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Hand played on |
September 17th 2009 |
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Board number |
3 (Red Section) |
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Dealer |
South |
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Vulnerability |
EW Vulnerable |
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Submitted by |
Alaric Cundy |
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North ♠ K98 ♥ AK92 ♦ KJ76 ♣ KJ |
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West ♠ 7 ♥ JT854 ♦ 53 ♣ AT932 |
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East ♠ JT64 ♥ Q63 ♦ 984 ♣ 764 |
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North |
Bidding:
East |
South |
West |
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South ♠ AQ532 ♥ 7 ♦ AQT2 ♣ Q85 |
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2NT 3♥ 4NT 6♦
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No No No End |
1♠ 3♦ 4♦ 5♠ |
No No No No |
The North / South pair on this board used to be a regular partnership several years ago but they now only play together on an irregular basis, and this was their first outing together for over a year. This board happened to be in the first set of the session. They described their system as "ACOL, 12-14, with a Multi and a bit of rust." One of the revision topics discussed in the car on the way to the event concerned the 2NT response to a one-of-a-suit opener, which the dusted down and aged convention card said was "Baron" - a slam interest hand with a minimum of three-card support for the opened suit. South said that he didn't like the system and would try to find ways of avoiding the bid if it cropped up, but they jointly decided to leave it on the card. The first round back after a long absence, and North picked up a hand that he judged was well suited for Baron...
Some might say that the pairing was very fortunate to stumble into what turned out to be the only making slam on this board, but both North and South were at least aware that they were playing in a good minor suit trump fit, having knowingly shunned the options of a 5-3 spade fit or the alternative No Trump contract.
Either of the two alternative slams flounder on the 4-1 spade break as there is an inescapable spade loser to go along with the Ace of Clubs. 6♦ requires a little bit of care with the timing, but given that the trumps break 3-2 the play is pretty much plain sailing.
It is interesting to note how the two players had an entirely different interpretation of the middle part of the auction, despite which they converged on a common understanding of the resting place...
| The Bid | How South interpreted it | How North interpreted it |
| 1♠ | Natural, 4+ card suit | Natural, 4+ card suit |
| 2NT | Baron, slam interest, 3 or more spades | Baron, slam interest, 3 or more spades |
| 3♦ | Natural, also confirming 5+ spades | Natural, also confirming 5+ spades |
| 3♥ | Cue bid, with implicit agreement for spades | natural |
| 4♦ | Cue bid, denying first round control in clubs | natural, 5-5 shape |
| 4NT | Cue bid showing the Ace or King of trumps (i.e. spades) | Cue bid showing the Ace or King of trumps (i.e. diamonds) |
| 5♠ | Sign-off - I still haven't got any controls in clubs | First round control in spades |
| 6♦ | Partner has 4 diamonds - I'm happy to play in a 4-4 fit | Probably better than 6♠ or 6NT - but correct if you wish to |
Some morals to this story
If you decide to play Baron do have a reasoned and discussed agreement about follow-on bidding...
A dollop of luck comes in handy at this game!