BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

You respond 1 ♠ to partner’s opening bid of 1 ♦ . What do you rebid when partner next bids 2 ♥ ? In order to bid well as a partnership, you must first understand the meaning of partner’s bids, and then choose the most helpful response to describe your hand.

In this case, partner has made a ‘ reverse bid’ which is unconditionally forcing; his hand will have at least 16 HCPs, and hold longer diamonds than hearts. You also know that his hand was not strong enough or unsuitable for a Strong Two opening. Before considering these facts, you might think you have three reasonable choices of rebid —2 ♠ , 2nT or 3 ♦ — but there is only one sensible choice: 3 ♦ . We’ll discuss why tomorrow.