Board 11
North Deals | | ♠ | K Q J 2 | | ♥ | Q | | ♦ | J 7 5 2 | | ♣ | A Q 10 3 |
|
| ♠ | 8 4 3 | | ♥ | 9 8 7 6 | | ♦ | 8 3 | | ♣ | J 8 7 6 |
| |
| | | | ♠ | 10 9 6 | | ♥ | K 5 4 2 | | ♦ | Q 10 | | ♣ | K 9 4 2 |
|
|
| | ♠ | A 7 5 | | ♥ | A J 10 3 | | ♦ | A K 9 6 4 | | ♣ | 5 |
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| West | North | East | South |
| | 1 ♦ | Pass | 2 ♥ |
| Pass | 2 ♠ | Pass | 3 ♣ |
| Pass | 3 NT | Pass | 4 ♦ |
| Pass | 4 ♠ | Pass | 4 NT |
| Pass | 5 ♦ | Pass | 5 ♥ |
| Pass | 6 ♦ | All pass | |
Here 2 ♠ shows a second suit and 3 ♣ shows a shortage. Bidding 3 NT shows a good club stopper and a hand suitable for 3 NT. With a minimum or a badly fitting hand without a good club stopper we can stop at 3 ♦.
South can see a slam opposite for example ♦ Q and ♠ KQ and a grand if the club stopper includes the ace. The bid of 4 ♦ is a slam try but it is limited. On the other hand direct cue above 4 ♦ rather than stopping at 4 ♦ would be insisting on slam unless it was discovered that a suit was not controlled.
North has a good hand in context, having shown no extra values and wastage in clubs. Therefore it is clear to cooperate with a spade cuebid. Responder checks for key-cards and then for the trump queen. When there is no trump queen we sign off in 7 ♦.
Actually the bidding here is a little pessimistic. After 2 ♠, which denies a balanced hand, it is very likely that opener has five diamonds. Therefore the trump queen is not necessarily needed. Opener has shown ♣ A and ♠ K and denied the ♥ K. If opener has a stiff heart then the grand will depend on opener having either the ♠ Q or the ♣ K extra and the ♠ J or ♣ Q will make the grand playable. There is however a problem diagnosing the heart shortage. The bidding is also consistent with a 4=2=5=2 hand, with a holding like ♣ AK or ♣ AQ.
Simulations suggest that on the available information partner will have a singleton or void heart over 90% of the time and the grand will make upwards of 70%.
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