10654 
KJ4
K103 
J102 .If there’s such a thing as a bidding “commandment”, near the top of the tablet – right after “Trust thy partner” – must be:
Thou shalt not conceal thy four-card major.
Even those who dislike “always” and “never” rules seldom stray from this one. Finding major-suit fits is so important that showing four-card majors takes priority for low-level responses and opener’s rebids.
As with most bridge rules, though, this one isn’t written in stone. There are several situations where concealing a major rates to be the most successful strategy for responder.
One-level responses
“Up-the-line” used to be the standard advice for responding four-card suits at the one-level. That gave way to a preference for skipping a diamond suit and bidding the cheaper major, especially with weaker responding hands.
With rare hands,
it can be tempting to bypass a major, too. If partner opens 1C, you might judge
to respond 1NT with 10654 KJ4
K103 J102 .
Is this good bridge or just hand hogging? The flat distribution, tenaces and weak spades argue for a notrump contract -- and 1NT is an easy response for partner to handle -- so there’s good logic behind the choice. Your decision probably won’t matter on those hands where partner doesn’t have four spades, but if his hand is exactly 4-3-3-3, you’re a hero. If he has four spades and a ruffing value, you may be a goat, so consider the risks carefully.
On more than sixty percent of all deals, opener’s distribution will be 4432, 5332, 5431 or 5422. A priori, he’ll hold a 4333 pattern only about ten percent of the time. The 1C opening eliminates all those distributions where the 5-card suit is diamonds, hearts or spades (and some where the 4-card suit is diamonds), but the specific 4-3-3-3 hand still isn't a heavy favorite.
If it’s ever right to bypass a major in this situation, this is the perfect hand for it, but if it doesn’t work out, you can’t claim you were unlucky.
Stayman decisions
When partner
opens 1NT, you have a do-you-or-don’t-you choice about using Stayman with flat
hands like AJ95 K105
Q76 1092
.
You’re 4333, but partner probably isn’t, so if you have a 4-4 spade fit, it’s likely he has a ruffing value. A good guideline for these decisions is to eschew Stayman only when you have extra values (a good 12 points or more). With this 10-point hand, it’s probably better to seek the safety of a trump suit, so bid 2C.
However, change
the hand to A954 KJ5
QJ7 Q109
and a direct raise to 3NT is more attractive. Your hand is stronger, your spades
are weaker and you have honors in all suits.
Competitive decisions
Bypassing majors
in competitive auctions is more common -- and often easier to justify -- because
you have more information. After 1C by partner, 1Son your right, you could make
a negative double with KJ83 K654
1064 Q3 .
A better option, though, is 1NT. The spade stoppers are a more compelling feature of your hand than the 4-card heart suit. When in doubt, suggest a final contract.
The same logic
applies when advancing partner’s takeout double. After 1D - DBL - Pass, you
have a dilemma with Q653 KJ7
QJ92 106 .
1S is a bit of an underbid with 9 points, but a jump to 2S seems too much with
such weak spades and only six “working” points. 1NT is the only bid that
accurately shows your strength, and it’s the only contract where the diamond
honors rate to be of value.
The lure of
notrump isn’t the only justification for bypassing a major. Suppose partner
opens 1D, RHO overcalls 1H, and you hold
9764 5
KJ864 Q102
A light negative double seems to be the “book” bid, but you probably have only one bid coming in this auction, so you want to make it as helpful as possible. An immediate, weak jump to 3D emphasizes the main feature of your hand, suggests a final contract, preempts the opponents and allows partner to make all further decisions.
Next: Opener’s rebids with 4-card majors
© 2006 Karen Walker