BBO Eastern Cape, Tuesday, 27th February 2024

You are playing 2 over 1 on BBO and deal. 

Neither vulnerable.

What do you open?

'

When making an opening bid always consider what your rebid will be whatever partner's response is. 

If you were to do the "normal" thing of opening 1♥, go though the responses that partner may make, and then consider your rebids

1♠ Easy! You can raise to 2♠

2♥ No problem

A 2♣ or 2♦ response by partner are also easy to deal with. After a 2♣ response, a rebid of 2♠ is not regarded as a reverse as you are already in a game forcing situation

But what about the possible response by partner of 1NT?

2♠ is a reverse and promises a better hand. 

Rebidding hearts would promise 6 cards

Passing is out of the question, because in 2 over 1 a hand responding 1NT could have as many as 12 points

A raise to 2NT promises 18 or 19 points. or a very good 17

So, we come back to the opening bid

The solution to this hand is not to open 1♥, but to open 1NT!

It shows your points perfectly, but with the obvious flaw - the singleton

"But I can't open 1NT with a singleton!", you cry

You can!

The rules of bridge changed in 2017 allowing one to open 1NT with a singleton so long as it is the queen, king or ace

What are the risks of a 1NT opening with a singleton club? 

On this hand virtually none at all!

if partner Puppets, transfers or Staymans we are very well placed

If partner can't do any of the above then he must have a fair number of cards in the minor suits so you are likely to be able stop the clubs being run

In any event if you are playing in 1NT, how often does the opening leader lead away from the ace? 

It happens quite often, and you make the king

All Easts opened 1♥.  From there paths differed - some, not playing 2 over 1, were able to pass the 1NT response

Some easts reversed into 2♠, a bit of an overbid and ended up in the unmakeable contract of 3NT

BBO Eastern Cape, Tuesday, 27th February 2024

You are playing 2 over 1 on BBO and deal. 

Neither vulnerable.

What do you open?

'

When making an opening bid always consider what your rebid will be whatever partner's response is. ..........

Hand played at the EC (Sunshine Coast)

on the 13 February 2023

Bidding should tell you a story

If you don't listen then you may miss an opportunity to give declarer the most difficult road to travel on!

You are West, defending 3NT on the bidding shown, and lead the obvious king of spades and, after declarer holds up, you continue with the queen, ducked once again by declarer

The question is, what next?  Of course, the safe play is to continue spades

Count the defencive tricks.  You will always make 3 spade tricks if you woodenly contine with another spade, but you need 2 more to defeat 3NT

Look at the bidding. South failed to open and then bid 2NT showing about 10 or 11 points

More importantly, South failed to respond 1♥.

If south had had 4 hearts he may well have responded 1♥. 

But he didn't.  So we can assume he has only 3.  You have 4 and dummy has 1, leaving partner with at least 5

A heart switch now may cause declarer a major headache.

Lead the ♥Q

Is there any risk? 

No, not at all. As east is marked to have 5 hearts he is guaranreed to hold at least 1 of the 3 other honours,  probably 2

Declarer can hold up once or twice but must then run for home as a losing club finesse will prove disastrous 

In this particular case you can't defeat 3NT but you can hinder declarer from making the10th

Hand played at the EC (Sunshine Coast)

on the 13 February 2023

Bidding should tell you a story

If you don't listen then you may miss an opportunity to give declarer the most difficult road to travel on!

You are West, defending 3NT on the bidding shown, and lead the obvious king of spades and, after declarer holds up, you continue with the queen, ducked once again by declarer

The question is, what next?  Of course, the safe play is to continue spades

Count the defencive tricks.  You will always make 3 spade tricks if you woodenly contine with another spade, but you need 2 more to defeat 3NT

Look at the bidding. South failed to open and then bid 2NT showing about 10 or 11 points

More importantly, South failed to respond 1♥.

If south had had 4 hearts he may well have responded 1♥. 

But he didn't. ..........

This deal was played on KZNBU BBO on Thursday, 1st February

Every now and again you come across a hand that is perplexing.

