Evening star., 1933-05-29
Slam Tries When Partner Has
Opened With One No Trump.

Opened With One No Trump.
Yesterday discussed the bidding OF
this hand:
| Sp. - Di. A xxx
Hts. K,Q xxx CT. K @ XXX
when partner has opened with one no
trump. I explained why would make
the jump takeout of three hearts with
the hand as given here, but If the club
holding were changed to K j I
would advise first takeout of only two
hearts, with the intention Of initiating
slam try at later stage Of the bid
ding.
With the three positive primary tricks
in the hand here shown, the slam
should be reached. 1t must be bet
ter than even chance even If the
openers hand lacks reserve values. Give
him as little as
Sp. KQx Di. Q 1ox
Hts AK CT. AK
and I would gladly take my chance OF
losing only one trick In the diamond
suit. Opponents have to lead, do they
not? And after have played out my
clubs and hearts, will their discarding
have been so perfect that they will
avoid a squeeze or an end play? Why
should not deduce or even guess the
location Of the king and jack of dia-
monds?
Partner May Not Sign Of.
have assumed in the last few articles
that the opening bidder denies posses
sion of three aces, responding to the
takeout with three no trumps. If he
should hold three aces, his response will
be four no trumps-but the round of
bidding thus lost will not be needed. as
with four aces between you the time
factor is under complete control, and
the slam must be virtually certain. Risk
of duplication vanishes when you hold
void, as the two losers in your K @
suit will go on the ace Of that suit
and the ace of the void suit.
Again, when the responding hand
holds two aces and can also make
Jump suit takeout, the round of bidding
lost by the second jump bid can well
be spared, as the opening bidder now
knows he has no reason to sign of un-
less he himself holds only one ace and
his hand Is such minimum that he
fears a second trick may be lost in ad-
dition to the missing ace, although his
partner has the requisites for jump
suit takeout.
For Tournament Play.
have described what I find the
safest and most precise manner for
bidding big hands of the types dis
cussed, from the point of view Of reach
ing reasonable slams, stopping short of
doubtful ones, and selecting the safer
declaration when there Is a choice. OF
these three objectives the last one ap-
plies somewhat differently in tourna-
ment play. For that reason you may
observe tournament players handling
the bidding slightly differently and
sacrificing soundness and safety for
higher trick score.
We try to play as many hands as we
can in no trumps If we deduce from
the bidding that the same number of
tricks will be lost in both no trumpS
and the best suit bid.
Frequently in tournament We will
sign OF at four no trumps where in
rubber game such course would be
unpardonable, and the sign-of at game
in a suit would be obligatory. This is
a matter of match-play technique, which
sometimes compels one to be unsound
If one would reach out for brilliant
result. You are not then sacrificing a
sure game for a doubtful slam or,
greater crime, for an attempt to grab
or Is points more per trick; you are
abandoning acceptance Of a tied score
with, say, two-thirds of the field for
the hope Of picking off a top which
only one or two other pairs are likely
to share with you.
If you fail your resulting low score
will be in good company, but the more
cautions pairs will not beat you by the
measure between top and bottom. They
will be dividing nearly all the match
points available among themselves, so
that each Of them will gain only
little on you. The only time when you
will suffer the difference between top
and bottom will be when another player
ventures the same bold bid that you did,
but fulfills the contract whereas you
fail. If his success is due to better play
on his part he deserves the advantage
obtained. If it resulted from less skill
full defense by his opponents, accept the
result gracefully and without indigna-
tion. Your turn will come on another
hand when the breaks will be against
him and in your favor. That IS where
the luck Of tournament play comes In.
(Copyright. 1933)
Mr.. Sims win answer all inquiries on con-
tract that are addressed to this newspaper
with self-addressed stamped envelope.