The Al Roth Scrapbook

May 2007
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Editor: Matthew Granovetter
The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge
The Al Roth Scrapbook
2 Alvin Roth 1914-2007 22 Roth Gets the Upper Hand

and Roth Gets Tactical
3 The Red Pencil
Adjusting Minor-suit Pre-accepts 23 What do you play and why?
and getting rid of 1∂ Openings by Roth and Stone
with 4-4 in the minors
29 Murder at the Bridge Table
5 Talk to Dr. Roth
39 At the Table Mastersolvers
8 From “Picture Bidding”
47 Stories and Anecdotes
20 Roth Gets a Taste of His Own
Medicine 49 Photo Album
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Bridge Today • May 2007 • The Al Roth Scrapbook page 2
Alvin Roth 1914-2007
Alvin Roth passed away on Wednesday morning, April 18, at the age of 92. He is sur-
vived by his wife, Jean, and son, Mel. Bridge Today readers are most familiar with Al
through his “At The Table” bidding forums and through our frequent references to his
ideas and methods, especially the sound opening bid. Al was the inventor of several bid-
ding concepts and conventions, including five-card majors, negative doubles, the forcing
notrump, and weak two-bids, all standard fare today.
Al was born Nov. 14, 1914 in the Bronx, New York. He fell in love with bridge while
working on a mathematics degree at City College of New York. “He became a great bridge
player and a bad college student,” said Mel Roth, his son. After winning his first U.S.
Open Pairs with Tobias Stone in 1941, he went on to win hundreds of tournaments with
various partners, and co-authored with “Stony” the classic book, “Bridge is a Partnership
Game.” Al was married in 1940 and then entered the army. After WWII he lived briefly
in New York and then moved to Miami Beach, where he influenced bridge in that area
through his friendship with the Seamon family. The next 10 years were spent in Wash-
ington D.C., working at the Charles Goren School of Bridge. Then he moved to New York
City, where he purchased the Mayfair Club on East 57th Street from Harry Fishbein (his
bridge mentor).
The Mayfair Club became famous among bridge players around the world. Al made a
number of innovations. Besides rubber bridge, Chicago style, he introduced a handicapped
$2-an-imp cut-around team game, played in the famous “back room.” It was here where
many of the great players of that day and the future would refine their games and learn
how to take the pressure! Learning to take the “heat,” and become thick-skinned, when
partners and teammates criticized your mistakes, was as important as any technical train-
ing. At the Mayfair there was 100% tolerance (not zero tolerance). Al gave many young
players the chance to play tough bridge and improve, including Pamela and me.
At the Mayfair, Al introduced a new “social” event: the Wednesday night Imp Pairs,
which became the most popular duplicate game in New York, open to anyone, but with a
“who’s who” list of famous players. In the 1970’s he added backgammon to the club and
in the late 1980’s he added Hold-em, a poker game, which would gain world-wide popu-
larity in the 21st Century.
Al remarried in 1980, and his new wife, Jean, became his helpmate at the club. He
wrote another book, “Picture Bidding,” and a few years later he and Jean retired to Boca
Raton, Florida. Al continued his career as an author with feature columns for Bridge To-
day. Al was sometimes gruff on the outside, sometimes conceited, and diplomacy was not
his game. He spoke the truth as he saw it, without political correctness and without worry-
ing about what people thought of him. If you wanted to know where you went wrong in
the auction, Al was the man to ask, because he would not mince words. Up until his last
day, Al received phone calls from his fans asking him his bridge advice on a hand, and he
would usually start his answer with: “What’s the problem?” We dedicate this issue to Al
and will reprint more Al Roth in future issues of Bridge Today. — the editors
The Red Pencil
by Al Roth
Minor-suit Pre-accepts
and 1∂ Openings on 4-4
Here are two problems for you to solve. Solutions

Answer (1) what you would do; and (2) First problem. You have the option of
why. The solutions follow. Take 5 points bidding 2NT to show interest, while 3ç
for the right call, and 5 points for the right shows no interest.
reason, 20 points total.
This is a problem the world has created
First problem. You hold both vul: out of thin air. It is really not a problem, if
ßQ75 ˙AK862 ∂98 çAKJ you ask yourself what are you interested in.
When partner has a long club suit and a
South West North East weak hand, you are interested in only one
1 NT pass 2 ß* pass contract other than 3ç: 3NT. If partner has
? a strong hand, he is bidding again over 3ç,
so it doesn’t matter what you do (if partner
*transfer to clubs bids again over 3ç, you can sit up in your
chair and start thinking about a slam!). So
You have the option of bidding 2NT to the answer is to bid 3ç, showing no interest
show interest, while 3ç shows no interest. in three notrump.
Second problem. You hold in first chair: Scores:

ßA¡82 ˙2 ∂QJ¡6 çAKJ¡ 3ç = 5
2NT = 0
What’s your opening bid?
The right reason (worth 5 points) is that
you are aiming for 3NT when you express
interest — you’re not merely saying you
“like clubs.”
The full deal was:

South dealer North South dealer North

Both vul ßK83 Both vul ß976
˙3 ˙AJ9
∂ J 10 6 ∂AK9
çQ96432 ç6432
West East West East
ß A J 10 6 4 ß92 ßJ54 ßKQ3
˙ 10 9 4 ˙QJ75 ˙KQ864 ˙ 10 7 5 3
∂AK2 ∂Q7543 ∂843 ∂752
ç87 ç 10 5 çQ7 ç985
South (you) South (you)
ßQ75 ß A 10 8 2
˙AK862 ˙2
∂98 ∂ Q J 10 6
çAKJ ç A K J 10
South West North East After a 1∂ opening bid, North is stuck

1 NT pass 2 ß* pass for a good bid. The choices are 2NT with
? two suits unstopped, two clubs on four
small, a forcing raise in diamonds with
*transfer to clubs three trump 4-3-3-3, or a one-heart response
on a three-card suit (may be best of a bad
Notice that you will score 3NT with a lot!). After a 1ç opening bid, responder can
spade lead, which makes this a nice opening always bid 1∂, without worrying about it
lead problem for West. The right lead is a — it’s that easy. My suggested auction is:
diamond honor, because North has shown a
long club suit and it will not be a slow hand South North
for the defense. If West sees that diamonds 1ç 1∂
is not a good suit to attack, he can switch 1ß 2 NT
to spades, hoping to hit partner with an 3∂ 3 NT
honor.
The play is also interesting. East leads a
Second problem. You hold in first chair: heart to the queen. North should win the
ß A 10 8 2 ˙ 2 ∂ Q J 10 6 ç A K J 10 ace and cash the çA-K. If he cashes only
one top club, comes to hand in diamonds
What’s your opening bid? and finesses in clubs, West will win and lead
back a low heart, forcing declarer to guess.
The old rule was: Open the suit under
your singleton. This rule has no merit By cashing two top clubs, declarer is safe
whatsoever. It is almost always right to open if East holds at least three clubs. For exam-
the club suit with 4-4 in the minors, since ple, if East has the çQ protected, declarer
you give partner more room to describe his gives East the queen and claims nine tricks
hand. Let’s look at the full deal: (or 10 if East continues hearts). As the cards
were, declarer scores the first 10 tricks.
Another interesting point is that the

hand plays much better with North the South dealer North
declarer, with the heart lead coming up to Both vul ß976
the A-J-9. If South is declarer, a low heart ˙AJ9
lead by West will probably succeed when ∂AK9
declarer goes with the odds and plays the 9 ç6432
at trick one. Now the club finesse is needed West East
for the ninth trick and declarer is down ßJ54 ßKQ3
one. So it’s important to make the right ˙KQ864 ˙ 10 7 5 3
hand the declarer and, to help you with ∂843 ∂752
this, start with the club suit whenever you çQ7 ç985
can on the opening bid. South (you)
ß A 10 8 2
The Scores: ˙2
1ç = 5 ∂ Q J 10 6
1∂ = 0 ç A K J 10
The right reason for opening 1ç is that South West North East
you give partner maximum room. 1ç pass 1∂ pass
1ß pass 2 NT pass
3∂ pass 3 NT (all pass)
Talk to Doctor Roth*
by Alvin Roth
Dialogues with America’s foremost bidding theorist
Al Roth: Somebody phoned me this Marcel: Excuse me, Dr. Roth?

morning and asked, “Dr. Roth, how do you
bid these two hands to slam?” I listened to Roth: Marcel, my friend, how are you?
the hands and replied, “I don’t even know
how to get to game.” Marcel: I’m fine, but I had this slam
disaster. . .
The point is you shouldn’t be looking
for slam on every good-looking hand you Roth: (You see what I mean?) Come in,
pick up. Your first objective is to reach game sit down, have a cup of tea. You want some
- and find the best game. lemon? Now what’s the problem?
*first published in the September/October 1988 is-

sue of Bridge Today
Marcel: Thank you, Doctor. I held: Marcel: He bid three hearts and I rebid
four clubs. He did reverse, and I hadn’t
ßQx shown anything substantial up until now.
˙K Surprisingly he raised to five clubs. Now I
∂AKQxx thought we had enough strength for slam,
çQJxxx but my ace-king-queen of diamonds was
facing shortness, so I placed the hand in six
My partner opened the bidding with notrump. These were the two hands:
one heart and I responded two diamonds.
He bid two spades. Now in the old days we West East
used to play that constituted a reverse. Does ßKJxx ßQx
it still hold true today? ˙AQxxxx ˙K
∂— ∂AKQxx
Roth: Don’t talk like a child! Of course ç K 10 x çQJxxx
change of suits shows extra values; oth-
erwise how do you judge the combined 1˙ 2∂
strength of two hands? Continue. 2ß 3ç
3˙ 4ç
Marcel: I’m glad to hear that, because I 5ç 6 NT
rebid three clubs -
Roth: These are difficult hands to bid
Roth: You might have rebid three because West has lots of distribution and
notrump here. East has lots of points.
Marcel: And not show my clubs? Marcel: So you sympathize with my

sequence?
Roth: You have a lot of points, but junky
points. When the auction goes: Roth: I sympathize with nothing. You
both overbid. Your partner had no business
1˙ 2∂ reversing into spades when you responded
2ß 2 NT in his void. And you never gave your part-
ner a chance to quit with your junky 17
two notrump is forcing; therefore a jump points. The recommended auction is this:
to three notrump shows extra values. This
is a very important principle to remember. 1˙ 2∂
2˙ 3ç
Marcel: I was playing with a modern Ca- 3 NT pass
nadian fellow, and I think he plays a jump
to game as a signoff. I could not risk jump- Marcel: So you agree about the reverse?
ing to three notrump.
Roth: I agree that the two of you were
Roth: All right, you played it safe and too slam conscious, bidding values you
bid three clubs. Now what? didn’t have without even the hint of a fit.
Next patient, please.
Ahmed: Dr. Roth, may I ask you a bid- After the one-diamond opening, East
ding question? should have responded two notrump - a
direct strength-showing bid. When East
Roth: That’s what I’m here for, Ahmed. elected to respond two clubs, West should
Come in and take your medicine. have jumped to three notrump - a direct
strength-showing rebid. Instead the two of
Ahmed: Here are the two hands, Doctor. you got busy bidding all your suits, even
The bidding was so bad that I am ashamed. the suits you didn’t have. Here’s my recom-
mended auction:
Roth: Bad bidding is going around.
Everybody’s got it nowadays, so don’t let it 1∂ 2 NT
get you down. What’s the problem? 4 NT 6 NT
West East When you bid directly and simply, you

ßAxxx ßKQ eliminate the strain of headaches from
˙Axxx ˙QJ9 making too many phony bids. Partnership
∂Kxx ∂ A J 10 bridge is difficult enough without adding
çAK çQJ9xx pressure to your constructive bidding. My
remedy is to get balanced hands off your
1∂ 2ç chest as soon as possible by bidding some
2˙ 2ß number of notrump. Unfortunately, many
4NT 6∂ of today’s players replace important natural
pass bids with artificial conventions. For ex-
ample, some people play the response of two
Roth: This is worse than I thought. notrump over a major is a forcing raise, thus
You’d better sit down. losing the simple, natural meaning of two
notrump.
Ahmed: You see, when my partner bid
Blackwood, I was afraid he was heading for Now don’t get me wrong. I am not
six spades and - against conventions. I use a jump to three
clubs as a slammish raise in a major. That’s
Roth: Don’t tell me which hand you because three clubs does not take away a
held. It’s already bad enough that you were frequent, natural bid. All my life I’ve tried
involved in this calamity. I can tell you, to invent conventions to describe hands
however, all the bids fall into the same that were unbiddable in natural methods,
category: the failure to show extra strength and I’ve used them in place of bids that had
directly. very little use.
From “Picture Bidding” 1991
Foreword by Matthew Granovetter

I’ve been lucky enough to play on many
We have a choice in bridge just as we do of Roth’s teams on the other side. Roth and
in life: Listen to the advice of experienced his partner (whoever it was) always came
elders or make lots of errors until such time back with a winning card. It was amaz-
as we see the light (if we ever do). This is ing. They sometimes missed a lucky slam
why, when it comes to bidding, I listen to (which, by the way, would not happen to-
Alvin Roth. As Bill Root has said, “Al Roth day using the various slam tools introduced
is the greatest theoretician in the history of in this book), but they always had four or
the game.” That’s not a bad recommenda- five more plus scores on their cards than my
tion. opponents — a direct result of his system.
There are those who disagree with Roth’s I faced Roth as his partner only once.
principle of sound opening bids. But these It was in Paris. I was only 25 years old,
players still use Roth’s forcing notrump, and, because of my obsession with bridge,
negative doubles, unusual notrump, etc. I didn’t know that you were supposed to
They may not play all of the System, but al- go to Paris with a woman, not Al Roth.
most every bridge player plays most of what (We were on our way to Monte Carlo for
Roth has invented. a team game, which we lost in the final to
the Blue Team — Roth partnered Johnny
And who would not benefit by sitting Crawford and I partnered Jim Jacoby.) On
down and listening to the ideas of Al Roth? the morning after we arrived in Paris, we
I was just a teenager when I first met him. I walked into the ballroom of the hotel, sat
walked into the Mayfair Club and asked if down and started to play. I was nervous, for
I could kibitz the $2 IMP game in the back I knew that Roth was very difficult in the
room. He looked at me and said, “So you postmortems (remember, I had been on his
want to kibitz the great players, huh? You teams) and was waiting for the first explo-
want to see how they lose?” sion after one of my bad bids. Strange thing
— he hardly ever raised his voice, not one
Over the years, I have had consistent sarcastic remark! And our scores were not
success listening to Al Roth. When I was impressive. In fact, we scored under aver-
a lesser card player than I am now, I won age, and I won’t blame it on the French
lots of tournaments by applying Rothonian playing cards — I was not playing well. The
concepts. And I won them playing with next session we did better, but not enough
even weaker plays than I. As I became to place overall. So much for Paris. I never
a better player, I gave up some of Roth’s got a chance to play with Roth again, but I
ideas, thinking that I knew better. Now I’ve now thought of him as a kind, understand-
come back to Roth, just as an experimenter ing partner.... Ten years later I was sitting in
in life returns to the sound principles of his Victor Mitchell’s living room, complaining
forefathers. about not being able to sleep. Mitchell says
to me, “I’ve got a great sleeping pill for ya, the same pattern: splinters at the two level;
Matt.” “Are you sure, Vic?” “Yes, I’m sure. trump asking bids at the three level; trans-
Why one time I gave it to Al Roth - and fers over one notrump followed by a relay
he never gets a good night’s sleep. Well he to set up a game force! They are all original,
slept like a log. (Chuckle.) The next day but more important, thought-provoking.
he told me he couldn’t even see the cards
while he was playing - the pill had him in I am going to be one of the first to adopt
such a state.” “Victor, did this happen by these bids. (I had the advantage, of course,
any chance in Paris?” “Yeah - how did you of editing the book.) And I think the reader
know that?” will also want to adopt much of the new
Roth Collection — especially if the reader
Back to Al Roth the writer. Roth’s lan- is someone who is interested in improving,
guage is fresh and unique. In this new and has a partner who is willing to work
book, he is constantly challenging the read- with him. Personally, I get a kick out of
er to think, to picture partner’s hand, not thinking at the bridge table. Perhaps that’s
count points. The new bids in this book fit also why I enjoy listening to Al Roth.
Excerpts from Picture Bidding by Al Roth
Of course, bridge players like to bid. The key cards in the right suits, and judge ac-
more bids they can squeeze in, the bet- cordingly for game or slam. It is often better
ter they like it. It makes them look more to hold A-x-x (four points) than K-Q-x (five
knowledgeable and more expert. To me, it points) for suit purposes, for example, when
is the other way around. If you can create partner holds a singleton. Sometimes a Q-x
more and more bids to picture certain kinds in one suit is better than a K-J in another.
of hands, you don’t need as many bids. My For example, when partner has bid the first
new approach has been to invent conven- suit, but is likely to be short in the other.
tions that transmit pictures. What you are
going to have to learn is not only how to What we are trying to do is get rid of
paint a picture of your hand for your part- the insecurities that most players live with
ner, but to picture your partner’s hand, every day at the table. Bridge becomes
depending on the bid or bids that have “nerve-wracking” when, after a series of
been made, and especially to picture the key bids by you and your partner, it is suddenly
cards partner may hold. left up to you and you have not a clue as
to what to do. How often have you heard
* * * yourself say, can I have a review of my bid-
In order to paint bidding pictures, you ding? And, too bad, for after the review, you
must appraise your hand accurately. Point would like to take some of those bids back.
count is fairly accurate for notrump games
and slams, but for suit slams, you must lay * * *
great stress on aces, kings and singletons All subjects must have a beginning. The
(perhaps voids). No longer are we to ask art of bidding in bridge is first based on
partner how many points does he have as the “sound opening bid.” Thus, when your
we go down three tricks at game, and all partner opens the bidding, you can heave a
suits broke. You must learn to upgrade your sigh of relief. It will be sound.
When I played bridge, I had no fear of of leaping and preempting had you opened.
passing where others insisted on opening Thus, the pass “shuts the other guys up!”
the bidding. What are your dangers when And, when you open a weak two-bid, your
you pass what others consider an opening partner is brought into the picture with a
bid? Will the hand be passed out? Is that reasonable guide to your high cards and
necessarily bad? For even though you can defensive possibilities.
make a partscore, what guarantees do you
have that you will stop? However, by pass- Looking back at my bridge career - and I
ing, and assuming the bidding is opened by used to win very often - when I was asked
one of the opponents, you are at a tremen- for a winning bridge hand, I used to say,
dous advantage. If you stay out of the bid- “I had none.” All I did was “pass.” Thus,
ding, the eventual declarer has no clue to when we passed, we were now at a tremen-
help him play the hand better. He will of- dous advantage, assuming the bidding was
ten go down on contracts that are foolproof opened - or, even if the bidding was not
if he knows where the cards are. Or, when opened, when the pass-out was better than
playing matchpoints, he will just make his going minus.
contract — no overtricks — because, again,
he does not know “where the cards are.” Opening the bidding is a guide in the
auction, and when you have an “uncertain”
In short, when you don’t open the bid- opening bid, who knows where you will
ding, quite often the opponents are left “in land?
the blind.” Vice versa, if the opponents
open the bidding, and you buy the contract, No matter how much I discuss all phases
having heard a few bids, your advantage in of bridge bidding, I always refer back to the
the play is huge. Also, when you listen to sound opening bid. Thus, when we open
their bidding, your values go up or down, the bidding in first or second position, it
and you can judge values correctly for that gives partner a feeling of confidence and,
hand. Your kings becomes aces; ace-queens on occasion, and if necessary, the partner
become ace-kings, etc. of the opening bidder has to take chances,
but may do so with at least some assurance.
Opening the bidding at the one level Much depends on the type of bridge game
with balanced poor hands, or with unbal- being played: matchpoints, IMPs, board-a-
anced hands that are great distributionally match, rubber bridge, and the opponents
but lacking in high cards, or with good you are now facing. Given free rein and
playing hands that have very little defense, no competition, it is easy to bid with con-
has a serious drawback. The opponents fidence and arrive at the proper contract.
are always apt to enter the bidding, some- And, once you have established partner-
times with a simple overcall, or with huge ships and a reputation for soundness, you
preempts. What now? Your partner is at a will find opponents wary about “fooling
tremendous disadvantage and is “under the around” against you. But when and if they
gun.” All this can be avoided by the word do, you have that cushion — the sound
“pass” or, if the hand so warrants, by a weak opening bid. The light opening bidders
two-bid, despite odd distribution. You will have to scramble and their partners have
also find that when you pass what others to scramble. Here is where “eye contact”
open, the next guy may pass as well, instead and the raising and lowering of voices plays
such a big part [the latter has been some- bid. If I were the reader, I would reread the
what obviated by bidding boxes, but the last line.
“eye contact” goes on as much as ever, at
least in events without screens — editor]. I am not stubborn. I have advanced with
Thus, our brand of bridge produces ethical the times. In fact, you would be surprised at
bridge. No faces, no raising and lowering of the hands I would open with a weak two-
the voice is necessary. bid. I no longer play that you have to sit
there and wait for the perfect hand to come
* * * along. You no longer need two of the top
With shortage in spades (one or none), three honors — so long as the rest of your
you must be extremely careful about open- hand has some playing strength (i.e., shape).
ing the bidding because you may have You can even have a side four-card major,
rebid problems.... By passing and not open- or a side five-card suit!
ing the bidding with questionable hands
(mostly spade voids and singletons), you cre- I heartily recommend making weak
ate a difference that may, in itself, help you two-bids even with outlandish distribution,
get a bundle of matchpoints or IMPs. And, as long as your high cards are limited, and
having passed originally, are you not in the depending on the vulnerability. I have no
driver’s seat if the opponents open the an- fear about missing games, for it is my expe-
ticipated spade bid and get raised? You can rience that there usually is lots of bidding,
now double for the three missing suits, or from the opponents or your partner. For
if the responder bids a new suit, double for those of you who open with one instead of
the missing two suits. two with the very same hands I recommend
bidding a weak two-bid, I say good luck to
* * * you. I feel that when you open with one of
I find that most bridge players love to bid a suit where I prefer a weak two-bid, you
slams. I do, also, but I like to make them as are often faced with a partner who begins to
well. double for penalties, and you find that your
* * * hand may produce zero tricks on defense.
The weak two-bid has been destroyed
by most bridge players, experts included. By opening a weak two-bid, I am not
Today’s world plays it as a weaker version trying to steal or make it more difficult for
of a three-bid. They’re afraid to open three the opponents, but the truth is that it does
spades with K-Q-x-x-x-x and out, so they make life more difficult for them. Both op-
open two spades. Some people I hear are do- ponents begin to stretch for games or slams
ing it with five spades. They are out to steal without the necessary real values.
from weak players. Against decent competi-
tion, bad bids usually backfire. And, more Thus, these are possible weak two-bids
important, you will drive your partner nuts (and I am in my right mind).
when you continually make two-bids that
he has no idea how to cope with. ß K Q 10 9 x x ˙ x ∂ x ç A J 10 x x — open 2ß
The purpose of a weak two-bid is to get ß A K 10 x x x ˙ x ∂ Q J 9 8 x ç x — open 2ß

in the first crack on a hand with a long suit
that does not qualify in highcards for a one ß x ˙ A Q 10 9 x x ∂ K J 9 x x ç x — open 2˙
ß — ˙ A K 10 9 x x ∂ x x ç Q J x x x — open 5. Whenever you are vulnerable; espe-

2˙ cially when you are vulnerable and they are
not.
ß A J 10 x x x ˙ K J 10 x x ∂ x ç x — open 2ß
6. When you seemingly have enough
ß x x ˙ Q J x x ∂ A K 10 9 8 x ç x — open 2∂ high cards to open the bidding, but the suit
in which you have to open has no ace, king
ß x ˙ Q J 10 x x x ∂ x ç A K x x x — open 2˙ or queen.
ß x ˙ Q 10 x x x ∂ A K 10 x x x ç x — open 2∂ 7. Shortness in the majors and the barest

