Friday, September 29, 2006 8:21 PM

Hand Evaluation – Partnership ( Intentions )

PITBULLS:

The strong jump shift by responder has gone by the way of the dinosaur. The reason for this extinction is that the jump bid just used up too much bidding space. The strong jump shift had its good points though. The bid announced your intentions immediately to partner that you were slamish with a good suit or fit. Partner now co-operates immediately assuming your suit is trump or tries to throw cold water on the proceedings.

Partner opens 1♦ , you have ♠AKQJxx ♥xxx ♦Kx ♣Ax so you bid 1♠ . Partner bids 2♣ so you are forced to bid 2♥ 4^th suit , when you do not play 3♠ as “recovering the strong jump shift”. Partner now bids 2NT so what now ? You bid 3♠ I assume , as you have forced to game with your 4^th suit forcing bid. Partner now bids 4♠ so you try 5♠ which asks partner to bid 6 with a heart control. Partner passes , tables ♠xx ♥J10x ♦AQJ10 ♣KQ10x so you go one down for –100.

The trouble with this auction & many similar auctions is that you never announced your intentions early enough. If you jump to 3♠ saying you have a standard American strong jump shift , you change captaincy. Partner now has a picture of your hand. Partner puts on the breaks with a 3NT bid or a game bid which means that he lacks a heart control or else she would have bid it for you. Both sides have input into the bidding rather than one side taking control but never really announced her hand to partner. Lacking hearts you correct the contract to 4♠ and all is well.

“Recovering the strong jump shift” should play by the same rules as if a strong jump shift by responder took place. Bidding opposite a known strong hand that also has a good suit , changes the auction. Opener is no longer trying to describe her hand trying to find a fit. The bidding has come down to either encouraging partner in her suit or throwing a wet blanket over proceedings. Essentially you are following the same rules of bidding as the serious 3NT. You Q bid if you have a control as a courtesy . The death responses are NT or raising to game . Rebidding your suit is not a “death response” but announcing a source of tricks for partner. Raising to game on these auctions should be a “picture” bid. This shows no outside controls outside of openers own suit and possibly an honour in partners suit.

4^th suit forcing works in conjunction with recovering the strong jump shift. Change your hand to ♠KJ10xxx ♥Axx ♦Kx ♣Ax essentially the same distribution & HCP as the previous hand ,but this time you use 4^th suit forcing. Partner now knows you have a forcing to game hand with a broken 6 card spade suit. This is a handy negative inference re the quality of your suit.

Bridge is a partnership game. There is a lot to be said for clueing her in immediately as to your intentions. With the excellent 2 way NMF & XYZ , you have recovered the strong jump preference & jump shift so as to announce your slam intentions & suit length & quality immediately. Jump preferences as strong & slam going were also a handy bid but lost the popularity race with invitational hands. We recover those as strong & slamish also playing XYZ as we have 2♣ to show all invitational hands.