Diamonds are forever

[luis]

3 fun problems with the diamond suit

 

Hi all, back to training activity for a new year.

 

You are playing f2f bridge, IMPs scoring, expert pd but young and very creative.

Some problems to check your bridge neurons for 2004.

 

 

Hand 1 (nv vrs vul):

You have:

-

9

AKQJxxxxx

Kxx

 

RHO opens a natural 1c, what do you bid? what is your plan?

 

Hand 2 (vul vrs nv):

K

Qxx

AQxxxxxx

K

 

Pd opens a 14-17 NT and RHO inserts a natural 2c bid, what do you bid? what is your plan? You are playing Leb if you bid 3d (natural, forcing) pd bids 3h. We never open 1NT with a 5 card major.

 

Hand 3 (nv vrs nv)

AKQxx

KJxxx

-

Kxx

 

You open 1s, the opponents are silent and the auction goes:

1s - 2d

2h - 3d

3h - 4d

 

Now what? 2/1 is not GF but natural forcing to 2NT. Do you agree with 2h and 3h?

 

Solutions based on what happened at the table to be posted later, maybe one of the problems will then become a play problem :-)

[mr1303]

Hand 1: 3NT

 

Jump to 3NT shows a long running minor and a stopper in opps suit, exactly what you have.

 

Hand 2, if 3D is forcing to game (as opposed to 1 round force), 4D, setting trumps and asking for a cue. 6D looks to have excellent chances if he has the ace of spades, AK of hearts and diamond K, and 5 diamonds must surely be safe opposite a strong 1NT.

 

Hand 3, 5D! Occasionally right to raise on a void.

 

By the way, 2H and 3H were fine, showing your exact distribution. Partner should not rebid on this way without long strong diamonds. If he has rubbish kick him under the table later.

[inquiry]

A hard looking set with no clear path to the right contract. Well, here is my chance to go 0 for 3 for the new year, but I never liked "Diamonds are Forever", clearly the worse Bond movie of all time.

 

Hand 1 (nv vrs vul):

You have:

-

9

AKQJxxxxx

Kxx

RHO opens a natural 1c, what do you bid? what is your plan?

 

There are a couple of plans. If partner was a passed hand, I would be certain that opponents rate to make 4Hearts or 4Spades (if not slam), and I am not going to make it any easier for them by bidding lots of diamonds. Nor am I going to psych a clever 1H or 1S (or 2H or 2S), as that would only encourage partner to raise with his support. This leaves two reasonable strategies. One is a preemptive 4S. When doubled run to 4NT, when doubled run to 5C, when doubled run to 5D. If undoubled I expect to go down at least 8 in any of these contracts and maybe 10, but minus 500 is less than the game that might make. If LHO gets the contract for 5H, maybe my 4S bid will get a spade lead from partner. Unfortunately, several things is wrong with this, not the least this walk the dog kind of runout is too obvious.

 

A second strategy is to fein a balanced kind of hand with a takeout double followed by notrump rebid. This can really mess them up (and you too). I am sort of fond of this strategy. West with majors will be less likely to bid them (redouble becoming a likely bid over dbl), and we might just talk them out of their contract that way.

 

But with an unpassed partner, 6D is not impossible (he could have as little as

♠	xxxx
♥	Axx
♦	xxxx
♣	xx

and 6D rolls home for us, while they are cold for 6S. So, if my partner is unpassed hand I will take the bidding slower, I will start with a PASS (so if Left hand bids a heart, I will have available a lightner double against 6H contract... I am afraid if I bid now, a negative double will leave me on the lead). Then I will bid lots of diamonds later. I will not let them play in game, even at the five level, not at this vul, and I will have to think about rather to let them play 6S by either player or 6H by RHO.

 

Hand 2 (vul vrs nv):

K

Qxx

AQxxxxxx

K

 

Pd opens a 14-17 NT and RHO inserts a natural 2c bid, what do you bid? what is your plan? You are playing Leb if you bid 3d (natural, forcing) pd bids 3h. We never open 1NT with a 5 card major.

