Saturday, November 09, 2002 3:12 PM

Strong Jump Shifts – Responder

PITBULLS:

The strong jump shift by responder used to the cornerstone of bidding . Experts like Paul Soloway still use the bid as he never bought onto the modern bidding theory of WJS’s & low level splinters and the modern way that huge hands by responder were shown . Strong jump shifts by responder did simplify auctions as it set up the other bids . Jump preferences were forcing to game so other responses were only forcing one round . Opener had the inference that partner did not jump so new suits bid by responder were quite often in the invitational range .

The demise of the strong shift by responder was mainly that it took up too much bidding room . An auction that started at 1♠ 3♥ forcing the auction to the 4 level before partner even had a chance to rebid was unacceptable for small/grand slam investigation . It confused finding the best game contracts also as openers rebids no longer had their conventional meaning at such a high level . Keeping the bidding lower was more accurate to find the right game. For most experts , strong jump shifts by responder went by the way of the dinosaur .

What replaced strong jump shifts ? The answer is 4^th suit forcing to game and responders new suits (3^rd) forcing to game instead of just one round . It was just a matter of changing the “captain of the ship” to responder . Instead of responder leaping to tell opener she had a moose , responder just keeps making low and subtle forcing bids until the best spot is reached . For example , what if you held this jump shift hand

AKQJxx xx AKx Qx

Partner opens 1♥ and you bid a quiet spade . Partner bids 2♥ so you can recover the strong jump shift by bidding 3♠. You do not need 3♠ as invitational as 2♠ is invitational enough playing weak jump shifts. If your suit was weak you would go the 4^th suit forcing route with the strong hand.

I still like strong jump shifts but by a passed hand . These by necessity must have a fit for partner so the two suit jump is born. These bids clarify your Drury auctions as those hands are taken out the equation for majors . I also like the minor fit aspect of the bid for pre-emptive and descriptive purposes . This bid will clarify a number of minor auctions also. You certainly do not need WJS’s as a passed hand as they have already been opened up a weak two . Splinters still can be handled by these bids ( see below ) . The following article is from the net :

The Strong Jump-Shift Response: New Tricks for an Old Bid

-- Fit-Showing Jump-Shifts by a Passed Hand

This bidding problem in our District 8 newsletter led to an interesting debate about North's 3♦ bid:

Matchpoints, neither vulnerable

        West     North   East    South

        Pass     Pass    Pass     1♠

        Pass     3♦*     Pass      ?

          * (Fit-showing jump shift)

What is your call as South holding: ♠AKQ75 ♥KJ103 ♦A ♣1065 ?

The panel, which was split between a 3H slam-try and a direct 4S, had several different ideas about the meaning of a "fit-showing jump-shift". Some panelists admitted that they had this treatment written on their convention cards, but had never discussed the exact requirements with their partners. One panelist thought the best hand North could hold was something like

♠J1032 ♥6 ♦KQ1082 ♣A53. Others thought partner should have longer, stronger diamonds for his jump.

So what exactly is a fit-showing jump-shift, and what should it show? Does it promise 3-card or 4-card support, an outside ace, a singleton? How good should the jump-shift suit be? Here's a review of expert opinion and some guidelines on how you can add this valuable bid to your system:

Why use fit-showing jump-shifts?

Old-time Standard American defined a passed-hand jump-shift as "good hand, good suit". If partner opened 1C in third or fourth seat, a jump to 2S showed a hand like ♠KQJ87 ♥A82 ♦J74 ♣92. In practice, though, a simple 1S is better with this type of scattered strength. If partner has opened light and passes, you're probably high enough -- and you certainly aren't missing a game. If partner has a full opener, he'll bid again and you can make a game try.

For these reasons, today's experts recommend that a passed-hand jump-shift be reserved for a special type of hand -- one that has been revalued upwards because of partner's opening bid. Since the jump takes you to a higher level than partner may have planned, it's important to have the safety of a known fit. Some players use the passed-hand jump-shift as a mini-splinter, but a more popular treatment is the natural, "fit-showing" jump-shift used in the problem above.

What does the jump show?

To add this bid to your system, you and your partner need to agree on some basic criteria. In general, a passed-hand jump-shift should meet four requirements:

(1) A good 5+-card suit.

