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The Aces On Bridge by Bobby Wolff
Opening Lead: ♦7
The role of computers in bridge is an interesting one. At the moment their bidding is unpredictable — they are a long way away from learning the nuances of constructive or competitive auctions. Their card play is another matter. While they struggle with complex low-level contracts, they are not afraid of squeezes. (They understand how to play them, but they don't know what a squeeze is!)
Onno Eskes wrote a series of deals for IMP magazine in the Netherlands featuring the computer GIB — which stands for Goren in a Box or Ginsberg’s Intelligent Bridgeplayer. Here is a deal in which GIB did not disappoint.
At the table, the defense against four hearts began with two top diamonds, a diamond ruff, and a spade exit. The question was whether GIB would spot the winning line: spade ace, spade ruffed with the jack, then a heart finesse, spade ruffed with the ace, and another heart finesse.
And indeed, GIB found this line immediately. The next question was how West should have defended. There are two ways to set the contract: the first is by returning a trump after the diamond ruff; the second is to refuse the diamond ruff.
GIB proves that it can work through all aspects of the hand: It refuses to ruff the third round of diamonds, pitching a spade instead. Then it ruffs the fourth diamond to play a trump, and now declarer cannot set up and enjoy dummy’s long spades whatever he does.
Bid with the aces
Answer: 1♠
This hand is totally unsuitable for a pre-empt (with too many controls, too playable in three strains, and with intermediates that bolster all your honors). As a general rule, you should not pass moderate hands with good suits. Either pre-empt or open at the one-level, the latter being my choice here. An initial pass followed by a pre-empt therefore suggests a two-suiter.
This Hand of the Day was originally published on aces.bridgeblogging.com.
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