Bidding Quiz BRIDGE

You are South, and the bidding has gone:

South West North East

Pass Pass 1 ♥ Pass

?

What would you bid with each of the following five hands?

1. ♠ A9643 ♥ 7 ♦ QJ5 ♣ K982

2. ♠ KQJ94 ♥ K86 ♦ J532 ♣ 4

3. ♠ A9852 ♥ AQ43 ♦ 9 ♣ 632

4. ♠ 763 85 ♦ AQ1072 ♣ KQ4

5. ♠ AJ75 10 ♦ 84 KQ10542

***

1. One spade. It’s true that this hand is very close to an opening bid, and you might therefore feel tempted to bid two

spades to show a maximum passed hand. Nevertheless, it’s better to bid only one spade even knowing that partner might pass. This is partly because your spade suit is too weak for a jump, and partly because your hand has depreciated in value after partner’s opening bid in the suit in which you have a singleton. The one-spade response makes allowance for a possible misfit.

2. Two spades. Here you should let partner know that there is a good chance for game, despite your previous pass. You do this by making a jump-shift response. True, you have only 10 high-card points -- just as in the previous hand -- but this time you have much better prospects for game, either in spades or in hearts. Strictly speaking, the jump-shift is not forcing, but partner will seldom pass.

3. Four hearts. Considering your excellent trump support and singleton diamond, this hand should now be regarded as worth a full opening bid. An alternative, if you play “splinter bids,” is to jump to four diamonds, indicating heart support and a singleton or void in diamonds in a hand that has improved enough to warrant bidding game.

4. Two diamonds. Here you passed a borderline opening bid, but it’s still best to avoid trying to compensate for that by now jumping to three diamonds. Partner’s

heart opening didn’t help your hand much, and in fact hurt it slightly. Your response on the two-level indicates at least 10 points and a good diamond suit. If partner passes knowing you might have up to 12 points, the chances are that there is no game.

5. Two clubs. It might not have been your style to pass originally, but let’s assume for the moment that someone twisted your arm and you did. Granted that it is tempting to jump to three clubs at this point, you will do better in the long run to restrain yourself and bid only two clubs.

It is usually best not to crowd the bidding on hands where there is more than one message to deliver. Therefore, you should

leave as much room as possible to show your spades next at a relatively low level.

Tomorrow: Good to the last drop.