11 tricks off the top

Dear readers, today's story is a perfect example that Bridge is a game of common sense and not just dry rules.

Before a teams tournament a player said to his partner: "Pay attention to my signals! Rule says lead our 4th best card from a suit with an honor. The card we lead is important to me, as it tells a lot about the length of partner's suit. For example, if I lead the 2 it should be clear to you that I have a suit with only 4 cards: The 2 is the 4th, so there are 3 cards above it, and... none below it. So, if I have more than 4 cards in that suit I will lead the 4th card, and later on will play a lower card to show you that my suit is longer. In other words, if I lead the 3 and later on play the 2 – I am showing you that I have a 5 suiter headed by an honor. Clear?!"

His partner responded: "Well, I look at carding only when it's needed, and signal only when it's necessary, and only what I judge my partner needs to be signaled. Otherwise I just use common sense, as Bridge is a great game of thinking".

The other player did not agree at all and insisted to follow the rule at all times. The two argued for quite a bit until the game started, and no agreement was reached about how they will be signaling.

And then came this hand, where they lost 16 IMPs:

Dealer South - North - South vulnerable:


At both tables, the bidding went exactly the same, with South opening 1NT on that semi balanced hand. At both tables the lead was the ♥3, 4th best.

At "our" table, the "common sense" player won the lead with his ♥A when declarer tried the ♥K. He then played the ♥Q, on which the "rule" player followed with the ♥2 to show (with a huge victory smile) that he lead from a 5 suiter.

And now what?

No more Hearts in hand, Diamonds are not an option, and dummy's black suits look just the same. Which suit to continue?

With no clear preference he looked at his partners 2nd card in the hope that it will signal suit preference, as he thought it should, since showing length of the heart suit meant nothing now when he had no more Hearts to play. And so, seeing the ♥2 card still on the table, he continued with a Club, thinking the ♥2 is a clear preference to the lower ranking suit.

The surprised declarer almost fell off his chair when he saw the club switch and immediately claimed 11 tricks off the top: 5 Clubs and 6 Diamonds: 3NT + 2 = 660.

What happened at the other table, you wonder?

11 tricks where cashed off the top there as well, but with a slight difference: On the ♥Q, West followed with the ♥9! East had no problems taking the ♥9 as suit preference to Spade and continued with a Spade at trick 3. West won the ♠A when declarer tried the ♠K. He then cashed his ♥J82 and continued with the ♠Q, followed by the ♠10 which East overtook with the ♠J and cashed the rest of his top Spades: 5 Hearts and 6 Spades = 11 tricks off the top! 3NT – 7 = -700. And a total swing of 1360 points which cost their team 16 IMPs.

"I still think my play was correct", insisted the rule player.

"Yeah, sure... Like the doctor said: The operation I performed was a great success, too bad the patient died...", responded his partner with a bitter tone and added:

"Or if you prefer «Amazing brain surgery, Doctor, but your patient came with a heart attack...» In other words partner, when you signal - signal what's important for me to know".

The Robbers

Jane is playing at the club with her teacher today.

The teacher insists to teach her to play by the rules and he also worked nicely with her on partnership defense.

Before they moved to the last round, she pointed her finger at the couple they were about to play against and said to her teacher: "Against these two, I hate most to play. They don’t bid according to the rules and always rob me of my games. And the most annoying thing is that their moves always work for them, at least when they play against me".

Her teacher responded: "Don't get over excited. Remember you can always double them if you feel they went wild. Check the vulnerability and look carefully at your hand to decide whether it is worth punishing them based on your partner's bids and your own hand." And indeed, the opponents did not "disappoint":

Dealer West - North-South vulnerable:


Jane thought for a long time before she bid 5♦. Again, she had the familiar feeling that these opponents are trying to rob her. She was quite certain that her teacher's 3NT bid showed a good hand with Heart stoppers (though she wasn’t entirely sure how strong he was with such a bid). Also her hand was pretty good. So... how come her opponents find themselves in 4♥ so fast?

She remembered her teacher's advice to double them if she feels they try to rob her game again. But then his other advice was to look at the vulnerability: "We are vulnerable, and they are not. My hand is too offensive to double them and I feel I have a great chance to make 5♦", she thought and bid 5♦.

West lead the ♠2.

Jane looked at the lead: "After all this 'noise' of bidding 4♥, why a spade lead?", she thought to herself. "Maybe he has a singleton", she kept thinking.

After few more seconds of thought and counting her two losers, one in Club and one in Diamond she decided... there is nothing to think about... She must pull trumps and establish her Clubs, no other way to make.

Therefore she asked for a low Spade from dummy, won with her ♠A when East covered with the ♠Q and played a Diamond. East won it with the ♦A, played back a Spade for West to ruff and later on opponents won the ♣A to set her 1 down.

Jane was very upset. "I got robbed again by these two. 3NT is ice cold. I could double them but then I thought I have a good chance to make. And I would have made it, had they not gotten that Spade ruff. I'm so frustrated!", she was on the verge of tears.

Her teacher tried to calm her down: "What can I say... They are allowed to bid like this and be wild if they feel like it. It's not against the rules. 4♥ goes 2 down as we get 1 Spade, 2 Hearts, 1 Club and 1 Diamond.

However... You can make 5♦! Simply win the lead with the ♠K in dummy, continue with the ♥A and discard your ♠A on it! Now you can safely play a Diamond and when East takes the ♦A and plays back Spade – Just ruff it high in hand, pull the rest of the trumps, and claim 11 tricks".

Jane felt even more miserable: "SIMPLY? It’s not at all simple for me".

