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Hand Analyses 30th August, 2006
A whole bunch of debatable calls in this auction: 1♣: North can count up to 19 on a Rule of Twenty basis, but there’s a nice sprinkling of fillers, so we think it’s worth opening (not that Pass would be wrong) 2♦: Playing Michaels and the Unusual No Trump, East has no way of showing this two-suiter in a single bid. We like a Diamond bid here, and prefer 2♦ to 1♦ … after all, Partner is a passed hand, we have but 7 HCPs, and we are non-vulnerable, so it looks like a preempt might be the best bet. And, yes, it is a bit offbeat to preempt with an undisclosed 5-card major! South’s Dbl: Negative, of course, showing at least one of the majors … note the difference between this and the auction 1♣ (1♦) Dbl, which is generally played as showing both majors. North’s Dbl: What does this show? With the opponents bidding and raising Diamonds, this is definitely take-out, probably with 4-4 or 4-3 in the majors. Is North’s hand good enough for the bid? It would be nice to have a bit more in high-card strength, but at least Double is the bid most likely to get us to our best suit, so worth a small stretch, we think. South’s Pass: At this point in the proceedings, South had 3 reasonable choices, for which, please see the Bidding Quiz.
How does 3♦ doubled fare? It’s going down one or two, and which it is will depend on South’s opening lead. So, for the first time in the history of the Wednesday Game, we actually have an opening lead problem, please see Problem # 64.
If N-S play it in Hearts, with the benefit of seeing the Hand Record, they can scrape up 10 tricks … in real life, just staying out of game and making 9 tricks will be a very good board.
SAYC Note: In SAYC, that Double by North would not be available as a take-out bid, so she would be in something of a bind over West’s 3♦ call. In that case, we’d bid 3♥, and the fate of the board will be in South’s capable hands … well, capable only if she finds a Pass! South’s hand has been lessened by those Diamond bids … it looks as if Partner has a singleton Diamond, so South’s K♦ is of dubious value, and her 11-count is likely to be a working 8-count. In the circumstances, Pass seems to be the way to go.
Over South’s 2♦, West’s No Trump options are: 2NT: 15-18, maybe even a crummy 19. Dbl then 2NT: 19-20 Dbl then 3NT: 21+
How about a direct 3NT over 2♦? It’s suggested that you reserve this for trick-oriented hands, such as ♠ A6, ♥ T95, ♦ A3, ♣ AKQJ97. With this hand we are not bidding 3NT on sheer high-card power, we’re hoping that our running Clubs, and a little help from Partner, will be enough for 9 tricks.
In 3NT Declarer will make 10 tricks on normal play, scoring 4 Spades, and two in each of the other suits. It’s possible to make 11 tricks, but the line of play is highly improbable, involving a “backward finesse” in Hearts (lead the Ten, which is covered by the Jack, and later finesse the Eight!).
System Note: For an interesting expert bidding agreement, please see the Bidding Quiz.
We’ve discussed Super-Accepts after 1NT in earlier Wednesday Games, and our suggested approach to this is to use 2NT for all good Super-Accepts, the rationale being that this method does not volunteer information to the opponents unnecessarily. There does not seem to be any good reason not to use the same method after a 2NT opening, and that is what the featured auction does. 3NT was a super-accept in Spades, and 4♥ was a “re-transfer” back to Spades, allowing the strong hand to be Declarer.
When the Spades behave, twelve tricks are possible with the aid of a successful guess in Hearts.
SAYC Note: Without the benefit of any special Super-Accept agreements, a logical auction would be 2♣ 2♦, 2NT 3♥, 4♠ Pass.
We wonder how many 790’s will be on the score-sheet? North’s second Double was understandable, so maybe quite a few!
The auction is reasonable enough, but the final contract is not especially appetizing.
When East leads a Club against 3NT, things look bleak for Declarer. Even if the Diamonds come home for 4 tricks, that’s still only 8 tricks in total, unless the J♠ comes down in 3 rounds. The compounded chances of this good fortune are quite slim (no more than about 7% by our calculations), and intuitively the odds of playing on Hearts seems better, as that just requires luck in one suit. The luck required is that both AK♥ are in the hand without the long Club, and that we can guess the whereabouts of the T♥, and a little more good fortune (either the T♥ must come down in 3 rounds, or we still need one extra trick from Spades or Diamonds). This turns out to be excellent intuition because, according to our Statistics Department, the probability of success by playing on Hearts is a whopping 10% or thereabouts. Playing with the odds turns out to be the winning line, and (after ducking a couple of Clubs) a first round finesse of the 8♥ brings home 9 improbable tricks.
Do you think that the North hand is good enough to force to game? Or is it invitational only? Seems like a close call to us, so you choose. Now, having made your choice, what are your methods?
If you think the North hand is invitational: The most common method with this so-called invitational hand is to transfer to Hearts and then bid 2♠, showing 4-5 in the majors. And, if we are 5-4 in the majors? Then the prescribed method is to use Stayman, and then over 2♦ to bid 2♠.
If you think the North hand is game-forcing: Now, we use Stayman, and if Partner bids 2♦, we jump to 3 of a major. There is a little wrinkle available, namely Smolen … playing this gadget, we jump to three of the 4-card major, instead of to three of the 5-card major … this way we get the strong hand as Declarer if we end up playing in game in the 5-3 major fit. Without Smolen, the auction will be 1NT 2♣, 2♦ 3♥, 4♥ Pass, resulting in North being the Declarer.
4♥ played by North is a hopeless contract … those who play Smolen can take comfort in the fact that their superior methods have right-sided the contract, as 4♥ played by North is not at all hopeless, merely rather poor!
From the North side, it will be normal for East to lead the J♦, and that is an instant down one. From the South side, 4♥ may be down one also, but it has practical chances … West will lead the A♦, and must shift to avoid giving Declarer his 10th trick … he must also avoid shifting to a Spade, as that will also present Declarer with the contract … shifting to a Club or a trump will beat the contract, unless Declarer is inspired enough to finesse against East’s J♠, a play which is only slightly against the odds.
Hopefully there’s no mistaking North’s 4♦ bid here … Heart support and slam interest!
A bold 6NT bid by West, aiming for the better matchpoint score, of course. More on this in the Bidding Quiz.
It’s North’s misfortune that her opponents reached 6NT, but she can salvage a few matchpoints if she grabs her A♣ at Trick One. Should she? Well, we think so, but, of course, we can see all four hands.
After that obvious 1♥ 1♠ start, the auction got rather interesting:
2♦: West must have been tempted to jump to 3♦ with that lovely hand … it’s only 16 HCPs, but there’s that great distribution and the fitting honors with Partner’s Spades. We prefer 2♦, though, we need to find a fit if this hand is to meet its full potential.
2♥: A simple preference, not good enough for anything more.
2♠: This clearly shows a good hand … with 3-card support and minimum values, West would have had no qualms about raising 1♠ to 2♠ with 3-card support and a ruffing value.
3NT: With two Aces, East has plenty for 3NT (although 4♠ is also a possibility).
Such a delicate auction, such a terrible contract. We are only at Board 8 and we have already found ourselves in contracts which were “unappetizing”, “hopeless”, “rather poor”, and now “terrible”. Can sub-par, dismal and precarious be in our future?
The good news for E-W is that Diamonds are 3-3, the Spade finesse works, and it is impossible to misguess Hearts. Making 9 or 10 tricks. Not so terrible after all!
Another delicate auction, but this time to a reasonable contract, albeit a most unfortunate one. The auction will dictate a Spade lead from East, which knocks out Dummy’s entry before the Diamonds can be unblocked. Even so, Declarer still has a reasonable play for 10 or 11 tricks … win the Spade, cross to the A♦, AK♣, then a low Club, hoping to ruff on the board, and, if this works, cash the K♦ (pitching a Spade), and try the Heart finesse. This will be worth 11 tricks on a good day, 10 tricks most days, and just 9 tricks on this day … yes, most unfortunate.
North was really scraping the bottom of the barrel with her so-called forcing-to-game 2♥ bid. South’s 3♥ raise put her partnership in a position which will be familiar to last week’s Wednesday Gamers. Yes, it’s that Serious 3NT situation again. If you recall, in situations where a game force exists, and a major has been agreed, a Serious 3NT can be used to show extra values and demand a cue-bid from Partner. If N-S are playing that convention, then North’s 4♣ bid denied those extra values and showed a Club card.
South, of course, was always headed to slam, and his 5NT bid was made in the vain hope that Partner held the K♠. N-S were obviously playing “Specific Kings” rather than “Number of Kings”, and the contract rested in 6♥.
Against 6♥, East has no obvious lead … let’s say that he leads a low Heart won by the Ace on the board. Assuming that the Hearts break, Declarer has no obvious losers, but then again he doesn’t have 12 obvious tricks either. Best play is surely to get the Spades going, so Declarer cashes one more round of Hearts, then the A♠, and leads the Q♠, planning a ruffing finesse … this turns out to be unnecessary when the K♠ pops out on the second round of the suit. Now, Declarer can bank on 5 trump tricks, 3 Spades, 2 Diamonds, and a Club, which is 11 … and a Club ruff on the board makes 12! It would be 13 tricks if the Spades were 4-3, but surely +1430 will be enough for a good board.
Yes, there are a few ways whereby Declarer can make 13 tricks, but they are all anti-percentage. Our favorite such line goes thusly: Win the opening Heart lead on the board, and cash a second high Heart Cash A♠ Q♠, covered by the King, and ruffed A♣, then ruff a Club Cash the two Spade winners (yes, there is still a defensive trump at large!) Cross to the A♦ Play the remaining two trumps. Both defenders must come down to two cards … East must hang on to the 9♠, so will pitch a Diamond, whereupon Dummy pitches that now-useless losing Spade … and West must hang on to his K♣, so must also pitch a Diamond … Dummy’s Kx of Diamonds now win the last two tricks. It’s your basic Double Squeeze.
Compare and contrast these two auctions … in each case, what does West’s Double mean? South West North East South West North East 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 1♠ Pass Pass Dbl Pass Dbl … 2♠ Dbl …
In the left-hand auction, the opponents have found a fit and have bid to the two-level … they surely have at least 8 trumps, maybe more … so, playing a penalty Double here is not particularly useful, they’ll usually have enough trumps to escape with a reasonable result.
In the right-hand auction, they have no fit. South has (maybe) gone out on a limb to show a 6th Spade, and this Double over the Spade bidder is a penalty Double.
With that in mind, one could hardly blame West for trying to exact a penalty by doubling here. Nor could we blame him for being disappointed when the end-result of this penalty Double turns out to be a mere +100. Well, at least it’s a plus score, if E-W end up in 3NT, no doubt played by West, a Club lead will beat the contract.
SAYC Note: Contrary to the above, in SAYC, the second Double in this auction is a Penalty Double: South West North East 1♠ Pass 2♠ Dbl Pass Dbl …
It’s a border-line slam hand, and some E-W pairs might get too high on this one. Slam requires picking up the Q♠, and a 3-2 Club break, and the chances of success are around 30%. Those E-W pairs who do go in search of slam may use Roman Key Card Blackwood along the way … this will tell them that they are missing a Key Card and the Q♠ and will allow them to put on the brakes in 5♠.
Alas, even 5♠ is likely to be too high. North will lead Hearts, forcing Dummy to ruff the second round … now, after a losing Spade finesse, Declarer will be unable to enjoy the Clubs without losing one along the way, and that will be just 10 tricks.
Walsh Note: Walsh-style players will not waste their time bidding that robust Diamond suit, they’ll bypass it in favor of the Spade suit. Now, West will go to game one way or the other and South will be on opening lead … if she leads a Club, and if Declarer is not careful, he is in danger of not even making game! Declarer should suspect singleton for that opening lead and it will depend upon how he plays the trump suit: (a) Cross to the A♦ and take a first-round trump finesse … this is a poor line, and gets what it deserves when the defense gets two Club ruffs to beat the contract one trick; (b) Cash the A♠, before crossing to the A♦ and taking the Spade finesse … this holds the ruffs to just one, and ten tricks result; (c) Cash AK♠ dropping the offside Queen … it’s anti-percentage but it does result in 11 tricks!
