Monster Deal
From Wednesday 28/09/2016
Board 4; I just could not go past it without comment. How often does one get dealt a 29 point hand? And when one does it's not always easy to reach the correct end results. This one SHOULD have been reasonably easy for NS to bid IF both partners had a basic understanding of how very big hands are bid. But......
Board 4 Dealer W ALL Vul
| ||||||||||
|
| |||||||||
|
AQ
AKT
AKQ6
AK54What a hand North has! That is just the reason why we have a TWO CLUB opening bid, which can make sure that partner knows how good a hand we have and will not pass until we are in game or in a rebid of 2NT. At this stage of our development there is NO NEED for a 2D opening, which some people do use as an alternative strong hand to 2C. But ONE pair played in 2D which just goes to show why you should play 2C as the big bid and nothing else unless you have reached an agreement with partner as to just what system you are playing.
The structure for bidding big BALANCED hands is as follows:
- Open 2C and rebid 2NT shows 22-24 high card points
- Open 2C and rebid 3NT shows 25-27 HCP
- Open 2C and rebid 4NT shows 28-30 HCP
The reasoning is simpole: You should be able to make 2NT with 22-24 HCP even if partner has very little to contribute. With 25-27 HCP you have enough for game in your own hand (remember, a combined 25+ HCP should be enough for 3NT. But when you have even more than that, which you should never expect except this last Wednesday, you rebid 4NT with 28-30 points. This structure should be a basic one if partner makes a NEGATIVE response of 2D, which shows fewer than SEVEN HCP. You must not forget that it is not for North on this hand to mastermind the situation and race off looking for slam, it is for BOTH of the partnership to judge where to go.
When South gives a negative response and North bids 4NT, it should be a simple matter for South to add North's 28 minimum and South's six and arrive at 34 combined HCP, and for SOUTH to now bid 6NT, without the need for asking for aces. It is true that the way the cards were, there were FOURTEEN tricks in No Trumps, but amazingly one declarer must have lost the way and not bothered to play on spades and was down one. One South also made ONLY 6S, and only three pairs bid 6NT and made seven.
I am not suggesting that 7NT should be bid just because it makes. With the knowledge that NS SHOULD have, 6NT should be the contract, but even that seemed difficult to find. The reader should be familiar with the 2C opening and No Trump rebids, as well as the fact that other sequences following a 2C opening are also showing very strong hands and should NOT be passed short of game.
