Daily Bridge Club

Bidding gadgetry

“My wife likes bidding gadgets,” a player at my club told me. “Goodness knows there are enough of them for her to try. She wanted to play transfer responses to 1NT. Of course, I am the man of my house, so ... we’re playing transfer responses to 1NT.”

My friend showed me today’s deal from a duplicate.

“When I opened 1NT,” he said, “my wife transferred to spades with a twoheart response. My understanding is that I should jump to three spades with my hand — as a ‘super-accept’ to show a great hand for spades.

“My wife raised to four spades, and West led a low club. I took my ace, drew trumps and led a diamond from dummy to my ten. West won and shifted to the jack of hearts: deuce, ten, ace. When I led the ace and a third diamond next, West won and led another heart, and East took two hearts for down one.

“My wife wasn’t happy. She said she might have bid 3NT, where we had nine top tricks. What’s your opinion of our bidding?”

I tend to use “super-accepts” sparingly, but South’s hand called for one. Bidding 3NT with the North hand would have been asking quite a lot, but South could have made four spades. He must refuse the first club.

If East returns a club, South takes the ace, pitching a diamond from dummy. He draws trumps with the A-K, takes the ace of diamonds and concedes a diamond. If West then leads a heart, South takes the ace and ruffs a diamond in dummy. He can return to his hand with a high trump and discard a heart from dummy on the 13th diamond. He loses one club, one diamond and one heart. South dealer

N-S vulnerable