Bidding Quiz: Slam auction 2 by David

A: 2♣. Decades ago, everyone would have responded 3♣, to show enough for game and perhaps slam potential. Nowadays. it is standard to make a minimum response. This is forcing, of course. If you play the two-over-one system, 2♣ is forcing to game.

Your result so far:

A: 2NT. Your next bid depends on what agreements you have. Everything is easy if you play two-over-one, on hands like this. At the table, North/South were not playing this system, but they did use a 2NT rebid by responder as forcing to game. This is a good idea, since with less than game values, you can pass partner's minimum 2♥ rebid.

An alternative, when not playing 2♣ forcing to game, is to use 2♠ (the next unbid suit up) as a game-forcing relay (similar to fourth-suit forcing.)

Your result so far:

A: 3♥. Your stoppers in the unbid suits are flimsy, so it is best to bid the hearts again.

Your result so far:

A: 3♠. You are interested in a heart slam now. The best advance is 3♠, a control-bid that shows the ace or king of spades.

Your result so far:

A: 4♣. Your king in partner's main suit is an important card. You should show this with a control-bid in clubs.

Your result so far:

A: 6NT. Partner's 5♥ response to Roman Keycard Blackwood shows two keycards without the ♥Q. These are likely to be the ♥A K, so a potential worry is that in 6♥ you might get an opening lead through the ♠K. To avoid this, you should bid 6NT instead. These were the two hands:

                    ♠ K 8 4
                    ♥ Q 5
                    ♦ A K
                    ♣ A Q 7 6 5 2

                    ♠ 10 7 3
                    ♥ A K 10 9 4 3
                    ♦ Q 9 3
                    ♣ K

As you can see, 6NT by North is easily the best contract. It will make if the ♥J falls in three rounds or clubs break 3-3.

Your result so far: