THE GOSPORT EAR (Number 11 by LEPUS

You have agreed to play a weak No-trump, 12 – 14 HCP. During a session of pairs you pick up, and (more importantly) have to decide what to open, on the following hands: -

(a) ♠ A63    ♥ A75     ♦ 9632   ♣ A85
(b) ♠ KQ62 ♥ 53        ♦ 762     ♣ AQJ3
(c) ♠ A752  ♥ A642   ♦ Q4      ♣ Q74
(d) ♠ KQ4   ♥ A874   ♦ Q52    ♣ J62
(e) ♠ AKQ  ♥ K643    ♦ 785    ♣ 932
(f) ♠ KJT    ♥ 872      ♦ J3       ♣ AQJ52

Each of the hands contains 12 HCP, and although minimum is in the range that you have agreed for a One No-trump opener. The question is would you in fact open [1N] on each and every hand?

In fact you might give serious consideration to [P] each of the hands, and that is what you are allowed to do! The fact that you hold 12 HCP does not mean that you must open the bidding, but, if you do open the bidding with a call of [1N], then that action confirms your exact HCP range.

In order to assist your decision you should see whether there might be an alternative bid (other than [1N], or [P]) that you could choose that would also leave you with a convenient re-bid. Having opened with a bid of one of a suit, and partner responds with a bid that is not limited, then you guarantee (in that situation) that you will make a second bid. This has the effect of allowing partner to complete a picture of his hand and let you both move to the best contract at the right level.

On hand “(b)” you could plan to open [1♣] and re-bid [1♠].
On hand “(f)” you could plan to open [1♣] and re-bid [2♣] over any red-suit response, or raise a response of [1♠] to [2♠].

On hand “(c)”, if you open [1♥] you could certainly raise [1♠] to [2♠] or pass [1N], but any other bid would leave you in an impossible position as you would surely have to re-bid [2N] (an even worse choice than opening [1N]). Thought for the day: you could try [1♣] which would have the merit of allowing a re-bid in a major.

On hand “(a)” it may be best to [P] as you need partner to provide four tricks to fulfill your contract: partner, therefore, may open the bidding!

The remaining hands look like more like candidates for [P].

Finally which of the hands would you like to be playing in [1N] doubled?

If ‘push comes to shove’ then you might prefer to be holding either hand “(c)”, or hand “(d)”, but you would not anticipate an easy passage when the enemy set about cashing their minor suit(s) and other top cards. Any minus score containing several zeroes is not likely to garner any match points!

THE GOSPORT EAR (Number 12) by LEPUS

You are in third seat (playing Pairs) and looking at: - ♠ AK854 ♥ 7 ♦ 84 ♣ AKQT6, contemplating what you will open if the two hands in front of you both pass, when, to your slight surprise, partner opens (first in hand, remember) with a bid of [1♥].

There is no need to bounce around with your hand (either with a jump-shift, or an inappropriate ‘reverse’ to show your HCP) as you will require bidding space to explore for a fit as well as to pattern-out your hand (besides which you already have an evident misfit for opener’s main suit). So, you make the obvious response of [1♠ ].

You are even more surprised when partner raises your bid to [2♠ ] and now a Slam would appear to be looming. To help partner to help you (and to show a source of tricks) you bid [3♣]. Partner jumps to [4♠] over your putative game-try, so you have, at least, improved his hand by your Club bid! Now, even a Grand Slam is a distinct possibility!!

It is a matter of style whether you simply launch into Blackwood, or follow the cue-bidding route, but the response to Blackwood is [5♣], and a cue-bid (in Clubs) elicits [5♠], so (while feeling a tad disappointed) you settle for playing in five spades. Before reading ahead, write down a hand for partner that would be consistent with the bidding that you have heard.

Clearly your partner has never visited this website! In an earlier Number there appeared a slight discussion of the requirements for an opening bid at the one-level: -

(a). Culbertson posited a hand that was a King better than an average hand, so about 13 HCP for a minimum opener. On this side of the ‘pond’ we are used to an Acol light-opener that may be made on a good suit with circa 10 HCP – or, in more modern parlance, "rule of 19" (determined by adding your HCP to the combined length of the two longest suits, summing to 19, or more).

(b). The hand should also contain two defensive (or cashing) tricks – this will enable partner to wield the axe against intemperate opponents.

(c) And, finally, not more than 7 LTC (Losing Trick Count)– so that partner is able to assess the playing level with a trump fit.

The hand opposite is: - ♠ Q8732 ♥ QJT854 ♦ Q5 ♣ void, and fails to meet any criteria for opening at the one-level. Unsurprisingly, the enemy had the wit to cash their three tricks, and that was zero match points.

Just because the hand (in first seat, remember) is unsuitable to open with a weak-two bid (whether playing Benjamin [2♥], or a Multi-coloured [2♦ ]) does not 'ipso facto' make it suitable to open at the one-level!

However, when partner is a passed hand, then all bets are off, and then you might open the hand with a weak-two bid (since now a game contract has become much less likely).

THE GOSPORT EAR (Number 13) by LEPUS

Board 1 from the 2005 Charity Challenge Club clearly illustrates the major dilemma for pairs players: on the one hand the need to reach a lay-down game (or Slam), or on the other to avoid any failing game.

Fourth in hand, all pass, to you: - ♠86 ♥ AK ♦ KQ9753 ♣ AT6, and the opening bid of [1♦] is automatic. Partner holding: - ♠ KQ ♥ T954 ♦ T6 ♣ K9853 bids [1♥] (the only alternative would be [1N] giving up on a possible 4.4. Heart fit unless opener is able to ‘reverse’). Now the bidding phase is designed to get your two hands to the best contract, and at a level where you will (with ‘normal’ distribution) not fail. Perhaps, instead of ‘normal’, you might consider the 2nd worst distribution, and allow for that!

Look at the two hands again, and decide yourself what contract you might want to reach (while giving yourself a chance of reaching a possible three No-trump – the pairs’ players nirvana). You can see that a contract of [3♦] ought to make nine tricks, allowing that you lose one Spade, one Club, and two Diamonds (remember – 2nd worst!).

Now in the commentary the ‘recommended’ bidding was: - [P] [1♦] / [1♥] [3♦](?) / [3N] (?) End. This inelegant contract fails trivially by two tricks and ‘earns’ 36% of the match points. To play the obvious part-score is 72% of the match points! This leads ineluctably to the conclusion that the ‘suggested’ bidding is wrong!

Clearly the opening hand is not quite worth the jump re-bid because of the quality of the main suit (with ♦ KQJ975 – yes!). So, there must be more exploration, and the only ‘try’ would be [2♣] (!). Responder is not hard pressed to bid [2♦] (he would need 11/12 HCP to consider any FSF sequence, or [2N] bid). Now opener can express his extra values by a raise to [3♦] which is passed, as responder can surly see that his Spade stop will not be sufficient for a No-trump strain, especially as the Diamond suit will also require some work (the failure to jump re-bid [3♦]!!).

Another (barely) ‘plausible’ route might be: - [P] [1♦] / [1♥] [2♣] (!) / [2♦] [2 ♠] FSF / [2N] (a stop as asked for) [3♦] (!) / (this carries the message that the Spade suit needs to be stopped robustly, so…) End. However this sequence is a stretch, since the responding hand may well be a minimum of 6 HCP, and in that case the values held between the hands will not support the notion of a high level No-trump contract i.e. opener would really need to be, at least, 2 HCP stronger.

So the recommended sequence should be: - [P] [1♦] / [1♥] [2♣] /[2♦] [3♦] / End.

THE GOSPORT EAR (Number 14) by LEPUS

Board 7 from the 2005 Charity Challenge Club clearly illustrates the positional factor that should influence how the further bidding of a hand will develop.

Third in hand, pass, to you: - ♠ KT964 ♥ A106 ♦ QJ ♣ AQ5, and the opening bid of [1♠] is dictated by the playing methods (weak No-trump 12-14 HCP). You might have been well served by playing a strong No-trump for then you would have eventually alighted in a contract of [3♥] (after a transfer, and a little further exploration), but that, as they say, is another story!

The next hand bids [2♣] (a take-out double would have been as effective), and partner holding: - ♠ Q5 ♥ KQ872 ♦ 82 ♣ J963 makes a slight stretch with [2♥]. This is passed back to opener.

