Many would double here, but for what purpose?  Partner is expected to lead a Heart anyway, and there’s not much point in doubling to say “Yes, I really do want a Heart lead!”  The obvious use for the Double is to encourage Partner to compete to 3♥, and that looks like a highly dangerous suggestion, looking at the vulnerability and all of South’s losers.  Suggesting 3♥ would make more sense if that singleton ♣K were put somewhere useful.  But with the actual South hand, surely a Pass is called for.

Needless to say, North has her sights set on slam as soon as South opens, and it’s merely a question of which one.  First, North might wheel out the following gadget, primarily for the purpose of discovering if South has 4-card Heart support.  By partnership agreement, 2NT asked South to describe her hand further and the responses are:

-         3♣ is 3-card support and a minimum hand

-         3♦ is 3-card support and a maximum hand

-         3♥ is 4-card support and minimum hand

-         3♠ is 4-card support and a maximum hand.

Some players call this “that minmax thing”, perhaps it has a real name.

In the 2/1 style, East’s response is the Forcing No trump, and it places West in an awkward situation.  No doubt West wishes that, for this hand at least, he had been playing Flannery.  But, it’s too late for that, so what next?  Clearly not 2♠, that's a reverse which would greatly overstate the value of the hand. In the circumstances, a rebid of 2♥ seems like the lesser of evils.  True, it’s not the promised six cards, but it is a very good suit, and, to us at least, seems less unappetizing than rebidding a two-card minor.

Board 6                                            Board 23

North   East     South   West                            West    North   East     South

            1♦        1♥        1♠                                                                    1♣

??                                                                    Pass    1♥        1♠        Dbl (Support)

                                                                        ??

♠ A42                                                              ♠ A732

♥ QJ987                                                          ♥ 984

♦ T                                                                   ♦ KT2

♣ T932                                                            ♣ KQ7

Two boards with the same theme.  In each case the opponents have bid two suits, we have game-invitational values in Partner’s suit.  As there is a choice of two cue-bids available, it’s usual to play that the cheaper cue-bid shows 3-card support and that the more expensive cue-bid shows 4+ trump support.  This being the case, on Board 6 North bids 2♠ and West on Board 23 bids 2♥, both being the more expensive and showing 4+ cards support.

So far, North’s bids have meant as follows:

-         2♦:  Waiting

-         2NT: If N-S are playing 3♣ as a “second negative” then 2NT must be used to show some values.  There’s no rush to support Hearts with honor doubleton, that can be done later.  Nor does it seem appropriate to introduce an xxxx suit by bidding 2♠

-         3♠: Natural

-         4♣: This has to be a cue-bid in support of Spades.  Responder cannot start introducing new suits at the 4-level expecting them to be a possible place to play.

-         5♦: No Key Cards

Now, South’s 5NT is the King Ask (let’s assume that you are playing Specific Kings).  The obvious bid is no doubt 6♣, but we ask you to consider the bold bid of 7♠, based on this logic:

-         South’s 5NT did not merely ask for Kings, it also announced that N-S had all the Key Cards.  And the ♠Q, too, without that card surely South would have tried a Queen Ask of 5♥.

-         There is not much point in showing the ♣K, the earlier 4♣ has already laid claim to that card.

-         If Partner had wanted to know about the ♥K she could have made an earlier cue-bid of 4♦.  That would have given North a chance to show the ♥K before South launched into Roman Key Card.

So, if N-S are on the same wavelength then we’d say that 7♠ is a reasonable bid.  How good is the grand slam?  As it happens, Partner does not have a 5^th Spade or the ♠J, so a 3-2 trump break is required (plus a modicum of reasonable luck elsewhere).  Around 60% we would say.

Partner’s Double of 2♥ was for penalty, and East has bailed out to 2♠ in the hope that that is a better contract.  Are you going to double this contract?  Surely you should, despite the moderate trump holding.  It looks like N-S have the balance of the HCP and also that E-W are in a 5-2 fit.  How so?  Well, East might have raised Spades earlier with three, West might have rebid 2♠ with 6.  All in all, we suggest that South go for the throat, trying for the magic +200, while being fully aware that it will occasionally be -670.  On the actual deal it turns out to be +800!

South’s Double here showed values, and was not specifically for penalty or for takeout.  It’s hard to blame North for passing the Double with that ordinary-looking hand, but the fact of the matter is that 4♠ doubled escapes for -500 while N-S can make +600 in 5♣ or 5♦.

