Bobby WolffWikipedia: Robert S. (Bobby) Wolff(born October 14, 1932, San Antonio, Texas) is an American bridge player, writer, and administrator. He is the only person to win world championships in five different categories.
Wolff was an original member of the Dallas Aces team, which was formed in 1968 to compete against the Italian Blue Team which was dominant at the time. The Aces were successful and won their first world championship in 1970. Wolff has won 11 world championships, over 30 North American championships, and was the president of World Bridge Federation (WBF) 1992–1994, and served as president of American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) 1987. He is the author of a tell-all on bridge chronicling 60 years on the scene, entitled The Lone Wolff, published by Master Point Press. His column, The Aces on Bridge has been appearing daily for over 32 years, is syndicated by United Feature Syndicate in more than 130 newspapers worldwide and is available online two weeks in arrears.
IMPs Dealer South. Both Vul
K J 7
8 6 4 2
8 7 2
J 9 5
8 3
Q J 9 5 3
A K Q
A K Q
West
North
East
South
1
Pass
2
Pass
4
Pass
Pass
Pass
“Problems worthy of attack prove their worth by hitting back” Piet Hein
How do you play today’s trump combination? Unless you’re aware of the probabilities involved, you’re a favorite to make the wrong move.
West led the 4. Dummy’s J forced East’s ace, and a spade return was won by dummy´s king.
A low trump was led and East played the 7. What card should South play?
The choice is between an honor (Q or J) and the 9.
If the trumps are 3-1, no play will win if East holds A K 10. If West holds a singleton ace or king, the play of the 9 wins. If West holds the singleton 10, the play of an honor wins. Since a singleton ace or king with West is twice as likely as the singleton 10, the adds favot the finesse of the 9 by exactly 2-1.
You should familiarize yourself with this reasoning and remember it. It will come in handy when you play this combination correctly and partner demands to know why you lost to a singleton ten.
K J 7
8 6 4 2
8 7 2
J 9 5
