Goren Bridge: The extra step
1 year, 5 months ago

Goren Bridge: The extra step

The Hindu  

South in today’s deal was a young professional playing with an enthusiastic student from his local club. The young pro took one look at dummy and thought: “I’m gonna get fired if I don’t find the queen of clubs.” South played low from dummy on the opening heart lead and ruffed East’s jack. He cashed the two top diamonds in dummy, plus the ace of hearts, carefully discarding a club from hand, and ruffed dummy’s last heart. South cashed the king of clubs, in case the queen fell, and then confidently led a club to his jack to bring home the grand slam!

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History of this topic

Goren Bridge: The illusion
1 day, 22 hours ago

Goren Bridge: The illusion

The Hindu  

South’s five-club bid is perfectly reasonable. He did not know whether or not four spades was making — it wasn’t — but five clubs might also make and it could not be a very expensive sacrifice. West found the most effective lead of a trump, preventing any real chance of ruffing two hearts in dummy. South’s first thought was that …

The Curious Case of the North-South Slam Bidding
2 months, 1 week ago

The Curious Case of the North-South Slam Bidding

The Hindu  

North-South had a fascinating deal in a recent top-level competition held in Europe. North-South could make a slam in all five strains, but they chose to bid the slam in no trump and Schaltz had to guess which red suit to play on after winning the opening spade lead. He cashed his king of hearts, crossed to dummy with a …

Goren Bridge: Counting is the key
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: Counting is the key

The Hindu  

Today’s deal is from a major tournament in Chicago a few months ago. Martel ruffed the opening heart lead and led a spade to dummy’s king and East’s ace. East shifted to the 10 of clubs and the defense played three straight rounds of clubs, Martel ruffing the third round with the 10 of spades in dummy. He won with …

Goren Bridge: Roadmap
4 months, 1 week ago

Goren Bridge: Roadmap

The Hindu  

East thought his hand was good enough for an “Unusual No Trump” bid, even at unfavourable vulnerability. South ruffed a heart in hand and led the 10 of clubs, prepared to run it if West played low. South continued with a low club from dummy to his eight and West’s nine. The defense could cash a diamond, but South would …

Goren Bridge: Fancy Methods
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: Fancy Methods

The Hindu  

Many new bidding ideas have become popular in various parts of the world. East won the opening heart lead with the ace as South, cleverly played the king. South needed the ace of clubs onside, as well as some other things going his way, so he rose with dummy’s king of clubs, winning the trick as East played the queen. …

Goren Bridge: Intricate deal
5 months ago

Goren Bridge: Intricate deal

The Hindu  

Today’s deal is from the recent Norwegian Pairs Championship. Bakke rose with dummy’s ace, led a heart to his ace, and cashed the queen of hearts, drawing trumps. Bakke cashed the ace of diamonds and exited with the jack of diamonds to the West’s queen. A better defence from West at this point would have been to cash in on …

Goren Bridge: Your Choice? by Bob Jones
5 months, 1 week ago

Goren Bridge: Your Choice? by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Would you open the bidding with the East hand? At one table, East opened two spades, drawing a two no trump bid from South. At this table, East opened one spade and South bid one no trump. South might have passed, but instead he took out his partner’s take-out double – usually a good idea. West had shown up with …

Goren Bridge: Teachers can play too
5 months, 4 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: Teachers can play too

The Hindu  

Keith Hanson, from Boca Raton, Florida, has been one of America’s great bridge teachers for many years. The deal is from a high-stakes rubber bridge game some years ago and the bidding employed in this game was not very sophisticated by today’s standards. South started by leading a spade to dummy’s ace and Hanson smoothly dropped the queen! Declarer, as …

Goren Bridge: Seeking information
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: Seeking information

The Hindu  

The auction and the final contract in today’s deal were routine, but the play was a step above. The opening spade lead went to East’s ace and East returned a spade to South’s king. Many players would cash the ace and queen of clubs, thinking that they could only pick up a poor club split if West had the length. …

Goren Bridge: Two chances
6 months, 3 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: Two chances

The Hindu  

South in today’s deal was young Australian star Michael Whibley. Whibley rose with dummy’s ace on the opening spade lead, felling the jack from East. Should Whibley knock out the king of trumps right away, however, East might win and shift to a heart, forcing Whibley to decide immediately which suit to go after for the extra trick. Whibley wanted …

Goren Bridge: Take your time
7 months ago

Goren Bridge: Take your time

The Hindu  

At the sight of dummy, South realised that he needed four tricks from the heart suit to make his contract. He won the diamond continuation with his ace, noting East’s club discard, and set out to see what else he could learn about the hand. Two high spades saw East discard another club, and South had a perfect count on …

Goren Bridge: Small miracle
7 months, 1 week ago

Goren Bridge: Small miracle

The Hindu  

South in today’s deal was American expert Owen Lien. Lien won in dummy with the ace and cashed three high hearts to discard the remaining diamond from dummy. Lien ruffed a diamond in dummy as West shed another spade. Lien led a club back to his ace, pleased to see the jack from East. In this two-card ending, Lien led …

Goren Bridge: X-ray vision?
10 months, 3 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: X-ray vision?

