"PASS" is the word

The Doctor was depressed. For over more than 6 months he couldn't get a substitute to replace him in the clinic. Oh, how badly he needed a vacation...

One day an ad caught his eye in the Bridge magazine: "Last chance! A Bridge cruise to Iceland and the Norwegian fjords! Book now!" That was it. He decided he MUST go on that cruise or he'll fall apart right there. So he ran down one floor and knocked at his neighbor's door:
"I am going on a Bridge cruise tomorrow, and you are going to replace me in the clinic!"
"But... But I am not a doctor. I am a complete Nothing, I didn't even manage to finish high school. How can I possibly replace you at the clinic?", asked the astonished neighbor.
"Listen up! I am going to tell you a little secret. Being a doctor is the easiest profession on earth. Whoever comes to visit you - Just PASS them to another doctor. For example: If someone complains about his ears - PASS him to an ear doctor. If a pregnant woman enters the door - PASS her to a gynecologist. If someone has bones problems - PASS to an orthopedist, etc. Got it?!" and without even waiting for an answer he went home to pack, leaving the puzzled neighbor standing by his door speechless.

And so the doctor left. The cruise was great! Exactly what he needed. The Bridge was great too, and on the last session, he was the only one to make a grand slam!

Dealer North, N-S vulnerable

*New minor forcing ; ** 0 or 3 Key cards (out of 5)

No PASS, no hesitation before reaching the grand slam. West lead the ♠10. Most players won the lead, drew 4 rounds of trumps and tested the clubs. When clubs turned out to be 4-2, they tried the diamond finesse, intending to throw the club loser on the ♦A. But the finesse failed and they went 1 down.

Others played only 2 rounds of trump and then tried 3 top clubs: If clubs were 3-3, they would pull 2 more rounds of trumps and take that last club but if East had 4 clubs – They could try to ruff the last club in dummy. That did not work either, as East ruffed the 3rd round of clubs and down they went.

So how did our doctor made it?

Dear readers, try it out yourself, before reading the solution.

After winning the 1st trick with the ♠A, the doctor drew 2 high trumps from hand. Then he continued with the ♠KQ, throwing a club (!) from dummy. Then he played ♣AK and ruffed a low club with the ♥K. Back to hand with the ♦A and a diamond ruff, then 2 more rounds of heart, to pull out East's last trumps and the ♣Q is high. Great play!

On the flight back he thought a lot about the beautiful places he saw. And he thought some more about the great Bridge he played (especially that grand slam)... And a little bit about his clinic and his neighbor. When he finally came home, he went to the clinic to see how things were.

"Oh doctor, it was exactly as you said. The easiest profession on earth. I PASSED everyone who showed up to other doctors and there were no problems. Only one thing happened yesterday, and I'm not sure I did the right thing there", said the neighbor.
"What happened yesterday?", asked the doctor, not too concerned.
"Well, this lady came, and without saying what her problem was, she took off all her clothes, laid on the bed and said: "Dear doctor, I haven't seen a man in 2 months..."
"So, what did you do?", asked the doctor as his curiosity went up.
"Well, she said hasn't seen in two months... so I PASSED her to an eye doctor..."

Oren's Double Dummy Challenge - 19***

The rules are simple. You get the contract and the lead. You may look at all cards and play accordingly (you are always South). However, the defense can do the same, and they never make mistakes. You must find a way to make the contract against any defense.

Oren's Double Dummy Challenge - 19***

You are playing 7♠. West leads the ♣Q. You must make your contract against any defense. Good luck!
---
*** Difficulty level: hard.

















Solution




Contract: 7♠. Lead: ♣Q. Difficulty: ***Hard.

Win in dummy, play ♠AK (West can throw a heart) and continue with the ♥A and a heart ruff. When you cash the ♠Q, West has a discard problem: he cannot afford to part with another heart, else declarer can ruff 2 more hearts and promote his 5th heart for the 13th trick. So, whatever West throws – You throw the same suit from dummy. Say he threw diamond. You throw a diamond too. Cash ♦AK, ruff a heart and play the spades to reach this ending:




On the final spade, West must keep the ♥J so he is forced to discard the ♣J. Throw the ♥7 from dummy and East is squeezed: If he throws the ♦Q – the ♦6 is high. If he throws club – The ♣3 becomes high. Same thing if West throws a club on the ♠Q: You throw a club too, cash the ♣A and the ♦K, ruff a heart and run the spades to reach the same situation as before, having this time ♦A3 in dummy.

