[Little Kid]

Scoring: IMP

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33 hcps and 13 top tricks. Assuming the opponents are silent, can you confidently bid this grand (7NT) with the system of your choice?

[ONEferBRID]

1D - 2C! ( 2/1 GF )
4C ( Minorwood ) for the uninspired.

You find the missing key card, ♣ A .
Next is specific K-ask, and you find the ♦ K.
Followup with 2nd K-ask, and you find the ♥ K.

Now can count: 5c, 5d, sA, hAK.
But before you bid 7NT, you recall partner has made a 2/1 2C call in the past
with only 4 cards.
Safer would be 7C but it will cost you at MP scoring except you will beat out all of the 6NT contracts.

[Free]

This is how it could go with my best partner at the moment:

1♦ - 2♣ (nat may have longer ♣ ; nat F2NT)
2♥* - 2♠* (GF support or bal ; relay without 4M)
3♣ - 3♥ (GF support 4+♣ ; something in ♥, not in ♠)
4♣ - 4♦ (sets trump, start slam auction ; cue)
4NT - 5♣ (RKC ; 1/4)
5♥ - 5♠ (King ask ; ♠K or ♥K+♦K)
5NT - 7♣ (general grand slam try ; 5th ♣)
7NT?

Up until 5NT it's pretty straight forward with some luck that we can show the Kings at 5♠, but the 7♣ bid may be a bit biased. If you decide to bid 6♣, North will definitely bid on with 6NT (or maybe 6♦ still looking for grand).

[gnasher]

2NT-3♠
3NT-5♣
5♦-5♥
5♠-6♦
7NT

3♠ forces 3NT
5♣ is slam-forcing with a (332)5 shape. (4♣ would show diamonds, 4♦ both minors, 4♥/♠ five clubs and a second suit, 4NT a non-forcing (332)5 slam try. Higher bids show (332)5 but slam-forcing.)
The rest are cue-bids.

[Codo]

2 NT 3 ♣ (21-22) (puppet stayman)
3 NT 4♣ (no 4 or 5 card major) (quant. RCKB for clubs)
4 ♥ 4♠ (like clubs 4 KCs) (Queen?)
5 ♣ 5♦ (yes, no king) (something else to show?)
6♦ 6 ♥ (5. diamond) (anything else?)
7 Club/NT For a hand with 4 KCs and no kings, it is perfect with the nearly solid diamonds)

[petterb]

1C - 1N
2C - 2D
2H - 3C
3D - 3N
4C - 4D
4H - 5C
7N - p

1C = 16+
1N = 8-14 balanced
2D = 12-14
3C = 5 clubs
3N = 2335
4D = 1 ace
5C = red kings or black kings

[kenrexford]

2♣(special strng)-2♦(GF wait)
2NT(22+ balanced, 2-3 spades)-3♣(puppet)
3♦(no major)-3♠(minor interest)

or

2♣(normal)-2♦(GF)
2NT-3♠(minor interest)

or

2NT-3♠(minor interest)

Then...

4♣(slam interest)-4♦(clubs)
4♥(RKCB clubs)-4NT(1) or 4♠(1) depending on style
5♦(kings?)-5♥(heart King)
5NT(diamond?)-7♣(yes)

And then Opener pops 7NT.

Interesting hand. Opener bypasses 3NT to bid 4♣ to show serious minor-suity interest, which forces Responder to bid one-up to show clubs, which allows Opener to use 4♥ as RKCB, which forces the King ask up one, which forces the use of 5NT to show or ask for the diamond King. You really need a good partnership grasp of surrogate bidding for this hand, IMO.

[Apollo81]

Perhaps a more interesting question is could you get there if South had just xx Kxx Kxx ATxxx

[miguelm]

1D......2C (usually normal)(can be a lot of things)
3C......3H (5+/4+, 17hcp+)(I had a nat. GF Club hand and cue)
3S......4D (cue)(cue)
4NT....5C (RKCB)(1 key)
5NT....6D (ask Kings)(Diam. King)
6H..... (Heart King?) (etc...)

