Michaels Continuations by David Bird

A: 2♥. It's not your fault that you do not hold three or more cards in one of the majors. Partner must allow for this sort of hand if he considers bidding further.

You are allowed to respond 2♦ when you are short in the majors and have a particularly good diamond suit (either six or more cards of a very solid five-carder). Your present diamond suit does not qualify for a 2♦ response.

Your result so far:

A: 3♥. You have a weakish hand with very good support for hearts. You should make a pre-emptive raise to 3♥, to make life awkward for West, who figures to hold a strong hand.

Remember that when you have a good fit for partner, regardless of how strong your hand may be, it is usually a good idea to bid up to the level determined by your combined lengths in the trump suit. Here, you expect to have nine hearts between you, so you bid 3♥.

3♥ is not a game invitation; it is pre-emptive, but if partner holds a strong hand, he may bid 4♥ anyway.

Your result so far:

A: 3♣. On the previous problem, you made a pre-emptive raise to 3♥. Obviously, you cannot make the same bid when you have a good fit and genuine game-try strength. What can you do instead?

The answer applies to countless situations in bidding. You bid the opponent's suit. This is known as a 'cue-bid'. Somewhat confusingly, the term cue-bid is also used when you bid 4♦, say, to show the ace or king of diamonds during a slam auction. It was to resolve this double-use of a term that many players now call the latter usage a 'control-bid'.

Here, your 3♣ bid suggests to partner that there may be a heart game available. He will choose between bidding 3♥ and 4♥, according to how strong his hand is.

Your result so far:

A: 2 NT. You cannot respond 2♠ because this would be a 5-1 fit. You should bid 2 NT to ask partner which minor he holds. Whether he rebids 3♣ or 3♦, you will then pass on this weak hand. If instead you were much stronger, you would be entitled to raise the minor suit that partner had shown.

Your result so far:

A: 4♣. You will have the chance of establishing the spades with a ruff or two. You are entitled to show your second suit with a jump, to invite a game.

Bidding 5♣ would be too much. If you are missing the ♣K, for example, you may not even have an entry to dummy to take a club finesse.

Your result so far:

A: 4♥. Quite rightly, you bid only 2♥ in response to partner's Michaels overcall. He might hold only 8 HCP or so. Now, though, he has made a game-try even though you might be weak yourself. You have enough values in support to accept the game-try.

Your result so far: