Fast Arrival

By Danny Kleinman

The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge (Sixth Edition) begins its entry for “Fast Arrival” as follows:

“FAST ARRIVAL. The idea that the faster a contract is reached, the weaker the hand that places the contract; and, conversely, the slower the approach, the stronger the suggestion that a higher contract may be appropriate.

(a)

WEST 1♠ 2♠

EAST 2♣ 4♠

(b)

WEST 1♠ 2♠ 3NT

EAST 2♣ 3♦ 4♠

“East’s bidding is more encouraging in (b) than in (a).”

Its proponents call it “The Principle of Fast Arrival,” but in the Encyclopedia’s example, a logical inference about East’s hand may be drawn, without adherence to any idea or principle.

The East of (b) learned nothing from West’s 3NT that could cause him to think 4♠ a better contract than he thought it was before he bid 3♦. He learned only that West has a heart stopper and at best mediocre support for clubs and diamonds. So the only reason for East to interject a 3♦ bid between West’s 2♠ and his own ultimate 4♠ bid must have been a hope to reach some other contract than 4♠.

Perhaps East had hoped for a 4♣ preference, a 5♣ jump preference, or a 4♦ raise that would suggest that West has four diamonds and therefore six spades. Had East’s hope been realized, he would have looked for some other contract than 4♠, and as there is no reason to prefer five of a minor when 4♠ is satisfactory, that other contract could be nothing other than a slam.

Perhaps by bidding three suits strongly, East wanted to show a singleton in the fourth suit. Now there’s a very general principle indeed.

West is barred from bidding again in (a), but might West reasonably bid again in (b)?

I think so, but only with a super hand, e.g.♠ K109742 ♥ AJ9 ♦ K8 ♣ K4, modest extra strength, fillers in the two suits bid earlier by East, and the ace of the unbid suit. With anything less, knowledge that East had slam hopes prior to the 3NT bid would not justify West’s bidding beyond game.

A key feature of such a hand is the absence of significant wasted values in the suit that East did not bid. ♠ K109742 ♥ KQ9 ♦ K8 ♣ K4 would certainly not do!

Now let’s consider two other auctions:

(c)

WEST 1♠ 2♠ 3♠

EAST 2♣ 3♦ 4♠

(d)

WEST 1♠ 2♠ 4♣

EAST 2♣ 3♦ 4♠

In (c), East has learned of extra spade length from West’s 3♠ bid. At the time he bid 3♦, East may not have been sure that the contract belonged in spades at all. Perhaps he would have passed if West had bid 3NT; perhaps he would have bid 5♣ if West had bid 4♣. East may have bid 3♦ solely to find the right strain for game. West cannot infer slam interest.

In (d), East’s motive for bidding 3♦ is unclear. At IMPs or rubber bridge, East may be offering a choice of black-suit games. At matchpoints or Board-a-Match, where it makes little sense to play in 5♣ if 4♠ is a reasonable contract, East should be suggesting slam (perhaps 6♠, perhaps 6♣), but only mildly; he may have been hoping for a 5♣ jump preference to trigger a slam.

These four auctions show what is wrong with the Encyclopedia’s definition. Only in (a) and (c) has East “placed the contract”; in (b) and (d), West is free to bid again and reach some other contract, though he seldom should. In (b) and (d), eventual “arrival” at 4♠ was likely as soon as West bid 2♠, but in (c), East did not decide to “arrive” at 4♠ until West bid 3♠.

Here is a better definition: FAST ARRIVAL. The theory that when a forcing bid is available below game, a jump to game denies, but a forcing bid implies, slam interest.

Clearly, the “Principle of Fast Arrival” does not apply to all auctions, but nonetheless there are auctions to which it may apply. These are auctions in which three conditions are satisfied:

1. The partnership has settled definitely on an agreed trump suit.
2. The bidder can jump to game in that suit.
3. The bidder’s partner has limited his hand.

