Friday, January 19, 2007 2:56 PM

Hand Evaluation - Fit Showing Jumps ( Minors )

PITBULLS:

Fit showing jumps work best when partner opens a minor in 3^rd or 4^th seat . You get your major suit into the auction while simultaneously telling partner that you have a fit for her minor. Excellent stuff. Restricting fit showing jumps to just passed hands is not doing this bid justice. We use that bid with forcing NT’s to show fits for partners rebid & to recover the “Goren 2/1” which is lost with a forcing NT.

Another place , I suggest using the fit showing jump , is when partner opens 1 of a minor & they make a T/O double. A XX should imply no fit & jumping in a suit in which they are making a T/O double is lame bidding (WJS) . Showing a minor fit after a T/O double is difficult & quite often needs the XX. Why not just bid your WJS suit at the one level or back in later ? The WJS is not a good bid after a T/O double, so why not change the systemic meaning to a fit showing jump ?

Partner opens 1♦ , they double & you have ♠KQxxx ♥x ♦AQxx ♣xxx . You make a fit showing jump of 2♠ ( forcing to 3♦) so you have described your hand pretty accurately with one bid. Partner has ♠xxx ♥Axxx ♦KJ10xx ♣A so you may reach a 23 HCP slam just needing the spade Ace with the T/O doubler.

Once in a while an established partnership should look at the idle bids in their system. A WJS as a passed hand is very rare as the hand should have already been opened a weak 2 or other pre-empt. Pre-empting with a WJS after a T/O double is risky . Find a better use for these bids . A fit showing jump in early years defined one of the strong jump shift bids & it worked fine. Using one bid to show two features at once is very sound in bidding theory. Announcing a fit quickly is also a great bidding advantage.

A T/O double by the opposition interferes with your constructive bidding. Over the majors , transfers help in clarify auctions. With the minors , a fit showing jump is a good idea to help your auctions. You certainly do not give up much by losing the WJS.

The strong jump shift of the Goren era was essentially a fit showing jump in many cases. This bid has gone the way of the dinosaur but the concept is still very sound in theory. Fit showing jumps over a minor keeps the bidding at the two level & you have broadcast a lot of information.