Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ Q J 8 5 2
♥ A 3 2
♦ K 9 7 3
♣ 4
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West
♠ 10 7
♥ Q J 9 5
♦ Q J 10 5 4
♣ 5 3
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East
♠ A K 6 3
♥ 10 7
♦ 6 2
♣ K Q 10 8 2
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South
♠ 9 4
♥ K 8 6 4
♦ A 8
♣ A J 9 7 6
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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South
Neither
Q♦
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North
1♠
2♦!
Pass
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East
Pass
Pass
Pass
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South
1♣
1NT
2♥
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West
Pass
Pass
Pass
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Today’s column concludes with another bridge
convention that you may want to investigate and practice with your favorite
partner. This is one of the eight bridge conventions you should know and use.
Called the New Minor Forcing Convention, it works like this: South with a
minimum hand, no five-card major, opened with 1♣. That bid promised at least
three clubs and an opening bid of at least 12 high card points. The opposition was
silent on today’s bidding, an essential requirement for using the New Minor
Forcing Convention: no intervention from the opponents.
North’s response of 1♠ promised at least six high
card points and at least four spades. However, by looking at her hand, how can
North relay the crucial information that she has five spades and is looking for
a Golden Fit in the spade suit? Here is where the New Minor Forcing Convention
takes over. South’s rebid of 1NT showed a minimal hand without much more than
12-14 high-card points. The sequence of a minor suit (1♣), then a five-card
major suit (1♠), then a 1NT rebid by the opener, allowed North to bid the other
minor suit, diamonds. This is an artificial bid, and it must be alerted to your
opponents that you are informing your partner that you have a five-card major
suit, you have at least ten high-card points, and you are looking for a fit in
the major suits.
South had a four-card heart suit and bid the suit. 2♥ is passed all around. North with only three hearts
knew that a part score in hearts was possible even though there were only seven
hearts between them. South was the declarer in a 2♥
contract.
The lead from West was the Q♦,
the top of a sequence, and North tabled her cards. Thanking partner as usual,
South surveyed the possibilities of making her plan for eight tricks. With only
seven trumps, there were six out against her, and the odds were that they would
split 4-2, and not the desirable 3-3 split that all bridge players hope for.
Drawing trumps would not be a part of South’s plan on this hand. Using the
trumps to her advantage would hopefully produce the eight needed tricks to
secure the contract.
With the Q♦ from the
West, South could picture the J♦ and probably
the 10♦ in the West hand. Accordingly, South
played low from the board, low from East, and South won the trick in her hand
with the A♦. Leading her remaining diamond to
the K♦ put South in the dummy and her second trick.
A small diamond from the board was trumped by East with the 7♥. South overtrumped with the 8♥. It appeared that East was in a big hurry there. Perhaps it would
have been better to discard instead of trumping.
With her third trick in, South led the A♣ and played
the singleton club from the board. A small club from her hand was trumped on
the board with the 2♥. Back came a diamond
again, and this time East discarded a club. South trumped with another small
heart in her hand. At this point, South had taken the first six tricks. She was
assured of two more tricks with the A♥ and the K♥, making her bid of 2♥.
Bidding and making a 2♥
contract gave North/South a score of 110. Using the New Minor Forcing
Convention helped them avoid playing in no trump. Using the seven heart trumps
effectively with the shortness in clubs and diamonds allowed North/South to end
with a positive score. The New Minor Forcing Convention is a useful way to let
your partner know that you have a five-card major, that you have at least 10
high-card points and that you are looking for a fit in the majors if possible.
This is a convention that you need to practice with your partner as it a
forcing bid for one round whereas not using the New Minor Forcing and bidding a
second minor suit would suggest at least four cards in that suit and could be
passed by the opener. Try out the New Minor Forcing Convention. Remember there
can be no intervening bids from your opponents. The opener’s bidding will
suggest a minimum hand and finding the right fit is the ultimate goal when you are
using the New Minor Forcing Convention. Good luck trying out and using the New
Minor Forcing Convention.
Gerald Stein
May 21, 2014
Number of words: 851
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