All week we have been studying declarer's using the auction to place key missing honors.
First, though, today, look only at the North hand. After three passes, your partner opens one spade. West intervenes with a takeout double. What would you respond?
Ludwig Erhard, a German politician who died in 1977, said, "A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece." Some players holding that North hand would bid a quiet two spades. Others would jump to four spades, quoting the Law of Total Tricks (with a weak hand and 10 combined trumps, bid to the 10-trick level). But that hand, for all of its trumps, has a lot of losers. Perhaps, over the double, it is best to compromise and bid three spades. This is mildly pre-emptive. With a game-invitational hand, North would respond two no-trump.
Now we get to the job of making four spades. West starts with two top hearts, then shifts to the diamond seven. How would you continue?
You must guess the clubs to get home. After winning the diamond, draw trumps (noting that West has the queen), cash the rest of the diamonds (to delay the evil moment), and play a trump to the dummy. Then lead the club jack. When East plays low smoothly, what would you do?
West has already shown up with nine points: the heart ace-king and spade queen. If he had the club ace too, he would have opened the bidding. So you should go up with the club king. It's a certainty to win!
Keep counting those points.
First, though, today, look only at the North hand. After three passes, your partner opens one spade. West intervenes with a takeout double. What would you respond?
Ludwig Erhard, a German politician who died in 1977, said, "A compromise is the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everyone believes he has the biggest piece." Some players holding that North hand would bid a quiet two spades. Others would jump to four spades, quoting the Law of Total Tricks (with a weak hand and 10 combined trumps, bid to the 10-trick level). But that hand, for all of its trumps, has a lot of losers. Perhaps, over the double, it is best to compromise and bid three spades. This is mildly pre-emptive. With a game-invitational hand, North would respond two no-trump.
Now we get to the job of making four spades. West starts with two top hearts, then shifts to the diamond seven. How would you continue?
You must guess the clubs to get home. After winning the diamond, draw trumps (noting that West has the queen), cash the rest of the diamonds (to delay the evil moment), and play a trump to the dummy. Then lead the club jack. When East plays low smoothly, what would you do?
West has already shown up with nine points: the heart ace-king and spade queen. If he had the club ace too, he would have opened the bidding. So you should go up with the club king. It's a certainty to win!
Keep counting those points.