Game Tries in Competition
By Mike Lawrence

Now for the second question. There were three hands out of the above examples that raised to two spades. After East's three spade bid, do you go on with any of them?

Q 7 3
A 9 8 7 2
4 3
J 10 7

Q 8 7 3
Q J 7 4
K 8 3
10 7

9 8 3
9 8 7 6 3 2
3
A K J

In order to answer this question, you have to know what East's three spade bid means. How do you play it in your partnership?

Is it competitive or is it a game try? You must know what three spades means in order to know what to do.

If it is invitational, you should bid game on the second and third hands and probably the first hand too.

HOWEVER. If your partership plays three spades is competitive, you just pass without giving it a second thought. This is a matter of partnership discipline which has to be followed. Speculating on game when partner said three was enough is not what partner wants you to do.

FOR THE RECORD, the majority of good players have adopted the competitive meaning for the three spade bid. Letting the opponents play in a good partscore is not good to do. Using the three spade bid as a means of fighting for a partscore as opposed to trying for game is good emphasis. I recommend it.

The obvious question is this. If a three spade bid by East is competitive, how does East make a game try? Here, I will give a brief answer. If there is room for East to bid something below three of the trump suit, East bids that. On this hand, East must bid three diamonds or three hearts to ask West if he has a maximum.

If the opponents have competed to three of the suit just below your side's suit, the game try bid is double. This is called the Maximal Double. I do not intend to discuss it here because it would take pages to cover all of its nuances.