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Who’s to bless: who’s to blame!

When one reaches a small slam, which has less than a 50% chance of being successful, someone in the partnership has usually overbid/ misbid a little, maybe more than a little. So, we asked you and the Panel who that might be and which bids in particular.

 

The above sequence is a normal Acol based sequence with 1 being 5+ spades. 5 showed 2 key cards and no  Q. 

Giving our chances of success and being uncritical of the auction is:

Kris Wooles “I’m OK with 6. I’ve seen worse. I’m remembering when the Italian’s won a world championship by bidding and making 7 with AQ opposite J9xxxx as their trump holding. 

6 needs both a club break and a spade finesse whereas 6 would likely come home more often with a successful spade finesse plus a potential club pitch on spades provided diamonds behave reasonably.”

There are a few “ifs and buts” there but the slam is not one of those whose defeat is sealed by trick 2!

Also, fairly happy where we have landed is:

Nigel Kearney “The contract is ok. A 50% small slam is break even and this is pretty close to that. We need the spade finesse, but have a 95% chance of being able to pick up trumps and will usually be able to establish a long spade in case clubs don't break. An opening spade lead away from the king is quite unlikely but not impossible. I'll let you know whether I approve of the contract after I find out which opponent has the K. (no skipping down the page, Nigel!)

West's bidding was fine. Blackwood doesn't fill all the holes but East has described a good hand without much in hearts so probably has the missing stuff. The actual East hand will be a slight disappointment, compared to e.g., K10xxx Jx Ax AKxx.

It looks like they're always going to end in slam once East chose to reverse, but I prefer a 4 splinter on East's third turn. 4 will often be 5224 not 5134 and the singleton heart could be vital. For example, West could have A xxx KQJxxx xxx.

However, Blackwood (or Roman Key Card) was not approved by:

Stephen Blackstock “The contract is not terrible but below par, being a little worse (but only a little) than the spade finesse.Both hands have overbid a little. 3 is pushy. Is the hand worth more than 3? I presume 2 was Acol style and not game forcing (correct).

However, there is nothing polite to say about 4NT. How does an ace ask help West to judge whether there will be good play for 12 tricks? 4NT falls in the category of “untutored bash”.

I would have progressed with 4 by West, a forcing cue-bid now we have clearly set diamonds. (followed by 5; 5 – Pass. Both hands have then run out of steam.)

More criticism of Key Card and West:

Matt Brown “ I don't think slam is a good final contract, since it needs the spade finesse to start with.
West has bid the pants off their hand. I think cueing would be much better than key-carding, because it allows East to evaluate their hand rather than just us blindly bidding slam opposite the correct number of key-cards. So, I think most of the blame goes to West's 4NT."

What though of the 3 bid?

Peter Newell “I don’t mind the auction, the only East bid that is questionable is 3, and I prefer it to 2 or 3. It very clearly shows where your values are, other bids being a distortion.”

Too strong really for a non-forcing 3 while you just cannot repeat the anaemic spade suit. It does seem that it was the 3 bid which got the auction accelerating. From West’s point of view, East could have been an ace stronger.

Generally, the Panel are not over-critical of the auction, even of West’s failure to support clubs:

Michael Cornell “I sympathise with the 3 call but disagree with it. Partner has a strongish hand with 4+. So, I believe I should support with 4 (partner often has 5).  I do have primary support.

It is pretty close though. If partner has KJ instead of the  KQ, 6 is the best spot.”

Peter Newell “As far as West’s bidding is concerned, I don’t mind 3 (assuming it is forcing). 3 is clearly an option, but I don’t like 4 as it consumes too much room and the clubs are bad. 

4NT is mildly pushy if one bids 3 freely. Clearly slam is definitely in the picture but it may be better to start with 4 cue bid, and when one doesn’t hear a 4 cue bid, that’s a bit off putting…

So, probably 4NT is the least bid I like, but I don’t mind any of the bids really.”

Peter would prefer to have been in 5 though was happy enough a level higher. However, the most critical of the auction was:

Bruce Anderson “I don’t approve of the final contract as even if the spade finesse wins, there may still be club loser, and on a bad day there could even be a trump loser. So, the slam falls short of the required percentage for bidding a minor suit slam, which I understand to be 48%.

The East hand was not strong enough to bid 3 and then support diamonds; partner will never envisage such a weak spade suit. I think bidding 3 immediately is correct.

Even then West may still make a move as if partner’s spade suit is headed by KJ and he has both minor suit aces, the slam will be good. But after an immediate raise of diamonds, West may show restraint, rather than play partner for four key cards. That was never going to happen after East bid 3 and then showed diamond support.”  

One negative feature, despite East’s strong bidding was that they appeared to have shown a 5134 shape. Thus, both partners had just one heart, not the best. However, as Bruce said, 3 gave the auction impetus. Even then, on a different day, had East bid 3NT over 3, West may have passed.

The proof of the pudding is in the….

Let’s see if the aggressive bidding did pay off. As West thanked their partner for dummy, they might have felt just a little short-changed in the spade suit.

 

The A lead was followed by a club switch. Declarer won and followed with the critical successful spade finesse, two high diamonds in the West hand and A. Back to the A and a spade ruff set up a vital discard foe the potential and real club loser. Had spades broken 4-2, it would have been necessary to play that way, using every entry to the East hand to set up and then enjoy the fifth spade for the club discard.

So, generally, the Panel were mildly critical of the auction. 5 may be best but one could imagine 6 making on a too imaginative spade lead away from the king held by West while the other table failed in 5 with a bad trump break and the losing spade finesse.

Living slightly dangerously in 6, but those in this slam survived.

There has been some debate recently about what constitutes a 2 game- forcing opener. I feel fairly confident that the hand below would be accepted by even the most conservative 2 opener as being strong enough. There is only one problem. You are not the opener and it was not your partner who got in first!

Power!

 

2 is weak (you might guess that!), a 5 card suit with 4+ of a minor suit. Your first action is reasonable but what now? Oh, 2NT was Lebensohl asking you to bid 3. Partner will normally have a hand in the 0-6 range and without ambition. Have you?

You have the weekend to count your high-card points and decide on your next bid.

Richard Solomon

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