Poisoned Chalice

29^th July – Board 6: E/W Game. Dealer East

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

The Losing Trick Count is fun to teach and is easily assimilated by the advancing player, but in many ways it is a bit of a poisoned chalice. It is certainly useful in demonstrating that distribution is everything as important as high-card points, but on occasion it is used to the exclusion of everything else. Points in themselves are an incredibly useful asset and the more points you have the more you should bid. As an example you might make a grand slam in no-trumps missing a king, but not an ace, although the losing trick counts would be the same. So for no other reason than that I would consider raising partner’s 1D to 2D only on the hand shown above to be exceedingly coy. Sure it is a nine-loser hand, but it also has a good ten points and all those points could easily be working. If the queen of spades were replaced by the king then everyone would bid 3D and think nothing of it, yet there is still a good chance of making two tricks in the suit with the AQ. There is no chance of bidding the laydown slam unless North bids 3D first, when I think the bidding should go:

West	North	East	South
		No	1D
No	3D	No	4NT
No	5H	No	6D
All Pass

There is no point in South cue-bidding after the jump raise because the only thing of concern is that partner holds the requisite number of key-cards. Everyone’s favourite convention will find that out, the response to the Old Black showing two key-cards without the queen of trumps, and the play could hardly be more trivial.

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.

Compensating Values

22nd July – Board 21: N/S Game. Dealer North

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

What would you do on that West hand after your partner has opened 1H and the next hand has passed? It might look obvious to bid 1NT but I think that is wrong, and whenever I have three-card support for partner’s major in a weak hand containing a doubleton somewhere I tend to make a simple raise in partner’s suit instead. The reason is founded on logic because whenever partner opens 1S he will either have a five-card suit or at least fifteen points. In other words he will have compensating values one way or the other. Why? Because with a balanced hand of 12-14 points and a four-card spade suit you open 1NT and you never open 1S with a 4-4-4-1 hand. So if you do have four spades only, you must be outside your no-trump range. Admittedly it’s a bit different when partner opens 1H, as is the case here. Nevertheless unless partner has a weak 4-4-4-1 hand with a singleton spade or club – when he would open 1H – the argument remains.

I think the bidding should go:

West	North	East	South
	No	1H	No
2H	No	3D*	No
4H	All Pass

* 3D is a Trial Bid, asking partner to re-assess his hand, and if he has any doubt as to whether he is top weight or not for his simple raise, to look at the Trial Bid suit – diamonds here – and if he can offer any help there, to bid game. See how well the hands fit even though the final contract would be unlikely to make. Nevertheless game is assured if the trump finesse works or if you should get a spade lead away from the king – and you only need to have about a 40% chance of making your game contract for it to be worth bidding.

At one table N/S got very gung-ho and bid to 4S. I won’t tell you what happened after that to protect the innocent.

No Mystery

22nd July – Board 23: Game all. Dealer South

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

If reversing is possibly the most difficult concept to comprehend it is certainly the most difficult to teach! And yet there is no mystery. A lot of the times when opener has bid two suits responder will give preference to the first, merely because opener will have more cards there. However if both opener and responder have limited hands and responder can only support his partner’s first suit at the three-level then the likelihood is that the contract will founder on insufficient values. That is why we suggest that to reverse the opener should have about sixteen points – or compensating values. And that would mean a hand high in distribution but with a low losing trick count. Such as the hand featured above. The South hand is good enough to reverse because of its shape, and once a fit has been found it should certainly not stop short of game. Once partner responds he should have nine losers or less, so with this five-loser hand game is assured once the fit is found. As it happens there will be intervention but this should have little impact on the final result. I think the bidding should go:

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

There are several points of interest. Firstly East should bid 3D NOT 2D! Remember you bid in these situations to the level of the fit and as you have nine trumps between you, you bid to make nine tricks. (You show a strong hand by bidding the opener’s suit first.) The idea is to put pressure on the opponents, and it does. 2H would be quite straightforward over 2D, 3H over 3D less so. But you would still do so because there is now an increased likelihood of partner having a fit with one of your suits. Eleven tricks were trivial with the even break in trumps.

