|
the Right Strong Jump Shift
by Phillip Alder
This was the first deal in the Round of 16 matches on Saturday:
| Board 1. Dealer North. None vul. |
| | ♠ Q 6 5
♥ A K Q 9 2
♦ K 9 8 2
♣ 2 |
♠ 9 8
♥ J 6
♦ 10 7 5 3
♣ A Q 10 8 6 |  |
♠ 4 3
♥ 8 7 4
♦ Q J 4
♣ K 7 5 4 3 | | | ♠ A K J 10 7 2
♥ 10 5 3
♦ A 6
♣ J 9 |
You can see that six of either major is laydown. But you would want to be in six spades because that makes even when East has jack-fourth of hearts.
This deal was played at 48 tables. Only 16 got to slam.
This was one auction, by a Danish women's pair:
| West | North | East | South
|
| Binderkrantz | | Bekkouche
|
| | 1♥ | Pass | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 4♥
|
| All Pass |
|
| |
The Americans in the open event took longer to stop in game:
| West | North | East | South
|
| Freeman | | Nickell
|
| | 1♥ | Pass | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 3♣
|
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4♠
|
| All Pass |
|
| |
Nick Nickell probably wanted to bid four diamonds over three spades, but that would have sounded like primary diamond support.
Chagas and Villas-Boas from Brazil dabbled, but did not get beyond game.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Chagas | | Villas-Boas
|
| | 1♥ | Pass | 1NT(a)
|
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4♦
|
| Pass | 4♥ | Pass | 4♠
|
| All Pass
| | | |
(a) At least five spades.
Helgemo tried a diversion:
| West | North | East | South
|
| Helness | | Helgemo
|
| | 1♥ | Pass | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 3♣
|
| Dble | 3♠ | Pass | 4♣
|
| Pass | 4♠ | All Pass
| |
One Turkish open pair was using relay, but still did not get there.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Bedir | | Goksu
|
| | 1♥(a) | Pass | 2♣(b)
|
| Pass | 2♦(c) | Pass | 2♥(b)
|
| Pass | 3♦(d) | Pass | 4♦(e)
|
| Pass | 4♥(f) | Pass | 4♠(g)
|
| All Pass
| | | |
(a) 11-15 points.
(b) Relay.
(c) Any 5-3-3-2 or four-plus diamonds.
(d) 3=5=4=1.
(e) End signal.
(f) Forced.
(g) Here's where we play, partner.
But some did get there.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Shi | | Zhuang
|
| | 1♥ | Pass | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 3♥
|
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4♦
|
| Pass | 4♠ | Pass | 6♠
|
| All Pass |
|
| |
When North didn't bid four hearts, I thought the auction would end – wrong again! That was an 11-IMP start for China.
| West | North | East | South
|
| Martens | | Jassem
|
| | 1♥(a) | Pass | 1♠
|
| Pass | 2♦ | Pass | 3♠
|
| Pass | 4♣ | Pass | 4♦
|
| Pass | 4♠ | Pass | 4NT
|
| Pass | 5♦ | Pass | 5♥
|
| Pass | 6♠ | All Pass
| |
(a) Limited to 15 high-card points
That gave Poland 11 IMPs.
Here are the other successful pairs. First, the women's event: Liu-Wang from China (six spades for 11 IMPs); de Hérédia-Lévy from France (six hearts for 11 IMPs); Backstrom-Tuomi from Finland and Erdogan-Erbiz from Turkey (six spades for 11 IMPs). In the open series: Lauria-Versace from Italy (six spades for 11 IMPs); Coldea-Ionita from Romania (six hearts for 11 IMPs); Sandqvist-Malinowski from England and Karakolev-Danailov from Bulgaria (six spades for a flat board); Wijs-Muller from the Netherlands(six spades for 11 IMPs); Dehaye-Engel from Belgium (six spades for 10 IMPs). And in the seniors: Lev-Eisenberg from the United States (six spades for 11 IMPs); Lavings-Krochmalik from Australia (six spades for 11 IMPs); Janssens-Boegem from the Netherlands (six spades for 10 IMPs).
But now we get to the auction that really caught my eye.
Some 50 years ago, Albert Morehead, the original bridge correspondent for The New York Times, wrote a book called Morehead on Bidding. It is still one of the best bridge books ever and does not get the credit it deserves. It was update 17 years ago by the previous NYT columnist and the present one, and retitled On Bidding. It was easy to update because it was so good. And the chapter on strong jump shifts was left almost untouched.
Morehead argued that a SJS should show game-going values (with either an excellent one-suiter, or a two-suiter: your suit and partner's) and let the opener judge how well the hands fit.
This style is perfect for this deal:
| West | North | East | South
|
| Arnolds | | Vriend
|
| | 1♥ | Pass | 2♠
|
| Pass | 3♠ | Pass | 4♦
|
| Pass | 4NT(a) | Pass | 5♦(b)
|
| Pass | 6♠ | All Pass
| |
(a) Roman Key Card Blackwood in spades.
(b) Three key cards.
Easy, peasy – and 10 IMPs to the Netherlands.
When It Was Meant To Be
by Phillip Alder
It is the general consensus that the winner of a big event needs to have played well and to have had some luck.
Catharina Midskog from Sweden was another example of this basic rule of thumb for success in winning the Women's World Individual Masters.
