[pescetom]

Monday training session, coffee wearing off, but now you "deal" this hand.

MP

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Your bid?

[DavidKok]

Fiiine 2♣

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2025-September-29, 15:18, said:

Fiiine 2♣

I think everyone will say so, for one reason or another.

What next if it goes Pass-2♦-Pass?

[jillybean]

3♠, what was in your coffee?

3♠ if I have an agreement it shows this hand and asks for a cue.

[smerriman]

2♣, then 3♠ and hope to hear 4♣.

[DavidKok]

3♠ seems fine over 2♦. I want to set trumps and hear about controls.

[pescetom]

That was my intention too.
East asked pointedly about 2♦ and then bid 3♦ to be sure.
Your call now?

[DavidKok]

3♠, showing the suit. It no longer set trumps, but we can take the slow road.

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2025-September-30, 11:34, said:

3♠, showing the suit. It no longer set trumps, but we can take the slow road.

That it no longer sets trumps was North's conviction too (I prefer it to retain the same meaning as the direct bid, but that was undiscussed here).

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Your bid as North?

[DavidKok]

4♦, showing a good raise to 4♠.

I think it's a poor idea to retain the same meaning here. You don't have the bidding space for it. If 3♠ sets trumps there are too many hands with shape that are pushed out of the auction.

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2025-September-30, 12:32, said:

4♦, showing a good raise to 4♠.

After which South still has room to bid 4♥, inviting partner to continue control bidding. But agreements about what bidding or skipping 4NT means may impede North getting to bid 5♣. For us North is obliged to bid 4NT here, burying clubs, although South might then reason that North must have a useful control to have shown a good raise without a Keycard.

My partner didn't feel his 5 HCP hand was a good raise and bid 4♠. Amen.

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2025-September-30, 12:32, said:

I think it's a poor idea to retain the same meaning here. You don't have the bidding space for it. If 3♠ sets trumps there are too many hands with shape that are pushed out of the auction.

I think that which of the two treatments is poorer depends largely on the frequency of various hand types within strong 2♣. I chose to privilege control bidding because it remains optimal for single suiters and often viable for other unbalanced hands: but then I put very few two suiters through the strong opening rather than natural 1M opening (and my criteria for responder showing a minor are more lax than many too). A 5M332 22+ without a stopper may struggle, but then so will some single suiters without imposition.

[DavidKok]

There are many hands that don't match your description of two-suiter but also do not have a suit comfortable setting trumps opposite a potential singleton or a void.

As always, finding the right strain is most important.

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2025-October-01, 06:55, said:

There are many hands that don't match your description of two-suiter but also do not have a suit comfortable setting trumps opposite a potential singleton or a void.

As always, finding the right strain is most important.

It's certainly important, although accurately investigating slam in a likely right strain is important too.
As I said, I give Responder more rope than most to "show" (because he does not preempt 2NT in our methods) a useful suit directly over 2♣, so it's not that clear what a new suit at 4 level has to say.
We also still have takeout in our armoury.
Nevertheless, my concern is indeed more about missing the right strain than finding partner with a singleton or void (if RHO can bid 3m then partner has 13 out of 33 vacant spaces for the remaining trumps).
Anyway, thanks for the input. I'll think about it.

[pescetom]

Getting back to the hand,I think it represents an interesting declarer play problem for intermediates.

You declare 6♠ after interference of diamonds by East. East takes the diamonds lead with the Ace and returns a small heart. Your plan to take the remaining tricks?