You are still alive

I wish my readers a very happy, healthy and a lot of winning bridge in the coming New Year!! 

One hates to see a 29 points hand go down the tubes — especially when there is a nine-card fit. 

South draws trump in two rounds and have to decide how to proceed. It must be right to tackle diamond while you still have a club ruff entry to dummy. So, South plays diamond Ace and a low diamond to the Jack. The good news was that the diamond Jack wins the trick. The bad news was that East pitches a club on the second diamond. 

South was still alive if East has a marriage in spades. South plays Club AKQ, discarding a spade from dummy and then Spade Ace and a Spade. If East has to take the trick, he will have to surrender a ruff and sluff, allowing South to pitch his Diamond Q while ruffing in dummy. 

‘Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Being alive is the special occasion.

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Loser On Loser

Celebrations for Christmas will begin tomorrow.  These include decorating the Christmas tree, cakes, carols and jolly old Santa Claus, who brings gifts for children.

'Apro' Dara has carefully preserved this really juicy deal for all of us and brought it all the way from Washington DC.

West led ♦A, declarer ruffed and played off six more trumps, hoping something good might happen.  It didn't and he went down.

Dummy actually contained numerous useful cards which if utilized, can produce a 10th trick.  If South ruffs ♦A with high trump, and plays ♥8 to ♥9, then it leads ♦Q and throws away a black card from hand. Say ♠4.  West wins ♦K and leads a spade to declarer's ♠A.  South now leads  ♥6 to ♥10 and plays ♦10. When East follows low, South throws away his ♠9.  West winning with the ♦J.  Whatever West leads, South can win.  Cross to dummy with the carefully preserved ♥3 to  ♥7. Lead ♦9 - now a winner - on which to throw a club loser.  That loser-on-play has established the final diamond as declarer's 10th trick.

'Keep calm and get

your ho ho ho on'

Wishing all my readers a merry Christmas.

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A Finesse Is Sure To Fail

As you would not expect West to be leading from ♠AQJ, you should place ♠A with East. Once you do that, you should realise that ♥Q will be with West. If East had ♥Q, East would have responded. You play low on the first spade and West continues with ♠J. 

You play low from dummy again and West continues with a third spade. You ruff and turn your attention to the trumps. 

The normal play in hearts with this combination is to lead to ♥K and finesse ♥J next if ♥Q has not yet appeared. Here, you know the heart finesse is sure to fail. Therefore, cash ♥K and ♥A, hoping that West started with ♥Q doubleton. And you are home safely! 

‘Failures are the part of life. 

If you don’t fail, You don’t learn. 

If you don’t learn You’ll never change!’

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A SIMPLE SQUEEZE

 

Over the weekend was Johnson & Johnson’s 46th edition of their annual bridge championship. The beautiful “mind sport” was held at their Arena Space in Jogeshawari. Archie Sequeira has been a part of all from the year 1971. Kudos to Archie! The above deal is courtesy ‘Apro’ Dara from Washington DC. 

West led  ♣9 to East’s  ♣Q, and East switched to ♦2, South read this as a singleton, so rose with ♦A. She ruffed her club in dummy, and led a trump, discovering the bad news. West’s trump void suggested that she was long in the other suits, so South led ♥J. West correctly covered. This left dummy with one heart winner to discard one diamond loser from hand but, seemingly, no way to avoid losing ♦Q. South had other ideas. She drew all four trumps and then led her fifth and final spade. West, holding ♥987 and ♦Q7, had to discard, if she threw a heart, all dummy’s hearts would be winners; if she let go a diamond, South’s ♦KJ would both be good.

A perfect simple squeeze! 

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Scissor's Coup

There have been many bridge stalwarts from Matunga Gymkhana, one of them is Ramani, who is an ardent tennis and bridge player. I often wonder if his tennis play has influenced his rapid speed movement on speech as well as well on his bridge!! At one Matunga Gymkhana Bridge tournament, sitting South, Ramani has showed his fast but not furious skill in the above deal.

