|
Bidding Problem #6, September 2005: At matchpoints, equal vulnerability, with your opponents passing throughout, you hear partner open 1 spade and you pick up:
 A9x
 AKQJTxxx
 xx
 Void
You respond 2 hearts to partners' opening 1 spade and partner rebids 3 clubs. What is your next call and planned continuations?
2 hearts is 100% game forcing My partner's pet peeve with me is that I don't raise with 3 card support. I usually defend myself by saying that my suit was so good I had to rebid it. It was ___________(fill in the blanks). Of course we always landed in the wrong contract so I began to rethink my ways. On this hand, the question goes: how good a suit can you bypass to raise partner and play in their suit?
My wife was convinced that this was a ridiculous hand to submit to our panel and she expected unanimity in forcing to a heart game or slam, but our panel showed that opinion to be incorrect.
The Votes:
3 - 5 votes
3 - 4 votes
3 - 1 vote
5 - 1 vote
Among the 3 bidders (Nancy Widman, Nancy Molesworth, Laura Brill, Pat Callahan and Rich Laufer), there were varying opinions on supporting partners' spades. Rich Laufer was willing to bid 4 if partner continues with 4 over his 3 and Nancy Molesworth will bid 4 if partner continues with 3 over her 3, while Pat Callahan never mentions supporting partners' spades over any continuation. Nancy Widman feels that it is pretty standard treatment to consider partners' original rebid of 3 as a high reverse showing extras, and she will be driving to slam over any continuation, supporting spades only after a jump to 4 and then she will bid 5 asking for a diamond control.
The 3 bidders (Peter Kalat, Carlos Munoz, Rick Goldstein and Jeff Allen) also differ in their subsequent continuations. Rick and Peter plan to try 5 over partners' 4 to find out about diamond controls and are waiting with the grand slam force up their sleeves. Jeff Allen simply thinks a spade contract has the best play for slam, citing partners' possible holding of the A and the K which would give a contract of 6 play while 6 would go down. Carlos bids 3 here, but does not rule out a final contract in hearts.
Jason Fuhrman is the lone 3 bidder. He feels that a 4th suit bid in a an already game forcing auction implies slam interest without getting overboard. He would be very happy to then hear 3NT from partner, making slam prospects excellent, but he leans towards spades as the final strain for the slam, hopefully getting to use exclusion blackwood along the way.
Joan Gerard makes an immediate slam invite with 5 hoping that partner won't raise to 6 with just the K (6NT would be better to protect the unguarded K) but a 6 cue bid raises all kinds of options. At least Joan touches on one of the reasons that a spade contract may be superior to a heart contract, that is, it keeps the K in declarers hand, safe on opening lead in a small slam
Ed Z- |