200 km per hour

On Sunday morning Bill left home very early. Actually, it was 4AM, and it was still night outside. He was heading to a Bridge tourney in another village, about 160 kilometers from where he lived. The village was celebrating 100 years of existence with, among other festivities, a big Bridge tournament which was to begin at 9AM.

So... why did he leave so early, you may ask (his wife asked that too). Well, Bill owned a very old car (a 1959 model), and any speed over 60 km per hour was a real menace for the car's well being (it could go at most 70... downhill).

"That car is almost as old as you are! Time to replace it!", his wife said often.

"It is Not! We got it from my parents as a wedding gift. You are almost as old as I am. Maybe I should replace you!", he used to shout back.

And so today he was careful to take his time, planning to drive slowly, take a few breaks along the way, and still arrive to the event royally on time.

But even though he was driving so cautiously, the car stopped abruptly in the middle of nowhere, as if to say: "That's it, no more!".

Bill had no choice but to sit out there, watching the sun rise and waiting for a car to pass by. After almost 2 hours of waiting, a white beautiful new Mercedes showed up and stopped next to him.

"You need a ride, old man?", offered the Mercedes driver.

"Would it be ok if I tie my car to yours and you pull me? I'm very fond of my car and I don’t want to just leave it here. Here, I have a towing cable in my trunk. I knew this unfortunate day will come, but I wasn't expecting it to be today.... Will you please do me this favor?".

The driver felt sorry for Bill, and agreed to pull his car.

"One more thing: You can't go fast or it will break down. No more than 50 kilometers per hour, please", added Bill.

"You must be joking. This baby is faster than 50 even when it's parked!", he laughed loudly at his own joke and continued: "But you know what, if I drive too fast, just honk your horn, and I'll slow down, OK?".

"Agreed! Thanks so much!", Bill was pleased.

And so, they started to drive. Every now and then Bill honked, and the Mercedes driver slowed down.

All of a sudden a black BMW appeared out of nowhere and overtook them at lightning speed. The Mercedes driver managed to see the other driver, who was no other than his wife! Rather pissed at her nerve, he started racing after her. The BMW went faster and so did the Mercedes right behind it. A police patrol on the side of the road saw with amazement three cars racing one after another at no less than 200 kilometers per hour!

As the police car wasn't fast enough, the officer announced headquarters, and a police blockade was formed quickly just outside the village Bill was heading to. The drivers were stopped for investigation and when the police officer came to face pale Bill, he noticed Bill was in shock. Bill couldn't move nor talk. Looking at his ID, the police officer said:

"So, Bill. 200 kilometers per hour is not fast enough for you, is it? You had to honk your horn like mad too? May I ask what was so urgent to drive on a Sunday morning at this speed?".

Bill finally managed to open his mouth and all he could mutter was:
"Well, I was in a hurry for the Bridge tourney in the village".

The officer looked at his watch: "Oh my God! It starts in 5 minutes. I'd better drive you over there so that you are not late!".

Bill's partner was not at all happy to see him there at the very last minute. "I thought you said you'll leave home early to be on time. How slow did you go this time to arrive so late?", he asked bitterly.

"About as slow as 200 per hour", said Bill still shaking from the shock.

This hand, against the Village champion, reminded him of the mad race he had just been through:

Dealer East - North-South vulnerable:


Partner's jump to 6♦ seem like accelerating from 0 to 200 in 2 seconds to him. And so he honked his horn and bid 6♥ ("I must be losing my mind", he thought).

East led the ♠2. Declarer had 11 top tricks. Assuming West had the ♦A and no more spades to play, he saw it would be possible to establish a Diamond trick. But he had transportation problems: He had 1 entry to dummy to play the ♦K , but no other entry to cash the ♦Q.

Given that he managed to survive the surreal events in the morning, he made up his mind and decided not to lose hope and battle it to the end: He won the lead with the ♠A and pulled 6 rounds of Hearts. Then he played ♣AK and a Club to the ♣Q. He was hoping West will have only diamonds left. But West won the ♦K with the ♦A (Bill discarded a spade) and played another Club. Bill had to ruff and concede the last Spade to East.

The Village champion was amused: "Trouble reaching dummy? Imagine that you are stuck and you want dummy to get you out of trouble. So what do you do? You use me as a rope! In other words use me to help you enter dummy: After pulling trumps, play ♣A and then a low club to the ♣J. Now play the ♦K and discard the ♣K from hand! I'll get the trick with the ♦A but now whether I play club or diamond – I will get you to dummy and you can discard your 2 spade losers on those Q's".

A nerve wrecking day for poor Bill who was used to a slow, quiet life.

The odd couple

In my club there are players from 9 years old till over 90, men and women, religious and non religious, politically right and left, rich and poor, professors and judges but also players who didn't finish high school. All playing in perfect harmony. And where else will you find so many different types of people sitting at the same table, spending 3 hours together?

For example these two players who have been partners for at least 10 years: Esther is 60 and she is a fashion designer. She looks no more than 40 years old (after a few plastic surgeries in several areas...). She is very attractive, she has a lovely figure, and she dresses very colorful (you will never see her wearing the same clothes twice). She is very energetic and she is involved in most of the big social events in the city.

Her partner, Joseph, is an accountant. He is 50, but looks 70. He is single, overweight, and always wears the same overly short t-shirt.

While Joseph is quiet and has no sense of humor whatsoever, Esther is chatty and lively enough for both of them.

"Are you really 60?", she got asked once.
"Only parts of me...", she winked, alluding to the (few) parts of her body that weren't touched yet by the doctors.

