[kfay]

---

[hanp]

Recent advances in bridge theory have made it very hard not to focus on clubs with the north hand. Difficult.

[jjbrr]

I'd always get to 4♠ i suspect

[Cascade]

After

1♦ 1♠
2♣ 2♥ ...

North should seriously be aiming at 6♦.

He only needs three major suit tricks or two major suit tricks and the ♦A and in both cases something to happen with the fourth club for there to be a slam. This is not too much to hope for from a Game Force hand.

Spades needs much more in that it specifically needs spade cards.

This is not too much to hope for from a game force hand.

This is much easier at IMPs than MPs where you will often want to play in the higher scoring spade game if you do not make it to slam.

How exactly the bidding will go and whether or not you get to 6♦ is not clear.

We could bid ...

4♦ extras with six or more diamonds ...

and now it will depend on whether south takes a positive or negative view of his hand. He can almost imagine the actual hand or ♦ AKQ ♣KQ or the equivalent. However without a fit it maybe difficult to move. Our choices would be

4♥ = good hand for diamonds
4NT = I hate the whole idea lets play NTs
5♦ = bad hand but diamonds is ok

With an A and AK we don't hate the whole idea but whether we can bring ourselves to raise diamonds with a small singleton I don't know - although I have had some success on similar auctions without a guaranteed fit.

[jdonn]

Something like

1♦ 1♠
2♣ 2♥
2♠ 2NT
3♦ 3♠
4♣ 4♥
6♦ P

seems ok. I like the 2NT bid instead of 3♠, and when south cooperates toward slam obviously north wants to suggest diamonds as strongly as possible. I don't see south having any reason to overrule.

Might I get to this slam off two aces? It's possible. Then again if south has something like Kxxxx AKQx in the majors maybe I'll get a laugh as they lead something that's not a spade. If you take south's exact hand but Kxxxx instead of Axxxx of spades then I don't think he should cuebid, but something like this hand with KQxxx of spades is definitely a real problem. Heart lead from the queen one time??

Anyway I'm not saying I would bid this way, it just strikes me as the most reasonable way I would have to find 6♦.

[ggwhiz]

In my partnership, I'm the one that can occasionally smell 6♦ from the North hand with the ♠ losers going on good spades OR ♥.

My pard is often the most inspired I've ever seen on when to raise with a small singleton. Not me though.

I would be very happy with getting a hand like this right 1 out of 5 times.

[benlessard]

Ouch..i rarely miss a slam after a 1D opening and no intervention but this is one of them.

If north decide to grossly overbid

1D-1H
1S-1NT (could be weakish relay)

here

2C = denies 4H show 5C, under 18
2D = denies 4H show 4C+5/6D, under 18
2H = show 4H under 18
2S is GF with 5C
2NT is high short
3C is 5422
3D+ is low short so
3S = 3064 18-22--- ???

3Nt is to play
4C = kec D
4D = key C
-----------------------4H key S
4S (1)----------------Pass

Here you are missing 2 keycard for a S contract. Partner rate to have something like.

Qxx
---
KQxxxx
AKQx
+ a pointed J

KQJ
---
KQJTxx
KQxx

Qxx
---
AKQxxx
KQxx
+ a pointed J

So it possible to see that 5D is probably safer than 4S (or worse that 6D might be cold and 4S can go down) but further bidding would ask for specific cards

If north dont overbid.

1D 1H relay
1S (clubs)-1Nt relay
2D (not 5C nor 4H under 18 pts)---2H GF
??

2S high short
2Nt 5422
3C and + is low short...

3154,2164,3064

3H (3064)-- here responder easily see the H wastage and has a very easy 3Nt. Its near impossible for 4S being better than 3Nt since they will very rarely lead into a 6 card suit.

[Cascade]

Another thought occurred to me after I posted here this morning while I was waiting at the airport for a flight to Christchurch to play the South Island Pairs - Christchurch 7+ Magnitude earthquake today epicentre approximately 5km from my sister's home but all ok except South Island Pairs cancelled
...

There was some old fashioned advice that I read when I was just starting to learn this game probably from Reese ...

"Don't bid a bad suit on a good hand."

I think this applies on this hand with regard to showing secondary support for spades.

[mike777]

Cascade, on Sep 3 2010, 10:05 PM, said:

Another thought occurred to me after I posted here this morning while I was waiting at the airport for a flight to Christchurch to play the South Island Pairs - Christchurch 7+ Magnitude earthquake today epicentre approximately 5km from my sister's home but all ok except South Island Pairs cancelled
...

There was some old fashioned advice that I read when I was just starting to learn this game probably from Reese ...

"Don't bid a bad suit on a good hand."

I think this applies on this hand with regard to showing secondary support for spades.

Earthquake, huge in Christchurch

[the hog]

Cascade, on Sep 4 2010, 10:05 AM, said:

Another thought occurred to me after I posted here this morning while I was waiting at the airport for a flight to Christchurch to play the South Island Pairs - Christchurch 7+ Magnitude earthquake today epicentre approximately 5km from my sister's home but all ok except South Island Pairs cancelled
...

There was some old fashioned advice that I read when I was just starting to learn this game probably from Reese ...

"Don't bid a bad suit on a good hand."

I think this applies on this hand with regard to showing secondary support for spades.

Hope your family are all ok Wayne.

[Zelandakh]

Can I choose my own bidding system?

1C........ strong
........1H 9+, 4+ spades
1S........ relay
........1N 4+ hearts
2C........ relay
........2N 5 spades, 4 hearts, not 5440
3C........ relay
........3D 5=4=1=3
3H........ relay
........4H 12+, 5 controls (ie AAK)
4S........ relay
........5D controls in spades and hearts but not clubs
6D

[Flameous]

With strong pass

Pass - 1♣ -
1♦ - 1♥ -
1♠ - 1NT -
2♣ - 2♦ -
2♥ - 2♠ -
2NT - 3♦ -
3♥ - 4♣ -
4♦ - 4♥ -
...

After 3♦ south's shape is known and that he has 11+hcp and 6+ akq-points.

Then following AKQ-ask - 8, king parity ask - odd number of kings (1)

So now those AAK are know... now it's about how lucky you feel about fourth club. I guess it's pretty good to bid it now.