I had difficulty deciding on a hand this week. On one hand I made a very costly bidding mistake that landed us in a very poor contract. On another we bid well but messed up the play. On a third I convinced myself that I was end-played when I wasn't. I finally settled on this hand in which we made a slam, but nobody else even bid game.
Board #10
East dealer
Both sides vulnerable
| | North
♠ K Q 8 7 2
♥ A J 6 4 2
♦ ——
♣ J 6 3
| | West
♠ 10 5 4
♥ 3
♦ 10 8 4 2
♣ K Q 7 5 2
| | East
♠ J 6 3
♥ Q 10 5
♦ A K Q 9 7
♣ 10 9
| | | South
♠ A 9
♥ K 9 8 7
♦ J 6 5 3
♣ A 8 4
| |
|
| | | | |
| South | West | North | East |
| | | 1♦ |
| P | P | 2♦ | P |
| 3♠ | P | 4♥ | P |
| P | P | | |
I sat North. East's 1♦ bid handcuffed my partner. He passed. I would have raised with West's hand, but he decided to pass. That left me in the balancing seat.
I read somewhere that the Michael's convention, a cue bid that shows at least five cards in two suits (in this case the majors), can only be used in the direct seat. However, what else could a cue bid in this situation mean? I can't be asking for a stopper for 3NT. We only use that treatment at the three level. Moreover, I would never use it with so little knowledge of everyone else's holdings.
Some might interpret it as a very strong takeout. We don't play that, but even if partner thought that, it would not be too bad. He would certainly favor the majors over clubs. So, I bid 2♦.
East passed, and my partner bid 3♥. So, he had a pretty good hand (even after subtracting the king that I borrowed from him for making a bid in the balancing seat). West passed (again!). I certainly had more than a minimum, and so I bid 4♥.
The spades split 3-3. This allowed declarer to pitch two club losers on the spades. Twelve tricks ensued.
I think that West should have been more aggressive. He has four diamonds and eight support points (five high-card points and a singleton). He should probably raise to 2♦ if they are playing standard minor suit raises or 3♦ if they are playing inverted minors. Either of these bids would take away my ability to bid both my suits at a low level. I would probably bid 2♠ in the first case and double in the second case. If East rebids her diamonds, we may not have enough space to find our game in hearts.
One of the oldest maxims in bridge is "support with support." It is also one of the most reliable. Not only does it often produce good results at the table, it also reinforces an atmosphere of teamwork and partnership