[dcohio]

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With West as dealer, how do you avoid 6S and land in 6H?

My partner opened 4NT (BW) and after my 5D (1) response bid 6S.

If he opens 2C, it goes

2C-2NT! (hearts)
3S-6H
6S

[ArtK78]

Opening 4NT is just plain nuts. Only slightly more nuts than opening 2♣.

And why in the world would East jump to 6♥ in a strong auction? Isn't it remotely possible that he can make a grand opposite a 2♣ opening?

I would open 1♠. You may not get to 6♥, but you certainly avoid 6♠.

If you allow East to take control of the auction after a 1♠ opening, he might be able to key card and get to 6♥. But while East is better able to guarantee that he has a no loser trump suit, he has no idea that the diamond suit doesn't have 2 losers.

[mike777]

1s=2h
2s=5h?
?

[Free]

dcohio, on 2011-August-28, 17:38, said:

If he opens 2C, it goes

2C-2NT! (hearts)
3S-6H
6S

Imo 6♠ is a really poor call in this auction. His black AK's will work, he has a ♥ support and he controls ♦, there's absolutely no reason to insist on ♠s after partner has clearly shown no interest in them at all.

[VM1973]

First of all, I don't believe the West hand should open 2♣. He has 4 losers and 4 QTs and I believe when a person opens 2♣ they should either have a large balanced hand or more QTs than losers. I would simply open 1♠. Opposite that (playing 2/1) I'm sure East can make a 2♥ bid and you should be off and running (assuming, of course, that you don't get a 5♦ call by the opponents somewhere).

Additionally, assuming that West does open 2♣ regardless and 2NT shows 5 hearts and 2 of the top 3 honors or something like that, surely this hand is worth more than that. Can't West call 3♥ over 2♣ to show something like this?

[FrancesHinden]

1♠ - 2♥
3♠ - 5♥
6♣ - 6♥
Pass

1♠ = I have a 1♠ opening bid
3♠ = I have a good hand that thinks spades should pretty certainly be trumps
5♥ = I don't agree with you about the trump suit, and I'm too good to bid 4♥
6♣ = OK, do you have solid hearts and the ace of diamonds?
6♥ = No

[Fluffy]

1♠ - 4♥
4♠ - pass

[xxhong]

1S 2H
3H(nonsolid spades, 6+, short H, extra value) 4D(short S, very strong H suit, playable facing H shortness)
4N(RKC, here 4S is to play, I can control all suits, so gotta RKC here, if you don't like RKC, at least bid something other than 4H or 4S IMO) 5S(two KC with Q, 9 H + partner's singleton = 10)
6H

dcohio, on 2011-August-28, 17:38, said:

---

With West as dealer, how do you avoid 6S and land in 6H?

My partner opened 4NT (BW) and after my 5D (1) response bid 6S.

If he opens 2C, it goes

2C-2NT! (hearts)
3S-6H
6S

[han]

I think after 1S - 2H it is good to bid 3S with the west hand. I like the auction by Frances.

[Cyberyeti]

I wouldn't open 2♣, but if I did, the auction would go:

2♣-2♥
2♠-4♥ I've got a lot of good hearts, positive values and nothing else of use, they're not rock solid but playable in a slam opposite a void
4♠(KC hearts)-5♥(2 and the queen, but suit can't be headed by AKQ or would have bid 3♥ so AK 9th)
6♥

Our actual auction is:

1♠-2♥
2N(GF needn't be bal)-3♥(at least 7 of them if not 3622 as would bid 3m with 6 hearts and 3m)
3♠-4♥ (no spade fit 8+ hearts)
4♠(key card)-5♥(2 with, AKQ 8th or AK 9th, the only bad hand is KQ 8th and A♦ but that's not a disaster)
6♥

[Zelandakh]

This is somewhat tricky as I do not differentiate between 8 and 9 card suits. Nevertheless there seems to be just enough space to safely relay this out and then it is obvious to play in hearts rather than spades. FWiiW I find Frances' auction strangely elegant for such a hand.

1C = 15+ nat/bal or 18+ any
... - 1N = hearts or hearts + clubs, GF
2C = relay, usually 18+
... - 2D = hearts only
2H = relay
... - 3D = 8+ hearts, 0-1 spades
3H = relay
... - 3S = min
4C = relay
... - 4D = singleton spade
4H = relay
... - 5C = 3 controls
5D = relay
... - 5S = heart control, no diamond control
6H = "your suit is at least as good as mine"