Jennbridge: Slamming in Santa Clara

The first qualifying session of the All Western Open Pairs presented plenty of opportunities for displaying your slam bidding skills.  First, my favorite--presented in the form of a bidding problem.

I decided to open 2♣ with this strong hand:

♠	A 5
♥	K Q 9 6 5 2
♦	A K 3
♣	A 9

I then heard a surprise and undiscussed bid from partner:  3♠.  How to proceed?
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I decided that he must have a good spade suit with extra length--probably 7.  The bid consumed a large amount of bidding space so it must be sending a strong message. (An immediate response of 2♠ would show a good 5, or maybe even a 6-card suit.) I elected to go straight to RKC Blackwood and check on controls.  Over 4NT partner bid 5♣, showing 1 keycard.  What next?
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I then inquired about the queen of spades by bidding 5♦.  Partner responded 6♣ showing both the spade queen and the club king.  I had obtained a wealth of information.  What now?
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By my count it appeared that we had 12 tricks:  7♠, 1♥, 2♦ and 2♣, so I eschewed the spade slam and went directly for the top spot: 6NT!

All Western Open Pairs, Afternoon Session 1 of 4

Board 5 North Deals N-S Vul	♠ 6 3 2 ♥ A J 4 ♦ 10 6 2 ♣ Q 8 6 4
♠ K Q J 10 9 8 4 ♥ 3 ♦ J 8 ♣ K 5 3	N W E S	♠ A 5 ♥ K Q 9 6 5 2 ♦ A K 3 ♣ A 9
	♠ 7 ♥ 10 8 7 ♦ Q 9 7 5 4 ♣ J 10 7 2

EW 6N; EW 6♠; EW 4♥; EW 2♦; EW 2♣; Par −990

Partner had just what I expected (hoped!) and 12 tricks were there for the taking.

Most of the field bid the spade slam which scored a little above average.  6NT took the prize, however, for a score of 36.5 out of 38 matchpoints.

2.  A similar situation came up on board 21 in the same session.  I again opened a 2♣ bid and my partner's response gave me the information I needed to conduct an intelligent auction.

With the East hand I opened 2♣ (I have 9 tricks in my hand!) and partner responded 3♣--a bid showing at least a 5-card club suit with 2 of the top 3 honors.  I now bid 3♠ and partner raised me to 4♠.  With the knowledge that we weren't missing both of the top 2 club honors, I now was able to go straight to RKC, and when partner showed me an ace I bid the spade slam.

All Western Open Pairs, Afternoon Session 1 of 4

Board 21 North Deals N-S Vul	♠ 9 4 ♥ J 7 6 ♦ K 10 9 8 4 ♣ 6 5 2
♠ 7 5 ♥ 10 4 3 2 ♦ J 2 ♣ A K Q 7 3	N W E S	♠ A K Q 10 8 3 2 ♥ A K 8 ♦ 5 ♣ 10 9
	♠ J 6 ♥ Q 9 5 ♦ A Q 7 6 3 ♣ J 8 4

EW 6♠; EW 6♣; EW 5♥; EW 2N; EW 1♦; Par −980

The bidding seemed fairly straightforward and I was surprised to receive 32 out of 38 matchpoints for bidding and making the slam in a fairly strong field.  I guess if the East hand opens 1♠, it is difficult to structure the auction in such a manner that the strong hand is able to learn about the good club suit in the West.

I have never liked the recent trend toward restrictive and artificial responses to strong 2♣ opening bids. These two hands are good examples of creative and descriptive bidding by the responder which provides the opener with precisely the information she needs for a winning result.

See you at the table!