Hands

Rule of Thumb

Apr 082003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: K

	teeta A J 8 6 K 7 5 2 A 4 2 10 6
fun1 10 9 7 3 A 10 9 8 3 9 K 7 4		Maestro K 5 Q 6 K 10 8 3 A J 9 8 2
	lfisher Q 4 2 J 4 Q J 7 6 5 Q 5 3

West
Pass
Dbl

North
1

Pass

East
2

Pass

South
2

Pass

Gee’s brilliant bidding and declarer play sometimes overshadow his equally brilliant defense. Even the Chronicles have not given it the attention it deserves.

Today, then, features the maestro in an unaccustomed supporting role, in which he manages to steal the spotlight nonetheless. We reach 2DX after what might be considered a normal auction. West’s negative double is reasonable, but it puts the maestro in a tough spot. 3C and 2H both make, but 200 figures to be an excellent score on a part-score hand, and I can’t severely fault the gambling pass.

Gee here might have been well advised to use the rule of thumb I myself often employ on opening lead: pull the card closest to thumb. Instead he begins the defense with one of the two cards that let the hand make, the spade king. (The trump king also does the job.) Declarer wins the spade ace and plays the trump ace and another trump.

Gee ducks the second trump — winning doesn’t help — as West discards a heart. Declarer now leads a heart from dummy, ducked by West, and wins the heart king. Now it’s all over: another trump from hand will restrict the trump losers to one, plus a heart and a three clubs. Making two.

But no! Declarer, apparently losing the trump count, plays two more rounds of spades. Gee ruffs in on the third round, and has only to cash his master trump to prevent the club ruff and beat the contract. He cashes the heart queen, which his partner shrewdly elects not to overtake. Strike one. He cashes the club ace, on which his partner discourages. Strike two. And he continues with the club jack, covered by the queen and king. Strike three: West is forced to concede the club ruff for the eighth trick. Batter out.

The Long and the Short of It

Apr 022003

E/W Vul
MPs
Dealer: East
Lead: K

	peterw 7 3 Q 8 5 K 10 9 K 10 9 7 4
kimtm K Q J 6 2 10 9 Q 4 3 2 6 2		mick 9 5 4 J 6 4 3 8 7 Q J 5 2
	Maestro A 10 8 A K 7 2 A J 6 5 A 8

West

Pass
Pass

North

3NT

East
Pass
Pass

South
2NT
Pass

Today’s guest columnist is the legendary O_Bones, who needs no further introduction. Over to Mike:

There are plays that are basic to all STCP’s™, the holdup being one that Gee here executes flawlessly. That he subsequently obviates its very raison d’etre is irrelevant. West, kimtm, leads the spade king, continuing the suit until Gee correctly wins the third round, a maneuver that will either exhaust East of the suit or render it harmless by virtue of a 4-4 split. Counting his top tricks, an exercise that he frequently performs correctly, Gee finds that he is one short. A 3-3 break in hearts would yield a ninth trick, but as Gee is an expert he knows percentages well, and a finesse is better than a 3-3 split by nearly five to three odds. He rightly decides, therefore, to look for the extra trick in the diamond suit, and since the finesse can be taken either of two ways, the odds favoring it must, he reasons, be even better than normal. Confidently he plays a diamond to dummy’s king, and floats the ten on the way back. Astounded, West gathers in the diamond lady and cashes two more spades, the lowly deuce administering the coup de grace of the setting trick.

The ubiquitous STCP™ would, of course, lead a low diamond from hand at trick four, inserting the nine or ten and not caring a whit if it lost to East, who would either have no more spades, leaving the danger hand entryless, or, if holding a spade, have found the suit to be 4-4, and not dangerous at all. With the finesse winning, the STCP would now reenter his hand with a rounded top, repeat the diamond hook, and garnish ten tricks. Experts of a different ilk than Gee, having gotten this far, would along the way have played the heart 8 to hand, unblocking as a matter of technique. Upon seeing the ten or nine appear from opening leader, and the other honor popping up when a low heart is led to the lady, our hypothetical expert would apply the Principle of Restricted Choice, playing the last heart to the 7, hooking against the jack, and bringing in eleven tricks. Gee, ever cognizant of opportunities to reinvent the bridge wheel, has found a three-trick “compression play,” paying Hamman homage to the coiner of the term. Speaking of principles, the hand is a perfect example of the reason why your scribe invented the Bones Principle, as it is colder than a penguin’s rectum on a line that any intermediate…er… STCP™ would find, even while somnambulistic.

As the setting trick was cashed the maestro stated, inverting yet another post mortem, “The direction in which I took the finesse was short to long.”

Summary
1. Do not hook into danger hands.
2. Do learn restricted choice.
3. Post mortems are for changing feet.

Safety Last

Mar 282003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 10

	mih 8 7 6 5 2 J 6 5 2 10 A K Q
ksvaii A Q J A Q 8 4 3 A K 6 5 3		Maestro K 4 K 10 9 7 Q 7 4 3 2 10 8
	amincu 10 9 3 — J 9 8 J 9 7 6 5 4 2

West
2

Dbl
Pass
Pass

North
Pass
Pass
Dbl

East
2

6NT
Pass

South
4

Pass
Pass

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent.
—Ludwig Wittgenstein

It is with trepidation that I ignore Wittgenstein and attempt an analysis of today’s hand.

West opens a lightish 2C, and the maestro replies with 2D, which is — waiting? negative? diamonds? Whereof one cannot speak…

South’s 4C vulnerable is a death wish. He catches a miracle dummy and goes for only 500 on accurate and 200 on the probable defense. West doubles, which, with no suits having yet been bid by his side, sure looks like takeout to me. Now you might figure North to bid some number of clubs, but North is a disciple of the “give ’em enough rope” school, he passes, and it’s hard to argue with the result. Six in either red suit is cold, but Gee, mindful of the significance of the extra 10 points at IMPs, and sure that his partner’s double promises not only a club stopper but a club stopper that’s safe to lead through, shoots 6NT. West can’t do anything but pass, for the captain has spoken. North doubles and prays.

Do I lead a club on this auction? Probably. But South reasons, understandably, that if North had club tricks he would have supported clubs, and he throws the 10 of spades on the table.

All is in the maestro’s capable hands. Can he find the two-way safety play in hearts and take thirteen top tricks? He wins the spade in hand and leads a diamond to the board. Both defenders follow; so far so good. He plays four more rounds of diamonds, ramping up the suspense; North tosses all of his spades. With the specs on the edge of their seats, the maestro slaps down the king of hearts, carefully catering to South’s possible 1-4-3-7 holding. South shows out, and it’s all over.

One must be silent.

Out, Damned Gee Spot!

Mar 242003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: K

	oguz A Q 10 4 J Q J 8 7 J 10 9 7
nano J 9 7 2 K Q 4 9 4 3 8 6 2		tinmarin K 6 5 A 9 7 5 3 10 5 Q 4 3
	Maestro 8 3 10 8 6 2 A K 6 2 A K 5

West

Pass
Pass
Pass

North

1
2NT
Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
1

1NT
3NT

I confess that I am not entirely happy with the Gee-Spot formula, which, to review, is 100*(P(C) – P(G)), P(C) being the probability of success of the correct line, P(G) being the probability of Gee’s. Sometimes it doesn’t quite capture the achievement.

Take today’s hand, for instance, an excellent 3NT contract reached after a rare normal auction. The defense begins with four rounds of hearts, West discarding a spade on the fourth round. You or I cash a club, cross to a diamond, take the club finesse into the safe hand, and score ten tricks when East shows up with Qxx in clubs. 100% for nine tricks no matter how the clubs lay out. The maestro slaps down the ace and king of clubs. The queen does not fall. He plays a third club, and East wins the queen and cashes the long heart for off 1. He then complains that he tried three things and none of them worked. (Queen singleton, queen doubleton, and queen with West, if you’re counting at home.)

In a naked Gee-spot reckoning this scores:

100 * (1.0 – 0.61) = 39

A 39 Gee-spot is respectable, but not especially noteworthy. Yet who can gainsay the magnificence of his line?

The problem is even more conspicuous here:

N/S Vul
MPs
Dealer: South
Lead: J

	konijn A Q 7 5 2 A K 8 9 8 6 Q 7
jdonn 10 9 7 6 5 2 A Q 10 J 10 8 2		dragon 9 3 Q J 10 3 7 3 2 K 9 5
	Maestro K J 8 6 4 4 K J 5 4 A 6 4

West

Pass
Pass
Pass

North

2NT
4

East

Pass
Pass

South
1

Pass

Another normal contract on another normal auction, although Josh can perhaps be faulted for failing to Bones four spades, especially at matchpoints. The club jack is led, queen, king, ace, and it’s Endplay 101. Pull trump, eliminate the hearts, discarding the third club from the closed hand, and exit a club. Eventually West will have to lead a diamond back to you or concede a ruff-sluff. Again, a 100% line for the contract.

Gee pulls trump and plays another club. West wins and shifts to hearts. Gee wins a high heart, and it’s still not too late: cash the second heart, discarding a club, ruff a heart, cross to the board with a trump and run the diamond 9, covering whatever East plays. But Gee runs the diamond 9 immediately, eliminating neither suit and giving West his choice of safe exits. West exits a club, ruffed on board, and now with AQ10 all offside in diamonds he has no chance to make the contract. (How he managed 41 of the matchpoints remains a mystery.)

The Gee-spot works out as:

100 * (1.0 – 0.88) = 12

A lousy 12 Gee-spot for that brilliant effort? Gee-ology, for good or ill, remains as much art as science.

I Am the Walrus

Mar 192003

Today, a special bonus round of WWGD, in two parts, and everyone can play! First, your partner opens a 15-17 point notrump at IMPs vulnerable against not, and you hold the following:

K9
J32
83
AKQJ95

WWGD?
A. Bid 4C Gerber, postponing his decision until after his partner shows aces.
B. Make a quantitative raise to 4NT, asking partner to bid slam with a maximum hand.
C. Bid Stayman, planning to rebid 3C over any response, showing a slam-invitational hand and clubs.
D. Raise to 3NT and take the sure profit.

The answer, for you neophytes, is of course D. As the responder you are captain. The opener, crew, has already shown his hand, and it is up to you to place the contract. You have 13 points, partner has 17 at most, how can slam be a high-percentage proposition? Here’s the full deal:

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: North
Lead: 4

	gritbiz Q 6 A Q 4 A K Q 5 4 10 6 4
fraser A J 7 10 7 6 5 J 7 6 8 7 2		misu 10 8 5 4 3 2 K 9 8 10 9 2 3
	Maestro K 9 J 3 2 8 3 A K Q J 9 5

West

Pass

North
1NT
Pass

East
Pass
Pass

South
3NT

Tough luck: 6NT is cold, requiring either the heart finesse or a 3-3 diamond break. More tough luck: a 5 IMP loss on the hand, to those pairs who reached slam, betraying their ignorance of fundamental bidding theory.

On to part 2. IMPs again, both vulnerable. You hold:

K10852
K5
Q6
QJ106

Lefty opens a diamond first seat, partner overcalls one spade, righty negative doubles. WWGD?
A. Redouble, promising whatever it is you hold, as you explain slowly and carefully to partner in the post mortem.
B. Bid 2NT, because all those spade tricks are just as good in notrump, and you right-side the hand.
C. Raise to 4S on the 5-5, possibly shutting the opponents out of a heart game.
D. Raise to 2S, taking the sure profit.

