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Hand played on |
16th August 2007 |
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Board number 13 |
Red Section |
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Dealer |
North |
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Vulnerability |
Both |
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Submitted by |
Alaric Cundy |
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North ♠ 932 ♥ QT5 ♦ T8 ♣AJ875 |
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West ♠ QJ876 ♥ KJ8 ♦ K962 ♣6 |
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East ♠ KT4 ♥ 64 ♦ AQJ3 ♣ 9432 |
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North |
Bidding:
East |
South |
West |
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South ♠ A5 ♥ A9732 ♦ 754 ♣ KQT |
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No 2NT
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No 3♠ |
1NT End |
2♠
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The modern style for pairs playing a 12-14 HCP range 1NT opening bid is to open the South hand with 1NT, despite the 5-card heart suit. The logic is that if you open it 1♥ with such a flimsy suit, and partner responds, say, 1♠ your only rebid is 2♥. Now place partner with about 6-8 HCPs and a small doubleton heart, or perhaps even worse, and you will find yourself in a horrid contract. Sometimes you will miss a 5-3 heart fit as a result, but on many such occasions you will make the same tricks in No Trumps as in a heart contract.
North's 2NT bid was of the Lebensohl style, usually seeking to transfer to a 3-level suit contract after an intervention by the opponents. However, East was happy to raise to 3♠, and that bid ended the auction.
North led a diamond at trick one. West drew trumps, but courtesy of good judgement with the heart suit, finished up losing the three aces, and effectively a second heart. West could instead try to ruff the third heart in Dummy, but that line is risky had North started with a singleton diamond, as North could score two diamond ruffs in addition to the Defenders' three Aces. As the cards lie, Declarer effectively swaps a solitary diamond ruff for the second heart loser, to make the contract 'on the nail'. .
The text-books say that when partner opens 1NT and you finish up on opening lead, you should lead a trump, and just to prove the textbooks right, such a defence also restricts Declarer to nine tricks. The defenders start with a trump to the Ace and a trump back, and when the Defenders get in with a heart, North can gain the lead via the Ace of clubs, and clear Dummy's last trump. Once again, Declarer loses two black Aces and two hearts. So the textbooks are right!
In practice, four Declarers made 10 tricks, one of them in 4♠ doubled - a top or bottom hand, depending on how the defence goes, though in the event it was East / West who triumphed.
It is interesting to consider what might have happened after a 1♥ opening by South. Well, clearly, East / West can still bid to a spade part-score. Two North / South pairs were allowed to play in heart part-scores, a contract that should be held to nine tricks, but in practice one of the losers evaporated, presumably on Dummy's long clubs.
Two other Declarers were allowed to play in 1NT, which after an initial spade lead gives an easy and obvious seven tricks, but no more. Another advantage of the 1NT opener is that West may feel more nervous about coming into the bidding, and 1NT making gives North / South a good score on the board.