North was stuck for a bid after South bid two spades. South’s cue bid might be made with several different hands, the most common being a hand with a very big suit. North was trading on that when he bid three diamonds.
South continued by bidding four clubs. North’s support for clubs was no better than his diamond support, so North went back to diamonds. South continued by cue-bidding four spades – a clear slam try.
North had shown very little about his hand, other than he held a heart suit, and he had quite a useful hand for slam. North reasoned that if South was looking for slam, he was in! He jumped to six diamonds, giving us a most unusual auction. South had only bid his suit once, and North, with only two-card support, had raised the suit twice and then jumped to slam in the suit! It was terrific bidding.
There was nothing to the play on a heart lead. South won in dummy, ruffed a spade to his hand, and led a low club. He was soon scoring up his slam. A trump lead would have worried declarer, but he would still have made his slam.
Published - March 28, 2024 12:42 pm IST