July 2007 - 40

PLAY BRIDGE

?

Ask Jerry

Jerry Helms

askjerry@jerryhelms.com

Dear Jerry,
The other day in our local club,
my partner and I had a big misun‑
derstanding. With none vulnerable,
my right‑hand opponent bid 1.
I overcalled 1. My partner bid
2. I bid 2NT. She bid 3NT. How
could we have prevented this bad
contract? Our hands:
Me
A Q J 8 6
985
76
QJ4

Partner
7
 10 6
A J 8 3 2
A 9 7 5 3
Floris

Dear Floris,
The best way to avoid such a bad
contract is to stay low when lacking
values and a fit. As always, partnership agreement is the overriding
factor. I agree with 2, but it appears
that you interpreted this bid as forcing. Personally, I prefer that new-suit
advances of overcalls be constructive,
but non-forcing. The overcaller (you)
should speak a second time only with
something useful to say. With your
hand, having already expressed good
spades and some values, I would feel
I had done my duty and simply pass.
An invitational 2NT rebid would look
more like this:
A Q 8 6 2 Q 9 8 K 7 Q J 4.
Having said this, your partner
should probably pass 2NT with no
spade fit and poor diamond spots. In
short, methinks both players overbid
40

their values.
If advancer (partner) truly has
enough to force the bidding, a number
of options exist. As an unpassed hand,
a cuebid can be used to imply but not
guarantee support for the overcall.
This allows a cuebid followed by a
new suit to be 100% forcing. As an
alternative, if you insist that a cuebid
guarantees support, some partnerships
play that a jump shift by advancer is
natural and forcing.
My experience has been that if
advancer holds up to 13 or 14 points
with a reasonable suit, he can simply
bid it ... non-forcing. If the overcaller has trump support, he should
"support with support" even with
minimum values. If the overcaller
does not have support, he should
speak again only to show extra values, extra length or extra shape. With
none of these, pass is often an attractive option.
Dear Jerry,
Playing with a longtime Life
Master, I opened 1NT (15-17). We
play Stayman and transfers. My
partner transferred me to 2 and
passed. Dummy tabled this:
K 10 6 5 3 7 4 5 2 K 8 6 3.
When the play was completed
(and I managed to go down one),
the traveler revealed that someone
had made 2. It also showed that
one pair played 1NT and made one,
and another played 1NT and made
two. Following the play, I said to
my partner, "I pass those hands."
She replied, "Oh, I always transfer
when I have five of a major."
What's best?
M.J. Beavin

Hi M.J.,
Although I prefer to avoid terms
like always or never, I agree with
your partner on this issue. As a general rule, the weaker your hand is, the
more important it is for your long suit
to be trump.
If your partner fits your major, the
benefits are clear. If the notrump
opener holds a low doubleton in
your five-card suit, it is possible that
your hand will produce zero tricks
in notrump, yet some tricks in a suit
contract.
As a matter of style, I am far more
likely to pass 1NT holding a fivecard major with near-invitational
values than with a truly woeful hand.
An example:
9 7 6 5 4 6 10 8 4 3 9 4 2.
If partner opens 1NT, I would
transfer to spades and give partner
the opportunity to demonstrate his
declarer skill in 2, but with:
Q 9 7 6 5 Q J 6 J 8 Q 9 2,
I would pass in a flash!
I would be sure of what was right
after seeing the results, but the key
is to consistently do what rates to be
right most of the time.
r

Mike's
Bidding
Quiz
By
Mike
Lawrence
1. What do I do when partner makes
a takeout double and I have two
suits?
2. What about when I have invitational values and a notrump kind
of hand?
Answers on pages 42-43
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2007
