Thoughtful Bid

0
113

Source: GOREN BRIDGE By TANNAH HIRSCH & BOB JONES

Neither vulnerable. West deals.

aaxx 1

Lead: ???

Another wild-and-woolly competitive auction, as we often see in modern bridge. In the good old days, players would have the decency to stay out of your auction when you and your partner had good hands. No more! Sometimes they leave tire tracks up and down your back.

What should South do at this point in the bidding? His defensive prospects against five spades are slim, and it looks likely that a sixheart bid will be a successful sacrifice. But what if it pushes EastWest to six spades? Will they be able to defeat that contract? If they can’t, bidding on is certainly foolish.

Decisions like this are among the most difficult that a bridge player faces. Should South elect to bid on, his bid should be six clubs! This bid will serve as a lead director should the opponents bid to six spades. North-South already have suit agreement in hearts. Only a club lead will defeat six spades, and six hearts will prove to be a good sacrifice on a spade lead.

This problem is from Frank Stewart’s excellent new book “What’s Your Call?”….