Professional Documents
Culture Documents
April 2004
ß
˙
∂
ç
In this issue:
Features
7 Bridge Yesterday
ALERT: Please do not e-mail this e-mag to anyone. Much time, energy and money was spent to produce this
product, and most people can afford to pay for it. If you would like someone to see an issue, please contact
us with his email address (write to matt@bridgetoday.com) and we’ll gladly pass on a sample excerpt. Sub-
scriptions are $33 per year for 12 monthly issues. Thank you!
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 2
West dealer North reserving his trumps for later, not exactly a
E-W vul ß J 10 7 6 2 smart move on this hand.
˙AK75
∂ 10 9 Zia cashed the ˙Q and ruffed a diamond
çQJ in dummy. On the ˙A-K he threw a club
West East and a diamond. Then he ruffed a heart as
ß— ßKQ85 East threw his last diamond. This was the
˙ J 10 8 6 4 ˙932 position:
∂K62 ∂Q874 North
ç A 10 6 3 2 çK7 ß J 10 7 6
South (Zia) ˙—
ßA943 ∂—
˙Q ç—
∂AJ53 West East
ç9854 ß— N
ßKQ85
˙J W E ˙—
S
West North East South ∂K ∂—
pass pass pass 1ß ç 10 6 ç—
2ß 3˙ pass 3ß South (Zia)
pass 4ß (all pass) ßA94
˙—
Opening lead: çA ∂J
ç—
West continued to the çK and East
switched to a diamond. Zia won the ace and Zia ruffed the ∂J with the ßJ and East
led the ç8, discarding a diamond when was sorry he had failed to ruff earlier.
West played low. East also discarded a
diamond. Welcome to the “I don’t want to Here’s one more Zia tale from this event.
take my trick” club! East, of course, was Try it yourself....
I think I might double this, but 3ß was West North East South
cold: 1ç 1∂ pass 2ß
double 3∂ pass pass
West dealer North (Sincoff) double pass 3˙ 3ß
E-W vul ß2 double (all pass)
˙K76
∂AKQJ6 Even if you don’t double 3ß, you get a
ç7642 bad score for -140 (and if you bid 4˙, it’s
West East worse). Many N-S pairs played in diamonds,
ß K Q 10 ß864 scoring 130 or less. This was another board
˙ A Q J 10 ˙95432 that helped the runners-up.
∂ 10 7 ∂82
ç A Q 10 9 çJ53 Finally, let’s go to the winners’ table.
South (Lord) Here are two exhibits (top scores) that
ßAJ9753 helped them to victory. The first begins
˙8 with the question: How do you score 2230?
∂9543 You know how to score 2220 (vulnerable
çK8 7NT making 7). But 2230? Think about it
if you like before reading on.
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 6
East dealer North (Cohen) One club was Precision, 16+ points, and
All vul ßKJ843 double by West was for the majors. When
˙ 10 8 5 Cohen redoubled to show a positive, East
∂6 passed, waiting for partner to bid his best
çKJ96 suit. But West thought that East held long
West East clubs for the “pass” and trusted partner (see
ß A Q 10 7 5 ß962 you in our next Partnership Bridge col-
˙K732 ˙QJ9 umn!). Berkowitz received the ∂8 lead to
∂83 ∂Q942 the queen. He wasn’t unhappy. He took 12
ç43 ç875 tricks after drawing trumps for a score of
South (Berkowitz) 2230. Here’s how it adds up:
ß—
˙A64 Trick score was 20 X 4 = 80
∂ A K J 10 7 5 Partial bonus = 50
ç A Q 10 2 Five redoubled overtricks at 400 each =
2000
West North East South And, of course, 100 for the insult.
