ACES ON BRIDGE

DEAR MR. WOLFF: If you open one spade and the opponents intervene with two diamonds, what action would you take, holding ♠ K-Q-8-72, ♥ K-Q , ♦ Q-3, ♣ A-Q-J-4, when the auction comes back around to you? I assume the hand is too good for a pass, but what action covers the most bases?

— Great Auk, Galveston, Texas

DEAR READER: You should not pass, though defending two diamonds may be the only way to go plus — or yield the smallest negative. If you do bid, a call of three clubs is on the table — the problem being that it is such a committal action. Doubling for takeout and converting a response of two hearts to three clubs suggests this hand type, but that route also lets partner bid two spades over the double, or even pass.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Say you have ♠ K-8-2, ♥ K-Q-7-65-4 ♦ Q-3, ♣ J-4. Do you pass, open at the one-level or open at the two-level, and what factors determine which way you should go?

— Green Grouper,

Eau Claire, Wis. DEAR READER: Non-vulnerable, this is just too strong to pass in any seat. Opening two hearts in third seat might see your side under-compete if the hand belonged to you. Vulnerable, I hate the weak spots and the side defense, so I’d open one heart, even if it might be a fraction too weak. Everything else, especially passing, seems worse.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I am interested in trying to acquire more master points. How do Swiss Teams work, and would they be a sensible way to go about achieving my goal?

— Chasing the Dream, Ketchikan, Alaska

DEAR READER: The urge to acquire points often exists in inverse proportion to the number you already have. But Swiss Teams are typically played over a single day, with multiple teams playing short matches. Your pairing is based on your day’s results, with matches scored not on a win-loss basis, but on a sliding scale where you can earn from 0-20 victory points. These points are accumulated over the whole event.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Holding ♠ Q-3-2, ♥ Q-9-7-42, ♦ 10-8, ♣ A-Q-J, I assume you would not open the bidding. If you passed and heard a one-diamond opening bid on your left, passed back to you, would you balance over it, and with what call?

— Backup Planner, Pierre, S.D.

DEAR READER: Vulnerability or position might influence you; I’d open in third seat but not in first or second. If I passed, I’d certainly balance over one diamond at any vulnerability. I’d plan to bid one heart and consider balancing a second time with a double of two diamonds, if necessary, to get both black suits into play. That fifth heart is too important to conceal, and if I double, we may lose it altogether.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: My partner has asked me to play Lebensohl, but I’m not sure I understand the implications. Can you explain the call and discuss in which sequences it is commonly played?

— Cold Comfort, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

DEAR READER: After the opponents butt in over your partner’s one-no-trump opening or overcall, two-level calls by you are non-forcing. Three-level bids are strong, and two no-trump puppets to three clubs — typically a weak hand with its own suit, but it may include some balanced or invitational hands. See bridgebum.com/lebensohl_after_1nt.php. These methods can be played after the double of a weak two-bid, but here, two-level bids can be a bust, while actions at the three-level are invitational, not forcing.