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A Problem Solved.

The first stage in solving any problem, whether in bridge bidding or anywhere really, is to recognise that you have one! So, maybe our question today is to recognise what the problem is in the following bidding sequence. If you are a little experienced as a bidder, this may not be too hard but if not, here’s a little Christmas present for you in suggesting the solution:

 

We have a nice hand and we can be thinking of maybe bidding a slam. We have a fit for diamonds. Maybe we can make 6, even 7 as we have lots of club tricks to make when we have drawn trumps.

What is our problem? We actually have two.

Do we have enough aces? Do we have a hold in spades?

Our West solved the first problem. They remembered they could bid 4NT to ask how many aces their partner had. Good news. The answer, 5, showed two, leaving just one for the opponents. 6 was bid. However, as West put down their dummy, the second problem loomed loud and clear. South had led J!

 

Spades was the unbid suit and South thought that lead was as good as any. For the defence, it was far better than any other! On a non-spade lead, East could make 13 tricks (3 hearts, 4 diamonds, 6 clubs) but North won the opening lead with Q and played A…down 1! That was a great lead by South but also very sensible play by North in that they knew what to play to trick 2. South should too but you should save your partner the problem if you can. Well played, North.

On some days, West would have got lucky, when a spade was not led. Sometimes we gamble though there may be a better approach.

Could West have answered the second question? The answer is “yes” even though the answer might not be conclusive. Yet, they might have tried.

West              East

                        1
2                   2
?

The answer was to bid 2S! That’s right. A suit you do not hold. It’s a neat convention called “4^th suit forcing”. Our side has bid the other three suits. If we had a hold in the fourth suit, we could bid no-trumps. The time to bid this suit is when we do not have a hold…and we can ask partner for a hold. So, 2 asks for a hold in spades.

Often, with a hold in the fourth suit, we will finish in 3NT. Here though, West was looking for slam. If East had a hold in spades, they could then ask for aces (4NT), while with no hold, they could sign off in 5 or even 5.

Now, this is not fool proof because if the hold was say QJ5, there would still be two losers in 6 while if East had only one small spade, then 6 could make even without a hold in spades. However, when East denies a hold (with the above hand, East would call 3 after 2 as they have nothing else to say about heir hand), there is a warning for West.

More science for another day is needed to identify that singleton spade if East had one. Had “4^th suit forcing” been used this day, East-West would have made a plus rather than a minus score.

A Christmas Break” 

For this regular feature, it is going to be a two-week break over the Christmas-New Year period. Articles will resume on Monday January 9^th. For me, it is a break even though after 20 years full-time and many more years than that part-time, this now marks the end of my working for New Zealand Bridge. I will continue to host this feature.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the articles this year and would particularly like to thank our Panel who answer the problems given to them extremely promptly, willingly and wisely. I know many appreciate their advice. As we see, there is not always one answer to bidding problems. That’s what makes our game so good.

So, compliments of the season to all readers and we will have more “Daily” articles in the new year.

Richard Solomon

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