August 2018 - 45

Newer Players

Parrish the Thought
BY ADAM PARRISH

adam@bridgewinners.com

adamparrish.us

Question three
We have focused our discussion so
far on the two essential questions:
Do we have a game? and Do we have a
major-suit fit? These questions help us
determine the two aspects of the final
contract: level and strain. But remember that level has three possibilities:
partscore, game and slam.
So when the answer to question No. 1
is yes, we need to ask ourselves a third
question: Do we have a slam? This
question has the same three possible
answers as the other two: yes, no and
maybe.
Often this third question can be
answered easily and dismissed. But
any time we have a yes answer to question No. 1, we need to remember to ask
question No. 3: Do we have a slam?
♠Q 9 4 ♥A J 8 ♦K J 8 3 ♣J 3 2
North
1NT

South
?

1. Do we have a game? Yes.
2. Do we have a major-suit fit? No.
3. Do we have a slam? No. (Partner's
maximum of 17 would give us a
combined 29 high-card points, not
nearly enough for slam.)
These three answers make placing
the contract simple: We have a game
but no slam, and we do not have a
major-suit fit. 3NT. Done.
Let's make the hand a little stronger:
♠Q 9 4 ♥A J 8 ♦K J 8 3 ♣A J 3.

North
1NT

South
?

Now the answer to question No. 3
is maybe. We have 16 HCP. If partner
has 15, that's only 31, not enough. But
opposite 17 we have 33, and want to be
in slam. So we invite slam with 4NT.
Make the hand a little stronger - say
add the ♦Q - and we would have a yes
answer: Opposite partner's minimum,
we'd have 33 HCP. With no hope for a
grand slam, we would simply bid 6NT.
Question No. 3 takes a backseat to
question Nos. 1 and 2, because games
are so much more common than slams,
and slam investigation gives us extra
room to explore (i.e., the five level). But
when we have enough values for game
and have found a major-suit fit (i.e., we
have yes answers to questions Nos. 1
and 2), the spotlight shifts to question
No. 3, and the remainder of the auction
is about slam.
North
1♠
2♠

South
2♣
3♠

Once we know we're going to 4♠, the
only remaining question is whether
we can make 6♠. A lot of auctions that
you might not think of as slam auctions are actually entirely about slam
- avoiding it when it's bad and reaching
it when it's good. A Jacoby 2NT auction or a 2/1 auction that uncovers a fit
immediately becomes a slam exploration.

In the preceding auction, our two
primary goals have been accomplished:
We have set a game force and found
a major-suit fit. We know the hand
belongs in spades and in at least game.
The only final contracts on the table at
this point are 4♠ and 6♠ (and maybe
7♠ or 7NT). Our singular goal now
is to determine whether we belong in
slam.
Now that we are in slam mode, we
switch over to our slam tools, specifically control bidding and Blackwood.
Our only concern for the rest of the
auction is game or slam, 4♠ or 6♠. ◾

Nominations for the 2019 ACBL
Bridge Hall of Fame Blackwood
and von Zedtwitz awards
Each year, the Bridge Hall of Fame Committee considers candidates for the Blackwood Award, given for outstanding contributions to bridge outside of expertise at the
game, and the von Zedtwitz Award, which
honors inactive players who have achieved
prominence in the game of bridge.
ACBL members in good standing may
submit candidates' names to the Hall of
Fame Committee for induction into the
ACBL Bridge Hall of Fame in 2019. To be
eligible for induction, a candidate must be at
least 60 years old and live in North America.
Please submit your nominations for these
awards to the Bridge Hall of Fame Committee to elections@acbl.org. Nominations will
be forwarded to the chair of the committee.
In order to be considered, nominations must
be received no later than Nov. 1.
August 2018 Bridge Bulletin

http://www.adamparrish.us

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of August 2018