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Too Low, Joe!

A problem for you today that occurred for many during the recent Gold Coast Congress. What action would you take at this point of the following auction?
You are playing Pairs with only East-West vulnerable:
 

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You are too strong to bid 3NT but not really strong enough to go beyond it facing a very minimum 12 or 13 count. Part of the problem of the missed slam by many came earlier in their auction with the raise to 3 though a heavy 3NT call by many North players would have contributed to missing slam altogether.

We will show you all four hands and in fact gave the Panel the North-South cards and asked them how any slam could/should be bid:

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In an Open field of 56 tables, small slam was bid only 14 times with the remainder in game. In an Intermediate field of 22 tables, there was only one table which reached small slam. As you see, almost nothing can go wrong to prevent a grand slam being made. So, what went wrong in the bidding?

Our Panel are adamant that a 3 splinter is the correct bid after 2 on the South hand.

We will return later to what might happen if we did not play splinters but here are some auctions suggested by the Panel after the very useful 3 bid:

Andy Braithwaite

                                    North                                     South

                                                                                   1       
                                    2                                           3
                                    3 cue bid                                4 cue bid
                                    4NT                                          5 2 key cards no Q
                                    5  king ask                             7
  (since 5 promised all the key cards, South can bid 7 with solid diamonds)

 

Michael Cornell      North                                      South
                                                                                  1
                                    2                                         3
                                    4NT                                        5 2 key cards, no Q
                                    5 king ask                             6 K no K and is not minimum
                                    7                                           Pass

Michael commented that 3 shows a singleton heart and 4 would have shown a void heart.

Pam Livingston       North                                     South
                                                                                    1
                                    2                                         3
                                    3  cue bid                             4 minorwood
                                    4 0 / 3 key cards                  4   Q ask
                                    6 Q and no outside Ks        7

Wayne Burrows     North                                     South
                                                                                    1
                                    2                                      3  
                                    3       control                   4  control and extras
                                    4NT                                     5  2 key cards, no Q
                                    5 general grand slam try    7   great source of tricks
Wayne hates the 3 bid as South is too strong if it is not-forcing. He also comments that 7 is a better contract than 7NT any time a diamond ruff is required.
Wayne also does not like Minorwood as a convention: “Another agreement that I dislike is minorwood. Here we see its failings. If either partner bids 4 on auctions like 1 2 3 4 or 1 2 3 3 4, they will not know whether partner has a control in diamonds (North) or spades (South). They survive on this hand when all key cards are held but that will not always be the case.” 

Thus, 4 sequences to grand after the splinter. Leon is also not a fan of 3 but much prefers the 3 splinter:

Leon Meier “North's 2 bid should have 5 clubs except with 3334 and 16+ points since with fewer points or a major they'd bid something else. Therefore, south knows they have a 9 card fit and a lot of tricks so they should really investigate slam.”

Nigel offers us an alternative but is still in favour of the splinter:

Nigel Kearney “In part, this depends on methods. If South can open 1 and raise 2 to 3 with something like Jx xxx AKJx Kxxx, then it is much harder for North to bypass 3NT, especially at matchpoints.

I think the correct answer is for South to open either 1 or 1NT on flat hands. That means they will always have more shape when they raise here. North has a good hand opposite a genuine minor two suiter. Slam is a favourite even if South just has xx xx AKxxx Kxxx. That means North is too strong to sign off in 3NT and should make a slam try which South will happily accept. 

Also, South is too strong to raise to only 3.The solid suit is huge and makes slam good if North has as little as Axx xxx x AQxxx. South needs to do more -  either splinter with 3 or raise immediately to 4 over 2.”

 

Here, then, is a sequence without the splinter:

Bruce Anderson      North                                     South
                                                                                 1
                                  2                                     4   minorwood
                                  4   0/3 key cards               4    Q ask
                                  5   trump queen                7
“Yes, I know partner may have less for the initial 2 response, but if he/she has only one key card and bids 4, we can pull out in 5, and that contract would be unlucky to be off AK Ace in the majors.

It would obviously be a positive to be playing 2/1; then 2 is a game force and then it is hard to imagine we are off AK Ace.

 Regardless, I am wheeling out Minorwood as the South hand has so much playing- strength.”
 and Bruce is correct that a relay auction is not allowed! I am sure Peter would be relaying as well and is constrained by not using the 3 splinter:

 

Peter Newell “ The South hand is strong playing strength wise, and 3 doesn't convey that. At Teams I think it would be reasonable to bid 4 (but at Pairs I would be reluctant to go past 3NT) in which case North can bid 4NT and follow up with asking for kings or inviting 7 depending on your methods...

The other option would be for North to bid 4 over 3NT - it's a bit of a stretch but given South is showing a minimum unbalanced hand, there are quite a few hands that 6 would be a prospect, but 7 is too hard.”

It’s OK, Peter. We know you would have reached grand either via relay or the splinter.

 

So, sequences to grand using the splinter and even without. While those not playing splinters may not be able to bid grand slam with certainty, I think all pairs should reach at least small slam, even after South’s under-bid of 3 and North’s under-bid of 3NT:

                                                North                         South
                                                                                  1
                                                2                              3
                                                3NT                            4NT   quantitative
                                                6 or 6NT                 Pass

What extras could South have for 4NT other than a running diamond suit? Having underbid their hand already, North’s 6 level response is surely mandatory!

So, really, the 6 level should have been reached by all. Anyone for splinter bids? They seem a great idea.
Richard Solomon

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