Andrew:

Open 1♣ – not 2NT

A 2 NT opener shows 20–22 balanced (4333, 4432, 5332). Occasionally the distribution will be ‘semibalanced’ (5422, 6322 with a six-card minor, even 4441 with a singleton honour). But it should not be more unbalanced than that.

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South Deals
E-W Vul

♠	10 8 5
♥	J 8 3
♦	K 7 4 2
♣	Q 3 2

♠	K 9 7 6 2
♥	K 9 6 4
♦	Q 9
♣	9 4

N
W		E
S

♠	A Q 4 3
♥	10 7
♦	10 8 6 5 3
♣	10 6

♠	J
♥	A Q 5 2
♦	A J
♣	A K J 8 7 5

What Happened

West	North	East	South
			2 N1
Pass	3 N	Pass	Pass
Pass

South’s hand is not even ‘semi-balanced’. To open with a bid that shows a notrumpy hand was a costly mistake.

3 NT by South

Lead: ♠ 6

South would have liked to open 2 ♣. But a 2 ♣ opener is not like a 2 ♦, 2 ♥ or 2 ♠ opener. It shows any hand with 23+ points. Instead South unwisely tried opening 2 NT. He was to regret it.

In 3 NT, declarer received ♠ 6 lead. East won ♠ A and returned ♠ 3. West won ♠ K (declarer sheepishly discarding), returned ♠ 2 to East’s ♠ Q, won ♠ 4 with ♠ 7 and cashed ♠ 9. Declarer took the rest with his clubs and red suit top-tricks but was down one.

What should have happened

West	North	East	South
			1 ♣1
Pass	1 ♦	Pass	2 ♥2
Pass	3 ♣	Pass	5 ♣
Pass	Pass	Pass

Unable to open 2 ♣ (or 2 NT), South has no choice but to open 1 ♣. If partner cannot respond, there may not be a making game.
Catching up. A jump rebid in a new suit by opener is forcing to game.

Lead: ♠ 6

Had South opened the recommended 1 ♣, he would have reached 5 ♣. Game in a minor is generally undesirable, but his singleton spade – facing a partner that can neither bid spades nor notrumps – is a suffi cient disincentive to try notrumps.

Defending 5 ♣, West would lead ♠ 6 (the unbid suit) to East’s ♠ A and declarer would trump ♠ 3 return. Declarer cashes ♣ AK, pleased to observe the 2–2 split, then leads ♦ J to ♦ Q and ♦ K, followed by ♥ 3 to ♥ Q. West takes ♥ K and leads ♠ K, but declarer can trump, lead ♥ 2 to ♥ J, ♥ 8 to ♥ A (East discarding), then trump ♥ 5 with dummy’s ♣ Q. He crosses back to ♦ A and takes the last two tricks with his last two trumps. 11 tricks and game made.

Tip: Open 1♣ – not 2NT – holding a profoundly unbalanced 20–22 point hand with strong clubs.

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Andrew:

Open 1♣ – not 2NT