Source: May, 2006: In his column of the
ACBL bulletin Eric Kokish answered this question:
Dear Eric, I held as West
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
A K 10 5
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
A Q 6 4
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
8 5
![](http://www.confsudbridge.org/imagenes/c.gif)
7 54 and opened 1NT (11-14 PH).
The auction continued (opponents silent):
1 transfer
Now what would 5
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
by responder show? I think that as 4
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
would have been a cuebid, 5
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
must be a singleton. Am I crazy?
Partner’s had:
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
J 6 2
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
K J 9 8 3
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
A K Q 2
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
9
Partner didn’t actually bid 5
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
but 4
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
and we missed the slam. Is there any other way to get there from here?
For starters, you still needed the spade finesse, even with the perfect fit so it’s not big deal either way. Look at it the other way: if you had reached 6
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
with your combined 27 HCP and the spade finesse had lost, you would have achieved a very
poor result.
A few things:
1. Over 3
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
your 3
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
in tradition al usage shows values in spades, perhaps with a diamond fit, looking first for the best game. To set heart as trumps, bid 3
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
. (3
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
was game forcing).
2. In your methods, your idea about 5
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
is eminently sensible, although many would treat 5
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
as a void rather than a singleton and some would define it as Exclusion Blackwood (assuming partnership agreement about which suit was trump).
Over 3
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
you could adopt something I call the shortness rule: when a player shows nine or more cards in two suits and a fit of eight or more cards is confirmed in a gameforcing auction, that players next bid in a new suit shows shortnes. With no shortness, bid 3NT/4NT/old suit to show a 5-4-2- 2 pattern. Here, using the shortness rule, the bidding might go:
West |
|
East |
1NT |
|
2 1 |
2![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif) |
|
3![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif) |
3![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif) |
|
4![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif) |
4![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif) |
|
5![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif) |
5 /6![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif) |
|
|
With the final bid being a matter of judgment by opener. The shortness rule has many applications:
• Notrump auction. involving transfers and second suits after a fit is located, e.g., 2NT -3
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
; 3
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
-4
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
; 4
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
-5
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
shows diamond shortness. Similarly, 4
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
would show spade shortness.
• Smolen sequence. after a fit is located e.g •. 1NT-2
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
; 2
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
-3
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
; 3
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
-4
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
or 4
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
shows shortness in the minor bid.
• Fit-showing jumps, where the jumper’s next bid in a new suit shows shortness. For example, Pass-1
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
; 3
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
– 3
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
; 4
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
or 4
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
would show shortness.
• After a game-forcing 2/1 response, a new suit rebid and two-level support, e.g., 1
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
-2
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
; 2
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
– 2
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
; 3
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
and 3
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
both show shortness.
• After immediate two suit agreement, e.g., 1
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
-2
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
; 3
![Diamond Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/d.gif)
-3
![Spade Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/s.gif)
; 4
![club suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/c.gif)
and 4
![Heart Suit](http://youth.worldbridge.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/h.gif)
both show shortness.
This agreement applies only when a genuine fit is assured. With no fit or if another strain might be better (as in reverse and jump shift auctions) or if the auction is not game forcing, opener shows length (fragment) instead.
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