This blog has moved

This blog is now located at http://blog.atlbridge.com/.
You will be automatically redirected in 30 seconds, or you may click here.

For feed subscribers, please update your feed subscriptions to
http://blog.atlbridge.com/feeds/posts/default.

Jacoby style raises, part 1.

For many years now, using 2NT as a strong raise of a major has been the mainstream solution for how to show partner you have a good hand and the values for game. The "standard" treatment is usually any game forcing hand with 4+ cards in opener's major. The basic responses are shortness on the 3 level, secondary suits (5 cards) on the 4 level with 4M being the lightest balanced hand, 3M being the strongest, and 3NT somewhere in between.

From a theoretical perspective, there are a lot of problems with this structure. The first glaring problem is a simple one: opener, the hand which is about to be declarer, does a lot of describing of their values and distribution. This is true even if there is no real slam interest for the partnership; opener describes immediately, responder jumps to game (maybe), but the damage is done. It's even worse if cuebids are taken by both sides, making it easy for the defense.

A lot of partnerships deal with this issue by using an artificial response structure to 2NT, usually including a 3C minimum step. This at least lets us get to game when neither hand has game interest without describing to a fine degree what they have. While this is a large improvement over basic Jacoby, there are still some areas I feel could be improved.

One of the flaws with the Jacoby model is that of Captaincy. If we use Jacoby on all hands where we have a game forcing hand, our effective range as responder is something like 12 to 25. This can be very awkward if we are on the low end of a game force while the opener has extra values; trapped into responding to the Jacoby relays, opener never has a good opportunity to describe all of his hand. If responder has a minimum, he has to express that quickly to avoid the description trap I described above. Valuable bidding space can be lost when we are near the slam zone without high level safety.

Early in my partnership with Joel Wooldridge, we dealt with this issue in an unusual way: our "Jacoby" bid had a much higher minimum. We would only bid Jacoby with hands that had slam interest, about 16 HCP and up. (Hands with excellent slam prospects could be less).

By "pre-showing" the extra values, we never needed to worry that the "wrong" hand was in charge since if the other hand was stronger we were surely slam bound. (In fact, we reversed the "improvement" listed above. Our first step showed extra values, not minimal. With the minimum hands we could afford to start describing immediately since we knew that one member of the partnership had already expressed interest in more than game. At that point it became worth the price of describing declarer's hand.

These methods suited us well for many years, but at this point they have been retired. In part 2 I'll describe what I've used in other partnerships and what I am using today.

Clash of the Titans

Last week was one of the local Atlanta sectionals. As often happens in tournaments with many knockouts, there were a couple of teams that repeatedly met all week, usually in the finals.

One of the most interesting play problems from early in the week against this team might have slipped under the radar. Playing IMPs in a cold 4S contract, the best line to make 6 may well have gone unnoticed. However, bidding to 6 is quite reasonable; in fact my counterpart at the other table did just that, down 1.



I can't say what defense happened at the other table, but at my table I received a low diamond lead to the J and A, with a diamond return. At this point it's all about finding the best squeeze.

Commonly when you have Qx opposite the Ace, a Vienna coup style squeeze is called for: win the diamond return (discarding a heart from hand), cash the Ace of clubs, and run the trumps leading to an ending like this:



If the K of clubs is in the same hand as a 5 card heart suit, they will be squeezed. This does however require a 5-2 heart break as well as the K in that hand because of the miserable heart spots. Of course, alternate options exist on the hand. With the Ten of H in hand, it would be nice to keep 3 hearts in hand and use the club threat on the board instead of in hand. The best way to do that is to ruff out the clubs, using both the AC and 7S as entries. Of course, that requires 2-1 trumps. If you discard a club right away and find trumps 3-0, you can no longer fall back on the other heart position.

Because of that, I felt at the table the best line was to ruff the diamond return and test trumps. If trumps are 3-0, go after the first line listed above. If trumps are 2-1, draw trumps, club to the A, ruff a club, trump to the 7, ruff a club, run the trumps to this ending:



Now with the 10H still in play, we can win if the KJ of clubs ruff out tripleton or less, if the long club is with 5 hearts, or if the long club is with both the missing heart honors. This seemed like the best chance at the table, but today it didn't work. Clubs are 4-3, hearts are 3-4, honors are split. At the time I didn't think anything of it, it seemed like making 5 was the limit. I was wrong.

With more time to think about the hand later, I realized that there was a rare squeeze position available called a clash squeeze. In a clash squeeze, one opponent is forced to come down to a singleton (usually an honor) to keep cards in multiple suits, exposing their partner to a finesse that didn't exist before. To make it work, I needed the long club on my left with at least one of the 2 heart honors - as well as 2-1 spades.

Going back to step 1, I needed to discard on the diamond return. Not a heart though as in line #1, but the club - just assume we can ruff out the suit and the 7S will be an entry. So, win the diamond, draw trumps in 2 rounds, club to the A, ruff a club, trump to the 7, ruff a club, run the trumps in this ending:



On the last trump, West obviously cannot discard their club. If they discard their last diamond, then East will be squeezed in the red suits when we discard a club from the board. To protect their partner from that West keeps the QD as well, discarding a low heart. If declarer reads the position right, now a heart to the board (West's honor popping up) and a heart back to the 10 will see the rest of the tricks for making 6.

The full hand:

9 Feb - Hand #1

Dlr: N
Vul: None

P-P-1S-1NT
X-P-2D-All Pass

Result: -1

One of the most interesting hands I've seen in the classes yet. First, let's start with the auction.

South decided in 3rd seat to open a little light. With the good quality spade suit, opening 1S has a lot going for it. It may get partner off to the best lead if North is on lead, it may preempt the opponents, and it may help us win the part score.

West didn't have a clear bid over 1S. I don't think that I would have chosen 1NT myself, but there are plenty of experts who would agree with the call.

North has a maximum passed hand, so the double (penalty oriented) to show values seems to be the best call. This gave South a real problem; this is about the worst possible auction we could have imagined, having opened light. We know that we aren't too likely to beat 1NT, so shooting out the double seems flawed. With no suits...what to do? South chose a creative 2D bid, which has a lot going for it. If North like spades he can always bid 2S. If North has a heart suit, he can bid it. If, like here, partner happens to have diamonds, we found our best spot. Well done.

The defense and play was as good as the auction. With no great suit to attack, West chose to lead his doubleton club. When East won the first 2 club tricks, our declarer Zandy instantly turned to West (Richard) and said "You lied!". Obviously Zandy had a good count on the HCP on the hand, and he used that to his advantage.

East correctly returned a 3rd club. Since Zandy knew that Richard had both the Ace and Queen of diamonds, he correctly trumped with the 9, in case the T was in East. West won the TD and tried a low heart, around to declarer's Q.

Zandy led a low trump, and seeing the 7 from West and knowing that the AQ are there, covered with the 8, holding! He then led the singleton spade off the board, to his King and Ace. This was the ending (West on lead):



Richard could see that if dummy had to lead, he would score both his diamonds. He cashed the Ace of Hearts, trying to lure declarer into being trapped. Zandy was up to the task though, and unblocked the K! A third heart was won in hand, where Zandy led another trump to only lose the A.

A very well bid, played and defended board. It's hands like this that really make it worth the trip to Alpharetta to teach these kids. If they are making plays and bids like this now, there's no telling how good they might be some day.

2 Feb, Hand #4

Dlr: W
Vul: Both

P-P-P-1C
1S-X-P-2C
All pass

Result: +2

A good auction by all. 1C strong in 4th seat, a natural 1S overcall (they play CRASH), double showing some values, natural 2C, all out. Game seemed remote, nobody had any reason to go any higher. West could have opened a (very) light 1S, but pass is normal enough. Showing the majors would have been okay as well, but showing the good 5 card spade suit and downplaying the bad 4 card heart suit certainly seems reasonable as well.

The defense started with 1 high spade, followed by a low spade ruffed. Declarer correctly lead a low club towards the Q, West winning his K doubleton. With no good way to continue tapping declarer, Declarer was able to drive the AD and take the rest. (At the table, West tried a low spade, ruffed and overruffed. In practice, if he shifts to a red suit declarer will need to be careful to make 4, but it is still possible by drawing 1 round of trumps and then knocking out the AD.)

2 Feb, Hand #3

Dlr: S
Vul: E-W

2C-2NT-All pass

Result: -2

The light 2C worked very well today, acting as a preempt. West had a difficult decision over the opener. With 15 HCP, some action seems warranted. However, the shape is wrong for a takeout double. West chose to try 2NT and hope for the best. A little aggressive, but certainly very reasonable. 2D may have worked better today, but it may have just gotten them in even more trouble.

North could have raised clubs to 3, but defending 2NT certainly seemed attractive against vulnerable opponents.

East also had a problem. There is something to be said for both passing and bidding Stayman. Bidding may get you to a light game, but with only 7 HCP it will be pushy - especially if partner has wasted values in clubs. (Imagine KQTx.) In practice, bidding Stayman may have worked very well today by allowing East to pass the 3D response. In reality, it is hard to guess that partner is going to fit diamonds so well.

After a club to the K and A, then finding out the bad diamond break, declarer had no choice but to go down. He scrambled for as many tricks as he could get and ended up with 6.

2 Feb, Hand #1

Dealer: N
Vul: None

Pass-Pass-1S-2C
3C-Pass-3D-Pass
4S

Result: Making 5.

An opening club lead made the play uninteresting. The auction was more the point here. The 3C cuebid by responder seems better than just jumping to 4S opposite a 3rd seat opener, although I'm sure some would just advocate bidding game. After any non-minumum response by opener (anything but 3S), North is clearly good enough to bid game.

We also did discuss the merits of a 3H bid after 3D to show a "counter game-try", a hand that isn't quite good enough to accept, but a hand that's better than a 3S sign off. With 5 trumps, an absolute maximum passed hand and even some secondary diamond honors (JTx), this particular hand is good enough to just bid game.