Can You Get To This Slam In Standard Methods – Read Larry Cohen’s Answer

Recently I posted a blog which featured this hand from the the Swedish District Championships

The issue: Is it possible to get to the heart slam playing standard methods.  I have some answers from experts who responded to my blog.  But most involved some very unusual treatments.  I decided to ask the maven Larry Cohen.  In Larry’s book My Favorite 52

Larry managed to get to a lot of great contracts on lesser fits (even when knowing their side held a better fit).  So he was the ideal person to ask. 

In the match, at one table the pair routinely got to 6. 

The “normal” auction at the other table was

North	South
	1
1	3
4	4
4NT	5
6

 Larry answered that in a standard system such as 2/1 or SAYC the first three bids will be the same and it will be impossible to avoid playing in spades.

For many players in a forcing club system after North shows a positive and five spades when South opens a strong club, the die will be cast.  Those playing relay systems where responder describes their hand exactly will be well positioned to make the slam.

At the other table they were playing a very unusual system South showed a strong hand and North an opening bid with five spades.  South then used a series of relays to find out that north was 5-4-2-2 with two aces and the club king.  He could at that point used 4NT to find out about queens but apparently wasn’t sure that he could know exactly which queen North had.  (They need more relays here!).  So he settled for 6.

Larry wants to add that this hand will not make his book! 

Larry has a great website Bridge with Larry Cohen.  There is lots of content and it is the “Real Deal”, very instructive and entertaining.  (One of my all time top sites made better).

For more suggestions on how to bid this hand and some interesting system ideas read the comments from readers at this blog:

Strange Systems