Diary of a Bridge Pro, #4

 Play These (Louisville)  Hands With Me

Terence Reese was a bridge superstar from England, considered by many to be the Greatest of All Time in the category of "Player-Writer". Clearly he was among the best ever both as a player and as a bridge writer.

Among the many books that he published, there was a compilation titled, Over My Shoulder. The format he used in that work, inevitably mimicked by others, consisted of a series of single deals, presented in story form, each with a dramatically different setting: this sort of thing:

1)  “I arrive in Heathersford for a country congress with an enthusiastic but untutored student from the East End - her recently deceased husband made a fortune in the rag trade, and she has determined to mitigate her pain by playing as much bridge as possible….”

2) “Playing high-stakes rubber bridge at London’s Crockfords Club, you are pleased to cut the best (other) player in the club, against two of your favorite opponents….”

3) “Representing England in the European Championships in Stockholm, you find yourself facing a strong French Team in the Grand Final….”

I read the book as a teen, and loved it. I don’t recall many of the specific deals, but I remember that the book in general was wildly entertaining, with tons of solid bridge advice as well.

I do recall this one deal that Reese featured, who wouldn’t? The problem he posed placed you with a 13 (!) card suit. His presentation ran something like this: 

“Playing for medium-high stakes at the second best bridge club in London, you deal yourself this (entirely apocryphal) collection, no one vulnerable: Void, Void, Void, AKQJT98765432 - “

Reese went on to write a brilliant essay on why the “correct” opening bid with this hand was Four Clubs.

I’d like to try something similar today, and write up some of the hands I played with the format Reese made famous..Let’s call upon some deals from the second qualifying session of the Inaugural Spring Nationals Saturday-Sunday NABC Pairs.

Here's a link to my results from the session, including diagrams of the various hands. Try these boards with me:

https://live.acbl.org/event/NABC241/OPPR/2/scores/C/N/13

“You sit down for the second session of the new Saturday - Sunday national pair game with a cynical but enthusiastic partner from California by way of London, Israel, Canada, and Goulburn. His accent is still British, and his outlook Australian.

Board One, you hold:

KJTxxx, Txx, Axx, x - 

With no one vulnerable, partner passes, then: One Club on your right. The recurring theme from this session was: "Do you make a weak jump-overcall in spades?" 

I did, maybe you bid One or Three (I hope you wouldn’t pass or bid four).

After my Two Spade bid the auction continued: (1C) - 2S - (3H) - 3S - (P) - P - (P)

Partner is a bit bewildered but essentially pleased as punch when he tables: AQxx, Qx, xxx, xxxx - it doesn’t take a Mensa membership (Reese wouldn’t use that phrase, but I can) to deduce that the opponents can make four or five hearts - conceivably even a slam in that suit, if we don’t have a spade trick on defense.

The opening leader cashes the ace - king of hearts, dropping his partner’s doubleton jack, and then shifts to a club.

Instead of a great board for - minus 50 against their cold game - you score what you expect to be at least 90% of the matchpoints: Plus 140 in 3 Spades, as your heart ten provides a discard for dummy’s third diamond.

Key Takeaway: You can often get huge results by bidding normally.

The full deal:

Continuing with the session’s theme of: Preempt in Spades or don’t preempt in Spades?:

On Board Four I held KQxxxxx, x, xxx, Ax: Both Vul - After a One Heart opening on your right, how many spades would you bid?
 
Board Six: We suffered the kind of annoying situation one often confronts in tournaments: The opponents had a lengthy bidding sequence, some of it artificial, some of it ambiguous, something like 1NT - 3D - 3S - 3NT - 4C-5C - P - there was some commentary with the bidding, here's what I recall:

  1NT (range may have been announced)
  3D ("I think I'm supposed to alert that - but I don't remember what it means")
  3S (after a long pause)
  3NT (after another long pause)
 
Now, another gratuitous comment, this one by the responder: "I want to alert 3 Spades".

Obviously, alerts of this kind, which occur long after the bid in question has been made, are not, what phrase shall we use? "By the book".
 
This sort of thing happens all the time in tournaments, expect this to happen occasionally against you if you participate in congresses here or in the UK (or in most any other country, for that matter).

Board Seven: Partner holds K98, Qxx, Kxx, QTxx - As a passed hand, I overcalled One Spade after a fourth position One Club opening by Debbie Rosenberg. My LHO, Max Shireson, passes - Ellie does too.

Note to Self: Check Ellie for a pulse, who would pass Partner’s One Spade overcall with that hand?

His thinking, I assume, ran: Partner couldn’t open the bidding, so why should I go any higher than One Spade unless I’m pushed?

That kind of thinking is what I call a bankrupt ideology. Failing to raise partner’s One Spade overcall to two with this hand is just bad bridge.