Should N bid S over Opponents 2D?
Rich:
This is a tough one. I don’t think I would bid over 2D. The
misfit for clubs is concerning. The cards outside of spades are defense
oriented. And, most importantly, the spade suit is flimsy. If the spades were
headed by the AJTxx, I’d probably bid 2S.
Should N have bid 2S or pass?
Mark:
It's a tough decision. 2 diamonds could be a disaster and 2 spades could be a bigger one, vulnerable, no less.
I would have been tempted to pass 1 NT and hope to take a bunch of diamond tricks on defense, but I would have been wrong to do so on this hand.
As it happens, 2 spades can be defeated
several tricks with "best defense", meaning the defense that happens
to work this time. That would involve leading a small spade from KJ96, drawing
at least 1 more trump when you get in, then shifting to clubs, never
letting the dummy in and collecting a total of 8 tricks for the defense. In
real life, East is very tempted to lead the AK of hearts. North ruffs the 2nd
and leads ace and a small club, creating a ruffing entry to dummy. With careful
further play, 2 spades can be made for a very nice match point result. It's not
a mistake to defend this way, it's just unlucky this time. A difference of
3 tricks between a natural lead and a magically effective lead that looks all
wrong. The bidding is supposed to represent an estimate of what will happen in
the play. The play doesn't always follow the estimated script.
To answer the original question, If I were South, I'd
be defending 1NT. In other words, I'd pass 1NT, but I don't fault the bid of 2
diamonds. If I'm North and my partner bid 2 diamonds, I would bid 2 spades,
prepared to apologize if it turned out badly. I'd only have to apologize if E
led a trump at trick 1 or 2. That's an extremely unlikely defense.
1. Should N jump shift to Diamonds instead of supporting
Hearts?
2. After the 3D jump shift, what is the bidding sequence to explore slam?
Vic:
Answer to Question 1
I believe I know what you are asking, but I am going to rephrase your question.
Why? Because South (not
North) is the one "supporting" hearts.
Answer: I am guessing most (all) experienced players would jump shift to diamonds.
Why? Picture South with the heart King & the club King. Be that the case, the North hand has a very realistic chance at small slam in hearts. So, even though the 2H bid by South promises less than a Limit Raise point count, it is possible that South has those two critical cards.
Turns out, South does have those two critical cards. And, played in the North, 6H does deserve to make.
Over a jump shift to 3D, I suspect many experienced partners would find slam. Ruling out a reckless roll of the dice (Ho Chunk) bid, however, I suspect most inexperienced partners would not.
If NS are inexperienced players, I suspect the contract would end up at 4H, regardless of the choice of second calls by North.
Ain't bridge a great
game?
Playing in a heart contract, North has first round control of all 4 suits. They also have second round control of spades & diamonds. South has second round control of clubs & hearts.
Highly experienced players have cue bidding agreements that enable them to explore for slam by telling partner about these "controls". The details of those agreements are complex & vary from one partnership to another.
Inexperienced players have
few, if any, cue bidding agreements. In the absence of complex cue bidding
agreements, I see no way to "explore" for slam.
Rich:
East’s
opening bid of 1 Heart is not forcing on W, who may pass with a bad 5 points or
less. Here W has much more than 5 points and should respond 1 Spade. This bid
is forcing on East, who should rebid 2 Clubs to show his second suit. Over 2
Clubs West is not absolutely forced to bid again. But East could have as much
as 17 or 18 points, so West should bid again on any reasonable excuse. Here
West has good support for Clubs and so should raise to 3 Clubs. With no extras,
East passes 3 Clubs.
I
confess I would have opened 1 Heart with the North hand. A minimum opening for
1 of a major should be about 12 points and 2 or more Quick Tricks. (Quick
Tricks: AK of a suit =2; AQ=1-1/2; Ax=1; KQ=1; Kx=1/2.) The North hand has
2-1/2 QT: 1-1/2 in H and 1 in D, and thus may be opened 1 Heart with 11 high
card points. This hand is a sound minimum 1 Heart opening because the values
are concentrated in the two long suits: hearts and diamonds.
