Visualizing the Play

“We had a two-suit fit.”  “I had undisclosed values”.  “I thought my honor in your opened suit would be extra valuable”.

All of those comments – comments that might be made by someone who just overbid – can be well-considered … but only if they are placed in the context of, as Karen Walker states in her series of articles in Bridge Bulletin about Habits of Effective Bidders, “Visualizing the Play”.  Without considering how the factor that produces the comment is likely to affect the play of the hand, the comments are just excuse-laden platitudes and not bridge thinking.

Here is an example I witnessed.

Your partner opens 1♦ in second chair, at favorable vulnerability, and you are blessed with a 20 count: ♠KQ98, ♥AQ9, ♦T, ♣AKQ52.   Playing 2/1, you respond 2♣.  And you hear partner rebid 2♠!  In your partnership, 2♠ neither promises nor denies extra strength.  But since you play weak notrumps, it does show an unbalanced hand: either partner has 5 or more diamonds along with his four spades or he is exactly 4=4=4=1. 

Bidding 4NT (keycard) seems reasonable and you make that choice.  Partner responds 5♥, showing the missing two key cards but no ♠Q.  Holding all six key cards, you might as well bid 5NT (asking for cheapest king) next: perhaps if partner has extras (such as an extra long, strong diamond suit), his hearing that your side has all six key cards is all he needs to hear to bid a grand (say, with Axxx, xx, AKQxxx, x).  Or partner with enough general extras (say both red kings) might bid the grand directly. 

Assuming partner does not bid 7♠ himself, what are your planned rebids? 

Here is where your ability at “Visualizing the Play” benefits. 

If partner bids 6♥, you can place him on a minimum something akin to Axxx, Kx/Kxx, Axxxx, xx/ x.  Assuming that trumps split 3-2, you have off the top four trump tricks, three heart tricks, one diamond trick, and three club tricks for eleven tricks.  Hoping for two more tricks via a ruff and/or a long trick or two in clubs, seems like a reasonable shot.  You anticipate some variation of: heart lead won with K, draw three rounds of trumps, play three high clubs and a club ruff and reach your hand via a diamond ruff to play the long club for a thirteenth trick.  (As Rodwell would denote: 5 [including a ruff]+3+1+4 = 13.) 

If partner bids 6♦, your minimum for partner is something akin to Axxx, xx/xxx, AKxxx, xx/x.  Without your ♥Q being a sure trick, prospects are not so rosy in a grand, and you can figure that out by “Visualizing the Play”. 

Finally, if your partner bids only 6♠, you just hope he can make his contract, because he might have something like AJxx, xx/xxx, AQJxx, xx/x (or worse, take away a pointed suit jack).  Grand can hardly be better than on a diamond finesse.