North South
1NT (15-17)
2H (transfer)
2S ?
What's your call holding ♠KJ9864 ♥2 ♦A3 ♣AJ107 ?
Although you have at most 30 combined high-card points, this hand has enough playing strength to at least suggest a slam. Many pairs play that transferring and then bidding game in your suit is a slam invite, so a 4S rebid would describe these values. If you've agreed that a jump to 4H is a splinter (heart shortness) and sets spades as trump, that's a possibility, too.
It's reasonable to focus on your known spade fit, but there's a better strategy. Your good second suit is one of the assets that convinced you to search for slam, so why not show it? A 3C rebid will elicit valuable information about partner's spade length and may help him judge slam chances. And if he was dealt two spades and four clubs, it could also get you to 6C, which might be the only slam that makes.
The 6-2 major or the 4-4 minor?
In previous articles, we've discussed the factors that affect your choice of trumps when you've found a 4-4 and a 5-3 fit. Most of the same principles apply when you have a 6-2 and a 4-4. If only one of the fits is a major, game decisions are easy. When you're going for the slam bonus, though, either fit requires the same number of tricks, so you'll often need to be more concerned with safety than trick score.
In general, the suit that is divided more evenly in your two hands (the 4-4 fit) offers a better chance of delivering an extra trick. This may not matter when you're loaded with high-card points, especially if your suits are very strong. With the hand above, though, you're pushing a bit to slam, so that extra trick may be critical.
Your hand offers several clues to the advantages of playing in a possible 4-4 club fit. The picket-fence spade suit rates to have a loser if partner has a doubleton. In 6C, you may be able to avoid that by ruffing a spade in partner's hand. Your clubs are fairly strong, so you can envision pulling trumps (in four rounds if necessary), then running your established spades.
To get a better idea of how the play might develop, try imagining a typical hand for partner. If he holds ♠A5 ♥AJ76 ♦J104 ♣KQ95, 6C has better chances than 6S. In 6S, partner will have to find the ♠Q and won't survive most 4-1 breaks. In 6C, any 3-2 spade break (and some 4-1 breaks) will allow you to ruff out the spades and take 12 tricks.
Even if partner has stronger spades and a maximum, 6C may be the only making slam. Suppose opener holds ♠AQ ♥KQ76 ♦J104 ♣KQ95. He won't have to worry about a spade loser, but 6S still has only 11 tricks after a diamond lead. In 6C, all you need is a 3-2 club break (about 66 percent), which allows you to pitch partner's diamonds on the run of the spades, then ruff your diamond loser in dummy. Note that 6C is superior even if partner has ♠AQ10.
There will, of course, be many deals where both slams are laydown. The matchpoint difference between 1370 and 1430 is a special concern at pairs, but only if most tables get to 6S. Bidding any slam with just 28-30 high-card points should be a good result, and 6C will be a near top on the layouts where 6S goes down.
At teams, you'll lose 2 IMPs if you make 6C and your opponents make 6S. Matches have been won and lost by that choice, but more have been decided by going -100 at one table and -1370 at the other. If you believe the club slam is safer, think of those 2 IMPs as insurance against the possible loss of 16 IMPs when 6S goes down.
In the next issue: When
to choose the long suit
© 2014 Karen Walker