Judgement called for
Sometimes it isn't easy to judge just what to do with good hands, or how far to bid in competitive situations. This was one of those cases. Maybe by looking at the options we can come up with some conclusions. Don't forget that you can't possily make the right 'guess' every time and it is simply a matter of making the right decision as often as you can. Bridge is, as I have said before, a percentage game.
Board 9 from Wednesday 27th Sept. Dealer N EW Vul
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KQ8
43
J742
Q752There is only one certain thing in this deal: North will not open the bidding. But what should East's opening bid be? East certainly has at LEAST a 1H opening but is the East hand better served by an opening bid of 4H? If East opens 1H and West has a good hand, there may even be a slam on for EW. If East opens 1H and West has very little, East will certainly be good enough to compete to at least 3H but will East know when to stop if NS go as far as 3S? If East opens 3H, that may keep NS out of the auction but will also keep West out of the auction and game may be missed.
If East opens FOUR hearts, EW may miss a slam but that is unlikely. I don't normally recommend that a decent opening bid be opened at any level higher than the one level, but this is one such case. Weighing up all the possibilities, East should also take the VULNERABILTY into consideration and open 4H. East's hand looks to have about five or six losers, which is compatible with the 'rule of 2 and 3', or '2,3 and 4' as I prefer to do my calculations. While West may expect an eight card suit (“the four level is for eight or nine card suits”) the East hand is pretty well perfect for a 4H opening. That not only tells West everything, it also makes life difficult for NS if they want to be in the auction.
When East opens 4H, would YOU try 4S with the South cards? I would bite the bullet and bid 4S non-vul, even though West could have a spade stack. If West doubles, I might then be tempted to try 5D. There are no certainties in this game are there? And if South does bid 4S, should West then go to 5H? A knowledge of the rule of 2 and 3 would suggest to West that West should, indeed, go to 5H, despite the saying that “the five level belongs to opponents”. Surprisingly, there was only one East in 5H with a couple of Souths allowed to play in part scores in spades. That is NOT what competitive bidding should be about.
