Doctor to elderly lady: “What do you do for mental exercise?”
A. “I play bridge.”
Q. “And for physical exercise?”
A.” I play East/West.”
Those of you who play duplicate bridge know that North-South typically remain at the same table, while East-West rotate.
Here are some mental exercises. Sitting South, with West dealing and East-West vulnerable, you hold:
S Q J 9 8 6 4 2
H —
D K Q J 4
C 9 5The bidding has proceeded as follows:
West North East South
1H Pass 2H ?What do you bid?
In a bridgebase.com competition, I bid 3S and West bid 4H, making. Worse, one of the opponents told the other, “North-South could have made 4S.”
Should I have bid 4S? Absolutely, and especially with favorable vulnerability. Let’s take a negative scenario. Suppose I bid 4S, West doubles, and I go down two for -300. If my partner contributes no tricks, East-West can probably make 4H, costing us at least 620 points. They might even be good for a slam.
Sitting South and dealing, with both sides vulnerable, you hold:
S K Q 5
H J 10 9 7
D Q 10 5 3
C K 4The bidding had proceeded as follows:
South West North East
Pass Pass 1S 2D
3D• DBL 3S Pass
?• Shows limit raise, with at least three spades and 10-12 support points
What do you bid?
It’s a slam-dunk pass. Partner knows what you have and isn’t interested in game. It’s North’s decision, not yours.
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