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. »