MONTHLY HAND DECEMBER 2001 
INTRODUCTION
 THIS MONTH'S TOPICS: 
       The New Minor Force
        The Forcing Game
         Ruffing Finesse

If we consider the three parts of Bridge - Bidding, Play of the Hand, and Defense  - then probably Defense is the most difficult. It involves signaling, counting, cooperation and staying awake. 
          What makes the Defender's job difficult and challenging is that the Defender, unlike the Declarer, plays only 13 cards. His task of counting, figuring out distribution and formulating a plan is the mettle of good Bridge players. In this month's hand we shall examine a strategy that should be in every Defender's arsenal: the Forcing Game.
          And since we are in a forcing mood, we will consider a bidding convention known as the New Minor Force. This enables the bidding team to easily arrive at a 5/3 Major suit fit when the opening bid is a Minor. 
        A strategy that Declarer will employ in this month's hand is the Ruffing Finesse. This will create winners, or at least enable Declarer to discard a loser on a loser. But all that is for later. For now let's shuffle, cut, deal, and play 
Bridge!

 
BIDDING
North opens 1 D and South responds 1 S. Though a five card Major is needed to open the bidding, only a four card Major is needed to respond to an opening bid. Then, since South could have a four card Spade suit, North really needs four Spades for support so cannot rebid 2 S. (see Golden Fit.) 
         As we can see, North's hand is very flat without any redeeming distributional value. So North with a Minimum hand rebids 1 No Trump. South now has a choice: bid 2 S showing a five card suit; or bid 2 C which is known as the New Minor Force and also indicates a 5 card Spade suit. The advantage of the 2C bid is that it enables North to now support Spades at the two level. Remember, North's 1 No Trump rebid did not imply any significant holding in Spades. Thus, a 2 S rebid by South could be dangerous if North has only a doubleton Spade. So let's go with the New Minor Force by bidding 2 C. This 2 C bid is treated as artificial and forces the auction for at least one more round. (Note: South may or may not have a Club suit.) Now North has a chance to give a more complete description of her hand. With three cards in Spades she bids 2 S. If she had a doubleton Spade she would have to bid something else. If she started with a singleton or a void in Spades, she would not have rebid 1 No Trump, but would have rebid Diamonds or another suit. 
         Can North have a four card Spade suit? Unlikely. If she did  she would have shown support immediately by bidding the suit. 
         The singleton Diamond makes South's hand almost equivalent to an opening hand. It is obligatory to bid game in the Majors or in No Trump if there is an opening hand opposite an opening hand; at least 26 Total Points combined between two hands. South, knowing that there is a 5/3 Spade fit, re-evaluates her hand. Since North opened the bidding, game is bid: 4 S. (A 3 S bid by South at this point could be passed out.)
        Whether the hand makes or not should not be the most important consideration. Making the right bid and bidding the two hands to their maximum potential is what counts. Do not be result oriented. You will not make every hand you play. And if you did, then you are not bidding high enough. 

 
OPENING LEAD
There are several good reasons for West to lead the K C. First, it is the top of a sequence. In a suit contract it is permissible to lead the top of a 2 card sequence. With a 3 card sequence it is an even better lead. (The 10 C is a good card that adds to the solidity of the sequence.)
        Second, if Declarer is forced to play the A C, this  will either create a Club winner or two or Declarer will have to ruff a Club. Forcing Declarer to ruff Clubs can reduce her trump holdings and therefore weaken her control of the hand. 
        West plays the K C. 

 
DEFENSE I
East is in good spot with four trumps to the Ace. A very formidable defensive position. When North/South bid 
4 S, East should not have expressed any reaction. No smiling or gloating. Gloating especially is in bad form. And keep away from glee. Glee is out. Remain neutral. 
          The Defenders' strategy is to force Declarer to ruff. This is called the Forcing Game and it is a global, long term approach. The plan is to make Declarer ruff enough times until she has to concede a trump trick or let a Defender ruff a winner. 
         Another possible benefit of the Forcing Game is that Declarer can lose total control. The Defenders can pull Declarer's trump and cash winners that would normally have been ruffed. 
        To execute the Forcing Game you have to force Declarer to ruff your long suit or your partner's long suit. So whenever you or your partner get the lead, play your long suit. Remember: you want Declarer to ruff, not you. General Patton said the way to win this war is not by dying for your country, but by having those other SOB's die for theirs. Thus, whenever you or your partner get the lead, play a Club and force Declarer to ruff.