The Hindu  

Today’s deal is from a recent tournament in Norway. South was Norwegian expert Lasse Aaseng, who perhaps should have passed North’s weak raise. South cashed the ace and king of clubs, no doubt intending to play a third round of the suit. Something about the way the opponents followed to the first two clubs made Aaseng feel that the clubs …

Goren Bridge: Plan ahead
11 months, 4 weeks ago

Goren Bridge: Plan ahead

The Hindu  

South won the opening club lead with his ace and drew trumps in three rounds, ending in his hand. He led a spade to dummy’s queen and then a diamond to his king and West’s ace. South should have won the club opening lead and led a spade to the king before touching trumps. South could win and draw trumps …

Goren bridge: Foresight
1 year, 1 month ago

Goren bridge: Foresight

The Hindu  

South in today’s deal was Ferit Tavlan, from Germany. He would surely come to nine tricks if the club suit provided six of them, but he did not want to overtake his queen of clubs. The queen of spades was a possible entry to dummy, if West held the ace, but the defense would probably see this. East could shift …

Goren Bridge: Discovery
1 year, 1 month ago

Goren Bridge: Discovery

The Hindu  

Today’s deal is from a team match in Europe. McGann was not particularly surprised to hear East open one club. Many European players open one club with 12-14 point balanced hands, regardless of their length in the minor suits. McGann cashed two high diamonds, hoping for the jack to fall. Had East shed both high spades, West would have won …

Goren Bridge: The Battle
1 year, 2 months ago

Goren Bridge: The Battle

The Hindu  

A pretty normal auction. He led a low diamond toward the dummy, and West rose with his king of diamonds to lead another trump. West led a low diamond to East’s ace, who led his last trump. The winning line was to rise with dummy’s ace at trick one and lead a club to the jack. Should the defense lead …

Goren Bridge: One Little Difference
1 year, 3 months ago

Goren Bridge: One Little Difference

The Hindu  

Today’s deal is from a team competition recently in Cyprus. North’s three-heart bid, rather than a jump to four hearts, suggested a little extra and South pushed to slam. At the first table, South won the opening spade lead with his ace and immediately cashed three rounds of clubs to discard his remaining spade. All would have been well had …

Goren Bridge: Surprise information
1 year, 3 months ago

Goren Bridge: Surprise information

The Hindu  

North’s two-diamond response to South’s two-club opening showed a negative hand – fewer than seven points. West, who might have led his singleton club to terrible effect for the defense, led the ten of diamonds and East quickly cashed two high diamonds and then led the eight of diamonds. The eight looked like a suit-preference signal for spades, although it …

Goren Bridge: Thoughtful play
1 year, 5 months ago

Goren Bridge: Thoughtful play

The Hindu  

The opening jack of spades lead went to the queen, king, and ace. South saw that he would need a successful diamond finesse to get up to 12 tricks. When West followed to the queen, it became perfectly safe for South to overtake the queen with dummy’s ace. And the poor split in diamonds made South’s care in the club …

Goren Bridge: A rattled guess
1 year, 7 months ago

Goren Bridge: A rattled guess

The Hindu  

Freak deals like this one can be the most fun to play, but they can break your heart as well. Should you think that North’s raise to five spades was overly aggressive, imagine South’s red-suit holdings reversed. The five-spade contract seemed safe enough, even after West found the best suit to lead. South played low from dummy on the opening …

Goren Bridge: Using your knowledge
1 year, 7 months ago

Goren Bridge: Using your knowledge

The Hindu  

A Michael’s Cue Bid, showing at least 5-5 in the major suits, is usually made with a weakish hand. South won the opening heart lead, which looked like it was from a short suit, with dummy’s ace and drew trumps in three rounds. West’s flyweight opening bid came back to haunt him now as South was able to place all …

Goren Bridge: Timing
1 year, 7 months ago

Goren Bridge: Timing

The Hindu  

North-South have adequate values for game, but what game? When North admitted to having two spades, South took advantage of his great spade quality and drove to game in their 5-2 fit. It was pointless for South to lead another heart, as the defense would just win and lead another spade. Assuming a normal 3-2 diamond split, this would give …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
2 years, 1 month ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

It is not widely known by non-experts, but a jump shift in the “passout seat”, like South’s two-spade bid here, shows an intermediate hand — roughly 14-16 points with a decent six-card suit. South won the opening diamond lead with dummy’s ace, cashed the king, and ruffed a diamond with the ace of spades. South cashed the king of spades …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
3 years, 10 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

North would have made a control bid in spades if he could, so his jump to five diamonds must have been based on good trumps plus something in clubs. He only had one trump left in dummy, so he could not ruff both a club and a heart and he drifted down one. West would be known to have started …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
4 years ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

