13th September – Board 8: Love All. Dealer West.
For those who think that bidding is an exact science please think again. Sometimes – often – we are left with a choice of bids with no real reason to go for one rather than the other, with the success or failure of the ultimate choice being little more than luck. Take a look at the hand shown below:
The bidding is straightforward enough up to the point when North gives jump preference to his partner’s first suit, but what is South supposed to do then? With sixteen high card points it seems tame to pass while 5
♦ and 3NT might have too many top losers. 4
♦ is just passing the buck of course and shouldn’t be seriously contemplated so how is it possible to make any sensible decision? Well I think you have to think of what hasn’t happened. Rather like the dog in the night that didn’t bark, West has failed at love-all to overcall 1
♦ with 1
♥ thus precluding the possibility of him holding a decent five-card suit, and for that rather tenuous reason I would try for the no-trump game. In any event West might not lead a heart, or the suit might be blocked or perhaps partner has a stop. Whatever the case it is little more than a gamble but certainly as the cards lay 3NT is the winner. However make partner’s two of hearts a low club and now you would want to be in 5
♦…..
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