Opening the bidding with a balanced hand

What do you open with these hands, and what do you intend to rebid? ("x" represents a low card)
1)S
H
D
C
KQxx
Jx
Axxx
QJx
2)S
H
D
C
Kx
QJx
Jxxxx
AQx
3)S
H
D
C
Kxxxx
Jx
QJx
AQx
4)S
H
D
C
AKJx
Qxx
Axx
Kxx
5)S
H
D
C
KQxx
Qxx
Ax
AKJx
6)S
H
D
C
AKQ
QJx
KQxx
Axx
  1. 1NT. This is a balanced hand with 13 points.
  2. 1NT. This 13 point hand isn't quite balanced, but the 5 card suit is a minor, and not very good.
  3. 1S. This time the 5 card suit is a major, and you should (almost) always open a five card major in preference to 1NT, even with the correct point count.
  4. 1S. Even though this is a balanced hand, it is too strong to open 1NT, and too weak to open 2NT. You should show the 17 points by opening 1S and rebidding NT at jump level.
  5. 1S. Again, this hand is too strong for 1NT, and too weak for 2NT. You should open 1S (show the 4 card major in preference to clubs), and rebid 3NT whatever partner bids.
  6. 2NT. A balanced hand with 21 points.

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Responses to NT openings - answers

If partner opens 1NT, what would you bid with the following hands, and what, if anything, do you intend to rebid?
1)S
H
D
C
Kxxx
Jx
Axxx
Jxx
2)S
H
D
C
KJxx
Qx
Axxx
Jxx
3)S
H
D
C
KQxx
Axxx
Jx
Axx
4)S
H
D
C
AQxxx
KQx
QJx
xx
5)S
H
D
C
Jx
Qxx
xxxxx
Qxx
6)S
H
D
C
AKQ
Qxx
Jxxx
QJx
7)S
H
D
C
AQxxxx
KQx
QJx
x
8)S
H
D
C
xxx
xxx
xx
xxxxx
  1. Pass. Even though you have a four card major, your partnership has at most 23 points - not enough for game.
  2. 2C. This time your partnership may have enough points for game, so you want to look for a 4-4 fit in the majors. If partner rebids 2D or 2H you can rebid 2NT, inviting partner to bid 3NT. If partner rebids 2S you tell him/her that you have a fit and invite to game in spades by bidding 3S
  3. 2C. With this hand, you know your partnership wants to be in game (you have at least 25 points betweeen the two hands). If partner rebids 2D denying a 4 card major, you should rebid 3NT (not 2NT - partner doesn't know you should be in game). If partner rebids a major suit, you should bid game in that suit (again, partner doesn't know you should be in game, so to bid 3 of the suit would be wrong).
  4. 3S. Again, you want to be in game. You have a 5 card spade suit, so you give partner the choice of game (3NT or 4S) by bidding 3S. Partner must not pass.
  5. 2D. Partner is likely to be struggling in 1NT, and it is likely that 2D will play better. Partner must pass your weak takeout.
  6. 3NT. You know you have enough points for game, and you have no fit in a major suit (partner will not have opened 1NT with a 5 card major), so bid it directly - don't give partner the chance to pass 2NT!
  7. 4S. Again, you know your partnership has enough points for game, and this time you also know you have a fit in spades (partner must have at least 2). So, bid game directly.
  8. Pass. Even though you have a 5 card club suit, 2C would be a mistake because your partner is forced to make a bid, and you will end up in 3C. As you have no points at all, that would be even less likely to make than 1NT.

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Example The complete hand - answers

In both of these hands, you are West, playing in 3NT, with the lead of the 3H. Plan the play.

1) W: xxxx
AKx
xx
AJxx
E: AKx
xx
AKxxxx
xx
Contract: 3NT by West
Lead: 3H
Following the rules:

As usual in no trump contracts, the obvious place to get these tricks is the suit in which the partnership holds the most cards - diamonds in this case. West can see 8 diamonds, so there are 5 missing. These are likely to split 3-2, and even if they split 4-1 West can establish the two little cards in East's hand. It is only in the very unlikely event of a 5-0 break that West will be unable to obtain at least 4 tricks from the diamond suit. So, the plan is to win the AH, then to play off the AD and KD (watching what cards the defenders play to these tricks to "keep a count" on how many diamonds are left in their hands). As long as neither defender shows out on the first round of diamonds West is OK - once he has played the ace and king he simply plays a small diamond, allowing one of the defenders to win a trick. If the defence still have one diamond left, next time West gets the lead he plans to enter dummy with the A( and play yet another diamond to draw the remaining card in the suit, establishing his two small cards.
2) W: AKx
AKQ
AQ
Jxxx
E: xxx
xx
Kx
xxxxxx
Contract: 3NT by West
Lead: 3H
Following the rules: West is missing the three top cards in the club suit, and none of the others (there are 10 clubs between the two hands, and only 13 in the whole pack). Therefore he only needs to knock these out to establish his club suit. He will need to lead clubs either two or three times to do this, as they can only break 2-1 or 3-0.

So West's plan is to win the lead and lead a club, then win the next trick and lead another club, repeating this if clubs have split 3-0. He will have to be careful though, because he may set up his little clubs and then not be able to get to them - can you see why? Imagine that the defence return diamonds twice when they are on lead with the high clubs. Then imagine that West has been careless, and the clubs in his hand are higher than those in East's hand. He is now unable to gain an entry to dummy to cash his established clubs. This is OK if clubs split 2-1, because he will get the necessary two club tricks in his hand anyway, but if they split 3-0 he will only be able to get one club trick - not enough!

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