of opening bids; values in the minors.
... [You] open with a weak two and plan
on bidding your other suit (at least a five- Be careful of over-evaluating distribu-
card second suit), no matter who bids tional features to a point that makes you
— your partner or the opponents.... In two think of opening a one bid.
bids you describe your shape and points.
Can you imagine how difficult [these hands * * *
are] to describe any other way? Once you have learned all the required
conventions, you must correctly evaluate
You will find that your partnership’s your hand according to your partner’s bids
doubling technique will improve, too. They and possibly your opponents’ bidding. This
will rarely make a doubled contract. You technique must become second nature. You
will find yourself sacrificing and sometimes must know when your hand goes up or
making, especially whenever you were able down depending on the bidding, and point
to get both your suits in. count is not your main concern. This is
why I simply use the language “good hand,”
And, one last word: I hope that you will “great hand,” “terrible hand,” etc.
be fortunate enough to hold distributional
hands that I have drawn here — unlike me * * *
— I am plagued with poor hands.... “No point-count language....”
* * * * * *
Rules for Opening the Bidding Rules for Rebids [Roth’s main principle
here is that shifting suits always shows extra
Be wary of opening the bidding with a values, so opener sometimes has to rebid a
one bid, with: three-card suit to show a good hand, e.g.,
1ß-1NT; 2∂ = could be a three-card suit
1. A spade void. with something like:
ß A Q 10 x x x ˙ A x x ∂ A x x ç x,
2. Awkward rebids. because a rebid of 2ß “sounds” weak and
the hand isn’t strong enough for a jump
3. No aces. rebid to 3ß. — Editor]
4. Too much distribution and not enough The shifting of suits to the next level by
high cards. an opening bidder shows additional val-
ues. Opener promises to make a third bid, IMPORTANT: When partner shifts suits,
provided responder does not pass, rebid his you must take him back to the original suit,
own suit, or jump to game. rather than passing in the rebid suit (the
suit in which you are longer), whenever
Rebids in the majors are always weak. you can picture a third bid by him that will
Rebids in the minors may or may not be give you a good chance for game. Some-
weak. times, you might even have four cards in
the second suit, but are too weak in overall
When you open the bidding, you may values to raise that suit. So you hedge with
have to decide about your rebid and avoid a preference.
shifting suits if your hand is not strong
enough. * * *
By bidding as I suggest, you confirm all Winning is not a measure of how many
good hands, which is the most important newspaper hands you have in one session.
thing to get across. You also confirm mini- It is a measure of plus scores - ordinary,
mums. The rebid of one notrump by opener sometimes dull, partscores on which you
is never misunderstood. It shows less than have scored average plus or won six IMPs.
16 points in high cards, and hopefully a bal- The newspaper hands will come, but you
anced hand of some kind. But, first of all, will be on the receiving end, collecting lots
it is a limit bid, with partner being warned. of numbers from the roller-coaster bid-
Once you have limited your hand, you ding of your opponents. Plus, when a great
can feel comfortable no matter what action convention comes up, which is applicable to
partner takes. your hand, you will enjoy the pleasures of
exciting bidding — where a single picture
Thus, without mentioning point count, if bid describes an entire hand to partner.
you like your hand, you must not make it
sound weak. * * *
Opener sometimes finds a three-card If you like your hand for slam, and
suit to rebid, if he thinks his hand is too partner has represented a similar liking, you
strong for a mere suit rebid or rebid of one will have the slam, provided both partners
notrump, or the wrong type of hand to have judged their “liking” correctly, i.e.,
rebid two notrump. aces, kings, singletons and voids, sufficient
trumps, and top trumps.
* * *
You can also “like” your hand for game.
Once you experience the great results If you are thinking about notrump, point
of limiting your hand rather than show- count works. If you are thinking about a
ing every suit as soon as possible, you will suit, the mere opening bid by partner can
be happy you adopted the change-of-suits entitle you to risk a game, so long as you
principle. Remember, there are two easy make the proper game bids.
ways to limit your hand when you don’t
have four-card support for partner: rebid * * *
your suit or rebid one notrump.
Jump shifts require high cards, not only 4. Rebid two notrump with a solid 18- or
distribution. You do not have to jump every 19-point hand.
time you like your hand. The mere shift-
ing of suits to the next level will encourage 5. Rebid three notrump with 20 or more
responder to bid again. He must simply be points.
aware that his limited holding might be the
exact holding for game or slam, and he will 6. With ordinary holdings, and no four-
therefore keep the bidding open. card minor, bid the lowest three-card minor,
regardless of strength.
* * *
7. With hands holding solid 18 or more
The modern bridge player seems to have high-card points plus unbalanced distribu-
been injected with “bidditus.” He loves tion, jump in your second suit - forcing
to bid and believes he is making it tough (almost always to game).
for the opponents. I feel that the reverse
is true. The modern support-showing bid- * * *
ding with light hands makes it easier for
qualified players to judge their high cards Bridge bidding is not usually an exact
and their values, and whether or not those science. We do know that if we can ever
values are in the right places. you can often achieve something close to 70% accuracy, we
deduce shortages in partner’s hand. would win everything in sight. Therefore,
on certain close (weak) hands, in order to
* * * build up partnership confidence, it is better
for responder to pass partner’s opening bid,
Jumps in trumps show good trumps. rather than keep the bidding alive, hop-
ing for the perfect result. As my friend Bob
* * * Hamman likes to say: “partner, never play
me for the perfect hand — I never have it.”
Rebids after One Major-One [Forcing]
Notrump The opening bidder must also be care-
ful about his second bid. Even though he
What should opener rebid after one ma- almost has the point count to jump shift,
jor-one notrump? Assume you’ve opened in he may do better to make a simple rebid
first or second seat. — taking a calculated risk that he will get
a chance to smoke out the best contract on
1. A rebid of the major shows a six-card the next round. If opener can get away with
suit (or sometimes a solid five-card suit) and his second bid and partner does not pass
a weakish hand. it, he can make his real move with a third
bid. And, shocking as it may seem, he might
2. Rebid a lower ranking four-card suit become declarer in his last bid suit, either
with ordinary values. at the three level, game level, or possibly the
slam level.
3. Rebid a higher ranking four-card suit
(a reverse) with a strong holding and at least * * *
19 points in high cards.
The world of bridge is playing looser and accomplished his purpose. It is not neces-
looser and in some ways, correctly so. For sary for the partner to get into the act, un-
those of you who played money bridge and less he is absolutely sure it is safe.
know the money value of bridge, it is fairly
easy for you. When you face a sure loss * * *
of at least 600 points or perhaps as much
as 1400 points, you don’t mind taking the Unfortunately, duplicate players take
risk of going down 800 or 1100 in order to the philosophy of risk-taking to extremes.
create havoc on the opponents. In order In today’s world of bridge, the great major-
to create a swing, you must take chances. ity of players never played “rubber” bridge
What you must be wary of, however is — only duplicate. Going down 800, or
compounding. Both sides cannot get into even undoubled sets — when their oppo-
the act. First, one makes a move. Next the nents could score nothing — never seems
partner is allowed one move. And that is to bother them. It’s just another zero. And,
it. You must rest your case and if the oppo- since they usually lose anyway, getting a
nents land successfully, let them. There are swing in their favor against a Kantar or
enough times when they go wrong. Soloway, is more important to their enjoy-
ment than winning. Of course, they would
Still, when you do go set 800 points it love to win. But, winning takes self-control
will be discouraging to partner, even when and that is no fun. It is no fun to pass and
you are certain that they could score 620 pass and pass; and even if the opponents go
or 650. Unconsciously, all modern players down and down and down, that is no fun
are duplicate minded, or, as they say, IMP to them. They are not aware how much
minded. To them, going down 800 against they contributed by staying out of trouble
650 is a sure zero. That is true! But, they and letting the opponents “choke” on their
must remember the number of times the own bidding — or, if their partner throws a
opponents went wrong and that becomes a screwball at the opponents, “staying out of
sure “top.” If partner does get discouraged, the act.”
remind him of the number of times the op-
ponents arrived in the wrong suit or got too I loved when my partner preempted. If
high - it makes up for the times you take a he got doubled and “took a bath,” too bad,
comparatively small loss (800 against 650). but if they bid, I always felt happy that
their guessing game started at a higher level
In general, it is human nature to try to because of my partner’s daring. If he didn’t
buy the hand and take the “push.” As for have the perfect preempt, and if he had a
me, when they tried to push me around, my stray jack or queen which prevented the
first guiding principle was to take the sure opponents from making a game or slam, I
profit. Too bad if I could score 650 and got would never criticize his preempt or punish
only 500. When I was uncertain, I went for him with violent bidding. One preempt is
the sure profit and that is my recommenda- enough in most cases. Remember: Partner-
tion. ships are destroyed if the partner of the
overcaller or preemptor takes too many
Again, from the standpoint of the pre- violent actions.
emptive side, once the opponents act over
the preempt, the premptor has temporarily This is true even in simple auctions:
1ß-(2˙)-? spades for takeout, or bid four notrump for

the minors (though you could have hearts
I never bid two spades with a bad hand, and a minor). With a penalty double of
and I presume you know what a bad hand four spades, you must pass and take your
is. meagre profit, though there is always the
chance partner can balance with a double.
(1ß)-2˙-(2ß)-?
* * *
I never bid three hearts with a bad hand,
in this position as well. I play three notrump as a solid minor
plus one or two stoppers on the side. With
By bidding with bad hands, you cause a solid suit and nothing on the side, why
partner to make poor judgments, and even would you want to declare three notrump?
if he makes the final bad bid, you are the You almost surely want partner to play the
cause! hand, if three notrump is the correct con-
tract. With a solid suit and nothing else,
It is true that by not getting into the you can open a three bid, vulnerable against
act, you are putting extra pressure on your not. Otherwise, you may elect to open a
partner to fight a situation (temporarily) by weak two-bid or pass the opening bid and
himself. Let him have that pressure, rather hope to jump later to get your hand across.
than bid with a bad hand and put him into
a position of making a bad decision. * * *
* * * In general, my rule for the use of the un-

usual notrump is that your hand should be
Did you know that the world does not very weak or very strong, while with ordi-
play correctly (with the odds) against four- nary hands you simply overcall in your best
spade openings? Since, I’m afraid, the begin- suit, or, if you plan to bid both suits, bid
ning of bridge, the double of four spades diamonds first. One major fallacy of using
has been played as penalty, while a three- the unusual notrump with many reason-
suited hand (1-4-4-4) is shown by bidding able hands is that your only game might be
four notrump. And today, these bids are three notrump, and you are now playing it
played that way by the majority of players. from the wrong side.
This is unquestionably wrong. The odds are
far more likely that you will hold shortness * * *
in spades than length when your oppo-
nent opens four spades, and if you bid four The Free Raise: It seems that the bridge
notrump for takeout, you will find much of world of today has gone nuts. They like to
the time that you belong at the four level bid. In competition, everyone gets into the
on defense. (Unfortunately, the way many act, and it becomes a shootout. Since all the
players get around the problem is by dou- bids have no real meaning, I don’t know
bling fast with penalty doubles, and slowly how they can judge who “owns” the con-
with takeout. This is obviously unethical.) tract, and when to trust their partners.
I recommend that you double four By passing [after their overcall] at your
first opportunity [rather than raising part- on lead and defense. Be smart. Listen to the
ner with 5-7 HCP and poor support or a bidding from the opponents as well as your
poor hand or length/strength in the oppo- partner.
nents’ suit], you sometimes have to use your
best judgment later if partner shows great The psychology of defensive bidding is
strength, but at least you slow down the not easy. You must learn to listen not only
auction and prevent bad games, big sets, and to partner, but to the opponents. Partner is
poor slams. sometimes in the bidding, making a quick
picture bid - in an attempt to help you with
When partner opens the bidding, the the lead or in the subsequent defense of the
opponents seldom have games (or slams), if hand. If partner has a strong playing hand,
you have six points or more. So why worry he is not bashful. My experience is that
about the opponents arriving at game? If players with big distributional hands make
they have a game, they are entitled to make more than one bid.
it if they bid it. And, also, by your staying
out of the auction, foolish opponents get * * *
the impression that they “own the contract”
and overbid just a little. Their partners, Psychological Strategies: Since you may
with quiet opponents, also fear that partner be playing against many of the same oppo-
is underbidding, and the cycle is now com- nents year in and year out, in order to keep
plete - they are overboard. However, had them guessing, take a chance here and there
you bid, they are slowed down. And, it is by putting a new twist in the auction. True,
not even necessary to double, whether the you may get a bad result on your experi-
game is matchpoints or IMPs. You already ments, but you will make them think twice
have a huge gain. the next time you play against each other.
* * * In my heyday, even my passes could cre-

ate fear in my opponents. As declarers, they
Starting with a controlled opening bid could not guarantee where to place the high
and controlled overcalls, I do not recom- cards, whether or not we had bid. Without
mend being too frisky in competition. our doing anything special, they were un-
There comes the time when partner does certain and the battle was half won. If you
not know whom to believe, his partner or are interested in becoming a champion, you
his opponents. Thus, when you “go out on must become a “feared” player, at match-
a limb” and steer partner wrong, apologize points, IMPs, or rubber bridge. There will
and take the blame to maintain partnership be times when your opponents will have
confidence. fits.
On the other hand, don’t hang partner,

who may have overcalled light to help you
I once held, vulnerable against not vul- Bridge becomes exciting and fun when
nerable: you play against qualified opponents (some-
ßQx thing which does not take place too much
˙ A Q 10 x x any more) and you are qualified to bid your
∂KJxxxx games and slams with competition. It is also
ç— fun to make it tough for them when “they
have the cards.” Confident players of the
Partner Opp. Roth Opp. Roth System must also punish aggressive
1˙ double pass (!) 1ß opponents by trusting each other’s bids and
2∂ 4ß 5˙ 5ß doubling for penalties, sometimes risking,
pass pass 6˙ pass against frisky opponents, their making a
pass 6ß 7˙ pass doubled partscore.
pass double (all pass)
* * *
The opening lead was the ace of clubs, Summing up the basics in competitive
and we made it! bidding, the following rules apply in gen-
eral:
This hand occurred in an open pair
event. What was I supposed to do? Because 1. When your partner “balances” at lev-
of the vulnerability, I knew that they could els of three or more, and the opponents bid
bid up to seven and not get hurt. again, leaving it up to you — you must first
always be thankful that your partner’s dar-
The most important rule is to buy the ing bid drove them one higher. Your part-
hand and show a profit. A score of +680 or ner should seldom be given the option of
+710 was far better than plus 300 or 500. defending two spades or playing four hearts.
On all uncertain hands, defend without
If you wish to buy the contract, you doubling, unless you are absolutely certain
sometimes must risk missing a game or slam that it had been your partscore.
if the bidding dies. The first rule in com-
petitive bidding is to buy the contract, if the 2. When your side preempts, be wary
opponents let you! about compounding the preempt. The
preempt may have already damaged the
* * * opponents and you might be placing your-
It takes gumption and poise to bid slowly, self in a noose when you compound it. Or,
knowing you might be dropped by partner from that point on, your partner may never
and opponents, but the bidding in reality preempt again, fearing your action. I love it
almost never dies. when my partners preempt and the oppo-
nents bid. He has caused them to guess and
* * * I seldom punish him.
In competition, you only jump to game
or slam when you feel fairly certain you can * * *
not make it, and welcome a phantom save! Those of you who will recall my playing
days know that I was a prolific winner, at
* * * matchpoints and IMPs, and with all part-
ners. My partners included players like Billy
Seamon, Ann Burnstein, Edith Kemp, Tobi- scores were achieved; and, by now, you
as Stone, Bob Jordan, Bill Root, Baron Von must be aware that plus scores create wins,
Zedwitz, John Crawford, Barbara Haberman even if they are not the best possible plus
and Paul Trent. We played against many scores.
equally strong players. However, there was a
difference in style. The modern bridge players have a ten-
dency to go minus: they can make three
Essentially, our opponents’ play and our spades but they are in four; they can make
play were almost on a par, and the winning two hearts, but they are in three. In the
was created by the difference in the bid- meantime, it is possible that on these very
ding. Where they opened, we sometimes same hands, at your table, the hand might
passed; where they overcalled, we passed or have been passed out, or you are in one
jump preempted; where they opened with notrump, making one, when you can make
a one bid, we opened with a weak two-bid; two hearts — but most pairs are in three
where they opened a strong two-club bid, hearts, down one. These are huge match-
we opened with a mere one bid; and, of point differences. At IMPs, five or six IMPs
course, we always used many conventional are often involved.
bids different from theirs.
True, you will have to have faith in your
Thus, this difference often created a methods, and root for the opportunity to be
bushel of matchpoints or IMPs. Try play- in a different contract than the other pair
ing a contract in a partscore or game with or pairs. To be frank with you, I feel that
no bidding from the opponents. You have the only reason I did not win every event
no clues as to high cards or distributions. in sight was because sometimes I was dealt
Pity our opponents! They sometimes went hands that were so poor that I was never
down in seemingly laydown contracts, or able to bid, or even make a weak two-bid,
failed to make the maximum, by misplac- jump preempt or weak three-bid!
ing the missing high cards. And, in reverse,
after they opened the bidding with light You, too, may have to be patient. If you
hands or overcalled lightly, and we became hold bad cards, do not panic. Wait for your
declarer, we made the maximum — almost day, and I promise you that you will win
like peeking at their hands. or show great improvement and that you
will feel at peace with your partner when
The matchpoints kept piling up and it you finish a session. Root for cards, but bide
seemed as if we did nothing special. I won your time. Don’t press and begin forcing the
many an event where I truthfully could issue simply because you are holding “bad”
not give the reporter a great hand that we cards. Your day will come!
played or defended. More and more plus
Roth Gets a Taste of his own Medicine
Not everyone is impressed with Roth’s bidding styles. Roth would

have been the first to admit that even he had bidding accidents from
time to time. The following piece is from the new book, “Canada’s Bridge
Warriors: Eric Murray and Sami Kehela,” by Roy Hughes (Masterpoint
Press, 2007).
The 1960s was a time of lively discussion, Murray took his eight tricks for +110. At
sometimes heated, about the merits of hav- Roth’s table:
ing an opening bid of one of a major prom-
ise a suit of five or more cards. The new Roth Stone
“scientific” systems incorporating the five- West North East South
card major approach, had been explained in — 1∂ (all pass)
two influential books: “Bridge is a Partner-
ship Game” (1958) by Roth, and Kaplan’s One diamond went down three, -300 to
“The Kaplan-Sheinwold System of Win- North-South. Kaplan-Kay also played one
ning Bridge” (1963). The go as you please diamond, Kay holding it to down two.
four-card major approach worked better on
Board 5 of the second round [of the 1966 From time to time there was some ba-
North American Team Trials]: dinage, most of it good-natured, between
Murray, the proponent of the free-and-
North dealer North easy bidding style, get in quick and get out
N-S vul ßAJ86 before you get caught, and Roth, the noted
˙AKJ5 champion of sound initial actions, forc-
∂AJ3 ing bids and long sequences. The February
çJ7 1967 ACBL Bulletin reported a conversa-
West East tion between Kaplan and Roth:
ßK4 ß Q 10 7 2
˙64 ˙72 “During the trials in Pittsburgh, a greatly
∂ K 10 9 7 4 ∂Q85 agitated Al Roth gave his views on the Ca-
çAQ43 çK862 nadians’ bidding methods to Edgar Kaplan.
South
ß953 ‘You may admire their contracts and re-
˙ Q 10 9 8 3 sults,’ admonished Edgar, ‘but never, never
∂62 under any circumstances inquire how they
ç 10 9 5 got there!’”
* * *
Murray Kehela
West North East South Charles Goren reported the following
— 1˙ pass pass conversation, about Board 10 of the second
dbl redbl 1ß 2˙ round, for “Sports Illustrated”:
(all pass)
“This one gave me a problem,” said Eric.
“I picked up: ace of clubs and ruffed a club on the table.

