Right-click here for hands. Six tables each in the open and 99er sections -- very nice for a weekend game!
(Note: the results for the 99er game do not seem to match up with the boards; not sure what happened.)
Board 1: North passes, East opens 1S, South doubles for takeout. West passes and North has a choice of bids: 1NT, 2H or 3H. This depends partly on partner's doubling style: a traditional double would emphasize hearts, North can reasonably expect four card support, and 3H is probably justified. If partner tends to double just to show points, or follows the modern style of doubling aggressively to avoid balancing later, 1NT may be safer. 2H seems a distinct underbid. East has good spades, extra values and a second suit; he may compete with 2C over 1NT (West will correct to 2S) but bidding over 2H or 3H does not seem advisable -- pass and let partner compete if he can. West should balance with 2S over 2H and N/S should land in 3H one way or another, making 4 on a crossruff.
Board 6 North has a 22 point, 8.5 trick monster. After three passes, 2C planning to rebid 2NT (22-24) seems reasonable. South has just enough to raise 2NT to game. 2C followed by 3C is more awkward: you're apt to miss the best matchpoint spot of 3NT. In general, avoid 2C without a five card major, six card minor, or hand you can treat as balanced. If you don't care for the offshape notrump rebid, I suggest opening 1C, planning to reverse into hearts. Partner will usually have enough to bid and, if not, someone usually does. But North's second suit is very poor. 3NT makes with the 10 of clubs providing an entry for the winning spade finesse; 5C can make without the finesse as trumps split 2-2 and one heart ruff establishes the Nine for a spade pitch.
Board 11 South opens 2NT (20-21.) With a six card suit, known fit and 22+ hcp, I'd be tempted as North to bid game (directly or by way of a Texas or Jacoby transfer, depending on methods); but the poor trumps argue for caution and 3H making or down 1 scored well.
Board 13 North opens 1H and if East/West pass South responds 1S (the hand is not suitable for any immediate raise of hearts.) North rebid 2D and South re-evaluates: a typical minimum opening has 7 losers, the Queen of hearts and the black cards should cover three losers, and a diamond ruff makes 4, so a leap to 4H is justified. Note that Kxxxx AQx x Qxxx, despite having better trumps, would be less certain and should perhaps settle for a 3H game invitation. Aces are often more valuable outside the trump suit than in, and stray Queens are of doubtful value in suits partner has not bid (remember, he has shown 9 cards in two suits, so the chances of a Queen in one of the other suits covering a 3rd round loser are slim. On the actual hand, the Queen of clubs in combination with the Ace has a fair chance of covering a second round loser.)
At our table East doubled 1H, somewhat off-shape. South can simply respond 1S (most play a new suit forcing at the one level) and then proceed as he would without the double, with even more optimism about his black-suit honors. Redouble would show a generally balanced hand with 10+ hcp and typically 2 or 3 hearts, or perhaps a singleton heart with somewhat more strength. Never redouble with a void in partner's suit -- it's a good way to score -1000 or worse. The general purpose of the redouble is to inform partner "it's our hand" and invite him to double any suit they bid where he has 4+ trumps.With an expected 9 card fit (four card support for a major or five for a minor) it is generally fruitless to redouble, since you would never defend below the three level; most play 2NT as a raise showing the high card strength of the redouble along with the big fit (Jordan 2NT.) This is a "natural" convention since 2NT would otherwise be idle -- responder redoubles with a balanced hand. (Some use 2NT with only an 8 card fit, marking the "redouble implies no fit" checkbox; others mistakenly mark that box when, in fact, they would not bid Jordan without 4 trumps and so routinely redouble with 3 card support for a 5 card major.)
Board 14 East has opens a hefty 1D and West gives a standard raise to 2D or inverted raise to 3D. When playing inverted, I always insist that, with no intervening overcall or double, the bid promises 6-9 hcp; making the bid with Jxxxxx and out may seem clever but forcing partner to guess with a powerful hand is anything but. After a standard 1D-2D, East rebids 2H to probe for notrump. West has a minimum but five diamonds and a cheap, 3 point, double-stop in clubs, so he should cooperate with 3C. This allows East to bid the good 3NT, making 5. After an inverted 3D, getting to 3NT would be a guess unless you agree that 1D-3D-3H-3S says "I have clubs but not spades stopped", logical perhaps but rather hard to remember. The jump raise, though weak, promises a big fit and East has visions of slam. He tries 3H followed by 4S but cannot coax any enthusiasm from West. Should East settle for 5D? At a team game, perhaps; at matchpoints, probably not -- 5D is betting that both 3NT and 6D are wrong. Maybe the best "inverted raise" auction would be 1D-3D-4D (Minorwood) or 4NT (RKCB)- one key card- 6D.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
Friday, 8/27/10, continued
Right-click here for hands.
Board 4: West opens 1S, East responds 2C, game-forcing or not. West likely rebids 2NT, showing a balanced minimum. Those who play 2C as an absolute game force can simply rebid 3C, showing an unbalanced hand with interest in some contract other than 3NT. Standard bidders, or those who play the Mike Lawrence "except when suit rebid" style, have to manufacture a forcing call or guess to leap past 3NT. 3D looks reasonable; it's a suit partner skipped over so there should be little risk he'll insist on playing there. West assumes East is probing for notrump and may have a singleton heart; with a double stopper, 3H looks right and East can retreat to the matchpoint contract of 3NT, scoring a top with 10 easy tricks.
At a team game you'd be more interested in slam and 4C over 2NT would express that directly; 5C should be OK and the 30-60 extra points you could get at 3NT will tanslate into only a 1 or 2 IMP loss while a slam could be worth 13. West cue-bids 4H -- always dangerous to cue-bid a major, but as West skipped over the suit to bid 2NT this should clearly be a heart control and support for clubs. East has no diamond control so he retreats to 5C, passed out. Unfortunately South is apt to bang down the Ace of diamonds after that auction and the defense grabs the first three tricks. If South leads the "normal" Queen of hearts, East dumps his spade loser quickly.
Board 10: An advertisement for Precision, where the bidding would go 1C-1D-1NT all pass, making or down 1 depending on the defense. A standard auction would be 1D all pass, also making or down 1. (in practice all five declarers at the one level made their contract.) Those employing a special gadget for 19 point hands and those who stretch a 2NT opener are down an extra trick. Those who strain to respond with the South hand cringe when partner jumps to 2S (game-forcing), landing in 3NT or 4S, down 2.
Board 20: Another slam! North opens 2C, South responds a "waiting" or "semipositive" 2D or a 7-9 hcp "steps" 2S, North rebids 2NT showing 22-24 over the waiting bid and simply 22+ if South has shown values. South does the arithmentic: 9+22 = 31, normally not enough to give a good play at 6NT, so Gerber won't answer the crucial question "Do we have a play for 12 tricks?" Instead, South jumps to 4NT, quantitative (4NT isn't Blackwood when Gerber is available.) North raises to 6NT with 23 and a good suit. (North could bid 5C, natural, exploring for a fit, but that could be misinterpreted and, in any case, a useful ruff does not look likely.) 12 tricks on any lead.
If South bids an old-fashioned positive 2NT (8-10 balanced), North may blast into 6NT or invite with 4NT, which South might pass.
Board 4: West opens 1S, East responds 2C, game-forcing or not. West likely rebids 2NT, showing a balanced minimum. Those who play 2C as an absolute game force can simply rebid 3C, showing an unbalanced hand with interest in some contract other than 3NT. Standard bidders, or those who play the Mike Lawrence "except when suit rebid" style, have to manufacture a forcing call or guess to leap past 3NT. 3D looks reasonable; it's a suit partner skipped over so there should be little risk he'll insist on playing there. West assumes East is probing for notrump and may have a singleton heart; with a double stopper, 3H looks right and East can retreat to the matchpoint contract of 3NT, scoring a top with 10 easy tricks.
