What should I Bid? - Best enquiry for July 2006 

The best submission for the month of July was made by Barbara Hansen.

 Hand:

A42  AKQ109  AK85  A

84  82  109632  Q853

Bidding:	West	North	East	South
			1	Pass
	Pass	Dbl	2	Pass
	Pass	2	Pass	Pass
	3	3	4	All Pass

Comments:   Sitting East, I was the dealer at favourable vulnerability. I decided against opening 2 - perhaps that was my first mistake. My second mistake probably was not going to 5. In any event my partner was not too pleased with the result. Could you tell me how the entire auction should have gone? Our basic system is Standard American

Peter's Reply:

Hi Barbara,

No doubt partner was not well pleased with your bidding but had I been your partner I would have been unhappy with my own effort too.

I do think you would be better served to open with a game force on your hand. While it is desirable to avoid doing so on hands of this sort of shape, my personal standard is having a three (or less) loser hand in which I hold at least half the high card points.

Nonetheless, you opened 1 and got the immediate outcome you feared when partner Passed but were saved by the opponent's re-opening. No harm done yet.

2 did not describe the strength of your hand. What made you sure, at this point, that your side wouldn't want to be in game? Now was the time to let partner know you were very strong. Redouble, 3, even a rash gamble at 3NT, were all better than 2. You could have bid 2 without either of the black aces, so something stronger was called for.

Notwithstanding any of the above, your partner's Pass over 2 was poor. Partner should have raised diamonds. It was already known, with the Pass of 1, that West was very weak. Now the hand had, on the one hand, grown enormously in strength in support of diamonds, and, on the other, a real concern that the opponents were cold for game in spades. Thus there was a need to both let you in on the good news and try to keep the opponents out. Any free raise of diamonds would, of course, have been enough to get you to game level at the very least.

I don't know what the exact layout of the opponents' cards was, but I expect 6 was a pretty good contract. Win the opening spade lead, cash two top trumps and if trumps are 2-2, claim. If trumps are 3-1, play hearts from the top, throwing dummy's second spade on the third heart. Provided the first or second round of hearts is not trumped (hearts 4-2 or 3-3), claim. Overall close to an 80% contract. 5 is even better at greater than 90%.

Hope this has helped a little .

Regards
Peter Fordham

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