All News

Down to the Wire.

The National Rubber Bridge competition has been an important if not over-popular part of our bridge calendar for many years. It presents a very different way of playing the game. We hand deal, really want to pick up lots of high cards and  there is much tension and excitement especially when the last of the 30 deals comes around.

Many pairs can look back on great come-backs on Board 30 when they had to bid a slam or a grand slam and did just that…and survived.

Spare a thought though for their opponents who maybe had made good use of the cards at their disposal and went into the last board with a reasonable lead, though one which could be overhauled by a last-board 10 or 20% slam.

The tactics at this form of Rubber, indeed any Rubber, are so different from duplicate and the tactics of the pair defending a lead of, say 730 points, with one board left are different than from the rest of the match.

Often, the best action is to pass throughout this board and watch the opponents bid to a hopeless slam on a combined flat 12 count. Its demise is quick! However, a recent match produced a typical “Rubber” last board and presented East with something to think about as it was their turn to open:

You are 730 points up going into the last board of 30 in our National Rubber Bridge competition and the opposition are needing a slam or a sizeable penalty off you to advance. This is your hand, with neither side vulnerable and the start of a fresh Rubber:

East Deals None Vul	N W   E S	♠ 7 5 ♥ K ♦ A K Q J 10 8 6 ♣ Q 4 2

West	North	East	South
		?

What if anything would you open?

Passing throughout could put your partner on lead and unless you have made some kind of bid, they may find it hard to lead a diamond when your side has two quick diamond tricks to take. Whatever happens, they will bid a slam!

So, in this case, some kind of bid may be best but what?

Kris Wooles “3: Last board? So, they have to score more than 730 which they could only do with a grand slam or a small slam with honours (hoping my rubber maths is correct!).  And we would have to be doubled and go 4 down. I’m going to bid 3 and even if they now bid a necessary slam at least I’d get a diamond lead. 

In Rubber, you get 100 points “above the line” if you have 4 of the top 5 cards in the trump suit, 150 if you have all five. Here, we can sustain a penalty that nets out at under 730. Let Michael do the maths:

Michael Cornell “5: If I am doubled, this will cost only 650 if down 4.  We still get 150 honours, don’t we?

The only way we can lose is if they bid a slam. So, make it as hard as possible for them.  Second choice is 1 (but partner may not get the joke!)

Seems to me that you should go with your first choice, Michael…or so said any partner!

Nigel Kearney “5: Make it as hard as possible for them to find the right slam without risking an excessive penalty. Down four is fine with my 150 honours. If I was going to psyche, 4NT specific ace ask is probably illegal and 4/4/5 risks partner getting off to a disastrous opening lead. We can't talk them out of bidding slam and a diamond lead could be necessary.”

Pardon me, psyching here? Why? A little truth distortion perhaps as explained by:

Peter Newell “3NT: I reckon I might be on my own….The opponents have to bid slam or get us for 800 (except of course our honours make it 1100) Yes, 5 is tempting, but the opponents aren’t stupid. They will know very well that you must be confident that you are not going to give away the rubber with a penalty. So, you are very unlikely to be doubled particularly given they don’t have any trump honours. It looks like the opposition’s best chance is a major suit slam. So, by opening 5 you give them an easy 6 bid to pick a major if you have both, or 5 of a major if you have one, with their partner knowing that they need to raise or try a new suit.

So, I’m down to what makes it hard. A major suit psych is tempting (that "poisoned apple" seems to be spreading itself around!) Cramping their room with a pre-empt has some appeal.  By bidding 3NT, you are cramping their room and they may not know what suit you hold making it harder for them to show majors or 2 suiters….So, 3NT for me.”

There is one key fact here that, if 3NT is to be believed, could have won the match for East and for Peter Newell. All the talk has so far centred around the diamond suit. Strangely, that was not the critical suit. We will return to 3NT shortly…

Bruce Anderson “1: a gambling 3NT may appeal to some but partner could well have defence if the opponents bid slam in a major.

I do not want to go for a number so will adopt a softly, softly, approach by bidding naturally.”

That 1-level opener was the bid chosen at the table. The bidding escalated to the slam zone very quickly:

 

Strangely, West led a club but the lead (or indeed which major slam)  was irrelevant. It came down to declarer dropping that singleton K which perhaps because of the 1 level opening, they did successfully, indeed making an irrelevant overtrick! The percentage line is to finesse but the opening bid could cause the declarer to go "anti-percentage".

While a 5 opening might have made it hard to find the right slam, it would, as Peter Newell suggested, have been very easy in this case. The key and what made 3NT perhaps the best shot is that, it one believes it, the bid denies an outside king.

It would be hard to drop the singleton king after a 5 opening but even harder when the opening bid actually denied that card…if the opposition are to be believed. Yet, after all the above talk about psyching, would you believe any of them?

Another tight dramatic finish and unlucky for East-West. Maybe East would like, as Mike Cornell suggested, a second shot at their opening bid?

 Well, you can count to 11 hcp and you opened. Your partner's 1 showed 4+ spades with your jump to 2 being a minimum. No arguments there! You were soon in game with Q lead. The lead either was a shortage or from KQ doubleton. Given that it is the former, and that you have 4 losers, two hearts, a club and K, how are you going to make your contract? (North holds A.)

Richard Solomon

Go Back View All News Items