Julian Pottage
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For most people the redouble denies 4-card support for opener’s suit. I play a jump to 3H as a raise to 2.5H, which would be a perfect description of the North hand. I guess your North could not decide whether to bid 3H (which most people play as a hand with 4-card support that would have bid 2H without the double) or 2NT (to show a hand that would have bid at least 3H without the double).
thanks – what I usually play is that replies to 5NT show either the king in the suit bid or the other two kings – only if the 5NT bidder has no kings at all will this be ambiguous – but I am not trying to show the trump queen in reply to 5NT so if you are trying to show it then you would need different replies.
Logically if you show the king of trumps, when you have it, in reply to 4NT then you show the queen of trumps, when you have it, in reply to a subsequent 5NT – but I am not sure that is the way Bernard plays it. So far as I am aware the replies to 5NT are 6C 0 or 4, 6D 1, 6H 2, 6S 3. If you are not including the queen of trumps then 4 is impossible.
Yes a 2D cue bid is correct, showing 10+ points and club support. I do not quite follow what happened after that. Did partner jump to 3H? If so, why?
When the opponents bid a suit, you focus for no-trumps is on a stopper in that suit, so I would not expect partner to read 3S as fourth suit forcing. Unless you think partner has a singleton in one of the majors, you need to bid 3NT yourself.
If you were sure you wanted to play in 3NT, you would bid that directly. By cue bidding first you are expressing doubt.
North’s 3S is purely competitive and South was correct in not bidding on. Without West’s 3D bid North could have bid 3C as a game try. In this situation I play X as a game try double and with the extra shape South would accept. if you have not discussed using x as a game try then doubling 3D would be rather risky. Vulnerable at teams you would just bid 4S on the North cards. As it was matchpoints it is less clear.
The usual rule when coming in over an opposing pre-empt is to place partner with a balanced 8 count. South has 10 points rather than 8 and they all seem to be working so South should not be passing over 3S. South should either double or bid 4H.
You say you are playing 5-card majors but what strength is a 1NT opening? If East opens a weak 1NT, I do not think you are going to reach a slam.
If the bidding starts 1H-2NT (game forcing heart raise)-3H(waiting)-3S(cue bid)-4D(cue bid, denying extra values and denying a club control) then you might get there.
West knows there is a club loser and can find out whether East has two aces and the HQ if you play Roman Keycard Blackwood (which I realise is not standard in BMB methods). If East does have two aces the HQ, you are not quite home but if South has the DK or East has any of the DJ, the DK or the SK there will be no loser in the pointed suits (there would also be the chance of taking a spade finesse if East has SAQ and DQ and North covers the DQ with the DK at trick one). There might be two club losers if East has three low clubs but there would be play for one club loser even facing three low.
Jxx is one of least favourite leads, so I would be looking for an alternative on the East hand. A trump should be safe since it is unlikely that dummy is void and any trump finesse is working for declarer anyway.
It is a pity you have shown all four hands since it is now difficult to say how likely East would be to lead the SK. East is expecting North to have a doubleton spade as well and 542 are not the ideal trumps for overruffing!
If you do decide to lead a diamond, it should be the two. West then the first trick with the DQ and switches to a low spade.
If you do decide to lead the D7, you have to follow it through and drop the DJ on the second round.
The East hand is not quite worth a game force and I would not open a Benjamin 2C with 3-suited type. So East opens 1S and West responds 2C. I am not sure whether BMB includes 3D from East as a splinter. Whether East bids 3D or 4C, West cue bids 4D. East cue bids 4H and West, having already shown interest with 4D, bids 5C. East is not done and, knowing the sK is missing (West did not cue bid 4S) gives up on a grand slam.
Looking at the East-West cards you would want to be in 6NT at matchpoints. Even with the bad spade split you can make 3 spade tricks, 2 heart tricks, 2 diamond tricks and 5 club tricks.
If West had the DAQ and the HQ, 6NT would be better from the West seat so arranging that could be tricky.
In the first auction the normal range for 1NT is a good 7 to a poor 10. With a weaker hand responder passes 1S or gives preference to 2C.
In the second auction the normal range is a good 10 to a poor 12. With more than responder bids 3NT or uses the fourth suit.
You want to concentrate on bidding your own hands and not take too much of the disruption. I assume you play double to show a certain point count and that suit bids are natural with a higher point count. Bidding no-trumps is difficult if you do not know what their suits are, but opponents who come in over a strong 1C rarely have sold suits anyway.
West can bid 4C over 3NT showing a long strong club suit. The singleton ace is not bad in support and East could cue bid 4D. West can then make a return cue bid 4S or maybe just bid 6C. A 4NT ace enquiry is of minimal use when clubs are trumps.
On a bad day (spades 4-1 and the hand with the CA not on lead) you could go down in 6S (you might also go down if diamonds are 3-0, with the SQ in the opposite hand to the void or if West has four spade) – but I agree it is where you want to play at matchpoints.
Surely you have some way of finding a 5-3 spade fit after partner’s 1NT rebid and you can just use that.
