Question:
Part 1:
How would your respond to partner’s 1H opening when playing 1NT forcing while holding 4 or more spades?
Part 2:
Partner opens 1H and you hold AKJ109XX in spades and QXX in hearts and 2-1 in the minors when the auction has gone: 1H – p – 1S – p, 1N – p -? Would you show a limit raise in hearts?
Answer:
If I am holding 4+ spades and a fit for partner’s 1H opening, I will bid 1 spade if we are not playing Flannery 2D which shows 4 spades and 5+ hearts and I have enough points for 2 bids (8+ points). With 4 spades and 3 hearts and limit raise values, I will bid 1 spade and jump to 3 hearts over partner’s rebid to show my support. The only possible problem is where partner has a good hand and not enough points for a jump rebid and I just bid 2 hearts over partner’s rebid. Partner may play me for 2 hearts only and simply taking preference and we may not get to game. Luckily, that does not come up often. If partner does make a jump rebid, I will jump to 4H to show 3 card support and a limit raise. A bid of 3H there should show a simply preference.
Now Part 2: on this hand, I am not going to show partner my heart support. Since partner has shown 2 or 3-card spade support with the 1NT rebid, I am opting for the 9 or 10 card spade fit instead of the 8 card heart fit. For 2 reasons: first, I am keeping that information from the opposition which may benefit me in the play of the hand and second, with 2-1 in minors, partner may be forced to trump the minor suits too many times and lose control of the hand. This will not happen in spades. So, I am bidding 4S over 1NT. I would be surprised if it doesn’t make 4 spades.