Intended audience: Intermediate and up

E-W vul, IMPs, as south you hold: ♠A ♥KQ62 ♦AKQ8732 ♣K

What do you bid?

Although many experts like to stretch the limits of a one bid I am not one of those. Especially here where I would always take my chances in 3NT.

So you open 2♣ and partner bids 2♦, waiting and game forcing. Now what? 3♦ can’t hurt, although it will wrong side 3NT. Still you need to show your hand type in case you have a slam in the offing.

When the 2♣ bidder has diamonds as his longest suit, it results almost always in this awkward start. One problem is that you often lose a 4-4 or even 4-5/6 major suit fit when partner raises diamonds. A useful treatment is to play a jump to three of a majors shows exactly 4 cards in the major and 5+ diamonds.

Partner now bids 3♠. Now what? Well this shows a five card suit, and probably denies a primary fit for diamonds.

Why? It is always better to simplify two club auctions. So holding ♠KJxxx ♥xx ♦xxx ♣Qxx, especially at teams, simply raise to 4♦.

You have two choices: 3NT, giving up on slam or 4♦. This latter bid says:

‘Diamonds are trump. Cue bid your cheapest A or K.’

With some likely wasted high cards in spades, and no sure entry to dummy I would give up on slam at matchpoints and toss a coin at teams. Again the reason is at teams you don’t have to worry about playing in the high scoring contract.

At teams your hand is very good IF partner holds the A♥. Bid 4♦. If partner cue bids 4♥ bid slam, hoping he also has either a black suit king, J♥ or short hearts. If partner cue bids the K♠, or the A♣ simply bids 6♦. If partner shows no ace or king sign off in 5♦.

Partner held ♠97642 ♥A5 ♦6 ♣Q10743 and the good but very hard to bid slam is reached.

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