February 2020 - 63

Special Contributors

Dear Billy
BY BILLY MILLER

Dear Billy,
As dealer, playing 2/1, I was dealt:
♠A K 7 6 4 ♥A Q 9 8 4 ♦3 ♣A 5.
Partner's hand was:
♠8 ♥K 7 2 ♦A K Q 7 6 4 ♣J 9 3.
I opened 1♠ and partner bid 3NT,
which I Alerted as showing 12-14
high-card points, balanced, with
three-card support. (It turned out
that my card showed that treatment,
while partner's did not, and was otherwise silent on what 3NT meant.
We ended up in 6♠ off two for a zero,
but I digress.)
My question relates to what partner meant by his 3NT bid. He intended his bid to show game values
with a minor-suit source of tricks,
and he's adamant that treatment is
the preferred one by experts.
My thoughts: 3NT takes up way
too much bidding space and makes
it difficult to find our heart fit and
potential slam. It seems to me that
a reasonable auction is 1♠-2♦;
2♥-3♦; 3♥-4♥, then perhaps ask
about key cards to explore slam.
Your thoughts?
Seattle Slew(ed)
Dear S.O.S.,
First, you clearly were not on the
same wavelength regarding what
system you were playing over 1♠. That
must be resolved. Next, I agree with

dearbilly@aol.com

your assertion that a 3NT response
to 1♥ or 1♠ to show an opening hand
with three-card support is unwieldy.
That treatment went out of fashion decades ago. System bidding has evolved
tremendously in the modern era. Go
with the improved theories. Although a
detailed discussion is beyond the scope
of this article, some expert partnerships use 3NT to show an unspecified
splinter with limited values.
Your partner may be confused
about his interpretation of 3NT. I
believe he is thinking of the auction
1♦-1♠; 3NT, where 3NT is not a 19or 20-point balanced hand, but a hand
with a long, running diamond suit and
an honor and a half on the outside.
Run that by him and let me know if he
agrees.
P.S. Your proposed auction is reasonable.
Dear Billy,
I did not play this hand, but it
came up at the bridge club. I know
how I would bid it (playing 2/1). How
would you bid it?
The West hand was this:

Dear Directionally Challenged,
Playing standard, there is no way to
show this hand. Your only reasonable
choice is to try 1NT, which I understand does not describe West's hand
very well. But playing a version of the
treatment called XYZ (an extension of
two-way new minor forcing), you can
do it.
I play that after opener rebids at the
one level (1X-1Y; 1Z), if responder's
next rebid is 2NT, it is artificial and
forces opener to bid 3♣, and that's how
it's done. You now have a way to get out
in 3♣ with a weakish hand and long
clubs.
To backtrack a bit, with all invitational hands, responder starts with
2♣ on the fourth bid, such as in the
auctions 1♦-1♥; 1NT-2♣ or 1♦-1♥;
1♠-2♣. (2♣ forces opener to bid 2♦,
and any continuation is invitational,
including 2NT.) If instead of 2♣, responder bids 2NT on his second turn,
such as: 1♦-1♥; 1♠-2NT or 1♦-1♥;
1NT-2NT, the 2NT bid forces a 3♣
bid by opener which can be passed by
responder.
◾

♠- ♥K 10 5 3 ♦7 5 ♣A 9 8 7 5 4 3.
East opens 1♦, West responds
1♥ and East bids 1♠. Now what?
How does West show the club suit?
Several pairs got as high as 5♣ on
this deal, but the most you can make
is 3♣.
The Lost Clubs

February 2020 Bridge Bulletin

February 2020

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