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Intended audience: Intermediate and up

 

Neither vul, matchpoints:

 

North: ♠AJ763 ♥Q ♦AK4 ♣K763

South: ♠Q95 ♥A98 ♦Q10743 ♣AJ

 

Their auction:

 

 

West

North

East

South

-

-

-

1NT1

P

2♥2

P

2♠3

P

3♣4

P

3♠5

P

4♦6

P

4♥6

P

4♠7

All

Pass8

 

 

1 12-14

2 Transfer

3 Acceptance (super-accepts not played)

4 At least 5-4 in the blacks, slam try

5 Confirming 3+ spades, non-minimum

6 Cue bid

7 Non-forcing

8 Nothing more to say

 

Who is to blame for missing slam?

 

 

Constructive slam bidding is an area of bidding that all aspiring players should spend some time learning and discussing with their partner. Let‘s go through the auction, and I will comment and underline important lessons to take away from this column:

 

 

1 and 2: Weak no-trump and transfer – self-explanatory.

 

3. If playing a weak no-trump, do not play super accepts. Partner could have a zero count!!

 

4. Slam try – This slam try was dead minimum. Even though North has 17 HCPs, he should treat his heart singleton as an ‘x’.

 

If North had a little weaker, game forcing hand, let’s say no ♠J, he cannot bid 3♣as it is a slam try. He must transfer and then bid 3NT, letting partner convert to 4♠, with 3+ spades.

 

South’s actions over a two suited slam try are:

 

  • Bid 3NT with two spades and either a minimum or no fit for clubs.

 

  • Bid a new suit. This shows the ace in that suit, with a hand that has 4+ clubs, and in which you are willing to cooperate with partner’s slam try. It sets clubs as trumps.

 

  • Over a two suited slam try Bid 4♣ with a hand that has 4+ clubs, and in which you are willing to cooperate with partner’s slam try, but do not have a convenient ace to cue bid.

 

  • Bid 4♠ with a minimum and 3+ spades.

 

  • Bid 3♠ with a hand with 3+ spades and willing to cooperate with the slam try. You cannot cue bid agreeing spades until the next round of the auction (see #2 above).

 

These are the only options.

 

 

  1. Cue bid. This shows the ace or a void.

 

  1. Cue bid. This shows the ace. Do not cue bid 2nd round controls.

 

  1. North signed off. This is close, but is the right call. He has a minimum. The only possible call is 5♦. Blackwood is wrong as North doesn’t want to show key cards, but try one final time for slam.

 

Bidding one more is wrong as you are not strong enough to jeopardize your sure plus in 4♠. Don’t reach for poor slams, especially at matchpoints.

 

  1. South, as the limited hand, cannot continue unless he has a perfect hand. An example:♠KQ5 ♥A98 ♦109743 ♣AJ, although with this hand South should ask for key cards directly over the 4♠ bid.

 

So the right answer is this pair bid this hand perfectly! Just because slam makes, or is odds on to make, it doesn’t mean it should be reached.

 

 

 

Note:Effective immediately my bidding problems will be published every two weeks.

 

 

Questions or comments may be sent to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Intended audience: Intermediate and up

 

Neither vul, matchpoints, as south you hold: ♠A7 ♥A108 ♦AQJ1074 ♣KQ

 

 

West

North

East

South

3♣

P

P

3NT

P

4♣

P

?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you bid?

 

 

First let’s find out what partner expects you to have for your 3NT call. Since the bidding is at the three level 3NT covers a fairly wide range of hands. Most of the time it is balanced, and can be made on as little as 15 HCPs (I have bid it on 14). The reason is that partner can easily have a balanced hand, with as many as 14 HCPs. The other important issue when electing to bid 3NT with less high cards is your stopper, especially length. Axx is the best as you can exhaust east of clubs, and often the preempter will not have a side entry. On the other side Kx (or Qxx) is the worse as you cannot hold up at all. Interestingly Jxxx is better than either of these as east will usually have 0-1 club.

 

Back to the original problem, with a balanced or unbalanced hand you may have as much as 20 HCPs. With more double and then bid no-trump or a suit, depending on your hand.

 

Here it is close, but matchpoints 3NT seems right. But what about 4♣? Does partner have:

 

  1.      - 4-4 in majors and bidding Stayman?
  2.      - 5-5 in the majors?
  3.      - A three suited hand with 0-1 clubs?

 

Once you decide on this question what do you bid? Does north have a good hand or a bad hand?

 

The correct answer is number 2. He can’t have #1 as you may have a hand with 2-2 in the majors and a long running diamond suit. #3 is possible but not as likely with your diamond length.

 

Should you cue bid or make a move towards slam with your 20 HCPs and a good suit? No. Partner could be very weak with both majors. It is not close. Just bid 4♥. Partner held ♠K432 ♥976532 ♦3 ♣94. Despite East holding ♦Kx I even went down in four as I couldn’t handle the 4-0 trump split, even onside.

