Chapter Fifty-Two. The Spade Convention

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Iris Baker
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3 Chapter Fifty-Two The Spade Convention While certain conventions at Bridge are predicated on sound reasoning, it is a mistake to play every hand on the presumption that any arbitrary method of bidding or play must be followed. The so-called Spade convention, strongly advocated by Wilbur C. Whitehead, will undoubtedly prove a winning procedure in the majority of instances. This convention is used when a No trump bid is doubled informatorily. If the doublerʼs partner holds four - or more Spades, he is asked to call that suit in preference to a longer and stronger Heart or minor suit. The inference is that the doubler is either prepared to support a weak Spade bid or can run to another suit of No Trumps, when normal length in Spades is shown by the partner. It is apparent that a forced Spade bid of this kind must not be supported unless the partner has exceptional strength in Spades, or the Spades are rebid by original caller. Where this convention is thoroughly understood, many hands that could only be won by a lucky guess, are made quite easy and simple. A freak bidding hand that the Spade convention should have piloted into a safe harbor, was played in a Canadian tournament and put many of the experts hors de combat. The loss incurred by improper bidding on this one deal, was about six hundred points. K963 7 J A852 A84 A1084 Q6 West North South QJ7 K1075 QJ6 AK9 East 104 QJ9632 K9532

4 West had the deal and bid a No Trump, which North passed and East bid two Hearts. South doubled informatorily, West passed and North bid three Clubs. I sat in the North position and the abnormal length in Clubs induced me to ignore the Spade convention for the time being. If South had doubled for a Spade bid, there would doubtless be more bids made. East now bid three Diamonds, South and West passed and I bid four Clubs. This bid should tend to show that North would have bid the Clubs without the forcing double. East went on to four Hearts, South and West passed and I now bid four Spades. If South held five or even four Spades, the game might be possible at that make, while five Clubs could not be made without strong support. It should be noted that the Club bid and rebid practically denied a holding of four Spades and upon Eastʼs pass south should have bid five Clubs. Northʼs belated Spade bid should be construed as holding four worthless Spades and a desire to play the hand at five clubs, unless the original double showed exceptional strong Spade assistance. South did not grasp this inference and passed, West doubled and the choice was again left to South, but the return to Clubs was not made and the hand was defeated for three hundred points. If the adverse Spades had been divided evenly, the contract was possible and the hand was played in the hope that the distribution was favorable. Played at five Clubs, which would assuredly have been doubled, a Small Slam must be made on the Queen of Hearts opening. Dummy would refuse to cover with the King, but Declarant would ruff three rounds of the suit, putting dummy in with two trump leads. When the Ace of Hearts dropped on the third round, the nine of Clubs would be a reëntry card to afford a Diamond discard on the King of Hearts and the Ace of Spades would be the only trick that the enemy could take. Curiously, this deal was played at the next table by the East and West pair, after the adversaries had the opportunity for a large gain. At this table, West doubled four Clubs and South, almost certain that the contract could be made, redoubled and the Declarant by good play, succeeded in fulfilling his contract. It appears that if East is forced twice with the Clubs, that south must make two trumps, together with one trick each in Spades and Diamonds, but this is not so unless East errs in taking three rounds of trumps. On the first lead of Clubs, East ruffs and leads the Queen of Hearts, South refuses to cover, but on the second round, the ten forces the Ace. The Ace of Diamonds is now played and South is permitted to win the second round with the Queen. The Ace of Clubs follows and if East trumps, the contract will be defeated. Instead of trumping, East discards the four of Spades and South is forced to switch as dummy can ruff the third round of Clubs. On the switch, Southʼs high trump is forced out and his remaining trump is picked up. It should be noted that if Declarant had played three rounds of Diamonds instead of only two, that South could safely force the dummy with the third round of Clubs, as East would be short of reëntries to force out the high trump and pick up the little one.

5 Very often a hand that seems impossible for the game can be won by sharp play. Q AK86 Q43 J J94 J952 West North South 105 AKJ K108 East AK97 Q85 Q52 A76 North bid a Diamond, which East doubled, South passed and West went to two Clubs. North and East passed and Southʼs two Hearts secured the contract. The two of Clubs was opened, won by the Ace and East played the King of Spades. South can see that the game can hardly be won unless East kindly plays the Ace of Spades, so that the Queen in dummy will afford a discard for the losing Diamond. That East will be a good Samaritan is not likely, so it is incumbent on Declarant to further his own cause. On the King of Spades, South plays the ten, which, instead of coaxing a continuance of the suit, seems the best method of inducing a switch. East returns the Clubs, which can do no harm, as the original lead of the two shows the suit to be divided. Dummy is permitted to win with the Queen and now a low Spade lead puts East in a quandary. On the informatory double, West bids an indifferent four-card Club suit and so could not have had four Spades to the Jack. South is marked with at least one more Spade, and from the fall of the ten, it seems like the singleton Jack. As the cards lie, the game can only be saved by playing low on the Spades lead, but most players in Eastʼs position would not dare to take a chance on the singleton Jack winning. It might be said that if East held the Jack of Spades also, that the Declarantʼs camouflage play would be of no avail. This is granted freely, but no alternate method of play would have been better.

S. AKQ865 H. AK D. J82 C S S. 4 H. J86 H. Q D. 104 D. AK9 C. J7632 C. A94 South S. J93 H. 75 D. Q7653 C. KQ8

S. AKQ865 H. AK D. J82 C S S. 4 H. J86 H. Q D. 104 D. AK9 C. J7632 C. A94 South S. J93 H. 75 D. Q7653 C. KQ8 #1 Dlr: Vul: Neither S. AKQ865 H. AK D. J82 C. 105 S. 1072 S. 4 H. J86 H. Q109432 D. 104 D. AK9 C. J7632 C. A94 S. J93 H. 75 D. Q7653 C. KQ8 1S 2H 2S Pass 4S All Pass Opening lead: DA (A from AKx at trick