Aces on Bridge

Dear Mr. Wolff: What should a jump response to a strong two-club opening show? I had ♠ 6-5-4, ♥ K-Q-J-10-9-8-2, ♦ 5-2, ♣ 2 and bid three hearts over my partner’s two clubs. Is that about right?

— Solid Suit, Ketchikan, Alaska

Answer: With it taking up so much room, the jump response of three of a major or four of a minor should show a specific hand, namely a solid or semisolid suit, at least six cards in length. Your hand just about qualifies. I would say that if you do not have the ace of your suit, you must have the king, queen and jack to at least seven cards. This does not promise any values outside, though.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Recently, I passed partner’s three-club overcall of my left-hand opponent’s strong no-trump opening, holding ♠ A-8, ♥ Q-J-5, ♦ K-9-7-6-5-4, ♣ K-3, at love all. Three no-trump and five clubs both made with ease. Should I have bid on? We play two clubs as showing the majors, so partner’s bid is wide-ranging.

— Landy Leftovers, Raleigh, North Carolina

Answer: Some play that three clubs should show a decent hand, the equivalent of a modern-style two-level overcall. In that style with a bad hand with lots of clubs, partner would have to pass. I think the call is best played as preemptive when nonvulnerable, constructive when vulnerable.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Iamabit fed up with our opponents hurrying me along while I am trying to think. I am not a particularly slow player. What should I do?

— Hurried Along, Duluth, Minnesota

Answer: Such actions tend only to delay the play further by interrupting thought processes. In serious events, this sort of thing might give rise to a time monitor being called in order to assess whether slow-play fines should be given out, but those are exceptional cases.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Strong jump shifts seem to have gone out of fashion, but I like them. Do you think they are still worth playing?

— Slam Zone, Danville, Illinois

Answer: I like them, too.

It is sometimes tricky to set up a force in an uncontested auction. Often, you have to resort to a nebulous Fourth-Suit Forcing, which takes up a lot of space while responder has not yet defined his hand. By jumping to the two-level with strong single-suiters (along with some strong hands with the bid suit plus support for partner), you know immediately where your side is going. Responder’s followup then clarifies whether he has support for opener’s suit or not.

Dear Mr. Wolff: What kind of hand do you think this sequence shows? Partner opens one diamond, you respond one spade, your left-hand opponent overcalls two hearts, passed around to you. You bid three clubs.

— Double Trouble, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Answer: I think you have to double, cue-bid or jump with all strong hands here, to force partner to take another bid. Three clubs should be natural and nonforcing, usually with longer clubs than spades. If partner had bid something over the opponents’ intervention, a new suit advance would be forcing as per usual.