2008-06-21 13:04

Hand Evaluation – Serious 3NT ( Spade Void )

PITBULLS:

When hearts are the agreed trump suit , a problem that crops up time & time again is showing a spade void. Due to the rank of the “bully suit” , jumping to show a spade void is bad because you are past game. In the rare occasion that you do not care if you are past game, a jump in spades should be interpreted as exclusion KCB. It is important to remove the ambiguity between showing a spade void as opposed to a spade Q bid . Showing the spade Ace or King sends a drastically different message than showing a void. Duplication of value can be assessed.

Here is a hand held by Kiz Fung recently ♠void ♥KQ109x ♦AJ109x ♣xxx . Partner opens 1NT so you transfer to hearts & partner super accepts by jumping to 3♥. If no spade duplication of value , there could be a grand slam with this hand. Some examples ♠xxx ♥AJxx ♦KQx ♣AJx or many many other hands. How do we just make a slam try in hearts with your void in spades ? In Bridge theory it’s sometimes best to fight fire with fire. Spades are the highest ranking suit in the deck but NT is even higher ranking. With a super accept in hearts this means hearts are trump. It is silly to suggest an alternative contract of NT when you have a super fit already & this contradicts serious 3NT theory. Therefore , 3NT in these auctions is the serious 3NT. There is a rule playing the serious 3NT that a spade control has precedence over a serious 3NT . Failure to Q bid spades denies a spade control as you are Q bidding up the line with the 3NT Q bid so to speak .

What if you deny a spade control with a serious 3NT bid , followed by a Q bid in spades ? This is a contradiction so define this sequence as showing a spade void. However, there is another good way to find out duplication of value with serious 3NT theory. This concept is using the “serious 3NT” to force a Q bidding auction so you just listen to find out if partner Q bids spades. Kiz bids the serious 3NT with this hand. Partner Q bids 4♣ so Kiz bids 4♦. Partner now retreats to 4♥ denying either the ♠A or ♠K !!!! 6♥ is a simple bid now & investigation for a grand slam should follow. With the actual hand Susan held , she bids 4♦ denying a club control so you sign off in 4♥. Susan had horrible spade duplication of value so no slam.

In the Red Deer Calcutta playing with the same Kiz Fung , I got pushy with my spade void & lost 12 IMPS. ♠void ♥KQ109x ♦Qxx ♣AQ10xx . Kiz opened 1NT & I transferred to hearts. Kiz bid 2♥ so I bid 3♣ which was followed by 3♥ which confirms hearts as trump . I now bid 3♠ & Kiz bid 4♦. I now plowed the hand to 6♥ & we went one down. The problem was that Kiz liked her ♠KQJ because I Q bid spades. The KQJ of spades just turned out to be horrible duplication of value rather than a good thing. Ambiguity between a void & an Ace reared its ugly head.

Lets back up & over 3♥ , I know “Q bid” 3NT showing a serious slam try. Kiz bids 4♦ as ordered & I now bid 4♠. This is a contradiction as I could have Q bid 3♠ over 3♥. I must have a spade void on this sequence so Kiz now makes the “death response” of 5♥ & we obtain +650 instead of –100. The serious 3NT brought partner into the picture instead of me “taking a shot” & hoping there was not serious spade duplication of value. The serious 3NT can be used to handle the difficult spade void situation when hearts are trump. You can also have the understanding that once you initiate a serious 3NT auction & partner complies with a Q bid , bidding 4♥ by you shows a spade void. Why are you retreating to game after initiating a serious 3NT ? That makes no sense. This sequence shows the spade void at the game level. Nice understanding !!