A Hand a Day
This is a fun quiz – a bit like the those tear-off calendars which have a bridge situation on the front with the date and the answer on the back. You may recognise some of the problems – I'll give credit where it's due – and you'll certainly recognise the formats.
I will try for a wide range of difficulty, from the easy to perhaps the near-as-darned impossible, as Ipswich & Kesgrave is proud to cater for all experiences and abilities.
Enjoy.
Wednesday 25th March
How many points does South show here?
Reveal answer
Answer: 11-14
That's the official range in the course material used in classes. It's wide and, they say, South is not promising a stopper. But the hand will generally have length in opponent's suit otherwise double will be a better call. This is a simple arrangement but not without problems when second-seat has a goodish hand, say 11-13 HCP, without a stop.
Many club players use a wider range, 11-15. But that sets advancer even more problems and it's usual to play some sort of 'enhanced Stayman', that is partner's 2 asks for majors and range with simple responses:
- 2 – 11-13, no major
- 2 – 11-13, four hearts
- 2 – 11-13, four spades
- 2NT – 14-15. If partner want to know about majors, they can ask again with 3
And if partner wants to play clubs? They can bid 3 over 1NT; after all they can't be so strong, they failed to overcall. Lastly, all those bids, the 2 ask and overcaller's rebids, need an alert.
Thursday 26th March
Despite playing four-card majors, it is sometime tempting to support partner's one-major opening with only three-card support. Which if these three hands should South raise North's one heart opener?
Reveal answer
Answer: B.
The ingredient for a raise on three cards are that the alternative is one no-trump. So (A) is not suitable as there is a perfectly good alternative in 1S. In a four-card major system, opener chooses 1H when 4-4 in the majors – so spades may well be the better major-fit.
Also the hand must be suitable for play in a trump suit. That's not true for (C) which is very flat (4-3-3-3). Those who use the Losing Trick Count (which measure the usefulness of high cards and distribution in trump fits) will calculate (C) has 10 losers. It's flat, it shouts no-trumps.
(B) is the useful hand for hearts (9 losers), without a better option at the one-level.