This hand came up at a recent sectional bridge tournament. There were thirty-five tables in the competition and the slam shown above was only bid at three of them. I held the South cards and my partner was Albert Freeman of Shaker Heights.
The one club opening was normal. I had no idea of what was going to happen. West decided to make an off shape two spade bid in an effort to take away bidding space. Freeman bid three spades. A direct cue-bid by responder should show a good fit for the opening suit or, lacking that, a suit of his own that he is going to reveal later. Basically, he wants me to make a bid that will give him more information about my hand.
East, realizing that partner had a weak hand with spades, added to the confusion by bidding five spades. This is known as an "advance sacrifice". East knows that this contract cannot be made but he is hoping that his bid will produce a small minus score that will be better than the score that would be the result of our normal contract.
At this level I have nothing to say and after two passes Freeman has to figure out what is going on. He was able to determine that I held at least five clubs. How? Simple. The South hand should have a spade void. From the opening bid, there cannot be five hearts. There could be five diamonds, but then, the only reason to have bid clubs first is if there were six of them.
Freeman's six club bid was the end of the auction and I was able to claim on overtrick for a top score on the board. Learn to use the opponents interference to your advantage, as was done here. Every bid, even a pass, conveys some information, you just have to be aware of what is going on at the table.
The American Bridge Association held the Annual Cleveland Grade "A" Bridge Tournament in Bedford, from October 27 to 29. Congratulations to the following players who were succesful in their respective events.
Friday Afternoon Flight A Pairs (14 pairs). 1. Jean Pinkney and Dorenda Rivers, Cleveland. 2. Louis and Marvin Allen, Southfield, MI.
Friday Afternoon Flight B Pairs (14 pairs). 1. David Wooley, Cleveland, and Henry Clarett, Youngstown. 2. Florence Carter and Steve Hill, Cleveland.
Friday Evening Flight A Pairs (15 pairs). 1. Sara Seals and Georgia Doggett, Cleveland. 2. Bernard Heyman, Shaker Heights, and Susan Stark, Cleveland.
Friday Evening Flight B Pairs (12 pairs). 1. David Wooley, Cleveland, and Henry Clarett, Youngstown. 2. Juanita Brown, Cleveland, and Pauline Lewis, Maple Heights.
Saturday Morning Stratified Pairs (20 pairs). Stratum A. 1. James Hunter, Cleveland, and Barbara Adams, Warren. 2. David Wooley, Cleveland, and Henry Clarett, Youngstown. Stratum B. 1. Wooley and Clarett. 2. Mary Anderson and Carolyn Boxley, Detroit, MI.
Saturday Afternoon Stratified Pairs (26 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Albert Freeman, Shaker Heights, and Oscar Saffold, Cleveland. 2/3. Frederick Jefferson and Olivia Gates, Cleveland, with Mary Anderson and Carolyn Boxley, Detroit, MI. Stratum B. 1. Anderson and Boxley. 2. James and Sara Buford, Lorain.
Saturday Evening Stratified Pairs (23 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Louis and Marvin Allen, Southfield, MI. 2. Sukumar Roy, Shaker Heights, and Lily Cleveland, Chagrin Falls. Stratum B. 1. Lawrence Wills, Fairview Park, and Reginald McPherson, Cleveland. 2. Barbara Adams, Warren, and Henry Clarett, Youngstown.
Sunday Round Robin Teams. Section A. Tied for 1/2/3. James
Hunter, Cleveland, Sandra Stevenson, Columbus, Vi Clark,
Cleveland, and Janes Pope, Pittsburgh, PA. Bernie Heyman, Shaker
Heights, Susan Stark, Cleveland, Louis and Marvin Allen,
Southfield, MI, and Lois Butler, Chagrin Falls. James and Lily
Cleveland, Chagrin Falls, Lillian Hale, Warrensville Heights,
Pauline Lewis, Maple Heights, and Barbara Shakoor, Pepper Pike.
Section B. 1. James and Sara Buford, Lorain, with Winifred Wright
and Pam Bradford, Cleveland. 2/3. Juanita Brown, Cleveland
Heights, Etta Bradley and Georgia Dixon, Cleveland, and Opal
Taylor, Solon, with Jean Pinkey, Dorenda Rivers, Steve Hill, and
Mollie Young, Cleveland.
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Bernstein is
a free-lance writer in Solon.
To reach Harvey Bernstein:
hjb0416@yahoo.com