— — pass 1ç
double redouble (all pass)
My last hand this month is from the East dealer North (Cohen)
final session. You hold, vul vs. not: N-S vul ßK9832
ß K 9 8 3 2 ˙ — ∂ K 10 9 8 ç J 8 6 4 ˙—
∂ K 10 9 8
Larry Cohen asked me how I would feel çJ864
with this hand after LHO opened 1ç and West East
partner preempted to 3˙. Now RHO ß 10 7 5 4 ßQ6
doubles and LHO leaves it in. Gulp. “Play- ˙A ˙Q875
ing with Marty Bergen,” said Larry in fond ∂A7632 ∂Q54
reminiscence, “we might be going for quite a ç932 çAK75
number. How would you feel playing with South (Berkowitz)
David as your partner?” With David? Well, ßAJ
he must surely have a good hand to bid 3˙ ˙ K J 10 9 6 4 3 2
vul vs. not. This was the full hand: ∂J
ç Q 10
East cashed two clubs and guessed wrong West North East South
when he shifted to a spade instead of a — — 1ç 3˙
diamond. On a high level, West, after double (all pass)
leading the ç2, can next show suit-prefer-
ence with the 3. Opening lead: ç2
After the spade return from East, David Readers, please check the website soon
was able to pitch his diamond on the çJ to for more Bridge Today articles about the
score 730. Congratulations. spring Nationals.
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 7
Bridge Yesterday
by Paul Zweifel
Partner held: ß J 10 x x x ˙ A Q ∂ A K x ç J x x
ß A x ˙ Q x x x ∂ A K J x x ç x x.
Over partner’s (Sid Lorvan) opening
My hand was: notrump I bid Stayman. When Sid re-
ß x x ˙ A K 10 x ∂ Q x x ç A Q x x sponded two spades, I didn’t think my
hand was quite good enough to bid the
Zweifel partner slam directly, so I made a retrospective
South West North East cuebid of three hearts. Sid next bid three
1ç pass 1∂ pass notrump denying three-card heart support;
1˙ pass 1ß pass as far as he was concerned, I had a legiti-
1 NT pass 4˙ pass mate five-card heart suit (that’s the way we
6˙ (all pass) bid them in those pre-transfer days). Now I
suddenly realized that the hands were a
True, he bid pretty aggressively, but with misfit, doubleton heart facing doubleton
hearts coming home and the çK onside, I (very likely the king) so I quit.
actually made 7.
Another example of a bid whose meaning
Partner’s bid of one spade is what I like should be obvious is the following.
to call a “retrospective cue bid.” When the
bid is first made, partner assumes it to be Partner Zweifel
natural, but the subsequent auction clarifies West North East South
that is was in fact a cuebid and a slam try. — — 1∂ 1˙
2ç double (inquiry)
Another example can be found in my
article in the Summer 2002 issue of Bridge This is an obvious negative double. It
Today, page 26. I held the following: was an obvious negative double in the days
before the negative was invented (I claimed
to the director — yes, even in the good old
days opponents would call the director on
you*).* Partner certainly isn’t doubling a
Addendum: In a recent column I forcing bid for penalties. The double can’t
asked readers to contact me if they had be lead-directional, at the two-level, because
any information about Ruth Chase the opponents might just redouble and
Goldberg-Gilbert. Sid Lorvan reminded make it. And if partner wants to raise, he
me that we played against her in the can simply bid two hearts. What else could
first Spring Nationals, Atlantic City, it be? So, by process of elimination, partner
1958. That’s the same tournament in has spades, but not enough to bid two
which Sid and I played the 1NT-2ç- spades (and by inference, a doubleton heart
2ß-3˙ hand described above. in case you don’t like spades). What could
be more clear?
The NEC Cup is one of the most presti- Trendafilov, Stamatov-Tsonchev) and
gious invitational teams tournaments in the USA/Germany (a.k.a. “Three gals and an
overcrowded constellation of the interna- extra Molson to boot” — Sabine Auken,
tional bridge calendar. It is staged in Kerri Sanborn, Janice Molson and husband
Yokohama in the early-mid part of Febru- Mark).*
ary, and the Japanese Bridge League, gener-
ously sponsored by NEC, one of the largest There were plenty of other good quality
computer manufacturers in the world, contenders to make up the field: strong
traditionally provides a lavish setting and teams from Iceland, Israel, USA, Australia,
thoroughly professional staff overseen by Canada, open and ladies teams from China
the tireless efforts of Tadayoshi Nakatani. and from Chinese Taipei, not to mention
quite a few competitive local teams whose
This year’s edition took place from Feb. 9 performance would surprise more titled
to 15 and saw the arrival of yet again a opponents.
