Good partnership understanding demands that a limited bid be made as early as possible by one player. His partner then takes charge and immediately decides the final contract, or institutes some asking sequence with that end in view. South bids 2
over North’s opening 1
and, after North’s rebid of 2
, bids 3. That is a limited bid. South has shown the full value of his hand and will not speak again unless asked to do so. He will automatically pass 4, but will respond to 5
or 4NT. Over an invitational bid he may find another Knave or so, he certainly cannot find another King.
That is normal. But there comes a time when the limited bid demanded by partner is impossible to find. It is here that the bid of the fourth suit can be invaluable. If you play an Approach-Forcing system the bid is automatically forcing and you will have no qualms about being left in it. If you do not play such a system you must be more careful. Yet with any system a responder’s ” high” reverse must surely be unconditionally forcing.
In the sequence: 1– 2-2– 3(a responder’s high reverse) the 3bid has created a forcing situation. The range of bids open to South here is so large that his choice of this apparently awkward one must have some very strong reason behind it.
This bid of the fourth suit is a very delicate and dangerous weapon. It bears a label “Not for beginners.” If your small boy wants to cut his nails he can use the old Scissors. Your best cut-throat razor might make a better job of it, but might also do terrible damage.
The increased efficiency is not worth the risk entailed. So give him the scissors. The same applies here. Because, although the bid of the fourth suit may be made with strength in that suit, it is very often made with neither strength nor length there. Let us see why.
South holds: J 6 4 A J 8 5 4 K 8 Q J 7
North opens 1and, over 1, rebids 2. What can poor South say? He is being asked to make a limited bid, and can’t. His hand is worth 2NT, but his Spade stop is missing. Either he must guess blindly or he must bid the fourth suit. I contend that the only bridge bid is 2. It is a low reverse here but should certainly not be passed.
South thus creates his forcing situation without having limited his hand. North must now make the limited bid. He answers naturally, but he
must know the possible implications of the bid of 2. One thing is sure: South has not a balanced holding with good Spades and Hearts, such as : A Q 7 3 A Q 9 2 8 2 Q 6 2.
With that he bids 3 NT at once. So the bid of the fourth suit automatically denies the ability to make such a limited bid. South has either a Spade suit or is worried about the Spade suit. ‘Which, North cannot yet tell. But long Hearts South certainly has. Try to construct a hand with only four Hearts which makes this bid of 2, which cannot better give jump preference in Diamonds, raise Clubs, or bid No-Trumps quantitively.
So North will give preference to Hearts if he can. Otherwise he will rebid one of his own suits or NT. Therefore, it is clear that he can hardly bid No-Trumps unless he himself stops the Spades. The worst he can have will be three small Spades, when No-Trumps will assuredly be the best spot.
A J 9 5 A 10 8 4 3 A 6 5 5
East: K 7 2 K Q 9 K Q 10 4 3 10 4
This famous hand occurred in an international match. It has been much discussed in print. Not one writer has come near the key of it. In both rooms the first three bids were: 1-2– 2.East is now faced with an impossible task. He is being asked to limit his hand and he can’t. In one room he bid 3. West, ignoring the bid of 4which might have got them out of trouble, went 4and also went four down. Unlucky? Maybe!
In the other room East bid 3. The bidding died at 5, but this was West’s fault. He was still a bit shaky about these fourth suit bids. I know-I was West. I can assure you that the only thing which prevented me bidding the slam was a lurking fear that East might have a useless among his values. There in a nutshell is the answer to all the writers who have speculated vainly about this hand. Terence Reese once gave us this in a television seance :
West: A 5 6 4 2 A Q 7 6 4 3 A 7
East (me): 8 6 3 2 void K 8 2 K Q J 10 9 3
West opens 1and over 2rebids 2. I bid 2, and will defend the bid to the death, in the face of tradition and all the Grand Old Men. But what can West do now? He had a fair hand to start with; it has suddenly become much better, with the Aces of both his partner’s suits. But at the moment he has not the slightest idea where he is going with it. West found the bid of the fourth suit 3.
Such a sequence should have made even me sit up : a simple rebid of 2, and then 3! But I died on him, and we stopped in 5. You will note that I have learned this fourth suit bid the hard way. After 3the bidding should go: 4-5-5, and West chooses between 6and 7. Why 7? East has shown a six-card Club suit and at least four Spades, and given Diamond support.
If he isn’t void of Hearts all I can say is that there’s been a misdeal. Terence is probably capable of ringing in a misdeal if it suits him, but that is one of the factors that we should disregard. West bids 6because he lacks J and knows that dummy is going to be forced -at trick 1.
Nowadays, when I hear this fourth suit bid, I sit up and take notice. It usually puts me in an awkward spot, but I know that optimism will surely pay. It is odds that the hands fit, the only alternative being an enormous freak with partner.
These hands are frequent, but the bid is still in its infancy even with the best players. There are nasty snags, jagged rocks waiting for the unwary. The bid should not be used when it can deceive partner about distribution at a later stage (an article is needed to explain that fully). Don’t use it when it might be raised.
Take my first example: J 6 4 A J 8 5 4 K 8 Q J 7, 2is bid confidently, knowing that North cannot hold four Spades, or he would have bid 1over 1, not 2. This presupposes a partner who bids his suits in the correct order, a partner with a good knowledge of bidding sequences. To avoid the rocks he must be first-class.
Now take the next quoted hand:
K 7 2 K Q 9 K Q 10 4 3 10 4.
It is not the slightest use bidding the fourth suit if you are playing with a partner who might still be stuffed with Clubs in spite of having bid two major suits. Some people might bid that way with:
A J 9 5 A 8 7 5 void K 9 5 4 2.
Perhaps they like to show their major suits quickly; perhaps they hope the enemy will bid Clubs. Perhaps they’re just nutty. But whatever the reason for their behaviour it is inadvisable to use this bid with them.
This type of bid is presumably advanced. I am told it is, and I believe the tellers. But we don’t want elementary stuff all the time. If we want to play better bridge we must get educated: And that is where the answer to the use of this most valuable bid lies: in education, education of the bridge playing public in the fundamentals of bidding structure. When we know a lot more about this subject we will realise that most bids form themselves perfectly naturally.
Because we bid in a certain way years ago does not make our present bidding immaculate. The traditionalists, the die-hards, the old guard will scoff. That we expect- that is also the privilege of past service. But it does not improve. the game.
They lorded it over, initatites twenty years ago, by virtue of their then superior card-play. This does not make their bidding-house any the less a mausoleum where rattle the bones of ancient triumphs, very, very dead, but which their vanity won’t let he down. All honour to Captain Webb, the first man to swim the Channel- but even the women take half his time to do it to-day.
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