Deep Thoughts

Here's a thought.  Not sure how to crystalize this into practice.

Every so often, you see the hand where two possible strains offer reasonable trumps.  For instance, maybe you find out that you have a minor fit and a major fit.  Maybe 1S-P-2C-P-3C-P-3S as the start.

In this situation, a recurring theme is that of deciding ultimate strain in a potential slam.  For example, if Responder has Kxx in spades, and Opener has Axxxx, perhaps a spade can be pitched from the short side in a club contract, allowing the spade suit to be played for no losers, if the contract is 6C.  Or, maybe 6C simply reduces the risk from a 4-1 spade stack.  What's worse is if we only have the spade ace and are missing both King and Queen, where 6C might be able to handle that.

Alternatively, however, 6C might not be as good for the same reason, and maybe a club pitch or two might help 6S to make.

The key to these situations is in the Queens, primarily, and secondarily in the Kings.  So, what sometimes happens is that you use RKCB in spades, find out perhaps the bad news, and then bid 6C (and hope that partner takes this as a placement of contract and not a grand try).

It seems to me that there might be an alternative to consider.

Let's take the auction out a bit, in general terms.  1S-P-2C-P-3C-P-3S start.  Cues and seriousness and the like end us at the point of, say, someone bidding 4H as Last Train or as a cue.  Whatever.  Now is the witching hour.

Suppose, also, that something about the "cues and seriousness and the like" suggests or proves that Exclusion RKCB is not an option.  So, at this point, you might end up in a situation with an "ask or answer" structure.

What is that, you ask?  Well, simply put, 4NT is RKCB, but anything above 4NT is an answer to an "assumed 4NT" from partner.  Hence, if partner bids 4H Last Train (spades agreed), I would bid 4NT to ask questions, or I could bid 5H to instead answer, "Two without."  I can ASK or ANSWER.

So, why "ask or answer?"  I mean, which do you elect to do?  I typically, in these situations (where partner and I have agreed to do this) answer with primes but ask with body.

There might be a slightly better way to handle this in the two-fits scenario.  Or, a more precise rule. 

If I am looking at the spade Queen, I am not as concerned about the "which strain" question.  If I am not looking at the spade Queen, though, I can ask and place the contract in clubs if I have the club Queen.  But, what if I have neither (and cuebidding has not answered this question, yet)?

Or, what if some Queen is unknown, but important?  In some auctions, for instance, the spade queen might be known, but not the club Queen, because no cue was available to show that card.  Finding that card later might be quite a task.

Here, then, is the thought.  One might decide that you ask with the key unshown key Queen but answer without the key Queen.  The side-suit, alternative-strain Queen is the default "key Queen."  The part about asking with the key Queen is tactical, as captaincy is with the person looking at the key Queen.  The part about answering without the key Queen is definitional, as captaincy is transferred to the person who may or may not be looking at the key Queen but now knows the answer as to the partnership holding by virtue of the definition.

I am still not sure how this would develop as a theory, as far as designation of the key Queen, handling a two-queens scenario, and the like.  But, I think there is something to think about here.

LDBC Newsletter Links

The local bridge club where my wife and I play on Thursday nights has a Newsletter, yours truly as the "Editor."  The pdf's of the monthly newsletters are now available at http://www.limadbc.blogspot.com/, in case anyone is interested.  a lot of folks like "the Bickersons on Bridge," which is intended to have a touch of self-depricating humor.

Fourth Seat Openings

It looks like I have finally convinced my 2/1 partner to venture into the world of Fourth Seat Intermediates!!!

The fourth-seat weak two is such a bizarre bid, IMO.  I have seen "treatments" that raise the weak two to a minimal opening, or even a "tweener" opening, always with length in the major.  It seems to make a lot more sense to solve a real problem or two.

For Philadelphia, it looks like we will be incorporating a fourth-seat 2H and 2S opening showing five of the indicated major, 4-5 of either minor, and intermediate strength (about 14-15 plus or minus).  We considered the same shape but weaker (11-12 plus or minus), as well.  Either way, this takes some stress off of other auctions.