 

 

 

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Intended audience: Newer/Intermediate; All

 

Both vul, as south you hold: ♠- ♥KJ109432 ♦109 ♣8653

 

 

West

North

East

South

1♣

Dbl

   P

   ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you bid?

 

 

Responding to takeout doubles is one of the first things a newer player should master. Essentially:

 

  1.     1. You must bid as responder. Bid your best unbid suit (even if a 3 card suit!)with less than 8 pts.

 

  1.     2. A jump in a suit is constructive showing the equivalent of 8-10 HCPs, with values good for offence or defence.

 

  1.     3. 1NT responses shows about 8-10 HCPs with a stopper in their suit.

 

  1.     4. A cue bid shows invitational values, around 10-12.

 

  1.     5. A double jump is a hand with 6-7 cards and preemptive values. Thus, 3♥ is the correct call on this hand. BONUS QUESTION: If partner now bids 4♠ what is your call?

 

  1.     6. If partner bids a new suit over your response it shows a hand too good for an overcall (17-20). If partner jumps it shows 21+ and is forcing with a single suited hand. For example:

 

West   North   East  South

 

1♣        Dbl       P      1♥

P         2♠

 

2♠ on this auction would be made on something like (a): ♠AKJ10xx ♥Kx ♦AQ ♣A53, whereas 1♠ would be bid on the same hand, less the A♣.

 

Answer to bonus question: Pass! Partner has a hand something like (a), where he can make game in his own hand but wanted to try for slam. His actual hand on this deal from Phoenix: ♠AKQJ1082 ♥A6 ♦54 ♣KQ

 

Important things to remember regarding takeout doubles:

 

  1.      1. A response at a minimum level could be very weak, and may be made on a three cared suit!

 

  1.      2. A new suit by opener after he doubles shows 17+ with a hand too good to overcall, and does not promise support for the other unbid suits.

 

  1.      3. Because of that, care should be taken not to jump to the four or the five level as the responder to the doubler.

 

  1.      4. If partner doubles and then next hand bids a suit, a double by you says I have 4+ cards in right hand opponent’s suit and at least6 HCPs).

 

     5. A corollary to #6 above, if partner doubles, cue bids and then bids a suit, this is FORCING, likely with a very good two-suiter hand, such as ♠AKxx ♥AK ♦AKQJxx ♣x.

 

 

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Intended audience: All

 

Both vul, as south you hold: ♠5 ♥K42 ♦A53 ♣K109842

 

 

West

North

East

South

-

-

  2♦1

P

2♥1

3♣!!

  Dbl!1

?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15+ diamonds, 10-14 HCPs

1Artificial, game forcing

1Penalties

 

What do you bid?

 

 

Intended audience: Intermediate and up

 

N-S vul at Board-a-Match teams, as south you hold: ♠J9432 ♥AKQ2 ♦93 ♣96

 

 

West

North

East

South

1♣

1♦

  1♥

?

 

 

 

 

 

 

What do you bid?

 

  1. 2013-11-06 - Bidding Problem by Neil K.
  2. 2013-11-14 - Bidding Problem
  3. Lead Quiz 1
  4. Mr. Black?

Subcategories

Bidding Problems

Both vul, IMPs at IMPs scoring you hold as south: ♠A ♥K93 ♦AK106 ♣AK1063

 

 

 

What do you open?

 

 

 

NOTE:Just to let you know my new book, The Right Bid at the Right Time is has been released and is available for purchase.

 

Here is a hand from a recent match between two tops teams in the Canadian Online Teams Championship. Sitting South was a so-called expert. He decided to open 2NT.

 

Yes, this is close to the right point count. Yes, this simplifies the auction. Yes, this is one of the worse bids I have seen from a high caliber player.

 

Yes, that is unfortunately true. Time and time again I see players showing notrump shape with singletons. (Haven’t seen it with a void yet!) This is lazy bidding. First your auction is easier, but inaccurate. Natural bidding will be beat notrump auctions 9 times out of 10. Another reason players do this is that they can all but guarantee they will be declarer. What that has to do with Partnership Bridge, I am not sure.

 

The best bid is 1♣. One bids are up to 21 HCPs. That is what you have. Having said that the only reason I open 1♣ is that your suits are the minors, which are notorious difficult to describe when you have to start at the two level. Better to open 1♣ and make a one round force with 2♦. You can still force to game.

 

This hand is VERY good. Much better than your high card will indicate. Much better than a 2NT opener. Give partner ♠xxxx ♥Qx ♦Qxxxx ♣xx and 6♣ is an excellent contract.

 

Back to what happened at the table? South got his just desserts in my view. The full deal:

 

 

 

♠ Q108764
♥ A65
♦ 53
♣ Q2

♠ KJ932
♥ QJ10
♦ 82
♣ J94

Bridge deal

♠ 5
♥ 8742
♦ QJ974
♣ 875

 

♠ A
♥ K93
♦ AK106
♣ AK1063
 

 

North transferred into 4♠, down one when declarer’s play matched his bidding.

 

 

 

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