Blackwood is for Sissies?
|
|
 7 |
|
 A K 5 4 |
|
 A J 10 4 3 2 |
|
 6 5 |
|
|
| K Q J 4 3 |
|
A 10 9 8 6 |
|
| 9 2 |
|
8 7 |
|
| 9 8 7 6 5 |
|
Q |
| 3 | |
A 10 8 7 4 |
|
|
|
| 5 2 |
|
Q J 10 6 3 |
|
K |
|
K Q J 9 2 | Vul: None |
| South | West | North | East |
| 1 |
2 |
Pass |
4 |
| Pass |
Pass |
6 |
All pass |
Sometimes 4 NT opposite a no trump bid is ambiguous. Occasionally the opponents will stick in a 5 bid on a good fit, inhibiting a 4 no Blackwood bid. And sometimes you'll have three aces along with second round control of the fourth suit and not looking for grand slam might as well bid the little slam you feel is there. But absent the above circumstances, when you're thinking slam and a 4 no Blackwood bid is open, it's difficult to understand why anyone, looking at 2 or fewer aces would simply bypass that useful bid developed by a gentleman named Easely Blackwood.
Oh, but we might give the opponents a chance to double for a killing lead! Yeah, right. I had to think hard to come up with any reason for bypassing Blackwood. And that one isn't very convincing here, in part because the opponents have already located their dominant suit and in part because the Blackwood response comes before the hand that'll be making the opening lead! If he's got a killing lead, he doesn't need a Blackwood response.
This invites a bit of speculation. Was North trying to make a sacrifice bid? It doesn't seem likely: with two aces opposite an opening bid and second round control of their suit, it's not likely that he thought those other guys were strong enough to invite a sac. And given two aces in his hand, if thinking sac, why not a simple 5 heart bid, being ready to double 5 spades? No, I feel morally certain that North was bidding to make and thought it was -- um-m-m-m-m -- a bit more sophisticated to make a daring leap.
Which brings me to the play of the hand. With only two obvious losers, I wondered why declarer was down two and hadn't even looked at the play of the hand. Had he thrown away a trick? I looked and could only say: Oh, but of course.
Opening lead was the K of spades, overtaken by East, who cashed his A of clubs and gave his partner a ruff in that suit. Down two before declarer had any control of the hand. Which might give the declaring side reason for pause. Yes, they're all a bit easier to bid looking at the potential. Still, though holding a good fit in hearts, North also has three low black spot-cards, not to mention a gap in diamonds, that could easily have meant a diamond loser opposite a doubleton. No, I don't think it's hindsight to say that North was unwisely aggressive. Yes, with good distribution and only 12 hcp's, there just might have been slam there . . . and as you can see, there just might not have been. With a rather minimum 12 hcp's and losers all over the place that the opening bidder may not be able to cover, North would do well to rein in his daring bids. And at least give Blackwood a try.