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Board 9: East opens 1H, South overcalls 2D, and West has just enough for a 2H raise. North has a good hand for a Responsive Double -- length in the two unbid suits, a tolerance for partner's suit, and about 8-10 hcp at this level. This double applies when the opponents bid and raise a suit and partner makes an intervening overcall or takout double. East has a minimum in hgh cards but good 4-6 shape -- Losing Trick Count suggests an immediate 4H bid. Basically, you expect to lose two spades and three minor suit cards, but hope partner can cover two of those with his raise (6 points might be two Kings or an AQ, etc.) as well as take care of your fourth spade. I'd call that an overbid -- whatever partner has in the minors may not help you, and the fourth spade will often be a problem, but as a competitive bid 4H has a lot going for -- even if it won't make, they may guess wrong and take a phantom sacrifice. 4H ought to be hand like this -- with more in high cards, East should cue-bid or something to show a better defensive hand.
The responsive double tells South about the club fit; should he bid 5C? Not as a sacrifice -- South is looking at 4 possible defensive winners in his own hand, and partner has shown values. Might 5C make? South counts 5 losers and the double suggests three cover cards, but some of North's values rate to be in sapdes, which may not help. How about doubling 4H? This looks reasonable -- a spade lead could be effective if partner has either major suit Ace. No luck -- declarer wins, pulls two rounds of trumps, cashes the remaining spades and ruffs the last in dummy.
Several E/W pairs stopped at 3H. At our table the bidding started 1H-2D-2H-pass; pass. It doesn't pay to let them play 2 of a major (with a fit) so South naturally competes with 3C. West and North passed and East competed with 3H. South and West passed but North made a classic competitive mistake by bidding 4C. This simply chased a reluctant E/W pair into a makeable game they weren't going to bid. Be very cautious about competing over 3 of a major! "Let sleeping dogs lie."
Board 16: North has an Aceless Wonder, but even after deducting a point the hand is well worth a normal 1D opening. East should want to bid something with 6-5 shape, 8 hcp, and a void in diamonds; normally, I would recommend a simple 1H overcall, getting the six-card major into action quickly, but with such poor hearts and good clubs 2NT "Unusual for Two Lower Unbid" is a good alternative, showing both suits at once. South should double to show a good hand -- this is a good general rule, when they bid notrump (naturally or artificially) over partner's bid, double to show strength. West fits both suits, and may be tempted to select the major, but with such a weak hand you don't expect to buy the contract or make anything so 3C looks safer. North would double this with good trumps; today's hand is a balanced minimum, so North passes -- he's already told most of his story with the opening bid. Likewise, East has done enough, so 3C is passed around to South.
Several contracts appear plausible at this point: 3NT if North can stop clubs, 6D if North has a stiff club, 4S if North has a spade fit, or all else failing, 5D. South must bid a game or slam or make an unumistakable forcing bid. The only forcing bid that keeps all contracts in play appears to be 3H -- this must be a cue-bid in the face of East's bid. How should North interpret this? One of Karen Walker's dictums is "game before slam", so North should view 3H as confirming game values and showing a heart stopper. When they've shown two suits, you bid the one you have stopped, inviting partner to bid notrump with a stopper in the other. If South has slam ambitions he'll continue bidding over 3NT.
North cannot stop the clubs and so retreats to 4D; rebidding a five card suit is normal when partner forces you to bid and you have no other obvious choice. South should expect the two losing clubs but has enough to raise to 5D, which is cold.
Vulnerable vs. not, E/W would never sacrifice, but what if the vulnerability were reversed? As it happens 5H goes off three tricks (doubled, of course), so -500 would be a success, but consider the risks when you bid over a five level contract: (1) you may push them into slam and it makes; (2) bad breaks or poorly fitting cards result in -800 or worse; (3) they weren't making 11 tricks. I doubt if many "five over five" bids show a profit.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Friday, May 11, 2012
Friday, May 11th 2012
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Board 10: East may open 1D, but many would opt for 1NT (15-17.) The alternative is to open 1D and jump rebid 3D; AJxxxx looks a little iffy for that sequence. At notrump, add about half a point for a five card suit and a full point for a six card suit, so this hand rates to be worth 16 at notrump, right in the middle of the agreed range. Over 1NT, West can guess to blast 3NT, 5C, or settle for a part-score in clubs with his xxx x Q10 KQ10xxxx hand. Passing 1NT is unlikely to be optimal.
There are several popular schemes for handling minor suits over 1NT:
(a) 2S = long minor, weak hand; 3C and 3D natural and forcing to game (more or less standard playing Jacoby transfers, barring other agreement.) West's hand looks like 6+ tricks, so it's reasonable to hope either 3NT or 5C will make. Bid 3C; opener can bid a suit toshow a "concentration of values" playable opposite a singleton, bid 3NT to suggest something in both majors, or raise to 4C. Here a plausible auction would be 1NT-3C; 3NT-pass, since whatever opener has in hearts may not be useful at 5C. The idea is to take a shot at 3NT unless it's clearly wrong.
(b) 2S = long minor, weak hand; 3C and 3D natural and invitational (SAYC.) 3C is something of an underbid but is probably better than guessing 5C and is obviously safer than gambling 3NT. 7 hcp and no ace makes 3NT a bit rich for my taste -- the odds of a heart lead are high and odds of 9 running tricks are not so great. 3C involves partner in the decision and game will have better chances if he chooses to bid rather than pass. Another apporach would be to bid 2C, Stayman, followed by 3C, forcing. This replaces the direct jump forcing sequence, at the expense of giving the defense more information and creating a murkier auction. I'd vote for the jump as being simpler, whether or not it is forcing.
(c) 2S = clubs, 2NT = diamonds (weak or strong); 3C and 3D specialized, perhaps showing both minors. Here West responds 2S and East likes his hand -- a fitting club honor and two side Aces. Still, that's only 8 tricks if partner has KQxxxx, and responder will bid game if he has side King to go with that. So East simply accepts the transfer with 3C. What now for West? With no agreements on follow-ups, I don't care much for this sort of transfer; transfer-then-3NT should be a slam try -- if you were always going to bid 3NT, just bid it immediately, don't tell the deefenders about your club suit.
What I think does make sense, however, is that with a long suit, game values and a singleton, responder should transfer and then bid the singleton. You don't need to transfer to a minor and then bid 3H or 3S to show a real suit; start with Stayman if you've got a four-card major. So, 1N-2S; 3C-3H shows 6+ clubs, a singleton heart, and game values. The singleton makes 5 of the minor a plausible alternative to 3NT, and this bidding gives opener enough information to make a reasonable decision most of the time. On today's hand opener guesses 3NT since the clubs might run and 11 tricks are not obvious at 5C. Back to the earlier comment -- when either 3NT or 5C could be right, guess 3NT.
Bottom line bidding tip: if you play minor suit transfers, (1) don't transfer if you are always planning to bid 3NT and (2) use new suit bids after the transfer to show singletons.
Any game bid scored well on today's hand, as East has 9 running tricks and every suit stopped; 5C makes on the diamond finesse (so it was actually rikser than 3NT.) Most pairs played a diamond part-score or defended against hearts, so I assume 1D was the popular opening. West must respond 1NT (!); this does not promise a balanced hand, simply 6-10 hcp and no other bid. (2C would be a gross overbid regardless of system.) North overcalls 2H, not being strong enough to double first. East can expect some help in diamonds -- partner doesn't have either major, so a singleton or void in diamonds is unlikely -- and so can compete to 3D, but North's overcall took away East's jump. I'd suggest 2NT instead, which ought to be this sort of hand -- with a balanced 18, go ahead and bid 3NT in competition, and for heaven's sake don't even think of putting partner in 2NT with a balanced 12-14 count. West will bid 3C given the opportunity, though a bold South may toss in a 3H raise. I think that's pretty rich (vulnerable with a flat 4 count) but could be OK with a partner who makes sound, vulnerable overcalls and is also quite forgiving! If East bid 2NT over 2H, West should try 3NT over 3H, hoping one of the long suits will run. If East bid 3D, West should bid 4C, suggesting this sort of hand -- long clubs, short hearts, and some tolerance for diamonds. Otherwise he would pass and see if partner wants to double.
Board 10: East may open 1D, but many would opt for 1NT (15-17.) The alternative is to open 1D and jump rebid 3D; AJxxxx looks a little iffy for that sequence. At notrump, add about half a point for a five card suit and a full point for a six card suit, so this hand rates to be worth 16 at notrump, right in the middle of the agreed range. Over 1NT, West can guess to blast 3NT, 5C, or settle for a part-score in clubs with his xxx x Q10 KQ10xxxx hand. Passing 1NT is unlikely to be optimal.
There are several popular schemes for handling minor suits over 1NT:
(a) 2S = long minor, weak hand; 3C and 3D natural and forcing to game (more or less standard playing Jacoby transfers, barring other agreement.) West's hand looks like 6+ tricks, so it's reasonable to hope either 3NT or 5C will make. Bid 3C; opener can bid a suit toshow a "concentration of values" playable opposite a singleton, bid 3NT to suggest something in both majors, or raise to 4C. Here a plausible auction would be 1NT-3C; 3NT-pass, since whatever opener has in hearts may not be useful at 5C. The idea is to take a shot at 3NT unless it's clearly wrong.
(b) 2S = long minor, weak hand; 3C and 3D natural and invitational (SAYC.) 3C is something of an underbid but is probably better than guessing 5C and is obviously safer than gambling 3NT. 7 hcp and no ace makes 3NT a bit rich for my taste -- the odds of a heart lead are high and odds of 9 running tricks are not so great. 3C involves partner in the decision and game will have better chances if he chooses to bid rather than pass. Another apporach would be to bid 2C, Stayman, followed by 3C, forcing. This replaces the direct jump forcing sequence, at the expense of giving the defense more information and creating a murkier auction. I'd vote for the jump as being simpler, whether or not it is forcing.
(c) 2S = clubs, 2NT = diamonds (weak or strong); 3C and 3D specialized, perhaps showing both minors. Here West responds 2S and East likes his hand -- a fitting club honor and two side Aces. Still, that's only 8 tricks if partner has KQxxxx, and responder will bid game if he has side King to go with that. So East simply accepts the transfer with 3C. What now for West? With no agreements on follow-ups, I don't care much for this sort of transfer; transfer-then-3NT should be a slam try -- if you were always going to bid 3NT, just bid it immediately, don't tell the deefenders about your club suit.
What I think does make sense, however, is that with a long suit, game values and a singleton, responder should transfer and then bid the singleton. You don't need to transfer to a minor and then bid 3H or 3S to show a real suit; start with Stayman if you've got a four-card major. So, 1N-2S; 3C-3H shows 6+ clubs, a singleton heart, and game values. The singleton makes 5 of the minor a plausible alternative to 3NT, and this bidding gives opener enough information to make a reasonable decision most of the time. On today's hand opener guesses 3NT since the clubs might run and 11 tricks are not obvious at 5C. Back to the earlier comment -- when either 3NT or 5C could be right, guess 3NT.
Bottom line bidding tip: if you play minor suit transfers, (1) don't transfer if you are always planning to bid 3NT and (2) use new suit bids after the transfer to show singletons.
Any game bid scored well on today's hand, as East has 9 running tricks and every suit stopped; 5C makes on the diamond finesse (so it was actually rikser than 3NT.) Most pairs played a diamond part-score or defended against hearts, so I assume 1D was the popular opening. West must respond 1NT (!); this does not promise a balanced hand, simply 6-10 hcp and no other bid. (2C would be a gross overbid regardless of system.) North overcalls 2H, not being strong enough to double first. East can expect some help in diamonds -- partner doesn't have either major, so a singleton or void in diamonds is unlikely -- and so can compete to 3D, but North's overcall took away East's jump. I'd suggest 2NT instead, which ought to be this sort of hand -- with a balanced 18, go ahead and bid 3NT in competition, and for heaven's sake don't even think of putting partner in 2NT with a balanced 12-14 count. West will bid 3C given the opportunity, though a bold South may toss in a 3H raise. I think that's pretty rich (vulnerable with a flat 4 count) but could be OK with a partner who makes sound, vulnerable overcalls and is also quite forgiving! If East bid 2NT over 2H, West should try 3NT over 3H, hoping one of the long suits will run. If East bid 3D, West should bid 4C, suggesting this sort of hand -- long clubs, short hearts, and some tolerance for diamonds. Otherwise he would pass and see if partner wants to double.
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