| W/NS | | | | | ♠ | A J 6 |  | ♠ | K Q 9 4 3 | | ♥ | K J 7 5 4 | ♥ | Q 8 | | ♦ | A 7 | ♦ | 9 5 4 | | ♣ | K Q J | ♣ | 9 5 3 |
| West | North | East | South |
|---|
| 1♥ | pass | 1♠ | pass | | 2NT | pass | 3NT | pass | | pass | pass | | |
After a diamond lead 3NT did not stand a chance whereas 4♠ would have been a piece of cake.
'I have seven points and a balanced hand, so I raised your 2NT bid to game', says East, 'what else could I do?'
'I don't know', says West, 'should I have supported your spades?' Who made the mistake?
Solution East was wrong. Having only three spades West cannot raise his partner's suit. East should have realised that; after 2NT he could have bid 3♠ to show extra length. Since 2NT was game forcing (highly recommended) East can be assured West will not pass 3♠.
West will now either bid 4♠ (holding three spades, as here) or 3NT (with a doubleton in spades). There are better (though more complicated) ways to solve East's problem over 2NT. Most top players would bid 3♣ as East over 2NT, a Stayman-like bid. West then describes his holding in the majors.
Opinions differ about how to reply to this conventional 3♣ bid. Especially since West, if he can have opened 1♥ on a four card suit, must be able to show both a possible fifth heart and a possible three card spade suit. East can be interested in both (if he has four spades and three hearts, his 3♣ bid was only meant to find out whether West has five hearts). And after: | West | North | East | South |
|---|
| 1♣/♦ | pass | 1♥ | pass | | 2NT | pass | ...
| |
...the situation is rather complicated.
After all, West can still have a four card spade suit*.
What should East now bid with 4-4 or 4-5 in spades-hearts? And what with a five card heart suit and no four card spade suit? In order to be able to find all possible fits, EW need good agreements (for instance: if East now bids 3♠, does he then show 4-4 or 4-5 in hearts-spades...? West needs to know if he has three hearts and no four card spades).
Bridgevaria will get back to this subject soon in a *** article. * In the auction above 2NT does not deny four spades, whereas 1NT would.
By the way: some top players even rebid 2NT holding four card support in their partner's heart suit! They intend to support hearts later; first they describe their hand by bidding 2NT (forcing, remember?). |