ACES ON BRIDGE

DEAR MR. WOLFF: My partner opened a strong two clubs, and I gave the neutral response of two diamonds. After a rebid of two no-trump, can I use Stayman and Jacoby Transfers, just as if my partner had opened the bidding with a no-trump call? What is the best use for a bid of three spades here?

— Movers and Shakers,

Albuquerque, N.M. DEAR READER: You play exactly the same as over a two no-trump opening bid. (The same applies when you overcall a weak two-bid with a natural two no-trump call.) Use the three-spade call in one of two ways: either as Minor Suit Stayman or as a puppet to three no-trump. After that, responder can show one or both minors in various ways. Some possibilities are listed at bit.ly/AoB2NTresponses.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: When declaring, I can generally keep track of the trumps. But following the spots in more than two suits is a challenge. What would you recommend as a way forward?

— Losing the Thread,

Detroit DEAR READER: I do not recommend trying to count all the suits. Focus on the ones that seem most likely to matter to you after dummy comes down. Try to focus only on trump (just count the missing ones in the opponents’ hands) and one other suit. As you get more skilled at the task, maybe you can expand your repertoire.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Would you consider it appropriate to open with a pre-empt in third seat, holding ♠ 4-3, ♥ K-Q-8-7-3,

♦ A-7-3-2, ♣ 10-3? I assume you might pass at some vulnerabilities, but if you bid, do you prefer one or two hearts? — Risking It All, Panama City, Fla. DEAR READER: You are right that I would probably pass at unfavorable vulnerability, though the heart 10 might tempt me to act. Non-vulnerable, I might mix it up with a call of two hearts, but a simple opening of one heart with both sides vulnerable is perfectly reasonable and mixes aggression with some degree of safety.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Recently, I was declaring three spades, and when I led the trump king, one opponent revoked. I asked her if she had any spades, and she corrected the revoke by playing her trump ace at once. What is the consequence of this? If I make three spades with an overtrick thanks to the revoke, would that be game?

— Portia’s Pa, Lake Oswego, Ore. DEAR READER: For a revoke to be established, the offending side must have played to the next trick, unless a claim has been made. So here, the revoke is not established and the player can correct the revoke, with the card played in error a penalty card. In this case, it must be led to the next trick — but penalty cards are not always so simple if someone else wins the key trick! In any event, revoke penalties serve as under- or overtricks and can never turn a partscore contract into a game.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Would you ever compare the safety play in bridge to a gambit in chess or a sacrifice in baseball? Are there other games, such as poker, that serve as more apt comparisons to bridge?

— Boy Scout, Pleasanton, Calif. DEAR READER: Most safety plays in bridge definitely advance your side’s cause by guaranteeing your contract, while a sacrifice at baseball is a less-guaranteed return on investment. Maybe a better comparison would be to the suicide squeeze, safety squeeze or sacrifice fly, which all get a run in when executed well. Psyching in bridge is like bluffing in poker, while the cerebral approaches required for chess and bridge are very similar. I wish bridge players realized that they need to read in order to improve, just as chess players do!