IMPROVE YOUR PLAY #57 with Larry Matheny

There are many conventions available to you and your partners.  Some are helpful but some get people into trouble when they haven't thoroughly researched them.  Here is an example of one that can be useful.

Scoring:  Matchpoints

Hand #57
Dlr  S
Vul N-S
S 643
H K3
D AQ73
C KJ98
S AKJ1092
H QJ4
D 102
C 103
    
S 87
H 107652
D 8654
C 72

S Q5
H A98
D KJ9
C AQ654
West North
 East
 South



1NT
   2S     3NT
    Pass
     4C
   Pass
      5C All Pass
     
  
BIDDING:  South had a standard 1NT opener and West couldn't resist bidding his great spade suit.  This North-South pair uses the Lebensohl convention which has several nice features.  One of these is North's jump to 3NT told his partner that he had the values for game, but did NOT have a spade stopper.  With a spade honor, North would have first bid 2NT relaying South to 3C and then bid 3NT.  South knew it was time to start scrambling so he bid his lowest suit.  This found North with great support so they quickly ended up in 5C rather than a doomed 3NT.

PLAY:  West took the top two spade tricks and South claimed the rest.  Without this convention, what would you bid with the North hand?  If you double 2S, you will only earn +300 or +500 compared to the +600 for making a vulnerable game.  Once again, vulnerability is an important factor.  Of course you have noticed that if West had resisted the urge to overcall, he would have undoubtedly captured the first six tricks defending 3NT. 

Like most conventions, there is much to learn about Lebensohl before you and your partner agree to use it.

Copyright ©2007 Larry Matheny.