Tuesday, November 29, 2005 9:29 PM
Fit Showing Jump Shifts
PITBULLS:
Bridge is a game
of suits says Garozzo. If you have a bid that describes two suits with one bid , go
for it. Experts look
for “dead space” in defining their system. If you play weak two’s , these type
of hands are not around anymore if
you are a passed hand. Also , when was the last time you made a weak jump shift
to an overcall ? Also a splinter should be a slam try as you are giving lots of
information to the enemy. Being a passed hand or responding to an overcall ,
makes providing for a rare slam via a
splinter as a waste of a bid. So why not define the jump shift as a
passed hand or to an overcall as something different ?
Enter
the strong jump shift as
responder. If you make a jump shift as a passed hand or to an overcall you have
a strong jump shift . Not any
strong jump shift but specifically one showing a 4 card or better fit. The bid also describes a good suit in
which you just jumped. Perfect - describing two suits with one bid !
Another
“dead bid” is bidding NT when
partner has shown distribution with 2 suits. NT is reserved in all auctions to
ask for a stiff. Returning to the trump suit says I do not have a stiff. I think
the fit showing jump works best after a minor
opener but the bid is effective after a major also. Playing 3NT with a major implied fit makes no
sense , so that bid also asks for a stiff. A simple raise is forcing in these
auctions to preserve room. Again you do not need an invitational bid as the
jump shift bidder has described her hand already. 1♣-P-2♥-P 3♥ is
forcing and just establishes trump.
Showing
clubs after a major when you play Drury is difficult. If you play Drury, you can define a jump raise
in the major as a jump shift in
clubs with a fit. This leaves 1 of a major – 3♣ as natural showing clubs as a passed hand. Do not need this in overcall
situations of course.
Even
if the opponents interfere by overcalling , you can still play fit showing
jumps. If the opponents double though , I think you should revert to the old
stand by splinters & weak jump shifts. The doubler has the 2nd
suit anyway so the frequency of the bid does not justify a fit showing jump.
There
is no upper limit to a fit showing jump after an overcall so it is defined as a
limit raise or better. Playing fit showing jumps, KCB automatically
reverts to double fit KCB. Just
as a reminder , double fit KCB adds the king of the 2nd suit as an Ace. Queens of both suits are added
to the mix . 5♥ shows two with no queens , 5♠ shows two with the lower
ranking queen ( think up the line)
, 5NT shows two with the higher ranking queen and 6♣ shows two with both
queens. Queen asking bids follows the same scheme ( up the line) for
queens.
Lets
try an auction . 1♠-2♣-P-3♥
P-3NT-4♦-P
P-4NT-P-6♣
P-7♣-P-P
P
xxx KQxxx x AQxx Ax
Ax Axxx KJ1098 The 2♣ overcaller “just” knows partner has 5♥ to the KQxxx via double fit KCB & jump shift , a
stiff diamond ( 3NT bid ) and AQxx 4th of clubs via fit showing and
double fit KCB. WOW a
27 HCP grand slam !