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
7 5 2
Q 2
A 7 6 4 2
A Q 6
A Q
A K J 10 9 8 5
K 8
7 3
West
North
East
South
1
Pass
2
Pass
3
Pass
4
Dbl
4
Pass
4
Pass
4
Pass
6
Pass
Pass
Pass
West leads the 2.
Plan the play
” Flattery is all right – if you don’t inhale” Adlai Stevenson.
East’s double made it obvious that the club finesse would fail, so South was on the right track; unfortunately he was on the wrong train.
The slam went down quickly. Dummy’s A won. The K and the A were cashed, but a diamond ruffed high failed to split the suit. The ace and queen of trumps placed the lead in dummy for the spade finesse, and when that failed, the slam went with it.
“My play lands the slam about 68% of the time“, proclaimed South. “I knew there was no need to try a silly club finesse“.
South was right about refusing to finesse in clubs, but he should have gone one better. He should have ducked the opening club lead completely. East wins and shifts to spades, South winning his ace. The A is cashed and three rounds of diamonds fail to split the suit. But there is a difference. Dummy has two entries instead of one, and a trump is led to the queen for another diamond ruff. The A remains as an entry to the good diamond, and the defenders are limited to only one trick.
7 5 2
Q 2
A 7 6 4 2
A Q 6
