Bidding to a minor suit slam.
Bridge Column for April 23, 2004, Harvey Bernstein
Special To The Plain Dealer
Neither side vulnerable.  North deals.
                              North
                              S: A 6 5 4          
                              H: K Q 3 2     
                              D: K Q         
                              C: 4 3 2   
            West                             East
            S: K 7 2                         S: Q J 10 9 8 3 
            H: 10 8 6                        H: J 7 4     
            D: J 10 9 2                      D: 4                 
            C: Q 9 7                         C: J 8 5       
                              South                         
                              S: Void 
                              H: A 9 5      
                              D: A 8 7 6 5 3 
                              C: A K 10 6 
          The Bidding:  
                  North    East    South    West                  
                   1C       1S      2S      Pass
                   2NT     Pass     3D      Pass
                   3NT     Pass     4C      Pass
                   4NT     Pass     5C      Pass                  
                   6D      Pass     Pass    Pass
     One of the most difficult contracts to bid is a minor suit
slam.  This is especially true when you are playing matchpoint
duplicate bridge.  When a partnership can determine that they do
not have an eight card fit in a major suit, they will often stop
in three no trump rather than investigete the possibility of a
slam in either minor suit.
     Todays deal is a good example of a bidding sequence that
allowed the North-South pair to get to the only makeable slam. 
After North opens one club, East makes a very thin overcall. 
South takes the opportunity to cue-bid his void.  This alerts
partner to the fact that they have game values.  It also tends to
indicate that the South hand does not have a four card heart
suit.  With that holding he would make a "negative double".
     North's two no-trump bid shows a minimum hand with a spade
stopper.  Three diamonds by South should show a real suit and
must be considered forcing.  Three no-trump denies three card
diamond support.  Four clubs is forcing and says that the South
hand is either 5-5, 5-4 or 6-4 in the minor suits.  
     North bids four no-trump, asking for aces.  This partnership
plays "Key-Card Blackwood".  Responder is supposed to include the
king of trump as the fifth "key-card".  Since a trump suit has
not been agreed upon, responder should consider the king of the
last suit that has been bid as the fifth key-card.  His five club
response shows one or four key cards.  North knows that his
partner could not have bid the way he did with only one key card,
and he also knows that there is only one spade stopper so a no-
trump contract is not a consideration.  While North would like to
have one more diamond for his six diamond bid, he knows that his
king-queen doubleton is very good support, even for a five card
diamond suit.   
     West started with the two of spades and South quickly made
his contract, losing only one trick to the jack of diamonds. 
This result was a tie for top and this is one of the times where
the bidding made all the difference.    
_______________________________________________________
Bernstein is a free-lance writer in Solon.