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 New Year's Quiz

Are you craving for your first game of Bridge of the year? Maybe you have played a few hands already? Surely here in New Zealand we can lay claim to the first making contract, probably the first non-making contract too, of the New Year?

Any nominations?

Whether you are looking, itching for a pack of cards or are pawing over the hand record, try the following problems.

THE SIX PROBLEMS

1. Let’s start the year with a defensive problem. A lively auction, a fairly obvious opening lead…but what next? You are West:

 

You lead a top spade on which your partner plays Q and declarer 4. What do you play to trick 2?

2. Now to the bidding. You are playing Pairs and the opposition only are vulnerable. It will soon be your turn to bid for the second time. You are North:

East’s 2 was a weak jump and South’s 3 was forcing. What now?

3. Still Pairs and the opposition are still pretty lively. You are West and as in the first question above have a pretty safe opening lead…but to trick 2?

 You lead the K to try to score some tricks, for your partner to give count in hearts (“king for count”) and get 2 from your partner and 3 from declarer. What now?

4. Short but how sweet? This is the auction to your 4 contract.

West          North                   East            South

                                                4               4

All Pass

4 needs explaining as it shows at least 6 clubs and 5 hearts and about 7-10 high card points. West leads the 3 and you can see a kind of plan of giving up a trick to the K and hope to lose only one trick in hearts and in clubs. There is, though, the little question of the Q. If you play J at trick one, you could lose a spade unnecessarily.

So the first question. Your play to trick 1?

Although it seems the Q should be on your left, leading from Qxx seems unusual. If West has all 4 missing spades, your play is irrelevant as you will lose a trump trick. So, play low from dummy. You are rewarded as East plays the Q. You win, play a second high spade on which East discards a low club.

You need an entry to dummy. So, leaving one trump out, you play A on which East discards another little club. You play your little diamond but West just covers with 6 and you win in dummy (heart discard from East). You play Q (another club from East) and throw your 2. West wins and continues diamonds.

Finally the question! Which card do you discard now on the J…the only high diamond left in dummy?

You have left in your hand (along with some trumps) KJ   K8?

5. Finally, we have two 6NT contracts for you to play. Often, 6NT is either an easy or an impossible contract. These two fit somewhere between !

 

After you opened your 11 hcp weak 1NT, your partner checked for aces and put you to slam. When West led a low spade, it looked like the wrong slam. You win and cash dummy’s long suit. West throws three little spades, one little heart and two little clubs. East, who shows a liking for hearts, throws two small spades, four small hearts and one small club.

1. Which six cards do you throw?
2. Play on after the 8 diamonds have been played.

 

6.

 

2NT showed 17-18 and 3 asked about South’s majors. 3 showed 3 hearts and less than 4 spades. 5 showed 2 key cards in hearts plus Q.

West led Q. Plan the play.

THE SIX SOLUTIONS

1. A time to switch. Partner’s Q indicated holding the jack… but if you continued with any spade, the defence was over.