IS BALANCED OR UNBALANCED BETTER?

Fran Lebowitz quipped, "Food is an important part of a balanced diet."

In bridge, we have balanced and unbalanced hands. Balanced refers to a hand with 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 distribution -one with no singletons or voids and at most one doubleton. But we can also have balanced fits, where each partner has the same number of cards in a suit - North-South's diamond suit in today's diagram; or unbalanced, when one partner has more cards in a suit -- North-South's spade suit. Which usually makes the preferable trump suit?

Next question: Look at the South hand. You open one no-trump, and partner responds two hearts, a transfer bid showing five or more spades. After you complete the transfer, he rebids three diamonds, natural and game-forcing. What would you do now?

How many tricks do North-South take with spades as trumps? Only 11: five spades, one heart, four diamonds and one club. But in diamonds there are 12 winners: five spades, one heart, three diamonds, one club, a club or heart ruff in the South hand and North's long trump.

When your trump suit is a solid 4-4 fit, you will usually get a fifth trump trick with a ruff in one hand, and the side 5-3 fit will often provide two discards. But a 5-3 trump fit rarely generates a sixth trump trick, and the 4-4 cannot furnish a discard.

In the given auction, South should now bid four diamonds, which guarantees a double fit. Opener has three spades and four or five diamonds.

If North only wishes to play in game, he signs off in four spades. Here, though, he control-bids four hearts. Then six diamonds should be reached without difficulty.