When asked about her long lasting partnership with Joseph, who is so different from her, she would say: "With him it's a 'catholic wedding'. I'm a lot more faithful to him than I was to my 3 ex-husbands. By the way, he is the only man I have ever met who only showed interest in my brains, and not other parts of my body..."

And here is a an example of wonderful co-operation on defense, emphasizing their partnership chemistry:

Dealer West - All vulnerable:


Joseph, sitting West, lead the ♠A and Esther followed with the ♠Q.

That card helped him understand that she also holds the ♠J and so he continued with a low Spade at trick 2. Esther won the ♠J and continued with a 3rd Spade to Joseph's ♠K.

He paused for few seconds to count points: Declarer's 2♥ bid suggested 9-11 points, dummy had 14 and he had 12. That leaves 2-4 points for his partner, of which he already saw the ♠QJ.

Therefore the ♣A must be with declarer (also, if Esther had the ♣A, she would likely play it after winning the ♠J and before continuing with the 3rd Spade) along with the ♥K and the ♦Q.

That means that the only chance left to set is to try to promote a trump trick. Consequently, Joseph continued with his 4th Spade which Esther ruffed (without a blink) with the ♥10. Declarer over ruffed with his ♥K but Joseph's ♥J got promoted now, no matter how declarer plays the Hearts.
They were the only ones to set that "10 tricks off the top" 4♥ contract.

"Since you're such a great fashion designer, perhaps you could design a normal shirt for your partner to wear?", hissed a frustrated declarer.

"That would be a challenge! He'd need to lose a few kilos just to enter a regular XXL. However, I have no plans to redesign anything about him. Our tacit mutual understanding is that we communicate with each other purely through cards".

Couple Therapy

When a married couple has problems in their marriage – they go to couple's therapy.

John and Barbara are not married. They are not even a couple. They are just Bridge partners, who have been playing together for a long time. Well... long time in total. They took many breaks over time, when they stopped playing together after harsh arguments and after "divorces" so vocal that everyone in the club knew they had sworn to never play together again. Each time this happened, they were so hostile to one another that they didn’t even say hello.

But after some time, after they managed to get into fights and arguments with every other partner I tried to match them with, they always got back to playing together.

"How come they are together again?" people would ask me. "I did couple therapy with them," I'd say without batting an eye.

"You think it will hold?", asked the skeptic ones (which were about everyone...).

“Absolutely!" I'd answer, looking straight into their eyes. "I even got a wedding invite from them..."

As both of them always looked for mistakes in their partner's play, and commented all the time (often wrong analysis), nobody wanted to play with them, which was the real reason they kept going back to playing together.

And so, here is the hand that caused their final divorce.

Barbara managed to produce a fabulous defense, and John, with incredible talent... totally ruined it:

Dealer North - None vulnerable:


John lead the ♥10 (which, according their agreement is top of sequence or two higher honors, so he has either 109xxx or AJ10xx).

Declarer won with the ♥Q in dummy and asked for the ♣Q. To her surprise, Barbara's ♣K won the trick.

Counting points, she concluded that since dummy has 14 points, she has 10 and declarer has 10-11, her partner should have around 5 points, 4 of which consist in the ♣A (else declarer would not let her win the King).

Therefore, the ♥10 lead was from top of sequence, as there is no room for the ♥AJ in his hand. That means 2 Club tricks are guaranteed, and in order to set 3NT, defense needs 3 Spade tricks. From the bidding it is obvious that declarer has exactly 4 Spades.

After some thought, Barbara found the only defense which sets: the ♠2!

John exploded: "What are you doing??!! Play spade to dummy's strength, and did you forget that declarer bid 1♠? You have no idea how to play this game!" he added with his typical vulgar tone.

I happened to be standing next to their table and I warned John (for the millionth time) to stop talking during the play, to stop being rude and actually... to stop talking at all.

The play continued:

Declarer won the spade trick cheaply with the ♠6, continued with Clubs, and John, upon winning the ♣A on the 3rd round, played back a... Heart.

This time it was Barbara's turn to burst: "You have no more spades to play? Play a spade, I win my ♠AQJ and set the contract. Why don't you continue my line of defense?"

I was called to the table once again and ruled 11 tricks for declarer.

And that was it. After this last fight, I fear there is no "couple therapy" that can save them...

Cinderella

Dalia was so furious that you could almost see smoke coming off her ears. She had left her house at 8AM to make sure she would get to the Bridge Club early (the game starts at 10AM). Then she waited at the bus stop for 40 minutes because the full busses passed by without stopping. Then, when she finally managed to get on a bus – it got stuck in the middle of the road. And when she rushed down to get out of the bus, someone stepped on her heel and tore her shoe.

Dalia took a taxi and managed to arrive at the club 5 minutes before 10AM, with only one shoe, barely breathing, only to find out ...

...That her partner phoned a few minutes ago to announce that she is not coming: "Yes, she called and said that the guy she had called to fix the refrigerator arrived at 9:30 instead of 8:00", I told her and explained further how the conversation with her partner went: "You know how it is with technicians... You can never trust them to be in time", she said and hung up...

Dalia exploded: "Really? What about her!? Can she be trusted? The technician was late, but at least he showed up, while she didn't show up at all!"

But with all the bad luck she had that day, Dalia got the most angry with ... me!

"Why is Dalia mad at you?” one of the players asked. "Because I called her Cinderella", I answered innocently and added with a smile: "How else should I call someone who arrives at the club with one shoe?”

