November 2014 - 58

Advanced Players

Bidding Matters
BY KAREN WALKER

 www.kwbridge.com

12 habits of highly effective bidders

11

They	visualize	the	play	(continued).

North
1NT (15-17)
2♠	
	

South
2♥	(transfer)
?

What's	your	call	holding:
♠K	J	9	8	6	4			♥2 ♦A 3 ♣A	J	10	7?
Although	you	have	at	most	30	combined	high-card	points,	this	hand	has	
enough playing strength to at least
suggest	a	slam.	Many	pairs	play	that	
transferring	and	then	bidding	game	in	
your	suit	is	a	slam	invite,	so	a	4♠	rebid	
would	describe	these	values.	If	you've	
agreed	that	a	jump	to	4♥ is a splinter
(heart shortness) and sets spades as
trump,	that's	a	possibility,	too.
It's	reasonable	to	focus	on	your	
known	spade	fit,	but	there's	a	better	
strategy. Your good second suit is one
of	the	assets	that	convinced	you	to	
search	for	slam,	so	why	not	show	it?	
A 3♣	rebid	will	elicit	valuable	information	about	partner's	spade	length	
and	may	help	him	judge	slam	chances.	
And	if	he	was	dealt	two	spades	and	
four	clubs,	it	could	also	get	you	to	6♣,	
which	might	be	the	only	slam	that	
makes.	
The 6-2 major or the 4-4 minor?
In	previous	articles,	we've	discussed	
the	factors	that	affect	your	choice	of	
trumps	when	you've	found	a	4-4	and	
a	5-3	fit.	Most	of	the	same	principles	

58 Bridge Bulletin November 2014

apply	when	you	have	a	6-2	and	a	4-4.	
If	only	one	of	the	fits	is	a	major,	game	
decisions	are	easy.	When	you're	going	
for	the	slam	bonus,	though,	either	fit	
requires	the	same	number	of	tricks,	so	
you'll	often	need	to	be	more	concerned	
with	safety	than	trick	score.	
In	general,	the	suit	that	is	divided	
more	evenly	in	your	two	hands	(the	
4-4	fit)	offers	a	better	chance	of	delivering	an	extra	trick.	This	may	not	matter	when	you're	loaded	with	high-card	
points,	especially	if	your	suits	are	very	
strong.	With	the	hand	above,	though,	
you're	pushing	a	bit	to	slam,	so	that	
extra	trick	may	be	critical.
Your	hand	offers	several	clues	to	the	
advantages	of	playing	in	a	possible	4-4	
club	fit.	The	picket-fence	spade	suit	
rates	to	have	a	loser	if	partner	has	a	
doubleton.	In	6♣,	you	may	be	able	to	
avoid	that	by	ruffing	a	spade	in	partner's	hand.	Your	clubs	are	fairly	strong,	
so	you	can	envision	pulling	trumps	(in	
four	rounds	if	necessary),	then	running	
your	established	spades.		
To	get	a	better	idea	of	how	the	play	
might	develop,	try	imagining	a	typical	
hand	for	partner.	If	he	holds:
♠A 5 ♥A	J	7	6			♦J	10	4			♣K	Q	9	5,
6♣	has	better	chances	than	6♠.	In	
6♠,	partner	will	have	to	find	the	♠Q	
and	won't	survive	most	4-1	breaks.	In	
6♣,	any	3-2	spade	break	(and	some	

4-1	breaks)	will	allow	you	to	ruff	out	
the spades and take 12 tricks.
Even	if	partner	has	stronger	spades	
and	a	maximum,	6♣	may	be	the	only	
making	slam.	Suppose	opener	holds:
♠A	Q			♥K	Q	7	6			♦J	10	4			♣K	Q	9	5.
He	won't	have	to	worry	about	a	spade	
loser,	but	6♠	still	has	only	11	tricks	after	a	diamond	lead.	In	6♣,	all	you	need	
is	a	3-2	club	break	(about	68%),	which	
allows	you	to	pitch	partner's	diamonds	
on	the	run	of	the	spades,	then	ruff	your	
diamond	loser	in	dummy.	Note	that	6♣
is	superior	even	if	partner	has	
♠A	Q	10.	
There	will,	of	course,	be	many	deals	
where	both	slams	are	laydown.	The	
matchpoint	difference	between	1370	
and	1430	is	a	special	concern	at	pairs,	
but	only	if	most	tables	get	to	6♠. Bidding	any	slam	with	just	28-30	highcard	points	should	be	a	good	result,	and	
6♣	will	be	a	near	top	on	the	layouts	
where	6♠	goes	down.	
At	teams,	you'll	lose	2	IMPs	if	you	
make	6♣	and	your	opponents	make	
6♠.	Matches	have	been	won	and	lost	
by	that	choice,	but	more	have	been	decided	by	going	minus	100	at	one	table	
and	minus	1370	at	the	other.	If	you	
believe	the	club	slam	is	safer,	think	of	
those	2	IMPs	as	insurance	against	the	
possible	loss	of	16	IMPs	when	6♠ goes
down.	
◾
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2014