 

On the above auction, I would like to have 4S as kickback. I would then bid 4S. If partner bids 4NT (0-3) I can't imagine less than three, so I will bid 6D, if he bids 5C (1 or 4), I would bid 5D expecting him to bid on with 4 key cards. If he bids 5D (two without the queen== and I have both red queens), I will pass.

 

Without a 4S kickback, I will bid 3S, if partner rebids 3NT, I will bid 4C followed by 4NT (blackwood now rather than quantatitive), if he rebids 4S or 4D, I will bid 5D, and if he rebids 4C, I will bid 6D.

 

Hand 3 (nv vrs nv)

AKQxx

KJxxx

-

Kxx

 

You open 1s, the opponents are silent and the auction goes:

1s - 2d

2h - 3d

3h - 4d

 

5♦'s, after all I 21 points counting 5 for the void.... hehehe.

 

I agree with both 2H and 3H. As for the 5♦ bid? Well it is imps after all.

[luke warm]

hand 1) 3nt and if they bid 4M i bid 6D.. i'll bid 7 if i have to

 

hand 2) 6D

 

hand 3) 5D but i'm not thrilled

[Free]

1) 3NT, no doubt

 

2) Dbl, in my system this is a NF stayman, which partner may pass with good ♣s. If he bids on, I'll investigate for slam using our extended stayman which is able to ask entire shape and key cards in all suits.

 

3) 5♦, if partner was interested in 3NT, he'd bid 3♣ (fourth suit) during the auction, so he wants to play in ♦s and it's IMPS... (This one will be the play problem right? :ph34r: )

[irg20]

1) 5D.

 

I rate the change of me being allowed to play 3NT unmolested as remote. I'm probably going to end up bidding 5D anyway so I might as well bid it now to put on the maximum pressure.

 

2) 3S in the lebensohl auction auction given.

 

Then will essentially follow Ben's plan.

 

3) 5D

[Trpltrbl]

1) 5http://mnet.bg/~mfn/d.gif, if you think when you bid 3 NT that that is end of auction :) So let them guess at 5 level. If you are unbalanced so are they. And if your pd has the Ace of http://mnet.bg/~mfn/h.gif and 2 trump and doubleton http://mnet.bg/~mfn/c.gif and don't get a trumplead, well then I guess Hell has frozen over :angry:

 

2) 3http://mnet.bg/~mfn/d.gif followed by 4http://mnet.bg/~mfn/d.gif

 

3) 5http://mnet.bg/~mfn/d.gif at least, on a day were I need it I will bid 6.

 

Mike :P

[luis]

Ok lets see what happened at the table:

 

Hand 1 (nv vrs vul):

You have:

-

9

AKQJxxxxx

Kxx

 

RHO opens a natural 1c, what do you bid? what is your plan?

 

My plan was: If pd shows signs of life then 6d, if not 5d faking a sacrifice.

So I passed over 1c, LHO passed and my pd, god bless him, reopened with a 2c cue showing both majors. I bid 6d and made 7 when they didn't lead a heart (pd held both black aces)

In tables were this hand bid 5d that contract was passed out for +440

If you bid 1d pd bids 1s and you have to decide what to do....

 

Hand 2 (vul vrs nv):

K

Qxx

AQxxxxxx

K

 

Pd opens a 14-17 NT and RHO inserts a natural 2c bid, what do you bid? what is your plan? You are playing Leb if you bid 3d (natural, forcing) pd bids 3h. We never open 1NT with a 5 card major.

 

So you reached 6d as I did, west leads a club as supossed and dummy has:

AJx

AJxx

Kx

Jxxx

 

Plan your play

 

Hand 3 (nv vrs nv)

AKQxx

KJxxx

-

Kxx

 

You open 1s, the opponents are silent and the auction goes:

1s - 2d

2h - 3d

3h - 4d

 

Now what? 2/1 is not GF but natural forcing to 2NT. Do you agree with 2h and 3h?

 

I supported with the void as many of you did, this imaginative bid was doubled for 1 down but could have been worst.

