The Bid You Fear to Hear
You hold: ♠T632 ♥AKQJ6 ♦— ♣KT83
Your auction begins as follows:
Under your partnership agreements (you play weak notrumps), the 1♠ bid promises an unbalanced hand. Partner has five or more diamonds, unless he is specifically 4=1=4=4.
Would you bid 4♦ at this stage? Or, do you believe you are too strong for 4♦ and/or you are uncertain that partner would take that call as a splinter in support of spades?
At the table, I bid 2♣ at this stage, artificial, fourth suit game forcing.
What is your plan now?
I chose to call 5♣ now. My plan was to bid slam if partner DID NOT control bid 5♦, and to signoff in 5♠ if he did.
I am not sure if my plan was the best, but it worked out fine. Partner did control bid 5♦ (the bid I fear to hear) over my 5♣ call and I followed plan by signing off in 5♠:
Just making opposite partner’s ♠QJ85 ♥2 ♦KQ875 ♣AQ9.
Now had his ♦K morphed into the ♠K, pard would have bid 5♠ over my 5♣ and I would have bid 6♠ . Pard would have made that contract, too.