Four practical considerations before you bid

Bridge players who are missing in-person games and looking to keep up their skills are invited to sharpen their skills with our weekly quiz.

Today’s quiz: We continue this week with another in the current series of quizzes on responding against a takeout double. In the following problem, neither side is vulnerable and your left-hand opponent (the dealer) opens with one diamond. Partner doubles and your righthand opponent passes. What would you say and why? Your hand:

S J643 H 42 D 98 C J7652 Answer: The recommended response is one spade, which is dictated by a number of practical considerations:

a) It would seem natural for you to respond to partner’s takeout double with your longest suit, which is what you would normally do. But here you have a very poor hand, so it seems a bit frivolous to bid for eight tricks in clubs when you can bid for seven in spades, especially after partner has announced that he can support both suits.

b) If you can actually make a contract in either spades or clubs and can take an equal amount of tricks in both, it is better to be in the major, since it scores more.

c) If partner happens to have a real powerhouse and is thinking about game, he would rather aim for the ten-trick major-suit contract than an 11-trick one.

d) If partner has a hand good enough to compete for a partscore, he will be better positioned with spades as trump, since bidding clubs over either red suit necessitates going to a higher level in the bidding.