This past week, I reported deals from the 2011 World Championships in the Netherlands. The host country took the Open Teams, defeating a young US team in the final. France won the women’s Venice Cup over surprising Indonesia, and also the Seniors event, edging a US team.
In writing up a deal in which a US player overcalled with a poor hand and was taken for an 800-point ride, I got on my soapbox. My view is that bidding with junky hands is a losing tactic — and not just because the chance exists of being doubled and clobbered.
In today’s deal, from the Senior Bowl, North opened one club, and East tossed in one heart with basically nothing. North-South bid easily to four spades, and West led the nine of hearts. East took the ace and returned a heart.
South reflected that East had overcalled on a ragged suit and lacked the A-K of diamonds. (With both, he would have shifted to the king of diamonds at Trick Two.) So South decided that East’s justification for bidding was a shapely hand.
At Trick Three South let the jack of trumps ride. He continued with a trump to dummy’s eight, the king of trumps and a club to his ace. He took the ace of trumps and three more clubs for a diamond discard. Making five.
If East restrains himself from bidding, and South plays at four spades again, he may well fail. (North-South need to reach 3NT.)
Many players get along fine with overcalling light. It suits their temperament. I remain convinced that a sounder approach is to bid with good hands and pass with poor ones.