Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ Q 9 6 3
♥ A
♦ A J 9 8 7 2
♣ K J
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West
♠ 8 7 5 2
♥ Q J 9 8 5
♦ K 10
♣ 7 6
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East
♠ 10
♥ 6 4
♦ Q 6 5 4
♣ Q 10 5 4 3 2
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South
♠ A K J 4
♥ K 10 7 3 2
♦ 3
♣ A 9 8
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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South
Neither
7♣
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North
2♦
Pass
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East
3♣
Pass
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South
1♥
3NT
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West
Pass
Pass
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According to a recent news release from the American
Contract Bridge League, “a new bidding system has taken over the (duplicate)
club and tournament scene. Designed to help all bridge players to get to the
best games and slams, 2 over 1 Game Force is for players who have a firm
understanding of Standard American bidding system and are ready to improve
their bidding.” Today’s hand will explore the 2 over 1 Game Force system. Judge
for yourself if this is something for you and your regular partner.
2 over 1 typically in the Standard American system
meant that your partner had at least ten high card points and was a forcing bid
for at least one round. The problem was that just how many points beyond the
ten did your partner have? Enter 2 over 1 Game Force which changed some of that
basic concept and added a new twist: extra points were added to the responder’s
bid. Now instead of promising at least ten points, responder was now promising 13
high card points. After partner’s 1♥ or 1♠
opening bid, a bid at the two-level in a new suit would mean that neither side
should pass until game was reached.
Let’s see how this would work out in today’s hand.
South with 16 total points and five hearts opened the bidding with 1♥. A pass by West allowed North to bid 2♦, bypassing the four spades, to tell partner that she
had at least 13 total points and that game was the contract for them. With 15
high card points, North did not want to miss game when she knew that the
combined total of their two hands was at least 26 or 27 high card points.
Even when East jumped in with an interruptive
preempt bid in clubs, South was undeterred. With a stopper in club with the A♣,
South confidently bid 3NT. All passed, and West tabled the 7♣, the top of a
doubleton to the bid that her partner had just made. North placed her cards on
the table, and South surveyed the cards and began to make his plan.
Counting up the tricks, South saw four spade
winners, two heart winners, one diamond winner, and two club winners for a
total of nine tricks. Knowing that East had a bucketful of clubs prompted South
to make an easy decision: Take the nine tricks and run. That is exactly what
South did, taking the first nine tricks before allowing East/West to get in and
take the last four. The contract of 3NT was brought home neatly by the use of
the 2 over 1 Game Force system. Both North and South knew through their
partnership agreement at what level they should be. Despite East’s interruptive
bid, the North/South partnership had enough points in high cards to justify the
game contract in no trump.
Playing 2 over 1 Game Force let North/South
comfortably bid their hands without worry that partner would pass and that they
would miss a game. Until game is reached in 2 over 1, partner should never
pass. That is the beauty of this system.
Another key feature is that there is no need to jump
to game in a hurry with 2 over 1 Game Force. Taking the time to reach the right
game is the key here. In today’s hand, while hearts was suggested as a possible
game choice, the fit was better in no trump with the dangerous opponent West
having all of the missing hearts. Game in 4♥
would have been disastrous.
While 2 over 1 works well when there is no
competition from the opponents, when there is an intervening bid before 2 over
1 can be implemented, 2 over 1 Game Force is off. Continue with the Standard
American bidding that you have been using to continue the search for the best
contract. In today’s hand, while there was competition from the East hand, it
was after the 2 over 1 Game Force message had been given, delivered, and
received. South knew that game was theirs.
If partner does not have the requisite 13 points to
answer and has to pass or bid at the one level, 2 over 1 Game Force is no
longer on. Having both hands with 13 or more points is the way to use 2 over 1
most effectively.
One final advantage to 2 over 1 Game Force is the
ability to find and bid slams more effectively. There is no need to hurry since
both partners know that game is assured, but there may be even more out there
for them to discover. All in all, 2 over 1 Game Force is a force to be reckoned
with. Give it a try. You may find your bidding has become more descriptive and
reassuring to you and to you partner. Good luck trying 2 over 1 Game Force.
Gerald Stein
October 15, 2015
Number of words: 971
Bridge Notes: For more information on 2 over 1 Game
Force, go to the American Contract Bridge League’s new bridge site for learning
new bridge programs: www.learn2playbridge.com/editor/game3/1343 This program is free and will give you an
opportunity to try bidding the 2 over 1 Game Force system.
