Quiz answers and some demonstration hands

Answers to the responses to the opening bids of 2NT:-

1. A simple 3NT. You should make ten or eleven tricks but a slam is most unlikely.
2. 3S, a forcing bid. You will be very happy to hear 4S from partner if she has three spades with you. If she bids 3NT, you have a difficult decision. Risk 3NT or try 4S with only seven trumps. I don't know.
3. Not an obvious pass because of the three tens. I would raise to 3NT if my partner was having a good evening.
4. The lead through your diamonds could be awkward. I would prefer to play in the safer contract of four hearts if partner has four with me. Ask the question by using Stayman--bid 3C.
5. You are hoping for a slam here. You could start with 3H, but the hand is so strong and you know that partner has two hearts, at least, anyway, so I think I would go for aces straightaway.
6. You don't want to play in 5D and a slam is unlikely. Just bid 3NT.

Hand 1.  Dealer is South. Score is game all. Bid it yourself before looking at the auction below.

If you didn't use Stayman, you will have reached a lazy 3NT after a simple auction 2NT-3NT. How do you handle the queen of diamonds lead? OK if you ducked the initial lead twice. If you don't you will lose four diamond tricks and go one off. 4S is a safer contract reached via Stayman and the auction 2NT-3C-3S-4S. Now you lose only two diamond tricks and the ace of hearts to make ten tricks.

Hand 2.  Try this one where the dealer is East and the score is love all. Bid it yourself first.

There are slam values here and several ways of reaching the preferred contract of 6NT. East should open 2NT. For West we have three options.

1. The scientific approach. Bid a risky 6NT at once.
2. If you play 4NT as quantitative (see under Blackwood), then this will result in East bidding 6NT. This is the safest option.
3. Ask for aces using whichever is your preferred method, and having found that you have all four, bid 6NT. This is still risky as the combined point count may only be 31 (not enough!).

If you've got this far into my website, the play should give you no problems. Email me if you can't do it or even if you just want to brag that you can.

Hand 3.  This one is trickier as the opposition intervene over your strong bid. Try it yourself first. Dealer is West and no one has game.

West has the option of 2H (8 playing tricks) or 2C ( rebidding 2NT to show23-24 points). North will certainly overcall in spades. East is not interested. What will the final contract be? 3NT would be a disaster as North would take the first six spade tricks. A heart contract is best and West can make ten tricks but only by rejecting the spade ruff and discarding a diamond (transferring the ruff). She will then make 5H+2D+2C +1 diamond ruff.