Suppose that the vulnerability prompts North to bid game.  Should she just bid 5♣, her longest suit?  No, it’s better to play that 4NT here shows a two-suiter (not necessarily both minors, could be Hearts and a minor).  This useful treatment greatly improves the chances of finding the best fit, although on this hand it makes no difference.

Here’s an easy one.  Let’s assume that you are playing DONT.  Do you treat the South hand as a Spade one-suiter or a Spade-Diamond two-suiter?  It’s a one-suiter, there’s no need to risk playing in a 4-3 Diamond fit when there is likely to be a 6-2 Spade fit available.  Having decided that it is a one-suiter, here are the choices for showing Spades:

-         Preemptive 3♠

-         Competitive 2♠

-         Constructive hand by doubling and then bidding 2♠

This hand is clearly competitive only.

After 2♥, opposite a passed hand, 4♠ looks like the practical bid, though it may miss slam occasionally when Partner has a decent hand and the right Diamond holding.  The alternatives are:

(a)    4♦ (Leaping Michaels) showing Spades and Diamonds, at least 5-5.  Given the disparity in the two suits this looks like a serious distortion (but will work great when South has a Diamond fit and a good hand)

(a)    Double, and then 3♠ after South bids Clubs.  This shows a good hand, but is not forcing.

(b)    3♠, showing a good hand, and a good suit and not quite enough for game.  The trouble with this bid is that Partner could have a Yarborough with a Diamond fit and game will be cold.

As there’s no ideal way to describe the hand, perhaps booting out 4♠ is the best option, putting East under pressure. 

North is opposite a passed hand so her hand could be just about anything.  But, looking at the East hand, it appears to have been made with every intention of making.  East has an astonishing lack of defense opposite a Weak Two and can reasonably expect N-S to make 11 or 12 tricks.  If East bids 5♥ and then (as they surely will) N-S bids 5♠, will East want to bid 6♥.  We would say “Yes!”, so our suggestion here would be to bid 6♥ immediately, letting the opponents guess at the 6-level.

With that South hand, opposite a 1NT opening, how many different plans can you come up with and how many actually make sense?

-         Garbage Stayman: If South thinks that her hand is not worth a game invitation then she bids 2♣, planning to pass 2♠, and bid 2♥ over 2♦.  And, if Opener responds 2♥, no doubt South will invite based on the 9-card fit.

-         Transfer to Hearts and then pass: A dubious plan with such a moderate suit and 4 Spades.

-         Transfer to Hearts and then bid 2♠: This shows 4 Spades, 5 Hearts and invitational values.

At least at matchpoints, we’d go the Garbage Stayman route, we just don’t think that this crummy 8-count is good enough to invite (unless North has 4 Hearts).  Others will feel lucky, bid more, and end up in the hopeless game.  If fact, even 2♠ is likely to be down one, so staying low and escaping for -50 will be a good result.

This hand is only a 10-count and it also fails the Rule of 20 test.  But only just, and there are some compensating plus points … we have the Spades … and a good suit (we’d love it to be led if West ends up as Declarer) … and a singleton … and some fillers … and the vulnerability is in our favor.  Come on, South, let’s open 1♠ here!

Would you open the West hand?  Many (perhaps most) would open this 10-count 1♥ in third seat (no doubt fortified by having Drury on their convention card).  But is that really such a good idea?  The E-W vulnerability works against a part-score skirmish (anyone for -200?) … the Heart suit is hardly a good lead-director … most of West’s HCP strength is in a doubleton suit … and the shape is unexciting.  Looks like a Pass to us.

The bottom line?  On the actual deal, if West opens 1♥, his Partner probably won’t get the chance to use Drury, and with 4 Hearts and a 12-count might find himself compelled to compete to 3♥.  That will be -200 for E-W.

Board 23

Please see Board 6.

Every few months we put in a plug for our favorite method of super-accepting Jacoby transfers, and it appears to be that time again.  After the 2♥ transfer, when Opener has 4 of Partner’s Spades, the suggested method goes as follows:

-         Opener may decline to make a super-accept if she has a truly rotten hand.  “Rotten” is characterized more by square shape and quackiness than it is by HCP.

-         Opener bids 2NT with a good hand and 4 Spades (now 3♥ is a “re-transfer”)

-         Opener bids 3♠ with a middle-of-the-road hand and 4 Spades.

The benefit of this method (other than being really easy to remember) is that it doesn’t offer the defenders any gratuitous information about Opener’s hand.  For example, with the North hand, after 1NT 2♥, some would rebid 3♦ showing a doubleton.  Not a good method in our view, that information is of interest to Responder 1% of the time, but is of interest to the defenders all of the time.