strong batch of foreign teams as well as the
participation of an abundant local contin- The format of the tournament is based
gent of players, some strong some not so on an eight-round Swiss of 20 boards per
strong, to complete a record total of 52 match, with the top eight finishers clashing
teams. in direct knock-out matches over 40 boards,
leading to a semifinals and a 64-board final.
It was difficult to pinpoint the pre-tour-
nament favorites: The general consensus The round robin matches provided a
short-listed as possible winners were teams rich and assorted melange of interesting
from Poland/Russia (Balicki-Zmudzinski, deals to choose from.
Gromov-Petrunin), the holders England
(Senior, Armstrong, Callaghan, Lambardi), The prize that might have been
Indonesia (Lasut-Manoppo, Karwur- One of the early matches between would-
Panelewen), Bulgaria (Karaivanov- be contenders for the title saw Bulgaria
square off against Iceland in round two.
At the other table, things were very Janice Seamon Molson has made an
different (hand rotated).... indelible mark in women’s bridge thanks to
her reputation as a gutsy fighter as well as a
ßAK2 superb technical player. Here she struck
˙ 10 5 4 again with a third-seat vulnerable 1˙, a
∂KJ9 “being on a roll” kind of bid, having just
ç A Q 10 8 reaped some juicy dividends on the previ-
ß763 ßQ8 ous boards. Her action pushed Lambardi/
˙AQJ6 N ˙972 Senior into an unsound 3NT. Janice led the
W E
∂ Q 10 7 2 S ∂A865 ∂2 to the jack and ace and Mark switched
ç64 çK952 to a deceptive ˙2. As a result, Janice won
ß J 10 9 5 4 the jack and cashed her ace. When that
˙K83 failed to oust the ˙K, she reverted to dia-
∂43 monds. With black clouds of many vulner-
çJ73 able undertricks looming perilously over his
Closed Room head, Senior cashed the ßA-K and was
West North East South delighted to see the queen drop. He cashed
J. Molson Lambardi M. Molson Senior his remaining winners and took the club
— — pass pass finesse for his contract: –200.
1˙ double 2˙ 2ß
pass 3˙ pass 3 NT
(all pass)
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 13
What the Bulgarian champion did not Our undercover “Moyse” from Russia
miss was that this line would give him the Board 5 North
additional chance of squeezing North in North dealer ßAK86
hearts and clubs whenever clubs were 4-2 N-S vul ˙9
with South holding a doubleton honor, ∂KQ7543
while cashing both top clubs would destroy çK9
the communications for the squeeze. After West East
declarer took the heart return with the ˙K, ß97 ßQJ53
he proceeded to cash his top spades and the ˙654 ˙ A 10 7 3 2
last trump gave North an impossible discard ∂A982 ∂J6
problem: ç Q 10 7 6 çJ2
ß— South
˙Q ß 10 4 2
∂— ˙KQJ8
çQ8 ∂ 10
ßJ ß— çA8543
˙8 N ˙ 10
W E
∂— S ∂— While most tables reached the normal
ç 10 çK6 3NT (down one), after E-W overcalled and
ß— raised hearts, here Alexander Petrunin
˙— chose the Moysian dimension:
∂QJ9
ç— Open Room
West North East South
Trendafilov’s efforts were rewarded with Sanborn Gromov Auken Petrunin
a 3-imp gain for his team, when they were — 1 ∂ (1) 1˙ double (2)
in danger of losing 12 once 5∂ doubled 2˙ 4 ˙ (3) pass 4ß
went two off for -500. Nevertheless, it (all pass)
would have been better for declarer to give
up a club on the first round of the suit, (1) Precision
since, as the play went, if North held the (2) Negative, usually with four spades
çQ-J-x-x, he could win the second club and (3) Splinter “raise” to 4ß
play a third round, breaking up the
squeeze. Trying to fathom the reasons why
Petrunin opted to double instead of bid-
The last match of the second day, the ding 2ç or a top heavy 1NT has meant
sixth of the round-robin, saw another tough sleepless nights and deep blue rings around
battle between the two top placed teams my eyes. A lengthy stay in a secluded mon-
when USA+ played Poland/Russia. astery in the Himalayas to seek heavenly
guidance on the matter did not help me to
solve the enigma, so I ask any kind soul out
there who might be able to shed light on
*Anti-editor: Perhaps they play negative free bids or
the mystery* to contact me at the Buddhist
2ç would be a game force. He might not like to bid
Retreat, Mount Everest, Nepal.