You didn’t choose C, did you? The answer, once again, is D. All those loose queens and jacks aren’t going to do you any good in a suit contract, and you figure to have only about half the points anyway. Let’s have a look:

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: 5

	gritbiz A Q 7 6 4 10 8 4 3 10 A 3 2
fraser J 9 A Q A 8 7 4 3 K 9 7 5		misu 3 J 9 7 6 2 K J 9 5 2 8 4
	Maestro K 10 8 5 2 K 5 Q 6 Q J 10 6

West
1

Pass

North
1

Pass

East
Dbl
Pass

South
2

Now that’s a shame; turns out 4S is cold. But it needs East to have the heart ace or West to have the club king, and we certainly couldn’t expect anything like that on the bidding. Remember kids, it’s making the right bid that counts. Don’t worry about results. As Gee will tell you, over the long run you’ll get the scores you deserve.

Colors Are For Children

Mar 142003

Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead: 10

	gritbiz 9 4 10 3 K 9 8 5 4 2 Q 3 2
fraser A 6 3 K J 9 7 5 10 6 K 7 4		misu Q J 8 7 2 2 A Q J 3 J 6 5
	Maestro K 10 5 A Q 8 6 4 7 A 10 9 8

West
Pass
Pass
Dbl

North
Pass
Pass
Pass

East
1

Dbl
Pass

South
2

Pass

Today, faced with a third-seat spade opener from East, our hero steps into the breach with a reasonable 2H overcall. As it happens 2HX goes for 500 at least, but it works out that way sometimes. (East/West have an outside shot at four spades with a diamond lead, not that they’re likely to bid it. But the maestro would undoubtedly lead his ace of clubs, and a club continuation assures four tricks for the defense.)

2H is passed around to East, who reopens with a double, which West would be happy to pass. He never gets the chance. Gee pulls immediately to 3C, taking advantage of the opportunity to show his four-card minor — just look at those spots! — which West of course doubles. Being unfamiliar with his partner’s expert methods of bidding two-suited hands, North reasons that his partner is 5-5 and passes.

West leads the diamond 10, ducked around, and Gee ruffs a second round of diamonds in hand as East inserts the jack. He plays the heart ace and low heart, which West ducks, allowing his partner to ruff. The queen of spades comes back, covered by the king and ace, and the defense continues spades. East wins the jack and plays a low trump, ducked to the king.

West leads trump back, and the queen from dummy fetches the jack from East. Gee overtakes with the ace and now the hand is an open book. West is known to have five hearts and three trump. The diamond 10 is from a doubleton, unless we assume West led it from Q10x with Ax of his partner’s suit as an alternative. This leaves him with three spades. Draw the trump, cash the spade, and exit a small heart. West is endplayed in hearts, for down 2, and a merely catastrophic -500.

Our hero cashes the spade first, assuring himself that West does indeed have three spades, and then leads a low heart. West returns his last trump and now the endplay is on the other foot. Two spades, a ruff, the trump king, a diamond, and two hearts make seven tricks for the defense. Not that the extra 300 cost or anything.

Gee summarizes lucidly: “Too bad pd…3H is down only 2.”

Dropping Science

Mar 112003

N/S Vul
IMPs
Dealer: West
Lead:K

	mcailean A J 10 6 4 3 2 Q 10 9 2 K J
fifee K Q 7 A Q 9 8 6 4 K 9 8 4		simsim35 9 5 J 8 6 3 7 5 10 7 6 3 2
	Maestro 8 K 7 5 4 A J 10 3 2 A Q 5

West
1

Pass
Pass
Pass

North
1

Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass

South
2

4NT
6

One infallible sign of the expert is his boldness. By visualizing hands instead of merely counting points, he often finds contracts from which the ordinary player would shrink.

