Hand of the day #422
You can now play the hand of the day on BBO+ and compare how you get on with the...
This conundrum was written by Guy Lasserre & Norbert Lébely and was originally published in the book Bridgerama+ No. 62 - you can find out all about it further down the page.
When we started learning bridge, counting high card points and additional points for distribution and added length in the trump suit helped us all considerably. However, it quickly becomes apparent that this is not enough and that we should go further than that. This is why, vulnerable against not, you pass partner’s 1NT opening with this absolutely flat 8-count: ♠J52 ♥Q42 ♦A73 ♣J732 but raise to 3NT with this very promising 7-count: ♠52 ♥42 ♦753 ♣AK10872. The same evaluation applies for trump contracts.
Dealer South – All Vul.
The bidding starts
What do you bid as South?
3♠. But doesn’t such a jump describe a stronger hand than this one? No, a simple raise to 2♠ would be made with a balanced hand such as ♠AJ94 ♥532 ♦K72 ♣A13. Compared to that, your hand has very strong offensive values: 5–4–3-1 distribution with five Clubs and a shortness, A10J tenaces in your long suits and finally the King of Diamonds that is placed behind the hand with the Double.
So what should you do?
Show all your force by jumping to 3♠ with the aim of getting to a good contract and to take away space from your opponents.
What should North say with ♠K9653 ♥Q42 ♦43 ♣K54?
His Queen of Hearts is not worth much after East’s Double, but he can add points for his ninth trump and the two black Kings that are complementary with your hand and raise to 4♠. Next, he will have to play well to make this game with 19 useful high card points.
The full hand
Norbert Lébély writes a clever defensive hand where one player sets up a beautiful smokescreen to mislead the declarer — and it works brilliantly. That’s just one of the featured plays in the latest issue of Bridgerama+, alongside fresh stories and insights from the world of bridge.
If you want to read it, and gain access to the entire back catalogue just subscribe to BBO+. And right now, you can try BBO+ for free by clicking the button below. You will be taken to the BBO store where you can login with your BBO credentials. Once there just click 'Try BBO+' to get started. You’ll have 15 days to try BBO+ and once the trial is over you’ll pay 7.99 BB$/ month (instead of 9.99 BB$).