BRIDGE MASTERCLASS

Your partner, South, opens 1 ♦ , to which you correctly respond 1 ♥ . He now rebids 2 ♣ . What do you bid?

WITH 13 points facing an opening bid you had the count, though not the ‘ shape’, for a direct 3NT response, so it is up to you to see that a game contract is not missed.

You are too good to bid 2NT at this point — showing 11-12 points — which partner might well pass.

2 ♠ , the bid many players would choose, is a wasted opportunity: it would be a ‘ fourth suit forcing’ bid, asking for values in that suit rather than showing them.

Bid 3NT over his 2 ♣ . He will now know you hold spades and, if his hand is completely unsuitable for No Trumps, even in the light of his knowledge of your hand, he will be quite capable of taking out into a suit, so your bid will not cause a missed slam. It will merely ensure the right game contract.