Bridge

Dear Mr. Wolff: My partner and I use transfers, but disagree if it is best to use them after an opponent has overcalled our one-no-trump opening. I know it is a partnership agreement, but what do you think is the best way to play it? — Living Soul, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Answer: When the opponents intervene with two clubs specifically, it makes sense to use a double as Stayman and to leave transfers in place. Over higher overcalls, if you are not using Lebensohl (a convention I’ll describe some other time), use new suits as natural and nonforcing, and a double as negative. Cuebid with a good hand unsuitable for no-trump and do not play transfers.

Dear Mr. Wolff: What exactly is a reverse? Does it show high-cards, shape or both? — Upside-Down Attitude, Janesville, Wis.

Answer: A reverse occurs when the opening bidder bids two suits, and the level of the second suit is such that responder can give preference back to the first suit only at the three-level rather than the two-level. The call requires opener to have 4-5 (or 4-6) shape with the first-bid suit longer, and shows 16-plus high-card points. It is not a game-force, but does show a good hand.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Playing in a pairs game, I held “K-10-9-5-4, “Q-J-2, “A-8-6-3, “10 in fourth position, with both sides vulnerable. I opened one spade and my partner responded one no-trump. I elected to pass, and this made seven tricks, but my partner suggested that I ought to have a better-than-average opener in fourth position. Would you have opened this hand? — Pushy by Nature, Jackson, Tenn.

Answer: You are exactly on the dividing line between opening and not. I would not pass with the boss suit. I’d open one spade, hoping for a raise, of course, but if my partner bids a red suit, I’d pass. The one-no-trump response really sets you a vicious problem. I guess I would have to pass and cross my fingers, since bidding again should show a full opener. When one no-trump made, you probably were rewarded with a decent score simply for bidding at all.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Is there any merit to playing optional doubles as a defense to pre-empts? — Bug in a Rug, Albuquerque, N.M.

Answer: Congratulations, you’ve hit my least favorite convention of all time. The reason is that no one knows what an optional double looks like. Play your doubles as penalty or takeout, but do not mix the two. Still, having said that, let me suggest that after a pre-empt, the higher the auction in which a negative or takeout double is made, the more likely the responding hand will leave in that double with a balanced hand.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Holding “K-Q-10-5-4, “5-2, “A-Q-8-6, “Q-5, I hear my LHO open two hearts and my RHO raise to four hearts. Should I pass, bid, or double now? — Jaundiced Jim, Seneca, S.C.

Answer: You are awkwardly placed indeed. Doubling gives partner little chance to get it right. My bet is for bidding four spades, but don’t quote me if you go for 1100 as a result!