Bidding Quiz                                                 June 6th, 2007

 

                                   Click here for print-formatted version of the Bidding Quiz

 

                                                    Board 3      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

East has a nice Heart suit but does not quite have the values for a 2♥ bid over the 2♣ interference.  Instead he has to be satisfied with a Negative Double and is put on the spot when that preemptive 4♣ gets back to him.  “Support with support” as the old saying goes, and that’s what East should do here.  Notwithstanding the vulnerability, it would be wrong to hide our 4-card support and 4♦ rates to play rather well.  The opponents probably have a 5-5 Club fit and that will give Partner a singleton … no doubt he has at least 5 Diamonds … and if a Heart finesse is required that is likely to work.  Yes, the prognosis for lots of tricks in Diamonds is excellent.

 

                                                    Board 5      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

Nobody would argue too vehemently with a 2♣ bid here, but we rather like 3♣ ourselves, all the more so considering the favorable vulnerability.  Lots of offense, not much defense, just what a preempt should be.  True, we do have a (feeble) 4-card major but bidding just 2♣ won’t help us find a 4-4 major fit either.

 

 

                                                    Board 6      Dealer East       E-W Vul

 

 

Using “standard” methods the continuum of No Trump ranges at the upper end is:

            18-19               Open one of a suit and jump rebid to 2NT

            20-21               Open 2NT

            22-24               Open 2♣ and rebid 2NT

            25-27               Open 2♣ and rebid 3NT

 

According to this, East has a 3NT rebid, but it must be admitted that this is not particularly satisfactory.  For example, imagine Partner with a poor hand and 4 Spades … now 4♠ is very much the place to be but the clumsy auction will have made that impossible.

 

There is a space-saving device called Kokish which can be used in this situation, the basics of which are as follows:

-         After 2♣ 2♦, a rebid of 2♥ is a two-way bid, showing either Hearts or else a big balanced hand (say, 25+)

-         After 2♣ 2♦, 2♥, Responder is expected to bid 2♠ (artificial) so that Opener may clarify his hand

-         After 2♣ 2♦, 2♥ 2♠, Opener bids 2NT to show the big balanced hand, and anything else to show Hearts.

 

For more on this useful gadget, please see the Convention Library.

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

East could reopen with 3♣ here, but Double is the bid which keeps most options open.  For example, Partner could be planning to convert that Double into a penalty, or he might have 5 or 6 Diamonds.  A clear-cut Double notwithstanding those fine Clubs.

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

By the standards of modern-day bridge we would say that South’s 1♠ was a somewhat beefy effort, and towards the upper end of the overcall range, which is typically in the 8-17 range of thereabouts.  South should let North in on the secret, all the better to help our side make the right decision at the 3-level, and here are two options:

-         3♠:       Not the right bid here, this is purely competitive and normally based on a sixth trump.

-         Rdbl:   Yes, that’s our choice.  Even without prior discussion, it seems logical that this should show good values and only 5 trumps.  Hopefully, this information will help Partner to judge correctly between selling out at the 3-level, or doubling them, or competing further.

 

 

                                                    Board 10      Dealer East       Both Vul

 

 

North’s Redouble showed a good overcall and invited our opinion on the next round of bidding.  And what exactly is our opinion?  Well, as 2♥ bids go, ours is the cream of the crop, considering our 4 trumps and two Aces.  If we had had much more than that we would have made a stronger move.  Jumping to game would be a bit much, we think, our suggest is the less committal cue-bid of 3♥ saying “I’ve got a pretty good hand, too!”

 

On the actual hand, after 3♥, South would subside in 3♠ which makes a very lucky 10 tricks.  Not a game which needs to be bid.

 

                                                    Board 13      Dealer North       Both Vul

 

 

Let’s assume that we are playing new suits opposite an overcall as constructive but not forcing.  What is our bid here?  We are clearly too good to pass, the options appear to be:

-         2♣?  The cue-bid generally shows support for Partner and our honor doubleton is less than Partner might expect.  But at least the bid announces a good hand.

-         2NT?  A bid of 1NT opposite an overcall shows about 8-11 HCP’s, so 2NT is about right on values here.  Yes, but there is that small matter of the stopperless Club suit.  With the same hand shape, but an Ace or a King less, we wouldn’t object to a bid of 1NT here, but inviting to game without their suit stopped seems a bit much to us.

-         2♥?  Partner will expect a 5-card suit and is likely to raise us with a 3-card suit.  Even worse, he may have a rotten overcall (what else is new?) and decide to pass 2♥ holding a doubleton.  Playing in the 4-2 fit will be character-building but may not win many matchpoints.

-         2♦?  This also is supposed to be a 5-card suit, but the good news is that Partner is less likely to pass or raise Diamonds than he is the Hearts.

 

It’s a pretty grim set of choices, that’s for sure, we don’t especially care for any of them.  2♣ and 2♦ are the bids we dislike the least.

 

                                                    Board 15      Dealer South       N-S Vul

 

 

Playing Support Doubles, then Double would be our choice here, showing 3-card support for Partner’s Spades.  It may seem odd to show 3-card support in preference to rebidding our splendid 7-card Diamond suit but 3♦ seems like an underbid to us.  At least Double does not limit our hand, and we can always compete later in Diamonds if it turns out that Partner cannot bid Spades again.

 

Another viable plan, especially if you are not playing Support Doubles, is to bid 3♦, and then to bid Spades next time around.

 

                                                    Board 20      Dealer West       Both Vul

 

 

This hand has too much potential merely to bid 4♥, a better approach is to proceed via Fourth Suit Forcing.  In this sequence, 1♠ is generally played as natural and forcing for one round, and the jump to 2♠ is played as artificial and game-forcing.  So, we’d bid 2♠, then follow that up with 3♥, establishing trumps and giving Partner the opportunity to make a cue-bid if her hand warrants that.

 

 

                                                    Board 21      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

To Michaels or not to Michaels?  There are different schools of thought here:

-         Some partnerships use Michaels whenever they have the right shape, regardless of strength

-         Other partnerships use Michaels only when their hand is weak or strong … with the middling hands they bid their suits naturally.

 

We like the latter approach, it simplifies the subsequent auction.  Then again, there is something to be said for getting both of one’s suits into the auction right away.  So, take your pick.

 

 

                                                    Board 21      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

Clearly we want to take this one to game, the question is “How?”

-         4♠?      Not a good idea, we have some defense here, and we don’t want Partner taking a phantom sacrifice if the opponents bid on to the 5-level.  Better to reserve those 4♠ bids for purely preemptive hand-types.

-         2♦?      That’s altogether too delicate, we need to support Spades right away, we’d hate the bidding to get to the 5-level before we support Partner.

-         2♣?     That will show some strength and Spade support, but it also gives our non-vulnerable opponents plenty of space in which to find a profitable sacrifice.

-         4♥?      Yes, that’s our choice, hopefully Partner will be on the same wavelength and read this as a Splinter.  If so, it’s perfect … Heart shortness, and some values, enough to try for game.  Another benefit is that it gets the auction high in a hurry, it’ll be harder for the opponents to find a profitable sacrifice, especially if that sacrifice is in Clubs.

 

 

                                                    Board 21      Dealer North       N-S Vul

 

 

 No guarantees, but at this vulnerability it seems reasonable to try 5♣ here.  Sure, it might be a phantom, and on a bad day it might even go down 4 for the dreaded -800, but more often than not, at least in our judgment, it will be a profitable sacrifice.  But not at any other vulnerability, we hasten to add.

 

We only need to scrape up 8 tricks, in order to make this sacrifice profitable and surely that is likely.  We do have shortness in the opponents’ suit, and an Ace, opposite an opening bid, that ought to be enough.  In fact, we’d rate the bigger risk to be that the sacrifice may turn out to be a phantom.

 

 

                                                    Board 23      Dealer South       Both Vul

 

 

With this hand we were always prepared to bid to the 3-level, and the reason we did not do so immediately, over the first Double, was that our hand has too much defense in the side-suits.  But now, after the second Double, it would be a mistake to delay any longer, so we bid 3♥ in order to make it more difficult for the opponents to get together.

 

                                                    Board 28      Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

Would you double with this hand?  Not us, not vulnerable, with an 11-count that includes the dubious Qx in the enemy suit.  But, it’s somewhat a matter of style, some players like to “get in fast”.  That’s fine, but this one is taking things a bit too far, at least for us.

 

Now, suppose that we pass and the auction proceeds thusly:

            North   East     South   West

                                                1♥

            Pass    2♥        Pass    Pass

            ??

We have the same flawed 11-count, we are still vulnerable, and now the bidding is at the two-level.  Of course, the big difference is that we are in the balancing seat, and here we would take action, we’d double.  It won’t always work, but it’s not good matchpoint tactics to let the opponents play in cozy two-level contracts when they have a fit.

 

                                                    Board 28      Dealer West       N-S Vul

 

 

That’s a pretty heavy 2♥ that East made on the first round of bidding, no doubt he took off a bit for that dull shape.  Because he has some extras, does that mean that he should compete to 3♥?  Not at all, 3♥ here would show extra offense, usually in the form of a 4^th trump, but also perhaps on the basis of a singleton and just 3-card support.  This hand has extra defense, and the way to show that is to Redouble.  With any luck, with this information, Partner might be able to find a Penalty Double.

 

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