Mon 2nd 1st Johan & Guttorm 65% 2nd Gus & Mark 57%
Wed 4th 1st Paul Q & Terry Q 62% 2nd = Paul Sc & Dino 58%
2nd = Dave C & Mike G 58%
Fri 6th 1st Hans V & Paul Sc 63% 2nd Janne & Guttorm 60%
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Bidding Quiz Standard
American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.
Hand A Hand B With Hand
A partner opens 1♠, what do you bid?
♠ KQ102 ♠ 872
♥ K53 ♥ J8 With Hand B you open 1♣ (much better than 1♦) and partner
♦ Q973 ♦ A1065 responds 1♠, what do you bid?
♣
A2 ♣ AKQ7
Hand C Hand D What do
you open in 2nd seat, unfavourable vul, with Hand C?
♠ 1097 ♠ AJ53 With Hand D it’s unfavourable vulnerability.
♥ KQ2 ♥
J53 (a) What do you
do if it’s three passes to you?
♦ 853 ♦ AJ4 (b) What do you do if partner opens 1♣ and
♣
AK98 ♣ 1042 with a weak 2♥?
E 1NT pass 2♠ You play transfers, so what is this
2♠ bid?
F 1♣ pass 1♠ pass How
many ♠’s does the 2♠ bid promise…
2♠ … is it always 4 or can it be just 3?
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Current club championship standings
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Gold Cup = Best 30 |
Silver Plate = Best 10 |
Bronze Medal = Best 5 |
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 |
1878.0 Janne Roos 1856.5 Paul Quodomine |
669.2 655.1 640.1 626.8 Tomas Wikman 622.1 Sally Watson 619.8 Lars Broman 615.9 Jean Wissing 610.7 Johan Bratsburg 610.0 Derek & Gerard 609.5 Duplessy & Coutlet |
344.6 337.6 329.6 325.4 Sally Watson 323.4 322.9 Lars Broman 322.7 Derek & Gerard 320.3 Jean Wissing 319.5 Duplessy & Coutlet 316.0 Sigurd Zahl |
Another Jacoby 2NT Auction Board 19 from Wednesday 21st July
Two weeks ago we had a hand where a Jacoby 2NT auction can keep you low at 4♥/♠ when there is no slam. There was a second example a few deals later the same day.
Dealer: ♠ KQ102 Table A
South ♥ K53 West North(A) East South
E-W vul ♦ Q973 - - - 1♠
♣
A2 pass 4NT (1) pass 5♥
♠ 3 N ♠ 875
♠ AJ964 pass 2NT (1) pass 4♠ (2)
♥
A102 pass pass (3) pass
♦ 84
♣ K87
Table B: (1) This N-S pair play the Jacoby 2NT convention
and this is the way to find out if opener has a hand good enough to investigate
slam.
(2) This shows a minimal opener.
(1) So North knows not to even think about
investigating slam.
And what happened? One pair bid a hopeless slam
6♠-2, other results were 4♠+1 twice and 4♠= three times.
The bottom lines:
- The Jacoby 2NT is a great convention and really helps you to stop bidding poor major suit slams.
Dave’s Column Here
is Dave’s 1st problem, on the play of the hand.
♠
KQJ53 ♠ 872 West North East South
♥ KQ10 ♥
J8 - - - 1♣
♦ J94 ♦ A1065 pass 1♠ pass 2♠
♣
42 ♣ AKQ7 pass 4♠ all pass
You are North, declarer in 4♠. East leads the ♦K, plan the play.
Dave’s Column
Answer Board 11 from
Wednesday 4th August
Dealer: ♠ KQJ53 Book Bidding
South ♥ KQ10 West North East South(B)
Love all ♦ J94 - - - 1♣
♣
42 pass 1♠ pass 2♠ (1)
pass 4♠ all
pass
♠ 1064 N ♠ A9
♠ 872 partner’s 1♠
response with just three card
♥
J8
support, typically with a
weak 2-card ♥
♦ A1065 holding.
♣ AKQ7
East leads the ♦K, plan the play.
