2nd June – Board 17: Love All. Dealer North.
There were all sorts of strange results on the featured deal but in fact none of them came close to achieving par – that is to say the very best result from both sides point of view. Of course those hands where the points are fairly evenly divided and yet high-level contracts can be obtained are notoriously difficult to bid and that is where not only judgement but experience too come into play. A little sophistication in the bidding helps too……
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West
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North
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East
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South
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No
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No
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1H
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2NT
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3D
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4D
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4H
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5D
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No
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No
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??
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West’s 2NT is the Unusual No-Trump – part of Michaels – and shows both minors and an agreed point count range with partner. (This sadly is often lacking, but should be on the weakish side when not vulnerable and about an opening bid if vulnerable. But it is open to partnership discussion.) However the very use of that convention does give the opposition more ‘free’ bids and a generally accepted method is to raise to the three-level in partner’s suit on a weak but distributional hand and to bid 3D with a sound raise with some high card defensive points. South should therefore have no qualms about bidding game and West would clearly bid 5D as a two-way bet – it might make or failing that be a very cheap sacrifice. What happens after that is hard to say. Too hard for me anyway. So what is the par contract? Well N/S can make 5H and E/W should only be one down in 6D, so 6D doubled minus one is par. Some people lost their way playing in a diamond contract, but all that is required is to set up a long club in the West hand by ruffing out the suit. Then all that will be lost are the ace of spades and a club.
Dave
ReplyDeleteCan you explain the 3D bid by North
Chris S
ps go federa
Dave,
ReplyDeleteCan you explain more about par contracts? Are we expected to determine what a par contract is likely to be for any given deal and if so how do we go about it?
Robin
Chris I believe Federer went!
ReplyDeleteBecause West is showing clubs and diamonds by the 2NT bid it makes sense that a bid of one of these suits by North should have a conventional meaning. So bid 3D to show a good, i.e. high card raise in partner's suit and reserve an actual raise, i.e. 3H in the sequence given, to show a weak but distributional raise. Maybe something like S Axxxx HQxxx Dxx Cxx.
If you want to know what 3C would mean you will have to ask me nicely and perhaps change your tennis allegiance.
I wouldn't worry about par Robin because it is so seldom achieved and nobody ever knows what it is until after the hand anyway. But basically it is the very best that can be done by both sides. So if N/S, say, can make 4H vulnerable but not 5H, and E/W are only 3 down doubled but not vulnerable in 4S at a cost of 500, then that would be par. In essence 500 is the best that N/S can achieve and -500 is the smallest amount that E/W can lose. Geddit?
ReplyDelete