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What part of “Fourth Suit Forcing” do people not understand? It seems very simple to me, but clearly not so simple to some others. Even natural bidding without any need for the confusion of the idea of the fourth suit should land EW on this deal in 4H and not the very much inferior 3NT or 4S. But let’s see this full deal:

Board 14 from Thursday 22/05/2025
Dealer E Nil Vul

	K54 KQJ T843 T93
QJT872 A743 KJ J		9852 AQ762 AQ72
	A963 T6 95 K8654

Unusual No Trumps, partner? And how, and when do you play it? What about Michaels? Same question: how and when do you play that? And a final question: have you heard of ‘leaping Michaels’? The answer is possibly that you have, but what about leaping Unusual No Trumps? When you think about it, why not play the Unusual NT and Michaels to include leaps to a higher level depending on your distribution and strength. Here is a great example of the use of the UNT.

Board 10 from Friday 16/05/2025
Dealer E All Vul

	KQ8763 K KJT764
QT875 9 94 Q9853		AJ96 52 AQT875 A
	K432 AJT4 J632 2

This slam and the results at X-Clubs tells me that our present day players are somewhat lacking in their communication skills. It also tells me that bidding slams is not necessary for a good result, just being in the best denomination at game level and being able to execute the declarer play will get you over 75%, at least it did for the two pairs who played in 4H and made six. Bidding is about talking to partner and being aware of what both partners need to know, not just set rules about bidding suits and 4-4 fits. Let’s take a look at Board 11 and the NS thought processes.

Board 11 from Friday 9/05/2025
Dealer S Nil Vul

	K2 AQJ9 QJ743 A8
983 8742 T5 K652		T76 65 K9862 QJ7
	AQJ54 KT3 A T943

This deal should have led to a slam, but when it did, it led to the wrong slam. And a lot of the time, it was not even close to a slam, which does make me wonder about how much understanding there is between most partnerships. Let’s see what could, or should, happen in the real world. Take a look at the West hand. Can you imagine not being in a slam after East a) opens a weak two, or b) East opens a legitimate ‘rule of 20’ 1S?
Board 13 from 1/05/2025
Dealer N All Vul

	QJ42 T972 652 K3
AKQ864 A AQT974		AK8765 5 QJ97 65
	T93 J3 KT843 J82

Some well thought out opening leads can have unintended consequences. This could have been one such time, but unfortunately not a single EW pair were in what I would have thought would be the best contract if bid properly, so the opening lead was not as potentially productive as it might have been. But let’s see how things might have turned out if EW had reached what I consider the best contract, and South also made what I would rate the best opening lead, despite my constant admonitions to never lead an unsupported ace. Let’s look at the deal from X-Clubs on Tuesday 15/04/2025.

Board 13. Dealer N All Vul

	Q7 J KT2 KJ97543
KJ43 Q963 93 AT2		AT62 AK742 Q75 6
	985 T85 AJ864 Q8