Sunday, February 18, 2007 11:26 PM

3NT - Minors

PITBULLS:

Every Bridge player should know that you do not pull 3NT to a minor out of a position of weakness to “improve the contract” . With minors , 3NT is the ultimate goal & you are not improving the contract by going to 5 of a minor. If you pull 3NT , it is because you are interested in bigger and better things. With a weak hand , even distributional , 3NT ends all auctions where minors are concerned.

What is not so obvious is that you sending partner a message via bypassing bidding 3NT or not trying for 3NT when you have the minors. With the minors , the philosophy of game before slam becomes paramount . You bid stoppers and try for 3NT when you have the chance , you do not go beyond 3NT unless you have slam aspirations. In other words – game before slam.

Take this auction . 1♣-P-1♦-P

1♥-P-2♠-P

3♣-P-3♦-P

Is 3♠ now a Q bid implying a diamond fit ? No getting to the 3NT is the default understanding with minors. 3♠ may be showing a spade card for 3NT but an unsuitable hand to bid 3NT yourself. A 4♣ bid should show a good hand as you bypassed 3NT. You need a better hand to try for an 11 trick game than a 9 trick game. In fact , since 2♠ as 4^th suit forcing does not promise spades , 3♠ could be interpreted as asking for a spade stopper for 3NT.

Could 3♠ mean a Q bid implying a diamond fit ? Yes , it could but it is not the first interpretation of the bid as you think game before slam. If partner has diamond slam aspirations, she will be pulling 3NT to diamonds later to clarify the 3♠ bid. Q bids below 3NT are not necessarily Q bids. They can be stoppers , suits or even asking for stoppers. If they turn out to be Q bids implying a fit , that is the last interpretation of the bid. You must wait & see if 3NT is going to be pulled by partner for clarification.