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   A real hand to open!

“How Low, Joe?”

What does a minimum opening bid with both major suits look like? It really can be a little less in strength than if you had both minors, or even just one major since you do not need as many tricks to make game in a major suit. Yet, there are standards, even rules like the “Rule of 20” where the sum of your high card points and length of your two longest suits must equal at least 20 for the hand to be worth opening.

The following hand only adds up to 19…and a 10…and a 9…and, are we clutching at straws?

You are playing Teams, are first in hand with only your side vulnerable:

 

What do you reckon?

With one dissenter, the Panel reaches for the “Pass” card:

Peter Newell “No - too weak, particularly 1st in hand at adverse. Though it is a nice hand with majors and 2 aces, poor pips, risk of getting too high, rebid issues if partner responds 2 of a minor and won’t be that comfortable if he bids 1NT. If partner is minimum, it could be quite expensive.”

Kris Wooles “Pass. As much as I would like to bid, I’m not going to open first in hand. However, I would if I also held J.”

Nigel Kearney “Pass: I don't open hands like that. If you do, you need a prior agreement that responder has to dial back a lot otherwise you'll be in silly contracts whenever there is no fit.”

Matt Brown “It’s a pass for me... Not the right shape, I think (closer to opening with 5 spades and 4 hearts).

Bruce Anderson “Pass; a close decision given that the hand includes two aces. But if I open, I will not be happy to hear 1NT/2NT, or two of a minor in response. We could get too high if partner has an invitational type hand. A danger in passing is that it is a part-score hand and the opponents pre-empt the bidding in a minor. Otherwise, the opportunity to balance in a way that shows both majors is likely to arise.”

Some good sound reasons why we should Pass. Perhaps, I do not play enough bridge (a comment which would astound my wife were, in the most unlikely event, that she would be reading this) as every time I see hands like this one opened, a good result is achieved. Naturally, I have no scientific evidence to back this up. However, who needs such evidence when you have:

Michael Cornell “1: Yes, 100% and especially at these colours. The best and cheapest time to get in is early but this is a decent hand , much better than the 11 count 5-3-3-2 that we all open these days!

We have both majors, 2 aces plus a 10 in our long suit. So, it’s not even close for me.

Suppose I pass and the bidding goes say 1 pass 3. I would now have to put my head on the block- a vulnerable game cannot be ruled out but bidding could easily be -800.

The Cornell motto- if you overbid, do it early.”

I do think that Matt Brown is right that it is more comfortable bidding these hands when you have longer spades than hearts though there is a reasonable chance of finding a fit in one major while it is sometimes easier and safer to start the bidding rather than to enter via an overcall.

You may argue that North’s decision to pass when you see all four hands below was a little conservative. Thus, look at the auction at one table where South did not open the bidding:

 

Well, it was for North-South!

Playing Pairs, if a 2 overcall ran into a penalty double (remember, partner has passed initially), it is just one board. At Teams, it could be the match.

North-South were also unlucky that East had a natural 1 call, thus further reducing the chances of North-South entering the auction. 2 made comfortably, even with an overtrick for 110 to East-West.

 The same deal: different bidders

Compare that auction with the following:

     West                    North            East                South

                                                                                  1

     2                         3               Pass                 3

    Pass                        4               All Pass

 

Almost the complete reverse with West getting just one bid in.

No huge fit and a 4-1 trump break to contend with, too. Would 4 make?

South took the K lead and immediately played 10 losing to the king. East’s 7 took the second trick for the defence with East continuing a low club (a third diamond before the club would have made life very uncomfortable for South, especially followed by a fourth diamond after A was taken).

West won A and did play a third round of diamonds, declarer discarding a spade from dummy and ruffing in hand. When South played a heart to the jack, discovering the 4-1 break, declarer showed that the contract could still be made even with clubs not breaking. These cards remained, with South needing all 7 remaining tricks:

 

Declarer played their two high clubs and then ruffed a club. A spade to the king and then a spade to the ace were followed by a spade ruff with A and then Q at trick 13, with East having to under-ruff the last two tricks.

Not an easy ride for declarer but 620 at the end. It was nice to watch from the dummy seat. You will not always be a winner in opening the South hand but it is usually better to be in the declarer seat in a reasonable contract if you can. Such a contract may be cold, or lucky, or may not receive the best defence.

“How low?” With the majors, perhaps with the above hand, the risk is worth it.

I will include the above deal in my “scientific survey”!

Never mind how…but you are there!

 

“Thanks, partner. Lovely hand.” You kind of mean it. You are in 7 after partner opened 2. (We can look at the bidding tomorrow.) West leads T and you need the first 13 tricks!

Which card do you play at trick 2? What’s the plan?The break is not, must not, be extreme.

See you tomorrow.

Richard Solomon

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