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Answer A good many years ago, it was the fashion to bid 2H on hands of this strength. It was a poor idea since you can always start with a take-out double and cue-bid on the next round, if necessary. A cue-bid makes more sense on a very shapely hand, containing one or two long suits. With that sort of shape a take-out double may not work so well. Awards: Double — 10, 2H — 5, 3NT — 4, 3C — 3. David Bird — Knight Features
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THE deal comes from the
Women’s Board-a-match championship in the USA. First, what do you
make of the bidding? With five-card club support, West was somewhat
cautious in raising only to 3C. Regardless of the eventual outcome on
this particular hand, it is good tactics to raise as high as you are
prepared to go at your first opportunity. By doing so, you rob the
opponents of bidding space. South rebid 3S, gambling that partner
would have a fit for her second suit. Would you expect 4S to be made
or not? Westheimer and Radin put up a fine defence. West led the ace
of clubs and a singleton club appeared in the dummy. When there are no
further tricks to be taken in the suit led, it is normal for East to
give a suit-preference signal to indicate the desire switch. Here it
was clear to switch to hearts anyway. East won with the ace and
returned another heart. Declarer won with dummy’s queen and led a
trump. Judy Radin made no mistake. She rose with the ace and played a
third round of hearts to promote her partner’s bare queen of trumps
for one down. South might well have guessed the trumps correctly, if
given the chance.
What will you say on
this impressive West collection?