Best answer: 3♣ What does partner show with their jump bid?
Jump shift is game forcing, which means that the bid is on, and the partnership can't stop before bidding (at least) game.
Partner brings at least 5 cards in Clubs and 4 cards in Spades as with a balanced hand and 18-19 they would've chosen a 2NT rebid or if partner had 20-22 points they would've opened 2NT.
Since it's a game forcing sequence, bidding can be as low as possible to transfer more valuable info. And your bid is now 3♣, to show the Club fit. Your 2nd choice is 3♦ , 4th suit forcing, to ask partner if they have 3 cards Hearts or a Diamond stopper.
On your 3♣ bid partner can make a choice: Bid 3♥ if they have 3 cards in Hearts, bid 3NT if they have good Diamonds, suggest game in Spades, or go on with the Club suit. Note that even slam might be on if partner brings the right hand:
Here you can see that your 3♣ bid is really helpful. North can start control bidding or bid splinter to help you evaluate your hand. You have no wasted values in Diamond, 2 valuable black Qs in partner's suits, and a precious side ace (♥ A).
In this case, partner has good Diamonds and bids 3NT.
Note:
Best answer: 3♦ This is a similar situation to Hand 1, but now partner gives a reverse bid, which is 1 round forcing. In this case, we can still stop in part score.
Like a jump shift, a reverse bid shows a strong unbalanced hand. But unlike a jump shift, reverse is from 16+ points (when responder bids in 1 level) and it's a bid which is made without a jump.
Reverse bid is a new suit, on the 2 level, which is higher by rank than the suit you bid as opener on the 1 level. So, as a reverse can be 16-21 points, it's at least 1 round forcing and can also be strong enough for game vs a minimum responder.
So, your best bid here is 3♦ , 4th suit forcing. You have 9 points, which means that game is on. Here, partner can bid 3♠ if they have 3 cards in Spades, then you can bid 4♠ or might consider even a slam in Spade as partner is clearly short in Diamond. Or, they can bid 3NT if they have values in Diamonds. Partner can also bid 3♥ , if they have 6-5 cards in Hearts or rebid Clubs with long Clubs and no Diamond stopper. That way you'll be sure to land on the best contract.
Best to agree these 2 things; first is that a 2♠ rebid by the responder is showing 6 cards in Spades and the second is that a 2NT rebid by the responder after reverse is an artificial minimum hand (up to 7 points). If opener bid their 1st suit again, then responder can pass and remain in part score. That way, all other sequences are game forcing, including repeat partner's 1st bid.
Note :♦ ------- 1♠
b.♦ ------- 1♠
c.♦ ------- 1♥
d.♦ ------- 1♠♥ = This bid is a reverse bid because it's a new suit, on 2 level, higher by rank than the 1st bidden suit, showing 16-21 points, unbalanced hand, and is at least 1 round forcing.
e. As mentioned, best to agree that after reverse, 2NT will show an artificial minimum hand:♦ ------- 1♠♥ ------- 2NT♦ ------- Pass
Here, opener's 3♦ limit the hand to a minimum reverse (16-17) and responder can therefore pass because of not having enough values for game. If opener has a stronger hand, their 3rd bid shouldn't be 3♦ , they can bid 3♣ (4th suit) to keep the bidding going or 3NT with maximum and Club stopper.
f.♦ ------- 1♠♥ ------- 3♦ = game forcing.
Though it seems a correction to 1st suit, given responder doesn’t rebid 2NT, therefore their hand has more than minimum, which should be enough to bid game vs opener's reverse. Responder might even be strong and lead to slam with a suitable hand.
Best answer: ♦ 10
Against 3NT, you lead the ♠6. Partner wins with the ♠A. Declarer follows with the ♠10. Partner continues with the ♠J to declarer's ♠K. Then, Declarer plays a low Heart, you follow with a low card, and dummy wins the ♥ Q as partner follows with the ♥ 10. They play Heart again to declarer's ♥ 9, partner follows with the ♥ 5, and you win with the ♥ A. How will you continue?
Where is the ♠Q?
Where is the ♦ A?♥ KJ, as their negative double is showing 4 cards in Hearts and the play suggest they have the KJ. That's already 9 points. South is passed hand. If they also have the ♦ A, they'll have 13 points and would've opened the bidding.
Therefore, simply play the ♦ 10 to partner's ♦ A, to prevent a blockage. Then, a Diamond from partner will get the defense 2 more Diamond tricks via your ♦ KQ.
If you play the ♦ K, you'll block the suit and the defense will get only 2 Diamond tricks. As dummy has 6 Diamonds and you have 3, there's a good chance that your partner has no more than 2.
