Wednesday, May 23, 2007 11:45 PM

Hand Evaluation - Fast Arrival Games

PITBULLS:

“Fast arrival” is not just a 2/1 concept. Back in the early days of Bridge , these jumps to game were called “shut out bids” & partner was pretty well expected to pass with anything. Modern bidders know that “fast arrival” pre-empts partner so “bidding what you think you can make” is chosen carefully. These bids should have some flaw that prevents reasonable slam exploration. Horrible duplication of value in their suit , a lack of fit in partners suit , minimum hand or a lack of controls are normally the reason for fast arrival.

Fast arrival is also bidding game without Q bidding along the way. If you bypass a Q bid at the 4 level there must be a reason & that is you are not interested in a slam try. A Tormentee held this hand tonight ♠xxx ♥xx ♦AKQJ10x ♣Ax , partner opened 1♥. She bid 2♦ & partner replied with 2♥. The auction continued with 2NT followed by 3♥ so now what ? You decide that 4♥ is the spot but due to your source of tricks so it does not hurt to Q bid 4♣ along the way. Partner now takes control so you get to +1430 in hearts.

The fast arrival inference is everywhere. You open 1♣ with ♠x ♥KQ109x ♦x ♣AKJ10xx vul vrs not . LHO bids 4♦ & partner leaps to 6NT. This is a fast arrival bid so partner is not interested in intelligently trying for a grand slam. The flaw in her hand is probably soft values in diamonds eith KQx or KJx or the like. If she had all controls , say a hand like ♠AJ10xx ♥AJx ♦AQ ♣Qxx she would take it slower as a grand slam is possible. Normally when you have two suits as a source of tricks for NT it is a good thing. Bidding 7NT on that basis is fine but the “fast arrival” by partner should deter you from bidding 7.

Here is hand where “fast arrival” cost your side 17 IMPS. Partner opens 1♦ vul vrs not and your hand is ♠AQxxx ♥QJ ♦Ax ♣AJxx . You respond 1♠ , partner bids 2♦. You make a 4^th suit forcing bid of 3♣ with partner bidding 3NT. Now what ? You now make a “fast arrival” bid of 6♦ which shuts out exploration for an alternate contract of 6NT & in rare cases a grand slam. 6♦ goes one down ( very unlucky ) & 6NT has 12 top tricks. A two suited fit normally means 6NT is the superior contract. Partner had ♠KJ of spades to fill in your suit but was never given the chance to describe it. Pulling 3NT to 4♦ is a slam try and allows partner a chance to bid 4♠. Now with two suits in the mix , it is best to bid 6NT as insurance in case one suit does not come in. Have a reason for fast arrival as you take partner right out of the picture. Partners hand is ♠KJ ♥Kxx ♦KQJ10xx ♣10x so 6NT is claimed with any lead. Change partners heart to the Ace & 7NT is cold on any lead.

When partner responds a major & you leap to game in her major , fast arrival dictates that the bid should be based on distribution even in competition or maybe especially so. I think a jump raise should be stronger in HCP’s than a jump to game as we leave room for the serious 3NT or Q bidding. BJ Trelford had such a hand tonight. He opened 1♥ on ♠KQxx ♥QJ1098x ♦x ♣Ax , partner responded 1♠ . His RHO bid 2♦ so is this a 4♠ bid or a 3♠ bid ? BJ judged that the stiff diamond was the deciding factor to show the stronger of the two bids. If he had a doubleton diamond , he probably would have bid 4♠.