Slams 10
This deal occurred at X-Clubs recently but unfortunately it was Board 28 so was only played at some clubs and was not included in the full X-Clubs analysis, but it is of such interest that it is worth discussion.
Board 28 from on Tuesday 22/04/2025
Dealer W NS Vul
| ||||||||||
|
| |||||||||
|
984
K7532
76
T85When West picks up this monster, slam bells surely start to ring. There are only two losers, and both are in spades. It seems logical to open with a game forcing bid, and then bid 3C and follow that with 5S. Surely East would see the huge value of the queen of spades and bid 6S irrespective of any other cards they may have. I ran this past a number of club players and was surprised by the number who would choose to play in 3NT just because they had nine sure tricks. That normally came about when West rebid 2S at the first bid after 2C-2D, and even after the correct rebid of 3C followed by 3D-3S-3NT. I was also surprised at how many regular club players have obvious difficulties in a) counting tricks and losers and b) realising that a 2C opening should be treated as a GAME FORCE unless the rebid is 2NT if partner responds with 2D. Being in a game force situation allows for enough discussion for a partnership to reach the most sensible conclusion. Given the West hand, even a Yarborough opposite should have a play for 6C as long as East has some club support and only one or two spades, or four card spade support.
But seriously, is the West hand going to score well after settling for 3NT? If you think about it, no. If you don’t have a proper bidding and communication system, then 2C followed by 3C then 5S will surely get you to a makeable slam or, in rare circumstances, partner will pass 5S when that is all you can make, but better than nine tricks in No Trumps.
If you don’t have science, use common sense and logic. And for those who want to do something left field, try my “Supernatural Big NT” which makes slam bidding a breeze.
