"April Fool's Day" 2!C Openers by Marti Ronemus

The first written mention of April Fool's Day was in Geoffrey Chaucer's CANTERBURY TALES, published in 1392. Imagine all the pranks that have been perpetrated in the ensuing years. This is a day just for us bridge players!

And in case you think this is the only April 1 event, here are two more for you to drop into today's conversations:
In 1963, GENERAL HOSPITAL debuted on TV... and lives on!
In 1970, then-President Nixon banned cigarette ads on TV. Do you think those two events were linked in any way?

And so our quiz. we're going to look at 2♣ openers. There are three times we open with Standard American's only forcing opening bid:
1) When you have a hand too big to open 2 No-trump, 22-plus points.
2) When you have 8-1/2 playing tricks in your hand.
3) You would absolutely die if your Pard passed, and it's the nicest hand you've seen in three months. This last is only partly a joke.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ Q 2
♥ A Q J 10 6
♦ A K Q 9
♣ A J

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 2♣: This hand has it all, and is no April Fool. It's got too many points to open No-trump (most players reserve 3 No-trump as a conventional opening. Story for another day.) You would absolutely die if Pard passed. No other choice will do.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A Q J 10
♥ Q 8 7
♦ A Q J 9
♣ A J

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 2 No-trump: Perfect shape and point count.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A Q J 10
♥ A K Q J 9 3
♦ 5 4 3
♣

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 2♣: This hand only has 17 HCP, but let's count the playing tricks: We've got six Heart tricks and three-plus in Spades. We suggest you take advantage of the 2♣ opener with this hand. Bridge is a game of tricks (especially today), NOT points.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ A Q J 10 9
♥ A K 9 7 6 3
♦ Q J 4
♣

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♥: We have exactly the same HCP as last hand, but do you see that we don't have the 8-1/2 tricks to open 2♣? Don't be fooled. Bridge is a game of TRICKS, not POINTS!! (Keep repeating till it sticks.)

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A K J 2
♥ A Q 9
♦ K 9 4
♣ A K 2

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 2 Clubs: When we have so many points we run out of fingers, toes and nose, it's time to open 2♣. Perfect example. On the rebid, we'll bid 3 No-trump to show our monster.

We have a hand now for you. Remember the date when you go to play.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

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