Today's column on bridge is for those who find the grey areas in the bidding difficult to overcome. For after all, good bidding means the best available contract on the lie of the cards between you and your partner, and of course the placement of certain key cards and key breaks with the opponents.
Much of course depends on the system of bidding you adopt with the final push resting on your partnership agreement, which is the key factor in successful bidding. When the opponents are silent, bidding is easier, but when intervention comes from the opponents in various shapes - conventional bids, overcalls, Michael two suitors, pre-emptive, unusual, psychic, and of course exclusive cue bids - bidding become a bit difficult to describe with accuracy and the building of bridge between the partners becomes a painstaking effort.
Today we are taking up only one aspect of such interfering calls, which come in the shape of a two suited overcall, wherein both of the opponents suits get known. Then it is a matter of being disciplined enough to adopt the method known as 'unusual against unusual'.
Lets begin with the first bidding problem when you hold hand A and the bidding goes: What do you bid, holding partner's suit and knowing RHO has 2 minor suits of at atleast 9-11 cards?
The raising of spades of course is quite clear. But you have been deprived of some bidding space. Without the interference, a 2S bid was ideal. The common method that bidders adopt is to double conventionally to show a normal raise of 2S. But the distinct disadvantage here would be that if you wish to punish the opponents, you would be giving up on it knowing the hand does not belong to them.
Therefore, the best and most effective and popular approach is in line with the law of total tricks that says bid to the level your combined trump holding points to - 5 with partner and 4 with you totalling 9 - therefore, the 3 level 3S bid. The greatest advantage of this bid is that it leaves the LHO poorly placed even if he has a hand that wants to invite the game. With the first approach of using a double, LHO can jump to 4C/4D to show game invitational hand. With a level higher at 3S, 4C/4D would not transit that message effectively as its could be purely competitive. You may also have deprived him of the cue bid of 3S that he may have liked to bid, even if he is interested in playing 3NT and needs a spade stopper having one stopper himself in either KX or AX which he knows will be removed on the opening lead. OK so 3S shows a moderate raise after intervention, let us move to hand B on the same bidding.
Here you are in invitational game zone with 2 cue bids available, the best recourse is to use the higher of those 2 cue bids in the minor suits to show primary support for partner's suit and game invitational values. But if you held;
You would still cue bid 3D over 2NT and on partner's minimum signing off on 3S, with hand B you pass and hand C you go on to 4S. Knowing partner is on the minimum with no slam prospects. If you were stronger, you can cue bid over 3S to show slam interest. Of course if partner on hand B or C has more than minimum, he must bid something else besides 3S like 4C, 4D, 4S depending on his strength. Again if you hold;
Use splinter 4C and lastly with: Here you must bid maximum 4S directly taking away as much space of opponents as possible. These jumps are purely pre-emptive with a double edge sword cutting both ways and making life of opponents difficult at bridge.
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RHO YOU LHO Partner
- - - 1s
2NT ?
(unusual showing both minor)
Your hand (A)
Q952 J983 A82 92
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Hand B Hand C Hand D Hand E
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K1092 KQ92 KQ92 K9762
Q1083 KQ83 KQ863 J872
A82 A82 A82 982
JX J2 - 3
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