Trump Echo

Yes. Also - I notice that on some days my hands seem to average low in points relative to the other hands. This results in having to play defense all day, and try as we might, my partner and I end up with the short end of the stick when the IMPs are distributed. It's obvious to me that BBO is punishing us on random days because my partner and I play regularly together.

Re M/F vs F/M, it could be that Males are more apt to read bridge forums.

5♥ Leave it to my partner.

I would have bid 2 Diamonds as well, but I would not have considered it a lie since, at least in my mind, a 4-card major suit promises a Queen minimum.

Seems to me, odds are that partner holds another small Diamond. If he held J10, he'd have played the Jack. If he held 10x, he'd play the 10. If he holds 10 singleton, he'd play the 10. With more than two ♦s, he'd play a middle card, which would not be the 10 unless he held J10x, which is not likely. In all likelyhood, Diamonds seems to be a safe lead as indicated by partner. I'd lead the ♦K. Not a complete guess, but an educated guess.

3♠

3♠

1♣ - 1♥ 3♦ - 3♥ 4♣ - 5♣ 6♣ Responder would see Clubs fit on opener's second bid, but would bid Hearts again anyway since his bid is forcing. Opener would suspect a Hearts fit, but would rebid his Clubs.

Intermediate opponents - ♦4

Thank-you, Helene. I've seen your answers in other threads and you are obviously a great and wise bidder. ;) If I was responder and I saw the bidding play out like this with a bid of 2 Spades followed by 3 Hearts, I would think my partner held 3 Hearts, and I didn't understand how he could have 4 Hearts. But if his 2 Hearts bid is forcing, it makes perfect sense. And I like your short answer. Thanks again.

[hv=pc=n&s=skq7653ha852d2ck5&n=sajhkj63dt9864cq9&d=s&v=0&b=11&a=1sp2dp]266|200[/hv] This is from Frank Stewart's syndicated newspaper column today which is also available online. It is taken from the bottom of the article in the Daily Question area. http://www.baronbarclay.com/product/bridgecolumn03-14-14/March2014 What is Opener's correct rebid in a natural (not a 2/1) auction? I would think opener's rebid is 2 ♥, allowing partner to show delayed support for the ♠. But Stewart says opener should rebid 2 ♠. Thoughts? Thank-you. Edit: Please see post #21

The way the auction is, I think I'd have raised to 4 Diamonds - I'd be too wary of 3 NT. But let's say South showed the Hearts. 1♦, 1♥ 2♣ Now it's South's bid and he has a problem, at least in my system. A jump to 3 D would be a GF, and the hand is not strong enough. But a bid of 2 D would undervalue his hand. This might be why South elected to hide the hearts.

I might be too conservative, but I would pass the opening if I held North's hand. Assuming East passed, South would open 1 Spade, and I'd leap to 4 Spades. Having said that, IMO, North's third bid is completely wrong. Once the GF is established with the 4th suit, North should have taken the opportunity to show delayed light support for the Spades. And on to game you go. North's passing of the completely legitimate Spades bid in a game force and bidding NT with a singleton shows a lack of bidding knowledge.

If the opening was 1 ♦ followed by 5 ♦, I'd be inclined to bid 5 ♠. But you have to fight preempts with aggression. I'd go 6♠

I would respond 2 Clubs.

It's awkward because I would not have bid this hand this way. I'd have jumped to 4 ♠ because 3 ♠ undervalues my hand. I would not worry about my partner passing after such strong bidding. ♠ would become trump by inference. My partner would then see the likely slam in ♠ and guide us to the appropriate contract.

If my regular partner bid this, I would see it as a cue bid. With the bid, my partner is telling me we have the strength for a slam in ♥ if I have max values. If my partner simply bid 3 ♣ or 3 ♥, inviting game in ♥, and I followed with 4 ♥, I would have missed the opportunity to show my ♦ Ace below game.

Here is how my partner and I would bid this: South opens 2 ♣, intending to bid the Diamonds. North responds 3 NT. South considers slam in NT and sees 6 NT easily. But he also sees a possible grand slam in ♦. His hand has more value with a fit in ♦. So he proceeds with his plan and shows his ♦. He bids 4 ♦. North has a fit in ♦. He can see the slam in ♦, but he can also see the possibility of a grand slam in ♦. He considers Blackwood, but he has a worthless doubleton, so he raises the ♦, knowing partner will not pass. He bids 5 ♦. South sees the possibility of a grand slam in ♦. Blasting to 7 would be easy but reckless. There is no rush. He bids 5 ♥, showing that Ace. North's worries with his worthless doubleton are resolved. He can see the grand slam possibilities, but he has no Kings at all. So he bides his time with a bid of 5 ♠, showing that Ace. South sees 3 Aces. Does North have the ♣ Ace? He cannot be sure. He knows it's clear to both partners that they are looking at 7 ♦, so he bids 6 ♦, indirectly asking about the only suit that hasn't been discussed - the ♣. North has the ♣ Ace. He bids 7 ♦. South sees solidity everywhere. He can see four Aces and four Kings. It's likely the ♦ will run for five tricks. He bids 7 NT. The key is the super-positive first response by North which locked up the minor slam and allowed room to investigate 7.