Q. 1— Some hands from the July 24 game at the Edgartown Bridge Club provide excellent lesson material. Sitting South, with North dealing and no one vulnerable, you hold:

♠ 6 5 4
♥ Q 9 3
♦ A K 10 9 7 6 5
♣ —

North opens 1♥

and East passes. What do you bid?

A.— This is where the 2-over-1 system really helps. As soon as you reply 2♦, forcing to game, you can begin the inquiry into a possible slam at a nice, low level.

Q. 2 — Sitting South, with East dealing and North-South vulnerable, you hold:

♠ K 10 5 4 2
♥ K J 9 5 3
♦ J 10
♣ 9

East bids 1 ♣. What do you bid?

A.— This is a textbook time to use the Michaels convention. By cuebidding 2♣ , you’re promising 5-5 in the majors. (If East had opened 1 ♦ , you’d have bid 2 ♦ .) Typically, this bid is used with weak-strong hands: 5-10 high-cards points or 16+ HCP. With 11-15 HCP, overcall 1 ♠ and rebid 2 ♥

.Q. 3 — Sitting North, with East dealing and North-South vulnerable, you hold:

♠ J 7
♥ 8 2
♦ A K Q 8 7 6 5 3
♣ 8

The bidding has proceeded as follows:

East     South     West     North
1♣      2 ♣       3 ♣      ?

What do you bid?

A. — Yes, this is the partner of South in the previous question. As leading Vineyard player Barbara Besse says: “What do you call an eight-card suit? Trump!” Bid 3♦ and be prepared to go one higher in competition.

Q. 4 — Sitting South and dealing, with East-West vulnerable, you hold:

♠ K Q J 2
♥ Q 10 8
♦ A 4
♣ Q 10 6 5

What do you bid?

A.— Noted writer-teacher Marty Bergen recommends adding a point any time you have three honors in a 4+-card suit. So add a point for those spades and qualify to open 1NT (15-17 HCP).

Q. 5 — Sitting South, with East dealing and both sides vulnerable, you hold:

♠ A K 6
♥ K J 9 5
♦ A K Q 9 5
♣ 8

What do you bid?

A. — Players are often encouraged to open the strong and artificial 2♣ holding with at least four quick tricks and no more than four losers. This hand qualifies, but you may find it difficult to describe such a distributional hand. I’d open 1 ♦ and reverse into 2 ♥ .