BRIDGE

BRIDGE

North-South vulnerable, South deals.

NORTH

xA K 10

u10 8 4 2

vA Q 6 2

w9 6

WEST EAST

x7 5 4 2 xQ J 9 6 3

uJ 6 3 u7

v7 5 v10 9 4

wQ J 8 7 wK 10 4 3

SOUTH

x8

uA K Q 9 5

vK J 8 3

wA 5 2

The bidding:

SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST

1u Pass 2NT- Pass

3v Pass 4v Pass

4NT Pass 5x-- Pass

5NT Pass 6v Pass

7v All pass

-Game-forcing heart raise with four-card support

--Two key cards plus the queen of diamonds

Opening lead: Queen of w

Though not often used in this space, Roman Key Card Blackwood now dominates the world of tournament bridge. In addition to asking for aces, it also asks about the king and queen of trumps. This convention has greatly improved slam bidding and even non-tournament players are using it more and more.

A problem arises when two different suits have been bid and raised by the partnership. There are some complex schemes that experts use, but a simple rule is best for most players -- ”When two suits are bid and raised, 4NT asks for keycards in the most recently bid suit.” The other suit might eventually become the trump suit, but this simple rule establishes what the responder is expected to show.

The above auction took place in the World Championships in Poland last month. Despite suit agreement in hearts, South was able to ask about the queen of diamonds, which was a very important card to him. The final decision was a little risky. Should North have two spades and three clubs, there would only be 12 tricks, but South’s singleton spade made that against the odds. Note that there are only 12 tricks available in hearts. Can you and your partner bid this well? If you can, we might be seeing you in the next World Championships!

2016 Tribune Content Agency