Bridge - The Scotsman 29/02/2012

WE have been looking at slams that make on sheer power of high cards. With two balanced hands we need around 33 points for 6NT, but may make slam with rather fewer high card points in a 4-4 trump fit. We also need fewer high cards when we have a long suit that offers a source of tricks.

Here we see John Matheson and Iain Sime brushing aside a pre-empt in a Camrose match. North’s 3NT over 3C is quite wide-ranging, anything from 16 to about 23. South could bid a conventional 4C to enquire about the range, but would that help, when a minimum with good controls was all that was required?

Partner was known to have a club stopper, so the king ensured that there were not two fast losers there. South really wanted to ask for aces, but he had no way of doing so at this level: 4C was the enquiry, and 4NT was quantitative, inviting partner to bid slam if he was not minimum.

Normally in NT auctions it is more important to know whether there is enough general strength rather than how many aces are present, but South’s running suit and controls meant he was contributing eight winners and he did not need much general strength.

There was no way to find out for sure, so South simply went with the odds and bid the slam that would make whenever partner had two aces and some useful cards. A good practical shot.