Better Bridge in Barry County
By
Gerald Stein
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North
♠ 8 5
♥ A K J 9 2
♦ J 7 5
♣ K 5 4
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West
♠ Q 9 4
♥ 10 3
♦ 10 9 8 3 2
♣ J 9 8
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East
♠ 10 7 6 2
♥ 7 6 5
♦ K Q 6 4
♣ 7 6
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South
♠ A K J 3
♥ Q 8 4
♦ A
♣ A Q 10 3 2
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Dealer:
Vulnerable:
Lead:
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West
North/South
10♦
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North
1♥
2♥
3♣
4♥
5♥
6♣
Pass
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East
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
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South
2♣
2♠
3♥
4NT
5NT
7NT
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West
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
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In today’s hand, let’s resume our discussion of
using a new popular bridge system to reach a quality Grand Slam hand. Using Two
over One Game Force, we saw in our last column that the partners may not stop
until game has been reached. On some hands, like today’s hand, there is a need
to push on to reach the ultimate goal of a Grand Slam contract. How did
North/South reach the Grand Slam contract using the Two over One Game Force
system?
West passed as the first bidder, and North with 13
total points and five solid hearts opened the bidding at 1♥. East passed, and South with a huge hand began the
Two over One Game Force bidding. With no interference from the opponents,
South, with 21 total points, bypassed the spade suit to let North know that
they could not stop bidding until game had been reached. In this case, South
already knew that slam was probably there for the taking. South bid 2♣, the
beginning of the Two over One Game force bidding system. A bid at the two-level
after opener’s bid in hearts or spades promised at least 13 high card points. North/South,
without a need to hurry, would continue bidding until game and/or slam had been
reached.
With South as the Responder and the Captain of the
partnership on this hand, it was easy for North to rebid her hearts, promising
a strong heart suit and an opening hand of 13 points. South now bid the spade
suit, telling North that he had five clubs and four spades and for North to
continue bidding until they reached the final contract.
North, with three clubs, now bid the club suit at
the three-level, promising at least three of them. Now South named the initial
heart suit, telling partner North that he had at least three hearts and that
hearts would make a good trump suit. North raised to 4♥,
and the Two over One Game Force system had gotten them to the game level
effectively.
Now South went to work on a slam invitation: bidding
4NT, the Roman Key Card convention, South asked North how many of the five key
cards she had. Remember the four aces and the king of trump comprise the five
key cards in Roman Key Card. North responded that she had two key cards, the A♥, and the K♥. By
bidding 5♥, she also informed South that she did
not have the Q♥. South knew that as he had the Q♥ in his hand.
South next bid 5NT informing North that they had all
five key cards, and he asked North how many other kings she had. North
responded to that with 6♣, saying that she had the K♣. The bid was now up to
South. With the knowledge that they had eight hearts between them, all of the
stoppers in all suits, and the K♣ and two other clubs to go along with the long
clubs in the South hand, South debated whether to put the contract at 7♥ or 7NT. Since his was the stronger of the two hands
with 21 total points, South opted to play the hand in 7NT. All passed, and West
tabled the 10♦ as her opening lead.
When North placed her cards down on the table, South
began his plan immediately. He counted five heart tricks with a 3-2 break; five
club tricks with a 3-2 break; one diamond trick with the A♦, and two spade tricks with the A♠ and the K♠. Thirteen
tricks were there if all worked as he had planned.
At a glance, it is easy to see that the hearts and
the clubs split 3-2 as he had hoped. That accounted for ten tricks. The A♦ and the two winning spade tricks added the last
three tricks to make the thirteen tricks needed to make a Grand Slam. With a
vulnerable side, North/South scored 2220 points for their successful bidding
and making the Grand Slam in no trump. South realized that 7♥ would also have made easily on this hand.
The takeaways are as follows for this hand: Using
Two over One Game Force, North/South realized at South’s first bid that they
would not stop until they had at least reached game. There was no hurry, and the
confidence of each partner in communicating the information in each hand went
smoothly and efficiently to reach the ultimate goal in bidding: 7NT. The
advantage of using Two Over One Game Force works well when the opponents do not
interfere with the bidding. In this case, North and South had only to use the
tools of their new system to reach the Grand Slam contract. Give Two over One
Game Force a try, and see if improves yours and your partner’s bidding in future
bridge games. Best wishes playing bridge in Barry County.
Gerald Stein
November 8, 2015
Number of words: 1041
Bridge notes: As reported last time, the American
Contract Bridge League has a free site for learning how to play Two Over One
Game Force as well as many other conventions that you may wish to add to your
bridge playing. Go to www.learn2playbridge.com/editor/game3/1343.
Final Bridge Notes: After almost four years and 178
bridge columns, I am saying goodbye to this column and the Banner. It has been
a most enjoyable time writing bridge columns and encouraging bridge players to
improve their bridge game. Best wishes to all bridge players everywhere! Gerald
Stein, Better Bridge in Barry County columnist. November 12, 2015.