At a team game you'd be more interested in slam and 4C over 2NT would express that directly; 5C should be OK and the 30-60 extra points you could get at 3NT will tanslate into only a 1 or 2 IMP loss while a slam could be worth 13. West cue-bids 4H -- always dangerous to cue-bid a major, but as West skipped over the suit to bid 2NT this should clearly be a heart control and support for clubs. East has no diamond control so he retreats to 5C, passed out. Unfortunately South is apt to bang down the Ace of diamonds after that auction and the defense grabs the first three tricks. If South leads the "normal" Queen of hearts, East dumps his spade loser quickly.
Board 10: An advertisement for Precision, where the bidding would go 1C-1D-1NT all pass, making or down 1 depending on the defense. A standard auction would be 1D all pass, also making or down 1. (in practice all five declarers at the one level made their contract.) Those employing a special gadget for 19 point hands and those who stretch a 2NT opener are down an extra trick. Those who strain to respond with the South hand cringe when partner jumps to 2S (game-forcing), landing in 3NT or 4S, down 2.
Board 20: Another slam! North opens 2C, South responds a "waiting" or "semipositive" 2D or a 7-9 hcp "steps" 2S, North rebids 2NT showing 22-24 over the waiting bid and simply 22+ if South has shown values. South does the arithmentic: 9+22 = 31, normally not enough to give a good play at 6NT, so Gerber won't answer the crucial question "Do we have a play for 12 tricks?" Instead, South jumps to 4NT, quantitative (4NT isn't Blackwood when Gerber is available.) North raises to 6NT with 23 and a good suit. (North could bid 5C, natural, exploring for a fit, but that could be misinterpreted and, in any case, a useful ruff does not look likely.) 12 tricks on any lead.
If South bids an old-fashioned positive 2NT (8-10 balanced), North may blast into 6NT or invite with 4NT, which South might pass.
Friday 8/27/2010
Right-click here for hands . Slams are fun!
Board 9: East opens 1D, South likely overcalls 1S. West, with a flat, aceless 13 count and KQxx of spades, probably leaps to 3NT. As frequently happens, such "limit" bidding in notrump traps partner when he is unbalanced: with only 5 losers, East suspects a slam but is reluctant to leave the "matchpoint magic" contract of 3NT. With four key cards and control of every suit, I think 4D is justified; this should not be seen as simple fear of 3NT, as East should pass without slam interest. West has a very poor hand for slam (no Aces, no high honor in diamonds, no obvious source of tricks) and can do little more than raise to 5D. This doesn't really clarify things for East -- he could hardly expect a cue-bid looking at his own hand -- and so in the end East must guess to pass or try 6D. In general, an iffy slam should be played at a suit contract, where declarer has more options, than at 6NT; many pairs won't get to slam when the combined hands total less than 33 hcp so it's usually best to play the slam most likely to make and not worry about the highest scoring strain.
A peak at the results shows all but two pairs stopped at 3NT; one Precision pair landed at 6D, down 1 and the other ( yours truly declaring) stumbled into 6NT which made easily on a spade lead, Ace, heart switch, diamond finesse revealing the onside 4-0 split, 12 tricks easy. If South ducks the lead or continues spades, declarer needs 4 tricks from hearts (and must avoid the club finesse) to make the slam. At 6D declarer does not need four heart tricks (he either gets two spades and one club or one spade and two clubs) but must still avoid losing a heart to make the slam. 3NT making 6 was worth 75% of the matchpoints.
Board 13: E-W can make any of several slams, but only because finesses in both long suits succeed. A reasonable auction might be 1H-2H-2NT (a game try with scattered honors) -4H, as West hopes his clubs come home. South leads the Jack of spades (covered by the Queen, King and Ace) and East sees no way to keep North off lead if he has the King of clubs; he hopes South has it or North has the Ace of diamonds. Declarer leads the Jack of clubs, overtaking with the Queen if South doesn't take the bait and cover, starts breathing easier when North plays low, and runs the Jack of hearts. 13 tricks roll in on a hand that was iffy to make even ten. (I hope not too many dummies asked, "Should we have bid it?")
Board 15: North opens a strong 2C after two passes, East may double for a club lead -- oops, that supposed to show a two-suiter in our style! -- what are your agreements over a double? Easiest would be pass = weak, say 0-3 hcp; redouble = 4+, forcing to game; bids are natural, 5+ card suit including, say, 5+ hcp. (The space-eating response of 3C should probably show 6 clubs and two of the top three honors.)
For those playing "Steps", you can use Pass and Double as your first two steps, saving enormous bidding room, thank you very much Mr. East. All in all East should probably pass (it's unlikely partner will be on lead) but double may be effective against players who don't have firm agreements.
Assuming 2C-(X)-XX-(pass), North jumps to 3H to "set the suit" and request cue-bidding. Italian style "anything goes" cue-bidders would bid 3S with South's hand; I would bid 3NT, denying the ability to cue-bid at this point but ready to cooperate if partner persists. North bids 4D, South now bids 4S, North bids 4NT (whatever flavor) and lands in 6H. At our table South considered 6NT but wisely passed (East would cash two clubs) and as you can see, only 5 of 9 pairs reached the slam so 6NT risks 6 matchpoints vs. a possible gain of 2, not good odds at all. East cashes his Ace and North claims shortly after testing trumps.
Board 9: East opens 1D, South likely overcalls 1S. West, with a flat, aceless 13 count and KQxx of spades, probably leaps to 3NT. As frequently happens, such "limit" bidding in notrump traps partner when he is unbalanced: with only 5 losers, East suspects a slam but is reluctant to leave the "matchpoint magic" contract of 3NT. With four key cards and control of every suit, I think 4D is justified; this should not be seen as simple fear of 3NT, as East should pass without slam interest. West has a very poor hand for slam (no Aces, no high honor in diamonds, no obvious source of tricks) and can do little more than raise to 5D. This doesn't really clarify things for East -- he could hardly expect a cue-bid looking at his own hand -- and so in the end East must guess to pass or try 6D. In general, an iffy slam should be played at a suit contract, where declarer has more options, than at 6NT; many pairs won't get to slam when the combined hands total less than 33 hcp so it's usually best to play the slam most likely to make and not worry about the highest scoring strain.
A peak at the results shows all but two pairs stopped at 3NT; one Precision pair landed at 6D, down 1 and the other ( yours truly declaring) stumbled into 6NT which made easily on a spade lead, Ace, heart switch, diamond finesse revealing the onside 4-0 split, 12 tricks easy. If South ducks the lead or continues spades, declarer needs 4 tricks from hearts (and must avoid the club finesse) to make the slam. At 6D declarer does not need four heart tricks (he either gets two spades and one club or one spade and two clubs) but must still avoid losing a heart to make the slam. 3NT making 6 was worth 75% of the matchpoints.
Board 13: E-W can make any of several slams, but only because finesses in both long suits succeed. A reasonable auction might be 1H-2H-2NT (a game try with scattered honors) -4H, as West hopes his clubs come home. South leads the Jack of spades (covered by the Queen, King and Ace) and East sees no way to keep North off lead if he has the King of clubs; he hopes South has it or North has the Ace of diamonds. Declarer leads the Jack of clubs, overtaking with the Queen if South doesn't take the bait and cover, starts breathing easier when North plays low, and runs the Jack of hearts. 13 tricks roll in on a hand that was iffy to make even ten. (I hope not too many dummies asked, "Should we have bid it?")
Board 15: North opens a strong 2C after two passes, East may double for a club lead -- oops, that supposed to show a two-suiter in our style! -- what are your agreements over a double? Easiest would be pass = weak, say 0-3 hcp; redouble = 4+, forcing to game; bids are natural, 5+ card suit including, say, 5+ hcp. (The space-eating response of 3C should probably show 6 clubs and two of the top three honors.)
