Monday, February 09, 2004 11:04 PM
Bridge is a game of suits
PITBULLS:
The following is from a book by Benito Garozzo in discussing systems in
general.
“The cards don't
always play the same way. On offense, a queen is somewhat useless in with two
low cards, however it is a certain trick with an ace and king. On defense a
suit headed by three major honors might not come to a trick, whereas a hand
with a double fit, each to concentrated honors in a long suit, on offense,
produce a quantity of tricks absolutely disproportionate in respect to their
HCP total. Two mirroring 4333's require a huge number of honors to develop
tricks, but the presence of a singleton or void reduces drastically the
strength necessary for game or slam in a suit.
They are,
these, all familiar principles to any player agonista, but they seem to be
forgotten when other used systems are examined
Also, certainly the
incorrect application of the law of tricks is a clear sign of ignoring the
fact that bridge is a game of suits. The breakdown of high cards and the
presence of unusual distributions carry such an importance, in truth, on the
play of the hand, such that renders nearly insignificant the use of the law of
total tricks.
To be able to take
correct competitive action, in fact, it is necessary to know the suits
and the distribution of partner’s high cards and to inform partner likewise of
one's own high cards and suits. Otherwise the appraisal of the offensive
and defensive potentialities of the deal could be based alone on absolutely
generic considerations, and so often lead to wrong competitive choices.
Not always,
obviously, does the auction allow the exchange of all necessary information. A
good system, consequently, tries to anticipate the problem through a structure
of openings and responses that permits a rapid transmission of the essential
elements of the hand in terms of suits , distribution, strength, and
honor concentration. “
Ever since splinters were invented , Edmonton has been
‘splinter happy” . In other words too much of a good thing is bad . In Bridge
there is a pecking order with respect to suits , 4 trumps and a singleton.
Suits should always take priority if you have a choice of information to convey
to partner.
You hold this hand xxxx Kx x AKQJ10x and partner opens a
spade . What is your response ? As
Garazzo says , Bridge is a game of suits . It is far better to bid 2♣ and
convey the message that you have a suit as opposed to informing partner that
you have a singleton diamond. Do not splinter with this hand as the club suit
as a souce of tricks is more important.
In competition , Edmonton players play all jumps as splinters
. Again I feel this is 2nd best to playing them as weak jump shifts. Splinters ignore the fact that Bridge is a game of
suits. Knowing that partner has a singleton & the number of
controls is not enough information to base a bridge decision . Knowing that a
suit is a source of tricks with its length is far more valuable.
You hold x xx KJ109xxx xxx and partner opens 1♥
and LHO overcalls 1♠. You pass and RHO bids 4♠ and you are –620 . You are
ignoring the Garazzo principle of the importance of suits. The 3♦
bid as a weak jump shift gets your suit into the fray early . Partner now bids
5♦
over 4♠ and you get doubled and go for –100 & 10 IMPS to your side.
Playing weak jump shifts clarify your 2/1 in competition .
Now if you bid 2♦
followed by 3♦
the hands that you could have bid 3♦
are dismissed and partner has a more accurate description of your hand. O.K.
you do have a stiff diamond and a splinter xxx AQxx x Axxxx and same auction.
You can always bid Q bid 2S and later bid your diamond as a 2nd round control
or jump in diamonds as a belated splinter if you have room.
Frequency is a consideration when choosing a systemic bid
especially in competition. The frequency of holding a weak one suited hand is
far more common than 4 trump , limit raise or better values and an outside
singleton . This is another factor in considering weak jump shifts over
splinters.
Direct splinters violate “revealment vrs concealment”
principles. They help opponents with opening leads and competitive decisions.
If opener or responder are interested in a slam , there are ways to show the
singleton control later in the auction.
If the opponents buy the contract , you have helped them play the hand
with your splinter bid . The negatives of always showing a splinter outweigh
the positives especially if you can show the control later by different means.
The following is from the panel of experts who define Bridge World
Standard 2001
“ In responding to a major-suit opening over
an overcall:
(e) [default]
a jump-shift is preemptive.
[passed hand]
fit-showing.
After our minor-suit
opening and an overcall:
(d) a jump-shift is preemptive. “
It
is time for Edmonton to “think suits” before splinters !!!