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Bidding Quiz 5th September, 2007
Click here for print-formatted version of the Bidding Quiz
Board 1
Here we give you both hands, an auction, and a question. The question is “How did E-W manage to miss their cold slam?”
West East ♠ K3 ♠ 2 ♥ AT92 ♥ KQ743 ♦ AK4 ♦ Q972 ♣ J872 ♣ AKQ
West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 2NT Pass 3♠ Pass 4♥ Pass Pass Pass
Let’s look at the E-W auction bid by bid: - 2NT was the Jacoby 2NT showing game-going values and Spade support (usually 4 trumps) - 3♠ showed shortness, but indicated nothing about the strength of the hand - And 4♥? Well, East has shown shortness in West’s Kx suit, which is not good news. The K♠ is now a wasted card, and West is looking at a working 12-count, with no ruffing values. It sure looks to us that West should make a discouraging 4♥ bid here. - How about East’s final Pass? Sure, East has some extras, but is the hand good enough to commit to the 5-level? We are not convinced, and we wouldn’t blame East for electing to pass, Partner might have the same that she actually has, but without the K♦ … now 5♥ is dangerously high.
So, we place the blame on neither protagonist, merely on their methods. It seems to us that the responses to the Jacoby 2NT should incorporate better strength-showing capabilities for those hands where Opener shows shortness. Follow the link for an alternative method after the Jacoby 2NT … it involves some partnership work, but it’s work that will pay dividends. We won’t go through the whole system (for that, please follow the link), but for starters we’ll outline the basic responses to 2NT: - 3♣ shows all minimum hands, with or without shortness (there are ways of asking for shortness on the next round of bidding - 3♦ shows extras (let’s say a juicy 14 or better) but no shortness - 3♥, 3♠ and 3NT show extras and shortness (in Clubs, Diamonds and the other major, respectively)
With that is mind, East rebids 3NT, showing extras and Spade shortness. That should be enough for E-W to stumble into slam one way or the other.
Board 3 Dealer South E-W Vul
Most partnerships play that 2NT opposite a Weak Two is artificial and forcing, perhaps asking for a feature, or perhaps some Ogust-style bid. Do you play that this is still on in competition? We like to play it that way, but that’s just our preference, more important is that both you and your partner are playing it the same way!
In the featured auction, North did intend 2NT as conventional and forcing (for one round) but that did not stop East from preempting to 4♠. We are always told that once we have preempted we are not supposed to take another call unless Partner asks our opinion. Well, 2NT was very much asking South’s opinion, and she should feel free to express it with a 5♦ bid, given her near maximum hand and singleton Spade.
Board 4 Dealer West Both Vul
East’s 2NT is permissible with a 4-card major, so it would be a mistake to raise 2NT to 3NT. West has enough for game, but he shouldn’t bid it directly, first there are majors to investigate. Usually this is a case for “New Minor Forcing” but there is a noticeable shortage of new minors on this auction. So, an obvious 3♥ bid, with no concern for the feebleness of the suit.
Board 5 Dealer North N-S Vul
As we know by now, 2♣ here would be Drury, a passed-hand device showing invitational values with support for Partner’s major. Is this hand good enough? We think so, notwithstanding the mere 8-count (two of which look wasted), we love the 6-4 shape. But bidding 2♠ and then, if necessary, 3♠ would not be beyond the pale. Just wimpish, at least in our view.
Board 8 Dealer West None Vul
Clearly South is going to game here, but she is altogether too good to jump to 4♠ here, slam is a possibility. That raises the question “What are your methods here?”. Here are the two most common treatments: - Opposite an overcall, if we bid a new suit it is constructive but not forcing. Partner is allowed to pass with tolerance for our suit and a mediocre overcall (let’s say around 10 or worse). If that is the case, today’s South must jump to 2♠ to create a force. - Opposite an overcall, if we bid a new suit it is forcing for one round. This used to be the more common treatment, but nowadays, at least on the tournament circuit, the “constructive” treatment appears to be more popular.
