Hennen

Where are the hearts?? Between them W and N seem to have 9 hearts, possibly even 10. Partner presumably has 4 hearts, so for his bid of 2 clubs (as opposed to X) I take the clubs to be 6 cards long. (We don't double with xx Jxxx x AKJxxx, or do we? 2♦ by pard would fix us as bidding 3♣ next would imply a bigger hand.) With a 10-card fit I will not contemplate defending. Even if partner has as little as ♥Qxx(x) and ♣AJxxxx (and I expect him to be better than that) 3NT looks a good contract because W has no entry to his heart suit and there is ample time to develop tricks. If N has clubs good enough to be played for no loser, 3NT is cold. Also with ♥Kx or Qx in E 3NT is cold even with no more than ♥Jxxx in N. Against all this, if N has running clubs and no ♥ honour we would be better off in 5♣ , losing just two Aces, although there is concern for a ♠ ruff. So can we find out about partner's ♥ stopper? After eg. 2♠ , he might bid a 4-card ♥ irrespective of quality, or rebid clubs that are not solid while holding ♥ Kxx or Qxx . We cannot really expect him to distinguish between ♥Qxxx and ♥109xx. Partner needs ♣AKJxxx or better to guarantee no loser. This combined with a possible ♠ ruff makes bidding 5♣ too risky. Cashing 2 aces is too easy. 3NT is what i will bid because it seems to give the most practical chances, one of them being that W - who has no entry - does not automatically lead a ♥ : his pard did bid two other suits... Slam seems unlikely as E rates to have 2 Aces for his bidding. (E could conceivably bid 2 times with AJ9xx KQx J9xxx - . If N has solid clubs + an Ace he might continue anyway.) Of course, the post mortem will be unpleasant if partner's hand turns out to be xx 87x xx AKQxxx. Also, if 1) E appears with a 5440 distribution and 2) W happens to lead a killing ♥ , I will fully take the blame. <_<