If he could find the queen of diamonds he
ßAQ93 had a good play for 12 tricks, but he saw a
˙ 10 8 7 3 surefire line to guarantee 11. He led a heart
∂AJ86 from dummy, and, when East played low,
ç4 South’s king won. He ruffed another club
on the table and again came back with a
“What do you open?” he asked Roth. heart.
“You can’t open,” said Roth.
“Well,” said Murray, “I opened a heart.” “This time East took his ace. He did
Roth winced. not want to lead a diamond away from his
“Then Sami said two diamonds,” contin- queen, so he led a spade to dummy’s ace.
ued Murray. Kehela ruffed a spade, the last club was
“Don’t tell me you bid two spades on the trumped in dummy, and the last spade was
rubbish,” said Roth. played. There was no point in East ruffing,
“No, I didn’t think my hand was that so he discarded a heart as Kehela ruffed
good,” said Murray. “I said three diamonds. low. A diamond was led to the ace, and
Sami tried four clubs, and I almost cuebid when a heart was led from the board East
my spade ace, but instead I said four dia- was caught in a trump coup - no matter
monds, and we played it at five diamonds.” which card he played, Kehela would make
Roth looked even more unsettled. the last two tricks.”
Here are all four hands (rotated for con- Murray had hardly finished explaining
venience): it when Roth said, “I know that hand. We
played it, and what I don’t understand is
North dealer North (Murray) how anybody can play bridge with some-
All vul ßAQ93 body who bid that hand the way you did.”
˙ 10 8 7 3
∂AJ86 “Oh,” said Murray. “Well what did you
ç4 play the hand in?”
West East
ßK J 8 5 ß 10 7 2 “Two diamonds, making seven,” said
˙ J954 ˙A62 Roth, as he stalked away.
∂7 ∂Q42
çQJ52 çK983
South (Kehela)
ß64
˙KQ
∂ K 10 9 5 3
ç A 10 7 6
Opening lead: ß5
“Kehela played the hand well. He won

the spade finesse, entered his hand with the
Roth Gets the Upper Hand Roth Gets Tactical
Here’s a hand from the 1965 North This hand helped Roth win his first
American Team Trials (held in San Francis- American National Open Pairs in 1941.
co), in which Roth gets the upper hand on
Murray and Kehela. It also illustrates the North dealer North (Stone)
effectiveness of the Roth-style of weak-two E-W vul ßA642
bids. Roth was playing with Tobias Stone ˙J92
again. ∂J876
ç65
North dealer North (Roth) West (von Zedwitz) East (Fishbein)
None vul ßAJ98542 ßQ873 ß K 10 5
˙K32 ˙ 10 6 ˙KQ54
∂3 ∂ K 10 5 ∂Q943
ç32 çJ974 ç 10 3
West (Kehela) East (Murray) South (Roth)
ßKQ ß 10 7 6 3 ßJ9
˙AQ84 ˙ 10 6 ˙A873
∂AQ74 ∂ 10 8 6 5 2 ∂A2
ç A 10 7 ç95 çAKQ82
South (Stone)
ß— West North East South
˙J975 — pass pass 1∂
∂KJ9 pass 1ß pass 2˙
çKQJ864 pass 3∂ pass 3 NT
(all pass)
West North East South
— 2ß pass pass Opening lead: ç4
double pass 3∂ pass
3 NT pass pass double Roth (South), envisioning the final
(all pass) contract as 3NT, opened his short suit
(diamonds) to inhibit the lead. He then
Playing “strong” weak-two bids (e.g., reversed into hearts and rebid 3NT. West,
weak-two bids that promise a good playing Waldy von Zedwitz, led the unbid suit.
hand with defense), the double of the oppo-
nents’ 3NT by the partner of the weak-two Roth allowed East to win the trick with
bidder means, “I don’t think they can make the 10, and East, Harry Fishbein, returned
it, but stay away from leading your suit - I a club. Roth won in hand and led a heart
have no help there!” to the 6, 9 and king. “Fishy” now suspected
what was going on and led back a diamond.
Roth, therefore, led a club, and declarer Roth won the ace, cashed three more club
took only three tricks, for -1100! tricks, led a spade to the ace and then the
˙J. East played low, but Roth finessed, pin-
ning the 10. Another heart finesse secured
nine tricks for a top score.
What Do You Play–and Why?*
Alvin Roth and Tobias Stone
We present here four problems from this

unique contest, with the solutions immedi-
ately following each hand.
January, 1959 With every hand that we present, we will

During our long and eventful bridge include the exact bidding as it took place.
career we have endeavored to teach all The fact that the final contract turns out to
the phases of bridge to our proteges. Up be the worst, the best or the second-best will
to now, however, in our writings we have not be germane to this series, and we will
concentrated principally on the bidding. In have no comment to make.
this series we will deal solely with play and
defense. The articles that follow are a direct We trust that the contestant will cooper-
result of the pressure to which we have ate, and limit his discussion to play and
been subjected by our close friends among defense only, whichever the case may be.
the ranks of champion, expert and aver- In all instances, what we will be looking for
age players alike to expand on our ideas in is the correct technical (percentage) play or
other phases. defense, whether or not it succeeds. The
reader must first give his play or defense;
What we have planned is one hand on but more important will be the reason,
play and one hand on defense each month. which must be fully and clearly explained.
In all instances we will be reporting ACTU-
AL hands and the four players involved. Here is the first hand, on declarer’s play.
Phil Rizzuto’s errors and Sammy Baugh’s We will designate it permanently as Hand
fumbles were always reported, along with 1A. It was dealt and played in the “big
their brilliant performances. We hold with game” at the Cavendish Club in New York
this philosophy and would like to see it within the past month. Tim Holland, one
applied to bridge. While we hope to be able of the world’s finest amateur golfers and an
to present many more correct plays than up-and-coming bridge player was South; A.
mistakes, in all cases we will have to let the Moyse, Jr. was North; Philip Feldesman was
chips fall where they may. West, and Tobias Stone was East.
*Reprinted with the kind permission of Alvin Roth,

Tobias Stone and The Bridge World Magazine, from
The Bridge World, 1959, and the book For Experts
Only, 1989.
Hand 1A South West North East

South dealer North 1˙ pass 1ß pass
Both vul ßKQJ32 3˙ pass 4ç pass
˙65 4∂ pass 4 NT pass
∂J2 5˙ pass 5 NT pass
ç A K 10 5 6˙ (all pass)
çQ
South The opening lead by West was the çQ.
ßA5 How do you play the 6˙ contract — and
˙AK9874 why?
∂KQ7
ç43
Solution Holland realized, a few seconds too late,

The declarer, Tim Holland, won the club that when the ç10 held he should have
lead with the king, correctly cashed his two tested the spade suit before trying to dis-
high trumps, and also correctly led his sec- card on the çA. The contract was hopeless
ond club, finessing dummy’s ten. unless at least three rounds of spades went
He then went wrong, however, by trying through (without the high trump ruffing
to cash the çA. Stone, East, ruffed in with in). By playing these three rounds declarer
the high trump and laid down the ∂A. would see the spade break. If it was 3-3, he
Down one. The entire deal was: would try to cash the high club, then dis-
card his last diamond on the fourth round
North of spades; but if the spade break turned out
ßKQJ32 to be 4-2, with the third round escaping a
˙65 ruff, it would be obvious to lead a fourth
∂J2 round, discarding a second diamond, and
ç A K 10 5 then to discard South’s last diamond on
West East either the fifth spade or the high club.
ß98 ß 10 7 6 4
˙32 ˙ Q J 10 And now for our first hand on defense,
∂9653 ∂ A 10 8 4 Hand 1B. This too is of very recent vintage.
çQJ987 ç62 Two of the best American players were
South (Holland) involved: Ira Rubin, sitting West, and Sam
ßA5 Stayman, North. East was Tobias Stone;
˙AK9874 South, declarer, was Arthur Seidman, a
∂KQ7 tough rubber bridge competitor.
ç43
Rubin, West, led the ∂Q. These were the
West and North hands:
West dealer North (Dummy) On Rubin’s opening lead of the ∂Q,

N-S vul ßQ7642 Stone played the ∂6, and declarer played
˙J874 the deuce.
∂ J 10 5 Rubin led the ∂K; Stone played the ∂7
ç2 and declarer, the ∂9.
West (Rubin) Rubin now led the ∂A; Stone played the
ß— ∂3, and declarer, the 8.
N
˙6532 W E In Rubin’s position, what do you play
S
∂AKQ4 now, and why?
ç Q J 10 5 3

1∂ pass 1ß double
2ç pass pass 2˙
pass pass 3ç pass
pass 3˙ pass 4˙
double (all pass)
Solution would be equally effective if South had all

After Rubin cashed the three diamonds, five missing trumps and only the A-K blank
he thoughtlessly (a rare lapse for this very of spades, since in either case, needing two
fine player) switched to the çQ, and declar- club ruffs in dummy, he cannot get back
er had no trouble making the contract. The and forth without running into a spade
entire deal was: ruff by West. Declarer’s dilemma, after the
trump shift, is so obvious that we won’t
North waste space on further explanation—we’re
ßQ7642 so sure that all readers will easily analyze
˙J874 the situation for themselves.
∂ J 10 5
ç2 Now we come to the second hand on
West East declarer’s play—
ß— ßJ9853
˙6532 ˙9
∂AKQ4 ∂763
ç Q J 10 5 3 çK987
South
ß A K 10
˙ A K Q 10
∂982
çA64
The correct play by West at Trick 4 is

of course a trump, destroying declarer’s
“transportation.” Indeed, this trump shift
Hand 2A This hand occurred in the semi-final

West dealer North round of the knockout team even of the
N-S vul ßQ32 1957 Eastern Tournament in New York.
˙KJ2 Tobias Stone was South; his then-brand-
∂4 new bride, Janice, was North. Scoring was at
ç 10 9 8 5 4 3 total points.
çK
South West led the çK and his partner played
ß A K 10 9 5 4 the deuce. West then shifted to the ß8.
˙A4 How do you play the 4ß contract, and why?
∂6532
ç6

1ç pass 1∂ 1ß
pass 2ß pass 4ß
(all pass)
Solution Next came the key play: Stone led an-

West dealer North
other diamond and discarded a club from
N-S vul ßQ32
the table.
Total Points ˙KJ2
∂4
This is the vital play to set the stage for a
ç 10 9 8 5 4 3
double squeeze* which obviates the need to
West East
“find” the ˙Q.
ß87 ßJ6
˙ 10 9 8 5 ˙Q763
With the adverse trumps breaking 2-2,
∂KJ9 ∂AQ¡87
and with the bidding virtually guaranteeing
çAKQJ ç72
that neither defender has a five-card heart
South
suit, this squeeze is infallible.
ß A K 10 9 5 4
˙A4
Let’s continue with the play:
∂6532
West took the diamond lead and re-
ç6
turned another diamond, ruffed with dum-
my’s last trump. Stone trumped another
The declarer, Tobias Stone, won the club, and this was the ending:
spade in his own hand and led a diamond.
East won and returned a spade. West fol-
lowed suit, and dummy’s queen won.
Stone led a club from dummy. East fol-

