Julian Pottage
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How did you get the chance to transfer into spades? What was South doing!? Assuming South overcalls 2H, West bids 3S (forcing). With good spade support and the HA, East then makes an advance cue bid of 4H. Knowing that East would have bid 4D rather than 4H if holding the DA, West can check on key cards.
If South is asleep and allows you an uncontested auction, you start 1NT-2H-2S-3C-3S-4C-4H. On the third round East bids 3S (forcing) rather than 4S to allow for slam exploration. Again East’s cue bid of 4H tells West that East does not hold the DA.
It is usual to play it as forcing in case opener has a two-suited hand. Also, opener does not want to have to jump to show nine tricks.
My partners like me to open 1H on the West hand. If it was my choice I would open 1D or 1NT. I cannot remember the last time the auction went 1D-2C-2D all pass, so the risk of playing in a silly contract after opening 1D is remote.
With only 6 HCP you are too weak to respond 2C. Starting with a double and then bidding clubs is fine. If you bid 3C over 2D, you are indicating that you were too weak to bid 2C the first time.
I play that opener rebids 3NT after 2NT-3H when holding five hearts and two spades, so the bidding would have had a different start for me. Responder then continues with a 4D transfer and is able to find out about the HQ as well as the aces.
The best contract is probably 7H, though 7NT and 7S are pretty good contracts too.
4NT sounds quantitative – this hand is too good for that – unless you can somehow find out that partner has Ax of hearts (when 7S is likely to be the right spot) you are going to be playing a small slam.
You could try 4D, intending it as a cue bid. The worst that can happen is that partner raises to 5D but you are more likely to see a 4H cue bid and then you can bid 4NT.
You have not promised any values and you have not promised four spades (for example, you might have a 3451 Yarborough and be planning to pass whatever opener does), so opener should not really bid 3S, though at matchpoints non-vulnerable it is a possible action on some hands. KQx of clubs, however, looks rather more defensive than offensive, so I would not bid 3S on partner’s hand even non-vulnerable at matchpoints.
Without the intervention, opener does not bid 3S with four spades and a maximum. A simple 2S is right; responder, if wishing to invite game, would bid on over 2S. If your methods allow opener to bid 3S over 2C without intervention, that would surely show five spades.
Some people (though it is not a common agreement playing a weak NT) play that Stayman followed by a new suit is invitational, in which case you would simply transfer into hearts. I do not understand your partner’s suggestion that you should pass 1NT. Your hand is surely worth more in a suit contract and it is harder for the opponents to double a suit contract.
Sorry I did not see the seminar this morning. It sounds like you may be confusing two different auctions. After 1S-3S some people play new suits as length looking for a fitting card as you mention.
After 1S-2NT, some people play that jumps to the four level show a source of tricks – this is a common agreement if bids at the 3 level show a shortage.
With a balanced hand opener might bid 3NT over 2NT, so I do not think 3S is promising a balanced hand. Even if you are playing 2 level bids as shortage, opener could be 7222.
On the hand you cite opener is so strong that a slam is in the offing even if (as opener expects to be the case) responder has no help in clubs or (as may well be the case) has wasted heart values. The fact that opener does not need help in clubs and does not mind a bit of heart wastage is why Bernard might recommend a simple 3S.
With no aces and no spades you had an easy decision to pass 4S once you had concluded that it is natural. I would definitely not be continuing with a 4NT ace enquiry. Unless the king of spades was singleton, your partner would have gone down in 5S if you had bid anything over 4S.
With your partner’s hand I would probably start with a strong jump shift, if they are part of your system, and otherwise with 1S. Both 1S and 2S are forcing, so the bidding is never going to stop short of 4S.
On the first hand I would pass if I had already shown five spades and bid 2C if I had not.
On the second hand I would bid 2NT with either system.
I must admit I did not entirely believe the explanation that 4NT was ace asking. If I thought dummy was coming down with an unbalanced hand, I would have been thinking less about safety and more about attack. Cashing the ace of diamonds over the strong hand is always going to be difficult to find.
A spade lead might save declarer a guess but can give declarer an option that did not otherwise exist (as far as I can see!). A club lead could cost a trick if dummy has AJ8 or KJ8 (or the opponents have the 8 and 7 between them and partner has the queen).
On balanced, in part because it is a major, I am going to lead a spade. If partner has the queen but not the ten or jack (and the opposing top spade honours are split) then this saves declarer a guess – but otherwise it should be safe.
Please let me know what the winning lead was (if there was one
