Monday, May 05, 2003 5:47 PM

Nuisance Bids

PITBULLS:

In IMPS , team mates appreciate it if their counterparts are getting the “treatment” at the other table . No “free rides” to games or slams without your team mates making an absolute nuisance of themselves . Tactical bids like lead directors , systemic toys like “suction” that are meant to obstruct or out and out psychological warfare to disrupt their bidding should be employed.

In modern bidding , jump bids are never forcing anymore . They are either invitational or pre-emptive . Knowing this , a partnership that “smells a game or slam” the other direction should jam bidding room when appropriate . You hold

DBL

xxxxxx x xxxx xx and the bidding goes 1♦ RDBL

?

I recommend 3♠ or at the very least 2♠ . Partner knows you have nothing from the bidding so lets hog some bidding room .

You have xx xxx x QJ10xxxx and partner opens 1♥ and RHO overcalls 1NT . All bids except for a double show no values, so lets up the ante and bid 3♣ . It cuts out their Stayman , their transfers or a number of their systemic bids . Don’t go down without a fight .

They open a forcing club and you hold Jxxxx 10xxxx xx x and you are vul as well as them . So what ! Make your systemic bid whatever it is , to show the majors. Partner is aware that you might have such a monstrosity and will not punish you . Sometimes just a little action at the 1 level is enough to confuse the opponents out of their grand slam . The meek do not inherit the earth in IMPS .

Vince Nowlan in Calgary held QJx x J109xxx xxx and was not vul against vul and Osama was a passed hand . RHO opens 1♣ and Nowlan knowing that his partner has an average of 5 HCP for his pass can smell game and or slam vulnerable the other direction . He felt that 1NT described his hand well . This kept the opponents out of their vul slam .

Pre-emptive re-raises in the majors are a must playing IMPS . You can not give the opponents a free ride in balancing or competitive auctions . You open a real dog 1♥ and partner bids 2♥ and RHO bids 2♠ or double. You must bid 3♥ to jam LHO or they will have room to maneuver. In the CNTC last year , my partner passed and they got to 3NT making . At the other table , George Mittleman made a pre-emptive re-raise of 3♥ and bought it there for –50 !!

You hold xxx Axxx xxxx xx and you hear the auction go 1♦ and partner overcalls 4♥ and RHO bids 4♠. You figure the opponents are cold for 7♠ but they do not know it yet . A nuisance bid would be a penalty double !! If they do not redouble you are looking at –1390 with 3 vul overtricks . This is a 13 IMP gain if your partners get to their grand . If they redouble , you pull to 5♥ and they might have trouble getting to six !!!

A leap to 4 of a minor is always pre-emptive but you can lay some traps with it . Gartaganis says that bidding 5 is bad strategy as the opponents quite often are heading for a suicide mission in the majors . You hold

DBl

x x xxxx K1098xxx and it goes 1♦ RDL Do not bid 5♣ but 4♣ ! This allows the opponents to hang themselves first and if partner does not double you can continue to 5♣ .

RHO vulnerable opens 1NT and you are not vul with xxx KQJ109xx xx x . At one table they bid 3♥ and I bid 3♠ and my partner Osama Q bid and we got to +1430 in 6♠ . At the other table ,our team mates bid 4♥ ! This jammed the opponents and they took their fix and bid 4♠ . Pre-empt so you do the maximum damage to the opponents . If partner has nothing and all you get is your 6 heart trucks for –800 that’s happiness as your partners are making a grand slam vul .

Lead directing overcalls , doubles of Q bids & Blackwood and lead directing doubles are all part of the tactics to make life difficult for the opponents . Do not shirk your obligations and be a real nuisance at your table . Your team mates will like it !!!