Now is the time to revalue the opening hand. Suddenly, instead of being a respectable 16 HCP the hand has segued into a very poor 12 HCP, as the ♣ Q is waste paper (especially if responder ends up playing the hand) and there is a known hand now sitting over the opening bid, and this enemy hand rates to have most of the missing high cards. Clearly any No-trump contract looks to be right played from the opening bidder, if only to protect the Club suit from an immediate attack. And, if the enemy opens the attack in the only remaining un-bid suit, would you be sanguine about the stopping power of that queen-jack doubleton? This leads to the conclusion that [2N] would perhaps be the 2nd worse choice, and it is time to gently raise partner’s suit, and leave the decision about the playing level to him!

Partner will pass without any thought (other than the wish that he was playing the hand a level lower!)

A game failing was 22% of the match points, while to play in a making part-score was worth 66% of the match points.

So the recommended sequence (allowing intervention) should be: - [P] [1♠] / [2♣] / [2♥] / [P] [3♥] / End.

Not hearing the enemy bidding, at one table the opener thought his hand so massive that it warranted an amorphous cue-bid agreeing Hearts (or perhaps it was a No-trump try, the exact meaning was lost in the subsequent static).

His partner answered the most sensible question, which, at least, had the merit of pouring cold water on any thoughts of a Slam, and ‘tried’ [3N] – and played there.

This inelegant contract could have gone three down: there are five Diamond losers, plus the ♣K (the enemy will not ‘forget’ to lead the bid suit – unfortunately), and the ♠A. However, when Left Hand Opponent led a Club to the Queen and King, Right Hand opponent thought it a good idea to try to clear the Club suit.

[3N], one down was an unexpected bonus!

THE GOSPORT EAR (Number 15) by LEPUS

You are playing teams (the enemy are vulnerable) and pick up ♠ A ♥ KQ764 ♦ AKQ5 ♣ Q73 and hear two passes to you.

This is quite a nice 20 HCP hand that is typical of the type that is not so easy to bid to the best playing contract. Yes, you have sufficient values to contemplate opening [2N] but the Spade suit may prove to be your nemesis in that strain. The Heart suit is not sufficiently robust to suggest an opening bid of [2♥] (a Strong Two) – or to consider that re-bid following an opening bid of a Benjamin [2♣] – since, in truth, the hand lacks the necessary eight tricks (even allowing for an assessment through the rosiest of rose-tinted glasses].

So (perhaps with a slight ruefulness) you decide to open [1♥].

The enemy maintains a disciplined silence (though you think that this might simply be that you hold half the pack in your own hand) and partner responds [1♠]. This has the effect of establishing (for you) that a game, at least, should be a viable proposition, but, playing Teams, you should not yet be ready to close the auction precipitously. Yes, you could make the galumphing bid of [3N] and play there, but, in the modern style, your partner should not pass an unlimited re-bid from you: you could first try [2♦].

Note that a small Slam (in diamonds) would not need partner to hold much more than ♠ QT732 ♥ A3 ♦ JT643 ♣ 6, while ♠ JT32 ♥ A3 ♦ JT643 ♣ A6 would support the notion of a Grand Slam.

Partner (predictably) puts you back to [2♥]. Now a further move of [3♣] (fourth-suit forcing) will let partner tell you more about his hand: he says [3♦]. This strongly suggests that he holds four-card Diamond support, and only two-card Heart support (having previously given false-preference to the putative five-card Heart holding in your hand). Now [3N] does not look attractive (the enemy are certain to attack in that suit] so you make a further effort [3♠]. This must be forcing since you could have supported partner’s suit on any of the previous rounds of bidding. You should intend Blackwood if partner retreats to [4♦] (remember how little you require for that Slam), otherwise you intend to pass a bid of [3N], or [4♥].

Partner’s actual response is [4♠]. It looks like the trick power of your hand should allow this contract to succeed yet you would have wished for slightly more support than that singleton spade!

The enemy start their attack with a trump: partner’s hand is: - ♠ KQT97 ♥ J5 ♦ T742 ♣ A8, and on ♥ K the LHO immediately takes his Ace, but the fall of the ♠ J (on the third round of trumps) ensures that partner makes two overtricks. As the Heart suit breaks 3.3, and the Diamond suit behaves, then those games would also succeed. Although [3N] is tricky, that contract should also succeed as the ♦ 10 will be an entry to dummy!