Good Basic Acol
Judging by the results from Board 11 on Wednesday 5th April it is necessary to reinforce some very basic bidding theory relating to the weak 1NT opening and No Trump rebids, as well as the simple bidding when partner raises your suit. These things should be basic but still seem to be eluding many of our new players. Witness the following:
Board 11 Dealer S Nil Vul
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AQ54
94
AJT
A872Unless West has miscounted or is playing another system, I cannot imagine anything other than two passes before it is North's turn to bid. Playing standard Acol with a weak NT, North has one point too many to open 1NT and should open 1C. East passes and next it is South's turn. What should South bid?
There are two options: South can raise to 2C, which is the normally sensible bid when you have four card support for partner and no suit of your own that you can bid. But in the case of a 1C opener by partner, you have another option, and that is a 1NT bid, which shows 6-9 points and, by implication, four or five clubs, because you do not have four (or more) cards in any other suit. Thus, a bid of 1NT when partner has opened 1C (NOT any other suit), if bid correctly, will tell partner the same thing as a raise to 2C.
But whether South bids 1NT or 2C, there is NO reason for North to bid any further. There is NO requirement to make a 'rebid' when partner has made a limit bid. But, what did we have at the Hutt club last Wednesday? One North in 2C but no Souths in 1NT. Yet there were two NORTHS in 2NT and their declarer play must have been as bad as their bidding because one was down three and one was down four. And then, we had three Norths playing in SPADES. It is NOT correct to open the bidding in a four card suit if you have a LOWER four card suit. As for the one North who played in ONE club, it seems that his partner did not want to talk to him, despite having enough points to do so. No harm done this time though, and admittedly the South hand is about as close to a pass as you can get. Of course, WEST should then have come in with a 'reopening' double rather than allow the bidding to die in 1C, but that is another matter.
