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Bidding Quiz 17th October, 2007
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Board 2 Dealer East N-S Vul
West’s 3♦ preempt puts North on the spot. There are plenty of choices, but none of them is particularly appealing: - A Responsive Double would show these values, but if Partner bids 4♣ we won’t know what to do. - A raise to 3♠ would also show the values, but it’s a bit skimpy Spade-wise - 3♥ would get those nice Hearts into the picture, but it’s forcing and may well propel us to a hopeless game. - 3NT is another overbid, but quite descriptive of the nature of the hand. - Pass … our hope here would be that Partner could balance with a Double which we would be happy to pass. Failing that we’ll just have to hope that a plus score is worth some matchpoints.
This being matchpoints perhaps a Pass is as good a guess as any, it’s likely to get a plus for our side, whereas taking any action at all will probably propel our side into game, which we would estimate as being less than a 50% chance against the average one-level overcall. Let’s remember also that our good Diamonds are opposite shortness, which will not bode well if we end up in a suit contract. All in all, this hand is not as good as it looks.
Pass turns out to be the winner. Partner will pass, their contract will go down two, and N-S have no making game.
Board 4 Dealer West Both Vul
East could try the Unusual No Trump here, bidding 2NT to show the two lower unbid suits. A perfect description of the hand, wouldn’t you say? Yes, we do have those two suits, but, as we’ll likely end up defending this one, surely it would be better to get those Clubs into the auction. That’s our whole hand and the suit that we want led, so we’d bid 2♣ and forget about those miserable Hearts.
2♣ is very much the winning call on the actual hand, because South is destined to play this one in 4♠. If Partner leads a Club against that contract, it’s 11 tricks for Declarer, any other lead and it will be 12 tricks.
Board 6 North South ♠ AKJT4 ♠ Q ♥ KQ9 ♥ A8743 ♦ J964 ♦ AK72 ♣ 8 ♣ T95
1♥ 1♠ 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ 3♥ 4♥ 4♠ 5♦ 6♥ Pass
Let’s look at the main bids of interest in this auction (which is almost all of them!): - 1♠: Yes, North has Heart support and game-values, but this is not a good hand for the Jacoby 2NT (normally we have 4 for this bid), nor is it a good hand for a 4♣ Splinter (again, we need more trumps for this bid). So, to start with North gets that wonderful Spade suit into play. - 3♣: We would say that the North hand is too good simply to jump to 4♥, there’s that nice Club shortness and a promising source of Spade tricks. So, North wheels out Fourth Suit Forcing. - 3♦: South has no good bid at this point! Obviously not 3NT, and any other bid distorts the distribution. So, she bids 3♦, knowing that an understanding Partner will realize that this does not necessarily show a 5th Diamond, maybe it is for want of an alternative. - 3♥: Yes, it’s forcing, and more encouraging than 4♥ (Principle of Fast Arrival). - 4♥: South does not have a bad hand for slam purposes, but with not much extra and no control in the unbid suit she bids just 4♥. - 4♠: This is a cue-bid, Hearts have been agreed. North is not good enough to charge into Roman Key Card Blackwood, she has a slammish hand, but she requires Partner’s cooperation if slam is going to be a good proposition. - 5♦: Another cue-bid, showing a Diamond control. - 6♥: Placing the contract.
A pretty good auction, we would say, to a good slam (albeit it a most unlucky one).
Board 10
North South ♠ 764 ♠ AKT83 ♥ KT83 ♥ A9 ♦ AT ♦ 643 ♣ K964 ♣ A72
1NT 2♣ 2♠ 3NT Pass
Most players nowadays will open 1NT with a 5-card major, at least under some circumstances. Do you open the South hand 1NT? We know that we would, opening 1NT has a certain tactical (and preemptive) benefit and solves a rebid problem, but there are many who will say that this Spade suit is altogether too good, and that 1♠ is preferable. It looks as if the 1♠ bidders are the winners here, that should get them to the making 4♠ contract (Spades are 3-2), whereas a 1NT opening bid looks likely to get N-S into the doomed 3NT (Diamonds are 5-3).
Is that it? Actually, no! If you are a habitual opener of 1NT with a 5-card major then you might want to consider including Puppet Stayman in your repertoire. Puppet Stayman provides a way of unearthing a five-card major from the 1NT bidder (it also finds the 4-4 fits, by the way). We are not advocating using 2♣ as Puppet Stayman, we suggest that you leave that the same as it is now, and use 3♣ as Puppet Stayman.
