Test Your Bridge Skills #28

This quiz was written by Oren Lidor.

Test Your Bridge Skills #28

Test Your Bridge Skills #28


Hand 1

What will you bid as South?

Best Answer: Dbl

Bidding Double in this case is a Penalty Double. You and partner have the necessary points to play on defense 1NT doubled. Any other bid would show a weak hand with a long suit, looking to play a part score in that suit; called sign off.

Even if your partner is strong for a game (although unlikely, as East has 15-17 points), you'd likely make the same number of tricks on defense as on a play. So if you made 3NT with this hand, you'd have 9 tricks, and if you made 9 tricks on defense, you'd set opponents down 3. And if your opponent's contract is doubled then the score will be higher than just playing 3NT. However, in this hand it's more likely you'll make 7-8 tricks.

A possible hand could be:

You lead a low Club and declarer has no start on this hand, making no more than 4 tricks.

Note:
a. When partner opens and opponent overcalls 1NT, then Double by you is penalty and any other bid is sign off.
b. What can opponents do about it? They can pass, and try to do the best they can on 1NT dbl. Or, if they have a 5 cards suit, they can bid it in order to play a suit on the 2 level. Or, they can use ReDbl as an escape bid (SOS), asking partner to bid the long suit up the line. It might work, but it might get worse for them if no fit is found.


Hand 2

What will you bid as South?

Best Answer: Pass

As you agree to play optional double on 1NT, showing 15+ points (any distribution), you have the option to Pass and play on defense.

You Pass when it's clear you have the points and if you're very weak, then you should consider bidding something to pull out the double. The idea is to set opponents if you have the points or to bid something if they have the points so they don't make 1NT doubled.

You know together you have at least 22 points which is a great chance to set opponents in 1NT double.

Also, opponents are vulnerable and you have the lead. Plan to lead the Q and develop this suit.

If you had a weak hand, and count that opponents had more points, then you'd consider bidding 2.

The hand could be:

You can see that 1NT doubled goes 2 down on a Diamond lead which scores +500. Even if you set just 1 down, you get +200, which is better than any part score you can make.

Note:
a. There are many conventions played today after 1NT opening. Some of which use Double to show something else. But if playing Double as an optional double (points) then responder needs to Pass with points, turning the Double to penalty, or bid with a weak hand (especially with a long suit and no entries).
b. There are also many conventions for escaping from 1NT doubled. It's useful to agree with partner to use one of them. The simplest way is to bid with 5 cards or a 1 suiter, or ReDouble for takeout (SOS ReDBL). But, it needs agreement with partner.


Hand 3

Against 3NT your partner leads the ♠Q. How will you defend?

Best Answer: A and J

Against 3NT your partner leads the ♠Q. How will you defend?

This one should be easy. Where is the ♠K?
Clearly with the Declarer as partner leads the ♠Q and Declarer promises a stopper in Spade.

How many Diamonds does partner have?
Maximum is 2, as the Declarer corrected the bid to 2. It means that even if partner has the Q, it'll drop fast.

You can also count 9 tricks on top for the declarer once they get the hand: 5 Diamonds, 3 Clubs, and the ♠K. Which is what will happen if you allow the declarer to win with the ♠K; 10 tricks here.

The only chance to set lies in the Heart suit, hoping that partner has good Hearts. There's a decent chance as partner has only 3 points in Spades and not much in the minors.

So, switch to the J at trick 2 and the defense will get 4 Heart tricks. If Declarer covers with the K, your partner will need to take the A and continue with a low Heart to your 10, then you can continue with the 3rd heart for 2 more tricks by partner.

Remember if partner plays AQ, your 10 will block the suit and if you try to unblock the 10, Declarer's ♥8 will get promoted.

Note:
a. The 2 bid by the declarer is a correction and can be made with xx. If Declarer also has ♣xx, they'll correct the bid to 2 too, with 2 doubletons. They also show a minimum hand, 6-9 points.
b. By bidding 1 and later 2♣, North shows 12-17 points (with 18+ they would bid 3♣, jump shift). So, when North bids 2♠ as cue bid, it shows a maximum hand (16-17 points) and asks South for a Spade stopper. South's 3NT then shows a Spade stopper and maximum bid (otherwise they would've bid 2NT).
c. Stop before playing automatically. Many players will automatically return Spade, as partner bids and leads it. However, there's no substitute for counting and common sense. A quick look at dummy tells you that the declarer makes 9-10 tricks if you continue Spade.


