Page 11 - ABF Newsletter February 2025

AUSTRALIAN YOUTH WEEK
Leigh Matheson
The curse of the 4-3-3-3 hand
Board 26 of the Youth Pairs Qualification dealt North-South some big hands. With enough points to bid slam, plus a major-suit fit, what could possibly go wrong? (If in doubt, please refer to title.)
Board 26. Dealer East. Both sides vulnerable.
]Q84 [J852 }KQ4 {KQJ
] A 10 9 7 5 2]3
chance to use the suit profitably to discard losers in other suits.
Finally, as is the case here, bidding a trump suit has the added drawback that it might break badly.
On this deal exactly half the North-South field bid 6NT. True, it is only the lucky heart layout that allows this contract to make. But if the heart suit were less friendly and 6NT goes one down, it would still score better than 6[ at Matchpoint scoring.
A fantasy hand
An interesting hand came up in round 6 of the Youth Teams:
Board 12. Dealer South. East-West vulnerable.
[Q }987 {542
[ 10 9 7 3 } 10 5 3
{ 10 9 7 6 3
]7643
]KJ6
[AK64 }K973
[ Q 10 }AJ62 {K83
{A8 ]AK5
[— WNE
At most tables, South opened 2NT. How should North plan the auction?
} A Q 10 8 {AJ9642
WEST NORTH
S
With 2NT showing roughly 20-22 points, depending on partnership agreement, North can see the part- nership has 34-36 points. This is typically enough to bid a small slam, but not a grand slam. But with a potential 4-4 heart fit, should North go looking for a trump suit?
Normally with a four-card major, the answer is yes, and you should start with 3{ (some version of Stay- man). But with a 4-3-3-3 shape (and especially at Matchpoint scoring) it is frequently better to not bother. With this hand I’d expect most experts would simply raise to 6NT. Why?
Firstly, there is a lot to be said for bidding directly. It is good to have an honest conversation (i.e. the auction) with partner about what the best contract should be. But once the auction has ended, declarer should be sorry for every piece of information he has told his opponents, who can now use this to their advantage during the play of the hand. By not revealing much whenever there is a choice of op- tions you make your opponents’ lives harder.
Secondly, even if you find a fit, what can you ruff? If partner has a four-card side suit you would not want to risk the opponents ruffing, so you would have to start with drawing trumps and would not get a
EAST SOUTH 2[
pass pass
You lead a top spade and partner plays the jack of
spades (denying the ]Q). What do you play next? No, seriously, try to find the safest way to get off
lead before you keep reading.
If you only consider the standard card to lead in each suit, you might conclude that playing any of the three suits is likely to give away a trick.
dbl 3[
dbl all pass
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: February 2025
Page: 11