New Year's Gift

2nd January – Board 5: North/South Game. Dealer North.

It is not often that we are given a hand as delightful as the one East held last Thursday and disappointing when its potential is not even half realised. However I think with a little bit of science, learnt no doubt from some erudite seminar on the subject…..

	North: S A J 7 2 H 8 2 D J 7 6 5 4 C Q J
West: S 9 8 6 3 H 7 6 4 D 3 C K 6 4 3 2		East: S none H A K Q J 10 9 5 3 D A Q 8 C A 8
	South: S K Q 7 5 4 H none D K 10 9 2 C 10 9 7 5

West	North	East	South
	No	2D	No
2H	No	3H	No
4H	No	4S	No
5C	No	5D	No
5H	No	5S	No
6D	No	7H	End

It may seem like hard work but it really isn’t. Playing Benjii East may initially be dismayed to think that he won’t get to play the hand but the bidding’s the thing. Over 4H East has an easy cue-bid of 4S and the key bid is when West bids 5C. You may think that this should show first round control but in these situations when one hand has been forced to bid and might be totally devoid of any positive attribute it is sensible for this type of bid to show either first or second round control. See how easy this makes it for East. He now knows that the slam is at worse on a diamond finesse and can bid 5S – clearly a grand slam try – and West can cooperate by showing his diamond control. Whether it is the king or a singleton does not matter to his partner who can now bid the grand with confidence.

Incidentally for those not playing Benjii and who would open 2C, then over 2D they should bid 3H. A jump in a suit after a game-forcing sequence shows a solid suit and demands an immediate cue-bid.