Last week (Board 25) South held this hand, opposite a 1♠ opening bid: ♠ AK642 ♥ J ♦ A6542 ♣ 64 We assigned a Jacoby 2NT response to this hand, without explaining why we chose not to bid 2♦ or make a Splinter bid (actually, we thought that all three would have been quite reasonable on that particular hand). Well, here’s a similar situation … what would be your choice on this week’s hand?
4♣? This would be a Splinter, of course, showing a fit and shortness in the bid suit …hardly seems a good idea to crowd the auction like that with our magnificent but undisclosed 6-card side-suit, to say nothing of those Spade losers. Having said that, a Splinter works rather well on the actual hand … after 1♥ 4♣, Opener is singularly unimpressed and bids 4♥. 2NT? Some players prefer that a Jacoby 2NT denies shortness (because of the failure to Splinter), but we beg to differ. When we use Jacoby 2NT we are doing so either because we have no good alternative, or because we want to ask rather than tell. Using standard methods, the one auction we would hate to hear is 1♥ 2NT, 4♥, which will leave us none the wiser about Spades, and that’s the main reason we’d prefer not to use the Jacoby 2NT on this hand. 2♦? This would be our choice … our hope would be to agree Hearts at the 3-level and elicit a Spade cue- bid from Partner below game. We wouldn’t bid 2♦ with a view to playing in Diamonds, we are definitely playing this in Hearts … 2♦ is merely a cheap, forcing and descriptive bid, and seems like the best way to start.
After a 2♦ response, depending on your 2/1 style, the auction might go one of two ways: 1♥ 2♦, 2♥ 4♣, 4♥ Pass Nice auction! Some partnerships like 2♥ to be a kind of waiting bid, one that does not promise a 6th Heart … now the 4♣ bid completes the description of West’s hand rather well, we think … Diamond suit, Heart support, Club shortness … after this, it’s not difficult for East to douse the auction with a bid of 4♥. 1♥ 2♦, 3♦ 3♥, 4♣ 4♥, Pass The Spade problem is identified and the auction rests safely in game.
SAYC Note: Splinters (either delayed or direct) are not a part of SAYC, so a sensible auction would be 1♥ 2♦, 3♦ 4♥, Pass or else 1♥ 2NT, 4♥ Pass. This works fine on the actual hand, but pardon us for saying that neither auction is particularly convincing. For example, swap East’s black suit holdings, and the auction would no doubt be the same, but 6♥ would be cold.
West’s 3♥ raise was preemptive, showing 4-card support and a weak hand. Now, North has the values to go to game opposite his Partner’s overcall … only 10 HCPs, but 4-card support, a couple of Aces, and shortness in the opponent’s suit … North bids 4♥ here (rather than 4♠ directly) to show a “real” raise to 4♠.
Well, so much for that “real” raise to 4♠, the final contract turns out to be quite dismal. The hands fit badly, and the singleton K♠ will normally score a trick for the defense, so 4♠ will be down 2 for what should be a common result.
SAYC Note: In SAYC, West’s 3♥ bid is invitational, so a simple raise to 2♥ will be in order. The final contract will be the same, no doubt.
There’s not much to this deal … an obvious auction, and an obvious 7 tricks for Declarer.
North’s Redouble showed extra values rather than good Clubs (which she also happened to have). 4♣ is certainly the par contract, but we’d predict that a few N-S pairs will get to game on this one … however, 3NT (by South) and 5♣ are both destined to go down one.
If E-W can guess the Diamonds they can make 10 tricks in Spades, but it’s hard to see how they might get there.
West’s 2NT was the Jordan 2NT, showing a limit raise or better, and East was happy to bid game without further assistance from Partner.
Against 4♠, South will no doubt lead a Club, won by the Ace in Dummy (yes, from the bidding it looks as if the Club finesse should work, but we can postpone that until later, if need be). How would you play the trump suit? It's 100% right to play the Q♠ first ... firstly, the only opponent likely to have all 4 missing Spades is the partner of the Doubler ... secondly, the only 4-0 trump break that we can pick up is when the 4 is with North. So, having laid down the Q♠, we get the good news when South shows out. Good news? Yes, of course, it means that your careful play is about to be rewarded! Making 10 tricks should be worth a pretty good score, surely above average we would think.
