BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

YouR RHo opens 1NT (12-14). What action would you take, if any? PLAYInG rubber, we always bid naturally, and I think most of us would pass passively here and hope partner has ♦ A or ♦ J to help take seven tricks in defence.

The adventurous might hazard bidding 2 ♥ , but this is pretty risky when LHO has values with hearts. In tournament play, we can’t afford to be out of the action on distributional hands.

Distributional values are more important than honour points when competing against a balanced 1nT. Counting your singleton and doubleton, you have a 12-count. If you can find partner with a fit for one of your suits, you have only six losers. So we need a fit- seeking convention to reduce the guesswork in simply having to bid 2 ♥ .

There are many such conventions, but the one I have always favoured is Astro. During the week I’ll explain its basics for the benefit of those who have just taken up duplicate or may start in the future.

On this hand using Astro, your correct bid would be 2 ♣ . I’ll explain why tomorrow.