Hand of the day #557
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the...
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the players in the article.
The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♥4
On this deal from the NEC event both tables in a match between Japanese and Polish squads reached three no-trump. For Japan Akihiko Yamada led a diamond and declarer took the first trick and cleared the clubs. The defense set up the diamonds, but declarer could run his clubs and knock out the spade ace. When diamonds proved to be 4-4, South had nine tricks.
In the other room Cezary Balicki led a fourth-highest heart four. (Where the opponents do not use Stayman, then when in doubt a major is generally best.) Declarer won the first heart to take the club finesse. Adam Zmudzinski won his king as Balicki dropped the club 10. In this position the partnership conventionally play a variety of signal known as the Smith Echo to suggest that West would be happy with a switch. Naturally, Zmudzinski shifted to diamonds, and Balicki won his king and returned a low card. When Zmudzinski ducked the second diamond, declarer’s diamond ace fell on air. Now when the defenders got in with the spade ace they could cash out for down one.
Nicely done by the defenders; but declarer had opened the door to them by playing on clubs before spades. South wants to keep East off lead for just this reason, and the losing club finesse will surely give the defense the chance to find the killing shift. However, if the cards lie as they do, no shift can hurt declarer when West takes the spade ace.
Bid with the aces
Answer: Pass
This sequence is not a reverse. If opener has real extras and both minors, he jumps to three diamonds here, so this sequence suggests 4-4 or 4-5 in the minors and 12-15 points. Since you have no extras, you have no reason to invite game. You would raise to three diamonds if one of your small diamonds were the queen.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the players in the article.
