Monday, January 9th 2012

Right-click here for hands.
Two grand slams! (Both E/W, sorry about that N/S!)

Board 3: West opens 2C with his balanced 22 count, planning to rebid 2NT. Don't deduct anything for honors in short suits at notrump -- that QJ of hearts is a good reason to want to play notrump rather than a suit contract.

East might reply 2D waiting or semi-positive, but with eight spades headed by the King and a side Ace I think a 2S reply is warranted, even if your usual standards specify two of the top three honors. West raises to 3S and East can learn all he needs to know with 4NT, Blackwood or RKCB. Assuming RKCB, West shows 3 key cards (5C = 0 or 3, or 5D playing the "1430" variation.) Now 5D (or 5H using "1430") asks about the Queen -- but does the Queen really matter? With 10 trumps the odds of a 3-0 break are only 22%, and opener may have a third trump or the Jack, so the chances of a trump loser are probably less than 10%. It pays to be cautious about bidding grand slams but I wouldn't avoid this one for lack of the trump Queen. What about the third heart? Partner has indicated 22 hcp or the equivalent and his three Aces only account for 12 -- I'd say 7NT is an excellent bet, and no reason to risk a defensive ruff , however unlikely.

Side note on Queen asking: Many players adopt RKCB without learning that, over the 5C and 5D replies, asking about the Queen is part of the method. The cheapest side suit that can't logically be to play (either 5D over 5C or 5H over 5D qualifies in this case) asks about the Queen. The original replies were simply next step = no, one more = yes; and as the above analyis shows, you should pretend to have the Queen when you know the partnership has at least 10 trumps. A popular alternate method is to rebid the agreed suit to deny the Queen, and bid anything else to show it; a side suit shows that specific King as well as the requested Queen of trumps.

Our auction started 2C-2D, semi-positive (4+) and forcing to game. I rebid 2NT and partner transferred with 3H, then followed with 4NT. We play Texas transfers, so a 4H bid would also have transferred to spades. What's the difference? The 4 level transfer is used when responder knows both strain and level: 6 or more spades and either no interest in slam or definitely enough for slam. The Jacoby transfer therefore indicates some doubt about strain (only 5 spades, so we may not have a fit) or level (enough to invite but not insist on slam.) The upshot is that Jacoby-then-4NT should be quantitative, inviting slam with 5 spades and, say, a balanced 10 count, while Texas-then-4NT should be RKCB. I think this distinction is the primary argument for playing two types of transfers.

Despite this, I assumed partner meant 4NT as RKCB, but we missed the grand when I realized I didn't know which scheme we used for the Queen ask: 5S was either "yes" or "no" !

Board 5: East has an nice 14 count -- should it be upgraded to 1NT? Aces, tens, nines, and five-card suits all carry more weight than the standard point count assigns them, and East has two Aces, two tens, a nine, and five diamonds. An average hand includes one Ace, one ten and one nine, and analysis of real-world declarer play indicates a five card suit is equivalent to an extra ten, about 0.4 hcp. So I'd say East has just enough to open 1NT. This startles West, who adds his 21 and notes there could be a missing Ace. Time to trot out Gerber and hope both you and partner get the responses right! East replies 4S (two Aces) and with 36 hcp and the sure 4th spade trick West leaps to 7NT. With 12 tricks on top, all East needs is to drop the Jack of diamonds or finesse against the King of hearts, making this something like an 83% grand slam.

Without the upgrade, East opens 1D. Now West counts at most 35 hcp and will likely settle for small slam unless a good fit comes to light. A strong jump shift doesn't do justice to this hand, so West may as well respond a simple 1S or 2C and see what develops. East has the shape for a 1NT rebid, but after bidding two suits it's scary to rebid notrump with only 109x in hearts. There's a lot to be said for 1NT -- it limits the shape and strength, and no one overcalled in hearts -- but most Easts I expect rebid their sturdy suit. This alerts West to the fit, and a 4NT (or 4D Minorwood) inquiry revels three Key cards. 5H asks about the Queen; playing "specific Kings" style, 5NT would be negative (since five of the agreed suit is unavailable.) On today's hand East bids 6D to confirm the Queen but deny a side King.

West counts 12 top tricks if the diamonds run, and possibilities for a 13th trick include the fourth club and the heart finesse. There does not appear to be a useful ruff (you won't need one if the heart finesse wins) so the choice is between 6NT and 7NT. West might cue-bid 6H to pass the decision back to opener, but I think I'd settle for 6NT since you appear to need the diamonds to run plus something extra.