Thursday, November 30, 2006 6:47 AM

Match Point Friendly

PITBULLS:

BJ Trelford is right. We play a very matchpoint unfriendly system. The system shows our bias towards IMPS and rubber bridge as opposed to match points. We favour disciplined partnership Bridge which in itself is anti-matchpoints. Opening bids that have quick tricks , pre-empts that have some semblance of sanity , disciplined 2 level overcalls all seem to be foreign to matchpoint players. Our ideology is to stay out of trouble rather than “create action” which is lucrative to matchpoints. We create action at the terrorist vulnerability only.

Our Q bidding style in the majors, as pointed out by BJ , is matchpoint unfriendly. With a major fit , we can not offer a choice of contracts between the major & 3NT as 3NT is always a Q bid unless you leap to 3NT. There are many hands where 3NT would score better in matchpoints but due to the system we must play in 4 of a major. Our Jacoby 2NT with serious 3NT Q biding is not conducive to matchpoints.

D.S.I.P. doubles are very matchpoint unfriendly. There are many bad bidders in matchpoints so penalty doubles are a lucrative source of matchpoints. The “matchpoint” double is needed when you think the opponents are stealing from you. D.S.I.P. doubles fit IMPS because doubling the opponents into game making is a horrible disaster. Doubling of partials for penalty is avoided in IMPS.

Lead directing doubles seem to be an IMPS tool. Getting matchpoint players to make the bid is like pulling teeth. Too many zeros when they make the contract. In IMPS, it’s a loss of 4 IMPS which is hardly a disaster. On invitational auctions , I recommend doubling all 3NT contracts when you want the first bid suit led. ♠AQJ10 ♥xx ♦xxx ♣xxx is a clear cut double of 3NT for a spade lead on an invitational auction when spades are dummy’s first bid suit. Do not let your lack of HCP’s deter you, as partner has them since they are straining to get to game.

Do not improve partials is an IMPS phenomenon. Of course , you improve partials in matchpoints as they are just as important as grand slams. A 2NT contract is IMPS is a partial so when you pull the bid quite often you mean it as forcing ( use relays if you wish to escape ) . When you rest in a 2♠ partial and partner bids her suit at the 3 level it shows a good hand in IMPS as “you do not improve partials” . In matchpoints , you are probably improving the partial. In IMPS, after one of a minor and a 1NT bid , improving the 1NT partial is invitational in our system .

Responding a forcing 1NT after partners 1♥ opener with a 4 card spade suit is a bad idea in matchpoints. Get to your major suit partial almost at all costs. In IMPS , I always bypass my 4 card spade suit with a forcing 1NT, if it is a bad suit. When you have a balanced hand with soft values , quite often in IMPS a 1NT response to your partners minor holding a 4 card major is more descriptive. Not good in matchpoints though , as you may miss your major fit.

In matchpoints , you like stopping on a dime in 2NT. In IMPS , we would rather be in 3NT down one or making depending on the defense and the location of the cards. In fact , in IMPS , 2NT as natural and invitational is virtually extinct. We play 2NT as a “new suit” by responder to fix the ugly 4^th suit forcing auctions. By doing so ,if we miss the magical spot of 2NT just making , we take our lumps. 2NT has multiple meanings in IMPS but invitational to a NT game is not one of them.

In IMPS, we like to recover strong jump shifts or jump preferences by responder as slam going preferring to play XYZ or similar undertandings. In matchpoints , jumps are mostly invitational as accuracy is paramount. IMPS matches are geared to slams & games. The system is designed to get to games & slams. Matchpoints to the almighty plus score.

Equal level conversion is very much an IMPS concept. Off shape T/O doubles freak out match point players as again finding the best partial is very important. IMPS players like getting to their tight major suit games which equal level conversion always you to do. Match point players prefer to overcall with their 5 card suits even at the two level. With IMPS players , overcall vrs a T/O double depends on their major suit holdings and whether the major suit will get buried. I even double with 5 card majors if I have nice support for the other unbid suits, This is very foreign to matchpoint players as they might miss their 5-3 major suit and play in a minor partial. A disaster in matchpoints.

Bypassing a 4 card major with a strong inverted minor hand seems to freak out matchpoint players. Why ? because if the minor slam try is aborted so they play 5 of a minor , it is a zero relative to the 4-4 major games. In IMPS , getting off to a good start by showing the strong hand & good fit is a far superior way to go. You can always find the 4-4 major fit from responders side later in the auction. In IMPS 620 vrs 600 for 5 of a minor making is not very serious.

Opening at the one level with huge hands seems to be a matchpoint practice. If they miss a game or must rely on a balancer to get to their game or slam they seem to accept that. An IMPS player , opens 2♣ and back pedals as missing a game in IMPS is a no-no. Strong two suiters are put in the 2♣ structure and relays are usually used to sort things out.

Even hand evaluation is different in the two games. Matchpoint players do not like opening 1NT with a 5 card major as they are paranoid of missing their major fit so valuable in matchpoints. I only open a major if my suit is good and my cards are controls as opposed to soft values. Even with a 2NT opening , I like an acceptance of the transfer to show 3 cards in the suit. This gets the auction off to a good start for slam exploration. Matchpoint players do not like that as they want to bail out in a major suit partial for all the matchpoints.

The list goes on forever. You just must realize how IMP orientated your system has become and throw out a lot of fundamental parts of your system when you play matchpoints. A separate card for matchpoints ??