The honor strength you promise in your suit may depend on whether partner's opening bid was a major or a minor. Keep in mind that if partner opens a minor and you jump in a major, you're suggesting a new trump suit -- if your hand meets the other guidelines, your major can be any "decent" 5+-cards (KJxxx, AJxxx, even QJ10xx). But if partner opens a major, your jump confirms his suit as trumps and shows an outside source of tricks. You may want to agree that after a major opening, responder promises two of the top three honors in his jump-shift suit.

(2) 4+-card support for opener's suit.

This is an absolute requirement if partner opened a minor. If he's opened a major, some partnerships agree that you may occasionally have good 3-card support. You can discuss whether or not you want to bid 3D over 1S with a hand like
♠KJ6 ♥7 ♦AQ1082 ♣6543. If you play the Drury convention (which shows support and asks partner how good his hand is), a 2C bid with this hand may work better.

(3) Maximum high-card points.

"Maximum" is usually 10-11 HCPs, but can be fewer, especially after a major opening. You may jump-shift with 8-9 HCPs if your honors are "prime" and concentrated in your two suits.

After a 1♦ opening, respond 2♥ with ♠92 ♥AQ1086 ♦K10743 ♣3.
Over 1♠, jump to 3♦ with ♠J9654 ♥8 ♦AQJ102 ♣86.
But if partner opens 1♣, a simple 1♥ is enough with ♠K ♥KJ754 ♦KJ5 ♣9843. This 11-count is a maximum passed hand point-wise, but with only 4 of its 11 points in the two critical suits (and the dubious singleton king), it's not worth a jump-shift.

(4) Good distributional values.

Most experts recommend that you promise a singleton, but your partnership might agree that a "perfect" 5-4-2-2 is a possibility. For example, you could bid 3♥ over 1♠ with ♠Q983 ♥AKJ103 ♦75 ♣65.

Opener's Rebids

As opener, you should treat partner's jump-shift as virtually forcing. Don't worry about points -- your holding in the two suits partner has shown is more important.

Pass is a possibility only if you have weak support for partner's major and have opened a real dog. If you open a third-seat 1♣ with ♠764 ♥K1043 ♦Q4 ♣KQ106 , you might pass partner's jump to 2♠. But note that if partner had bid 2♥, this hand would be worth a jump to game.
A rebid of your suit (1♦-2♥-3♦ or 1♠-3♣-3♠) is a very weak hand with no fit for partner's suit. Partner should always pass.
A jump to game (1♣-2♠-4♠) is a signoff, showing a minimum with a fit and enough well-placed cards to make game playable.
A jump to 3NT (1♣-2♠-3NT) is to play, showing good stoppers in the unbid suits and no interest in slam.
A simple raise of partner's major (1♣-2♠-3♠) "sounds" invitational, but it's more useful if you play it as forcing, suggesting a slam and asking for a cuebid. Since responder has already invited game with his jump, there's little value in using this raise as a re-invitation by opener.
A new suit (1♣-2♠-3♦/3♥) is a cuebid for slam in opener's suit (to show a slam-try in responder's major, use the direct raise).
A JUMP in a new suit (1♦-2♠-4♣ or 1♥-3♣-4♦) can be a splinter for the major. After 1♠-3♣, opener's 4♥ bid would show a hand like ♠AKQ76 ♥5 ♦Q854 ♣AJ3. For most slam-try hands, though, consider using the notrump asking bid described below.
A minimum notrump bid (1♣-2♠-2NT or 1♠-3♦-3NT) can be used to ask partner for his singleton, which can be helpful for both game and slam decisions. Suppose you open 1♦ with ♠Q4 ♥AKJ ♦J8543 ♣K103 and your passed-hand partner jumps to 2♠. Over your 2NT, if he bids 3♥ (his singleton), you'll know 3NT is the best contract. If he bids 3♣, you can forget notrump and try 3♠ to show your modest support.

This notrump bid can also improve the accuracy of your slam bidding. If partner bids 3♣ over your 1♠ opening bid, you can rebid 3NT (asking for his singleton) with ♠AK10754 ♥765 ♦A3 ♣QJ. If he bids 3♥, you'll confidently bid your 22-point slam, knowing partner has a minimum of ♠J963 ♥4 ♦842 ♣AK954.