Partner opens 1C and your RHO passes. What do you respond holding ♠105 ♥Q873 ♦KQ107 ♣1084 ?
Many of us were taught that when holding 4-card suits, the best way to explore all possible fits was to respond “up the line”. With the hand above, the correct response was 1D, your cheaper 4-card suit. You didn’t worry about missing a heart fit because there was room for opener to rebid a 4-card major.
That works fine when the opponents are silent, but an overcall from LHO can shut you out of a possible heart fit. This happens often enough that it’s become a better strategy to define “up the line” as a response in your cheaper major, not your cheaper suit. The “new standard” is to bypass a diamond suit – even a 5-carder – to show a 4-card major, especially with minimum point-count.
There are other responding rules, theories and bidding styles that enjoy some popularity but can be just as problematic. Here are some that your partnership may want to modify or discard:
Never pass partner’s 1C opener with club shortness ?
This idea goes back to the days when the “short club” (could be a 2-card suit) was in style. Even playing 1C as 3+ cards, though, some players have a fear of leaving opener in a possible 3-2 or worse fit. That could happen if you pass 1C with a hand such as ♠98653 ♥J65 ♦9542 ♣2 , but not often.
A 1C opening bid will be a 3-card suit only about 17 percent of the time, and on some of those deals, your opponent will solve your problem by bidding in the pass-out seat. Close to half of 1C openers are five or more clubs, so if you respond 1S with this hand, you may well be “saving” opener from a 6-1 fit to play in 2C, 3C or 2NT. If the opponents compete, your response could goad partner into bidding even higher or doubling their contract.
There’s a good case for stretching to respond when you have a singleton club, but not with a poor suit and a near-Yarborough. If 1C is the wrong spot on this deal, it may be a smaller minus than the higher contract you’d land in after responding 1S. At least 1C isn’t doubled yet, and if it is, you’ll be able to escape without misleading partner about your strength.
Use the Montreal Relay to find major-suit fits ?
Also called Kennedy, this agreement specifies that after partner opens 1C, your 1H or 1S response promises 5+ cards. With one or both 4-card majors, you respond 1D, which can also be natural. If opener has a 4-card major, he shows it with his rebid.
The advantages are that you'll find a 5-3 fit right away and opener will declare more often when you have a 4-4 fit. The downside, which is a big one, is that you risk losing those 4-4 fits.
As with the old up-the-line style, the 1D response gives your opponent more room to enter the auction. If you respond 1D to show a 4-card major with ♠QJ97 ♥54 ♦A75 ♣8632 , a 2H overcall from LHO will leave both you and partner guessing about a potential spade fit. A standard 1S response takes away LHO’s cheap preempt and might have forced him to pass.
This method can offer benefits if you play a weak 1NT (12-14), since the 1D response allows opener to show a distributional minimum with his 1H or 1S rebid (with 15-17, he rebids 1NT and you can use Stayman). In strong notrump systems, though, you’ll have more success using standard responses and relying on other bidding tools -- new minor forcing, XYZ rebids, support doubles – to find your 5-3 fits.
Never bypass a 4-card major at the 1-level ?
This is another mainstay of standard bidding. Those who violate it are often called hand hogs or operators, which is apt if they do it to get to 1NT before partner can. There are situations, though, where it’s advisable, sometimes necessary, to hide a 4-card major, even with minimum strength. More about this in the next issue.
© 2020 Karen Walker