BRIDGE

Many system designers and countless earnest partnerships go to great lengths to devise bidding approaches that will “right side” contracts: get the optimum contract played from the most advantageous side of the table.

That’s wasted energy in many instances as how can you tell in advance which side will be better?

When today’s South made a somewhat unusual non-forcing one notrump response (he didn’t need to bid one spade as, playing the Flannery Convention, his partner would rarely hold four spades and open one heart and a two club response, played by a passed hand as an artificial heart raise,was also out) he played right there.

Low diamond to the ten and King for South to play ace and a club. But West won to continue diamonds and the defenders were well and truly ahead in the race to establish length tricks: three diamonds, two clubs and two hearts for down one.

An entirely different scenario at the other table as a charter member of the L.I.A.B. (Light Initial Action Brigade) chose to open the bidding with the South collection and momentum took over to eventually land North not in a mere one notrump but in the notrump game!

Despite North having bid hearts, East put his trust in fourth-best from longest and strongest and dummy’s ten was a dagger to the heart of the defenders.

Ace and a second club and North was well on his way to collecting nine tricks before East-west could get five.

I guess North was the “right side”. Who could tell there’d be a three trick difference playing in the same strain from the North side?