The worry here is that you will have four losers – two aces, one ♦ and one ♦
ruff, or one ♦ and a 2nd trump loser on a
promotion.
Say that you win the ♦A and play three
rounds of ♣’s, discarding a ♦ from hand to try to prevent a 3rd round ♦ ruff. When you play a ♠, East will win, cash the ♦Q and play a ♥ to the ♥A. West will play the ♣J and you will lose a 2nd trump
trick (now, if you ruff the ♣ low, later if you
ruff high). Can you prevent this?
Yes! There will be no trump promotion if West can’t play the fourth when
declarer must ruff it. The solution is to play a 4th round of ♣’s yourself, before starting ♠’s. When West turns up with the ♣J, discard your last ♦ rather than ruff. This loser on loser play
stops the defence from developing a second trump trick on this layout, but
would not work if West held a doubleton ♠10x
or ♠9x. When the ♣J holds, West would play a 2nd ♦, ruffed by declarer. East would win the first round of trumps and play
a third ♦, and West would uppercut with his remaining trump,
thus building a second trump for East.
This deal was played in the finals of the Bermuda Bowl in 2005. Both the
Italian and American declarers adopted this line of play. At the table it did
not matter as the major suit aces were switched, but great declarer play is
always a treat to watch.
And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 3NT+1, 4♠= twice, 2NT+2, 3NT-1 and 3NT-2.
Dave’s 2nd
Column Here
is Dave’s 2nd problem, again on declarer play.
♠ AQ3 ♠ 85 Book Bidding
♣
A10542 ♣ 6 2NT pass 3♦ pass
3NT all pass
You are West, declarer in 3NT. North leads a low ♠ to South’s ♠K and your ♠A. plan the play.
Dave’s 2nd Column Answer Board
12 from Wednesday 4th August
Dealer: ♠ J9642 Book Bidding
North ♥ 962 West North East South
N-S vul ♦ 10 1♣ (1) pass 1♦ pass
♣
KJ83 2NT pass 3♦ pass
3NT all
pass
♠ AQ3 N ♠ 85
♠ K107 With top cards, all suits covered, and a
♥
Q108 5-card
suit I can see no reason whatsoever
♦ J953 to
downgrade to 18-19 as in the book.
♣ Q97
And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 3NT=
four times, 3NT-1 and 6♦-2.
So four players made it, but I don’t know how
many declared correctly. I do know that one declarer played a low ♥ at trick two for some reason (this gives a
trick away if the ♥Q is doubleton or singleton). Another declarer
correctly played the ♥AK and low but then
incorrectly played the ♥J from dummy. As it
happens these inferior lines both worked.
The Ogust convention Board 4 from Wednesday 4th
Dealer: ♠ 1098 Table A
West ♥ A1085 West North East South
Both vul ♦ K102 2♦ (1) pass 2NT (2) pass
♣
1076 3♦ (3) pass 3NT (4) all pass
♠ 3 N ♠ AJ62 Table B
♠ KQ754 3♦ pass 5♦ (7) all
pass
♥
Q42
♦ 5
♣ K942
Table B: (1) This pair play a strong 2♦ opening and so West has to pass.
(5) This bid needs to be agreed when playing
transfers. More established pairs have various uses but for non-established
partnerships it generally shows a weak hand with a 6+ card minor. Opener is
expected to bid 3♣ and responder will pass or correct to 3♦.
(6) East has been around for years and so
presumably forgot.
(7) This is ridiculous of course, if he really
thinks partner gas a good hand with ♦’s
then surely 3NT is better.
And what happened? 3NT= twice, 3♦=, 2♦+1,
1NT= and 5♦-2.
The bottom lines:
- The Ogust convention really is best over a weak two and is certainly worth playing.
- Without another understanding, it’s best to play that 1NT - pass - 2♠ is weak with a 6+ card minor and asks opener to bid 3♣.
