Bridge

HOW DOES OPENER REBID WITHOUT A FIT?

A popular saying goes, “If the facts don’t fit the theory, change the facts.”

At the bridge table, if you do not have a fit with partner, in fact you try to describe your hand as accurately as possible, in terms of high-card strength and distribution.

After North opens one club, East overcalls one spade, South makes a negative double (promising four hearts) and West passes, North imagines that the uncontested auction started one club - one heart. Then, North would have rebid two clubs to show a minimum hand with six clubs. This is no different. South, with his eye on game, jumps to three notrump.

West leads the spade nine. What happens after that?

South can see seven tricks: two spades, two hearts and three diamonds. So he needs to establish dummy’s club suit, which requires losing the lead twice. This is the rule: When you have two tricks in the suit led and two high cards to dislodge, duck the first trick. Therefore, if East puts up the spade queen at trick one, declarer underplays his six. Then, when South takes the second trick and leads a club, West wins but does not have a spade to lead.

If East remembers this rule, he will play the spade 10 (or eight) at trick one. Then the contract dies. South has to win with his jack and play a club, but West takes the trick with the king and returns his second spade, setting up East’s suit while he, East, still has the club ace as an entry.

When you hope to establish a suit, try to make the opponents use up their stoppers as quickly as possible.