November 2017 - 51

Intermediate Players

Mike's Bridge Lesson
BY MIKE LAWRENCE

michaelslawrence.com

Use 'em or lose 'em
West
1♥

North
Pass
Dbl

East
Pass
2♥

South
1♣
?

South holds:
♠K 9 4 2 ♥6 5 ♦K J 4 ♣A 9 8 7.
The heading of this article includes
a hint as to what this hand is all about.
Here's another hint. Remember the
refrain, "It's now or never ... Tomorrow
will be too late"? Elvis sang it in 1960.
Perhaps he was singing about a bridge
hand.
With North-South vulnerable,
South opens 1♣ in third seat, and West
overcalls 1♥. North makes a negative
double, promising four spades and 6 or
more points. North is a passed hand, so
his best hand is around 11 points. East
raises to 2♥, giving South a problem.
Put yourself in the South seat: Do
you or don't you? You opened aggressively in third seat. Are you willing to
compete with 2♠?
While you are wondering about
this, what would you have done if you
opened 1♣ and your partner bid 1♠
and right-hand opponent bid 2♥? I
expect you would bid 2♠, thinking that
the fit makes it all worthwhile. You
would be right. And when West bids
1♥ and your partner makes a negative
double and East bids 2♥, it is also right
to bid 2♠. Here is the complete deal:

♠AQ
♥AJ972
♦652
♣K32

♠J873
♥K83
♦Q93
♣ J 10 5

♠K942
♥65
♦KJ4
♣A987

♠ 10 6 5
♥ Q 10 4
♦ A 10 8 7
♣Q64

Notice that North has a minimum. If
you don't bid 2♠, North will also pass
(he should) and you will defend 2♥.
West will make eight tricks. There's
room for him to make more if the defense messes up.
What will you get for minus 110?
Hint: It won't be very good.
Now, if you bid 2♠, what will happen? 2♠ rates to make. Even if you
misguess somehow, going down one
is better than defending against 2♥.
Bidding 2♠ follows a number of important bidding principles. First, if you
have a fit, let partner know. Second, if
you have spades, use 'em. A spade fit
is your best friend at the table. If you
have a spade fit, it acts like a bludgeon.
Certainly it feels like one when your
opponents have them and bid them.
There is a danger that partner will
get excited and raise spades, but he
should be aware that your 2♠ bid
doesn't promise extras. The idea that

2♠ is a "free" bid doesn't apply here.
You are expected to bid 2♠ here with
just about any hand that includes four
spades. It's hard to imagine a hand that
does not bid 2♠ with four of them.
Maybe this:
♠Q 7 4 3 ♥K J 4 ♦K 8 3 ♣K 7 3.
If I had opened 1♣ in third seat, I can
imagine not bidding 2♠. But even with
this hand, it takes some restraint not to
do so.
Going back to the actual hand, you
can see that North has a boring 7
points with 4-3-3-3 shape. His double
is legitimate, but minimum. His double
is the limit of what he can do.
Imagine that you had this hand
instead:
♠Q 10 4 2 ♥6 5 ♦K J 4 ♣A 9 8 7.
If you had chosen to open 1♣, something you might not do if vulnerable,
bidding 2♠ would still be a good idea.
Confirming a fit is a big deal.
Mind you, if the bidding is at the
three level, you need something resembling normal values to keep on bidding.
The goal when bidding 2♠ on the hand
above is to play it there if possible, and
if it pushes the opponents to the three
level, so much the better.
◾

November 2017 Bridge Bulletin

51
http://www.michaelslawrence.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2017