The field find their way to 4S and every pair takes the 11 tricks without further thought.

It's only when you later look at the optimum contract that you realise that 12 tricks are there for the taking - apparently!

There is no finesses available and ruffing the 3rd heart is futile as the trump is a trick regardless how you take it and then the defender will make the jack of trumps at the end leaving you no better off

There is no squeeze available.

Then it dawns on you.  If you can stretch you trumps to 6 tricks you can make the 12th!

How is this possible?

The answer is by using a technique called a dummy reversal

For a dummy reversal to work you need:

1. the trumps in dummy to be strong enough to do the drawing of trumps
2. to be able to return to dummy often enough to complete the process

One thing you cannot do is draw trumps first as you only have 2 trumps in hand to ruff with

In this deal you must engineer a way to ruff 3 clubs in hand giving you your 6 trump tricks in all

Assume the Club ace is led.  The defender sees dummy and switches to a trump

You lead a club to hand and ruff

You get back to dummy by drawing another round of trumps and ruff another club

You get back to dummy via one of the red suits and ruff another club

You can hop back to dummy and draw the last trump

There is no way of stopping declarer from taking 12 tricks so long as declarer gives it a thought before all trumps have been drawn

This deal was played on KZNBU BBO on Thursday, 1st February

Every now and again you come across a hand that is perplexing.

The field find their way to 4S and every pair takes the 11 tricks without further thought.

It's only when you later look at the optimum contract that you realise that 12 tricks are there for the taking - apparently!

There is no finesses available and ruffing the 3rd heart is futile as the trump is a trick regardless how you take it and then the defender will make the jack of trumps at the end leaving you no better off

There is no squeeze available. ..........

We play every Thursday Morning - all welcome!

The club operates at their new home, the Presbyterian Church Hall at 154 Lilian Ngoyi (Windermere) Road, opposite the Windermere Centre

Off-street parking behind a locked gate is available

The entrance is from Yule Lane, which runs behind the church. Overflow parking is in Yule Lane with car guards

There is a pedestrian gate entrance on Lilian Ngoyi

Starting time is 9am with registration from 8am to 8.45am.

For more information, WhatsApp Jenny Ten-Bokum on 083 4850 477

We play every Thursday Morning - all welcome!

The club operates at their new home, the Presbyterian Church Hall at 154 Lilian Ngoyi (Windermere) Road, opposite the Windermere Centre

Off-street parking ..........

10 October, Kruger Day, Sunshine Coast, Board 1 

Oom Paul, an accomplished hunter, was known to have a keen instinct, useful in the Transvaal bushveld of old

North gets to 4S after West threw in a heart bid along the way

Instinct may be good for the wilds of Africa, but in bridge it can lead to defeat

The six of hearts was led, taken in dummy

Declarer plays a diamond at trick 2. West takes the ace and continues hearts, ruffed by declarer with the 10.  

East is at a critical point in the hand 

He must decide whether to overruff or not.

If you instinctively overruff with the queen, declarer can now pick up your king via a simple finesse and then concede a trick to the ace of clubs

Contract making

The question is, how does east know not to over-ruff?

Before you decide to over-ruff let's assess your trump holding.  As the 10 has already been played your K-Q-9 combination must make 2 tricks, enough to beat the contract

This is because when declarer plays a trump towards dummy you rise with the queen forcing the ace. Now the king will take care of the bare jack, setting up the 9

No matter which trump declarer plays you are assured of 2 trump tricks. A low ruff, of course, is over-ruffed with the 9. But a high ruff by declarer must be ignored

10 October, Kruger Day, Sunshine Coast, Board 1 

Oom Paul, an accomplished hunter, was known to have a keen instinct, useful in the Transvaal bushveld of old

North gets to 4S after West threw in a heart bid along the way

Instinct may be good for the wilds of Africa, but in bridge it can lead to defeat

The six of hearts was led, taken in dummy

Declarer plays a diamond at trick 2. West takes the ace and continues hearts, ruffed by declarer with the 10.  

East is at a critical point in the hand 

He must decide whether to overruff or not. ..........

