Bidding:
| West | North | East | South |
| | p | 1NT | p |
| 2♦ | p | 2♥ | p |
| 3NT | p | ? |
You start with a strong (15-17) notrump, your partner bids 2♦ as a transfer. You complete the transfer with 2&hearts, having nothing extra. Partner raises to game with 3NT. Your turn...
First the full deal:
Much have been said about sticking to notrumps with flat distributions like this one, a meagre 4-3-3-3. So, your initial reaction could be passing the 3NT bid.
The hand is taken from Cap Volmac 1995 and all pairs choosing the notrump game regretted their actions, down one, losing 12 imps, after the obvious club lead. Others correcting to the heart game had an easy ride.
The only clue, if any, is the three small clubs which should a be deterrant for choosing the notrump game. True, you can come up with a West hand with which 3NT will be the right choice but statistics is not always "damn lies".
An interesting exercise could be how the weak (12-14) notrumpers would fare. The auction would probably start 1♣ - 1♥ -1NT (presumably showing 15-16 points) and deviate considerably depending on each pair's style. Some would resort to check-back Stayman and discover the 8-card heart fit. In those auctions, West will decide on the final contract and almost all Wests are going to choose the superior 4♥ game.
Bridge has always had its subset of shooters and a few would no doubt bid 3NT after 1♣ - 1♥ - 1NT, to lose eventually.
4 comments:
Hi there!
Both (Jed and Vit) of us are Bridge addicts! We remember our collegiate days when we played this addicting game non stop in our org room.
Hey, we even joined a school event and only lost during the quarter finals!
More power to bridge and your blog!
I am glad to hear there are a few addicts left, I almost thought I was writing about a long forgotten medieval game.
Thanks for your kind words.
I don't play bridge. My parents tried to teach me when I was younger, I just did not get it. I'm glad you enjoy it!
It is difficult to understand what the heck is going on when you are just introduced to the game. One thing I can say is learning how to play the hand first flattens the learning curve. Most usually try to teach how to bid the hand, which confuses new comers.
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