notrump when partner’s diamonds could be two
small.
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 15
East dealer North ment and managed to take only six tricks in
N-S vul ß9 their 4-4 spade fit, losing a trick in each
˙97432 minor, two hearts and three trumps for two
∂A762 down 100 and an imp to Japan. It was a
çK63 great hand for the “Joey Silver — Whatever
West East you can do, I can do better — Hall of Fame
ß5432 ß A J 10 8 collection” which has no doubt already
˙J5 ˙ K 10 8 6 been forwarded to the domiciles of current
∂Q93 ∂KJ5 and previous teammates (which I guess
çA985 ç42 must include 90% of Canadian bridge play-
South ers). Canada went on to win the match 51-
ßKQ76 32, 19-11 in VP.
˙AQ
∂ 10 8 4 These were the top-10 standings after the
ç Q J 10 7 seventh round:
Open Room
West North East South Rank Team VPs
Kaku Carruthers Takayama Silver 1 POLAND/RUSSIA 142
— — 1∂ 1ß 2 USA 133
(all pass) 3 USA+ 131
4 ISRAEL 129
Closed Room 5 INDONESIA 128
West North East South 6 ICELAND 125
Graves Imakura Mittelman Ino 7 CANADA 123
— — 1∂ pass 8/9 ENGLAND 120
1ß pass 2ß (all pass) 8/9 BULGARIA 120
10 CHINA LADIES 119
Never one to be hindered by paltry
considerations like vulnerability and suit
quality, Joey Silver decided to pull out one Crocodile Rock
of his trademark four-card overcalls to get Going into the last round of the Swiss
his 14 count out and working. When his and the two matches which looked likely to
overcall was passed out, he bought a decide the top seeding for the quarter-finals
dummy that despite its trump shortage were Poland/Russia vs. USA and USA+ vs.
contributed two precious cards. Cool and Israel.
collected, declarer ducked the opening lead
of the ∂3 to East’s king, finessed the ˙Q at
trick two, led the ç7 to dummy’s king, the
ß9 to the ten and king, and then advanced
the ç10. When Kaku ducked, Silver had
six sure winners and made the ßQ later for
a remarkable +80,
North dealer North eighth trick with the ˙K. [Editor’s note: As
N-S vul ß8743 the play went, it wouldn’t help for East to
˙K962 throw the ßK or ßK-J on the diamonds,
∂852 because declarer can then lead a low spade,
ç73 endplaying West. The ßJ was certainly
West East more likely to be in the South hand than
ß Q 10 5 ßKJ the East hand; nevertheless, West can save
˙ 10 ˙Q87543 the day by discarding a spade instead of a
∂A974 ∂63 club.)
çKQ964 çJ82
South In the Closed Room Gromov led the çK
ßA962 and a low club as Robison held off his ace
˙AJ until the third round. Gromov won the first
∂ K Q J 10 diamond, cashed his two remaining clubs,
ç A 10 5 then exited with a low spade leaving
Open Room Robison a trick short; –100, 6 imps to Po-
West North East South land/Russia.
