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Bidding Quiz 18th June, 2008
Boards 1, 6, 9 and 19 These 4 boards share the theme of TMI. Do your auctions painstakingly explore every possibility before arriving at the obvious resting-place? If so you are giving the opponents way too much information and making it easier for them to find the right opening lead. Or perhaps your unrevealing Neanderthal auctions zip right into 3NT or 4 of a major, giving away the minimum of information but occasionally missing a good slam. Here are some examples from today’s game:
Board 1 ♠ 842 South West North East ♥ K7 1NT Pass ♦ AKT9654 ?? ♣ 3
Looking at that nice collection, South might briefly entertain thoughts of slam opposite the perfect North hand. In fact, even some almost-perfect hands might work. But matchpoints is nothing if not a practical game. Probably 90% of the time slam will not be a good proposition, and even when it is it might not always be possible to diagnose that with any certainty in the bidding. So, we’d just boot out 3NT here, giving the opponents the minimum of information, and being prepared to apologize profusely if it turns out that 3NT is down one while 6♦ is absolutely cold!
Post Script We might be more inclined to try for slam if our methods allowed us to show that singleton Club at the 3-level. Some partnerships, using Minor Suit Transfers, play that a sequence such as 1NT 2NT, 3♦ 3♥ shows a singleton Heart, but alas that method does not allow a singleton Club to be shown.
Board 6 ♠ 93 North East South West ♥ 5 Pass 1♣ Pass ♦ AKT9875 1♦ Pass 2NT Pass ♣ J52 ??
3♦ here would be natural and forcing, it’s a bid that would typically be made with hopes of slam, as without such aspirations one would normally bid 3NT. Is slam a possibility? Yes, but it’s a remote one, but as on Board 1, even if 6♦ makes it might be difficult to diagnose that in the bidding. So, we’d just bid 3NT.
Board 9 ♠ JT764 North East South West ♥ 4 Pass Pass 2♣ Pass ♦ Q5 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass ♣ Q8432 3♥ Pass 3♠ Pass ??
Slam is remotely possible, perhaps in Clubs or in Spades. But it seems highly unlikely. And also difficult to bid with any confidence. Furthermore, bidding 4♣ here would take us beyond 3NT, something we hate to do when slam is only a remote possibility. So, yet again, we’d bid 3NT, giving up on slam, telling the opponents as little as possible, and asking Partner to choose between 3NT and 4♠.
Board 19 ♠ 97 East South West North ♥ K8742 Pass 1NT Pass ♦ A6 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass ♣ KT95 ??
Worried about that worthless Spade doubleton? Wondering if 5♣ might be the magic spot and thinking of bidding 3♣ as you commence a scientific search for the right contract? Don’t! Just bid 3NT and let Partner choose between 3NT and 4♥. Bidding 3♣ here is just giving the defense a road map to the right opening lead.
Board 2
Partner may have both majors for his Takeout Double, but he might well be 4-3 in those suits. Obviously, East would like to find the better major fit, are there any methods available to East in this situation? Here are two possibilities: - 3♣: This says “Pick a major”. It also shows at least game-invitational values and we would say that East is not quite good enough for that. - Dbl: This Responsive Double conveys the same message, but shows a weaker hand. So, Double it is.
Board 4
South’s 2♣ was an Inverted Raise, showing at least game-invitational support and also denying both majors. 2NT was a balanced minimum hand. And 4NT? Not Blackwood, this is quantitative, inviting North to bid slam with a maximum for the bidding so far. North has shown 12-14 with her 2NT, and is actually right in the middle with 13 HCP’s. Nonetheless, this one is a very easy acceptance, there is that 5th Club, and those lovely Club intermediates. A clear-cut 6NT.
Board 7
How do you evaluate the East hand? - A Preemptive Raise? Absolutely not, this hand is way too good. - A Constructive Raise? In the last Wednesday Game we encountered Constructive Raises in Competition (CRICs), in which a jump to 3♦ here would be used to show a 4-card raise with around 6-9 HCP’s. This fits into that range and would be OK, we suppose. If you are not playing CRICs then you could show the same hand-type by bidding 2♠ and then 3♠ later, if necessary. - A Limit Raise? We think that this hand is just about worth a limit raise, we’d upgrade it because everything appears to be working and we like that Diamond sequence. So, we’d cue-bid their suit. There are two such suits, which one would we cue-bid? One common treatment is to cue-bid the cheaper enemy suit with 3-card support, and the more expensive one with 4-card support. So, our suggestion here is 3♣.
Board 8
Some partnerships play the so-called 1-2-3 Stop convention whereby 1♠ 2♠, 3♠ and 1♥ 2♥, 3♥ are not game-tries. Instead they are played preemptively in an attempt to keep the opponents out of the auction. We are not big fans of this treatment (and it appears to be falling out of favor anyway), but in the actual auction, where 2♠ has been doubled, it does seem like a good idea for 3♠ to be preemptive. Such a bid would typically be made with a minimum hand and a 6th Spade. Here West is minimum alright, and the absence of the extra Spade is compensated by the 5-5 distribution.
Board 11
East has scattered values and will probably provide a decent dummy for a 1NT contract. But with 4-5 in the majors it seems more normal to try for a major suit fit. Playing “systems on” opposite a 1NT overcall, East can try a “Garbage Stayman” sequence. He bids 2♣, planning to pass if Partner shows a 4-card major. And, if Partner responds 2♦ then we bid 2♥ saying “Pick a major”. On the actual deal, this gets E-W to their 5-3 Heart fit.
Board 12
After Partner has opened one of a suit, and when the opponent overcalls, it’s customary to play Negative Doubles up to a certain level, such as 3♠ or 4♥. However, when Partner opens 1NT and the opponent overcalls, it’s quite common to play Negative Doubles only at the three-level, with doubles at the two-level being used for other purposes (value-showing or penalty).
The availability of a Negative Double is an absolute god-send for South on this board. We cannot imagine what South is supposed to do here if Negative Double is not an option. Perhaps 3NT and hope is the only choice.
Board 18
After a game-forcing 2/1, Opener’s No Trump rebids are often played this way: - 12-14: Rebid 2NT - 15-17: Rebid 3NT - 18-19: Rebid 2NT, then bid more later, as in 1♠ 2♥, 2NT 3NT, 4NT
Using this schema, if East is a point-counting kind of guy, he might well bid 2NT here, planning to bid more later. However, we’d suggest a 3NT bid directly, shaving off a point on account of that Club holding.
Board 21
We like our two-level overcalls to be reasonably sound and this hand is hardly that. We also tend to preempt at the drop of a hat when we are White vs Red. Does this suggest a 3♦ bid? No, the suit is flimsy and we have an outside Ace. So a Pass is called for? That would not be bad, but we’d make a slightly underweight overcall of 2♦. We like the 6th Diamond, we like the vulnerability, and if our side has a profitable 5♦ sacrifice against their 4♥ then we certainly won’t find out about it by passing.
Board 22
How vexing! We have the values for game, but which game? 3NT is a possibility, but we’d hate the opponents to rattle off 5 or 6 Hearts on the go. Then again, we’d hate to go zooming past 3NT to 5♣ or 5♦ when 3NT with a couple of overtricks is cold. And let us not neglect to mention that 4♠ could be the contract that hits the jackpot. Yes, playing in the 4-3 fit with a ruff in the short hand might well outscore all other contracts. And, as if all of that “Which game?” agonizing were not enough, there is also the possibility of slam. What’s a poor West supposed to do here?
