Page 11 - BB201111

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ETTER

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RIDGE

N

OVEMBER

/D

ECEMBER

2011

11

Good Judgment

Versus the Law

Do we have to follow the agreements

written on our Convention Card?We

posed a number of questions to

Rick

Beye

, National Tournament Director,

to see when we are allowed to exercise

our judgment while still staying

within the rules of the game.

BB:

If we play a range of 15–17 for a

1NT opening bid, do the laws allow

us to open 1NT whenever we have

14 high-card points and a five-card

suit? The expert opinion seems to

be that any excuse to ‘upgrade’ a

hand into the notrump range is good

bridge. Could we open

a hand like this 1NT

without any special

announcement to the

opponents?

R

ICK

:

‘Upgrading’ such hands has

nothing to do with the bridge rules

or laws—it’s bridge judgment. That

said, if you frequently upgrade you

should amend your Convention

Card. Change 15–17 to 14+–17.

Such a change fully discloses that

you commonly upgrade your 15–17

1NT based on a good five-card

suit...or any other reason such as lots

of 10s and 9s rather than low cards.

BB:

If the first two players pass, do

we have to let the opponents know

that we might open

3 on only a six-card

suit with a hand such

as this?

R

ICK

:

For a hand like this, there is

nothing to change on the Convention

Card.You are simply making a legal,

tactical bid based on the authorized

information you have from the auction:

partner and right-hand opponent don’t

have much, so left-hand opponent

likely does and their side can probably

make a game. You’re trying to get in

their way and also get partner off to

a good lead if they buy the contract.

BB:

If we play five-card majors, do

we have to inform the opponents

that we might occasionally open

with a four-card major?

For example, could we

open 1 with this hand

in third position?

R

ICK

:

Again, the auction itself and

your hand are authorized pieces of

information. You can infer that left-

hand opponent likely has the best

hand at the table.You want to get the

spade suit in for a lead director while

you have the chance! Such a call is

perfectly legal...and a good tactical bid,

especially at favorable vulnerability.

BB:

Playing Standard American, the

first three players pass, and we are in

fourth position. We hold

this hand and decide

to pass, even though

we have the values for

an opening bid. Should we let the

opponents know that we play the

‘Rule of 15’? We add our high-card

points to the number of spades and

only open if the total is 15 or more.

R

ICK

:

There are some players who

would definitely open this hand 1

in fourth position. There are others

who would pass, based on the Rule

of 15 that you described. But this

‘Rule’ is not a Law of bridge.You are

simply exercising your judgment,

right or wrong, and at your own risk.

There is no bridge Law to prevent

you from making a bid that you think

will give you the best score. If you

bid, maybe the opponents will get

into the auction and score points for

making a contract they never would

have reached if you had passed.

BB:

Here is a hand with only 1 high-

card point. We would

pass originally, but

suppose partner bids

spades and we decide

to raise, perhaps even jumping a

level. Do the opponents have to be

warned that we might bid a lot with

a very weak hand?

R

ICK

:

Law 16A allows you to draw

legal inferences and deductions from

the auction—the bids of your

partner and the opponents. If you

think this means that you can make

4 , even with only 1 point, or that it

will be a good sacrifice against the

opponents’ contract, the laws don’t

prevent you from bidding it.

e to

arty

Rick

Beye

J 9 7

K 8

A Q 10 7 6

K J 5

10 8 3

7 4

6 2

A Q J 8 5 3

A K Q 10

6 2

7 5 3

Q 6 4 2

8

J 5 2

K Q J 7 5

A J 6 3

J 10 6 3

9 7 5 2

8

10 9 7 2

Authorized Information

You are allowed to get information from

things such as:

•

the hand you hold.

•

the conditions, such as vulnerability,

position at the table, and the state

of the match.

•

the auction.

•

the cards played.

•

the mannerisms of the opponents.

Critical thinking plays a big part in the

game of bridge, and players are free to

use judgment to override any of the

standard bidding guidelines.

Unauthorized Information

You are not allowed to take advantage

of things such as:

•

partner’s comments and questions,

or answers to questions.

•

the tempo of partner’s bidding or play.

•

partner’s announcements, alerts, or

failure to alert.

•

partner’s gestures or mannerisms.