BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

After two days of Fourth Suit Forcing, you know that the FSF bid is asking you to describe your hand further. It is not simply a request to confirm or deny a stopper in the fourth suit — that is one of your options.

Hand (a) is a good example of how well you can do this. Assume you correctly rebid 2 ♣ on the second round (rather than supporting spades immediately), and you now bid 3 ♠ . Your jump raise tells partner that not only have you got three spades, but also that your hand is far from minimum: only five losers with good controls.

Hand (b) is less clear, as you do have a certain stopper in diamonds. those who blindly confirm or deny this stopper after FSF will respond 2Nt. However, I suggest that it is more descriptive to rebid your long weak heart suit. If, as you expect, partner bids again, you show your control.