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THE HIGH ROAD OR THE LOW ROAD?

Many Acol pairs rebid 1NT after a suit opening and response from partner with 15-17 hcp and 2NT with 18-19. The rebid of 3NT becomes something of a redundant response, giving you the option of choosing a meaning. My partner and I use it “gambling style” to show a long hopefully running suit and not necessarily many high card points…or in short “to play”.

With that in mind, what would your choice of bid be when you as West see this sequence:  West          East

                                                                                                                                                               1

                                                                                                                                             1            3NT

holding a somewhat unbalanced collection yourself:

 A83

 AQ109652

A32

In a really cruel world, partner would have been dealt 7 solid diamonds and little else and you would still be trying to reach his hand. Yet, that is not his hand tonight because he would have opened 3NT. No, he has an entry. Yet, what seemed much less certain was whether he had a heart! My first reaction was just to go the whole way…6…and hope. I toyed even with 5. Life just has to be more exciting than simply to call 4. Eventually, I abandoned the suit altogether and “passed the buck” with a rather non-descriptive invitational 4NT. With a somewhat expected lack of aces and this time a slightly less than solid diamond suit, partner declined. Making 4NT was not this time the problem.

 

 

 

Of the 16 East-West pairs, 12 rather meekly played 4 or in one case 5untroubled. They will live to an old age with little stress in their lives! One red suit void often yields another and I was unwilling to risk all. However, 3 pairs had a different view of their cards. One reached 6NT and looked like they should have scooped the pool. On the Q lead, there were 6 heart tricks and two in each other suit available though it did not work out that way.

The other two pairs took the “very high road”. 7 was not a good option….no play on any distribution of the trump suit…but 7 did at least have a play, except not today. No-one had the big decision of having to play trumps in 6 for one loser. The losing finesse would have declarer depressed but there were would be better news on the second round of trumps.

There was for me a scientific way of probably not reaching slam by means of the following sequence:

                                      West           East

                                                          1

                                      1              3NT

                                      4              4

                                      4

with my taking the “slow route” showing a good raise to 4. (4 a forcing waiting bid.) I doubt that partner would have moved on. So, like most, I shall live on untroubled, devoid of the anxiety of playing slam, devoid of the joy of making it. Next time, perhaps!

Richard Solomon

 

 

 

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