Other conventions

Fourth Suit Forcing

Another convention that we have met briefly before - this one lets you set up a game force, and at the same time gives partner the scope to show useful information, in situations where opener rebids a second suit.

Try some hands

Hand 1

After your partner bids Fourth Suit Forcing, you need to pick what is most important to show them about your hand. In the play, while we normally draw trumps as quickly as possible, you should consider if there is anything more important to do first.

Hand 2

After your partner bids Fourth Suit Forcing, you need to decide if you have anything extra to show. In the play, you should be concerned with stopping the defence from cashing their long club suit.

Hand 3

After your partner rebids two suits, you need to find a way to figure out the best game contract. Can you think how? Once dummy comes down, you should check to see if anything else needs doing before you draw trumps.

Hand 4

After you have bid three suits between you, you can use fourth suit forcing to find the best game. When playing the contract, you need to figure out a way to stop the defence from cashing a lot of diamond tricks if possible.

Back

Fourth suit forcing

Question 1/6

Penelope has opened 1♣ and rebid 1♠ after Walter’s response. What should Walter bid now?

Walter has a game forcing hand. By bidding the fourth suit, he is able to communicate that to his partner, and at the same time leave lots of room for her to tell him more about her hand.

Carrying on that same auction, what should Penelope bid now?

Penelope has consulted her mental checklist and remembered that her first priority is to show three cards in partner's first bid suit. She has three hearts, so she shows that by bidding hearts at the lowest available level. There is no need to take up space by going to 3♥, as they are in a game forced auction.

In that same auction, if Penelope had this hand instead, what should she bid?

Having run through her checklist, Penelope can see that she does not have the number one thing - three cards in partner’s suit, so she moves on to number two: Do I have a stop in the fourth suit? Her KJ of diamonds is certainly a stop, especially as the lead will come into her hand in a NT contract now, so she can confidently bid 2NT

This time, Penelope has opened 1♦ and rebid 1♠. Walter’s 2♣ bid is fourth suit forcing. What should Penelope bid now?

Here, Penelope has neither three cards in partner's first suit, nor a stop in the fourth suit (Qx is not a stop because both cards would fall under the opponents' A and K , leaving her with no clubs). She bids her first suit again to let Walter know the position. Note that it won't be clear to Walter whether or not she has extra length in diamonds (6,4,2,1 shape for example) or not, because sometimes opener just has to repeat their first suit if they have nothing else to show.

Carrying on that same auction, you can now see Walter’s hand. What should he bid?

Walter would obviously have liked to hear a 2♥ bid from Penelope after his fourth suit forcing bid, which would have made 4♥ a very good contract. As it is, however, he can see that they have no major suit fit but they do have stops in every suit. Penelope has denied a club stop but Walter has one, so they should play in NT. He bids NT now to tell Penelope that he is not worried about clubs. With the hand she has, she will raise to 3NT. There is no need for Walter to jump straight to 3NT, as they are forced to game anyhow and if Penelope had a very strong and shapely hand she might want to show that by bidding more diamonds.

Same auction again, but Walter has a slightly different hand. What should he bid this time?

Walter knows now that neither side of the partnership has a club stop, so playing in NT is not an option - the opponents could take a bunch of club tricks and defeat the contract. They also have no major suit fit but they do have a fit in diamonds (Penelope is known to have five when she rebids a second suit, showing an unbalanced hand). In the absence of other options, playing in diamonds is now their best bet, so he confirms this by bidding 3♦. Penelope can raise to 5♦ with a minimum hand (as she would here) or bid 4♦ if she had a stronger hand and interest in slam.

The links will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can have a go at bidding and responding to Fourth Suit Focing. You will then be able to play the hands and see if you can make your contract. Have as many goes as you like if you don’t succeed the first time.