Friday, July 26th 2013

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Board 8 West Deals None Vul	♠ Q 10 4 3 ♥ 10 6 ♦ 8 7 ♣ K Q J 6 5
♠ K 7 ♥ A K 8 7 ♦ A K J 10 9 5 3 ♣ —	N W E S	♠ A 9 8 ♥ Q J 4 3 ♦ Q 6 4 ♣ A 9 2
	♠ J 6 5 2 ♥ 9 5 2 ♦ 2 ♣ 10 8 7 4 3

 

West has a powerful hand, but not really enough to open 2C when the long suit is a minor. Game is unlikely if partner passes 1D. North may overcall 2C; 8 hcp is a bit light for a two level overcall but 2C over 1D has some preemptive value. East doubles, negative, promising four cards in at least one major and, generally, the ability to handle things if partner bids the other. East has plenty enough strength to simply bid 2H but that would show five-card length; use the negative double when you lack either the length or the strength for a two-level suit bid. South has a great fit for clubs and little defense; with 10 or 11 trumps and a singleton, South should bash 5C not vulnerable. 3C would suggest less shape and some high cards; 4C should also contain some defense, otherwise you may be pushing the enemy into a game you can’t beat. With two unbid major suits, 4C might keep them from finding their fit, but I’d rather maximize the pressure. You can expect partner to take four to six clubs, two ruffs in one hand or the other, and a side trick or two; down 3 doubled may be overly expensive, but often they’ll bid or fail to double or partner’s hand may have additional shape.

 Back to West: with about nine tricks, three key cards in either red suit and a void in clubs, West needs relatively little for slam. If they’ve jammed the bidding at 5C I’d simply try 6D. East, with far more than partner can expect, can raise to 7D.

 At our table N/S were silent; over partner’s 1H West has an excellent hand for a void-showing 5C jump – but partner explained the bid as “natural, at least 5-5 in the minors, 22+ points.” No way – a jump to  3C would be strong, natural, and game-forcing. But 5C could be a 6-6 hand, so I’ll admit 5C risked an accident. I remembered discussing void-jumps but they are rare. Any pair that plays splinters should recognize 4C as a splinter, but if East proceeds with 4NT it may be hard to show a void rather than a singleton. Another possibility would be 4D showing, basically, a hand worth a jump to 3D but also having 4-card heart support. Opener does not need 4D to show a hand with just diamonds. Finally, opener can simply bid 4NT; this isn’t ideal with a void but opener has enough controls for slam even if partner has the wrong Ace.

 Let’s assume 4NT, key card for hearts; East replies 5S, two keys plus the Queen. Now 7H is a standout, since the Queen of diamonds can be ruffed out if partner has only one or two and should drop if he has three. West should nevertheless confirm all the key cards by bidding 5NT; East, knowing the Queen of diamonds is a big card, can bid 6NT (“no Kings, but something extra”) and West chooses either 7H or 7NT. Bidding at least 6NT scored well; one pair is listed as making 7S but I suspect they actually played 7H.

 

Board 14 East Deals None Vul	♠ 9 6 3 2 ♥ J 9 8 ♦ K 10 8 5 ♣ 4 2
♠ Q J 8 5 4 ♥ A 4 2 ♦ 3 2 ♣ A 10 5	N W E S	♠ A K ♥ K Q 7 6 3 ♦ A Q 6 ♣ K J 6
	♠ 10 7 ♥ 10 5 ♦ J 9 7 4 ♣ Q 9 8 7 3

Board 14: East opens 2C; West should make a positive response in spades. Even if you normally expect two of the top three honors for a positive bid, East’s 11 hcp and two side Aces should be plenty enough for slam. The Jack of spades protects against landing in slam with something like Kxx opposite Qxxxx. “Steps” bidders surprise partner with a rare 2NT (10-12) reply while everyone else should bid a natural, slam-positive 2S. I’m sure several Easts bid a murky 2D, waiting or semi-positive.