Gromov Itabashi Petrunin Robison
— pass pass 2 NT The Americans came back strongly,
(all pass) though, to win the match 52-24, 21-9 in
VP. Israel beat USA+ 49-33, 18-12 VP, and
Closed Room in the other critical match-ups Canada beat
West North East South Iceland 21-9, while England defeated Bul-
Hayden Balicki Kantor Zmudzinski garia 16-14 to claim the last qualifying
— pass 2˙ double berth. China Ladies quashed the hopes of
pass 2ß pass 2 NT the last Japanese team in contention with a
(all pass) 21-9 win, which meant a seventh place
finish. Final round robin top-8 standings
In Poland/Russia vs. USA both Souths were:
declared 2NT. Zmudzinski got the friendlier
lead of the ˙10, induced by Kantor’s 2˙ Rank Team VPs
bid, which he won with the ˙J. He played 1 USA 154
on diamonds, Hayden winning the second 2 POLAND/RUSSIA 151
round and shifting to a low club. 3 INDONESIA 150
Zmudzinski won the third round, cashed 4 ISRAEL 147
the ˙A (West throwing a club) and his two 5 CANADA 144
remaining diamonds, then played ßA 6 USA+ 143
(Kantor carefully unblocking the king) and 7 CHINA LADIES 140
a spade. That was the chance for Hayden to 8 ENGLAND 136
take on the “Crocodile Dundee” mantle and
rise with his queen, swallowing Kantor’s The top three teams could now pick their
jack. But when Hayden decided instead for opponents: USA picked China Ladies,
the “Ebenezer Scrooge” cloak and tried a Poland/Russia chose the fourth placed
cheap ß10, Kantor was forced to win the Israeli team (probably on the strength of
jack and now had to give Zmudzinski his their round-robin 25-5 victory), and Indo-
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 18
nesia chose USA+. That left Canada vs. Rank Team VPs
England. There was no carryover except for 1 USA 154
half an imp going to the team in each 2 POLAND/RUSSIA 151
match that finished higher in the round- 3 INDONESIA 150
robin standings (this was for tie-breaking 4 ISRAEL 147
purposes). 5 CANADA 144
6 USA+ 143
In the quarter-finals the Chinese ladies 7 CHINA LADIES 140
team made quick work of the top placed 8 ENGLAND 136
USA with a one-sided 131-60 score, while
Indonesia managed to hang on to enough of
the 36-imp lead they picked up in the first
half to end the ambitions of Auken-
Sanborn and the Molsons, with a final score
of 71-57.
Heads or Tails? For Seeding Rights. “I don’t like this one bit!”
thinks Balicki
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 22
Luck be a lady tonight over 5ç have been forcing at red vs. green
West dealer North and, therefore, was his double showing an
N-S vul ß 10 9 7 3 unsuitable hand for bidding on? If, how-
˙K95 ever, the double was simply meant to show
∂KJ8743 values, then 5∂ from North should be
ç— clear-cut. My opinion is that the double of
West East 4∂ should promise a bid over 5ç and,
ßQ2 ßJ854 therefore, Gromov’s hand would have been
˙83 ˙ Q 10 6 4 best described with a “pass and pull” action.
∂A ∂62 As it went the Yadlins were down 800 in
ç J 10 9 8 6 5 4 2 çQ73 5ç doubled but Israel gained 11 imps when
South Migry brought home 6∂ against the odds
ßAK6 after Balicki decided to hide in the bushes
˙AJ72 with his eight-card club suit, thus denying
∂ Q 10 9 5 declarer the vital information that might
çAK have guided her to divine the actual layout.
new and often unexpected meaning to plug looks right, 4˙ to complete a 5-5, 4ß with
some gaping holes in a natural system. This an independent suit, or four of a minor
hand provided Eric with plenty of ammuni- with three or four of those to complete his
tion to vent his spleen at the many players pattern. Here West bids 4ç, after which all
who were rambling in the dark, because of is again sweetness and light.”