That terrible 4333 type shape Board 12 from Monday 2nd Aug
Dealer: ♠ 1097 Table A
West ♥ KQ2 West North(C) East South(D)
N-S vul ♦ 853 pass 1♣ (1) 2♥ (2) dbl (3)
♣
AK98 pass 2NT pass 3NT (4)
♠ K842 N ♠ Q6
♠ AJ53
♥
J53
♦ AJ4
♣ 1042
Table B: (1) This North knows just how bad the 4333 shape
is and passed as the answer to question C. This is a very marginal decision as
the hand has good top cards and some intermediates, but I certainly would not
argue with pass.
(5) A weak 2♥ is
an alternative.
(6) What did you open with this South hand D(a) in
this week’s quiz? This hand is actually 15 for the rule of 15 for 4th
seat openers (points + ♠ length) but I would
not open it because of the 4333 shape and lack of intermediates.
And what happened? The pass-out worked well for
N-S at table B, they have a combined 23 points but 1NT is the limit. Why is
that? Because the 4333 type shape sucks, and two 4333 shapes opposite each
other really suck! If either North or South bid then they will get too high.
Results were 3NT-2, 2NT-1, 2♠-1 twice, passed out
and 2♥(E) -1.
The bottom lines:
- Deduct a point for the terrible 4333 type shape.
- N-S at Table B got a good result here, and it’s possible that the other good result (setting E-W in 2♥) was if North passed and East opened 2♥, passed out, as I can see no other sensible way for N-S to stop low.
Paul’s Column re-opening with a double
There has been a bit of controversy over what hand types are suitable for a reopening double after a 1 level overcall, p, p. Let’s look at some of the exceptions. Remember, this is a form of take-out double and should be treated as such. The farther it strays from what you would double the suit with if opened to your right the less appropriate a re-opening double. Here are some examples of when NOT to re-open with a double. Obviously vulnerability is of vital interest but for the following let’s assume our side is NV, the opponents Vul.
1)
Obviously opener cannot reopen with a double with a moderate hand and length in
the overcalled suit. After 1♦, 1♠, p, p:
♠Kxxx
♥QJx
♦AJ10x
♣Kx
Just pass one spade, partner cannot be looking at a spade stack and a penalty pass, and did not negative double.
2) A balanced hand of 18-19 hcp that would have re-bid 2NT opposite a responding partner:
♠Q10x
♥AKxx
♦AKxx
♣Kx
Re-bid 1NT.
3) A freakish 2-suiter with near game in hand. These hands are not good 2♣ openings because of the difficulty describing them after high level interference. After 1♣, 1♥, p, p:
♠AKQxx
♥x
♦x
♣AKQJxx
Re-bid 2♠.
After 1♠, 2♦ or ♥, p, p:
♠AKJ10xx
♥void
♦x
♣AKQxxx
Bid 4♣! Your side may actually have slam in a black suit opposite a partner who passed! ♠xx, ♥J10xx, ♦Axx, ♣10xxx should now CUE-BID 4♦, indicating cooperation in a slam attempt for one of your suits. IT IS NOT DIAMONDS, you have shown a powerful freak black 2-suiter. I think Terry would pretty much agree with the above exceptions to the “automatic” reopening double. Now for some we apparently do NOT agree on.
4) A minimum opening with a very long suit and limited defense. This is the hand which initially led to our respectful disagreement:
♠K
♥95
♦AJ976543
♣Ax
Weak openers with very long suits and limited defense are inappropriate for re-opening doubles. Would you double 1♥ if opened on your right? Re-bid 2♦, telling partner you have this hand type. Hands with very long suits play well on offense but not on defense, the underlying principle of preempts. If you double and partner holds:
♠xxx
♥KJxxx
♦KQ
♣xxx
Who could fault him for passing? The ♦KQ look golden and the heart holding is fine. Yet with the vulnerable overcall on your left the ♠K looks very shaky defensively and the diamond duplication leaves you with only one defensive trick, the ♣A, not the 2 ˝ minimum partner expects. You will likely make only 4♥, 1♣, and MAYBE 1♦ on defense. There is another downside. WHERE ARE THE SPADES? If LHO was dealt:
♠AQxx
♥AQ10xxx
♦x
♣Kx
his hand is good enough to try a 1♠ bid over your double. And his partner with 5♠ to the ♠J109xx will be delighted to raise, perhaps to 3 or 4. But LHO is NOT good enough to bid spades if you are in there with 2♦. Or let’s say he was dealt:
♠AQx
♥AQ10xx
♦xxx
♣Kx
He passes your double as does partner and now HIS partner holding:
♠J109xxx
♥x
♦void
♣QJ10xxx
believes the roof is about to fall in and tries 1♠. Clearly he did not have enough to bid initially playing new suits either forcing or constructive, both popular methods, but NOW he sends a clear message and the opponents may find their spade game.