If
North opens 1 Heart, East should pass. The club suit is too shabby to warrant a
2 Club overcall. South should respond 2 Hearts.
West may be tempted to make a takeout double (I think I
would do it), but may be deterred by the vulnerability. If West passes, the
bidding should die at 2 Hearts by NS. If West makes a takeout double, East has
a choice of Pass or 3 Clubs, probably favoring the pass. Notice that 2 Hearts
is an okay contract for NS on any reasonable trump break.
Rich:
I
recommend opening 1NT on the vast majority of hands with 15-17hcp and 5-3-3-2
distribution. Probably would open 1 of the major with 15hcp. a strong major and
two very weak short suits. With 5-4-2-2 distribution I would tend to open one
of the major except when significant points in both doubletons.
On the example I would open 1NT as North. Over 1NT, EW should still find their spade partial. For example, playing Capaletti E should bid 2H over 1nt, showing both majors. That will enable W to compete to 2, or even 3 spades.
If EW reach 2 spades, South should probably compete to 3 diamonds.
Mark:
When E opens 2NT W knows the combined HCP for the
partnership is 36 or 37 points. W was on the right track to make sure that the
potentially missing 4 points aren't in the form of an ace. When E responds
4NT (3 aces) to the Gerber convention (Nice bid!) W can bid 5 clubs to be sure
that all kings are accounted for. With the solid diamond suit, you can be
almost sure that 13 tricks are there for the taking or might need a bit of good
play and card reading to make 7. W had the right idea but lost confidence at
the last moment. 7NT isn't guaranteed, but so very likely. There aren't many
opportunities to bid and make a grand slam, sso I'd say go for it!
Vic:
I am not sure how an expert would answer the question posed above. But, I believe the major advantage of Jacoby 2NT is that it facilitates the identification of various features pertinent to deciding whether or not to go to slam. I believe that advantage outweighs any potential disadvantages of giving up 2NT as a natural bid.
I assume the 2NT call by Responder (North) in the above auction is Jacoby 2NT. If so, Responder is promising Opener (South) 4-card heart support plus at least an opening strength hand of their own. A nine card golden fit is much stronger than an eight card golden fit. And a hand of at least opening strength also suggests the potential for slam.
The second call of 3C by Opener was not the proper response to Jacoby 2NT. Opener's second call should have been 3S, promising a singleton or void in spades. Shortness in either hand is a distributional feature that also suggests the potential for slam.
The spade singleton/void means Responder can anticipate one spade loser at most. They can also expect that Opener must have HCPs in clubs & diamonds.
Subsequent to a second call of 3S by Opener, I would expect most experienced pairs to reach a small slam in hearts. They would do so via control bids, Blackwood, or a combination of both.
Turns out 6H does deserve to make.
Ain't bridge a great game?
Should you bid a Jacoby Transfer when 2C opener bids 2NT?
Mark:
There are several options for North.
The most important thing is to realize that, despite having only 1 high card point, that hand is worth extras. There is a known fit of at least 8 cards in hearts and a possible fit in spades as well. As it happens, both 4 hearts and 4 spades are decent contracts and both should make with normal play.
Many players use both Jacoby and Texas transfers. In that case, you'd want to bid 4 diamonds over 2NT, transferring to 4 hearts. If you play both Jacoby and Texas, transfer to 3 hearts and then bidding 4 hearts after partner has taken the transfer to 3, shows a stronger hand than north's, indicating some slam interest as well as 6 or more cards in hearts. the direct transfer to 4 hearts is weaker and considered a shutout bid. It can be done as a stretch, as in this hand. If you are not real familiar with Jacoby and Texas, they are worth incorporating in your system and you should practice using it.
For really ambitious players a convention known as Smolen is worthwhile for
responding to 1NT or 2NT with 5-4 or 4-5 in the majors. I won't go into it in
detail. You can Google it, but only if you and your partner are thoroughly
comfortable with Jacoby and Texas.
Should S bid 2D or 2NT in response to North’s opening
bid?
