Contract Bridge
You are declarer and bid One Club. Partner responds One Heart. What would you bid now with each of the following four hands?
1. ♠ AJ ♥ AQ73 ♦ J8
♣ AQJ62
2. ♠ A984 ♥ — ♦ AJ6
♣ AK9754
3. ♠ AKJ2 ♥ 96 ♦ AQ
♣ AQ832
4. ♠ 10 ♥ K95 ♦ AQ83
♣ AK876
* **
1. Four hearts. You should not risk losing a game by raising to only three hearts, an encouraging but nonforcing bid that shows about 16-18 points. You’d feel pretty silly if partner passed, since even if he has only six points he will probably make four hearts.
By jumping to four hearts, you indicate about 20 points, which in turn shows interest in slam. Note that this sequence, where the opener leaps to game in responder’s suit, is altogether different from that where a player opens the bidding with one of a major and responder raises directly to four. In the latter case, responder’s jump to game is pre-emptive rather than forward-going.
2. One spade. Partner’s heart response adds nothing to the value of your hand. Had partner responded in diamonds or spades, the outlook would have been much more promising. The heart response warns of a possible misfit, and until a suit fit is discovered, you should tread very gingerly. A rebid of three clubs (16-18 points) over one heart might result in missing a game in spades, and two clubs would run the same risk while severely understating your values.
3. Two spades. Here you have adequate high-card strength for a leap to three notrump, showing at least 20 points. However, the hand might play better in spades at either a game or slam, so it is wiser to show your spades en route. Partner is required to respond to the jump-shift, even with minimum values for his first response.
4. Two diamonds. Bidding one club first and following up with two diamonds constitutes a “reverse.” Reverses show hands that contain at least 17 points, including distributional features. They also guarantee holding greater length in the first suit mentioned.
Here, after bidding two diamonds, you plan to support hearts on the next round and in that way identify your 1-3-4-5 distribution. This projected series of bids is more desirable than any other sequence because your hand is too good for a simple raise to two hearts, and you lack the four-card trump support needed for a jump-raise to three hearts.