Page 15 - ABF Newsletter August 2024

BRIDGE INTO THE
21st CENTURY
Paul Lavings, plavings@gmail.com
YOUR ACTION WHEN YOUR PARTNER OVERCALLS
See page 7 for the ten problem hands.
What would you call on each of those hands, neither
side vulnerable? East’s 1] bid shows 5+ spades. WEST NORTH EAST SOUTH
(1{) 1[ (1]) ? SOLUTIONS
1. Double. Recommended to show a top honour in the overcaller’s suit, ace, king or queen. If your side knows what to lead, or what not to lead, before the auction is over, you have done very well indeed.
There are many variations and possible meanings for this double or redouble which was invented by the Mexican player George Rosenkranz. A popular version is that you must always double with a top honour but I prefer that the single raise may or may not have a top honour.
2. 2[. A raise with three trumps and 6-10 HCP. Time and again I see players make a single raise to 2[ in this and similar situations with four-card support. With a nine-card fit you want to be at the three-level as soon as possible in competitive auctions to take away the opponent’s space, so keep the single raise to three-card support. With good hands you want to conserve space and with weak hands you want to take away space.
3. Pass. It would be poor tactics to offer a 2[ raise on this hand. All your high cards are in the wrong place and you don’t want a heart lead. Also, partner may now compete to 3[, 4[ or even 5[.
If your RHO had passed over 1[ you would be more inclined to raise to 2[. Now the opponents have ex- changed much less information and you have much more to gain by taking away their space.
4. 2}. When this situation arose the player meekly passed and the opponents were allowed to play in 2] scoring +110. If you bid 2} now partner will often compete with 3} and your side scores +110, or +50 if opponents compete to 3]. Though only 6 HCP you have a good hand with a healthy six-card suit and the king of partner’s suit.
5. 2{. You are too strong for a raise to 2[ so cuebid to show 10+ HCP, presumably with exactly three hearts. Why cue 2{ and not 2]?
Australian Bridge Federation Ltd. Newsletter: August 2024
Saving space is vital in competitive auctions and the lower cuebid is an obvious choice.
6. 3{. A battle between hearts and spades at the four-level looms and you need to make as precise a bid as possible. A 5-4 fit is much stronger than a 5-3 fit and 3{ shows a good raise (10+) with 4+ support. Your side may need to bid to 5[ and the knowledge of the 5-4 fit may be the key to partner making the correct decision at the four-level.
7. 3[. Showing 0-6 HCP with 4+ support. With nine trumps your side is relatively safe at the three-level so bid at once to the level of your fit.
TNT, or the Law of Total Tricks, is very accurate at low levels – the total number trumps the two sides hold equals the total number of tricks the two sides can make. If both sides have a nine-card fit then the TNT is 18, and likely both sides make nine tricks or one side makes ten tricks and the other eight.
8. 4[. Typically 4[ is 0-6 HCP with five-card support and a singleton, or perhaps 5-4-2-2. With ten trumps between you and a suitable hand put maximum pres- sure on the opponents. Never worry you might push opponents to 4], think more that you are making them guess.
9. 2NT. 6-10 HCP with four-card heart support, occa- sionally five-card support.
Using 2NT this way makes everything fit together. Now the preemptive raise of 3[ is limited from 0 to a bad 6 HCP and the single raise to 2[ is always three- card support.
With 2NT as 6-10 with four-card support the over- caller has the space to make a trial bid if they are in the invitational range. 2NT is rarely used as natural bid and you can easily cue 2{ and then bid 2NT with something like,
] A Q 5 [ J 7 } K 8 7 5 ] K 10 9 5 .
10. 3}. A fit-showing jump showing a good diamond suit and support for partner’s overcall. The question is does 3} show three-card support, four-card sup- port, or either.
In their outstanding 1993 book, Partnership Bidding at Bridge – The Contested Auction by Andrew Robson and Oliver Segal, the authors tell us the fit-showing jump is best with four-card support. Look no further.
Page: 15