This hand is from an on-line bridge game. It was interesting to see the wide variety of contracts and results from what appears to be a fairly easy hand.
When South passed in first seat he had a very difficult time winning the auction. Four clubs by West made ten tricks. When South opened one spade, as shown above, North always drove to game. Some declarers made this contract, but some also found a way to go down one.
There are many reasons to open this hand. South has ten high card points and at least three distribution points. In addition to that, he has a natural rebid in the event his partner could not support spades. South is not vulnerable and the opponents are vulnerable. This is always a good reason to try to open the bidding before they have a chance.
West will overcall and North has many options. The three heart cue bid shows a limit raise in spades or better. South should just bid the game. This is not a hand to get clever with - any other bid may provide the opponents information that will help in the defense.
When West led the queen of diamonds, South had a difficult time trying to come to ten tricks. The king of hearts, which was the usual choice, made the contract somewhat easier. If the declarer can convince West that it is in his best interest to cash his three top winners, he will then be able to discard three diamond cards on the three remaining winners in the dummy - the queen-jack of hearts and the king of clubs. If he cannot manage to do that, he will lose a fourth trick to the jack of diamonds.
From the defensive side, if West can switch to a diamond at trick two, or even better, lead a small heart to trick two, South will not be able to establish enough winners in the dummy to avoid the diamond loser.
Remember to be aware of the vulnerability and to bid more aggressively when you are in this sort of situation. Don't be afraid to bid "thin" games. Keep in mind that everyone else is doing the same thing. The Cleveland Whist Club, Unit 125 of the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL), is holding its semi-annual Master/Future Master Pairs at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 25th. The event will be held at St. Michael's Woodside, 5025 East Mill Road, Broadview Heights.
Players with less than 300 master points will pair up with players who have more than 300. This is an ACBL Club Appreciation Night so it is Sectionally Rated. This means that there will be much larger master point awards for the winners.
The Standard American Yellow Card bidding system will be
used by all the players and a seminar on this will be held one-
half hour before gametime. As usual, there will be great
hospitality. Call (440) 205-0125 for information and/or
partnership assistance.
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Bernstein is
a free-lance writer in Solon.
To reach Harvey Bernstein:
hjb0416@yahoo.com