CONTRACT BRIDGE Further Development Of Artificial Bidding

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31830, 7 November 1968, Page 8

CONTRACT BRIDGE Further Development Of Artificial Bidding

(Contributed bu J.R.WJ In the good old days of bridge, when players bid the suits they held, the auction was a fairly easily understood exercise in bidding what they thought they could make. This phase was followed by the age of artificial bidding, when the auction was an exchange of code bids indecipherable without the key. ’ The bright young brains of bridge are now working on even further developments, having discovered the principle of the two-way bid. Any bid may be either weak or strong: and either you have the suit you call, or you are extremely short in it. An example is an opening bid of two diamonds—which can mean a very strong hand with a diamond suit—to which partner is expected to respond with the purely artificial call of two hearts. With a genuine strong hand, opener bids on, but he may also have opened on a weak hand containing a long heart suit, in which case he passes the forced response. Wearing on the Nerves Another example is after an opposing opening bid of one no-trump, when an overcall of two spades can mean either a good spade suit, or extreme shortage in the suit —and partner is expected to guess which. If he has a singleton or doubleton spade, it looks as though that is his partner’s suit; but if he has four he must bid one of the other suits. It all sounds very wearing on the nerves, and it is very satisfying to come across a deal where more or less natural bidding methods triumph over artificial.

Against three no trumps by North East led a spade, taken by South’s ace. The queen of diamonds was cashed, and the declarer entered his hand with the ten of hearts to make the other two diamond honours. He then made four more tricks in hearts, and thus came to nine in all without difficulty. Other Table At the other table, NorthSouth were flourishing the Roman Club: S. W. N. E. 1C ID Dble No 2C 2S No No 3C No 4C No 4H All pass. Evidently South’s bidding showed five clubs and five hearts with 17 to 20 points, though why it should would be beyond most of us. Against four hearts. West led the king of spades and the contract was unmanageable. The declarer won the first trick in hand with the ace, cashed the queen of diamonds, and crossed to the ten of hearts. He attempted to make the ace of diamonds, on which he intended to discard his small spade. But

East ruffed the diamond, and South overruffed. The declarer then led clubs in order to establish some tricks there, but the defenders made the ace and king: then West ruffed the third round, and cashed the queen of spades to defeat the contract Bare Honours This may or may not be the best line of play, but when East has four trumps the contract cannot be made in any way. It is interesting to note, however, that South can make five clubs, but he has to adopt a line of play known in the trade by the fascinating title of the “striptease coup.” West leads the spade king won by South’s ace. If the declarer starts to draw trumps immediately, the defenders will make a trick in spades as well as their ace and king of clubs, so that South first searches for a way to dispose of his losing spade. He cashes his diamond queen, and enters dummy with the ten of hearts. The ace of diamonds is led, but East unkindly ruffs, so South over-ruffs. He makes the ace of hearts, then leads the king intending to discard on it dummy's remaining spade. But West ruffs, and dummy has to over-ruff. The king of diamonds follows; and again East ruffs, and the declarer over-ruffs. By this time, the striptease is complete, and both enemy club honours are bare. So South leads a club, the ace and king fall together, and the only other defensive winner is the queen of spades. The defence is quite helpless against this play, -for if at any stage one of them ruffs high, either declarer or spade, and the defence makes dummy simply discards a only the two trump honours.