In Bridge, The Law of Total Tricks by Larry Cohen was a revolutionary breakthrough in Bridge bidding that could have saved the top ranking world class players from the errors in judgment when the stakes are high in the competitive world arena of Bridge.
Today let us put the reader in this Bridge bidding quiz and see how you fare competing with world class experts at crucial times where one wrong decision can cost the title. The first illustration is taken from the 1984 Seattle Team Olympiad where sitting north you hold the following hand:-
The bidding proceeds after your LHO who is the dealer opens with 1 S.
What do you bid sitting in the north seat keeping the LTT in mind which states that in competition the number of combined total tricks available to both sides equal the number of total trumps as per example if NS can take 9 or 10 tricks in the 5-4 spade fit and EW's longest club fit is also 5-4, then the total number of trumps would be 9 of spades + 9 of clubs totaling 18 which means that there are 18 tricks available.
So if EW are making 9 tricks in spades, NS are also making 9 tricks in clubs with NS vulnerable. Keeping the above LTT in mind, what should be your bid?
In the 2nd illustration sitting east with the holding of.
You proceed in bidding as bid in the 1981 Bermuda Bowl with NS vulnerable and north as dealer:-
What is your bid keeping the LTT in mind?
The 3rd illustration is from the 1977 Bermuda Bowl where the reader in south position with NS vulnerable proceeds in bidding as under.
What is your bid?
Coming to our 1st illustration, as north did you pass, Double or bid further on to 4C?
As was bid in actual play by north was USA's top ranking Bridge player, Mitchell. Here, according to the Law of Total Tricks, both the bids of 3S and 4C were in violation of the law for the full hand was as under:-
After a trump lead, south lost a spade, a heart, and 2 diamonds plus a trump for 2 down minus 100 north doubled. Did you bid 4C to and if so it was a wrong judgment.
What you should have assumed on the 3S bid was that south could at most be holding singleton spade and probably 5 clubs. So LTT states the opponents with 8 spades and EW with 8 clubs for a total of 16. So if they have contracted for 9 tricks you can only have 7 with 16 trumps in all. Moreover with 4 spades it was better to defend for EW are bound to lose a club, 2 diamonds and 2 hearts for one down plus score for NS instead of the minus 100 they earned by that obvious error in bidding.
In our 2nd illustration in the match between Pakistan and Argentina, east over reached in bidding as all others did to Bid 5H when NS bid 4 spades which was doubled going 5 down. Here LTT was violated badly with EW knowing they have only 9 trumps against NS's 8 trumps (Totaling 17 in all) should have restrained from as the full hand was as under:
In our last illustration NS were none other than Wolff and Hamman. Here south (Hamman) finally bid 4S in violation of the law which was doubled on the following hand.
There were 8 trumps for NS and 7 for EW totaling only 15. NS went 2 down for minus 200 when in the other room 3C bid by solo way as east went 3 down doubled for 500 A lesson that even the best players in the world need discipline in Bridge.
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North
========
J 7 5 4
K 10 9 2
A 4
10 6 5
========
=================
N E S W
=================
- 1S 2C 2S
3C 3S P P
?
=================
=========
10 6 5 2
A K 9 6 5
4
K J 6
=========
=================
W N E S
=================
- P 1H Dbl
3H 4S ?
=================
================
S W N E
================
1H P 1S 2C
2S P 3S P
?
================
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North
========
J 7 5 4
K 10 9 2
A 4
10 6 5
========
=========================
West East
=========================
Q 6 2 A K 10 9 3
Q 6 5 J 4 3
K Q 6 5 9 7 2
9 8 7 A 2
=========================
=========
South
=========
8
A 8 7
J 10 8 3
K Q J 4 3
=========
=========
North
=========
A J 7 3
Q
A 9 3
8 7 5 3 2
=========
===========================
West East
===========================
Q 10 6 5 2
10 8 3 2 A K 9 6 5
10 8 7 6 5 2 4
9 4 K J 6
===========================
=======
South
=======
K 9 8 4
J 7 4
K Q J
A Q 10
=======
=========
North
=========
A 9 7 4 3
-
Q J 5 3 2
Q J 10
=========
=========================
West East
=========================
10 8 6 5 Q
K Q 6 2 7 5 4
10 9 7 6 A 8 4
8 A K 9 7 5 4
=========================
============
South
============
K J 2
A J 10 9 8 3
K
6 3 2
============
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