For those playing "Steps", you can use Pass and Double as your first two steps, saving enormous bidding room, thank you very much Mr. East. All in all East should probably pass (it's unlikely partner will be on lead) but double may be effective against players who don't have firm agreements.
Assuming 2C-(X)-XX-(pass), North jumps to 3H to "set the suit" and request cue-bidding. Italian style "anything goes" cue-bidders would bid 3S with South's hand; I would bid 3NT, denying the ability to cue-bid at this point but ready to cooperate if partner persists. North bids 4D, South now bids 4S, North bids 4NT (whatever flavor) and lands in 6H. At our table South considered 6NT but wisely passed (East would cash two clubs) and as you can see, only 5 of 9 pairs reached the slam so 6NT risks 6 matchpoints vs. a possible gain of 2, not good odds at all. East cashes his Ace and North claims shortly after testing trumps.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Notrump Bidding: Inviting and Accepting
Partner opens a strong notrump, say 15.0 to 17.5 (see previous blog for discussion of half points adjustments.) When should you bid game? When should you pass? When, if ever, should you invite? These questions have been given various answers in various bridge-playing countries over the years, and depend upon the relative skill level of declarers and defenders and the form of scoring.
What most players neglect in deciding to try for 3NT is the considerable risk that 2NT will go down, or go down more tricks than 1NT. The classic advice to invite with 8 or 9 and opener accepting with "a max" is, in fact, worse than a pass-or-bash strategy of bidding game with 9 and passing with 8, even though that means you sometimes play 1NT with 25 and sometimes 3NT with only 24. The secret is you never play 2NT, the biggest matchpoint-losing contract in bridge. Slightly better than pass-or-bash is (for a typical declarer, in a matchpoint game) to invite with 8.5 to 9.0 and opener accepts with 15.5 or better, i.e., anything but a dead minimum. This agrees with the conclusions of a classic Bridge World article: "invite rarely, accept often." If partner invites with the standard 8 or 9, opener does best to accept with 16.0 or better. If opener never downgrades an ugly 15 and often upgrades 14 (due to a five card or a couple of tens or because he likes bidding notrump), invite with 9 to 9.5 and pass with 8.5 or less.
What if you use 2NT artificially, such as a transfer to diamonds? Then I have a very strong piece of advice: if you don't have interest in a major suit, use pass-or-bash. The gain from inviting is only the difference between around a 49% and 52% matchpoint expectation, for specifically 8.5 points for responder; just an occasional lead-directing double of 2C, plus the information you give the defenders about opener's hand, will more than wipe that out. Therefore, a sequence like 1NT-2C-2H-2NT ought to promise a four card spade suit, even if 1NT-2NT would have been artificial.
Messy details (most players can ignore):
Combining information from double-dummy analysis (from several sources) with some real-world data from Richard Pavlicek, I developed a complex spreadsheet to analyze this for specifically matchpoint bidding. The important thing was to set up a "field", i.e., decide what players at other tables were likely to do. I used the well-known advice given in most American textbooks: with no interest in a major suit game, bid 3NT with 10 hcp (15-17 +10 = 25-27), bid 2NT with 8 or 9 (giving us 23 to 26 total), and pass with 7 or less. Later experimentaton showed that the results below were not very sensitive to what strategy the field was using.
The data suggests that each additional high card point adds about 19% to our chances of making 3NT. As that is a fairly large swing, I interpolated the data to half-points, so each half point adds 9-10% to our chances. (Did you realize a Ten could be the difference between a poor 45% chance and a fair 54% chance?)
Double dummy, here's your chances of making at least 8 or 9 tricks at notrump:
Combined HCP: 23.0 23.5 24.0 24.5 25.0 25.5 26.0 26.5 27.0
8+ tricks: 57% 67% 78% 82% 87% 91% 94% 96% 98%
9+ tricks: 21% 31% 41% 50% 59% 68% 76% 81% 86%
Now, it is well known that real-world declarers make 3NT significantly more often than double-dummy analysis suggests. Here's the same table, with the assumption that declarer makes an extra trick about 10% of the time (for percentages close to 50%.) This seems to be in line with RP's real-world data:
Combined HCP: 23.0 23.5 24.0 24.5 25.0 25.5 26.0 26.5 27.0
8+ tricks: 62% 71% 80% 85% 90% 91% 95% 96% 98%
9+ tricks: 25% 35% 45% 54% 64% 71% 78% 83% 87%
So a typical declarer will show a slight loss playing 3NT with 24.0 hcp and a slight gain with 24.5 (there's that Ten!) However, reaching at least 2NT with 24.0 to 24.5 will cost you the 15-20% of the time 2NT fails; this will more than wipe out any gain you achieve from bidding thin 3NT's. Matched up with a field that is mostly following the normal "Invite 8 or 9" strategy, the biggest gain from inviting comes with 8.5, opener accepting on anything but a bare 15.0. Passing with 8.5 earns an average of 48% of the matchpoints, bidding 3NT earns 49%, and inviting earns 52%.
What most players neglect in deciding to try for 3NT is the considerable risk that 2NT will go down, or go down more tricks than 1NT. The classic advice to invite with 8 or 9 and opener accepting with "a max" is, in fact, worse than a pass-or-bash strategy of bidding game with 9 and passing with 8, even though that means you sometimes play 1NT with 25 and sometimes 3NT with only 24. The secret is you never play 2NT, the biggest matchpoint-losing contract in bridge. Slightly better than pass-or-bash is (for a typical declarer, in a matchpoint game) to invite with 8.5 to 9.0 and opener accepts with 15.5 or better, i.e., anything but a dead minimum. This agrees with the conclusions of a classic Bridge World article: "invite rarely, accept often." If partner invites with the standard 8 or 9, opener does best to accept with 16.0 or better. If opener never downgrades an ugly 15 and often upgrades 14 (due to a five card or a couple of tens or because he likes bidding notrump), invite with 9 to 9.5 and pass with 8.5 or less.
What if you use 2NT artificially, such as a transfer to diamonds? Then I have a very strong piece of advice: if you don't have interest in a major suit, use pass-or-bash. The gain from inviting is only the difference between around a 49% and 52% matchpoint expectation, for specifically 8.5 points for responder; just an occasional lead-directing double of 2C, plus the information you give the defenders about opener's hand, will more than wipe that out. Therefore, a sequence like 1NT-2C-2H-2NT ought to promise a four card spade suit, even if 1NT-2NT would have been artificial.
Messy details (most players can ignore):
Combining information from double-dummy analysis (from several sources) with some real-world data from Richard Pavlicek, I developed a complex spreadsheet to analyze this for specifically matchpoint bidding. The important thing was to set up a "field", i.e., decide what players at other tables were likely to do. I used the well-known advice given in most American textbooks: with no interest in a major suit game, bid 3NT with 10 hcp (15-17 +10 = 25-27), bid 2NT with 8 or 9 (giving us 23 to 26 total), and pass with 7 or less. Later experimentaton showed that the results below were not very sensitive to what strategy the field was using.
The data suggests that each additional high card point adds about 19% to our chances of making 3NT. As that is a fairly large swing, I interpolated the data to half-points, so each half point adds 9-10% to our chances. (Did you realize a Ten could be the difference between a poor 45% chance and a fair 54% chance?)
