Partnership Bidding at Bridge The contested auction Andrew Robson and Oliver Segal, 1993 - 2 - Table of contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................................7 Chapter 1 – Support with support: the theory..............................................................................8 Making life easy: avoid the last guess .......................................................................................................................8 Consider your opponents’ fit.......................................................................................................................................................... 8 Avoiding the last guess .................................................................................................................................................................. 9 More ways of raising ...................................................................................................................................................9 More ways of supporting partner ................................................................................................................................................ 10 A problem hand – raising and bidding suit at once? ................................................................................................................... 10 Defining hand types...................................................................................................................................................11 Borderline cases............................................................................................................................................................................ 11 When to show a side suit.............................................................................................................................................................. 11 The need to establish priorities: what features of your support to show? .........................................................12 Making partner ‘boss’ of the auction............................................................................................................................................ 12 Not enough bids ........................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Which compromises to make - strength or hand-type? ................................................................................................................ 14 Hand-type first (1) - The ‘two-way shot’.................................................................................................................14 One hand-type - different strengths............................................................................................................................................. 15 The two-way shot......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 The importance of double-fits....................................................................................................................................................... 15 Another example - the importance of suit quality ........................................................................................................................ 17 The message: hand definition comes first ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Hand-type first (2) - Continuations .........................................................................................................................18 A temporary sacrifice of high-card definition............................................................................................................................... 18 Looking for slam........................................................................................................................................................................... 18 ...even after interference ............................................................................................................................................................... 19 Partner passes - non-forcing ........................................................................................................................................................ 20 Partner passes - to force cooperation ............................................................................................................................................ 20 The general conclusion................................................................................................................................................................. 21 What level to raise to .................................................................................................................................................21 Putting on the pressure................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Preempting - count trumps! ........................................................................................................................................................ 22 Offence to defence ratio ................................................................................................................................................................ 22 Defining the ODR ....................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Applying the logic to preemptive raises... .................................................................................................................................... 25 ...and to fit-jumps......................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Recapping..................................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Splinter raises..............................................................................................................................................................26 Why show shortage in the opponents’ suit?................................................................................................................................. 26 Hand-type first, again.................................................................................................................................................................. 27 A summary so far.......................................................................................................................................................27 Chapter 2 - Support with support: in practice............................................................................29 Preparing the ground ................................................................................................................................................29 Reviewing our categories of support ............................................................................................................................................ 29 A crude distinction: ‘limit’ or ‘semi-preemptive’? ....................................................................................................................... 29 Implications of an unlimited high-card raise................................................................................................................................ 32 We open - They intervene .........................................................................................................................................32 A system note............................................................................................................................................................................... 33 Fit non-jumps by a passed hand................................................................................................................................................... 44 Setting up a forcing pass as responder....................................................................................................................45 What is a forcing pass? ................................................................................................................................................................ 45 - 3 - Avoiding embarrassment ............................................................................................................................................................. 45 Sensible rules ............................................................................................................................................................................... 46 The forcing pass in action ............................................................................................................................................................ 49 We overcall..................................................................................................................................................................53