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What should I Bid? - Best enquiry for May 2004

The winner for the month of May was Bert Forage.

Comments:

We made 12 tricks because partner had the King of clubs. With insufficient points he responded only because he had five hearts. Our basic system is Acol with Benjamin Twos.

How could we have found the slam?

And Peter's Response:

Hi Bert,

There are several ways slam could be approached on this hand. While I agree generally with opening two-suited hands at the one level if possible, looked at from either a playing trick perspective or loser count, opener's hand is very powerful. It has close to ten playing tricks. Perhaps opening 2C will produce a more manageable auction than starting with a less economical 2D.

I would suggest something like:

2C : 2D
2H : 3H (forcing and stronger than 4H)
4D : 4H (no interest here)
4S : 5C (opener is still worth a cue looking for slam and now so is responder)
6H (Yippee!!)

Traditionally, playing Acol, after an eight plus playing trick hand is disclosed, responder's immediate jump to game has a specific meaning - primary trump support, but no ace, king, singleton or void.

The auction I have described relies on the inference that the 3H bid implies something of potential use outside trump support. After opener tries for slam both below and above game with the 4D and 4S control bids, responder, having given a negative response and turned down the first slam try, should certainly own up to second round club control by bidding 5C.

 With opener bidding so strongly, clearly anxious to know what partner can contribute, any first or second round control below 5H should be bid over 4S. In the event of the 1H opening, three sequences come to mind -

1H : 4H (the modern style - weak hand 5+ trumps.)
6H

This auction has lots going for it. The opening lead might be critical and could make a hopeless contract easy. e.g. an attempt to cash the spade ace when dummy holds the King and Queen.

Perhaps:

1H : 4H
4S : 5C (1st or 2nd round control cue is OK by a weak hand)
6H (Yippee!!)

or

1H : 2H (incorrect in my view on this hand)
3D : 3H (no game interest)
4S (spade void) : 5C (club control)
6H (Yippee!!)

In this last auction, 3D initially is a game try, but in the light of the following 4S bid, reveals that it was a slam try, not a game try.

All these auctions have two things in common -

1. Opener must bid much more strongly than actually occurred;
2. Responder shows little interest until opener ventures beyond 4H, but then acknowledges possession of a club control, which, because the hand must be weak, may be made with a second round control.

While it is certainly the case that 5H will fail on a rotten day, to fail to try for slam is very timid on opener's part.

Regards

Peter Fordham

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