31st March – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.
At love all it is hard to say whether that South hand is worth an opening bid of 3S or 4S for the truth is that there is a lot to be said for both calls. 3S has the merit of safety in that it is very unlikely to be doubled for penalties or even if it is result in much of a loss. 4S on the other hand is much more dangerous but has the not inconsiderable merit of starting the auction at a higher level and annoying the opposition even more. If South chooses 4S then West should bid 4NT indicating a two-suiter and when his partner bids 5C he can then bid 5D safe in the knowledge that this can be converted to 5H if necessary. Thus the complete auction might go:
 |
West
|
North
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East
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South
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4S
| |||
4NT
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No
|
5C
|
No
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5D
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No
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5H
|
End
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I think East should pick the higher ranking suit at pairs but it is a bit arbitrary to be honest. 5D can only be defeated if North elects to lead the ace of hearts when he can follow up by giving his partner a ruff but in reality he will lead his singleton spade – and why wouldn’t he? 5H on the other hand will fail even on a spade lead if South returns either a diamond or a club, when the bad trump break will be too much to overcome.
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