The Session From Zone 3

I had my worst set in a while today.  Some of it happened because I was in the zone, the bottom zone and some of it just happened for no reason at all.  See if you can do better than me on this one?  Well who wouldn’t.

You have

Everyone is vulnerable and you are in first chair.  I think this is too good to open anything but 2♣ and partner bids  2◊.  Do you like 2NT?  I thought about 2♥ but 2NT seemed to tell the story.  Sylvia bid 3♥ and accepted the transfer to 3♠.  Sylvia bid 4◊ which I assumed was natural.  The first question does it show four diamonds or five diamonds.  I just didn’t know but I can’t think why it couldn’t be four.  I temporized with 4♥ hoping that Sylvia’s next bid would help out.  Sylvia bid 5♠.  She obviously wants to be in a slam but isn’t sure where.  I thought if she had six spades she would have just bid the spade slam.  I sort of wanted to suggest 6NT but I wasn’t quite sure how.  What would she think of 6♣ or 5NT?  Finally I decided she had to be 5-5 and was asking me to bid the appropriate slam.

These thoughts are from the cellar of zone 3.  If she was 5-5 or even 6-5 she would have been 6◊.  I could convert to 6♠ if I wanted to.  Now in retrospect I wish I had bid 5NT.  That would have given us a decent change to get to the best spot 6NT but  6♠ is almost as good.  I foolishly bid 6◊.  Sigh.  Here is Sylvia’s hand.

This wasn’t the kind of day where the diamonds split 3-3 and you survive your terrible bid.  Mea culpa.  Sympathy is welcome.