Help
fred, on Jan 26 2006, 10:30 AM, said:
Sometimes circles of players experiment with new methods and, after using them for a while, conclude that they are not effective.
The best example of this is the 10-12 1NT opening which was gaining popularity among American experts about 10 years ago. Now you almost never see this at the highest levels in America because these people came to a conclusion:
10-12 notrump openings lose more than they gain
Most likely not everyone came to this conclusion independently, but since most of the people I am referring to are friends, teammates, and/or frequent opponents, it should not be too surprising that they influence one another.
Meckstroth-Rodwell came to a similar conclusion regarding some of their artificial preempts. These guys are close friends (and sometimes teammates) of Hampson-Greco so it is not so strange that, even if Hampson-Greco did not figure this out for themselves, that they were influenced by Meckstroth-Rodwell.
Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com
The best example of this is the 10-12 1NT opening which was gaining popularity among American experts about 10 years ago. Now you almost never see this at the highest levels in America because these people came to a conclusion:
10-12 notrump openings lose more than they gain
Most likely not everyone came to this conclusion independently, but since most of the people I am referring to are friends, teammates, and/or frequent opponents, it should not be too surprising that they influence one another.
Meckstroth-Rodwell came to a similar conclusion regarding some of their artificial preempts. These guys are close friends (and sometimes teammates) of Hampson-Greco so it is not so strange that, even if Hampson-Greco did not figure this out for themselves, that they were influenced by Meckstroth-Rodwell.
Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com
Fred, Do you have any insight into the source of the bad results for the 10-12 NT?
As part of a big club system, I have been getting very good results from our 10- bad 13 NT 1/2 NV. Its not just the auctions starting with 1N its the negative inferences that come from pass (i.e. p-(3S) to me with Kxx Ax AQxx Kxxx and I can comfortably pass).
The weaknesses:
3N is played from the weaker side (slight disadvantage).
If they end up in game, and I had 10-11 its easier to place the points than in standard, but not much easier than if I had opened a precision 1D bid.
The strengths: the 1N bid has a tighter range than an overcall does. Consequently we are at an advantage in determing the correct strain an level.
White vs white, especially at mps, supressing both sides fits and playing in NT is usually a good score.
Having pass be limited to 0-9 helps your bidding in 3/4 seats.