IMPROVE YOUR PLAY
with Larry Matheny

The auction is usually easier when you set the trump suit early.  This hand is a good example.

Scoring:  Matchpoints (Pairs)
Hand #25
Dlr   E
Vul None
S 86
H KJ5
D A97
C AK986
S 104
H Q10862
D K42
C J75
    
S 752
H 9743
D QJ1083
C 4

S AKQJ93
H A
D 65
C Q1032
West North
 East
 South


Pass
 1S
   Pass    2C*    Pass
     3C
   Pass
    3D    Pass 
    3H
   Pass
   3NT    Pass
     4C
   Pass
    4D    Pass
    7NT
   Pass
    Pass
    Pass
                                                                        *Game forcing                 

BIDDING:  At first South merely liked his hand but when his partner bid clubs, he fell in love with it.  South raised and after two cue bids, North showed his semi balanced shape by bidding 3NT.  This pair uses Minorwood where four of the agreed minor asks for keycards (4 aces + trump king).  North showed three keycards and South bid the grand slam in notrump.

PLAY:  West led a heart and declarer quickly claimed thirteen tricks.  Many players in the South chair ignored clubs electing instead to show their good spade suit.  North raised to the spade game and, worried about diamonds, several of the South players passed.  It's true South should move past the spade game, but his failure to support clubs earlier created the problem.  As this hand shows, raising a minor does not mean you cannot play in another strain.

Copyright ©2009 Larry Matheny.