“Do you use transfer bid?” one club player asked me, referring to the method where (for example) a responder to a 1NT opening bid, with KQ965,76,A54,Q102, bids two hearts and asks his partner to bid two spades. Then responder bids 3NT, offers a selection of games.
“Sure,” I said. “All expert partnerships use them.”
“Well, my partner has adopted a new application of the idea,” he muttered. “If the opponents bid four hearts and partner has a suit of spades, he says their bid is a ‘transfer’ and demands that he bid four spades.”
I’m familiar with that four-over-four rationale: Four spades can be good or a good save. My friend showed me today’s deal.
“When West opened a heart and East jumped to four, partner ‘accepted the transfer,’ as he put it. He bid four spades.”
South beat the second heart and led the trump king, and West correctly ducked. South then led a diamond to dummy and returned ten trumps: discard East, two, jack. West forced South to call another heart, won the next trump with an ace, and led a fourth heart. South called — with his last trump — and West’s seven won the setup trick.
“Four hearts would have failed,” North said. “So much for my partner’s theories.”
Söder could justify his bid. He can afford two trump losers but must maintain control in the event of a 4-1 trump break. At trick three, South can lead a low trump. West cannot win by playing low. If he takes jacks and leads a third heart, South can ruff with dummy’s ten, keeping trump length in hand to draw trump.
West dealer
Both sides vulnerable
NORTH
S 10 5
H 9 4
DAY 7 2
CK 9 7 6 5
WEST
SAJ 7 4
HACK 8
D 10 9 6
C 10 4
EAST
S 3
HQ 10 7 5 3 2
D 8 4 3
CQJ 2
SOUTH
SKQ 9 8 6 2
H 6
DKQ 5
CA 8 3
West North East South
1 H Pass 4 H 4 S
All Passports
Opening lead — HK
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