Being Preempted

Ray and I got a few hands in on BBO tonight.  Most of it went very well.  Here is an interesting hand.  I am going to give you a hypothetical first.  Ray opened 1C and with all vulnerable East bid 3S.  I held

S void H J92 D AKQ10763 C KJ3

I bid 4D, not completely sure how to find out what I needed to know.  Let’s say East bids 4S and it goes pass, pass to you.  What bid would you make?    I have no idea what to do.  

Let me think about what I know.  Since we play weak notrump, Ray almost certainly has an unbalanced hand.  I suppose it is possible that he has a strong notrump but he almost certainly would have doubled or bid something.  He probably doesn’t have too many spades.  Can I think of a hand where we can’t make a slam?  Let me see.

S Kxx H QXXX D void C AQXXXX

Yes that one will do but I still have good chances if they don’t lead a heart.  6C would be best on this particular hand. 

Maybe over 4S the best bid is 6C.  What do you think? 

Anyway it didn’t happen.  West passed and Ray bid 4H.  The auction suggested Ray had 5C and 4H but it wasn’t certain since if he was balanced and had no spade stopper he had to bid something.  However, as Ray later point out if her had no cards in spades and a strong notrump we were too low since there are only 16 points missing in the other suits so we have no holes.

But the auction did suggest that he didn’t have much in spades so I shot 6D,  Maybe 6C would have been better but he would never guess what I had and I don’t know any way in an auction like this to say — much better diamonds partner but I do have a club fit.

Whatever I did turned out to be fine.  He held S53 H AQ104 D 84 C AQ942 and yes seven is cold if there is no ruff.  I would be interested in a sensible auction that gets you to seven.

Would you have bid on West’s hand.  He held SKJ72 H 765 D J52 C 1065.  It is a pretty lousy hand even with 4 trump.

I was reading an article in an old Bridge World yesterday.  I confess I read parts of old Bridge Worlds all the time.  They get better with age, like some wines.  It was talking about luck and bridge.  One idea suggested was that some players are better defenders or better at bidding slams or whatever and you want them in when the right hands come up their way.  Its the luck of the draw.  Anyway, I think I am good at bidding slams.   I remember the match against England in Shanghai.  Our team badly needed a big win.  Pamela and I bid three slams against them and blitzed them.  There was no other pair in the field to do that and I shall always be proud that we did that. 

I know my bidding weakness but I am not telling.