Well done to everyone who solved the problem!

Seeing Through Cards #10

* North's pass over 2♦ denies 3 spades

After some thought, you choose to lead the ♦A. Your partner plays the ♦2 and declarer the ♦5.

1. Where is the ♦T?
2. What will you play next?

Solution: 

1. Where is the ♦T?
   With South. If partner has a doubleton, he needs to play the high card first (there is no point in giving an attitude signal here, since all the high diamonds are in dummy, so East must give count).
   
2. What will you play next?
   Don't continue with another diamond. Ruffing a diamond can wait! Play first the ♥A and the ♥J. Declarer will win with the ♥K and will play spades. Win the trick with the ♠A and continue with the ♦9. Your partner will ruff, return a heart and you will ruff it with the ♠8. One down.
   If you play another diamond at trick 2, your partner will ruff it, but the defense will come to 4 tricks only, as you will not get your heart ruff.

Things to remember:

• Timing is everything, also on defense. This is a perfect example where West should wait before giving a ruff to his partner. Why? Because that ruff is the only entry to East's hand, and East needs to win the hand at the right moment, when he can give West a heart ruff. Having the ♠A in hand gives West confidence that trumps cannot be pulled quickly and he should recognize the precious ♠8 over dummy's low trumps as being the setting trick.
• Support double is an important weapon you should adopt. It applies when you open, your left hand opponent passes, your partner bids a 1 level major suit (can be 4 cards) and your right hand opponent overcalls. Double now will show exactly 3 cards in partner's suit (a direct raise in his suit will show 4 cards). Furthermore: Any other bid (NT, other suit or pass) from you will deny 3 cards in partner's suit (meaning, showing 3 cards by doubling has priority over showing anything else)! That also means that South's 2♠ must show 6 cards as North denied 3-card support.
• Your bid of 2♦, being vulnerable against not, could have cost you dearly: If South (with a hand such as KJxxx Qxxx x Kxx) would have doubled it (reopening double), North would have gladly passed for penalty. You would be very poor... 2♦ doubled goes 3 down. The defense can take 2 clubs, club ruff, 3 diamonds, one heart and a spade.
• It seems that 3NT can be easily made (with an overtrick) by N-S, but it was not easy to reach it (4♠ could also make if East had doubleton diamond).

Bridge in Heaven

The man who entered the confession cabin looked shattered.
"My son, you didn’t pay any attention to mass today. Did you steal? Rob? Murder? What's on your mind?", asked the priest.
"Forgive me, father, for I have sinned", the man burst. "It's been years and years that I think of nothing but bridge. I must know: Is there Bridge in Heaven?"
"What is bridge?" asked the priest.
"Bridge is a card game... It fills my heart, body and soul and I think of nothing but this game all day and all night. Today, instead of listening to your words, all I could think of was how I went down so stupidly in a wonderful slam my partner has brought me to".

The priest tried to conceal his smile and said in a serious tone: "On such elevated matters I must pray for an answer. Wait here, I'll be back in 10 minutes".

During those 10 nerve wracking minutes, the man went through his play in slam once more:



West lead the ♠10. Declarer won with the ♠A, drew two rounds of trump and ruffed a spade. Next he played a diamond to the ♦J. West won the ♦K and continued with another diamond. When diamonds failed to split nicely and after the club finesse failed – he had to concede to 1 down.

"This must be divine punishment! Both finesses off and diamonds not splitting - god is punishing me for sinnning with bridge," he remembered saying after the hand was over. But his partner explained: "Quite the contrary. It is because he loves you, that he gives you these beautiful deals and you insist to play badly and go down. All you had to do, instead of finessing diamonds, was to play the ♦A first, come back to dummy with a trump and play another diamond to your ♦J. That line of play will improve your chances of making the contract and will guarantee your success in this deal: When West wins the trick with his ♦K, having no more red cards, he will either continue spades, giving you a ruff and discard, or play a club to your ♣KJx . Either way you will make your contract".

His partner's wise words were still resounding in the sinner's mind when the priest returned:

"I have good news and bad news..."
"The good news is: There is bridge in Heaven!"
"The bad news: God has reserved a table for you there tomorrow..."