This week we build on our threat card discussion from last week and move forward on how to apply that to Squeezes -- one of the favorite declarer play techniques of expert players.
Transfers have become a larger and larger part of both competitive and constructive bidding. These transfers help with playing the contract from correct side, but they are also effective in searching for a fit while keeping the auction at a low level. One auction where transfers by Responder can be helpful is after Opener has started with a suit opening bid at the 1-level (1X) and then made a jump rebid of 2NT – showing a balanced hand with 18-19 points. Let’s see how transfers by Responder in this auction can help our side describe our hands in the limited space below 3NT. This treatment replaces Modified Wolff Signoff after a 2NT rebid.
Competitive Bidding
There are two general categories of systems against the opponents 1NT opening bids – ones that use a Double as Penalty and others that use a Double as conventional. When the opponents open the bidding with a weak 1NT we need a good method for dealing with their unusual opening bid. The most common range for a weak NT is 12-14 points, but we define 1NT to be weak if the range does not contain 16 points. Some examples: 10-12, 11-13, 11-14, 12-14, 12-15, or 13-15 points. Against these opening bids we use a system that has a penalty double. Let’s look at one fo the most interesting of these sysetm, Landy with Transfer bids.
Constructive: Responder
When our side opens the bidding 2♣, we need an agreement about how we handle our responses. There are a variety of ways to handle this -- 2♦ waiting, Steps, Controls, 2♥ Bust. People have strong opinions about 2♥ for showing a bust. The players who dislike it are worried about “wrong siding” a ♥ contract. The players who like it like knowing that 2♦ is game forcing, determining if we are going to game or not immediately.
Constructive: Responder
When partner opens the bidding 1-minor (1m), a jump shift to 2-Major (2M) by Responder can be used for a variety of different hand types. Both the standard approach of a strong jump shift and the common approach of a weak jump shift leave a lot to be desired. The modern style is for good hands to go slow, which makes a strong jump shift less appealing because it eats up valuable bidding space. With players responding to a 1m opening bid with 1M more and more aggressively, this makes using a weak jump shift less common even if it is our agreement. For these reasons many experienced partnerships choose to use these jumps to 2M for other constructive bidding purposes. Let’s look at uses of these jump shifts that can help us with some problem hands for Responder.
Constructive: Responder
When we use Inverted Minors to raise partner’s suit, the traditional approach is to show Major suit stoppers and determine whether we can play a notrump contract. A more sophisticated approach is to use an artificial structure that allows Opener to show their hand type and strength and allow Responder to determine where to play the final contract (and who should be declarer in notrump). A similar approach to this structure can be used in 1♦ – 2♣ auctions as well. Let’s look at some of these methods in detail.
