March 2016 - 49

Newer Players

Play & Learn
BY PAT HARRINGTON

ppharrr@gmail.com

How responder can be a troublemaker
A reader asks: The cuebid-raise
methods you suggest work well when
the overcaller's suit is higher ranking
than opener's suit. Advancer (overcaller's partner) can cuebid opener's
suit to show a limit raise or better and
the pair can stop at the two or three
level opposite a weak overcall. What
does advancer do when opener's suit is
higher ranking than overcaller's suit?
The reader is correct that these auctions can be troublesome. So are auctions where responder raises opener's
suit. Take this auction with neither
side vulnerable:

1. West
1♣

North
1♥

East
Pass

South
?

When partner makes a one-level
overcall, using the cuebid advance to
show a limit raise lets the pair stop
at a safe, low level when the overcall
is minimum (maybe only 8 points.)
If East passes, South can cuebid 2♣
to show a good hand with a fit. With
enough to make game possible, the
priority is to look for a major-suit fit.
If East responds 1♠ or makes a
negative double, South still has a 2♣
cuebid available. But if East raises
to 2♣, South has to bid 3♣ to show
a limit raise or better, and the pair is
forced to the three level with possibly
only 19 combined points.
Raising opener's suit - even a minor
- can be an effective blocking tool.
How many clubs would East need to
bid 2♣? Only four. Yes, opener could

have only three clubs, but the odds
favor having an eight-card fit, and the
small risk of having only seven clubs is
worth the grief you might cause your
opponents. Even worse, East could
make a preemptive jump raise to 3♣,
showing up to 6 points and at least
five clubs. You will occasionally get
one level higher than the Law of Total
Tricks suggests, but most of the time,
you will have a nine-card or better fit.
East's 3♣ raise means South's cuebid
would have to be 4♣, which is quite
dangerous when overcaller could be so
weak.
Many newer players don't appreciate how effective responder's raise of
opener's suit can be. Holding only 6
points and support for opener's suit,
they pass with a sigh of relief rather
than raising opener's suit. It's far better
to raise - either a single raise showing
6 to about 10 points or a preemptive
raise showing 6 or fewer points and a
likely nine-card fit.
Is this auction more or less problematic for advancer South?

2. West
1♠

North
2♥

East
2♠

South
?

Holding a good hand with heart
support, South is no longer worried
that partner bid on only 8 or 9 points.
Remember, a two-level overcall shows
a hand worth opening. If South also has
opening strength, the pair belongs in
game.
But what if South has a limit raise?

Cuebidding 3♠ forces the pair to 4♥
even when they may not have sufficient strength. When a cuebid that lets
you stop below game is not available,
you might agree to make a non-jump
competitive raise to the three level
with 6 to a bad 11 points. With so little
room for discussion, it's important to
compete for the more likely partscore
than it is to focus on reaching game.
Bid game or cuebid with more.
What if East had passed instead of
bidding 2♠ in the second auction?
Your side would be winning the bid at
the moment. A raise to 3♥ in that case
shows enough strength to invite game
opposite a good overcall - about 8 to
10 points. You could cuebid 2♠ with
more.
Hopefully this article has made two
things clear:
Aggressive bidding - especially
with a fit - can make it harder for
your opponents to communicate
accurately.
You need partnership agreements
on how to raise partner's suit in
various competitive situations.
Next month, we'll continue this discussion by looking at complete deals.
But don't expect miracles. Perfect
communication isn't possible when
everyone is bidding.
◾

March 2016 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of March 2016