Parrish the Thought Newsletter
June 2025
It was a rainy May here in NYC. I kept myself busy with lots of bridge and plenty of culture. The month culminated with New York’s Memorial Day regional. I played with a few local juniors and young adults. I had a great time. My friends Max and Ankur came and stayed with me, which was a lot of fun. We ate very well. Per Se, Thomas Keller’s NY outlet, was the highlight. We also saw George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck on Broadway and caught an excellent concert at the Philharmonic. Am I a good host or what!!
I head to Cincinnati next week for their regional. I grew up in Cincinnati and learned a lot of my bridge there, so it’s always a nice homecoming for me. I’m playing with one of my former mentors, which is very special. I’m sure I will eat well! I’m giving a lecture on Wednesday 6/11. Be sure to drop by and say hello if you’re there!
There is also a regional in Boston in mid-June that I’m hoping to attend. I’m still making plans, so let me know if you’re going to be there or you might like to play.
I’m flying to Michigan at the end of June and spending a couple of weeks at my friend’s lake house. We’ve been going up there since middle school! It’s one of my favorite places on the planet; I look forward to this trip every summer. Then it’s a week or two on Cape Cod and off to Philadelphia for the Nationals. Then I’ll spend August on the Cape with my family. Sounds like a good summer, right?
I am going to be teaching a beginning bridge class in the Fall. It will be Tuesday nights at 6:30, starting September 30. The class has a hybrid format: both in person at Honors Bridge Club in Manhattan and online. I’m hoping the class will mostly be young professionals. So you can encourage all your friends to come learn! They can reach out to me for more information.
My Monday "Expert Thought Process" and Thursday "Thinking Through Declarer Play" classes are on their regular schedules in June, though there may be some adjustments when I’m away at tournaments. You can get information about both classes here: https://learnbridgeonline.com/adam-parrish/
Upcoming topics in my Monday class are (schedule always subject to change if things take extra time):
June 2 Quantitative 4NT June 9 Declarer Play June 16 Bidding Over Their 1NT June 23 Falsecarding June 30 Defense
I’ve got some great podcast episodes coming up. Look forward to conversations with Marty Fleisher, Adam Kaplan, and Nabil Edgtton.
Time for some questions! Please keep them coming.
Notrump interference at the 3-level
Hi, Adam,
I think I’ve got the hang of Lebensohl when the opponents interfere at the 2-level. But I’m not sure what to do when they bid at the 3-level. What do you recommend?
There’s no Lebensohl when they interfere at the 3-level, since we don’t have a 2NT bid available for the relay. So we can’t distinguish between strong and weak hands. Everything we do is game forcing.
Over 1NT (3♣), basically systems are on: double is Stayman, 3♦ shows hearts, 3♥ shows spades, and 3♠ shows diamonds. Texas Transfers apply over 3♣, but not over other 3-level bids. So 4♦ and 4♥ here are transfers.
Over 1NT (3♦), double is Negative (basically Staymanesque). You can bid majors naturally, but the expert standard here is to swap the majors, so 3♥ shows spades and 3♠ shows hearts. A 4♦ cuebid shows 5-5+ in the majors.
Over 1NT (3M), Double is Negative and everything else is just natural.
Hope that helps.
Adam
Responding to a takeout double with 4-4 in the majors
Dear Adam,
When partner makes a takeout double and advancer is 4-4 in the major suits with <8 HCP, which major does advancer show first? Hearts ("up the line”) or spades (“down the line”)?
I always bid the spades first. That way, if the auction continues and I have to bid again, I'm well placed to bid the hearts.
e.g.,
(1♣) X (P) 1♠
(2♣) X (P) 2♥
Adam
Deciding when to open 2♣ is hard!
Dear Adam,
My partner and I just started playing McCabe, where responder’s bid after partner’s weak-2 gets doubled is lead directing with a fit. We had a misunderstanding, though, when I tried to use it after partner’s weak jump overcall. Should McCabe apply in this situation as well?
I like to treat weak jump overcalls at the 2-level just like opening preempts, and keep all the same agreements—Ogust, McCabe, etc.
I like McCabe, but I prefer Transfer McCabe. (Adding transfers makes every convention better!!) 2NT remains an asking bid, and everything else below 3 of partner’s suit is a transfer, starting with redouble. The preemptor has to accept the transfer, and then you can go back to their suit to show the lead-directing hand. But you can also pass partner in your suit when they accept the transfer. That’s a great way to get out of Dodge when you suspect the double is about to get passed out.
Transferring to partner’s suit—e.g., 2♥ (dbl) 3♦—is a raise that promises an honor in partner’s suit—usually the ace or king. This makes it much easier for partner on lead with something like AQxxxx or AJxxxx.
Adam
That's all for now. I encourage you to send me questions about my column or anything else at adam@adamparrishbridge.com. Maybe they'll end up in the next newsletter!