Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here!

page 1

May 2005

♠
♥
♦
♣

Editor: Matthew Granovetter

The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge

War and Peace

The final set of boards between the USA women and the Russian women
for the world women’s team championships— Page 11

Also (click to go to page):

2 The Red Herring Forum 25 Building a Better Mousetrap

The Maomi Convention
4 Forcing Passes (III) by Henry Sun
by Eddie Kantar
29 The Wizards of Aus
8 Around the World by Ron Klinger
by Migry Zur Campanile
30 The Switch in Time Forum

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Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 2

The Red Herring Forum

A red herring is a trick you donʼt need, and would often be better off
without! It sort of hypnotizes you, preventing you from seeing the best
line of play. Readers, you are invited to enter your own Red Herring
hands in this forum. Here is our first from Swedenʼs Anders Wirgren.

Wirgren: Some deals are too fantastic to The standard defense was West starting
be forgotten. This one occurred in the final with three rounds of clubs. East encouraged
of the Swedish team championship 1999. diamonds and either threw a discouraging
heart or discarded a second diamond. Since
East dealer North East hadn’t shed two hearts, South could
All vul ♠ 10 6 5 ruff the third club, unblock the ♥K, play
♥A932 a diamond to the ace, throw a diamond on
♦A the ♥A, ruff himself back in hearts and
♣96432 lead his next-to-last diamond.
West Eats
♠K4 ♠Q7 If West ruffs high, South later ruffs his
♥QJ874 ♥ 10 6 5 last diamond and finesses East’s trump
♦3 ♦ K J 10 8 6 5 2 queen, but if West discards instead, South
♣ A K J 10 5 ♣7 only gets nine tricks, since after a club ruff
South back to hand, the end position is this:
♠AJ9832
♥K ♠ 10 6
♦Q974 ♥9
♣Q8 ♦—
♣9
Now suppose we are North-South on the ♠K4 ♠Q7
N
deal above and do as we were taught in our ♥Q W E ♥—
beginners’ class: Count losers in a trump S
♦— ♦KJ
contract. Then it looks like 4♠ should be ♣ 10 ♣—
on, since we “only have three losers:” one ♠AJ9
spade and two clubs. But how many losers ♥—
we have isn’t the important thing here; it’s ♦Q
how many tricks we can take. And quite ♣—
often three losers aren’t equivalent with ten
tricks. When the ♦Q is played, West ruffs high
and exits with the suit dummy has left. East
Put differently, are there ten tricks in gets the defense’s fourth trick with the ♠Q.
spades? The answer is yes, but even double-
dummy it’s not easy to find them.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 3

But didn’t I say you could take ten tricks? remaining cards are:
Yes, you can if you treat the ♥K as a spot
card and overtake it with the ace at trick ♠ 10 6
four! ♥93
♠ 10 6 5 ♦—
♥A932 ♣9
♦A ♠K4 ♠Q7
♣96432 ♥QJ N ♥—
W E
♠K4 ♠Q7 ♦— S ♦ K J 10
♥QJ874 N ♥ 10 6 5 ♣ 10 ♣—
W E
♦3 S ♦ K J 10 8 6 5 2 ♠AJ9
♣ A K J 10 5 ♣7 ♥—
♠AJ9832 ♦Q 9
♥K ♣—
♦Q974
♣Q8 With two diamonds left, South is assured
of four more tricks. If West ruffs high on
Then you cash the ♦A and ruff a heart. the ♦9, South ruffs the return in hand,
When you lead a diamond, West can’t gain ruffs his diamond “loser” in dummy, and
anything by ruffing high, so he discards picks up East’s trumps at trick 12. And if
— as before. After a club ruff in hand, the West discards, South crossruffs.

Interesting. If South has three trumps ♠ 10 6 5

and one diamond loser left, the defense ♥A 93
gets two more tricks, but if South has two ♦—
diamond losers, they only get one trick. So ♣96
much for counting losers. ♠K4 ♠Q7
♥QJ87 N ♥ 10
W E
This line of play wouldn’t have been too ♦— S ♦ K J 10 6 5
difficult to find if South’s singleton heart ♣ 10 5 ♣—
had been any card but the king (the red ♠AJ983
herring). Or if East had parted with two ♥—
hearts on tricks two and three (so that he ♦Q97
could ruff the ♥A later — leading to the ♣—
situation just shown). But that doesn’t mean
the ♥K was useless. Without it, the defend- By the way, you can cash the ♥K before
ers prevail if West starts with two rounds of you play a diamond to dummy’s ace, but
clubs and then shifts to a trump (a difficult when you then lead the ♥A you’d better
play from the K-x). That holds South to ruff it! Alternatively, you can simply leave
nine tricks: five trump tricks in hand, two that ♥A in dummy and ruff small cards
red aces and two diamond ruffs in dummy. back to your hand. In fact, the ♥A in this
Against that defense, the ♥K is needed as position is another red herring. I’ll have
declarer’s tenth trick. But against the actual another red herring for you next month.
defense, the king could just as well have
been the deuce. Email red herrings to [email protected].
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 4

The Forcing Pass (part 3)

by Eddie Kantar

—After a Limit Raise—

Your side has made a limit raise.

The opponents, of course, are competing.

1. If opener bids game after responder (e) West North East South
makes a limit raise, your side is in a forcing 1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 4♠
auction (with one exception, see box, p. 6): pass ?

(a) West North East South In (e) West has not been able to accept or
1♠ 2♥ 3 ♥* 4♥ decline the limit raise. Still, East’s 2♠ re-
4♠ 5♥ pass? sponse is forcing only to 3♥ and, therefore,
West’s pass is not forcing,*
*limit raise or better; the same rules apply if you use
3♠ for your limit raise 2. New Suits at the 4-Level in Competition

East’s pass is forcing since West bid game. Let’s look at some hands where the open-
er bids a new suit after partner’s limit raise.
(b) West North East South West is the dealer with no one vul:
1♠ 2♥ 3♥ 4♥
4♠ pass pass 5♥ West East
pass? ♠92 ♠74
♥ A K 10 4 3 ♥QJ974
West’s pass is forcing for the same reason. ♦AQJ42 ♦83
♣7 ♣KQJ9
(c) West North East South
1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 3♠ West North East South
pass 4♠ pass? 1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 3♠
4♦ 4♠ ?
(d) West North East South
1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 3♠ West’s 4♦ is forcing to game, so a pass by
pass pass ? East would be forcing, indicating doubt. In
this case, however, East should have little
In (c) East’s pass is not forcing because doubt. With no singleton and all the side
West did not bid game (see box, page 6). strength in one of opener’s non-suits, East
has a clear-cut double.
In (d) West’s pass is not forcing so East
may pass. In other words, East-West can al- *Perhaps this auction should be under “sound of the
low them to play in 3♠ undoubled, despite auction” types and a pass by West is forcing. Or you
the fact that East-West hold most of the can agree that pass is forcing only when they are not
high-card points. vul (so it “sounds” like a sacrifice). — anti-editor
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 5

The importance of bidding the second I was the declarer and could have made
suit can be seen in this hand from World an overtrick had I reversed the dummy. I
Championship play. It was USA vs. Taiwan didn’t, and settled for my contract.
in the 1979 round robin:
At least I did well in the bidding. By
South dealer North bidding 4♣, I tipped off my partner, Billy
N-S vul ♠J52 Eisenberg, to the fact that our hands fit
♥KQ43 well. At the other table, our teammate, the
♦8742 late Malcolm Brachman, sitting East, leaped
♣KQ to 4♠ over 3♥. This was passed around to
West East North, who doubled, ending the auction.
♠A ♠ K Q 10 9 6 4 Kuo, South, found the killing lead of the
♥ 10 6 5 ♥8 ♥9. Huang, North, returned the ♦2, which
♦ A J 10 3 ♦KQ965 Kuo ruffed. The ♣A was underled for a
♣96432 ♣5 second diamond ruff. Down one!
South
♠873 Jeff Rubens, then co-editor of The Bridge
♥AJ972 World, had this to say about new suits at
♦— the four level in competition (limit-raise
♣ A J 10 8 7 sequence):

South West North East “Shows values in the bid suit in prepara-
1♥ pass 3 ♥* 3♠ tion for a possible five-level decision. Ques-
4♣ pass 4♥ 4♠ tionable whether a force is created.”
pass** pass 5♥ pass
pass double (all pass) Rubens was saying that a force may not
be created, because a new suit by the opener
* limit raise when partner might eventually be on lead
** forcing may carry a different message than a new
suit by opener when opener might be on
West led the ♠A and shifted to a club. lead.

Clearly, when opener is on lead, the four- sum up: Keep it simple and play that while
level bid shows a second suit. However, the new suit may be lead-directional when
when partner is on lead, it could be used partner is on lead, the partnership is none-
to show a void, a singleton ace, or any suit theless in a forcing-pass situation if the op-
— short or not — headed by high honors. (I ponents compete further and the next hand
think natural is best.) passes.

If you use the bid as solely lead-direction- Incidentally, the agreements under dis-
al, you will be unable to create a forcing- cussion apply if the opening bid has been
pass auction in many competitive situations, doubled and partner makes a conventional
unless you agree that any bid definitely limit raise of 2NT. Let’s look at a couple of
creates a force, lead-directional or not. To problem hands:
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 6

West dealer • E-W vul decision. The balanced nature of the East
hand lends itself to “double.” However,
West East partner’s pass indicates indecision. West
♠74 ♠ 10 9 3 might have extra heart length, potentially
♥AQJ93 ♥ K 10 7 5 wasted diamond strength against a known
♦AK9 ♦ Q J 10 3 two-suiter or shortness in spades. (With all
♣974 ♣A2 three features, West would have bid 5♥
eons ago.) What to do? It’s a good plan to
West North East South have agreements about what West’s pass
1♥ pass 3♥ 4♣ shows. Does it show a singleton spade? Does
4♥ pass pass 4♠ it show nothing wasted in their suits? Here,
pass pass ? despite having most of the highcard points
and aces, East-West can’t defeat 4♠ while
If West elects to pass 4♠ (forcing be- 5♥ goes down only one trick, or might even
cause game has been bid), East has a tough make should North lead a club:

West dealer ♠Q85 West dealer • E-W vul

E-W vul ♥864
♦76542 West East
♣ 10 3 ♠AKQJ42 ♠ 10 9 8 7
♠74 ♠ 10 9 3 ♥94 ♥ K 10 3 2
♥AQJ93 ♥ K 10 7 5 ♦KQ6 ♦A532
♦AK9 ♦ Q J 10 3 ♣73 ♣8
♣974 ♣A2
♠AKJ62 West North East South
♥2 1♠ double 2NT* 4♣
♦8 4♠ 5♣ ?
♣KQJ865
*limit raise with defense
West North East South
1♥ pass 3♥ 4♣ A pass by East is forcing. Although East
4♥ pass pass 4♠ is short on highcards, he likes his single-
pass pass ? ton club and the position of his ♥K. If his
partner wants to bid, it’s OK by him. The
whole hand was (next page):

Exception to the Rule

c) West North East South a simple game bid by opener (4♥) does not
1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 3♠ set up a forcing auction. If West wants
4 ♥? to set up a forcing auction, he bids a new
suit or bids a conventional 3NT, saying, “I
Here is the exception to our rule that “a have a 4♥ bid, I want to set up a forcing
game acceptance by opener sets up a forc- auction, but I do not have a second suit
ing auction.” Whenever fourth hand bids that I want to show.” Howard Weinstein
at the three level, such as South’s 3♠ bid, recently wrote about this bid.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 7

West dealer ♠— The Direct Raise from One to Four

E-W vul ♥AQJ7
♦ J 10 9 7 4 Now for our old friend, the direct raise
♣AJ62 from one to four with no intervening weak
♠AKQJ42 ♠ 10 9 8 7 jump overcall. Opener can create a forcing-
♥94 N ♥ K 10 3 2 pass auction after a preemptive jump raise
W E
♦KQ6 S ♦A532 only by bidding a new suit or cuebidding.
♣73 ♣8
♠653 South dealer North
♥865 None vul ♠73
♦8 ♥ K J 10 6 3 2
♣ K Q 10 9 5 4 ♦QJ75
♣3
West North East South West East
1♠ double 2 NT 4♣ ♠ K J 10 6 ♠AQ98542
4♠ 5♣ pass pass ♥9 ♥—
5♠ (all pass) ♦K964 ♦A82
♣Q654 ♣J97
South
Reverse North’s minor suits in the ♠—
diagram to the right and North, knowing ♥AQ8754
of the immense double fit, would bid the ♦ 10 3
slam. ♣ A K 10 8 2

The leap to game after a weak jump South West North East
overcall is not quite the same. 1♥ pass 4♥ 4♠
5♣ 5♠ double (all pass)
South West North East
1♥ 2♠ 4♥ 4♠ South must make a battlefield decision
pass over 4♠. South can play singles and bid
6♥, hoping to make six or perhaps to chase
By a previous rule,* which we would the opponents into 6♠ (where South has a
hate to break, South’s pass is not forcing. surprise opening lead in store for them). Or
South can involve partner by bidding 5♣,
Therefore, North must not have a his second suit.
strong hand. The jump to 4♥ looks more
like: Once South elects to bid 5♣, any later
♠ 5 ♥ K J 8 4 3 ♦ A 10 9 ♣ 10 5 4 3 or pass by North is forcing. Since North has
♠ 7 3 ♥ A J 6 4 2 ♦ 7 5 ♣ K J 10 4 the wrong hand to invite slam, North
doubles and the par result is achieved: 5♠
doubled, down one.
*The rule is: After an opening bid of 1♥ or 1♠,
followed by a preemptive jump overcall, and
responder jumps to game in opener’s suit when he To be continued.
could have cuebid, there are no forcing passes.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 8

Around the world with 52 cards

by Migry Zur Campanile

Operation Cherry Blossom: NEC 2005

“Veni, vidi, vici.” The famous phrase to the beginning of the Edo period, in the
used by Caesar to communicate to the Ro- 16th century, when the first Shogun of the
man Senate his whirlwind conquest of Gaul Tokugawa family invited fishermen from
(much too early as it turned out) could well Osaka to settle there in order to supply
have been modified to “Veni, vidi..came sec- the area with fresh fish. So it was that we
ond!” to succinctly sum up the outcome of bravely set out from our hotel at the ungod-
the 2004 NEC Cup. A great result which ly hour of 5 a.m. to make our way there.
however, like all second places, still left that The first threads of light reflecting against
unpleasant “what might have been if…” the Tokyo skyline and the streets empty of
feeling in the back of the seemingly perennial
one’s mind. Naturally we crowd that populates
were all looking forward them were an astounding
to our next visit to Japan backdrop to our expedi-
and to our chance to go tion. Despite its alleged
one better in this year’s popularity as a tourist
edition of the event. Our hot-spot, we were quite
optimism was, however, surprised to see that we
somewhat dampened were the only “gaijin” in
when we received the list the cool, vast halls of the
of the participating teams building but this seemed
by Tadayoshi Nakatani, to bother no one. Some
the tireless organizer of the event on behalf people who knew a little English went to
of the Japanese Contract Bridge League. It some extraordinary lengths to describe to us
was a similar field to the year before but what they were selling or asked where we
with the addition of four or five top class were from. Most stallholders gladly showed
teams to make even simply surviving the off their wares, offering a small sample with
qualifying Swiss and reaching the knock- the word “dozo,” (“please eat”). We replied,
out stage a much more daunting prospect. “arigato,” and made a point of always ac-
Still the chance of a battle of wits against cepting what was offered, however odd it
Gawrys, Kwiecien, Helgemo, Robson, looked. It was always delicious, although we
Balicki, Zmudzinski and many other top often had no idea what we were eating.
class players was very enticing, come what
may. The people selling the larger fishes pos-
sessed impressive collections of knives and
This time Michael Barel and I arrived were obviously showing off their skill with
a couple of days early to do a little bit of their blades when they saw us standing
sight-seeing in Tokyo, and one of our se- next to them, camera in hand. Some of the
lected destinations was the Tsukiji fish knives had incredibly long blades and we
market, whose history goes back all the way watched in astonishment as one man neatly
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 9

and effortlessly divided a meter long fish started well and we quickly soared to third
in half — head to tail — with one smooth place after the first day. We went out to
stroke, a feat worthy of a Samurai. celebrate and on our way back we had the
clearest sign ever that this year was going to
Tuna stalls were everywhere. Each one be “the” year: The flashing clock encased in
had stacks of huge headless, frozen tuna the huge panoramic wheel on the pier out-
carcasses piled at the back. When someone side our hotel greeted us on the way back
requested a piece of the fish, the vendor with a prophetic “11.11”!
simply pulled a carcass off the pile, placed it
on a band saw and, expertly sizing the fish Eventually we squeaked by in the last of
to decide where to make the cut, sliced off the qualifying places, edging the Canadian
the requested steak. team thanks to an obscure form of tie-
breaker called “IMP quotient.”
After a few hours of wandering around
the stalls, our stomachs began grumbling The quarter-finals brought a few sur-
and we headed back towards the subway. prises. The two Japanese teams that had
Some of the shops that had been closed on unexpectedly qualified proving their mettle
our way there were now open for business, by defeating their more famous opponents,
and, in fact, were small restaurants. Each Japan Open beating Poland (Gawrys-Kow-
restaurant was tiny, with no more than a alsky, Kwiecien-Bizon) 74-50 and Japan
counter and a row of stools. The customers Hana emerging victorious over USA (Casen-
were the local workers — men and women Landen; Mori-Koneru) 67-54.
seated at the counter, dressed in their work
clothes. It was breakfast time and people Russia/Poland (Balicki-Zmudzinski; Gro-
were slurping bowls of noodles or eating su- mov-Dubinin) had the best of the Dutch
shi and sashimi. Clearly this would be a far Open team in their all-European encoun-
more interesting breakfast experience than ter while we had an unexpected easy time
any hotel restaurant. We poked our head in against the star-studded team of Robson-
a few of them, looking for one that appealed Shugart and El Ahmady-Sadek, running up
to us and had free seats. After about 10 a 135-43 win. In the semifinals we defeated
minutes, we found a place selling sushi and our Japanese opponents and that meant
sashimi that had open seats near the door. that we got to the final for the second year
Sashimi for breakfast was going to be a first running! Our opponents, however, were go-
for us. The proprietress greeted us curtly ing to be Russia-Poland, a team with a truly
with the standard “irashaimase” (“Wel- impressive pedigree, which was given the
come”), and the other diners briefly glanced extraordinary odds of 5-1 to win by non-
up at us before returning to their eating and resident bookmaker Drew Casen. The final
conversations. We quickly got served what was a hard-fought affair that saw us leading
turned to be the freshest and most delicious most of the time but with Russia-Poland
fish we had in Japan. snapping dangerously at our heels. The
point where I knew that we had clinched
The following day we made our way to victory was when my partner, Michael
Yokohama, where we met our teammates, Barel, topped an impressively steady per-
Israel and Doron Yadlin, who had just formance by making short work of a rather
flown in from Tel Aviv. The tournament difficult 4♥ contract.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 10

North dealer North the likely line in 4♥ adopted at the other

None vul ♠Q62 table: +230. (He wanted the ♣Q to be off, so
♥Q that 4♥ would fail in the other room.)
♦ J 10 5 4
♣AKJ53 The stakes were higher for Barel in 4♥.
West East Balicki switched to the ♦3 when he won
♠8753 ♠ K J 10 9 4 the ♥K. Barel called low from dummy and
♥ K 10 ♥976 East took with the ♦9 and played the king
♦Q763 ♦AK9 and ace. Barel ruffed, drew trumps, led to
♣842 ♣Q7 the ♣A, ruffed dummy’s last diamond, and
South eventually dropped the ♣Q, believing West
♠A would not have bid 3♠ with that card in
♥AJ85432 addition to the ♥K and ♦Q; +420. This
♦82 correct view gave us 5 imps to increase our
♣ 10 9 6 lead to 30 imps, 154-124 with only five
boards to go in the match.
Open Room
West North East South Note that Barel could have made the
Israel Dubinin Doron Gromov hand on a flashier line, thanks to East-West
— 1 ♦* 1♠ 2 ♦ (hearts) cashing the diamonds. He ruffs the third
2♠ pass pass 3♥ round of diamonds and runs the hearts,
(all pass) setting up a show-up squeeze on West in
diamonds and clubs. Once West sheds one
*Precision, but 4+ diamonds of his clubs to retain the ♦Q, declarer can
play the top clubs making his game. While
Closed Room this option is probably the most appealing
West North East South to readers, I can tell you from my experi-
Balicki Campanile Zmudzinski Barel ence that the card-reading skills demon-
— 1♣ 1♠ 2♥ strated by Barel’s line are just as impressive
3 ♠* pass pass 4♥ despite the simplicity of his solution.
(all pass)
The final score was 158-127 and the
*preemptive huge thrill of such a win will stay for us for
some time. Sayonara!
With the Russians playing in
3♥ and us in 4♥, there was sure
to be a swing. A spade was led at
both tables to the 9 and ace, and
a low heart went to West’s king.
Israel Yadlin continued spades.
Gromov ruffed, drew trumps,
led to the ♣A, ruffed himself in
with a spade, and led the ♣10
to dummy’s king, deliberately
playing on an anti-percentage
♣Q offside to succeed against
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 11

War and Peace

by Matthew Granovetter

The story of the final 16 boards in the 2004 Olympiad Women’s Teams

Istanbul — It was the final of the World Open Room

Olympiad Women’s Teams. The score after West North East South
80 boards was Russia 245, USA 210. There Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
were 16 boards left. The pressure was on. — 1♥ pass 1♠
pass 2♠ (all pass)
Board 81 North
North dealer ♠K64
None vul ♥AQ942 It seems to me that Tobi Sokolow saved
♦Q6 the day here by responding 1♠. If she had
♣ 10 6 4 passed, West would balance, and if East-
West East West reach 3NT, West will make it. Once
♠Q8 ♠A932 West sees the ♥K in the South hand, she’ll
♥ J 10 8 7 ♥65 know where the ♦Q is and where the ♠K
♦AKJ5 ♦7432 is. Even if North exits with a club at trick
♣KJ3 ♣AQ9 three, declarer can cash four diamond tricks
South and three clubs, then endplay North in
♠ J 10 7 5 either major for her ninth trick.
♥K3
♦ 10 9 8 But Sokolow’s 1♠ response got by West
♣8752 (who might have doubled) and the raise to
2♠ now stole the pot. Two spades was off
Let’s see what happens if North passes two tricks, 100 to East-West, better for the
her 11-point hand. West will open a strong USA than minus 400.
notrump in fourth chair and East will use
Stayman on the way to 3NT. North will At the other table:
probably lead a heart anyway. If the de-
fense plays four rounds of hearts, declarer Closed Room
will probably take the diamond finesse, for West North East South
lack of anything better, and the 3NT con- Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova
tract will be defeated one trick. If North — 1♥ pass pass
wins the second round of hearts and switch- 1NT pass pass pass
es to clubs, declarer is left without much
hope, and after a losing diamond finesse will Meyers-Montin’s balancing 1NT range is
have no chance. 11-16. Montin, with 10 points, did not try
for game, so Meyers scored 150 for mak-
But at both tables North opened the bid- ing nine tricks. Two imps to the USA. The
ding: Russians’ lead was 33.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 12

Board 82 North Here’s another good board for disciplined

East dealer ♠83 bidding. If South starts with 1♣, West will
N-S vul ♥Q6 overcall 1♥ and may end up in game, down
♦J97653 one or two tricks. For example, if North
♣J64 finds a spade lead from a doubleton, de-
West East clarer will duck, win the spade return, and
♠ Q 10 9 ♠A765 be forced to guess hearts immediately. Most
♥ A J 10 4 2 ♥K73 likely West will finesse the opening bidder
♦ K 10 2 ♦84 and go one down. If North leads a diamond
♣ Q 10 ♣K832 against 4♥, South continues diamonds.
South West will probably lead a heart to the king
♠KJ42 and finesse hearts. North will win and play
♥985 the ♦J, ruffed and overruffed. The result
♦AQ will be down two. And if North leads a
♣A975 club, the defenders will most likely score a
trick in each suit.

Now let’s go to real life....

Board 82 ♠83 Closed Room

East dealer ♥Q6 West North East South
N-S vul ♦J97653 Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova
♣J64 — — 1 NT double
♠ Q 10 9 ♠A765 redouble 2 ♦ pass pass
♥ A J 10 4 2 ♥K73 double (all pass)
♦ K 10 2 ♦84
♣ Q 10 ♣K832 Here Montin (East) started with a 10-12
♠KJ42 notrump. She had hers! And when South
♥985 doubled and West redoubled, North gulped
♦AQ and bought the contract in a vulnerable 2♦
♣A975 doubled. East led a club. Meyers won the
queen and returned the 10, covered by the
Open Room jack, king and ace, so a club trick vanished,
West North East South but West was hoping to get it back with
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow a club ruff. After the ♦A and ♦Q to the
— — pass 1 NT king, Meyers put Montin in with the ♥K.
pass 2♠ pass 3♣ But Montin returned a heart. Meyers won
pass 3♦ (all pass) the ♥A and put Montin in with her ♠A.
Not to worry. This time Montin returned a
Sokolow opened 1NT with 14 points club and Meyers scored her ♦10 for the set-
(they play 15-17), so West passed quietly ting trick. North went –200 at both tables
and Molson bid 2♠, showing both minors for an exciting push.
or just diamonds. She converted the 3♣
preference to 3♦ and played it there, down On the third board, the USA recovered
two after a trump lead. some ground:
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 13

Board 83 North Keycard Blackwood. The 5♣ reply showed

South dealer ♠AK832 zero or three keycards.
E-W vul ♥Q542
♦K52 Ponomareva (West) led the ♦Q. Sokolow
♣6 had to guess trumps and at the same time
West East had to be concerned about East holding
♠ 10 7 4 ♠65 a singleton diamond, especially when the
♥6 ♥KJ87 9 appeared at trick one. Nevertheless, she
♦ Q J 10 7 6 3 ♦9 won the lead in dummy and led a low
♣K74 ♣ Q J 10 9 8 5 trump to the 10. That was nice! She next
South led the ♥3 to the queen and king. Sokolow
♠QJ9 won the spade return in hand, played ♣A
♥ A 10 9 3 and club ruff, then finessed trumps again,
♦A84 discarding a diamond on the ace of trump
♣A32 and claiming the rest. Well done!

Open Room Closed Room

South West North East South West North East
Sokolow Ponomareva Molson Gromova Galaktionova Meyers Lebedeva Montin
1 NT pass 2♣ double 1 NT pass 2♥ pass
2♥ pass 3♠ pass 2♠ pass 3♥ pass
3 NT pass 4♣ pass 4♥ (all pass)
4♦ pass 4 NT pass
5♣ pass 6♥ (all pass) In the Closed Room, the Russians
stopped in game after a transfer to spades
After a Stayman auction, Molson’s 3♠ and rebid of 3♥, showing 5-4 forcing in
jump showed a slam try in hearts and 3NT their methods. That meant 11 imps to the
asked her to bid her singleton. Sokolow cue- USA, now down by 22.
bid her ♦A and this propelled Molson into

Open Room Janice Seamon-Molson

N
W E
S

Tanya Ponomareva Victoria Gromova

Tobi Sokolow
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 14

Board 84 North to remain quiet. She did not overcall a light

West dealer ♠ 10 8 5 2 2♥ with the South hand, nor did she bal-
All vul ♥QJ6 ance over West’s one notrump. Letting the
♦K64 opponents play 1NT vulnerable is often a
♣K76 good strategy, especially when your part-
West East ner is a good opening leader. Molson led
♠43 ♠AKQ96 the ♥Q. Ponomareva won with the king,
♥K43 ♥ 10 7 cashed three spades, hoping they would
♦J32 ♦985 break, and when they didn’t tried the club
♣ A J 10 8 3 ♣Q42 finesse. The Americans took the rest of the
South tricks for down three!
♠J7
♥A9852 Closed Room
♦ A Q 10 7 West North East South
♣95 Montin Galaktionova Meyers Lebedeva
pass pass 1♠ 2♥
Open Room (all pass)
West North East South
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow In the Closed Room, Lebedeva overcalled
pass pass 1♠ pass with the South hand and her partner made
1 NT pass pass pass a heavy pass. After two top spades, East led
a low spade and declarer discarded a club,
Sokolow must have been exuberant after so she scored 110 instead of 140, which
making slam on the previous hand; never- meant 5 more imps to the USA, now be-
theless, here she exercised careful judgment hind by 17. There were 12 boards left.

Board 85 North Open Room

North dealer ♠A6 West North East South
N-S vul ♥A983 Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
♦A72 — 1♣ pass 1♠
♣J954 1 NT (all pass)
West East
♠KJ52 ♠43 Molson led a heart against 1NT to the 10
♥KQ4 ♥J652 and king. Ponomareva won in hand, played
♦ K 10 3 ♦65 ♣A and ♣Q, saw the bad news, and then
♣AQ2 ♣K8763 led the ♥Q. Molson won and continued
South hearts, driving out the entry to dummy.
♠ Q 10 9 8 7 Declarer led a spade to the jack and ace, and
♥ 10 7 now Molson cashed her heart trick and led
♦QJ984 the ♣J to drive out the king. So Ponoma-
♣ 10 reva scored six tricks (one spade, two hearts
and three clubs) for down one.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 15

Board 85 ♠A6 out double, perhaps thinking her hand too

North dealer ♥A983 strong for 1NT, and Montin bid her four-
N-S vul ♦A72 card heart suit. Galaktionova now bid her
♣J954 spades and Meyers her notrump, ending an
♠KJ52 ♠43 auction that might be one of the most com-
♥KQ4 N ♥J652 plicated auctions to 1NT in history.
W E
♦ K 10 3 S ♦65
♣AQ2 ♣K8763 Lebedeva (North) led the ♣4 to the 10
♠ Q 10 9 8 7 and ace. Meyers played the ♥Q followed
♥ 10 7 by the ♥K, which North should have won
♦QJ984 (and then played a third heart), but she
♣ 10 erred by ducking the second heart. So Mey-
ers led a third heart, establishing a third
Closed Room heart trick. Meyers later endplayed North
West North East South in clubs to lead from her ♦A and made
Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova an overtrick. Plus 120 here and 50 in the
— 1♣ pass 1♦ Open Room added up to 5 more imps for
double pass 1♥ 1♠ the USA, now down by only 12 imps. The
1 NT (all pass) USA had done a nice job on the first five
hands coming from 35 down to 12 down,
The 1♣ was Polish and the 1♦ was but a misunderstanding on defense now
artificial, either 0-7 or up to 10 points with created a major setback to the Americans on
one or both minors. Meyers made a take- board 86….

Board 86 North After a cuebid and keycard Blackwood,

East dealer ♠K95 the Russians landed in slam. Sokolow
E-W vul ♥52 (South) led her singleton club.
♦ 10 8 6
♣K7542 Gromova (East) played the 6 from dum-
West East my and won the trick in her hand with the
♠ A 10 6 3 2 ♠Q7 9. She led a trump to the king and the ♥7
♥KQ7 ♥AJ863 back to her hand, at first producing the jack
♦4 ♦A97 but then in tempo switching this card to the
♣ Q J 10 6 ♣A98 ace (not that it should have mattered, but
South strangely enough it had an odd effect, as
♠J84 you’ll soon see). Meanwhile, Sokolow fol-
♥ 10 9 4 lowed with the ♥4 and ♥10. Declarer then
♦KQJ532 led the ♠Q and let it ride to North’s king.
♣3 Crunch time.

Open Room At this point, Molson can give Sokolow

West North East South a club ruff, but Molson thought that So-
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow kolow might be out of trumps, because she
— — 1♥ 3♦ had played the ♥10 on the trick before and
4♦ pass 4 NT pass Molson knew where the ♥J was!
5♠ pass 6♥ (all pass)
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 16

In addtion, there was an interesting clue Perhaps South would lead the ♦A to begin
in the auction. Gromova appeared to be off with, but maybe not. As for Gromova’s fail-
a keycard (the ♦A), because usually after ure to bid 5NT over the 5♠ response, she
Keycard Blackwood, when the asker learns had stretched to bid Keycard Blackwood to
that the partnership has all five keycards begin with and, therefore, broke “bidding
and the trump queen, the asker confirms discpline” by not confirming all the key-
this to partner with a bid of 5NT. Gro- cards.
mova did not do this — she had signed off
in slam instead, indicating that there was Is there a solution for this hand? I must
a keycard missing. These two clues (both admit I might have made the same false-
false) convinced card as Sokolow and
Molson to return a Board 86 ♠ K 9 5 the same diamond
diamond, expecting East dealer ♥52 return as Molson.
(hoping, praying) that E-W vul ♦ 10 8 6
her partner held the ♣K7542 For those who play
ace. ♠ A 10 6 3 2 ♠ Q 7 high-low in trumps
♥KQ7 ♥AJ863 to show three of
Gromova won with ♦ 4 ♦ A 9 7 them, the winning
the ♦A, ruffed out ♣ Q J 10 6 ♣ A 9 8 defense is easy. South
spades and drew the ♠ J 8 4 simply high-lows
last trump, ending ♥ 10 9 4 and partner knows
in dummy. She dis- ♦ K Q J 5 3 2 to give a club ruff
carded two diamonds ♣ 3 if declarer leaves a
on two spades and trump outstanding.
took the club finesse Open Room The problem with
to make her slam. West North East South this is that if declarer
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow believes the high-low,
It seems that So- — — 1 ♥ 3 ♦ she will not leave the
kolow had falsecarded 4 ♦ pass 4 NT pass trump outstanding.
in trumps when she 5 ♠ pass 6 ♥ (all pass) Declarer then draws
played the 10. The a third trump, takes
falsecard was designed the club finesse and
to throw declarer off, leads a low spade toward her Q-7. To defeat
not partner. It was an unlucky time to do it! the slam, North now must duck! Otherwise
Nevertheless, what if she had played the 9 declarer dumps the ♠Q under the king and
on the second round instead of the 10? How makes her contract by later finessing the
was her partner supposed to know that she ten. She has no other choice but to play it
held three trump as opposed to the ♦A and this way.
two trump?
If North ducks the spade, however, East
Let’s give declarer a hand without the wins and must lose two diamond tricks.
♦A, for example: North must make a spectacular duck to de-
♠ Q J ♥ A J 9 8 6 3 ♦ K x ♣ A 9 8. feat the slam. This brings us back to South’s
In this case, South holds: falsecard. By falsecarding declarer, South
♠ 8 7 4 ♥ 10 4 ♦ A Q J x x x x ♣ 3. made it much easier on the defense, because
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 17

declarer left the trump outstanding and Board 86 ♠K95

finessed the ♠Q. The only problem was for East dealer ♥52
North to figure it out. E-W vul ♦ 10 8 6
♣K7542
What the Molson-Sokolow partnership ♠ A 10 6 3 2 ♠Q7
really needed was a sprinkling of Switch-in- ♥KQ7 N ♥AJ863
W E
Time defense! Using our favorite method, ♦4 S ♦A97
the trump signal (up the line or down the ♣ Q J 10 6 ♣A98
line) should be suit-preference. Up the line ♠J84
for a club, down the line for a diamond. So ♥ 10 9 4
whenever South holds the ♦A, she high- ♦KQJ532
lows in trumps, and it doesn’t tell declarer ♣3
or partner about her trump length. In ad-
dition, when East led the ♠Q South can do Open Room
it again with another suit-preference signal West North East South
— “Partner, dear, if you win this trick, this Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
is the suit I would like you to play: — — 1♥ 3♦
♠4 = clubs, ♠8 = diamonds. 4♦ pass 4 NT pass
5♠ pass 6♥ (all pass)

Board 86 ♠K95 Galaktionova (South) also led her single-

East dealer ♥52 ton club. Montin won in dummy with the
E-W vul ♦ 10 8 6 queen, played a diamond to the ace and
♣K7542 ruffed a diamond, then led a club to her
♠ A 10 6 3 2 ♠Q7 8, which Galaktionova ruffed. Back came
♥KQ7 N ♥AJ863 a trump to dummy, and Montin had no
W E
♦4 S ♦A97 chance. She led another club, also ruffed, so
♣ Q J 10 6 ♣A98 she was down two. It wasn’t the greatest line
♠J84 of play, but let’s face it — the slam needed
♥ 10 9 4 a miracle. Give credit to both Souths who
♦KQJ532 jump overcalled at favorable vulnerability
♣3 and really crammed East-West’s auction.

Closed Room It’s interesting to note that in the Open

West North East South Team Final, between Italy and the Nether-
Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova lands, where the same boards were played,
— — 1♥ 3♦ one South player bid 1NT (a psyche) and
4♦ pass 4♠ pass one passed. This allowed both East-West
5♥ pass 5♠ pass pairs to bid slowly, investigate slam but stop
6♥ (all pass) in game.

Meanwhile, at the other table, 4♠ was So Russia gained 17 imps and their lead
the keycard ask and Montin rebid 5♠ to was back up to 29.
show all the keycards (if only she had been
Molson’s opponent!).
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 18

Board 87 North In any case, North-South flirted with

South dealer ♠Q863 a diamond contract before returning to
All vul ♥ A Q 10 9 3NT. Ponomareva led the ♣Q and ♣J, as
♦8762 Sokolow ducked twice. When a third club
♣7 was led, Sokolow had a chance. She won
West East the ♣A and had to choose between a heart
♠AJ95 ♠742 finesse followed by a diamond finesse (works
♥K853 ♥J64 when West holds the ♥K and East the ♦K)
♦K3 ♦4 or what she did: Lay down the ♦A and con-
♣QJ2 ♣K98653 tinue diamonds — works when West holds
South the ♠A and both kings or when there’s
♠ K 10 a singleton ♦K. Ponomareva switched to
♥72 hearts. Sokolow finessed the queen and
♦ A Q J 10 9 5 knocked out the ♠A for her ninth trick. To
♣ A 10 4 defeat the game, West has to shift to hearts
at trick three after holding the first two club
Open Room leads. Then she sets up a heart trick for the
South West North East defense before declarer can do everything.
Sokolow Ponomareva Molson Gromova
1 NT pass 2♣ double Closed Room
2♦ pass 3♦ pass South West North East
3 NT (all pass) Galaktionova Meyers Lebedeva Montin
1♦ double 1♥ 2♣
I won’t say that not receiving her club 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ (all pass)
ruff on the previous board influenced So-
kolow’s decision to open 1NT on the South Here the Russians stopped in a partscore,
hand; I’ll leave it to you readers to decide. scoring 150, so the USA gained 10 imps.
The Russians’ lead was cut to 19.

Open Room
Board 88 North
West North East South
West dealer ♠K
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
None vul ♥K873
pass 1♦ 1♠ 2♠
♦K972
4♠ pass pass double
♣ K Q 10 6
(all pass)
West East
♠QJ843 ♠ A 10 7 6 5
Closed Room
♥J42 ♥ Q 10 6
West North East South
♦Q83 ♦64
Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova
♣75 ♣A32
pass 1♦ 1♠ 2♦
South
4♠ (all pass)
♠92
♥A95
The auctions are similar, though Sokolow
♦ A J 10 5
made a limit raise in diamonds with her
♣J984
cuebid. At the end of the auction, Sokolow
fearlessly doubled, Galaktionova passed.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 19

So the USA gained 5 imps (300 versus 100) when the contract was two off. Despite the
17-imp slam swing against them, the USA had done well, bringing down their deficit to 14
imps by the halfway point of the session. There were eight boards to go and 14 imps was
not much of a lead….the pressure was really on now.

Board 89 North the king and led her ♦5. West ducked. So-
North dealer ♠A74 kolow put up the king. It held! So declarer
E-W vul ♥A7 cashed the ♠A and ♥A, ruffed a diamond,
♦ K J 10 6 3 2 ruffed a heart and led a trump — she lost
♣K8 two trump tricks but made her game, +420.
West East
♠KQ5 ♠9 Closed Room
♥643 ♥ J 10 9 8 West North East South
♦A7 ♦Q984 Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova
♣ A Q 10 7 4 ♣J653 — 1 NT pass 2♥
South pas 2♠ pass 3♥
♠ J 10 8 6 3 2 pass 4♠ (all pass)
♥KQ52
♦5 Here the game was played by North.
♣92 Montin (East) led a club to her partner’s
ace. Meyers cashed the ♦A (she was staring
Open Room at the singleton in dummy) and returned a
West North East South club to declarer’s king.
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
— 1♦ pass 1♠ The spade position presents a nice suit
2♣ double 3♣ 3♠ combination. The odds for five spade tricks
pass 4♠ (all pass) are to cash the ace (wins against a 2-2 break
or singleton honor — more likely than
Sokolow and Molson pushed to a light singleton 9). Would this be 10 more imps to
game after North’s support double. Pono- the USA? No! Lebedeva went to dummy in
mareva led the ♣A and continued clubs. hearts and led the ♠J, letting it ride. Plus
Sokolow came to her hand with a heart to 420. Push board! Russia still in the lead by
14.

Board 90: A 3♣ partscore was played at

both tables. Push board. Russia still held
the lead by 14. Six boards to go.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 20

Board 91 North Gromova continued with a third club.

South dealer ♠ A K 10 8 3 2 Molson pitched a heart on the ♣J. She next
None vul ♥AQ53 led a trump to the ace. Then she closed her
♦9 eyes and cashed the ♥A. When East fol-
♣ 10 9 lowed, she ruffed a heart and drew trump.
West East This line works when East has three spades
♠J5 ♠94 and two hearts as well, but fails when East
♥ K J 10 9 7 ♥84 has two spades and one heart. Making
♦K4 ♦QJ852 1430!
♣7652 ♣KQ43
South Closed Room
♠Q76 South West North East
♥62 Galaktionova Meyers Lebedeva Montin
♦ A 10 7 6 3 1♦ 1♥ double pass
♣AJ8 2♦ pass 2♠ pass
3♠ pass 4♥ pass
Open Room 5♣ pass 5♦ pass
South West North East 6♠ (all pass)
Sokolow Ponomareva Molson Gromova
1♦ 1♥ 1♠ pass Here Galaktionova also opened the
2♠ pass 3♥ pass South hand. Lebedeva’s double was forced
3♠ pass 4♦ pass because 1♠ would not be forcing. Later
5♣ pass 6♠ (all pass) Galaktionova also cuebid 5♣, and followed
up with a jump to slam.* Montin (East) led
Sokolow and Molson stretched to reach her ♣K. Declarer won, finessed hearts, and
slam after a 1♦ opening bid on a balanced cashed two trumps, hoping for a 2-2 break.
11 count. Gromova (East) led a heart. Pono- They broke. She gave up a club trick and
mareva put up the king. Molson won the had her 12 tricks. Push board! Russia was
ace and led the ♣9. Gromova played the in front by 14, but with only five boards to
queen. Molson led a club to East’s king. go.

*Just think — most players would not have opened

the South hand, yet she opened, cuebid past game,
and jumped to slam!

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Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 21

Board 92 North Some would say North’s 1♣ opening

West dealer ♠A32 bid was not as strong as South’s 1♦ on the
N-S vul ♥AQ54 previous board. But everything was making
♦Q95 so the women were “going with the flow.”
♣653 North’s 2♥ raise showed four trump, so
West East when the Russian East-West took the sac-
♠ 10 5 ♠K9864 rifice in 5♦, Sokolow refused to settle for
♥ 10 7 3 ♥82 a penalty and pushed on to the vulnerable
♦AKJ62 ♦ 10 8 4 3 5♥, hoping her double fit would give her
♣K72 ♣J8 enough tricks. (Double fit! In this case, the
South expression did not apply.)
♠QJ7
♥KJ96 Notice Gromova’s 3♠ bid on the way to
♦7 5♦. Ponomareva led the ♠10 against 5♥
♣ A Q 10 9 4 and the contract was one down. Even after
a high diamond, West can shift to spades.
Open Room That was plus 100 to the Russian women,
West North East South who did everything right on this one.
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
pass 1♣ pass 1♥
2♦ 2♥ 3♠ 4♥
pass pass 5♦ 5♥
(all pass)

Board 92 ♠A32 In the Closed Room, Meyers (West)

West dealer ♥AQ54 began with a 10-12 notrump. Lebedeva
N-S vul ♦Q95 doubled and Montin passed, because a bid
♣653 would show two equal-length suits in their
♠ 10 5 ♠K9864 methods. The pass would force a redouble,
N
♥ 10 7 3 W E ♥82 which she could pull to 2♠. But Galaktion-
♦AKJ62 S ♦ 10 8 4 3 ova bid first. She thought she was showing
♣K72 ♣J8 a strong unbalanced hand with her “unusu-
♠QJ7 al 2NT” — her partner took it differently
♥KJ96 (or perhaps was not thrilled with her own
♦7 double of 1NT). So the Russians missed the
♣ A Q 10 9 4 4♥ game and played in 2NT instead. Mey-
ers led the ♦A and continued diamonds.
Closed Room Perhaps a little disturbed by the contract,
West North East South declarer did not give it her best. She cashed
Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova four hearts, ending in dummy, and led a
1 NT double pass* 2 NT club to the ace, instead of finessing. Then
(all pass) she finessed spades. So the defense took six
tricks (both black kings and four diamonds)
*forcing a redouble for 100 to the USA. A remarkable push
board. And the Russians still led by 14.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 22

There were four boards left. This time the 11-point opening (the best
yet, if you had to judge them) didn’t work.
Board 93 North The defenders took five tricks (♠A and four
North dealer ♠ 10 2 clubs) for 100 points.
All vul ♥ A K 10 7
♦ A 10 5 4 2 Closed Room
♣72 West North East South
West East Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova
♠AJ ♠7654 — 1♦ pass 1♠
♥J843 ♥Q952 double 2♦ 2♥ 3♦
♦983 ♦J pass pass 3♥ (all pass)
♣AJ86 ♣KQ54
South At this table, Meyers doubled 1♠ for
♠KQ983 takeout and partner believed her. Montin
♥6 competed to 3♥, which seemed to be a rea-
♦KQ76 sonable contract, until the 4-1 trump break
♣ 10 9 3 was revealed.

Over-aggressiveness at both tables cost After the ♦K lead, South switched to

the USA just when they couldn’t afford it. the ♠K. Declarer won in dummy, ruffed a
diamond, led a club to dummy and ruffed
Open Room another diamond. Now the ♥Q. North won
West North East South the king, cashed the ♥A and could have led
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow a spade to partner for down three, but led a
— 1♦ pass 1♠ diamond instead for down two. The net 300
pass 2♦ pass 3 ♥* points were worth 7 imps to the Russians,
pass 3 NT (all pass) ahead now by 21 with three boards to go.

*splinter

Closed Room
Maria Lebedeva

N
W E
S

Jill Meyers Randi Montin

Olga Galaktionova
photos by Ron Tacchi
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 23

Board 94 North son, perhaps thinking her partner had four

East dealer ♠ 10 8 6 4 hearts, did not cash another heart trick. In-
None vul ♥ K J 10 2 stead she shifted to the ♣7. Gromova went
♦872 up with the ♣K, cashed a high diamond
♣A7 and ruffed a diamond. At this point she
West East should have claimed down one, but instead
♠KQJ973 ♠A52 came to hand with the ♠A and played her
♥Q75 ♥A63 fourth diamond. On Sokolow’s ♦J, declarer
♦43 ♦ K Q 10 5 discarded a heart from dummy. Molson
♣86 ♣ K 10 2 alertly discarded her ♣A and Sokolow was
South able to cash the ♣Q and lead another club
♠— to promote a trump trick for down two, 100
♥984 points to the USA.
♦AJ96
♣QJ9543 Closed Room
West North East South
West North East South Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow — — 1 NT pass
— — 1 NT pass 4♥ pass 4♠ (all pass)
2♥ double 2♠ 3♥
4♠ (all pass) At this table, Montin (East) declared 4♠
against the ♣Q lead. Lebedeva (North) won
Molson’s double of the transfer bid got the ♣A and led a diamond to the king and
Sokolow off to the killing lead of the ♥9. ace. Galaktionova (South) now switched to
Gromova (East) won with the ace, led a the ♥9, ducked around to the ace. Montin
trump to the king and led a diamond to the ran all six trump tricks, torturing South.
king. Sokolow won the ♦A and continued This was the position when the last trump
with the ♥8 to the queen and king. Mol- was played:

♠— either minor to endplay her. If South threw

♥ K J 10 a minor-suit 9, Montin could take two tricks
♦2 in the suit. Galaktionova threw the ♣9 and
♣7 Montin led a club to her king, dropping the
♠7 ♠— jack. Beautifully done! The USA gained 11
♥Q7 N ♥6 imps and with two, count them, two boards
W E
♦4 S ♦ Q 10 to go, the Russian lead was only 10 imps.
♣8 ♣ K 10 Take a deep breath.
♠—
♥8 Board 95: Molson and Sokolow bid to 4♥
♦J9 making five. Lebedeva and Galaktionova
♣J9 bid to 3NT making five. Push board. Not
what the USA wanted. Now there was only
On the ♠7 the ♥6 was discarded. If one board left. Could the USA win 10 imps
South threw a heart, Montin could play to tie the match or 11 to win it at the wire?
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 24

Board 96 North with an off-shaped takeout double, and

West dealer ♠A943 Gromova passed with her six-hearts zero-
E-W vul ♥A count. Sokolow bid her hand carefully, first
♦AQ3 bidding spades, so she could economically
♣KQ964 bid her hearts next. Molson gave up on
West East slam and jumped to game.
♠QJ7 ♠ 10 2
♥QJ ♥ 10 9 8 7 5 2 Ponomareva led the ♦8. Sokolow put in
♦KJ986 ♦5 the queen from dummy. She cashed the
♣A83 ♣ 10 7 5 2 ♥A next and then led a club to the jack
South and ace. Ponomareva now led the ♦K to
♠K865 the ace and ♠2. Gromova returned a heart
♥K643 to South’s king. Sokolow pitched the ♦3 on
♦ 10 7 4 2 this trick, played the ♠K, ♠A and cashed
♣J two high clubs. After a club ruff, the last
club in dummy was high, so Sokolow lost
Open Room only one more trick, the ♠Q, and made her
West North East South contract.
Ponomareva Molson Gromova Sokolow
1 ♣* double pass 1♠ Could the USA win 10 imps on this
pass 2♣ pass 2♥ board? They had scored 420 in the Open
pass 4♠ (all pass) Room. To win 10 imps, Meyers and Montin
would have to go plus 50. To win the match
*Polish, balanced minimum or big hand they would have to go plus a wee bit more.
For the Russians to win the match they had
Molson, with a monsterous hand, started to go plus. Who would go plus?

Closed Room unwilling to play it there, and tried 3♣

West North East South instead. This was passed around to Meyers,
Meyers Lebedeva Montin Galaktionova who couldn’t know the score of the match,
1 NT double redouble 2♥ but certainly suspected it was close. She was
pass 3♣ pass pass unwilling to sell out and bid 3♦. Since 3♣
3♦ (all pass) would have probably made with an over-
trick, 3♦ could be considered a nice “college
Was this the same board? The bidding try,” but she caught one of the worst dum-
didn’t resemble it. West started with a mies of her life. Meyers had to make a con-
strong notrump, only a point shy. (They tract to win the match, but it wasn’t going
play the 10-12 notrump only at favorable.) to be on this deal. The contract failed by
Lebedeva doubled and Montin redoubled, five tricks and the Russians gained 2 imps.
which meant, “Please remove to 2♣.” If
Montin then comes back with 2♥, it’s to Well, it’s better to lose by 12 imps than 3
play there. But, surprise, Galaktionova bid (which is what the score would have been if
2♥ first! Russian supporters let out a groan Meyers had passed out 3♣), but the Rus-
all around Moscow at this point. Could she sian camp didn’t care either way. They had
possibly make 2♥? North, however, was won their first world championship.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 25

Building a Better Mousetrap

The MAOMI convention

by Henry Sun, Benicia, CA

The least well-defined auction in most 2NT: Artificial, showing nine cards in the
standard methods is the one that starts minors
1♦-1M-2♣. Depending on partnership
style, the minor-suit lengths could be as 3♣: Artificial, 5-5 minors but not three
short as 4-4 (1-4-4-4 shape after a 1♠ re- cards in hearts
sponse), and either minor could be longer (if
the partnership opens 1♦ with 4-5 minors 3♦: Artificial, three-card heart support
and a minimum hand, or when opener and ten cards in the minors
holds 4-5 minors with 15-16 points).
3♥: Artificial, 6-4 minors and a heart
Consequently, standard fourth-suit forc- doubleton
ing auctions cannot be very precise, because
there are so many messages to convey. I 3♠: Artificial, 6-4 minors and a heart
suggest using a relay-type approach to these singleton
auctions that can solve the problem of both
shape and strength in the vast majority of 3NT: Artificial, 6-4 minors and a heart
cases. This approach focuses on two ques- void
tions: (1) Does opener have extra length
in the minors (nine, or more than nine)? Note that 3♥, 3♠, and 3NT show ex-
(2) How many cards does opener have in tra values, under the assumption that a
responder’s major (three or less)? Once re- minimum hand with 6-4 shape rebids 2♦,
sponder knows how many cards opener has which allows a natural 3♣ rebid if respond-
in the minors and in his major, determining er invites with 2NT. This inference isn’t
exact shape is easy. Let’s consider this auc- available when opener shows 5-5 or nine
tion: cards in the minors.
Opener Responder
1♦ 1♥ Also, it’s understood throughout that 5-5
2♣ 2♠ and 6-4 shapes mean at least 5-5 (i.e., could
? be 6-5) and at least 6-4 (could be at 7-4).

The MAOMI (MAjors Over MInors, sounds like Naomi) convention does an excel-
lent job of describing shape and degree of support below the level of 3NT. Its initially
confusing structure is easily remembered if you keep in mind three rules: (1) Hands with
three-card support for responder’s major always bid 3♦, immediately with 10 cards in
the minors, or after rebidding 2NT if opener has nine cards in the minors; (2) Hands
with nine cards in the minors always bid 2NT, while hands with 10 cards in the minors
always bid at the 3 level; (3) Degree of support for responder’s major always concludes
with a 3-2-1-0 step reply: 3♦ (three); 3♥ (two), 3♠ (one), and 3NT (zero).
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 26

Continuations Examples:

(1) After 1♦-1♥; 2♣-2♠; 3♣ (5-5 minors, In these examples, West is the dealer and
not three hearts), responder relays with 3♦ East is the responder.
and opener resolves his shape using the
same immediate 3♥/3♠/3NT rebids (3♥ = ♠x ♠Qxx
doubleton heart, 3♠ = singleton heart, 3NT ♥Kxx ♥AQxx
= heart void). ♦AKxxx ♦Qx
♣KQxx ♣Axxx
(2) After 1♦-1♥; 2♣-2♠; 3♦ (three-card
heart support, 10 cards in both minors), 1♦ 1♥
responder relays with 3♥ and opener re- 2♣ 2♠
solves his shape with 3♠ (0-3-5-5) or 3NT 2 NT 3♣
(0-3-6-4). This sequence promises extra 3♦ ?
values because with a minimum hand and
these shapes, opener does best to raise to 2♥ Opener shows nine cards in the minors
immediately. (2NT) and then three-card heart support
(3♦) with extra values. Responder now
(3) After 1♦-1♥; 2♣-2♠; 2NT (minimum knows that 3NT is out of the question
shape, 5-4 or 4-5 minors), responder relays facing a singleton spade, and has to decide
with 3♣ and opener rebids 3♦ to show whether to contract for game in hearts
three-card support for hearts, 3♥ to show (4♥) or to explore slam in clubs (4♣). With
a doubleton heart, 3♠ to show a singleton known extra values, the slam invitation in
heart. Note that the same 3-2-1 pattern is clubs seems clear, but that is a matter of
used no matter how many cards opener has judgment not of system.
in the minors. Note also that 3NT to show
a heart void is unnecessary (because open- ♠xx ♠KJx
er’s shape would be 4-0-4-5 or 4-0-5-4 and ♥Qx ♥Axxxx
he would have rebid 1♠ instead of 2♣ with ♦AQJxx ♦Kx
that shape). Consequently, 3♠ and 3NT ♣AQxx ♣Jxx
can both be used to show a singleton heart,
perhaps with 3NT showing extra values, or 1♦ 1♥
3♠ showing five clubs and 3NT five dia- 2♣ 2♠
monds. 2 NT 3♣
3♥ 3 NT
(4) It should be noted that responder is pass
not required to relay for shape. He may also
bid a minor at the cheapest level to set that Opener shows nine cards in the minors
suit as trumps and invite natural bidding. (2NT) and then a doubleton hearts (3♥).
However, the distributional limitations to With a minimum and balanced game force,
opener’s hand will often assist in determin- which does not have a great fit for either
ing both strain and level. minor, responder has an easy signoff in
3NT. Not playing this convention, what
rebid can opener make over 2♠ that does
not distort his shape or his strength?
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 27

♠Kxx ♠Jxx ♠— ♠xxxx

♥x ♥KQxxx ♥Qxx ♥AKxxx
♦KQxx ♦Axx ♦AKxxxx ♦x
♣AQJxx ♣Kx ♣AJxx ♣KQx

1♦ 1♥ 1♦ 1♥
2♣ 2♠ 2♣ 2♠
2 NT 3♣ 3♦ 3♥
3♠ 3 NT 3 NT ?

Opener shows nine cards in the minors Opener shows 10 cards in the minors
(2NT) and then a singleton heart (3♠). with three-card heart support (3♦) and
With hearts known to be wasted, and then his exact 0-3-6-4 shape (3NT) with ex-
spades an obvious danger spot, responder tra values. [Minimum hands of this shape,
has an easy signoff in 3NT. e.g.,
♠ — ♥ Q x x ♦ A x x x x x ♣ A J x x,
raise to 2♥ right away. That allows re-
sponder to invite game with 2NT and for
♠x ♠Axx opener to make a descriptive minimum
♥xx ♥KQxxx rebid (3♣ or 3♦) that denies four-card heart
♦AKxxx ♦x support.] Here responder knows that the
♣AQxxx ♣KJxx hands are a perfect fit. He can bid 4♣ or
4♦ as a natural slam try in that suit, bid 4♥
1♦ 1♥ to play, or bid 4NT (on this hand) to ask for
2♣ 2♠ keycards in hearts.
3♣ 3♦
3♥ 4♣
? ♠xx ♠AQx
♥x ♥KQxxx
Opener shows 5-5 minors with 0-2 hearts ♦AKJxxx ♦x
(3♣) and then a doubleton heart (3♥). ♣AQxx ♣Kxxx
Responder now knows that he has nothing
wasted in spades, and bids 4♣ to set trumps 1♦ 1♥
and invite slam. Opener, with a solid mini- 2♣ 2♠
mum hand and aces, probably chooses to 3♠ ?
co-operate with a 4♦ cuebid, and now East
has to decide whether to be aggressive (cue- Opener shows his 6-4 shape with a
bid 4♠) or conservative (sign off with 5♣). singleton heart and extra values by bidding
But note how important it is for East to 3♠. Responder can take a conservative posi-
know that West has a singleton spade and tion by rebidding 3NT (due to the known
a doubleton heart instead of a doubleton heart wastage), or an aggressive one by bid-
spade and a singleton heart. ding 4♣ and inviting slam. Assuming that
responder tries for slam, opener will co-oper-
ate with a 4♦ cuebid but not force to slam,
because he isn’t stronger than what he has
already promised.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 28

♠Kxx ♠AQx with 4♦ and forces the hand to slam. It

♥— ♥Jxxxx isn’t cold, but as long as clubs can be played
♦AQJxxx ♦Kx for one loser (queen onside, singleton or
♣AJxx ♣Kxx doubleton offside, 3-3 split, or ruffing the
fourth club) the slam will make.
1♦ 1♥
2♣ 2♠ Change the last two hands to 5-5 minors
3 NT 4♦ instead of 6-4, and the only difference is
? that opener rebids 3♣ first (5-5 minors)
Opener shows 6-4 minors with a heart and then rebids 3♠ or 3NT, respectively.
void and extra values by bidding 3NT right Responder can try for slam more aggres-
away. Responder now knows that the two sively with the first of these, knowing of the
hands are a perfect fit with nothing wasted nine-card club fit, and will perhaps allow
except for the ♥J, and also knows of the the second to rest in 5♣, not being assured
eight-card diamond fit, so he sets trumps of extra values in opener’s hand.

There is one special auction. While open- be clearly established in the fourth-suit
er cannot hold four spades on the sequence forcing auctions after a 2♣ rebid.
1♦-1♥; 2♣-2♠, it is possible that opener
could hold four hearts on the sequence The rest of the structure is exactly the
1♦-1♠; 2♣-2♥ (e.g., same as over 1♦-1♥; 2♣-2♠ (2NT = nine
♠ — ♥ A x x x ♦ A J x x x ♣ K x x x). cards in the minors, 3♣ = 5-5 minors, 0-2
Fortunately, the 1♠ response followed by a spades, 3♦ = three-card spade support with
2♥ rebid leaves one extra bid – 2♠ – and 10 cards in the minors, 3♥/♠/NT = 2/1/0
this bid is used artificially to show the cards in spades with 6-4 in the minors).
three-suited hand with four hearts.
Other Applications!
Opener Responder The basic idea of the MAOMI conven-
1♦ 1♠ tion can be applied to the XYZ convention,
2♣ 2♥ where a 2♦ rebid after any sequence that
2♠ ? starts 1X-1Y; 1Z-? is an artificial game force.
Now a 2♥ rebid can show (artificially) a
Responder can now bid a suit naturally balanced hand, 2♠ a three-suited hand, and
on the three-level to set that suit as trumps. 2NT and higher bids carry exactly the same
This sequence also solves the problem (as meanings as above (2NT = nine cards in the
best it can be solved) of opener’s rebid hold- two suits; 3♣ = 5-5 in the two suits with 0-2
ing: ♠ x ♥ A 10 x x ♦ A Q J x x ♣ K J x. cards in responder’s Y suit; 2♦ = 10 cards
After a 1♠ response, all rebids are flawed: in the two suits and three-card support for
1NT with 15 prime and a singleton spade, Y; 3♥/3♠/3NT = 6-4 in the two suits with
2♥ is an overbid, and 2♣ isn’t forcing. All 2/1/0 card support in responder’s Y suit).
three actions would get some expert sup-
port, but at least in our sequence the most Henry Sun lives in Benicia, CA, where he currently
important feature – the fourth heart – can works in the home mortgage industry.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 29

The Wizards of Aus

Hands from Australian Tournaments

by Ron Klinger

This month’s deal arose in duplicate pairs losers to two. (Lavings could have made a
session at the Double Bay Bridge Centre. safety play in spades anyway by covering on
the second round, but it was matchpoints
East dealer North (Peter Strasser) and he just did not suspect that East held a
Both vul ♠Q98753 singleton.)
♥A
♦J8 West’s superb deception deserved to score
♣K984 three trump tricks and in the normal course
West (Thompson) East (Pat Masters) of events it might do so. Lavings, however,
♠ A J 10 2 ♠6 countered with a trump coup after West
♥ 10 9 8 2 ♥KQ63 tried the ♦10 next: jack, king, ace. To avoid
♦ 10 5 ♦K743 two more trump losers, Lavings needed to
♣652 ♣ J 10 7 3 reduce dummy’s trumps to the same length
South (Paul Lavings) as West’s. A heart ruff was followed by the
♠K4 ♦8 and a club to the queen. West and dum-
♥J754 my discarded a club when South played the
♦AQ962 ♦Q and another heart was ruffed.
♣AQ
After a club to the ace, South held the
West North East South ♥J and ♦9-6, dummy had the ♠Q-9 and
— — pass 1 NT ♣K and West the ♠A-J and ♥9. Lavings
pass 2 ♥ (transfer) pass 2♠ continued with the ♦9 and West could
pass 4♠ (all pass) score only one more trick no matter how
she defended. That was 11 tricks, +650,
Opening lead: ♥10 worth 20.6 matchpoints out of 26, while
+620 was under average at 11.8.
At trick two declarer led a low spade to
his king and West (Sheila Thompson) fol- Afterwards Paul Lavings commented, “I
lowed smoothly with the 2. Next came the have not seen this in any book.” Neither
♠4 and West produced the ♠10. Naturally have I. Well done, Sheila Thompson, even
expecting the ♠A to be with East, Lav- though it did not bear fruit. By the way, if
ings ducked in dummy. “I nearly fell off West had switched to clubs instead of the
my perch,” said Lavings. “What a brilliant ♦10, it wouldn’t have mattered. Declarer
coup!” wins in hand and: heart ruff, club to hand,
heart ruff, ♣K, diamond to queen, last
Had West captured the ♠K, declarer heart ruffed, diamond to ace. He then leads
would later lead the ♠4 from hand and a diamond from his ♦9-6 at trick 12 toward
play low in dummy if West followed with dummy’s ♠Q and ♣9 as West must play
the ♠2. This safety play limits the spade first with the ♠A-J.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 30

Switch in Time Forum

This month’s Switch in Time study East led the ♥K. That sort of ends any
comes from the 1999 World Bridge Cham- Switch discussion. It could have been right
pionships — Bermuda Bowl and Venice on a different layout. Here West overtook
Cup Finals. and returned a heart, and even after a club
shift, the defense was finished.
Board 9 North
North dealer ♠KQ6 Table 2
E-W vul ♥ J 10 2 At the other table, Brazilians bid:
♦KQ8752
♣6 North South
West East 1♦ 2♣
♠J82 ♠ 10 7 5 4 2♦ 2 NT
♥A4 ♥KQ975 3 NT
♦A4 ♦ 10 3
♣KJ9743 ♣82 West was on lead and chose a low spade.
South Declarer won the king in dummy and called
♠A93 for the ♦K. West won the ace and shifted
♥863 to ... clubs. So 10 tricks were made at both
♦J96 tables for no swing.
♣ A Q 10 5
A club shift would be right if partner
All four North-Souths bid and made held the ace-doubleton. Let’s look at trick
3NT— with an overtrick! What went one. East’s spade spot did not necessarily
wrong? We’ll look at what happened at deny the ♠A, since with A-10-x-x and no
each table and then suggest ways, using our entry, East must duck the spade lead, en-
favorite Switch-in-Time methods, to signal couraging partner to continue. Furthermore,
the best defense. using Switch in Time methods, if East dis-
courages, he is implying that he can stand
Table 1 the obvious shift (OS).
At Meckwell’s table (they were N-S), the
bidding went: What is the OS?
There might be confusion as to what the
North South obvious-shift suit is, hearts or clubs. Nor-
1♦ 2♣ mally, when a suit is bid by declarer, the
2♦ 2 ♥ (relay) defenders eliminate that suit as an OS. But
2 NT* 3 NT in a notrump contract, that bid suit can still
be the OS if the defenders are known to
*6+ diamonds, no club fit hold more cards in the suit than the declar-
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 31

ing side. We’d better look at this rule more Board 9 North
closely. North dealer ♠KQ6
E-W vul ♥ J 10 2
The last of the “negative rules” in our ♦KQ8752
first list of Obvious Shift rules is this: ♣6
West East
(F) The Obvious Shift is not a natural ♠J82 ♠ 10 7 5 4
(3+) suit bid by declarer, except in notrump ♥A4 ♥KQ975
when the defense is known to hold 7 or ♦A4 ♦ 10 3
more cards in the suit… ♣KJ9743 ♣82
South
The key word is: “known.” How can the ♠A93
defenders know that they have more cards ♥863
in the suit than declarer’s side if they can’t ♦J96
see declarer’s hand? ♣ A Q 10 5

Sometimes they can. For example, if Table 3

declarer responds to Stayman and dummy In the Venice Cup, the Dutch women
holds a singleton in that suit, the defenders bid:
know that declarer and dummy have a total North South
of 5 (possibly 6) cards in the suit. In this 1♦ 1 NT
hand, however, South can hold any number 2♦ 2 NT
of clubs. Therefore, according to the rule, 3 NT
clubs is eliminated as the OS.*
West led a club to the 8 and 10. De-
Therefore, a discouraging spade at trick clarer played a diamond to the king and
one suggests a heart shift. When the ♦K is a diamond to the jack, East following low-
led at trick two, East should play the 10 — a high (using Smith Echo signals, this simply
suit-preference card for hearts. The ♦10 means: I don’t like clubs). West shifted to a
is slightly risky, since declarer might hold low spade, which would have been the right
9-x of diamonds, but East is desperate for a play if East had the ♠A-10-x-x. East could
heart shift, making the ♦10 worth the risk. duck and declarer has only 8 tricks, while
the defenders get five (three spades and the
two red aces). But the result was 10 tricks
for declarer, +430.

*Objections to this are reasonable. Declarer is The problem was that East-West used a
unlikely to hold as many as six clubs. There is no worthless signal. In principle, Smith Echo
way, however, for the defenders to “know” this. is a very good signal, but it was no longer
relevant once East followed with the ♣8.
Bridge Today • May 2005 To subscribe, click here! page 32

Can you switch signals on a hand de- This was similar to the previous table,
pending on the situation? Yes. Suppose you except for the 1♥ response by South and
play Smith Echo as your principal signal at the fact that declarer won the first trick
trick two. If the first trick makes it obvious with the queen instead of the 10. When
that third hand likes the suit led or doesn’t diamonds were led, East had to forego the
like it, you should then switch signals to Smith Echo signal and give suit-preference
suit-preference when following to declarer instead. It was possible that South held a
or dummy’s lead. Here it is obvious that legitimate four-card heart suit, yet a heart
East has nothing in clubs when he plays the shift would be the killing shift (just take
8 and the 10 wins. Therefore, East should East’s ♥5 or ♥7 and give it to South).
give suit-preference in diamonds. She plays
3-10 to favor a heart play and 10-3 to favor There was another clue for West. That
a spade play. ♣Q. Declarer obviously falsecarded, since
East would have put up the 10 if she held
Board 9 North the 10. So West knows that declarer has
North dealer ♠KQ6 won the first trick with the queen holding
E-W vul ♥ J 10 2 A-Q-10. Why did she do that? Psychologi-
♦KQ8752 cal reasoning would suggest that declarer is
♣6 worried about a shift. Suppose declarer held
West East the hand that West played her for:
♠J82 ♠ 10 7 5 4 ♠ 9 x x ♥ K x x x ♦ J x x ♣ A Q 10.
♥A4 ♥KQ975
♦A4 ♦ 10 3 She could not afford to falsecard by win-
♣KJ9743 ♣82 ning the first trick with the ♣Q. And if she
South held two spades and four clubs, she is still
♠A93 unlikely to falsecard, because East might
♥863 turn up with the ♦A, and then a club
♦J96 through her remaining A-10-x will defeat
♣ A Q 10 5 her. So the falsecard by declarer actually
should have worked against her! Have a
Table 4 nice month.
In the other room the auction was:

West North East South

— 1♦ pass 1 ♥ (!)
2♣ double* pass 2 NT Readers, you are invited to submit your
pass 3 NT (all pass) defensive signaling questions to this forum.
Write to [email protected].
*support double
NOTE: There is also a weekly email
West led the attitude ♣3 to the 8 and forum on this subject, which is included in
queen. Declarer played on diamonds, East the Switch in Time bridge course package,
following with the 3-10. West won the ♦A for sale at Bridgetoday.com. For more infor-
and switched to a spade, so once again de- mation, go to Bridgetoday.com or contact us
clarer had 10 tricks! by email: [email protected]