Declaring

Dem Bones

Feb 252003

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: North
Lead: 4

	priceat A 10 7 4 A Q J 9 7 5 Q 7 2
jun K Q 9 6 4 2 A 6 2 3 A J 3		Maestro 7 Q J 9 8 5 3 K 10 2 9 5 4
	arung J 10 8 5 3 K 8 6 4 K 10 8 6

West

Pass
3
Pass

North
1

Dbl

East
2

Pass
Pass

South
Dbl
Pass
Pass

Today’s auction is a case study in how a series of normal bids can lead to a disastrous contract. The diamond opener is unobjectionable, and Gee’s weak overcall is perfectly correct at the favorable vulnerability. South’s negative double is on the thin side, but if you pass you can easily miss a cold spade game. West happily takes the opportunity to sandbag his moose in support of hearts, and is delighted to see his belated raise Bonesed by North, ending the auction.

So our hero winds up in 3HX where 4H has an excellent play. But it’s not called a Bones double for nothing. The defense begins with two rounds of diamonds, Gee winning the king and sluffing a club from the board, carefully preserving the spades. Is there a losing line? An immediate spade works. A diamond ruff and a spade works. A diamond ruff and the trump ace nets an uptrick, as does a trump finesse followed by the finesse of the 9 back. The trump finesse followed by a second high trump, a diamond ruff, and a high spade works. With the heart king stiff, even the club ace and a second club works.

Give up? The maestro leads the trump queen, wins South’s king with the ace, leads another trump back, plays the jack, and only then, having established the high trump for North but before ruffing a diamond, does he play a spade! The contract would still make if South held the spade ace, but we all know how unlucky Gee is. North wins the ace, cashes the trump and a diamond, and the defense comes to a club at the end to beat the contract one.

(Hand credit: pseudo-Gerard)

Sticks! Wheels!

Feb 132003

E/W Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 7

	fpriolo 9 8 3 K 9 4 3 9 8 7 6 2 4
carmdog 7 6 10 8 7 6 K A K Q J 8 2		jdonn K J 10 5 4 2 Q 2 Q J 4 3 9
	Maestro A Q A J 5 A 10 5 10 7 6 5 3

West

Pass
Pass

North

Pass
Pass

East
2

Dbl

South
3

Pass

Let’s say you hear a first-seat 2S opener, and you hold 15 points, 3 aces, a double stopper in spades, and your long suit, clubs, is 10xxxx.

2NT? That’s for STCPs™. The winning bid is 3C! This is passed by a startled West and unhappy North around to East, who makes a Bones reopening double with no extra values whatsoever. Reopening Bones, in this auction, instructs partner to bid with a long suit and no defense, and pass otherwise. West, whose long suit happens to be clubs, makes one of the world’s more obvious penalty passes, and here we are.

Even so, it looks worse than it is. With Qx onside in hearts and a spade lead an ordinary declarer will have trouble taking fewer than six tricks, for -500, an ordinary disaster. Gee, however, is no ordinary declarer.

The opening spade lead is ducked to Gee’s queen, and he promptly leads a trump. East wins the 9 and continues spades. Gee wins the spade ace for his second trick and plays another trump. West proceeds to draw trump. East tosses the diamond 3, showing a diamond preference, and three spades; Gee throws a spade and three diamonds from dummy.

West now shifts to the king of diamonds, taken by Gee with the ace. Three tricks for declarer. The black suits are known. West has five red cards and East has six. How are the suits laid out?

The diamond preference indicates at least the queen, probably the jack as well. (West might also have led diamonds holding KQJ tight.) West therefore holds either the stiff king or KJ. If KJ, hearts are 3-3, and East likely has the queen. (Otherwise he opened 2S unfavorable, and doubled 3C, with KJ10xxx xxx Qxx x. Bones, but still.) In any case there is no choice about how to play the hearts. Lead to the king and finesse the jack.

Gee diagnoses matters correctly, however, and places West with the stiff king, leaving East with two hearts. Now it’s a guess: if East’s hearts are Qx, declarer must finesse. But if they’re 10x, he must play the ace and the jack, pinning the 10. Well, I need not tell you which line our unlucky hero chose. It is true that if the pinning play fails you go down five instead of four on the finesse (West would be forced to lead another heart back eventually, allowing declarer to make two heart tricks.) It is true that if the hearts do happen to be 3-3 the pinning play cannot succeed. It is true that Gee’s line requires East to have made a reopening Bones double with KJ10xxx 10x QJxx x. And yet, so unlucky.

