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BridgeBee, through Baron Barclay, offers two free online hands per week on Fridays that include analysis. This one is from Marti Ronemus, titled "Switcheroo."
This hand demonstrates how a long, seemingly worthless suit can be established to win the extra trick needed to make game. The bidding is standard but well worth paying attention to. South opens 1 spade, West doubles, North responds a not-very-encouraging 2 spades, and East is silent. South decides to jump to game for several reasons. The spade suit is strong and the hand includes a singleton. On the downside, the opponents' strong points are behind him but at least he knows where they are.
The King of diamonds is led. South sees the dummy and counts tricks. If he trumps three losing hearts in dummy before he draws trumps, he has 4 heart tricks (including the Ace), 5 spade tricks in hand and the Ace of diamonds, for 10 tricks. But will opponents allow him to trump hearts repeatedly? There's a Plan B if they don't. He is sure West has four hearts (he did not overcall because he doesn't have a 5-card suit), which leaves East with 3. If South cannot trump hearts three times, he should be able to make his fifth heart grow up to become the extra trick he needs.
South takes the diamond lead in dummy and crosses to his hand with a first round of hearts, using the Ace (4 hearts gone). He then leads a low heart and trumps in dummy (3 more hearts gone). South now has no choice but to put the opponents in and see what they lead back. He plays a club and opponents win the trick. When they lead a spade to reduce South's ruffing ability, South overtakes dummy's good 9 of spades to end up in hand. South leads another heart and ruffs it with his last trump in dummy (3 more hearts gone). Three hearts are left: two in South's hand and one winning one in West.
To this point, opponents have only taken one club trick. Now is the time to pull remaining trump (5 were out originally and opponents played trump once, reducing the outstanding number to 3). South plays the Ace and then King of spades, leaving himself with the only trump left. He then exits the lead with a heart, giving West the trick and leaving a good heart, a good trump and one losing diamond in his hand. Opponents can only take one more trick no matter what is led.
Marti calls this strategy "No 5-Card Suit in Dummy Should Ever Be Ignored." The Switcheroo in the title comes from relying on the 5-card, useless looking suit for the win instead of hoping opponents will allow a perpetual cross ruff.
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Question of the Month |
For February 2025: Why, How and When to Alert
How differently would the Super Bowl play out if the quarterbacks were required to give their playbook to the defending players and then identify the pattern they were about to run? That’s pretty much what bridge does. Partners are required to disclose their bidding system on their convention card (standard American, 2-over-1, precision) and then during the course of each hand to alert and explain specific bids that the opponents may not understand.
Why? The purpose of an alert is to indicate to opponents that the meaning of a bid is something unexpected. Once an explanation is given, everyone has the same information so both defenders and declarer are free to make decisions about how to play a hand based on accurate information.
So how and when should you alert bids? Read the full Question of the Month (click here) for an overview. The article includes a link to ACBL’s 14-page Alert Procedure document.
To read past answers, go to Questions of the Month on the navigation bar at left.
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Recent Happenings |
Four players moved up in rank in January:
Bob Aten, Carol Aten and Patricia Cooper-Smith are now Club Masters (20 or more points).
Brooke Nielsen is a Regional Master (100 or more points).
Congratulations to January high scorers at our four clubs:
72.5% for Eleanor Moore and Patricia Welze (South Lake Tahoe, 1/14/25)
69.91% for Barbara Mickle and Don Parsons (Carson City, 1/8/25)
69.91% for Barbara Mickle and Gary Nitzberg (Gardnerville, 1/6/25)
69.44% for Barbara and Richard Reiter (Incline Village, 1/19/25)
We welcome two new players to our Carson Tahoe Bridge Unit:
Michelle Kinder of Incline Village
Sandra Stewart of Minden
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When and Where to Play Bridge |
12:30 p.m. Mondays
(Closed on federal holidays)
Carson Valley Bridge at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center, 1329 Waterloo Lane, Gardnerville NV
Director Glen Rowe, 775-315-5611, hgrowe@sbcglobal.net
1 p.m. Tuesdays
(Closed on federal/CA state holidays; arrival at 12:45 recommended)
Bridge by the Lake at the South Lake Tahoe Senior Center, 3050 Lake Tahoe Blvd., South Lake Tahoe CA
Director Barbara Jones, 530-541-3973, bbjones417@gmail.com
Noon Wednesdays
Carson Cube Bridge at the Carson City Senior Center, 911 Beverly Drive, Nevada Room, Carson City NV
Rotating directors; Game Manager Vicki Rowe, 775-315-5629, vickirowe96@gmail.com
1 p.m. Sundays
(Open July through September; January 12 through end of March)
Incline Village Bridge at the Incline Village Library, 845 Alder Avenue, Incline Village NV
Director Richard Reiter, 910-297-1828, rbemstt7@cs.com
For more details about these and the Reno club, click here.
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