Board 17

Board 17

8 5 3
5 2
Q J 9 8
K 8 7 4
K Q 9 6 2
A Q 10 4 3
10
A 5
N
W   E
 
S
7 4
K J 9
A K 6 2
Q 10 3 2
A J 10
8 7 6
7 5 4 3
J 9 6

Dealer:

North

Vuln:

None

W N E S
Pass 1NT Pass
2 Pass 2 Pass
3 Pass 3NT Pass
4 End

Contract:

4 by West

Lead:

Q

With a strong hand and 5-5 in the majors, responder first transfers to spades and then forces to game by bidding 3. Rebidding beyond 2NT is not an issue, because we want to play in game. Opener does not yet know about our 5-card heart suit, but that is not an issue either because we always have another bid, and can convert 3NT to 4 knowing that opener must have three cards in the suit.

Here, opener does indeed bid 3NT, and West converts to 4.