Page 16 - ABF Newsletter December 2024

A GAME
AT THE
VCC
Barbara Travis
www.bridgeatbeaumont.com
After being away for a while, I returned to several games and plenty of material! You, South, hold:
]J8754 [A }6 {AJ9872
ed a diamond. Now West exited with a diamond to South. Declarer now led the ]A and another spade to the ]9 - king. East returned a diamond, leaving declarer stuck in hand. On the club lead, West simply has to rise with the {A to lead another diamond (or a heart), to promote a trump for East, who holds the ]8-7 behind dummy’s ]Q-10-6-5.
What can South do? After the diamond switch, de- clarer can cash the ]A if they want, but now they have to lead a club towards dummy. If West wins, communications have been severed.
If West ducks, then you win the {Q in dummy but now you can lead two more diamonds, throwing dummy’s losing {J away, meaning East gets a trump trick but the defence lose their club winner.
These hands where entries and timing are essential require thoughtful planning, to foresee the potential dangers afoot.
There are cue raises, then there are cue raises; they all seem to differ! Try this auction:
WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH pass 1[
2] 3] pass ?
In this sequence 3], whilst a cue raise, shows more than the defined 10+ TP. This cue raise is a game force, since even with a minimum opener has to cor- rect to game. A 3[ bid here would be about 9-11 TP, and the cue raise shows a game force.
And, imagine if West had overcalled 3]? That’s a great overcall, especially when not vulnerable, be- cause it removes North’s ability to cue-raise below game. Keep such considerations in mind.
Assuming you play Jacoby 2NT, game forcing major raise, have you and your partner discussed continu- ations after an overcall?
WEST NORTH EAST 1} 1[
2[ dbl (3) pass
SOUTH 1] 5+ ?
Would you bid 2] or 4], knowing partner has spe- cifically 3-card spade support (a raise to 2] would promise 4 spades)? I think I’d bid 4], given the 6-5 hand shape, which plays far better than most hands.
Partner held:
] 10 9 4 [ K 7 6 2 } A Q 5 4 { K 4
That hand is a minimum, with plenty of wasted values in the red suits; the {K and }A being the only ‘useful’ honour cards. One club ruff and draw trumps, and 10 tricks are straight-forward. With a known fit, the more shape you have, the more you should be bidding.
The next hand was an interesting declarer play issue, which most declarers failed, but the defence also tended to be flawed:
] Q 10 9 6 5 3 [987
}42
{QJ
]K872 [J3 }J95
{ 10 7 4 3
]J [AKQ52 } 10 8 3 {A862
]A4
[ 10 6 4 }AKQ76 {K95
Having opened 1NT, South played the hand in 2], with West leading three top hearts as East discard-
Page 16
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: December 2024