Handbook - International Bridge Press Association

(a) Transfer
(b) Maximum with four-card support
(c) RKC
(d) 0 or 3
(e) Queen of spades?
(f) Yes, but no side kings*
(g) Our toy, our toy! A delayed ask in clubs, with
room.
(h) Third-round control, either a doubleton or the
queen
(i) Just what I was looking for.
(j) Congratulations!
* A response of five hearts would deny the queen of
spades. As five spades is cheaper than five notrump, the
five spade response is used to affirm the queen but deny
any outside kings. This can only be done when spades is
the agreed suit and the ask is five diamonds.
What happens when there is no room (no step between
the ask suit and the agreed suit, the ask suit is
directly beneath the agreed suit in rank)? Things are
getting a little crowded.
RESPONSES WITH NO ROOM
To DIRECT asks:
First step: No second-round control.
With K-x-x or K-x-x-x bid six notrump.
With K-x or a singleton bid seven of agreed suit.
With K-Q bid seven of ask suit.
To INDIRECT asks:
First step: No third-round control. (x-x-x,x-x-x-x)
With the queen bid six notrump.
With x-x bid seven of agreed suit.
With Q-J bid seven of ask suit.
When you have room (just one tiny step), you can find
out anything you want to know without getting beyond
the agreed suit (unless partner has second-round
control, which is supposed to be enough for seven) by
using either a direct or a delayed ask.
When you do not have room, direct asks are good
only for second-round control, and delayed ask are
good only for third-round control.
Now let's see if you can make head or tails of the
following sequence. If you can, be sure to come and
visit me in my ward sometime.
Opener Responder
♠ A K ♠ x
K J x x A Q x x x x
x x x A 10 x x
♣ A Q x x ♣ x
128 IBPA Handbook 2010
Opener Responder
1NT 2 (a)
3 (b) 4NT (c)
5♣( d) 5 (e)
5 (f) 6 (g)
6 (h) Pass (i)
(a) Transfer
(b) Maximum with four card support.
(c) RKC
(d) 0 or 3
(e) Do you have the queen of hearts? This is an
honesty check.
(f) No
(g) Delayed ask in diamonds with no room.
(h) First step, showing x-x-x or x-x-x-x
(i) We have a diamond loser.
Did you notice how clever the responder was? He
knew he was going to have to ask for third-round
diamond control with no room.
A direct ask (with no room) would do him no good,
as the first step merely denies second-round control.
So the responder purposely delayed the ask by asking
for the trump queen even though he himself held the
card.
Had opener held the queen of diamonds he would
have bid six notrump; with a doubleton, he would bid
seven hearts, and with both the queen and jack,
seven diamonds. If the response to six diamonds
happens to be seven diamonds, responder can bid a
confident seven notrump.
THE 1981 PRECISION AWARD
Jeff Rubens (USA)
The winner of the Precision Award for the best article.
or series of articles on a convention went to Jeff
Rubens of the U.S.A. for his series on "The Useful
Space Principle”, which appeared in the Bridge World.
Second place went to Alan Falk of the U.S.A. for
"Some Bidding Headaches: Conventional Approach",
which appeared in the Capitol Area Bridge News.
The first of six articles was published in the 1980
November issue of The Bridge World and the following
articles appeared in December 1980, January 1981,
February 1981, March 1981, and April 1981.