In the movie Braveheart, Scottish folk hero William Wallace (portrayed by Mel Gibson) is being executed for treason. In the 14th century, execution included being “hung, drawn, and quartered” before the English citizenry. As Gibson is suffering on the rack table, women in the crowd shout, “Mercy. Mercy.” None is forthcoming and the punishment continues. Please, fellow bridge players, have a little mercy on your partners.

Maybe it’s something in the water at the new venue, but the last two times I have played, opponents have put their partners in some of the most precarious positions I have ever seen. Richard Chesley and I (Wednesday) and Dave Miller and I (Friday) enjoyed big games. But those results came in great measure from opponents engaging in some very “creative” bids. Here are a three examples.

They are red, we are white (my favorite pattern), and in second seat I hold: S-AQxxx, H-x, D-QJxxx, C-J10. RHO opens 1 Diamond, I bid 1 Spade, and after LHO passes, partner bids 2 Diamonds (limit raise+ with spade support), RHO rebids diamonds and I double. After two passes RHO bids 3 Hearts and her partner, who has passed three times, raises to four. The red card hits the table and down three is +800 and a top. RHO showed the table her hand with six diamonds to the A and four hearts with AK. The trouble is she had the stiff king of spades. People, please! If you hold the stiff king in the suit bid and rebid by the opponents, that king is useless. It is worth nothing - nada, nil - zilch. I’d much rather have a void in the suit, not the stiff king. That 14-count hand was really worth only 11 HCP. Would you bid three times on an 11 count? By the way, her partner’s hand was: S-xx, H-xxxx, D-K, C-xxxxxx - YUK!

With both sides red, in fourth seat I hold: S-void, H-Jxxxx, D-Ax, C-KQJ10xx. After three passes, I open 1 Club. LHO bids 2 Clubs (Michaels for the majors) and my partner goes into the tank. He finally passes (discipline is not a four-letter word) and RHO bids 2 Spades - what a surprise. Warned off bidding my five-card heart suit, I simply rebid 3 Clubs which gets passed out. LHO leads a low spade and partner tables the following: S-AQxxx, H-1098, D-Kx, C-xxx. I knock out the CA, concede three hearts, and take nine tricks for +110. LHO had bid Michaels with 4-4 in the majors - that noise you heard was Mike Michaels rolling over in his grave! Our plus score is worth 6 on a top of 8. Had LHO passed, we would have probably ended up in 4 Hearts which goes down. Don’t be creative with a low-percentage bid, it’ll come back and bite you - big time.

With both sides red, in first seat I hold: S-KQxx, H-Qx, D-Axx, C-Kxxx, and I open a weak NT (11-14 HCP). LHO bids 2 Clubs alerted as DONT (clubs and a higher suit), and after partner passes, RHO bids 2 Hearts. I double (negative) and partner bids 2 Spades. I want to support partner but LHO is a known BOA (Bids On Air) and a pass by me might get a heart raise. It does and LHO bids 3 Hearts. The red card hits the table and the feeding frenzy starts. I lead the SK and dummy shows up with: S-Ax, H-KJxx, D-xx, C-98765 - I guess LHO never heard of the rule of 2 when bidding DONT. RHO struggles mightily but down three is +800 for us and a top. Most N-S pairs ended up in four spades which goes down. Nice work LHO, first you force your partner to bid, then you punish her by raising the suit with 8 HCP - double YUK!

Sincerely, Jim Somma{easycomments}