BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

At Pairs you open 1 ♣ , and partner responds (a) 1 ♦ and (b) 1 ♥ , after which you rebid 1 ♠ . What do you bid next when partner then rebids ♥ his own suit, i.e. 2 ♦ or 2 ?

First of all, it’s not healthy to have a partner who bids against you without good reason. therefore, it’s safe to assume that partner holds, or should hold, a six-card suit or at least a very good fivecarder. Partner has heard that you have the black suits, and you must trust his judgment about the best contract. After a 2 ♥ rebid, i would certainly pass on hand (1) and probably on hands (2) and (3) also, because ♥ Ax is certain to be reasonable support, against the uncertain risk of partner having a singleton spade. After a rebid of 2 ♦ , the decision is not so clear-cut, but it will normally be sensible to show your five-card spade suit with 2 ♠ on hands (2) and (3). Note that this 2 ♠ bid is not a strong ‘reverse’ bid and it is certainly not forcing, or even invitational. in fact, it shows a minimum hand with at least 5-5 in the black suits.

If partner responds with a ‘Fourth suit Forcing’ bid instead of rebidding his suit, you would obviously describe your distribution accurately with 2 ♠ .