100

Feb 082003

None Vul
MPs
Dealer: South
Lead: 2

	billyf 9 7 6 J 6 5 A 8 5 3 Q J 9
jtmckee 2 K 7 4 2 9 6 K 8 7 4 3 2		soules A K J 10 4 3 Q 9 8 3 J 10 5
	Maestro Q 8 5 A 10 K Q 7 4 2 A 10 6

West

Pass
Pass

North

2NT
Pass

East

3
Pass

South
1NT
3NT

Chronicles regulars will recall the formula for the Gee-Spot:

GS = (P(c) – P(g))*100

where P(c) is the probability of success for the correct line, and P(g) the probability for the line that our hero actually takes.

For some time I have looked for a Gee-spot of 100: a hand on which our hero, with a line guaranteed to succeed available, instead adopts one guaranteed to fail. All good things come to those who wait.

We shall pass over today’s bidding briefly. North invites with a grungy 8 points, East interferes with 3S. Gee, holding 15 points, Qxx in the opponents’ suit, and a moth-eaten five-bagger, adds a queen or so for his declarer play, spurns the certain profit (3SX goes for 300) and raises to three, reaching a rather optimistic notrump game at matchpoints, which, as it happens, is cold.

West leads his stiff spade deuce, marking the position, and East wins the spade king and shifts to diamonds, as good as anything. Our hero wins in dummy and runs the club queen, which holds. Now there is a 100% line available. With East marked on the bidding with the rest of the spades, play a spade off the board. Five diamonds, two clubs, a heart and a spade for nine tricks and a near top, with most of the field in a part-score and some of the rest in 3SX.

The maestro, however, leads a second club from the board, ducking again when East discards a spade. West wins the club king and clears the suit. Still no harm done. Gee cashes the diamond king, reenters dummy with a third round of diamonds and leads a spade. East rises with the ace and plays a small heart.

Gee of course, holding nine top tricks, plays the 10, allowing West to win the queen and cash his remaining clubs for down 3, but here we face a nice question: is this a 100 Gee-Spot, or only 75? The 75 Party could argue that there is a 25% chance that East holds both heart honors. (Maybe more, considering his 3S bid.) Wrong. East’s hand is marked as 6-4-2-1. If East had KQxx, he would shift to the heart king, playing his partner for 10xxx and a minor suit entry and hoping to drop declarer’s spot. That has to be better than diamond jack into A8xx from J10 tight. The play marks West with at least one heart honor, and I award the hand a perfect score.

After the hand Gee himself remarks: “darn me :((( too greedy :((((” There are other expletives, and other adjectives.

Out of Control

Jan 262003

E/W Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: K

	rjoshi 7 K 9 7 4 9 8 5 Q J 6 4 3
karlz A 9 6 4 A Q J 2 7 6 2 10 9		Maestro K Q 5 10 8 5 3 A K 10 4 3 7
	dcorn J 10 8 3 2 6 Q J A K 8 5 2

West
Pass
Dbl
2

Pass

North
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

East
1

South
1

Pass
Pass

Trump management is one of those fine points that, all together, make up the vast gulf, the yawning chasm separating the student from the teacher, the STCP™ from the master, the expert from the EXPERT.

Our hero is declaring 4H after an aggressive but reasonable auction. The spade cue shows a maximum and invites to game, and Gee, vulnerable at IMPs, raises to what is likely to be an underdog but playable game, despite his minimum. There is of course the vital consideration that he will declare.

The defense begins with two rounds of clubs, forcing the closed hand to ruff. Gee runs the trump 10, which holds. Another round of trump reveals the bad news, as South discards a spade. Gee goes up with the trump ace and makes the brilliant discovery play of a round of spades. All follow, and he knows that South began with exactly five.

Only now does he start the diamonds. The first round brings the jack from South. Restricted choice dictates a second-round finesse, and the STCP™ might get confused here. Not the master: he reasons that a diamond stiff would make South 5-6 in the blacks and at favorable vulnerability a good bet to bid 3C over 2H. Yet he passed. So the jack must be from QJ doubleton. Et voilà: the second top honor drops the queen.

Coda

With all side suit winners, one trick in for the defense, and two trump outstanding, Gee’s next play is a trump. North wins the king and drives out dummy’s last trump with a club, retaining the master trump, ruffing in on the spade and cashing two clubs. Down 2.

