After that nasty opponent intervenes in your and your partner’s bidding auction, be careful that the bid you make does not show extra points.
In other words, don’t let the opponents push you too high and cause you to show more points than you have.
Let’s look at an example:
You open 1 heart with the following:
Spades Q4
Hearts AQ652
Diamonds Q94
Clubs K76
Your partner responds 1 spade, and you are all set to rebid 1 No Trump when your right-hand opponent overcalls 2 clubs.
Rats! You can now no longer bid 1 No Trump.
What to do?
Many players make the serious mistake of now bidding 2 No Trump with this minimum opening hand.
In order to make a 2 No Trump bid, you must have 18 to 19 points.
You need to pass instead.
Partner will still have the opportunity to bid again if he has 10 or more points. He knows that you have opened the bidding, but because of the interference, he also knows that you have only a minimum opening bid.
If you had a balanced hand with 15 to 17 points, you would have opened the bidding with 1 No Trump.
If you add the king of diamonds and the king of hearts (removing the 4 of diamonds and 2 of hearts) to the above hand, now you would have enough points to bid 2 No Trump.
Kathie Walsh, accredited by ABTA, teaches all levels of bridge at Hilton Head Island Bridge Club. kbwalsh@roadrunner.com
