So much in bridge happens in the bidding. Get it right and you will have the foundations to win consistently.
The hands here come from the quarter finals in Katowice. Zimmermann, fielding Zimmermann–Multon and Klukowski–Kalita, against Rosenthal, whose squad included Rosenthal, Willenken, Schaltz, Brogeland and Bakke. The third hand comes from Deep Finesse against TeamNL Open, and the last from Alteris Nuclear against Rosenthal.
If it looks like 1NT, it is 1NT
When it comes to 1NT openings, it's good to be more on the side of preferring to open 1NT if your hand more or less fits the description. The 1NT opening has big winning features to it that improve your chances of getting to a good contract.
1. Your exact strength range is told to partner immediately. They often have the information to be able to gauge straight away whether it is game or partscore. Your chances of missing game reduce a lot when you open 1NT with appropriate hands.
2. The approximate nature of your hand is defined in a single bid — balanced-ish. Whereas when you open say 1♠, you could be 6-4, you could be 5332, partner really does not know too much yet.
With all 5332 hands in the 15-17 range, you should open 1NT. You can and should add a point for a decent 5 card suit.
In other words, 5332 hands should open 1NT with 14-16 points, since we are adding a point for the useful 5 card suit, which is a trick taking asset as we know. 5332 hands are well described with 1NT — they are balanced.
On this hand one player decided to open 1♠, and the other 1NT. The benefits of the 1NT opening are clear — they bid a good game versus not.
Caution, don't take it too far, things change quickly
Here I have changed the hand to a 5422. These hands are worth a closer look — often it will be correct to open the major. Why?
With 5422 shape, the hand starts playing a lot better in the major and not as well in no trump. The bias towards a suit contract starts happening. This is especially the case when we have a small doubleton.
With 5422 shape, look at your doubletons. Points in the doubletons indicate no trump. No points in the doubleton indicates a suit opening.
Want more proof?
In the same set it struck again. Simply upgrade the 14 point hand to 15, in light of the long club suit, and open 1NT. One player did, the other didn't, and you can see the benefit of opening 1NT — the auction was quick and precise.
Note — perhaps they opened 1♣ because they are playing a weak no trump, or for other reasons. The point still stands. The advantages of opening a strong 1NT are clear: they communicate the main aspects of the hand immediately, and partner can act appropriately.
So much in bridge happens in the bidding. Get it right and you will have the foundations to win consistently.
Be predictable - calibrate with partner
This was a hand where people went surprisingly wrong. There is a trend in modern bridge to be hyperaggressive with weak hands not vulnerable, and preempt a level or two higher.
Whether that style is correct or not is one question. But a more important idea is this — whatever your style is, make sure partner knows what to expect and that you bid in a predictable way.
This hand went very poorly for some pairs when, not vulnerable against vulnerable, some West players couldn't resist bidding 2♥ here.
This article is not about whether that is a good idea or not. It is more about whether partner should raise to 3♥, expecting 6 from partner. If partner expected 6, then the 2♥ bid was wrong. If 5 was possible or probable, then the 3♥ bid was wrong.
Either way, the players that bid like that got what they deserved — 1100.
Whatever your style is can work, but make sure you are predictable so partner knows what to expect from your bids. Being volatile will typically lead to bad scores.
Leads against no trump - a general rule
In auctions such as 1NT — 3NT, typically lead a major.
After bidding like this, it's typical to lead a major. Why? Because the player that bid 3NT normally does not have a major, and will typically have more length and strength in the minors. You'll have better long term success with major leads.
(If you have a good 5 card minor go for it, but don't normally lead a 4 card minor.)
At one table a player couldn't resist the J of diamonds lead because it looked good. At the other table the player was more committed to this idea, and a heart lead was found — a significant swing in favour of the heart lead, beating the contract.
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