As is our wont, we have a gadget for you. It doesn’t completely solve the problem, and this is not even the perfect hand for said gadget, but here goes anyway. The gadget uses a 3♥ bid here thusly: - Precisely 3 Spades - Shortness in Hearts - 5-4 or 4-5 in the minors - Values for game We don’t know if this gadget has an official name, we generally refer to it as “that 3-1-4-5 thing”, or that “1-3-4-5 thing” if the shortness happens to be in Spades. The main purpose of the gadget is to find the 4-3 fit in the other major when 3NT proves unplayable, and, failing that, a 5♣ or 5♦ contract. Of course, the fact that the singleton here is the King is far from ideal, but no doubt West could not resist using his new toy and was willing to overlook that defect.
Slam is difficult to reach on these cards. West will be discouraged by the singleton King, and can hardly expect East to have the perfect maximum. But getting to 4♠ will be a most profitable next best thing.
Board 23
Let us assume that the East sequence shows 22-23 HCPs. Now what? If E-W are playing transfers, then 3♠ is freed up for other purposes. One common such purpose is for 3♠ to say “Bid 3NT, Partner, then I will tell you what kind of a minor suit hand I have”. After Partner has obediently accepted the relay to 3NT, here is one method for his follow-up: - 3♣ says “I have a Club one-suiter - 3♦ says “I have a Diamond one-suiter” - 3♥ says “I have both minors with Heart shortness” - 3♠ says the same but with Spade shortness.
If you use this gadget then reserve it for West hands with at least some slam interest. With lesser minor-oriented hands we would just bid 3NT in the hopeful expectation that it will score better than 5 of a minor.
One more consideration. Suppose that West bids 3♠, East takes the relay to 3NT, and then West goes on to show his hand-type. In subsequent bidding 4NT is to play, Opener needs a way to revert to No Trump when his hand is not suitable for a minor suit slam. On the actual deal, Partner bids 4♠ (both minors with Spade shortness) after which East can hardly do less than bid 6♣.
Board 25
After South throws in that 2♦ bid, West clearly cannot show a rotten Spade suit with a weak hand, so her choices are to pass or to double. A common treatment here is for Pass to show some values and for Double to show a weak hand. What is the definition of “some values”? Some partnerships define that as an Ace, or a King, or a couple of Queens. If that is the case then West has the weakest Pass imaginable.
Board 26
Here’s what the auction so far means: - 2NT: 20-21 - 3♥: Transfer - 3♠: Accepting the transfer - 4♦: A second suit - 4♥: A cue-bid in support of Diamonds (if East preferred Spades he wouls simply bid 4♠) - 4NT: If E-W are playing Minorwood or Redwood then that is just wonderful, but they are of no use here, the auction has crowded them out and 4NT is required for Roman Key Card. - 5♦: 3 Key Cards (1430 responses) - 5♥: Queen Ask (it’s the “cheapest non-signoff”)
Partner is asking for the trump Queen, and as we don’t have that card it might seem obvious to bid 6♦, but let’s think again. Can 6♦ possibly be a better contract than 6NT? It seems unlikely. Partner’s 6NT suggests that our side has all the Key Cards and that he is trying for 7♦ with his Queen Ask. With our source of tricks in Clubs and with a Heart holding that may need protection from the opening lead, surely 6NT is the place to be. Here is Partner’s actual hand: ♠ KJ863, ♥ 6, ♦ KJ852, ♣ A8. Look what might happen to 6♦ played from the West side … a Heart lead through the AQ, after which, if the K♥ is offside and the Q♦ is not picked up, the contract is down one. 6NT from the East side not only scores better but is also iron-clad.
Board 30
We love to throw in those lead-directing overcalls, but this one is just too dangerous, at least for us. If North really has to overcall at the two-level with a 10-count then there should at least be some character to the hand. There is no such character here … only 5 Hearts, no shortness, no fillers, poor controls, and side-suit Queens which may be quite useless on offense … just an awful hand!
P.S On the actual hand 2♥ doubled is -500. That’s a zero even if the opponents can make game, and it’s not entirely clear that they will.
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