Our response structure is to have 2NT as an asking bid with values (with garbage, 3C is pass-or-correct).  After 2NT, Opener bids the minor with any minimum or any 5-4 (minimum shape).  These calls in 3/4 of the occurrences allow a next-up "game last train" to see if partner has the maximum 5-4, and Opener in that instance can show the shortness with the max 5-4.  The exception is the heart-diamond hand, in which case Opener can treat the max 5-4 as a max 5-5 if appropriate.

With maximum 5-5 hands, Opener shows the minor and the shortness, flagging the minor with shortness in the other minor (3H for clubs, 3S for diamonds) or jumping in the minor (4C/4D) with shortness in the other major.  3NT is allowed, with a "gambling" hand -- stuff in the short suits, maximal, player.

Unfortunately, the ACBL does not allow THAT treatment in your average game, so this is limited for us to Philadelphia (or some other appropriate event).  But, for the everyday game, this is allowed if the second suit is known, perhaps always clubs.  That would help with a Gazilli-like treatment.

Why the ACBL bars such a natural bid, simply a treatment, is a mystery.  Perhaps it just sounds too European?  We North Americans just cannot apparently handle any European exotic bids, you see.  How canape snuck in is a good question, though.  We do eat a lot, and someone at Headquarters might have been confused.

Three Clubs as Length or Shortness

Themes seem to arise in bidding.  An odd one resurfaced for me recently -- bidding 3C as "length or shortness."

One example I have played is when partner raises my 1D opening.  We have played that 3C in this sequence shows "length or shortness."

1D-P-2D-P-
3C-P-?

Responder then bids 3D to ask for clarification:

3H = length, this shortness
3S = length, this shortness
3NT = shortness in clubs

We are trying out a new spot for this, after transfers.

1NT-P-2D-P-
2H-P-3C!

1NT-P-2H-P-
2S-P-3C!

In these situations, however, Opener has two asking bids.  Bidding Responder's major asks, but agrees the major as trumps.  Bidding 3D also asks, suggesting clubs as trumps.  Bidding the other major "asks" in a way, suggesting a 5-3 strain in that other major.

Maybe you have spots where 3C as "length or shortness" makes sense?

Play Problem!!!

I almost never comment on play problems.  Bidding is my passion.  But, one from the US Team Trials written up in the ACBL Bulletin caught my interest.

Dummy: Kxxxx-K10x-x-KQ108
Declarer: x-AQ9xx-AJx-A7xx

Moss-Gitelman ended up in 6H by an auction that makes my head hurt.  My auction would not resemble theirs.  But, I'll refrain.

On a diamond lead, Moss won and attacked spades at trick two, King won with the Ace, spade back, and a late trump promo set the contract (LHO held two spades and Jxx in hearts).  The Bulletin commentary was that "Double Dummy" the line could be to ruff a diamond, pull a trump, club to hand, ruff another diamond, and exit a spade, which makes on this layout.  What a poor analysis!

I asked my friend Eichenbaum his line, and his was what I saw. 

Win the diamond and ruff a diamond.  Trick three -- small spade off table.  This is a timing play and deprives the opponents of any ability to create any stinkers, whether a spade tgrump promo, a diamond trump promo (the Bulletin concern), or clubs 4-1 and a simple trump in clubs.  Plus, it give RHO a problem when he has the Ace of spades but no Queen and must make a trick-three big duck.

Suppose that the small spade catches air, however, and someone wins it cheap.  Again, no harm can be done, but it gets interesting after this.  Suppose a club comes back.  You have to win in hand even if the 8 would win, because you cannot risk a 4-1 club split.  So, you win and ruff the last diamond, play the top heart, and ruff a spade back to pull trumps (one remaining in hand if they split 3-2).

One ending is to simply save KQ10 in clubs and a spade.  If LHO has Jxxx in clubs, you can win the club Queen, finding this out, and cross back with a spade ruff to hook clubs.  But, there is a sexier line, I think.

Save KQ tight in clubs, and the Kx in spades, as the last four cards.  On the same play to the Queen, clubs 3-2 means a claimer.  Cash the second club, pulling the last club, ruff back to hand, and enjoy the good 7.

