[FrancesHinden]

I would have bid 1D - 1H - 2NT - (checkback) - 3NT

I don't think it is worth a 2NT opening bid. Yes, it's got a 6th diamond but other than that the honour structure is pretty poor and it has only average controls.

And if I opened it 2C I would have finished in either 6NT or 7D depending on my choice of rebid, which would be worse than playing 3NT.

[Cascade]

FrancesHinden, on May 9 2008, 10:25 PM, said:

I would have bid 1D - 1H - 2NT - (checkback) - 3NT

I don't think it is worth a 2NT opening bid. Yes, it's got a 6th diamond but other than that the honour structure is pretty poor and it has only average controls.

And if I opened it 2C I would have finished in either 6NT or 7D depending on my choice of rebid, which would be worse than playing 3NT.

Assuming the 2NT rebid shows 18-19 balanced I think the two extra diamonds mean that you have a much better hand than partner will ever imagine.

[brianshark]

The opening is an interesting problem in isolation. I guess it's a decision between:
1♦-...-3♦,
1♦-...-2NT, and
2NT

But I don't think any of those openings will get to slam.

[FrancesHinden]

Cascade, on May 9 2008, 11:51 AM, said:

FrancesHinden, on May 9 2008, 10:25 PM, said:

I would have bid 1D - 1H - 2NT - (checkback) - 3NT

I don't think it is worth a 2NT opening bid. Yes, it's got a 6th diamond but other than that the honour structure is pretty poor and it has only average controls.

And if I opened it 2C I would have finished in either 6NT or 7D depending on my choice of rebid, which would be worse than playing 3NT.

Assuming the 2NT rebid shows 18-19 balanced I think the two extra diamonds mean that you have a much better hand than partner will ever imagine.

I would look at it a different way:

Q: If I open 2NT and partner passes, will I have missed game?
A: almost certainly not
Q: If I open 2NT and partner makes slam moves, will I get too high?
A: probably not (or no more so than if I had a more normal 2NT opening)
Q: If I open 1D, will I miss a slam that I would otherwise reach opening 2NT?
A: I don't think so
Q: If I open 1D, will I reach slams that I might miss by opening 2NT?
A: Yes, quite possibly: we'll reach some 10-card diamond fit slams we would miss otherwise

That seems to be 3 reasons to open 1D and 1 neutral.

p.s. partner knows I am allowed to have 6 diamonds for this sequence, of course he can 'imagine' it. The two extra diamonds are good cards when partner has the ace (or the Jack). If partner has some other form of slam try they may turn out to be useless.

Give partner, say

Kxxx
Axxxx
x
KQx

which is close to a slam drive opposite a 2NT opening, and 4NT is actually a bit high.

Alternatively, give partner, say

x
Axxxx
Jxxx
Kxx

and (i) we have some chance of reaching 6D by opening 1D, and (ii) at least we'll play 5D rather than the worse contract of 3NT.

[Wackojack]

Forgive me:
Route 1
1♦-1♥-3NT-6NT

[joshs]

In my methods it would go: (Opps Silent)
P-1D
1H-2N(ART,6+D, either 19+, or 16-18 with 6D and 3H)
3C(Relay)-3N(6+D, 19-21, semibalanced with stoppers)
4D-4H(rkc)
etc.

Or in more standard methods:
P-1D
1H-2S
3S-3N(spades was not a real suit)
4D-etc

But in standard I might just open 2N and miss slam....

[goodwintr]

I cannot for the life of me see the attraction of a 2NT opening bid on this hand. It doesn't have a single one of the "must-declare" holdings (Kx, AQ, A10, Qx, that sort of thing); it has a good six-card suit that might well not come to light in the bidding after opening 2NT (I suspect the 2NTers are hoping to wow unsuspecting opponents in the play of 3NT, and maybe nobody will notice that they've missed a good slam in diamonds); and it has one truly terrible holding, a doubleton KQ. Opening 2NT is just a confession that you don't have good methods (starting with a forcing rebid in diamonds) after opening 1D.