West led the ♥10 and dummy’s ♥J won the trick. Ramani played a spade from the dummy, East ducked and South won the ♠Q. Now fast came the stroke of Scissor coup, Ramani played a ♥2, disconnecting the opponent’s communication! Poor West had to win with the ♥7. West had a choice of cashing the ♥A and let South have the ♥K as ninth trick or shift something else. He played the ♦3, South won the ♦A,♦K, ♦Q and played  ♣10, East played ♣J and South the  ♣K. He went to dummy with ♠A, and played ♠4, East took the ♠K and played ♠10 to South’s ♠Q. Now Ramani played the  ♣Q to East  ♣A and  ♣9 was his well earned 9th trick.

A bridge player was matched up with another player when he showed up without a partner. All through the match, whenever he made a mistake, his partner would say “No man is perfect”. Later, he found out that his partner’s name was ‘Norman’.

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Not Always Obvious

Today is the yearly held Ashok Kapur Memorial Bridge Tournament at Jade Ballroom, Nehru Center. Ashok’s loving wife Madhu has sponsored this one-day invitation event in the loving memory of her beloved husband Ashok. 

Some hands offer clearly correct lines of play. Others come with lots to think about but no certainties. This hand falls into the latter category. 

After South wins the  ♠A and draws trumps, South takes the diamond finesse. East wins the ♦K and returns a spade for West to cash out the spade suit. East’s ♣A will be the setting trick latter. 

If South chooses to duck the first spade lead, however, and win the second, East won’t have a spade to return and since West can not get in, South will have time to discard a spade loser on the diamonds. 

While it is not always obvious to do so, holding up on the opening lead can be just as effective in a suit contract as in a no-trump contract. If East is ruffing the second spade, South may go down in a cold contract.  At least South will have readers sympathetic ear, if not his partner’s! 

‘Don’t deny what’s obvious to see’

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A Free Finesse

Today is the 5th Mohan Advani Memorial Bridge tournament at Bombay Gymkhana under Dr Subbarao’s kind and efficient supervision. We fondly remember Mohan and his quiet and gentle ways towards his bridge partner as well as his opponents. His charming wife Guddi and dapper son, Amit, always sponsor this tournament generously and make sure Mohan ‘amar rahe’. 

In the above deal South took his ♥A and cashed one of dummy’s trumps and ♦A. Then he led a trump to his hand and took a ruffing finesse in diamonds by leading the ♦Q. When West didn’t cover, South discarded dummy’s remaining heart. East won his ♦K and returned a heart, ruffed by dummy. Success now rested with finding the ♣Q. 

Had South held three small diamonds instead of ♦QJ10, he would not have been tempted by the ruffing finesse. To succeed, South must win the ♥A, cash dummy’s ♦A, and ruff his two remaining diamonds, using the trump suit for entries. After the elimination in trump and diamonds, South exits with a heart and the defense is stuck. Regardless of who wins the trick, South enjoys either a ruff and sluff or a free finesse! South can claim his 12 winners. 

Goodbyes are only for those Who love with their eyes, Because for those who love With heart and soul there is no such thing as separation

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The Right Guess

And finally, in Mumbai there’s nip in the air! But this ‘Senorita’ did care to play her hand well. 

After a swift and simple auction, Senorita sitting in South had to make the right guess when the East led the ♦3. The problem was really not diamonds. It was spades. 

She wanted to decrease the chance of East winning the lead and shifting to a spade through her King. Obviously, if East has the ♦A South cannot keep him off lead, but if he has the ♦Q, South can. For that reason South went up with the ♦K. If the ♦K had lost to the Ace the Senorita would have had to sweat out the spade position. So the Senorita did make the right guess. 

We spend our lives guessing what’s going on inside everybody else, and when we happen to get lucky and guess right, we think we ‘understand’. Such nonsense!

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The Right Line

Tomorrow onwards Diwali, the festival of lights, will be celebrated across India with joy and happiness. Fireworks, sweets and family gatherings are important parts of this festival. 

