Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - January 10, 2022 - North and the Wow factor

 

Question:  North has a choice in responses to South's 1S bid: 3S, 2H, 2D.  The partnership missed game.  Is there a hierarchy as to what to bid in this situation?

Vic:

Wow! What a hand. I suspect that West has the dubious distinction of being the only player at the table not experiencing at least a mild adrenalin surge. 

As soon as South (Overcaller) bids 1S, North (Advancer) should know strain (spades) & level (at least game). North should subsequently not consider any first call that is not either a jump to Game or Forcing. 

Are 3S, 2H, 2D all forcing bids in the NS partnership agreement? My guess would be that NONE are forcing, even if NS are experienced players. Be that the case, NONE of them are appropriate first calls by North. 

A first bid of 2C (a “cue” bid of opponent’s suit) by North would be forcing & in most partnership agreements would be interpreted as a Limit Raise or better in spades. A first bid of 4NT (Blackwood) by North would also be forcing. And a first bid of 4S (Game) by North would probably end the auction.

 Where the auction would go after a first bid by North of 2C or 4NT is anybody’s guess. Obviously, experienced players would have a lot more tools available than inexperienced players. I expect many experienced players would reach a small slam. 

Probably, Declarer (South) will get a club lead from West. I believe that declarer subsequently deserves to make 6S, but the highly unlikely diamond split makes successful play of the hand very tricky. It quite reasonable to imagine that many South will take 11 tricks only. 

Ain’t bridge a great game?