Who Dares Wins

15th July – Board 26: Game all. Dealer East

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

There were a number of results on the hand shown above, and no surprise there looking at all four hands. In fact North must have felt short-changed, possessing as he did the only normal looking hand of the bunch. What do you think is the par contract, and by that I mean what is the contract that should be attained if everyone played perfectly? Hard to believe but it is 7C doubled -2 by N/S giving E/W a score of 500, because E/W are cold for 6D! Of course to arrive at that result would be superhuman and I would have thought that a contract of 5D doubled + 1 by E/W would be more likely as they ‘save’ over 5C. Who knows how the auction might proceed but perhaps the following wouldn’t be too far-fetched:

West	North	East	South
			1C
1H	Dbl*	No	3C
3D	4D**	5D	No
No	Dbl	All Pass

* = sputnik double showing just four spades
** = cue-bid in support of clubs

I know the result is rubbish but sometimes things are just too hard. However there are a number of things to mention in the above auction. First of all I would reject any notion of opening the East hand with a weak two. The suit is too bad and there might be a slam on in diamonds!! Even if West had a two-suited type overcall available I think it should be rejected in favour of bidding the six-card major first. North should double to show a four-card spade suit. Remember that if you are playing Sputnik doubles then a bid of 1S in this situation should show at least a five-carder so that partner can raise on three card support if the next hand prempts in hearts. South is a bit too good just to bid 2C so he makes a jump rebid instead and West introduces his second suit. North has the perfect response by cue-bidding in support of clubs and East completes the barrage by bidding what he eventually would over 5C. From there on it’s pretty much guesswork but I imagine South would make a forcing pass causing his partner to make the final – wrong – decision. Not surprisingly nothing like that ever happened.

Subtle Approach

15th July – Board 20: Game all. Dealer West

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

I think that nobody reached a slam on the hand shown above and surprisingly a couple of pairs didn’t even aspire to game, but in truth the road to success should not have been too difficult. One of the beauties about being in a game-forcing situation is that you can make any bid below the game level knowing that partner cannot possibly pass. At least that is the theory, for you have to recognize when that situation has arisen.

West	North	East	South
No	No	No	1H
No	2C	No	2S*
No	3C*	No	3S*
No	4S	No	5D
No	5H	No	6S
All Pass

* = forcing to game bids. Must have absolute faith in partner!

South can do little more than open 1H but should be delighted when his partner responds at the two-level because a reverse bid now of 2S is forcing to game. Why is that? Well the reverse shows a good hand, usually upwards of 16 points and the responding hand must be quite good as it is strong enough to bid at the two-level. From this base we can see that 3C is forcing and would show a six card suit and when opener rebids his second suit – showing at least five – he must have at least six hearts because if you are 5-5 in the majors you open 1S. I thought at the time that North was a bit good for just bidding 4S but upon reflection I have changed my mind. Nevertheless South should continue to look for a slam by cue-bidding 5D, NOT 5C, because his partner would be charmed with the ace of clubs opposite but not a void. (Never, ever, cue-bid a void in partner’s main suit.) And of course it would be madness to wheel out the Old Black because you would not know from the answer which ace partner held. So give him a chance to cue the ace of hearts. Anyway hearing that bid should be enough to warrant bidding the slam; an easy make as the cards lie.

Bullying Tactics

8th July – Board 13: Game all. Dealer North

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

The need for aggression - but in a nice way! – is paramount at all times, and this principle is highlighted in the deal shown above. North has an obvious opening bid and East should wade in with an overcall, just about right even vulnerable. It might look as though South should bid 2C now, but that is wrong. Why? Because if West barrages with a 3S bid it is very difficult for N/S ever to comfortably find their heart fit. Instead South should make a Sputnik or negative double to get the hearts into play. Now when West bids 3S, North, with his 5-loser hand, can happily bid the heart game. In case you are worried about bidding 3S with such a weak hand don’t be. The bid is not in any way encouraging, for with a good hand in support of spades West could bid 2D, an unassuming cue bid. Generally speaking when partner is know to have a five-card suit you just bid to the level of the fit, with a weakish hand. So West has four spades, his partner has five making nine trumps in all, so West bid to make nine tricks. What could be simpler!

West	North	East	South
	1D	1S	Dbl
3S	4H	All Pass

The play should present no problem. At one table where I was watching declarer played three rounds of trumps, which was unnecessary. After the ace and the king have been played East has a master trump which is bound to make. So there is not much point in declarer wasting two of his own trumps to remove it.