A wild and woolly auction. West’s double of seven spades might have been based on a sure trump trick, but South reasoned that it was more likely to be a Lightner Double, asking for an unusual lead. Looking at his club length, South could easily imagine West with a club void, so he ran to seven no trump, hoping for …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
4 years, 1 month ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

The correct action with the South hand over East’s pre-empt is not clear, but South’s choice of double was certainly reasonable. Sontag realised that there was no chance for the king of spades to be right, as East couldn’t possibly have that card along with diamond strength and the king of clubs. Sontag captured the king with his ace and …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
4 years, 11 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

South’s slightly aggressive jump rebid caused North to use Key Card Blackwood — standard among today’s tournament players. The fiveclub response showed zero or three key cards, among the four aces and the king of the agreed trump suit. North, presuming three key cards due to South’s jump rebid, continued with five diamonds, asking for the queen of trumps. A …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 1 month ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Hard Luck Louie was hoping for a strong finish in the club’s Saturday night duplicate when he became declarer in this tricky game contract. He played low from dummy on the opening club lead and won East’s 10 with his ace. Larry led a low diamond to the queen, winning the trick, and led dummy’s last trump for the proven …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 3 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

A highly competitive auction, as is typical in today’s tournament world. South ruffed the opening spade lead in his hand and led a low diamond toward dummy’s 10. Declarer won with dummy’s ace, discarding a club from his hand, and ruffed a spade. After cashing the ace of clubs and ruffing a club in dummy, South led dummy’s remaining spade. …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 3 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

The auction was routine, except for East’s final pass. West must have at least five clubs for a pre-emptive raise of a vulnerable one-club opening. East switched to a low spade at trick two, ducked to West’s queen. South was about to exit with his last spade, forcing the opponents to lead diamonds for him and let him out for …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 3 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Sometimes a great player makes a great play that is difficult to explain. At the other table, South won the opening heart lead in hand and led a low spade to dummy’s jack, which East allowed to hold. A second club forced dummy to ruff and South couldn’t avoid the loss of two trumps and two clubs. McCallum also won …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 5 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

South played low from dummy on the opening seven of spades lead, overtaken by East with the eight. Declarer decided East likely had a six-card spade suit and a hold-up play would be pointless, so he won the opening lead with his ace. The queen of hearts was ducked, but East won the heart continuation with the ace and led …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 6 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Pre-emptive bids can be very effective in giving your opponents problems. East’s four-diamond bid may seem curious, but note how well that contract would play. South won the opening diamond lead with dummy’s ace and led a spade to his ace. When West followed to the ace and king of hearts, his whole distribution was known, presuming he had seven …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 7 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

The hold-up play is common in bridge. South played low from dummy on the opening heart lead, and East made the key defensive play of playing low from his hand, allowing dummy’s 10 to win the trick. Declarer led a low spade to his jack and continued with the ace of spades after the 10 fell from East on the …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 8 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Slam was too ambitious on these cards and would have been defeated on a club lead even if the trumps split normally. He led a heart to his king and a spade back to dummy’s ace. East got a little nervous about his trump trick when dummy’s queen of hearts was led. South discarded one of his clubs on this …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 8 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Key Card Blackwood told South that the queen of hearts was missing, but that didn’t deter him from bidding a grand slam. Holding weak hearts and the golden queen of clubs, North happily passed in seven clubs. East was known to hold the queen of hearts, and he would have to keep it to protect against South’s three of hearts. …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 9 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Today’s deal is from a team game in Poland recently. At one table, the West player decided to pass, hoping that his ace-king, ace opposite a partner who had opened the bidding would give his side a plus score. He thought that a double by him would likely lead to a final contract of four spades on a 4–3 fit …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 9 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Puppet Stayman has a big following among tournament players. South was known to hold a four-card spade suit when he bid three no trump, or he would have bid four hearts, so the lead-directing double was the only way to get West to lead a spade. The contract went one down when East had the ace of diamonds along with …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 10 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

Expert partnerships have special agreements about handling certain rare situations. South knew what partner’s suit was so he bid it at the five level, hoping his partner would raise if he held a spade control. East cashed the ace of spades and led a spade to West’s king, and West’s shift to the king of diamonds killed the late entry …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
5 years, 10 months ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

North-South were playing an opening one no trump range of 15-17. It wasn’t too long ago when no good player would even consider opening one no trump with the South hand, but today we see it more and more. A club was led to dummy’s queen and a club came back to declarer’s 10 and West’s ace. West had to …

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones
6 years ago

Goren Bridge by Bob Jones

The Hindu  

What would you lead from the West hand after this auction? The contract seems impregnable, with four club tricks, three diamonds, a spade, and at least one heart. He reasoned that a low heart lead might give away a trick and that South was likely to be very short in spades. Oshlag hit on the brilliant lead of the spade …

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