Simple Approach

29th July – Board 19: E/W Game. Dealer South

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

There were many approaches taken by the North hand on this deal from last Thursday, but as is often the case the simple approach was by far and away the best. One of the habits that many players adopt is to take up a new convention and then fall in love with it, to the extent that it ends up being used in the most inappropriate places, and this hand is a case in point. The Michaels convention is popular and extremely useful and is designed to show a two-suited hand after the opposition have opened. It has a dual purpose, namely to try and deflect the opponents’ bidding rhythm while at the same time introducing a measure of safety because of the comfort of letting partner have two suits to choose from. But the parameters that set the standard for making such a bid have to be rigidly adhered to, and most tournament players would expect a non-vulnerable Michaels to consist of little more than 5-9 points albeit with those points being associated with the two suits. And that North hand is a million miles away from that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with North bidding both his suits, and he would be unlucky not to find a fit somewhere with partner. I think the bidding should go as shown:

West	North	East	South
			No
1H	2C	2H	Dbl
3H	4S	All Pass

The double by South might seem strange at first but it is yet another use for this most popular bid. It is called a ‘competitive double’ and shows the two unbid suits with tolerance for partner’s suit. Whether West decides to bid 3H or 4H is immaterial because North is charmed by the way things have proceeded, and with his five-loser hand has an easy bid of 4S. As a matter of fact North should be happy to compete in spades whether his partner bids or not. A fact I am uncomfortably aware of. Those people who chose to double the opening bid, or bid Michaels, ended up in a partscore. Those who bid 2C didn’t.