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Article #1 – Introduction
The articles this year present more on Bidding after the opponents open. In this first article we quickly review the definitions and scope of the articles from the summer of 2009. In 2009 we stressed the contrasts between the agreements when we overcall (OC), or make a Takeout Double (TOX), and when opening the auction. In 2010 we will continue with more sophistication, conventions, and higher level situations; still emphasizing the importance of intruding.
Article #2 - Review
This Article is a more in depth review of the beginning articles of last year… a good re-read as a reminder of differences between overcalls, TOXs, and advancing these bids compared to the direct auctions of opener and responder without interference.
Article #3 – Odds and Ends
Last year there were a few odds and ends associated with basic competitive bidding that we did not finish. Now, for completeness, before moving on to special conventions we will discuss some of these odds and ends. They include Intruding after both opponents have bid, balancing, and Intruding over preempts.
Article #4 - Odds and End #2 – Balancing
Another form of intruding that we did not discuss in 2009 is “Balancing”. This is when you are in the pass-out seat and have the choice to compete further or to let the opponents have the auction. It is very important and special form of intruding on your opponents’ auction and you are bidding your teams hands based on how you expect the points to be distributed around the table.
Article #5 - Odds and Ends #2 continued - more balancing
There is another situation when you will find yourself in pass-out seat yet it is not the basic balancing position. That is you are in the pass-out position after both opponents have bid and have stopped at a low level contract; typically in 1NT or at the 2 level.
Many believe that when playing match points, you should never let the opponents play in a suit contract at or below 2♥ since invariably you will get a bad result. That would include letting them play in a 1NT contract although most players make an exception preferring to defend 1NT when the opponents are vulnerable.
Article #6 - Odds and Ends #4 – bidding over preempts
I dislike bidding over preempts and I am not sure this subject really belongs here as an “odds and end” of intruding. First of all, the opponent who preempts is really intruding on our auction. We as “intruders” over his opener will often hold the stronger hands looking to find the best contract may be a game or rarely a slam. This is a very large subject that gets very little attention. There are a myriad of conventions that are used over preempts but we put off the specialty conventions until later and try to discuss the subject with standard methods.
Article #7 - Odds and Ends #5 – Bidding over higher level preempts
There is no way this column can completely cover this subject but we will shed a little light on this dark corner of competitive bidding. There are a few websites that address the subject; often with different but valuable perspectives. While many play weak 2-bids as descriptive bids, higher preempts are more purely preempts. They are also less friendly and a real nuisance since they do make it difficult to proceed; preempts do work. Clearly the opponents are intruding on our bidding space and often make it necessary for you to gamble and guess.
Article #8 – Conventional Doubles
Mike Lawrence wrote a whole book on doubles, DOUBLE New Meanings of an Old Bid. He included over 40 doubles; the name I liked best was the Striped Tailed Ape Double; we never get to anything so rare or fanciful. For now we discuss a few common and powerful doubles by the Intruding side that all serious bridge players should consider. Previously we have discussed the all important “take out double” in detail; this article discusses responsive and snapdragon doubles.
Article #9 – More low level conventional Doubles
In all cases it is highly unlikely defenders will want to double a one level contract for penalty and even more unlikely it will be correct and result in a good score. Therefore all doubles of 1-level contracts are conventional except for the double of one of a major by responder after partner has made a TOX. The double of any other 1 level (and many 2 level) bids by Advancer should be responsive in some sense. Since basically all one level doubles are for takeout, the question becomes what is it takeout for? This article starts to answer that question.
Article #10 - Preempts by Intruder
Now we will put the shoe on the other foot and look at some conventional preempts by Intruder. They tend to be less effective than those made by opener because the opener has established a foundation before the Intrusion; but they can still make it difficult for the opening side to settle at the best spot. The basic preempt is the weak jump overcall and we will quickly discuss that before getting into the two suited preempts which are typified by the Unusual NT, the Michaels Cue bid, and the Sandwich NT.
Article #11 - Direct Cue Bids (QBs) by Intruder
Over the years, directly bidding the Opener’s suit has gone through an evolution. When I first started playing bridge, bidding two of opener’s suit was considered a very strong, game forcing, take out bid. It seldom came up and now, except in balancing seat, that hand is effectively handled by first making a TOX.
Presently the debate is whether the immediate QB should be a preemptive bid with two suits, or should be a stronger descriptive bid showing a particular shape; or should you try and make it play multiple roles.
Article #12 - Top and Bottom Direct QBs
Arguably the second most popular use of the direct QB of opener’s suit is the Top and Bottom QB (TBQB). That is the QB shows that Intruder holds the top and bottom suits. It is amazing however how little conformity exists on what this QB shows. There is not even agreement on the length of the two suits, much less on the strength shown.
For completeness this article also discusses the conventional jump overcall that Max Hardy advocated for completing the ability to describe overcall hands.
Article #13 - Bidding Over a 1NT Opener
There may be more conventional agreements for bidding over a 1NT opener than any other defensive position. We will try and give an indication of the spectrum of conventions with emphasis on the most popular, the easiest, and the most effective (my opinion). There are two families of these conventions. One set optimized for use against the standard strong (15-18) NT and one set optimized for use against the weak NT (12-15 or less).
Article #14 - Intruding on Weak NT Auctions
When the opponents open with a weak NT (not true for strong NT) it is important to have a double that shows values and can be left in for penalty. This double should usually be a balanced hand with at least the top of the opener’s NT range. When advancer does not want to sit for the double, he will not pass the X. To run from the double Advancer uses all the usual NT conventions as though Intruder had opened 1NT.
It is also important to remember that overcalls of weak NT are stronger and more constructive than for strong NT; more like a standard 2 level overcall.
Article #15 Advanced Intruding over weak NT openers
The previous column discussed a couple of simple and common treatments for Intruding over a weak NT opener. Now we discuss a couple of more complex and hopefully more effective conventions for Intruding. All the conventions we discuss for use over weak NT include a value showing double that is basically a penalty double.
Article #16 - Epilogue
It is interesting that almost independent of, or regardless of, the bidding system used when opening the auction, the principals for intruding are almost invariant. It has been challenging to describe these extremely important concepts without getting too involved in details. I hope the reader will look further into this aspect of bidding since it is so important to effective competitive bridge. There are many books by Michael Lawrence that I would recommend; but as a starter consider The Complete Book of Overcalls a bridge classic that he has just updated after 25 years.
This final column for 2010 discusses the case when opener is not in first seat. It is one place where Bridge gets close to Poker; there is bluffing and counterbluffing. Above all do not look or sound weak when you make a risky call.
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