0024 - Minorwood

One of my former students shared this deal from a 2/1 Game Forcing book and asked me to explain the auction, specifically the bids of 4 ♣ and 4NT.

Auction: North deals and with 14 hcp, 6 losers and well place honors North has a solid opening hand. With a nice 6-card heart suit ♥ AK10632 North opens the bidding 1 ♥ with the plan on rebid to bid 2 ♥. South, with and opening hand of 12 hcp and 5½ losers, responds 2 ♣ as 2/1 Game Forcing. North rebids 2 ♥ showing a 6-card heart suit and limiting values (12-14 hcp). South's bid of 2 ♠ is natural showing 5+ clubs and 4 spades.

here is the complete auction ... 

North's bid of 3 ♣ shows a fit in clubs. South has shown 5+ clubs, and thus, North's bid of 3 ♣ shows 3-card support for a 5-3 fit in clubs. After finding a fit in clubs, North has 17 support points for clubs, but there is no reason to consume bidding space, N/S are in a game forcing auction.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

West	North	East	South
	1 ♥	Pass	2 ♣1
Pass	2 ♥2	Pass	2 ♠3
Pass	3 ♣4	Pass	3 NT
Pass	4 ♣5	Pass	4 ♦6
Pass	4 NT7	Pass	5 ♠8
Pass	6 ♣	All pass

1. 2/1 GF

2.  6 hearts, 12-14 hcp

3.  natural

4.  fit in clubs

5.  slam try

6.  control in diamonds

7.  RKC Blackwood

8.  2 keycards and the ♣Q

After finding a fit in clubs South has 16 support points, but the right call is 3NT. South's bid of 3NT shows a stopper in diamonds and a willingness to play in 3NT (and denies a tolerance for hearts). South does not want to bypass 3NT if this is the right place to play. Without a full stopper in diamonds South would bid 3 ♦ asking North for help in diamonds.

North with 17 support point, shortness in spades and 2 honors in clubs ♣ KJ3 now has the ability to show values, North's bid of 4 ♣ take out of 3NT is a mild slam try. South's bid of 4 ♦ is a control bid in diamonds encouraging for a slam, otherwise, South would have just bid 5 ♣. North's bid of 4NT is RKC Blackwood for clubs and the 5 ♠ response shows 2 keycards (♦ A and ♣ A) plus the ♣ Q. After South's diamond control bid North can reasonably assume which key cards South holds and bids 6 ♣.

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4 ♣ – In most auctions partnerships would play that 4 ♣ over 3NT would be the Gerber convention, but in the auction here, both South and North have bid clubs naturally. So 4 ♣ here is a natural bid in clubs and as a takeout of 3NT makes 4 ♣ a mild slam try in clubs.

4 NT – In the auction here 4 NT is RKC Blackwood which might be OK for teaching or demonstration purposes, but in reality RKC Blackwood is a horrible convention for minor suit slams as any response to 4 NT (other than 5♣) is forcing to 6♣.

A better system is some form of Minorwood as an ace/keycard asking convention for minor suit slams. My friend and partner Marty Nathan of Atlanta has advocated for years that the 4 ♣ bid in this auction would both show a fit in clubs AND is keycard asking. I play RKC Minorwood with most of my partners. Some partnerships might use the other minor where in this auction a 4 ♦ takeout of 3NT would be ace/keycard asking. Or some might play a variation called Redwood where 4 ♦ would be the asking bid if the agreed upon suit is clubs and 4 ♥ would be the asking bid if the agreed upon suit is diamonds. 

The HHI Bridge blog is dedicated to a better understanding of the game of bridge. There is not just one way to bid or play a hand of bridge, there will be differences of opinion and that is OK ... feel free to make a comment on a post.