One of the greatest weaknesses of less experienced players is being afraid to raise partner - one of the greatest weaknesses of the better player is imagining that every bid should be forcing. In this article we treat a common sequence that illustrates both of these failings.
You pick up Kxx x AQxx Kxxxx, and open 1
. Partner responds 1
. Too weak
to reverse into diamonds, many would rebid 2, and quite likely miss an excellent spade fit. Much
better is to raise to 2. Whilst this
may lead to an uncomfortable 4-3 fit, far more often the 4-3
fit will be the right place to play, or partner will have five
anyway.
In fact, most top players would raise if it had started
1
-1 and they
held Kxx x Kxxxx AQxx even though they could now comfortably
bid their second suit. Many would also raise a 1
response with Kxxx Qxx x AKxxx, and on
balanced hands with three card support.
Aside from the fact that you tend to land up in better fits
by doing this, it also makes stronger hands easier to bid
constructively. Kxx x AQxxx AQxx can bid 1-1-2-2-2,
accurately showing the shape of the hand, and also conveying
extra strength to partner, as with a weak hand you would simply
have raised 1 to 2.
So how do you continue after 1-1-2? How
do you investigate the right game? The key is to bear in mind
that partner may only have three spades. With five spades it is
easy - you can make a game try with 3
or 3, or a subtle game try by bidding
4.
With only four spades, you have to be a little more careful.
If invitational, choose between 2NT and 3, both natural and non-forcing. If partner has a maximum he
will choose between 4 if he has four,
and 3NT or 4 if he has three. Note
that 3 showed exactly three hearts and
four spades, so it leaves partner well placed to select the
right contract. Notice also that it is not forcing. If partner
has a minimum and 3-5 in the majors, it clearly cannot be right
for him to have to put back to the 4-3 spade fit.
With a game force and only four spades, choose between 3NT
and 4, the latter when you have three
card support (with only 3-4 in the majors partner should either
open or rebid 1NT, so you are known to have a fit in one of the
majors). With four spades partner will pull back to spades.
Raising on 3 card support: If this is a struggle to you,
take comfort from the fact that with 6 of your first suit and 3
card support you can choose whether to raise partner or rebid
your suit (though with six hearts it is almost certainly better
to rebid 2).