CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20477, 1 December 1934, Page 34 (Supplement)

CONTRACT BRIDGE.

Match Point Bidding. When a duplicate tournament is scored on a match point basis, the expert players naturally do not bid exactly as they would in a rubber game. They fight harder to protect part scores, and accordingly overbid slightly in so doing. Furthermore, the possession of 1 C)0 honours is of far more importance to the holder than it is in rubber bridge, where 100 points can be disregarded when a possible loss of 300 or more is involved. On to-day’s hand, North and South scored a 900-point penalty against an expert combination playing Hast and West, purely and simply because the West player tried to prevent the opponents making a part-score, and, at the same time, make one of his own with 100 honours accompanying it. Frankly, I do not think that West should be severely criticised. West dealer.

! {figures after bids refer to numbered j explanatory paragraphs), j West. North. East. South. I 111- Pass 1N.T.(1) Pass 2 11. Pass Pass 2 S. (2) 3 11.(3) Dbl. (4) Pass Pass ' Pass j 1-—East’s only possible response outside of a pass. j 2.—This would be a distinctly bad bid when vulnerable in money bridge, but with match point scoring. South quite correctly decides that an effort to push the opponents up ! a trick is in order. | 3.—An overbid, but excusable in match j point play. On his partner’s onei no-trump bid West assumes that there is some sort of fit for the i Heart suit and that he will not go | down more than one or two tricks, i which, with his honour score, will | not be a greater loss than he will sustain if he permits the opponents to make two Spades with a partscore bonus West naturally hopes not to be doubled. 4—North has what looks to him like three certain tricks, and the vulnerable bid at the level of two bv his partner is additional encouragement. He also correctly surmises that the West player is overbidding slightly.

In the play of the hand North opened his top Spade, and on the third round of the suit he signalled with his 1 Diamond 9. North knew that his King i of Hearts was a sure trick anyway i and therefore did not wish to use it to over-ruff dummy on a fourth round of Spades, giving the declarer at the same time a discard. At trick four. South shifted to his Diamond 8, which declarer was forced to pass. North won with the King and returned a Diamond, which declarer won with the Queen in dummy. North subsequently made his Ace of Clubs and King of Hearts, and was, in addition, able to give South a ruff on the third round of Diamonds, as the latter’s three trumps could not be drawn out without letting North in. Thus the unfortunate West player was set three tricks doubled and vulnerable (900 points) less 100 honours. What are the correct steps in the bidding to reach a grand slam with the hands below? South dealer.