[Caitlynne]

This is a difficult problem.

Your partner is correct that 3D is (or at least should be) forcing. Bidding two suits before supporting without being forced to take a third bid when a playable suit contract has been found - partner's preference to your 5+ card spade suit is not forcing - is actually a somewhat slammish action!

Thus, bidding 2H was a bit of an overbid if you were planning to bid diamonds next. Had your xxx in diamonds been Kxx, you would easily have your bid.

At the same time, I think your partner contributed to the problems here. While none of your partner's bids are clearly wrong, I do not like the decision to open with 1D. Yes, the diamond suit is very good, but Qx and Qxx on the side with a 6322 pattern is not inspiring. I would have chosen a weak 2D opening if that were available; if not, I would have chosen to pass.

But again, the opening bid of 1D is far from awful. And once you do open 1D, the 2D rebid is automatic. But I don't think the 2S preference is best. I think 2NT is better. If responder happens to have a club card - especially if it is Ax or Axx, it is best for your partner's hand to be playing NoTrump. What's more, this is the one auction (i.e., 1D-1S, 2D-2H, 2N-3D) where your 3D bid could be played non-forcing ... a simple preference to play in diamonds rather than NoTrump (since opener sometimes may be compelled to bid 2NT with a tenuous club stopper).

So, you overbid. But, in my opinion, your partner did not bid as well as s/he might have either.

[phil_20686]

I think 2D is a pretty absurd choice. I think if you are going to preempt with a hand this good at least bid 3D. If partner bids 3N he will hardly be disappointed with your hand. I think you are about a Q strong for a 3d opening myself so i'd open 1d and expect it to be the majority action in good fields.

I would have bid 2N with lamford's hand, which is inv/nf, but I play that partner is 100% to bid 3d with any hand that refuses the invite and has 6d (which is every hand here). I have played other stuff here. So I would have played in 3D here.

[fromageGB]

If the South hand qualifies as an opening, then maybe North needs a stronger hand to warrant a reply?

Seriously though, if S did miscount and opened 1♦, playing without agreements I think N is not good enough to make a 3♣ force. I would quite happily pass partner's preference to spades. (After that spade preference, yes, 3♦ is forcing.)

A partnership having bidding situations like this discovers the need to have agreements, and I don't like the idea of an ill-defined 2♥ being inv+ and wallowing around at the 3-level uncertain of fits, and uncertain of what bids may then be construed as forcing after that. You need comprehensively defined continuations. My own style is homegrown, but an inv+ hand is announced by a 1♠ bid where there is twice the room for exploration.

[thornbury]

two comments,#1 the 1d opener with 11 hcp is questionable
#2 in the above auction, I would have bid 3 spades (invitational) instead of 3 diamonds. Opener could just as easily have 3 spades and 13 hcp for their bidding and rebid their diamonds, rather than raise spades with only 3 card support. With their minimal opener, he would pass 3 spades which has a chance

[aguahombre]

The thread is about the continuations, not about the opening bid choice. However, the style of opening bids is a necessary part of the picture --- so we are not in hijack territory here.

1) We would open 1♦ even if 2♦ were available because there is no rebid problem and we dislike having two outside law subtractors (the stray Queens) in our 1/2 seat weak 2's. If, as seems to be the case with South here, these hands are opened 1m, then we learn that ten-counts with 3-card support for the minor are not enough to invite game.

2) The above affects how strong the 2♥ new-suit bid must be. We are willing to give up at 2♦ with that North hand, fully aware that a heart or spade partial might score better.

3) If North can bid 2♥ with this collection to look for the better scoring major in your style, then North must accept the possible 2-card preference, wait for dummy to come down, and get on with life.