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But some hands are more golden than they look!

Small hand problem.

Many bridge problems revolve around hands with lots of high card points. Yet, we all seem to get plenty of hands with very few hcps. Pass is not always an option when we have few honours. What about this problem?

 

Have you seen a hand like this before? Yes, many times. You have already been forced to bid once. Now, it seems your partner has a very strong hand and has made a second “take-out” style double. What to do? You are playing Teams and 1 initially could have been as short as 3 clubs. It is a little longer now.

Our Panel are divided 3-way. There is a fourth option which was not mentioned, the rebid of diamonds which may only be 4-carded but shows no interest in going anywhere. Under the circumstances, our hand does have points of interest.

Bruce Anderson “2: Partner must have both majors and a strong hand, possibly a 4441 shape. Partner should not get too excited unless they are very strong as my initial response denied 8 plus points.  Passing for penalties does not look right given the quality of my trumps, which sit under West.

 

Andy Braithwaite “2: Partner has asked for a major so I bid 2. Likely 3 card as I would have bid 1 rather than 1 with 5-4 in reds, I think.

It is an interesting point as to whether your 1has already denied a 4-card major. Why then would West double again? They must be really strong…19/20+ hcp.

Anthony Ker “2: Partner has a good hand with both majors and we prefer hearts to spades. If we had 4 hearts, we would have bid them on the first round so this should not sound too encouraging. Passing the double or rebidding 2 are both horrible. 2NT second choice. 

We are edging towards our second option….

Peter Newell “2NT: Partner is showing a strong hand. I did not bid 1NT on the first round which I would with as little as  6/7 hcp. So, 2NT must be less than that. Partner may just need a club stop for 3NT and if not, I have shown a poor hand with a club stopper without a 4 card major so partner should be well placed as to what to do next. We may be too high already if partner is on the thin side but bidding anything else is a distortion...and I have my 2NT bid.”

Stephen Blackstock “2NT: I am assuming now that North is strong and balanced, i.e. (18)/19 +, but no club stopper. If he has a five card major he had the opportunity to show it over 2, and with four diamonds it would have been sensible to raise to an appropriate level and leave South to move again with values.

Note that the South hand is a maximum for 2NT, with more 1NT would have been preferable to1.”

Wayne Burrows “2NT: I have a club stopper and some values but limited by bidding only 1 and not bidding 1NT last round. Looks middle of the road, I cannot see a second choice. I will not often have two stoppers as I might have bid 1NT last time so this looks middle of the road to me and with more values, I would jump to 3NT now opposite partner's strength showing second double.”

Michael Ware “2NT: I didn't bid 1NT the first time so this feels a good description. I do not  mind pass, but my trumps are too poor for me.”

I like their arguments for this bid. We have just under a 1NT bid first time round and not a great club suit that we want to defend this contract.

Well, Nigel is prepared to give defending a go:

Nigel Kearney “Pass: “We do not have a major suit fit and it looks like 3NT will not play well as LHO has long clubs plus entries. We may get 300 from 2 x and it's not the end of the world if it happens to make.”

Optimism and pessimism, or should I say “realism” combined. Not just that, but in theory at least, Nigel was correct.

 

The problem with defending 2 x is what North should lead and if they chose a sensible high heart, can they find the spade switch necessary to beat 2x by 2 tricks (2 trumps, a spade, 3 hearts and a diamond)? That is not so easy. Normally, at Teams, even +100 on this board would be fine.

Should North have bid 2 over 2 instead of a second double? The answer really is “yes” (the hand would be stronger if Q was in a different suit) in that on some days, a 5-3 spade fit may be the best place to play. On this day, the fortunate position of the A and the friendly heart break may enable declarer to make 10 tricks in spades. The second double did allow South the option of passing though that would not happen too often.

However, the winning bid over the double could have been 2NT. With  potential nuisance cards in clubs of their own, and facing around a 5 count, North may well have a shot at 3NT.

This contract can be beaten on the somewhat unusual lead of A and a second diamond as when in with A, East can run off three further diamond winners.

In practice, West may well choose J..and assuming the Q is played at trick 1, declarer should come a little fortuitously to 9 even 10 tricks.

South plays spades and eventually East wins and cannot help their partner. The diamond return takes away West’s entry to their club suit. West exits their small diamond and South can play dummy’s club, playing low from hand. West is now totally end-played and has to give South 4 heart tricks which along with 4 spade tricks and one in each minor gives South a very unexpected overtrick.

Yes, South could have bid 2NT or 3 had North’s second bid been 2 and either rather fortunate game could be reached. No-one would ever say the South hand “glittered” but on this occasion, it could have turned to gold had they shown life over the second double.

It is likely West intended to bid 2 had their partner bid 2, as long as they realised that following their 1 bid, East could not hold 4 hearts. 

Who says a flat 5-count is not a "golden" hand!

Richard Solomon

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