In the game of

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

, Leaping Michaels is a conventional

overcall In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A ''direct'' overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e ...

in 4 or 4 made in defense to opposing 2-level or 3-level preemptive openings. A variant of the

Michaels cuebid The Michaels cuebid is a conventional bid used in the card game contract bridge. First devised by Michael Michaels of Miami Beach, FL, it is an 's cuebid in opponent's opening suit and is normally used to show a two-suited hand with at least five ...

, Leaping Michaels shows a strong two-suited hand (5-5 or longer) that is less suitable for a

takeout double In the card game contract bridge, a takeout double is a low-level convention (bridge), conventional call of "Double" over an opponent's bid as a request for partner to bid his best of the unbid suits. The most common takeout double is after an opp ...

and is game forcing. Described as an overcall by some of a weak two-bid of a major, others Simon's Convention List website
/ref> expand its application to all weak preempts at the 2 or 3-level in both the majors and minors. Holding such two-suited hands and using Leaping Michaels, opponent's opening preempts between 2 and 3 inclusive are overcalled in accordance with the following table: After (3) – 4, a bid of 4 asks for the major. The bids 4 and 4 are to play. Following (3) – 4 the bid of 4 is played as pass-or-correct. Some partnerships prefer to interchange the meanings of the 4 and 4 bids following a 3 preempt so that 4 denotes diamonds and an undisclosed major. This has the advantage that the 4 becomes available to ask for the major suit. The 4/4 responses can then be played as natural (to play). Leaping Michaels can be utilised after natural two-level preempts, but also after conventional preempts such as

Muiderberg Muiderberg () is a village in the municipality of Gooise Meren in the Netherlands. It lies about 6 km north of Bussum and 2 km west of Naarden, adjacent to the Naarderbos. Geography Muiderberg is in the east of the municipality of ...

. Even after a

Multi 2 diamonds Multi-coloured 2 diamonds, is a contract bridge convention whereby the opening bid of 2D shows a defined range of hand types. These always include a weak-two bid in a major suit, and the second option, that must be a strong. The inherent ambigui ...

preempt, Leaping Michaels can be utilised to good effect: :(2) – 4 : Clubs and an undisclosed major (4 asks for the major) :(2) – 4 : Diamonds and an undisclosed major (4 is pass-or-correct)

References

{{WPCBIndex Bridge conventions