Trust, But Verify

Jan 192003

None Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: A

	Maestro 4 6 10 7 6 5 4 A K Q 8 7 2
lucinha Q 7 5 4 2 9 8 3 J 10 6 4 3		wheels A 9 8 3 2 K 10 9 7 3 A Q J —
	drduby K J 10 6 5 A Q J 8 K 2 9 5

West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Dbl

North
Pass
2NT
4

Pass
5

Pass

East
1

Pass
Dbl
Pass
Pass

South
Pass
Dbl
4

4NT
Pass
Pass

Remembering that your partner has needs, desires, and 13 cards has been stressed in these pages many times. Yet Gerard continues to find new ways to emphasize its importance.

Today’s auction will repay careful study. Note, to begin with, the unusual notrump balance. This has the dual merit of right-siding the hand if your partner takes it into his head to want to play notrump (as it happens 3NT has chances for North/South, especially with South declaring where a spade lead is likely), and sucking up as much bidding room as possible on a hand that is at least even money to belong to your side.

3H, too, has merits. When your partner can’t muster a response to an opener and the bidding shows length and strength behind you in both of your broken suits — then bid it up, by all means.

3HX goes for 500, maybe 800. But Gee bid 2NT in the first place with the intention of rebidding his lovely clubs, and no mere penalty double is going to change his mind. South’s 4H is a conventional bid that says, “You were an idiot not to leave in my penalty double.” Gee passes this, which beggars description. Expert table feel pays off again as East doubles. At this point I suppose 4NT asks to choose a minor, or maybe it’s to play, I just don’t know any more. In any case Gee naturally chooses clubs. The penalty double, marking the trump position, is a last nice idea to end the auction.

East cashes the spade ace and continues spades. Gee understandably inserts the 10, bringing down West’s spade queen. Every card is now marked, yet there is still a line available for off 2. Gee cashes the trump ace, East of course showing out, ditching a heart. He takes the heart finesse and cashes two spades, sluffing diamonds as West sluffs her last two hearts. The heart ace is ruffed low and overruffed. East rises on the diamond with the ace and returns another, the king holding. Now Gee leads a heart and makes the key play of discarding a diamond, allowing East to win the heart king, the only way of assuring himself both a heart and a trump loser.

The post mortem also proves instructive:

drduby: from now on we trust each other
G: I always trust you, pard
drduby: Except when I double
G: Yes
G [the meaning of his partner’s last remark having finally dawned on him]: He was not going to pass anyway

Perfect Practice

Jan 102003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 4

	Maestro K Q 9 7 4 3 — K 8 7 5 4 K Q
sandree 6 A K J 10 3 2 J J 6 4 3 2		travis J 8 5 9 7 5 4 10 9 6 A 10 9
	peterw A 10 2 Q 8 6 A Q 3 2 8 7 5

West

2NT
Pass

North

East
Pass
Pass

South
1

Pass

It isn’t enough to take the practice finesse. You have to know which way to take the practice finesse.

North-South arrive at the spade game after a brief but instructive auction. Gee, North, with a four-loser hand and five-card trump support opposite his partner’s opener, concludes as captain that there is no reason to investigate slam. Accordingly he signs off with 4S, in a six-card spade suit to the KQ9 in which his partner, for all he knows, is void, spurning the more pedestrian bids of 3H, 3C, 3S, double, 4H, 4C, 5D, 6D and one or two others I’m sure I’ve overlooked.

Yet his effort to right-side the hand pays off. Gee ruffs the heart lead, slaps down the king of spades, both defenders following, and finesses the 10 on the second round. It holds and North-South chalk up a glorious 680. The diamond and spade slams are cold, unluckily; and Gee does make a handsome concession in the post mortem:

G: I was too conservative
peterw: did you peek at the SJ Gerard?
G: easy to know where the spades are :)))

The Usual

Jan 042003

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 3

	Maestro A 10 5 3 2 8 5 J 10 8 5 2 8
mmbridge Q 9 10 9 A Q 6 4 A Q 10 7 5		neduddki K 7 6 4 A Q 4 2 9 3 J 4 3
	petit_g J 8 K J 7 6 3 K 7 K 9 6 2

West

2
Pass

North

2NT

East
Pass
Pass

South
1

Pass

Today’s disaster begins with Mini-Gee’s mini one heart opener in second seat, holding no aces, no stiffs, and eleven points counting a loose jack. Perhaps he upgraded for the nine of the clubs, which, to be fair, does prove to be a useful card in the play. After 2C our hero has a problem. A negative double is out, because you never do that with a five-card major; and passing is for children. An unusual 2NT is all that remains; certainly it is an unusually bad bid, even by Chronicles standards.

Equally unusually, it is passed out. East is kind enough not to double, and neither mini-Gee, who probably regards the bid as a notrump game invitation that he’s happy to decline, nor West, the overcaller, has anything further to say.

East opens a low club, and West wins the queen and returns another to East’s jack and dummy’s king. At this point the diligent reader should pause and try to figure out for himself how declarer can take only two more tricks.

First he needs to open the suit where he can do himself the most damage. That would be spades. The maestro leads the SJ at trick 3, covered by the queen and ace, with East dropping the 6 for count. This play simultaneously kills the entry to his hand, preventing him from enjoying any diamond tricks.

It is now safe to lead diamonds, and Gee proceeds to run the DJ, losing to East’s queen. East now cashes three rounds of clubs and the diamond ace. Gee sluffs two spades — another vital play — and a diamond from his hand, and a heart from dummy. East, however, decides to give declarer a count. He sluffs a diamond on the last round of clubs, and then a spade, the 7 no less, on the ace of diamonds.

West now shifts to the S9, and Gee correctly covers, establishing his 5 as East wins the king and plays back a low heart, facing Gee with a heart guess he can’t get wrong, and doesn’t, as the HJ holds for the declarer’s third trick.

Dummy is now endplayed, as Gee leads a small heart off the board. East wins the queen as West follows. East cashes the ace, West discards a diamond, et voilà! a full count. East has already shown three clubs and two diamonds, and now four hearts. This gives him four spades, and all Gee has to do is hold on to that tiny five of spades for his fourth trick.

You didn’t really need me to tell you he discarded it, did you?

Ready, Steady, Down

Jan 022003

E/W Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 9

	wildcats K Q 4 A K 10 9 6 4 A K Q 7 —
bilgin J 7 5 3 2 8 10 8 Q 10 9 8 6		efe A 6 Q J 7 3 J 9 3 J 7 5 3
	Maestro 10 9 8 5 2 6 5 4 2 A K 4 2

West

Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

North

2
2
3
Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
Pass
2

2NT
3NT

Today we find the maestro declaring 3NT after a shrewd tactical bid. By refusing to support his partner with four Gee keeps the partnership out of a reasonable diamond slam that is probably down on the actual layout (table feel!) although it makes double dummy. And, of course, he right-sides the contract.

The best line after a club lead is a nice question, but it’s probably to discard a heart from dummy, win the club, and play the two top hearts. If an honor falls, you are cold. Cash the top diamonds and exit a heart: you will either have nine tricks, if the diamonds break, or the defense will have to provide your ninth, by leading a black suit.

If no heart honor falls on the ace and king, your chances are still good, but you need the diamonds to break. Cash four rounds of diamonds and play a spade honor. If East wins he is endplayed. If West wins he will be forced eventually to lead a spade back, and you can still make if the spade jack is onside. If the spade is ducked, exit a heart, with the same ending.

Even against perfect defense, this line wins close to 90% of the time: all of the heart 3-2 breaks (68%) and 40% of the heart 4-1 breaks (5%), and the rest of the time if diamonds break unless the spade ace is with West and the spade jack with East.

At the table, Gee wins the first club and finesses a heart to East, who returns a club. At this point a second heart will put him down, but that would be the logica continuation of mere bad play, and mere bad play is no concern of this site. No, Gee shifted to a spade, guaranteeing five tricks for the defense. So our Gee-spot becomes 90% – 0% = 90.

Not 100, I grant, but you can’t say he isn’t trying.

Planning the Play at Trick 7

Dec 252002

E/W Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: 3

	gerardo K 4 3 J 10 8 6 A J 3 A 7 2
sasscat Q 9 2 A 9 3 K 9 4 6 5 4 3		danb 7 6 Q 7 4 2 Q 7 2 Q 10 9 8
	Maestro A J 10 8 5 K 5 10 8 6 5 K J

West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

North
1

1NT
2

Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
1

On hands with several possible lines of play, expert declarers postpone decisions as long as possible, refusing to commit themselves to a line of play before it’s necessary. EXPERT declarers take this one step further, sometimes playing entire hands without making a decision at all.

