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Amazingly quite normal!

On the eve of this year’s National Bridge Congress, let’s feature a board which is both most strange but at the same time proves most of the recommended guidelines as being spot on. “What a hand to pick up” many of the North players thought as they checked and rechecked how many high-card points they held. To save you counting, it is 26!

 

One’s joy and then concern about how to tell our partner what a strong hand we hold is rudely interrupted by East with their 4 opening bid. If ever one wanted a recommendation to play the double of opening suit bids, at least up and including 4, as being for take- out, this surely is it.

At some tables, North’s double appears to have been for penalties. We will see what happened shortly. Others observed the recommended guideline that it is best played as a take-out double. South bid 4 and at a number of tables, that ended the bidding.

West led 9 and the North players may have said “don’t make too many tricks, partner. I have got a rather good hand.” South duly proved that slam had not been missed. Indeed, South could not even make game!

 

North’s lack of a 4^th spade was not the problem. What was the problem was that all four missing spades were in the West hand. After East had taken their top two hearts, there was no way that South could avoid 2 trump losers… down one despite all the strength in dummy.

So, the hand of 26 hcp could not make game anywhere whereas the partnership with a combined 13 hcp could make 4, as many did both doubled and undoubled. Thus, although North would not have expected to record a minus score, going down by one trick in 4 was a great result for North-South.

The board proves a number of guidelines to be correct.

• With an 8-card suit, open at the 4-level, not the 3-level.

• Double of a 4 opening bid is best played for take-out.

• A pre-emptor should not bid the same hand twice. Several East players ended in the unmakeable 5 contract. Having opened 4, and hearing that their opponents had contracted for 4, they should not bid again. It would be up to their partner to decide whether to bid again..and they would certainly not want to here. The only positive scores for North-South came from doubling 5.

Many North players tried 5 which of course was more down than was 4...and occasionally doubled. North does not have enough diamonds to make that suit trumps. Playing a take-out double of 4 seems to be much better than chancing their 5-card suit at the 5-level.

 

But normal!

So, not the joyous board that North had anticipated. Yet, despite the freakish shape of suits around the table and the huge strength in one hand, the normal recommended guidelines held true.

I am sure all those playing at the National Congress will look forward to picking up one or two 26 count hands and having greater success than they did with the one above.

Richard Solomon

Many clubs use X Club, a great means of comparing results in a much wider field than just their own club. This board was played last night on X Club. Out of 108 tables, these were the main contracts and results:

Contract	Result	No of Tables		N/S		E/W
5 x by E	-1	16		100
4 by S	-1	16				100
5 by N	-2	14				200
5 by N	-3	17				300
4 by E	made 4	8				420
4 x by E	made 4	16				590

 

Maybe the strangest results came from the 8 tables where 4 made undoubled. That does seem just a little negative with respect to the North players. 

Richard Solomon                                                               

 

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