February 2021 - 58

Intermediate Players

Boehm on Bridge
Elastic evaluation - part 2

ast month I introduced the idea
of elastic valuation, based on Ely
Culbertson's ground-breaking
article from 1933 titled Plastic Evaluation. The main point is to mentally count
winners and losers in your hand as the
auction develops, particularly useful
on distributional hands when point
count simply must take a back seat. For
instance, you pick up:
A K 7 6 5 2 - K Q 9 4 2 K 6

and open 1. Partner responds 1NT,
forcing; what's your rebid?
3 stands out despite only 15 HCP.
Yes, it creates a game force and what if
partner has next to nothing? This is not
a productive way to think about bridge.
It is human nature to be loss-averse,
but winning bridge demands accepting
some risk. Facing your big two-suiter, if
partner happens to hold as little as the
Q x and J, not even a response, 4 is
a favorite.
Over 3, partner rebids 4, at least
four-card support and spade shortness
because a 3 preference on a doubleton
was available. Your pointed suit losers
are fast disappearing, so control bid 4
to learn more. Partner replies 5, also
a control cuebid promising first-round
club control. Below the level of 4NT, control bids are occasionally necessary with
second-round controls, but above 4NT,
when the opportunity to check on aces is
gone, an ace or void is needed.
Now that your club losers have
vanished, it is time to try 6, a secondround control in a previously control-bid
suit, king or singleton. The implication
is that you are interested in a grand slam;
if not, you should sign off in 6. Partner
holds:
3 J 10 5 4 A 10 6 5 3

A 9 2.

BY AUGUST BOEHM

If he trusts you, it is up to him to bid
7 because he owns the vital trump
ace. It isn't easy to bid a grand slam on
distribution and fit, but when it succeeds,
you score handsomely, and you have the
satisfaction of accomplishing something
difficult and rare.
Try another; you are dealt:
A A Q 8 6 4 3 A Q J 7 4

10,

red versus white vulnerability. Forget
high-card points on hands like this; think
tricks. You are within a trick of a 4
game, assuming two heart losers, one
diamond and a club. In fact, the losing
trick count suggests only a three-loser
hand (one in each suit outside of spades).
Nonetheless, it may be tactically unwise
to open 2. At this vulnerability, astute
opponents are likely to interfere if they
hold a long suit and some shape. Imagine
the auction returning to you at the level
of 3 or 4 - you will have lost the ability to show both your suits.
For this reason, I prefer to open 1.
The chance of being passed out is highly
remote with so many points outstanding. Opponents silent, partner raises to
2. At this juncture, your only thought
should be " cover cards, " namely the K,
K, and A to cover your losers or " fill

in the gaps, " as Culbertson put it. If partner owns two out of three, slam is excellent. Blackwood won't reveal the K, so
discard that approach. Instead, bid 3,
initially a help-suit game try. Over 3,
partner rebids a regressive 3. Continue
with 3, a control bid that converts your
3 call into a slam try. Why bother to
advertise your diamonds unless you were
considering slam all along, despite partner's lack of interest. Over 3, partner
rebids 4 - what next?
It's time to let go. Partner is not cooperating with your slam aspirations; he
won't hold two of the cover cards that
you need. In fact, even 4 might be in
jeopardy opposite:
Q J 8 2

9 7 2

10 8 5

K J 7

because you could lose two hearts, one
diamond, and one club. Suppose partner
had been dealt a different 7 HCP hand:
J 8 5 2

K 7 5

K 8 5

9 8 7.

Holding kings in both your bid suits,
partner should either jump to 4 over
3, or at least bid 4 over 3 to pinpoint the K. RKCB will reveal the K,
and 6 becomes a cinch.
Interesting how your hand's value is so
elastic.

Bridge Bulletin Online
One of the most commonly asked questions from members is
how to read the online version of the Bridge Bulletin.
Active members have access to the MyACBL portal, located at
the top of the ACBL's homepage at acbl.org. After registering
and setting up a password, members can view all types of
special content, including the Bridge Bulletin. Simply click on
the large orange link to see the current issue of the magazine.

For Better, For

Worse

JANUARY 2021

Marriage and partners
hip harmony

Best Declarer Ever?

West Coast wizard
Meyer Schleife
r was amazing

Continuity

Georgia Heth reelected
ACBL Presiden
t

Red Alert

ACBL updates

Online teaching

is
all the rage

Off the Rails

How icon Bob Hamman
handles bidding
disasters

Alert Procedures

Looking for back issues? After loading the current issue, you may navigate to older
issues using the Archive option. All issues are available through January 2005.
Looking for a particular article? The Search function allows you to explore the entire
online library.

58 | Bridge Bulletin | February 2021

ACBL.ORG

Digital Classroom

http://www.ACBL.ORG http://www.acbl.org

February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2021