HINTS ON AUCTION BRIDGE

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 968, 10 May 1930, Page 30

HINTS ON AUCTION BRIDGE

Taking-Out A No-Trumper (I) (TV riUcn fur IHL SLW bu "Caliban."— Cuyy right in Sew Zealand.) THK takc-out of a No-Trump declaration into a major suit is, I suppose, the most controversial question in Auction. At the Club, the other Dight, the cards Tvere dealt as folio tv? : Spades 10 7 4 Hearts U 8 6 3 2 Diamonds 5 4 2 Clubs lv 9 Spades J 5 3 2 ” Tjj Syvdes A 0 Hearts AlO | j g lleart3 Q'J 7 5 Diamonds K S G 3 j! Diamonds Q J Clubs Q 8 4 Jj | Clubs J7G 3 2 Spades K Q9' 8 Hearts K 4 Diamonds A 10 y 7 Clubs A 10 5 Tile score was Dove-all in the rubber game. Z (Gonzalo), the dealer, called One No-Trump. I was sitting in A 7 s seat, and passed. Y (Stephano) called Two Hearts; this closed the bidding. Fe:*linand, my partner, led tho Ace of Spades from his Ace doubleton, and in the result the contract was defeated by. one trick. We made one Spade, one Spade ruff, three trumps, and a DiaiHoiuF ‘‘Unlucky, partner, 7 * said Stephano, as he entered up the score. ‘‘The Ace of Hearts and the Knave of Spades were both ou t'he wrong side. 77 “Very unlucky, 77 agreed Gonzalo: “the more so, as I should just have made my No-Trump. With the lead of the small Diamond from Caliban wo make—in all probability—two Diamonds, three Clubs, and two Spades. We can let your precious Heart suit go.' 7 “But surely you approve of my take-out'? ** answered Stephano. “I always rescue a No-Trump on live of a major suit. You can go back again to No-Trumps if you feel inclined to. 7 7 '“Yes, 77 said I; “but if Gonzalo had gone back to No-Trursps he’d Lave been one down. 77 “Well, 77 Stephano appealed to the table, “I 7 vc always understood that with five Hearts or Spades a No-Trump must be taken out. The authorities are very strong on the point. As a matter of fact 77 —he produced his pocket-book—“I looked them up, some of them, the other day, when the very sam« point arose. They confirmed most strongly my original belief. 77 “Read out what they say, 77 suggested Ferdinand. Stephano cleared his throat. “First, Mr R. F. Foster, in his ‘Bridge for Beginners. 7 ‘We have this rule as one from which there should bo no exceptions for tho beginner: If your partner bids No-Trump, and the second hand passes, if you have five or more Hearts or Spades bid that suit, no matter whether the suit is weak or strong, and no matter what you have in the other suits. 7 77 “That’s unequivocal enough, 77 said Ferdinand. Stephano resumed: “Next, Taylor and Hervey. Tliey 7 ro not quite so definite. ‘For the average player the Take-out is advisable in the great majority of cases, pro vided that the original declarer . . . Knows what to expect from his partner, and uses his own judgment as to whether to support his partner 7 s suit or to rebid No-Trump3. 7 77 “Thirdly, there ’s ‘Buccaneer. 7 Don 't know who he is, but he’s quite emphatic on the point. He prints it in italics: ‘With one weaJs spot, the Third Hand should always declare a long MAJOR suit/ that is, a suit of five or more, even without high honours.’ ’’ “2-*Tn sure we’re grateful for all this research, 77 murmured Gonzalo. “Any more?’ 7 “One more—Mr Macbeth, in ‘Auction Bridge Simplified. 7 He goes farther even than the others. ‘After careful consideration of the pros "-id cons, I have arrived at the conclusion that the best policy for Dealer’s partner, when tho Dealer has bid One No-Trump ... is to take out a One No-Trump bid on any suit, be it major or minor. 7 77 “Well, 77 said Ferdinand, “there seems to be no getting away from a stack of authorities like that. 77 “All the same, 77 said Gonzalo, “I'm not convinced. My own experience suggests to me that these weak take-outs aren’t good. What do you think, Caliban? 77 “I agree. I’m grateful to Stephano for looking at the text-books. But we needn’t regard a decision as final merely because it appears in print. Some writers merely copy one another; ar*d others, though they may, for all I know, be good players, are ill-equipped for the analysis of the game and for the exposition of its logical principles.. 7 7 “That’s very cheap, 77 said Stephano. “If we aren’t to believe these writers, how are we to get at the truth?I**' 1 **' “Why, 77 said J, “by experiment—if we can’t agree as to the force of the arguments put forward. Let’s take these two hands of Gonzalo 7 s and Stephano 7 *?, and, leaving them as they are, deal the other 26 in a number of different ways. Ten deals, I should think, ought to do. Then let’s play each hand through, first in No-Trumps, and then in Hearts, and co.’.npar# the results that we get. 77 “All right, 77 said Ferdinand with enthusiasm; 1 'l&t 7 a. 77