ACES ON BRIDGE

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I’m weighing up several choices of leading styles. What is your view on leading from three, four or five small — and do circumstances alter cases on what to lead? — Mini-Max, Riverside, Calif.

DEAR READER: I believe that one should lead low from three or four small if partner might read you for a doubleton, but top if you have bid the suit or shown support for partner in that suit. I am not a fan of leading second-highest against suit contracts, though I might do that at no-trump if I had a second suit which partner might want to shift to. From almost any five-card suit I would lead fourth highest unless my partner knows my length already.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: As dealer I passed with ♠ K-6-5-2, ♥ 4-3, ♦ K-7-6-5, ♣ K-Q-4. My LHO also passed, and my partner opened the bidding with one heart. I responded one no-trump. My partner passed, and I made 11 tricks when my partner came down with five solid hearts, the spade ace and four diamonds to the queen. She said I should have bid more, but I do not know what I could have bid. Any thoughts? — At a Loss, Durango, Colo.

DEAR READER: Every call was right, up to a point. Your pass and partner’s oneheart call look right. Two notrump by you would maybe now have been artificial, so your call of one no-trump is clearly right. But now your partner should bid two diamonds, and when you raise, she can rebid three no-trump. One should only pass one no-trump with a balanced 12-14 and no side four-card suit.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I would like your views on how I should have described my hand here. I held ♠ A-K-Q-5-2, ♥ 10-3, ♦ —, ♣ A-K-Q-10-8-4. Is it right to open one club or two clubs — or even one spade? My partner held a 1-5-6-1 pattern with six hearts to the K-Q-J and five diamonds to the jack, with the singleton club jack. How should we get to the best contract (and what is it?). — None But the Brave, Ketchikan, Alaska

DEAR READER: Put me down firmly as a oneclub bidder. I get to jump to two spades next (one club never gets passed out) and can then show my full hand when I rebid spades. As to the best contract: Six clubs is down on a trump lead, while in six hearts the defenders do best to lead a trump and duck it — maybe not so easy to do.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I’ve been told that the best way to deal with intervention over my partner’s oneno-trump opening is to use Mirror Doubles. Do you recommend them, or are they just a fad? And is there a better treatment you could suggest? — Grace Notes, Doylestown, Pa.

DEAR READER: When opponents intervene over one no-trump with a natural or artificial call, then if you play transfers, a Mirror Double conventionally means that you would have made the call that they just did. All other transfers remain in place. This approach gives up on being able to play negative doubles over intervention. I prefer to use negative doubles (without transfers) of all intervention of two diamonds or higher, though you can play that transfers do apply after an overcall of two clubs.

DEAR MR. WOLFF: I was involved in a highly competitive auction where we ended up playing five hearts doubled and making. One opponent remarked that I had been walking the dog — and I did not know if this was a compliment or an insult. Please let me know if I should have thanked him or slapped him! — Peke Condition, Willoughby, Ohio

DEAR READER: Walking the dog is a lot easier to describe after the event than to recognize it at the time. When one player realizes that his side has a big fit but wants to buy the contract as low as possible, he can occasionally make a deliberate underbid at his first turn, then try to buy the auction by bidding up slowly. If you can do it, it is always very satisfying. If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, email him at bobbywolff@mindspring.com.