Tuesday, January 02, 2007 7:41 PM

Hand Evaluation –Minors ( Game before Slam )

PITBULLS:

Sometimes in Bridge , ambiguity is allowed. As every Bridge player knows , ambiguous bids confuses auctions. With minor fits & if you are below 3NT , you can make bids whose true meaning gets clarified later in the auction. The goal with minor fits is 3NT . This is a Bridge basic. Inverted minors , especially when you play them as limit raise or better , allows ambiguity. Was the bid a suit , a stopper or a Q bid ? Only time will tell.

You have ♠Qx ♥Kx ♦AJ9x ♣QJ109x , partner opens 1♣. Steve Lawrence held this hand in Reno & responded 2♣. I bid 3♣ which in our system is the only bid that is non forcing. When partner has the limit raise , the auction can get passed. Once partner bids after a non forcing bid , a game force is now on. Steve now bid 3♦ so is it a suit , a Q bid or showing a stopper for NT ? The answer is all of the above. There is another Bridge basic that now comes into play. Games before slams. In other words , your initial interpretation of a forcing bid should be geared towards getting to the best game , not a slam. You should interpret the bid as a suit or a NT stopper before a Q bid.

You hold ♠A1098 ♥A10xx ♦10 ♣K876 so what should you bid from the other side in this particular auction ? You are all controls so this hand is a very good minimum but a minimum nevertheless. Think game before slam, you should bid 3NT before bidding a major suit Ace. Why ? because when partner’s diamond bid was a Q bid with slam interest , the bid will now be clarified by pulling 3NT. 3NT is never pulled from a position of weakness. Change partners hand to ♠Qx ♥Kx ♦AJ9x ♣AQJ109 , partner will bid 4♣. She can stand 4NT as a contract so she will now make her true intentions known.

With your controls , your are more than happy to carry on so +1370 results. In Reno , I broke the rule of “game before slam” so I Q bid instead of bidding 3NT. This got us to a horrible slam which I luckily made due to a defensive error. I got a diamond lead & I played the diamond Ace & ruffed. I led a low club which LHO ducked & ruffed another diamond. I went to the heart king, ruffed the last diamond everybody following. I played the Ace & ruffed a heart & led a club. They broke 2-2 , LHO had all spades left so was end played away from her spade King for +1370 . Sometimes it pays to be lucky rather than good.

In all auctions , you should “think game before slam”. Here is one where I messed up playing with Tom Gandolfo . 1♠ by Tom in 4^th seat vul. A nv 2♦ overcall & I bid 3♦ holding ♠QJxx ♥KJx ♦xxx ♣Kxx which was doubled. Tom bid 3♥ & they bid 4♦ so here is where I fell from grace. I “Q bid” 4♥ thinking that partner was groping for slam. Wrong as Tom was thinking “game before slam” & rightfully thought I was giving him a choice of games. Tom passed 4♥ & we went one down cold for +620 in spades. 3♥ should be a suit until I hear otherwise. In fact , in this particular auction where our Q bid was doubled all bids have meanings. A pass says I have the minimum , 3♥ is natural & 3♠ should be a game try in clubs. This is conserving useful bidding space & keeping the auction at 3♠ or less. I will get it right eventually …..