The Aces on Bridge: Sunday, March 22, 2009
| Dear Mr. Wolff:
As dealer, I held ♠ A-2, ♥ K, ♦ K-J-9-7-4, ♣ A-Q-10-7-4 and opened one diamond. The next hand overcalled one heart, my partner doubled, and the next player jumped to three hearts, pre-emptive. I was not sure what a double would show and whether I had enough to bid four clubs, since my plan had been simply to rebid two clubs if my RHO had passed
— Roadblock, Ketchikan, Alaska ANSWER: Had your RHO passed, the right call would have been three clubs. This is strong but NOT a game-force, since you are jumping in a suit suggested (if not shown) by partner. That said, in competition you can bid one level higher than you planned, so bid four clubs. A double of three hearts might be a balanced or semi-balanced 18-19. Dear Mr. Wolff: What sort of hand would pass in first or second chair and then back into the opponents’ auction with a pre-empt? — Back-and-Fill, Walnut Creek, Calif. ANSWER: The obvious answer is that you have a hand with the shape for a pre-empt but not the right honor location. However, it all depends on your position and vulnerability. You might be either too good or too bad to pre-empt, or have too much shape in the side-suits. If vulnerable, I play my opening pre-empts as good suits. I am unlikely to be two-suited or have a major on the side. But I might pass and then bid with a hand unsuitable for the initial action. Dear Mr. Wolff: If you held ♠ A-J-4-3, ♥ Q-7-3-2, ♦ K-Q, ♣ 10-6-3, what would you open in third seat — and why? — Careful Preparation, Atlanta, Ga. |
ANSWER: Bottom of my list would be to open one club. Why bid your worst suit and get partner off to the wrong lead? I also would not open one diamond (though I might prefer it to one club!), but would bid either one heart or one spade. In third seat it is a mistake to stick rigidly to playing five-card majors if the alternatives are so unpalatable. With the majors reversed, one heart is a heavy favorite
Dear Mr. Wolff: In a recent column, you talked about opener raising partner’s major-suit response with only three trumps. Is this allowed? And when do you do it? — The Raiser’s Edge, Durango, Colo. ANSWER: Opener will raise partner’s response of one of a major whenever he has four trumps, or a minimum unbalanced hand with three trumps, and sometimes with a semi-balanced hand with three trumps and an unguarded suit. After opening one diamond and hearing a one-spade response, with a 3-2-5-3 pattern and two small hearts I would raise spades. With a doubleton heart queen and three small spades, I might rebid one no-trump (but in my opinion a raise is not wrong). Dear Mr. Wolff: Holding ♠ A-3-2, ♥ K-9-6-4-2, ♦ Q-4, ♣ A-Q-2, you would probably open one no-trump. But what would you do if your RHO opened one club? What if they opened one spade? — Pressing Suit, Saint John’s, Newfoundland. ANSWER: I would open one no-trump without a second thought — that five-card suit does not look like five, does it? If my RHO opened one club, I’d also bid one no-trump. That my RHO is likely to be balanced means I am exactly where I was on opening bid. Over a one-spade opening, I might bid two hearts because of the strength of my hand, but would not want to have to defend the call. I’d rather bid one no-trump than double or pass. |
If you would like to contact Bobby Wolff, feel free to leave comments at this blog. This column is reproduced with permission of United Feature Syndicate, Inc. Copyright 2009.
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