August 8, 2003 4:34 PM

 

Hand Evaluation – Systemic ( Recovering the SJS )

 

PITBULLS:

 

The strong jump shift by responder is the dinosaur of Bridge so has been replaced by the WJS & 4th suit forcing.  However , the strong jump shift by responder had its use especially to set the suit immediately & to show the slam intentions. There are not enough bids in Bridge that concentrate on the quality of the suit. We seem to be more hung up on HCP’s . Bridge is a game of suits so good suits should be acknowledged.  With the weak jump shift inferences that a suit rebid by responder  is invitational , we can assign a meaning to jump rebids by responder. These can be the solid suit type strong jump shift hands.  So in effect , we are “recovering” the useful form of the strong jump shift response of the old days.. If we choose to go the 4th suit forcing route or XYZ , we can show the rock without the good suit.

 

1♣-P-1♦-P 

1♥-P-3♦    Strong Jump Shift

 

1♣-P-1♥-P   

1♠-P-2♦-P

2NT-P-3♥ Broken suit

 

1♣-P-1♥-P   

 1♠-P-3♥-P   SJS good suit

 

1♣-P-1♦-P  

1♥-P-3♣    Playing XYZ this is forcing & slamish

 

A jump in the 4th suit can be defined as a splinter or recovering the strong jump shift. I prefer showing suits over singletons as a rule.

 

1♦-P-1♠-P

2♣-P-3♥          SJS  5-5 minimum

 

1♥-P-1♠-P

2♣-P-3♦          SJS  5-5 minimum

 

1♣-P-1♥-P

1♠-P-3♦-P      SJS 5-5 minimum

 

 

                        In the teeth of a misfit , it is folly to play these jumps as invitational. Therefore a partnership has a decision to make. Natural or splinter ? My choice is to recover the strong jump shift.

 

Since we play 2-way NMF & XYZ with 2♣ showing all the invitational hands , we can recover the strong jump shift there also.  1m-1M-1NT-3M  shows the strong jump shift hand led by AKQ or a semi-solid suit.

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            Here is a hand from the GNT final in Calgary which shows the strong jump shift response in action. I held ♠KQJ10xx ♥AQx ♦KJ xx  & partner opened 1♦. I responded a spade & partner rebid 1NT. OK strong jump shift time so I bid 3♠ which shows the strong suit with the slam intentions. Partner was all controls ♠Ax ♥xxx ♦A1087x ♣Axx so he had no problem Q bidding the club Ace. I took control so +1430 in spades resulted. This “old fashioned” approach simplifies auctions. Once opener knows there is a good suit over there with slam intentions , she is on the same wavelength . She is in a position to put the breaks on a slam or accelerate it.

 

            Recovering the strong jump shift changes captaincy . Since you tell partner you have a good suit with a good hand , partner is captain of the auction. Maurice had this hand  ♠AKQ109x ♥J109 ♦109 ♣Kx . I opened 1♦ he bid 1♠ & I bid 2♣ . He now bids 3♠ which describes his hand in one bid. I heard him so I  bid 4♠ which was the correct spot. If you do something silly like bid 4th suit , you are still captain of the auction & now you must guess my hand. It never hurts in Bridge to describe your hand to partner especially if it fits your system.

 

            Playing this concept comes with a price . The weak jump shift in the major has to be quite healthy to allow the rebid of the major to be invitational. Since spades are the boss suit , the bidding cannot remain at the one level except with a 1NT rebid. Therefore , you need XYZ at the one level with spade hands. If you want to retain the weak jump shift as really weak , you need a toy like NMF. Tom introduced me to 2♦ after a 1♣-2♣ rebid auction as NMF. You can bid that & later bid your spades to show the invitational major hands. If partner opens 1♦ or 1♥ , rebids the same suit you can play 3♣ as NMF ( relay to 3♦ ? ) so returning to your major can show the invitational hands. NMF is not forcing to game in these particular 2 level auctions. Playing 2NT by responder as a “new suit” one round force helps in these auctions. We have XYZ to handle the one level auctions , of course.

 

Recovering the strong jump shift means we need a primer in  handling strong jump shifts by responder because the concept is foreign to us. Here is an article from the net on Strong Jump Shifts by responder. The main concepts are once responder strong jumps shifts , all bids other than 3NT assume a fit with partners strong jump shift. Bids are interpreted as Q bids or other understandings.

 

We open a diamond with all the hands below and partner eventually shows a strong jump shift response in spades.

 

1 -        ♠K3  ♥65 ♦A9876  ♣AK86

2 -        ♠832  ♥65 ♦AKJ765 ♣AJ

3 -        ♠8  ♥Q865 ♦A10643 ♣AK4

4 -        ♠82 ♥KJ64 ♦KQ75 ♣A103

 

In the absence of any special agreements, many players would rebid 4♣ with Hand #1, 4♠ with Hand #2, and 4♥ (or perhaps 3NT) with Hands #3 and #4. But what do these rebids mean to responder? Do they show suit length, honor locations, overall high-card strength? Do they give partner enough information to make an intelligent decision about where the hand should be played?

 

Because a jump-shift uses up so much bidding room, your partnership needs to have clear agreements about the meanings of subsequent bids. There are many different approaches—the only important requirement is that you and your partner discuss the auctions in advance so you’re ready when they come up at the table. To start your discussion, you may want to consider the suggestions here, which include some of the most valuable and widely used agreements:

 

Opener’s rebids

 

In choosing your rebid as opener after the strong jump shift, the main points to remember are:

 

The jump-shifter promises at least 6 cards in his suit and good honour strength (at least two of the top three honours).

Partner’s jump-shift shows at least a slam invitation, but he doesn’t necessarily promise 19 high-card points. He may be basing his evaluation on playing strength and, with some types of hands, can have as few as 13-16 high-card points (see the discussion below on responder’s rebids).

 

 

Here’s a recommended set of agreements for opener’s rebids after responder’s strong jump-shift:

 

A raise of responder’s suit promises one of the top three honors and at least doubleton support (Qx or better, although some players advocate raising with even a singleton honor).

 

With Hand #1, raise to 4♠     partner will be more interested in your filler for his suit than in your club length.

 

A failure to raise responder’s suit DENIES one of the top three honors in his suit.

 

A rebid of your suit shows extra length with good honor strength in the suit. With Hand #2, you can’t raise to 4♠ immediately because it promises a top honor or length. Instead, rebid 4♦ to describe your strong suit, then show your spade length with your next bid.

 

A new suit shows concentrated honor strength, but not necessarily length. With Hand #3, rebid 4♣ to show the location of your outside strength.

 

Notrump rebids show balanced minimums with stoppers in both unbid suits. Rebid 3NT with Hand #4. Since partner won’t have a 4-card heart suit, there’s no point in rebidding 4♥.