BRIDGE

AS DEALER, what opening bid would you make on this hand?

THE Acol System requires a hand with a minimum of five quick tricks, combined with playing strength, to qualify for the strongest bid of all, an opening 2♣; but this rule has one exception - when the predominant suit is clubs, you may be up to half a quick trick short.

If your six-card suit were any of the others, you could safely open with a Strong Two, forcing for one round only. As it is your alternatives are a slight overbid of 2♣, or an underbid of 1♣.2♣ is the better choice, especially as partner will know from the subsequent rebid of 3♣ that you may well not hold your full five quick tricks.

He will, however, know that you have a powerful hand which you consider worth a play for game even if it doesn’t quite run to a slam.

In practice, when this hand arose at the table, only 1♣ was opened with the result that a Grand Slam was missed!