Judge — June 1934 — page 22: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

DEAL A Monthly Folio of Contract Bridge Vol. 106 Edited by Philip Hal Sims JUDGE—JUNE, 1934 No. 2667 _Sims-Theory of Opening No Trump Bids By Derrick J. Wernher YCHIC no trump bids are taboo, and after a Sims no trump bid there can be no stopping at a declaration of two unless you have a partial score. Either your partner passes and you play at one no trump, or you reach at least three no trump or three in a suit. Two no trump as a final contract has been practically removed from the Sims sys- tem at any time and definitely so after an opening bid of one no trump. Hands are either too weak or too strong to play at two no trump. If the bidding goes, 1 no trump, 2 hearts, 2 spades, the responding hand should bid again whether from weak- ness or strength. The sign-off in three hearts will still be just as safe as you believed it to be when you heard your partner bid one no trump. If you can raise in no trumps, or even in spades, so much the better. But you should have no fear whatever of getting to a contract of three, in hearts, in spades, or at no trump. Rarely is a Sims no trump bid over- called by an opponent. You can see how unsafe it is to take action against these big hands. The exception is when the overcaller is not vulnerable and has a hand freakishly aggressive in type; maybe a seven card suit to a queen, with or without some probable trick elsewhere. He believes that he can afford to take a sacrifice as against a sure game or slam combination and tries to interfere with the bidding, probably by deceptively bidding a short suit first, intending, if doubled, to rescue himself in his long suit. These are psychic moves which with a safe rescue have little to lose and may have much to gain if they succeed in confusing your part- nership. The responding hand should not take action over an over-call or over a double cn weakness; unless he has a constructive message to give, he should pass and allow the opening bidder to make the next move. He should, of course, double any such over-call if he has two sure tricks or stoppers in that suit, giving his partner the option of ing for game or penalty. If the in- terference is made in the form of a double, a redouble by the responding hand mear f you are in any doubt what to do, you can safely let the bid- ding come around to me, and I can give you a definite line on our policy on the next round.” Obviously, the redouble will not be left in by your opponents. That would be too good to be true. When the opening no trump bid is made on a hand lacking any five card suit, the rebidding is very simple and we need not give much space to it. If the response is two no trump, you auto- matically bid three, unless, of course, you can make a slam try at this point. This I will discuss in a later article. If the response is two in a suit, you either bid two no trump or you raise your partner’s suit, according to your judg- ment of the destiny to which you should now steer the hand. Generally I will bid two no trump, because my partner will necessarily bid again and I shall acquire additional information to aid in determining our final contract. The fact that the opening bidder has no long suit automatically strengthens the sup- port he has for his partner’s suit. So make it easy for your partner to take as extensive a part as possible in the bidding. Information on the distribu- tion of his hand is very important; do not shut him out when you can keep him in the bidding, and do not decide too categorically that the hand must be played at no trump just because your own distribution is 4-3-3-3. If he is rebidding a suit or suits, you need not insist on no trump. In view of the un- even distribution he is showing you, ac- cept his opinion that the hand will play better for him in his suit or in one of his suits. His hand may be difficult to get into at no trump, but will contain numerous entries if he is declarer in a trump suit, entries which are needed in order that your tenaces may be led up to any necessary finesses taken, or so 20 that end-plays or strip-plays may be pre- pared. In another article I shall discuss slam tries from both partners after an open- ing no trump bid. Tournament News Program for the Forty-Fourth Con- gress, Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, III. Monday—June 25 Executive Committee Meeting Open Whist Minneapolis and Cannon Trophies, W. W. L. Trophy Whist—lIst session. Combination Team and Pair Game. Whist Tuesday—June 26 Associate Trophy, Ist session Minneapolis and Cannon Trophies, 2nd session Open Contract Associate Trophy, 2nd session Open Contract Wednesday—June 27 All-round Championship, Whist ses- sion All-round Championship, session Open Contract Contract Pair Championship, Ist ses- sion. Open Whist. Open Contract. Thursday—June 28 Hamilton Trophy, Whist New Amsterdam Trophy (IV.IV.L.) Whist Women’s Pairs Contract Pair Championship, 2nd session Open Contract Contract Pair Championship, 3rd se sion Open Contract Friday—June 29 Manhattan-Congress Troph Contract com- bined, Whist Open Contract Annual Meetings, A. W. L— WwW, W. 1. Auction Team and Pair Champion- ships, combined. Open Contract Contract Team Championship, 1st session Open Contract Saturday—June 30 Contract Whist Contract Team Championship, 2nd session Open Contract Contract Team Game, 3rd_ session Open Contract (Deal Continues on page 22) comicbooks.com