This slam should not have been a difficult one to bid, and was worth 90% to those NS pairs who bid and made 6NT.
Board 18 from X-Clubs on 3/09/24
Dealer E NS Vul
From the moment that South opens 1C North should be thinking of something better than just game. And when North responds 1D and South rebids 1NT (15-16) North can either just bid 6NT or check on aces, and when South denies having an ace, bid 6NT knowing that South’s minimum of 15 HCP plus North’s 17 count including a great six card diamond suit should surely produce a near certain twelve tricks in either diamonds or No Trumps. This time, bidding the slam in No Trumps should be automatic, but why not check on aces and then kings. If South is missing an ace and a king, then settle for 6D just in case the AK of hearts are the missing points. One question: if you bid 4C for aces and then 5C for kings, does South respond 5D to show “none or four kings”? I would think so, just the same as over 4C, 4D would show none or four. This should be a ‘slam dunk’ , just make sure you get your ace and king asks sorted, playing the slam in 6C, while it does make, is probably not the best idea.
And for those of us who are pessimists and don’t have a way to find out that South has all four kings, which makes 6NT if played by South a certainty, we can still settle for the minor suit slam. 6D must be a near certainty the moment South rebids 1NT, with no need to ask for aces and kings. And even such pessimism would have scored the 6D bidders 70% on the board.
A962
7
AQJ752
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