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Problem Solved.

Yes, all hands may seem like problem ones but today we do seem to have a hand that just does not fit into what we have been taught.

We look today at a type of hand for which we appear not to be able to handle in basic bidding and how we try to get round this problem. It became apparent recently when South seemed to take an unusual approach to the following hand:

 

Change of suit at 2-level= 10+ hcp

After East’s 1 overcall, South remembered that by changing the suit at the 2 -level, they needed at least 10 high-card points. They had only 7: not enough.

Negative Double: 4 cards in unbid major

Also, they had learnt that a negative double in this situation showed 4 hearts, at the 1-level, maybe as few as 6 high-card points, though again their hand did not fit: too many hearts.

So, you can see below what South did…and the result was not good for North-South.

 

Neither West nor North had any reason to bid (North needed a stronger hand to bid 1NT after their partner had passed) and 1 became the final contract. It was rather a struggle for East but they lost just 6 tricks, scoring +80.

Meanwhile, that nice heart suit in the South hand was lost.

Had South bid 2 over 1, then North-South would probably finish too high:

West              North             East                South

                        1                   1                   2

Pass                2NT                Pass                 3

Pass                4 (or maybe 3NT) All Pass               

2NT showed 15-17 and when South tried to sign-off in 3, North, thinking they faced at least a 10-count (15+10=25 hcp), bid to game. In 4, on J lead, there would be a loser in each suit, probably two trump losers after J lead. North would have struggled in 2NT let alone 3NT had South passed that bid.

What to do?

The solution lies in South initially treating their hand as having 4 hearts and doubling 1. Then, if they get the chance to bid hearts at a convenient level, North would know their partner had more than 4 hearts but also less than 10 hcp since they did not bid 2 in the first place.

The bidding might have gone:

West              North             East                South

                        1                   1                   x

Pass                1NT(15-17)   Pass                  2

All Pass

With only 2 small hearts, North could pass 2 since their partnership was short of the 25 we need for game. South has shown at least a 5-card suit.

So, the solution lies in using the negative double and then bidding your long suit. The alarm bells would ring out to North that their partner is not that strong in high cards but has at least 5 hearts. They can pass 2 despite only having two small trumps. Solution found!

Richard Solomon

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