Thursday, August 22, 2002 2:03 AM

Tactics – 4♠ over 4♥

PITBULLS :

The spade suit is the bully suit . Sound tactics by you and the opponents are to flex your muscles with it . Partnership understandings are needed to give the partnership leeway when the occasion arises. I have bought into the Bergen idea below. This article by Marty Bergen

Don’t Think Twice—Bid 4ª Over 4©

By Marty Bergen

Scene: Finals, National Swiss Teams (three-day event).

Seattle, Washington.

Auction: Pass 1§ 4© ???

Your hand: ª 10876432 © 2 ¨ 86 § A54

Vulnerability: Vulnerable against not.

What did I do? For years, I have been preaching the necessity of bidding 4ª over 4© whenever rational. Although many players might question the rationality of bidding at these colors with a four-point hand and a suit headed by the ten, all I can say is: “Faint heart never won fair maiden.” I duly bid 4ª, and here was the layout:

North (Marty)

ª 10876432

¨ 86

§ A54

West East

ª 9 ª AJ

¨ KQJ3 ¨ 1075

§ Q6 § 9873

South

ª KQ5

¨ A942

§ KJ102

West North East South

— — P P 1§

4© 4ª 5© P

P Dbl all pass

Notice the effect of the 4ª bid. East-West were about to play a cozy 4©, easily scoring ten tricks for + 420. Over 4ª East had an obvious 5© bid, which was doubled for down one. Even if a little bird had whispered into East’s ear and had told him to defend 4ª, the best he would have been able to do was beat it one after declarer’s normal club misguess.

As this deal illustrates, four-level actions can be crucial. I would like to demonstrate that there is a lot more to this subject than the final decision after 4©. Frequently the early bird catches the IMPS.

One way to approach this dilemma was discussed in Larry Cohen’s best-selling book, To Bid or Not to Bid: The LAW of Total Tricks. Larry taught players to appreciate their trump length and to accept that The LAW is more important than HCP when it comes to competitive bidding.

Let us take a look at another example. You are South and open 1ª. Before you know it, the auction has accelerated to the three level. What call do you make?

ª KQ10743 © 8 ¨ KQ106 § 93

West North East South

— — — 1ª

2© 2ª 3© ???

Many players would compete with 3ª, and I too would be pleased to declare that contract. But is that really likely? The opponents are probably about to bid 4©. Do you have any interest in defending that contract? Not me, I would rather bid 4ª. If it makes, great. If it does not, it will cost me less than the score for the opponents making 4©.

Another reason for the immediate 4ª bid is that if you wait until later, the enemy will be in a better position to judge to double you, or on occasion bid 5©. You put a great deal of pressure on West if you bid 4ª immediately. He will have to judge unilaterally whether to bid, pass or double.

Some alert LAW-abiding readers may question bidding at the four level with only nine trumps. However, because both 4© and 4ª represent game contracts, the potential gain for both sides is great. If partner has the following hand...

ª A92 © 764 ¨ A853 § 742

...it is likely that both games are cold.

Finally, try this hand, also from the Seattle Nationals. With neither side vulnerable you are North, gazing at this lovely collection:

Partner opens 1ª and your RHO doubles. Do you appreciate your nine-card fit? The LAW is telling you to make a preemptive jump to 3ª. Would you?

North

ª 10653

¨ 108743

§ J3

West East

ª 9 ª KJ

¨ AQ5 ¨ KJ2

§ A10964 § 872

South

ª AQ8742

¨ 96

§ KQ5

West North East South

— — — 1ª

Dbl 3ª 4© 4ª

5© all pass

The 5© contract went down one. Even if East-West had known to double 4ª, it should go down only two. Declarer can force an entry to dummy for the winning spade finesse (the correct play with ten cards missing the king is to finesse). If the §J does not get him there, he can still ruff a winning club. The key was North’s preemptive 3ª bid. I do not believe that any of the actions taken by East-West can be criticized. They were just unlucky to be missing a crucial club honor. Of course, they were also unlucky to be playing against this particular North-South pair, who understood the advantages of bidding 4ª over 4©.