Missing Major

12th January – Board 11: Love All. Dealer South.

There was a great deal of muddled thinking on the featured hand when it came to finding the correct opening bid on the South hand, but the reality is that 1S is the standout bid by a million miles. By not bidding the suit now you stand the very real chance of never mentioning the suit at all, something that indeed happened at several tables.

West	North	East	South
			1S
No	2C	4H	No
No	4S	No	No
5H	Dbl	End

As it happened it didn’t matter very much whether South opened 1S or 1D as East is sure to barrage to 4H giving West an easy sacrifice over either 4S or 5D. (Easier over 5D of course, as he might fancy his chances over a spade game.) On a diamond lead and continuation the defence will come to their four tricks for a 300 point penalty, and everyone should be more or less happy!