This hand came up during a team contest and the player sitting South who decided to bid got the better result. The auction above produced a result of plus 400. The East-West pair would have done well to bid five hearts which only goes down one trick, but it is not wise to go down when you don't think that the opponents can make their contract - and the East-West pair did hold three aces between them.
When South passed in first seat, West passed and North bid an off shaped two spades. East bid three hearts and South was only able to bid three spades. West bid four hearts and North bid four spades. This will go down, but four hearts will make, so it is a good bid. East-West should double but they decided to bid on and went down one for a North-South score of plus 100.
Here is my take on the analysis that supports bidding with the South hand. Let's say you held this hand in second seat at the same vulnerability and East opens one heart, which he may actually do. I can't think of anyone who would not bid two no trump with the South cards, showing both minors. By the way, this is known as the Unusual No Trump, a commonly used convention. If you agree with that statement, then you must see where opening one diamond in first seat makes perfect sense. You may not have enough "quick tricks" or high card points, but you certainly have good playing strength and a convenient rebid.
Remember, when you pass at your first opportunity, you are denying the existence of many combinations that you may never be able to show to your partner at any other time during the auction.
Unit 125 of the American Contract Bridge League held the Buckeye State Sectional Bridge Tournament in Solon on November 3 - 5. The following players were successful in their respective events on November 3. Additional results will be listed in future columns.
Afternoon Stratified Pairs (68 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Lloyd Loux, Westlake, and Bernie Greenspan, Beachwood. 2. Frank Scali, North Ridgeville, and Alan Charters, Kitchener, ON, Canada Stratum B. 1. Scali and Charters. 2. Susan Bussan, Cuyahoga Falls, and Judy Saccogna, Kent. Stratum C. 1. Bussan and Saccogna. 2. Donald and Helen Brock, Cuyahoga Falls.
Afternoon 299er Pairs (25 pairs). Stratum A & B. 1. Flo Hinshaw, Ashland, and Jon Wendelken, Akron. 2. Sally Sharp and Bonnie Aberth, Akron. Stratum C. 1. Sharp and Aberth. 2. Mady Kaiser, Solon, and Ellen Miles, Beachwood.
Scholarship Pairs (71 pairs). Stratum A. 1. Kenneth Kranyak, Bay Village, and Sukumar Roy, Shaker Heights. 2. Bernard Olmstead, Warren, and Lynn Rafferty, Columbiana. Stratum B. 1. Barbara Grzegorzewski, Meadville, PA, and David Donald, Vineyard Haven, MA. 2. Joseph Vrh, Macedonia, and John Veldhuizen, Bay Village. Stratum C. 1. Vrh and Veldhuizen. 2. Jacqueline Gillette, Alliance, and Emilyann Van Der Sluys, Eustis, FL.
Evening 299er Pairs (15 pairs). 1. Paula Madvid and Evelyn
Charna, Chagrin Falls. 2. Laura Palascak, Rocky River, and
Raymond Palascak, Fairview Park.
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Bernstein is
a free-lance writer in Solon.
To reach Harvey Bernstein:
hjb0416@yahoo.com