The bidding started off with a Multi 2♦ and then the 2NT rebid showed a balanced 20 or 21 point hand

A puppet enquiry revealed that south had a 5 card heart suit, guaranteeing a 10 card fit

The RKC enquiry confirmed possession of all keycards.  Having 10 hearts including the ace and king meant that even if the queen of trumps was missing it should fall in 2 rounds, making the slam a good prospect.

As north had bid hearts when making the relay bid, after the Multi opening by south, he ended up as declarer.  West chose a club on opening

Plan your play.

It looks like 2 finesses in spades will be needed, giving one a 75% chance of making the slam

However there is a line that is guaranteed to make despite both spade honours being off side

After drawing trumps, he proceeded to eliminated the minors, ruffing a club and and played 3 rounds of diamonds ending in hand

Declarer led the ♠J and let it ride

West was caught without a suiatble exit card.  He didnt want to lead a spade into dummy so chose a diamond, giving declarer a ruff and spade discard, negating the need for another finesse

6 hearts bid and made

On the day, in a small field of 5 tables, only one other pair reached 6♥, but failed after attempting 2 finesses in spades

The contract can be beaten, when north is declarer, but only on a spade lead, as the above endplay cannot be utilized

The bidding started off with a Multi 2♦ and then the 2NT rebid showed a balanced 20 or 21 point hand

A puppet enquiry revealed that south had a 5 card heart suit, guaranteeing a 10 card fit

The RKC enquiry confirmed possession of all keycards.  Having 10 hearts including the ace and king meant that even if the queen of trumps was missing it should fall in 2 rounds, making the slam a good prospect.

As north had bid hearts when making the relay bid, after the Multi opening by south, he ended up as declarer. ..........

The Links, Saturday 1 July

Quite a few of the KZN players play at the Links on a Saturday afternoon

This hand cropped up last week, giving declarer a challange in 3NT.

This was the bidding:

You start with 8 tricks, 2 spades, a heart, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs.

With spades breaking badly, even with the benefit of double-dummy it’s not easy finding your 9^th.

You receive a diamond lead, won in dummy with the king, South dropping a spade.

You play the ♦J taken with the ace.  West perseveres with a diamond, won in hand, while South pitches 2 hearts.

You try the spade finesse losing to the King and the 8♥ is returned, and ducked (important, as it removes a potential exit card for South later) and the continuation is won in dummy.

You now play off the top two clubs, noting the fall of the queen

When you cash the queen of diamonds, your 6^th trick, South has a choice of discards from:

♠ 965

♣ J8

He can’t afford to throw a spade giving you 3 tricks, so pitches the ♣8

This is the 4-card ending:

You play a spade to the ace and throw South in with a club

With only spades left he has to lead one into dummy’s Q-7

If played from East's side, the contact is impossible on a heart lead, as the hearts are setup before declarer has dislodged the A♦

Hand submitted by Peter Bircher

The Links, Saturday 1 July

Quite a few of the KZN players play at the Links on a Saturday afternoon

This hand cropped up last week, giving declarer a challange in 3NT. ..........

This hand was played on Monday 29th May (am) on BBO

The X is a support double

Opening lead: ♥A

After successfully getting to 6♠, you need to ensure 12 tricks

The Ace of hearts is ruffed, of course

The illusion on this hand is that to make 12 you must try to ruff both remaining hearts in dummy

In fact outside losers can be discarded on the clubs - no further heart ruffs are required.

You are not in a grand slam so to make your small slam you can take some form of insurance

The trick is to lose a trump early, maintaining one trump in dummy to take care of a heart continuation

lead a trump to the ♠9 happy to lose a trump at this point

If hearts are continued you can ruff with the last trump, cross to hand with a diamond, draw the remaining two trumps and cash out the clubs, making 12

Of course seeing all four hands you can make 13 by running the ♠J, smothering the ♠10, whether North covers or not

This hand was played on Monday 29th May (am) on BBO

The X is a support double

Opening lead: ♥A

After successfully getting to 6♠, you need to ensure 12 tricks

The Ace of hearts is ruffed, of course

The illusion on this hand is that to make 12 you must try to ruff both remaining hearts in dummy

In fact outside losers can be discarded on the clubs - no further heart ruffs are required. ..........

