Wednesday, 4/6/2011

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Better Bidding -- 5-5 majors over 1NT
Board 30: South opens a 15-17 1NT and North has 5 cards in each major. Some play gadget jumps (3H and 3S) to show such hands, but there is no need to waste a bid for this rare shape -- ordinary transfers handle them perfectly. With 5-5 majors and game-forcing values, North starts with 2H (transfer to spades) and rebids 3H. A new suit at the three level after a transfer (or Stayman) is game-forcing, and this specific sequence logically shows 5-5 since North would use Stayman with only 5-4 in the majors. North has only 8 hcp, so forcing to game may not be appropriate if partner is minimum with only 3 card support -- it will be hard to use the side suit if the defense forces dummy to ruff early. Also, South may occasionally open 1NT with 2-2 in the majors, such as Ax Kx AQxx Kxxxx. To show game-invitational values such as here, North starts with 2D (transfer to hearts) and follows with 2S. A new suit at the two level after a transfer (this is the only sequence) is invitational, and again the bid logically shows 5-5 since with 4-5 North could begin with Stayman. (If you play Stayman followed by 2H as weak with 4-4 or 5-5 majors, then 2D-then-2S sequence might be 4-5 or 5-5.)

South has a minimum but 4 quick tricks and a fit for both majors; it seems reasonable to bid game in the stronger major, hearts. Four hearts should make unless West gambles on a singleton spade with partner: Ace of spades, high spade for the ruff and asking for a diamond back, second ruff. This is an unlikely defense which would backfire on the more common holding of two spades each with South and East, and in any case a high diamond from AKQ is the obvious lead, which eliminates the entry for the second ruff. The defense is likely to collect two aces and a heart.

Four spades is tricky for for both West and South; West should count points and realize partner cannot be expected to get in to return a heart for West to ruff. So West leads the Queen of diamonds (from AKQ tight), followed by the Ace, ruffed in dummy. South is likely to cross to hand with a club in order to lead a trump toward dummy's KQ. West ducks, and ducks the second spade. If declarer leads another spade, West wins and forces dummy again with the third high diamond. This leaves West with the only remaining trump. Declarer starts on the hearts; West should wait and ruff the third round, eliminating the last entry to dummy. West can now smother dummy's Jack of clubs with the Queen and the defense eventually collects a club trick for down one. As it happens, declarer can prevail by leading a high spade off dummy at trick three (smothering East's Jack) or crossing to hand with the apparently more dangerous heart (denying West a safe exit in clubs later in the hand), but neither play is obvious without looking at all the cards.