3NT will surely be the universal (and precarious) contract. Please see Play Problem # 65.
There’s a school of thought which says that, when you are dealt a 6-card major of sufficient strength, that you always take action, either with one of a suit or with a Weak Two. Here’s a hand which tests that hypothesis … South clearly is not good enough for a 1♠ opening, but is the hand suitable for a Weak 2♠?
Please see the Bidding Quiz for more on this subject. On the actual deal, it seems likely that 4♠ will be reached either way, making 10 tricks when both major suit finesses fail.
A straightforward deal, this time to 4♥, where 10 tricks are most likely. Provided that East leads a Diamond or a Spade, the defense can organize a ruff as their third trick.
But, back to the bidding for a
moment … did any Norths open that hand 1♥?
Yes, that would be our choice, notwithstanding that she is in second
seat, and supposedly playing a 5-card major system. Somehow, it seems
odd to us to open a suit of three small cards, when we have such a
robust 4-card suit available … the danger of having Partner on opening
lead and blowing a trick with a Club lead seems greater than the danger
of cheating about that 5th Heart.
After East’s Double, South’s choices are: 2NT: This is generally played as showing a limit raise, the so-called Jordan convention. However, there are two flaws here … firstly, we have only 3-card support (Jordan normally shows 4) … and, secondly, that square 10-count hardly looks good enough to describe as a limit raise … our least favorite of the 4 choices. 1NT: Very much at the top of the range, and with unusually good Hearts for such a bid. Rdbl: We’d prefer less in Hearts, more defense in the other suits, for this bid. 2♥: Not unreasonable in terms of the playing strength in Hearts, although we do have an unusual amount of defense for this bid … however, bidding 2♥ has some merit, especially if South’s plan is to double the opponents when their 2♠ or 3 of a minor comes back around … such a sequence would show this type of maximum 2♥ bid, and would give Partner the option of converting for penalty or else competing to 3♥.
Well, the winner is 1NT or 2♥, underbidding a tad and staying out of game … and the losers are Redouble (a reasonable, but unsuccessful, bid), and 2NT (just not a good bid) which are likely to propel N-S to game.
West might well have bid 1NT in response to 1♥, it seems like a pretty close choice to us. But the major decision in this auction falls to South. Should she balance here, with that nondescript 8-count? Absolutely! It cannot be right to give the opponents such an easy ride, and the real question is not whether to balance but how to balance. We prefer 2♠ here … Partner should be aware to the probability that this is a 4-card suit, after all, if we had 5 of them we might have overcalled 1♠ earlier in the auction. Double here is likely to be made on a 3-card Spade suit.
If South does bid 2♠ here, that should be the final contract, as E-W have nothing more to say … if they do venture to 3♥ they will pay the price for over-competing and will score -200 even if undoubled. In 2♠, South can scrounge up 8 tricks, thanks to the benign distribution.
Here we go again! Yet another “lead-directing” opening bid! This one is clear-cut in our view. There’s a strong possibility that Partner will be on lead against a Spade contract, and, if that is the case, we most assuredly want a Heart lead from Partner … a Club lead from Partner’s Ax, Qxx or Kxx might be disastrous!
South’s 4♣ bid was a Splinter bid, raising two questions … are Splinters on by a passed hand? … are Splinters still on if they overcall? Please see the Bidding Quiz.
Opposite a 4♣ Splinter, North’s already nice hand is further improved … in the featured auction, she bid just 4♥, but might well have considered a 4♦ cue-bid instead.
6♥ turns out to be a so-so contract, but, on the lie of the cards, 12 tricks can be made. The defense does best to lead a trump, Declarer then loses a Club, wins the trump return, and has the timing to ruff out the Clubs … the final tally of 12 tricks is made up of 4 natural trump tricks, 3 Club ruffs, 1 Spade, 3 Diamonds, and the long Club. But surely the almost universal result will be 4♥ making 11 or 12 tricks … we’d expect that bidding the slam is overkill, just scoring +680 will be close to a top.
