IMPROVE YOUR PLAY

with Larry Matheny

The trend for years has been to open weaker and weaker hands. This certainly allows players to get into the auction sooner, but without the proper tools it’s easy to get too high.

Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)

#12-11
Dlr	W
Vul	none

	KQ3
	KQ3
	J54
	J742

	976
	J865
	AK8
	Q95

	102
	10742
	7632
	AK6

	AJ854
	A9
	Q109
	1083

West	North	East	South
Pass	1	Pass	1
Pass	1NT	Pass	2*
Pass	2	Pass	Pass
Pass

*New minor forcing

BIDDING: South was interested in game if North held a sound opener. The 2 rebid was artificial asking North to further describe his hand. North’s rebid showed 3-card spade support with minimum values. With a better hand, North would have jumped to 3. This convinced South to settle for the partscore.

Play: West led the ace of diamonds and received a discouraging deuce from his partner. West then shifted to a low club and the defense quickly captured five minor suit tricks. Declarer claimed the rest and entered +110 on this scorecard. Why is this hand interesting? Because several N/S pairs reached the 3-level or even game.

If you are going to open flat hands with only twelve high card points such as the one held by North, be sure you know how to stop.

Copyright ©2012 Larry Matheny