Wednesday, October 19, 2005 5:53 AM

Maxi - Splinters

PITBULLS:

Playing masked splinters over a major opener , 3♣ for game forcing splinters and 3♦ needs some partnership agreements. A 3♣ bid was chosen for the game forcing hands as it conserves room for bidding slams. Serious 3NT theory is alive and well with maxi – splinters . A rebid of the trump suit , not jumping to game is the bid that shows a minimum with no slam interest as partners hand is unlimited. The bid of choice to show slam interest is to ask the location of the splinter with 3♦. Partner makes step responses to show the 3 possible singletons. 3♥ shows a stiff club , 3♠ a stiff diamond and 3NT a stiff in the other major. You know partner’s singleton by the 3 level so you do not lose anything by having the splinter “masked or concealed” initially. A 3NT bid by opener is virtually a slam force as she is asking for specific information and is not even interested in finding the location of the singleton. A “serious 3NT” is essentially a specific “control asking” bid in these sequences.

Since the 3♣ bid is a game force , the hand is unlimited. If opener just retreats to her major , a bid by responder shows the splinter and slam interest. AKxxx Axx xxx xx 1♠-P-3♣-P 3♠-P-4♦-P 4♥-P-4NT-P

Qxxx KQxx x AKxx . A 3NT bid by responder is a serious slam try over openers minimum bid and demands that she shows controls up the line.

A direct Q bid by opener without asking for the stiff is a rare bid and does not make much Bridge sense. I would suggest it should be a telling bid rather than an asking bid and transferring control of the auction to the other hand . The bid should show a two suiter rather than a Q bid. 1♠-P-3♣-P 3♥-P-? AKxxx AJ10xx xx x

If you had a rock two suiter AKxxx AKxxx A xx , a “serious 3NT” might be the best bid to ferret out a club control.

How do you handle voids with this splinter system ? We prefer jumps to the 4 level in a minor after a major opener to be exclusion KCB for that minor. What if you are not strong enough to take control in this way with your void ? In that case , you treat your void as a singleton and bid accordingly. You can jump in your responses to the 3♦ bid to show a void rather than a singleton. You do not show step responses but you actually show your void. A jump to 4♥ after a heart opener after a 3♦ query would show a spade void . A jump in the minor shows that void. After a spade opener , you can show all 3 voids naturally by jumping or bidding at the 4 level after the 3♦ query bid.

1♥-P-3♣-P

3♦-P-4♥-P xxxx AKxxx Kx Kx 4NT is KCB and partner does not have to show the void as she

already has done so . Partners hand is void Qxxxx Axxx Axxx and good bidding should get you to your 23 HCP 7♥ . The power of a splinter ….