Dalia wanted to go home but I didn't let her: "Don't move! I will find you another witch...err... a nice partner to play with", I said.

And indeed, I managed to match her with someone nice to play with. And I also patched her broken shoe with tape: “Here, as good as new. With such a wonderful shoe, the prince will find you in no time, Cinderella", I pushed on, annoyingly.

Dalia finally calmed down and her luck seemed to change: All morning she got hands full of points. She didn't just get great hands, she played them well too. Like this difficult hand for instance:



West lead a Club. Declarer has two losers: a Diamond and a Heart. Most declarers who bid the slam went down one after they pulled trump and hoped for Diamonds to split 3-3.

Dalia managed to improve her chances:

She ruffed the lead and played ♦A, a Diamond to the ♦Q and a third Diamond from dummy. If Diamonds were 3-3 – the ♦K wins and she could pull trumps and enjoy the fourth Diamond.

But here, with the 4-2 split, East thought what to do: If he discards – Dalia will win with the ♦K and then ruff her 4th Diamond with the ♠J in dummy, losing just one Heart trick in the end.

Therefore he ruffed the third Diamond, and continued with another Club. Dalia ruffed the club, played one round of trumps, continued with the ♦K from her hand (discarding a Heart from dummy), then continued with ♥AK and ruffed her Heart loser in dummy to make her 12th trick.

"Bravo, Cinderella!", shouted her partner (everyone were looking from the other tables), and Dalia raised her first smile for the day.

Choose Your Finesse – Part 6

On many occasions when you are declarer the success of your contract would depend on a successful finesse. Sometimes declarer has a choice between finesses. He has to decide which finesse to take (or whether to take a finesse at all...) This is Part 6 of Oren's series on Finesses. If you missed the previous articles, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5

Take these hands and see if you choose the right finesse:

Start the test now!

51. You play 6♠ on a ♦Q lead. When you win and pull out trumps, West shows out on the second round. Why is this hand here (what does it have to do with finesses)? How do you play?

You play 6♠ on a ♦Q lead. Win with the ♦A and play ♠AK. West shows out on the second Spade. Now it is time to be careful: Continue with the ♣A and with another club from dummy.

If East ruffs - it will be his last trick as you will win any return, pull out the last trump and claim (ruff Diamond in dummy and the rest is high).

If East discards (best) - Win with the ♣Q. Play the ♦K and a diamond ruff, then continue with another club from dummy. Again, if East discards - Win with the ♣K, and ruff the last club in dummy. East can overruff, but that will be his only trick.

So... playing a club from dummy is like a finesse (it's called expass here): playing from dummy towards a high card in hand when the second hand opponent has a higher card in hand. This time opponent had a trump instead of the ace, so if he ruffs – he ruffs "air", and if he doesn't – you score your honor.

52. You play 3NT and the ♠Q is led. You duck once and win the second spade with the ♠K. How do you play the diamond suit?

You play 3NT on a ♠Q lead. Hold up once and win with the ♠K on the second round. Play the ♦A and then a low diamond to the ♦Q. If West wins - You have 4 diamond tricks. If he plays low - Win the ♦Q and when you see that West shows out - switch to Clubs. You make 2 Clubs, 2 Diamonds, 3 Hearts and 2 Spades. This line is good also against ♦KTxx with West: After East shows out on the second round of diamonds, your ♦Q loses to East's ♦K but you can finesse later to the ♦9 and make 4 diamond tricks. If you try to run the ♦Q – East will get the ♦K and play a third spade. You will go down now, as neither diamonds, nor clubs are high.

53. You play 6♣ on a ♥Q lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♣ on a ♥Q lead. Win in hand, play two rounds of clubs and play a LOW diamond from dummy.

If East has the ♦K and plays it - You score all the other diamonds and can discard 3 spades.

If he plays low - You don't lose any diamonds. If the ♦K is with West and your ♦J loses to West's ♦K, West cannot play the Spade suit and you are able to check if diamonds are 3-3, allowing you 3 spade discards. If not - You can still attempt the spade finesse.

If you play the ♦J after pulling trump, and the finesse loses to East, East plays a spade and now you need to guess whether to finesse, or play for the diamonds to split 3-3.

54. You play 6♠ on a ♥K lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♠ on a ♥K lead. Win with the ♥A and continue with the ♥J, throwing your club loser when East fails to cover. West wins with the ♥Q but your ♥9 in dummy is promoted now. Win whatever West plays next, play ♠A and another spade to dummy's ♠K, and throw your diamond loser on the promoted ♥9.

If you try the diamond finesse – You go down. If you try to ruff diamond – You still go down. Same if you try to play a club to dummy.

55. You play 4♥ and West, who overcalled 1♠, leads the ♠K. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♥ and West, who overcalled 1♠, leads the ♠K. Win the Ace, and play ♥KQ. When all follow, you have a 100% successful line: Ruff low spade with the ♥T, play ♦AK and throw your third diamond on the ♠J. West wins, but he is endplayed now in three suits: a club return will establish your ♣K, a spade will give you a ruff/sluff, and a diamond (if he has any) will promote either your ♦J or the fourth diamond if diamonds are 3-3.

56. You play 6♥ on a ♣9 lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♥ on a ♣9 lead. Win in hand and play a low diamond to the ♦Q . East wins and plays another club. Win in hand and play the ♥Q, to protect yourself against ♥JTxx in West. Play another heart and cover it if West tries the ♥T. Return to hand on the ♦A and finesse hearts again. Pull West's last trump, and play ♠A and another spade, finessing if East plays low. That line will be successful if the ♦K is with West, or if the ♠Q is with East, and also if trumps are 4-0 with West.

