Complimentary Issue of Better Bridge Magazine March / April 2020 | Page 6

MASTER SOLVERS' CLUB
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.
Neither side is vulnerable. North, partner, is dealer and
opens 1♣. East overcalls 1♠. You are South. What call do
you make with this hand?
South’s 9 high-card points are well
placed with good intermediate cards.
1NT would have been a normal
response without East’s overcall. So
what are South’s options?
South has a balanced hand but a 1NT
response typically has one or more
stoppers in the opponent’s suit. ♠10-8-3
cannot be considered a stopper.
Double would suggest South has both
red suits, with emphasis on hearts.
However, South only has three hearts,
not four. If North has four hearts,
North will support hearts and find a
surprising 4-3 fit in the suit. Perhaps
the good news is South’s hearts are the
♥K-Q-9, a nice holding.
A 2♣ bid shows about 6-9 points. But
is this a reasonable response with only
three cards? Is there a risk partner could
play in a 3-3 club fit? What if partner
raises clubs in a competitive auction,
thinking South has four or five clubs?
Last but not least, South could pass, but
that would have been the same bid if
South had a zero count. Could a pass
lead to a missed game contract?
Let’s read the panel’s opinions.
GEOFF HAMPSON: 1NT. Least
flawed, but double is close.
BART BRAMLEY: 1NT. Playing here
should be fine. Biggest danger is a
raise.
The problem with bidding 1NT is
it will wrong-side the contract. West
will undoubtedly lead a spade. Even
if partner has values in spades, there
is danger they will be lost to East, the
overcaller, who is sitting over partner’s
position, resulting in a loss of several
tricks from the start.
4
Those who favor a 2♣ bid hope to show
values but not over-promise on the
heart length as a double would. Indeed,
North may have only three clubs, but
the 2♣ panel are optimistic partner
likely has four or five clubs.
BRIAN GLUBOK: 2♣. Once in a
decade, I raise with a three-card fit
in this situation. Five criteria must
be met: maximum in the 6-10 HCP
range, unappealing alternatives, no
stopper in overcaller’s suit, fewer than
four in the unbid major, neither side
vulnerable.
MARK BARTUSEK: 2♣. A double
with only three hearts often causes
serious difficulties during the rest
of the auction. With extra values, I
don’t want to see 1♠ passed out. If I
passed, I wouldn’t know what to do if
partner reopened with a double.
Despite not having four hearts, a third
of the panel think double offers the
most flexibility. Partner will support
hearts with four cards, and playing
in a 4-3 fit often works. Without four
hearts, partner will rebid 1NT with
a balanced hand and a spade stopper.
Unlike a 1NT response by South, this
puts East, the overcaller, on lead and
will right-side the contract. With an
unbalanced hand, partner will rebid
2♣.
STEVE ROBINSON: Double. The
hand is too strong to pass, and there
is no reasonable continuation if I pass
and partner doubles.
HOWARD WEINSTEIN: Double.
With three strong hearts, a 4-3 fit
may be okay.
ERIC KOKISH: Double. Pass and
2♣ are hardly outrageous but, if
A udrey G rant ’ s B etter B ridge | M arch -A pril 2020
Vul: None
Dlr: North
1♣
dealer
n
w
e
1♠
s
♠
♥
♦
♣
10 8 3
K Q 9
Q 10 6 4
Q 10 7
?
we belong in 1NT, this will get us
there. Double implies but does not
guarantee four hearts.
Instead of bidding on the wrong shape,
some choose to pass and defend. But if
North reopens with a double, South
will be back to a difficult decision.
South could have passed with no points
so, with 9 high-card points, what is the
likelihood North-South could miss a
game or a partscore contract?
LARRY ROBBINS: Pass. Not 1NT
which would wrong-side notrump
when partner has something in
spades. A double suffers from a
lack of four hearts and the 4-3-3-3
distribution.
NIK DEMIREV: Pass. I see no
advantage to bidding on the wrong
shape.
Most of the panel think it’s a bidder’s
game so perhaps it’s better to act now
than to guess later.
BETTER BRIDGE CONCLUSION:
Double. Passing doesn’t solve the
problem. If the auction continues,
it will be difficult to show this
much strength. Everything will be
fine if partner bids notrump, bids
diamonds, or rebids clubs. If partner
bids hearts, playing in a chunky 4-3
fit could work out okay.
BRIDGE WORLD SUMMARY
DOUBLE
2♣
PASS
1NT
=
=
=
=
9
9
7
2
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