lowed, and Stone ruffed.
ß— Mitchell, and one play by defender Alvin

˙KJ2 Roth, took a total of about 20 minutes;
∂— divided fairly equally. The entire line-up
ç 10 on this deal was: John Moran, North, Victor
ß— ß— Mitchell, South, Alvin Roth, West, and To-
˙ 10 9 8 ˙Q76 bias Stone, East. The deal came up in a long
∂— ∂A set-match played in 1955, with Roth-Stone
çA ç— against Mitchell, Moran, Ralph Hirschberg
ß 10 and Manny Hochfeld—these four rotating
˙A4 in pairs.
∂2
ç— South dealer North
Both vul ßQ2
On declarer’s lead of the ß10, West had ˙ J 10 7 6
to throw a heart to keep the high club. The ∂AQ64
club was then discarded from dummy, and ç932
East also had to give up a heart, to keep West (Roth)
a diamond against South’s deuce. Stone ßJ943
cashed the ˙A, led to the ˙K, and claimed ˙42
the contract. ∂ J 10 9 8
ç J 10 4
We have not overlooked the fact that
trumps could have split 3-1 instead of 2-2. South West North East
In that event, seeing the break when a 1ç pass 1∂ pass
defender led a second trump (after declarer 2˙ pass 4˙ pass
led the first diamond), declarer would not 4ß pass 5ç pass
concede another diamond trick immediate- 6ç (all pass)
ly—there would be no point, since a third
trump return would prevent even one ruff Roth, West, led the ∂J — and right there
in dummy. Instead, declarer would ruff a came the first half of the 20-minute hiatus
diamond, ruff a club and cash his trumps, referred to previously. Then, in rapid order,
coming down to the A-4 of hearts and two came: four of diamonds from dummy, deuce
diamonds, with dummy down to the K-J-2 from Stone, and king from Mitchell, fol-
of hearts and one club. South cashes the lowed by the king, queen and ace of hearts
heart ace, and then it is simply a question laid down by declarer. Stone played the ˙9
of how the opponents have discarded, and on the king and the ˙8 on the queen.
of declarer’s judgment. Without good reason
to the contrary, South should take the heart When Mitchell laid down the third high
finesse. heart, the ace, Roth produced the second
pat of the 20-minute huddle. In Roth’s
The true point of this problem, however, position, what do you play, and why?
was to plan the play correctly to exploit the
2-2 break of trumps if it existed. Solution:
We’ll give the complete deal instead of
Defensive Hand 2B stands out in our only the West hand and dummy....
minds because one play by declarer, Victor
South dealer North he hoped for did not come off — the cards
Both vul ßQ2 were wrong. If the defender who took this
˙ J 10 7 6 club trick had to lead a spade from the king
∂AQ64 or put dummy in with a heart, the contract
ç932 would be in the bag, but as the diagram
West (Roth) East (Stone) shows, this was not the case, and Mitchell
ßJ943 ß K 10 8 5 had to go down.
˙42 ˙9853
∂ J 10 9 8 ∂732 We’ve always felt that this was one of the
ç J 10 4 çK8 finest hands ever played against us “across
South (Mitchell) the board” — in fact it was a difficult deci-
ßA76 sion for us to make, whether to present this
˙AKQ gem from the standpoint of declarer’s play
∂K5 or defense. For the purposes of this contest,
çAQ765 we feel that contestants who discarded a
spade as Roth did at Trick 4 (on the third
South West North East lead of hearts) should cite as the “why” of
1ç pass 1∂ pass this play the same declarer’s hand Roth
2˙ pass 4˙ pass jotted down as the basis for his decision—
4ß pass 5ç pass namely: ß A x x ˙ A K Q ∂ K x ç A Q x x x
6ç (all pass)
Without this realistic visualization, based
Roth, West, led the ∂J — and right there on the bidding and the initial plays of a
came the first half of the 20-minute hiatus brilliant declarer—which Victor Mitchell
referred to previously. Then, in rapid order, is—there would be little for Roth or contes-
came: ∂4 from dummy, deuce from Stone, tants to go by, and the decision whether to
and king from Mitchell, followed by the ruff or discard at Trick 4 would smack of
king, queen and ace of hearts laid down by guessing. (Of course, we do not mean that
declarer. Stone played the ˙9 on the king exact cards must be mentioned instead of
and the ˙8 on the queen. the x’s in Roth’s on-the-spot hypothesis.)
When Mitchell laid down the third high It is probably redundant to say that if
heart, the ace, Roth produced the second Roth had ruffed the third heart, the de-
pat of the 20-minute huddle. In Roth’s fense would have been wrecked. Mitch-
position, what do you play, and why? ell would have won any return, finessed
against the club king, drawn trumps, and
Roth, after his long huddle, jotted some- used the club nine in dummy for an entry.
thing down on a piece of paper, then picked His two low spades then would have gone
up his hand again and discarded a spade. off on the good heart and good diamond.
Mitchell did not give up, After he had As a final word, note that Mitchell’s plan
laid down his three heart honors he led a of play (his cashing the top hearts) would
diamond to the ace, and then finessed to have succeeded against the best defense if
the queen of trumps. The finesse winning, the cards had been distributed in several
he cashed the trump ace and led a low different favorable ways.
trump, but, unluckily for him, the end-play
From Matthew Granovetter’s book

Murder at the Bridge Table
Chapter 3: The best bid is pass
Plot background: I receive a package in The Cavendish had his name on file, but none
the mail containing news clippings from 40 of the afternoon players admitted to having
years ago that a man named Marcel was found seen him for many months. At the Mayfair
murdered in a hotel room at the Embassy with Club downtown at Gramercy Park, I met Al
26 bridge hand diagrams attached to his corpse. Roth. One of the great theorists of the game,
Circles and exclamation points are found on heʼs been running a bridge and backgam-
the diagrams, which indicated criticism of mon establishment for twenty-five years, and
Marcelʼs bids and plays by a mysterious woman though he didnʼt seem to have a lot to say
named Marie. Trying to find out more informa- about Victor, he did recollect an ʻincidentʼ in
tion, I interview people who knew Marcel. In 1942 at the Embassy Hotel. Only it wasnʼt the
this chapter I meet Al Roth.... incident of murder.
“I remember that night because the bridge
Searching for support became so atrocious I left in the middle of the
game.”
I got Victor Mitchellʼs telephone number “But what about the murder?”
from New York City Information. It might as “He was an overbidder.”
well have been unlisted. No matter how many “Who was an overbidder?” I had to ask,
times I let it ring, there was never an answer. since to Al, everybody is an overbidder.
Sometimes the number would be busy. Iʼd call “The bookie — Marcel Moskowitz. He nev-
back in two minutes and get no answer (very er had his bid. Thatʼs why he lost so much.”
frustrating). Once a maid answered, “Mr. Al knew Marcel? Now I was getting some-
Mitchell will be back later.” He was alive and where. “Was he murdered? Can you tell me
living on 97th Street. That much was for sure. what actually happened that night? I heard he
Once I got lucky — his wife answered. This had quite a reputation.”
was at five in the afternoon. “Victor? Heʼs at “What that guy did to the game of bridge
the track. Heʼll be back later.” shouldnʼt happen to a side of beef.”
“Thatʼs what the maid said.” “Never mind his bridge game, Al. Were you
“Then why are you bothering me?” Click. there the night he played his last duplicate?
But he never was back later when I called. Did you know a woman by the name of Ma-
There was never an answer later. One day I rie?”
went out to Belmont to look for him. This was “He butchered every hand he played.” Al
where Marcel Moskowitz, the racetrack tout, swept his wide palm across my face missing
must have spent his days. Not only didnʼt I me by half an inch. “But his bidding made his
find Mitchell, I didnʼt find anyone else. Bel- play of the hand look good. Every ten-point
mont is closed in August. That was enough for hand he opened. A real wise guy. I warned
me. I certainly wasnʼt traveling two hundred him but he wouldnʼt listen to me. Big shot. Al-
miles up to Saratoga. ways held good hands. I never get dealt a good
So I decided to try the bridge clubs. The hand, you know. My whole life Iʼve had to do
Regency Club hadnʼt seen him in seven years. what I can with lousy cards. He always picked
up monsters. Never knew what he was doing. Exhibit #3 East dealer

Always was two tricks too high anyway.” Board 10 Both vul
I waited until Al let off some more steam. North (Marie)
Al has always been a proponent of solid open- ß2
ing bids, and the recollection of Marcelʼs light ˙ A Q 10 8 5
openings set Al off on a rampage. Just then a ∂KQ7
young, skinny kid from the back room came ç A J 10 8
into the office. “Can I ask you the meaning of West East
a bid, Mr. Roth? I opened one spade, the hand ßAQ9 ß84
on my left overcalled two clubs. My partner ˙4 ˙97632
bid two hearts, and the next hand said three ∂863 ∂ A J 10 9 4 2
diamonds. Now I bid three spades. I had ace, çK97654 ç — !!
king...” South (Marcel)
Alʼs face lit up. “Nobodyʼs got their bid,” ß K J 10 7 6 5 3
he squawked with delight. “Iʼll lay you three ˙KJ
to one right now. Not one person has their call ∂5
in this auction.” He started to chuckle as the çQ32
young fellow kept us abreast of the bidding as
it snaked its way up to the five-level. West North East South
“Finally,” he said, “I bid five notrump.” — — pass 1ß
“What happened?” I asked. 2ç 2˙ 3∂ 3ß
“Everybody passed! Now Mr. Roth, ainʼt 4∂ dbl pass 4ß
that forcing? It must mean pick a slam, right? double all pass
I mean, I bid spades three times. I got no in-
tention of playing five notrump.” Opening lead: ˙ 4
Al took my elbow and led me into the din-
ing room, leaving the kid standing there talk- “This is the worst auction Iʼve seen in fif-
ing to an empty chair. “Arenʼt you going to teen years,” Al remarked. The sequence rang
answer him, Al?” a familiar note. Wasnʼt the first round of bid-
“If I answer him heʼll be back with another ding the same as the skinny kidʼs?
insane auction. Come on, weʼll have some cof-
fee, and youʼll show me the list of hands. Be- Al got excited again. “Look at that opening
sides, the air conditioning is cooler in there.” bid of one spade. He deserves whatever he got.
We sat down and I took the photostats out The only person who comes close to having
of my jacket pocket. Al examined a couple his bid is North. See that four spade bid by
and without looking up, mumbled, “These are Marcel? He pulls his partnerʼs double out of
from a duplicate. I remember.” He remem- fear. He opens the bidding out of fear of be-
bered? ing passed out. He rebids three spades out of
How could he remember hands from forty fear of not showing his extra length. Then he
years ago? “In those days I was very enthu- pulls the double because he fears his partner
siastic. There was a Winter Nationals coming might be counting on him for something. Four
up, and I was practicing that night. I canʼt spades doubled went down two. I know this
remember who my partner was. But I remem- hand — when I played it I was South.”
ber this hand very well.” He was pointing to
deal number three. Stop bidding so much
I took a slow sip of coffee. It was illuminat-
ing to hear Al analyze the bidding of a hand suit. I could always enter the auction later
that took place so many years ago. It was even at a convenient level. If I ended up declarer
more incredible that he could recollect his I would play the hand two tricks better than
own auction on the hand. I asked him how he anyone else because I was listening to the
had bid the South cards. auction.” Al looked up. “I remember now — I
“How did I bid it? I didnʼt. I never took a passed out of turn! But West was so anxious
call.” to bid, he accepted my pass and opened one
“What? How is that possible? You must club.”
have bid your spades somewhere along the “He had two quick tricks and a rebid,” I
line.” noted.
Al looked at me like I was a novice. “We “You should take up another game if you
werenʼt playing weak two bids yet in those think the West hand is an opening bid. Before
days, so I passed and listened to the auction. you know it youʼre going to be in trouble,
Before I knew it, spades became the final con- and thatʼs just what happened. My partner
tract; only it was West who was declarer, not overcalled one heart and East, another over-
me.” Al jotted down the amazing auction: bidder, couldnʼt resist bidding his diamonds.
All he had to do was say the word ʻpassʼ, then
Exhibit #3 East dealer later bid his diamonds. That way his partner
Board 10 Both vul would have known that he held nothing but
North (Marie) diamonds. But like most players, he thought
ß2 the world was going to come to an end before
˙ A Q 10 8 5 the auction got back to him, so he had to bid
∂KQ7 his suit now.”
ç A J 10 8 “Why didnʼt you bid two spades over two
West East diamonds?”
ßAQ9 ß84
˙4 ˙97632 Al gave me another one of those looks.
∂863 ∂ A J 10 9 4 2 “Two diamonds was forcing. It sounded like
çK97654 ç — !! we were using a pinochle deck. If I passed, I
South (Marcel) couldnʼt lose anything. I would force West to
ß K J 10 7 6 5 3 take another call. If I bid two spades, West
˙KJ could weasel his way out of the auction by
∂5 passing. So I checked the backs of the cards
çQ32 and passed. Well, you see what happened.
West, out of fear of raising the auction an-
West North East South (Al) other level, bid his three-card spade suit.
— — — pass East, out of fear of a misfit took the easy way
1ç 1˙ 2∂ pass out of the auction by passing. And there I was
2ß all pass defending two spades with seven of them.”
“I passed. I had no qualms about pass- ʻWhen in doubt, bidʼ is ridiculous advice
ing for two reasons. One, I didnʼt have two I didnʼt comment on Alʼs failure to double
quick tricks. I expected the auction would get two spades. It was obvious that the opponents
competitive, and I didnʼt want my partner to had a superior contract. And though I knew
count on me defensively. Two, I had the spade from experience that the popular advice,
“When in doubt, bid” is not correct, I hadnʼt Exhibit #4 East dealer

really understood how easy it could be to say Board 14 Neither vul
the word ʻpassʼ and learn something about a North (Marcel)
hand before sticking your neck on the butch- ß3
erʼs block. ˙ A J 10 5
∂ A Q 10 5 2
The reasons people bid too much are a ç Q 10 8
subject for analysis in themselves. Letʼs face West East
it; most players enjoy bidding — itʼs more fun ßK975 ßAQ42
than passing, more risky, more adventurous. ˙Q763 ˙8
But itʼs also fun to win. Does this mean you ∂KJ3 ∂9874
have to be a boring, conservative bidder to ç64 çAK75
win? Can passing ever be deemed an aggres- South (Marie)
sive action? Can passing offer an aesthetic ß J 10 8 6
pleasure equal to that of bidding your head ˙K942
off? Maybe, if you use the word ʻpassʼ as an ∂ 6 !!
intelligent tactic. çJ932
A noted psychiatrist of the 1930s reflected West North East South

on this issue in a thesis about the fear of — — 1ç pass
death. “Contract bridge players demonstrate 1˙ 2∂ dbl all pass
a similar anxiety (or fear) that time is running
out. In the auction of a hand, the player feels Opening lead: çK
he must bid a suit at any cost, even vulner- Result: down 1
able, or risk losing the opportunity. In the
same way, players of life feel they must enter The auction seemed innocent enough. East
into every avenue of temptation that comes had opened one club and West responded one
their way, out of fear of missing that one heart. Marcel, in the North position, stuck
great miraculous moment. ʻIs life passing me in a two diamond overcall, and East made a
by?ʼ their subconscious asks. Likewise, the dubious business double. It worked though,
contract player, with little to risk but a poor Marcel going down one. Marcel and Marie
score, enters the bidding on risky values in the must have received a poor matchpoint score
fear of missing that one great miracle trump- on the board because (without the overcall)
fit.” most East-West pairs would have reached
their 4-4 spade fit at the three- or four-level,
Bidding does not equal virility and gone minus.
Later, the psychiatrist goes on to equate the
plunge into an auction on questionable values The critical circle around Marcelʼs overcall
with a show of virility. Al Rothʼs examination seemed a bit harsh, but Al had no pity. “There
of hand number four from the post-mortem are a million things wrong with that two dia-
note pad of Marcel Moskowitz falls into this mond overcall. Never mind that heʼs bidding
psychotic vein. a five-card minor suit at the two level, which
is very dangerous. Look, heʼs also jumping in
between two bidders. You gotta watch your-
self like a hawk when thereʼs bidding on your
left and on your right. It shouldnʼt shock you
when partner comes down with a Yarbor- North (Al)