57. Against 4♥ West lead the ♠J. Which finesse do you take, if any?

Against 4♥ West lead the ♠J. Cover the ♠Q but let East win the ♠K. That way you avoid West later on, as a diamond shift from West is unwelcome. Win the spade return with the Ace and play a heart to the ♥T if West plays low. That way you will avoid again allowing West to win the trick in heart, in case he has ♥QJx. If East has a heart honor you will lose no more than one diamond, one heart and one spade. As cards lay – You make now 11 tricks.

If you play the ♥A – You go down, losing one heart, one spade and two diamonds.

58. You play 3NT and the lead is ♥8. You tried the ♥J but East covered with the ♥Q. Plan your play.

You play 3NT on a ♥8 lead. You tried the ♥J but East covered with the ♥Q. You have 8 tricks off the top: 5 clubs, 2 hearts and the ♠A.

Win the first trick in hand. Go to dummy on the ♣Q and play a diamond to the ♦K.

If the ♦A is with East – The ♦K will be your 9th trick. If not, you could still try later the spade finesse for your 9th trick (not likely that you lose 5 diamond tricks).

But if you try the spade finesse first and it fails, East can continue with another heart. If you duck East will switch to spades and the defense will set up 3 spades, one heart and one diamond (or all the hearts if you don’t duck once). All this before you get to set up your ♦K.

59. You play an ambitious 6NT and West leads a diamond. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play an ambitious 6NT and West leads a diamond. You have 9 tricks off the top. In order to know how to play the spade suit, you need to find out how many tricks you need in that suit. So to find out – You need to start with the club finesse. If it works – You need only 4 spade tricks to make your contract and then the best play is a spade to the ♠J, losing only one spade if spades split 3-3 or if East has ♠Qxxx. But if the club finesse fails – You need ALL 5 spades to make your 12 tricks. Your ONLY chance now is to find West with ♠Q10x: Play the ♠J and when West covers – win it with the ♠K, come back to hand and play another Spade to the ♠9.

60. You play 3NT on a ♣J lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT on a ♣J lead. Win with the ♣A, play the ♦K and finesse diamond to the ♦T. Why? To avoid losing the lead to West. That is why you need to play this way. If you play ♦AK and a third diamond, and West wins the trick – a heart return from him will be most unwelcome. But, if the diamond finesse fails and you lose the trick into East's hand – your ♥Q protects you in case of a heart shift.

Stay tuned for Part 7 of the test!

A Tragedy from A to Z

This story is sad from the beginning to the end... So get your kleenex handy.

Karla was crying on her best friend's shoulder: "I really don't know who is dumber: Him, or me, for marrying him! I just can't stand him anymore..."

"What happened?" asked her friend.

A week ago, my husband got a phone call and came home crying.

"What happen?" I asked.

"My father died", he said, sobbing.

I tried to comfort him, but then the phone rang again, and he started sobbing even harder: "My brother just called. His father died too..."

Karla was crying, and her friend put a caring arm around her: "It can happen, don't be harsh on him over this. Obviously he was upset, and not thinking straight. How is he in normal life situations?"

"Not much brighter... He heard somewhere that 1NT is the toughest contract to make at bridge. So last time we played, when I opened 1NT, he raised me to 3NT so that I will have an 'easier life'. And then, on the way home I saw a dead bird and told him, 'look, the poor bird died...'. But he raised his head up looking at the sky: 'where, where?'"

"Do you see to what kind of Olympic level of stupidity I have to put up with?", sighed Karla.

Her best friend had an idea: "Why don't you take a lover? That will make you feel better".

"I already have two of them. But he doesn’t care... He said he would only feel cheated if I played Bridge with another partner”, said Karla wiping away some more tears.

"So...? Cheat on him at bridge then, with another partner“, suggested her best friend.

Karla decided to listen to her best friend's advice and started to play bridge, hiddenly, with another partner. It was a pleasant feeling of freedom and mutual understanding.

Here is an example of their great partnership co-operation:


Dealer South, all vulnerable:



Karla lead the ♣A and her partner followed with the ♣10. Although they agreed before that on an Ace lead a high card is an encouraging signal, she realized, after seeing dummy, that partner can't possibly encourage her to continue the suit. So her first instinct was to continue with a Diamond, the suit her partner overcalled. However, after pausing to think for a bit, and looking at the club suit in dummy, she realized that the ♣10 must be suit preference, telling her to play the higher remaining suit – Spade. And so she played the ♠9. Her partner won the ♠K, lead back a Club, which she ruffed.

Another Spade came to partner's ♠A, another Club got ruffed and the cherry on the cake was a Spade ruff by partner. 3 DOWN!.

All other declarers made 4♥ + 1, as the other tables played a Diamond at trick 2, allowing declarer to win, pull trumps, and get 5 Hearts, 4 clubs and 2 Diamonds.

Unfortunately, soon enough, her husband started to suspect something was amiss. He hired a private detective, who confirmed his suspicions:

"Your wife is cheating on you by playing Bridge with another partner".

The husband got very upset. He bought a gun and came to catch her in the act next time she had a bridge session scheduled (he got the place and hour from the private detective). And so he barged in like a terrorist, scaring everyone with his new gun - and aimed it at Karla.

He stood like that for a few long seconds, his hand shaking, then he seemed to change his mind and put the gun to his own head.

"Don't do it!”, shouted Karla.

"Shut up, you cheater! And don't think I will spare you! You are next!”, he said, and pulled the trigger.

And so this sad story had a very tragic end.

However, it has not ended the way you might think...

Luckily for him, the jealous husband didn't realize he needed to put bullets into the gun... and so he survived. But the marriage, which was once (long, long ago) purely based on love, has ended.

Karla got remarried to her Bridge partner and lived a happy life. Her ex-husband found out that there are other Bridge partners but Karla (he didn’t know it would possible...).

So maybe happy ending after all?...

Choose Your Finesse – Part 5

On many occasions when you are declarer the success of your contract would depend on a successful finesse. Sometimes declarer has a choice between finesses. He has to decide which finesse to take (or whether to take a finesse at all...) This is Part 5 of Oren's series on Finesses. If you missed the previous articles, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4

Take these hands and see if you choose the right finesse:

Start the test now!

41. You play 6♥ on a ♠J lead . Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♥ on a ♠J lead. Win with the Ace, play two rounds of trump, ending in hand, and continue with the ♣K, throwing the ♠Q from dummy. Play ♦A and continue with another Heart to dummy. Now play the ♦8, intending to run it if West plays low (or playing the ♦K if West covers). That way you will lose only one Diamond.

If you play 3 rounds of Hearts and then ♦AK and another - You will lose two Diamond tricks and go down.

If East shows out on the second Diamond - Play the K and continue with a third Diamond to the J. That way you lose no more than 1 Diamond against any 4-1 split.

42. You play 4♠. East opened 1♣ and West lead the ♣8. East took the ♣A and switched to the ♦2. West won with the ace and played another Diamond. East ruffed and played another Club to your ♣Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠. East opened 1♣ and West lead the ♣8. East took the ♣A and switched to the ♦2. West won with the ace and played another Diamond. East ruffed and played another Club to your ♣Q.

Count! East has 4 Clubs and 1 Diamond, which means he has 4-4 in the majors. That means that West is void in Spade! Finesse Spades to the ♠10, come back to dummy on the ♥A and finesse Spades again.

43. Against 3NT, West lead the ♥2 (4th best of his longest suit). Upon winning the ♥A, you played the Club suit and West followed twice... Which finesse do you take, if any?

Against 3NT West lead the ♥2 (4th best of his longest suit). The lead tells us that West doesn't have 5 cards in any suit as the ♥2, the lowest card in the suit, shows he has only 4 cards in Hearts.

The success of the contract depends entirely on finding the ♦Q. Therefore, after you decide to win the ♥A, play 4 rounds of clubs and watch what opponents discard. You will notice that West follows only twice. This means he has at least 3 diamonds! (Because his lead indicated he has no 5 cards in another suit). Play ♦K and finesse the ♦Q next.

44. You play 4♦ after the auction below. West lead ♣AK and a 3rd club got ruffed by East, who switched to spade. You won in hand and played ♦Q. West followed with a low card. Finesse or Drop?

You play 4♦. West lead ♣AK and a 3rd club got ruffed by East, who switched to spade. You won in hand and played ♦Q. West followed with a low card.

Count! West has 4 clubs (as East had 2), 4 hearts (from the bidding ), and... 4 spades (spades must be 4-4 as neither East, nor West bid 1♠). So... West has 1 Diamond and East had 2 (only one now because he ruffed once). Play the Ace to drop the ♦K.

45. You play 4♥ and West lead the ♦J. Which finesse do you take if any?

You play 4♥. Win the ♦J lead, play another Diamond, continue with the ♥A and run the ♥10 (gaining if West has no more Hearts to play). West will win the ♥J but he is now endplayed in 3 suits: either Club, solving the club finesse problem, or Diamond, giving you a ruff/sluff (you can throw a spade loser from hand), or Spade, helping you score your ♠K.

46. You play 4♥ and West, who opened the bidding with 1♣, lead the ♣K (East responded 1♠). Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♥ and West, who opened the bidding with 1♣, lead the ♣K (East responded 1♠). Win the ♣A, play a Diamond to the ♦A, and continue with a low spade from dummy.

If East wins - you score a spade trick. If West wins, he cannot play Heart, and so you will manage to ruff your 3rd spade in dummy. If, at trick 2, you play a spade to the ♠Q (or ♠9), East wins, returns a Heart and defense will manage to play two rounds of Hearts. You will lose 3 Spades and a Heart on that line of play.

47.You play 6♠ on a ♣J lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♠ on a ♣J lead. If you had the ♥Q instead of the ♥J, a good move would have been to throw a Diamond from dummy, promoting the ♣K when East wins the ♣A, and later on to throw another Diamond from dummy on the ♣K.

But as you have a Heart and a Diamond loser, you need to ruff, draw 2 rounds of trumps and try the Diamond finesse first. If it fails, you cannot afford any Heart losers and you need to play ♥AK later, hoping for the ♥Q to drop.

But as it happens here, the ♦J holds the trick – which means you can afford to lose one Heart. Play Heart to the ♥K and then a low Heart to the ♥J, scoring 3 Heart tricks whenever the ♥Q is with East, or if Hearts are 3-3 (and throw your Diamond loser on the 4th Heart).

48. You play 6♥ on a ♦Q lead. Plan your play.

You play 6♥ on a ♦Q lead. You have 9 top tricks. If you try two spade ruffs – You will go down.

Best play is to try the double finesse in clubs: Win the ♦K, play ♥AKQ and then ♣Q from dummy.

If East plays low - Throw one of your losers. West wins and plays the ♦J. Win the ♦A and run the ♣J, ruffing if East covers with the ♣K. Play ♠AK, ruff a spade and throw two more losers on the good ♣109.

