Contract Bridge
Bidding quiz
You are South, and the bidding has gone:
West North East South 1 ♦ 1 NT Pass ? What would you bid with each of the following five hands?
1. ♠ Q87 ♥ 952 ♦ 763
♣ AK93
2. ♠ 853 ♥ Q96542 ♦ 4
♣ J73
3. ♠ KQ63 ♥ KJ85 ♦ 9
♣ QJ94
4. ♠ 942 ♥ A7 ♦ 82
♣ KQ9643
5. ♠ 72 ♥ KQ8753 ♦ 7
♣ KJ92
1. Two notrump. Partner’s overcall is equivalent to an opening bid of one notrump, indicating 15 to 17 or 18 points, notrump distribution and at least one diamond stopper. You should therefore raise to two notrump to invite him to go on to three, just as you would have done had he opened the bidding with one notrump.
2. Two hearts. This shows a weak hand with five or more hearts. You are saying, in effect, that two hearts is a safer contract than one notrump.
Partner should accept your judgment and pass. If you happen to play transfer bids, you would bid two diamonds to force partner to bid two hearts, which you would then pass.
3. Two diamonds. This is clearly a game-going hand, but a major-suit game looks much more desirable than a game in notrump. Accordingly, you cuebid West’s suit, asking partner to bid a four-card major if he has one. If partner retreats to two notrump instead, you will raise him to three. If you play that two diamonds would be a transfer to hearts, then you should have an agreement that two clubs would be Stayman in this situation.
4. Three notrump. That’s what you’d bid if partner had opened with one notrump, and that’s what you should bid opposite the notrump overcall. It would be pointless to bid three clubs instead, ostensibly aiming for an 11-trick game when a ninetrick game is available.
5. Four hearts. This is also a game-going hand opposite the one-notrump overcall, but this time your six-card suit is a major, and partner is known to hold at least two hearts. In general, eight-card major-suit fits are better off being played in the major rather than in notrump, and with your 2-61-4 distribution, you should have no reason to believe otherwise. As before, if you play transfers, you should bid two diamonds and then raise partner’s two-heart response to four.