BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

WE DISCUSSED the first two rounds of bidding yesterday, and all those who want to improve their methods should study this rationale carefully.

There is nothing complicated about this auction, other than to recognise when it is more important to get information from partner than to give it. Too many players would bid and rebid their strong spade suit aggressively here, and this will only serve to block out chances of finding the best contract. As long as you can keep on making forcing bids, it is better to keep bidding levels low while you need information.

The benefit of this approach can be seen in this example, where West has been able to show in three bids that he has a 3-5-1-4 distribution with better than minimum values.

All that is now necessary is to find out how many controls West holds, and the use of Blackwood reveals he has two aces and a king — enough for East to bid 7 ♠ with confidence. Note the importance of learning about West’s singleton diamond, without which the Grand Slam would not be safe. As it is, East can take two ruffs, and discard his clubs on the top controls. West’s hand is: ♠ xxx, ♥ AQxxx, ♦x, ♣ AKJx.