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Deal of the Week
by Bruce Schwaidelson
(bruschwade@aol.com)
Rabbi Ruth Goes King Hunting
Way back in the 1990’s while playing in a Lancaster Regional, I began chatting with my first round opponent who introduced herself as “Ruth.” As the day went on, I heard others greet her as “Rabbi Ruth” and I was intrigued. None of the rabbis I knew had ever played tournament bridge.
Luckily our paths crossed again later in the tournament and I had the chance to ask her about her congregation, i.e., where was she rabbi-ing? Her reply: “So do you have time for a little story?” Now if you know anything about rabbis, there is absolutely no such thing as “a little story,” so I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down to listen.
Rabbi Ruth explained that when she was still an intermediate player, she had read several books and articles in an attempt to improve her declarer play. She discovered that “one of the repeating themes was that rather than taking finesses, you should look for ways to avoid them by utilizing endplays and squeezes or setting up side suits for pitches.
“Then one day, a bridge friend told me about The Rabbi’s Rule, the one that advises: Whenever an offside King is singleton, play the Ace! I was so excited that I stopped taking many of the usual finesses, instead looking for chances to drop a stiff King. Of course, that did not help my bridge results, but when Mini Ster, one of my partners, noticed that I did manage to kill a bunch of Kings, she began calling me ‘Rabbi Ruth’ – and soon everyone was calling me that. Even my rabbi, who doesn’t play bridge, began calling me ‘Rabbi Ruth’! But there’s more to the story.” (Of course there is, I thought.)
“As my declarer play progressed, I discovered there really are some appropriate circumstances in which not finessing into an offside King is the correct line. Here’s an example that came up in today’s Swiss. I was in 3NT needing just two tricks from the club suit. My dummy had ♣AQ54 and I held ♣732. I had two obvious ways to make at least two tricks: play for the king onside and, if not, hope clubs split 3-3. The good news was that I could afford to lose the lead twice and still make my contract. How should I play the suit?”
Before I could answer, she carried on: “In my younger days, I would immediately take the finesse and then cross my fingers for a 3-3 break when it lost. But here are two other ways to play it:
(1) challenge RHO by playing low from dummy – if he has Kx, he is extremely unlikely to duck; if the King doesn’t appear, then when you get back in, take the finesse, or better yet…
(2) start by cashing the Ace and then play low – if the singleton or doubleton King has not yet appeared, next time play low from your hand towards the Queen and play the Queen if LHO plays low. This guarantees two tricks unless K-4th or longer is offside.
“Today I used the second method and RHO’s singleton King fell under my Ace – The Rabbi’s Rule - and I made my contract. At the other table, my opponent took the finesse immediately and down he went.
I played against Rabbi Ruth recently when she partnered with Minnie Ster in BBO’s ACBL World online game, the one several of our club members enjoy on Tuesday nights. She was declarer in this tenuous 4♥ contract:
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