When the opponents open the bidding with a 3-level preempt then much of the tension in our decision-making process comes around “Should we bid beyond 3NT?” This is especially true when the opponents open the bidding with a 3-Major preempt. Because when we have one long minor suit then we likely want to play in 3NT or 5-minor. This allows us to use 4-minor in some interesting conventional ways, just as we do vs. a 2-level preempt.
When RHO opens a 2-level preempt, they have started eating up our valuable bidding space. But this is just the start of their attack on us. LHO may join in the attack and raise the preempt, making our life even more difficult. When we are bidding over RHO’s 2-level preempt we should keep this in mind. We need lots of tools to deal with this situation. Let’s look at these options.
One of the most common gadgets that we use when partner opens 1NT is Stayman. We primarily use Stayman to search for a 4-4 Major suit fit. After Stayman sometimes we want to have a way to raise partner’s suit where they cannot pass. We will want a “Forcing Raise” (similar to Jacoby 2NT or Inverted Minors) in order to find out more about Opener’s hand. This is missing from a standard bidding system. It is a valuable tool for making a slam try while keeping the auction from getting too high.
Lebensohl is an excellent system for dealing with interference over our 1NT opening bids. But Lebensohl has some flaws. In Lebensohl auctions we will often play the hand from the “wrong” side (Responder’s side.) Another flaw in Lebensohl relates to Responder’s strength. Responder often has three strengths (buckets) let’s see how Transfer Lebensohl is an upgrade to this.
After an active July where we worked on Hand Evaluation (primarily focusing on HCP and re-evaluation) we are continuing our Hand Evaluation discussion in August. But this month we are moving in a different direction. The goal for this month is to help us understand the value of fit (trumps) and how it help us produce tricks!
TWiB Website
We are excited to announce the launch of the first phase of the This Week in Bridge (TWiB) website. The TWiB website will be our location for releasing our weekly bridge lessons and other educational products. To begin with, TWiB will host the weekly release of the AiB Online Lesson Series (OLS). If you are not a member of the OLS email list, please signup here. The AiB website also contains the archives of the OLS that have been released over the last several years. Feel free to catch up on things you have missed or review topics you are not sure on. All that you need to do to receive the password is signup for the free OLS email list.
In the future, TWiB will grow to contain other bridge products and exciting educational materials. So stay tuned!
