Two very interesting boards, one after the other, on Tuesday at X-Clubs, but both were a bit of a flop in terms of variety and possibilities. I guess the theme could be “anticipation”.
Board 21 from Tuesday 16/07/24
Dlr North NS Vul
The bidding starts slowly, North opens 1D and South responds 1H. What should West do? A double shows the two unbid suits, but is that a true reflection of West’s distribution or playing strength?
Obviously not. East clearly has no high card points and surely won’t bid unless forced to at the lowest level. West could make a “Michaels Cue Bid”, which would presumably be 2H. Yes, that would show spades and clubs but how strong? Partner, once again, won’t be keen to bid unless a gun is pointed at their head.
And what is likely to happen in most scenarios? NS will end up in a heart or diamond contract, possibly hearts. Can NS make game? Can EW make game? Nothing is certain at this early stage, so those of us who would go slowly are, I believe, on the right track, by bidding a quiet 2C. There is no chance whatsoever that 2C will be passed out, and most likely West will be able to bid spades either at the three level or even higher. Surely East will have some length (just three cards will do) to make either 4S or 5C a viable game, or at worst, a very lucrative sacrifice. And the wonderful thing with this deal is that WEST can make 4S whereas the not so obvious lead of a heart from South will defeat 4S played by East.
Board 22 Dlr East EW Vul
This deal might have produced some great competitive bidding and sacrificing in an Open tournament but fell somewhat flat across all the X-Clubs where it was played. We can see that EW can make either 5D or 5H but both depend on a bit of guesswork, and that NS have a good sacrifice in 4S, if doubled down two only. The bidding might start with 1H from West and a 1S overcall by North, double by East, and a fairly conservative 2S from South. Conservative I say because in the hurly-burly of higher level competitive bridge South would doubtless bid 3S. But at club level, 2S was no doubt the norm, and West would bid 3C which should encourage East to bid the heart game. And South, having seen North’s overcall and the vulnerability, should, but seldom did, bid 4S. Of course West should double and collect 300 but such a score happened only once across all of X-Clubs, most EW pairs being allowed to play in 4H, some even in 3H. 4H making with an overtrick scored over 75% and even 3H with an overtrick was an average result. Yet the 4S sacrifice, doubled and down three (still better than 4H making!) scored the hapless NS pair just 35%.
What would happen in a high pressure tournament? I suggest that the bidding might be different and EW would find their secondary diamond fit and press on to 5H, which West would make after guessing that North, the initial overcaller, was more likely to have the queen of diamonds. But at club level, the moral is: bid what you think you can make and don’t bother with sacrificing unless you are sure that a) your opponents can make their game and b) most of the other pairs will also bid and make game.
AT5
AQ84
AJT75
J