Both Vul
IMPs
Dealer: East
Lead: 
Q
salcee K Q J 4 3 2 A K 4 A Q A 3 |
||
| cindym 10 9 8 7 10 9 6 3 3 Q 6 5 2 |
![[W - E]](http://gee.aaronhaspel.com/files/2012/10/t.gif) |
gosia A 6 Q J 8 5 K 9 8 5 2 J 10 |
| Maestro 5 7 2 J 10 7 6 4 K 9 8 7 4 |
| West
Pass |
North
2 |
East Pass Pass Pass Pass |
South Pass 3 4 Pass |
What does it take to respond positively to a forcing 2C opener? Let’s hear from three distinguished experts on the subject. First, Max Hardy: “When responder has a good suit, the immediate showing of it may allow opener to evaluate fitting cards and determine trick taking potential. Responder will show a suit if it is at least five cards long and contains two of the top three honors by bidding it directly in response to the two club opening bid.”
OK. Now Marty Bergen: “How much strength is needed for a positive response [to 2C]? The general standard is roughly 1 1/2 quick tricks or 8+ HCP.” He goes on to say you bid a suit at the two- or three-level “with a decent suit and a decent hand.”
Finally, Gerard Cohen: “For the other team, altogether, the minimum for the opposing team has a point spread of 19 to 40 minus whatever each opponent counts in his own hand. I’ll let you figure the mathematics of it.”
That last quote may have nothing to do with responding to a 2C opener, but then again it may. In any case, we can get some idea of what Gee thinks he needs from today’s hand. Apparently a four-count with two junky five-card minors suffices.
North, alas, appears to be closer to the Bergen-Hardy school. He rebids 3S and jumps to the spade slam when Gee follows up 3D with a forcing bid in a new suit. 6S rolls home if spades break 3-3, hearts are 5-3 or better and the DK is onside, provided trump are not led. Unluckily, this is not the layout, although East manages to hold the defense to down 1 by winning the SA and leading into declarer’s diamond tenace.
North and South’s bad fortune is our good, as Gee is dummy, giving him plenty of time to discuss bidding theory with the specs.
Spec #1: gerard what was 3d pls?
G: positive response, 5+ diamonds
Spec #2: G, they dont understand 3d… i dont get it, 3d is automatic guys
Spec #2: it shows 5 diamonds and a game force since 2d would be waiting, duh
Spec #3: with respect i think 2d waiting was better
Spec #4: yep 2d was the bid
G (to Spec #3): no, I do not have a 2d bid there
Spec #1 (to Spec #2): are you hopped up on somethin?
S Spec #2: naa, he had to show 5 diamonds, he has a 3D bid
S Spec #5: lol
Spec #3: ok what do you bid with bad hands?
Spec #5: Spec #2 heading the G fan club
As Gee leaves spec the recriminations fly.
Spec #2: oh btw specs, i was being sarcastic
Spec #1: spec #2 is the chief bosun and bser lol
Spec #2: i like to humor G
Spec #3 (to Spec #2): so what does g bid with poor hands like that?
Spec #6: 1 more story for aaron
Spec #7: no, you were kissin up
Spec #5: Spec #2 doing his best not to get booted from G spec land
Spec #2: you dont understand my “special” relationship with G
Spec #8: Spec #2 was trying not to commit pamicide*
Spec #2: i am his #1 fan :)
G (playing now, but still calling up from the table): but I did not make a reverse after 3D… would have been better 4S and hope I would continue
Spec #1 (to Spec #2): dont you see you’re creating a monster?
Spec #7: ah he failed to reverse… that explains it:>
Spec #6: reverse after 2c opening? New word in theory
*Named for pama, who mentioned the Bones Principle while Gee was in spec and thus assured herself of a spot on the honor roll.
Rather than carping on about the bidding on this hand, perhaps a review of the play might be more enlightening for your readers. True it needs an unfortunate lead and continuation for the contract to have a chance, but “experts” expect their partners to take these chances.
After the queen of diamonds has won the second trick, North should have drawn five rounds of trumps and the ace of diamonds, reducing everyone to five cards each.
East must keep the king of diamonds, three hearts, plus one spare card. South will keep three clubs, the jack of diamonds and a heart.
West will keep three clubs and two other cards. Note West cannot keep three hearts without surrendering a club trick.
Recall at this point North has the AK4 of hearts and A3 of clubs; when he plays the ace and king of clubs East is squeezed in the red suits, he can either discard the king of diamonds or a heart.
If only partner had realised the value of that heart four the hand would have been a non-story — but that would have deprived you of the chance to comment on South’s enterprising bidding!
Perhaps I’m missing something, but isn’t it usually difficult for slam to make when the defense holds two natural trump tricks?
Sorry I misunderstood, when you said, “East manages to hold the defense to down 1 by winning the SA and leading into declarer’s diamond tenace”, I thought you meant that East, who was on lead at trick one, cashed the SA and switched to a diamond.
No, the actual lead was HQ (as the hand diagram shows). The SA took one of declarer’s honors, and that’s all she wrote.
Now we must contend with pseudo-Gee and petit-gee as well as the One & Only, and which one of those would find the “unfortunate” lead of the trump ace, just to get a peek at dummy, of course. My guess is only one, and in this case he would congratulate himself on cutting off the heart ruff in dummy even while compressing two trump tricks into one. Now a switch to the HQ is obvious even to a novice. If one’s thumb accidentally found the CJ, however, even that would be harmless, as the C suit may easily be established, but the long C will be stuck in an entryless dummy. I cannot find smoke good enough to justify leading a D at trick two, but I’ll keep trying.