Monday, November 28, 2005 2:34 AM

Q Bidding vrs Kickback

PITBULLS:

Minor suit slam bidding is worth its weight in gold in IMPS. As Kantar has mentioned many times, when you just establish your minor suit fit at the 4 level , it is the agreement and not the ask. One of the basics of Bridge is to establish your fit early and then Q bid. The ambiguity of advanced Q bids or implied Q bids are silly. Partner does not know if your bid is natural or you are Q bidding. Support partner’s suit first !

Here is a hand that experts screwed up badly by making advanced Q bids .♠ A10854 ♥AJ8 ♦KJ ♣ J10x . Partner ones 1♣ and you respond 1♠. Partner bids 3♣ and I feel you have a simple bid. You support partner’s clubs by going past 3NT . This bid must show slam interest. You did not leap to 5♣ , bid 3NT or grope for 3NT. You are now at the 4 level so what is the use of initiating a Q bidding auction at this level ? if partner does bid 4 of a major, it is because she lacks a diamond control in order to bid 4♦ Kickback KCB. You do not need 4♦ as a Q bid . There are many auctions where you want 4NT to be natural to escape or describe a balanced 3♣ bid with softer values. Partner has pushed you by 3NT , so 4NT might still be the best contract. 4NT as KCB is dangerous with a minor as trump as you go past 5♣/♦ rather quickly.

Kickback with the minors takes getting used to but just think 4 level is the agreement and not the ask as Kantar advocates. 4NT is virtually never Blackwood with a minor fit unless every suit has been bid and there is no Kickback suit. Partner on this hand bids 4♦ and you bid 4NT showing two with no trump queen. Partner has ♠Kx ♥x ♦Axx ♣AKxxxxx . Coming with the territory of minor suit KCB is keeping the bidding low so you can use neat bids like suit asking bids. Partner bids 5♦ which is a suit ask in diamonds. You still have 3 steps under 6♣ so you can bid 6♣ with the death response in diamonds. 5♥ is 3^rd round control , 5♠ is Kxx and 5NT is Kx & 6♦ is KQ & 7♣ a stiff diamond !! . Partner bids 7♣ which is cold .

Kickback has all the modern KCB advantages of keeping the bidding low & progressing into suit asking bids or specific king ask. Starting Q bidding at the 4 level with a minor agreed is lame anyway but you do have that option. If you bypass the “kickback” suit it is an obvious Q bid. Therefore in almost all cases you have the best of both worlds. You just can not Q bid the Kickback suit. However , if you do not use Kickback , partner has the obvious inference you do not have a control in the Kickback suit.

Kickback for the minors is defined for the 4 level. If you make you minor agreement at the 3 level or lower in a forcing auction, 4 of the agreed minor is KCB . Kickback is reserved for the rarified 4 level. In a non forcing auction , you might want 4 of a minor to mean I have nothing more to say. Kickback apples in those limit raise or better auctions if the game force switch has not been turned on. Kickback , do not leave home without it !