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A BRIDGE EVENT RARELY NOW SEEN.

What is that? A flat board in a Pairs session? No way, such an event was rarely seen ever. No, the answer is a “passed in board”. Someone finds some excuse to open their hand. We did report one in the Mixed Trial earlier this year where a board was passed in at one table while a slam was bid and made at the other! Different systems, different hand evaluation.

So, I was curious whether our experts would open the following hand, not the question we asked you overnight but the answer to this question had a strong bearing on the question asked. Here is the hand:

 

In fact, I asked the panel four questions in one:

Would they open this hand if they were playing Pairs and if they were playing Teams?

Would they open this hand if they were playing a weak no-trump or a strong no-trump based system?

I confess to holding this hand in a recent Teams match. My no-trump range can be as low as 11 (though not at this vulnerability) but I could still have opened it. I passed. I had a little support:

Nigel Kearney “Pass: One of a minor should be a sound opening. A light one of a major can disrupt opponents on its own, is easy for partner to raise, and helps you get to thin games or win a part score auction. A light one of a minor doesn't do any of those. It's more likely to help opponents or discourage partner from bidding on the hands where you actually do have enough to compete in your minor vs their major. A weak NT is ok on strength and liable to generate a random outcome that could be good for either side but is not my style.”

I might have written that script for Nigel but I did not. This hand is not only light in high-card points but KQ doubleton is an ugly holding. However, not to be deterred were:

Matt Brown “1: I would open 1 at both Pairs and Teams. With a 12-14 NT I wouldn't open. I don't fancy opening 1NT or opening 1 and having to rebid 2 with only 5.”

Peter Newell “1: Hmm – tricky depends a bit on my partner and our style…

However, yes generally I would open 1, having to rebid 2 if playing weak NT. (I would rebid 1NT if playing strong NT but not open a weak NT) and the doubleton KQ are downsides, but 5/4 shape, two 10s and a preference for opening where possible sway me to opening, even vulnerable…and at Pairs and Teams.”

Michael Cornell “1: I am a great fan of opening the bidding if I can.

The KQ is a bad feature but the rest is fine,5 card suit, a nice 2^nd suit and 2 10s. It is an advantage of playing a strong NT that one can open ‘weak’ hands like this quite freely. If partner responds 1 I will rebid 1NT but over 1 I will rebid 2, not ideal but unlikely to be terminal!

I would feel uncomfortable opening 1NT at either form of the game but could be tempted at Pairs (a bottom is only a bottom- it’s not 12 imps when I go 800 on a part score hand).

Opening this hand only cost 10 imps this time though that is a somewhat unkind statement as you would have 7 imps had you found a better lead below than the one found at the table.

At least, there was general agreement that at Teams, this does not qualify for a 1NT opener. However, you can have lots and lots of 10’s and 9’s but they will not help you if you are missing the high honours in the suits. I can only see negatives from opening the above hand..but let’s follow the path of the 1 opener:

our 1 promised at least 3 clubs, normally 4 (playing 5 card spade and 4 card heart opening). 2 showed at least 5-5 in the majors and while could be weak would not be that weak at this vulnerability.

The rest is what it seems. Your lead?

I can see a good case for starting off with the A. Dummy is going to produce no more than three minor cards. I can hear the post -mortem about how we could have taken two club tricks first while after any other lead, one of the club losers and the beating of the contract disappeared as declarer played off  AK discarding one of dummy’s clubs.

This time, there was a different post-mortem:

 

 

That A lead was not a resounding success. What an inspired bid 2 would have been from East. We will never know if that might have slowed down South’s desire to go for game. It would certainly have seen the game beaten.

Unlucky lead? Certainly. Not for the first time and certainly not the last such lead you will make… but I wonder what the bidding would have been had West not opened the bidding. At our table, it went as follows:

West              North             East                South

Pass                2¹               Pass                2

All Pass

¹ both majors, less than an opening hand

In an effort to score some tricks, the defence conceded one more than they needed to…making 10 tricks but still 10 imps to our side.  

Whether South should have looked for game is another matter…probably not with a heart part-score being, on paper, an excellent score for North-South. However, most pairs do not have an opening bid for the North hand. Some may say that you could open 1 though that does seem to be a stretch. If North does not open, there is absolutely no reason why East and South will.

You want a review of the bidding?

West              North             East                South

Pass                Pass                Pass                Pass

Game bid and made at one table, albeit on a lucky lead but no action at all at the other. Nigel Kearney and I can see no reason to open that West hand. I could not at the time, and can see less after the above result. Sorry, Matt, Peter and Michael, we must agree to disagree.

Just to confirm my belief that flat vulnerable “crap” should not be opened, even more recently in Pairs, I held in 3^rd seat:

 Q87

 AQJ

 Q63

 J972

and rather than open 1, passed. In fact, my left-hand opponent started off with 1 with their partner’s 1 ending the bidding. This contract finished down 2 (should have been down 3…mea culpa!) for +100 and most of the match-points when all our side could make was +90, if you are lucky, in 1NT.

+90 v +100 …it is hardly conclusive proof. However, for as long as I am playing bridge, there will be some flat minimum hands I will not open, increasing the chances of passed in boards, except, I hope, not when our side can make slam!

Another 4 contract to make for tomorrow. Major suit games and 3NT are pretty regular events…and it is good to make the ones you can!

 

With a 5 card spade suit, North was worth a value raise to 3, despite three jacks in their 10 high card points. South had an easy raise to game.

West led 7, playing 2^nd and 4^th leads. This went to East’s A with East returning 8., West following with a second heart. (They hold  10) Over to you?

Richard Solomon

 

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