Double dummy, here's your chances of making at least 8 or 9 tricks at notrump:
Combined HCP: 23.0 23.5 24.0 24.5 25.0 25.5 26.0 26.5 27.0
8+ tricks: 57% 67% 78% 82% 87% 91% 94% 96% 98%
9+ tricks: 21% 31% 41% 50% 59% 68% 76% 81% 86%
Now, it is well known that real-world declarers make 3NT significantly more often than double-dummy analysis suggests. Here's the same table, with the assumption that declarer makes an extra trick about 10% of the time (for percentages close to 50%.) This seems to be in line with RP's real-world data:
Combined HCP: 23.0 23.5 24.0 24.5 25.0 25.5 26.0 26.5 27.0
8+ tricks: 62% 71% 80% 85% 90% 91% 95% 96% 98%
9+ tricks: 25% 35% 45% 54% 64% 71% 78% 83% 87%
So a typical declarer will show a slight loss playing 3NT with 24.0 hcp and a slight gain with 24.5 (there's that Ten!) However, reaching at least 2NT with 24.0 to 24.5 will cost you the 15-20% of the time 2NT fails; this will more than wipe out any gain you achieve from bidding thin 3NT's. Matched up with a field that is mostly following the normal "Invite 8 or 9" strategy, the biggest gain from inviting comes with 8.5, opener accepting on anything but a bare 15.0. Passing with 8.5 earns an average of 48% of the matchpoints, bidding 3NT earns 49%, and inviting earns 52%.
Notrump Bidding: Point count adjustments
Counting points: while it is well known the the standard 4321 point count is flawed for bidding suit contracts, (overvaluing Queens, Jacks and honors in short suits while undervaluing Aces, Tens and honors in long suits) extensive analysis has shown it to be rather good for deciding when to bid 3NT. There are only two significant adjustments worth making:
A five card suit with sufficient entries is of some help, but not the extra point many authors suggest. This seems odd, but an extra high card in your hand means one less in the opponents hand, which can make all the difference in who sets up their tricks first. 3NT is basically a race between declarer setting up nine tricks and the defense setting up and cashing five. The French Bridge Federation studied a large number of hands played by real declarers and concluded that a five card suit is worth 0.4 points at notrump, basically half the value of a Jack.
Tens likewise are ignored in the basic point count but are also worth about half a point. An average hand would have one ten, so here's a simple adjustment scheme for opening and raising notrump bids:
Count how many tens you have, and add one "ten" for a five card suit, provided the hand has some potential entries. Deduct half a point for no ten or five card suit. Add half a point for each extra ten. Although this potentially allows you to upgrade a hand by two points if you have a five card suit and all four tens, in practice I would not add more than one point. So, with a basic point count of 15, you may downgrade to 14.5 or upgrade to as much as 16.0 .
Now what do you do with those half points? As opener, I suggest rounding down, which gives us the following:
Open 1 of suit and rebid 1NT with 12.0 to 14.5.
Open 1NT with 15.0 to 17.5.
Open 1 of a suit and rebid 2NT with 18.0 to 19.5.
Open 2NT with 20.0 to 21.5.
Open 2C with 22.0 + .
If you prefer, you may want to round Aceless hands down and hands with at least one Ace and at least three total Aces and Nines up. With one Ace and only one or two Aces and Nines, round toward the basic point count: KJx Q10x KJ9xx Ax starts as 14 points. You add half a point since you have both a Ten and a five card suit. Should you open a 15-17 notrump? With only one Ace and one Nine, I wouldn't. Most of the field will not be opening 1NT and this is not a "clear-cut " upgrade. Add another Ten or a Nine or two and the hand becomes significantly better than an average 14 count.
No matter what your skill level, you should recognize that KQJx Kx QJx QJx is worth significantly less than 15 points, while AJ10 Kx Q109xx A10x is worth significantly more than 14. The 4321 count assumes an average number of Aces, Tens and Nines, which will be more or less the case for the majority of hands.
A five card suit with sufficient entries is of some help, but not the extra point many authors suggest. This seems odd, but an extra high card in your hand means one less in the opponents hand, which can make all the difference in who sets up their tricks first. 3NT is basically a race between declarer setting up nine tricks and the defense setting up and cashing five. The French Bridge Federation studied a large number of hands played by real declarers and concluded that a five card suit is worth 0.4 points at notrump, basically half the value of a Jack.
Tens likewise are ignored in the basic point count but are also worth about half a point. An average hand would have one ten, so here's a simple adjustment scheme for opening and raising notrump bids:
Count how many tens you have, and add one "ten" for a five card suit, provided the hand has some potential entries. Deduct half a point for no ten or five card suit. Add half a point for each extra ten. Although this potentially allows you to upgrade a hand by two points if you have a five card suit and all four tens, in practice I would not add more than one point. So, with a basic point count of 15, you may downgrade to 14.5 or upgrade to as much as 16.0 .
Now what do you do with those half points? As opener, I suggest rounding down, which gives us the following:
Open 1 of suit and rebid 1NT with 12.0 to 14.5.
Open 1NT with 15.0 to 17.5.
Open 1 of a suit and rebid 2NT with 18.0 to 19.5.
Open 2NT with 20.0 to 21.5.
Open 2C with 22.0 + .
If you prefer, you may want to round Aceless hands down and hands with at least one Ace and at least three total Aces and Nines up. With one Ace and only one or two Aces and Nines, round toward the basic point count: KJx Q10x KJ9xx Ax starts as 14 points. You add half a point since you have both a Ten and a five card suit. Should you open a 15-17 notrump? With only one Ace and one Nine, I wouldn't. Most of the field will not be opening 1NT and this is not a "clear-cut " upgrade. Add another Ten or a Nine or two and the hand becomes significantly better than an average 14 count.
No matter what your skill level, you should recognize that KQJx Kx QJx QJx is worth significantly less than 15 points, while AJ10 Kx Q109xx A10x is worth significantly more than 14. The 4321 count assumes an average number of Aces, Tens and Nines, which will be more or less the case for the majority of hands.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Monday, 8/23/10
Right-click here for hands .
Board 7: South deals and passes, West opens 1C, North overcalls 1H, East responds 1NT, pass, West bids 2D, a strength-showing reverse. A good agreement to have over reverses is lebensohl: any immediate rebid at the three level by responder is forcing to game, which should happen most of the time. This establishes your fit and allows room for stopper showing (aiming for 3NT) or control cue-bidding (aiming for slam.)
With a weak hand such as East's, East bids 2NT, artificial, asking opener to bid 3C. Then responder passes or corrects to three of any suit, showing a minimum response and inviting opener to pass unless he has something like 20+ points. (When the response was in a suit, rather than notrump, responder rebids his suit with any 5 as opener will often have 3 card support. This is an exception to all the advice you read about "don't rebid a 5 card suit." This rebid promises no extra strength but it should be agreed opener won't pass, otherwise responder would have to jump and waste bidding room.)
As East has really only suggested values in hearts and with no known fit, opener accepts the relay to 3C, and East corrects to 3D. Now West's hand improves enormously with the known fit; he expects to ruff a club or two to establish the suit and lose perhaps a spade (which might go away on a high heart if responder has one) and a diamond or two. 5D is a reasonable shot once he learns of the fit.
Did I say South passed? Not at our table. Despite the ratty suit, soft values and vulnerability, South opened 2S at our table. West has no good call other than 3C (if he doubles to show points, East will never quit bidding hearts.) North raised the barrage to 3S, a bid that has little to do with his high cards and everything to do with the known 6-3 fit. East has no call and West is faced with a guess. North is in the driver's seat with a failry good description of partner's hand; he may be kidding with 3S or loaded for bear. Pass and perfect defense would yield +200 for a bit above average, but our +100 proved a disappointment. Bidding a cautious 4C or an aggressive 4D would pay off as it happened, but West's relatively "empty" suits make bidding at that level quite risky. If you like rolling the dice, South's 2S opening is apt to produce a swing one way or the other. Not recommended for team events.
