club.

Even when the bidding makes it likely that a key finesse will win, do not pin all your hopes on that if additional precautions are available.

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Deceptively Difficult

The festival of lights is here and it gives me a great feeling to recite the words, “Allah tero naam, Ishwar tero naam. Sab ko sanmati de Bhagwan”.

Millions of Indians will be performing Lakshmi puja this evening. Fire crackers will add to the pollution. Pet dogs would be shivering with fear and hiding away, while the strays get subjected to inhuman acts. May God protect them.

This is a deceptively difficult deal. West starts with the three top clubs. East following throughout. After ruffing the third club, it looks obvious to cash the ♥K and play a heart to dummy’s Ace. If East has Jack four times, you can pick up and run the diamonds. Here, though, where West has the four hearts, you are suddenly in big trouble. You may move to diamonds, but West ruffs the third round and returns his last trump. He must eventually score the ♠K to defeat the contract.

The answer is to cash the ♥KQ from hand. If they split 3-2, draw the last trump and run the diamonds. But when they go 4-1, switch immediately to diamonds. An opponent may ruff in, but you win his return and play a heart to dummy’s Ace, which simultaneously draws the last trump and gives you access to the remaining diamond tricks.

I wish my readers A Very Happy and Peaceful Diwali!

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A Countermove

West led ♦K, East playing the ♦2 and shifted to the ♣9. South drew trumps in two rounds and then gave West his ♦A. West led a third diamond to dummy's remaining honour and South had to find a discard. He threw his ♠Q, certain that the finesse would lose in any event.

He was right about the losing finesse, but he was wrong about the result. He lost two clubs to go with West's two diamond winners and the game went down one trick.

The game makes if South discards a low club on the third diamond. Dummy's remaining club honour is cashed, bringing bad news in that suit. but now there is a countermove. If South leads a spade to his Ace and surrenders the ♠Q. West is stuck. He must offer a ruff and discard, allowing South to get rid of his last low club.

If clubs split 3-2 (with West holding two), the game is also cold. The ♠Q goes on dummy's good club, and the  defenders are held to only three tricks.

They say "stay calm. It's like chess. Move and countermove.

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The Sure-fire Play

West led the ♦Q. South won the trick with the ♦K, East following with the ♦2, and led ♣K. East won and returned the ♥Q, not exactly what South had in mind. South’s ♥K lost to West’s ♥A and back came a third heart forcing dummy to ruff. When South played dummy’s remaining ♣J, East followed, but West threw a heart. South had lost three tricks and now could afford to lose only one more.

The sure-fire play is to cash the ♦A, discarding a spade, ruff a diamond, and exit with the ♠A, ♠K and another spade. It doesn’t matter who wins or who has the ♠Q, South’s last two cards are the ♣Q9 and South must take the last two tricks.

On their wedding night, a couple arrives at their hotel room and the phone rings. The husband answers and talks with his friend about a bridge hand. The conversation continues for hours as the friend tells how he went down  in six spades.

When it finally ends, the distraught wife is in tears and says, “How can he be so inconsiderate? That was terrible!”

“You’re right, honey. All he had to do was take a finesse.”

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Eliminate The Spades

Day after tomorrow is Dussehra — a Hindu festival celebrated to remind and rejoice the victory of Lord Rama on evil King Ravana. This day also marks the victory of Goddess Shakthi over demon Mahishashur.

North-South got to a fair game after East opened 1♦ West led the ♣2. South knew that this was a singleton for sure. He won in his hand with the ♣10 and played the ♥A and another heart, trying to get the trumps out. East playing the ♥J first and then the ♥K. A club returnlet West ruff with the last trump. West returned the ♠8 the East’s king and South’s Ace.

At this point, South had lost two tricks and when diamonds proved unmanageable; he lost two more tricks and went down one.

South should make. South had to take a spade finesse and eliminate the spades before playing the ♥A and a heart. After doing this, East will give West a club ruff, but West will have to give a sluff and ruff or must lead a diamond, either of which gives South contract. In order to do this, South must win the first trick with dummy’s ♣K. Take two rounds of spades and now play the ♥A and another heart. As long as hearts are 3-2, the contract is safe. If South errs by letting the club finesse come to his hand, he won’t be able to get to dummy for the spade finesse except by using the ♥A. After finessing in spades, declarer won’t be able to lead to his ♥Q.

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The Face of a Misfit

 

This interesting hand is an example of bidding in the face of misfit auction. Someone, somewhere, will say that North and South got what they deserved!

North overcalled 2♦ over West’s 1♣ bid. South had a modest hand and bid 2♥ in the hope of something happening. Something did happen. North hated the bidding so much that he passed it out.

West led the ♣K and switched to a diamond. South could have taken the ♦A, but he finessed and that was expensive. East took his ♦K and cashed the ♣Q. Back came a diamond for West to ruff. West took his two  club winner and then played the ♠A and another spade for East to ruff. East led one more diamond. South tried ruffing with the ♥8 and that was overruffed by West’s ♥9. South had nothing left but ♥AK53 and East had the ♥J1074. West still had the ♥Q. This meant that South could only get his ♥A and ♥K. Down six!!

This hand would have made Victor Mollo’s creatures in the Menagerie very happy!

“It’s better to be a “misfit” than a “one-size-fits-all”!”

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