Rich:
Over partner’s 1H opener South should respond 2D, not 2NT.
First, these days most people play that 2NT over partner’s opening bid of 1H or
1S shows a game-forcing raise of partner’s major with at least 4 trump. Second,
even if you play that 2NT is natural, 2D is a better choice. 2NT has two
significant flaws: only one spade stopper and a singleton heart. The 2D
response has no flaws. It is forcing and natural. Also. it leaves plenty of
room to explore the best final contract, which may well be in diamonds, clubs,
NT or even hearts.
Was this a biddable slam?
Vic:
Yes, it was a biddable
slam.
Question:
Bid at 6C went down 2 doubled. How should this hand have
been bid?
Mark:
I can understand North's enthusiasm at being dealt that
beautiful hand. A jump shift is aggressive, but acceptable with that North
hand. After that, N needs to consider 2 caution signs: First of all, having bid
the full value of the hand and maybe then some, you now want to remember you
are on a minimum for what you've said so far. The second red flag is the fact
that there is a misfit. North might be trying to put the brakes on with 4NT,
but it looks like Blackwood to South, and now there is no longer a plus score
available to N-S.
Both N and S could take a more conservative view.
North might just bid 4 hearts over 4 clubs, showing 5-5 or better. S would pass
or go to 4 spades. Neither contract is a sure thing, but might be made. Also,
South, smelling a bad misfit and being minimum for actions so far; also having
a pretty good diamond stopper, could try to stop at 3NT rather than cruise past
it with 4 clubs. You just can't afford to bid out the distribution. Even 3NT is
far from a sure thing. Misfit hands can be nasty.
Rich:
Rich:
Vic:
Suggested Bidding Sequence
(EW are Passing)
P 1D
P 1H P
1S P 3H P
4H P P P
Holding the North hand, I
would not hesitate to raise 3H to game.
Question: West made 5C. How should a game bid be considered?
Mark:
Just because a given number of tricks are taken at the
table, doesn't mean that is a normal, predictable result. In fact, with solid
defense, which is admittedly hard, E-W should only make 10 tricks on this hand,
even with the lucky 2-2 break in trumps but the unlucky position (for E-W) of
the major honors. A mistake was probably made by the defenders. All
players, even world champions, make mistakes. E-W have a total of 25 points,
often enough to make 9 tricks at NT and, with a good fit, 10 tricks in a suit,
as here. After E makes the rather aggressive bid of 1 spade, then raises Wests
non- forcing 2 clubs to 3 (This is a clear overbid) W should bid 3NT and
will probably make it. I say this even though N-S can take the first 9 tricks
at NT. If N leads any major suit card other than the spade ace (normally an
awful lead), W can scamper home with 9 tricks. In a high level
tournament, +150 for E-W is probably above average.
The bidding should go like this: W: 1club N: 1H E:
Dbl (just about a perfect hand for negative dbl) S pass (some pesky but
commonly successful S players would raise to 2H because the vulnerability is
favorable.W could bid NT with the heart stopper(if hearts are going to be led
from the north). Since that is likely to induce a heart lead from N, pesky
South players will be punished by drawing a heart lead and a score of -150 or
-600.
Vic:
Ideally, forcing bids are a topic you would have time to discuss with partner prior to game time. Not all bidding systems & not all partnerships play them the same. So I suppose the most realistic answer to your question is: It Depends.
In pretty much all bidding systems the 1H bid by Responder (West) would be designated as forcing. Some partnerships might agree that the 1S rebid by Opener (East) is also forcing. Other partnerships would treat the 1S rebid as not forcing.
Note that even though spades is a higher ranking suit, the fact the rebid is still at the one level means it should not be treated as a Reverse.
East could have pretty much removed all doubt about whether their rebid was forcing or not by jumping to 2S. It would be reasonable for Responder to assume that a jump shift rebid by Opener was promising 4 spades & 19+ HCPs. Be that the case, Responder should consider it forcing to game.
Turns out EW deserve to make 4NT. They also deserve to make 5S, courtesy of the 3-3 spade split (36%) in NS.
Ain't bridge a great
game?
Question: East and West appear
to have a potential slam. How should this
have been bid?
Mark:
Just to make it clear, leading any of the opening leader's
13 cards is legal within the rules. The "rules" are just suggestions,
based on what usually works. It's true that underleading an ace in a non- trump
suit against a trump contract is rarely a good idea and best left to the
experts and they very rarely do it. Leading an unsupported ace in a side suit is
usually not a good idea, though it isn't as rare as the underlead. On this hand
the "rules" are right, though in practice it should make no
difference. West has a safe lead of a trump. It can't cost and might help. Good
players with the West hand would only lead a small spade if it fell out of
their hand by accident. On a day when that happens, they should buy a lottery
ticket. After a small spade lead, unless South peeked at the opponents' hands,
there would be no rational reason to play the king. It's about 100 times more
likely that W led from the queen. Thus, South would play small from dummy,
hoping to force the ace from East, holding it to just 1 spade loser and
guaranteeing the contract. As long as that unlikely lead was made, it
seems like 9 tricks is the inevitable result at 3 hearts, making
South's choice of opening 2 hearts more successful than the 99.9% of serious
bridge players who would open that hand 4 hearts.
Let's look at the bidding for a moment. Several bids
were made that I disagree with. An opening bid of 2 hearts should be made with
6 hearts, very rarely 7 if vulnerable. An 8 card suit, especially of that
quality should be opened 4. If that suit were a minor and I'm not vulnerable I
probably open 5. We tend to be justifiably a little frisky, not vulnerable in 3rd
seat. Even a 5 card suit is opened with a 2 bid occasionally in that position,
but never 8.
East's takeout double in the passout seat over 2
hearts is aggressive, but I agree with it. I wouldn't fault a pass.
With the West hand I would overcall 2 hearts with
2NT. It's borderline and I don't fault the pass. After E doubles for takeout,
even though E is an original passed hand, I would bid at least 3 spades, which,
incidentally, will be made easily. 4 spades has a good chance with N unable to
lead hearts and S unable to get the lead. That's why 4 hearts would have been a
good opening bid for S. Yes, it's down one for -50, but you are not -620, as
you would be at most tables.
Vic:
Answer: No.
Looking at the North hand, it is obvious what North was trying to tell partner. But 2NT is not the proper way to do so.
If one of my partners made the 2NT call that North did, I would interpret it as an "Unusual NT", promising 5-5 distribution in the two minors & 10+ HCPs.
Why would that be my interpretation? Because that is a common partnership agreement for that 2NT bid. Lacking a pre existing partnership agreement, however, I would have no way to be certain. It would simply be my best guess.
A common agreement for the proper way for North to show that hand would be to overcall 1NT with a Double. Common agreement is that DBL would promise that Overcaller (North) also has a hand that could have opened 1NT & that West stole their bid. Would anyone like to guess how many HCPs East & South are likely to have in that scenario?
This is an example of a scenario that does not come up very often, but that you & partner need to have discussed in advance. Your discussion needs to have included not only how partner can show a matching hand, but also the meaning of any subsequent bids by Responder and/or Advancer.
Defying all probability, North & South seemed to have guessed right about what the other was trying to tell them. They did find a makeable 3S contract. Whodathunkit?
And if North/South were in fact following a pre existing partnership agreement, I would suggest they scrap it ASAP. I see the thread of logic. But it was truly bizarre to have that thread of logic lead to a makeable contract.
Their best contract, by the way, would have been 3NT (game) which also deserves to make.
Ain't bridge a great
game?
When
we find a major suit fit, we play in that suit. NOT NT!!!!
North should bid 1 ♥️, not 1 NT. Most of our
bidding is looking or 4-4 major suit fits and 1 NT denies having a 4-card
major. S would bid 2 ♣️ and because N has 12 points,
he would raise S to 3 ♣️ which S would pass. Always
show a major suit fit when you have one. Why deny something good about your
hand and a 4-card Major is a good thing?
