AUCTION BRIDGE

King Country Chronicle, Volume XXV, Issue 3370, 26 September 1931, Page 6

AUCTION BRIDGE

HOW TO PLAY IT. SOME HINTS TO PLAYERS. • Observation and deduction should be exercised by the bridge player who desires to excel in the game, and almost every hand will afford the opportunity to bring intelligence to bear. One need not be a Sherlock Holmes to detect some of the indications in play from which legitimate inferences can be drawn. When the dealer passes it may be inferred that he cannot properly bid No Trumps or a suit, and that his hand is probably below the average strength. When he calls one Club or one Diamond it is safe to assume that he had no major suit of five cards or four with top honours, but his partner can depend upon at least one trick in the suit or a No-Trump bid.

When Z, partnered by Y, bids a NoTrump, A passes and Y bids two Spades, his partner knows that he holds no less than five Spades. He may or may not have a strong hand, and because of this uncertainty Z should let the take-out stand unless he has an exceptionally sound NoTrumper.

Generally speaking, the trump bid will give the better result, but if Z has only one Spade, and his hand is well guarded throughout a return to No. Trumps may be justified. Occasionally, game can be made in No-Trumps and missed with Spades or Hearts as trumps, but these instances are comparatively rare. An experienced player can usually tell whether his hand will be better suited by one declaration or the other.

When the partner of the No-Trump bidder calls two Clubs or Diamonds he gives a clear signal that his hand will be useless unless it is played with a trump suit. The original bidder must use his own judgment and decide whether the warning- can be disregarded with safety. Some players misunderstand the call when the partner of a Heart bidder says "One Spader." This bid is not a positive denial of support, such as would be the call of two Hearts over one Spade, and it does not increase the contract. The partner may desire to show a suit whic'i help to secure game, and he may be prepared to support the Heart call if the Spade bid is not left in. If Z bids a sound No-Trump, A two Clubs, Y passes and B bids two Diamonds, it is permissable for Z, having fair strength, to bid Spades or Hearts. Y may not be able to call over the Clubs, but it is quite possible that he may have normal support for a major suit. When A, bidding up in Spades, finds that Y has twice raised a one Heart declaration by Z he can reasonably assume that the Hearts are held so strongly by the opponents that B may be able to trump the suit.

If Z bids one Spade, A two Diamonds, Y two Spades, and B doubles. A can recognise the double as a "business" one because he has made a bid and his partner has not supported his call. Against No-Trumps, when there has been no other declaration, the lead of the lowest card of a suit shows that the player has only four cards in the suit. He has led his fourth best. The lead also indicates that he has no five-card suit, because he would have led that for preference. If A leads the three of Spades against Z's No-Trump, dummy wins the trick, and the two of Spades is not sighted, it can be taken for granted that A himself holds the "deuce," and therefore has five Spades. The lead of an Ace, followed by the King, tells the partner that a third round can be trumped by the leader. If when A leads, B plays the King, while dummy has the Queen and Jack, it is evident that B cannot have the ten.

If the declarer is playing a NoTrumper and leads a Spade at the first opportunity, it may fairly be concluded that this is his longest suit. The cards in the opponents hands should warn them if the declarer is trying to throw them off the scent by leading what is their own strong suit. Instances such as these which are given special attention in "Auction Bridge Essentials," could be multiplied indefinitely. In everyday play, if one keeps on the lookout, one will note instances where sound inferences may be drawn and utilised with profit. What should be aimed at by the intelligent player is the ability to draw prompt and accurate conclusions from the bidding and the fall of the cards.