Try this hand
For bridge hands of interest
Judgement time
We all know how to value our high card points: ace = 4, king = 3, queen = 2, jack = 1. Adding points for shortage (after finding a fit) is also a familiar concept. Sometimes, however, a more subtle assessment is required. Consider this duplicate hand:
NORTH
♠ QT3
♥ 8743
♦ K5
♣ 8732
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
1H Dbl
3H Pass Pass 3S
Pass ?
East opened 1H which was doubled by your partner, South. West raised to 3H which was explained as showing a good fit for hearts (four card trump support) but a weak hand. This pre-emptive raise over a takeout double is increasingly popular, as redouble and other strong bids are available with good hands.
Now your partner has backed in with 3S. What is your assessment of the situation?
Fraud at Grand Slam level
Have a look at this hand, from the 2007 Venice Cup.
Dealer: East. Both vul.
NORTH
♠ AKQ983
♥ A7
♦ —
♣ AJ732
WEST EAST
♠ J5 ♠ 764
♥ K843 ♥ JT952
♦ AT763 ♦ KJ98
♣ 64 ♣ K
SOUTH
♠ T2
♥ Q6
♦ Q542
♣ QT985
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
Pass Pass
Pass 1C Pass 1D 1C=16+ 1D=neg
Pass 2S Pass 2NT
Pass 3C Pass 4C
Pass 5NT Pass 7C
All pass
Playing Precision, the 1C opening was artificial and strong, while the 1D response was the artificial negative. North showed spades and clubs, then jumped to 5NT “grand slam force”, asking South to bid grand slam with good trumps else sign off in 6C. With limited room to move, South took a stab at the grand.
You are West and your partner leads the HJ on which dummy's HQ is played. How do you proceed?
Reading the situation
At the 2007 World Championships, the International Bridge Press Association presented its annual Personality of the Year award.
Past winners of this award had included some of the great players and writers of the bridge world, as well as some who had achieved fame in other areas, such as Chinese leader Deng Xiao-Ping, whose love and promotion of the game helped China achieve its position as a great bridge-playing nation.
The 2007 winner, however, was a full-time professional bridge player and journalist, and perhaps the world’s best known high-stakes rubber bridge player. Patrick Jourdain, presenting the award, stated: “He is one of the world’s best card players but has never won an Open World title. You will guess who it is when I tell you that this man can name three different countries as his home. This past year he can be proud of an achievement that occurred away from the bridge table. When the country of his birth was devastated by earthquake he initiated a fund-raising exercise for $150 000 that has resulted in the building of a school in the earthquake-ravaged part of Pakistan. Our winner is the world’s most charismatic bridge player: Zia Mahmood of Pakistan, Great Britain and the USA.”
The favourites to win the 2007 World Championships were Italy and USA 2, but in the end it was Norway who won with USA 1 as the runners-up. Zia was on the USA 1 team and on today’s hand he read the cards well, in the match against the other American team. How would you have done in this situation in Zia's position, West?
Bringing home the slam
This deal sees you in a 6D contract, against which West has made the passive lead of a trump. What is your best play for the contract?
NORTH
♠ Q93
♥ AT965
♦ K43
♣ QJ
SOUTH (declarer)
♠ A4
♥ 3
♦ AQJT986
♣ A32
Lightner doubles at lower levels
Last month’s challenge mentioned that double of a freely bid slam is a Lightner or lead-directing double, usually asking for a lead of dummy’s first bid suit. Double of 3NT is also a Lightner double in much the same way. After North opens in spades and South twice bids hearts, what should you do with the West hand after North settles in 3NT?
WEST
♠ T752
♥ AQJ85
♦ 7
♣ 874
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