5)Two suited weak openers with limited defense:
♠AQxxx
♥xx
♦AJ10xx
♣x
Rule of
20? Janne would cut my privates off with
a dull, rusty knife if I opened this in first seat but most folks would open 1♠.
Should you re-open a 2♣
overcall on your left followed by 2 passes with a double? Once again the vulnerable overcall leaves
your ♠Q suspect on defense, and
partner will not know how to evaluate the defensive value of his diamonds. And as above, there are a lot of hearts
unaccounted for. Also consider your dilemma over a 2♥ overcall. In the
first case you cannot risk partner bidding 3♣
and if over double p, p,
♠AKxxx
♥Kx
♦AQxxx
♣x
THIS is a reopening double as you have excellent defense and, should the opponents run you may now try 3♦ or double.
Another example of the “bad” versus “good” 2 suiter:
♠xx
♥AJ10xx
♦KQJxx
♣Q
After your 1♥ opening is overcalled with 1♠ passed to you re-open with 2♦ telling partner you have limited defense and we should be declaring, not defending unless he has a freak black suiter. This also cuts off a 2♣ re-bid by LHO if he held an intermediate strength hand with 5-5 shape not suitable for a Michaels cue-bid. If the hand is:
♠xx
♥AKJxx
♦AKxxx
♣x
re-open with a double! You have excellent defense, especially if partner is short in ♥, and if they run to ♦ you can NOW bid your diamonds showing the “good” two-suiter.
If you maintain some discipline in your re-opening doubles your partner will be much more comfortable making “penalty passes”.
As to the disputed hand if I held as little as ♠Qxx, ♥KJ109, ♦Kx ♣xxxx I would NOT bid the textbook 1NT (at match-points, not IMPs) but pass 1♥ looking at 4 ˝ likely defensive tricks and seek the magic +200, or +500 against a part-score given some of the overcalls I have seen lately if my partner is disciplined in re-opening with a double. And if he decides to describe a weakfish hand of the types above I am well placed to make a rational decision.
Terry cites a very well known International expert as saying “reopening doubles are almost automatic” but the key word is ALMOST. Opening bids of 4-3-3-3, 5-3-3-2, and 4-4-3-2 occur with MUCH greater frequency than the skewed distributions I give, hence the greater frequency of re-opening doubles. Know when to re-open with a bid, a pass, or a double and your scores will improve a great deal.
< end of Paul’s column>
Terry’s comments. Many thanks for your input Paul – I know how much work is involved. I totally agree that there are many exceptions when you do not re-open with a double, and my (slightly different) version of this has been on the website for years in the conventions section under negative doubles.
But we do disagree on a number of specific hands and I believe that
this is due to a basic concept: Paul says at the very beginning “Remember,
this is a form of take-out double and should be treated as such”. I
disagree and will re-open with a double if I think that partner is holding a
penalty hand and I am happy to defend if he does and can cope with him bidding
if he does not. In my opinion there is no correlation whatsoever between a
re-opening double and a take-out double if
And obviously I need to wear protection if I ever partner Janne as I would most certainly would open hand 5) – it is 21 for the rule of 20 with the points in the suits, the ♠ suit, and an easy rebid; a very clear opener in my style. As you hold the ♠ suit (very important), the hand may easily be passed out when you are cold for 4♠.
Bidding Quiz Answers
E 1NT pass 2♠ Unless you have agreed
something more sophisticated, this is best played as showing a weak hand with a
6 card minor. Partner is expected to bid 3♣ which you either pass or correct.
F 1♣ pass 1♠ pass This
raise to 2♠ may be just three cards, typically with a
2♠ weak ♥ holding as Hand B.
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