November 2015 - 45

Newer Players

Bridge Player's Survival Kit
BY LESLIE SHAFER

slamhand@verizon.net

Be aggressive in competitive auctions
Here are comments I received from
my students after a recent duplicate:

West

North

East

Pass (1) 2♣ (2)
Pass (4)

Pass

South
1♣
Pass (3)

⦁

"We've been in a terrible slump for
weeks!"

⦁

"We thought we had a terrific game
but the score sheet says we came in
below 50%."

Lead: ♠2. Result: Making two, plus
90 for North-South.

⦁

"We can't figure out what we're doing wrong."

⦁

"Have you lost weight?"

(1) Although West had enough strength
for a one-level overcall, her five-card
diamond suit was not robust, and
bidding it at this point might lose a
potential 4-4 spade fit. I have no problem with either a pass or a diamond
overcall.

After making a date to play with the
student who made the final comment
(after all, she showed great powers
of observation), I asked the others to
show me their scores. I spotted many
results that indicated that their opponents were being allowed to play in
low-level partscore contracts. This was
one of those deals (my students were
sitting East-West):
Dlr: South ♠ 9 4 3
Vul: N-S ♥ Q J 6
♦K2
♣J9842
♠ K 10 6 2
♠AQ5
♥54
♥ 10 9 3 2
♦A9843
♦ Q J 10
♣ K 10
♣653
♠J87
♥AK87
♦765
♣AQ7

(2) North's raise to 2♣ promised at
least five-card club support (opener
could have had only three clubs), minimum strength and no four-card major.
1NT would have shown much the same
hand, but without primary club support. Two minimum-strength bidders
should look for a fit and try to play in it
at as cheaply as possible.
(3) South's pass is automatic. He
trusted his partner to have five clubs
for the raise. He also knows that North
holds a minimum without four hearts
or four spades.
(4) West, my student, fell from grace.
She wasn't sure what to do, so she
passed, hoping her side would get better cards on the next deal.
South lost three spades, one diamond
and one club. East-West could have
scored plus 110 by playing in either 2♦
or 3♦, so selling out to 2♣ for minus

90 was a very poor matchpoint result.
When playing duplicate, there's a
piece of advice that I give my students:
No one plays in a fit at the two level,
unless it's me and my partner!
If your opponents are willing to stop
bidding at the two level, unless one or
both of them have misbid, they probably have around half the points in the
deck. That leaves you and your partner
with about half the points. If your opponents are in an eight-card fit, then it
is likely that your side also has a fit.
If the bidding is dying out at a low
level, entering the auction may be the
best way for your side to get a good
score. In the passout seat, either bid
a suit or make a reopening takeout
double. West would have done better to
bid 2♦ instead of passing the deal out.
This is called balancing. Because West
didn't overcall 1♦ at her first opportunity in this auction, East knows not to
expect a lot.
Common sense, of course, has to
prevail. Opponents have bidding errors
and end up in the wrong strain; they
sometimes miss games. Vulnerability
matters. When you are vulnerable, you
want to take care before forcing partner to bid at the three level.
Would you rather score minus 90 in
2♣, plus 100 for setting 3♣ or plus 110
for making 3♦?
If you prefer one of the plus scores,
you must compete. If your opponents
frequently get to play their fit at the
two level, you are not bidding enough. ◾
November 2015 Bridge Bulletin

45
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2015
