Wednesday, June-17-09
Hand Evaluation – Fast Arrival ( Fred Gittleman )
PITBULLS:
An article by Fred Gittleman
on the “Fast Arrival” theme.
The (misguided) principle of fast
arrival
You hold this hand:
♠xxx ♥AQJxx
♦Ax ♣KJx
You open 1♥, partner forces to game with
2♣ You raise to 3♣ (isn't it nice to know partner has
a good five card suit?) and partner jumps to 4♥ What
should you do now? If you play 2/1 the way that most pairs do, partner's unnecessary jump in a
forcing auction shows a minimum hand (the principle of fast arrival). That
information is not very useful here. Opposite this minimum:
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you have a laydown slam. ♠Axx ♥Kxx ♦xx ♣AQ10xx Opposite this minimum: ♠Qxx ♥Kxx ♦Kx ♣AQ10xx |
|
the five level is not safe. The problem here is the jump to 4♥. This bid deprives you of
finding out at a safe level whether or not a spade control exists. The theory
behind using the principle of fast arrival after 2/1 auctions is that without
fast arrival, neither partner ever gets to express whether or not they have
extra values. Standard 2/1 places such a large emphasis on bidding out your
pattern and finding out how well the hands fit that the bidding is often at a
high level before either partner has been able to limit his hand. Using fast
arrival gives responder a chance to say that he has a minimum 2/1.
Unfortunately, the price that must be paid for limiting responder's hand is
too high. There are simply too many times that you need the four level for
cue-bidding, especially when opener's hand is virtually unlimited (as is
usually the case in 2/1 auctions). Even if both opener and responder are minimum, twelve tricks can easily exist if the hands fit
well. Here is the solution that I propose: |
In the above auction (1♥--2♣-3♣) and in
all similar 2/1 auctions in which responder can raise opener's major for the
first time at the three level:
A jump to four of opener's major, instead of
a raise at the three level, is a picture jump. A picture jump shows good trump support, a good suit
of your own (promised by the 2/1) and no first or second round control in any unbid suit. Opener usually has such a good picture of
responder's hand that he can place the contract (sometimes after using Keycard Blackwood). Here is an example of a hand for a jump
to 4♥ by responder in the auction we have been
discussing:
♠Qx ♥Kxxx
♦xx ♣AQJxx
A jump in a new suit is a splinter (a
singleton in the suit bid), but it is very well defined. Like the picture jump
it shows good trumps and a good 5 card 2/1 suit. The splinter bid denies first
or second round control in the unbid suit. Also, do
not splinter with a singleton Ace or with a void. Here is an example of a
splinter bid of 4♦ in the above auction:
♠Qxx ♥Kxxx
♦x ♣AQJxx
Once again, responder's hand is so well-defined that opener will
frequently be able to place the contract. In the above example, opener will
know that:
♠Axx ♥AQxxx ♦xx ♣Kxx
|
produces slam while the same hand with the ♦A instead of the ♠A
belongs at the four level. Notice that in the auction that we have been
discussing, responder never mentions the word "hearts". The raise
is implicit. It is certainly non-intuitive that the splinter should be in
support of hearts (as opposed to clubs) and you should have an explicit
partnership understanding before making this kind of bid. |
With all other hands with 3 card or more support for opener's major, raise
at the three level (auctions in which you can raise at the two level are
different - perhaps I will discuss those in another article). Since both
opener's and responder's hands are virtually unlimited at this point, it is
necessary to have a way for either partner to show genuine slam interest. The
answer is a convention called "Serious 3NT" (John Gowdy discussed Serious 3NT in a previous issue of
Canadian Masterpoint). Here is the definition of serious 3NT:
When an 8 card or longer major suit fit is agreed at the three level
and the bidding is forced to game, a bid
of 3NT by either partner is completely artificial. It says: "partner I
have serious slam interest, please cue-bid for me."
If you fail to bid serious 3NT when you have the opportunity and cue-bid
instead, that carries the following message: "Partner, I do not have
serious slam interest, but I am cue-bidding in case you do."
What should you cue-bid? In
my partnerships with Geoff Hampson and Sheri
Winestock we have found the following approach
very successful: I suggest that a cue-bid in partner's 2/1 suit shows one of
the top three honours (Ace, King, or Queen). A cue-bid of your own 2/1 suit
shows two of the top three honours. A cue-bid in an unbid
suit shows any first or second round control (Ace, King, singleton, or void).
Cue-bidding is always done up the line. By skipping a step, you deny an
appropriate holding in the step that you skip. 4NT by either partner is always
Roman Keycard Blackwood. Some consequences of this
approach to slam bidding: