Duplicate bridge results and tip: DONT = Disturb Opponent’s No Trump, part one

By Val Rhead

Recently, we’ve been talking about defending against No Trump contracts. Sometimes we play passively or sometimes we play aggressively. But sometimes our best defense occurs during the bidding. If the opponents have opened One No Trump, there are things that you can do, if you have some points and distribution, such as using the DONT convention (an acronym).

Sometimes it seems as though every second bid made by the opposition is One No Trump. There are good reasons for this. Opening One No trump bids are particularly valuable in helping players place hands that have strong values in the minor suits. A Three No Trump game can be easier to make than a Five Diamond or Five Club game as long as you have a few stoppers in the major suits. Also, the One No Trump opening bid, with the use of Stayman and Transfer conventions, helps players find major suit contracts.

A One No Trump bid is so useful to partnerships because it accurately describes both the shape and value of the hand in just one bid. The most common point range is 15 to 17 points. It describes a hand that is balanced or semi-balanced. Five-card majors and six-card minors are allowed. However, No Trump opening bids have become more liberal over the decades. I know some conservative social players who will refuse to open One No Trump if they don’t have all four suits stopped, or if they have a doubleton, or if they have a five-card major et cetera. Philosophically, they may think they are improving their safety, but they lose a lot of opportunities to make good scores. Recent changes even have made it legal to open One No Trump with a singleton if the singleton is an Ace, a King or a Queen and there is no doubleton. Who would believe—No Trump openings with a singleton! But isn’t a singleton Ace of Spades a more effective stopper than a worthless doubleton, such as the two and three of Spades? Previously, the worthless doubleton was legal even when the singleton Ace was not.

Now, how do you defend against this burgeoning bidding of No Trump contracts? You use DONT, or one of the other defensive conventions such as Cappelletti, that help you defend against No Trump. The acronym DONT means Disturb Opponent’s No Trump. It usually helps you to disrupt your opponents’ bidding by keeping them from finding their most lucrative game contracts. Also, it gives your side information about your holdings that will allow your defensive play of the hand to be more effective when your opponents do get the contract. Sometimes of course, DONT allows you to find a part-score contract that may give you winning points, and occasionally if you have a distributional hand, DONT allows you to bid and make a game contract. Occasionally too, it allows you to make a lucrative sacrifice bid that gives you a better score than allowing the bad guys to bid and make their contract.

You will find it useful to take the time to learn this convention. Refuse to waste your brain power on memorizing a plethora of beautiful conventions that rarely come up. But DONT is worth the space it takes in our memory because it is used so frequently. Of course, if you are going to use it, your partner has to play it also. In fact, I would like my computer to become more familiar with it too. My “Word” program has the annoying habit of “correcting” me whenever I key in the convention name. If I want to type DONT, my Word program inserts a silly apostrophe DON’T. If I want the acronym DONT to appear, I have to backspace to correct DON’T to four capital letters without the apostrophe. One of life’s minor frustrations.

Last week, I asked you what you would do if you had a six-card Spade suit headed by the Ace and King? Or, what would you do if you have some points and two five-card suits? You’ll use DONT. We will discuss it in depth next week.

If you wish to promote an activity in your bridge group or ask a bridge question, send the information to [email protected] and I will include it in this column.

HUNTSVILLE DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB

Games for the Huntsville Club are Tuesday evening 7:00, Trinity United Church 33 Main Street. Please arrive at least 15 minutes early. Contact Jan Roberts 705-635-2522 or [email protected] for information and partnerships.

The following winners are for Tuesday, Jul 3 with 20 pairs playing a Mitchell movement. North-South 1. Bev Howard and David Bryce; 2. Joanne Garvey and Barb Green; 3. Marilyn Waltho and John Waltho; 4. Sharon King and Gloria Calhoun; 5. Jacqueline Britz and Joel Britz; 6. Jim Smith and Ralph Mitchell; East-West 1. Art Insley and Don Evans; 2. Mary Simonett and Kel Andresen; 3. Josee Hammill and Andrea Killackey; 4. Fay MacDonald and Yvonne Cox; 5. Susan Marshall and Jan Roberts; 6. Jane Froese and Hank Froese

MUSKOKA DUPLICATE BRIDGE CLUB (Bracebridge)

Games for the Bracebridge Club are Mondays 7pm, Knox Presbyterian Church, 120 Taylor Road. Please arrive 15 minutes before game time. For information or partnerships, call Brian at 705-645-5340 [email protected]

The following winners are from Monday, Jul 2 with 22 pairs playing a Mitchell movement. North-South 1. Betty Fagin and Brian Brocklehurst; 2. Betty Rintoul and Hazel Bowes; 3. Mary Mitchell and Susan Maddocks; 4. Lyn Walisser and Bev Howard; 5. Mary Luke and Donna McIntosh; 6. Jennifer Thompson and Sheila Robinson; East-West 1. Liz Barnes and David Bryce; 2. Frank Vagnoni and Gerry Lawrence; 3. Mary Whitehead and Helen Pearson; 4. Val Rhead and Joanne Garvey; 5. Kathy Kent and David Kent; 6. Pat Davidson and Myrna Rosemeyer

Looking for more bridge tips? You’ll find them here.

Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here.