[MFA]

Scoring: IMP

3♣-X-4♣-X
pass-5NT-pass-7♥
all pass

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This looks very silly in writing. New partnership early in the tournament, so both were anxious to make it easy for partner.

Who should have bid differently? X of 4♣ was responsive, 5NT 'pick-a-slam". No fancy agreements.

Trumps were 5-1, of course, so -20 imps on this one.

[jdonn]

If north is going to bid a grand then maybe 7♣ instead and pull 7♦ to 7♥. Since partner will pass with equal length it never gets you to an inferior fit, and in a case like this avoids disaster.

I don't think he can bid 7NT, south could easily have had a worse hand. In fact I'd say north did extremely well to bid a grand at all. I think on his hand I would bid 6♣ then 6NT, hoping partner takes it as a grand invitation.

[Jlall]

How could north X 4C with 5 hearts and a 1 suiter? After a responsive X south should never play hearts.

[ArtK78]

Somewhat unlucky to go down in 7♥. While 7♠ and 7NT are clearly better, 7♥ is not the worst contract I have ever seen by a long shot. It even makes against some 5-1 trump splits (suppose the player with 5 hearts is 3-5-3-2 - cash 2 hearts, 3 winners in each pointed suit ending in the North hand and play AK of clubs. Now you have a club ruff in dummy and 2 high trump).

[mike777]

MFA, on Jul 21 2009, 12:23 PM, said:

Dealer: East Vul: N/S Scoring: IMP

♠ KQ3 ♥ QT85 ♦ K3 ♣ AK87 ♠ AJ872 ♥ AKJ ♦ AQT82 ♣

3♣-X-4♣-X pass-5NT-pass-7♥ all pass

This looks very silly in writing. New partnership early in the tournament, so both were anxious to make it easy for partner.

Who should have bid differently? X of 4♣ was responsive, 5NT 'pick-a-slam". No fancy agreements.

Trumps were 5-1, of course, so -20 imps on this one.

prefer 6c over 5nt...
second choice 7c over 5nt.

[MFA]

ArtK78, on Jul 21 2009, 10:10 PM, said:

Somewhat unlucky to go down in 7♥. While 7♠ and 7NT are clearly better, 7♥ is not the worst contract I have ever seen by a long shot. It even makes against some 5-1 trump splits (suppose the player with 5 hearts is 3-5-3-2 - cash 2 hearts, 3 winners in each pointed suit ending in the North hand and play AK of clubs. Now you have a club ruff in dummy and 2 high trump).

7♥ could have been made, but only if declarer guesses to draw exactly 1 round of trumps before running side winners. As far as I remember, west was 2-5-3-3.

[MFA]

Quote

If north is going to bid a grand then maybe 7♣ instead and pull 7♦ to 7♥. Since partner will pass with equal length it never gets you to an inferior fit, and in a case like this avoids disaster.

Quote

How could north X 4C with 5 hearts and a 1 suiter? After a responsive X south should never play hearts.

That was what we thought. North that he must be flexible after D. South that partner had a lot of room from 5NT to 7♥ and a majestic leap to a grand hardly could be just Qxxx. Perhaps partner was planning something technical, had the double of 4♣ been pulled to 4♠.

Anyway, I (south) took half the blame, the rest went to the bad luck, we were having.

[Fluffy]

7♥ looks like a pass or correct thing, so correct it.

But north knows he is risking a 4-3 fit, he should IMO try 6♣ and 7♣ and if partner doesn't bid hearts himself bid 7NT.