Search for the eggs of Columbus

Svend Novrup ( Denmark )

SVEND NOVRUP was born in 1945 and has been active in an extraordinarily wide variety of fields. With a degree in Nordic philology from the University of Copenhagen , he nearly decided to pursue a university career but instead started up as a journalist with the Copenhagen newspaper, Politiken. His first assignment was the pound-a­point rubber bridge match between the Omar Sharif Bridge Circus and Flint-Cansino in London . Since then he has been a correspondent of bridge, chess and games but has also covered travelling, literature, theatre, music (in particular opera, as he spent seven years voice training and has participated in several operatic competitions), and sports.

He is the author of 67 books in six languages on a variety of subjects: a five-volume encyclopedia of chess, several handbooks on bridge, a book on the Tour de France, others on backgammon, poker, snooker ...

In 1996 he was recruited by Eurosport as commentator for Denmark . His main subjects are cycling, snooker and winter sports, but he covered many other sports during the Atlanta Olympics.

You pick up a good hand as dealer, much better than your usual garbage:

 ♠  AK74

 ♥ K4

¨ AJ107

 ♣   KQ6

and open 2NT showing 20-21 HCP. Your partner bids Three Diamonds, a transfer to Three Hearts, and when you have obeyed he passes ... again! At least you will be playing the hand, but on this occasion it is no particular pleasure.

West leads the jack of spades, giving nothing away, and some time later you concede one down. You can't avoid three losers in trump and one in each minor.

How annoying. If only you had been able play in Two Hearts instead. But this is the disadvantage of having to open 2NT with 20-21 HCP while opening Two Clubs with stronger balanced hands.

When you have this sort of problem hopefully you try to think of possible solutions or you will never cut the Gordian knot or find any Columbus eggs. Maybe you would come to the same conclusion as some Danish players: on balanced hands, you could exchange the Two Club and 2NT openings without losing anything. On th contrary. Now, when you open Two Club partner will relay Two Diamonds, after which 2NT will show 20-21 HCP while an opening 2NT will show 22-23 HCP, almost like in the very old days.

What do you gain?

Now if partner deviates from the relay this also needs a meaning. There are, a course, several possibilities, but a very obvious one is to let it mean: partner — if you have the 20-21 HCP balanced hand, then  I would prefer to play in my long suit at this level. On the hand above South would open Two Clubs, and when North responded Two Hearts he would pass, saving a level ... and the contract.

There are many new possibilities. As opener's 2NT rebid would now be meaningless(!), it could show that you didn't have the balanced hand, but a forcing hand with clubs. And three-level bids could be trial bids inviting partner to bid game in his suit. An example:

The bidding would go: 2♣-2♥-3♦ -4♥ .

When North hears the trial bid in diamonds, he suddenly knows that his queen of diamonds is super-active and that Four Hearts will be odds on.

My Bols bridge tip is:

When you are dissatisfied with some aspect of your bidding system,
don't accept that there is nothing you can do.