All News

Troubles at Five.

Maybe today’s deal illustrates the value of bridge insurance and the difficulties, vagaries of 5-level competition. You have a very insignificant hand and yet you are being asked to make one, maybe two, big decisions. The one fact you know is that there are two hands substantially more interesting than yours around this table…and yet it’s your big moment.

 

Before you decide, a word on the bidding. 2 is always a strong hand but the partnership has a stronger opening bid, 2, for game force hands. This one is therefore a strong one or two suiter or 20-21 balanced.

2 is negative or waiting… and the rest is interesting. Would you bid at this late point in the auction and if not, what would you lead? Yes, although South seems to have rather more high cards and diamonds than their partner, it is North who would declare this contract if you pass.

The other unknown is what your partner is doing. They must have a strong hand too since not only did they make a big bid at the 4- level but they doubled 5. Is this out and out penalties or a request for you to bid or maybe not?

At the table, East decided, correctly, that their partner must have plenty of cards in the majors and sailed off to 5. This should have been the wrong decision to make but one look at the four hands below would suggest it was the right action. Have you decided on what you would lead to 5x? I have and it would not have extended declarer too much in making 11 tricks.

 

If you had chosen any spade, or any card except either heart (realistically, Q) then you would be recording + 200. Two rounds of spades would leave North with two inescapable heart losers. Hopefully, when in at trick 1 after a spade lead or later assuming you had found an initial neutral minor lead, West would not lay down that A. (less of a concern when the South hand is dummy).

Why did West not bid earlier? They had no bid available over 2 to show both majors and guessing South did indeed have diamonds, they could, hopefully, enter the auction later, as they did, to show their hand type. Double said it was no weaker than was opener’s hand.

An auction starting a level lower would give the defence more chance of defeating 5:

West                    North             East                South

                                                      Pass                1
2 ¹                             Pass               2                5
x                           All Pass

¹ both majors, at least 5-5

While South might bid 3 over East's spade call, in an attempt to find a hold in that suit from their partner for 3NT, they might also gamble 3NT themselves, a contract which West can certainly beat. Of course, South  may also bid as above to 5.

Now, when, against 5x West leads a top spade, with dummy’s clubs posing no apparent threat, West can continue spades rather than speculatively try their second ace. 

Convinced? If not, then in either our first auction above or when South jumps to 5 in our second, you had better bid 5. A “kind” South would lead a top diamond, allowing East to limit their losers to just a heart and two top clubs though if South picks that West is likely to be void in diamonds, they could start with A and secure a club ruff for down two. That’s cruel, even more so if 5 was doubled: more expensive insurance. 

All because that J was not where it should be!

A deal for our JIN Club players tomorrow.

Richard Solomon

Go Back View All News Items