Asking for the Trump Queen by Matthias Huberschwiller

When you have used the Keycard Blackwood convention and have discovered there is one missing keycard, that doesn't necessarily mean that a slam is on. If the Queen of Trumps is missing too, you may have two losers if you don't succeed in finding her.

In order for the slam to be a good one, you need to verify that your side has the Queen of Trumps.

When your partner has responded with 5♣ or 5♦ to Blackwood, the next bid (5♦ to 5♣ and 5♥ to 5♦ (if Hearts are not trumps)), will ask your partner for the Queen.

If he doesn't have it, he will go back to your agreed suit at the lowest level.

Any other bid will show that he has the Queen and he may show an additional King, by bidding the suit that it's in.

Let's try this out with a few examples.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K Q 6 2
♥ Q J 8 2
♦ 8 3
♣ Q 9 6

Q: 1 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Pass
3♠	Pass	4 NT	Pass
5♦*	Pass	5♥ **	Pass
?

5♦ - 4 or 1 keycard(s)
5♥ - Asking for the Trump Queen

A: 6♠ - Your partner is asking if you have the trump queen.
You are saying that you have it, but with no outside Kings.

The King of trumps has already been shown as a keycard.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ J 10 3
♥ K 2
♦ K 9 6 2
♣ J 6 5 2

Q: 2 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Pass
2♠	Pass	4 NT	Pass
5♣ *	Pass	5♦ **	Pass
?

5♣ - 3 or 0 keycards
5♦ - Asking for the Trump Queen

A: 5♠ - Without the Trump Queen, you need to go back to the trump suit at the lowest available level, here that is 5♠.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ K Q 5 2
♥ K Q 9 6
♦ Q 7 6 2
♣ 5

Q: 3 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	Pass
4♣ *	Pass	4 NT	Pass
5♦ **	Pass	5♥ ***	Pass
?

4♣ - Splinter
5♦ - 4 or 1 keycard(s)
5♥ - Asking for the Trump Queen

A: 6♥ - By bidding 6♥, you are saying two things to your partner: First, I have the trump queen, and second, I also have the King of Hearts, in case he is interested in the big one and wants to know more.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ 9
♥ K J 10 9
♦ K Q 6 2
♣ K Q 8 4

Q: 4 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♥	Pass	3♥	Pass
4 NT	Pass	5♣ *	Pass
?

5♣ - 3 or 0 keycards

A: 5♦ - Your partner has three keycards, so you are missing one.
If you are also missing the Queen of trumps, your slam would rely on a good guess in Hearts, and you don't want this.

By bidding 5♦, you are asking your partner if he has the Queen of Hearts. If he doesn't you will stop in 5♥.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A 9 8 6 5 2
♥ 8
♦ A Q 4
♣ A J 7

Q: 5 - What do you bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♣	Pass
1♠	Pass	3♠	Pass
4 NT	Pass	5♦ *	Pass
?

5♦ - 4 or 1 keycard(s)

A: 6♠ - You are missing one keycard and the Queen of Spades. So why bid 6 anyway?

Look at your Spade length. Your side has 10 Spades. If you have the King of Spades, you will probably lose none, even if you don't have the Queen.
If you don't have the King of Spades, you will lose one Trump, but only one.

When you have a 10-card-fit (or more), you don't need to worry about the Trump Queen.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

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