Board 12 West has the chance to open a frisky 2D, this time at favorable vulnerability (not vul vs. vul.) Assuming he doesn't, North opens 1S and South has an excellent 4D splinter raise, showing a four card support, 0 or 1 diamonds, and about 11-14 high card points. North then re-evaluates his hand: he can ruff two diamonds, the known 6-4 fit leaves only one likely loser, leaving only two hearts and a club to take care of. South's 11+ hcp should be good for 3 or 4 tricks, making slam likely and even grand slam plausible. Splinters don't leave a lot of bidding room, so North must choose between 4NT at the risk of two quick heart losers or a 5C control cue-bid, which should draw partner's attention to the skipped suit (hearts) but risks reaching slam off a cashing Ace and the King of trumps. I recommend RKCB or 1430 despite the heart flaw for those who play it, otherwise the cue-bid for plain Blackwood bidders. In any case partner has an excellent hand and slam should be reached. An RCKB auction: 1S-4D-4NT-5S (2+Q)-5NT (We have all six "prime" cards")-6C (How does the King of clubs strike you?) or 6D (One king). North cannot be sure of 13 tricks and settles for 6S.
What if you don't play splinters? 1S-2H (show the good source of tricks before raising with this excellent hand)-2S-4S. North's hand, with three Aces, has good slam controls but it is not clear the combined assets will produce 12 tricks and North should pass rather than risk the five level. A sound rule is to not go past game without the expectation of 12 tricks opposite a fairly minimum hand for partner's bidding. 4S was the popular contract and earns only a bit below average as either the heart or club finesse yields the 13th trick. Had partner's hand been less suitable, going down at 5 or 6 would yield a near zero, so the field's caution was justified.
Back to West, assume he opens 2D. North overcalls 2S and East raises to 3D, again based on the 6-3 fit. South is out of bidding room, he cannot afford to show the hearts and must settle for a 4D general strength spade raise. (4S should be more like a hand that would've given a limit raise in an uncontested auction.) Denied the information from a splinter, North passes with some reluctance and N/S either commiserate or battle one another over the missed slam. East/West leave quietly, trying hard not to smirk. Note that if East fails to raise the 2D bid, South can splinter with a JUMP to 4D, and N/S are off to the races.
Two good results for aggressive weak twos. I'll be looking for some counter-examples :).
Board 7: South deals and passes, West opens 1C, North overcalls 1H, East responds 1NT, pass, West bids 2D, a strength-showing reverse. A good agreement to have over reverses is lebensohl: any immediate rebid at the three level by responder is forcing to game, which should happen most of the time. This establishes your fit and allows room for stopper showing (aiming for 3NT) or control cue-bidding (aiming for slam.)
With a weak hand such as East's, East bids 2NT, artificial, asking opener to bid 3C. Then responder passes or corrects to three of any suit, showing a minimum response and inviting opener to pass unless he has something like 20+ points. (When the response was in a suit, rather than notrump, responder rebids his suit with any 5 as opener will often have 3 card support. This is an exception to all the advice you read about "don't rebid a 5 card suit." This rebid promises no extra strength but it should be agreed opener won't pass, otherwise responder would have to jump and waste bidding room.)
As East has really only suggested values in hearts and with no known fit, opener accepts the relay to 3C, and East corrects to 3D. Now West's hand improves enormously with the known fit; he expects to ruff a club or two to establish the suit and lose perhaps a spade (which might go away on a high heart if responder has one) and a diamond or two. 5D is a reasonable shot once he learns of the fit.
Did I say South passed? Not at our table. Despite the ratty suit, soft values and vulnerability, South opened 2S at our table. West has no good call other than 3C (if he doubles to show points, East will never quit bidding hearts.) North raised the barrage to 3S, a bid that has little to do with his high cards and everything to do with the known 6-3 fit. East has no call and West is faced with a guess. North is in the driver's seat with a failry good description of partner's hand; he may be kidding with 3S or loaded for bear. Pass and perfect defense would yield +200 for a bit above average, but our +100 proved a disappointment. Bidding a cautious 4C or an aggressive 4D would pay off as it happened, but West's relatively "empty" suits make bidding at that level quite risky. If you like rolling the dice, South's 2S opening is apt to produce a swing one way or the other. Not recommended for team events.
Board 12 West has the chance to open a frisky 2D, this time at favorable vulnerability (not vul vs. vul.) Assuming he doesn't, North opens 1S and South has an excellent 4D splinter raise, showing a four card support, 0 or 1 diamonds, and about 11-14 high card points. North then re-evaluates his hand: he can ruff two diamonds, the known 6-4 fit leaves only one likely loser, leaving only two hearts and a club to take care of. South's 11+ hcp should be good for 3 or 4 tricks, making slam likely and even grand slam plausible. Splinters don't leave a lot of bidding room, so North must choose between 4NT at the risk of two quick heart losers or a 5C control cue-bid, which should draw partner's attention to the skipped suit (hearts) but risks reaching slam off a cashing Ace and the King of trumps. I recommend RKCB or 1430 despite the heart flaw for those who play it, otherwise the cue-bid for plain Blackwood bidders. In any case partner has an excellent hand and slam should be reached. An RCKB auction: 1S-4D-4NT-5S (2+Q)-5NT (We have all six "prime" cards")-6C (How does the King of clubs strike you?) or 6D (One king). North cannot be sure of 13 tricks and settles for 6S.
What if you don't play splinters? 1S-2H (show the good source of tricks before raising with this excellent hand)-2S-4S. North's hand, with three Aces, has good slam controls but it is not clear the combined assets will produce 12 tricks and North should pass rather than risk the five level. A sound rule is to not go past game without the expectation of 12 tricks opposite a fairly minimum hand for partner's bidding. 4S was the popular contract and earns only a bit below average as either the heart or club finesse yields the 13th trick. Had partner's hand been less suitable, going down at 5 or 6 would yield a near zero, so the field's caution was justified.
Back to West, assume he opens 2D. North overcalls 2S and East raises to 3D, again based on the 6-3 fit. South is out of bidding room, he cannot afford to show the hearts and must settle for a 4D general strength spade raise. (4S should be more like a hand that would've given a limit raise in an uncontested auction.) Denied the information from a splinter, North passes with some reluctance and N/S either commiserate or battle one another over the missed slam. East/West leave quietly, trying hard not to smirk. Note that if East fails to raise the 2D bid, South can splinter with a JUMP to 4D, and N/S are off to the races.
Two good results for aggressive weak twos. I'll be looking for some counter-examples :).
Other approaches with 5-5 minors over partner's 1NT
Last time, I discussed extending the 2S response to 1NT to cover 5-5 minor hands, weak or strong. What if you don't play this gadget? The simplest approach is to pass or raise to 2NT or 3NT depending on your high card strength, as if you had a balanced hand. The weaker you are in the majors, the stronger partner is likely to be, and partner is apt to be able to use one of your suits for some tricks.
With a very weak hand, pick your better minor and bid 2S or whatever device you have to stop at three of a minor. Of course you'll guess wrong and land in a 5-2 fit part of the time, but odds are better than 50% partner will have 3+ in whichever suit you pick, and a hand with, say, 0-2 hcp won't do partner much good at 1NT. I would pass 1NT with as little as 3 hcp since we may well have 20.
With a hand strong enough to contemplate slam, say 14+ hcp, remember that Stayman-then-3-of-a-suit is forcing. Bid 2C, then 3D, then 4C. Best to discuss this first; without discussion, stick to notrump.
Playing four-suited transfers, it is common to agree that a transfer to a minor, followed by a new suit, shows a singleton. So, with 5-5 minors and 10+, transfer to diamonds and then bid 3H or 3S to show your singleton. Opener should allow for the 5-5 hand and not insist on diamonds if he can't stop your singleton and has more clubs than diamonds: 1NT-2NT (transfer to diamonds)-3D-3H (singleton heart), opener with
KQxx Jxx Kx AKxx bids 4C, allowing responder to pass or correct to 4D, 5C, or 5D.
