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Daily Bridge in New Zealand

 

Do you believe them?

Today, we have a recent real bidding problem (actually, all our problems are recent and real!). We have a “taster” question first of all which hardly anticipates the drama that was soon to unfold. So, try this:

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East Deals
N-S Vul

   

A K Q 10 7

Q

10 6

K 8 5 4 3

 

N

W

 

E

S

   

 

West

North

East

South

 

 

Pass

Pass

?

 

 

 

There are or maybe are two schools of thought. Let’s hear from the Panel:

Pam Livingston “1Spade-small.  I know the text books used to say to open these 1 but spades is the boss suit!”

Michael Cornell “1Spade-small: I always open 1Spade-small with 5-5 in the blacks and even if I didn’t I would certainly open 1Spade-small with this quality suit. It’s possible that the 1Club-small opener has worked out well.”

Peter Newell “1Spade-small: I would have opened 1Spade-small - 5 good spades and average clubs mean that I would prefer to emphasise spades and take the risk that the club suit may get lost." 

And most emphatically:

Michael Ware: “1Spade-small - Only dinosaurs open 1Club-small. If the opponents pass through out then 1Club-small can work fine, but on say 90% of bridge hands they don't. Don't let them into auction so easily.”

However, there is still support for a 1Club-small opener on certain hands, but not on this one.

Stephen Blackstock “1Spade-small: With a black 5-5 I would tend to open 1Club-small for the sake of economy, but that must be tempered by suit quality. To open 1Club-small on Club-smallxxxxx say would be silly. Here the spades are so much stronger that opening 1Spade-small seems preferable.”

Bruce Anderson “1Spade-small: Playing Acol with 5/5 in spades and clubs it is standard to open 1Club-small. But with this hand the spade suit is so strong I would have opened 1Spade-small; one good reason for doing so is that if the opponents play the hand and partner is on lead he/she is likely to lead a spade.”

Nigel Kearney “1Spade-small: I don't hate the 1Club-small opening and for a long time I opened 1Club-small with 5-5 in the blacks but I now think 1Spade-small tends to work out better unless the spade suit is poor.”

Kris Wooles and Andy Braithwaite complete a united Panel this time for 1Spade-small. However, when the hand occurred, the West player did open 1Club-small. The North player then produced a STOP CARD as you will see from the sequence below:

West              North             East                South

1Club-small                   6Heart-small                Pass                Pass

?

Well, maybe you need a 10.5 second pause for this one! Not an everyday sequence. What to do?

Michael Cornell “6Spade-small: I can only assume the 6Heart-small bidder is serious at this vulnerability- I suspect he owns 12 or 13 red cards- and I don’t think my Heart-smallQ is a trick so I am bidding 6Spade-small. This could be very wrong or very right but I think bidding has more upside than downside.”

And well versed in double negatives is:

Michael Ware “6Spade-small - No reason not to trust North at these colours.”

Nigel Kearney “6Spade-small: On the second round I would try 6Spade-small probably. It's a bit undisciplined but partner cannot double and it doesn't look like a club lead will be best for the defence. At least the vulnerability is in our favour. It depends who North is and the state of the match, but when a normal opponent does something like this, I tend to believe them.”

 

Stephen Blackstock “6Spade-small: Either North is fishing for a save, unlikely since it would be better to allow E/W to find a fit before jumping to a slam North is hoping he will not have to declare, or he has a raft of red cards. If he does not quite have 12 tricks in his own hand, the fall of the Heart-smallQ and to a lesser degree the Diamond-small10 will help him along the way. I am going to guess to bid 6Spade-small and hope we have a cheap save. At least it isn’t match points or board-a-match, where we would be fixed by other tables being lower.

Swiss Pairs is the game.

Andy Braithwaite "Pass: I pass as I do not want an unusual lead."

Kris Wooles “6Spade-small: The vulnerable 6Heart-small contract may not be rock solid but I’m not taking any chances." 

However, some were not so sure about bidding on:

Bruce Anderson “Pass: There is now the serious worry that only a spade lead beats this contract. Nonetheless, I now pass. Obviously, bidding 6Spade-small may be a cheap save if we have a fit and 6Heart-small is a make, but if we do not have a fit, we will go for a big number, and perhaps all the while 6Heart-small is going down.”

Pam Livingston “Pass: I would be much less comfortable with if I had opened 1Club-small. Nobody can force me to open 1Club-small.”

Yet, I rather believe my opponent and also the points made by:

Peter Newell”6Spade-small:  a guess of course. When someone bids 6Heart-small vul against not, I reckon they think they are a good chance of making, as getting doubled and going down a few would be a disaster.

 I'm not enthused that partner is likely to lead a club, and there is nothing about my hand that suggests defensive tricks. North seems likely to have a spade void and 9 or 10 hearts with some diamond cards and maybe Club-smallA or AQ.  I expect a black suit sacrifice will be reasonably cheap against a likely 1430, though we may end up in 7Club-small when we would have been better off in 6Spade-small as partner won't be expecting a 5/5 hand with such good spades.”

It's time to reveal all:

 

East Deals
N-S Vul

A K 10 9 8 7 6 2

A K Q 5

6

A K Q 10 7

Q

10 6

K 8 5 4 3

 

N

W

 

E

S

 

9 8 6 4 3

J 4

9 4 2

A J 7

 

J 5 2

5 3

J 8 7 3

Q 10 9 2

 

West

North

East

South

 

 

Pass

Pass

1 ♣

6 

?

 

cheap.jpg

A rock-solid 6Heart-small with the 6Spade-smallx sacrifice costing just -500, down 3. The vulnerability did not work in North’s favour as several of the Panel believed them. How to bid that North hand slower and be dragged into 6Heart-small. That’s North’s problem. For West, third in hand, it would seem 1Spade-small is everyone’s preferred choice but what would East bid after the sequence 1Spade-small-6Heart-small? It is a little easier to say when we see all four hands.

And if we really want to day-dream, what would East lead to 7Diamond-small, the grand-slam which can make on the wrong lead? Now, we have crossed into the world of make-believe!

Thanks to Michael Ware for providing the deal.

Richard Solomon

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