Board 12 Dealer West N-S Vul
It might be tempting to bid those chunky Hearts, but that is a bid that could be made with a weaker hand and 6 Hearts. Perhaps the best value bid here is 3♦, which at least shows some values. But it’s not ideal, Partner might be 5-3-3-2, for example, in which we would be better off in Hearts.
OK, let’s say that you try 3♦ and Partner now bids 3♠ (forcing, we would say), offering us a choice of game, no doubt he has 5 good Spades (though he might also be 6-5). 3NT can hardly be right with a worthless doubleton in the unbid Club suit, and we hardly want to rebid those Diamonds again, so we would bid 4♠ now, showing our honor doubleton support.
Board 14 On Board 14 and 28, East was dealt remarkably similar hands, but we recommend different treatments in each case. For why, please scroll down to Board 28.
Board 14 Dealer East None Vul
We have a pretty good overcall, Partner’s 3♥ was forcing and shows some values, so the only explanation for the exuberant auction is that East has a long suit and/or a distributional hand. First of all, we don’t believe that this is a Forcing Pass situation. Our auction may be quite strong, but not quite game-forcing (for example, if East had passed 3♥, we don’t think that 4♦ by South should be forcing).
Anyway, as usual the choices are to Pass, bid or Double. Let’s eliminate the Pass, our hand is too good to let them play 4♠ undoubled. Let’s also eliminate bidding a suit, we have nothing to say. That leaves Double which is co-operative in this situation, it shows extra values and nothing to bid.
This hand shows us how dangerous a weapon the Forcing Pass can be. Dangerous, that is, for the pair that is using it: - If (over 4♠) N-S are in a Forcing Pass situation, Double serves as a warning to Partner not to bid again, probably because South is minimum. - If N-S are not in a Forcing Pass situation, Double shows extras. That’s quite a difference, so it’s important to have clear agreements.
Board 16 North South ♠ 5 ♠ J873 ♥ AKQ87654 ♥ 3 ♦ A7 ♦ KT982 ♣ AK ♣ 954
2♣ 2♦ 3♥ 4♦ 6♥ Pass
An efficient auction by N-S. 3♥ said “Hearts are trumps”. The suit doesn’t have to be solid, just good enough to play opposite shortness. Over 3♥, South is required to show first- or second-round controls, so 4♦ shows the A♦ or the K♦ or else shortness. It also denies a control in Spades or in Clubs. So, North has an obvious 6♥ call, no need to waste time with Blackwood.
Board 20 Dealer West Both Vul
Let’s assume that 2♥ is game-forcing. What’s your choice here? Here are the possibilities: - 2♠: If your methods are such that this shows a 6th Spade, then this would be a reasonable choice, it’s cheap and descriptive, just what we like in constructive auctions. But, on the other hand, the suit is weak and it might be a better idea to show Partner our good Heart support right away. - 4♥: According to the Principle of Fast Arrival, this shows a minimum hand. Our 11-count may be minimum in terms of HCP’s, but it has a lot of slam potential with those great controls, ruffing values, and 60card side-suit. - 4♣: This would be a Splinter, showing Heart support and Club shortness, but it’s better to reserve this bid for when we have a 4th trump, that way we can put the shortness to better use with ruffs. - 3♥: Yes, this one is our choice, direct and encouraging Heart support.
Board 20 Dealer West Both Vul
North’s encouraging 3♥ provoked us into a Roman Key Card auction, and Partner showed 2 Key Cards without the Q♥. Our 5NT was the King Ask and Partner showed a specific King in Spades. In your partnerships, do you ask for the number of Kings, or for Partner to show a specific King? We strongly recommend the specific King approach, and this hand is a good example of why it is generally considered to be superior. The K♠ is essential for the grand slam, whereas if North were to show one King we would not know whether it was the K♣ or the K♠, so not very helpful on this hand.
So, Partner has two Aces and the K♠. Do you bid 7♥ or 7NT? It is matchpoints, are you tempted to go for the higher-scoring slam? Don’t be, either grand slam will be a good score (if it makes!), better to go for the safer slam, and that seems likely to be in Hearts, it may be necessary to ruff a Spade to establish the suit. So, 7♥ it is.
Board 22 Dealer East E-W Vul
West’s 2NT was a little gadget which has become quite popular in recent years. It asks Partner to describe his hand, and the responses are: 3♣ 3-card support, bad hand 3♦ 3-card support, good hand 3♥ 4-card support, bad hand 3♠ 4-card support, good hand
After learning that Partner has 4-card support, we would be prepared to go to slam provided that there were enough Key Cards. So we would bid Roman Key Card, and if Partner shows two Key Cards we’ll risk 6♠.
