Bridge - The Scotsman 16/05/12

HERE is another deal where a trump suit cannot be agreed below the four-level. South’s 3D rebid promises a good 6+card suit, and denies any other four-card suits.

In these circumstances Qx is adequate support. North has enough for opposite a typical 3D rebid, but asking for aces might not tell him whether there are two spade losers. So he shows interest by cuebidding a new suit at the four-level. This might be called an inferential cuebid, suggesting diamond support without actually raising the suit. It also pinpoints the absence of spade control. (Of course 3S, a new suit at the three-level, might not be a cuebid, it might simply be showing a stopper for no-trump, but it becomes a cuebid when 3NT is removed to 4C or 4D.)

Over 4C it is inefficient to use 4NT to ask for aces – two likely responses take you past 5D, so the asking bid may commit you to slam. North’s rebid makes the auction game-forcing, so 4D is a waiting bid to see whether partner can cuebid a heart control. When he does South shows his spade control. Now North is confident that slam is good, so he makes a second cuebid in hearts to show the king as well as the ace.

South counts twelve tricks: one spade, three hearts, two clubs and, hopefully, six diamonds. He cannot be sure that partner has the queen of diamonds, but his strong bidding makes it extremely likely. Since the same twelve tricks are available in no-trump he chooses the higher-scoring slam.