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Damned if you do..and damned if you don’t...

 ....bid, that is! Making a bid on the hand below seems extremely risky but then so is passing! As you are in the “pass-out” seat, there is no-one left to save you if you needed to bid. 

 

 

 

Well, are you "damned"? Is the above statement true? What should you do? It seems unlikely you have a spade hold for no trumps! Any ideas? You are playing Teams, with E/W Vul.

A sneak preview of the East hand suggests that all 40 East players would/ should have opened 1 in the recent National Open Swiss Pairs (yes, we said Teams…much the same situation) but at only 12 tables did East play the board at the 1-level suggesting the majority found a bid on the above hand, unless their partner had found an unusual take-out double first.

 The danger of bidding is that if you double and partner bids 2, you are not long or strong enough to change the suit while your spade cards are not great for no trumps. It’s time to seek out our Panel who are in a mind to defend… mainly.

Nigel Kearney “Pass: I don't like passing it out but other actions such as double, 1NT, or 2C are a complete distortion and too likely to end badly.”

Kris Wooles “Pass:  it is hard to find a sensible bid. I can envisage partner holding some hands where we have the right cards to make a game in hearts but the risks associated with bidding double or no trumps seem like too much of a gamble in my view.”

Matt Brown “ Pass: I think this is probably more interesting at different colours. Our partner couldn't act over 1 at favourable. So, it is unlikely we have a  4-4 heart fit and enough points for game (which is our most likely game surely). So, pass and hopefully collect some 100s.”

Bruce Anderson “Pass: I can see no sensible alternative. Partner could not bid at favourable vulnerability when they are likely to be short in spades. Opener is very likely to have a strong spade suit. Possibly our opponents have a game in spades if E/W also have a diamond fit. So, our opponents will be left to play in 1.”

Peter Newell “Pass: if partner cannot find a bid non vulnerable and I have 4 spades, there is a fair bit of doubt that we have any sort of fit. I’m not enthusiastic at Teams to get involved. It’s also not clear what to bid:1NT, with poor spades and a hand that looks better suited to playing in a suit? Double is horrible as partner probably will bid diamonds and then what? Or 2 hoping for the best...I would be more tempted to bid at Pairs but at Teams I’ll pass.”

It seems a number of bad things can happen if we keep the auction alive. Are the above being realists or just pessimists? However, we do have some action takers, some optimists:

Pam Livingston “Double:  Partner will bid hearts if they have four.  Worst case is if they bid 2 but in that case they will most likely have at least five - if they have 3343 they may be able to bid NT.  With 44 in the minors, they will usually bid clubs first. Partner has some values and more good things can come from double than bad things.  Who knows - we might even be able to make game.

 

Let's hope partner's diamonds would be a wee bit better than our spades!

 

 

Michael Cornell “Double: If 1NT was weak, perfect but over 1Major it’s strong for us. I don’t like my singleton J obviously, but I double.”

The only really bad scenario is if partner has say 10/11 points and bids 3 on a 5 bagger (with 6 I would expect an overcall, either 2 or3 at this vulnerability depending on the strength)- even then with 3 quick tricks and the J, I think we are close.”

 Michael is a fine player and obviously would eke out a hold from his fabulous spade holding in no-trumps. He has a fellow bidder in:

 Stephen Blackstock “Double: All options here are flawed and very unattractive. So, let’s begin by acknowledging that we are seeking the least bad alternative. I can see only Pass, double and 1NT to choose from; 2 might work but is even more flaky than the others.

I would normally choose 1NT with this shape, but 6432 is not a stopper! 10xxx or even 10xx might tempt me, but here NT must be played, if at all, from partner’s side. Pass looks technically best, but there’s no compelling reason to think we can beat 1: this is a cheap, low risk vulnerability to look for something playable our way, or just nudge them up a little.

That leaves double. It looks silly to invite partner to bid diamonds, but where is it written that he may not bid hearts, clubs, or even no trumps? And as partner is marked with short(ish) spades and fewer than three hearts if he does not choose 2, 2 may be a long enough suit to avoid disaster. “It doesn’t have to be poor” isn’t a resounding recommendation, but as pass feels like giving up, I am willing to venture a double which on its face has more chances to succeed than to fail.”

Your partner has neither overcalled and presumably could have made a weak jump overcall. With two suits and a reasonable hand, partner will give you a choice by bidding 2 should you double. So, let’s see what would have happened had you put an “x” on the bidding pad:

 

 

It could be that East will save you by bidding diamonds before your partner does. That could prompt South into action, perhaps 2NT…not higher since your double does not have to be an opening hand. South might even tease you with an action double of 2. Now, there’s the next problem. What would you do when 2 x gets passed round to you?

  If you manage to pass that, let’s hope your partner finds the same good lead as they should against 1. When faced with a choice of Q87, Q97 or QT7, you should choose the best of these and the club lead against either contract is good for the defence. Against 2 x, it enables North to win and switch to a trump. Against 1, the same switch starts to provide North with a handy diamond ruff or if J holds the trick, a club continuation will not hurt the defence.

3NT is makeable only because the K is where it should not be and indeed 2 of the 3 pairs who tried this contract did succeed. For the rest, a variety of part-scores from various declarers met with varying fates. I could not and cannot really find any bid over 1 with a +200 return being very adequate. I was, though, rather relieved by the sight of dummy with a five- card heart suit.

 

So, I did not bid and was not damned, this time!

Life at the 5 Level

 

 

 

Opposite a passed partner, initially you elect to pass fearful that partner may just have long spades. However, it soon appears you partner must be short in hearts. So, you show the minors (4NT) and partner chooses clubs. South accepts the push to 5. You lead A on which your partner plays 3 (low encouraging/ and or reverse count) and declarer 4. And now?

 Richard Solomon

 

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