ough.” ß3
˙ A J 10 5
I suggested to Al the theory that the over- ∂ A Q 10 5 2
call was made in the psychotic spirit of trying ç Q 10 8
to prove oneʼs virility at the bridge table. He West East
gave me another look. “Thereʼs virility and ßK975 ßAQ42
senility. This is senility. Heʼs bidding when itʼs ˙Q763 ˙8
not necessary. Westʼs response to the opening ∂KJ3 ∂9874
bid is forcing. That means North can always ç64 çAK75
pass, listen, and decide to come in later.” Al South (Jinks)
pointed to Northʼs heart holding. “Look at ß J 10 8 6
this. Itʼs a baby clue as to when to keep your ˙K942
mouth shut. The hand to your right bids one ∂6
of your best suits; your best tactic is to pass.” çJ932
His arm waved across my nose. “Nobody
knows this any more. In the old days when West North (Al) East South
bridge hadnʼt deteriorated to the groping-in- — — 1ç pass
the-dark bidding of todayʼs young players, the 1˙ pass 1ß pass
art of trapping was common strategy.” 2ß dbl
The lost arts of passing, trapping and scouting “The second I heard West bid hearts, I shut
I think most reasonable players know up,” said Al. “I was very happy if they contin-
that when your opponent opens the bidding ued in that suit. Furthermore, the last thing
in your strongest suit, itʼs best to pass with- I wanted to do was stop them from finding a
out showing too much concern. Only a rank spade fit, since with my singleton, it was obvi-
beginner doubles the opening bid of one heart ous my partner held at least four spades. This
with long hearts. Nor should you overcall is another point of interest for your readers.
when you hold the opponentsʼ suit. You donʼt When you start overcalling and bidding with
want to do anything to impede their bidding singletons, you often succeed in preventing the
when you are looking at a robust trump stack, opponents from finding a fit in a suit where
and the potential for a juicy penalty. Well, your partner is loaded! Anyway, I passed
here was a case that resembled the trap pass one heart, knowing I could come in later if I
in second seat, only this time it was in fourth judged the auction to be dying out. When East
seat. bid one spade and West raised to two spades,
it sounded like it might end there, and, more
Al went on to demonstrate why passing importantly, they had located a fit. So I bal-
with their suit can work on an even higher anced with a double.”
level of strategy. “I also sat North on this
hand. Here was my auction:” This is where I stopped Al. Why hadnʼt he
simply bid his diamonds? What was this dou-
I jotted it down for future reference. ble in the middle of an auction? How could it
be takeout for the unbid suits when only one
suit was unbid?
Al held up his index finger. “The first North (Al)

double, in the middle of any auction in which ß3
partner has yet to act, is takeout. Thatʼs a rule ˙ A J 10 5
of competitive bidding. The hand thatʼs short ∂ A Q 10 5 2
in the last-bid suit is the hand that should ç Q 10 8
strive to get in the bidding. I often pass for a West East
while on a good hand until their auction hits ßK975 ßAQ42
my singleton; then I double. The double is ˙Q763 ˙8
takeout of the suit most recently bid. In other ∂KJ3 ∂9874
words, forget about the suits that have been ç64 çAK75
bid along the way. I donʼt care if theyʼve bid South (Jinks)
seven suits and then I double two spades — it ß J 10 8 6
means takeout of spades.” ˙K942
∂6
Actually I have used this delayed takeout çJ932
double myself (sometimes to my partnerʼs
confusion). I was happy to hear somebody ex- West North (Al) East South
press the theory in a way that made it sound — — 1ç pass
easy. Double means takeout of whatever suit 1˙ pass 1ß pass
was just bid. When you think about it, why 2ß dbl pass 3˙
should Al bid his diamonds with adequate dbl all pass
support for two other suits? It was quite pos-
sible that North-Southʼs best contract was a “I understand your double, Al. But many
suit that had already been mentioned by the players would have been confused.”
opponents! The one club opening bid cer- “Only a child would be confused. Come to
tainly could have been on a three-card suit. think of it, I was playing with a child, and he
And the one heart response, though it showed understood me perfectly. His name was Jinks,
four cards in hearts, could have been made on Jinks Barkowsky. He was the gofer of the
a poor suit. In fact, this was the case. Look at club.”
the rest of the auction: “Gopher?”
“Yeah, go for this, go for that. He was a
nervous kid with a stutter. But he was a real
whiz. Quick to learn. He not only understood
my double as takeout, but realized that one
of my best suits must be hearts because I
had passed the one heart response the round
before.
“Now look how he played the hand. Never
mind the double of three hearts which was
foolish on only queen-fourth of trumps. After
East cashed the ace-king of clubs, and gave
partner a ruff, West led a spade to Eastʼs ace.
A spade return to Westʼs king, trumped in
dummy, left this position:
North (dummy) You might call this silence by Al on the first

ß— round ʻscoutingʼ. When his partner finally got
˙ A J 10 to be declarer, he was aided by a wealth of in-
∂ A Q 10 5 2 formation gathered from the opponentsʼ bid-
ç— ding. After East won the first two club tricks
West East and gave West a ruff, Jinks could call the
ß97 ßQ4 shape of the East-West hands. East had shown
˙Q76 ˙8 up with four cards in clubs and West had bid
∂KJ3 ∂9874 hearts showing at least four. Thus, East could
ç— ç5 hold at most one heart; in fact, he must have
South (Jinks) exactly one because, with a heart void, he
ßJ8 would have had a five-card suit to bid instead
˙K942 of his four-card club suit. Indeed, if East had
∂6 four clubs and one heart, and opened the bid-
çJ ding one club, he could not have a five-card
diamond or spade suit, so his shape had to be
“In dummy, and needing the rest of the exactly 4-1-4-4. This left West with precisely
tricks, Jinks counted East for the spade ace- 4-4-3-2.
queen and club ace-king, thirteen points. West
had shown the king of spades and must have You might find all this counting difficult at
originally held four hearts to the queen for first, but the strategy of scouting before bid-
his one heart response. The greedy double ding to your best contract can often make a
and Eastʼs failure to bid up to three spades difference between a top and a bottom.
indicated that West had one more king. Jinks,
with a good mental picture of the opposing Al had time to look at one more hand from
hands, led the ten of hearts to his king, fi- Marcelʼs list. This one also showed how a
nessed the diamond king, cashed the ace, and little investigative work can be accomplished
trumped a diamond in his hand. When the by hiding in the bushes while the opponents
jack fell, he finessed the heart queen and drew reveal their distribution. The fact is, most
the last trump, dummyʼs diamonds being bridge players donʼt have the patience to pass
high.” forcing bids and listen. Yet animals with much
less intelligence do it quite naturally. Take the
It was a well-played hand, indeed. Three cagey Tibetan mountain lion; he stalks behind
hearts doubled making three by North-South the bushes up to three hours waiting for his
was a phenomenal result considering that the prey to arrive. Some stakeouts last longer. The
first person to bid the suit was West. The main stakeout of a detective often lasts all night as
point was that if East-West had never bid, the exhausted scout waits in a car for some
Jinks, South, would never have been able to sign of his suspect. The stakeout of a bridge
place all the cards and make nine tricks. Alʼs player is easy in comparison. Does it take
pass of one heart not only enabled his side to much endurance to pass and wait for a few
reach the best contract, but also gave Jinks seconds until the bidding comes back around
the opportunity to listen to the bidding before the table?
playing the hand.
Exhibit #5 North dealer I asked Al if he remembered playing the

Board 13 Both vul hand. “I was also North,” he answered rub-
North (Marcel) bing his temple. “Though itʼs funny, my recol-
ßAJ543 lection is that I was playing with a woman
˙J874 by the name of Little Lulu. But why I was
∂ 10 playing with her on this hand I have no idea. I
çA63 remember because I made a good pass on the
West East first round of the auction which helped Little
ßKQ986 ß 10 7 2 Lulu play the hand.”
˙3 ˙ Q 10 5
∂AKJ63 ∂Q82 Al had passed again? Here was the auction
ç97 ç J 10 8 4 at his table:
South (Marie)
ß— West Al East Little lulu
˙AK962 pass pass 1˙
∂9754 dbl pass 1 NT pass
çKQ52 2ß 4˙ all pass
West North East South Indeed, Al had passed Westʼs takeout

— pass pass 1˙ double. Since he knew he was going to game
dbl redbl pass pass in hearts, he decided to take advantage of
1ß dbl all pass any gratuitous bidding the opponents might
engage in. He craftily allowed East to reveal
Opening lead: ∂10 something about his hand; whatever East
Result: down 1 bid would help South read the shape and
high cards when she eventually declared four
North scores three ruffs, underleading club hearts. Al explained this scouting maneuver,
ace twice!! and had critical words to say about Westʼs
takeout double as well.
“Ridiculous bidding by North,” Al com-
mented. “To double the opponents in a “Westʼs double was wrong, but was the
partscore holding four-card support for sort of double made in those days. A takeout
partnerʼs long suit bears no relationship to double is supposed to show support for three
the game of bridge.” I showed Al the circle suits, not two. Todayʼs young bridge players
already marked around Marcelʼs double. The make a different mistake with the West cards.
exclamation points (marked by Marcel him- They cuebid two hearts, the Michaels conven-
self, and usually reserved for criticism of oth- tion, to show 5-5 in spades and a minor. This
ers) must have been egotistical compliments of bid backfires when South becomes declarer
his own defense, his double underlead of the and takes all the finesses in clubs and hearts
club ace to reach Marieʼs hand for two ruffs. through the East hand. The correct bid over
Nevertheless, Marcelʼs so-called excellent one heart is a simple one spade overcall.
defense (wouldnʼt tapping the West hand also When you have a five-card major you should
hold declarer to six tricks?) was no excuse for just overcall and hope to find three-card sup-
his failure to raise partner to game with four port from partner.” Al stared at me like he
trumps, two aces, and a singleton. was waiting for an answer. I nodded in agree-
ment. Who wouldnʼt?
“Anyway, getting back to the actual auc- ers would go wrong. But Little Lulu had the
tion, I passed the takeout double because it advantage of hearing the opponentsʼ bidding
was forcing. The next two bids by the oppo- for one full round.”
nents gave Little Lulu a good picture of the
whole deal.” I jotted down the position with Little Lulu
on play in dummy:
North (Al)
ßAJ543 North (Dummy)
˙J874 ßAJ54
∂ 10 ˙8
çA63 ∂—
West East çA63
ßKQ986 ß 10 7 2 West East
˙3 ˙ Q 10 5 ßQ986 ß 10 7
∂AKJ63 ∂Q82 ˙— ˙ 10 5
ç97 ç J 10 8 4 ∂J6 ∂—
South (Little Lulu) ç97 ç J 10 8 4
ß— South (Little Lulu)
˙AK962 ß—
∂9754 ˙A96
çKQ52 ∂9
çKQ52
West Al East Little lulu
pass pass 1˙ Al went on to explain how Lulu counted
dbl pass 1 NT pass Eastʼs hand. East was known to hold three
2ß 4˙ all pass hearts and less than four spades because of his
failure to bid one spade over Westʼs takeout
Opening lead: ∂K double. This left East with at least seven mi-
nor-suit cards. Eastʼs choice of one notrump
“After the opening diamond lead, West made the chances of his holding a five-card
switched to the spade king and Little Lulu, minor very slim. After a takeout double, he
not wanting to commit herself, trumped in her would be much more likely to bid a five-card
hand.” suit if he had one than to bid one notrump.
“She couldnʼt be sure which minor to pitch This meant that East held either 4-4 in the
from,” I commented. minors or 4-3 one way or the other. With a
sure diamond loser and a possible club loser
“Lulu was an underrated player because (if clubs did not divide 3-3), Lulu discarded
she was a quiet, elderly little woman. But as her last diamond on dummyʼs spade ace, but
youʼll see, she was a declarer who worked did not finesse against Eastʼs heart ten just
hard at counting the opponentsʼ hands. She yet. If East held four clubs, she would still
ruffed a diamond in dummy and led the jack have to ruff one. Since she had counted Eastʼs
of hearts forcing the cover of the queen from hand, and knew he had at least three clubs
East. The one notrump bid had helped her originally, it was safe to test that suit before
figure the 3-1 heart break. Then she ruffed a wasting dummyʼs last trump. Little Lulu led
second diamond. Hereʼs where most declar-
out three rounds of clubs ending in dummy. I had to ask Al why I had never heard of
When East did show up with four of them, the this exceptional Little Lulu who declared
position looked like this: hands so well. He told me she was one of his
first students and had taken up the game late
North (Dummy) in life. “Any average player who listens to the
ßJ54 auction, and does some elementary counting
˙8 can ruff out their losers and pick up finesses
∂— that the opponents reveal in the bidding.”
ç—
West East I heard the office phone ring and Al was
ßQ98 ß 10 paged. Suddenly it occurred to me that both
˙— ˙ 10 5 Little Lulu and Jinks were at the Bucket Oʼ
∂J ∂— Blood on the morning following Marcelʼs
ç— çJ death. Yet instead of asking questions about
South (Little Lulu) the case, I had been listening to bridge hands.
ß— Was there a connection between them and the
˙A96 murder? What about Marcelʼs partner, Ma-
∂— rie?
ç5
By now Al had to be a bit off his guard, and
Little Lulu trumped a spade in her hand, any incriminating question could be cloaked
and trumped her five of clubs in dummy. Not in further small talk. So, when he returned
only had she got rid of all her losers, but she I rose to shake his hand and say goodbye.
ended up leading a spade off dummy at trick Then, as nonchalantly as I could, I asked him
twelve through Eastʼs ten-five of trumps. She if he had ever met this woman named Marie.
overruffed the heart five with the nine, and
scored the last trick with the trump ace. Mak- His answer left me deeper in the dark than
ing twelve tricks was a top. before. “I donʼt remember ever meeting any
woman player by that name.”
The full hand repeated:
North (Al) I shook my head in disbelief. How could
ßAJ543 he not recall the chief suspect of my investiga-
˙J874 tion, yet remember three bridge hands played
∂ 10 over forty years ago –– from the very same
çA63 night that she had partnered Marcel?
West East
ßKQ986 ß 10 7 2
˙3 ˙ Q 10 5 [End of excerpt]
∂AKJ63 ∂Q82
ç97 ç J 10 8 4
South (Little Lulu)
ß—
˙AK962
∂9754
çKQ52
At the Table Mastersolvers*
by Alvin Roth
I am very pleased with the great response tage of. [Editor’s note: Roth is speaking of
to At the Table Master Solvers. The actual the opponents’ twitches.] That is why I was
result is what counts in real life, so why not so feared in my heyday, and that is what is
in a fun bidding panel as well? I’ve been a missing in our present team games’ format
contributor to bidding panels all my life and — the human element, meeting your oppo-
the answers that achieved top scores were nents face to face, and as you take a danger-
rarely my answers, which, in real life went ous action, you smile and wink at them.
against the field and were based on judg- The problems for this issue were not all the
ment. Yet in real life, how often I was right. best choices for this format, because some-
But at the table is so very different from the times it’s difficult to tell how the crucial bid
written test. At the table one sometimes sees will turn out. Also, I don’t approve of some
a twitch, a blush, a shifting of feet, some of the early bids on these problems, even
sign that gives you a hint of an adversary’s though these were the bids made at the
thinking, which you catch and take advan- table. In all problems, you are South.
1. Matchpoints, not vul vs. vul, you hold: violation of partnership trust. I have shown
ß A K 9 2 ˙ 10 9 ∂ Q J 8 7 3 ç J 6 a mild two-suiter with values, which is
what I have. My offense/defense ratio is
West North East South fractionally higher than might be expected,
1ç pass 1˙ double but it is only marginal. It is not my place
2˙ 2ß 4˙ ? to make decisions with an entirely normal
hand for the auction so far.”
This is a simple problem: Pass or take the
sacrifice. The majority opinion is for pass. Doesn’t partner also trust that I will use
For example: good judgment? Or must he make all the
decisions? As to offense versus defense, the
Kit Woolsey: “Pass. Not remotely a prob- bidding lowers the chance that the ace-
lem. I have just about what partner can king of spades will cash and after that from
expect me to have for the auction, and the where do you expect to take tricks? Many
final decision is his to make.” readers also argued for a pass:
I disagree. It is certainly a problem and Chuck Arthur (Unionville, ON): “Pass.

