Bridge Venue

• Question 1
  
  South is obviously going to open with Hearts. What possible rebids could he have ?

• Answer 1
  
  South is obviously going to open with Hearts. What possible rebids could he have ?
  
  Answer
  
  Well, he has a 5-4 distribution in the Majors, and 14 HCP. Nice. A probable rebid will in the shorter suit, Spades, indeed 2 Spades keeping it below his "barrier", so that his partner knows he has fewer than 16 HCP.

• Question 2
  
  Why doesn't North tell his partner about his longest suits ? With only 6 points, why does't he pass ?

• Answer 2
  
  Why doesn't North tell his partner about his longest suits ? With only 6 points, why does't he pass ?
  
  Answer
  
  After the opening bid of 1 Heart, he would need to go to the 2-level to mention his minor suit, Clubs. But with only 7 HC points, he is too weak to change suit at the 2 level. You need about 10 HCP really. Also, he is too short to support Hearts, and he cannot switch to Spades with only 2 of them. The only bid left is 1NT, which he should bid just in case his partner is on maximum 18 or 19 HCP. . ... we wouldn't want to miss a game.

• Question 3
  
  Why does South leave it in 1NT, given that his Hearts are so good ?

• Answer 3
  
  Why does South leave it in 1NT, given that his Hearts are so good ?
  
  Answer
  
  He knows his partner might only have 6 points, and 9 at the most, so game is not on, since we are shy of 25. We've got good Hearts, but we don't have suit agreement in Hearts. We've got Spades covered, so the chances are high that our partner's limited strength is in the minors. So there are probably enough stoppers to be safe in 1NT. Probably better than 2H, where he could be short or even very short.

• Some subjects to follow up on

  50 Unbalanced, The general idea 14 Barrier-Reversing 43 After 1 Suit, 6 points, nothing to bid 43 After 1 Suit, 6 points, nothing to bid