Two very interesting boards in a row! These did not occur on a Wednesday, yet are nevertheless of such interest that I have been asked for my thoughts on both of them. They occurred on a Friday afternoon, Friday 19/03/2021. The only hands of interest are the East-West ones.

Board 15 Dealer S NS Vul

3 T863 2 AKT8643

AKQ75 AKQ AQT73

From Wednesday 10/03/21.
I need to get back to bidding once more, because what happened on Board 2 tells me that very little has been learnt about what bidding is all about.

I will repeat what I have said before: Bidding is a DISCUSSION between a partnership. The discussion can be as short or as long as needed to determine the BEST contract.

You also need to know what you require for GAME. A minimum of 25 COMBINED high card points. What do you need to bid to be in GAME? And what does the game SCORE?

You are South each time.

1.

AQT8

T62

T82

AT8

This bidding problem has three bidding sequences: You are South and dealer and pass, so does West and North. East opens 1H. You pass and

a) West bids 2H and all pass. Your lead?
b) West bids 2H, East bids 3H and all pass. Your lead?
c) West bids 2H, East 3H and West 4H, all pass. Your lead?

You are South each time. These questions arose in a recent Multigrade tournament.

1. Match Points Dealer E All Vul

Your hand:

T

K73

AT543

KJ92

The bidding has been:

South	West	North	East
-	Pass	Pass	1
2	3	Pass	3NT
Pass	4	Pass	Pass
Pass

In the next few issues I want to address OPENING LEADS. Did you know just how important the opening lead is? It is important because it begins the DEFENCE. When you are defending a contract, it is not very productive to simply play some random cards or take any aces you have. You must have a plan for the total defence.

Here are some things you need to think about if you are a defender:

There are THIRTEEN cards to be played. There are thirteen tricks, and you will take some of them but you do not always need to take them from the beginning. The important thing is how and when you take your tricks, and how your cards will combine with your partner’s to take your tricks.