bidding a suit of his own. Which should he do? Unless opener has bid a minor, and responder has a decent major to bid, the answer is always the same: SUPPORT! After all, that is what the bid opener most wants to hear.
What happened
North might have recovered from his failure to support if the opponents hadn’t entered the bidding. But suddenly he was faced with the decision of whether to bid 4
over 3
, but it was less of an error to pass at this point than to have bid 2
last time.
Defending East’s 3
AK then switched to
AK, felling North’s
Q, and claimed eight tricks. Down one but N–S had better available…
What should have happened
If North had supported immediately, jumping to 3
to show fair strength, East would have been silenced (the three-level being just too high) and South would have carried on to game (just!).
West leads
AK (noting the 2–2 trump split), then lead to
9, and East takes his
AK, but declarer has the remainder, able to trump
9 in dummy. Ten tricks and game made.
Tip 11
Always support partner when you know there is an eight-card major fit. Think: ‘Fit First’.
Deal 12
As responder, you must immediately support a Major when you have four(+) cards. The more you bid, the better your hand. Say partner opened 1
and you have four-card support. Use the Responder Line (see below) to determine how many to bid based on your point-count. Note that you should be prepared to upgrade with an interesting shape. For example a singleton is worth about as much as an extra king.
Pts: 0----5 6-----9 10---12 13----
Bid: Pass Two Three Four
What happened
West led
, and declarer played low in dummy, East winning
K and returning
7 to
J,
Q and
A. There was no need to trump hearts in the dummy, as dummy’s diamonds would provide plenty of winners after trumps were drawn.
Declarer crossed to
K and then led
2 to
Q, noting West discard. Because he had had the foresight to keep his
A10 finessing position in case of a bad split, he was able to play
4 to
9 and
10, cash
A (felling
J), then begin on diamonds. He cashed
A, then
J, then
4 to
Q. He followed with
K6, bringing his total to ten tricks. Sadly he was languishing in a part-score.
What should have happened
Though a 3
bid expresses his point-count, North should have upgraded his hand in the light of his singleton heart and gone straight to 4СКАЧАТЬ
