Wacko's Master Solver's Club

[kenberg]

Todd, and anyone, I would be interested in your thoughts for how the auction should start. My thinking:

1 - X - Pass - 2
Pass - 2 - Pass =2

My thinking: When 4-4 in the minors it is better to respond 2 . If the auction continues I can bid 3 , allowing pard to choose at the same level. In this case, I think it is better to show a strong 3 card holding at the second bid. After that I have no strong feelings about what comes next. Any game is iffy but not impossible.

The 2 by the original doubler should, I think, just force another call. Of course he needs enough strength to do that, to force another call, but at that point his pard could have a zero count so I don't think the 2 by the doubler is a game force. It just asks for more info.

As to the play, perhaps my line doesn't work, but for it not to work we need the J on my left and the Q on my left. We combine that with the probable J on my left, and recall Rho opened 1 , Lho did not raise holding presumably at least Jxx, maybe Jxxx, and it all just seems likely either the Q or the J is on my right. That's enough to bring in the game by taking the third round finesse with the T.

[Masse24]

Ken, as to the auction, I think your proposed continuation is quite reasonable. But I'm unsure it would be commonplace.

Partner has generally denied a four card spade suit with his 2 call. Since cuebidding now then showing a new suit is a game-force, you have no intention of doing that. The cuebid, however, is often used to show 18+ with three-card support for advancer's suit. At least it is according to Lawrence. So . . . advancer's 2 bid now should show three cards and, I would assume, a max for his previous bidding. The promised range for 2 being 0-8ish. Roughly. With the low end of advancer's range I would retreat to the lowest level of my original suit.   

I like this bidding problem for advancer so I think I will post it to Bridgewinners to see what a few others think. I wonder if there might be one or two who rebid 2NT with half-stopper Qx?


The Bridgewinners bidding poll is roughly split between 3 and 3 . There are only a couple of outliers who chose 2 . One chose 2NT.
Of those 3 and 3 bidders, I would lean toward 3 as being the choice of the few better known players who chose to vote.

One person stated that he would have responded 1NT rather than 2 . I like that.

[kenberg]

And, for the play on A, the answer is?

[blubayou]

Kudos to  Ken and Todd.   I LOVE  the non-jump in a minor (diamonds=fine)  then backing into the AQx spade suit.   This approach  puts the decider exactly where he should be-- tossing a coin about game in spades with good values and minus a trump / or waffling  by passing  ( or showing AKJx in clubs?)   
   (Just wanted to let you three know I am listening,  even though not inspired to "rant")

[kenberg]

Ah Ha!
If Rho held

Jxxx
AKxxxx
Q
xx

then he could defeat me by playing, at tricks 1,2,3, the A, K and another heart.

So: Either he doesn't have this holding or he did not realize how it would go.

Even if it is

Jxxx
AKxxx
Q


then playing A, K and another heart forces me to guess what to do with the clubs early on.

The idea is this. Playing AKx of hearts forces a ruff on the board since I can hardly ruff in my hand when Rho has four trump. So I pitch a from hand and ruff on the board. But now the J doesn't drop and I no longer can finesse the T  so Rho gets his J.

After riffing, say I play a and then take the Q. It would be good to pitch a losing on the long but entries are in short supply. If I take the two trump on the board and come to hand with a and play a top , perhaps hoping trumps are 3-3, I find that they are not 3-3/ I then play a high , Rho lets it hold the trick. Then a small , Rho ruffs and plays a I ruff, I am in my hand, with only cards left.

In the second case I listed, where Rho is 4=5=1=3, being in hand will be fine if Lho holds Qx. But that but who says that's the way they are. My guess is that if this began A,K,x in hearts I ruff on the board, try the 1D suit, and when the Q comes up I either play for to be 3-3 or else I play for the Q to be on my right.

I thought it surprising that Rho did not cash the AK  at tricks a and 2, but it just now occurred to me that if he had four spades to the J he might have then played a third as well.

So that's is some evidence that Rho holds three spades, not four.

Ok, coffee please.

Oh. I can't resist this addendum. If we agree that Rgo would play AK and another heart whenever he held Jxxx in spades, then of course we will not take the finesse. But wait. If we do not take the finesse here because "obviously" Rho does not have Jxxx since he did not begin with AKX in hearts, then he does not have to play AKx because we are going to not take the finesse and so he gets his J anyway, without him having to give the sluff ruff.

Oh my.

Also I can see why maybe Rho switches at T2 if he started with only five hearts. So I think the switch is evidence for him holding five.

[wackojack]

Problem A Making 4♠
                    54
                    J982
                    65432
                    93

  K1076                      AQ8
  76                          Q3
  AK7                        J1098
  AKJ6                        7542

                      J932
                      AK1054
                      Q
                      Q108


T1: 2♥, 3, K, 6
T2: 8♣ switch, I took with Ace. 
T3: Played 6♠, 5, Q, 2.
T4: 8♦, Q♦, A♦, 2♦.    I thought correctly the implications of this was that South was leading from ♣Q108, had the stiff Q♦ and therefore 9 cards in the majors.  So as Ken thought 4♠ +5♥ or 3♠ and 6♥. But which?  I knew about 11 of South’s HCP and unaccounted was J♠.
T5:  7♠, 5♠, A♠, 3♠
T6:  8♠, 9♠, ?    I played the K hoping for a 3-3 ♠ break which I now think is against the odds.  I am playing for North to have the remaining ♠ which is the Jack which means that South would have 6 hearts. A straw in the wind is that opps play a lead from the 2 will have an honour 10 or jack.  Maybe a 12 point opening bid would be slightly more likely than an 11 point opener.  I played the King and North showed out and so 1 off.   
I 

[kenberg]

Additionally, as long as the Q is onside you will make the contract even if you play the T and it loses to the J. They get the spade J and the two top hearts, you get three spades, four diamonds, and three clubs. So if we assume the Q is onside, playing the T has two ways to be right. It holds the trick, as here, or it loses to the J and then you pick up the clubs on a finesse.

It's a hand with choices. Always fun to look back on. Thanks for the hand, I might say a word or two more about the bidding yet.
 

[kenberg]

Declarer play problems often have a defensive play aspect.

After 6 tricks

Problem A Making 4♠
                   
                    J98
                    654
                    9

  10                           
  7                            Q
  K7                          J109
  KJ6                        754

                      J
                      K1054
                     
                      Q10

W is declarer and has taken 5 of the first 6 tricks. There are still choices to be made, but it appears to me that this hand can now be set 2 tricks. I am assuming N tossed a at T6 on the K.

Say W plays the K next. If S ruffs, the hand is now makable. So Suppose S ducks and another is led. S ruffs and plays the A. S can ruff and take his K that's 8 tricks but now what? The defense has to be sure they don't block the suit but then I think it is down 2.


Good hand for the Friday defense session.

[wackojack]

Thanks for that ken.  A good hand for all aspects of bridge:  Bidding, decarer and defensive play. 

Since I was declarer I felt that with all the inference available they should have led me to the correct play.  So I failed and but hopefully I have learned.   

[kenberg]

Thanks for that ken.  A good hand for all aspects of bridge:  Bidding, decarer and defensive play. 

Since I was declarer I felt that with all the inference available they should have led me to the correct play.  So I failed and but hopefully I have learned.

I enjoy the DAREhands but I usually like to look then over myself just because there are often or maybe always several aspects to them. being lesson hands there will  be a central point but there are other things as well.

Nice hand.