West led the ♣2, it’s unlikely to be from a three-card holding. 

The right line that will succeed is when the three card diamond holding lies with West. After drawing trumps, South should cash the ♦A and ♦K, discarding the ♠A. And then, South could ruff the diamonds good, cash ♣K (just in case West has a second club), and lead his remaining spade towards the ♠Q. The club losers in the South hand can then be thrown on the long diamonds. 

When nothing is going right, go left. 

Wishing my readers ‘A Very Happy and Safe Diwali’.

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The Wrong Suit

West led the ♠A and another spade. East followed with the ♠10. On the second round, South won the second spade in the hand and led the ♦3. West hopped up with ♦A and continued with third spade. The diamonds broke badly to set up, so South was held to four spades and on trick in each of the other suits. 

South should have attacked clubs. South is sure of getting three club tricks by overtaking dummy’s ♣10 on the second round of clubs, In fact, South may end up with nine tricks. He chose the wrong suit and made a wrong move. 

Life is not about all the wrong moves you made. Life is about the one right move that made all the difference. 

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It's a bit sticky

West led the ♦5. East played the ♦J and continued with the ♦A which South ruffed. South cashed the ♠A and ♠K. The fortune was with the South — both opponents followed and only ♠J was at large. 

Now, South should play a heart to the ♥K, East would win and would play a diamond which South would ruff and play the ♣A and ♣K just in case East has a singleton or doubleton ♣Q. South could make an overtrick. If West has the ♣QXX, the best West can do is win a third club and exit a heart to dummy. Now, all South has to do is return to his hand with a spade and take his remaining clubs. It’s a bit of a sticky deal. 

During history lesson, the teacher briefly went through the Kings and Queens who rule countries. “But,” the teacher continued, “There is a higher category of power; can anybody tell me what it is?” 

One child blurted out, “Aces!”

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Defensive Problem

Three more days and Dussehra will be celebrated all over India. It’s observed on the 10th day of Navaratri and is a celebration of the victory of Lord Rama over the demon Ravana. The triumph of good over evil. 

Today’s deal is a defensive problem. West leads the ♠2, dummy plays low and South takes the  ♠Q. South almost surely has the  ♠J, from both his bidding and his failure to put up dummy’s  ♠K on the first spade. 

South must have a long, strong clubs since he bid 3NT with such few high cards. After clubs are established, he may have nine winners, East can lead the  ♠A and a third spade to set up West’s fourth spade, but East-West will come to only four defensive tricks that way. 

To beat 3NT, South must shift to the  ♥K at trick two. If South takes the  ♥A and starts the clubs, East should duck twice and win the third club. South’s hand is dead, and he will take at most eight tricks. 

Above deal courtesy ‘Apro’ Dara. We are awaiting his arrival from Washington DC. 

‘The important thing is to teach a child that good can always triumph over evil’.

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The Danger Hand

The month of October is here. Hope with it come the cool chills of the North as they make way for winter!

West leads the ♠7, East the ♠10 and South wins the ♠J. South must play the diamond suit first. He  hould play the ♦2 to dummy’s ♦A and another diamond towards his ♦9 in hand. South has five sure tricks outside of diamonds, so South needs only four tricks from the diamonds to make his game. South knows from the lead and East’s play to the first trick that West has the missing spade honors. Knowing that West holds the ♠AQ makes East the danger hand. It’s East and not West who can hurt South if he gets the lead. South’s play should be to keep East off lead. Simply finesse diamonds through East. When West shows out, South can claim 10 tricks. Nothing in the entire world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity!

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A Basic Error

West led the ♠J, won by the Ace. A club to the Ace won (West playing the ♣ 9) and ♣8 was continued toward dummy.  West showed out so South ducked in dummy and East took his ♣J.  The spade return did not do much to harm declarer.  He was able to give East a club trick and in time was able to take three spades, two hearts, one diamond, and three clubs for nine tricks.

