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
Whatever the bidding is, EW should have a way of talking to each other for West to get the most information, and that is for a suit bid when partner opens a weak two to be FORCING. Or, after a 1S opening, a 2H response followed by a 3C bid to also be forcing ... to game. West has a two loser hand as long as East has as many as two cards in either of West’s suits, so surely the bidding can be a bit adventurous and West can bid hearts followed by 6C, leaving East to give preference. I won’t go into any more bidding options, suffice to say that results across X-Clubs show a great deficiency in bidding knowledge and agreements.
The only problem should be in the best way to play the 6C slam when West finds the worst possible dummy opposite. Let’s say North leads the ten of hearts, South following with the three. Have a think about how declarer should play to have the best chance of making what would normally be a conservative small slam given that East has opened the bidding!
QJ42
T972
652
K3