 Over 2S East simply bids 2NT, almost always better than 3 of a suit on balanced and semi-balanced hands. Now West counts 33+ hcp and must drive the hand to slam. 6NT is straightforward enough; 5NT “pick a slam” is fine if you’ve discussed it. 5NT over notrump is ALWAYS forcing, since 4NT would be invitational. East passes 6NT, of course; over 5NT, 6H is a possibility but I’d prefer a stronger suit. Even if East does show the hearts I don’t think anyone has a clear 7 bid; 6NT ought to be the popular choice. With both majors behaving 13 tricks are easy. Again, 6NT scored well.

Board 20 West Deals Both Vul	♠ Q 4 ♥ Q 7 5 4 2 ♦ J 7 2 ♣ 10 9 4
♠ J 9 8 7 ♥ A J 9 ♦ K Q 8 ♣ A K Q	N W E S	♠ A K 5 3 ♥ 8 6 ♦ A 10 6 4 ♣ 8 6 2
	♠ 10 6 2 ♥ K 10 3 ♦ 9 5 3 ♣ J 7 5 3

 

 

Board 20: West opens 2NT (20-21) and East bids 3C, Stayman; if a fit exists there may be 12 tricks. West replies 3S and now East ponders slam. Visualizing, opener might have QJxx Axx KQJ AKx and the losing club disappears on a diamond. Or opener might have xxxx KQ KQJx AKQ and you can’t avoid two losers. A key-card auction makes sense; but if 4NT implicitly agrees spades as trumps, what does responder do when he wants to invite slam after opener bids the wrong major?

 A popular gadget over a 1NT Stayman auction is “three other major slam try” and the corollary over 2NT is “four other major slam try.” If you think about it, there is no reason for responder to bid 4H over 3S here without a spade fit. So experts use 4H as a spade raise with slam interest; 4NT, by contrast, denies a fit. This gadget tends to be “self-alerting” since partner should be puzzled why you would bid 4H here. On today’s hand opener does not have anything unusual in terms of slam controls: two key cards, poor trumps, a couple of side Kings. Over the gadget 4H, then, West simply bids 4S. East might give up but I think 4NT is worth the risk, followed by 6S over partner’s 2 Ace or Key-card reply. The same applies if E/W play 2NT-3C; 3S-4NT as Blackwood or key card.

What if you use Puppet Stayman? No problem, West bids 3D “one or both majors”; East bids 3H = spades; West bids 3S to show the fit, and now East can cue-bid 4D or proceed with 4NT. However, I feel Puppet Stayman makes it hard for responder on certain hands such as 5-4 either way in the majors, and gives the enemy the chance to double two artificial bids for a lead.

Against 6S North leads the 10 of clubs, not wanting to break a suit with a high card. The lead hardly matters; declarer cannot escape a heart loser and there is no finesse available in trumps. Perhaps East was too optimistic; but the A-K of trumps drops the Queen and all is well. As it happens 6NT also makes on the lucky fall of the diamond Jack. Five pairs bid slam, two failing.

 

 

 

Board 26 East Deals Both Vul	♠ A 5 4 2 ♥ 10 9 3 2 ♦ A J 8 ♣ K 2
♠ 10 9 6 ♥ 6 5 4 ♦ Q 9 7 6 ♣ J 9 7	N W E S	♠ Q J 8 ♥ A Q 7 ♦ 4 3 2 ♣ 8 6 5 3
	♠ K 7 3 ♥ K J 8 ♦ K 10 5 ♣ A Q 10 4

Board 26: North opens 1D and South has a classic 3NT response: 16-17 hcp, some 4333 shape, and not too many slam controls. That ends the bidding in a hurry. Most club players, however, bid 3NT to show 13-15; this often traps opener with an unbalanced hand, and leaves responder no good way to bid today’s hand. I’m sure many simply bid 3NT anyway; 2/1 Game Forcers probably bid 1D-2C; 2NT-3NT. Everything works for declarer; surprisingly,  +690 scored well. You don't always have to bid to the max to score well at matchpoints. On a diamond lead, declarer wins cheaply in hand, crosses to the King of clubs, and leads the ten of hearts while he still has everything under control. 3-3 splits in both hearts and clubs results in 12 tricks.