Hand Question 17
Another case of bidding opponent's suit
Hi Bernard, This a deal from last Wednesday at Buckland Bridge Club. I not sure whether you covered this case in the Friday seminars. The bidding was: South West North East 1NT X 2D 3D pass 3NT pass 4H. 4H was the best contract and made 11 tricks, but what do you think about the bidding? North's 2D was announced as natural. I was East and judged that we should be in game rather than double for penalties. 2H would be a weak bid and I didn't want to jump in hearts as I wasn't sure whether West would be able to support the suit, so I chose the cue bid of 3D. The same would have applied if North had used 2C as an escape transfer to diamonds.
Bernard's Answer
I like the 3D bid - it shows a strong hand that wants to play in game and does not want to defend against diamonds. I would have bid 3H with the West hand and East then bids 4H. The key in this situation is that 3D is not asking for a stopper - most normal hands in this auction are looking to penalise the opponents, so the cuebid has to show a distributional type of hand. When partner bids 3NT in response to my 3D I might have been tempted to pass since my DK could well be the perfect bolster to his diamond holding - had his diamonds been Q10xx and hearts less good, then 3NT would perhaps be best.