[Cyberyeti]

IMPs

This hand occurred in a match yesterday, and was not bid optimally at either table:

---

N deals.

if you open 1♣

Spoiler

E overcalls 2♦ (weak)

if you open 1♦

Spoiler

opps are silent

if you open at the 2 level

Spoiler

opps are silent

Opps had a blackwood mixup so played 6♠+1

Our auction was more interesting and I'll go into it later, but it's an interesting hand to disentangle with the void in one of partner's suits. As it happens Blackwood from the S hand tells all, but you can't really use it as if partner has an ace less, you don't know if it's the right ace missing. Had partner chosen 2N as his opening bid which he could have done (good 19-21 for us) it would have been trivial (2N-3♥-3♠-5♣(XBlack) etc)

[mike777]

easy to reach 6s,.after 1c

we may or may not reach 7s


we can discuss 7s in the bar

fwiw give pard a 7 loser opener

24-7-4==13 so we know we are in grand slam zone at the very least.

do we have a fit...do we have key cards?

[lycier]

If I am north,I must open 2nt due to 3Ace in this hand.
It goes :
2N --- 3♥
3♠ --- 5♣(ERKCB)
5N --- 6♦(ask specific king)
7♦ -- 7♠

[FrancesHinden]

If I am being honest, the auction at our table might well start 1C (natural or balanced) 2D 2S P 4NT and it's not easy after that. South can see the values for grand, but disentangling everything with certainty will be a guess.
Our 2NT opening is a good 20+

[ahydra]

1C-(2D)-2S
2NT (15-19)-3C (checkback)
3NT (max no 3S)-ugh*

South has to foresee this problem and bid 3S over 2NT instead (spade slam try). Now North obviously co-operates

[3NT or 4C]-5C (exclusion)
5N (2+Q)

Only South judging that there are 13 tricks is going to get us there now. He can see 8 spades ♥AK ♦A, but doesn't know about anything else except 5-9 more HCP in North; 6H (3rd round ask) is probably the best shot but doesn't help here. Alternatively a crazy 6C might well (after a long tank ) fetch 7NT from North with his max for the bidding so far.

ahydra

* Yet another lovely hand for my pet slam-try convention... After 3NT is reached with no trumps agreed, 4C = slam try in opener's first suit and 4D = slam try in responder's first suit. It seems to solve a lot of problems on BBF, but not many at the table (probably because I rarely get dealt good hands )

[KurtGodel]

I think I would bid 2NT - transfer - exclusion. Thought about it for a while, and whilst you don't always have 13 tricks if p has all the keycards you normally have at least good play for the contract. Even if P has something gross like Qx AJx AQJx KQJx it's still on a ruffing finesse. It's also worth noting that if P doesn't have the right number that 6 is always making. I mean the hand above turning A♦ into 2 red queens and a red jack and you are there.
I think when people answer these problems they shouldn't just say: "and then I bid exclusion and grand is there", I think one should have to demonstrate that by bidding exclusion you don't get to crappy grands when P doesn't have this hand.

[Cyberyeti]

It's an interesting hand in that grand is laydown opposite the right flat 12 count (Qxx, AQx, Axx, xxxx), but being sure of 13 tricks is not so easy. Our auction went astray at several points, but I think we still should have got there.

1♣(systemically we open 1♦)-(2♦)-2♠-3♦(2N is batter)-3♥(maybe I should just bid 3♠)-3N-6♠-6N(I think should bid 7♠/N, but could I have the same honour structure 7-5 ?)-P

It's a curious auction, but I think it's fairly revealing in that to bid in that way, I virtually have to be 1-0 in the minors not to have a more sensible approach, but be happy to be in 6 opposite ♦QJxx.

[KurtGodel]

Cyberyeti, on 2015-April-27, 07:24, said:

It's an interesting hand in that grand is laydown opposite the right flat 12 count (Qxx, AQx, Axx, xxxx), but being sure of 13 tricks is not so easy. Our auction went astray at several points, but I think we still should have got there.

1♣(systemically we open 1♦)-(2♦)-2♠-3♦(2N is batter)-3♥(maybe I should just bid 3♠)-3N-6♠-6N(I think should bid 7♠/N, but could I have the same honour structure 7-5 ?)-P

It's a curious auction, but I think it's fairly revealing in that to bid in that way, I virtually have to be 1-0 in the minors not to have a more sensible approach, but be happy to be in 6 opposite ♦QJxx.

Sometimes I play I polish-style club and it would go something like 1♣ - (2♦) - 3♥ (xfer GF, showing 6 and a good suit) - 3♠ - 3NT (serious slam try) and now you'll definitely get there, but if you bid 4♣ then it might be a bit more tricky. IMO opener will likely push with such a good hand, knowing partner is GF with a good suit.

[WesleyC]

Playing 2/1, is it generally accepted that the auction: 1C (2D) 2S (P) is G/F?

Not being able to bid 2S on a shapely 9-11 HCP hand feels like a lot to give up...

[dboxley]

1D 1S
2N 3S
4C 4N RKC for Spades
(5C or 5D)3KC next step Q ask
SQ+DK 7NT

This will miss some cold 7S when opener is off the CA but I don't have the tools to find out everything I need to know to bid that 7.

[dboxley]

WesleyC, on 2015-April-28, 08:44, said:

Playing 2/1, is it generally accepted that the auction: 1C (2D) 2S (P) is G/F?

Not being able to bid 2S on a shapely 9-11 HCP hand feels like a lot to give up...

I don't know of anyone who plays the 2S bid there as GF. Just forcing 1 round like sayc (ugh!)

[gnasher]

FrancesHinden, on 2015-April-27, 05:38, said:

If I am being honest, the auction at our table might well start 1C (natural or balanced) 2D 2S P 4NT and it's not easy after that. South can see the values for grand, but disentangling everything with certainty will be a guess.

Maybe
...5♦
5♥-6♥
7♠
That wouldn't work if opener had ♥Q and no ♣A, but on the actual deal it's OK.

[Aardv]

I held the balanced hand at the other table: we got a 3♦ overcall. You might want to suggest an auction from there - ours ended in 6NT.

[gszes]

I still use strong jump shift through 3s when available (like this hand) so
1c (2d)
3s SJS 6+ max 1 loser suit game forcing (means we are playing spades not nt)
3n asks spade length (steps shows hand with slam interest or if a minimum hand with at least 3 aces) opener would just cue bid with any semi normal hand).
4h 8 spades
7n it may ndeed be feasible that p has some odd queens and jacks but you know 3s was not based solely on AKxxxxxx and out. Worst case scenario 7n is on a finesse but is a monstrous favorite to be cold.