 
PLAY 
The opening lead of the K Cis won with the A C in the closed hand. Declarer counts losers: 1 Spade, 1 Heart and 2 Clubs. One loser too many. 
          The Spade loser is a certainty; there is no way to avoid losing the Ace of trump. (Nobel prize in Bridge if you can find a way.) The Heart Finesse could be taken and if West has the King, the contract makes. That is a 
50 % chance. Is there a better way? Perhaps take the Diamond Finesse the regular way by playing small to the Q D. If this Finesse wins a Club loser can be dumped on the A D. But  this is also a 50 % shot. 
PLAN: There is a type of Finesse that will eliminate a Club loser even if the Finesse loses! This is called the Ruffing Finesse. Let's see how this is done. The 4 D is played to the A D. Now the Q D is played from Dummy. East rises with the K D. Not so bad; South ruffs and now Dummy's J D is a winner. On the J D a losing Club is dumped. South will then lose 1 Spade, 1 Heart and 1 Club. Making 4 S.
          But what if the finesse fails? All is not lost. Let's see what happens. East plays small, then Declarer dumps a losing Club from the closed hand. West wins the trick. A Club loser was eliminated. This is sometimes referred to as a loser on a loser play. Notice that in the usual Finesse play where one loses a trick, Declarer would still have 2 Club losers. But in this case we were able to eliminate the Club loser even though we lost the Q D. Now Declarer has the opportunity to try the Heart Finesse without having lost an additional trick by trying the Ruffing Finesse. The Ruffing Finesse is an exceptional play because even if it does not work no net tricks are lost.!

PLAY: After winning the opening lead with the A C, play the 4 D to the A D. Play the Q D (the Ruffing Finesse), which East covers with the K D. (This by the way is East's best shot.) South wins the trick by trumping with the 5 S. Since Declarer has won the Ruffing Finesse, the J D is promoted to a winner and there is no need to try to eliminate the Heart loser. Thus she no longer has to try to take the Heart Finesse. On the next trick she plays 
the 4 H to the A H. Once in Dummy with the A H, Declarer plays the winning J D and dumps the losing 
4 C.          
           South has not lost a trick but figures to now lose a trump trick to the Ace, one more Heart and one Club. Time to draw trump. Declarer plays the 2 S from the table, East a small Spade, South the Q S, winning the trick. She now follows with a low Spade to the K S. Ooops! West shows out and East again plays a small Spade. This means East started with 4 Spades to the Ace. In fact this is more than just an Ooops, this is a @%^&*#$%^.  Declarer has actually lost control of the game and we are now going to focus on Defense.  

 
DEFENSE II
After two rounds of trump the hands are now:

XXXXXXX DUMMY
XXXXXXXS 10
XXXXXXXH 10 7
XXXXXXXD 2
XXXXXXXC 5 3
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXEAST
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXS A 8
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXH K
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD ----
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXC J 9 8

               DECLARER
XXXXXXXS J 9
XXXXXXXH Q J 9
XXXXXXXD ----
XXxxxXXXC 6

What happens if Declarer plays a third round of trump? East wins with the A S. After this trick South will have only one trump left and North will have none. East now has:
XXXXXXXXS 8
XXXXXXXXH K
XXXXXXXXD ----
XXXXXXXXC J 9 8

and continues with Clubs. First taking a winning J C and then on the next trick executes the coup de grace by playing the 9 C. 

XXXXXXX DUMMY
XXXXXXXS ----
XXXXXXXH 10 7
XXXXXXXD 2
XXXXXXXC 5 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXEAST
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXS  8
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXH K
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXD ----
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXC 9 8

               DECLARER
XXXXXXXS J 
XXXXXXXH Q J 9
XXXXXXXD ----
XXxxxXXXC 

This forces South to ruff or lose the trick. If South ruffs with her last trump then East's 8 S will be a winner. Then East would have won 2 Spades, 1 Heart and a Club setting the contract. The same result will occur if South lets East win the Club. East wins 1 Spade, 1 Heart and 2 Club losers. Down one. 
         If South does not play the third round of trump but plays Hearts, then East wins with the K H and again forces Declarer in Clubs. And again the same results: either Declarer loses two Clubs or ruffs one and loses to East's fourth Spade. 
 

QUESTION: 
Would South make the hand if Spade split 3/2?
 

     Answer

 
 
 

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