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A Happy Ending, of course, as it’s Fri  day! For Junior, Intermediates, Novices and others!

You must have been in this position more than once: many times! What does partner’s bid mean? What shall I do? The longer you say nothing, the harder it gets. You still have no idea.

A quick survey of several less experienced players revealed that none of them had any idea of what partner’s 4NT bid meant in the following auction. Fortunately for them, they were not at the table to have to make that decision. You were. Whatever you decide, you know will be wrong!

 

2 was a Weak 2, 6 spades and 6-10 high card points. That was known. What, though, was partner up to? Initially, you thought it might be ace-asking though you gave up quickly on that thought. Then, maybe it was a very good jump to 3NT, an extremely good hand. That thought vanished too as the “I have not got a clue” fog set in…which did not help with the “what shall I do next” question.

Then, as the seconds became minutes, you thought of a plan. Let’s transfer partner to hearts. Transfers seem to work after no trumps are bid at a lower level…so why not now!

So, after more than a minute’s agony, you bid 5. Who knows what will happen next? Partner did, of course. They raised to 6! That was not expected. Anyway, it seemed time to finally bid one’s greatest asset. If partner would not, then you surely would: “6”.

Did that end the bidding? No way. Partner’s next offering was 6NT. It was not time to speculate. The good thing was that you would not be declarer. On the other hand, all at the table, especially your partner, would see your hand. There was another good thing. The opponents had not doubled!

It did not feel good at all when West led your void suit, spades. At least partner smiled and thanked you for your dummy. They did seem quite pleased, if a little surprised.

 

Indeed, they won the opening lead, played K and a club to your ace before calling for 10. Within a few seconds, they had rapt up all 13 tricks and all the match-points. Their spade loser was discarded on the A.

The world seemed a much better place. North was heard to ask quietly what 4NT meant and why.

The answer went along the lines of that a 2NT overcall after a weak 2 opening by one's opponent shows a strong no-trump style hand. 3NT shows an even stronger hand, 20+ hcp. No-one would ever want to bid 4NT in a natural sense. So, a good use for that bid is to show both minor suits. They must be long suits, at least 5 cards in each and although South might be sacrificing thinking their opponents might be able to make game in a major suit, they are likely to have quite a strong hand to place the contract at at least the 5-level.

We might make such a bid, well 2NT, with the same shaped hand after the opponents open with 1 of a major suit. Note the different meaning of 2NT when one’s opponents start with a Weak 2.

When North bid 5, South thought they had longer diamonds than clubs, because North was required to choose one of the minors at the 5-level. As you can see, South had a really, really strong hand…hence the raise to 6. Had North bid 5, as they should have done, South would have raised to 6. No way was South going to let North play 6…hence the hopeful bid of 6NT.

“All’s well” that ends with a good score though 6 was a much safer slam to bid. So, that’s another bid for you to learn. Respond with your longer minor suit as no-trumps will not always be a playable option.  It can mean the same after say a 3 or 4 opening bid from one’s opponents, though, of course, if it was your partner who had opened 2,3 or 4, then 4NT does indeed ask for aces or key cards.

Now, that was not too stressful a board, was it!  ????

Richard Solomon

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