Normally this line gives 75% chance to make your contract (you lose only if West has ♣AK, but it is more than likely that with ♣AK, West would choose to lead a top club, and not a diamond).

49. You play 4♠ on a ♦Q lead (East opened 1♦). East won with the ♦A and returned a Diamond to your ♦K. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠ on ♦Q lead (East opened 1♦). East took the ♦A and returned Diamond to your ♦K, play 2 rounds of trumps, finesse with the ♥Q (East will play LOW) and play 2nd Heart to the ♥A. Ruff the 3rd Diamond, play 3rd Heart and throw a club from hand! East wins the ♥K but he is now end-played: Either by playing a club = You make your ♣K, or Diamond = you ruff in dummy and throw another club form hand.

50. You play 3NT on a ♦J lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT on a ♦J lead. Win and play a low club, let it run without finessing. Later on try to finesse the ♣Q. If that works, cash the ♣A and give opponents the fourth club, promoting the last club. If the club finesse fails, try cashing the ♥A, and the ♣A.

If clubs split 3-3, you make the last two clubs, and if not - you can still try to play a Heart to the ♥Q to establish your heart suit.

Stay tuned for Part 6 of the test!

A family of liars

A family of liars received a surprise package in the mail. When they opened it up, it was a robot. But not just any robot, a robot that would slap anyone who told a lie.

It didn't take more than two minutes for the family to figure out what the robot does... and end up with red cheeks:

"Where have you been?", asked the father when his son came home.
"What do you mean? I just returned from school", said the son.

"Smack!", came a slap on his right cheek.
"OK, OK. I saw a movie with friends", admitted the son.

"What movie?", asked the father.
"Err, Harry Potter", said the son.

"Smack!!", came another slap on his left cheek.
"OK, we saw a porn movie", the son broke into tears.

"Porn? When I was your age I didn’t even know the meaning of this word", said the father.
"Smackk!", came the father's turn to get his correction.

"Hahahah, you can immediately see that he is your son", laughed the mother.
"Smackkk!!!", came the hardest slap, and her laughter turned into tears.

They decided to teach the robot how to play Bridge to "help" him relax a little and to become their 4th hand. And also to replace "that nosy neighbor who can't keep her mouth shut", as the father put it - before getting another slap. "But it is true! She really is nosy and blabbers all the time", he said and got another slap.

All went well with the robot's bridge game, he turned out to be an excellent 4th, until they tried to teach him some basic conventions.

"He is not willing to accept any artificial bid, he'll just keep slapping us anytime we try to use one", protested the mother.

Here is an example:

Dealer South, all vulnerable:


The bidding should have been longer, but due to all the slaps flowing around during the process, South broke down and bid 6♠, skipping Blackwood.

The son, sitting West, bid 2NT to show both minors and got the first slap (because he bid NT with an unbalanced hand).

The mother, sitting North, cuebid HIGHEST of the two suits shown by West (obviously 3♦ cannot be natural after West showed 5 cards in diamonds). Their agreement was that LOW cue, 3♣, would show a forcing hand with hearts, and high cue shows a forcing hand with spade support. Mother's 3♦ showed a good hand with spade fit (3♠ would be non forcing) – and also triggered a round of slapping from the robot, followed by two more "corrections" on the next two control bids.

West lead the ♣K. Declarer took the ♣A, tried to pull trumps by cashing the ♠AK and finally went down two, losing a Club, a Diamond and a Spade (he managed to ruff the third diamond in dummy).

"Just bid 3♠ here, and we stop in 4♠. 6♠ can't make!", he said and felt another hard slap.

"Move over!", said the robot, who had learned to talk meanwhile, and switched seats with the father.

West lead again the ♣K and the robot won the ♣A and played the ♠K. Now he switched to the ♥AK and ruffed the third heart with the ♠7. Then he played the ♠8 to the ♠A and a fourth heart from dummy. East ruffed with the ♠Q but the robot discarded his club loser. He ruffed East's club return with the ♠9, continued with the ♠2 to dummy's ♠4, and on the two good hearts he discarded his two diamond losers.

"I learn very fast. I learned to talk, I learned to play and now I also learned to analyze: If West has 10 cards in minors, and I need hearts to break 2-3, I must assume that he has one spade. I therefore played only one round of spades before starting to establish the heart suit. That way I managed to preserve two possible entries to dummy. By the way... I also learned how to lie", said the robot with a metallic giggle.

Choose Your Finesse – Part 4

On many occasions when you are declarer the success of your contract would depend on a successful finesse. Sometimes declarer has a choice between finesses. He has to decide which finesse to take (or whether to take a finesse at all...) This is Part 4 of Oren's series on Finesses. If you missed the previous articles, you can find them here: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

Take these hands and see if you choose the right finesse:

Start the test now!

31. You play 4♠ on a ♣2 lead. East follows with the ♣7. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♠ and although you opened 1♣, West lead the ♣2. East plays the ♣7 and you win with the ♣10.

The lead is almost clearly a singleton and therefore you need to play ♠A and another Spade. That way opponents will manage to win only 1 Club ruff + ♠K + ♥A.

After pulling out trumps, you can finesse Club again and throw a Diamond loser on the 4th Club.

If you try the spade finesse - you go down: ♠K, Club ruff, Heart to ♥A, Club ruff.

If you try Hearts first - You go down: ♥A, Club ruff and Diamond, opponents get a Diamond trick after winning the ♠K.

32. You play 4♠ . West leads a Diamond and East takes ♦AKQ. Is there any chance to avoid losing a spade trick?

You play 4♠. West leads a Diamond and East takes ♦AKQ.