A popular agreement is that all three level jumps show 5-5 in the majors or minors, so 3C is 5-5 weak and 3D is 5-5 strong. This works fine when it comes up but it's very inefficient to tie up an entire response for a single rare shape and narrow range of strength. Those jumps are important for slam hands, which I'll discuss another time.
With a very weak hand, pick your better minor and bid 2S or whatever device you have to stop at three of a minor. Of course you'll guess wrong and land in a 5-2 fit part of the time, but odds are better than 50% partner will have 3+ in whichever suit you pick, and a hand with, say, 0-2 hcp won't do partner much good at 1NT. I would pass 1NT with as little as 3 hcp since we may well have 20.
With a hand strong enough to contemplate slam, say 14+ hcp, remember that Stayman-then-3-of-a-suit is forcing. Bid 2C, then 3D, then 4C. Best to discuss this first; without discussion, stick to notrump.
Playing four-suited transfers, it is common to agree that a transfer to a minor, followed by a new suit, shows a singleton. So, with 5-5 minors and 10+, transfer to diamonds and then bid 3H or 3S to show your singleton. Opener should allow for the 5-5 hand and not insist on diamonds if he can't stop your singleton and has more clubs than diamonds: 1NT-2NT (transfer to diamonds)-3D-3H (singleton heart), opener with
KQxx Jxx Kx AKxx bids 4C, allowing responder to pass or correct to 4D, 5C, or 5D.
A popular agreement is that all three level jumps show 5-5 in the majors or minors, so 3C is 5-5 weak and 3D is 5-5 strong. This works fine when it comes up but it's very inefficient to tie up an entire response for a single rare shape and narrow range of strength. Those jumps are important for slam hands, which I'll discuss another time.
2S response to 1NT
Congratulations to Harry Gordon, DL Proctor, Andra Gyor and Elaine Panke for their win in the 14 team Eight is Enough Swiss Team game on Sunday. They skunked us the first round as my partner and I bid (or misbid!) cautiously on several hands that favored optimistic bidding. Unfortunately, we do not have hand records for the human-shuffled boards.
The 2S gadget:
When our side opens a 15-17 1NT it is normal these days to play 2C as Stayman, 2D as a transfer showing 5+ hearts, and 2H as a transfer showing 5+ spades. Of course, 3NT is "to play." There is far less agreement on other responses; many pairs play four-suited transfers, a method I don't recommend unless you have detailed understandings about the follow-up bids. (I tried these at one point and discovered how woefully inadequate it is to agree "X is a transfer to clubs and Y is a transfer to diamonds" with no further discussion when responder has a strong hand with a long minor.)
For those not playing minor suit transfers, a common style (part of the Standard American Yellow Card) is to play 2S shows a weak hand with a 6 card or longer minor. Opener bids 3C, and responder passes with long clubs or corrects to 3D. This loses the transfer advantage when the suit is diamonds, but has the advantage of only tying up one bid for a relatively rare hand type. (Note on procedure: Alert the 2S bid, and describe it as "shows a long minor, asks opener to bid 3C." Do NOT describe as a "transfer", since the bid does not promise clubs.)
Why climb up to the three level on a weak hand? Simple arithmetic: a weak hand generally lacks the entries to use the long suit at notrump; meanwhile, with at least a 6-2 fit, the 4th, 5th and 6th cards in the suits should take tricks if they are trumps. Getting to 3C or 3D increases two tricks from 1NT, but you gain at least 3 and typically more since the trumps suit helps control the hand. If 3 of the minor goes down a trick, 1NT was usually headed for a multi-trick set.
A few simple agreements can extend the usefulness of the 2S response.Allow responder to make the bid with 5-5 in the minors, weak or 5-5 minors, strong, along with the 6+ minor weak hands. Opener bids 3C if he has at least as many clubs as diamonds, but 2NT if he has more diamonds than clubs. Responder corrects to his minor with 6+ in the suit; with 5-5, he can pass 3C or correct 2NT to 3D.
If responder has 10-14 hcp and 5-5 in the minors, he responds 2S and rebids 3NT. Opener passes with good stoppers in the majors, but can escape to 4 of a minor with a hand like KQx xxx KQxx AJx. Did all this "science" give the show away? Possibly, but had partner simply raised 1NT-3NT, chances are very high the defense would find a heart lead or switch. You'll make only when the opening leader underleads the Ace of spades; it's roughly 50-50 he'll choose spades, and only half of that he'll have the Ace, so call it a 25% shot. Meanwhile 4D is a near lock and responder may be able to raise to 5 with extras.
With Axx xxx AQxx AJx, 5D should be a lock and 6 looks good opposite as little as Jx x KJxxx KQxxx. Declarer pulls trumps, runs the clubs pitching spades, and ruffs a spade in dummy. The bidding should proceed 1NT-2S-2NT (more diamonds than clubs)-3NT (5-5 strong)-4S (showing the Ace and implying weak hearts)-6D, as responder has the crucial singleton in hearts. With two heart losers, he signs off at 5D.
The 2S gadget:
When our side opens a 15-17 1NT it is normal these days to play 2C as Stayman, 2D as a transfer showing 5+ hearts, and 2H as a transfer showing 5+ spades. Of course, 3NT is "to play." There is far less agreement on other responses; many pairs play four-suited transfers, a method I don't recommend unless you have detailed understandings about the follow-up bids. (I tried these at one point and discovered how woefully inadequate it is to agree "X is a transfer to clubs and Y is a transfer to diamonds" with no further discussion when responder has a strong hand with a long minor.)
For those not playing minor suit transfers, a common style (part of the Standard American Yellow Card) is to play 2S shows a weak hand with a 6 card or longer minor. Opener bids 3C, and responder passes with long clubs or corrects to 3D. This loses the transfer advantage when the suit is diamonds, but has the advantage of only tying up one bid for a relatively rare hand type. (Note on procedure: Alert the 2S bid, and describe it as "shows a long minor, asks opener to bid 3C." Do NOT describe as a "transfer", since the bid does not promise clubs.)
Why climb up to the three level on a weak hand? Simple arithmetic: a weak hand generally lacks the entries to use the long suit at notrump; meanwhile, with at least a 6-2 fit, the 4th, 5th and 6th cards in the suits should take tricks if they are trumps. Getting to 3C or 3D increases two tricks from 1NT, but you gain at least 3 and typically more since the trumps suit helps control the hand. If 3 of the minor goes down a trick, 1NT was usually headed for a multi-trick set.
A few simple agreements can extend the usefulness of the 2S response.Allow responder to make the bid with 5-5 in the minors, weak or 5-5 minors, strong, along with the 6+ minor weak hands. Opener bids 3C if he has at least as many clubs as diamonds, but 2NT if he has more diamonds than clubs. Responder corrects to his minor with 6+ in the suit; with 5-5, he can pass 3C or correct 2NT to 3D.
If responder has 10-14 hcp and 5-5 in the minors, he responds 2S and rebids 3NT. Opener passes with good stoppers in the majors, but can escape to 4 of a minor with a hand like KQx xxx KQxx AJx. Did all this "science" give the show away? Possibly, but had partner simply raised 1NT-3NT, chances are very high the defense would find a heart lead or switch. You'll make only when the opening leader underleads the Ace of spades; it's roughly 50-50 he'll choose spades, and only half of that he'll have the Ace, so call it a 25% shot. Meanwhile 4D is a near lock and responder may be able to raise to 5 with extras.
With Axx xxx AQxx AJx, 5D should be a lock and 6 looks good opposite as little as Jx x KJxxx KQxxx. Declarer pulls trumps, runs the clubs pitching spades, and ruffs a spade in dummy. The bidding should proceed 1NT-2S-2NT (more diamonds than clubs)-3NT (5-5 strong)-4S (showing the Ace and implying weak hearts)-6D, as responder has the crucial singleton in hearts. With two heart losers, he signs off at 5D.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Friday 8/20/10
Right click here for hands; open in new tab and scroll down past results to see the hands.
Board 1: East may open an offbeat 1NT, with six diamonds but most of his points scatterred among the other suits. South might pass, bid a natural 2S, or trot out a two-suited gadget such as Cappaletti 2D for the majors. 2S is in for a gruesome result when West doubles for penalties; East should pass and the defense collects 3 heart tricks, a diamond, a club, and 3 trumps tricks for -500 N/S. The gadget works better as 2H yields seven tricks; it won't be doubled and East will probably compete to 3D. If South passes, West isn't quite worth a Stayman response; North may back in with 2C or, again, use a two-suited gadget such as DONT. (I wouldn't recommend a Cappaletti 2H with only four cards in the major.) West will have trouble waiting for his turn to double 2C; he's still waiting as East reasonably competes with 2D, making four.
If East opens 1D, many Wests will overcall 1S not vulnerable; West bids 1NT, North passes or bids 2C and East may leap to 3NT. I won't analyze the play but at least one declarer managed nine tricks, presumably establishing the diamonds.
Board 11 South opens 1D and West overcalls some number of hearts. 2H has little to recommend it not vulnerable, and the hand is quite strong for 3H, so the choice should be between 1H and 4H. 4H ought to fail on a spade lead or switch but in practice most declarers managed 11 tricks.
Board 12 South opens 1S or 1NT according to style. It looks like a good hand for spades and South is worth a 2NT rebid. 1S should not tempt West to bid, North passes and East, with only 6 hcp, should let sleeping dogs lie -- when you're this weak, opener usually has a monster. Over 1NT, West may be tempted to butt in with 2D, natural or DONT. With scattered honors and a good lead, I'd recommend pass.
Board 23 South passses and West, with AK108643, should open some number of spades. I chose 3S, but 2S vulnerable would also be reasonable, suggesting a mixture of offense and defense. North doubles any bid and East has an easy raise of 3S to 4; he may do the same over 2S, expecting the club suit to provide some tricks. South, with Qxxxx of hearts and a stiff spade, may bid 5H; this seems unsound as partner will either be short in spades also (mirror shape) or have a strong balanced hand which may be enough to set 4S but not enough for 5H to make. As it happens, 4S makes and 5H escapes undoubled since East is confident of only two defensive tricks. (East would be more likely to double if West opened 2S.)
Board 1: East may open an offbeat 1NT, with six diamonds but most of his points scatterred among the other suits. South might pass, bid a natural 2S, or trot out a two-suited gadget such as Cappaletti 2D for the majors. 2S is in for a gruesome result when West doubles for penalties; East should pass and the defense collects 3 heart tricks, a diamond, a club, and 3 trumps tricks for -500 N/S. The gadget works better as 2H yields seven tricks; it won't be doubled and East will probably compete to 3D. If South passes, West isn't quite worth a Stayman response; North may back in with 2C or, again, use a two-suited gadget such as DONT. (I wouldn't recommend a Cappaletti 2H with only four cards in the major.) West will have trouble waiting for his turn to double 2C; he's still waiting as East reasonably competes with 2D, making four.
If East opens 1D, many Wests will overcall 1S not vulnerable; West bids 1NT, North passes or bids 2C and East may leap to 3NT. I won't analyze the play but at least one declarer managed nine tricks, presumably establishing the diamonds.
Board 11 South opens 1D and West overcalls some number of hearts. 2H has little to recommend it not vulnerable, and the hand is quite strong for 3H, so the choice should be between 1H and 4H. 4H ought to fail on a spade lead or switch but in practice most declarers managed 11 tricks.
Board 12 South opens 1S or 1NT according to style. It looks like a good hand for spades and South is worth a 2NT rebid. 1S should not tempt West to bid, North passes and East, with only 6 hcp, should let sleeping dogs lie -- when you're this weak, opener usually has a monster. Over 1NT, West may be tempted to butt in with 2D, natural or DONT. With scattered honors and a good lead, I'd recommend pass.
Board 23 South passses and West, with AK108643, should open some number of spades. I chose 3S, but 2S vulnerable would also be reasonable, suggesting a mixture of offense and defense. North doubles any bid and East has an easy raise of 3S to 4; he may do the same over 2S, expecting the club suit to provide some tricks. South, with Qxxxx of hearts and a stiff spade, may bid 5H; this seems unsound as partner will either be short in spades also (mirror shape) or have a strong balanced hand which may be enough to set 4S but not enough for 5H to make. As it happens, 4S makes and 5H escapes undoubled since East is confident of only two defensive tricks. (East would be more likely to double if West opened 2S.)
Wild Wednesday, continued (8/18/10)
Right-click here for hands, select "open in new tab", scroll down past the results to the hands.
Board 10: South opens 1D, West doubles, North bids 1H (2H, preemptive over the double, should be a better suit and a weaker hand, say KJ109xx and out vulnerable, but styles vary.) East might bid 1S not vulnerable but likely passes. South's normal rebid is 2C; many prefer 1NT, and that may well be the best spot, but I prefer letting responder count on doubleton support for his suit when I rebid notrump. West passes and North, with limited values, a club fit and a broken heart suit, should also pass. Now East can reasonably back in with 2S; West should not punish him with a raise. South and West pass; if North competes, it should be in clubs, a known fit, rather than hearts. If South chose 1NT as his rebid, he should not be surprised when North never quits biddng hearts; six card suits are not all that uncommon and the advantage of sometimes playing an offbeat 1NT seems not worth the confusion when responder has a long suit.
3C should be held to 7 tricks if the defense leads trumps repeatedly; meanwhile, heart declarers can scramble 8 tricks by ruffing diamonds at every opportunity. E/W should compete with 2S so a normal result should be N/S down one or two tricks somewhere.
Board 10: South opens 1D, West doubles, North bids 1H (2H, preemptive over the double, should be a better suit and a weaker hand, say KJ109xx and out vulnerable, but styles vary.) East might bid 1S not vulnerable but likely passes. South's normal rebid is 2C; many prefer 1NT, and that may well be the best spot, but I prefer letting responder count on doubleton support for his suit when I rebid notrump. West passes and North, with limited values, a club fit and a broken heart suit, should also pass. Now East can reasonably back in with 2S; West should not punish him with a raise. South and West pass; if North competes, it should be in clubs, a known fit, rather than hearts. If South chose 1NT as his rebid, he should not be surprised when North never quits biddng hearts; six card suits are not all that uncommon and the advantage of sometimes playing an offbeat 1NT seems not worth the confusion when responder has a long suit.
3C should be held to 7 tricks if the defense leads trumps repeatedly; meanwhile, heart declarers can scramble 8 tricks by ruffing diamonds at every opportunity. E/W should compete with 2S so a normal result should be N/S down one or two tricks somewhere.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wild Wednesday (8/18/10)
Crazy hands as usual at the club, befitting the crazy 17 table movement:
http://clubresults.acbl.org/Results/231159/2010/08/100818M.HTM
(Right-click and select "open in new tab"; results at the top, scroll down for the hands)
Board 1: North deals and either passes or opens a ratty 2S. East passes (a Precision pair might open 1D). If North opened 2S, South should apply maximum pressure with a leap to 4S on AJxx Jxxx x Qxxx. Otherwise, West hears three passes and stares at -- AKx AKQxxxx 10xx .Nine tricks but only 16 hcp and a long minor, not worth 2C so West opens 1D. North likely bids 2S at this point; East makes a negative double with
Qxx Q10xx 10x AKxx . South should cut North some slack for not opening 2S, but should at least raise to 3S based on his shape, not high cards. Guess time for West; there's no way to establish diamonds as trumps and coax a club cue-bid from partner. With nine tricks in hand and a partner who was willing to push to the three level when he doubled, six diamonds looks right. West would like to bid 5S to show his void and try for a grand, but partner is apt to interpret that as confirming hearts as trumps.
