THE ACES ON BRIDGE
Dear Mr. wolff:
Recently, I sat in third chair with ♠ J-9-3, ♥ J-8-7, ♦ K-J9-4, ♣ A-5-4 and heard two spades from partner and three clubs on my right. I raised to three spades, the call I would have made without the opponents having intervened, and my partner said he would have passed with my hand and let well enough alone. Both threelevel contracts would have gone down a trick. -- sadder but wiser,
charleston, s.c. AnswEr: Your decision to compete was right on all fronts. The main reason for bidding is to take space from the opponents. Why shouldn’t they find their heart fit if you leave them space? Dear Mr. wolff:
My partner asked me if I played “Unusual versus Unusual,” and I had no idea what he meant. Could you help me out please? -- Unusual suspect,
nashville, Tenn. AnswEr: When the opponents overcall with a two-suiter like Michaels, Ghestem or the unusual no-trump, this gives responder at least one clear cuebid. If RHO has shown a specific two-suiter, a cue-bid of the lower suit can be used to show the fourth suit with a decent hand, while the cue-bid of the higher suit shows a limit raise in partner’s suit. Consequently, raising partner or bidding the fourth suit is purely competitive. If there is only one known suit, or one cue-bid below three of partner’s suit, use that cue-bid
as the limit-raise.
Dear Mr. wolff:
I’m out of touch with the way players in your column seem to bid all the time. Why are jump raises of partner weak, not strong, and how do you ever get to show a good hand? -- nostalgic, orlando, Fla.
AnswEr: The modern approach (particularly in competitive auctions) is that jump raises tend toward distributional rather than high-card values -- though many take a good thing too far. Undeniably, though, you need to be able to show a good hand. The key is to start with a cuebid, which promises limit values or better and support.
Dear Mr. wolff:
Last night my partner passed in second chair over one heart. Subsequently, though, he balanced with a double at his second turn after a raise to two hearts. I held an uninspiring collection: ♠ J-3-2, ♥ 10-4, ♦ AQ-5-4-3, ♣ 10-7-2. I gambled by bidding two spades, trying to keep the auction low, and played in a 3-3 fit with a ninecard diamond fit available. Was I wrong to expect at least four spades from my partner?
-- sadly Lacking, corpus christi, Texas
AnswEr: This is an auction where partner might even balance into a four-card spade suit, if he had one, so finding him with only three spades is not entirely surprising. When I am asked to bid a suit and hold a five-carder, I bid it and let the chips fall where they may -- whether it is a minor or a major.