July bidding contest: the results!

At this stage, it is still possible that Partner holds five hearts and 10-11 points. Or should he then have said 4NT himself if he had 11 points? I do not think so. Personally, I prefer to think that it is he who first made a bid that might show fewer points than he really has who has to bid again. The (slight) majority chose to bid again but via different methods. The most “basic” opted for a quantitative 4NT, certainly showing the points but hiding this special distribution.

Harari: “4NT. Quantitative. Unfortunately, 4♥ here would show four-card support with a very strong hand. Partner can always still suggest playing in Hearts if he has five cards and a good hand.”

Lévy: “4NT. An ace more than expected does deserve a try. With my apologies if there are nine top tricks.”

Allavena: “4NT. I have trouble seeing which higher contract I will make if my partner has nothing extra but I also have trouble passing with this monster hand.”

Kokish, however, has an opinion on North’s hearts: “4NT. If North were interested in heart support, he would have said 3♦, which for us is simply a waiting bid (not really a fit) made with hands with which one cannot say 3♥ (six cards), 4♣ (slam try) or 3NT (8-10 HCP with stops in the majors). Therefore, 4♥ now would show four cards. A natural 4NT bid is therefore sufficient.”

Kerlero: “4NT. Delicate. With an ace more than promised, one feels obliged to go up one, despite risking going down. One would also like to show the heart fragment by saying 4♥ but the bid should show four-card support and a hand judged to be too strong for a 3♠ splinter.”

Others preferred to lie. But with good reasons, of course. Quantin: “4♥. Yes, I know; the bid guarantees four cards. But aside from the fact that 4 Hearts in a 4-3 fit might be the best contract, I do not really see what to say next. Now it is my turn for a question: are you sure you should open 1♦?”

Schmidt: “4♥. Technically, a heart raise at this stage would show four cards in the suit but there seems to me to be a choice between cheating with the size of the fit (4♥), a statistically average bid (4NT) and a disillusioned pass. At least by saying 4♥, I should be in a playable contract and I ensure that Partner will only bid again with good trumps (looking at my hand, I imagine that there cannot be much that is appealing about his aside from the hearts).”

Thomas Bessis: “4♥. Never mind; I have bid as though I were supporting Hearts with a hand too strong for a direct 3♠ splinter over the 1♥ response. With this lack of intermediates in the minors, I have the feeling that it will be easier to make ten tricks with Hearts as Trumps than nine in NT and if, by any chance, Partner finds another bid…”

Finally, two original people produced a bid that I liked a lot because it should indeed show this type of hand, so I raised their score in the final results…

Toffier: “4♠. Saying 4♥ would seem to mean that we hold four cards in Hearts and that the 3♣ bid only showed three cards (the same hand, in fact, with one club fewer and one heart more). Bidding 4NT would risk missing the 5-3 fit in Hearts and would be acceptable by switching the Spades and the Hearts. I therefore think that a 4♠ bid does indeed show this type of hand with only three hearts.”