Bridge

Dear Mr. Wolff: In a recent column, you gave a problem in which South had a weak hand with one heart and three spades. His partner made a takeout double of a minor and then bid hearts. You advised South to pass now. Since the double “guarantees” both majors, why shouldn’t South make a preference bid for spades? – Springfield, Mass.

Answer: A takeout double guarantees both majors, unless the hand is too strong for an overcall. On the quoted sequence North could just have six hearts and 17 points with one, two or three spades. No length is implied in spades, as North has simply shown extra values and long hearts.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Holding {spades} Q-10-6-4-3, {hearts} A-Q-7-2, {diamonds} 3, {spades} Q-4-3, I heard my partner open one diamond and the next hand bid one heart. I said one spade, and my partner rebid two clubs. What should I have done next? – Pueblo, Colo.

Answer: A good case can be made for passing. Partner knows you have five spades (you would have doubled with four), and you have no realistic source of tricks, do you? If you want to try for game, bidding two no-trump gets your hand-type across reasonably well. I’m not keen on raising to three clubs with only three-card support.

Dear Mr. Wolff: Holding {spades} K-Q-10, {hearts} A-J-3-2, {diamonds} J-3-2, {clubs} Q-7-4, I opened one club and rebid one heart over my partner’s call of one diamond. When he put me back to two clubs, I went on to two diamonds. Nothing too bad happened to us, but my partner suggested I should have bid one no-trump at my second turn. Am I allowed to conceal my hearts like that? – Mason City, Iowa

Answer: The general rule I follow is always to rebid one no-trump with a completely square hand. I may lose a major fit on a part-score deal, but if my partner has enough for game, he will be able to explore over my no-trump rebid to dig up the fit.

Dear Mr. Wolff: How should I interpret the last bid in this unopposed sequence: one club - one spade – one no-trump – four diamonds? – Phoenix

Answer: The call cannot be natural. With a spade-diamond two-suiter, partner would jump to three diamonds, or start by using New Minor Forcing if that convention is in your arsenal. So it must be a cue-bid showing diamond shortage, either looking for spade support or showing a fit in clubs. My feeling is that the bid implicitly sets spades as trump and shows short diamonds in a slam try.

Dear Mr. Wolff: I came across the term “Neapolitan control” in a bridge column, and I assume this has nothing to do with a diet that prohibits ice cream! But what is it? – Cartersville, Ga.

Answer: The Italians were the first to use the idea of responding to a strong opening bid by showing controls, with the idea that an ace counts as two controls, and a king as one.