North - 16 HCP: ