Crucial Bridge Hands

Examples, Which Decided the Fate of Some Contestants in the Recent Auction Tournament

RALPH J. LEIBENDERFER

THE recent Auction Bridge Tournament held in New York City last March was noteworthy in many ways, but particularly because it was the first Tournament ever held in the United States devoted exclusively to the playing of Auction Bridge. Its success was so marked that it is sure to become an annual event and will undoubtedly be the forerunner of other tournaments of a similar character throughout the country. At this tournament, the principal trophies contested for were the Team Championship and tin; Pair Championship. The former was open to all Clubs and each team was composed of four players from each competing Club. The Pair Championship was open to pairs only. The competition in both trophy matches was the closest on record and both were undecided until the very last hand. Naturally the players were under considerable strain and, as a result, some very brilliant play and bidding was mixed up with some bad errors of judgment. One prominent player expressed his opinion of the tournament as follows:

"The extent, to which science and skill may be developed in playing the game of Auction Bridge was strikingly illustrated throughout the Tournament. In the Trophy Matches especially, brilliant plays abounded from start to finish. The solving of problem hands, with plenty of time to study, and with all cards exposed, is only fairly difficult, but to dig out a seemingly impossible game against air-tight defense, in actual play, denotes the presence of more than a 'trace' of gray matter."

THE following hands are elected from actual play and represent the best and worst of the two championship matches. Practically every one is a key hand, that is, it decided the championship chances of the player who held it.

No score, first game. Z dealt and bid one diamond. A bid one heart and Y, one of the most brilliant players in the tournament, looked his hand over very carefully. The fact that his partner had bid a diamond was pretty good indication that their combined hands against a heart bid would offer very little defense and that the only way to save game was by use of such strategy as would lead the opponents to believe that Y Z had better defense than they actually had. Y accordingly bid one no trump. B, who had fairly good help for hearts but an unusually big club suit, thought it better policy to show the clubs first and then help his partner's heart bid later. Z, who had an original diamond bid and no more, passed the two club bid. A, who had a good heart hand, also had better than average support for his partner's club, so decided to pass. Here was the opportunity Y had anticipated so he promptly bid four diamonds. This bid, plus the preceding no trump bid, would indicate to the opponents a much stronger all around hand than he actually held and perhaps bluff them out from further bidding unless they had unusual strength and, if they did, and should bid for game, nothing would be lost. However, both B and A passed the four diamond bid, both having good hands, but deterred from a try for game by Y's subtle bid of no trump. They figured that their strength was sufficient to save game at diamonds but probably not enough to justify a game in clubs or hearts. As a result, Y Z went down two tricks, undoubled, and by so doing prevented A B from scoring a game in hearts or clubs. It was a perfect example of a bluff bid made at the psychological moment.

No score, first game. Z dealt and bid one heart, A bid one spade, Y bid one no trump and all passed. Here was where B, a very fine player, but one who likes to perform miracles with every hand, decided to do the unconventional and opened the five of hearts instead of the conventional spade opening. As a result of this astounding error of judgment, Y Z made a little slam. On the other hand, if B had opened spades, his partner's suit, Y Z could have been held to one no trump. This error by B may seem inexcusable to the average reader, but he is the type of player who tries for everything and he had a feeling that only by an unconventional play could he and his partner save game. 11 is hand was so very weak that it didn't seem possible to save game by conventional play. Unfortunately, this error of judgment cost B and his partner the Pair Championship—an example of what sometimes happens to the brilliant player when he strives for the impossible.

No score, first game. Z dealt, bid one no trump and all passed. A opened the five of spades, Y played low. B played the queen and Z won the trick with the king. Z now had a problem confronting him and knew that to win tin1 match, he would have to score game. The question was, how could it be done. The answer, of course, was that lie must make four heart tricks. These tricks, plus four club and one spade tricks, would just score game. The usual play would be to finesse the jack of hearts in the hope that A held the queen but Z was not the type of player to depend on chance if skill and analysis of the drop of the cards could point out a better line of play. So he decided to play out four rounds of clubs and obtain as much information as possible from the discards of his opponents as to the location of the queen of hearts. It happened that each opponent held three clubs so that each was forced to make one discard on the last club trick, Y having overtaken the third round of clubs with his king and then led the ten. On this club, B discarded a low spade, Za low diamond and A a low heart. The latter discard practically decided Z that the queen of hearts was in B's hand, where he did not want it, but, being a skilled player, Z was very resourceful, lie decided if A held the ten of hearts, he could still go game by playing the ace of hearts and then the jack, finessing against the queen in B's hand. It happened that the ten of hearts fell on the: ace so that Z was able to complete the coup and thus scored a game that no other player of that particular hand was able to do. All made the conventional finesse against the queen in A's hand. This play subsequently proved to be the deciding play in the winning of the Team Championship.

In this particular hand, Z had bid two diamonds which B had doubled. Seven tricks had been played, of which Y Z had won three and A B four, so Y Z had to win five of the remaining six tricks to make their contract. Y, the dummy, is in the lead. What should Z play? The problem is really very simple. Y should lead the trey of clubs and Z should trump in his own hand with the trey of diamonds. He should then lead the jack of spades and overtake in Y's hand with the queen. He should then lead the jack of clubs and B is forced to trump. If he trumps with the five or seven of diamonds, Z plays his eight and his king queen AS in two more tricks. B's best' play, however, is the nine of diamonds. Z should then play the four of diamonds and his king queen eight must win the next three tricks. In any event, Y Z will only lose one of the six tricks. In the actual play, however, Z made the fatal error of leading the seven of hearts from Y"s hand which gave B the chance to discard his losing spade. Now no matter what Z does he must lose two diamond tricks. This failure by Z to solve this apparently simple end play cost him and his partner the Pair Championship. No excuses are offered for this mis-play. It is just one of those errors that the best make at times and is given to show that even the experts are human and prone to err.

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No score, first game. Z dealt and bid otie spade, an example of the preference by good players for the major suit, even without tops, to the no trump. A passed and Y, even with the ace and small spade, decided to give his partner another chance to bid, so bid tAvo diamonds. In these days of modern bidding, many four card suits are bid or major suits of the type held by Z in this hand so that two trumps, even headed by the ace or king, are of doubtful assistance unless partner can rebid. B passed the tAvo diamond bid, but not Z, a very fine player and one who believed in distribution bids until the partnership obtained the best bid for the twenty-six cards of himself and partner. Z, therefore, bid tAvo hearts and all passed. At hearts, Y Z easily scored game, while at spades they could only have scored three odd. Their clever bidding of their combined hands was well rewarded, for by making game in this hand they won the Pair Championship.

No score, first game. If Z dealt and bid one heart, what would you do with A's hand? Would you double one heart or would you bid one spade? If you should elect to double one heart, your partner would bid one no trump and you would easily score game. On the other hand, if you should bid one spade, you would only score three spades and thus lose game. In this particular hand A elected to bid one spade, probably the sounder bid than die double, but unfortunate. At the other table, his competitor in the Team Championship, doubled so that A's team lost the match and, as it proved, the Championship. It was rather hard on A, but such is always the way in Championship matches. You must alAvays do the right thing at the right time. That is the one attribute that the real champion must always possess.