THE BRIDGE TABLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20508, 8 March 1930, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE BRIDGE TABLE.

CONTRACT IN PRACTICE,;

BT HA JOS TENAC3.

The deals set out below, showing how the principles of contract bidding should bo applied in practice, were neither invented nor selected to illustrate the principles. They are given in the order in which they occurred after such shuffling and cutting as occurs in actual play, and as in actual play each player in turn has the initial bid. The deals do not illustrate all the principles set out in the preceding articles; in none of them, for instance, has any hand a justifiable initial bid of more than three; but they are fairly representative of normal conditions at the contract table. In discussing the bidding I have ignored the possible result of play; but to illustrate the strategy of bidding, which is more important at contract than at auction, but for which no general principles can be laid down, I have kept the score which each side would have made assuming best play. , Score love all. Z deals and the cards fall thus:

Z must pass, lacking two quick tricks. A has tho choice between an initial bid of three and an initial bid of four in spades. With only three quick losers in hand—ono in clubs and two in hearts—a game bid would seem to be indicated; but comparative shortness of the trump suit makes caution advisable. ' A, therefore, bids three spades. Y and Z can now do nothing but hope that their opponents will overstep the mark. B bids four clubs to deny the spades and to 6how his own strength. A supports his partner by bidding five clubs. It is fairly safe, for the take-out show« that B is short in spades and holds the ace of clubs. A's only losers, therefore, are Ms two hearts. B goes to six clubs on the strength of his quick trick in hearts. Lacking the ace he cannot go - for the grand slam; and as A also lacks this vital card he cannot increase the contract. Suit or No-Trumps.

A must consider, however, whether the two hands will combine better at no trumps or the club suit. This is a point that should never be overlooked. It is clear from the bidding that A and B hold command of clubs and that they hold the high cards of the other suits between them. A has the shorter holding of clubs. If he held a singleton or void suit his hand would probably be worth at least one more trick at clubs than at no trumps. But he has neither a singleton nor a void suit, and his hand is, therefore, probably worth the same number of tricks at either contract. It is possible, however, that one of the opponents has a void suit and may be able to steal an extra trick by ruffing before the trumps are drawn. The no trump contract, then, would seem to be better than the club. The hearts are not really a danger because B's raise to the small slam must be based on another quick trick besides the ace of clubs, and the only suit in which this quick trick can lie is hearts. A, therefore, bids six no trumps, and all pass. It will be seen that A and B can make a small slam at no trumps. They thus aud with one game to the good they become vulnerable. Picture of Partner's Hand. A now deals as follows:

A opens the bidding with one club. Y bids one diamond, ana B passes. So far the. bidding is no different from auction. Now what should Z bid ? The ,strength of his hand would justify him in raising the bid to four. To jump the bid so high, however, might shut out a secondary major bid by Y, supposing that ho has one; and with his great strength in both majors, Z is particularly anxious to know whether his partner has strength in either. He therefore contents himself with two diamonds. A cannot continue with clubs, but Y now bids two hearts. This gives Z an accurate picture of his partner's hand. Y holds a heart and diamond two-suiter, but the diamonds are so much stronger that he must show his preference by bidding them first. Clearly he must have two quick tricks in diamonds and length in hearts. These suits, therefore, are safe from loss. The spades are also safe, for if has a heart and diamond two-suiter he is pretty certain to be short in the other suits. Z therefore bids five hearts, leaving it to his partner to go for slam if he can stop the adverse clubs on the first or second round. _ (i Only close card-reading will enable 1 to go" to six hearts with any confidence. What lie must bo sure of is that Z's losers are not in the same suit as his. If Z's losers are the ace of spades and the ace of clubs, then he must hold the king-queen of each suit, and A would have bid 011 five clubs to the ace with the ace of spades as a quick trick outside. _ This would be quite justifiable as an initial bid at love score, but A is vulnerable, and common prudence would suggest he should pass without anything more than this bare minimum of strength. Placing the Aces.

Tho probability is. that A bid on the ace-king of clubs to five. But if so, then Z must hold tho ace of spades, and his two losers are in clubs. Y can. therefore, 6afely venture on six hearts. With clubs declared against them, both Y and Z dismiss the possibility of a switch to no trumps. The hands are played at six hearts and the contract made. Y and Z thus score below the line 180, and above, 500 for small slam and 100 for honours, Both sides are now vulnerable, and Y deals as follows for the rubber game:—

Y bids one diamond; B, two clubs; Z, two spades; three hearts; Y, no bid; B, four hearts; and all pass. This is auction bidding and calls for no comment. B, of course, is warned against going for slam by Z's raise of Y'b original bia..