[sceptic]

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     -     -     Pass
 Pass  1♦    Pass  1NT
 2♥    3♦    Pass  3♥
 Dbl   3NT   Pass  Pass
 Pass  

[mike777]

P=1d
2s=?

2s=unbalanced D raise, Max passed hand, little interest in 3nt
Now opener may rebid 3nt signoff or at Imps perhaps bid 4H kickback( rkc)? Why consider 4H, well we have an 11 card trump fit, partner is unbalanced and will not have major suit stoppers in both majors.
Underpoint minor suit slams with no voids are difficult to bid. Thumbs up if you bid this one.

[mikeh]

Odd that the opps stayed out of your way as much as they did. Some would open 2♥ as West notwithstanding being vulnerable, and I would check the pulse of the East player after seeing his hand.

However, with or without competition, I agree with Justin that missing slam is not something to keep you up late at night.

Whether an immediate ♦ raise (fit-showing, limit or otherwise) is best for S depends on agreements: how many ♦ does North show for a 3rd seat 1♦?

For me, it shows 4+, but I play frequent 4 card majors in 3rd and 4th. If you are a firm 5 card majorite throughout, then raising ♦ on Jxxx is tough, especially given that no-one is bidding a major yet, thus increasing the chances of partner having length there, and relatively short ♦.

Ironically, had East bid (as I think 99.99% of the bridge population would), you might have an easier time bidding slam (especially if he overcalled just 1♠)

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

first of all, it seeems to be, that
East and West were sleeping
- not opening 2H
- not overcalling 1S, 2S, 3S according to
style and mood

Just looking at the North-South Hand:
Missing magic slams slams with minimal Point
count, because of no wastage, is nothing to
worry about, and I would not spend a second
on it.

Assuming 1d shows 4, and you play inv.minor,
South could have bid 2D.

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: Of course your bidding will lead to a hopeless 3NT
in case opener holds the KIng of spade instead of the
Ace of diamonds, because I take it for granted, that 3D by
opener could be weaker, i.e. responder already did make
an overbid.

[paulg]

Justin's suggestion of 3♣, fit jump by a passed hand, is the sensible use of jump bids by all passed hands - after all, why else would you be jumping except with support. Classically these show a 5-card suit with 4-card support and the values for a limit raise, although you may lower the point range to make the most descriptive bid.

This hand is far more difficult if you had not passed and I think I would respond 1NT too, especially if you are playing better minor. I'm not that keen on limit raises with such a poor suit opposite a potential 3-carder -- playing 3♦ in a 4-3 fit when the field is in 1NT is uncomfortable.

Paul

[ArcLight]

I think East should have bid.

I think West should pass since:

1) His HCP are generally not working (stiff Qs and Jx aren't worth much)

2) His heart suit is awful

3) South Passed - mening there is a chance our side sill get the contract, maybe pard has a big hand, don't preempt him.



I think bididng 2♥ with that suit vulnerable is not a good idea in the long run, (unless playing against extremely aggressive bidders)


1♦ - 3♦ (Limit raise)
I think there is little risk of a 4-3 ♦ fit, and its being too pessimistic to worry about the worst case. Assume a 4-4 fit or better. Opps were silent, so it's probably taht there are balanced hands. You may be able to ruff 2 major suit losers in pards hands (assuming pard has 3-4 cards in each major.

My concern with bidding 1NT is you are wrong siding an NT contract, it's better if pard can bid NT. A 1♦ - 1NT sequence is more likely to generate a major suit lead than a club lead.

[Winstonm]

Your hand strikes a note with me as it is a aggravation I can't get partner to discuss - he is adamant that inverted minors show 5-card support while I think this limits the usefulness of an otherwise useful bid.

If one were free to show the "limit" raise nature of the hand without having to fall back on the "catchall" 1N, life would become much simpler. Imagine the bidding with P-P-1D-P-2D inverted - regardless of the furtherance, opener now has much more reason to be aggressive with the known 11/12 card fit.

Many hands fall into this category, IMO. xxx, xxx, AKx, QJxx. Over a 1C opening, this is a much more reasonable 2C bid than anything else - it states the support and strength of the hand in one bid and allows both clubs and nt to be in the picture while right-siding the NT - what more could you ask. So every two or three light years you may end up in 3C on a Moysian - whoopee - I'll trade those lost 5 imps in any day of the year for the gain on better describing my hand.

Fortunately, I'm not hard headed like my partner - I will listen to my own reasoning with quite an open mind.

Winston