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                 The auction..that is!

Reopening Issues.

How and when to reopen in the balancing position? What to do when partner does reopen with a double? These are the issues around today’s problem. The particular board is not straightforward. We gave you the problem from the point of view of the partner of the player who re-opened with a double. However, there were issues around the reopening double itself, too.

You are playing Teams.

 Would you bid at this stage? If so, what?

 

Then, on the assumption you pass, what action would you take after partner doubles, as below:

There is an assumption that you would pass initially as there is no obvious action. Perhaps, you might consider 2 if you were playing 5- card majors though you are certainly not strong enough to make a forcing 3 bid. So, pass it is.

This summed up the Panel’s views:

Peter Newell “Pass:  not even close to bidding for me. If I had to bid, it would be 2 but this hand could play quite poorly and I don’t see any hurry to bid….”

Then came the reopening double. It would seem there would be a choice of three actions here, Pass, 2 or 3.

Peter Newell “3: I prefer this to 2. With a 6- card suit, it is often best to have the weak hand playing it and unless I can get spade ruffs, my hand is not good for hearts. Partner may not have that many clubs…but with 6 of them, I feel comfortable.  While tempting to pass out 2, they are not vulnerable and spade ruffs are no good with natural trump tricks …so I would rather go for +110 than +100 or occasionally -470.”

Nigel Kearney “3: on the second round. I could pass if I needed a top but 3 looks playable and might be +110 instead of +100 or they might find spades if I pass. I usually make the boring choice at Pairs in close situations.”

Kris Wooles “3: hoping partner will find another bid. Pass is a little tempting but not enough for me to be tempted.”

Matt Brown “2: I think it's pretty standard to default to partner's major. Obviously 3 could be a big winner but it looks like partner has four spades. So, we're unlikely to have a big club fit.”

Bruce Anderson “2:  if we are playing 5- card majors and 3 if we are not: partner will be short in diamonds and so some kind of fit in clubs is likely, but not guaranteed. It is tempting to pass for penalties but partner’s reopening with a double is virtually mandatory; if we lack quick tricks, defending may not be a success."

Michael Cornell " 3: if partner is decent, we could miss game but he does have to be pretty good and he is allowed to bid again!

 

 

East had quick tricks but defending 2x was not the best action for the defence this time.

5 hearts and 3 or 4 spades would not normally leave a lot of room for many clubs except for this time. While 2 was defeated, by just one trick at the table, it was not just a question of +100 v + 110. If you were in clubs, the options were +170, +420 or even +920!

 

There was no chance of taking a wrong view of the trump suit while clubs were trumps. Meanwhile, the defence could score +300 (cashing the A at trick 3 after two rounds of hearts was by no means obvious to East) against 2x which might not have been a total disaster with not all pairs making it to 5.

So, West did pass but they did not need ruffs. A spade lead would not be good for the defence had East not held 10 as well as the king. West started with two rounds of hearts with East, unable to lead a trump, continuing with a third high heart. South did well to throw the K on the K with the defence then only able to take three hearts, two diamonds and eventually a spade for +100.

It is not always a good idea reopening with a void in the opponent’s suit. A singleton trump can make the defence rather easier  when partner does pass out the contract for penalties. However, this East hand is not that powerful in its two suits, albeit having 10 cards in them, with double bringing the spade suit into play, if, for instance, West held the North spade suit above.

Had West bid 3, then East would be worth a raise and so would West, allowing at least game to be reached. If you think the East hand should not have reopened with a double, look at the following.

Sufficient Penalty?

 This South hand does not look like a reopening double style hand in the following auction:

 

2 seems perfectly normal until you see all four hands:

Not the best overcall from West though not much of a decision for North. And East? Certainly, better to run to spades which East should do…but will they use a rescue redouble? Sometimes, 2x is the lesser of two evils. Not this time!

The norm in our first hand seems to be for West to bid 3 after the reopening double. In the second, the reopener would likely not come. Would you have done the normal thing both times?

Try the trials and tribulations of defending…

 

Yours is not to reason why…but after not considering their hand worthy of an overcall, North jumped to game after their partner bid 1. With three aces and a partner in the bidding, you double this game.

You might think about leading a trump but there that option ended. So, you started with A and were greeted with some ominous clubs in dummy. The first round went 4, 10 from your partner and J from declarer. What now?

Friday will reveal all..

Richard Solomon

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