Suffolk v Bedfordshire
Spring is in the air - well perhaps. At least it is the start of a new season in the Eastern Counties; Suffolk's first fixture was against Bedfordshire and the performance matched the weather. The second team provided the sunny interval, winning 14-6 in victory points but the showers fell upon the 'A' and 'C' team who both tumbled to 16-4 defeats.
I wrote a week ago about the failure to make jump shifts and this deal from the match is something of an echo of that (hands rotated for convenience).
| ♠ 3 | ♠ AQ54 | ||||||
| ♥ J6 | ♥ K10 | ||||||
| ♦ AQJ9874 | ♦ K6 | ||||||
| ♣ AK5 | ♣ QJ973 | ||||||
| 1♦ | 2♣ | ||||||
| 3♦ | 4♦ | ||||||
| 5♣ | 6NT | ||||||
It would not be completely out of the question to open the west cards here with a strong and natural two diamonds. Though those that repeat the mistaken mantra "eight playing tricks' will have no compunction, it might not quite meet with the "hand of power and quality" the designers of the Acol system had in mind. However, it may keep the opponents out of the auction and, if a high level diamond contract is the place to be, you'll have a good platform. However, when partner has only one major stopped and takes a chance on three no-trump, perhaps based quite rightly on possession of the diamond king, you may not be cheering.
I prefer the sequence above. When west jumps opposite a two-over-one response, it is so very rarely passed (only by a few old-timers) that it's better to call it game forcing and the auction can proceed smoothly. East supports and west can make a descriptive slam try. It is especially explicit because of his inability to mention a major - what else can he hold for such bidding? It is therefore essential for east to protect the heart king and six no-trumps seems the obvious call.
Suffolk v Bedfordshire
'A' Team lost 4-16 VPs (-39 IMPs)
P. Gemmell (Capt.) / P. Sutcliffe
C. Chambers / E. Lockhart
E. Newman / M. Sherer
M. Allnutt / D. Sutcliffe
'B' Team won 14-6 VPs (+22 IMPs)
B. Barker / A. Day
R. Hanley / J. Orton
N. Denny / R. Mascall
G. Beeton / S. Flin
'C' Team lost 4-16 VPs (-45 IMPs)
J. Mayhew / A. Wilmer
N. Less / D. Mathews
B. Davies / J. Leigh
P. Carlisle / J. Marsh
Published Saturday 7.Apr.2007