 

Pd held:

x

-

QT9xxxx

AJxxx

 

He was in a problematic situation since two of our "partnership golden rules" had to be respected here:

* Never bid 1NT with a 6-5 hand or worst

* Never pass a 1x bid with an ace

 

Ideas? :-)

[inquiry]

Luis, Looks like I better go back to the drawing board... looks like I made all the same bids as you,,, what is us with that?

 

Ok, the little play hand. Ruff second club, cash spade king

 

♠	AJx
♥	AJxx
♦	Kx
♣	Jxxx

 

♠	K
♥	Qxx
♦	AQxxxxxx
♣	K

 

This is a tuff hand. A Criss-cross (trump squeeze) against EAST if he has the ♥K and ♣Q will fail if east holds something like...

 

♠	xxx
♥	Kxx
♦	x
♣	AQTxx

. After cash both ♠ winners, you run ♦'s, but East can hold the day by keeping just one ♣ and two ♥'s in this ending.

 

          ♥A

          ♣Jx

                        ♥Kx

                        ♣Q

           ♥Qx

           ♦x

 

You can cross to the dummy, ruff out the ♣Q, but you still lose the ♥ at the end. So the only real chnce is to either hook WEST for the ♥K, or to play EAST for both the ♥K and the ♠Q (where he is triple squeezed one trick earlier, which is soon enough... the triple squeeze ending would be.

 

          ♠J

          ♥A

          ♣Jx

                        ♠Q

                        ♥Kx

                        ♣Q

           ♥Qx

           ♦xx

 

Here when you cash the next to last ♦, EAST has no discard that can hold the ship. Question is, how sure are you that EAST has the ♥King? If you are certain from bidding that this is the case, you have to play for the three suit squeeze. If not, the odds may favor West having the ♥K than EAST having specifically ♥K♠Q. Also note, I assume EAST returns a trump at trick two...I hope to have enough info after the 7th trump to decide between heart hook and that the three suit squeeze has worked and EAST has stiff heart king.

 

Your golden rule hand 3. Your partner had a tough bid over 3♥, but what would 4♣ be? 3♦ wasn't forcing, 3♥ wasn't forcing, so I think 4♣ can't all of sudden be cue-bid in support of ♥'s (this is not true if 2♦ was game force of course). BTW, I would break one of the golden rules here playing your system and rebid 3NT if 4♣ doesn't show this hand.

[luis]

Luis, Looks like I better go back to the drawing board... looks like I made all the same bids as you,,, what is us with that?

 

I don't know should I be scared ? The 5d bid on a void and the 6d bid in board 2 are fairly normal the interesting thing is your choice to pass in hand #1, in a 19 table field I was the only south player that passed (there were 1d bids, 5d bids, one 6d bid and some 3N bids and yes one psycho doubled!)

 

Here when you cash the next to last ♦, EAST has no discard that can hold the ship. Question is, how sure are you that EAST has the ♥King? If you are certain from bidding that this is the case, you have to play for the three suit squeeze. If not, the odds may favor West having the ♥K than EAST having specifically ♥K♠Q. Also note, I assume EAST returns a trump at trick two...I hope to have enough info after the 7th trump to decide between heart hook and that the three suit squeeze has worked and EAST has stiff heart king.

 

Since I had a lot of points and pd opened a 14-17 NT I decided that the 2c bidder must have the hK as well as the AQ in clubs so I played him for the sQ and the triple squeeze you described. No way since west held the sQ. I think the hand cannot be made but maybe maybe there's some trick.... Not sure....

 

Your golden rule hand 3. Your partner had a tough bid over 3♥, but what would 4♣ be? 3♦ wasn't forcing, 3♥ wasn't forcing, so I think 4♣ can't all of sudden be cue-bid in support of ♥'s (this is not true if 2♦ was game force of course). BTW, I would break one of the golden rules here playing your system and rebid 3NT if 4♣ doesn't show this hand.

 

Applying other rules I can't blame pd for any bid with a 7-5 hand, who knows what can work well... I think he should have showed his 5 clubs in some way but I'm not sure how.