Splinters and Voids and The Rabbi, Oh My! -- Part 1

Here is a hand from a recent online game that I thought was a lot of fun. It brings together a half-dozen themes that we've discussed in the past. Both vulnerable at matchpoints, you are the dealer. You hold:

♠ -- ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4

Of course you make a plan before making your first call. What is your plan for this auction?

You'll open 1 ♦, and if partner peeps you'll almost certainly want to be in game. If partner bids hearts, diamonds, or clubs, you will definitely get excited and force to game. But if partner bids spades, you might want to allow for the possibility of partner having a bare minimum hand with only a couple of spade honors. Over a 1 ♠ call from partner, you can reverse to 2 ♥, forcing one round and almost-but-not-quite forcing to game, to allow partner to sign off with a weak spade hand.

West	Partner	East	You
			1 ♦
1 ♠	Dbl	Pass	?

Good news! Partner's negative double shows at least four hearts, and at least 6-7 points. You definitely want to be in game. Partner could even have a good hand -- negative does not mean nothing -- slam is not out of the question. Your call?

ANSWER: Get the tweezers, you have a splinter! Bid 3 ♠, a splinter bid showing four-card heart support, game-forcing values, and a singleton or void in spades. It's true that partner didn't actually bid hearts, but her bid showed hearts and she'll know that you are supporting hearts. And in the event that she thinks you might be asking for a spade stopper and bids 3 NT, you'll correct to 4 ♥ and she'll get the message.

You hold: ♠ -- ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4

West	Partner	East	You
			1 ♦
1 ♠	Dbl	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 NT	Pass	?

Well! Partner definitely likes the slam idea; 4 NT is a keycard-ask with hearts as trump. Don't worry, one of us will get around to bidding hearts eventually... You play 1430 responses to keycard-asking bids. Your call?

ANSWER: You could bid 5 ♠, showing two keycards and the trump queen. That will commit us to at least a small slam. But there is a much better call available. Bid 5 NT, showing an even number of keycards and a useful void. A void in the opponent's suit is always useful. If partner is only worried about a spade loser, knowing that you are void will make it easy for her to bid a grand slam.

West	Partner	East	You
			1 ♦
1 ♠	Dbl	Pass	3 ♠
Pass	4 NT	Pass	5 NT
Pass	6 ♥	All pass

Partner signed off in 6 ♥. As you can see below, she knew we were missing a key card outside of spades. Fun auction, eh? A small slam and no one actually bid the trump suit until the very end!

	♠ A Q 10 6 5 ♥ J 10 9 5 4 ♦ A ♣ 10 2
	N W E S
	♠ — ♥ A Q 7 6 ♦ Q J 8 6 3 ♣ A K Q 4

It looks like a good contract. This is a robot event, so you'll have to play the hand. Stay tuned for Part 2.

-- Ray
Better Bridge in 5 Minutes. Guaranteed! (or the next one is free)