BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

AT GAME all, what would you respond on this hand after your partner, North, opens 1 ♠ ? PLAYING rubber bridge, I’m sure most of us would bid 4 ♠ . You would be relieved to have been dealt such a splendid hand in support of partner’s opening and would be content to clinch the rubber quickly.

However, the mindset for tournament play is radically different, and I doubt whether more than 10 per cent of a Pairs field would dream of bidding direct to game. A direct 4 ♠ is viewed as a pre-emptive limit bid, which could be made on a much weaker hand. Clearly, there is slam potential here if partner holds precisely the right controls and distribution. I’ll wager there would be at least three different options used here, none of which would mention spades initially.

Most popular choice would be the Delayed Game Raise (DGR) — 2 ♦ , then raising partner’s rebid to 4 ♠ .

then we have the gadgets: 4 ♣ , a splinter bid showing a singleton club with good spades; or 2Nt (Jacobi), strong and forcing with spade support; finally, the massive overbids of a forcing 3 ♦ or direct blackwood inquiry. In fact, partner holds ♠ A 10 xxx ♥ akx ♦ Kx ♣ 10 xx — the perfect fit — and 6 ♠ makes easily on just a combined 24-count, but which method would work best to reach it? And, more interestingly, would any rubber bridge player bid on after a direct response of 4 ♠ ?