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![hearts](../../images/h.gif) |
Pass |
|
Pass |
Dbl |
2![diamonds](../../images/d.gif) |
Pass |
|
Pass |
2![spades](../../images/s.gif) |
Pass |
Pass |
|
3![diamonds](../../images/d.gif) |
3![spades](../../images/s.gif) |
4![diamonds](../../images/d.gif) |
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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