AUDREY GRANT'S BETTER BRIDGE MAGAZINE July / August 2024 | Page 6

A FEATURE FROM THE BRIDGE WORLD

This hand is taken from The Bridge World , a journal for expert players , founded in 1929 . There has never been a set of unanimous responses to the Master Solvers ' Club bidding problem .

You are sitting South with both sides vulnerable . East is the dealer and opens 2♠ , a weak two-bid . After you double , West furthers the preempt to 3♠ . Partner , North , passes and East also passes . What call do you plan to make with this hand ?

Vul : Both Dlr : East

3♠

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Pass

W

N

S

E

A 8 A K 9 2 4 2 A K 10 6 5

Dbl ?

2♠ Pass

You have a big hand – 18 high-card points plus 1 length point for the fivecard club suit – but the opponents have succeeded in making it difficult for you to enter the auction at a low level and find your best contract . Assuming partner has some values , you wouldn ' t want to miss a vulnerable game contract , but WHERE does your partnership belong ?

All except a handful of the panelists agree getting to game is the top priority . They propose different ways of getting there , however . The majority of the votes are divided evenly between 3NT and doubling again . A few choose to pass or bid 4♣ .

In 3NT , once you win the ♠A – your only stopper – you ' ll have to hope partner has the right cards and can contribute the winners you need to take eight more tricks before the opponents regain the lead . It ' s a gamble .

If you double again , however , partner gets to show something . Presumably , East-West have nine spades together . You have two , so partner will have only two spades and eleven cards in the other three suits . You hope partner has four or more hearts and will bid hearts . The potential downside is partner might bid diamonds , your doubleton .

A few panelists choose 4♣ to show the decent five-card club suit . One advantage is partner can correct to 4♥ with four or more hearts .

The rest of the panel decide passing is a safer bet . Partner likely has a very weak hand , so game your way isn ' t a sure thing . With the ♠A , ♥A-K , and ♣A-K , there ' s a good chance of defeating 3♠ at least one trick .

4 Audrey Grant ’ s Better Bridge | July-August 2024

Even though partner could have a weak hand , you don ' t need a lot from partner opposite your values to have a chance for game . Let ’ s start with those who feel the hand is too strong to be comfortable passing and bid 3NT , conceding it could be wrong but considering it better than 4♣ or double .

NIK DEMIREV : 3NT . Too much playing strength to go quietly . It sounds as if I have four hearts , a single spade stopper , likely some source of tricks , and probably enough for game opposite a medium hand from partner that passed 3♠ . With a less flexible hand , I would have bid notrump earlier .

HOWARD WEINSTEIN : 3NT . Too strong a hand to pass . This shows a flexible hand . If 3NT is the right spot , a second double is unlikely to get us there , and I would not be excited after hearing 4♦ from partner .

The other popular option is to double again , hoping to hear 4♥ from partner . Without four hearts , partner could bid

4♦ . It ' s risky , and you ' ll have to hope the partnership won ' t finish in a 4-2 diamond fit .

BART BRAMLEY : Double . Can ' t give up . 4♣ would be safer , but double focuses better on hearts . Over 4♦ , I ' ll pass .

ROZANNE AND BILL POLLACK : Double . Partner is weak , so there are no shape inferences from partner ' s failure to act . Pass would be too chicken , as 3NT could easily be cold but , with the opponents ' spades threatening , likely we would need nine fast tricks and , if clubs don ' t run , we could be looking at a distasteful minus 400 . Over 4♦ , we ' ll unhappily retreat to 5♣ .

A few feel the best option to get a plus score is to simply pass and defend .

JEFF RUBENS : Pass . I doubt that we will be able to bid a making game often enough to risk turning a likely plus score into a minus .

STEVE ROBINSON : Pass . Partner ' s hand is limited ; with four or five hearts , partner would have stretched to bid . 3NT might have good play , but that requires specific cards .

With a semi-balanced hand , a small contingent thinks 4♣ is a more descriptive and flexible bid .

DANNY KLEINMAN : 4♣ . The route to 4♥ when partner has four , and the best bet for the right strain otherwise .

BETTER BRIDGE CONCLUSION : 3NT . We don ’ t need much from partner to make 3NT . As little as the ♥Q and ♣Q , four points , would likely be enough . We have too much to go passively . Since we doubled on the previous round rather than directly overcalling 3NT , partner should expect a flexible hand and may be able to remove 3NT to 4♥ , for example , with a hand unsuitable for notrump . No guarantees .

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