SAYC Note: Splinter bids are not a part of SAYC, so over 1♠ South will bid 3♥ or 4♥ or even 2♠ … all of which will get N-S to game.
South’s 2♥ was a DONT bid, which is just one of a number of conventions which makes it possible to show both majors after the opponent’s 1NT opening. As it happens, even though N-S have wasted minor cards, their combined 19-count is enough to make game. Not that 4♥ is a wonderful contract, it does require both majors to be 3-2, so something around 45%.
SAYC Note: SAYC does not make any provision for conventional defenses to 1NT openings, and, in the absence of that, South will no doubt bid 2♠ and will probably play it there. This will be worth +140 instead of the +170 for those playing in 2♥.
There are various game-try methods available, but, in the absence of special agreements, East was simply bidding what he had.
It turns out that 3♠ is plenty high enough. There are 3 Aces to lose, a Heart finesse to be taken, and a potential guess in the Diamond suit. The Heart finesse loses, but with both Diamond honors on-side Declarer cannot help but make 9 tricks.
Quite an exciting auction! Let’s look at some highlights: 2♦: North could have trotted out the Unusual 2NT, showing typically 5-5 in the unbid suits, but with such good Diamonds and a hand that was likely to end up on defense she decided to get in a lead-directing 2♦ instead. 2♥: This bid is a reverse, showing a pretty good hand … normally, one would expect more distribution for the bid (longer Clubs), but East was in a bind and had to improvise. 4♦: South can count 10 trumps for her side, and preempts to the limit of her hand. 4♠: West would no doubt have preferred a better suit for this bid, but when the opponents preempt life is not always perfect. 5♦: When East picked up her cards she saw that she had a pretty good hand … the ensuing auction has only made it even better … everything is working, and those 3 small Diamonds are no doubt opposite shortness (probably a void) … cue-bidding 5♦ here may seem odd with 3 losers in the suit, but it’s quite safe … Partner has the suit controlled without our help, and 5♦ is actually the only available unambiguous slam try in Spades. 5♥: West is happy to cooperate, of course.
The resulting contract of 6♠ is a good place to be, making 7 when the Q♣ falls.
Against 3NT, South will lead the 9♥, and the kind Heart spots have now given Declarer a second stopper in the suit. If the Diamonds can be brought in for no losers, then 9 tricks will be made. Will East guess right? “Eight ever, nine never” is the common advice in this situation, telling us to play for the drop when we have a 9-card fit … however, there is an indication that North might be short in Diamonds (because she has the long Hearts), so playing South for Qxx of Diamonds has a lot to be recommended. Anyway, the final outcome will be this: (a) Declarer guesses Diamonds correctly, and scores up 9 tricks for a great board; (b) Declarer does not guess Diamonds, the defense shifts to Spades, and it’s down 2 and a great board, but this time for the defense; (c) Declarer does not guess Diamonds, but the defense fails to shift to a Spade, after which it’s down just one for an average board.
After West’s minimum 1♦ opening, the auction comes to a screeching halt in 2NT. It seems normal for South to lead a Club, and Declarer should take the trouble to win this in his hand … he wants to get the Diamonds going and leading them from his hand is a precaution against the singleton Queen being with South … in that case, he will duck in order to protect his Club holding. This raises a subtle defensive point … if South actually started with QJ doubleton of Diamonds, when Declarer leads towards the board she must play the Queen … if she makes the mistake of playing the Jack, Declarer will have no option but to play the Diamonds from the top, bringing in the suit for no losers. Anyway, all this is moot, and on the actual layout, South wins the third round of Diamonds and has no good return. All roads lead to 9 tricks for Declarer.
Once North has decided to open 1NT (we know that we would), it will prove virtually impossible to find the decent Diamond slam unless N-S has some sophisticated gadgetry at its disposal (for example, some partnerships use 1NT 3♣ and 1NT 3♦ for such hands).
3NT is the likely final contract at almost all tables, and a Heart lead will no doubt hold Declarer to 9 tricks (unless she decides to play for 10 by taking the Club finesse, in which case she will be held to just 8!).
