Wednesday Play at The Hutt (22)
Why are some slams so difficult to bid, even when a grand slam should be easy enough. This one was bid only once in this session, and a very modest 6C yielded a 100% result for the pair that did manage to bid to the small slam.
Board 7 from Wednesday 26/05/2021
Dealer S All Vul
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AKQ986
A6
KJ543The secret to this slam is in the opening bid. South has a 1C OPENING bid and not a pass. 11 HCP and 5-4 shape always equates to an opening bid based on most methods that are used to assess the values for an opening bid. When South opens 1C, North should immediately have slam in mind. The club fit is huge, and North’s controls are also huge, as well as a great heart suit which can be used to produce whatever tricks are necessary for a CLUB slam. There is no hurry for North, and North bids 1H. East might come in with 1S or possibly even 2S, but whether South then bids or not, North already has enough information to ask for aces via the basic Blackwood, or preferably “Roman Key Card”.
When North finds South with two aces, 6C should be the minimum that North should consider. If NS are playing “Roman Key Card” then the response to 4NT would show not just two key cards but the queen of trumps as well, making 7C more certain even if South has only four of them.
What, then, are the chances of ANY losers in a club contract? I suggest close to zero. I know some Norths would choose to play 7NT or even 7H but imagine either of those if South has a void or even a singleton heart, something North can neither know nor find out. What North does know is South has clubs and North has huge club support. But, OK, even if you adhere to the old fashioned recommendation for bidding grand slams “Only when you can count thirteen certain tricks”, then settle for the small slam as one pair did and still scored a top. I imagine that across all of X-Clubs there would be a number of small slams as well as a few grand slams being bid. Check it out for yourselves.
Any interesting hands or questions? Just email me at villyn@xtra.co.nz
(PS .. this board was played at some 110 tables. Only 3 bid the grand in clubs, 6 a small slam in hearts, and 12 a small slam in clubs - Ed)
