Even though you are vulnerable you cannot sell out to 1NT here.  That would be feeble, indeed.  So, do you double or bid 2♠?  Double would not be terrible, after all West does have both the unbid suits.  But our guess would be to bid 2♠ here because:

-         If there 8 tricks available in both Clubs and Spades, we’d rather be playing in the major.

-         2♠ is more preemptive.  For example, if you double then it will give North a chance to give belated Heart support, or for South to do similarly in Diamonds.  In both cases, this might even allow N-S to compete successfully to the 3-level.

Anyway, 2♠ or Double, either could work.  Just don’t pass!

Would you open the West hand?  Those square 12-counts don’t pass the Rule of Twenty, but at least this one has a couple of Aces and a couple of Tens, and even those Nines might be useful.  Take your pick on this one.  Our own choice is to open 1♣, being great believers in the power of Tens and Nines, particularly when they are working with other honors (as they are here).

Do you raise Spades?  Or rebid 2♦?  Surely 2♠ is the way to go.  Yes, it might be a 4-3 fit, but it’s a 4-3 fit that is likely to play well, with ruffs in the short hand.  2♠ also has the benefit of limiting the West hand to a fairly narrow HCP range.  By contrast, a rebid of Diamonds could show as much as 17 HCP (maybe even a rotten 18), and East will be obliged to bid again with slender values, just in case West has such a hand.  Which leads us to this auction:

            West    East

            1♥        1♠

            2♦        2♥

            2♠        …

What does that 2♠ mean?  It shows extras, typically a hand which could not raise 1♠ to 3♠ because of the absence of a 4^th Spade.  So, West should rebid 2♠ immediately (after 1♠), it may be the last chance he gets!

Our own preference for the Weak Two HCP range is 5-10.  Including 11 in the range is something of a contradiction if you also find the Rule of Twenty to be a useful guide in determining whether or not a hand is worth opening.  That’s because it’s mathematically impossible to hold a 6-card suit and 11 HCP and not pass the Rule of Twenty.

So, here South has a hand with a 6-card suit and 11 HCP.  Does that make it too good for a 2♦ opening bid?  Actually, we don’t think so!  Let’s be more than point-counters here!  That singleton ♣Q is not pulling full weight, and neither (to a lesser extent) is that stranded ♠Q.  This hand is all about Diamonds, and has poor defense, so we’d open a 5-10 Weak Two, even though we have 11 HCP.

Here’s an interesting auction!  North had an easy Negative Double at her first turn, but things were considerably more difficult the next time around.  Slam or not slam?  Clubs or No Trump?  North figured she would hedge her bets for a while by cue-bidding 3♥.  What does that mean?  Not much, really, just a forcing bid, although South would certainly be expected to bid 3NT if she could.  As it happens, South can and does bid 3NT.  Now what?   Well, that depends on the E-W methods:

-         What is 4♣? Good question!  Because most pairs play “first or last No Trump” as their rule for Gerber, let’s assume the rule applies here, even if it doesn’t look like a particularly useful treatment.

-         What is 4♦? Do you play Redwood or Bothwood?  If you play Redwood then 4♦ is Roman Key Card in Clubs.  If you play Bothwood, then you use Minorwood when it’s available.  But here it’s not available, as 4♣ is Gerber.  So, Redwood kicks in, namely 4♦.

-         What is 4NT? If 4♦ was available as Roman Key Card, then 4NT is natural and invitational to slam.  Actually, even without any Minorwood/Redwood agreements, that 4NT looks natural, not Blackwood.

So, 4NT is our choice.  Is it the winning call?  Actually, no!  Partner passes 4NT and a rather poor slam limps home thanks to the lucky lie of the cards.  Oh, well!

First a review of the auction to date:

-         1♦: Most players open 1♦ when 4-4 in the minors, though it’s really not that important either way.

-         2♦: An Inverted Raise, denying a 4-card major, and showing at least game-invitational values.

