IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
with Larry Matheny

Having the right conventions in your arsenal can make it easier to reach the optimum contract.   Here is a good example.

Scoring:  Matchpoints  (Pairs)

Hand #36
Dlr   E
Vul E/W
S AKQ10
H 754
D Q2
C QJ87
S 732
H AK106
D 873
C 963
    
S 4
H Q9832
D J1064
C 1054

S J9865
H J
D AK95
C AK2
West North
 East
 South


Pass
 1S
  Pass   2NT*    Pass     3H**
  Pass
    3S    Pass
    4NT
  Pass
    5S    Pass
     6S
All Pass


*Forcing spade raise
**Heart shortness

BIDDING:  South had a fair hand that became great after North responded 2NT.  This was a conventional bid (Jacoby 2NT) that showed four+ spades along with values for at least game.  South's rebid showed a singleton or void in the heart suit.   Their agreement was that North would sign off in game if the shortness bid was a turnoff.  Accordingly, South used Roman Keycard Blackwood to discover his partner held the ace, king, and queen of spades and bid the slam. 

PLAY:  West led the top two hearts and South quickly wrapped up twelve tricks.  The heart shortness was the key to the slam.  Just imagine the South hand with a small doubleton heart to appreciate the value of this.  Same high card points but a much weaker hand.  Also, the Roman Keycard convention eliminated South's concern about trump quality.  Do you have the tools to bid this slam? 

Copyright ©2007 Larry Matheny.