Evening star., 1934-03-27
Contract
BY p. HAL SIMS.

ssMr. Sims is universally acclaimed
the greatest living contract and auc-
tion player. He was captain OF the re-
noun -Four Horsemen" team, 1iotD dis
banded, and has pon "a national
championships since 1924. These ar
ticles are based on the Sims system,
which includes the one-oDer-ole prin-
ciple, iDhich the Sims group of Players
iuas the first to employ and develop.
Case Against 0vercall.
Y YESTERDAY explained that
" If they open the bidding
7 against you with a spade,
i and you. on openers left,
hold
II; ats. I K q 1oxxx ol: e. AK =
you rightly feel that you should make
a move. I showed how an overcal
OF two hearts would help the enemy
in the most positive manner, both
If they have a good fit in spades
and also II spades are misf1t for
them, and one of them has the hearts
massed against you. In the former
case, If your partner has four hearts,
you will eliminate losers for them
which they could not in many cases
eliminate by their own bidding. In.
the latter case you relieve them of
the bidding of difficult misfit hand
and present them gratuitously with
a nice penalty, at two hearts doubled,
on a silver platter. Looking ahead,
we have seen what may happen If
over Two hearts your left-hand op-
ponent says double" and also if he
says two spades" or three in a minor
suit; two no-trumps is another re-
sponse which may acquire deadly sig
nificance If made over your overcall,
but which would not have been forth
coming had you doubled. SO instead
of automatically singing out two
hearts," the consequences of which
can evidently not be very fruitful for
our side, let us instead make a Sims
strategic double.
What May Happen.
What are the probable consequences
of taking this action? In the first
place, it is very likely to cut the
next opponent out Of a round Of
bidding. Unless his course is SO clearly
marked that nothing will avail to
interfere with their partnership bid
ding on this particular hand, he will
pass to await developments, will he
not? He wants to hear what your
partners response to the double will
be; also what action his partner will
take over that response and what
you, the doubler, will do on the next
round. He knows he will have an
other chance to bid, and so he will
rightly prefer to acquire as much
information as possible before giving
his partner definite guidance on the
hand, assuming that his path is not
clearly marked and restricted in scope.
Assuming. therefore, that the next
opponent passes your double, 1t now
becomes your partners duty to do
something. Let us take the various
bids he may make:
!. He may pass. He would do this
with six spades in his hand, or with
five spades, and one sure trick and
a probable one elsewhere in his hand.
In other words. If his natural response
to any bid by you would have been
in spades had the opponents not bid
them first. You now have a nice
suit to lead Gf they do not rescue
themseNes) to start the forcing proc
ess and shorten declarer's trump
holding.
2. He may bid one no-trump, which
means nothing except that he cannot
bid any four card suit because his only
four card suit is spades. This response
! does not imply a spade stopper unless
he should again bid no trumps on
the next round, when he would be
showing two spade shoppers and some
outside values, too. Over one no.
trump, you bid two hearts-the bid
you were prepared for from the start.
BY getting to it in this manner you
have lost nothing as against getting
there by an immediate overcall, but
your left-hand opponent has lost a
chance to bid on The first round.
3. II he bids two clubs or two dia-
monds, you calmly make your bid Of
two hearts. which you were prepared
to reach from the start.
f. If he bids two hearts, you bid
four. Three Of your eight losers have
disappeared. Either you have at least
a play for game in hearts, or else your
side has no chance of beating four
spades. You cannot be badly hurt in
four hearts and you want to make it
very hard for the opponent on your
left to bid four spades. Each part
ner may think the other should decide
whether to double or bid four spades,
make it easy for them to make the
mistake.
Copyright. 1934)
Mr.. Sims will answer all inquiries on
contract that are addressed to this news
paper with self-addressed. stamped en-
velope.