[1eyedjack]

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MP, Instant, 35.

Those who bid 4S over 4H in the South seat (where I bid 5C) are corrected to 5C by North, which is where you get to play (or 6C if you raise).

Maybe 4S is the correct bid. I don't think that excuses the 5D.

[TylerE]

How else does the N hand make a move towards grand slam? Passing 5♦ can't be right. The north hand, for the auction, is an absolute monster.

[1eyedjack]

TylerE, on 2016-June-15, 22:36, said:

How else does the N hand make a move towards grand slam? Passing 5♦ can't be right. The north hand, for the auction, is an absolute monster.

Fair enough (perhaps). But in that case the description of 5D should be "grand slam try in Clubs" not "4+D, 11- HCP, 12 total points (and no reference to a club fit)".

Furthermore, IF 5D shows a grand slam try in Clubs, how is North expected to move over the X of 3H holding a maximum Spade-Diamond two-suiter? The strongest argument for bidding again over 5D is the expectation that Spades will play better than Diamonds. My alternative to passing was to bid some number of Spades, quite possibly at the 6 level. North may convert back to 7C, which at least goes for a lower penalty than anything at the 5 level or higher in Spades or Diamonds. But kind of a shame to miss out on 6C.

And by the same logic, presumably the 5C bid by North, at those tables where South bid 4S over 4H, showed a slam try in Spades?

Frankly I don't mind missing out on the mechanism to distinguish between a small slam and a thin grand slam, when the auction has already started at the 3 level and you need all of your available bidding space just to find your best trump strain.