Brushed Aside

21st June – Board 6: East/West Vul. Dealer East.

When an opponent overcalls your partner’s opening bid with a two-suited showing convention you have a much larger number of bids at your disposal because as well as any natural response you might make you also have the ability to cue-bid in either of the suits being shown on your right. And you can make them mean whatever you and your partner have agreed! On the hand shown West will undoubtedly wade in with a Michael’s 2♦ after a 1♦ opening by partner, showing 5-5 in the majors and a reasonable hand because of the vulnerability. Without going into detail can you see that as North you now have the option of bidding 2♥ or 2♠ as responder, not wishing to play there of course because that would be madness, but merely to show whatever you have agreed upon? (I am being deliberately vague here because it is a complex situation, but it is useful to be aware of all the options that are open to you.) In any event North should do little more than double to show values and then when opener bids 3♣ bid 3♥ to show a useful holding there. (Called a ‘fragment’ by those who know these things.) And with a spade stop South is bound to try 3NT.

There is not a great deal to the play but upon receiving the lead of the king of spades declarer would do best to win and play a couple of rounds of clubs first. When West follows he is known to have one diamond at most and the situation in that suit becomes apparent when a low diamond is led to dummy. After the smoke has cleared I would expect declarer to emerge with ten tricks.