How others might've

bidandmade

it

• Question 1
  
  Your partner at North opens the bidding with 2NT. With your 12 HCP balanced hand, what will you bid?
  
  1). pass
  2). 3C
  3). 3D
  4). 3H
  5). 3S
  6). 3NT?
  7). 4NT?
  8). 6NT?
  9). 7NT?
  
  
  

• Question 1
  
  Your partner at North opens the bidding with 2NT. With your 12 HCP balanced hand, what will you bid?
  
  1). pass
  2). 3C
  3). 3D
  4). 3H
  5). 3S
  6). 3NT?
  7). 4NT?
  8). 6NT?
  9). 7NT?
  
  
  Answer
  
  3 Clubs.
  
  You know game is a certainty. Now the question is whether you can make Slam.
  
  The second question is whether it's best in NT or in Spades.
  
  In either case you'll need to know about possible missing aces, since you've only got one, and in the case of Spades you'd ideally like to know about the King and the Queen.
  
  So one first thing to do could be to ask your partner if he has a 4-card Major.
   

• Question 2
  
  He comes back with a bid of 3 Spades. Can you describe his probable hand?
  
  

• Question 2
  
  He comes back with a bid of 3 Spades. Can you describe his probable hand?
  
  Answer
  
  His 2NT bid implied 20-22 balanced, and his second bid says he has a 4-card Major in Spades only. But it could be a 5-card at a stretch I suppose.
   

• Question 3
  
  OK, so now what to bid?
  
  1). 3NT
  2). 4S
  3). 4NT
  4). 6S
  5). 6NT
  
  

• Question 3
  
  OK, so now what to bid?
  
  1). 3NT
  2). 4S
  3). 4NT
  4). 6S
  5). 6NT
  
  Answer
  
  4NT
  
  By bidding Blackwood, the keycard version, you can find out about the King of Spades even if you don't end up in Spades.
   

• Question 4
  
  Partner comes back with 5 Diamonds, promising either one or four keycards. (Presuming that it mean 4...)... What should you bid next?
  
  1). 5H
  2). 5S
  3). 5NT
  4). 6S
  5). 6NT
  6). Any of these bids!
  
  

• Question 4
  
  Partner comes back with 5 Diamonds, promising either one or four keycards. (Presuming that it mean 4...)... What should you bid next?
  
  1). 5H
  2). 5S
  3). 5NT
  4). 6S
  5). 6NT
  6). Any of these bids!
  
  Answer
  
  5H
  
  All the bids make some sense, depending on what you think is happening. Given that we have all the 5 keycards between us, and given that partner described his hand as balanced with 3 Hearts at the most, and 4 Spades the most likely, then we should probably be heading towards a small Slam, not a grand one. Unless we are either very lucky with the layout of the outstanding danger cards, or unless partner has the Queen of trumps.
  
  Another way of looking at it is to say we'd be safer in a Spade Slam if the Queen of trumps was there, and that we might even have a safe Spade grand Slam if the Queen was there. So in that case ask with a 5H bid.
   

• Question 5
  
  Partner responds with 5 Spades. What to bid next?
  
  1). pass
  2). 6S
  3). 6NT
  4). 7NT
  
  

• Question 5
  
  Partner responds with 5 Spades. What to bid next?
  
  1). pass
  2). 6S
  3). 6NT
  4). 7NT
  
  Answer
  
  6NT
  
  Time to reflect: The Queen is missing, and with only 8 spades in our hands it seems probable that a Queen finesse will be required, thatmight of course fail (50%), making a Grand Slam bid in Spades into a step too far, for all you know. In a No Trumps contract, the same missing Queen is equally problematic, unless you or your partner's got some other long suit on which you can discard your two weak Spades. Given that you at South don't, then all that's left to do is to choose between Spades and NT for your small slam bid.
  
  You've got a tiny little extra ruffing value in Diamonds, but other than this it's hard to choose. Except of course at the duplicate table we get 10 more points in NT....
   

• Question 6
  
  Have a peep at North's hand. Would you have opened 2NT? Would you describe that hand as balanced?
  
  

• Question 6
  
  Have a peep at North's hand. Would you have opened 2NT? Would you describe that hand as balanced?
  
  Answer
  
  There' a counter argument for opening with a "Strong 2" (via Benji 2 Clubs), since strictly a 5422 shape is unbalanced. A Benji 2 Club opening promises 8 playing tricks, with a point limit range of 16-22, which is what North does have.
  
  On the other hand, he's got Ace stoppers in both the doubletons, and his strong long suit is a minor, so as opening bidder (where his partner at South might have nothing) he'll be worried about securing a game, before finding out that a Slam could be on.
  
  Perhaps steering away from minors towards No Trumps seems forgivable for the opening bid.
   

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• Some subjects to follow up on

  Stayman
  Benji Strong 2s
  Bal, 20+ points
  Slam, Spotting the chance
  Blackwood