Today, for instance, the STCP™, faced with the South hand after a 1D opener to his left and partner’s 1S overcall, might reason that only game is available and content himself with a simple 3NT, probably pulled by North to 4S, and making 4 or 5 either way. Gee, with a stiff in his partner’s suit, Kxxx in hearts, and a double stopper in both minors, is thinking bigger. He bids 2H.

North has a fine hand in support of hearts and raises to game, but matters don’t stop there. Gee visualizes a hand like — well, I’m not sure exactly what, but if I could do these things myself I would be the expert and he would write columns about me instead of the other way around.

Blackwood ensues, North dutifully shows his ace, and Gee plunges to 6H. West eschews the Bones double and leads the spade king.

Sure enough, 6H has some play. If West shows up with exactly three spades and the AJ tight of hearts the hand is cold. Win the spade, spade ruff, trump to the queen and she is helpless.

Luck, as usual, is not with our hero. But he does find an ingenious line for off 2. He wins the spade ace, cashes the diamond king, leads the club jack to the ace, and then plays a low trump. West wins her ace and returns a low club, and Gee misses his first chance to go down one by ruffing on the board. He ruffs a spade, takes the ruffing finesse in diamonds, which holds, and then attempts to cash the diamond ace, discarding a spade. East ruffs in and returns a club. Gee cross-ruffs the rest of the hand, losing the trump jack at the end.

The post-mortem is brief and pointed, as Gee advises his partner, “If you bid like that with me we will be in slam every time.”

Analyze This

Mar 072003

None Vul
MPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 6

	cleos2 K 4 Q J 7 4 3 2 Q J 9 8 3
giorgi A 9 8 7 8 5 7 5 K 10 9 7 4		Maestro Q 3 A K 10 9 10 4 3 2 A 5 2
	jccasper J 10 6 5 2 6 A K 8 6 Q J 6

West

Pass
Dbl
Pass

North

2
Pass
Pass

East
1

Pass
3

South
1

2NT
Pass

Today we have a play problem. How do you make 2NT as South against a club lead?

Answer below, but first some bidding, which is one way to put it. Our hero opens a normal 1D, and South makes a normal 1S overcall. West, with a fine defensive hand, makes a nice pass to await developments. North rewards him with an ill-advised 2H call. Conceivably South holds something like AQxxx Kx A10xx xx and you have a heart game, but with 9 lousy points, a spade tolerance, and a bad suit, passing is more likely to keep you out of trouble.

Gee manages to restrain himself and pass, and South, not unreasonably, offers up 2NT, doubled by West, obviously for penalty. The maestro shrewdly pulls to 3C, which offers several advantages. It keeps his partner off lead against 2NT, right-sides the hand, and helps forge the trust that is indispensable to a successful partnership.

3C buys the hand, and South leads his stiff heart 6, covered by the jack and won in hand with the ace. If South holds four trump and a stiff heart, you’re always down on correct defense (I think — my readers are welcome to correct me, as always), but the hand is pretty cold as long as the trump splits. Two rounds of trump, ending up on the board, followed by the semi-marked heart finesse. South can ruff in and cash his two diamonds, but now declarer’s third trump provides an entry to the good hearts, and the defense gets a trump, a spade, and two diamonds.

The maestro begins as recommended, with the ace and king of trump. He now plays a spade, and lo! the practice finesse holds, despite the bidding. North rises and leads the diamond queen, overtaken by South, who cashes the master trump and exits with a spade, which Gee wins on board with the queen. We now have:

	cleos2 — Q 7 4 3 2 J —
giorgi A 9 8 5 10 9		Maestro — K 10 9 10 4 3 —
	jccasper J 10 6 — A 8 6 —

Diamond from hand, right? If South wins and returns a spade, no need for the heart finesse. South wins and returns a diamond, ruff, heart finesse, nine tricks. North wins, returns a heart, same nine tricks. Or you could simplify matters by cashing the heart king, playing South to have led the heart 6 from J6. Again, no luck. South shows out, and Gee loses a diamond and a spade at the end for down 1.

2NTX might have been interesting. On a club lead the defense appears to collect four clubs, two diamonds and the spade ace for 300. On a double-dummy heart lead there seem to be even eight tricks for the defense: two clubs, four hearts and two spades. However, my powers of analysis being what they are, I am fortunate to have Gee to set me, and the spectators, straight:

G: further more he doubled a 2NT bid that was making and I took it out… he screamed at me for it (The “scream” was as follows: “how could u over 2nt to 3cl, if i want to bid 3cl i bid myself, it’s only unbid suit, and then in 3cl u cashed top heart instead of finessing it” —Ed.)
Spec #1: 2n was making?
G: sure it was
Spec #2: sure
G: and the 3C making 3 was the only viable contract for us (Um, making 3? —Ed.)
G: making 4
Spec #1: looks to me like you get 4 clubs, AK of hearts and ace of spades on defense
Spec #3: 2NT never makes
G: 2NT makes
Spec #1: 3 rounds of clubs and how can you see they make 2NT i still am missing it
G: it makes 1C, 4D, 1S and 2H tricks

So simple. Once it’s explained to you.

The Line Less Traveled

Mar 042003

N/S Vul
MPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 3

	eran1 A Q 9 8 7 J 7 6 4 2 5 J 2
revokes 5 2 8 5 3 J 9 8 6 A K 7 4		kathwei 10 6 4 3 K Q 10 9 Q 2 10 5 3
	Maestro K J A A K 10 7 4 3 Q 9 8 6

West

Pass
Pass
Dbl

North

1
3
Pass

East
Pass
Pass
Dbl
Pass

South
1

Pass

For the STCP™ bidding misfits often proves troublesome. A brief lesson from the master may clear up some of the subtler points involved.

Gee opens a diamond and jump rebids 3D over the 1S response, giving his partner a problem. Pass wins, as it so often does; 3D makes exactly three and there is no game on the layout. But North very reasonably chooses 3H to show his 5-5 hand in the majors; there could easily be a major suit game available if Gee holds three of either. East doubles, chancily, for a heart lead and it’s back to the maestro.

At this stage the STCP™, scenting a misfit and knowing his partner is at least 5-5, might take a simple preference to three spades to show his excellent two-card support. (With three in either major South should bid game.) This approach, however, hides the four-card club suit, in which you could conceivably have a seven-card fit (assuming North is void diamonds) that you may well want to play at the four-level. The maestro therefore spurns the spade preference in favor of four clubs.

West doubles, of course, and poor North, who figures Gee to be 1-1-6-5 with a hand not quite good enough for a three club rebid, passes.

A heart is led, and there appear to be eight tricks for declarer, the 4-2 fit notwithstanding: two spades, two diamonds, the heart ace, a diamond ruff (West figures to have both club honors on the auction), and two heart ruffs in hand. Yet is -500 enough to guarantee the zero? Why take chances?

Gee wins the heart ace, cashes the diamond ace, and leads…a trump! West rises with the king, marking the trump ace, and plays another heart. Gee ruffs, cashes two spades in hand, and makes the key play of a low diamond, ruffing with the jack as both defenders follow. He attempts to cash the spade ace, sluffing a diamond, but West ruffs, cashes the trump ace, and plays his last heart, and now, no matter what Gee does, the trump queen is his last trick. -800, and the zero is assured.

Who’s to blame? Let’s listen:

G: not better to play with a known 7 card trump than a probably 6 card trump suit? (Yes, this was Gee, not his partner. —Ed.)
eran1: but u must be 6-5 why no 3S? i take u 6-5-1-1
G: no, with 6-5 I bid D, then C then D again
Spec #1: huh????
G: with 5-5 I bid D then C then C
eran1: so why no 3sp?
Spec #2: lolol
Spec #3: did he just type that?
G: with 6-4, I bid D then D then C

See? Bidding misfits is easy!

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)

Older Entries Newer Entries