ACES ON BRIDGE
DEAR MR. WOLFF: As dealer, I was dealt this hand and did not give it enough thought before unsuccessfully opening four diamonds. How would you bid it? I had ♠ —-, ♥ Q-106-5, ♦ K-Q-109-8-7-6-5, ♣ 10. Partner had a balanced 13 points with three aces and the heart jack, and we were making seven diamonds or seven hearts on the successful heart finesse.
— Daisy Chain,
Memphis, Tenn.
DEAR READER: You have a great hand for offense but no tricks on defense — you cannot be sure your side can beat a grand slam. If you are prepared to discount that fourcard major — and I would be — it is four diamonds or five diamonds for me. But even a five-diamond opener might not get partner to bid slam with three aces. How is he to know where your void is?
DEAR MR. WOLFF: You examine this collection as dealer: ♠ A-K-10-6-5-3-2, ♥ A-K-10-7-4, ♦ 8, ♣ —-. What would you open? Do you go high or low?
— Monster Hand,
Macon, Ga.
DEAR READER: It is difficult to handle wild two-suited hands after a two-club opening. I would therefore start with one spade, intending to jump in hearts at my next turn if appropriate. I very much doubt that one spade will end the bidding when I have one card in the minors!
DEAR MR. WOLFF: What does it mean if partner responds five no-trump to my one-no-trump opening? — Clash of Styles, Miami, Fla.
DEAR READER: It used to be that this was a quantitative invitation to a grand slam. Nowadays, a lot of pairs focus on the more common issue of finding the right strain for a small slam. They bid five notrump asking opener to pick a slam. Since responder did not use Stayman, they are presumably angling for a minor-suit slam if opener has a four-card minor headed by one top honor or better. Opener can also bid a major on a five-card suit to allow for a potential 5-3 fit.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: Should I avoid talking about a hand immediately after getting a good result even if there is a partnership issue to negotiate?
— Bad Form,
Walnut Creek, Calif.
DEAR READER: Yes, as this could be interpreted as gloating. Your opponents will be feeling bad enough; you should not rub salt in their wounds unless you feel something happened on the deal that requires attention before the next board starts, such as your side (perhaps fortuitously) misremembering the system.
DEAR MR. WOLFF: What would you bid with this, vulnerable against not: ♠ Q-9-8-7-3, ♥ A-4, ♦ A-K-8-7-3, ♣ A? You open one spade in second chair and hear a raise to two spades from partner. Then your right-hand opponent comes in with two notrump, showing any two suits.
— Playing Strength,
Albuquerque, N.M.
DEAR READER: I would want to play in game. The only question is whether I should bid a natural three diamonds along the way to try to get partner to judge whether to compete over the opponents’ potential sacrifice in five clubs. I would bid a simple four spades, intending to double if five clubs comes back to me. With more in spades and less in clubs, I might go the other way.