Sunday, July 08, 2007 10:53 PM
Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Chess )
PITBULLS:
When
the opponents are in your auction , no not ignore
them. Use them if you can , otherwise prepare
partner for the eventuality of them bidding again. This is where Chess
& Bridge merge. Anticipate the opponent’s next move. I was watching a 5 cent game & Ray Grace
was nv vrs
nv. Declarer had a strong hand ♠AKJ10xx ♥Q ♦AQ10 ♣K10x
& opened 1♠. Ray overcalled 2♥ & partner
bid 2♠ so what do you bid ? With no opponents in
the auction , you bid 4♠ as you feel that contract has
a chance. With opponents in the auction , you must anticipate
what might happen if they bid again. I would bid 3♥ ,. not
as a slam try , but to turn on
forcing passes. A leap to 4♠ does not turn on forcing passes unless
vul vrs not
with most expert agreements.
Ray
did indeed back in with 5♣ & since forcing passes were not turned on , you can not
attach any meaning to partner's pass. As captain , you take
a stab at what you feel is the best spot so you
bid 5♠. This goes one down for –50. Unfortunately , Ray goes for –500 at the 5 level , as
partner had unsuitable cards in hearts for offense. Bridge is not played in a vacuum , so let partner in on the secret of the
nature of your hand as insurance against them bidding again.
Describing your defensive hand type to partner is a must with opponents
lurking. If you lack defense , just blast so you do
not give information to the enemy. Avoid leaping to game with strong
defensive hands .
You do not need to be in a hurry as fast arrival means exactly the opposite to what you are intending
to show.
You
hold ♠xxx ♥xxxxx ♦void ♣xxxxx ,the auction goes 1♠-P-2♦-P
2NT-P-3♠-P
4♠-P-P-?
This
is a clear cut lead directing penalty double. Why
? Bridge is not played in a vacuum so the opponents have told you
something. They never made a move towards slam so they have 26
HCP. This gives partner 14 HCP probably with a couple of Aces. If she has
only one Ace , she is going to show it to you on the
opening lead with the diamond spot. Therefore , they
are booked with partner only using up 4 of her 14 hypothetical HCP’s. I have
seen so many Bridge players just fixated on their own hand with
lead directing doubles. Bid the table , when making lead directing
doubles. You do not need to have the contract beat in your hand to
double . Bridge is a partnership game. On this hand , 4♠ makes 5 without a diamond lead & is +500
with a diamond lead doubled.
Whenever
the vulnerability is favourable for the opponents to sacrifice , assume that they will. You are
anticipating their next move before you make your bid. Susan held this
hand ♠KJ1098 ♥AQ10xxx ♦void ♣xx & opened 1♥ vul vrs nv. Doug Hawrelak overcalled 2♣ & I bid 2♥. Doug’s partner bid 3♥ so what
should Susan do ? She should bid a vulnerable game
but anticipating the opponents next move. With only 10 HCP’s &
partner giving a simple raise , there is a strong
likelihood that they are going to take the “sacrifice’ to 5♣. However , this “sacrifice” might make unless you get partner
off to the best lead. Susan bids 4♦
& as expected Doug bids 5♣ which I double. My diamond lead is the only
lead to beat the contract !! .