Today a normal new minor forcing auction lands our hero in a normal spade game, against which West has an unenviable choice of leads. He can hardly be faulted for opening a low heart, although a club turns out to be best. Gee plays low from dummy, as does East (playing the 7 to show even count), and wins the HK.

Now there are four or five ways to make the hand. Declarer can find the trump queen. He can take the club finesse and sluff his losing heart. He can set up hearts. He can eliminate clubs and endplay West in hearts. There are probably other lines that I’m missing.

Our hero preserves most of his options by leading another heart at the second trick. West should duck but flies the ace and shifts to a club, East’s queen being taken by Gee’s king.

At this point the hand is stone cold as long as trump break, with many extra chances. Declarer cashes the club jack, plays the ace and king of trump and runs a heart, discarding a diamond. He wins the return, discards two more diamonds on the club ace and the good heart, and claims.

We now return to Planet Gee. D’Artagnan cashes the club jack, cashes two rounds of trump, ending up in hand, and decides it might be time to do something about his diamond losers. He leads a low diamond and finesses the jack, losing to the queen.

East can seal Gee’s fate by playing back another diamond, but in the holiday spirit he plays a low heart instead, giving Gee one last chance. Discarding a diamond makes the hand unless West led from AQxx. Gee ruffs.

Merry Christmas.

Well Well Well

Dec 222002

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: J

	Maestro A 10 5 3 A K Q J 9 8 K A 9
dellache K 8 7 4 7 Q 10 7 4 3 2 8 6		as J 6 6 5 4 3 9 5 K J 5 4 3
	delmas Q 9 2 10 2 A J 8 6 Q 10 7 2

West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

North
2

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
3

3NT
5

Pass

Some days we concentrate on Gee’s card play, others on his bidding, still others on his incomparable post mortems. Then there are those special days, when we hit the trifecta.

Gee opens 2C in second seat, and his partner puts the auction in high gear with a 3D bid on a balanced nine points and a four card suit. The STCP™ would consider 2NT, which is one reason he’s just watching the action.

Gee bids 3H, his partner 3NT. After the first positive response Gee isn’t taking no for an answer, and he launches into 4C. This, as all experience Gee-specs know, is Gerber: Gee plays Gerber directly over all notrump bids. (All notrump bids, you ask? All notrump bids.)

South, a novice in the Tao, takes 4C as clubs and raises to 5. Now our hero has a problem. Faced with an impossible response, he takes the logical course of bidding an impossible slam. Seven hearts.

There are two cards in East’s hand that give declarer a chance to make, and he leads one of them, the spade jack. (The other is the club king.) Gee plays the queen from dummy, and West can still beat the hand by ducking. Covering, however, is the normal and correct play with the spade ten hidden, and cover he does.

Declarer now has twelve tricks in the bag and great squeeze chances for the last one. Normally he would have to guess whether to play West, who obviously holds the long spades, for the club king or the diamond queen, but on the actual layout it’s easy. Declarer cashes the diamond king, plays two rounds of trump coming to dummy with the H10, cashes the diamond ace, sluffing the club loser, and ruffs a diamond. East shows out on the third diamond and it’s all over. Declarer draws trump, cashes the club ace and runs the rest of the trump, coming to this:

	Maestro 10 5 3 9 — —
dellache 8 7 4 — Q —		as 6 — — K J 5
	delmas 9 2 — J Q

On the last trump declarer tosses the club queen from dummy and West, needing four cards to guard against the spade and diamond threats, must throw in the towel.

Gee’s actual line is identical until trick 6. But instead of ruffing a diamond, he crosses back to his hand with the club ace, draws the rest of the trump, and plays two rounds of spades ending in dummy to kill his last entry. East of course shows out and Gee is left with a spade loser for down 1.

National politicians could learn from the way Gee handles a post mortem. He is asked why he bid 7H.

“I had a feeling that we needed a slam swing to win the match,” he replies. (This was the last hand of a team game. The score was hidden. Note his judicious choice of the word “feeling.”)

He is asked why he didn’t ruff a diamond and run his trumps. Gee disarmingly agrees that he should have ruffed a diamond, in the manner of an arsonist confessing to jaywalking. “But it doesn’t matter if I do,” he continues. “There is no squeeze.”

He is asked why he didn’t run his trumps even without ruffing a diamond, guessing whether to play West for the club king or the diamond queen. “I knew West held the diamond queen,” says Gee.

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