Aces on Bridge

Dear Mr. Wolff: I recently saw some old bridge books written by Charles Goren at a local shop. Are they worth buying?

— Bargain Hunter, Richmond, Virginia

Answer: Certainly. Goren was a very fine player and a writer of great repute. Take his advice, and your game will improve. Even though the bidding in his books may not be as sophisticated as it is nowadays, the material remains relevant, and card-play technique never goes out of style.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I’ve witnessed more and more players opening one no-trump with a six-card minor. Do you think it’s a good idea?

— Off-shape, Provo, Utah

ANSWER: There are a few hands where opening a no-trump is the best compromise, typically those with a weak six-card club or diamond holding and 15 or 16 points. You would not want to open one club and rebid three, suggesting a better suit, so one notrump might be preferable then. With better clubs, you would just open one club and jump to three clubs unless the rest of your hand consisted of positional stoppers.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I was taught to double an opening of a minor suit with 5-4 in the majors, but my partner disagrees, saying I should bid the five-card major. What say you?

— See-saw, Dallas, Texas

ANSWER: Normally, I’d bid the major, but there are times when doubling is a better shot. If you have a minimum double, say 11 or 12 points, you are likely to take only one action on the deal. Thus, you might decide to double to get both suits into the game, especially when the longer major is weak. With a hand worth two calls, it is better to overcall first, then either double later or bid the second suit. With even weaker hands, say 8 to 10 points, simply overcall.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I recently picked up ♠ 8-3, ♥ A-Q9-2, ♦ 6-4-3, ♣ A-Q-J-5 and opened one club. I heard partner respond one heart and my right-hand opponent jump to two spades. Would you raise to three hearts here?

— Team Spirit, Grand Forks, North Dakota

ANSWER: I tend to pass with minimum balanced hands rather than raise to the three-level opposite a simple response. If there is a game on, partner will bid again. The problem with raising to three hearts is that partner will assume you have more. But this hand might be the exception with such concentrated four-card suits. For another possibility, see the website: acblunit390.org/simon/ good-bad-2nt.htm.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I have noticed some players at my club using controlshowing responses to an artificial two-club opening. Do you condone these methods?

— Step One, Detroit, Michigan

ANSWER: This is what the Italians, among others, used to do. The idea is to identify crucial cards that will fill in the strong hand at an early stage. However, some would say it takes up too much valuable room, which could otherwise be used to find a fit. In their view, controls can be disclosed at the four-level, but the lower levels are there to show your suits.