Bidding Fast, Then Slow

 

Today, we’ll look at another slam bidding sequence. Sally is the dealer and passes. Walt holds

Walt
♠ KQ7532
♥ KQJ6
♦ J3
♣ 5

That’s 12 points in high cards, but Walt decides to subtract one for not having any aces and having just a doubleton jack in diamonds. Then, he adds 2 distribution points for the 6-card suit and one more for the second suit. That’s 12-1+2+1, 14 points total. It’s clearly enough to open the bidding with 1 spade.

Norm and Sally pass at every opportunity.

Edie finds herself with this strong hand:

Edie
♠ A6
♥ A32
♦ K4
♣ AKQ987

She has 20 HCP plus 2 in distribution for the 5^th and 6^th spades. Twenty-two points combined with her partner’s 13 should make a small slam. They might even have enough for grand slam. The problem is going to be finding a trump suit or choosing to play in NT. She doesn’t have adequate support for her partner’s suit, but she has a strong club suit. No trump looks possible, too. First off, she needs to show her strength. A jump shift by responder shows at least 19 points. It’s forcing to game and is a strong invitation to slam. That sounds like a good choice. She bids 3 clubs.

Walt has just a minimum opening hand, but still…opposite a jump shift, he wonders if a slam is in store. With the bidding already forced to game, there is no hurry. The team needs to find a trump fit if they have one. Edie could easily have 4 cards in hearts. Walt bids 3 hearts. He might want to show his extra length in spades later if he has a chance.

Edie doesn’t like hearts or spades for a trump suit, but her clubs will likely play well in a NT contract. She is worried that Walt will pass if she just bids 3NT, and she wants to be in a small slam, at least. She decides to bid Blackwood to see if her partner has the missing ace. If he has it, she will ask for kings to see if grand slam is possible. She bids 4NT.

Walt shows no aces by bidding 5 clubs.

OK, so grand slam isn’t there, but a small slam should be. Edie bids 6NT and worries a little bit about the diamonds. There is some risk that Walt had a very distributional hand with something like 6-6 in the majors with a singleton and a void in the minors. OK, that is a flaw in the strong jump shift. It uses up a lot of bidding space. Opposite most hands, though, 6NT should play well.

The opening lead is a small diamond--the unbid suit. Edie plans the play:

Dummy
♠ KQ7532
♥ KQJ6
♦ J3
♣ 5

Declarer
♠ A6
♥ A32
♦ K4
♣ AKQ987

Edie’s worry about the diamonds is well founded, but with the lead on her left she will take the king either on the first trick, or later if Norm takes the ace on the first trick. Now, she needs a plan to cash 11 more tricks without losing the lead.

Without jumping through any hoops, she can take the AKQ of spades, the AKQJ of hearts and the AKQ of clubs. That’s 10 tricks. She just needs a 3-2 break in spades or a 3-3 break in clubs to set up the little cards in one of those suits. She can just cash the winners and if one suit breaks badly, she can use the other suit as a backup plan. It’s not 100% guaranteed, but the odds are in her favor.

 

 

Responding to a Weak Two Opener - An Example

Responding when your partner opens with a weak two can be difficult. The weak two uses up a lot of bidding room. That’s great when the opponents have most of the strength. It’s not so great when you have a good hand.

The general principle is RONF or Raise-Only-Not-Forcing. Any bid that you make other than a raise of your partner’s suit is forcing for one round. A raise of your partner’s suit is intended to play there. She is expected to pass.

Let’s look at an example. Sally is dealer and opens 2 spades. Walt passes. Norm is holding this hand:

Norm
♠ KQ4
♥ 653
♦ AK8
♣ JT75

That’s 13 points with extra trump support. A game is possible if Sally is on the top of her bid. Even 3NT is possible, but the weak hearts might make that risky. Norm thinks about inviting game by bidding 3 spades, but then he remembers the RONF acronym. A raise tells his partner to pass.

This hand is a good candidate for the special 2NT response to a weak two opener. The 2NT response asks the opening bidder to show a “feature.” The opener will rebid her suit with a low-end weak two. With a strong weak two, she will show an ace or king in a side suit (the feature) by bidding that suit. With a strong hand and no feature, she bids 3NT to show…well…a strong weak two with no feature.

If Sally shows a feature in hearts, Norm might bid 3NT. His hand is balanced. He is no longer worried about hearts, and the 6-3 fit in spades will likely generate 5 or 6 tricks. It's not hard to envision taking 9 tricks in NT. With any other positive response from Sally, Norm will bid 4 spades.

Sally holds this hand:

Sally
♠ AJT986
♥ Q7
♦ 954
♣ Q2

That’s a solid weak two opener, but it isn’t exactly a strong weak two. It’s not exactly a weak weak two, either. It's in the middle. She doesn’t have a feature to show, and the two doubleton queens tilt the hand toward the weak side. She decides to show weakness and bids 3 spades.

Norm has learned what he needs to know and passes.

As the cards lie, even 3 spades looks unlikely to make. Sally sees 2 losers in hearts, 1 in diamonds, and 2 in clubs. Bummer.