ACES ON BRIDGE

DEAR MR. WOLFF: Recently, you ran a problem where in fourth chair you heard one club on your left, one diamond from partner, and you held Q-10-6-4,

K-Q-8-5, Q-2, Q-10-4. The choice you gave was between a call of one- or two-no-trump. I wondered whether your intermediates would make the hand worth a two-no-trump call, since if partner’s overcall was little more than six good diamonds and the club king, there might be a play for the no-trump game. — Cashing In, Torrance, Calif.

DEAR READER: Yes, jumping in no-trump is reasonable on values — but I’d like just a little more. Bear in mind that if partner bids on over my no-trump call, I can act again. My concern here is the absence of quick tricks. If we have only one club stopper, my major-suit cards do not translate into quick tricks.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: In a recent column in the paper, a Stayman sequence after a two-no-trump opening bid saw opener deny a major. Then a call of three spades by responder was footnoted, saying it showed five hearts and four spades plus a good hand. Can you explain further? — Mystery Bid, Edmonton, Alberta

DEAR READER: This is a specific agreement called Smolen, which operates like a transfer. In the same way that hands with both majors may want to transfer declarership to the strong hand, you can do the same over a two-no-trump opening after Stayman. See bridgeguys.com/Conventions/smolen_convention.html.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I have always played that after our uncontested auction had started: one heart — one spade — two clubs, a jump to three spades by responder was invitational, not forcing, but my partner on OK Bridge said it was 100 percent forcing. I think he is wrong — but maybe things have changed. — The Force Be With You, Albuquerque, N.M.

DEAR READER: You are absolutely right, and he is wrong. On the auction you quote, responder sets up a game-forcing sequence by bidding the fourth suit, two diamonds. In this auction, jumps by responder to three hearts or three spades or a raise to three clubs would invite game.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: What should I have expected from my partner on the following auction? I held

Q-9, J-4-3, Q-10-8-54, K-10-2 and when my partner doubled one club and the next player bid one spade, I tried two diamonds. Now my partner bid two spades. What should that be, other than confusing? — Fog of War, Mitchell, S.D.

DEAR READER: A good default agreement to have is that when a player doubles or opens two clubs and hears a suit on his left, his first bid in that suit is natural, not artificial (unless it is clear that with length he would pass — for instance, because his partner had doubled). So here I’d play two spades as spades, and raise to three spades.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I grew up believing that I could answer an opening bid of one of a suit with as few as six points, if I replied at the one-level. But does the same apply to making a negative double, or acting at the two-level? A friend says I need more points to respond in a new suit, even at the one level. Where do you stand? — Bottom Line, Ketchikan, Alaska

DEAR READER: This is a complex question, but I’d say a free bid (acting in competition when you could have passed) starts at a sixcount at the one-level, and this also applies to raises of partner. Negative doubles at the one-level also start at six points. At the two-level, nine-plus is required. The higher the level you commit to, the more points you need.