Adams: ”2NT---I can show five Hearts, so I do. Diamonds can come later. Imagine our good fortune if partner bids a lot of hearts. Can't tell level if I bid Diamonds.”   It would be OK if partner freely bid hearts but suppose he corrects diamonds to hearts.  

Parker: ”2NT---Show my minor and major, then if partner somehow bids hearts I can bid 5NT, if he bids Spades I can bid 5 and he can look at his Hearts and decide if they help or not. My concern is that the opponents are surely going to bid, so I need to get my suits in quickly. I might even talk them out of spades.”  

So if partner has two little hearts and is forced to bid hearts, you will play this hand in hearts? 

King: ”2NT---And then bid Diamonds.”

I don’t think bidding diamonds shows eight.

Wilkinson: ”2NT---There is very likely a slam here, but opponents may also have one in the black suits. Partner needs to be mobilized. 2NT is forcing and gives him more info than any other bid (i.e., everything but how powerful the hand is). If opponents interfere with unusual over unusual and partner passes, you can bring him back into action with a double.”     

When you have a freak hand like this you don’t want the opponents outbidding you. Don’t give the opponents room to find a fit.

I put this hand in for a reason. What is the trump suit? Suppose you had a slam try with five or more spades. How do you set spades as trumps? On the other hand, how do you tell partner that you only have four spades? I suggest that 2 set spades as trumps. 2 has to show five spades since if you had four hearts, you would also have five spades. 3, the other cuebid would deny holding five spades and would look for other strains. Since nobody bid 2, this was not a problem. Holding AKQ7376AK9385, the correct bid over 2 is 2.    

Back to this hand. You have an opening bid opposite an opening bid. A problem is that you have only a seven-card spade fit. Of course the 4-3 spade fit could play well. Give partner AJxKJxxQJxxxx and 4 will usually make. If you want to play game in diamonds, you need more strength than you would need for a four-of-a-major-suit game. To make 5, you need partner to have a perfect minimum such as AxxAQxxQJxxxx or extra values. Give partner AJxKQJxQJ10xxx and 5 goes down.  

Three experts jump in diamonds. They fail to see that 4, in the 4-3, will have play.  

Adams: ”3---Not quite a game force in a minor, especially opposite Washington Standards openers. A slight underbid, but I've a strong preference for diamonds, and the alternative 3 bid does not get that message across.”  

Roman: ”3---Natural and invitational, therefore perfect.”

Wilkinson: ”3---Partner needs to be invited to 3NT. Partner can now see four or five diamond tricks, and two or three spade tricks. Since he's sitting over the doubler, honors in clubs and hearts may hold up as stoppers.”  

Three experts cuebid. There’s only one way to set diamonds trumps and force to game. You must cuebid and then support diamonds. Therefore 3 is game-forcing. You can’t play a diamond partial once you cuebid. 4 is only non-forcing if diamonds had already been set as trumps. If 4 is the bid that sets diamonds as trumps, then 4 is forcing. You have to be able to set trumps in order to explore for slam. Make the hand a little stronger such as AKQ37AK932852. 7 is cold opposite xxxAxxxQJxxxA.  

Parker: ”3---I am not sure if 3 is forcing here and not sure what 4 would show, so I will force and bid 4 over 3. If he bids 4 we will play there. If he bids 3NT that will be fine too.”  

If partner bids 3NT, will it make opposite one club stopper? J10xAJ10xQJxxKx for example.  

King: ”3---Let's establish a force and see where we belong. In spades, I might be forced to ruff in the hand with long trumps, but making ten tricks in spades beats taking eleven in diamonds”.  

Schwartz: ”3---To start a force. We could belong in 3NT, 4, or a diamond partial. I'm not forcing to 5.”  

Two experts agree with me and make a bid which figures to work. The opponents will not know that you’re in a 4-3 fit and might not defend perfectly. 

Woolsey: ”4---East's 2 call virtually marks partner with four hearts, so his distribution figures to be 3-4-4-2. That means that clubs will be a soft spot for notrump, and also that I don't have to worry about being tapped in clubs. 3NT could be right, but if I bid 3 partner will bid 3NT on any club stopper and I still won't know, so I'll bid what I think is the percentage contract.”  

Hopkins: ”4---I feel trapped and don't see I have much choice. Launching into a series of forcing cuebids will only obfuscate the issue and confuse partner. Who knows, but that 4 might be our best game? I clearly expect to make it if partner’s spades are Axx, good chances opposite Jxx, and some play opposite xxx.”

Sometimes you have to make a practical bid.

     You have 15 HCPs and if partner has anything, the opponents will not have enough high-card strength to get to game. I know that both opponents figure to be short in clubs and that would increase the hand value, but the singleton is very likely to be an honor and that would decrease the hand value. If we pass, the opponent’s will probably end up in a partscore. If you pass, I would expect the auction to go 1 -- 1 -- 2 -- 2, 1 -- 1 -- 2 -- pass, 1 -- 1 -- 2 or 1 -- 1 -- 2-red -- 2. Why not wait and see what the opponents have? After East’s rebid, you can then decide what to do based upon the auction. After the non-fit auctions where East preferences hearts, you can jump to 3NT and expect to have good play. If West rebids 1NT, then you know that you probably have a club loser and can go conservative.   

I’m the lone passer. Let the opponent’s auction tell me what to do.   

The other eight experts bid some number of clubs ranging from two to five. One expert bids 2. Bidding 2 gives the opponent’s room to describe their hands. 2 is safe since there is no way it can possibly go all pass.         

Roman: ”2---What in the world else?”  

There are lots of else’s. Five experts jump to 5. Wouldn’t it be a shame if dummy is QJ10QJ10xJ10xxxx where 3NT is cold, the opponent’s can’t make anything, yet 5 goes down. If my two stiff kings were small, then I would jump to 5 also.