GOREN'S NEW BRIDGE QUIZ
The ancient quarrel over which came first, the chicken or the egg, has been no more hotly debated than the relative importance of the bidding and the play in contract bridge. But bidding must be more important, if only for the reason that it comes first.
It is far from my intention to belittle skillful play. My first quiz (SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Oct. 14) concerned only bidding. This week, you get a chance to test yourself as a player, as well.
Don't be discouraged if you have some wrong answers. None of the questions is so simple that any beginner would know the answer.
1 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[Ace of Spades]
[King of Spades]
[7 of Spades]
[7 of Hearts]
[2 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[Jack of Clubs]
[10 of Clubs]
[5 of Clubs]
[King of Diamonds]
[10 of Diamonds]
[6 of Diamonds]
WEST
1 [Heart]
Pass
NORTH
Pass
2 [Club]
EAST
Pass
Pass
SOUTH
Double
?
What do you bid now?
2 AS DEALER YOU HOLD:
[King of Spades]
[Queen of Spades]
[10 of Spades]
[4 of Spades]
[Ace of Hearts]
[Jack of Hearts]
[6 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[Jack of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
[Ace of Diamonds]
[Jack of Diamonds]
[5 of Diamonds]
What is your opening bid?
3 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[5 of Spades]
[4 of Spades]
[King of Diamonds]
[8 of Diamonds]
[7 of Diamonds]
[6 of Diamonds]
[3 of Diamonds]
[Queen of Clubs]
[8 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
WEST
1 [Spade]
NORTH
2 [Diamond]
EAST
2 [Heart]
SOUTH
?
With East-West vulnerable, what do you bid?
4 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[Jack of Spades]
[9 of Spades]
[8 of Spades]
[6 of Spades]
[2 of Spades]
[Ace of Hearts]
[King of Hearts]
[9 of Hearts]
[3 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
[5 of Clubs]
WEST
1 [Diamond]
NORTH
Pass
EAST
1 [Heart]
SOUTH
?
You are vulnerable. What do you bid?
5 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[King of Spades]
[6 of Spades]
[6 of Hearts]
[4 of Hearts]
[2 of Hearts]
[Jack of Clubs]
[9 of Clubs]
[8 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]
[King of Diamonds]
[Queen of Diamonds]
[3 of Diamonds]
SOUTH
Pass
WEST
Pass
NORTH
1 [Club]
EAST
Pass
What do you bid now?
6 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[Ace of Spades]
[Queen of Spades]
[10 of Spades]
[6 of Spades]
[3 of Spades]
[4 of Hearts]
[3 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
[King of Diamonds]
[Queen of Diamonds]
[8 of Diamonds]
[5 of Diamonds]
[2 of Diamonds]
NORTH
1 [Heart]
2 [Club]
2 [Heart]
EAST
Pass
Pass
Pass
SOUTH
1 [Spade]
2 [Diamond]
?
WEST
Pass
Pass
What do you bid now?
7 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[7 of Spades]
[6 of Spades]
[2 of Spades]
[King of Hearts]
[Queen of Hearts]
[10 of Hearts]
[9 of Hearts]
[7 of Hearts]
[3 of Hearts]
[Queen of Clubs]
[5 of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]
[5 of Diamonds]
NORTH
3 no trump
EAST
Pass
SOUTH
?
WEST
What do you bid?
8 AS DEALER YOU HOLD:
[Ace of Spades]
[King of Spades]
[9 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[Queen of Clubs]
[Jack of Clubs]
[10 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
What is your opening bid?
9 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[Ace of Spades]
[King of Spades]
[Jack of Spades]
[8 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[Queen of Hearts]
[4 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[10 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]
[Ace of Diamonds]
[9 of Diamonds]
[7 of Diamonds]
SOUTH
1 [Spade]
WEST
Pass
NORTH
Pass
EAST
2 [Club]
Both sides are vulnerable. What do you bid now?
10 AS SOUTH YOU HOLD:
[Ace of Spades]
[Jack of Spades]
[10 of Spades]
[7 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[Ace of Hearts]
[5 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[Queen of Clubs]
[8 of Clubs]
[Queen of Diamonds]
[9 of Diamonds]
[4 of Diamonds]
SOUTH
1 [Spade]
2 no trump
?
WEST
Pass
Pass
NORTH
2 [Diamond]
4 no trump
EAST
Pass
Pass
What do you bid now?
11 AS WEST YOU HOLD:
[5 of Spades]
[Jack of Hearts]
[10 of Hearts]
[Queen of Clubs]
[Jack of Clubs]
[10 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
[5 of Clubs]
[6 of Diamonds]
[4 of Diamonds]
[3 of Diamonds]
[2 of Diamonds]
SOUTH
1 [Spade]
3 [Spade]
6 [Spade]
Pass
WEST
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
NORTH
3 [Diamond]
4 [Spade]
Pass
Pass
EAST
3 [Heart]
Pass
Double
What is your opening lead?
12 YOU ARE EAST:
Dummy
[King of Spades]
[Jack of Spades]
[3 of Spades]
[7 of Hearts]
[5 of Hearts]
[4 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[Queen of Clubs]
[10 of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
[8 of Diamonds]
[5 of Diamonds]
East
[6 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[Queen of Hearts]
[Jack of Hearts]
[10 of Hearts]
[6 of Hearts]
[2 of Hearts]
[Jack of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
[Jack of Diamonds]
[10 of Diamonds]
[9 of Diamonds]
South's contract is four spades. West leads the king of hearts. What do you play?
13 YOU ARE SOUTH:
N
[6 of Spades]
[2 of Spades]
[Ace of Hearts]
[Jack of Hearts]
[10 of Hearts]
[Jack of Clubs]
[8 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]
[King of Diamonds]
[9 of Diamonds]
[7 of Diamonds]
[2 of Diamonds]
W
E
S
[King of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[4 of Spades]
[King of Hearts]
[Queen of Hearts]
[6 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[9 of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
[Ace of Diamonds]
[5 of Diamonds]
The contract is three no trump. West leads the 5 of hearts. As South, declarer, plan the safest play to assure contract.
14 YOU ARE SOUTH:
N
[Ace of Spades]
[9 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[4 of Spades]
[2 of Spades]
[7 of Hearts]
[4 of Hearts]
[2 of Hearts]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
[King of Diamonds]
[9 of Diamonds]
W
E
S
[King of Spades]
[Queen of Spades]
[Jack of Spades]
[10 of Spades]
[Ace of Hearts]
[King of Hearts]
[Jack of Hearts]
[3 of Hearts]
[5 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]
[Ace of Diamonds]
[6 of Diamonds]
You are South (vulnerable), declarer at a contract of six spades, with no adverse bidding. West leads the 9 of clubs. What is the best way to play the hand?
HERE ARE THE ANSWERS
1 Caution is indicated. Partner may have little or nothing. Any raise beyond three clubs is not justified. After your raise to three clubs, if partner has hearts stopped he should take a chance on three no trump.
2 This hand contains 20 points and is, therefore, short of a two no-trump opening. On the other hand, it is too strong for a one no-trump bid. It must be opened with one of a suit, and my choice is one club. I try to avoid opening with a spade bid, whenever plausible, on hands worth 20 or more points. It is much easier for partner to respond if you open with one club.
3 My own choice is for a direct leap to five diamonds, putting the guess right up to the opposition. There may be merit to a cue bid in hearts, in anticipation of the opponents getting to a high spade contract, in which case the heart lead would be called for. A bid of four diamonds deprives the opponents of some bidding room. A pass, with the intention of bidding five diamonds if the enemy gets to game, is better than the unstrategic raise to only three diamonds.
4 Double, for a take-out. This gives partner a choice between clubs and spades. A sizable demerit should be chalked up against the choice of a bid of only one spade. Two diamonds has some merit. Your hand is worth 21 points in support of spades; 20 in support of clubs.
5 This hand is a little too good for a simple raise in clubs. Some mild effort must be made to urge partner to go on, and the best choice is one no trump, which over a club indicates from 9 to 11 points. One diamond is an alternate call but in my view is not as apt to be effective.
6 I would advise you to quit while the quitting is good. This is obviously a misfit, and the best place to play such hands is at as low a level as convenient. One more bid by you may start a barrage of doubles from the enemy. Remember four suits do not necessarily spell three no trump.
7 Six hearts. Opposite a hand containing 25 points you could hardly miss making a slam. If partner happens to have a substantial three no-trump bid with all four aces, he would be in a position to contract for a grand slam.
A bid of six no trump might work out well and has the merit of making sure a slam is bid—which a jump to five hearts does not do. Four hearts is drastically inadequate.
8 My own preference is for a bid of six clubs. On holdings of this type, scientific exploration is almost impossible. This hand might be spread for 13 tricks and might not make more than 11, but you should be willing to gamble on developing a trick in spades. Partner might have the queen. He might have three or four small ones, and in any event the opponents will have a difficult discarding problem. Because of your unusual opening bid, partner is warned against bidding seven with what may be a useless ace.
