If you bid, even if you do
not get the contract, sometimes it pushes the opposition too high and sometimes
it helps formulate an accurate defence. Sometimes, on the other hand, it helps
the opposition avoid an unmakeable contract. This is definitely not what you
want!
Here is a tricky deal to
bid for NS. East-West were vulnerable and North dealt. Plan how you would bid
the NS hands.
S: J108
H: A97
D: A109
C: AK84
S: AQ942 S: K7653
H: Q65 H: J82
D: 42 D: Q8
C: J63 C: Q52
S: -
H: K1043
D: KJ7653
C: 1097
Standard American bidding
would probably go as below:
North East South West
1N P 3D P
3N P P ?
Three diamonds by South
shows a six card diamond suit and is invitational. North, with a very flat hand
and help in diamonds, likely would bid 3N. Now what is West to do? With a void
West will be uneasy about no trumps, but knowing that nine tricks are much
easier to take than eleven tricks for a game in diamonds, he may well eventually
pass. Half the tables ended up in 3N, going down as the opponents rattled off
the first five tricks in spades.
So how else can NS bid the
hands? At the table where my partner and I were playing EW, South bid a 2S
response to 1N, as minor suit stayman, asking partner to bid a four card minor
if he had one. This allowed my partner to double to show a spade suit. North
bid his club suit. I raised my partner’s spades and South now bid 4D to end the
auction, as below:
North East South West
1N P 2S Dbl
3C 3S 4D All pass
Unfortunately, our bidding
had done a good job of warning NS to stay out of no trumps! Four diamonds made
an overtrick for a poor result for us.
If you have bridge
questions, or to send me your interesting hands, please contact me at:
[email protected].
