Two questions that came up in last night's KO match.
My partner and I have recently switched to playing 12-14 1NT's when white. I asked my partner, "So when we are white, what does 1C - 1NT - 2NT show?" He answered "18-19". I said, "Okay, so what do do I bid if I have 15-17?" He had no answer.
We eventually decided that, when white, we should do everything in our power *not* to respond 1NT to partner's 1m opener, even if it means manufacturing a three-card major
Last night iI picked up:
A five-point ten-loser hand. Normally I'd bid 1NT, but I leave partner with an impossible problem if he has a 15-17 point hand. And bidding 1H or 1S looked just awful on those suits with this distribution.
I ended up passing. So did LHO, which is not a good sign. Partner had three diamonds. We were down one, losing against 1NT making exactly in the other room.
So what do I do with hands like the above?
Let me give you another example:
What am I supposed to do with that? Can't manufacture a 1M response. Can't bid 2C, Can't bid any number of diamonds. Can't pass. At this point all I can think of is to bid 1NT and pray that partner can figure something out.
What would you do?
Second question: I held:
Over partner's weak notrump, I didn't feel like bidding. The only way we can make game is if partner has an absolute max and a heart fit. So I passed.
Well, guess what. Partner had an absolute max. He made nine tricks when the Ace of spades was onside and spades broke 4-4. However, the other table found their 4-3 heart fit, which simply needs the Ace of spades to be onside and a non-horrible heart break. Lose seven imps.
And yet, I don't feel like I could risk stayman. If partner doesn't have hearts, we risk going down in 2NT or 3NT when seven tricks were easily available.
Are results like that just a natural consequence of playing weak notrumps? Or should I stretch a little with ten-point hands since 24-point games seem to be all the rage these days?
What stategy do you adopt?
Thanks, all.
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