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             great shape…but is that enough?

Shape without Substance.

When one’s partner raised the opponent’s pre-empt by one level, especially a minor pre-empt, I used to think that they had a decent 2-suited hand. Thus, recently, I was somewhat surprised when having chosen the major (it was a 3 pre-empt), that the pre-emptor’s partner doubled the final contract. Let’s go back to the pre-empt and see what you would have bid facing that 3 bid on your right:

 

You are playing Teams and only your side is vulnerable. What action would you take, if any, with the above hand?

Even with a small Panel, we have two camps. Realism from:

Pam Livingston “4: Yeah I'm in. 4 = majors.  Might go horribly wrong.

I prefer that action to the following as if partner decides to pass the double for penalties, or bids 3, they might feel rather disappointed with our lack of values, let alone diamonds.

Andy Braithwaite “Double: Horrible hand but if I don’t bid now I doubt if we will be able to compete- so reluctantly I double.”

And then there is with a little more conviction:

Nigel Kearney “3: With this much shape I want to be in the auction. 4C is an option and could work out better but I don't like Michaels with 6-5 so I will just spades first then hearts if possible.”

When we find a fit, we will be glad we had bid though poor partner has to be aware that we might be bidding just on shape and must not expect too much in high cards. However, not everyone is in to the action:

Bruce Anderson “Pass: and await developments. It is Teams and I would have difficulty explaining to team mates why I went for a big number if it sits badly for our side.  End of story.”

We could easily construct a 12 count with modest majors where game our way is cold but our lack of action at this stage basically keeps our partner out of the bidding. Say partner held QJ4   AK6  Q764 873. That does not look much of a hand to balance after 3C.

Michael Cornell “Pass: not my favourite bid.

First instinct is to bid 4, which would normally find the right strain albeit sometimes the wrong level.

However, this is not the case here. With equal length, I definitely want to be in spades and even if partner is 2-3 in the majors, I will want to be in spades.

 

Playing the 5-3 could be a nightmare when trumps don’t break which is extremely likely on hands like this.”

 

Peter Newell “Pass: I would like too and probably would sometimes but more often than not I would pass - if I bid, I would choose 3 not 4. 

Why pass? Partner on average will have something like 2353 shape. On a club lead once the ace is forced out, I'm almost certain to have to trump the next couple of rounds which will make it very hard to draw trumps and set up my other major.

The other down side with bidding is getting too high. That's particularly the case if I start with 4. When partner doesn't have a reasonable hand and/or there are bad breaks we could get doubled and go for plenty.

By passing the auction isn't over. The opponents may bid 4/5 and partner may bid over that or if they pass

3, partner may well bid 3 or 3NT. I don't like passing, but I would more often than not as even though the suit quality is terrible, we could easily miss a vulnerable game e.g., if partner fitted one major but with marginal values and some club length passed out 3.”

A nervous pass, therefore. There was no danger in partner getting too high this time (North chose 4 as their action over the pre-empt) especially when East produced the double card to 4.

 

The final contract should have been an easy +500 (2 down) for East-West. A standard Q lead would have given East 3 trump tricks, a heart and A. However, West fancied the idea of scoring their singleton spade and so led a heart. South won and played a second heart. Again, West could have ruffed but allowed East to win the trick.  

High diamonds then did not worry South as they ruffed 2 hearts and did not play clubs until trick 13 when East held high spades only…-200, down 1 for a relieved South.

Meanwhile, 5 is makeable for East-West though worth a little less than the 500 available from 4x.

So, would you have been there with a rather thin club pre-empt and an even thinner under the circumstances 4? Had North remained silent, East would have bid their hearts and as long as long as West remembered that a change of suit after their pre-empt is forcing, then 4. That might have been enough for West.

 

 

The problem for North-South is that next time North bids 4 with something more substantial than their hand above, South may be nervous to go higher than game. Or shall we just put North’s action above down to the difficulties of bidding over pre-empts?

Tomorrow, more for our less experienced players as it’s Fri .

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

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