This is not a commercial for either method, but it is a commercial for solid partnership agreements. What’s yours, and would your Partner give the same answer?
Board 9
Here we show both of the N-S hands. N-S are non-vulnerable, both North and South have 9 HCP’s, and the question is “Why weren’t N-S in the auction and which Partner should have bid something?” Let’s assume that you are playing DONT.
North South ♠ 8642 ♠ T75 ♥ K82 ♥ AQ ♦ 4 ♦ Q9763 ♣ AQ987 ♣ J53
West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1NT Pass Pass Pass
Playing DONT, our protagonists had the following options: - North could have bid 2♣, showing a two-suiter (Clubs and another suit) - North could have doubled, showing a one-suiter (in her case, Clubs) - South could have doubled, in her case the suit is Diamonds.
After the 1NT opening bid, South is in the balancing seat, and it’s a basic rule of competitive bidding that one requires less to compete in the balancing seat than in the direct seat. Have we found our culprit, was South the wimp? We don’t think so! Here are two more rules (or at least observations): - It’s safer to offer Partner two suits - It’s safer to bid good suits rather than bad suits.
Nothing earth-shattering here, perhaps, but surely it tells us that it is North who should be jumping in there, she can bid a good suit, and has the Spade escape valve as a back-up. As for South, all she has is a truly crummy Diamond suit and no escape valve. Yes, it’s North who should be getting in there, even though she is in the direct suit.
Board 9 Dealer North E-W Vul
North’s 2♣ was DONT, showing Clubs and another suit. Do you tamely pass? No, of course not! Quick question: What does Double mean here? The 1NT bidder is under the Club bidder and the suggested treatment here is that Double is for takeout. Had the 1NT bidder been over the Club bidder, then a Double would be for penalty, showing a surprisingly good holding in their suit (typically with three trump tricks).
So, here we would double, we won’t let them play in 2♣, hopefully we can buy it at the two-level or else push them to the three-level.
Board 13 Dealer North Both Vul
Our 2♦ showed a good hand, forcing for one round but not game-forcing. Let’s assume for the moment that West had passed. What would now be the ways for the partnership to stop short of game? A common treatment is for South to be allowed to pass next time around whenever Opener rebids 2NT, or rebids her own suit, or raises Partner’s suit, which means that the featured auction is forcing to at least 2NT.
Do things change when West chirps in with 2♠? Here are two schools of thought: - That 2♠ removes the partnership from any obligation to bid again, and North’s Pass shows weakness and nothing to say. In other words, this is not a Forcing Pass. - That 2♠ changes nothing, the partnership is still committed to bid at least to 2NT, so North’s Pass is a Forcing Pass, forcing for one round that is. Does the Pass show weakness? Not necessarily, North may have a good hand but nothing worth saying, so she gives Partner the chance to describe her hand further.
We prefer the second method, but it’s not a universal treatment. Using that method, we’d bid 3♦, showing good Diamonds and nothing to spare, a bid which Partner is allowed to pass.
Board 15 Dealer South N-S Vul
East’s 2NT rebid showed 18-19, and did not deny a 4-card Spade suit.
One course of action here would be 3♣, “New Minor Forcing”, seeking a 5-3 Heart fit. But it seems to us that a better bid is 3♦, natural and forcing. Partner can still show 3-card Heart support if he has it, and showing Diamonds along the way will serve as a warning that perhaps 5♦ is a better spot than 3NT.
Board 16
West East ♠ KJT875 ♠ 42 ♥ 3 ♥ QJ98654 ♦ J65 ♦ A7 ♣ T75 ♣ 94
West North East South ?? Pass ??
You are Red versus White. Would you preempt with either of these hands? At any other vulnerability we most certainly would, but unfavorable vulnerability is a huge red flag when it comes to preempting. So we would pass the West hand, and perhaps be tempted to bid just 2♥ with the East hand. As it happens, on the actual hand, even though East has an extra trump, good fillers, and an outside Ace for his 2♥ preempt, he is likely headed for a bad board, going -500 against the opponents potential 460 or 490.
Board 16 Dealer West E-W Vul
Considering the vulnerability, we would pass here. The Double is no sure thing and it might well net -670 once in a while. But it has two ways to win here: - N-S might be unable to make more than a part-score of their own, and might be able to improve on that with +200 for beating 2♥ doubled by one trick - N-S might make game, but beating 2♥ doubled by two tricks for +500 would score better.
How does 2♥ fare on the actual deal? It’s down two or three, depending upon how Declarer guesses to play the trumps, but, either way, N-S will beat all those other N-S pairs playing in game.
Board 18 Dealer East N-S Vul
We have a pretty good hand here, one that will insist on game in Hearts, even slam is a possibility. How should we proceed? Here are some choices: - 4♥? We prefer to reserve this for preemptive hands, so this one is out. - 4♦? A Splinter in support of Hearts. Not terrible, but we would be making a huge jump in the auction while not describing perhaps the most important feature of the hand, namely our very fine 6-card suit. - 2♣? Well, this gets our Club suit into the auction, but it might be a mistake to withhold our Heart support. Will you be sure what to do if the bidding is at 4♠ when it gets back to you? “Support with support” as the saying goes, delaying game-going 4-card major suit support against non-vulnerable opponents is a risky business. - 2♠? Yes, that would be our choice, announcing a good hand and Heart support. Hopefully Partner will be able to describe her hand for us, as describing ours to her is somewhat difficult.
Board 20 Dealer West Both Vul
We offer you three choices, none of them unreasonable: - Pass? Remember the Cansino-count? Add your HCP’s to your Spades, and if the total is 15 or more then we open in 4th seat. It may sound like witchcraft but there is some logic to the method as it factors in the importance of the Spade suit in part-score battles. We would not pass with the actual hand, a 6-card suit must count for something, even if it is a humble minor, but we will concede that passing might well be the winner. - 1♦? Perhaps the obvious bid, but our least favorite. - 2♦? Yes, a “Weak Two” in 4th seat is not really a Weak Two at all, it is a top-end Weak Two or a hand a tad too good for a regular Weak Two. The idea is to announce our 6-card suit and at the same time make it harder for the opponents to get into the auction, a “strong preempt” if you will. This would be our own personal preference.
Board 28 Dealer West N-S Vul
1♠? 3♠? 4♠? We like 3♠ the least, it’s just not enough. We don’t think that 1♠ would be terrible, but we like 4♠ the most. Not that it’s ideal for a 4♠ preempt with that outside Ace.
Of course, back on Board 16 we were cautioning about the dangers of Red vs White preempting, but this is a somewhat different situation, we’d expect to make game opposite most hands that Partner will have, and 4♠ is as much a guess at the final contract as it is to keep the enemy out of the auction.
Board 29
Here we show both hands and talk ourselves through the E-W slam auction.
West East ♠ AQ9842 ♠ 5 ♥ ♥ AK984 ♦ K9 ♦ AJ72 ♣ KQ632 ♣ A54
West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 3♣ Pass 3NT Pass 4♣ Pass 4♦ Pass 6♣ Pass Pass Pass
The first three bids are straightforward enough, then things start to get more interesting and difficult! West’s 3♣: Fourth suit forcing to game, does not necessarily show Clubs. This is a particularly uneconomical start to the auction, so it’s hardly surprising that the remainder of the auction turns out to be somewhat difficult! East’s 3NT: We can be sure that East felt uncomfortable making this bid, his hand has undisclosed extras, and his holding in the 4th suit is far from robust. But there was no good alternative. West’s 4♣: Some players like to play this as Gerber, cheerfully citing the “first and last No Trump” mantra, but it’s not a useful treatment in our view. Our enlightened West played this as natural, obviously a hand with slam interest and Clubs. East’s 4♦: This says “I like Clubs and have something in Diamonds”. West’s 6♣: West must have been hoping that they were not missing a grand slam, and no doubt East had the same concerns.
On the actual hands, 6♣ is a fine spot, we wouldn’t want to be in 7 on these cards.
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