Hand 4

You play 3NT and West leads the J. East plays low and you win with the Q. How will you continue?

Best Answer: ♣AK and ♣, only if both opponents follow, else A and

You play 3NT and West leads the J. East plays low and you win with the Q. How will you continue?

This is another hand showing how to increase your chance of making the contract by combining suits.

After the lead you have 7 tricks: 2 Spades, 2 Hearts, 1 Diamond, and 2 Clubs.

Therefore, it's clear that if the Club suit is divided 3-2 you can easily develop 2 more Clubs.

Since you have just 1 more stopper in Hearts, you're allowed to lose just 1 more trick to opponents as they'll surely attack the Hearts.

Play the ♣AK first. If both opponents follow meaning Clubs are 3-2, then play the 3rd Club to promote 2 more Clubs to make 9 tricks. Here you still have stoppers in all suits.

If one of the opponents doesn’t follow to the 2nd club meaning Clubs are 4-1, you must leave this suit. No point continuing, as even if you manage to promote the 5th Club, you'll still miss 1 trick. Also, opponents will manage to develop their Hearts ahead of you, if you play the 3rd Club. They'll play Heart to remove your last stopper and upon winning the 4th Club they'll play another Heart to make 5 tricks for the defense (3 Hearts and 2 Clubs).

So, if one of the opponents doesn't follow to the 2nd Club you need to switch to Diamond and try to make your missing trick from that suit. Play A, then another Diamond to the Q, hoping to find the K with East and hoping the Diamonds are 3-2. That's your chance to make. If K appears in East and West follows too, you'll have 10 tricks; 4 Diamonds, 2 Clubs, 2 Spades, and 2 Hearts.

Note:
a. If you duck Club, you'll lose the tempo to opponents as Clubs could be 4-1. They'll continue in Hearts to remove your last stopper and after playing ♣AK you'll be stuck as East still has a high Club. Then if you want to try the Diamonds, it'll be too late as opponents will take the K and play their remaining Hearts.
b. The same thing would happen if you play ♣A and low Club.
c. Timing is important. Tempo is about how many times you may lose the hand to remain in control. Also you need to pay attention to how many tricks you'll miss and what are your options. 
Playing ♣AK is good here, as you're still in control, having the hand, while still having another Heart stopper. At this point you can decide whether to continue in Clubs (if Clubs 3-2) or switch to Diamond; you can't do this if you duck a Club.

24 comments on “Test Your Bridge Skills #28”
  1. I also took out the X in Hand 2 as there is no information about the strength of the double.
    The answer conveniently announces it as being 15+!
    Well, if I had known that ...

  2. @2: I consider pard's double to be balancing, and thus potentially light. I'm not hanging partner for balancing, and will take out to diamonds and correct hearts to spades.

  3. I think that the chances to score plus on #1 by bidding 2c are bigger thans by doubling. But doubling might score a lot more if partner has the right hand. So my choice would be 2c.

  4. Balancing over 1NT on 8hcp without good distribution is suicidal. Without good distribution, the balancing bid would not be double...unless conventional.

  5. As always it's a pleasure to read your quiz and learn something new in bridge. On Hand 1, the best answer certainly would have worked out if West holds a flattish hand. However, given the bidding and South's holding, it's likely that West has a 5 card major suit. After the transfer at 2 level into the five card major, South would have a tough decision to make over X, or bid 3!C or even 3!D. Furthermore, North would have an equally difficult decision to make on bidding game if he holds a partial fit in !C or passing 3!C.

  6. Hand 2: DBL in 4-th seat may be weaker than described, therefore 2D (if it's transfer to H than 2cl-trsf to D)

  7. Hand 2 should indicate what defense you are playing. Most experts don't advocate penalty doubles of 1NT.

  8. Love the quizzes. It would be nice to indicate where you sit on the table. i.e. N, S, E, or W. Sometimes it takes a bit to figure it out

  9. How can you make any of the suggested options on board 4 except the first because you are in your hand and the aces are on the board?

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