While the play can go in various ways, it is true that the defense did not go well.  There, a basic error was made.

East should let South win the second club trick. East will get the third club trick but with only one remaining entry to dummy, South can't set up and then use dummy's last trick. With diamonds being sour too, a South rate to go down one if the defense doesn't err along with way.  He will take three spades, two hearts, one diamond, and only two clubs.  By giving declarer an early club trick, the defense stops South from getting two club tricks later on.

Making mistakes is better than faking perfection.

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A Ruff-Stuff

My friend who lives on the 21st floor invited me on the last day of Lord Ganpati Visarjan Day. He said I could go to his sprawling balcony and get a spectacular view of the Ganpati immersion. He added that I wouldn’t be able to see the sea as more than 10 lakhs of people will form a sea of humanity, but I could get glimpses of Ganeshas in all shapes and sizes. So, I trotted along for the view. 

Given a likely two losers in clubs, your bet is to force the opponents to break hearts. So you should win the ♣A, play the ♦A and ruff a diamond, back to a spade, ruff a diamond and back to a spade. If spades have divided 2-2, exit a club to the ♣Q losing two clubs to East. But after East has had his fun, he must break hearts or give you a ruff-sluff. You can lose no more than one heart trick. 

“It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness!”

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Minimum Strength

Just two days ago, Ganesh Chathurthi, the birthday of Lord Ganesha was celebrated all over in Maharashtra. On this day, beautiful hand crafted idols of the Lord were installed, both in homes and in public. 

West led the ♣Q, South won with the ♣A and led a trump to dummy’s ♠J. East took the ♠A and returned a club to South’s ♠K. South now cashed with ♠K. When West showed out, South ducked a heart hoping hearts would break 3-3, giving South a discard for the ♦J. South actually lost two trumps, a diamond and a heart. 

Once East showed the ♠A, West had at most 11 high- card points. To double, vulnerable, with such minimum strength, West surly had a singleton spade. South should have led a heart to dummy at the fourth trick and return a trump to his ♠9. 

Bridge players on the Titanic, When the iceberg hit wouldn’t panic, 

“Of course we’ll go down’, Said South, with a frown, 

Every King is offside — it’s Satanic! 

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STILL IN COMFORT

North might have changed suit as an initial response, but to raise a major suit with three card support and an outside shortage is sound. West led ♦4 and all seemed well for South; 10 tricks seemed easy. 

The first good play was East’s; he won with ♦A and returned a diamond. With four trumps in defence, you should always seek to make the declarer ruff in hand to shorten his supply. South did trump, cashed two top hearts before discovering the bad break, and took the losing spade with finesse. West continued his partner’s forcing defence by laying down ♦Q. South was now in trouble. When ruffed, he was left with only one trump in each hand, while East held two trumps and ♣A. Defeat was, now, inevitable. 

Declarer can turn the tables on the defence at trick two. Instead of ruffing, he should pitch a spade from hand. West takes his ♦Q but, now, declarer can draw all the trumps, discard two further spades from hand on dummy’s ♦J 10 and then push out ♣A, still in comfort holding the final trump. 

If you look for the truth, you may find comfort in the end. If you look for comfort, you will not get either comfort or truth.

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The Moment of Truth

 

There comes a time in many a hand when you arrive at the “moment of truth”.
 

West leads the ♦2, East plays the ♦Q and South tops that that with the ♦K. At trick two and three, South plunks down the ♣A and ♣K. Both follow to the first round, but East discards the ♥Q on the second.

With a certain trump loser, where do you go from here? Assume the ♠K is with West. Your plan is to strip West of all of her major-suit cards before exiting a trump, forcing a diamond lead away from West’s presumed ♦J.

So you start with the ♠Q, which is covered and taken by dummy’s Ace. Continue with the J♠ and a spade ruff, followed by the ♥K,♥A and a heart ruff. You have now arrived at the moment of truth. Exit with the trump and duck a diamond return to your ♦10.

The slam is made! At the moment of truth, there are either reasons or results. 

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