For example, with only the opponents vulnerable, you pick up:
| | ♠ 9
♥ A J 8 6 5
♦ A 4 2
♣ A K Q J |
Partner opens two spades, weak. After a pass on your right, what would you do?
With only your side vulnerable, you hold:
| | ♠ Q 9
♥ 6 3
♦ Q 10 8 7
♣ A K 6 4 3 |
The bidding proceeds like this:
| West | North | East | South
|
| | | | 1NT
|
| Pass | 2♦(a) | Pass | 2♥
|
| Pass | 3NT | Pass | 4♥
|
| Pass | Pass | Pass
| |
(a) Transfer.
What would you lead?
While you think about those, here is an interesting partscore battle from the first session of the event, rotated to make South declarer.
| Board 9. Dealer South. East-West vul. |
| | ♠ Q 6 4 3
♥ A Q 9 4
♦ 8 7 4
♣ Q 5 |
♠ J 8 5
♥ K 8 6 5
♦ K 6
♣ A K 9 6 | |
♠ K 10 9 2
♥ J 7 2
♦ Q 10 2
♣ J 7 2 | | | ♠ A 7
♥ 10 3
♦ A J 9 5 3
♣ 10 8 4 3 |
| West | North | East | South
|
| | | | Pass
|
| 1♣ | Pass | 1♠ | 2♦
|
| 2♠ | 3♦ | All Pass
| |
Declarer has only four immediate losers (one spade, one diamond and two clubs), but she does not have nine tricks.
West decided to lead a spade: queen, king, ace. Midskog played a low club, West going in with her king, cashing the spade jack, and playing another spade, ruffed by South. West took the next club and made the strange shift to the heart king. Declarer won with dummy's ace and cashed the heart queen. At this point, if South had played a diamond to her nine, she would have had matters under control. But Midskog ruffed a heart in her hand and ruffed a club in the dummy, bringing down the jack and giving this position with declarer needing three tricks:
| | ♠ 6
♥ 9
♦ 8 7
♣ |
♠
♥ 8
♦ K 6
♣ 9 | |
♠ 10
♥
♦ Q 10 2
♣ | | | ♠
♥
♦ A J 9
♣ 10 |
Now came the heart nine from the dummy. What should East have done?
If East discards her spade, declarer throws her club and plays a diamond to her nine.
If East ruffs low, declarer overruffs and cashes the diamond ace. Then, if West keeps her king, she is thrown in with that card to lead a club back to declarer's ten. And if West unblocks the diamond king, declarer ruffs her club with dummy's diamond eight.
If East ruffs with the ten, South overruffs and cashes the diamond ace for the same situation as just described.
Now we have the answer: East must ruff with the diamond queen.
What happened at the table? East ruffed with the diamond ten, declarer overruffed, cashed the diamond ace, and put West in with a diamond. The last trick was won by South's club ten.
Plus 110 was worth 10 matchpoints out of 10.
Now back to the initial problems. This was the full deal in the bidding problem from the final session:
| Board 18. Dealer East. North-South vul. |
| | ♠ 8 6
♥ K 9 7 4 2
♦ Q 10 9 3
♣ 10 4 |
♠ 9
♥ A J 8 6 5
♦ A 4 2
♣ A K Q J | |
♠ K 10 5 4 3 2
♥ Q 3
♦ J 6
♣ 8 5 3 | | | ♠ A Q J 7
♥ 10
♦ K 8 7 5
♣ 9 7 6 2 |
Midskog passed over her partner's two-spade opening. Correct! The defense was imperfect and plus 110 was worth 8 out of 10 matchpoints, the same as minus 50 would have been.
The defensive problem arose in the first session, which is interesting only because it was in a pairs event, where overtricks can count for so much. This was the layout:
| Board 3. Dealer South. East-West vul. |
| | ♠ 10 4 3
♥ A 10 9 8 4
♦ K 3
♣ Q 10 9 |
♠ Q 9
♥ 6 3
♦ Q 10 8 7
♣ A K 6 4 3 | |
♠ 8 7 6 5 2
♥ J 2
♦ J 6 2
♣ J 7 5 | | | ♠ A K J
♥ K Q 7 5
♦ A 9 5 4
♣ 8 2 |
At four of the six tables, West led the club ace. Now it was easy for South to establish dummy's club queen for 11 tricks: two spades, five hearts, two diamonds, one club and a spade ruff in the South hand.
At the fifth table, North was the declarer. East led the club five and again North's queen set up as a trick.
Midskog did not like to lead the club ace with the big balanced hand on her right. She chose a trump. Declarer won with her king and played a club, West playing low smoothly and South naturally calling for dummy's nine. East, Yu Zhang, won with her jack and shifted to a low spade, not a revealing eight. Declarer won with her ace, drew the missing trumps, played three rounds of diamonds, ruffing the last in the dummy, and gave up a club, West winning with the king and leading the ace, which South ruffed to give this position:
| | ♠ 10 4
♥ A 10
♦
♣ |
♠ Q
♥
♦ Q
♣ 6 4 | |
♠ 8 7 6 2
♥
♦
♣ | | | ♠ K J
♥ 7
♦ 9
♣ |
Declarer played a trump to dummy and tried the spade finesse, but it lost.
Minus 420 gave East-West all 10 matchpoints. |
