Automatic

13th June – Board 12: North/South Vul. Dealer West.

Anyone who might have bid to a slam could consider themselves to be lucky when the adverse cards laid kindly for them.

	North: S A K Q 6 H K 8 7 D K 10 9 8 C 7 2
West: S J 9 4 2 H Q D Q J 2 C Q J 10 9 5		East: S 8 7 5 H 9 4 2 D 7 6 C A 8 6 4 3
	South: S 10 3 H A J 10 6 5 3 D A 5 4 3 C K

West	North	East	South
No	1S	No	2H
No	4H	End

The above auction could not be criticised for remember that responder will hold at least five hearts for his 2H bid so that North with his six-loser hand is entitled to bid game. South might consider cue-bidding in diamonds but that would elicit a sharp retreat to 5H from his partner. In any event West has a natural club lead and it does look as though declarer has another loser in diamonds but see what happens when he runs all his trumps. West is unable to guard both diamonds and spades and twelve tricks will automatically roll in.

Bright Start

13th June – Board 23: Game All. Dealer South.

Clever conventions are all very well but they can sometimes be of use to the opponents too. That should have been the case with the following hand when, after a bright start, the defence somewhat lost their way.

	North: S 10 9 6 H 6 4 2 D A 4 3 C Q J 5 3
West: S 8 4 2 H 9 5 D K 9 8 6 2 C K 9 8		East: S A Q 7 3 H K Q J 8 7 D Q J 10 C 10
	South: S K J 5 H A 10 3 D 7 5 C A 7 6 4 2

West	North	East	South
			1NT
No	No	2C	No
2D	No	2H	End

East has a close call between doubling 1NT or using an Asptro type bid of 2C showing, in this instance, a hand with five hearts and another four card undisclosed suit. Maybe with the opposition vulnerable double has the edge because a one-trick defeat will attain the magic +200, always a good result at pairs, whereas a non-vulnerable +100 will lose out to any E/W pair making 2H. At any rate 2H it was and South found the best lead of the seven of diamonds. North did well by ducking this and declarer led a top trump, won by South who continued diamonds and then got his ruff. So far, so good. But by this time South knows that East started with five hearts, three diamonds and another four-card suit. Can it be clubs? No, because then his partner would have started with six spades and would have transferred over 1NT so declarer is marked with a 4-5-3-1 distribution. Armed with this knowledge after obtaining his ruff South should have cashed the ace of clubs and exited with the ten of trumps. Left to play spades from his hand declarer would have suffered a one trick defeat, but sadly for N/S it didn’t go quite like that.

Responsive Double

6^th June – Board 1: Love All. Dealer North.

‘Double’ is the most common bid in bridge but perhaps the least well known is the so-called ‘responsive’ double.

	North: S 8 H Q J 10 D J 7 5 3 C 8 6 5 4 2
West: S Q 10 9 6 4 H A 8 7 4 D 6 4 C 10 9		East: S A K J 3 H K 9 2 D 10 8 2 C K J 3
	South: S 7 5 2 H 6 5 3 D A K Q 9 C A Q 7

West	North	East	South
	No	1S	Dbl
2S	Dbl	No	3D
3S	End

There are a number of close decisions here starting with South’s decision to enter the bidding at all, but I think it is right to do so despite being a little bereft in the heart department. Playing pairs it is mandatory to enter the bidding whenever possible and I just couldn’t bear to stay silent with that South hand. Then West has to decide whether or not to bid a pre-emptive 3S or go slowly. I would choose the latter route for the moment because with spades being the major major so to speak I can always bid again later and in any event I am not so worried if they bid to a high level heart contract. You might imagine that North would remain a silent partner but with a certain fit in one of the minors he is right to bid and ‘double’ is the answer. What does that mean? Well with hearts he would bid the suit so it is a take-out bid with both the minors – obvious when you think about it. Now South will bid the makeable 3D and West will compete further and par is more or less obtained when that contract suffers a one trick defeat.  

Rush Of Blood

6^th June – Board 19: East/West Vul. Dealer South.

We all like to bid makeable slams but must beware that we don’t get carried away just because we hold more points than partner might expect.

	North: S 10 8 6 4 3 H 4 2 D K 10 7 C J 8 5
West: S A J H Q 10 9 8 6 3 D 8 4 C A K 10		East: S K Q 9 H A K J D J 5 2 C Q 7 3 2
	South: S 7 5 2 H 7 5 D A Q 9 6 3 C 9 6 4

West	North	East	South
			No
1H	No	2C	No
2H	No	4H	End

I know that East hand looks jolly inviting after partner has opened the bidding but the reality is that after partner makes a minimum rebid it is still a seven loser hand. In any event it is hard to see how to progress safely and Galloping Blackwood is certainly not the answer and should never be bid with an unbid suit of two or more losers – diamonds in this case. Here once you get the response of 5S – two key cards and the queen of trumps – you are already too high. Of course that is from a purist’s point of view because in actual fact the slam was bid and made when North failed – understandably – to find the diamond lead. What was strange however was that the hand was played in a heart contract at every table and without exception everybody made exactly twelve tricks. Why is that strange? Well because without a diamond lead there are thirteen tricks ‘on top’ once the clubs break and on a diamond lead there are two obvious losers.

Poor Recompense

23rd May – Board 9: East/West Vul. Dealer North.

When partner preempts you should always maintain the barrage if you can, especially at favourable vulnerability.

	North: S Q 6 H 4 D K J 9 7 4 3 2 C Q 9 3
West: S K J 8 3 H A 3 D A 8 C A K 10 7 5		East: S 10 9 7 4 H K Q 8 7 6 D none C J 6 4 2
	South: S A 5 2 H J 10 9 5 2 D Q 10 6 5 C 8

West	North	East	South
	3D	No	5D
Dbl	No	???

Just look at that South hand. With four-card trump support in a weak hand and at the right colours 5D should be a stand out bid after partner preempts. What can poor West do? The ubiquitous double is the answer, neither fish nor fowl, and East does well to pass and not bid 5H. It’s true that East/West can make 5S but nobody is going to bid that so a paltry 300 is the only reward  - poor recompense for the vulnerable game. Against me they did even better. South did pass the preempt and as West I had a problem. If I doubled I feared partner would bid 4H and 4C was just too feeble to be considered. So I bid 3NT, which while it would have been slaughtered on the actual layout is not a bad contract, needing as it does just for the queen of clubs to make an early appearance. However South bid 4D and I doubled that for just 100, partner doing well yet again by remaining silent and not bidding 4H.