If the bidding starts (2S)-pass-(4S), West has a pure guess and 5D is probably best. Raise partner's weak two bids with shapely hands!
Board 3: South opens 1D and West should should pass his flat 13 count with little pause for thought. When they bid your best suit, plan to defend. North responds 1S, South rebids 1NT, and North should count tricks: 7 spades plus partner's opening should give a play for 10 tricks. Should he bid 4S or 3NT? If partner had opened 1C rather than 1D, I might gamble on 3NT at matchpoints, but a club lead here is likely and partner's stopper may be only notional. 4S for me. East has no attractive lead; some might lead a trump but partner rates to have some values (give the opps 23-27 for their game, that leaves 7-11 for partner.) You could try the Ace of clubs, hoping partner is short, but declarer is the one who has shown a shapely hand.
What about diamonds? Inexperienced players often lead dummy's first bid suit, citing the old maxim "lead through strength"; more often than not, this helps declarer establish discards. He was probably going to lead the suit himself and give partner any tricks he has coming. For the same reason a trump lead likely helps declarer. Clubs is your strongest suit but it is usually wrong to lead an Ace without the King, and worse to underlead it.
Process of elimination: lead a low heart, an unbid suit headed by an honor. Jackpot! West wins the Queen (or the ten, reading partner's lead as indicating an honor in the suit.) What now? Before playing to trick one, West should pause to take stock: 24 hcp in view, and declarer likely has 10-14 for his jump (with more, he might've tried for slam, given his long suit.) That leaves 2-6 hcp for East. Either black Ace or the King of spades will give East an entry to continue the hearts, and so at least 4 tricks for the defense. Qx of trumps yields a trump trick but no entry to East, as declarer will surely bang down the AK.
All in all, it looks right to return a diamond despite dummy's length. North might have Ax of clubs and two diamonds, in which case he can pitch one loser, but lacks the entries to establish diamonds and pitch any hearts.
Most declarers failed at 4S, as even a diamond lead proves non-fatal to the defense, as long as East leads a heart at some point. One pair rolled 10 tricks at notrump; the defense is not obvious and the long spades undoubtedly gave E/W discarding problems. (They should collect a club, a diamond and three hearts, but it takes something like a diamond lead, club switch, heart Jack to beat 3NT.) Not bidding game earned a fair score this time, but strikes me as far too cautious.
http://clubresults.acbl.org/Results/231159/2010/08/100818M.HTM
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Board 1: North deals and either passes or opens a ratty 2S. East passes (a Precision pair might open 1D). If North opened 2S, South should apply maximum pressure with a leap to 4S on AJxx Jxxx x Qxxx. Otherwise, West hears three passes and stares at -- AKx AKQxxxx 10xx .Nine tricks but only 16 hcp and a long minor, not worth 2C so West opens 1D. North likely bids 2S at this point; East makes a negative double with
Qxx Q10xx 10x AKxx . South should cut North some slack for not opening 2S, but should at least raise to 3S based on his shape, not high cards. Guess time for West; there's no way to establish diamonds as trumps and coax a club cue-bid from partner. With nine tricks in hand and a partner who was willing to push to the three level when he doubled, six diamonds looks right. West would like to bid 5S to show his void and try for a grand, but partner is apt to interpret that as confirming hearts as trumps.
If the bidding starts (2S)-pass-(4S), West has a pure guess and 5D is probably best. Raise partner's weak two bids with shapely hands!
Board 3: South opens 1D and West should should pass his flat 13 count with little pause for thought. When they bid your best suit, plan to defend. North responds 1S, South rebids 1NT, and North should count tricks: 7 spades plus partner's opening should give a play for 10 tricks. Should he bid 4S or 3NT? If partner had opened 1C rather than 1D, I might gamble on 3NT at matchpoints, but a club lead here is likely and partner's stopper may be only notional. 4S for me. East has no attractive lead; some might lead a trump but partner rates to have some values (give the opps 23-27 for their game, that leaves 7-11 for partner.) You could try the Ace of clubs, hoping partner is short, but declarer is the one who has shown a shapely hand.
What about diamonds? Inexperienced players often lead dummy's first bid suit, citing the old maxim "lead through strength"; more often than not, this helps declarer establish discards. He was probably going to lead the suit himself and give partner any tricks he has coming. For the same reason a trump lead likely helps declarer. Clubs is your strongest suit but it is usually wrong to lead an Ace without the King, and worse to underlead it.
Process of elimination: lead a low heart, an unbid suit headed by an honor. Jackpot! West wins the Queen (or the ten, reading partner's lead as indicating an honor in the suit.) What now? Before playing to trick one, West should pause to take stock: 24 hcp in view, and declarer likely has 10-14 for his jump (with more, he might've tried for slam, given his long suit.) That leaves 2-6 hcp for East. Either black Ace or the King of spades will give East an entry to continue the hearts, and so at least 4 tricks for the defense. Qx of trumps yields a trump trick but no entry to East, as declarer will surely bang down the AK.
All in all, it looks right to return a diamond despite dummy's length. North might have Ax of clubs and two diamonds, in which case he can pitch one loser, but lacks the entries to establish diamonds and pitch any hearts.
Most declarers failed at 4S, as even a diamond lead proves non-fatal to the defense, as long as East leads a heart at some point. One pair rolled 10 tricks at notrump; the defense is not obvious and the long spades undoubtedly gave E/W discarding problems. (They should collect a club, a diamond and three hearts, but it takes something like a diamond lead, club switch, heart Jack to beat 3NT.) Not bidding game earned a fair score this time, but strikes me as far too cautious.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Transfer and raise = 6 trumps
Partner opens a 15-17 1NT at the local duplicate and you hold AKxxx Qxx xxxx x . You bid 2H as a transfer, partner bids 2S as requested. What next? What you don't bid is 3S -- that promises a six card suit! Your transfer already told partner you have 5 spades. You know your side has 24 to 26 hcp, so you must invite game. 2NT tells partner you have 8 or 9 hcp and only 5 spades. It does not promise an especially balanced hand. It only promises 5 spades and 8 or 9 hcp. Before you talk your self into some other bid, remember that you know a lot more about partner's hand than he does about yours at this point; the most important information you lack is how many spades he has. Bid 2NT and let him tell you. Over 2NT, partner will pass with only 2 spades and 15-16; bid 3S with 3 spades and a minimum; bid 3NT with only 2 spades but 17 hcp; or jump to 4S with 3 spades and 17-18 value in support (generally adding 1 point for a doubleton.)
On the flip side: as opener, don't treat a sequence like 1NT-2H-2S-2NT or 3NT as asking "where would you like to play, partner?" Instead, think of it as asking the question: "Do you have three trumps, partner?" Responder is often forced to rebid in notrump with a fairly unbalanced hand; if you don't have three card support, notrump will usually be the best bet, but if you guess to pass with three trumps, can you blame responder for guessing not to rebid in notrump?
On the flip side: as opener, don't treat a sequence like 1NT-2H-2S-2NT or 3NT as asking "where would you like to play, partner?" Instead, think of it as asking the question: "Do you have three trumps, partner?" Responder is often forced to rebid in notrump with a fairly unbalanced hand; if you don't have three card support, notrump will usually be the best bet, but if you guess to pass with three trumps, can you blame responder for guessing not to rebid in notrump?
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