Nil Vul W Dealer	♠ K 10 9 7 5 ♥ J 6 4 ♦ 4 3 2 ♣ 4 2
♠ A J 8 2 ♥ A Q 10 3 ♦ A 10 7 ♣ K 5		♠ Q 4 3 ♥ K 8 ♦ K Q 9 8 5 ♣ A 10 3
	♠ 6 ♥ 9 7 5 2 ♦ J 6 ♣ Q J 9 8 7 6

Andy,

I was sitting West. We play Standard American. How might we bid to slam?

Peter

Hi Peter,

I am guessing the partnership does not play Inverted Minors (where 2♦ shows 10+ with a fit, and 3♦ shows 6-9 with a fit) as East would have started with 2♦ instead of 2♣.

In any case, the main problem is that neither W nor E had both shown their strength. From West’s perspective East might just have 10HCP, and from East’s perspective, West might just have 15. 

Although a major fit may be missed, I would recommend West to make a jump rebid of 3NT to show the 18-19NT. That way, East knows the combined point range to start off with. In fact, if East does have a 4-card major, he is expected to have 12+hcp as with anything less, East would presumably have started with a 1Major response (knowing that <12hcp is not good enough to bid 2C followed by a responder’s reverse of 2Major). In that case, over West’s 3NT 18-19, East can still bid 4Major to check on a potential 4-4 fit.

On this hand, East would likely just bid 6♦ over West’s 3NT knowing that playing in a fit is better than NT in case the extra trick will come from a ruff. Of course, the auction would be different had East started off with an inverted 2♦ (where eventually E/W will be able to check on key cards).

Hope that helps,

Andy