“inferior” agreements:
Canada vs. England Open Room
Board 12 North West North East South
West dealer ßAQ73 Senior Silver Lambardi Carruthers
N-S vul ˙9762 1ß pass 1 NT pass
∂Q7532 3˙ pass 3 NT pass
ç— 4ç pass 4˙ (all pass)
West East
ßKJ965 ß— To prove Eric’s point, one need only look
˙AKQ5 ˙ 10 4 3 at the Senior-Lambardi auction where the
∂— ∂ A 10 9 6 Englishman managed to actually bid out his
çAQ86 çKJ9732 shape only to have Lambardi give prefer-
South ence to hearts since he could not bring
ß 10 8 4 2 himself to believe that 4ç was natural
˙J8 when he was looking at K-J-9-x-x-x in the
∂KJ84 suit.
ç 10 5 4
Poland/Russia vs. Israel Open Room
Kokish: “I could write a book on this one, West North East South
but the anticipated sales numbers would D. Yadlin Balicki I. Yadlin Zmudzinski
cause me to rethink my position. Before 1ß pass 1 NT(1) pass
getting into what happened, I will share my 3˙ pass 4˙ (all pass)
theoretical and heretical opinions with you.
After 1ß-1NT, I believe that West should The Yadlin brothers finished also in 4˙,
settle for 2˙, which gives him his best +450, but did not even get close to uncover-
chance to get his shape across if the bidding ing their club fit.
continues. And here I am aware that many
would pass 2˙, but I wouldn’t recommend
that either. East bids 3ç over 2˙ and all is
sweetness and light. Blah blah blah. If West Board 12 North
jumps to 3˙ I would love to bid 4ç with
the East hand but my agreement is that this
would be an advance cue-bid for hearts (5ç
would be natural). What’s left for me is
3NT or 3ß and I’m a 3ß guy because it
leaves opener the most room to finish de-
scribing his hand. But then I believe that
3ß doesn’t mean a lot while 3NT does
(extras, lots of stoppers, 2-2-(5-4) shape).
Over 3ß West can bid 3NT when that The Israeli team is busy scoring it up....
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 24
for +400 and a 10–imp gain. The score was Manoppo’s systemic 1∂ opening worked
China 10, England 2, and an early sign that very much against him, since it silenced the
England was in for a much tougher battle possible diamond overcall from the opposi-
than they might have anticipated. tion. The Indonesians sailed to 3NT where
they lost four diamonds, the çK and the
The ghost of the singleton king of clubs ßA.
Board 16 North
West dealer ß 10 9 6 At the other table, the bidding made it
E-W vul ˙AQ6 somewhat easier for Barel to locate his side’s
∂J3 4-3 spade fit. Nevertheless his decision to
çAJ875 bid 4ß was not straightforward and it
West East earned him a free one-month supply of
ßA72 ßQ43 falafel when it proved to be a winner. After
˙987 ˙J542 a diamond to the ace and a diamond back
∂ 10 9 6 5 ∂AQ872 Barel crossed to a high heart to pass the
ç432 çK ß10, which held. The ß6 went to the 8
South and ace, and back came a second heart.
ßKJ85 Barel won in hand, lost the club finesse and
˙ K 10 3 finished with ten tricks for +420 and 11
∂K4 imps. Israel took the lead 27-22.
ç Q 10 9 6
In the other match, the English got to
Indonesia vs. Israel 3NT while the Chinese stopped in 1NT.
Open Room Their conservative action, however, gener-
West North East South ated unexpected dividends when 3NT
D. Yadlin Manoppo I. Yadlin Lasut turned out to be no fun for those who still
pass 1 ∂ (1) pass 1ß deny the validity of the “rule” that the çK
pass 1 NT pass 3 NT is always singleton offside. Since Brian
(all pass) Senior, like Manoppo, belongs to that
stubborn minority, he had no practical
(1) Precision (could be as few as two) chance to take nine tricks after a diamond
lead. Despite blocking the diamonds, the
Closed Room defense still managed to collect three dia-
West North East South mond tricks, the ßA and, the singleton çK!