Any other defense will allow the declarer to have 9 tricks: 2 Spades, 3 Hearts and 4 Clubs.
Note:
b) South bids 3NT bid after they pass. Having ♠KQ after the 1♠ overcall by East made them realize they have 2 Spade tricks and a rich hand regarding the many spots (10's and 9's), made them upgrade their hand.
c) You can decide to play mixed raise which is a very useful bid:♦ with your hand.
Best answer: ♠A , ♦ A, ♦ ruff
You play 6♠ and West leads the ♠7. How will you play?
The trump lead seems disturbing at first glance, as with any other lead you could simply ruff your 2 Club losers in dummy. Later, you pull out the trumps and lose just 1 Heart trick. But here, you can only ruff 1 Club which isn't helping.
If you try the Club finesse, you'll have a 50% chance to make. If the finesse works, you can play the ♣A next, ruff your last Club in dummy, and after pulling out the trumps you'll lose just 1 Heart.
However, as the Club finesse fails, West will win the ♣K, continue with another trump, and it'll be 2 down, losing 2 Clubs and a Heart.
Remember that you can't escape a Heart loser via a simple finesse as even if the ♥ K is in West, they'll cover your ♥ Q and you'll have to lose the 3rd Heart to opponent's ♥ 10.
The best line of play against any lead is to develop the long Diamonds. Win the trump lead in hand, play ♦ A, then Diamond ruff. When both opponents follow, you'll make all the tricks. Then you can play Spade to the ♠J, ruff the 3rd Diamond, and now your Diamonds are top. After that, you can pull out opponent's remaining trumps, play Heart to the ♥ A, and discard your remaining 2 Clubs and 2 Heart losers on your promoted 4 Diamonds from dummy.
Note :
b. On the hand above you can see that assuming Diamonds are 3-2, you'll need 2 Diamond ruffs to promote the Diamonds. You'll also need 2 entries for ruffing and another entry to enjoy your promoted tricks, so it's 3 entries in total. Which is why you must keep the ♠J as 2nd entry. Also, the order of the entries matters, ♦ A must be the first entry in order to ruff the 2nd Diamond. Then ♠J to ruff the 3rd Diamond, and before using the last entry, you should pull out the remaining trumps to prevent opponents ruffing your high Diamonds, then use the ♥ A as last entry to make your Diamonds. If you play ♥ A as 2nd entry to ruff 3rd Diamond, then using the ♠J as last entry won't be good as opponents still have a trump.
c. If you get a Diamond lead, you should still try ♦ A and Diamond ruff. If Diamonds are 3-2, you continue as above. If Diamonds turn out 4-1, then you should go for 2 Club ruffs in dummy.
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On hand #2, to treat the 2S bid as showing 6 is quite an unusual treatment. That puts too many hands on the 4th suit force.
On hand 1, why is FSF "on" after a strong jump-shift, as the partnership is already in a game force auction.
Why is 4th Suit Forcing "on" after opener makes a strong jump shift, as the partnership is already in a game force auction?
Hand 2: I agree with Rainer. 2S is best and standard.
Y are quite right
Hand 2 : 2 spade from the responder MUST be done with 5 cards....System francais in force !
On Board 2:
"Best to agree these 2 things; first is that a 2♠ rebid by the responder is showing 6 cards in Spades"
This is not standard and no reason given why this should be best.
Mike Lawrence in his book "Tips on Bidding" has a large chapter on
reverses and writes on page 88 after 1C-1S-2H:
"2S: When responder rebids his major he promises a five-card suit. Opener will frequently have three-card support and he will need to know as soon as possible if responder has four or five of the major"
When responder rebids his suit over a reverse he saves bidding space and the bidding can develop smoothly.
For example over 2S opener can rebid his clubs at the 3 level to show six which he can not over 3D.
Since rebidding 2S is forcing responder can bid his suit a third time to show six when appropriate.
Good staff as usual!
The best bid on hand 2 was 3D, not 3C.
On hand 3, the question says "partner follows with the ♥10" which can't be right.
I don't see why in hand 1 4D is a splinter since it easily may corner the partner with a loss of the bidding space. If the hands are like shown, a slam can be easily reached via a slow sequence. What the partner is supposed to bid over 4D with a collection similar to xxx,Qxxx, Ax,Qxxx?
To be honest, I didn't count points on hand 2...but get the correct answer too. As I realized declarer had SQ and HK, then I counted 2 spade tricks, 3 hearts and 3 clubs, so if declarer also had DA we simple had no chance to defeat. I had to assume partner had DA and play DT.
Unless I "mis-clicked".
I don't understand why I did not score 20/20, as I got all four answers correct.
3C; 3C; D-10; and S-A, D-A, D ruff, respectively.