ACES ON BRIDGE
DEAR MR. WOLFF: Is it worth looking for partner’s five-card major when he opens one no-trump? How might I do this?
— Puppet Muppet,
Monterey, Calif. DEAR READER: Various tools are available, but
the most common is fivecard Stayman, whereby typically a threeclub response asks opener to show a fivecard major if he has one; otherwise, bid the next step. Responder can also locate a more traditional 4-4 fit via the same route.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: After Fourth-Suit Forcing, should delayed support of partner’s major promise three cards? Say you open one diamond and rebid two clubs over partner’s one-spade response. When he comes again with two hearts, how many spades would two spades show? — By Agreement,
Boise, Idaho DEAR READER: I would tend to raise spades immediately with three on that auction, unless I had extras, in which case I would jump to three spades over two hearts. This means two spades would show only a doubleton for me. There are auctions in which raising partner takes up more space, though. In those sequences, the raise more strongly suggests three trumps.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: As dealer, I held ♠ 6-5, ♥ J-7-2,
♦ J-2, ♣ A-K-Q-J-8-5. Bidding one club with nothing better than a jack outside of my suit seemed wrong, so I opened three clubs. This did not work out well, as partner held a 13-count with 4=5=4=0 shape, and we were cold for four hearts. All three of the other players said they thought it was clearly a one-club bid, but I hate to open one club with no outside defense. Your thoughts?
— Great Scott,
Trenton, N.J.
DEAR READER: Here is my take on the marginal hands as to whether to open one, two or three: Starting with the HCP, I count an extra point for a four-card suit. If the total comes to 13 and I have a trick and a half on defense, it is a one-level opener. With clubs, I might stretch to open one, not three, even more frequently, since I do not have a two-level preempt available.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: I picked up ♠ 4, ♥ Q-J-8, ♦ A-7, ♣ A-10-6-5-4-3-2 at game all and opened one club in second chair. The next player overcalled four spades, and partner doubled. I passed, and we racked up 200 with six clubs making. Should I have bid on?
— High Level,
Galveston, Texas
DEAR READER: Partner’s double showed values and did not promise any club support. I would pass as you did, expecting to score both of my aces on defense. Preempts make life hard, and this one certainly succeeded.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: I am building a new partnership and am unsure how many conventions to add. Would you recommend keeping things simple or going allout?
— System Junkie,
Portland, Ore.
DEAR READER: My style has always been to play straightforward methods with an emphasis on accurate cardplay and honing bidding judgment. For some, however, bidding is the main attraction of the game, and their creativity should not be curbed. It also depends on your aspirations. I would argue for simplicity and blanket rules at first and see how that works out.