All News

Where to go?

Sometimes you can bid and make a game on remarkably few high card points. Shape and position of honours can be so important and when they are in your favour, go for game no matter how low your high point count might be.

Then, there are other times when you are seemingly overladen with high cards and yet are unsure which game to go for or maybe have to decide there is no game at all. Take this one hand which has more than its share of high cards. A 2 opener, then? Not so, as an opponent found a 1-level opener in front of your 26 count…and then had the nerve to bid again!

 

Well, you have tried and tried again and tried once more. East could be bidding on shape but giving East 11 hcp, that leaves a maximum 3 hcp to be “divvied up” between South and West. West may not be enjoying this auction and perhaps South even less!

The majority Panel view is we have tried enough and should cross our fingers and hope we put down a good enough dummy to make 9, maybe even 10, tricks.

Bruce Anderson “Pass: I agree with North’s bidding up until South responds 3. I would now pass as partner should not have 4 hearts and 3 is likely to be our last playable spot, albeit entries to the South hand being a problem.

Bidding on with 3 is ill-judged; with a 2335 bust, partner may only have three hearts, meaning even that contract will be too high.

Your partner only has shown length in clubs because South passed 1. Otherwise, East could have a 3334 yarborough with no interest in going anywhere.

Nigel Kearney “Pass: The bidding is fine so far. Maybe partner has just the card or two we need to make 3NT but I think the odds don't favour that.”

 

Pam Livingston “Pass: The bidding so far says 'partner I have a huge balanced hand'.  If you can't get a spark out of them, then it’s time to give up.”

There’s big and enormous and even discounting the seemingly wasted QJ, our hand is certainly the latter.

 

Michael Cornell “Pass: So far so good but I am now going to take a % view to pass at Pairs! The only chance of an entry to partner’s hand in 3NT is the Q and he is long odds against having it.

There are only 14 points outside my hand so even if opener does not have it (unlikely), there is still less than 50% chance of partner having it.

If I do bid 3 and get 3 I will bid 4 which partner can pass with nothing which is what he will usually have. If he has some imagination and long clubs with a singleton spade, he might be able to bid a 5^th e.g. x Jxx, xxx, J10xxxx but note even if that top is the 10, 3NT would still need a short Q and I have generously given pard the J which he is not favourite to hold.

 

The odds against game are so bad I would do the same playing imps as well – only a non vul game in any case.”

 

There is still a bit of action left in the Panel though not just through our route to date:

Peter Newell “3NT: I agree with North’s bidding. North has a big hand and there are multiple different possible contracts so best to get as much info as possible. Partner could have a very weak hand with 5/6 clubs, with a singleton spade and that will often be enough for 5, yet 3NT could be right to as partner likely has some diamond length as South has passed 1. At the point, partner bid 2 it is still possible though unlikely that partner has a 4- card major (e.g. with 5 goodish clubs and a poor 4 card major partner may choose to bid 2), so bidding 2 helps to define partner’s hand.

So, what now over 3?  2 choices, 3 or 3NT.  I lean to 3NT.  Given West has given preference to spades and East choosing to bid 1 rather than 2 (after partner has passed may have chosen 2 to 1 with 4/6) I picking partner to have 3 probably 4 diamonds this could easily include the 10, or even 9 could easily be enough for 3NT. Partner is not going to bid 3NT so the only way of getting there is to bid 3NT myself. I don’t think that bidding 3 will elicit much additional useful info – the caveat I put on that is that by bidding 3 and then rebidding 3NT over 3 should convey more uncertainty and is more likely to keep 5 in the picture which could be right….as partner could rip 3NT with say 6 clubs and no points.

Once partner bids 3 over 3 I’m definitely going to bid 3NT – 3 can’t be more than a 3-card suit and I don’t think 4 will play well in a 4-3 with 3 rounds of diamonds likely forcing a ruff in the long hand and hearts could easily break badly given East has bid 2 suits”

 

 

Andy Braithwaite “3: and think North has done well so far. Over partner’s 3 would bid 5 hoping for a singleton spade in partner’s hand (as opposition had chosen 1 in preference to 2, so partner likely to be 1345 or 1336).”

We did also ask the Panel what they thought of the bidding so far and what they would do if South produced 3 over 3. The passers generally did not comment but the bidders did.

 

Kris Wooles “Might have bid 2 after first double. Partner would likely bid 3 and then I would 3 still be pushing for some hold in ’s.

Would 108xx be seen by South to be enough with (say) Jxx as well? In either case should South bid 3after 3, I would expect that to be a 3-card suit and do not expect good breaks and so would probably bid 4 which will likely end the auction.”

And finally, some criticism of our auction to date:

Stephen Blackstock “No, I don’t agree with North’s bidding. I think it overlooks South’s likely shape, clearly very limited values, and above all that South won’t make a positive move since he cannot know that as little as the Q may be enough for 3NT, or six low clubs and a singleton spade enough for 5.

In my view it’s more practical to bid 2NT over 2. Sure, QJ doubleton doesn’t begin as a stopper, but when West passes 1 and East doesn’t try 2 after 1 is doubled for penalties (which it must be, not take-out), then South is marked with some length in the suit. 10xx(x), 9xxx will be a stopper, even 8xxx when West holds 9x or10x. 2NT is then a fair description of North’s hand (it’s count is devalued a little by the diamond honours and the club blockage), and with weakness and long clubs, South can bid 3 to play. Either 3NT or 5 are still possible, but the problem is that North will be guessing and South almost certainly lacks the values for a forward move. If 2NT gets passed, I hope for a decent result from playing in the highest scoring denomination. So, at matchpoints I think the percentage bid over 3 is pass, anything else may result in a negative score, and we may in fact be too high already.

3 would be asking South a question he likely can’t answer. It’s the sort of bid that gets an “he’s looking for a new partner!” explanation to an E/W question”.

An interesting interpretation of the double of 1. I am not sure that was the intention if only because South can never imagine their partner is that strong.

high enough?

Some think we may be too high in 3 but the reality was with the length in clubs some predicted, the Q was all that was required for 11 tricks. Surely, we knew about South’s singleton spade and club length already? These were the 4 hands.

I wonder if any of the Panel passers would have raised to 4C playing Teams?

A Good Feature?

 

2 is a weak 2 and 2NT asked for a feature (3 would have been to play). What now? You

are playing Teams.

Richard Solomon

Go Back View All News Items