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A TOUGH HAND TO BID AND TO DEFEAT!

This week, we are going to look at a tough pair of hands to bid…and we will later look at whether the defence could defeat the final contract.

Firstly, we will give you a bidding problem. Now, you did not say that every hand is a “bidding problem”, did you? That may be true but it is just that some are a little harder than others!

So, here is today’s problem with you as South.

 

With your 16 high card points, you open your longest suit, 1. West on your left enters the bidding with 2, which is what is called a weak jump overcall, showing a 6-card suit and about 6-10 high card points (hcp). They aim to describe their hand to their partner and at the same time perhaps be a little destructive by using up the opposition’s bidding space. “Second aim successful!”. They have!

Your partner has found a bid to support your clubs. Your problem is you are not quite sure how many hcp your partner has. Without West’s bid, they show about 10-12. Yet, with that interference, North may have chosen to support you with 8 or 9 as they can no longer bid 2. Although the range of that 2 bid is 6-9, they should not bid at the 3 level voluntarily with less than 8, even just in support.

So, what do you bid? If they have 11 or 12, maybe as low as 9, we could have game on.

So, do we? If so, which game? Maybe 5 although as we have a reasonable holding in the enemy spade suit, there is another possibility…3NT.

Our South just could not even contemplate 3NT with just one diamond, 8. They learnt you have to have a stop in every suit. (In a perfect world, that is true!) There is, though, another way involving a little more exploration (more of that next time).

However, our South bid 4 inviting game in clubs, which was a reasonable approach. North muttered something about not having to be declarer as they wrote down their 5 bid on the bidding pad. “Thanks, partner!”

The bidding had thus been:

West              North             East                South

                                                                        1

2                    3                   Pass             4

Pass                 5                   All Pass

(just a little note in passing for those of you who may have learnt an ace ask convention called Gerber. Although the ace ask bid is 4, it is wise not to use this bid to ask for aces when your side has bid the club suit naturally, or really any time when the previous bid was a suit rather than a no-trump bid. Thus, 4 above does not ask for aces.)

We are not going to show you the North hand until Sunday as we are going to give you the West hand to think about what you would lead to 5 bid as above.

 AQT985

 T98

 K2

 63

See you on Easter Sunday with the answer… a lovely Easter Egg…or, perhaps just a “well done” if you find the right answer!

Richard Solomon

 

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