9 Discretion calls for a pass. With a partner who has announced possession of practically nothing, it is futile to carry on the fight when the most you can hope to gain is a part score. You cannot expect to win more than six tricks in your own hand, and since partner may hold a complete blank it is foolish to contract for eight tricks. There is always the danger that West may be lying in ambush waiting for you to come out in the open again. If you cannot resist the urge to act, the double offers far greater safety than a bid of two spades, which could be crippled if trumps happen to be massed in West's hand.
10 It may come as a rude shock to some of the old guard that the bid of four no trump in this sequence is not looked upon by the elite as a Blackwood bid. It is just a good, old-fashioned measurement bid and tends to elicit from partner the information as to how good was South's two no-trump bid. The four no-trump call in this sequence is therefore just a king-size raise of the no-trump bid and announces that the holding merits distinctly more respect than a routine raise to three no trump. A four no-trump bid which comes from out of the blue when the common sense of the situation makes it clear that a suit contract is in contemplation is, of course, a Blackwood bid and therefore a demand for aces. In this situation South's two no-trump bid might have been based on only 15 points (see SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Sept. 16). Actually, your hand is worth 17 points, contains a good five-card suit and generally attractive features. You should therefore accept partner's invitation by proceeding to slam. The bid of five diamonds has some merit in that on an occasional hand a diamond contract might prove superior. Five spades, which might be passed by North, deserves whatever credit can be given to reward the player who declined to pass.
11 Deuce of diamonds. The lead of partner's suit is ruled out by the double. Nor should you select the unbid suit. The double of the slam calls for an abnormal lead, and in this particular case it appears that the abnormal lead is the dummy's first suit. You may wager a tidy sum that partner can ruff the opening lead.
12 East should play the queen of hearts, which demands that his partner underlead the ace. This may permit East to win the trick early enough to come through with a diamond. With the solid clubs in dummy available for discards, the defense must try to take diamond tricks in a hurry.
13 The heart opening is won in dummy and a low club is led. South will cover whatever East plays. If West wins this trick the suit will break, establishing declarer's ninth trick, and the spades will be safe from attack.
14 The problem was—as South, what is your best play to make six spades against West's opening lead of 9 of clubs?
These are the complete hands:
NORTH
[Ace of Spades]
[9 of Spades]
[5 of Spades]
[4 of Spades]
[2 of Spades]
[7 of Hearts]
[4 of Hearts]
[2 of Hearts]
[King of Diamonds]
[9 of Diamonds]
[Ace of Clubs]
[King of Clubs]
[6 of Clubs]
WEST
[8 of Spades]
[7 of Spades]
[3 of Spades]
[Queen of Hearts]
[6 of Hearts]
[10 of Diamonds]
[8 of Diamonds]
[7 of Diamonds]
[4 of Diamonds]
[3 of Diamonds]
[2 of Diamonds]
[9 of Clubs]
[8 of Clubs]
SOUTH
[King of Spades]
[Queen of Spades]
[Jack of Spades]
[10 of Spades]
[Ace of Hearts]
[King of Hearts]
[Jack of Hearts]
[3 of Hearts]
[Ace of Diamonds]
[6 of Diamonds]
[5 of Clubs]
[4 of Clubs]
[3 of Clubs]
EAST
[6 of Spades]
[10 of Hearts]
[9 of Hearts]
[8 of Hearts]
[5 of Hearts]
[Queen of Diamonds]
[Jack of Diamonds]
[5 of Diamonds]
[Queen of Clubs]
[Jack of Clubs]
[10 of Clubs]
[7 of Clubs]
[2 of Clubs]
South deals, both sides vulnerable.
You have two obvious chances to make the slam. First: the queen of hearts may be on side. Second: the hearts could break three-three, so that a club could be discarded on the fourth heart. The normal play is to try a high heart first and to finesse on the second round. This guards against singleton queen in the West hand. However, by playing both ace and king, declarer can guard against doubleton queen off side as well. If the queen does not fall on the second round, declarer returns to dummy to lead a small heart toward the jack. If East has the queen where it would have been originally finessible, he wins this trick, but now the jack is established for a club discard.
Your partner may groan if you finessed the jack on the very first heart lead; may offer respectful sympathy if you cashed a high heart before taking the finesse; should cheer if you made the superplay of cashing the two high hearts without taking a finesse.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION