Let’s start with a low level competitive situation from Board 1.

The bidding is dying out at a low level.  It looks as though the points are pretty evenly divided.  In such situations you really should try to get into the bidding.  If you do and they then bid 3H and make it you have lost nothing as 3H making scores exactly the same as 2H plus one.  On the other hand, if they can only make 8 tricks you have turned a minus score into a positive one.

As West, I doubled.  We played in 3C for one off and 80% on the board.

Tip:  when the bidding is dying at a low level do your best to get into the bidding.

Now let’s look at Board 12 where the defence need to do a little counting.

South leads the S6, her partner’s suit and declarer takes the trick with dummy’s SQ.

The D3 is then led from dummy.  What should North do?

North should do a little counting.  Evidently, East started with both the SA and SK and therefore with 3 spades in total.  South must have led a singleton.

North jumps up with the DA and leads the S2, suit preference for clubs.

South ruffs, leads a club to North’s ace and gets a second spade ruff.

South then cashes a club.  That is 5 tricks for the defence already.

South exits by playing the CQ.  Declarer has to ruff in dummy and discard the HJ to avoid yet another loser.

I’d like to finish the year with a look at the tricky play needed to restrict the losers in a suit to just one: it’s a tough one to think through at the table.

Those of you who know your bidding after an opening of 2C will realise I was asleep during the auction.  A response of 2NT will often be made by responder when holding a 4 card major.  Opener’s 3C rebid is Stayman (although opener’s rebids of 3D, 3H and 3S are natural).  If awake, my second bid would have been 3S and we would have been in 6S.

However, whether in 6S or 6C the problem is the same: declarer needs to avoid 2 losers in clubs.

Declarer starts by leading a small club to the CK, taken by the CA.

Now declarer has to put on her thinking cap.

The defenders now have the CJ, the C9 and C2 left.

If both the CJ and the C9 are in the same hand then there is nothing declarer can do about it; a second club loser is inevitable.

Therefore, declarer has to assume that the CJ and C9 are in different hands.  Should she play for CJ and C2 in one hand and C9 in the other or for CJ in one and C9 and C2 in the other?

It is equally likely for the CJ to be singleton as for the C9 to be so.

Declarer must guess, but the chances are NOT even.

Let’s consider first the case where the C9 is singleton.  If it is held by North then South would have CJ and C2: declarer must lose another club trick.  However, if South has the bare C9 then leading the CT from dummy (West) will work.

On the other hand, if it is the CJ which is singleton then playing the CQ will work no matter which defender holds it.  The CT is left to deal with the C9.

So playing for the C9 to be singleton will work only half the times when the C9 is singleton while playing for the CJ to be singleton will work every time it is singleton.

So of the distributions which give declarer a chance to lose only one club trick, playing for singleton CJ will succeed twice as often as playing for the C9 to be singleton.

Playing with the odds, when next in declarer should play the CQ hoping to drop a bare CJ.

For the record, North was left holding the bare CJ and the play of the CQ would bring in 12 tricks.

As I said, that was a tough one to get right at the table and a tough one on which to finish the year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Homily 385

The Hands from 22^nd December 2015

As North you pick up this very average hand.

♠  J82

♥ A64

♦  KJ642

♣ 65

West opens 1NT.  What do you do?

With only 13 Bhcp (9 hcp) you pass, don’t you?

Well, yes .... and no.  It all depends on who dealt.

If West or South dealt then East has not yet had an opportunity to bid.  She might be quite strong; there is no point putting your head in a noose.  You pass.

However, the situation couldn’t be more different if East had been the dealer and both East and South had passed.

The crucial point is that the partner of the 1NT opener is a passed hand.  In that situation all 4 players at the table should assume that the points are pretty evenly divided between the 2 pairs.  Now any weakness in North’s hand is compensated with corresponding strength in South’s hand.

North should overcall any 5 card suit, in this case by bidding 2D.

Here is the full board.

Three times the contract was 2H by West (so no overcall by North).  The outcome was plus 1, making and 2 off.  Twice there was a diamond contract, 8 tricks made once and 7 the other time.

In low level competitive situations it is usually difficult to assess whether a particular intervention will work out well because there can be such variation in the play. 

For this board Bridgewebs indicates that on best play it is possible for N/S to make 9 tricks if diamonds are trumps (+110 to N/S) while E/W can make only 7 tricks in hearts (+100 to N/S).

Tip: when one of your opponents has opened 1NT then, once opener’s partner has passed, you should bid; either bid a 5 card suit or double asking partner to bid.

I now want to look at a situation where a jump overcall is not weak.

Let’s consider East’s first bid, the bid of 2S.  It is a jump overcall but in this position it should not be weak.

Why?

The point is that both opponents have bid; they have started a two way conversation.  They will have some idea of their combined strength and whether they have a fit or a miss-fit.  They will be in a good position to judge whether to bid on or to double you for penalties.

It is because of this increased danger of being doubled that the 2S jump overcall needs to be a bit more robust than an immediate jump overcall.

Once both opponents have bid a jump overcall should have intermediate values: that is 15 – 20 Bhcp (10 – 13 hcp).

Although South has minimum high card values, with diamonds as trumps she has a 6 loser hand.  As it is best to use the losing trick count when holding a void or singleton, South bids the value of her hand; 3D.

West bids to the level of fit and North raises to 4D on the basis of her high card point count.

East can see that she has little defensive values in her hand and decides to bid one level higher.

Some players hate to be outbid.  If North is one such she will probably bid 5D.  This is hate losing out: it converts a positive score to a minus one.  That is not winning bridge.

Other players are a little timid in their bidding.  If North is one of those then at least there will be a positive score.

A competitive North will reason that East has bid one level higher than the level of fit (with 7 spades East would jump to 3S initially).  East has over-reached.  North should double.

E/W can make 9 tricks for +100 to N/S if 4S is doubled.

N/S can make 10 tricks in diamonds for +110 to N/S.

The question is, why was it that only one pair bid the slam on Board 11?

South has a good heart suit and only 4 losers: it is a standard 2C opening.

North gives the positive response of 2NT.

After South’s 3H bid North’s rebid is 4D.  Having bid 2NT, 4D cannot be a suggestion that diamonds be trumps: it is a cue bid agreeing hearts and showing the DA.  In fact, it does more than that because it also denies the SA and the CA.

South has had a positive response from North and knows that all 5 key cards are held and so the pragmatic thing to do is jump straight to 6H.

In the play South unblocks the CA, draws trumps ending in the North hand and discards a spade on the CK.  The diamonds are tackled next, the DA felling the DQ to give 4 diamond tricks and 12 tricks in all.

Let’s continue with Board 36 where it pays to remember the principle of restricted choice..

Again, only one pair bid the slam: 4 pairs were in 4S, 2 in a heart contract and one N/S in 5C.

The expected outcome is 6 spade tricks, 5 hearts and one diamond; 12 tricks.

In a 6S contract let’s look at the play on a diamond lead by South.

Declarer calls for the DA and draws trumps in 2 rounds ending in the West hand.

Declarer calls for the HA and North contributes the HJ.  A continuation of the HK reveals the 4/1 heart split so declarer returns to hand (diamond ruff or in spades) and takes the marked heart finesse for 12 tricks.

For those in a heart contract the play is a little more difficult.

North leads the S4.

The trumps are now tackled, the HA being played and the HJ appears.

Did North play the HJ because it was a singleton or did he play the HJ from HJ HT doubleton?

A doubleton is more likely than a singleton.  However, holding HJ HT doubleton a reasonable defender will sometimes play the HJ and sometimes the HT.  If a defender with that doubleton played the HJ only half the time and the HT the other half then it becomes more likely that the HJ was played because North had no choice; the HJ was singleton.  This illustrates the Principle of Restricted Choice: the HJ was played because there was a singleton.  The odds favour playing South for HTxxx.

Declarer calls for the H8.  The DA is played and a diamond ruffed with the H9.

Now is the moment of truth, dummy’s last heart (the H3) is played and if South plays low the H7 played.  Now declarer is in hand to draw trumps and make 12 tricks

It is such a pity that the only time a slam was bid it was 6H and only 11 tricks were made.

Just in case you think the Principle of Restricted Choice comes up rarely take a look at the heart suit on Board 10.

♥  KT863          The HA is played to the H5, H3 and HQ.           

♥  A742            Do you finesse?

                        Yes, and it was a singleton HQ.

Finally, as East on Board 15 you pick up this hand:

♠  6                  The bidding starts:

♥ T9764            S          W         N          E

♦  A4                1N        2S        P          ?

♣  AKT82          What do you do?

                        I just hope the thought of doing anything other than passing never crossed your mind.  West has a 6 card spade suit and could be as weak as 7 Bhcp (5 hcp).

Let’s say you open 1S, your LH opponent passes and partner jumps straight to 4S.

What sort of hand do you expect from her?

The 4S bid is to a certain extent pre-emptive.  She should have trump support (obviously), a weak hand in terms of high cards (typically 9 – 12 Bhcp or 6 – 8 hcp) and good distribution.

By good distribution I mean a hand containing a void or singleton.

On Board 11 North picked up this rather unpromising hand:

♠  T63

♥  QT97           

♦  QT653

♣ 5

South opened 1S and West passed.  What is North to do?

North has 9 Bhcp.  Yes, B points are not just for balanced hands, they should be used universally.  North is in the range 9 – 12 Bhcp.

What about trump support?  That is more problematic.  The question for North is what would she do if E/W were to compete to 4C?  I would bid 4S on the basis that I could supply tricks by means of club ruffs.  If I would do it then, then I should do it now.

I would jump straight to 4S and, yes, I might need an understanding partner!

Only one pair was in 4S and their score was 100% on the board.

On Board 15 East picks up the following hand.

♠  QT8732

♥  72

♦  Q

♣  962

West opens 1D and North overcalls 1NT (22 – 26 Bpts or 15 – 17 pts).

What is East to bid?

Let’s first consider the situation where East is strong, say 15 Bhcp (10 hcp) or more.

East would know that E/W had the majority of the points and so North was in trouble. 

East would double, for penalties.

Think about it when East has 10 hcp (old money).  West has opened so give her 12 hcp.  North has a minimum of 15 hcp for the 1NT overcall.  That leaves a maximum of 3 hcp for South.  North will be lucky to get into dummy more than once.  Further, West has bid letting East know what suit to lead.  In the play East will play low as often as possible when declarer leads away from his high cards.  The hope is that West can win the trick and lead through North’s strength.  Oh!  What fun!

Now back to the hand that was dealt: East is not strong enough to double.  East bids 2S.  A bid of a suit after a 1NT overcall indicates a long suit and a maximum of 14 Bhcp (9 hcp). 

As a final comment, had North opened 1NT wouldn’t you overcall 2S?  It is within the range if you count your B points.

Now let’s finish with Board 40.

   W                       E                

♠  K953             ♠  QJ6              West dealt and after two passes it is East to bid.

♥  QJ95             ♥  A2                East has 20 Bhcp.

♦  943               ♦  AQ752          The diamond suit adds value; probably 1 Bpt.

♣ T4                 ♣ J65               An opening of 1NT is 18 – 21 Bpts.

                                                East opens 1NT.

How is West to respond?

West is at the top end of the range for Stayman with weakness.

With these hands Stayman would go:

W         E

P          1N

2C        2D

2H        2S.

The key bid here is West’s rebid of 2H.  The bid advertises a weak hand with 4 cards in both of the major suits.  West is confident that if East has only 2 hearts then she must have 3 spades.  This is the situation here.  East corrects to 2S.

As it turned out, no contract was makeable; it was a question of damage limitation.

The Hands from 17^th November 2015

Board 23 was tricky to bid; it was very easy to take the wrong view.

The first consideration is South’s opening bid.  Should it be 2C?

There is a 5 card club suit, there are only 3 losers and there are plenty of high cards.

2C is certainly a contender.

Before plunging in we need to think about how the bidding might develop.  The bidding starts:

2C        2D

3C.

If North were to bid hearts now then that would show a 5 card suit.  It is going to be very difficult to find a 4/4 heart fit if one exists.  Further, I don’t like the quality of the club suit.

Now let’s consider an opening bid of 1C.

Partner is likely to respond 1S.  South can now rebid 2D which is a reverse and forcing.

If North now bids 2H then that is 4^th suit forcing and South can bid 3H.  That would give us:

1C        1S

2D        2H

3H.

South has now shown either a 4441 or (more likely) a 5440 distribution and a strong hand.

There is more hope of finding the right spot by opening 1C.

So how might the bidding go here?

1C        1S

2D        ?

North now sees a 5/4 club fit.  North has a 4 loser hand so a club slam is definitely on the cards.  North jumps to 4C which is key card asking.  South bids 4H to show 3 or zero key cards – it must be three.  The slam is bid.

I’m pleased to report that 2 pairs bid to the club slam.

Now here is a basic bidding point from Board 10.

As West you pick up the following hand.  What do you bid after your partner opens 1H?

♠  AT82                        Do you bid 1S?

♥  J92               Do you bid 2H?

♦  93                            

♣  Q863                                   

Your hand is in the 9 – 14 Bpt (6 – 9 pt) range and so is worth only one bid.

The best you can do is to show some limited support for partner by bidding 2H.

The 2H bid has many advantages over the 1S response.  Here are just a couple.

2H is more pre-emptive.  If your opponents were considering competing in a minor suit they now have to come in at the 3 level.  If they bid spades you know that the suit is breaking badly for them.

If you never respond 1NT when holding 3 card support for a major then, if the auction becomes competitive, your partner will be in a better position to decide whether to bid again knowing that you have at most 2 card support.

Finally, here is another bidding point drawn from Board 20.

   W                       E                 Yes, I know; West is dealer but let’s ignore that.

♠  932               ♠  KJ7              Assume East is dealer and opens 1NT.

♥  AKQ932        ♥  J754             West knows that the final contract is going to be 4H

♦  Q                  ♦  A876             but West can choose who plays the contract.

♣ T95               ♣  A6                A holding is a suit such as Kxx is a delicate holding.

                                                You would like the opening lead to come round to that suit and therefore whichever hand holds that suit needs to be declarer’s.

Here, West has no delicate holding to protect.  An opening of 1NT often has a delicate suit.  Therefore, West should not jump straight to 4H but should transfer.

As you can see, the transfer bid protects East’s spade suit: the opening lead from South comes round to the KJ7.

Tip: as responder to an opening bid of 1NT only jump straight to 4 of a major if:

            You have a delicate holding to protect, or

You are bidding game on a weakfish distributional hand.  This is to prevent any possible intervention.

There were two boards where 13 tricks were available.  On one the grand slam was bid by two pairs, well done them.  On the other not one pair was in any sort of a slam.  Let’s look at them.

North’s opening of 2C is routine.  It is South’s response which is more problematic.

One South I spoke to afterwards had responded 3D.  This is not wrong: it is a positive response and it is a 5 card suit but, honestly, do you really want to suggest that mediocre suit?  My immediate response was to say the best response is 2NT despite the distribution.

North shows her spades at her second turn and now South jumps to 4C.  After the initial response of 2NT this cannot be a suggestion that clubs be trumps: it is a cue bid agreeing spades and showing the CA.

Now, knowing that there is only 1 loser North jumps to 6S.  There is nothing to be gained by North either cue bidding or using Blackwood.  You can’t cue bid the ace of trumps so cue bidding won’t tell you whether or not South holds the SA.  If Blackwood is used North will not know whether South’s second ace is the SA (wonderful) or DA (useless).

Finally, South should think that if North can go straight to 6S without worrying about any other key cards then, from North’s point of view, the only loser is going to be the ace of trumps.  Holding that card South bids the grand slam.

By contrast, a final contract on Board 33 was almost universally 3NT with the outcome being plus 4.

As West on Board 6 you pick up this hand. 

♠  J973                        

♥  T                             

♦  AK6                         

♣  T9874                                 

The bidding starts:

N          E          S          W

1N        P          2D        ?          2D = transfer to hearts.

Are you going to bid?

You would quite like diamonds led, wouldn’t you?

The double of an artificial bid is lead directing, asking your partner to lead that suit.

Double is a very reasonable bid.  If partner leads a diamond you are setting off on the right track.  So double, asking for a diamond lead.

Here is North’s hand and West has doubled the transfer bid of 2D.

♠  AQ85                                   

♥  A9                           

♦  J532                        

♣  K32                         

What do you do?

With only a doubleton heart opener passes.  This says nothing about hand strength but merely that only 2 hearts are held.

If opener had held 3 or 4 hearts but was minimum she would have bid 2H indicating that there was fit..

If opener had held 3 or 4 hearts and was maximum she would have redoubled.

These rebids by opener allow responder to make an informed choice of what to do in what has become a competitive auction.

Let’s start with Board 45 where there is an end play opportunity.

In either approach to bidding your majors the slam should have been relatively straightforward.

In conventional Acol, East’s 2NT rebid is forcing to game. 

West’s 3S indicates 3 card spade support.

Instead of lazily bidding 4S, as West is unlimited in strength, East cue bids 4C indicating 5 spades and first round control in clubs.

That is enough for West to ask for key cards and 5D shows 3 (or zero).

The slam is bid.

With Jacoby, West’s 2NT response shows game vales with 4 card spade support.

East’s 3S rebid shows extra strength (when you are in a forcing situation the lower bid is used with stronger hands because it leaves more room to investigate slam potential).

That is enough for West to ask for key cards.

Now for the play: look at the E/W diamond holding.  You can finesse the DQ either way.  How can you get it right?

The plan is to draw trumps, play the CA and ruff a club.  Now play HA, HK and another heart.  If the hearts divide 3/3 (as they do) then the opponent on lead is end played: if she leads a club you have a ruff and discard while if a diamond is led then you don’t have to guess where the DQ is hiding.

Of course, had the hearts split 4/2 then you would have to have fallen back on the diamond finesse.  Is it a 50/50 chance of guessing right?

No, you can do better than that.

Let’s say the spades divide 2/2 as they do here.  You have played the clubs and both opponents have followed so no information there.  However, you now know one opponent started with 2 spades and 4 hearts.  You know 6 cards held by the opponent having 4 hearts leaving 7 cards unknown.  Your other opponent had 2 spades and 2 hearts leaving 9 unknown cards.  There is more room for the DQ to be hidden amongst the 9 unknown cards than among the 7. There are 16 unknown cards overall.  The odds of finding the DQ among the 9 unknown cards held by the opponent with a doubleton heart are 9/16.  Assume the DQ is held by the player who started with just 2 hearts and finesse accordingly.

I am now going to look at Board 8 with respect to doubling an opening bid of 1NT (weak).

When the bidding starts:

            1N        P          P

then everyone at the table should assume that the points are pretty evenly distributed between the pairs.  Therefore, a double in 4^th seat is for take-out, not for penalties.

Here, West has already passed and so the situation is very nearly the same as:

            1N        P          P.

The double by South is asking North to bid.

Now for a final note on opening weak 2s.

I know a sample of one proves nothing but here goes.

Board 32

♠  86                 West was dealer and picked up this hand.

♥  J98643         At my table West passed and E/W got a bottom.

♦  Q7                           

♣  K93                         

Board 43

♠  JT8543         South was dealer and picked up this hand.

♥  K54              At my table South opened 2S and got an outright top.

♦  98                            

♣  K9                           

Pre-empting is to sabotage your opponents, to take away bidding space and hoping that they won’t be able to exchange enough information to find the best contract.

Of course, pre-empting has its dangers,  What are the dangers of pre-empting with a poor suit headed by nothing higher than a jack?

The saving grace is that if an opponent doubles it is for take-out, not for penalties.

For you to end up playing in a doubled contract one opponent has to double for take-out and the other to pass it out, converting it into a penalty double.  This happens rarely.  The number of times your pre-empt will reap dividends will far outweigh the times when it goes pear shaped.

This leads me to my approach to pre-empting: if my suit is long enough and my hand is within the point range then I pre-empt and blow the suit quality.

Only 2 pairs bid to slam on Board 21.  I would have thught more would have done so.

Why should you open 1D or 1C when holding a 4441 distribution? 

If you open a major (say 1H with North’s hand) then if partner responds by bidding your singleton suit (the most likely bid) then you are going to bid a second suit.  Bidding a second suit promises 5 cards in the first bid suit.  So the danger is of ending up in 4H on a 4/3 fit.

North’s jump to 3H indicates extra strength, a 6 loser hand.  South has a LTC of 6.  With two 6 loser hands the probable number of tricks is 12.  South needs to be looking for slam.

4C and 4D are cue bids showing first round controls in clubs and diamonds respectively.

With no losers in diamonds South uses Blackwood and the slam is bid.

12 tricks roll in, only the ace of trumps is lost.

On Board 42 all but one pair were in 4S and it was 9 tricks all round.  The pair which stayed out of game got a top; thank you partner.

The point is, I’m not sure that game should have been bid.

East passes and South opens 1C, her longest suit.

West passes.

The question is, what should North bid?

A hand with only 9 – 14 Bpts (6 – 9 pts) is worth only 1 bid.  In that case you should bid up your suits because this maximises your chances of finding a playable part score contract.

If responder has 15 Bpts (10 pts) then the hand is strong enough to have hopes of game.  In that case you ignore minor suits and bid majors.

North’s hand is right on the cusp: 14 Bpts (9 pts) but containing a pretty poor 5 card suit.  Should the hand be evaluated as a minimum responsive hand or as one worth 2 bids?

If you upgrade the hand then the bidding is likely to go as follows:

S          N

1C        1S

4S

If you evaluate North’s hand as minimum than the bidding is likely to start:

S          N

1C        1D

1H        1S

2S        ?

North’s 1S bid is 4^th suit forcing.  It asks partner to bid again; it says nothing about North’s spade holding.

South has shown at least 4 cards in each of clubs, hearts and spades: she has a distribution 4441 or 5440.  These distributions tend not to play well and so North does well to pass.

On Board 9 all declarers but one were in hearts.  However, only one was in the slam.  More worryingly, only 2 declarers made 12 tricks so let’s look at the play.

It doesn’t really matter, but let’s assume a spade lead.

Declarer takes in hand (South) and ruffs a club.

Declarer returns to hand in trumps and ruffs another club.

Declarer returns to hand, overtaking dummy’s last trump and draws the last trump.

Declarer makes 4 spade tricks, 5 hearts, the ace of diamonds and 2 club ruffs for 12 tricks in all.

It is Board 17 and, as South, you pick up this hand. 

Your partner, North, dealt and passed.

East opened with a pre-emptive 3C.

What do you do?

If your opponents show weakness then all your bids should show opening values.

On the other hand, if your opponents show strength then all you bids should be weak and long.

The problem here is that South’s hand does not have opening values so a bid of 3H would be very misleading.  E/W were commonly in 5C but at one table South overcalled so North doubled on the basis of partner’s presumed opening strength.  5C doubled made easily – oops.

I want to finish by looking at Board 12 from the point of view of the computer’s assessment of how many tricks are available.

Every E/W pair played in some number of spades and the bidding given is possibly quite typical.  The computer says that 10 tricks are available, so why were so many declarers disappointed?

Did the computer get it wrong?  N/S have 3 diamond tricks and surely North must make the SQ.  So where is that elusive 10^th trick?

The answer lies in the spade suit.  The computer knows the whereabouts of every card.  It would play the SJ from West’s hand and run it if North played low.  Now the SA and SK fell the SQ, North’s spade trick has disappeared.

No one is likely to play spades as the computer would.  The play would be low to the SA and finesse on the way back.

What the computer says can be made is not the same thing as what should be made.  Take its ‘available tricks’ with a pinch of salt.

The following aspect of Acol is so often overlooked and yet it has been part of the system for the last 50 years or more.  It is this: if your partner has already passed then a change of suit in reply to your opening bid is not forcing.  Board 5 shows this making life awkward for E/W opponents.

At my table, perhaps concerned about a 2D response, West bid 2H which was passed out. 

In fact, West is too strong to overcall and should double intending to ignore his partners bid and show strength by bidding hearts later.  So how should the bidding go?

N            E             S             W

P             P             1S           X

2D          ?

After the double, North’s 2D bid shows a long suit and a weak hand 9 – 14 Bpts (6 – 9 pts).

Had North not bid, East would have had a routine 1NT response to the double showing a spade control and 9 – 14 Bpts (6 – 9 pts).  However, after the 2D bid East might stretch on the basis of an excellent spade suit and bid 2NT, or might bid 3C or could possibly pass.  The point is that South’s light opening bid has caused E/W problems: mission accomplished.

Here is Board 18 where South’s best rebid is a short diamond suit.

South has a 4 loser hand but the Losing Trick Count suggests just 11 tricks.  Should South make a slam try or settle for 4S?  One pair did bid to the slam and their bravery was rewarded: North’s hand couldn’t have been better, having ace and jack in spades together with 2 honours in South’s suit.  Any bad break could have been negotiated.  What is surprising is that only 2 pairs got as far as 4S.

So I feel the thing to concentrate on is South’s 2D rebid.

Time and time again a player needs to find out more about their partner’s hand (in this case whether 5 spades were held).  Very frequently, the way forward is to bid an unbid minor.  The dangers are small; no one wants to be in a minor suit game so even if partner holds 4 of them she should be looking for a no trump contract.

Tip:  be ready to bid a short minor suit when wanting to find out more about partner’s hand.

We all know about unblocking when we are declarer but it is just as important in defence.

West led the C3 and I continued the suit until West took her ace.

West switched to a heart and I gratefully took my 9 tricks.

At the end of the hand East remarked that a spade rather than heart switch would have put me down.  To a certain extent that is correct but only if ....

All right, “only if” what?

If West leads the S3 then after East takes the SA and SQ the third round of spades is won by West’s ST.  I still get my 9 tricks.

West has to lead her ST and now on the third round of spades East’s S9 wins and clears the suit for 5 tricks to the defence.

My West took her ace on the second round of clubs.  If she had held up for one more round then her partner could have signalled for spades.  West’s thinking is:  if declarer has 3 clubs then there will be a signal from her partner on the third round. 

If declarer has only 2 clubs then to establish the suit declarer would have to cross to dummy in another suit, presumably one with overall strength.  Had that happened here East would have been in the hot seat.  On the initial club lead East plays the C9, high hate.  On the next two rounds he must play the C5 and then the C4: high/low to indicate the higher suit (spades).  With East asking for spades West must lead the ST and so put me off.

Let’s start with Board 3.

South has a clear 3D opening bid.  She has a suit headed by QJT9 and is non-vulnerable against vulnerable.

West is too strong to do anything but double.

North raises to the level of fit: the weaker you are the more important it is to do so.

East bids 4S.  West then bids 4NT and learns that East holds 2 key cards without the queen of trumps: they have to be the DA and SK.

As N/S have shown 10 diamonds between them, East’s DA must be singleton.  West’s DK will provide for a discard.  West reasons that if East holds long clubs then the suit is likely to be established while if she holds only 3 clubs then with the discard on the DK the suit can be ruffed to established.  Either way there should be a good play for 13 tricks.

Board 18 gave E/W a decision to make about competing to the 5 level, never an easy thing to get right.

The bidding has been routine up to this point but how should East go about assessing the situation?

First, East has no diamond losers.  N/S have bid diamonds strongly so it is likely that there are no wasted values in West’s diamond holding.  Therefore, all West’s points should be working well with East’s holdings.

Secondly, East’s hand is not good defensively.  There may well be only one spade trick, if that.

All in all, 5S looks the right bid.

Finally on this hand, what is the right way to play the spade suit?

First play a top spade just in case South holds a singleton queen.  Here it is North who holds the singleton but had South held it then an immediate finesse would needlessly have lost a trick.

Now let’s finish with another slam hand.

Only 2 pairs bid to a slam.

East has a 2 loser hand and a wonderful diamond suit: a cast iron 2C opening bid.

With a 6 card suit and 3 aces West gives the positive response of 3C.

East knows there is at least a 9 card club fit so bids 4C – key card asking.

4H shows 3 (or zero) key cards.

East reasons that even if the diamonds do not break kindly West will be able to ruff to establish the suit.

Let’s start with Board 34.  No pair bid the slam and that is not too surprising.  However, only 2 declarers made 12 tricks and that is disappointing.

West has just below normal opening values but East has already passed.  Therefore, East’s responsive bid is no longer forcing.

In these circumstances West can open if she holds at least 4 spades and can pass any response her partner might make.

The reason for requiring the spades is as follows: if West does not have length in spades then there is a very real possibility that N/S have the spades.  In a competitive auction the side with the spades holds the high ground; 2S is the maximum safe bid when the points are pretty evenly divided.

Here West can happily pass any response by East (even a response of 2H as that would promise 5 hearts and 15 Bpts (10 pts).

North doubles.

After North’s double, East’s bid of 2S is pre-emptive.  With 3 card support it has a point range of 0 – 14 Bpts (0 – 9 pts).

With good values South jumps to 4H and that is enough for North to get to slam.

On the bidding given the play for 12 tricks is a doddle: West must have all the missing high cards to justify her opening bid.  Trumps are drawn and clubs tackled first: the successful finesse provides for a spade discard.  Then a diamond towards the king results in only 1 loser in that suit.

Now we move to Board 14 where 4 pairs bid a slam but none bid the better one.

North has a 3 loser hand and a wonderful spade suit so opens 2C.

South makes the positive reply of 2NT.

North shows her spades by bidding 3S.

South should not lazily bid 4S but cue bid 4H.  Having previously bid 2NT the 4H bid cannot be a suggestion that hearts be trumps.  It must be a cue bid agreeing spades as trumps, showing the HA but denying both the CA and the DA.

North can see the possibility of 2 diamond losers so cue bids 5C.  If South cannot cue bid a second round control in either clubs or diamonds then there will be 2 diamond losers and the final contract would need to be 5S.  South shows the DK by bidding 5D.

Now it is North’s turn not to be lazy but to do a little counting.

There are 8 spade tricks, one heart, 2 diamonds and one club.  That makes 12 tricks off top: North needs to bid 6NT despite her two singletons.

Here is yet another slam hand.

Every North must have been surprised when South opened 1S.  The only question was whether it was going to be a small or grand slam.

North jumps straight to Blackwood and 5D shows 3 or zero.  Although it was just possible for South to have opened with no key cards the practical assumption had to be that South held 3 key cards.

North’s 5H bid asked whether South held the queen of trumps.  Had she not done so her response would have been 5S.

Holding the SQ South replies in this priority order:

If she has a king in one of the three side suits, she bids that suit;

With no side kings she bids 5NT if she has a little more than she might have for her earlier bidding;

If she is minimum for her bidding to date she bids 6S.

South has no kings and by her response to 5H North will know that she holds two aces, one king and a queen.  Has South anything extra?  She has three tens, two of them supported by a nine.  Also, she has a fifth spade and a doubleton diamond.  She is a bit better than she might have been and so replies 5NT.  That is enough for North to opt for the grand slam.

Looking at both hands you can see that it is the doubleton diamond which makes 13 tricks possible.

L

Let’s start with brief notes on two boards.

Now for a quick look at how to play the spades on Board 3.

Board 12 provided a slam opportunity.

There are a number of options on the play but finessing twice in diamonds through the AJT7 has a 75% chance of losing only one trick.

With 2 ruffs there are 5 spade tricks; 2 hearts; 3 diamonds with the 3/3 split and 2 clubs.

Three of the five declarers in spades made 12 tricks but only one pair bid the slam.

On Board 26 only two N/S pairs reached game.

   N                   East dealt and after 3 passes North opens 1C.

♠  AQ9              South has a choice of 2 bids: 1N or 2C.

♥  AT2              Which is the better bid?

♦  732               Time to test your knowledge of Acol.

♣  AQJT           2C shows 9 – 14 Bpts (6 – 9 pts) and no other 4 card suit.        

   S                   That certainly fits this hand so what about a 1NT response?

♠  T75              The 1NT response to an opening bid of 1C is a little stronger;

♥  Q98              it shows 12 - 15 Bpts (8 – 10 pts).

♦  AK6              The 1NT is better here as South’s hand is indeed that bit stronger.

♣  7532             North now knows that game values are held and rebids 3NT.

Nothing very complicated this week.  Let’s start with Board 7: I was surprised that not one declarer was in 2D.

North uses Stayman with weakness.  True, she does not have 4 cards in both majors but she can pass a 2D response with some confidence.  Responder is going to pass any rebid by opener.  Even a 2S response would be reasonable as there are prospects for club ruffs.

In No Trumps E/W can make 5 clubs, 1 diamond, 2 spades and 1 heart.

In diamonds E/W have only 2 club tricks and therein lies the difference.

The other question is whether West should double the 1NT opening bid.  The 5 card club suit is worth 2 Bpts (1 pt).  West’s hand is stronger than the top end of the 1NT range, but only marginally so.  In that situation only double if you have a good lead, something like KQJx.  Here, the club suit with a lead of the CJ would work well (the CJ is top of an interior sequence).  However, there is the risk of giving away tricks to the CA and CQ.

I wouldn’t double but let’s see the bidding if West were to double.

North redoubles asking opener to bid her lowest 4 card suit.

South bids 2D and North is happy to pass.

East must now bid; she must not let N/S play in 2 of a minor undoubled.  East’s best bid is to double, not on her diamond holding but on her side’s combined strength.

Now for a little bit of declarer play from Board 10

The correct lead of partner’s suit is the H4; low from a 3 card suit containing an honour.  The reason is that you keep the king to take the queen if declarer holds it.

Declarer wins the first trick and draws trumps.

Now declarer needs to get rid of the club loser.  That is done by establishing the diamond suit for a discard.  Declarer plays the DQ; East ducks.  Declarer now continues diamonds to the DJ; East takes the trick.  Now the C2 can be discarded on the DK: 12 tricks made even though the club finesse fails.

Now it is time to look at defender play on Board 19.

Let’s consider the defence when East is declarer in either hearts or No Trumps.  After trumps have been tackled the D2 is led.  Which card should South play?

The situation is that dummy has a long suit with no apparent outside entry and declarer is trying to establish it.

If declarer has 3 diamonds then there is always an entry so North needs to know whether declarer has 2 diamonds or just a singleton.  South has to help her partner.  She plays a high card if holding an even number of diamonds and a low card if holding an odd number.

Had South held DJ65 she would play the D5 to indicate an odd number.  That would mean that East’s D2 was a singleton and if the DQ is played from dummy then North can take it with the DK.

With just DJ6 South plays the DJ, a high card for an even number.  North now can deduce that East began with a diamond doubleton and so must duck the first round.

Finally we have a basic bidding point from Board 25.

   S                   As South you are dealt this hand.

♠  862               Partner opens 1H and you respond 2H.

♥  JT32             Now partner rebids 2NT.

♦  942               What do you do?

♣  A84              Partner has a balanced hand with exactly 4 hearts.

                        She has 25 – 27 Bpts (17 – 18 pts)

She is inviting you to go to game if you are maximum for your 2H bid but to stay out of game if you are minimum.

You are minimum but you must not pass.  Your bid is 3H because you have 4 card support.

Here is the rule for the responder who has bid 2H.

If responder has only 3 card support then she passes with minimum values but bids 3NT with maximum.

If responder has 4 card support then she bids 3H with minimum values but bids 4H with maximum.

Board 1 illustrated markedly one important aspect of competitive bidding.

It is this: when one player has opened 1NT (weak) and responder has passed then everyone at the table should assume that the points are divided pretty evenly between the pairs.

 Let’s first do a little recap on defensive bidding against an opening of a weak 1NT.

If 1NT is opened on your right then to bid a suit at the 2 level you need 6 cards and anything in the range 7  - 23 Bhcp (5 – 15 hcp).  You need the robustness of a 6 card suit because responder has not yet had an opportunity to bid and she might be strong.  Note: the bottom end of the range is the same as the bottom end of a weak 2 opening bid.  The top end is a hand where which is just short of the values necessary to double for penalties.

If the 1NT opening bid is on your left and responder has passed then things are very different.  You should assume that the points are roughly equal so if you are weak (say 12 Bhcp / 8 hcp) then partner has compensating strength.  You now bid on the assumed combined strength of you side’s holding: bid a 5 card suit if you have one.

Here things are just slightly different because partner is already a passed hand.  Nevertheless, she must have close to an opening bid.  Yes, I did bid 2C which was passed out: at just one off it gave us an excellent score. 

Tip: when the bidding indicates that the points are evenly divided do your best to get into the action.

Now let’s look quickly at a couple of bidding decisions.

   W                       E                 It is Board 8 with no one vulnerable.

♠  T65              ♠  A9874           West dealt and opened a weak 2H.

♥  KQJ963        ♥  -                   What should East bid?

♦  8754             ♦  A                  East can count 9 tricks in her own hand.

♣  -                   ♣  AKQJ543      West has only 6 hearts so there will be entries

                                                to East’s hand.

It is quite possible that West might contribute a trick so East should be thinking in terms of a No Trump contract.

East responds 2NT, asking for more information.

West is at the bottom end of the range but with a good suit so replies 3D.          

With a good heart suit opposite East should bid 3NT.  As it happens 3NT makes exactly, as does 5C, so in this instance the scores are the same whichever contract is reached.

   W                       E                 Here we have Board 11 where South dealt and passed.

♠  92                 ♠  A                  West opens 1H and North overcalls 2H

♥  AQT54         ♥  J98732         North’s 2H bid is Michael’s showing a hand with

♦  AQ73            ♦  K9                5 spades and 5 cards in one of the minor suits.

♣  82                ♣  AJ97                        How should East deal with this intervention?

                                                Let’s first consider how East would bid without the intervention.

If the bidding goes 1H – 4H then responder is showing good trump support but a weakfish hand (9 – 12 Bhcp / 6 – 8 hcp) and good distribution (that is a void or singleton).  The 4H bid is often called a shut-out bid.

With sound opening values East must find another bid before going to 4H.  It might be a simple bid of a new suit, a cue bid, a splinter bid or the Jackoby 2NT.

When there is an intervention try as much as possible to keep to your normal bidding system.  Therefore, after the bidding starts 1H – 2H then if responder jumps straight to 4H it should be taken as a shut-out bid.  With sound opening values responder has to find another bid and probably the best option is to bid the opponent’s suit.

On Board 11 the bidding could well start:

            1H – 2H – 2S.

Now there is a reasonable chance that the slam will be bid.

One tactic at duplicate is to double if you feel that declarer is likely to go one off.  In effect, you are playing for a top or a bottom.  See how this approach worked on Board 44.

All six Easts had declared to make 10 tricks with hearts as trumps.  All six made 9 tricks.  It sounds like a flat board except that one North had doubled to give that N/S pair a top and that E/W pair, who had done nothing wrong, a bottom.

Of course, it could easily have backfired: East might have had the SK, a singleton spade or even a minor suit void.

In a teams match declarer’s focus is on making the contract, the overtricks are of minor importance.  In duplicate, overtricks are vital.  Let’s see the duplicate mind set in action on Board 35.

Let’s assume the normal lead of the DA.  Dummy is tabled.

In a teams match declarer would be happy enough; 7 spade tricks, 2 hearts and one club equals contract made.  In duplicate, declarer looks for overtricks.  Where might they come from here?

The chances of a heart ruff are vanishingly small.  There are not enough entries to North’s hand to establish the diamonds.  Any overtricks will have to come from hearts.

If the hearts divide 3/3 then there will be 3 heart tricks; one overtrick.

If one defender holds QJ doubleton then there will be 4 heart tricks.

Declarer ruffs the opening lead of the DA and draws trumps.

She then plays off the HA and HK and finds QJ doubleton with West.  Now the H9 is cashed leaving the master HT in hand.

Tip: in duplicate, always look for the extra trick.

At the end of the evening I was told that there was no way 13 tricks could be made on Board 28 yet 2 declarers had done so.  Let’s have a look.

There are 2 ways declarer may make 13 tricks.

North might lead the H2: a poor lead on the recommended bidding but more possible if the bidding had been 1S – 4S.

The other possibility is that North led a diamond or spade and later in the hand West led a small heart and North ducked.

The pay is essentially the same in both scenarios so I’ll go through the play assuming a H2 opening lead.  Declarer aims to ruff 3 diamonds.

The HT wins the trick.

Declarer plays the DA and ruffs a diamond.

Crossing back to hand in trumps declarer ruffs another diamond.

Declarer then cashes the HA and ruffs a heart: the king falls leaving the HQ and HJ as masters.

Back in the East hand, declarer can ruff a diamond for the third time and then draw the last trump with the SK.

The HQ and HJ are then cashed, declarer discarding dummy’s 2 clubs.

Dummy then has 2 trumps left to take the 12^th and 13^th tricks.

The tricks are 5 spades, 4 hearts, one diamond and 3 diamond ruffs: 13 tricks all told.

The bidding on Board 3 should be routine but 3 pairs were in the wrong contract.

South dealt and E/W were vulnerable.

   W                       E                 South passed and West opens 1H (not 1S).

♠  QJT6            ♠  K54              East is too strong to respond 2H but does not have the 4

♥  AJ82            ♥  KQT             card support necessary for a raise to 3H.

♦  AK                ♦  Q32              East makes a waiting bid, either 2C or 2D.

♣  QT8             ♣  J932             West rebids 2NT which is game forcing after a response at

                                                the 2 level.

East bids 3H in case West has a 5 card suit.  She doesn’t so the final contract is 3NT.

Not many slam hands this week but let’s have a look at one.

At 15 Bhcp North’s hand is too strong for an opening of 2D.

East makes a weak jump overcall of 3C.  No matter what value you attach to an opening bid of 2C, the jump overcall of 3C is weak.

South’s 3H bid is forcing and promises at least a 5 card suit.

When North rebids her diamonds South, with a 5 loser hand, plumps for slam.

Of course, using hcp and opening 2D will mean that there is no hope of reaching the slam.

The play is straightforward.  Declarer (North) must resist the spade finesse but look to establish the long hearts.

Let’s assume East’s opening lead is a spade.  It must be taken with the SA.

Declarer then draws two rounds of trumps leaving the DA in dummy.

There follows the two top hearts and a heart ruff.  The three small hearts in dummy are now established.

Declarer crosses to dummy’s DA, drawing the last trump, and then cashes the three established hearts for 12 tricks.

Board 19 provided interest in bidding and play.

As soon as dummy comes down East counts her losers: 1 club, 1 diamond and, if trumps are drawn, 2 hearts.  Four losers is one too many.

An opening lead of a heart is quite likely given the bidding.  Declarer plays the HA and immediately another heart.  Now however N/S continue declarer can ruff a heart to make 10 tricks.

If the opening lead happens to be a trump then the possibility of ruffing a heart has gone out of the window.  Declarer wins, draws trumps and then switches to the DK in order to establish the suit for a heart discard.  The HA is the necessary entry to dummy.

As a tail piece, the traveller shows that on two occasions East played in 1S.  This means that on two occasions South passed East’s 1S overcall of 1H.

Why?

However you evaluate it, South’s hand is worth a raise to 2H.

There are 5 hcp plus a doubleton (worth a point) which gives a 6 point hand;

There are 8 Bhcp plus 2 Bpts for the doubleton.

I am often asked about the bidding situation which arose in Board 15.

You are holding that West hand.  Partner opens 1C.  Do you respond 1D or 1H?

It all depends how strong you are.

If you are weak (9 – 14 Bpts or 6 – 9 pts) then you are likely to be playing in a part score.  In that case, respond 1D; it may be the only chance you get to suggest what may be your side’s only playable denomination.

If you are stronger (at least 15 Bpts or 10 pts) then you have some hopes of being in game.  In that case you’ll be aiming for 3NT, 4H or 4S.  You skip the diamonds and respond 1H.

Finally, if North’s opening lead is the C2 don’t be tempted to finesse.  The lead of dummy’s suit is nearly always a singleton.

Let’s start with one of the many slam hands on offer this week.

No pair bid a slam and I must admit that it is a bit of a punt.  With diamonds as trumps 12 tricks roll in, the HQ is ruffed.  Let’s look at the play in 6NT when a club is led.

Declarer wins with the CA and test’s the diamonds by playing off the DA and DK.

Declarer plays off 5 club tricks and 5 diamond tricks to leave herself with SK and HA + HQ.

West will also have had to play 10 cards.  To keep his HK guarded he will have HK and H9.  He will also need to keep the SA.

Declarer now plays his last spade, the SK.  West is end played, he has to win with the SA and lead from his HK and H9 round to declarer’s HA and HQ.  That’s 12 tricks made.

Declarer needed West to have the SA and therefore played as though it were there.

Now for some basic hand evaluation from Board 36:

West has 11 hcp and I suppose that is why there were passes by 3 Wests.  They failed to take account of the distribution.  A good 5 card suit is worth an extra point on account of the probability that a small card will eventually make a trick.  So even with the old scoring system there should have been no doubt that the hand was worth an opening bid.

Using Bpts, there are 19 Bhcp plus 2 Bpts for the good heart suit making a total evaluation of 21 Bpts: the hand is evaluated as equivalent to a maximum opening of 1NT.

West opens 1H and North passes without the flicker of an eyelid.

East responds 1S and now it is South’s turn to pass smoothly.

West may then rebid either 2C or 2H and E/W should end up in 2NT (making as N/S can only take 1 spade, 1 diamond and 3 clubs).

When West passed N/S ended up in either 2H or 2S making 8 or 9 tricks.

The moral of this hand is to remember to add in your long suit distribution points when evaluating your hand.

When you have a strong hand it sometimes pays to pass and let your opponents play.

In this instance my opening bid of 1C allowed West to overcall 1NT without any qualms.

Had North decided to bid 2S after the strong 1NT overcall then it would have shown a weak hand (a maximum of 14 Bhcp/9 hcp) and a long suit (5 or more cards).  Rightly, she decided that she was too weak.

East could well have bid but it did seem as though the points were evenly distributed so there should be a good play for 7 tricks.

Had East bid it would have been 2C (Stayman).  After West’s 2D East bids 2H to show a weak hand with both majors (Stayman with weakness).

The opening lead was the CQ taken by declarer who then attacked hearts by leading the HK.

I ducked.  Declarer continued by running the H9 to my HJ.

I in turn attacked diamonds, successfully removing dummy’s DK entry before the hearts had been established.  Dummy was now dead and West finished 2 off for a top to us.

There are a number of lessons to be learned from this hand.

If you play Stayman and transfers opposite an opening of 1NT then also play them opposite an overcall of 1NT (just making an adjustment for the greater strength of the 1NT overcall).

If you have a strong hand but partner is weak you are likely to make fewer tricks than you expect.  The reason is that you will not get into your partner’s hand more than once or twice.  You then will end up leading away from your high cards and that will be of benefit to your opponents.

When dummy is weak and declarer is trying to establish a long suit, do what you can to remove any side entry that dummy might posses before the long suit has been established.

Let’s start with Board 35 where a lesson in declarer play awaits.

Let’s assume that the contract is 3NT by South and that the opening lead is the HK.

Declarer counts her top tricks: two spades, one heart, two diamonds and one club.  That is 6 tricks in all.  Three more tricks have to be generated and they have to be generated without losing the lead because, once the lead is lost, E/W will run their hearts.

The extra tricks cannot come from spades: even if one hand holds QJ doubleton then the other has 9762.  The extra tricks have to come from the diamonds.

What does declarer need in order to make 5 diamond tricks without losing the lead?  She needs the diamonds to divide 2/2 (a 40% chance).

Here is the tip for declarers: if you need particular cards to be held by certain opponents then play as though they are there.  If the cards are not as you need them to be then you are in an unmakable contract: tough.

So acting on this principle South takes the first trick with the HA, there is no point putting it off.  She then plays the DA and then (with crossed fingers) the DK.  Fortune smiles.  Declarer now has 9 tricks off top.

I am disappointed that only 2 pairs bid a slam on Board 29.

North opens 1NT and having both majors South uses Stayman.

3S is a cue bid agreeing hearts: what else can it be?  If South only had a long spade suit she would have transferred and if a 4 card spade suit she would now rebid some number of No trumps.

North co-operates by cue bidding the ace of clubs.

South can now see that there are no losers in either minor suit so it must be time to check on key cards by bidding 4NT.  The 5H response indicates 2 key cards without the HQ.

North settles for 6H.

Now here is a defensive problem suggested by Board 4.

♠  Q43                          South is playing in a suit contract, it doesn’t matter which.

♥  Q64                          Partner (West) makes an opening lead of the S6.

♦  753                           Declarer calls for the S3.

♣  Q982                        What do you play?

            ♠  KT85            First, you can see the S5, the S4 and the S3.

            ♥  KJ53            The S6 is low.

            ♦  A86              You know partner would never lead a doubleton.

            ♣  T5                Partner has a spade honour.

                                    She cannot be leading away from the SA, you have the SK.

You can see the SQ and the ST.

Partner must hold the SJ.

You play the ST and that forces out declarer’s SA leaving your SK to take the SQ later in the play.

Board 27 illustrated an exceedingly important aspect of defending against an opening bid of a weak 1NT.  As every West played in 1NT it seems that far too many players are unaware of it.

When the bidding starts 1NT – P – P then everyone at the table should assume that the points divide evenly between the two sides [30/30 Bhcp or 20/20 hcp].  This means that if 4^th seat has a 5 card suit then she should bid it almost irrespective of how many (or few) points she holds.

On this board South should come in with a bid of 2C.

No matter how many clubs North holds or how strong she is, she should pass because she knows that her side holds only about half the points.

On Board 27 here, you can see that the N/S hands fit about as badly as they could and that E/W hold slightly more than half the points.  Nevertheless, with careful play N/S can make 7 tricks in clubs for one off and a score of 50 to E/W.  That would have been an outright top for N/S.  Even 2 off (100 to E/W) would have given N/S a 60% score as 4 Wests made 1NT + 1 for scores of 120.

It seems to be the week to focus on the defence to an opening of 1NT.  Here’s Board 5.

After East opens 1NT South is so strong that she just has to double despite the singleton spade.  The double is for penalties.

West knows that she is at the bottom of a deep and mucky hole and must take some damage limitation exercise.  If she had had a 5 card suit then she would have bid it, but she hasn’t.  Therefore, she redoubles asking her partner to bid her cheapest 4 card suit.  West is desperately looking for a 4/4 or at worst a 4/3 fit.

North passes, awaiting developments.

East bids her only 4 card suit, 2C.

South doubles again for penalties and West shows her 4 card diamond suit.

Here North must help her partner by doubling to show some decent holding in diamonds.

East passes, having found a 4/3 fit.

Yes, N/S can make a vulnerable game for a score of about 600 but they can make 10 tricks with diamonds as trumps leaving E/W 4 off doubled; a score of 800 to N/S.

Bridge can be very unkind as Board 31 was for West.

Let’s say the bidding starts 2D – P – 3D - ?

East has to bid something and with no 5 card suit it has to be a double despite the doubleton heart.  South passes and West has to choose what to bid.

