THE GAME OF BRIDGE

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 134, 8 June 1935, Page 19

THE GAME OF BRIDGE

Weekly Chat on Contract , Specially Written for "The Post" by "Approach Bid"

FURTHER HANDS FROM THE OLYMPIC

HAND No. IS—THE NO-TRUMP . HOLD-UP. East-West Par: Three no-trumps bid and made. (Declarer must hold up his Ace at Trick 1.) West dealer. North and South vulnerable.

OFFICIAL COMMENT. (1) The West hand.Jthoiigh considered ideal for an. opening one" notrump bid at the ' time the ' Olympic hands were prepared, is not strong enough for an opening one no-trump bid under the 1935 Culbertson' system. The bidding would now go: West, one club; East, one diamond; West, one notrump; East, two no-trumps; West, three no-trumps.- The final declarations, it will be noted, are' the same whether the old or the new bidding is used. ■ .■'■'' ' "' THE' FLAY."' ",

North-makes, bis natural, opening of the spade Jack, and South quite properly- goes up with the King. The declarer with the Ace, Queen —two certain stoppers—should refuse ,to win the first spade trick, as his first step in an ateppt to break the opponent's lines of communication. West knows the opponents will surely'get in once with each.of their two Aces, and, with no indication as to which opponent has which. Ace, he does not' want to have to guess which Ace should be knocked, out first. . .... West wins the -spade' continuation with either the Ace or 'the Queen, and now tackles clubs,, the longer suit. South wins the.Ace eventually, but now has no spades to return. North subsequently gets in with his heart Ace and,'knocks put West's last'spade, but now the' diamond, finesse can be taken into the South hand in perfect safety, as there is no way of putting North, in for the setting tricks in spades. One trick is lost in each suit, and three no-trumps, is-made. Reference is made above to the open* ing one no-trump .bit) under the 1935 Culbertson system. The requirements for this bid, known as "the. distributional no-trump," have been changed, and it is now a very powerful opening bid, made only on hands with a 4.3.3.3. distribution, ' and containing, either vulnerable or non-vulnerable, about four to five honour-tricks in'at least three suits. On hands of this type one no-trump should be bid in spite of the possession of a biddable suit. Occasionally the four-honour-trick minimum may be lowered to three and a half. This is when the hand con* tains in all eight honour "cards (tens

and higher cards), such a hand being considered at least equal to a four-honour-trick hand. ■ 1 - Two advantages are claimed by this departure from the former bidding;; first, that the bidding is directed into what is, for the time being at Jeast, ■ the best contract, and, second, that the responding hand .is given precise information as to the 4.3.3.3. distribution of his partner's, hand, so that .he is.in a position to determine what j will ,be the best.final contract. , % . HAND No. 13—THIRD HAND LOW. North-South par: Three no-trumps bid and made, or down one". _ ' ' ■ East-West par; Three 'no-trumps by 'South', down one. '. V Vorth dealer. Both sides vulnerable. • . . , •■

, . OFFICIAL COMMENT. (1) The correct bid under the Culbertson system of 1935 is one-no-trump after Souths , opening one^heart /bid. Since the hand contains only-one and a half honour-tricks and the cult would have to be bid at the level of two odd, the no-trump call is no\v. preferred. Withl a one no-trump ; "response from North, South would raise to\ three, and the same contract would' be: reachedv with North as declarer.' >■ '•■'■ .' THE PLAY. • As against'three no-trumps played by South, West will make his natural opening .of - the fourth-best' spade. Dummy plays the ten, and it is up to East not to cover with } lhe.jQueen; He must realise that " by" retaining ; the Queen he will almost surely take away the declarer's only certain entry to the club suit. The spade 10 .will then hold,the trick-in dummy,' and South will.return to his own hand and take the club finesse, with East/ of course, . deliberately holding up the club King. No matter what South does now, .he cannot fulfil the contract, even it he realises that the club King is being held up, and therefore declines to take a second club finesse. The defence may err in the subsequent play, even after East holds up both .the spade Queen and the club King, and thus permit South to make three, but. perfect defence throughout must defeat South, no matter how brilliant a line of play he chooses. The result should be the same it North is.declarer, and East is the opening leader, even though East "makes the normal choice of the diamond Jack, and thus clarifies the diamond situation for ~ declarer.' To defeat the cbn£ractJsast must, of course, hold up the club* king'on the first finesse.