MASTER SOLVERS ' CLUB
A FEATURE FROM THE BRIDGE WORLD
This hand is taken from The Bridge World , a respected journal for expert players . There has never been a set of unanimous responses to the Master Solvers ' Club bidding problem .
East and West are vulnerable . West opens with a preemptive bid of 4♦ . North and East both pass . As South , what call would you make with this hand ?
Vul : E-W Dlr : West dealer
4♦
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Pass
n w e Pass s
Q J 8 7 5 A 9 5 A 4 2 A 3
?
South has more than enough strength to open the bidding at any position . However , in the balancing position after a four-level preempt by left-hand opponent , the decision is not as easy .
South has several possibilities but each carries some risk . The only “ sure ” thing is there are at most three diamonds between partner and East . If partner is short in diamonds and South decides to compete , the partnership will have to guess where their best fit is . Despite this uncertainty , most players in South ’ s position would unquestionably take action and push to get a game bonus if their side was vulnerable . However , being non-vulnerable with the opponents being vulnerable , these same players might be deterred from entering the auction . With no clear answer where game belongs , passing could be the most prudent choice . It might even produce a plus score .
Perhaps not surprisingly , half the panel choose to pass , and the remaining votes are split between a takeout double and 4♠ .
Let ’ s start with the 4♠ bidders who want to show partner where their length is .
ROBERT WOLFF : 4♠ . Much more dangerous to pass and to let the opponents out for down only one . In auctions like this , aces are worth 5 high-card points each , so I must bid with my 18 points .
KEVIN BATHURST : 4♠ . Not enough tolerance for clubs and hearts to double ; too strong a hand to pass .
MARTY BERGEN : 4♠ . My best guess is partner is 3 = 4 = 1 = 5 . In that case , no reason to double .
A few feel 4♠ could rule out game in hearts or clubs in case partner has length in either of those suits . Their choice is to double even though they all agree it ’ s not perfect and is potentially dangerous . Another reason to double is partner could choose to pass and defend . That could result in a good score for North-South given the vulnerability .
ERIC KOKISH : Double . Not lovely and potentially dangerous , but more chances to be right than 4♠ or pass .
BILLY EISENBERG : Double . Perhaps the losing action when North has four hearts and three spades .
PAUL IVASKA : Double . Extremely dangerous , obviously , but I seldom do well by going quietly with a strong hand , and we ’ re cold for game opposite many hands that have only modest strength . 4♠ would be unilateral and more dangerous still , as it would preclude reaching 4♥ , 5♣ , or 4♦ doubled .
The popular vote is pass . Despite South ’ s strength , the hand ’ s balanced distribution is more suited for defense . Bidding 4♠ or doubling are risky propositions . They could get your side to game , but in the wrong suit , whereas pass has a good possibility of producing a plus score .
BART BRAMLEY : Pass . If we have a game , 4♦ figures to go down , maybe several , which will mitigate the loss . If we don ’ t have a game , we should surely seek a plus on defense . My high cards don ’ t fully compensate for dull shape and lots of losers , so defending looks more promising . Besides , if I acted , I couldn ’ t be sure of reaching the best denomination .
ROBB GORDON : Pass . Ironically , favorable vulnerability makes passing less risky . I ’ m a heavy favorite to beat
4♦ , but to bid would be flailing about in the dark . As partner is likely to be short in diamonds but did not strain to enter despite the favorable vulnerability , I suspect partner doesn ’ t have much strength .
NICK L ’ ECUYER : Pass . We may have a spade game but , if I double , we may wind up in hearts , which North will bid with equal length in the majors .
DAVID BERKOWITZ : Pass . I know I might make 4♠ , but to bid it would be too risky for my taste . We ’ re nonvulnerable but it doesn ’ t mean we ’ re invulnerable .
BETTER BRIDGE CONCLUSION : Pass . At worst , you ’ ll miss a nonvulnerable game which would be compensated by the vulnerable penalty you will get by defending , even undoubled . At best , you will get a plus score when your side can ’ t make anything .
BRIDGE WORLD SUMMARY PASS = 12
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4 Audrey Grant ’ s Better Bridge | September-October 2020