Bridge Blog 1180: To pass, or not to pass ...

 

That was the question that dogged us after folding up the cards on Board 12 Wednesday afternoon at the Bridge Centre of Niagara in St. Catharines,Ont.

We're vulnerable. West is the dealer. Newly minted Diamond Life Master Danny Ioannidis passes. Partner Rod Sumner is North and passes with this hand in the second seat:

Spades: K-8-5-4.

Hearts: K-J-8-6-2.

Diamonds: K-9.

Clubs: Q-8.

Jane Jennings, East, passes too and it comes to me.

Spades: A-Q-2. 

Hearts: Q-7-4-3. 

Diamonds: 7-4-3.

Clubs: K-10-4.

As a gambling man, I'd love to risk a bid, but ... 

1. We're vulnerable. 

2. I have just 11 high card points and no five-card suit. 

3. And this bunch of cards doesn't pass the Rule of 15 or the Rule of 20.

Rod's hand does, but ...

1. He has no aces.

2. As far as he's concerned, his two doubletons are worthless. 

Seven of the eight other Norths didn't see it that way, though. They bid their Hearts. If Rod did that, I’d go 3 Hearts, inviting to game. Nobody dared to go to 4 Hearts, but they all took 10 tricks. 

The penalty for our timidity – a tie for a bottom board with the other North-South that passed it out.

How bad was the damage? At least four match points. Did that make a difference? Sure did. Instead of tying for third in the B strat with 51.16% and 0.36 of a master point, we could have leapfrogged over three other pairs into second overall North-South with an extra 0.59 of a master point.