Articles by Michael Lawrence
If you get all of these right, I will look forward to reading your articles in future issues of the Bulletin. In all cases, no one is vulnerable. You are West. What is your bid in each bidding situation?
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
When you play a hand, you need to plan not only the current trick, but the succeeding tricks as well. In this series, you will be shown a hand and how it was played. At the end, you will be asked to determine where the play went wrong and what should have been done about it.
Assuming you are playing matchpoints, what should West bid now? In an effort to help your decision, here are five possible hand for your partner to have.
What do you think East is saying when he plays the nine and then the five of spades?
South got shoved around a bit in the bidding and arrived at a good slam in spite of it. How can he overcome the known terrible split in his side suit?
West had nothing good to do and led the heart queen taken by dummy’s king. I doubt that the result of this lead was anticipated by anyone at the table.
He chose to work on spades because they were stronger than the clubs. South, therefore, won the heart lead and played ace and another spade. West played low and declarer played the jack losing to the queen. The heart return was won in dummy and another spade played in hopes they were3-3.
Where did South go wrong? Or was four spades just unmakable?
South jumped to two spades, a bid which normally shows nine to eleven points. As you can see, South is a few points short of that.
You can’t lead that. West will ruff and East will be left with another defensive spade trick.
No one is vulnerable. There are two passes and your partner opens one spade in third seat. The next player passes and it is back to you. What is your plan?
How did this happen? Did one of us bid hearts along the way to discourage a heart lead?
How should South handle this situation?
After North opened the bidding with one club, the aggressive East-West bidding pushed North-South to a game they might not have bid.
When West found the killing diamond lead, South no longer had time to set up the clubs. Fortunately, South had one last chance.
South wins with the queen and leads a club, won by your ten. You lead another heart. South takes this with the king and then does a strange thing. He does not ruff a club in dummy. Unexpectedly, he draws another round of hearts, East following for the third time.
Do you and your partner know for sure which card you would lead from the J93 when your partner opens the bidding in this suit? Does it make any difference if your suit is headed by the ten or nine or lower?
West ruffs. He goes to dummy with a trump, and ruffs another diamond. West now plays the ace and king of clubs and ruffs a club in dummy. Inevitably come the last three hearts.
By Mike Lawrence When you are evaluating a hand for play in a suit contract, you routinely add your high cards and your distribution. Then you make some adjustments. You deduct something if you have a balanced hand. You adjust your estimate for high cards in the suits the opponents are bidding. And, you adjust […]
The only good thing for West is that he has an easy lead in the jack of clubs.
West leads the queen of spades. You take your ace and return the three. South wins the king. At trick three declarer leads a club. You win your ace and return
West drops the queen of spades. What do you make of this?
West leads the five of hearts to your ace. South follows with the jack. What do you think is happening? Did partner lead a singleton heart? Or was partner just making a neutral lead? What is your plan?
When declarer leads the king of diamonds, you have to decide what to do.
Before touching trumps declarer leads the queen of clubs. West plays the two. Do you take this trick?
When you play the ten, it tells partner you do not have the jack, but you do have the nine. This will be useful to partner when he gets in.
Give West credit for a good lead. The four is a loud card and should succeed.
What’s going on? Doesn’t partner have the queen and jack of spades?
Is East saying he likes spades or is it a suit preference for diamonds?
Defense is usually the last thing that a defender learns to be efficient at. It is much tougher than playing a dummy for a variety of reasons. When you are defending, there are many things you can do to help you find the best play. One of these things is to count.
Both South and North had choices in the auction. South had to choose between one notrump and a raise to two diamonds. South should not be too quick to bid notrump. Many players overlook raising a minor suit and often pay a price for it.
It amazes me how often someone runs into some bad luck and gives up. Bad luck may be fatal, but not so often that a little thought won’t find a cure. Have you ever said something like “I can’t eat my club loser. Down one?”
One mark of an expert is that he sees problems before they become problems.
The auction was rather hectic which is usually the case when someone has a long suit and the vulnerability is favorable.
12 Easy, 12 Medium and 12 Difficult questions to test your bridge knowledge. How well did you do?
Every now and then you get a hand that is too enormous to open two or three notrump.
South ends up playing in four spades after a straightforward sequence.
Barring a totally unforeseen event ‘My Life With Bridge’ will be my last book.
It is a combination of the history of my early years during which I was introduced to bridge and the years that followed. Just published through Master Point Press.