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I enjoy playing the Weak No Trump. I like defining that hand type in one bid meaning when I open a suit at the one level, I do not have that hand-type. I do not, though, enjoy, its “Achilles” when the opponents take to the no-trump opening with a penalty double or even just conceding -200, rarely a good score at Pairs. The Weak No-Trump 1NT opening can prove to be unpleasant and expensive.

For that reason, I play to limit the damage, the opportunity for damage, by playing a Variable 1NT opening, 15-17 when vulnerable. The word used is “limit” rather than “eradicate” since even not vulnerable, there is a danger for the 12-14 opening when the partner has no shape and almost no high-card points.

The weak hand had one additional problem here:

 

Teams. Nil All.

That problem was that the double of 1NT above showed hearts and another suit. If North thought about escaping to safer ground, there was no chance of that in hearts. It is a case of “spades or tough it out in 1NT”  or is it?

Nigel  Kearney “2: natural to play. My preferred method at Teams is redouble to play, suit bids to play, otherwise pass, then opener can pass it out with 4333, bid a five card suit, or redouble with two four card suits. Bidding the short suit can make it hard for them if they're playing takeout doubles and with both majors, I can afford to take my time and mess around a bit. Obviously, partners who are aware of my tendencies would need to alert and describe as 'to play, but may not have clubs'.

Or another but similar way:

Michael Ware “2”: My preferred run out method has always been bidding a suit is 5+ natural and pass is forcing. This is so responder doesn't run on 4 card suits before their partner has a chance to show a 5 -card suit. 5-2's being
better than 4-3s and of course it can be 5-3.

Maybe both will judge the level of desire of their opponent to double if it is a penalty rather than a take-out double. Both would have passed on the North hand and would have made the above bid after in this case, South had redoubled. However, they would be running since they would not want to be playing 1NTxx, no matter how good a declarer player their partner is!

Kris Wooles “Pass: How horrible. I don’t have an obvious escape bid on this hand after the unusual double. East may still bid (sometimes happens) or South might have a 5 -card minor to run to or we may just have to take our medicine. 

Matt Brown “Pass: I think systemically it should be a pass because over artificial doubles, you should just keep system on (stayman, xfers etc...).

Maybe 2 natural and running would be nice (and then XX for rescue when someone doubles) but I think I would have to pass. The other opponent might not be able to leave it in on a good day, too.

Both Kris and Matt cling to the hope that West is really strong and East is looking at about the same point-count as North and will bid. There is also the chance of a 5-2 club or 5-3 diamond fit which appeals more than a 4-3 major fit with a very limited source of any tricks.

Matt also refers to the fact that it is “system on” where the double is 10+ hcp rather than 15+ hcp. He is not alone in that view:

Michael Cornell “2 stayman: I play “system on” over a non- penalty x of my 1NT and so will start and finish my wriggle here.

With a heart shortage, it is most likely that LHO will be passing and this may make it harder for them to catch us.”

However, there are more passers in the hope that we have not yet been caught.

Stephen Blackstock “ Pass: (a) they haven’t decided to pass for penalties yet; (b) any move by me is essentially a gamble that partner has a spade suit; (c) partner will bid a 5 card suit and I don’t want to get in the way of that. Runouts on balanced hands are vastly over-rated – your contract needs to play two tricks better than 1NTx. More usually the contract is no better, simply a level higher.

If we play something like pass tells partner to pass with any 4333, bid a 5 -card suit or redouble with 4432, that may work here. But the expected 2x will not be a picnic!”

Peter Newell “Pass: I don’t like my running options and we could be worse off at the 2 level, and every now again the opponents pull the double, surprisingly…say if West is strong and East is weak with a suit (or heart fit though this looks unlikely this time).

And hitting the “bulls-eye" this time is:

Bruce Anderson “Redouble: requiring partner to bid 2; then I bid a disingenuous 2 showing a single suited hand. The trouble with pass is that if East passes, which is very likely, partner is almost certain to pass. Partner should be short in hearts making it more likely they have 3 or 4 spades.

And bidding in this way muddies the waters; possibly East will find some other bid rather than doubling for penalties if they only hold 3 spades. If not, playing 2X  may be a better result than 1NT doubled on a heart lead.  

A fine prediction, Bruce, as you will see below.      

There are thus many ways to escape from 1NTx. I used to play one which would have worked very well on this occasion. It is always hard to find a spade fit as one tends to explore other suits first in “bidding up the line”. Thus, redouble showed specifically four spades and running. If there was no spade fit, then you could explore for the best of the rest. No further exploration would have been needed here.

 

At the table, 1NT x was passed out. The defence enjoyed themselves but not as much as they could. A high heart was led and followed by a heart to the queen and two more rounds of hearts. Now, club leads from West and diamonds from East would have seen the next six tricks going to the defence for 4 down or -800. A diamond switch at trick 3 would have seen South struggling even to take the last three tricks. With East holding JT3 and A, South A8 and Q8 and dummy Q74 and a club, declarer has to hope the A is indeed singleton or else the carnage would continue.

However, after West cashed their fourth heart trick, they exited a spade with a very relieved declarer taking four tricks in that suit before the defence took the rest..-500.

Meanwhile, there are 7 top losers in 2x though a declarer should be able to manage the other six, just!

That compared a little better with the 150 East-West took from defeating 1 by three tricks at the other table. Yes, 3NT is a very lucky make though seemed a long way off for East in that pass-out seat.

On balance, the passers seem to be right though alas not on this night unless one’s system called for South to redouble and North to scrap for a playable fit in the highest suit.

 A Macabre Situation...

 

This is not something out of anyone’s imagination…but a real computer generated hand at a club night!

You are playing Teams with both sides vulnerable.

Do you agree with 2 and what do you bid now?2 was not intended as a natural bid!

Richard Solomon

 

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