Bridge is for Everyone - 2/1 Series #10 - Slam Bidding.

[@harikannanramadas6564]

Why not continue control bidding with 3d?

[@guyredares]

I think this implies having 5 diamonds

[@harikannanramadas6564]

​@@guyredaresthanks. But, haven't we agreed hearts as trump? What could be the reason for it to show extra diamond length? Would it not be preferable to check for second round control of clubs?

[@jadbridge]

Hi. This is a good question. The basic principle is: once either partner knows that all side suits are controlled, the job of the control bids is done. Bidding the diamonds could be put to another use, but you would have to agree with partner what it meant. One important point here is that Italian control bids show a control that could be 1st or 2nd round. Basically, at this stage you don’t care. There is a fundamental point of partnership dynamics at play here also. The partner who knows all the suits are controlled can take charge and manage the slam bid by starting the RKCB sequence. Good luck.

[@harikannanramadas6564]

​@@jadbridge Suppose my p shows 1 ace. I will be worried if it is spadeA or club A. So, checking for 2nd round club control, before rkcb, appealed to me.

[@jadbridge]

@harikannanramadas6564 Hi. The question I ask is: will it make a difference to the contract I will bid. In my case, the answer is no, I will bid the slam either way. If partner has the King of Clubs and not the Ace or Queen, a good lead and bad luck could see the contract defeated. But checking this is very difficult. Let’s consider the case when partner has the ace of spades. If you bid your diamond control 3D, partner will then bid their spade control 3S. You don’t have a club control so you bid your second diamond control 4D. It’s hard for partner to realise that a slam is almost certain if their club control was the ace, but less certain if it was the king. You may well only get to the slam if partner has both. You have to decide what level of risk you want to take. I am always happy to play a slam with 75% likelihood of success. But, I hate not bidding makeable slams. But, that’s me. Each player has their own level of risk acceptance.