Julian Pottage
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If you are playing 2H as non-forcing, 3H should be forcing. I cannot see any reason for playing both of them non-forcing. I play both 3H and 4H as fit-showing jumps, though some people play 3H as a fit-showing jump and 4H as a splinter.
On most hands with just hearts I would bid 2H, knowing that the risk of missing game is small. While yes partner can pass I am only expect him to do so if he has made a light lead-directing overcall.
Even if you had a running seven-card heart suit, that would not enough for game opposite some of my partner’s one-level overcalls!
In your auction I am going to assume the small x means a pass and the large X a double. If that is not right then my answer might make little sense.
I might bid 2C here with cKQxxx and a bust (because all the values are in clubs) but normally I would want more than 5 points, typically 7-9.
Just as experts sometimes disagree with bids, they sometimes disagree with opening leads. You can play with the field and lead a diamond or attack with a heart; I must confess a spade lead would not occur to me. I suppose partner could have Kxxxx but partner could equally have HQxxxx. Even if heart lead does not beat the contract (because partner has only four or declarer holds up) it seems to stand a better chance of reducing overtricks than a spade lead.
While with most doubles of conventional bids it is usual to play that doubling shows the suit, this situation is different because your side has opened the bidding. The usual meaning here is ‘this is our hand’, so 9+ points sounds about right.
Without discussion, partner’s rebid does indeed show 15 points (at least). Presumably your partner was short in hearts (4-1-3-5, 3-1-4-5 or maybe 4-2-2-5) and thought 2NT the most descriptive bid. It is fine if you want to agree that a 2NT rebid shows that sort of hand but the normal rule playing Acol and a weak NT opening is that a NT rebid shows a hand too strong for a weak 1NT opening.
Bruce Paul mentions planning to play in a no-trump slam. In case this has caused any confusion I should stress that you do not check on aces when you have a balanced hand. Whether you have enough points is the determining factor when both hands are balanced.
If you play strong jump shifts, the bidding could start 1H-3D and I do not see how you could possibly stay out of a slam. Bergen raises have much to answer for!
Now suppose West starts with 2D. Given the running heart suit and partial diamond fit, East should rebid 3H rather than 2H. West rebids 4D and East should cue bid 4S. With massive playing strength and all suits controlled, West can more or less bid 7D over that. Reaching 7H or 7NT is trickier but from the results you give 7D would score very well anyway.
If partner has four aces and two kings (something you would find out starting with your suggested 4C Gerber enquiry) and the diamond suit breaks reasonably, that gives you 12 top tricks. You expect partner to have 23 points (at least), so at least a jack somewhere as well. If the jack is in one of the black suits, you would need a finesse. The jack of diamonds would not create an extra trick but would remove the need to rely on a decent diamond division. You do not want to be in a grand slam that needs a 3-2 diamond break and a finesse. You certainly do not want to in one that has no play, as would be the case facing Axx AKx AJx AKxx
If partner has CAKxxx or SAx you might well be able to make an extra trick with diamonds as trumps. I would definitely be trying to find a diamond fit if your methods allow. My strategy would be to try to fit a fit first and settle for 6NT if none is forthcoming. I am not going to ask how they stopped in 3NT in the other room!
This question is probably more one for David Stevenson than for myself. Please could you repost in his section.
You start with 3D, which is natural and forcing. While a negative double would suggest some values and the minors, it would neither suggest this strength or such good suits.
If you bid 3S and then 4S, this is stronger than bidding 4S directly. The hand would be more slam orientated if the void was in their suit rather than in partner’s suit.
Yes usually (if you will excuse the pun) you would need to jump to 2NT to denote a two-suited hand. Having passed previously, you cannot have the values for a natural 1NT overcall and therefore even a 1NT overcall is ‘unusual’. These days the ‘unusual’ 2NT overcall is almost universal, so it is now a bit of misnomer but the name has stuck.
Your initial pass sounds very reasonable to me. Most hands with only 9 HCP are not work a 1-level opening. I was just explaining in another post that a common thing to do is to add your HCP to the length of the two longest suits and open if the total comes to 20 or more. With 9 HCP and 10 cards between your two longest suits you would fall short.
On the next round you might have overcalled 1NT rather than doubling – the double suggests 4-4 or maybe 4-5 in the unbid suits rather than 5-5. As a passed hand, you did not need to jump to 2NT to show a two suited hand.
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You ask about North but I cannot allow South’s actions to go by without comment. The South hand is too good for a weak 2S. Many people use the rule of 20 to decide whether a hand is worth a 1-level opening – add points to the length of the two longest suit; if you do that, South has not 20 opening points but 21. South should not underbid on the first round and then break discipline on the next round. Why South found yet another bid (5S) and why West failed to double are very hard to explain.
If West had passed then 3H would show a decent hand and North should pass. After the overcall, it is more of grey area. North is half anticipating a 3NT bid from East and is trying to direct the lead.
