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199’er Bridge 7-18-07 |
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Practice Hand |
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Dealer: North |
North S - Qxx H - 10xxx D - Axx C - xxx |
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West S - AJx H - KQxx D - Jx C - AQJx |
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East S - Kxxx H - xx D - Q10xx C - Kxx |
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South S - xxx H - AJx D - Kxxx C - 10xx |
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| The auction: |
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West 1 club 2 hearts 2 no trump |
North pass pass pass pass |
East pass 1 diamond ! 2 spades 3 no trump |
South pass pass pass pass |
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Only West has an opening bid - too strong for a 1 no trump opening which would be passed out. North–South should never be in this auction. East should respond up-the-line with one diamond. Why? West will be more comfortable bidding no trump knowing East has 4 diamonds. If East bypasses diamonds, how certain can West be that North–South cannot run 5 diamond tricks. East does not need to rush to bid spades. West will bid (or support) spades if he has 4 of them. If East bids 1 spade (bypassing 1 diamond) poor West will be wondering if he should support spades. It will be a difficult auction. The contract should be 3 no trump making easily, perhaps with an overtrick. This is the optimal duplicate contract for East-West… scoring the game bonus. |
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When the opening bid is one diamond a. There is a higher probability that the opener has 4 diamonds. Many players always open 1 club when they are 3-3 in the minors. b. Whether you play it or not, some opponents will play a “possibly short” club system. They never open 1 diamond unless they have 4 of them. You should be aware that a hand that is 4-4 in the majors with 3 diamonds and 2 clubs will be opened 1 club by these opponents. c. Otherwise an opening bid of 1 diamond is similar to a 1 club opening. The bid is not limited and the opener may have a very strong hand. The distribution is unknown also. |