The best submission for December came from Maurie Williams. He wins a voucher of $30 funded by TBIB, toward any purchase made at the Bridge Shop or Paul Lavings Bridge Books.

Nil Vul W Dealer	♠ A Q 8 ♥ 9 ♦ A K 7 ♣ K 10 9 5 4 2
♠ 10 7 ♥ A K 10 8 7 3 ♦ J 9 8 4 ♣ 8		♠ K 9 4 3 ♥ J 5 ♦ Q 6 5 3 2 ♣ Q 6
	♠ J 6 5 2 ♥ Q 6 4 2 ♦ 10 ♣ A J 7 3

4♠ didn’t fare well.

Your bidding comments would be much appreciated as usual.
Thx
Maurie

Hi Maurie,

I will go bid by bid:

2♥: Good.

X: The hand is definitely suited for a takeout double, however I much prefer overcall 3♣. The clubs is a 6-card suit and I would feel very uneasy playing in 2♠ on a 4-3 fit (or possibly 3♠ if the bidding continues 2♥-X-3♥-3♠), and I would feel even more uneasy if partner bids 3♦ and we play in diamonds!

2♠: Good. The hand isn’t strong enough for 3♠, so 2♠ is just right (the ♥Q is wasted).

3♣: Marginal, but OK. North’s hand isn’t that strong, and when South did not show any life with the 2♠ response, bidding 3♣ might take the partnership overboard more often than not because the club suit isn’t great. This is another reason why I prefer to overcall 3♣ on the first round.

3♥: After North bids 3♣, South knows that North has a strong hand with clubs. Holding a singleton and AJxx support, South can either (1) bid 3NT since Qxxx is very likely to be a stopper, or (2) jump to 5♣.

X: West should not double. West has already announced hearts with the Weak 2 in hearts, so there is not much to be gained by doubling 3♥ – in fact, it gives the opponents more room to maneuver.

4♠: Interesting bid. I guess the 4♠ bid does show the nature of North’s hand (i.e. North cannot have four-card spade support having bid 3♣ earlier, so 4♠ here shows 3-card support). The more I think about it, the more I like the bid. My first instinct was to have North pass the double (thanks to West for the double) so it lets South describe their hand further.

South’s final pass wasn’t a good one. North has denied 4-cards in spades and when South is looking at AJxx support in clubs, South should definitely remove it to 5♣.

Hope that helps,

Andy

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