January 2022 - 50

Newer Players
Startup Bridge
Opening light
T
here is nothing in the rules of
bridge which says you must
open light. Not in third seat.
Not in fourth seat. You may not want
to, especially while learning how to
handle responding when you have a
medium hand. " Light " is a hand with
10, 11, sometimes even 9 points.
But consider the temptation to bid
with this hand when there have been
two passes:
K Q J 9 2 k7 5 lA 3 2 '9 7 3.
While you'd never consider opening
this hand in first or second seat,
now you know partner doesn't have
an opening hand - so there's little
danger that you'll end up way too
high. And when your suit is spades?
Well! You've also chewed up a lot of
bidding space and made it harder for
your LHO to act. Should you end up
defending, your partner will know
what to lead.
It's a good policy to open light in
a major only when the suit is one
you'll be happy for partner to lead. I
wouldn't open light with:
J 9 7 4 2 k7 5 lA 3 2 'K Q 9.
Open light in a minor when you
can afford to pass partner's reply.
Responders: Don't forget you cannot
force the bidding when you have
already passed in first or second seat.
Opener might bid 1' with:
J 9 7 4 k10 7 5 lA 3 2 'K Q 9.
This is a balanced hand with support
for any suit partner names.
If you like the idea of light openings,
you will find that Drury is a
useful convention. It's one of the few
forcing calls available to a passed
hand. If you do decide to adopt Drury,
remember that the bid and some of
50 | Bridge Bulletin | January 2022
the answers require an Alert.
According to the Bridge Encyclopedia,
Douglas Drury developed the
bid because his partner, Eric Murray,
was notorious for his very light opening
bids. The way it was developed
originally, 2' could be used over any
third- or fourth-hand opening to ask
if partner's hand was subpar. 2l was
the answer which confirmed a weak
hand.
That is not the style of today's socalled
reverse Drury, which is only
used over major-suit openings, only
after third-seat openings for some,
but in third and fourth for many. It
confirms a limit raise in the major
opened. Partner warns that he is
weak by repeating the major at the
cheapest level.
If you never open light in a major,
you don't need Drury. But consider a
hand like this:
K Q J 7 6 kA 2 l9 7 6 3 '9 8.
Certainly, you don't want to hear a
bid from partner that gets you to the
three level, especially if he has only
three-card support. Playing Drury,
your partner bids 2' and your meek
2 tells your tale.
If your partnership has no objections
to adding complications, you
can play two-way reverse Drury,
using one minor to show three-card
support and the other when you hold
four or more cards in partner's suit.
It's fairly common to use clubs for
three and diamonds for four, though
by no means universal. Of course,
these bids require Alerts.
How does opener rebid? With any
hand that counts to a bad 13 or less -
any hand which would decline to go
to game after partner's limit raise -
rebid the major to put on the brakes.
BY LYNN BERG
lynn7ntxx@icloud.com
K 9 7 6 4 kQ 8 4 lA 6 'K 9 8
I'd call this a " bad " 13: 12 HCP and
a sickly five-card suit doesn't seem
very promising opposite a limit raise.
Then again, you might have a hand
like:
A K 10 9 6 k2 lK Q 9 8 3 '7 4.
This, too, is only 12 HCP, but the
distribution is fabulous. Call me a
party animal, but I accept invitations
whenever I can!
Once in a great while as responder,
you'll have a hand that seems to zoom
in value when you hear partner's
opening bid. What if you had passed
with:
Q J 5 3 k6 lA Q 8 3 'Q 10 9 8.
It's an 11-count you might have considered
opening, but what joy when
partner opens 1. Start with Drury.
If partner signs off, go ahead and bid
3. You still don't want to punish
partner for opening ultra-light, but
if he's got 13 or even a reasonable 12
points, you're saying that game is
worth trying.
Of course, you may not be able to
use Drury because there's an intervening
bid. Most players do not use it
over doubles, either, but you could if
you wanted to.
Another option you might prefer
with a good suit and a subminimum
hand is a weak-two bid in third seat
with only five cards instead of the
usual six. The suit should be excellent,
in part to compensate for the
lack of a sixth card.
Like most of bridge, opening light
and responding carefully require
partnership agreements about what
to do next.
January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2022
