Friday, May 11th 2012

Right-click here for hands.

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.