Contract Bridge
You are the dealer and open One Diamond. Your partner responds Two Spades. What would you bid now with each of the following five hands?
1. ♠ Q93 ♥ 85 ♦ AKJ632 ♣ A7
2. ♠ 63 ♥ K72 ♦ AJ85 ♣ AJ94
3. ♠ 82 ♥ AJ63 ♦ AKQ74 ♣ 95
4. ♠ KQ5 ♥ K7 ♦ KQ9653 ♣ K2
5. ♠ 7 ♥ Q10 ♦ AJ872 ♣ KQ854
1. Three spades. Partner’s jump-shift implies slam aspirations, and you should encourage him by raising his suit at once. It is true that a three-diamond bid at this point would portray your diamond holding nicely, but that is not nearly as important as showing your spade support at the earliest opportunity.
Partner is virtually certain to have at least five spades, and a direct raise is bound to please him. If you were to bid diamonds instead, it would become well-nigh impossible to convince partner later on that you held three cards to an honor in his suit. The best way to avoid this problem is to raise spades immediately.
2. Two notrump. Here, with a minimum opening bid lacking support for partner’s suit, you should try to slow him down as quickly as possible. The best way to show a balanced hand containing minimum values is by bidding two notrump. To bid three clubs instead would suggest far greater distributional values than you have.
3. Three hearts. This is the best way to describe your distribution, which is what you should try to do in order to paint an accurate picture of your hand. In this way, partner learns that you have more diamonds than hearts, which should be a valuable step in the right direction. How high you go will depend largely on partner’s next bid, but the odds favor you ending up in a slam somewhere.
4. Four notrump. Considering what you can see in your hand, partner is sure to have at least three aces for his jumpshift response. A small slam is therefore certain, and the only question is whether you might have a grand slam. This possibility can best be explored by using Blackwood. If partner responds five clubs, showing all four aces, your next bid should be seven spades.
5. Three clubs. It is best to bid naturally over a jump-shift, even with a minimum opening hand. You have length in diamonds and clubs, so you should apprise partner of this fact. Three clubs does not imply additional values, though you might, of course, have them.