[mikl_plkcc]

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The above deal has a grand slam in diamonds. From North's perspective, a fit in either minor and first-round controls in the remaining suits guarantee grand slam. I have a few questions to discuss:

1. If North bids 4♣ at the second round, will you interpret it as a cue-bid or the second suit? If it is cue-bid, the bidding may go follows:
1♥
--- 2♦
3♦
--- 4♣ (first round control in ♣)
4♠ (first round control in ♠)
--- 5♣ (second round control in ♣)
5♥ (second round control in ♥)
--- 5NT (trump ask)
6♦ (1 of AKQ)
--- 7♦ (That's all I need)

I didn't bid 4♣ because I was afraid that it would be interpreted as a ♣ suit. If 3♥ or 4♥ was bid in place of 4♣, it is a delayed support in ♥ which shown exactly 3 ♥s and I couldn't bid.

2. Assume that North becomes the dealer. I would be tempted to open 2♣ and rebid 4[dl]. However, this kind of bidding is extremely bad with such kind of 2-suited hand. In this hand, if I opened 1♦, the bidding would go:
1♦
--- 1♥
3♣ (forcing to game)
--- 3♦
4♦
--- 4♠ (cuebid)
5♣
--- 5♥
5NT
--- 6♦
7♦

This is still fine, however, imagine that South had only a ♦A and ♦ fit but nothing else. Now, the HCP distribution would become 19-21, and the 1♦ opening would be passed out if E-W were conservative and the small slam would be missed. If you open 2♣, you are betting that a minor suit fit exists, if not, a disaster happens doubled. (This kind of hand is great when a fit exists, even when partner has 0 HCPs, but is rubbish when no fit exists. Even 3NT is not possible when there is no fit and no stopper in one of the majors)

3. If I were East, I would bid 2♠. The ♠ fit has a high potential of interrupting N-S slam finding sequences. Although 3♠ is the limit in this deal, if one more spade is given to West, N-S attempt to cuebid would be blocked by West's 4♠ preemptive bid and the 7♦ is hard to find.

However, on BBO, it was very strange that no table bid 7♦, and about half stopped at game! One table stopped at 5♠x, better than opponent's slam but worse than a game.
http://www.bridgebas...name=mikl_plkcc

[aguahombre]

When you said you were afraid 4C would be interpreted as a suit, I decided this was an April Fools joke.

[lalldonn]

mikl_plkcc, on 2013-March-31, 21:43, said:

1. If North bids 4♣ at the second round, will you interpret it as a cue-bid or the second suit? If it is cue-bid, the bidding may go follows:
1♥
--- 2♦
3♦
--- 4♣ (first round control in ♣)
4♠ (first round control in ♠)
--- 5♣ (second round control in ♣)
5♥ (second round control in ♥)
--- 5NT (trump ask)
6♦ (1 of AKQ)
--- 7♦ (That's all I need)

If we accept the bidding through 4♠ then it seems much simpler for responder to just bid blackwood over that since he knows his partner doesn't have the heart ace.

[Fluffy]

As josh says, once partner bypasses hert cuebid blackwood makes this very easy. The most important thing is that 3♦ must promise 4 card support.