| Opener rebids his minor suit. How to make a slam try in that suit? |
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Dear Ed & Peter, On the following auction, playing teams, all vulnerable:
As the opening bidder, how would you take 3♣? Natural, New Minor Forcing, other?
Responder intended 3♣ as NMF, looking for 3-card heart support. Opener took it as natural and rebid 3NT, corrected to 5♦. So this was the whole auction:
5♦ made 7 when declarer took a ruffing finesse in hearts. Opener contended that after the 2♦ rebid, responder knows about the huge diamond fit and should take control. By partnership agreement, 4♦ over 2♦ would be Roman Key Cards for diamonds. Responder knows from his hand that opener's points are NOT in the red suits, clearly they're in the black suits and responder should take control. As Bobby Wolf said, Bidding is Mental Play. Your comments? Thanks, Steve Fama Reply Ed Hoogenkamp (South) Dear Steve, I tend to agree that if you have 4♦ over 2♦ available as RKCB, it is very tempting to use it in this situation. But it is not certain of course, that a slam is on. You really need aces. If opener's points are the KQJ's in the black suits, 3NT is the best spot. If a slam is not on, 4♥ might be the best spot in the 5-3 fit, hence, I can follow the reasoning of the 3♣ bidder a bit (but also wonder: why not 2♠?). But the most important point in this situation hasn't been discussed so far: why didn't North bid 4♦ over 3NT? Invitational to slam. I think this is the key moment in your bidding sequence. I mean, after 4♦ South can use RKCB (on hearing 5♦ he of course passes.) Slam will be easily reached. North showing three key cards and later showing the queen of trumps. I hope you can do something with these comments... Un saludo, greetings from Barcelona Reply Peter van der Linden (North) Dear Steve, To start with: the slam is OK, but not more than that. On a spade lead, which is to be expected (West should start aggressively in view of dummy's heart suit), it has a 50% chance.
But this is a very pessimistic view; the South hand is constructed, so let's forget this possibility. I do not agree with you and Ed that 4♦ over 2♦ as RKCB is an attractive option. Most of the time South will have one ace and what should North do then? Ed mentions that 'on hearing 5♦ he then of course passes'. I think he means 'on hearing one ace' (that will be either the 4♥ or 4♠ reply, depending on whether you play '1430' or standard RKCB). Let's have a look at two possible South hands with one ace:
A pity, if North were to settle for 5♦, as Ed suggests, since 6♦ is cold. But then:
6♦ is down at once on a spade lead and on a red lead it has a 50% chance. So the slam is odds against here. The message is: it is too early for RKCB. (By the way: can you sign-off in 4NT after South has shown zero or one key card? Now that would be a great advantage of this low level RKCB!). And that is an old message: first check whether there are controls in all side suits. Then, as a last check, ask for key cards. Having said that, it's not always possible to follow these guidelines. Often there just isn't enough bidding space below 4NT to check all controls. If so, some gambling cannot be avoided. Let's take a look at the bidding as I think it could go. I agree with North's 3♣ bid, since a jump to 4♦ would be RKCB in your partnership agreement. And as I said, I think it's too early for that. You're asking for the meaning of 3♣. I would say: either natural or 'no other suitable forcing bid available'. So NMF is a rather good description. Next South bids 3NT. Of course I agree, what else could South do? What's next? In my opinion North should bid 4♦ now, so I agree with Ed here. South, with first round controls in both black suits, should accept the invitation, although he will be worried about the trump suit. He should bid 4♠, showing a control. Not 4♥ (don't show a short control in partner suit) and not 4NT (so here I disagree with Ed) since in my opinion that is not RKCB; the bid shows a bad hand (see the South hand of my first example)! This is in line with my idea that there should be an escape route to 4NT. And as I said already: South should accept the slam try. Now, after South's 4♠ control-showing bid, North has to gamble on South having a club control as well: he bids 4NT, RKCB, and upon hearing one (!) or two key cards bids 6♦. So this is my ideal auction:
1 Control showing, denying the ♥A and ♥K 2 A grand slam is not on, since the ♥K is out* (* Having said that: if West leads the right black suit — for his side, that is; in the actual layout a spade — 6♦ and 7♦ both depend on declarer not losing a trick to the ♥K. In that case declarer might as well be in the grand. Still, on a club lead (the wrong black suit) or a red lead, 6♦ is cold, while 7♦ depends on the ♥K.) Let's get back to your partnership agreement that 4♦ by North over South's 2♦ is RKCB. I said I wouldn't bid it here but of course it is not crazy to do so. Provided that, after a disappointing reply by South (at the four level, this is the advantage of this low level RKCB!), 4NT by North should be to play. As North I would have made the natural bid (not RKCB) of 4♦ at once over South's 2♦ bid. It suggests a hand without a singleton in the black suits (North would jump to 3♠ or 4♣ with a spade or club singleton respectively). That doesn't solve all problems, I know, but I don't think that natural bidders can bid these hands with absolute certainty. You will understand by now that I think 4NT by South over my (North) natural 4♦ bid would not be RKCB but would show a bad hand without a spade control. Something else: suppose South has the ♥K. He will bid 4♥ over a natural (!) 4♦ bid by North then. Knowing about that vital king, North sees tricks galore. If only he could be sure South controls both black suits... He would only need to check the aces and could bid 7NT if South shows two. But life isn't that easy: if North checks the aces directly over 4♥, he will usually hear one, meaning EW may cash a black AK against a slam. As I said: there isn't always enough bidding space... To sum it up: I firmly believe in letting partner co-decide about slam or no slam. I think your suggestion that North should take control is too rigid. I think he should ask South's opinion. North is not strong enough to press on to 6♦ on his own. If South has one ace but a bad hand, slam is not on. If he has one ace and a suitable hand, slam is a fair bet. So he should be asked. En hils, greetings from Orkanger. |
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