TO OPEN OR NOT TO OPEN

South, the dealer, picked up this 10 high-card point hand and passed:

S)  10 9
H)  Q 10 9 6 4
D)  A
C)  K J 6 4 3

West opened a weak 2 diamonds and East jumped to 4 diamonds, all passing.  With good defense, North-South set the contract one trick for 50 points.  Good enough, yes?

At another table, South applied the “rule of 20” to this same hand and found an opening bid of 1 heart (In case you have forgotten, the “rule of 20” is to open whenever the high-card points plus the total length of the two longest suits equal 20 or more.)  Guess what - South opened 1 heart and her partner, loving hearts, jumped to 4 hearts.  Here is the full deal:

                             S) K 8 6 5 2 
                             H) K J 8 2
                             D) J
                             C) A 7 2
S) A J 7 4                                               S) Q 3
H) 7                                                        H) A 5 3
D) K 10 5 4 3 2                                      D) Q 9 8 7 6                          
C) 10 5                                                   C) Q 9 8
                             S) 10 9
                             H) Q 10 9 6 4
                             D) A
                             C) K J 6 4 3

South has an easy time, losing only the spade and heart aces, making game plus an overtrick.

CAN’T REMEMBER?  PLAY MORE BRIDGE
 

A recent study linked playing bridge to a healthy immune system.  Comparing before and after blood samples of 12 female bridge players, a neuroscientist found a rise in white blood cells called T- cells.  These cells are deployed by the immune system against viruses and other threats.  (It didn’t seem to matter how good or poor their bridge play was! Ed)

RANDOM QUOTES
 

“There are three simple rules for perfecting your: (1) bidding, (2) play, (3) defense. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.”