LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
TEAMS.
DEALER SOUTH – NONE VUL.
With 20HCP and two-suited distribution, your South hand is quite impressive:
♠ A5432
♥ AR
♦ RV32
♣ AV
How do you open that hand?
Given the weak nature of your five-card major, 1♠ is the only imaginable opening bid in our system. West passes and your partner conventionally responds 3NT to describe a balanced hand, with at least four-card Spade support and something between 11 good and 14 bad HCP.
What do you immediately think about?
The possibility of a slam. You investigate with 4♣ and learn that North holds the Diamond Ace (4♦). From there, you ask for keycards, North’s 5♠ response revealing two keycards and the Queen of trumps. This is great news. However, since your partner’s hand is of limited strength, you simply bid 6♠:
| W | N | E | S |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1♠ | |||
| Pass | 3NT | Pass | 4♣ |
| Pass | 4♦ | Pass | 3NT |
| Pass | 5♠ | Pass | 6♠ |
West leads the Jack of Hearts and North spreads out his hand:
Contract: 6 Spades.
Lead: Jack of Hearts (the 5 from East).
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