Whether, over 2NT, E-W use regular Stayman (above auction), or Puppet Stayman (2NT 3♣, 3♦ 4♦, 4♠ Pass), the final destination is likely to be 4♠ played by West.
Against 3NT, North has no obvious lead. Suppose that she leads a low Heart, which looks like the least of evils looking at that hand. Declarer’s initial plan is to win 4 Spade tricks, 3 Heart tricks, a Diamond and a Club … that’s 9 tricks, and a Diamond ruff provides number 10 … then, if the Hearts are 3-3, there will be 11, and, failing that, perhaps he can guess the J♣ for the 11th trick. These dreams get a nasty jolt when trumps are 4-1. Here’s how the play might start: 2♥ led, won by Declarer A♠, then a Spade to the Queen, getting the 4-1 news A♦, and lose a Diamond Heart return, won by Declarer Diamond ruff Now, Declarer can make 11 tricks by guessing to take an immediate finesse of the Club Nine, but this line risks the contract … if the finesse loses to the Jack, a Diamond will come back, which Dummy must ruff (South pitching a Heart) … now, if the A♣ is with North, Declarer has no way back to his hand.
If N-S are playing “3rd and 5th” opening leads against suit contracts, then a better line of play suggests itself: 2♥ led, won by Declarer A♠, then a Spade to the Queen, getting the 4-1 news A♦, and lose a Diamond Heart return, won by Declarer (so far, the same as before) Cash the third high Heart (they are surely 3-3) Diamond ruff Club to the Queen and Ace Now, the Diamond continuation holds no terrors for Declarer … he’ll ruff on the board, which South must overruff (otherwise 11 tricks) and be overruffed by Declarer. Now Declarer will finally draw the last enemy trump, and in the 2-card ending it will be safe to take the Club finesse … this loses, but it’s still 10 tricks for Declarer. +420 is likely to be a good board for E-W, we’d expect very few +450 scores, and some Declarers are likely to go off in this very tricky contract.
In a 2/1 auction, that 3♠ is forcing … at this point there are various ways to proceed (see Serious 3NT article), but in the featured auction a simple approach was taken, both players making a cue-bid before subsiding in game.
SAYC Note: In SAYC, 3♠ would not be forcing in the above auction, so East would no doubt just jump directly to game for the same result.
After that 2♣ opening, the auction got quite crowded, as it so often does when the 2♣ opener has one or both of the minor suits. 4NT was Roman Key Card, and 5♦ showed 0 or 3 (1430 version) … some pairs would use 4♥ (Redwood) instead of 4NT to ask for Key Cards. The featured auction came nowhere near to reaching 6NT, and it’s hard to see how it would after a 2♣ beginning.
Would things go any better if East opened 1♦? That’s not without risk when holding 24 HCPs, the danger is, with so few HCPs to divide among the other hands, that 1♦ will be the final contract. We tried a simulation on this, and the results indicate that opening 1♦ is not so risky after all (please see the Bidding Quiz for more). After a 1♦ opening, the ensuing auction (if there is one!) will certainly be much easier, compare these two starts:
West East West East Pass 2♣ Pass 1♦ 2♦ 3♦ 1♠ 3♣ 3♦
Both auctions have reached 3♦ and both are game-forcing, but that’s about all they have in common. In the 2♣ auction, East has only mentioned one of his suits and West’s hand remains a complete mystery. In the 1♦ auction, East has mentioned both his suits, and West has shown Spades and a preference for Diamonds. Quite a difference!
Can E-W reach 6NT after a 1♦ opening? We wish we could say “No problem!”, but it’s not easy at all. One possibly unconvincing auction might be:
West East Pass 1♦ 1♠ 3♣ 3♦ 3♥ 3NT 5NT 6NT Pass
5NT was “pick-a-slam”, the obvious choices being 6♦ and 6NT … 5NT can hardly be a Grand Slam Force in Diamonds, if East had wanted to do that he would not have wasted time bidding 3♥. Anyway, we did warn you that the auction might not be entirely convincing!
Our final words on the matter are: (a) Don’t be afraid to open surprisingly big hands with one of a minor rather than 2♣; (b) Resign yourself to the fact that standard methods are just not well suited to these hands!
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