Wednesday, July 26, 2006 3:51 AM

Hand Evaluation – Minor ( Major Responses )

PITBULLS:

Responding your majors to a minor opening bid should not just be a reflex action. Hand evaluation dictates when rules are made to be broken. You have ♠xxxxx ♥KQJx ♦xx ♣ xx , partner opens 1♦ so what is your bid ? The book says you bid your longer suit first. This is a time to throw away the book & respond 1♥. You only have one bid ,so by responding a spade might pre-empt partner from your 4-4 heart fit ! When partner has 4♠ you will find your spade fit that way. Even if you have a very weak 5-5 it is best to respond 1♥ as you keep more options open.

Partner opens 1♣ , you are 4-4 in the majors so you respond 1♥ correct ? Not necessarily so as it depends on the quality of your suits & what you plan to bid if partner rebids her minor. Your hand is ♠KQJ10 ♥AJxx ♦xxx ♣xx so when you respond 1♥ what do you do after a 2♣ rebid ? I would treat this hand as a 5-4 due to the quality of the spade suit. Partner’s hand is ♠Axx ♥Kxx ♦ x ♣ KQJxxx so +620 in spades is a magical spot. You are in effect playing a 5-3 spade fit due the suit quality.

Hand evaluation is a constant promotion or demotion of hands. 4 card suits get promoted to 5 & 5 card suits get demoted to 4. Bridge is a game of suits says Garozzo. This means evaluate your suits in determining your bids. Rote rules & Bridge are a very poor mixture.

Responding with poor 4 card majors is a matchpoint ploy. In IMPs , a suit should be “biddable” ( 1930’s Bridge ) . Partner opens 1♥ & you have ♠Jxxx ♥xx ♦KQxx ♣Qxx I do not respond a spade. This is a forcing 1NT as I have a balanced hand with soft NT values. Even when partner opens a minor , I still do not like responding a major with a “non suit” . When we miss our 4-4 major suit fit , I will live with it. Maybe the opponents will balance in my 4 card major ?

When you play sound opening bids , beware of the passed hand 12-13 HCPs. When you have a balanced hand with soft values in that HCP range, bid 2NT as a passed hand rather than your 4 card major. Partner with 13 HCP’s & a balanced hand , might pass one of your major , so you miss those Meckwell 25 HCP games. Partner in 3^rd seat is more likely to open a 4 card major with a minimum hand , so trying to find your 4-4 major fit is downgraded in importance. When opener is distributional , there is no reason why she cannot rebid a 4 card major , so possibly you get to your major game that way.

Responding your 4 card major at any cost , hides your distribution & HCP count. A major at the one level is a very ambiguous bid. Passed hand bidding allows you to describe your HCP & distribution at the expense of your 4 card major. My partner held this hand as a passed hand ♠AJ10x ♥xx ♦Kxx ♣K109x . We have an understanding that a spade response to a heart shows a good 4 card suit or a 5 card suit. Why not take advantage of your passed hand status to describe your balanced distribution & HCP strength with one bid of 2NT ? With your hand you are right siding the NT & making the most encouraging bid towards game. When you respond 1♠ , partner bids 3♥ so you bid 3NT . Partner is all controls with a stiff, so thinks 3NT is not the spot so “corrects “ to 4♠ . You belong in 3NT so you were in the wrong contract. In matchpoints , I would pull to 4NT as that should make on sheer power.

Bypassing 4 card majors as a rule is not a good idea as you do play 5 card majors . A 4-4 major suit fit is normally a good contract. However , being a passed hand lets you get away with it as partner will open a good 4 card major in 3^rd or 4^th seat. Especially so , if partner has a weak hand & just wants a lead director. This means that partner is less likely to have a 4 card major when she opens a minor unless she is strong enough to bid again naturally. The odds are good that you will not miss your 4-4 major suit game in that case. With weak hands you will , but who cares as 1NT is only 7 tricks & a partial is a partial.