August 2016 - 63

Special Contributors

Dear Billy
BY BILLY MILLER

Dear Billy,
In a local club game, playing 2/1
with all the usual gadgets, my partner opened 1♠ (the opponents were
silent throughout). I responded 1NT
(forcing), and he jump-shifted to
3♥. My hand was:
♠9 4 3 ♥K Q 4 ♦K Q 6 ♣J 10 5 2.
I bid 3♠. Because a jump shift is
game forcing, I decided my hand was
too good to make the fast arrival bid
of 4♠. I planned to follow up any
of partner's actions with 4♠, or if
he bid 4♠, I would bid 5♠ (to ask,
"How good are your spades?")
My partner passed (we should
make seven, but he managed to make
only six), and both opponents (more
than 10,000 masterpoints each) said
I made a mistake, and that 4♠ is
mandatory. Where (and why?) did I
go wrong?
Hate to Waste Space (Minimalist)
Dear Conservationist,
I want to congratulate you for using
the most sets of parentheses in a Dear
Billy letter! Well done.
Assuming that you had started out
with 1NT forcing, planning to jump to
3♠ to show a three-card limit raise,
you must change your plans when
partner screwed you up with the 3♥
jump shift. After this type of gameforcing jump shift is made, 3♠ is just a
preference with a wide range, usually
showing a doubleton spade. It is used
with most hands that have a doubleton spade and fewer than four hearts.

dearbilly@aol.com

Whether you play fast arrival principles or not, a jump to 4♠ on this auction should announce that you have a
three-card limit raise, as 3♠ is used to
show all other hands with two spades.
No need for 4♠ to say the same thing.
A jump shift over a jump shift must be
strong in some way as it would make no
sense to take up so much room when
opener has a powerhouse. (Did you
really say that opener passed 3♠? That
can't be correct.)
If indeed you had jumped to 4♠
showing the limit raise, opener can and
will continue with many rock crushers,
so the jump to 4♠ is in no way a counterproductive bid. It is an informative
and descriptive bid.
Dear Billy,
As dealer, my hand was:
♠J 7 4 ♥Q 3 ♦A J 10 9 8 6 2 ♣A,
and partner held:
♠A Q ♥K J 10 9 8 ♦- ♣Q 10 9 7 5 4.
How do we get to 4♥ in our 5-2
heart fit, as opposed to 3NT? I think
4♥ has a better chance of making,
and I see no way to avoid bidding a
game with 12 HCP opposite 12 HCP
in a misfitting constrcution. Our
bidding sequence was as follows:
1♦-1♥; 2♦-3♣; 3♦-3NT; Pass. We
lost one spade, one heart, two clubs
and two diamonds. In 4♥, I think he
can pitch the ♠Q on the ♦A to lose
one heart and two clubs - making
4♥?
To Bid Or Not To Bid Game

Dear Bid It Up,
When bidding with a good hand,
there is no reason not to start out with
your longest suit first, so partner's
proper response to 1♦ was 2♣. Assuming you rebid diamonds twice, his
next two bids should be 2♥ and then
3♥. At that point, he will have shown
at least five hearts and at least six
clubs, very efficiently describing most
of the cards in his hand. Then, you will
have reached a crossroad. Unwilling
to raise either of your partner's suits
or bulldoze your way into 3NT holding
only J-7-4 in spades, you should bid
3♠, and that is unmistakably fourth
suit and artificial. Having an excellent
holding in spades, your partner will
surely not hesitate in bidding 3NT,
which will end the auction. Both players described their hands.
4♥ is no picnic as you suggest.
Trump leads will be suggested and will
create plenty of losers.
The challenge of any form of duplicate, whether matchpoints or IMPs, is
to take the same two hands that everyone else is dealt and make the most out
of it. Staying low with two misfitting
hands wins half the battle, and playing whatever contract you land in well
wins the other half. Be realistic. Some
layouts are not destined for a plus
score.
◾

August 2016 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2016