Karwur Migry Panelewen Barel At the other table Lu (in 1NT) took ten
pass 1ç 1∂ 1ß generous tricks after the ∂2 lead to the ∂K,
3∂ pass pass double a losing club finesse and a low diamond
pass 3ß pass 4ç return to her singleton ∂J! It was another
pass 4˙ pass 4ß big gain for China, now leading 48-14.
(all pass)
A few boards later China struck again:
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 27
cashing the thirteenth spade allowed North that, if that failed, the opponents would not
to get rid of that cursed ˙7, which was have a clear idea of his values and his
blocking the suit. As a result, Dong could distribution and might decide not to con-
now cash her two winning hearts when she tinue hearts. He came to hand and took the
got the lead with the çK. Three notrump club finesse. His foresight was rewarded
was down one and 10 more “heavy” imps when the actual layout meant that the
went to China. China 64, England 47. defense could not extricate their heart
winners. Since the Indonesians stopped in
Doron Yadlin (West) got the ˙6 lead, 4ç after an auction that was similar to that
and the queen won the first trick. He saw of the Chinese until the critical pass over
no reason to delay the club finesse, hoping 4ç by Karwur, Israel gained 6 imps.
Bridge Today • April 2004 page 28
Both leading teams managed to stretch where the 6 is simply a neutral or semi-
their leads, completing two convincing wins neutral card and three each where it is
over their opponents: China Ladies vs. respectively high or low. Anders Wirgren
England 94-65 , Israel vs. Indonesia 92-47. has recently published an illuminating
The final was going to be China Ladies vs. article on signaling systems, pointing out
Israel. that each method has its bad cases but that
it’s important to play with the percentages
Signaling woes when trying to resolve ambiguous situa-
The first hand of the final supplied tions. His opinion on the case in question
plenty of material for discussion: tends to back up Barel’s judgment at the
table: “West is missing these spots: 9865432.
Board 1 North Since there are two higher and four lower,
North dealer ß 10 8 5 3 the 6 tends to be high. So I would go wrong
None vul ˙AKQ3 at the table, just like Barel.” That can come
∂ Q 10 7 as a little consolation to the Israeli defender
çQ7 who lost 11 imps for being “right.”
West East
ßQJ97 ß642 The Israeli pair’s carding agreement
˙97 ˙62 caused another unfortunate swing on board
∂J ∂A986 6:
çKJ9865 ç A 10 4 2
South
ßAK
˙ J 10 8 5 4
∂K5432
ç3
On this hand from the NEC tournament, Mark Feldman, our chief technical proof-
South played in 4ß against the lead of ∂A reader, pointed out a very interesting play
and a diamond. for West. After winning the çJ, he should
shift to the ˙2 instead of ˙A and ˙2. It
North looks like this is a poor play, since he can
ßAJ965 later be endplayed, but the answer to this is
˙K85 that declarer doesn’t know that West has
∂ 10 6 only two hearts! Imagine that West has
ç 10 4 3 three hearts to the ace. When he shifts to
West East the ˙2, declarer wins the king and must
ß8 ß73 hope for a 3-3 club split.
˙A2 ˙QJ974
∂AQJ98532 ∂K7 Now let’s review the play on the real
çJ9 çQ875 layout where West has only two hearts.
South The ∂A is led and a diamond continuation
ß K Q 10 4 2 is ruffed. Declarer draws trumps and leads
˙ 10 6 3 çA and a club (or, better, a low club before
∂4 cashing an honor). West wins the çJ and
çAK62 shifts to the ˙2, pretending he has three of
them. Declarer wins the ˙K in dummy
Declarer ruffed the second diamond, and, unless he has x-ray vision, tries for a 3-
drew trump, and led çA and a club. West 3 club break by cashing the top clubs. On
won the jack and shifted to ˙A and a the third round of clubs, West discards his
heart. Now declarer won in dummy and ˙A, which he has just underled! Now
played all the trumps, squeezing East in declarer cannot fall back on an endplay and
hearts and clubs. must lose two heart tricks.
NEWS! Starting with the May issue, articles will appear on the
Bridgetoday.com website as they come (hot) off the “press.”
Please check the MAGAZINE page for these articles.