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WHERE THE REAL ACTION WAS.

Not on the Gold Coast, of course. Take a trip to the Akarana Bridge Club where “the cinderellas” did battle, victory in the end going to the team of Owen Camp (he came back especially from Broadbeach for this night at Akarana! No fake news here!), Mike Dunn, Hamish Brown and Kevin Hu by the huge margin of 1 imp.

This following board gave plenty of potential for swings. At one table, their own convention gave one pair a huge problem. Let’s look at it from West’s point of view with only East-West vulnerable:

 T953

 Q2²

 AK43

AT6

The auction proceeded:

West              North            East                South

1NT¹               2 ²                 3³               3

Pass                4ª                  Pass                Pass

?

¹   12-14

²  natural, may have a second suit

³transfer to hearts

With no particular support for hearts, West chose to double which proved not to be wise on the night.

At other tables, the spotlight fell on the other flattish hand after a different style auction:

West              North            East                South

1                  1                 4                 Pass

Pass                4                  Pass                Pass

5                  Pass                Pass                ?

or:

West              North            East                South

1                  4                5                  ?

South held:

 A86

 T854

 Q972

75

In all three cases, the winning decision by the flattish hand was based on their own trump holding in the opponent’s suit…a four-card suit headed by the 10. In each case, West and then South could be almost certain that their partner had either a void in that suit or at worst a singleton, meaning that bidding on was correct:

 

 

4x made for 10 tricks thanks to the favourable club position while the fate of 5 depended on that diamond finesse (though after a normal spade lead, the contract would make even if this finesse lost).

In our first sequence:

West              North            East                South

1NT¹                2                  3²                 3

Pass                4                 Pass                Pass

?

¹ 12-14        ² transfer to hearts

East let system overcome practicality. East was always going to bid 4 and should have done so over 2 in what was a competitive auction rather than trying to right-side their own contract by transferring the contract to West. When West doubled 4, East could not be sure that pulling the double was the correct action.

West’s best action over 4 was “pass” leaving East to call 5. (5 is indeed a better contract played by East as South would hardly find a club lead..so much for right-siding the contract!)

In our other auctions, South was facing a long spade opposite, whether North had got to 4 quickly or slowly. Like West when they bid 5 over North’s 1, then 4, South had a fair idea of their partner’s enemy trump suit holding. It looked to South like 5 would go down thus making it wrong to bid if 5 met a similar fate. It seems to break the basic “5 over 5” rules to bid 5 though the vulnerability is in South’s favour.

The over-riding reason to bid 5 was for a cheap sacrifice but, tomorrow, when the diamond finesse fails, the player who bids 5may turn from hero to villain.

High level Russian Roulette! Would you have dodged the bullets this evening..the double of 4 and the pass of 5 by South? Or were you enjoying the quiet life on The Gold Coast?

Richard Solomon

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