DISTRIBUTION IS EVERYTHING (ALMOST)

 

I recently discovered this deal in the book “I Shot My Bridge Partner” by Matthew Granovetter.

 

WEST                                  EAST
S) Q x                                  S) A K x x
H) A Q x x x x                      H) K x x x
D) x x                                   D) A x x
C) A x x                               C) x x

 

West opened 1 heart.  After a 15 second pause, partner answered 1 spade.  Then West re-bid 2 clubs!  Most of us would have re-bid 2 hearts with this minimum six-card major.  A lengthy discussion ensued about West calling 2 clubs to encourage East, who presumably had something better than the routine 1 spade response.  The complete bidding was:

 

WEST                                  EAST
1H                                       1S
2C                                       3H
4H                                       5D
6H

 

This slam is of course a lay-down with three spades, six hearts, the diamond and club aces, and a diamond ruff.  Lay-down or not, with just 26 high-card points, it seems improbable to bid; and commentators observed that West’s 2 club call was too aggressive for a minimum opener.

My prime interest is the question of how to bid these hands with standard bidding.  Yes, this slam can be bid with standard methods providing you fully recognize the value of the ten-card trump fit.

 

WEST                               EAST
1H                                    2S
3H                                    4H
4NT                                  5H
6H

 

The key here is East‘s jump shift to 2 spades - the modern standard for this is 17 to 18 points.  East has 14 HCP plus one for the club doubleton and two for the fourth heart.  (Each trump beyond eight is worth two points.)  The 2 spade jump is game-forcing so West can simply re-bid hearts to show her six-card length.  Now East completes the description by raising hearts.  West re-evaluates her hand: the spade queen is upgraded a point and the sixth heart adds two more points, for a partnership total of 33 (16 plus 17), sufficient to go for the slam via Blackwood.