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Ominous Signs.

Your partner has shown at least four trumps, a game-forcing hand and a singleton or void in a side-suit where you have a massive unhelpful holding of KQJ75. That sounds bad for slam. So, sign off in our heart game.

However, the opposition have not remained silent and have bid game in spades. What to do? Pass, double them or bid on.

 

Your partner’s 4 is a splinter, singleton or void, with 4+ hearts, in the 10-13 high card point range. Do we want to bid on or defend?

We have a split Panel. Not approving of our system is:

Stephen Blackstock “4NT: The “10-13” splinter is a worry – few serious pairs would play that way. A splinter is a slam try, not a game raise. To play it as that limited removes a useful weapon from the arsenal, especially with opening bids getting weaker and weaker.

Here, I bid 4NT. For me it’s asking for features but lacking an economic cue bid (5 would be first round). By implication, I show good trumps. If partner thinks it’s Blackwood, that’s fine too: I will have play in slam, often good play, opposite three aces.

 Never pass as that would not be forcing. And certainly not double as we will usually make 5 and 4 looks like about one down, or perhaps even making. Thus, defending will very often cost 10 IMP or worse.

 

However, his former partner has a different view:

 

Peter Newell “Pass: There seem to be 3 choices: pass, double, and bidding on. Bidding over 4 looks very unwise as my club suit and values are not good opposite shortage. So, 5 looks too high and my hand would be a disappointment for partner.

 That leaves double and pass.  It’s close for me. While I am not that keen on partner bidding on, apart from my club suit I don’t have much defence. It is quite likely that we may only get 1 club trick (say if clubs are 5-2) and while the Q may take a trick, the hearts certainly will not. Partner could have 2551 or 3550 or 2650 say with 2 aces. Those hands make 5 the right bid most of the time. So, I’ll pass and hope for the best.”

 

Bruce Anderson “Pass: That I have strength in partner’s singleton or void, and that the hand is ace less, deters me from bidding.

Partner will not be as good as x xxxx AKJxxxx x (he/she must have a diamond suit on this auction) as they would have used RKC, and even then we are off 2 aces. My failure to bid should send the message that a club shortage did not suit my hand. So, unless partner has a club void, they should penalize, rather than bid 5.”

 

Nigel Kearney “Pass: My club holding suggests defence but the rest of the hand does not. I can't see partner's spade holding but they can. I expect partner will double on most hands with a singleton club and I will pass. If partner chooses to bid, I have a useful hand.”

Who knows more about each other’s hand? I would have thought South knew more but Pam disagrees:

Pam Livingston “Pass: I always ask myself in these situations "do I have something more/better than I said I have in light of the bidding". The answer on this is “no, not really”. My partner can deduce my spade holding and may have a defensive spade card. I have no aces. The splinter is only semi-useful.  I can make 5 opposite A and AK or similar but partner will move with those cards. Maybe 5 is a sacrifice against 4 but I don't have enough information to know that.  This one is partner's decision.

Taking the view that they really do not want to bid on is:

Julie Atkinson “Double: Partner must have diamond and spade values. I have got the other two suits. So, this feels like a choice of doubling or passing. At equal vulnerability, it doesn’t feel like this is a forcing pass situation and the longer I take to decide the more difficult this will be for partner. (Clearly, I won’t have a clear-cut decision.)

 However, making the right decision here will be important.  Double: if the contract makes, I am happy there will be no overtricks (-4imps?), and I am not going to be happy to hear partner bid 5 on this auction unless it is very clear to them.”

Michael Ware “Double: I held this hand on that exact auction and doubled 4.I wasn't happy doubling, but partner's splinter put me off the 5 level, let me know my clubs were defensive, and partner has shown an
opening hand.”

It all sounds very logical. I did not know the deal and something bothered me. The opponents have bid vulnerable to 4. They do not intend to be too many off. As strange as it seems, I have a lot of sympathy for this view:

Michael Cornell “5: Good problem- first instinct with all those deep clubs is to double mainly to stop partner bidding on but is that what we really want?

Give partner the A and where is our defence?

 Give partner, club void and where are our losers? 6 has great play opposite just AJ?

 

If partner has just 10 points, our opponents have 16. So, I think they are big favourites for 10 spades. So, I am bidding 5 in front of partner for all these reasons. The only losing situation I can see is when they only have 9 tricks and we have 10.”

 So, let’s have a look at the four hands:

 

 

 

Defending 4S is going to be better when clubs break 4-3 though there is still the problem in reaching your hand to win those tricks. As you can see, a 5-2 break yields you just one defensive club trick and partner’s aces two more. Meanwhile, there are just three losers in 5.

 

Unlucky for the passers and the doublers? I am not so sure.

 Where is the lady?

 

 

 

After you open 1NT (14 and a half to 17 hcp!), West overcalls 2 to show both majors. East-West do not do any further bidding.  Via a slightly unusual route, you reach 5 played by South. West leads 10 to East’s king and your ace. You play three rounds of trumps with West’s holding being J8. East’s exits J. Over to you.

 

Richard Solomon

 

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