Master Classes

25 January 2006

Thinking ahead - Contributed by Roy Nixon

The following hand comes from the recent Summer Festival of Bridge main teams event and shows how the defence needs to consider Declarer’s complete plan in forming a strategy to beat the contract. Roy Nixon sat as East and the bidding progressed briskly to 5 Clubs by South after West had overcalled in spades.

After a spade lead was ruffed by South, Declarer played for split diamond honours leading the diamond queen at trick two and discarding a small heart from dummy.  Roy reasoned that if declarer chose to run a second diamond, again throwing a heart from dummy, his “Plan B” would be to try to ruff his third heart – not a bad plan seeing it will succeed about 75% of the time.  Roy now found the deceptive return at trick three of the heart two! Declarer rose with the heart ace and ran the diamond jack to Roy’s other diamond honour, throwing the second heart from table. Roy returned the heart jack, won by dummy’s king.  Declarer ruffed a spade back to hand and played the diamond ten which confirmed the bad break.  At this point, Declarer tried to ruff his third heart with the club ten and Roy over ruffed for one down.

There are other lines to make 5C but the line taken by Declarer (a very strong player) was not by itself unreasonable.

25 January 2006

Restricted Choice - Contributed by Richard Hills

SCBC Board 20

Both vulnerable Dealer West	Richard Hills
	♠ 96
	♥ AKJ9
	♦ Q73
	A983
♠ QJ82		♠ A74
♥ T32		♥ 865
♦ J		♦ KT64
♣ KQJ52		♣ T74
	Klavs Kalejs
	♠ KT53
	♥ Q74
	♦ A9852
	♣ 6

WEST      NORTH     EAST      SOUTH

Pass      1NT(1)    Pass      2C(2)

Pass      2H        Pass      Pass

Pass

(1) 11-14

(2) Simple Stayman

Given that Klavs held a singleton club and length in the other three suits, he took advantage of Simple Stayman to run to a guaranteed fit in a suit of at least 7 cards.  (If Richard had bid 2D, denying a major, Klavs would have passed.)  This "crawling" Simple Stayman auction is a big advantage over the alternative agreement to play Extended Stayman, especially for those partnerships who use the weak notrump.

East found the best opening lead of a trump, to the ten and ace.

The best play now is ace of clubs, club ruff, cross back to the North hand, then take another club ruff.  But...

the best play is impossible, since the only quick entry back to the North hand after the first club ruff is via trumps, which would destroy the possibility of a second club ruff. So declarer took the second best play.  Since only one club ruff was possible on best defence, declarer immediately ducked a club, saving the club ace for a rainy day.

Upon winning the club, the defence returned another trump, taken with the king.  Now declarer led a low club, ruffed with dummy's queen.  After that, a diamond was led to the jack, queen and king.  East naturally tried their last club, but declarer's "rainy day" ace

won the trick.  (Dummy discarded a spade.) Now declarer drew the opponents' trumps.(Dummy discarded another spade.)  The seven of diamonds was now led towards dummy and then...

Why did West play the jack of diamonds on the first round of the suit?  If West had held a doubleton jack and ten of diamonds, there was a 50% chance West might have played the ten of diamonds, since the two cards were of equal value.  Therefore, the odds are about 2-1 that West's jack was singleton.  (This is known as the Principle of Restricted Choice, since West's choices are restricted to one card when following suit with a singleton.)

Therefore, declarer went with the odds by running the seven of diamonds.  Ten tricks and a score of +170 to the good guys.