{"id":127447,"date":"2026-03-10T09:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T08:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/funbridge.com\/blog\/?p=127447"},"modified":"2026-03-10T09:39:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T08:39:23","slug":"sunday-night-03-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/funbridge.com\/blog\/en\/sunday-night-03-26\/","title":{"rendered":"What Signal on the King in No-Trump?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

This Sunday evening, Clothilde<\/strong> reaches out to me. She is probably one of the very best Girls<\/strong> in my group. She comes from a very bridge-oriented environment<\/strong>: her family and friends all play bridge<\/strong> and talk about it a lot. As a result, she is technically stronger<\/strong> than most of the others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This weekend, she was playing a practice match<\/strong> against the Polish Girls team<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Hi coach<\/strong>, can I tell you about a deal<\/strong>? \u00bb she asks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab With pleasure, Clothilde<\/strong>, tell me about it. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab Well, here\u2019s the situation: I had 8 high-card points<\/strong> and six clubs<\/strong>, and my partner opened 1NT<\/strong>. West<\/strong> overcalled 2♠<\/strong>, showing spades and a minor<\/strong>. What should I have said? Double<\/strong>, 2NT<\/strong> or 3NT<\/strong>? \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I replied:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00ab I can\u2019t answer just like that. I need to know whether you had a spade stopper<\/strong> and the quality of your clubs<\/strong>. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clothilde: \u00ab I had six clubs<\/strong> headed by the king-queen<\/strong> and the queen of spades third<\/strong>. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Me: \u00ab In that case, I would have bid 3NT<\/strong>. I would consider that my hand, with this good six-card suit<\/strong> and the well-placed queen of spades<\/strong>, was worth about 10 points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2NT<\/strong> is a Texas for clubs<\/strong> that I use either when I have a weak hand<\/strong> or when I don\u2019t want to play 3NT<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the double<\/strong>, you should use it with about 8 points<\/strong>, that\u2019s true, but with more balanced distributions<\/strong> and without a six-card suit<\/strong>. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She replied: \u00ab Don\u2019t worry, I bid 3NT<\/strong>, but I was wondering whether I should first show my clubs<\/strong>. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Me: \u00ab Be careful, Clothilde<\/strong>, it\u2019s the same as when the opponents stay silent<\/strong>. If you choose to make a Texas for clubs<\/strong>, it means you have a serious drawback<\/strong> for playing 3NT<\/strong>.
Here, bidding 2NT<\/strong> and then 3NT<\/strong> would show a problem with the spade stopper<\/strong>. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She replied: \u00ab Well, then we bid correctly<\/strong>. Here are the two hands<\/strong>. West<\/strong> led the king of spades<\/strong> for East\u2019s 2<\/strong>. He established his spades<\/strong>, and I went down<\/strong>, because the clubs were blocked<\/strong>. They were 3\u20130<\/strong>, with three cards in East<\/strong>. \u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n