September 2022 - 51

Newer Players
BY LYNN BERG
lynn7ntxx@icloud.com
H
ave you heard any discussion
of the concept of fast or slow
arrival? You already use the
idea of fast arrival when you preempt:
You open 3l with a hand like:
9 7 k8 2 lK Q J 8 6 4 '9 7 5.
You warn partner that you have a
weak hand that will be worth very
little if your suit isn't trump.
But you open only 1l with:
A 8 k8 6 2 lK Q J 8 6 'A 7 5.
Now, until you and partner have
a bidding dialogue, you won't know
where - or how high - the bidding
should go.
You use fast arrival also when partner
opens 1 and you jump to 4
with a hand like:
A 9 7 6 4 k2 lQ J 9 6 3 '7 5.
In this case, fast arrival says, " We
have a lot of our trump suit, but my
hand isn't so great otherwise. "
Inverted minor bidding uses these
concepts. Partner has opened 1'.
You hold:
9 7 kQ 8 6 lJ 8 7 'A J 8 6 4.
You jump to 3', delivering this bidding
message: " I do not have a fourcard
major. I do not have more than 9
HCP. I have five-card club support. "
When you have 10 or more HCP,
you use slow arrival, only bidding 2'
(which must be Alerted). The single,
inverted raise is forcing for at least
one round, because you could have
well more than just a limit raise:
K Q 8 kJ 7 lA 7 4 'A J 8 6 4.
Now partner knows you have a
great minor-suit fit and may want to
look for the more profitable notrump
Startup Bridge
Inverted minors
game before settling for game in the
minor. No wonder: 3NT only requires
nine tricks and pays off as well as
the 11-trick minor suit game. Any
overtricks in notrump are worth 30
points each. So if you take 11 tricks
either way, the notrump contract,
vulnerable, is worth 660, while five of
a minor is worth only 600.
The slower confirmation of a club
or diamond fit leaves room to investigate
stoppers for a notrump game at
the two level, very convenient. And it
can help you avoid a bad bet. Say partner
has opened 1' and you have bid
a forcing 2'. Now partner bids 2.
That's worrisome. You do not have a
heart stopper, and apparently partner
doesn't either - he bypassed hearts to
bid spades. Note that stopper bidding
is focused on the major suits, so bidding
either one does not show or deny
a diamond stopper.
Clearly you want to bid game, so
now you bid 5'. This is not a " shutout. "
Partner knows you have an
opening hand, but if he has extras, he
could go ahead and bid slam.
What if he had a hand like:
A 9 7 5 k- lK Q 8 6 'K Q 10 5 3?
True, it's only 14 HCP, but knowing
you have a 10-card fit, he revalues
the hand and now bids 5k to show
that he has first-round heart control.
Because he denied a heart stopper for
notrump, he must have a heart void.
You should certainly bid slam, maybe
even have the nerve to bid the grand.
There's a good bridge proverb to
help you remember slow arrival:
" Slow shows. " Inverted minors are a
great way to develop more effective
minor-suit bidding.
September 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
51
West hands for the
September Bidding Box
Bid these hands with a partner. The East
hands are on page 57. The North-South
players are silent unless otherwise
noted. Scores on page 40-43.
Problem 1. North deals. None vul.
A Q J 3 2 kJ 6 5 lQ 9 6 'K 3
Problem 2. East deals. N-S vul.
7 kK Q J 10 5 lQ 6 4 2 'J 7 5
Problem 3. South deals. E-W vul.
K Q 10 6 3 k- lA 10 5 4 'Q J 10 4
Problem 4. West deals. Both vul.
North overcalls 3' if possible.
A K J 8 6 3 kA J 5 lA K 6 'K
Problem 5. North deals. N-S vul.
North opens 3.
Q J 4 3 k6 3 lJ 10 5 3 'K 9 4
Problem 6. East deals. E-W vul.
K 2 kA 7 6 5 4 lK Q J 'J 5 2
Problem 7. South deals. Both vul.
7 kA K Q 7 lA K Q J 9 5 4 'K
Problem 8. West deals. None vul.
K J 10 5 2 kA 7 lK J 10 'A 3 2
September 2022

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