IMPROVE YOUR PLAY

With Larry Matheny

Bidding hands of 1NT opening strength containing a five-card major cause problems for many partnerships. This hand demonstrates a way to show the extra strength.

Scoring: Matchpoints (Pairs)

#13-30
Dlr	W
Vul	Both

	AQ952
	KQ82
	Q9
	A2

	K86
	A93
	10854
	1093

	J73
	765
	A62
	Q754

	104
	J104
	KJ73
	KJ86

West	North	East	South
Pass	1	Pass	1NT*
Pass	2	Pass	2
Pass	2NT	Pass	3NT
Pass	Pass	Pass
*forcing

Bidding: After South took a simple preference to 2, North pushed on with 2NT. This showed a semi-balanced hand with 16-17 high card points and South continued on to game.

Play: West led the 10 of clubs and declarer won the queen with the king. Next, declarer led the jack of hearts. West won the second round to switch to a low diamond. Declarer could do no wrong as the cards were favorably placed. He ended up winning ten tricks: 2 spades, 3 hearts, 2 diamonds, and 3 clubs.

Why is this seemingly routine hand of interest? Several N/S pairs failed to reach game. The South players weren’t sure how to continue after North’s 2 bid. This should be a topic with your regular partners.

Copyright ©2013 Larry Matheny