Monday, September 18, 2006 1:35 PM

Hand Evaluation - Forcing 1NT ( Fit Showing Jumps )

 

PITBULLS: 

            Fit showing jumps as a passed hand are now part of Bridge World Standard. They make perfect sense as your weak two’s have already been bid & splinters as a passed hand are ludicrous. Evaluating fits of course is basic hand evaluation. These fit showing jumps are especially good when partner opens a minor in 3^rd or 4^th seat. The only rules are that the bid is a jump shift meaning the best passed hand possible & show values concentrated in the jumped suit. A NT bid by opener always asks for the stiff &  a simple raise of the major is forcing. C’est tout.

            I like fit showing jumps in another place also. We play a 2/1 over a major as non forcing to game when suit rebid. Therefore , there is no reason for a forcing 1NT  jump bid  to show a natural suit. This opens up the jump bid by the 1NT responder as a splinter or a fit showing jump to show great support for opener. I prefer the latter.  The reason is frequency . We are already short in opener’s major for responding 1NT in the first place , so the odds of shortness in another suit to be a splinter decreases. We never splinter in partners major , of course. A singleton can be shown as a control later in the auction.

            Showing a strong minor raise for opener after a forcing NT has always been a problem. These were the fix hands that Goren handled better than a forcing NT. Showing a good suit & values around 10 HCP initially which opener now bids  maybe as a 3 card suit prevents the 1NT contortions.  Now responder must convince opener she has that type of support for her minor after a 1NT response.  A fit showing jump helps describe these hand types & it is clearly better than an artificial 2♠ after a 1♥ opener or an artificial 2♥ bid requiring a relay. You are in effect recovering the Goren 2/1 by showing where you live , minor suit support & 10+ HCP with one jump bid . You can still use 2♠ to show a strong minor raise after 1♥ opener but there is an extra implication now. You do not have a fit showing jump when you chose that bid. Probably most of your HCP’s in partner’s minor.

            Showing a strong heart raise after a spade opener & a 2♥ rebid has been a problem by responder  ( other than leaping to game ) as slam is still possible.  In addition , when you had a limit raise in partners major , partner rebids her  major , a fit showing jump leaves slam possibilities open. 

 

1♠-P-1NT-P

2♣-P-3♦-P     ♠void ♥xx ♦AQxxxx ♣J987x         grand slam possible opposite ♠J10xxx ♥Ax ♦Kx ♣AKxx

 

1♠-P-1NT-P

2♦-P-3♥-P        ♠xx ♥KQJx ♦Axxxx ♣xx              slam opposite ♠AKxxx ♥Axx ♦KQxx ♣x

 

1♠-P-1NT-P

2♥-P-4♦-P       ♠xx ♥Axxxx ♦KQJx ♣xx                slam opposite  ♠AKxxx ♥KQxx ♦Axx ♣x

 

1♠-P-1NT-P

2♠-P-4♣-P     ♠Axx ♥xx ♦xxx ♣KQJxx                   slam opposite ♠KQxxx ♥Axx ♦x ♣Axx

 

 

            Fit showing jumps have the advantage of alternative game contracts especially 3NT .

 

1♥-P-1NT-P

2♦-P-3♠-P

3NT                       ♠KQJ ♥xx ♦Axxxx ♣xxx            opposite ♠x ♥AQxxx ♦KQxx ♣A10x ( avoids 5♦ )

 

            Two suited fits are best described with a fit showing jump. Partner opens 1♥ , you respond 1NT with ♠Ax ♥Kxx ♦K10xxx ♣xxx intending on showing a limit raise. Partner surprises you by bidding 2♦. Leap to 4♦ which shows a fit showing jump with support for both suits. Partner has ♠Kxx ♥AQJxx ♦AQxx ♣x so 6 is cold in either red suit.

            Here is an auction from a Bermuda Bowl where they got to 3♣ where 6♣ for +1370 was cold. They opened 1♥ on ♠x ♥Axxxx ♦KQx ♣Axxx , partner bid a forcing NT with ♠xx  ♥x ♦Axxxx ♣KQxxx  . At one table they bid 3♣ after a 2♣ rebid by opener which was passed out. At the other table , they bid 2♠ showing a strong club raise which got converted to 3♣ passed out. Our auction over 2♣ is 3♦ a fit showing jump. This is followed by a 3♠ Q bid so on to 6♣ . Vive la difference !

            I feel there is no reason to leap to 3NT by responder after she has bid a forcing 1NT. 2NT is a strong bid in the teeth of a misfit  so can be bid with as many as 13 HCP. Passing 2NT in IMPS is rare & we have relays to bail out in these auctions. Therefore,  we can define a leap to 3NT is a fit showing jump with partners major & soft values giving partner a choice of contracts. When opener bids over 3NT , it is a stiff & a slam try in the agreed major. This means a leap to 4 of a major after a forcing 1NT can not be a balanced hand & probably shows controls & distribution rather than soft values.