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this suit?

Which Suit is Trumps?

For a reason which I cannot fully explain, I find a Weak 2 in diamonds a very awkward bid against which to defend. (I can now just see everyone opening this bid against me, no matter what their diamond holding is!) A Multi 2 or a weak 2 in a major do not seem nearly so troublesome.

So, it is not surprising, at least to me, that its cousin, a Weak Jump Overcall in diamonds, causes a few issues on the deal we are discussing today.

 

3 is a weak jump overcall. Where to from here?

There seems some very good and at the same time potentially very bad news about partner’s 3 bid. We have a fit but East could well have a very easy slam beating lead. The issue of going to slam and to which slam are addressed by our Panel:

Matt Brown “4: I think it seems normal to start with 4 raising partner's hearts. I might later be correcting to spades or hoping to play 6NT though.”

Bruce Anderson “4NT: I am bidding RKCB (1430) directly as partner’s bid should show 10 + points. I cannot see where a cue bid would lead; key cards are the issue. If partner responds 5 to show two aces and the K, or three aces, then I bid 6NT.”

If it is necessary to find the Q, it is likely to be onside. In the unlikely event partner has only 2 key cards, a five- level contract will be precarious, but I do not want to risk missing a good small slam. If 4 key cards are shown then a grand slam is virtually assured."

Let’s hope partner does not produce 10 giving you a two-way finesse…though presumably you do not expect the overcaller to hold Q.

The precariousness of a 5-level contract would be even greater if step responses are used to ask for kings (e.g. after a 5response, where 5 is a king ask. “Please partner, this time, I just want to play in my suit!”

Disagreeing with Bruce’s approach is:

Nigel Kearney “4: We want to start by finding out if spades are playable as that could be better than hearts in various ways. Blackwood won't really do the job here. So, I'll continue with 5 over either 4 or 4 from partner.”

So, Nigel would expect a 4 response as being natural rather than a cue (or maybe prepared to go to the spade slam opposite singleton A). Another way of finding out about spade support came from:

Peter Newell “3: I probably need to protect my K so will see whether partner can muster up a raise.”

This raises a very big question. How forcing is 3? To game or just one round? To those who consider it as game forcing, how would they handle the actual hand below…with a negative double or a pass? I am not sure either really gets the right message across. For Peter above, 3 must be game forcing.
Michael Cornell " 4good raise to 4 and pass ,albeit reluctantly if partner bids 4.I do have a good hand but I am missing 4 key cards. If partner has 3+ and good hearts, he will surely go on.

Kris Wooles “4NT RKCB in ’s.  Well, pre-empts make things awkward. That’s why they work so well. Our space has been taken. How weak could 3 be? AxKQxxxx xx Jxx or something like that would be the bottom of the range I would think but more likely better. I could bid 3 but sooner or later I really want to know does partner have 3 key cards (i.e. 2 aces and K) and if so, I will bid 6NT. With 2 key cards only, it might be OK still. 5 should be playable unless in my example a club is led to the A and a diamond through. That’s life as sometimes slam tries go down. A 5 response is not plausible given the 3 bid.”

So, Kris’ partner must have the Q or a very long decent heart suit…and 3 sounds like once more it is forcing. Kris must join my “hate club” of diamond pre-empts. It’s time to see all four hands and let the criticism of poor North’s 3 bid begin. Yet, before you do, what would you bid over 3?

 

A negative double would rarely get heart support. If partner rebids 3, you can guess to pass and be in the wrong trump suit at the wrong level. The same applies if you choose then to bid 4. As Kris said, pre-empts do work. This time, the winning action by South is to jump to 4 (assuming that 3 is just a 1-round force), to protect that K as much as possible and to show a good hand. How much better than “good” is your hand? KQ is not necessarily a great holding and the K is good for the opening lead  though the diamond position has to be addressed in the subsequent play. The South hand has only one key card in support of hearts. 4 does not have to end the auction.

At the table, West has to lead a trump to threaten 4. The defence take the first three tricks though the clubs provide a parking place for declarer’s third heart. A club lead allows the discard of one of South’s diamonds before trumps are played. Meanwhile, even 4, let alone 5, cannot make if East starts off with the A, followed by two diamonds and a spade ruff.

Certainly, the negative double would have been the best action on this day though the cramped auction created by that weak jump in diamonds made problems for North.

Shh .. no diamond bids!

Ban jump bids in diamonds on the first round of an auction. I do not suppose I will get much support!

Since the ban cannot come into force, please be sure in your partnership how forcing 3 is and whether opener’s 3 can indeed be passed. I suspect for many it can.

 

 No bidding problems tomorrow. Your partner showed the utmost faith in you by raising with just a couple of jacks! West leads another jack, J and it is over to you. If you duck the opening lead, a low heart is played with East now playing Q. Make 9 tricks proving that partner's hand was indeed sufficient.

Richard Solomon

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