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A Grand Time.

Players are often wary of bidding grand slams…and with good cause. Barring bad breaks, you should be fairly sure of success before you bid to the 7 level. You should also be sure you are not off a cashing ace..and it always pays to check. I remembering many years back opening 2. Partner had a 14 count and a good 14 count too. They allowed me to bid a suit before bidding directly to grand. The cashing defensive ace at trick 1 meant that our contract was a level too high! (I believe my hand conformed to the “rule of 29",too!)

So, more recently, our East players picked up a nice 20 count and heard their partner open 1..nice. They held:

and bid a quiet 1. No rush..not even any opposition bidding! Amazingly, their partner’s next offering was 3. Now, they would not have less than 15hcp for that bid. That gives us at least a combined 35hcp, possibly one or two more…and partner has a 6+ card suit. Surely we must be now thinking of grand-slam? Yet, we could be missing an ace. So, let’s check…and in the process here is a good advertisement for Roman Key Card Blackwood because we can check on the K and Q at the same time. We would not want to be at the 7-level with either of those two cards missing:

 

5 says partner has 0 or 3 Key Cards (of the 4 aces and K). We know it has to be three. All 5 Key Cards present. So, now, let’s check on whether partner has the Q. The next non-trump suit (here trumps are clubs) asks that question. So, we bid 5. If you are worried that might be passed because of your 1 bid, then bid 5. There are various ways of responding. Say we had asked with 5 and the first step (5) says you do not have the Q, then 5NT, the second step, would say you do but have no outside kings.

 

So, partner has Q but the K is missing. You have 6 club tricks, 3 spade tricks A and AK for sure (12 tricks)…and partner has only owned up to 13 hcp (A and AKQ). They have more and although the extra could be the useless major suit jacks, it could also be the Q. With that card, you have 15 tricks! If partner has those jacks, at worst you might have to take the heart or diamond finesse…and if South leads a red suit, they will have taken the finesse for you at trick 1.

My philosophy is that if a grand slam is at worst on a finesse, then it is worth bidding. As you can see below, there was no need to take any finesse.

 

Only 5 of the 14 East-West pairs bid to 7NT or any 7-level contract. Maybe the others did not use Key Card or were not brave enough with a king missing. Simple Blackwood or Gerber would not have identified which king was missing.Those of us North/Souths who were on the receiving end of the grands were rewarded with a poor Pairs score for just being in the wrong place at the wrong time against the wrong opponents!

However, there was some wry humour at our table. After a Precision 1 opening from West, our East-West pair had no bother in bidding to 7NT quickly and confidently with West being the declarer. North led one of their honours (10) at trick 1 and the 20-count went down as dummy. As South, I was rather encouraged by the opening lead.

Would declarer be forced to take the heart finesse at trick 1? There seemed to be a glimmer of hope! Then, I realised it was not dummy that had opened 1! I said words I should not just after West laid their hand down on the table after calling for A. Maybe those words were “good lead, partner” or “well bid” to the opposition? Those words would have been quite permissible. I said them too!

So, take precaution but when the scent of grand slam is so strong as it was above, go for it!

Richard Solomon

 

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