ACES ON BRIDGE
DEAR MR. WOLFF: I have played competitive chess and duplicate bridge most of my adult life, but now I have memory issues. At chess, there is no problem; the board is visible, and it is OK to write down the opponent’s moves. I am told that at bridge, I cannot record the opponent’s bids or the play of the cards. Is this true?
— Mikey Likes it, Willoughby, Ohio DEAR READER: Yes, mentally tracking the bidding and play is deemed to be part of the game — no memory aids allowed. I have seen players sneakily adjust a card in their bidding box to remind them what the contract is, and I have seen players put the contract on the table in friendly duplicates to remind someone with a failing memory, but these are not technically legal actions.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: You hold ♠ A-J-7-5, ♥ K-Q-J-3, ♦ Q-4, ♣ A-K-6 and open two no-trump at love all. Partner bids three spades to show the minors and then continues with four diamonds over your three-no-trump signoff. What now?
— Fitting Cards, Sunbury, Pa.
DEAR READER: I think a discouraging four no-trump is in order. This is not Blackwood. I do not have a sure fit for partner, as he could have a slam-invite with five diamonds and four clubs. My minor-suit fillers are respectable but not remarkable, and I have a minimum with only average controls. With the heart ace instead of the king-jack, you might persuade me to cue-bid four hearts.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: What is the procedure when someone passes out of turn and the next hand bids before the infraction has been noticed?
— Legal Eagle, Mitchell, S.D.
DEAR READER: Once the next hand has acted, the original call is accepted and deemed legal, so everything proceeds as normal.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: We got a bad result when I held ♠ A-J-3-2, ♥ Q-J-7-6-2, ♦ A, ♣ A-Q-J at favorable vulnerability. It started with two passes to my right-hand opponent, who opened one heart. I could have bid one no-trump, but I decided to lurk with a pass. My left-hand opponent raised to two hearts, and my partner bid three diamonds. I tried three no-trump, which was doubled, and when my partner ran to four diamonds, he was also doubled for 500 to the other side. Did I do too much?
— No Entry, Trenton, N.J.
DEAR READER: I might have acted originally, but the colors were right for keeping quiet. Your partner’s three-diamond bid was probably a lead-directing effort based on good diamonds and nothing else. If you had ace-doubleton in diamonds, you might want to risk bidding game, but I would have passed three diamonds with your hand.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: How do you play a jump response in a new suit after a one-level suit opening?
— Old-Fashioned, Tupelo, Miss.
DEAR READER: I like to play strong jump shifts, whereby a jump is forcing to game,
usually based on some slam interest in either a single-suited hand, or five cards in the suit bid and support for partner’s suit. It can be difficult to get the power of your hand across if you start with a simple response, especially if the opponents get involved. I’m not a fan of weak jump shifts in uncontested auctions, though I know they are popular.