If clubs do not cooperate, however, after winning the club Queen, ruff a spade back to hand, hoping to see the spade Ace, and then go back to dummy's club King to enjoy the established spade King.

That line works whenever either opponent started with the Jxxx in clubs and the spade Ace, because they will be squeezed out of their small spade to have a now-tight Ace of spades.  Even if the person with the Jxxx doesn't have the spade Ace, the alternative line works when the person with the Ace started with only Ax or Axx in spades.
The straight hook line is superior when LHO has Jxxx with no spade Ace and fewer than four spades.  My alternative line is superior when RHO has the Jxxx and either the spade Ace or 4+ spades.

Transfers by Advancer

It sometimes amazes me how thinking through one issue in one context often translates into an unexpected idea for a different sequence, completely unrelated.  I have found through the years that experience with various systems and conventions has expanded my thinking in this way, and I was recently reminded of this when considering a specific circumstance.

In my book, New Frontiers for Strong Forcing Openings, I realized that limitation of strong balanced hand pattern by splitting these between hands with known spades and hands without known spades did wonders for minor-suit sequences. 

Then, I though last night about a much more mundane sequence.  LHO opens a weak two in a major, and partner overcalls 2NT, passed to you. 

As a quick but related aside, this reminded me of a funny sequence.  Playing with an insane partner years ago (more insane than me), a 2S opening was passed around to me.  I balanced as an unpassed hand with a 2NT call with a questionable holding.  I had 1534 pattern with the stiff spade King, nice primed values.

Partner advanced with 3S.  What the heck was 3S?  We had forgotten to discuss this sequence!  RHO doubled, and it was up to me.

This seemed great!  I bid 4H.  This could never go wrong.  If partner took this as natural, I have five hearts.  If partner took this as a "flag" showing great clubs, I had great clubs.  If partner took this as RKCB for clubs, same happiness.  If partner took this as a cuebid, I was looking at the heart Ace.

4H was passed out.  Partner had a void in hearts and took me for balancing with a solid heart suit and the spade King.  Huh?

The funny thing was that the other top-flight team that we played for those 7 boards ended up in a 4-1 heart game two hands later.  When Declarer flipped out on Dummy, I commented that at least he got a stiff!

Anyway, back to the bidding.  It dawned on me that a good tweak to advancing 2NT overcalls makes sense, along the lines of "New Frontiers" when a major is already out of focus:

3C = Puppet Stayman.  Partner bids three of the other major with 4, three of the major with 5.  If partner bids 3D, 3H and 3S become flags (3H showing clubs, 3S showing diamonds) with either slam interest or game strain uncertainty (meaning, no stopper bolster).

Transfer to other major = normal.

Transfer to THEIR major = clubs (and either slammish or strain uncertainty, or even bust)

3S = diamonds (and slam or strain or bust)

This seems so obvious now...

General Principles

Discuss with partners weird auctions and ask for their take.  Being "right" is less important than being on the same page.  A case in point.

Last Thursday, a friend (who shall remain nameless) and I perpetrated this nightmare auction:

1D-P-1S-P-
2D-P-2S-P-
3H-all pass

This, of course, made no sense.  3H cannot be to play, can it? 

I asked my wife about the sequence, giving her my friend's hand.  She passed 3H also.  Weird.

So, I then had a more sane discussion with my regular tournament partner.  Of course he agreed that 3H was clearly a fit bid of some variety, supporting spades.  But, what meaning?

My take was "bid where you live."  I wanted to show heart values naturally, implying a stiff club, honor-third in spades, Ace or King of hearts, with good diamonds headed by the Ace.  That way, when partner has something somewhat like his actual hand (AJxxxx-K10xx-x-xx), he likes his hand, which is a good thing.

Eichenbaum's take was that 3H showed shortness, as many calls in similar sequences tend shortness.

I don't know or care so much whether "where you live" or "shortness" is the better in theory.  The best is whatever we agree and whatever springs from consistent thinking.  In retrospect, I would probably expect shortness with Eichenbaum but expected a "where I live" approach with the friend.

Maybe toss this sequence at your partner?