Bookworm Bridge Conundrums #27

This conundrum was written by Mark Horton and was originally published in the book Misbid these hands with me - you can find out all about it further down the page.

Playing in a major online team event with a world-class partner, I pick up a powerful hand as South, with only the opponents vulnerable:


♠ J 9 7 3 2 A K Q 3 A 6 ♣ A K

I am dealer, and I could open 2NT, but I don’t care for the shape and it can lead to a difficult auction. These days an opening bid at the one-level is rarely passed, so I start with 1♠. Partner responds 2NT, which shows spade support, and I continue with an artificial 3♣, which is game-forcing. Partner’s reply of 3 indicates three-card spade support and 10-11 points. I continue with 4♣, hoping to see partner cuebid 4, but he can only produce 4♠. The fact that partner does not hold the K suggests that his spades must be quite good, so I decide to press on with 4NT, to which partner responds 5♣, promising one keycard. That allows me to bid 5, asking about the ♠Q, and partner jumps to 6♠, confirming that he has it. That concludes our lengthy sequence:


West leads the 10 and this is what I can see:

About the book

In 2007, Horton wrote Misplay These Hands with Me, a deliberate homage to Reese's classic, Play These Hands with Me. The difference was that the declarer in Horton's book always made an error, sometimes obvious, sometimes not so much. This successful book was the basis of a long-running column in the ACBL's Bridge Bulletin, a sequel in 2019, and earlier this year, Misdefend These Hands with Me. Now the same author turns to the topic of bidding, and once again gives the reader a chance to learn from someone else's mistakes. All the deals are taken from top-level play.

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