Isn’t it somewhat cavalier to charge into a slam which may well depend on a Club finesse? We think that 6♠ is a reasonable gamble, all the more so as West’s fine Club suit was not revealed during the auction. Here are some of the ways we can win by bidding 6♠ (let’s assume that Partner shows 2 Key Cards with the Q♠): - The missing Key Card might be the K♠ in which case we just need some luck in either one of the black suits. - North might hold the K♣ and lead away from it (we are always being told to make aggressive opening leads against suit slams, so we’d consider this possibility to be quite likely). - North might avoid the Club lead, but lead the wrong red suit, allowing the loser in the other red suit to disappear (on the actual hand, Dummy has ♥AK and no A♦, so a Heart lead would be fatal for the defense). - And, if all else fails, the Club finesse might even work!
All in all, a pretty good slam, wouldn’t you say?
Board 24 West East ♠ 974 ♠ KJT5 ♥ K632 ♥ 94 ♦ 73 ♦ AJT6 ♣ KQ84 ♣ J96
West North East South Pass 1♦ Pass 1NT ?? Pass ??
E-W are non-vulnerable, they have half of the points (well, 45% of them, anyway), and the opponents are about to play in 1NT. Nobody likes defending 1NT in these circumstances, so which of the E-W pair should sail to the rescue and get his side into the auction?
Is it East? We don’t think so. Even though he has the better of the two hands, and is in the balancing seat, he has nothing worth saying. Certainly not Double, with only two Hearts. He could try 2♠, perhaps, but that is just a guess, no reason to think that this won’t land his side in a 4-2 fit.
How about West? This is a hand which can double, with shortness in their suit, and support for all the unbid suits. Isn’t doubling a bit extreme with a mere 8-count in the direct seat? Perhaps it is, but, as mitigating factors, let’s point out that the shape is right, West is a passed hand (so Partner should not expect too much), E-W are non-vulnerable, and East is hopefully noted for his sense of humor.
Board 26 Dealer East Both Vul
First of all, do you agree with the first bid? Shortness in their suit, support for the unbid suits, opening values … isn’t this a textbook definition of a Takeout Double? Maybe, but doubling with 5 Spades is rarely a good idea without substantial extra values, this hand some way from being that good, so we would simply overcall 1♠ here.
OK, on to the actual problem. Do you double or do you bid 2♥? We prefer the Double, it keeps more irons in the fire, or more specifically the penalty iron (Partner might have 2 or 3 Diamond tricks) and the Club iron (Partner might be 2-2-3-6, for example). If we bid 2♥ (instead of Double), we’ll narrow down Partner’s choices to Spades or Hearts.
Board 26 Dealer East Both Vul
We could have raised Partner on the previous round of bidding, of course, but we do have a bunch of losers and a characterless hand. Anyway, this time around we need to say something. Would you choose 3♥ or 3♠? The Hearts certainly look nicer than the Spades, but we’d bid 3♠ anyway. The problem with bidding Hearts is that Partner might have only 3 of them (for example, she might be 5-3-1-4), so the only certain 8-card fit is in Spades.
Board 14 Board 28 None Vul White vs Red ♠ KJ97543 ♠ KJ96543 ♥ 952 ♥ 9 ♦ ♦ A ♣ A76 ♣ 9875
You (as East) have remarkably similar hands on these two boards … 8 HCP’s, a 7-card broken Spade suit, and an outside Ace. On Board 14, you are in first seat. On Board 28, Partner passes, and RHO opens 1♦. What is your plan on these two boards?
Starting with Board 14, there are many players who would open 3♠ with that hand, and that could work fine. But we don’t care for that ourselves, we have an outside Ace and a void, altogether too much defense to be preempting in first chair. Then again, we would hate to pass with such a promising hand and long Spade suit, so our choice would be 1♠. Very light, of course, but not intended as a psyche, just the best bid available, at least in our view. Notwithstanding the 7th Spade, another possibility is 2♠, at least that is a preempt where Partner will not be surprised if we have some outside stuff.
On to Board 28. Here, we would preempt with 3♠. Are we being inconsistent? Not at all, on this occasion the circumstances are completely different: - Partner is a passed hand, which affords us some latitude in the purity of our preempts. - The opponents clearly have the majority of the points, so we might as well stir things up a bit, no reason to give them an unobstructed route to their best spot. - The vulnerability is favorable, and the opponents most likely have game somewhere. If that game is in Hearts, Partner needs little more than Spade tolerance for 4♠ to be a profitable sacrifice.
The same hand (virtually) on both boards, but two entirely different strategies based on the circumstances.
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