When partner has made a take-out double the first priority is to opt for a 4 card major; the second is to show a minor suit and the final one is to pass and so convert the take-out double into a penalty double.

If West bids hearts (top priority) East is not strong enough to remove to somewhere else and the likely result is 2 off.

If West bids clubs then the 5C game makes for a score of plus 400 to E/W.

If West elects to pass then N/S should be 2 off for a score of plus 500 to E/W.

So there you have it: if West goes with the top priority then she gets the worst score; if with the middle priority she gets the middle score and if she goes against all the strictures and passes she gets the best score possible.

Funny old game, isn’t it?

Let’s start with Board 20.

Sitting West, after 3 passes, I could see that South was going to bid.  I was all prepared for a Michaels Cue Bid to show 5/5 in the majors when my hopes were dashed with an opening bid by South of 2C.

It is not a great hand for the 2C bid.  Yes, it is a 4 loser hand with a 5 card major but it is an awful major suit.  Nevertheless, it is probably a better opening than any other.

I decided to be as awkward as possible, I overcalled 2S; I’m sure South was surprised.

After the intervention, what should North bid?

The first thing to realise is that any bid other than Pass is a positive response.

North is much too strong to pass so must bid something.

To bid a suit North needs it to have at least 5 cards in it, so that is out.  Only the double is left.

Had North doubled then South would have had a tricky decision to make: should she pass and take a hefty penalty or bid something like 3NT in the hope that a slam was on?

Luckily for me my North bid 3H and I was off the hook.  However, it is a reminder that making cheeky overcalls in order to make things awkward for your opponents can backfire.

Before I move to Board 1 I’d like to look at opener’s rebid in a competitive auction; specifically those times when opener has the option of doubling.

In those competitive situations where opener may double if she so chooses then:

If opener rebids her suit then she has a 6 card suit;

If opener’s rebid is a new suit then that new suit is a 5 card suit;

If opener doubles she is asking her partner to bid.

Now let’s see this in action on Board 1.

Now let’s look at the play.

At my table the opening lead was the DT to West’s DA.

West continued with the S4 which I took in hand with the SK.

I then drew trumps in 3 rounds and then it was time to tackle the club suit.

The distribution which would give me only one club loser is for the CK to be with East and just one of the CJ and CT to be with West.  Here the play is to lead a low club and play the C8 from the South hand.  West would then take the trick with whichever of the CJ or CT she held.  When in hand a club is led again and East’s card is covered.

So I played the C2, East played low and I called for the C8.  I blinked.  It held the trick.

I came back to hand and led another club and covered East’s card.

I made 3 club tricks, one diamond, six hearts and two spades, 12 tricks in all.

Finally, let’s go to Board 35 for a little bit of basic declarer play.

   N                               South dealt and E/W were vulnerable.

♠  J6                             The bidding at my table went like this:

♥  AJ4                          S          W         N          E

♦  QJ                            1H        1S        2C        P

♣ JT9743                      2H        2S        3H        P         

   S                               P          P

♠  A95                          The opening lead was the SK.

♥  KQ9632                    Declarer counts her losers:

♦  83                             1 spade (but 2 spades if you draw trumps);

♣  K6                            2 diamonds and 2 clubs.

                                    To make sure you don’t have 2 spade losers you take the SA and immediately lead back a spade.

West won and East followed suit.

At my table West continued with a heart to try to cut down on ruffs.

This was won by declarer who then ruffed her last spade with the HJ.

That is the first basic declarer play point: ruff in the short hand.  That should be instinctive and yet all too often I see it not done.

As an aside, had West continued with a 3^rd round of spades what should declarer have done?

In the bidding West overcalled 1S and East passed.  East should have no more than the 2 spades she has already played.  With 3 spades she should have bid 2S, the level of fit.

Declarer has to ruff high.

The next point relates to the play of the club suit.

If West has both CA and CQ it doesn’t matter what you do, you must lose 2 tricks.

On the other hand, if East has both the CA and CQ then you must make a club trick.

So, assuming there is one club honour in each of the defensive hands, how do you play the clubs?

The second declarer play point is to remember the bidding.  West has overcalled spades and then bid them again.  This strongly suggests a 6 card suit.  With 5 – 9 hcp West would have made a weak jump overcall.  Therefore, declarer should assume that there are at least 10 points in West’s hand.  Declarer can deduce that West had a stronger hand than East so if she held but one club honour it is more likely to be the CA.

Playing the clubs declarer calls for the CJ and runs it.

On this board West had 14 hcp, holding the CA and not the CQ.

So the second not-quite-so-basic declarer point is to garner what you can from the bidding (or lack of bidding) to help you guess correctly more often than not.

Most of us play weak 2s and that includes weak jump overcalls.  We will happily say that these bids show a hand with a 6 card suit and a point range of 5 – 14 Bhcp (5 – 9 hcp).

This is certainly true if your partner has not yet had an opportunity to bid but things are a bit different if partner has already passed.

Once partner has passed the requirement for a 6 card suit remains the same but the point range expands.

Once there have been 2 passes and it has come round to your turn to bid and you are sitting there with 3 points then you know that your left hand opponent has a huge hand.  Make it difficult; make a weak opening bid even if you are below the normal lower point limit.

At the other end of the scale, if you are in third seat and have a 6 card suit and 18 Bhcp (12 hcp) you are pretty sure that opposite a passed hand game is not on.  Open a weak 2.

Once partner has passed she is not expected to raise you even with support.  You are bidding to play at that level.

With that in mind let’s turn to Boards 5 and 21.

On Board 5 you are sitting South and pick up this hand:

♠  T65                          North dealt and passes.

♥  AKQT652                 East opens 1D.

♦  -                               Normally this hand would be too strong

♣ Q85                           for a pre-emptive jump overcall.

                                    Not once partner has passed.

South bids 3H; a double jump because of the 7 card suit.  This is so much more effective than an overcall of 1H.

What would E/W do?  I don’t know but on this board they could make 12 tricks with spades as trumps and all 13 tricks in diamonds.

On Board 21 it is déjà vu.  As South you are dealt:

♠  K74                          North dealt and passes.

♥  AKQT864                 East opens 1S.

♦  97                             Again, the hand is too strong for a normal

♣  9                              weak jump overcall.

                                    North has passed so despite the strength, South bids 3H.

N/S made 3H exactly while those declarers in spades went down.

On both these hands North passes even if the level of fit suggests bidding.

On Board 15 it should have been straightforward to bid the slam but only 1 pair did so.

The only thing to comment on in the bidding is West’s opening bid.

With 10 cards in the majors and 10 points it satisfies the criteria for an opening bid.

With a 5 card heart suit West has a rebid over anything East might bid.

Thereafter, the bidding is routine.

Once dummy comes down West has two immediate priorities: to discard two clubs and to start setting up the long spades.

Let’s assume the opening lead is the C6 but it doesn’t really matter what it is.

West wins with the CA and discards 2 clubs on the DA and DK.

Then declarer follows with the S5 to the SK and then a spade ruff.  Don’t try to cash the SK first, you run the risk of running into a bad break.

Only now can trumps be broached.

The tricks made are 4 spades plus a spade ruff; 4 hearts; 2 diamonds and a club.

Two declarers made 12 tricks but unfortunately the only pair who bid the slam went 1 off.

When I played it Board 39 illustrated a basic but often overlooked defensive play.

   W                              Many N/S pairs played in hearts but at my table East

♠  J6                             had shown long spades and a weak hand.

♥  A832                        The contract was 3S by East.

♦  A7                            South led the HK taken by dummy’s ace.

♣ AT654   S                  Declarer then played the DA and the small diamond to South’s DK.

            ♠  A43              What should South do next?

♥  KQ94            South first has to work out declarer’s plan of play.

♦  KT5              Not difficult, is it?

♣ QJ3               With short diamonds and short trumps declarer is hoping to ruff a                      diamond or two.

To foil that plan South needs to remove dummy’s trumps.

Leading a small trump won’t do.  South needs to play the SA and then a small trump.

Now any diamonds in declarer’s hand are losers.

Tip: if you can see that declarer is planning to ruff in the short hand then it is usually a good defensive ploy to lead trumps.

Board 30 was about as easy a grand slam to bid as there could be.

In standard Acol any response by North other than 2D expresses an interest in slam.  On that North hand do you bid 2D?

A 2D response indicates 0 – 11 Bhcp (0 – 7 hcp).

There are 7 hcp so does that indicate a 2D response?

The other characteristics of the hand are that there is a 5 card suit, a good positive holding.  Also, there is good stuffing.  By that I mean high intermediates (tens, nines and eights).  Even in the old fashioned points system this North hand is worth more than a 2D response.

Using the more accurate Banzai system there are 12 Bhcp; that is in excess of the 2D response range.

North’s choices are 2NT or 3D.  I would prefer the 2NT but for these hands the 3D bid works particularly well.

Over the 3D response South can ask for key cards (getting the known zero response) but then ask for kings.  Once South knows that the SK is held then 7NT can be bid with confidence.

Over the 2NT response South shows her hearts.  North can indicate her 5 card diamond suit and we are back to key cards, the SK and 7NT.

Your partner opens 1D and you respond 1H.  Partner then bids 2D.  What is the minimum number of diamonds you expect your partner to hold?

Might it be 5 diamonds?  Let’s see.

Partner might be 5/4.  In that case partner would have bid her second suit; 1S, 2C or 2H.

She didn’t so she is not 5/4.  In that case her distribution might be 5332.

5332 counts as a balanced hand in which case partner would either open 1NT or rebid 1NT.  She did neither.  Partner does not have a 5332 distribution.

Partner must therefore hold at least 6 diamonds for her 2D rebid.

Let’s use this knowledge to good effect on Board 6.

   N                               East dealt and E/W were vulnerable.

♠  T                              The bidding starts:

♥  AKQ96                     S          N

♦  K976                        1D        1H

♣ AQ8                         2D

   S                               Time for North to take stock.

♠  AQ6                          She deduces that South has 6 diamonds.

♥  T3                            North has a 4 loser hand.

♦  AQ5432                    North assumes South has 7 posers.

♣  92                            The losing trick count suggests 13 tricks.

                                    North bids 4D.

The 4D bid asks South about her holding of key cards.  She has 2 key cards plus the trump queen so replies 5C.

North can now count the SA and spade ruffs; the top 3 hearts plus at least 1 discard for South (with a 3 card heart suit South should rebid 2H rather than 2D); 6 heart tricks and the CA.

North bids 7D with confidence.

Only 3 N/S pairs got into a slam (6D each time).

The play is elementary: 1 spade plus 2 spade ruffs; 3 top hearts; 6 diamonds and one club.

Now let’s look at Board 38. I thought at least one pair might bid a slam, but what was disappointing is that no declarer made 13 tricks.

South’s 4S rebid shows game values opposite a 9 Bpt (6 pt) hand; South is very strong with a 5 loser hand.

North has a 6 loser hand; she is short of high cards but compensates with excellent distribution. 

The losing trick count suggests 13 tricks so North should make a slam try with 4NT.

South’s 5D bid shows 3 key cards, they have to be the 3 missing aces.

There is no reason why North should not ask whether South holds the SQ and does so by bidding 5H – a non-trump suit below 5 of the agreed trump suit.

South indicates that she does hold the trump queen by bidding 6H, a bid which also shows the HK.

At this point North could just bid 6S but she knows that they have a 9 card spade fit headed by the ace, king and queen; no heart losers and no diamond losers. She has the CA and South has a very strong hand.  Bidding 7S is very reasonable.

In the play, declarer needs to be prepared to ruff 3 clubs in dummy.  When in, declarer plays CA and ruffs a club.  Back to hand with a diamond ruff (cashing DA first if necessary) and a second club ruff.  As it happens the club king falls establishing declarer’s CQ and then the C7.

Trumps are drawn to give 5 spade tricks; 2 hearts, 1 diamond and 3 clubs plus 2 club ruffs.

Your opponents open a weak 1NT.  What do you need to get into the action by bidding a suit?

Well, it depends upon points, distribution but also on where you sit.

If 1NT is opened on your right then you need a 6 card suit.  The reason is that opener’s partner has not yet had an opportunity to bid.  She may be strong.  If she is strong you need the robustness of a 6 card suit.  The minimum strength should be 7 Bhcp (5 hcp) – that is the bottom of the range for a weak 2 opening.  The top end of the range is just not quite strong enough to double for penalties.

To summarise: if your right hand opponent opens 1NT you need a 6 card suit in the range 7 – 21 Bhcp (5 – 14 hcp).

Now let’s consider the situation where it is your left hand opponent who has opened 1NT and that there have then been 2 passes.  This is the bidding:

            1N        P          P          ?

In this situation opener’s partner has passed and so is not strong.  Everyone at the table should assume that the points divide evenly between the 2 sides.  Now if you have a 5 card suit, bid it.  Notice, I have not mentioned points.  If you are weak then your partner has corresponding strength to make up the assumed combined point count.  That means that if you are sitting in 2^nd seat and passed originally with a hand that would have opened 1NT, just pass because partner has already included your points in her assessment of whether to bid.

I had the opportunity to put this into practice on Boards 30 and 32 getting 19 of the 20 MPs available as a result.

The assumption of an even division of points stood up on these 2 boards as follows:

            Board 30: we had 33 of the 60 Bhcps (22 of the 40 hcp);

            Board 32: we had 28 of the 60 Bhcps (19 of the 40 hcp).

The assumption of an even division of points stood up pretty well on these 2 boards.

            Board 30                                   Board 32

               N                                               N                

            ♠  J2                                         ♠  KT               

            ♥  T6                                        ♥  AK852                     

            ♦  AJT3                                    ♦  J9                

            ♣  AQ963                                  ♣  9542            

               S                                                S                

            ♠  K6                                        ♠  J873            

            ♥  J9832                                   ♥  J974            

            ♦  K765                                     ♦  AQ2             

            ♣  K4                                        ♣  86               

On both boards East opened 1NT followed by passes by South and West.

On Board 30 I bid 2C and on Board 32 I bid 2H.  In both cases these bids were passed out.  Partner made no attempt on Board 30 to ‘correct’ to 2H and no attempt on Board 32 to look for a heart game.  That’s just haw it should be.

Now let’s look at Board 6 where the play of the diamond suit is of interest.

   N                               East dealt and passed.

♠  AK43                       At my table the bidding went:

♥  Q763                       E          S          W         N

♦  AT9                          P          1D        P          1H

♣  73                            P          2D        P          3N

   S                              

♠  8                              The main concern is how to play the diamonds.

♥  A52                          Obviously, if they divide 2/2 or 3/1 there is no problem. 

♦  KQ8643                    Therefore, declarer has to consider a 4/0 break.

♣  A92                          How do you play the diamonds to cater for 4 diamonds in either hand?

Play the DK (or DQ) first.

If West shows out then continue with a low diamond to the DA and continue with a diamond to Finesse East’s DJ.

If East shows out then continue with a low diamond and finesse West’s DJ.

Either way, you make 6 diamond tricks.

On the actual board it was East who held 4 diamonds, the DJ752.

Let’s start with Board 7 and see how the slam might have been bid and made.

The bidding starts routinely enough but the thing to note is that West’s 2NT rebid is forcing to game.  Both players know that they have game values because East has shown a minimum of 15 Bpts (10 pts) and West’s 2NT is 22 – 26 Bpts (15 – 17 pts).  East can therefore bid 3D confidant that it won’t be passed, but what should West read into that bid?

It is certainly not suggesting a contract of 5D rather than 3NT.  It is showing at least a mild interest in a diamond slam.  Given West’s high card holding in the red suits she should assume that East has long diamonds and good controls in the black suits.

West, bids 4D, asking for key cards.  East replies 5C to show 2 key cards plus the queen of trumps.  That is enough for West to bid 6D.

In the play East’s basic plan is to establish the hearts, draw trumps and then discard her losers on the long hearts.

It doesn’t matter what South leads, probably the CK.  East wins and cashes the top two hearts.  She then plays a low heart and ruffs with the DQ: if South started with just a doubleton heart and the DT there would be an overruff.  Ruffing with the DQ only fails if trumps split 4/0.

As it is, the hearts break and East draws trumps and discards 2 losers on the hearts.

Board 17 was one of those very distributional hands where the playing strength of the hands bore little resemblance to the number of points held.

The auction given is only a suggestion.  For example, East could easily overcall 4H with a 7 card suit.  I have suggested 3H as enough because the hand has 3 doubletons.

South makes a negative double to show something in the minors!

North might well rebid clubs rather than spades but she does have a 6 card suit.

East rebids 4D, the higher of her two 6 card suits.

North can’t stand diamonds so in desperation switches to clubs.

South bids 6C, she has a partner who has opened and is holding a 4 loser hand.

When dummy comes down, South counts her tricks: there are 2 spades, 4 diamond ruffs and 6 clubs making 12 overall.  The only variation is if West takes her HA and switches to a trump.  Now the tricks are 2 spades, only 3 diamond ruffs, 6 clubs plus the DK which will have been established while ruffing the diamonds.

Board 27 nearly provided an opportunity to make one of those bids ‘which never come up’.