Opner can now count 13/14 tricks (1S, 2H, 5D, 5/6C)

Not very scientfic but it works

[hanp]

1D - 2C
4C - 4D
4NT - 5C (1/4)
5H - 5S (no spade king)
5NT - 6D (heart king, no diamond queen)
7C

Opener doesn't know responder has 5 clubs, can't count 13 tricks in notrump but can count 13 tricks in clubs. Lose 2.

[gnasher]

hanp, on Nov 19 2009, 04:55 PM, said:

1D - 2C
4C - 4D
4NT - 5C (1/4)
5H - 5S (no spade king)
5NT - 6D (heart king, no diamond queen)
7C

Opener doesn't know responder has 5 clubs, can't count 13 tricks in notrump but can count 13 tricks in clubs. Lose 2.

Can opener ask about ♥Q at this point? It would be a shame to go down in 7♣ opposite Qxx KQx Kxx Axxx, with 7NT making on a black-suit squeeze. Responder can't safely convert to 7NT, because for all he knows the diamonds might need ruffing good.

[hanp]

Yes I guess 6S would ask for the heart queen and I agree that that's much more thoughtful.

[ONEferBRID]

hanp, on Nov 19 2009, 10:55 AM, said:

1D - 2C
4C - 4D
4NT - 5C (1/4)
5H - 5S (no spade king)
5NT - 6D (heart king, no diamond queen)
7C

Opener doesn't know responder has 5 clubs, can't count 13 tricks in notrump but can count 13 tricks in clubs. Lose 2.

Yes, the 2nd step, 5H, is specific K-ask ( 1st step, 5D, would be trump Q-ask ).

The standard replies ( for me ) to the 1st K-ask here are:
5S = ♠ K ( cheapest reply showing a K )
5NT = ♥ K ( NT always shows the feature in the asking suit ( ♥ here )
and denies ♠ K.
6C = no Major suit K
( No need to reply 6D since ♦ K shown by 4D cue , and you don't want to go above 6C with neither Major K ).
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Do you really want to make another "ask" ABOVE the 6C level ?   It will commit you to at least 6NT with either your method ... or higher with mine.
[ In my method you can only make a 2nd KING-ask ... and not ask for an outside Q with the 2nd-ask. And anyway, if you did use 6S as an outside Q-ask, that looks like asking for the ♠ Q . Partner may think YOU have the ♠ K ] and put you in the grand with the ♠ Q... which he does have here ! !.

They only way to effectively get in a 2nd-ask when a minor suit is trump is with Minorwood or Redwood ( Kickback ) .

[hanp]

We scan after keycard responses, not sure if that's a good idea yet.

[ONEferBRID]

hanp, on Nov 19 2009, 01:58 PM, said:

We scan after keycard responses, not sure if that's a good idea yet.

aaahh, ty... I understand your replies now...Kantar's Spiral Scan.
[ I don't know enough about it, except it makes my head explode ] .

[hrothgar]

Little Kid, on Nov 19 2009, 02:57 PM, said:

Scoring: IMP

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33 hcps and 13 top tricks. Assuming the opponents are silent, can you confidently bid this grand (7NT) with the system of your choice?

Trivial...

[Mbodell]

Apollo81, on Nov 19 2009, 07:43 AM, said:

Perhaps a more interesting question is could you get there if South had just xx Kxx Kxx ATxxx

This hand is essentially what I'll find out from partner (minus the T) when I do a strong club relay. This hand is pretty much what the relay is for.

1♣-2♦ (16+ hcp; 8+ hcp, 2+ controls, 5+ clubs single suit)
2♥-2♠ (r; short spades or 7222)
2nt-3♦ (r; 2=3=3=5)
3♥-4♣ (r; 4 controls)
4♥-5♦ (r; exactly one each in ♣♦♥ and 0 or 2 in ♠)

At this point you know responder is xx Kxx Kxx Axxxx where x is any card up to and including a Q, which is good enough to bid 7nt.

[Jlall]

I think I would start 1D-2C