there are many strengths and shapes I could To bid again at this point would be the
have had for my takeout double. same as preempting twice.”
Barry Rigal: “Bidding would be a gross I have news for Mr. Arthur. I approve
wholeheartedly of preempting and bidding
*first published July 1996 again, when you have an unusual preempt.
The old rule of preempting and then re- I accept the winning bid of 4ß, though
maining silent was thrown out years ago. it obviously could be wrong. Your defense is
poor — but make the ∂Q the king and you
Andrew Ofiesh (Needham, MA): “Pass. would pass — and you have the vulnerabil-
I have nothing extra in my hand that was ity in your favor. Also, one big thing you
not implied by my first bid. If it is right to have going for you is that there are times
sacrifice, my partner should know it. How the opponents will bid 5˙ and go down,
is my “At the table” score determined? Who which is the biggest gain for you at match-
will decide whether my partner would have points or imps.
sacrificed?”
Editor: “Allow me to insert here that
Your partner can also say to himself: “If many of the readers commented on the Law
it was right to sacrifice, my partner would of Total Tricks. Some of them said that the
have done it.” As to the scores, they are Law suggested that they bid 4ß. Others
determined by the actual hand at the table said that the Law made pass a clear call. So
and what happened. In this case, I am told I enlisted the help of Larry Cohen, who is
that South passed and North also passed. the expert on the Law and how to apply it.
Here was the full deal: Here is what he had to say.”
West dealer North Larry Cohen: “Pass. My instincts and

E-W vul ßJ764 experience are trying to get me to bid 4ß. It
˙J6 just always seems right to bid 4ß over 4˙
∂92 (if in doubt), especially at this vulnerability.
çA9843 However, haven’t I already described my
West East hand? I said I had diamonds and spades
ß 10 3 ßQ85 — and I do. I don’t have any distributional
˙AK82 ˙Q7543 surprises, and in fact 2-2 is the worst shape
∂54 ∂ A K 10 6 for bidding on.”
ç K 10 7 5 2 çQ
South Roth: Sounds to me like he wants to bid
ßAK92 4ß but has talked himself out of it.
˙ 10 9
∂QJ873 Larry Cohen (continued): “Regarding
çJ6 the LAW, we don’t really know how many
trumps there are. We probably have eight
West North East South spades (with five, pard will probably be
1ç pass 1˙ double saving no matter what we do). How many
2˙ 2ß 4˙ ? hearts do they have? We don’t know. Pard
will have a better idea. If he is short, say,
The winning bid is 4ß, which is prob- 4-1 in the majors, he’ll probably save. If
ably down 500, a great matchpoint sacrifice, he’s 4-2 or 4-3 in the majors, he won’t save.
since almost no one found it in real life. In the latter two cases there are 16 or 17
The scoring here is simple: trumps and saving is unlikely to be right.
Also, a lot depends on the minor-suit fit. If
4ß 10 partner has stuff in diamonds and nothing
pass 0
in clubs there will be extra tricks, and we problem. Despite holding the two missing
should save. If he has club stuff (not dia- suits and holding a hand that seems natural
mond cards), there will be fewer tricks and to double for takeout, in the long run South
we shouldn’t save. Again, partner is the one would gain by overcalling 1ß instead! Now
who should be making the decision. He’ll the problem of whether to sacrifice will
know that diamond cards suggest bidding clearly be your partner’s and he can take a
on and club cards suggest defending. In much easier save knowing the number of
summary: 1) Instincts aside, it is partner- trumps he holds and honors in their suits.
ship (captaincy) bridge to leave this decision He might bid 3ß preemptive immediately
to partner. I’ve already shown my hand. or he might bid 2ß and then later judge
2) The LAW is difficult to apply from our to save in 4ß. But once you overcall 1ß,
side of the table. We don’t know how many you are out of the picture. The overcall of
hearts they have or the degree of double-fit. 1ß will also work when partner has three
However, partner should be able to make spades and competes to 2ß on a deal that
the winning LAW decision. Pass and leave it they can make only 2˙. What did the dou-
up to him.” bler expect to accomplish? Suppose it went:
West dealer North you

E-W vul ßJ764 West North East South
˙J6 1ç pass 1˙ double
∂92 2˙ pass pass ?
çA9843
West East How are you going to get to 2ß, the
ß 10 3 ßQ85 matchpoint winner? Thus, the lesson here
˙AK82 ˙Q7543 to remember is that the overcall is often
∂54 ∂ A K 10 6 superior to the takeout double, especially
ç K 10 7 5 2 çQ when the auction may get competitive and
South you don’t want to be put on the spot at the
ßAK92 four-level.
˙ 10 9
∂QJ873
çJ6 2. Matchpoints, vul vs. not, you hold:
ß 3 ˙ A J 7 5 ∂ A 6 4 2 ç J 10 6 5
1ç pass 1˙ double West North East South
2˙ 2ß 4˙ ? 2 ß* double 4ß ?
Roth: As you can see from the hand, *5-5, spades and another, 6-10 pts.
these arguments don’t work on this deal.
Partner held four spades, a doubleton heart This is the toughest problem of the set,
and no diamond fit, yet the sacrifice was mostly because North-South is faced with
right. Which goes to show how difficult an unusual weak 2ß bid. At most tables
this problem really is. And now I am go- West would pass and this problem would
ing to surprise you all by suggesting a bet- never take place. Here was the full deal:
ter solution — a solution to eliminate the
West dealer North which must be negative all the way up. In
N-S vul ß A K 10 situations like this, 4NT is temporarily a
˙ K Q 10 6 3 pure power bid and not necessarily for the
∂3 minors. To play it safe, North should rebid
çAKQ7 5ß over 4NT and now South bids 6˙.
West East North might pass or bid 7˙ now — much
ßQJ762 ß9854 will depend on how you are doing at the
˙82 ˙94 time. If you needed matchpoints badly, bid
∂ K 10 9 7 5 ∂QJ8 7˙. Who knows? The opponents might bid
ç3 ç9842 7ß. Nevertheless, the at-the-table disaster
South that actually occurred after 4NT forces this
ß3 bid to receive a lower score than I would
˙AJ75 like. I enjoyed this reader’s comment:
∂A642
ç J 10 6 5 Peter Schwartz (Cote St. Luc, Quebec):
“4NT. It’s poker, but I see no alternative.”
2 ß* double 4ß ? I agree that the vulnerability is such that
you can play poker with your opponents,
*5-5, spades and another, 6-10 pts. but sometimes your partner is not in on
the game. The simplest bid on the hand is
The at-the-table average on this board 5˙, but it is much too big a position facing
was 1460. So if you reached 6ç or 6NT, a hand that may contain only three-card
you’d get a poor score. In order for North- support. On this deal, 5˙ will get you to
South to get any matchpoints, they had to slam, so it must receive a decent score, un-
arrive at 6˙, and, if pushed, by a miracle fortunately. The most popular answer was
play 7˙, which is easy to bid without inter- double, which is the winner. But what does
ference: it mean? Romain Jacques (Hull, Quebec):
North South “Double. Responsive, showing cards, no
1˙ 3 ˙ (limit or whatever) great suit.”
4 NT 5˙
7˙ That’s right.
At the table South bid 4NT. North bid Warren Chang (New York City): “Double.
5˙ thinking it was forcing with slam val- 4NT would ask partner to pick a contract
ues. North thought that South was bidding on the five-level, but do I really want to be
mainly for the minors and would correct there?”
5˙. But South passed 5˙ fearing he was
light for his 4NT bid. How do we rate the Another good point. If partner passes the
calls for South? To begin with, some of the double, it may be your only plus score, as
bids that would help reach the top spots are Kit Woolsey points out:
impossible and as director of this feature
I must forbid them. For example, 5ß, or Woolsey: “Double. Clearly I must not
anything higher, may work but is impos- pass, since this figures to be our hand and
sible! How can you drive to a slam with this this is not a forcing situation. I have no
holding? I personally like 4NT or double,
reason to expect to be able to take 11 tricks The following comment from a winning
and every reason to expect to defeat 4ß, so player is on the mark:
double is called for.”
Larry Cohen: “Double. No reason to
West dealer North believe we can take 11 tricks — especially
N-S vul ß A K 10 since one of our side suits won’t split.”
˙ K Q 10 6 3
∂3 This was a good point that was over-
çAKQ7 looked. The opening bidder showed a
West East second suit, so one of our minors is useless.
ßQJ762 ß9854 At the table, what would happen after a
˙82 ˙94 double? Partner must surely envision a slam
∂ K 10 9 7 5 ∂QJ8 and has room to bid Blackwood, which will
ç3 ç9842 easily lead to a grand slam. Here are the
South scores:
ß3
˙AJ75 Double 10
∂A642 5˙ 9
ç J 10 6 5 4NT 8
anything else 0
2 ß* double 4ß ? 3. Imp Pairs, all vul, you hold:
ßKQ763˙A5∂—çK86542
*5-5, spades and another, 6-10 pts.
The next two comments refer to LOTT.* — 1˙ 5∂ ?
I am not familiar with this, but I believe
that there is too much going on at the table Here we have a problem in which clear-
to replace judgment with formulas. cut partnership understandings are neces-
sary. When an unusually huge preempt
Rigal: “Double. Responsive, asking part- takes place, what do your calls mean? To
ner to pass except with extra distribution. begin with, the bid of 5NT must mean: Pick
I know all the suits split well for them and another suit at the six level. These next two
badly for us. I have to hope we can cash readers made the right remarks:
our aces. The LOTT (facing a 2-3-4-4) sug-
gests 18 tricks.”* Dai Liu (St. John’s, Newfoundland):
“5NT. Asks North to bid 6 of a black suit.”
Gerwin van Eersel (Leiden, Netherlands):

*LOTT refers to the Law Of Total Tricks. Roth was “5NT. Partner will have his points outside
familiar with the concept “the more trumps the bet- of diamonds, which makes slam likely to
ter to declare” but not with the formula. According succeed.”
to this, however, if we can make 11 tricks, we will
collect only down three against 4ß doubled (7 tricks Let’s see how this would work on the
for them).— the editor actual deal:
North dealer ß A J 10 2 tive? Mr. Roth used to play negative dou-

All vul ˙KJ987 bles through 7ß.”
∂5
çAQ7 Let’s clear this up once and for all —
ß94 ß85 Negative doubles are for hands that cannot
˙6432 ˙ Q 10 be bid in any other normal way. This hand
∂QJ8 ∂ A K 10 9 7 6 4 3 2 is not a negative double, because (1) you
ç J 10 9 3 ç— have an easy way to show the two suits, and
ßKQ763 (2) you do not want your partner to pass.
˙A5
∂— Rigal: “Double. No answer looks in the
çK86542 slightest degree attractive. Since any com-
mittal bid (5˙/5ß/6ç) is not only poten-
West North East South tially catastrophic but also may lead partner
— 1˙ 5∂ ? not to overrule us (e.g., if you open:
ß A x ˙ K 10 9 x x x ∂ x x ç A J x,
North would bid 6ß over 5NT, assum- you might pass 5ß from me; and with
ing again that North understood the bid as ßAJxx˙KQxxx∂KxxçQ
takeout for the other two suits. Thus 6ß you would be happy to pass 6ç) and the
would be the final contract unless East went longer we take the more ethical pressure we
on to 7∂. Now a forcing pass by South put partner under. I double in tempo and
would tempt North to bid 7ß. hope that my partner removes with extra
distribution.”
As for other bids, at the table 5ß will get
you to a small slam, but it would lead to Absolutely wrong. You can’t possibly
disaster if partner didn’t have support. promise the other major with a double at
the five-level. I don’t even promise it at
Woolsey: “5ß. A real nightmare. Too the one-level! Again, the easy 5NT bid was
strong to pass, and the diamond void sug- overlooked. Finally, from Larry Cohen:
gests bidding rather than doubling, but we
have to guess the proper strain and there Cohen: “Double. Same comments as in
is no decent way to get partner’s help. The Problem #2!”
queen of spades argues for that trump suit,
and 5ß is a bit more flexible than other This is not possible. Problem #2 was a
calls in case we belong somewhere else.” 4-4-4-1 hand. This is a 6-5 hand. May I
remind everyone, including the experts,
I have to think he overlooked 5NT. Even that in my heyday at the end of a session I
6˙ makes on this deal, so any bid you make would ask my partner how many problems
might get you a reasonable score, if the did I give him in the bidding. And if I did
opponents don’t sacrifice. The bid of 6ç, my job, the answer was zero. Double on this
however, will probably get you only 800 hand is an easy way to drive a partner nuts.
against 6∂ doubled. Finally, there is one At-the-table scores are:
call I never considered and can’t explain,
but many made it, so let’s look at it: 5NT 10 6ç 3
5ß 8 double 0, a big 0
Joe Machotka (Chicago): “Double. Nega-
4. Imp Pairs, vul vs. not, you hold: These five-point ranges are pretty wide,
ß76542˙874∂K7çKJ3 don’t you think? I agree that this spade suit
is not worth showing.
— — 1ç pass Rigal: “Pass. This really depends en-
pass double pass 1ß tirely on partnership agreements. I think a
pass 1 NT pass ? 2NT bid shows 19-21, hence double then
notrump shows 16-18. Perhaps the expert
The editors presented this problem and idea that 1NT over 1ç or 1∂ shows 10-13™
I thought it was a bad one. To play in 1NT and double then 1NT shows 14-17 is a sen-
seems too normal to me and I would predict sible one. You have room over the minors
a cold average. Would any South think of to bid this way because partner normally
bidding 2NT? Well, I was wrong. The an- responds at the one-level, while over 1˙ or
swers to this problem were amazing. Maybe 1ß you don’t have enough space. In any
the readers were tricked into bidding be- event, if the partnership maximum is no
cause it was included as a “problem.” One more than 25 and I have no honors in my
thing is for sure: Nobody agrees what the long suit, I am bailing out.”
range of a balancing 1NT is.
I like the answer but I am worried about
Jacek Gackowski (Grudziadz, Poland): his idea of what the expert community is
“2NT. I assume that the reopening 1NT doing. Can you risk a 1NT balance on 10-
would be 12-15, so partner is about 16-18 11 points after 1ç and then hear a double
HCP strong. I think You should attach a and then start hiding under the table? And
summary of American Standard. It would haven’t you ever gotten a good score — per-
be helpful for players who are not familiar haps a top score — from passing out 1ç
with this system.” with scattered points and nothing but clubs?
I have a small surprise for you. The Woolsey: “Pass. In the balancing seat,
reopening 1NT is 14 to 16 over 1ç. This double followed by a one-notrump rebid
is because you have plenty of room for a shows a hand of strong notrump strength.
double or overcall and, at least in money This hand is not worth a move opposite a
bridge, when your 1NT gets doubled you strong notrump, and there is no reason to
will go for your shirt. The double followed expect that spades is superior since partner
by 1NT is 16-18, as this reader suggests. definitely doesn’t have four-card support.”
So then why bid? Your hand is not a good
seven points, is it? Very well said. Now here are three good
answers from the readers:
Cohen: “2NT. Question of agreements,
really. What range is pard showing? I be- Nick Martino (Venice CA): “Pass. Partner
lieve that a 1NT balance is about 10-14 to is showing 15 to 18. Game will be marginal
15, and this auction shows 14/15 to 19. at best.”
Therefore, I issue an invitation. It’s not
clear what 2ç would mean, so I won’t risk John Boyer (New York City): “Pass. Part-
it, as I don’t believe it’s crucial to get spades ner has a strong notrump. Even red at imps,
into the picture.” game seems far away.”
4. Imp Pairs, vul vs. not, you hold: East dealer North
ß76542˙874∂K7çKJ3 E-W vul ß K J 10
˙AJ
West North East South ∂AQ52
— — 1ç pass ç Q 10 8 4
pass double pass 1ß West East
pass 1 NT pass ? ß983 ßAQ
˙ Q 10 9 2 ˙K653
Naveed Ather (Oakville, Ontario): “Pass. ∂ 10 8 6 4 3 ∂J9
Where’s the trick potential?” ç6 çA9752
South
The last remark was an excellent one ß76542
from a reader who scored 39 on this set. ˙874
∂K7
Now let’s review the ranges so we will be çKJ3
clear on them for the future:
West North East South — — 1ç pass
1ç pass pass 1 NT pass double pass 1ß
pass 1 NT pass ?
This 1NT shows 14-16.
South passed. After a heart lead, 1NT
West North East South made 90. Even two spades is down one after
1ç pass pass 2 NT a club lead and eventual heart shift, so the
point here is to stay low. The anti-editor,
Two notrump shows a good 18 to 20. however, claims it is not so easy to pass with
the South hand.
1ç pass pass double Pamela G: “At the table, I was South and
pass 1∂, 1˙, 1ß pass 1 NT thought a long time before passing. Seven
points might produce a game opposite a
The delayed 1NT shows 16 to 18. strong notrump in the North hand, for
example: ß A x ˙ A x x ∂ A Q J x ç Q 10 x x.
The full deal was this: Here nine tricks are easy: one spade, one
heart, four diamonds and three clubs.”
A perfect example, but I don’t believe

anyone should do more than think about
bidding over 1NT. Even thinking is an
overbid. At the table scores are:
Pass 10
Other bids 0
Stories and Anecdotes
from Roger Stern 7ß but he and his partner had also bid
Alvin was best at settling bidding dis- and raised diamonds along the way. His
putes. He was a great theorist and always LHO, on opening lead, started thinking, and
was looking for a better method of bidding thinking. Finally, Al, who was impatient,
if he and his partner missed the best con- blurts out his typical remark: “You’ve got
tract. He had an open mind. nothing to think about! You can’t beat me!
Your only chance is to lead a diamond and
Al was a pessimist when he played and hope your partner ruffs it. So do it!” Out
always kept his suitcases packed, in case he comes a diamond lead and Al’s RHO ruffs
would leave the tournament the next day it. “My luck,” says Al.
after losing.
Al’s mentor was Harry Fishbein who
Edgar (Kaplan) once showed me a col- taught him about the balance of power
lection of statues he had, and one was of a theory. This also was discussed by S. Gar-
bald eagle — he named that one Roth. ton Churchill. How to balance and how to
make mark time bids to keep the auction
At the table, he was better than anyone alive. Such as:
at visualizing the 52 cards. He had the best
“nose” in the game. He invented the follow- Opener Responder
ing card-showing double, common today in 1˙ 1 NT
this auction: 2∂ 2˙
West North East South This 2˙ could be made on a doubleton

1ç pass 1ß 4˙ heart with four diamonds on the side, just
pass pass double to keep the bidding low and alive in case
opener had extra values and could make a
In those days double was penalty but third bid to complete the description of his
Al suggested this double be: I have a good hand.
hand for my 1ß bid — that’s all.
One time my wife, Sandy, and I went to
Sometimes when Al saw the answer to a the movies in New York and while waiting
bridge problem, he turned into a ten year on line for a ticket, a woman overhears us
old — his face would light up like a little discussing bridge. She says: “Oh, you play
boy with toys. bridge. My husband plays too.” Oh, we
said, what is his name? “Alvin Roth.” This
One of the best stories of Al was when turned out to be Al’s first wife, whom we
he was playing at the Cavendish, in those had never met. We asked her if she ever
days a two or three-cent game, and reached played with him and she answered, “Yes but
a grand slam in spades. He was declaring he told me always to bid the minor suits.”
Pretty good memory ing with Alvin and Stony in the Vanderbilt
At one tournament, Alvin called the semifinals in Toronto. Marshall and I were
director, Al Sobel, to the table. He told him having one terrible game after another and
he recognized the hand and had played the they were bailing us out every match with
hand in a past tournament. Sobel asked one huge game after another.
Alvin to tell him about the three concealed
hands, and Alvin proceeded to call out the Alvin, of course is buying an airplane
hands card for card, including the spot ticket home for the day after each match
cards! Sobel threw out the board. we play. Finally, in the semifinals on the
penultimate hand of a close match I go for
From Jean Roth, who married Al in 1980 500 against absolutely nothing and then
and spent 27 happy years with him: on the last hand we don’t bid a marginal
Here’s how we met. I was a social bridge notrump slam that makes.
player and was at the Regency Club in
New York and there was this silver-haired Now comes the dreaded comparison out
man at the bar in what looked like a blue in the hallway ringed by interested on-
bar-mitvah suit. He starts trying to have a lookers. I should mention that my friend,
conversation with me. He says, “Are you a Harvey Cohen, who thought Marshall and
bridge player?” I say, yes. He said, “Well, do I were the living end, was also out there
you know who I am? My name is Al Roth.” waiting for the comparison. Again they
I shook my head, no, I didn’t know any had a good game, but not the monster they
Al Roth. He says, “You’re no bridge player needed to see us through. The match was
then. If you don’t know who Al Roth is.” tied with two boards to compare so I knew
we were in big trouble. Naturally we lose
That was a bit strange and I started to and Stony, who is livid, points to Harvey
leave but he kept talking, and soon we and says to all the onlookers, “And here’s a
ended up having dinner together, and he man who comes 5,000 miles to watch these
was fun after all! Of course, I never played two play.”
bridge with him, or even in his presence.
Who held the queen?
Once Al was playing rubber bridge when
from Eddie Kantar: his opponents bid to a grand slam. Declarer
I didn’t really know Al that well or spend needed to find a queen — he had a two-
any quality time with him. However, I did way guess. Coming down to A-J-10 facing
play with Marshall (Miles) against Al and the K-x-x, declarer led the jack and Alvin’s
Billy Seamon in one of the U.S. Team Tri- partner, next to play, started thinking and
als. There was a hand where we were vul- played low. Declarer let the jack ride. It
nerable against not and bid to 4˙, which won the trick but Al was sitting over the
was slated to go down two off the top. king with the queen and had allowed the
However, Billy bid 4ß, which we doubled jack to win! At the end of the hand, Al’s
and beat three tricks. Alvin’s comment to partner leaned over and saw what had hap-
Billy was: “Against this ‘reliable’ pair, you pened.
are taking a sacrifice?” “Al, how could you not win the setting
trick with the queen?!”
Another time Marshall and I were play- Al replied, “Oh, I thought you had it.”
Photo Album
The New Mayfair

Club at Gramercy
Park
Al with brothers Mike and Sydney, at the opening

of the new Mayfair Club
Jean and Alvin,

10th anniversary
in New York
“What’s the problem?”

With Omar Sharif in

Guadeloupe, 1979
Al in Hong Kong, 1994 World Cruise lecture tour

Jean and Alvin dancing at his grandson’s (Marc) bar-

mitzvah, Florida, 1991
WWII, Al and Stony saving Europe
Al with his sister,

Pauline, 1918 in the
Bronx.

The Al Roth Scrapbook

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The Al Roth Scrapbook

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May 2007

Editor: Matthew Granovetter

The Magazine for People Who Love to Play Bridge

The Al Roth Scrapbook

2 Alvin Roth 1914-2007 22 Roth Gets the Upper Hand

Alvin Roth 1914-2007

The Red Pencil

Here are two problems for you to solve. Solutions

Second problem. You hold in ﬁrst chair: Scores:

The full deal was:

South dealer North South dealer North

South West North East After a 1∂ opening bid, North is stuck

Another interesting point is that the

Talk to Doctor Roth*

Dialogues with America’s foremost bidding theorist

Al Roth: Somebody phoned me this Marcel: Excuse me, Dr. Roth?

*ﬁrst published in the September/October 1988 is-

Marcel: And not show my clubs? Marcel: So you sympathize with my

West East When you bid directly and simply, you

From “Picture Bidding” 1991

Foreword by Matthew Granovetter

Excerpts from Picture Bidding by Al Roth

The purpose of a weak two-bid is to get ß A K 10 x x x ˙ x ∂ Q J 9 8 x ç x — open 2ß

ß — ˙ A K 10 9 x x ∂ x x ç Q J x x x — open 5. Whenever you are vulnerable; espe-

ß x ˙ Q 10 x x x ∂ A K 10 x x x ç x — open 2∂ 7. Shortness in the majors and the barest

1ß-(2˙)-? spades for takeout, or bid four notrump for

* * * In general, my rule for the use of the un-

* * * In my heyday, even my passes could cre-

On the other hand, don’t hang partner,

Roth Gets a Taste of his own Medicine

Not everyone is impressed with Roth’s bidding styles. Roth would

“I picked up: ace of clubs and ruffed a club on the table.

“Kehela played the hand well. He won

Roth Gets the Upper Hand Roth Gets Tactical

What Do You Play–and Why?*

Alvin Roth and Tobias Stone

We present here four problems from this

January, 1959 With every hand that we present, we will

*Reprinted with the kind permission of Alvin Roth,

Hand 1A South West North East

Solution Holland realized, a few seconds too late,

West dealer North (Dummy) On Rubin’s opening lead of the ∂Q,

West North East South

Solution would be equally effective if South had all

The correct play by West at Trick 4 is

Hand 2A This hand occurred in the semi-ﬁnal

West North East South

Solution Next came the key play: Stone led an-

Stone led a club from dummy. East fol-

ß— Mitchell, and one play by defender Alvin

From Matthew Granovetter’s book

up monsters. Never knew what he was doing. Exhibit #3 East dealer

“When in doubt, bid” is not correct, I hadnʼt Exhibit #4 East dealer

A noted psychiatrist of the 1930s reﬂected West North East South

when partner comes down with a Yarbor- North (Al)

Al held up his index ﬁnger. “The ﬁrst North (Al)

North (dummy) You might call this silence by Al on the ﬁrst

Exhibit #5 North dealer I asked Al if he remembered playing the

West North East South Indeed, Al had passed Westʼs takeout

At the Table Mastersolvers*

I disagree. It is certainly a problem and Chuck Arthur (Unionville, ON): “Pass.

West dealer North Larry Cohen: “Pass. My instincts and

West dealer North you