Bergen 20 - Results 930
October 1, 2008 – 12:01 pmBergen 20 -9/30 Results
You are the dealer, non-vulnerable against vulnerable opponents, and this is your hand:
♠ 6 ♥ KJ632 ♦JT ♣KQ974
You have 10 HCP. Do you open in first seat? According to Marty Bergen, you should. There is a principle now dubbed a “Bergen 20 opening,” which says that if the number of cards in your two longest suits and your HCP total 20 or more, you should open the bidding.
This hand is attractive because it has a convenient rebid. If you open 1♥ and hear 1♠ or 1NT from your partner, you can easily (and cheaply) bid 2♣. If your partner bids 2♦, however, you can’t bid 3♣, because that would be a “high reverse” and indicate a hand of 17 or more HCP. Over 2♦, you’ll have to bid an uncomfortable 2NT. But you do open, and the bidding goes
You LHO Partner RHO
1♥ 1♠ 2♦ Pass
??
Now what? You can’t bid 2NT, because that would imply a spade stopper. You can’t bid 3♣, because that would imply a big hand. You can’t rebid 2♥, because that would promise a six-card suit. Right now you’re not happy about the “Bergen 20″ rule.
Pass is also the wrong bid. Your partner has made a forcing bid. “A new suit by an unpassed hand is 100 percent forcing.” The key word here is “unpassed.” If you had opened the hand in third position (meaning that your partner had passed as dealer), it would have been correct to pass (you and partner together may have fewer than half the HCP in the deck — 2♦ may not be the best place, but it’s even riskier to bid on). That’s not the case here, however.
Now let’s go across the table. This is your partner’s hand:
♠AT543 ♥Q7 ♦AQ6 ♣A85
Partner is in third seat. She heard you open 1♥, and the next player overcall 1♠. She has 16 HCP, and you have opened (and must be short in spades). Your side must have a game, but where? She shouldn’t bid 1NT, which would be a huge underbid. Some partnerships could bid 2NT, which is still an underbid, but not such a bad one. 3NT says that she has 15 or more HCP and a balanced hand. With the overcall, it would also indicate Spade stoppers. But wait. A third possibility is to play a waiting game and let you describe your hand a bit more. 2♦ is 100 percent forcing. You can’t pass. If you rebid hearts to show a six-card suit, 4♥ may be a better place to play than 3NT. If you jump or reverse to show a strong hand, slam is a strong possibility. 2♦ is a great bid, but imagine your partner’s dismay when you pass!
Here’s the whole hand:
♠ QJ9872
♥ A5
♦ K842
♣ 6
N
♠ 6 ♠ AT543
♥ KJ632 ♥ Q7
♦ JT W E ♦ AQ6
♣ KQ974 ♣ A85
S
♠ K
♥ T984
♦ 9753
♣ JT32
Because the diamond finesse wins, EW can make 3NT, 4♥, or 5♣. Only one pair played 2♦, which was down one (not too bad for a 3-2 trump fit), and a tie for bottom. The fault is really yours. You should bid 3♣ over 2♦. While 3♣ might indeed show a good hand, East should be cautious and remember that she forced you to bid. Then the bidding would go 1♥ - 1♠ - 2♦ - P - 3♣ - P - 3NT - all pass. If East is not quite so clever, the bidding would be 1♥ - 1♠ - 3NT - all pass. Or maybe 1♥ - 1♠ - 2NT - P - 3NT - all pass.
Three pairs played 3NT. Two made it exactly and one went down one. Three pairs played hearts (making 3 or 5) so perhaps three Wests rebid that 5-card suit.
Note that if West does not play Bergen 20, East will open 1♠, and the bidding will probably go P - P - 1♠ - P - 2♥ - 3NT all pass.
Results 9/30 in VH. 7.5 tables in play. 1 Sue Collinson & Nancy Neil. 2 Bill Blakesley & Cecily Greenaway. 3 Sandy & Michael Lindheimer. 4 David Donald & Michele Riel 5. Robert & Ency Fokos.
Dan Cabot is a contributing editor at The Times.
