More Tears Before Bedtime in the Tolle

A few tricky hands that my partner (Tim Prior) and I faced in the Tollemache ………

 

1.

 

All Vul Dealer: E	ª84 ©KJ103 ¨AJ87 §1083
	ª2 ©AQ95 ¨9652 §AK74

 

Tim (South) opened a Precision 1¨ and West overcalled 1ª. I made a Sputnik double and East raised to 3ª. Tim’s 4© was now sufficient to buy the contract. West started with two top spades. How would you plan the play?

 

Say you ruff the second spade and test the trumps, discovering that East has four. You cross back to hand with §A, noting the fall of the Jack from East with some satisfaction, and lead ¨5.  West dithers for a moment or two and then places ¨Q and ¨3 on the table simultaneously. It looks as if the two cards have been unluckily glued together.

 

The TD is summoned and he explains that West would have to select which card he wants to play while the other would become a minor penalty card. Clearly still in two minds after plenty of time for reflection, West opts to play the Queen. Tim wins with the Ace in dummy, crosses back to §K (with the Queen also dropping from East) and leads ¨2.

 

Of course, West now follows with the three. Your move …….

 

2. Love All. Partner deals and passes. You hold:

 

ªAQJ3 ©J54 ¨KQ4 §642

 

RHO opens 1©. Your call.

 

3.

 

All Vul Dealer: N	ªQ873 ©1084 ¨832 §J109
	ªAKJ965 ©AJ5 ¨KQ §K5

 

North               East                  South               West

Prior                                         Smith

Pass                 1¨                   Dble                 1©

Pass                 2¨                   3ª                   Pass

4ª                   All Pass

 

Agree with the N/S bidding?

 

West leads ¨J to his partner’s Ace and you win the second trick with ¨K. Trumps fall in two rounds. Now what?

 

4.

 

E/W Vul Dealer: E	ª72 ©AKQJ ¨AJ9852 §4
	ªQ84 ©107654 ¨- §AJ865

 

You are in 4© (no opposition bidding) West’s ª5 lead goes to East’s King; ªJ comes back through you (West has the Ace). When the defence continues with a third round of spades, how do you plan the play?

 

5. All Vul. Dealer E. You deal

 

ªAKQ7 ©K64 ¨4 §AKJ76

 

This is not a good time to be playing Precision. You open a strong club and West comes in with 3©. Partner doubles (about 6+, no good suit to bid). Your call? Decide before reading on.

 

Say you bid 4ª. This buys the contract and this is what you see:

 

	ª96 ©A ¨KQ863 §108542
	ªAKQ7 ©K64 ¨4 §AKJ76

 

West leads §Q. You win and play three top trumps but W pitches a heart on the 3^rd one. Now what?

 

6.

 

Love All Dealer: W	ªAJ3 ©J95 ¨986 §KQ94
	ªQ64 ©AK4 ¨A1075 §J62

 

West opens a weak 2ª and after two passes, you have to decide what to call…….

 

Say you bid 2NT. Partner raises to 3NT. West leads ©7 (2^nd/4^th) – your plan?

 

7.

 

E/W Vul Dealer: N
ªQ1086 ©96 ¨J1064 §842
	ªK52 ©K ¨KQ875 §K1095

 

Partner (N) opens 1NT (14-16) and East climbs in with 3©.  Your call?

 

Say you double and this gets passed out. What do you lead?

 

Say you lead ©K. Declarer wins and leads a spade. You go up with the King and partner plays the 3, suggesting an odd number. You try a club and partner wins with the Ace before switching to Ace and another diamond. OK, you’re in with ¨Q   - what next?

 

8. All Vul. LHO deals. You hold

 

ªK109652 ©K108 ¨7 §AJ5

 

LHO opens 1§ and partner doubles. East tries 1¨.  What would you have called with this hand?

 

Say you decide to start with a quiet 2§. West finds a bid of 2¨ and partner bids 2©. East (yes, you’ve guessed it) bids 5¨. What do you bid now? Decide before reading on.

 

Say you take the plunge and bid 6ª. This is passed out. LHO leads a top diamond and this is what you see:

 

All Vul Dealer: W	ªA874 ©AQ75 ¨J3 §K83
	ªK109652 ©K108 ¨7 §AJ5

 

How do you rate this contract and how do you plan the play (assuming trumps are 2-1)?

 

9. I’ll let you off the bidding decisions this time:

 

E/W Vul Dealer: S	ª9753 ©1043 ¨AQ32 §AJ
	ªAKJ1064 ©AK9 ¨1075 §6

 

With so much playing strength, I upgraded my hand to a 1§ opening. West doubled, which showed two suits of the same rank. Tim should probably have bid 1NT (8-13 balanced) but he doubled, showing 5+. East (Graham Sadie) now bid 3§ and I could see that West must have the minors while East must have length in clubs and at least one major, probably hearts. I should probably settle for 3ª (non-forcing?) but I decided 4ª was a more practical call in the circumstances.

 

Tim’s problem was that he had an 11-count and handy support when he had only promised 5 points. He too erred on the side of optimism in jumping straight to 6ª. West led an inconvenient §K and I could see that 6ª was not a great spot. But trumps prove to be 2-1 (W holding Qx) – can you make it from there?