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Daily Bridge in New Zealand

All's good. We have the “boss” suit.

Competitive high- level battles are quite common and are often really hard to judge and evaluate correctly. It would seem as long as we take the mainstream action, we should not get too bad a result because other tables in the Pairs and the other table in the Teams environment should have the same decision to make…and if you end up doing the wrong thing for the right reason, then so should others.

That’s one way to explain -10 imps…or worse! cry

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North Deals
None Vul
   
A Q 9 6 5
A K J 9 4
K
J 5
 
N
W   E
S
   
West North East South
  1  1  3 
4  5  Pass Pass
?      

 

 It is your bid. What now? 3Diamond-small was pre-emptive. You are playing Pairs. Any different if Teams is the game?

We do have the “boss” suit. It should be an advantage having a spade fit. My interpretation of what to do goes along with the following:

Peter Newell “5Spade-small at Pairs.  It would seem likely to make as I would expect partner to have the Club-smallA or Club-smallK much of the time as there is not much else for him to have apart from the Spade-smallK.  At Pairs I don’t think we are going to get enough from 5Diamond-smallx to cover our game. So, I’ll push on even though 5Spade-small will go down not infrequently and 5Diamond-small is unlikely to make.

At Teams I prefer to double.  I don’t expect 5Diamond-small to make that often and 5Spade-small will go down sometimes.  So, I’ll take the penalty and be embarrassed occasionally when 5Diamond-small makes…or when partner has the perfect hand and we make 6Spade-small.”

I thought the aim in Pairs was to get the best plus score we can whereas in Teams we want to ensure we get a plus score. Contrast the above, though, with:

Bruce Anderson “Pass at Pairs: the five level is for the opponents when no one can be certain about what is going on.

A positive score could well be a good result if both sides are going down. That said, I am not confident enough to double; if we don’t have a spade trick, doubling a contract that makes will be a shared bottom at Pairs.

 

At Teams I would bid 5Spade-small, which must be a cheap save if 5Diamond-small is a make. I am taking “insurance” against our opponents making a game that our team mates have failed to bid.”

Kris Wooles “Pass at Pairs (sometimes I’d expect to get a positive). 5Spade-small at Teams ….insurance. At Teams scoring, I don’t mind so much if it is a phantom. I mind much more at Pairs. 

How much or how little can we expect from our partner’s not vulnerable 1 level overcall? Our own leap to game comes under fire:

Pam Livingston “5Spade-small.  A bit hard to answer though because I wouldn't have bid 4Spade-small.  Instead, I would bid 4Diamond-small to tell partner I have a good raise.  This is to distinguish between this and a law raise hand - five trumps and weak.  Partner then has better information with which to judge what to do when it is their turn to bid.”

Andy Braithwaite “Wish I had bid 4Diamond-small in the first place to assist in this difficult decision. I bid 5Spade-small at Teams and the same at Pairs but with more uncertainty.”

Which side, if either, is sacrificing? Surely, we can make 5Spade-small? The problem was given initially in the Pairs environment. Hence, our next two panellists would be focusing there:

Stephen Blackstock “5Heart-small. Bidding on seems clear. We are very much odds on for at least 11 tricks (East surely can’t have less than Spade-smallK and a high club). The likely outcome against 5Diamond-smallx is no more than down two (one spade, two hearts and a club) and the spade trick is hardly nailed on, so defending will probably have a disappointing result.

It would be good if 5Heart-small is a slam try. There is no reason why East cannot hold the Spade-smallK, Heart-smallQ and Club-smallA. Alas after the perplexing jump to 4Spade-small, a bid that could be made with a distributional eight-count rather than the rock-crusher I actually hold, partner will think I am simply wanting a heart lead against 6Diamond-smallx. True, but……!"

Nigel Kearney 5Heart-small. A tragic situation. My prayers are with the 4Spade-small bidder and I hope the paramedics do eventually find a pulse. Condolences to the family if not. Having taken over in the West seat, I will try 5Heart-small to help partner with the lead if they continue to 6Diamond-small. Slam looks against the odds and we can't involve partner now.”

We certainly do have a mighty good jump to 4Spade-small but only in the major suits. I have seen many worse bids at the bridge table than 4Spade-small but I am sure West will appreciate Nigel’s concern!

Back to where we started with what I think is the right philosophy in both forms of the game:

Michael Cornell “5Spade-small- try to get 450. I assume they are diving but I am guessing. I would have bid either 3Heart-small or 4Diamond-small to give partner some clue and we may been better placed now.

We only need partner to have the black kings for good play for 11 tricks but he might have 3 or 4 low hearts which is why I would double at Teams.

If partner has short hearts, we are almost certainly making 5Spade-small but we should usually get about 300 so little damage.”

 

If we got criticism for our jump to 4Spade-small, then I wonder if our partner will suffer the same for their 1-level overcall below. Had our opponents been vulnerable, then I would call it mandatory. Yet, even at equal nil vul, and especially at Pairs, there’s the issue of getting a spade lead etc. Take cover, East!

 
North Deals
None Vul
7
Q 8
A J 10 8 4
K 8 7 4 3
A Q 9 6 5
A K J 9 4
K
J 5
 
N
W   E
S
 
K J 10 8 2
10 7 3
Q 6
10 6 2
 
4 3
6 5 2
9 7 5 3 2
A Q 9
West North East South
  1  1  3 
4  5  Pass Pass
?      

 

At Pairs, you were booked for a minus score, or should be, if you had bid on to 5Spade-small. After a diamond lead, North has only one sensible and correct switch. Note that whichever decision you made over 5Diamond-small, you are losing out to those who were left unmolested in 4Spade-small.Certainly, if West had told their partner that they had a good raise to 4Spade-small by bidding 4Diamond-small, East could have earned their side more match-points with a nervous but firm "please do not bid on" double of 5Diamond-small.

Meanwhile, Mike Cornell’s +300 in the Teams environment will be the result from doubling 5Diamond-small. That’s a loss of 4 imps had 4Spade-small been the contract at the other table though bidding on would have resulted in a 9-imp loss.

Those two different scenarios depending on the type of game we are playing seem fine to me…even if you plead you would never have overcalled 1Spade-small as East. “Never” say “never”!

Never.jpg
It seems like for once it was easier to be holding the diamond than the "boss" suit.

 

Who says “sorry” the louder?

East Deals
Both Vul
   
K J 3
Q 10 8 5 4 2
K J 5 3
 
N
W   E
S
 
Q 10 5
A K 6
8 2
Q 9 8 7 4
West North East South
    1 NT 2 
2  Pass Pass 3 
3  All pass    

 

Game, an absolutely cold game, was missed. We are told not to overbid at Pairs but when there’s at least 10 tricks there in 4Heart-small, it is a shame only to be in part-score. Who was more to blame? Or do we give credit to our opponents for not pushing us there?

1NT was 12-14 (yes, we can count!) and 2Club-small a single suited overcall, any suit.

Richard Solomon

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