Saturday, August 16, 2003 1:49 AM

5 level Q Bids

PITBULLS:

Fred Gittleman says all Q bids of the opponents suit that commence at the 5 level should be defined as Exclusion Blackwood. What does a Q bid of their suit at the 5 level really mean ? Partner says he is supposed to like or dislike his hand without having a clue what the other hand consists of. In other words , a blind guess. Why not do as Gittleman suggests and use the bid as Exclusion Blackwood ?

A hand at the Red Deer tournament really shows the need for the “Exclusion Blackwood” convention . The characters involved are the Butcher/Flock combo vrs yours truly and Vish . First seat not vul against vul I held ♠x ♥10987xx ♦AQxx ♣xx & decided it was time for a nv vrs vul weak 2 in hearts. Mr. Flock made a vulnerable overcall 2♠ . Vish leapt to 4♥ and Butcher held the following:

A	v	x	A
K	o	x	K
x	i	x	Q
x	d		J
			x
			x

Opposite a vul 2♠ overcall there has to be a good chance for a vul grand. Butcher with his void in hearts trotted out Blackwood . I thought it was time to help partner out on lead so I backed in 5♦ . Doran responded with 1 Ace and Butcher went into a huddle. Surely with the opponents bidding hearts they have the Ace of hearts . What is Crosby’s bid of 5♦ ? Is it a lead directing void or the Ace of diamonds and partner has the heart Ace ? Butcher puts the 7♠ card on the table and all pass . Vish leads a diamond and I cash the Ace for +100 .

I think a Q bid at the 5 level should be Exclusion Blackwood by partnership agreement. Q bids at the 5 level are ambiguous enough so having it be defined as Exclusion Blackwood is a logical treatment.

With this auction , should we heap all the blame for the result on Butcher ? Can my 5♦ bid be a psyche to keep them out of 7 ? Do you believe the opponents ? I think the problem with Butchers bidding is that he has to blast if he wants a chance at 7 . Bidding 7♠ from the shoulder keeps me from bidding 5♦. I will double 7♠ telling partner not to lead a heart but Vish only has a 50-50 chance of finding the diamond lead . Hence we have a 50 % grand. The way Butcher bid it , I feel it is a zero % grand slam.

Tom Gandolfo held this hand ♠AKxx ♥void ♦Jxx ♣KQ1098x and LHO opened a weak 2♥ & I overcalled 2♠ with ♠QJ109x ♥Axx ♦Q1098 ♣A . Tom’s RHO jammed to 4♥ so Tom bid 5♥ . I feared duplication of value in hearts so I signed off in 5♠. Tom took a guess at 6♠ and they failed to cash their ♦AK so I made the contract. What if I held the same HCP’s and same shape but trade the red Aces. Tom through exclusion Blackwood could find that out and even ask for the trump queen. He can count 13 tricks and claim before the lead. In the era of Exclusion Blackwood , Q bidding their suit at the 5 level is archaic.