Hi All,
I know we've all got the Covid Blues. Penny has come forward just when we need a smile. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Dave
Happy Holidays
Located at Centennial Hall in North Hampton, New Hampshire, this club offers three programs to learn and enjoy duplicate bridge. Lessons are presented at Noon on Mondays, followed by supervised duplicate play. Master classes are presented at 10:30 on Thursdays, followed by open duplicate play at Noon. For more information, see programs below on the right, call (603) 964-1179 or Email nhbridge@comcast.net.
Hi All,
I know we've all got the Covid Blues. Penny has come forward just when we need a smile. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. Dave
Happy Holidays
Hi All,
The North who sent this board could make several slams, but settled for 4 Spades with overtricks. How should it go?
ª A K Q J 9
7
© 9 3
¨ A J 5
§ Q 3
West East
© J 7 6 © K Q 10 8 5 4
¨ 9 8 3 ¨
§ J 10 5 4 2 § K 9 8 7 6
South
ª 10 6 5
© A 2
¨ K Q 10 7 6 4 2
§ A
North opens 1 Spade, East overcalls 2 Hearts to show his 13-16 points and 6-card suit and South bids 3 Diamonds to show 4 or more Diamonds and 10 or more points. North wants to get to game and can't bid anything that partner can pass short. He's not sure if partner has Spade support and he fears a 4-3 Diamond fit, so just bids what he thinks he can make, 4 Spades.
South passes, but might stop to ponder slam chances. She has adequate Spade support and figures partner for about 19 points or more with the Spade fit. She reevaluates to 16-17 points and her 7-card suit might set up.
South would like to check the Aces, but they have not overtly shown a fit which rules out Blackwood and Control Bids. She might bid 5 Spades to show the trump support, extra strength and to invite slam or she might just blast to 6 Spades.
That process is difficult for South, so let's suppose she instead cue-bids 3 Hearts in the Negative Double seat. This takes advantage of East's helpful overcall and promises support for North's Spades and enough strength for game.
Now North will reevaluate his hand for around 21-22 points with a good fit opposite partner's 13 or more points. He bids 4 No Trump, Blackwood, and, when partner shows two Aces, bids 6 Spades. He makes it easily with an overtrick, but neither partner could see 13 sure tricks so they don't bemoan missing the grand.
Good luck and stay well. Dave
Hi All,
This hand was sent by a pair who bid 4 Spades with the below hand and took all the tricks. Let's see how it went.
ª J 9 7 6 4
©
¨ K 8 5 3
§ A Q 8 3
West East
© 9 7 3 2 © A K Q 10 6 5
§ K 6 5 2 § 9 7
South
ª A K Q 10 8 5
© J 8 4
¨ A
§ J 10 4
Hi All,
This question concerns whether to pass or transfer when partner opens 1 No Trump and you have a scrawny 5-card major and 0-7 points. These can be difficult, but you must place the contract. You can't always be right, but you can neither pass nor transfer arbitrarily.
You usually figure partner for 4 tricks and he's probably in trouble. What would you do with the first hand below?
South
ª 10 9 8 7 6
© 5 2
¨ 9 5
§ 8 6 5 3
South
ª 10 9 8 7 6
© 5 2
¨ 9 5
§ K Q J 2
Most of the time, you'll be somewhere between with a tough choice. You must thnk it over and place the contract as best as you can. That's Bridge! Good luck and stay well, Dave
Hi All,
Only one question this week. A lot of pairs got to 4 Hearts and some make an overtrick. It also makes 6 Diamonds, but no one bid it. The only question was about the general approach to the hand.
At the writer's table, East opened 4 Hearts and all passed. At another table, East opened 1 Heart, West responded 1 No Trump and East jumped to 4 Hearts. Finally, the writer pondered a 2-Club Forcing Opening and asked for my thoughts.
1. I will start with the worst of these approaches and take them in order until I get to the best. East's hand has 19 points, 15 HCPs and 8 sure tricks. None of these meet any criteria for a 2-Club Forcing Opening. It would probably go 2 Clubs, 2 Diamonds, 2 Hearts, 3 Hearts (promising extra values) and East might try for slam, hopefully stopping at 5 Hearts. Even then, not everyone made 5 Hearts. More importantly, why lie to partner?
2. Next comes the opening 4 Hearts. It get's them there, but East has no idea what partner has. Opener's first responsibility is to describe his hand and East has told partner that he has 7 sure tricks when he has 8. He has not told partner that he has a second suit. He is way too strong for a preempt. West will always pass with his 7 points, but with a different 7 points, slam could be laydown. Again, why lie to partner?
3. At last, East opens 1 Heart. If West can't respond, game is unlikely. When West responds 1 No Trump, East jumps to 4 Hearts. Perfect? No! West has 6-10 points, but some 6-10 points are better than others. East hasn't really given partner any info to evaluate his hand and make decisions. Again, he hasn't even shown his second suit.
This jump would be excusable if he had no forcing bid and had to bid what he hoped he could make. That is not the case here. Why not give partner as much information as possible, so that he can contribute?
4. Finally, East opens 1 Heart, West responds 1 No Trump and East describes his hand with a jump-shift to 3 Diamonds. Now, West can see two suits and 19 or more points in partner's hand. They're forced to game and both can contribute. West has already told partner that he doesn't have 3 Hearts, so raises to 4 Diamonds to show the fit. Now they are in good position to find the best contract and their trust in each other is undamaged.
Exquisite!
Hi All,
Another question about basic bidding on the board shown below.
ª K 8 5 2
© K 10 5 3
¨ K 5 3
§ 7 3
West East
ª ª A Q J 9 7
© Q J 9 6 4 © 8
§ Q 10 9 5 2 § A K J 8 6
South
ª 10 6 4 3
© A 7 2
¨ A Q 6 4 2
§ 4
West dealt and passed, North passed, East opened 1 Spade and all passed. East made 1 Spade for 80 points, but other E/Ws bid part scores in Clubs for 90-130 points. East had two questions:
1. Should he instead have opened 1 Club?
2. Should West have responded 2 Clubs over his 1 Spade?
1. No. Our Lesson 2 prescribes opening the higher ranking of two 5-card suits regardless of relative strength. To do otherwise makes it impossible for opener to properly describe his hand. Stick with that!
2. No. A response of 2 Clubs would be a gross overbid, promising 10 or more points. West can't take points for his void in partner's suit; Partner may just rebid it. If he does respond 2 Clubs anyway, East will see a good Club fit and 10 or more points opposite his 18-20 points. Any red-blooded East would describe his hand by jumping to game and would go down for an even worse score.
Assuming that they wouldn't do either of those things, how did some pairs get to 2 Clubs? I can see only one somewhat reasonable sequence. West's pass is justified, but, if he is uncomfortable with his void in partner's suit, he may keep the bidding open with 1 No Trump. The rules most of us follow say that you must respond with 6 points, but they don't say that you can't respond with a reasonable 5 points.
This is risky and they will go down at 1 No Trump, but in this case East will surely rebid 2 Clubs. As long as they don't get carried away to game, they should make par.
Good luck and stay well, Dave