One of the most useful bids in bridge is the “unassuming cue bid” which is often used as a waiting bid to find out more about partners hand in terms of shape and strength – many use it after partner has overcalled to show 3 card support for partner’s suit and some sort of limit raise strength. It is also useful in asking partner for a stopper in a suit bid by the opponents on the way to a no trump game.

For instance you hold 97 AK5 A32 AQJ1063 and you open 1 club, left-hand opponent bids 2 spades (weak) and partner bids 3 clubs, right-hand opponent passes – over to you?

Given the bidding it is likely that partner has a moderate hand with the King of Clubs but if he holds a spade stopper 3NT must have a great chance – so your bid is 3 spades, asking partner to bid 3NT if he has a spade stopper, and to bid 4 clubs if he doesn’t. Partner has QJ3 65 Q987 K986 and is happy to bid 3NT which will usually make ten tricks when the opponents lead spades.

The hand this week shows North employing the unassuming cue bid to get his partner to a game contract.

I think I would have bid 2NT with the South hand even knowing of the 3 card heart support but South made the aggressive jump to 4 hearts and now had to make ten tricks.

West led the club 10 and South correctly played the King from dummy to create a finessing position against East’s jack. East won the Ace and led a low club back but South inserted the 9 and this held.

South could see that the contract was easy if hearts were 3-2 so he started by playing the Ace, King and Queen to end up in dummy in case he needed the entries. He noted the heart loser and now had to make two diamond tricks to go along with 4 hearts, 2 spades and 2 clubs for his contract.

He now needed East to hold K10x or Q10x of diamonds to make the hand, so he led a diamond from dummy and inserted the 9 and was pleased to see it draw the Queen. West played a spade but South was in control. He won the spade in dummy, played a diamond to the jack which held and now exited with a heart – there are now ten tricks available.

A well bid, and extremely well played, contract.

BRIDGE CLUB RESULTS

Monday, August 9

North/South

1. Gertie Barker – Greta Marshall

2. Marge Way – Heather Woolf

3. Betsy Baillie – Joyce Pearson

East/West

1. Molly Taussig – Lynanne Bolton

2. Elizabeth McKee – Stephanie Kyme

3. Caroline Svensen – Dianna Kempe

Tuesday, August 10

1. Gina Graham – Felicity Lunn

2. Wenda Krupp – Richard Keane

3. Sally Irvine – Ineke Hetzel

Wednesday, August 11

North/South

1. Betsy Baillie – George Correia

2. Lynanne Bolton – Peter Donnellan

3/4 Molly Taussig – Magda Farag

3/4 Pat Colmet – Julia Beach

East//West

1. Marge Way – Charles Hall

2. Gertie Barker – Jane Smith

3. Caroline Svensen – Jane Clipper

Thursday, August 12

1. Tim Mardon – Richard Hall

2. Stephanie Kyme – Charles Hall

3/5 Lynanne Bolton – Magda Farag

3/5 Elizabeth McKee – Marge Way

3/5 Gertie Barker – Rachael Gosling

Friday, August 13

North/South

1. Lynanne Bolton – Magda Farag

2. Joyce Pearson – Lorna Anderson

3. Gertie Barker – Martha Ferguson

East/West

1. Elizabeth McKee – Molly Taussig

2. Marge Way – Jane Smith

3. Greta Marshall – Charles Hall