Hand 20 played on KZN BBO on 24^th April

West, your partner, passes and North opens 1NT

You are east with this hand

What action do you take?

What can/should you bid with 18 HCP's and a nice 5 card major?

You really want to bid - after all, it's your best hand of the day.  A juicy double is maybe worth 500.  Or should you simply overcall 2♠ 

Make your choice before reading on.

If you double you just know your partner will take it out, and most likely, into clubs. Why? Because that's your short suit. That's life, that's bridge! 

If you do double and west bids 2♣, now what?  Rebid 2NT and possibly down 1 or just rebid 2♠? If partner leaves you in 2♠ it makes, when the ♠J gets swallowed up for +110. Could so easily be 1 down for -100

Jan Chemaly has been around the block a few times and taught bridge for over 40 years! (or is it 50 years)

She knows there is no game on.  She notes that N/S are vulnerable and reckons that 2 down will be 200, and a good score. Of course she doesn’t know that for sure, but it is likely, even if partner is a yarborough

A couple of the east players overcalled 2♠ and a couple doubled and a couple passed.  Barbara Becker, another very experienced player, was the other east to pass

Those that did double all recorded a minus score in 2 (or 3) clubs or a forced rebid of 2NT, neither making

Sometimes it pays to be silent. Here the green card is the gold card!

Nothing south could do to save partner, except to note what experienced players do

Sometimes there is a call for passivity and silence is golden

Hand 20 played on KZN BBO on 24^th April

West, your partner, passes and North opens 1NT

You are east with this hand

What action do you take?

What can/should you bid with 18 HCP's and a nice 5 card major?

You really want to bid - after all, it's your best hand of the day.  A juicy double is maybe worth 500.  Or should you simply overcall 2♠ 

Make your choice before reading on. ..........

In a hand played recently most of the field ended up in 3♥ after West had invited game

Sitting North you start by leading the singleton J♦.   Partner wins with the ace and returns a diamond, which you ruff

The question is how can you get back to partner’s hand for another ruff.

If partner has the ace of clubs, then a club is called for.  However, if partner has the ace of spades, then a spade is the way to partner’s hand

If you and your partner have no idea about suit preference signals, then it is a guess.

Playing suit preference signals (SPS), it depends on what diamond partner returned for you to ruff

I watched, this deal and the South carelessly lead back the ♦2 for north to ruff.  After ruffing North had to decide which black suit partner might have as an entry.  North, noting the 2♦ , decided on a club.  Tickets!

Declarer won with the queen, drew trumps in two rounds, cashed the ♣A, ruffed a club and notched up 11 tricks, after disposing of the spade on a long diamond

Clearly, South had a preference of which suit he had an entry, spades

Looking at dummy, the nine of diamonds is as valuable, in real terms, as the two

So, using SPS South must return the ♦9 as a clear and unambiguous signal to North where he has an entry

Failing to follow this basic principle cost the defence 3 tricks!

Hand submitted by Peter Bircher

In a hand played recently most of the field ended up in 3♥ after West had invited game

Sitting North you start by leading the singleton J♦.   Partner wins with the ace and returns a diamond, which you ruff

The question is how can you get back to partner’s hand for another ruff.

If partner has the ace of clubs, then a club is called for.  However, if partner has the ace of spades, then a spade is the way to partner’s hand

If you and your partner have no idea about suit preference signals, then it is a guess. ..........

This hand cropped up on Thursday morning, 19th January.

You are West

North opened 1NT and, after South failed to find a major fit, lept to 3NT.

Your partner leads the ♣8 and dummy plays the ♣2

Plan your move.

What do you know about the club suit?

If the 8 is a 4th highest that means there are 3 cards higher than the 8 outside your partner's hand

How do we know this?

Subtract the card led from 11 (Rule of Eleven) and you have the answer:11-8 = 3

Dummy has 1 and you have got 2

Suddenly it dawns on you that declarer has no card higher than the 8!

And this means the 8 is winning and will win the trick, even if you play low

This is this time to take control of the defence.  If you let the 8 win, there is a remote chance that partner may switch

So, taking no chances you overtake the 8 with the 9, cash the ace and fire back the 3 and down goes 3NT

On the actual day, sadly, a large number of Wests flew up with the ace and returned a club. This now sets up the queen and, without an entry to East, his hand withered on the vine, leaving a bad taste in his mouth and -630 on the scorecard.

Sour grapes, perhaps?

The Rule of Eleven is one of many "Rule Of's" that have been around since the days of Wist

The Rule of Eleven, although an invaluable tool for the defence, can sometimes also be used to declarer's advantage, knowing exactly what card to play from dummy. The knife has two blades!

The other useful "Rule Of" in NT is, this time, for declarer

The Rule of 7 tells him or her how many times to hold up on standard 4th highest lead

This is it in a nutshell:

Subtract the total cards you and dummy have in the suit led from 7 and that number tells you how many times to hold up

So if dummy has 94 and you have A75, you should hold up twice (7-5 = 2) 

But with  94, and you have A752, you can hold up once (7-6 = 1)

I will try to demonstrate this, with examples, at some future date

This hand cropped up on Thursday morning, 19th January.

You are West

North opened 1NT and, after South failed to find a major fit, lept to 3NT.

Your partner leads the ♣8 and dummy plays the ♣2

Plan your move. ..........

Although tight games and difficult slams are the "stuff" of bridge columns, the fight for a partscore can be just as rewarding in the pairs game.

This hand cropped upon the 9th January 2023 on KZN BBO

It illustrates the point beautifully

Many pairs were permitted to play in 2♦ after North put in a spade overcall, with South remaing silent, making 8 tricks for an average, +90

However at some tables South, not content to leave E/W to make their part-score, put in a belated bid "stealing" the contract with the master suit.

If 2♠  makes then an excellent result ensures

However if N/S go 1 down, vulnerable, its -100 and a very poor result

Now its up to East/West to get their +100

East leads the ace of diamonds and, after noting West's encouraging card, must decide what to do next

At one table, East cashed the ♦Q and switched to the singleton club

Declarer rose with the ace, entered hand with a heart and ruffed a diamond

The Jack of spades was tabled, and whether covered or not, had to concede a club and a heart and a trump, to make on the nail, E/W conceding -110 for a very poor percentage

Lets go back to the first trick

Its not easy for East to find the switch at trick 2 to defeat the contract

Can you spot it.

A trump switch will ensure declarer cannot ruff a diamond and will fall one short of his target; +100 to East/West

Even after cashing a second diamond it would be too late to switch to a trump as declarer still has one trump in dummy to take care of his third diamond

These part-scor contests have their counterpart in an evenly matched fencing duel - lunge, parry and riposte!

Although tight games and difficult slams are the "stuff" of bridge columns, the fight for a partscore can be just as rewarding in the pairs game.

This hand cropped upon the 9th January 2023 on KZN BBO

It illustrates the point beautifully

Many pairs were permitted to play in 2♦ after North put in a spade overcall, with South remaing silent, making 8 tricks for an average, +90

However at some tables South, not content to leave E/W to make their part-score, put in a belated bid "stealing" the contract with the master suit.

If 2♠  makes then an excellent result ensures

However if N/S go 1 down, vulnerable, its -100 and a very poor result

Now its up to East/West to get their +100

East leads the ace of diamonds and, after noting West's encouraging card, must decide what to do next

At one table, East cashed the ♦Q and switched to the singleton club

Declarer rose with the ace, entered hand with a heart and ruffed a diamond

The Jack of spades was tabled, and whether covered or not, had to concede a club and a heart and a trump, to make on the nail, E/W conceding -110 for a very poor percentage

Lets go back to the first trick

Its not easy for East to find the switch at trick 2 to defeat the contract

Can you spot it. ..........