ACES ON BRIDGE

DEAR MR. WOLFF:

I opened one heart with ♠ 5-4-2, ♥ A-K-Q-9-7-4, ♦ 4, ♣ K-8-3. My partner had ♠

9, ♥ J-10-8-5-2, ♦ A-Q-9-6, ♣ A-10-3. What should he have bid? We play Bergen and a Jacoby two no-trump response.

— Robert Matano, Sioux Falls, S.D.

ANSWER: In your framework, some play one heart — three spades as a spade singleton and heart raise, others as an unspecified splinter in the 9-13 range, with one heart — three no-trump a strong spade splinter. After one heart — three no-trump — four clubs — four diamonds, five hearts might be used to show good trumps and nothing else to bid. Slam is a toss-up, so getting there or not should not be a huge deal.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: On a recent deal in your column, a defender in midhand had an ace-king and needed to deduce whether his partner had the queen. Would you play that the king asks for attitude with regard to the queen?

— C’est la Guerre, Newark, N.J.

ANSWER: The issue of what a king in midplay requests is a thorny one. I tend to play that an ace gets attitude and a king gets count. Once in a while, a position of this sort comes up, but more often we are trying to organize the cashout efficiently. The point is that after trick one, the defenders’ problem is far more often about who will win the second round, not the third round of a side suit.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I have seen people at my club using one no-trump — three hearts as showing shortness. How does this work? — New Tricks, Allentown, Pa.

ANSWER: These calls are usually played as showing a singleton in the bid major and three cards in the other major, with 5-4 shape in the minors, game-forcing. It is really an attempt to find the right strain rather than necessarily a slamprobe. I doubt responder should show shortness with a singleton ace or king, as opener is apt to misjudge the quality of his stopper, but any smaller card should be fine.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Would you bid two notrump over an enemy twoheart opening with this: ♠ K-Q-J, ♥ A-Q-6, ♦ J-8-7-2, ♣ Q-10-4?

— Thrill Seeker, Madison, Wis.

ANSWER: I think this just about qualifies for a two-no-trump overcall, which usually shows a good 15 to around 18 points. The 4=3=3=3 shape doesn’t appeal, and the long suit is poor. What’s more, the spade jack is unlikely to be pulling much weight. Then again, the heart queen is as good as the king on this sequence. I might pass in third seat facing a passed hand.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Can I find your column online? Are there any other bridge sites you would recommend?

— Surfing the Net, Levittown, Pa.

ANSWER: Yes, you can! The column appears online 14 days after it is first published at aces.bridgeblogging.com. The best of the other sites for bridge online that I know are bridge winners.com and bridge base.com. You can find the site of my friend Richard Pavlicek at rpbridge.net.

If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at