Bridge questions
For member bridge questions - and their answers...
Have a bridge question? Simply email it - with all the relevant information - to
TH asked: When you are declarer in a suit contract, you count your losers, then work out a plan to achieve your contract. (In a no-trump contract, you count your winners.) What is the best way to count your losers? Is there a quick way to do this? Or is it just practice?
When you are planning your hands as declarer you can be fairly precise as you can look at both dummy's and declarer's holdings.
Those lucky enough to be playing West should have enjoyed playing board 19. It must be the strongest hand i have ever been dealt. Who says we never get good cards!?
I almost opened 7D but calmed down and opened 2C following the principle of slow arrival. One doesn't know if S or D will be the better fit. My partner Susan responded 2H with 8 HCP and a 5 card suit. (One declarer opened 6D and their partner passed).
I decided to show my S suit first (it is a 6 card suit after all) even though it is shorter and bid 2S. Partner responded 2NT, nothing more to say, and I rebid 3D. Partner, perhaps surprisingly, showed a preference for S (otherwise I would have rebid S to show extra length). So 7S it was.
This is a hand from our SALT4 match on Monday night. It doesn’t get much worse. This was the first hand of the second match, a disappointing 1 point hand.
Board 9 from the Slam Dunk evening game on Tue 24 Aug 2021 - what do you bid? Whether you open this hand 1C or 2, 3, 4 or 5C might make all the difference.
All the tables played this hand in a slam contract, but the results were nonetheless dispersed. The pairs playing 6C shared a bottom board. Even bidding and making 7C did not get you the prize.
You needed to bid and make 7NT to get a good score - and three tables did, including club members Len Evershed and Bruce McDonald who won the night with a great score of 67.41%. Click on Read More below to see the full hand - and their bidding.
Terry H asked: When assessing your hand to open, you need 12+ opening points to open one of a suit, provided you have 5 or more cards in a major suit, or less for minors. Opening points are a combination of HCPs and length points. Length points are one point for a 5 card suit, two points for a 6 card suit etc. Then, when you find a fit with partner you can include shortage points (1 for a doubleton, 3 for a singleton and 5 for a void).
This raises 4 questions on points:
DC asked: My partner opened 1C (with two plus clubs) and I'm holding 4 hearts to the king, 4 clubs to the queen, 4 diamonds to the queen and a singleton spade, what would your response be?
I bid 1D, she said 2NT so I went 3NT and we made 7...
PG responded: Despite the most accurate bidding, you need to expect some hands not to make. Bidding systems cover the majority of hands not all of them.
KK wrote: Hello! While playing bridge the other day with my regular group, my partner bid two clubs, the next player bid two hearts, then I passed because I didn’t have any points (as did the next player).
A debate ensued as to whether or not I was allowed to pass vs. bidding.
What is your take on the situation?
