BRIDG E

Here’s a New Year’s Resolution for you to consider adding to your list for 2021: after partner makes a oneover-one response to your opening bid, do not make an immediate raise with threecard support, find a different rebid!

There are partnerships who swear by the efficacy of raising a one spade response to two with hands like North’s and many others who would swear (gently, of course!) at the practice – include me in the second group.

When you combine the immediate raise with threecard support with a systemic mandate to skip over diamonds to always show the major in response to one club, disaster can’t be far behind.

With (barely) enough to envision a possible spade game opposite a maximum raise with four-card support, South advanced with an artificial asking bid only to get the bad news (three clubs was also artificial) that the raiser had but three-card support for spades and a minimum hand.

Now you might disagree with South’s decision to seek a possible game after the single raise but it’s worth mentioning he is a multiple World Champion with an illustrous record.

But this time there was bad news: the three-level was reached and despite a moderately friendly lie of the cards (3-3 spades and the heart King where you’d want it to be), eight tricks was the best South could do.

At the other table of the match, a plodding but effective auction was executed with all four suits getting mentioned at the one-level to end in a modest one notrump after no eight-card fit could be found – eight tricks for a profitable plus!

All the best for 2021!