The Importance of Extra Values
Classes on slam bidding tend to focus on keycards and controls, but we have found that, more often, the most difficult challenge is determining whether we and partner – combined – have enough strength to make slam worth investigating.
Example 3.06.
East: K84 KQ AK8 K10965 18 HCP, KR 17.75
West: AQ1062 A62 1052 AJ 15 HCP, KR 16.35
| West | North | East | South |
| 1♠ | Pass | 2♣ | Pass |
| 2NT | Pass | 4♠ | All pass |
Our opponents missed this slam. If West had opened one notrump, East (with 18 HCP) would have driven to slam. West’s two notrump was ambiguous about strength; if West had been able to show extra values, East would have driven to slam. East’s four spade rebid was ambiguous about strength; if East had been able to show three-card spade support with more than a minimum, West (with three Aces and nice trumps) would have been alert to the possibility of slam.
The EW problems weren’t about convention card details; they were playing two-over-one-game-forcing and Key Card Blackwood, and they knew about control bidding; rather the problems were about not having agreed how to differentiate between minimum hands and hands with extra values.
Example 3.07. Slam is basically cold, but only 55 of 118 pairs bid a slam (23 chose six notrump, 32 chose six hearts). Deal V76.
Responder: K108 1042 AKJ3 KQ3 16 HCP, KR 15.90
Opener: A3 AQJ76 98 AJ87 16 HCP, KR 18.15
When opener started with one heart, typically responder bid a game forcing two diamonds, and now many pairs (lacking good agreements about various continuations) were unable to determine that the two combined hands were in the Slam Zone. When opener started with one notrump (15-17, actually an underbid according to KR), typically responder invited slam and opener accepted.
Bonus from Val: The responding hand is 4-3-3-3 (bad) but has only one Jack, good spot cards, and the four-card suit is strong, so after reading this book you should be thinking “not an upgrade and not a downgrade either.” With opener’s hand, you should be thinking “Wow”: three Aces, honors concentrated in the long suits, great five-card suit, nice four-card side suit.
Example 3.08. Slam is basically cold, but only about half of the field bid slam (most chose six notrump not six clubs). Deal V93.
Responder: KQ9 K J93 A109874 13 HCP, KR 13.00
Opener: A1075 AJ3 AK106 K5 19 HCP, KR 20.60
When opener started with two notrump (either because playing a 19-20 range or because opener upgraded), reaching slam was relatively easy, but when opener started with one diamond, responder bid a game forcing two clubs, and many pairs were unable to determine that the two hands (combined) were in the Slam Zone.
Bonus from Val: Opener’s hand is another “Wow”: three Aces, two tens, both four-card suits are strong, only one “Quack”.