Let’s suppose that East and West play a 2NT response to 1♠ as an artificial forcing raise, showing primary support with 13 to 16 support points and denying a singleton or void. Then it is possible to apply the “Principle of Fast ” to opener’s 4♠ rebid, making that 4♠ bid an attempt to sign off, and any other rebid by opener a slam try of one sort or another. The benefit of such a “Fast Arrival” 4♠ is that it denies the defenders further knowledge of opener’s hand. However, please note:

• The popular Jacoby Forcing Raise convention does not invoke the “Principle of Fast Arrival” exactly, for opener jumps to game in the agreed major only with a balanced minimum. The convention’s 2NT response that shows a forcing raise requires opener to bid three of a suit in which he has a singleton even when he has no slam interest.


• Little harm comes from having opener bid 3♠, and then 4♠ next turn, when he has no slam interest. The only further knowledge the defenders obtain is of responder’s second bid (as I recommend using it, a “cue-bid” showing the ace and lively slam interest). Because responder will be dummy, the defenders obtain no knowledge of declarer’s hand. If you don’t apply the “Principle of Fast Arrival” to this auction, then opener’s jump to 4♠ becomes available as a mild slam try showing extra-good trumps without first-round control in any of the other three suits (the standard meaning of a jump in the trump suit when a non-jump bid in the trump suit would be forcing).

I shall not discuss here whether the benefits of Two-Over-One Game-Forcing outweigh its drawbacks, except to say that it has both. On some deals, a two-over-one responder can benefit by keeping the bidding natural and relatively low in auctions where without Two-Over-One Game-Forcing he would have to jump awkwardly or make an artificial bid.

(e)	Standard American			(f)	Two-Over-One Game-Forcing
	WEST 1♥ 2♦	EAST 2♣ ?			WEST 1♥ 2♦	EAST 2♣ ?
	East’s 2♥ is invitational and 3♥ is forcing.				East’s 2♥ and 3♥ are both forcing.

In neither (e) nor (f) need East bid 4♥ to ensure that game is reached. 4♥ may be played as a “picture bid” showing values only in hearts and clubs.

In (e), East must usually bid 3♥ with three-card heart support and game values or better.

In (f), East can bid either 2♥ or 3♥. So jump preference to 3♥ can show excellent support (no doubt about playing game in hearts) while simple preference to 2♥ can show moderate support.

If responder has ♠ AK2 ♥ 965 ♦ K83 ♣ KQ96, the best contract may be 3NT.

If responder has ♠ A52 ♥ K9 ♦ 983 ♣ KQJ96, the best contract may be 3NT from opener’s side.

With either of these two hands, East should bid 2♥, not 3♥, a luxury that he can afford in Two-Over-One Game-Forcing but (of course) not in Standard American.

It makes no sense to apply the so-called “Principle of Fast Arrival” to auctions like (e) and (f), yet some devotees of Two-Over-One Game-Forcing think that this “Principle” applies to that framework in general.

(g)	Standard American			(h)	Two-Over-One Game-Forcing
	WEST 1♠ 2♠	EAST 2♥ ?			WEST 1♠ 2♠	EAST 2♥ ?

East has ♠ K7 ♥ AQJ862 ♦ K9 ♣ 873.

Having game values, East must either bid game directly, or “invent” a bid of three of a minor to force to game in (g); he cannot bid 3♥ or 4♠, for example, to offer a choice between major-suit games. Either 3♣ or 3♦ is acceptable.

By contrast, in (h), 3♥ and 3♠ are both forcing. 3♥ is clearly best: if West bids 3♠, East can raise to 4♠; if West raises to 4♥, East can pass; and if West bids 3NT, East can pass without fear that the defenders can run a minor suit (as he would fear if West were to bid 3NT over three of that minor).

An East player who held this hand long ago, thinking that “Fast Arrival” applied in his version of Two-Over-One Game-Forcing (there are many versions, as it is a framework upon which many different conventions and treatments may be hung), jumped to 4♠, an inferior contract that failed on bad breaks, with 4♥ unbeatable despite the bad breaks.

As this East hand indicates, Slow Arrival at 4♠ in (h), via a 3♥ rebid and then a raise of West’s 3♠ to 4♠, can stem from any of several motives:

1. Uncertainty about strain — a key issue that is overlooked by some theorists.
2. A desire to let West try for slam below game, then reject any slam try.
3. A desire to let West try for slam below game, then accept any slam try.
4. A desire to let West try for slam below game, then accept a particular slam try (only).

“Fast Arrival” as a general principle is a recipe for disaster.