AUCTION BRIDGE

Evening Star, Issue 18057, 26 August 1922, Page 10

AUCTION BRIDGE

(Specially Written by Ernest Berg holt for the 'Evening Star.’] No. XVI THE FOSTERIAN TWO-DIAMOND convention:,, In an earlier article I referred in passing to a convention recommended by Mr 11. F. Foster, whereby an initial call of two Clubs or two Diamonds is arbitrarily used to tell partner that you hold a Notrump hand so far as the three suits that you do not name are concerned, but that yon have nothing whatever in the suit that yon do name. If the partner can atop the named suit twice ho is to bid No-trumps, even if ho has not another trick in tho hand. If he cannot stop the suit twice ho must bid his longest suit, no matter how poor it is. Between two suits of tho same length ho is to select the one of higher value. “Ho does so,” says Mr Foster, “with perfect confidence that (the initial caller of two Clubs or two Diamonds) can support the suit named by his partner or can afford to go something better.” I criticised unfavorably tiffs “convention,” which is quite foreign to our English ideas of the game ; but, in order to show, in Mr Foster’s own words, its alleged “advantage” in actual play, I sot out the deal given hy the iuveaior of the plan to illustrate the working of it. That deal was an follows:—

Z—Hearts, A, Q, 8; Clubs, A, K, 9,2; Diamonds, 7,5; vSpades, K, 10, 9, 4. A-—Hearts, 10, 7,5; Clubs, j, 7,5, 5; Diamonds, A, K, 8,5, 4; Spades, 5. Y—Hearts, J, 6,2; Clubs, Q, 8. 6,4; Diamonds, 10, 6; Spades, Q, J, 7,2. B—Hearts, K, 9,4, 5; Clubs, 10; Diamonds, Q, J, 9,2; Spades, A, 8,6, 5. Z’s hand says Mr Foster, is a perfect No-trumpor, but for the weakness in Diamonds. “The average player takes a chance on that suit. (I should do so myself, every time.—E.B.] The modern idea is to take no chances when it is not necessary to do eo. Z bids two Diamonds. If Y can stop tho suit twice, let him go to No trumps. If ho cannot ho must have a four-card suit, and Z can support anything ho may name.”—'Foster on Auction,’ page 83. Z calls two Diamonds then. A passes, that the bid will come round to him again. Y says two Spades (obeying orders!). “On tiffs contract,” says Mr Foster, “he wins the game by catching the King of Hearts. Y Z get four odd, four honors, and a game.” I imagine that, according to Mr Foster’s idea. B, knowing that Y and Z are both weak in Diamonds, will start off by leading that suit.

But I have a long (and not a very civil) letter from Mr John R. Minter, of Johanncsburgj in which he expresses the opinion that neither Mr Foster nor I know" what we _ arc writing about. He points, ont (quite correctly) that if B starts off with Ins singleton Club the result will be very different. Z takes trick 1 and hads a trump, won by B, who then (trick 30 leads small Diamonds, won by A. A leads Club (trick 4), which B ruffs. At trick 5 B again leads Diamond, won by A, who (trick 6) again leads Club, ruffed by B. Thus A B make A, K of Diamonds two ruffs in Clubs, and the Ace of trumps (five tricks in all), while Y Z, instead of ten tricks and the game, score, eight tricks onlv.

Mr Minter goes on to assert that Foster is also wrong about the result if the deal bo played at No trumps; but in this part of his criticism he is much confused, and I have difficulty in following him. The upshot of the matter is that the “illustration” given by Foster docs not seem to bo at all a good one. That does not, of course, prove that tho “convention ” is bad. Those who object to it rest their objections on wholly different grounds.