No online hand records or results -- don't we miss our Bridgemates?
Friday Afternoon:
Board 3: South passes and West opens either 1S or 2S with AKxxxx xx Qx Q109. You can certainly add a couple of points for the good six-card suit, and subtract one for the doubleton Queen. A classic method is to apply the Goren short-suit count, but don't count both high cards and short-suit points in the same suit; that makes this a 12-count, just shy of an opening bid. I wouldn't be influenced by the vulenrability -- it does not pay to open either or two bids lighter or heavier based on the vulnerability; nor does it pay to stretch to open a spade suit, surprisingly enough. (Apparently it's so easy to bid spades later that the cost in constructive bidding exceeds any preemptive effect of stretching to open spades.) So, take your pick, just as long as you don't pass!
With two quick tricks and the Q109 looking more like three points than two, I'd probably open 1S. North overcalls 2H and East must enter the bidding at an uncomfortable level with 3D. West rebids 3S; this is a forced bid, and might possibly not be six cards long (West may not have a heart stopper to bid 3NT on 5323 shape), but East hopes that the suit is sturdy in any case. Looking at Qx Q AKJ10xx Axxx, East counts four obvious "cover cards" (the Queen of partner's suit and AK-A in the minors), slam control of every side suit, and a good source of additional tricks in diamonds. Visualizing, slam looks excellent opposite, say, AKxxxx xx Qx xxx, which is not even an opening bid. So East is justified in driving to slam. If he can check on West's trump quality, he can decide between 6D and 6S.
Playing RKCB, most pairs would treat 4NT at this point as asking about the spade suit; West would reply 5H, two key cards without the Queen. There is some risk West might have Kxxxxx Ax Qx Kxx or the like; RKCB does not solve all isssues with the trump suit. It's better if the player with more than one trump honor does the asking. Some might try a jump to 5S, but when an opponent has bid a suit, that usually asks for control of that suit rather than trump quality. A 4C bid could easily be natural on a huge two-suited hand with heart-stopper or spade support; and on this sort of sequence I don't think 4D can be considered forcing. That leaves a 4H cue-bid -- obviously forcing, obviously a slam try, and most likely based on spade support. Unfortunately in the modern style it would not promise control of hearts, so West cannot launch into 4NT looking at two fast heart losers. West retreats to 4S and East has little alternative to proceeding with 4NT. West replies 5H (or 5D playing ordinary Blackwood.) East would like to offer a choice of slams, but 6D at this point might sound like "I was planning to bid diamonds all along" or " We're missing the Queen of spades." Well, nothing is perfect; as East I would bid 6S and cross my fingers that West either has the two top spades or one of them plus the Jack.
North leads two rounds of hearts, the second ruffed in dummy; West cashes dummy's Queen of trumps, crosses to the Queen of diamonds, pulls trumps and claims based on diamond tricks.
Board 8: West opens 1H on this powerhouse: Ax AKJ98 Jx AK9x . With five plus losers, game is unlikely if partner cannot respond to 1H, so there is no reason to open a forcing 2C. East has enough to invite game; either a direct 3H jump or 1S followed by 3H looks right on KQJxx 10xxx Ax 10x. Although it is almost always best to "support with support" and to choose a single bid that accurately describes your hand when one is available, the strong spades and poor hearts do make it possible that spades will be a better trump suit if partner can raise and has a source of tricks in the minors to pitch two or three hearts. Still, the odds are against such a combination and I think 3H is the practical bid here, especially if that promises four trumps.
West reads the jump raise as promising about 3.5 cover cards -- a simple raise is about 1.5 to 3, while a hand with 4 cover cards normally forces to game. The promise of four trumps insures the fourth club will not be a problem, but slam doesn't add up based on the loser-cover card method. By point count West can estimate his hand at about 21, adding for the fifth heart. The jump raise suggests 11 or 12 value in support, putting the hand right at the borderline of slam. As always, let's try visualising: slam would be a near laydown opposite, say, Kxxx QJxx Axx xx. West should therefore invite slam but be willing to stop at game if partner lacks enthusiasm.
After the jump raise, any new suit bid by opener is a control-cue-bid, inviting slam and showing at least second round control of the suit. My preference is to cue-bid Aces and Kings but not shortages, since partner's evaluation will be radically different holding AQx opposite Kx or x -- no difference in losers, but quite a difference in winners. West bids cue-bids 3S, which delights East; East cooperates with 4D and West, with control of clubs and good trumps, is justified launching into 4NT. East replies one Ace or key card. As grand slam seems unlikely given the original raise, West ends the bidding at 6S. Those playing the "1430" variation would have room to ask about the missing Queen of trumps: 4NT-5C; 5D-5H or 5S, whichever denies the Queen. The odds of dropping the Queen are about 52%, not enough to risk bidding 7 on a hand where many pairs will fail to reach even a small slam; nor would it be wise to bid 6NT, where a diamond lead and a heart loser could be fatal -- there are only ten top tricks if West take the normal play in hearts.
Against 6H North's best line does appear to be a diamond lead, hoping partner has the King and a trump winner. West grabs dummy's Ace, cashes the top trumps, and then tries three rounds of spades. South ruffs the third with his master trump but West dumps his diamond loser and twleve tricks roll home. Well bid and well-played!
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