Pitiful Crutch

31st March – Board 13. Game All. Dealer North.

Fourth-suit forcing was once described by Terence Reese as a ‘pitiful crutch’ but that was only because it is so often abused. But on the hand shown below it was quite the right thing to do.

	North: S A Q 9 7 5 H K 7 D K 10 8 3 C J 10
West: S K J 4 H A 9 6 3 D J C A 7 6 4 3		East: S 8 6 3 H 10 8 5 2 D 9 7 5 4 C 9 2
	South: S 10 2 H Q J 4 D A Q 6 2 C K Q 8 5

West	North	East	South
	1S	No	2C
No	2D	No	2H
No	2NT	No	3NT
End

You might think that South could bid 3NT at his second turn but that would be madly premature. Give North something like SAKxxx Hx DKxxxx  CAx and 6D is virtually laydown and the hand would certainly pass 3NT. Instead just bid 2H and see what partner says over that. 2NT would show a minimum hand with a heart stop so now the raise to game can be made without any feelings of anxiety that something better may have been missed. The adverse cards could hardly be more benign and most routes would lead to eleven tricks while 5D depends on the spade finesse.