-         2♥: This bid could mean any number of things!  It shows something in Hearts, and probably something extra, as with a minimum hand South might rebid 2NT or 3♦.  Game-forcing?  Maybe, maybe not, that depends on your methods!

-         2♠: Shows something in Spades.

Now what?  A common treatment on the tournament circuit is for 4♦ here to be Minorwood, which, in other words, is a cheap way of invoking Roman Key Card in certain minor suit auctions.  The trouble with using 4NT for Roman Key Card in minor suit auctions is that the auction all too often runs out of space.  After our Minorwood 4♦, Partner bids 4♥, which, using 1430 responses shows 1 or 4.  Now, we’d bid 4♠.  Yes, it’s the Queen Ask, and that gets N-S to the fine 6♦ contract.

If your partnership plays a 2/1 style then 1NT is forcing (or semi-forcing), which works well here, as it allows East to bid 1NT and then to show weak Spade support the next time around.  In that case, West will have no reason to get overly excited, no need to make a game-try, and 2♠ will be the final contract.

Next, suppose that you are playing more of a “Standard American” style, where 1NT is natural and non-forcing.  In that case, should you respond 2♠ to the 1♠ opening bid?  We don’t think so!  Bid a non-forcing 1NT, anyway!  This hand is so weak that East wants to slow things down.  He’ll bid 2♠ later, if he gets the chance, but, as we saw before, if East raises to 2♠ directly, West will no doubt make a game-try with that rather nice hand, and E-W will get too high.

It’s only 8 HCP’s, but those two Aces and the singleton are enough for us to show invitational values.  Nowadays, most people use the cue-bid to show invitational (or better) support, and jump support to 3♣ to be preemptive.  That being the case, the bid here is 2♥.

West’s 2♥ was a Michaels Cue-Bid, showing Spades and a minor.  Now, what would you bid as North?  There’s actually an argument for bidding any one of the 4 suits!

-         2♠? Game-invitational values (or better) in Hearts.  Let’s scratch this off the list, that’s a bid which might be made with a more balanced hand.  The actual hand appears to call for more dramatic and descriptive action!

-         4♥? No, this hand is way too good to be preempting.  It’s only 6 HCP but there is immense playing potential.

-         Splinter? North could bid 3♠ or 4♦, either one of which would be a splinter, showing shortness and Heart support and game values.

-         3♣? Natural and forcing, the plan here being to support Hearts later.

That’s quite a selection of bids from which to choose!  There’s something to be said for bidding 3♣, but the trouble with that is that it may not be possible for North to support Hearts in a slam-going auction, all the more so if South supports Clubs.

West’s 2♥ was Michaels (Spades and a minor in this case), North’s 3♠ was a splinter (Spade shortness and Heart support), and East’s Double no doubt shows something in Spades.  What next?  We’d redouble, showing:

-         Some extras, as with a minimum hand South could always just jump to 4♥.

-         First-round Spade control (presumably the Ace)

Pretty simple really, but suppose that South had a slammish hand without the ♠A.  Then  she would no doubt cue-bid a minor suit, denying the ♠A (by the failure to redouble) but showing a good hand.

Let’s hear it for the 4-card overcall!  Not that they should be made indiscriminately, but here is a perfect situation for one.

-         South has a decent hand and would like to bid something!  Double is out with just one Heart, and the only alternative to passing is 1♠.

-         Overcalling 1♠ will be a good lead-director if it turns out that Partner is on opening lead.

-         Overcalling with a 4-card suit, when holding length in RHO’s suit, is a tactic that often works out quite splendidly!  Even if Partner raises with 3-card support, the 4-3 fit is likely to play well, with the ruffs of the enemy suit coming in the short hand, and, in some cases, with Dummy able to overruff LHO.

Our apologies for including this one in the Bidding Quiz.  Of course, you know exactly what to do here, you’ll rebid 2NT showing 22-23 (or 22-24 for some).  Rebidding 3♣ would not be a good idea, those 2♣ 2♦, 3♣ auctions rarely work well, and there’s no need to get into that quagmire when there is a good (although a tad off-shape) alternative of 2NT.