The only possibility to not lose ANY Spade trick is if East has a singleton ♠J. So play the ♠Q.

If West covers - you win the ♠A, return to hand and finesse another spade to the ♠8.

If the ♠10 was in hand, play ♠A to catch a stiff ♠K and then finesse spade to the ♠Q10.

33. You play 4♥ and West leads the ♦J. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 4♥ and West leads the ♦J.

This one is easier: You have 4 losers. If you win in hand and try the Heart finesse and it loses - East will continue with Diamonds and you will always lose 1 trick on each suit. So, win with the ♦A at trick 1 and start playing on spades. That way you manage to develop the spades before opponents set up the Diamonds.

In addition, if they hold up once and win the second spade - you still have the ♦K as an entry to hand to throw the Diamond loser from dummy on the 3rd top spade.

34. Against an optimistic 7♦, West lead the ♠Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

Against an optimistic 7♦, West lead the ♠Q.

You will make your contract only if you manage to take 4 Heart tricks: Win ♠A, pull trumps and try to finesse Heart to the ♥10. Cash the ♥K, return to dummy with a club ruff, and cash ♥A. You make your contract when the ♥Q falls from East, throwing your 2 spade losers on the ♥AJ. Running the ♥10 from hand will always make you lose a 4th Heart trick as if the ♥Q with West – he will cover the ♥10 and only allow you to make three Heart tricks.

35. You play 6♥ and West, who opened 1♠, lead the ♠Q. Which finesse do you take if any?

You play 6♥ and West, who opened 1♠, lead the ♠Q.

As it's clear that West has all the missing points, there is no use to try the club finesse: Ruff trick 1, play a Heart to hand and continue with a LOW Diamond at trick 3! West must play low (else he promotes your ♦KQ for a club discard) and you win with the ♦K. Run all your Hearts and the ♠AK. West must keep the ♦A and ♣Kx.

Play your ♦Q at trick 11 and West, upon winning the ♦A will have to play a club from his ♣Kx and so you score the last two tricks.

36.You play 4♠ after a 1♦ opening from East and 2♦ support from West. Which finesse(s) do you take?

You play 4♠ after 1♦ opening from East and 2♦ support from West. West lead the ♦4.

The danger in taking a normal club finesse is to fall into East's hand and get a Heart shift for 1 club and 3 Heart losers.

So, ruff Diamond when East play the ♦K, go back to dummy on spades and play the ♦J. If East covers with the ♦A - ruff again, play another spade to dummy and try the ♦10.

When East fails this time to cover it, throw a club from hand! West will win with the ♦Q and switch to club (As the ♥K protects you against a Heart play from West).

Win with the ♣A and continue with the ♣J , performing a ruffing finesse against East. That way you will manage to throw two Hearts later on the clubs and lose just 2 Hearts and 1 Diamond.

37.You play 6♠ on ♦K lead. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♠ on ♦K lead.

You have a 100% line to make your contract! Win the ♦A, pull trumps, play ♣AK and run the ♣J, planning to throw the Diamond loser, if East doesn't cover.

Even if West has the ♣Q and he wins with it - you are safe as dummy's remaining 2 clubs are high and you can throw the Heart losers on them (Avoid the Heart finesse).

If East covers the ♣J with the ♣Q - ruff, play a Heart to the ♥A, and throw 2 losers on the remaining good clubs.

38. You play 6♥ and West lead a trump. Plan your play.

You play 6♥ and West lead a trump.

Beware! If you win in hand, play a Diamond to the ♦J and try the club finesse - West will win and play another Heart. You would need to win it with the ♥K, play another Diamond to ♦Q and ruff the 3rd club.

But now you don't have a quick entry to the dummy and West can take the 2nd spade and give a Diamond ruff to his Partner.

A safer line is to give up the club finesse and play ♣A and ♣Q from hand. West wins the ♣K and plays a Heart, but you win the ♥K, play a Diamond to the ♦J, ruff the 3rd club, continue with a Diamond to the ♦Q, pull opponents' last trump with the ♥Q and throw the spade loser on the 4th Diamond.

39. You play 3NT on a ♥6 lead. East plays the ♥J and you win with the ♥Q. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 3NT. West leads a Heart and East follows with the ♥J.

Win the ♥Q, play ♣AK and when the ♣Q doesn't drop, run the ♦10, and lose it to West's ♦K. The ♥10 protects you from a Heart return. Win the spade return with the ♠K, finesse Diamond again and play a 3rd club.

You promoted the 4th club too: 2 spades, 2 Hearts, 2 Diamonds and 3 clubs = 9 tricks.

If you try the club finesse earlier, East will get the ♣Q, return with Heart, and West will make 4 Heart tricks, using the ♦K as entry.

40. You play 6♠ and West, who opened the bidding with 1♥ and later rebid Hearts, leads the ♥A. Which finesse do you take, if any?

You play 6♠ and West, who open the bidding with 1♥ and later rebid Hearts, lead the ♥A.

Ruff, play a spade to the ♠A, ruff the second Heart, play the ♣A, continue with a second spade to the ♠J (spades were 2-2) and finesse club when East follows with a low club .

That will ensure the contract:
- If East has ♣Qxx - the finesse works and you make all your clubs.
- If the finesse fails - West takes the ♣Q but has to play either a Diamond into your tenace, or a Heart, giving you a ruff/sluff. The third diamond will get thrown on the 5th club (if West has ♣Qxx, he will be endplayed upon winning the ♣Q, after playing AK and a third club).

Stay tuned for Part 5 of the test!