This week’s bridge news sheet No. 295 has 11 articles. To start with you hold ♠KJ95 ♥9853 ♦6 ♣Q985 and the bidding goes 1♦ 3♣(weak) 4♠ to you, what do you do? Next you hold ♠A ♥K10874 ♦732 ♣KJ87; LHO opens 1♥ and partner overcalls 1♠, what do you bid? 1NT or 2NT? next we have a very interesting one. You are playing weak jump shifts and you hold ♠- ♥J1098632 ♦K7642 ♣4 and partner opens 1♣, is a weak 2♥ appropriate? Next there’s a silly double which partner took as penalties when a clear 2♠ bid was available. Then we have an article about a change of suit being non-forcing opposite a 1-level overcall - you have ♠AQ8 ♥AK8642 ♦107 ♣A10 and LHO opens 1♦ and partner overcalls 1♠, what do you bid? 2♥ is not forcing and the best bid is the Unassuming Cue Bid of 2♦. This is followed by two articles about when the bidding starts 1♣ – 1♦ – 1NT. One Standard French Player says that the 1♦ bid denies a 4-card major. Playing Walsh the 1NT rebid may or may not contain 4-card major(s). Next you hve an interesting one, you hold ♠K106 ♥KQ954 ♦- ♣AKQJ and RHO opens 1♥, what do you bid? What do you think of a 1NT overcall? Next there are the usual two Dave columns on the play of the hand. We finish with a suit play problem. With plenty of entries your trump suit is KJx opposite AJ10xx, how do you play the suit? You can test out your solution by trying it on the Suit Play Calculator on the website.
Tags: Add new tag, bidding, bridge, conventions, news
March 24, 2009 at 10:22 am |
Hi Terry,
Ok, 12 months ago we had the discussion below, about when to play in 3NT and when to play in an 8-card major fit…. I walked away from that one resolved always to play in the suit fit with less than 33 points. Now to news-sheet 332, and hand 27, and I find you recommending playing in 3NT.
So is it the 4-4 vs 5-3 fit that makes the difference? Or opener’s 4-3-3-3 shape? If opener here had four spades rather than four clubs, and south had Staymaned, would you then go to 4S or would you still stick with 3NT?
Finally, if opener chooses to open 2C, should partner not bid 2S in reply?
Thanks
Matt
Matt Blakeley Says:
March 3, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Hi,
Re Hand D in News Sheet 277. I have to say in advance that I would always opt for Stayman with the hand. But I have read (on this site maybe?) that with 29-30 points between the pair, playing in 3NT can be a worthwhile gamble even with a known 4-4 major fit. You hope to win the same 10 or 11 tricks as you would in 4H or 4S and so score the extra 10 points.
Am I completely misguided here? Or is it the trump suit strength that determines the best outcome?
Matt
pattayabridge Says:
March 4, 2008 at 7:12 am
Hi Matt,
You are totally correct, one should bid Stayman with this hand. You may be confused with my answer to Hand C in New-sheet 275 where I state that there was no point in looking for a 4-4 ♥ fit. On that occasion there were a combined 33-34 points and 12 tricks should be there in NoTrumps. I am a great believer in never denying a 4-card major and I only do so if there are likely to be exactly 12 tricks. With a likely 10-11 tricks its best to play in a 4-4 fit as you will usually get an extra trick.
March 26, 2009 at 4:39 am |
Hi Matt.
A bit of confusion here. Let’s start with the (possible) 4-4 major suit fit. With Hand C (if it had 4 spades and 3 clubs) if partner had bid 3c Stayman then North should indeed bid 3s – he is totally flat but partner may not be, he does not know if there is an abundance of points and so should simply do what he is told (partner is the captain) and respond correctly to Stayman.
As a general statement, 4-4 fits are better than 5-3 unless the three cards trump hand has shortage elsewhere. So with 5-3 it is not automatic to go fot the major suit game. As I previously said, with points to spare, go for No Trumps (this applies to 4-4 and 5-3), i.e. in a situation ehrer there is likely to be 11 tricks no matter what you play in. But another factor when you have average points (say 26-27) is where the points are. With a 4-4 fit I would generally play there, but with a 5-3 (as hand C) you have to see if the points are outside the suit. In this case North has every outside suit double stopped and with relatively (K108) in a 22 point hand) poor trumps it is simply best to complete the transfer , and if partner bids 3NT then that will be the best spot most of the time with this hand.
This particular case is interesting, South has 5 spades and a weak doubleton, but North has the clubs very well covered and the nine of clubs is a big card. Even if he wanted to , South cannot bid 4 spades as partner may have only two. But North’s decision to play in No Trumps is very clear with his actual hand C.
Regards, Terry.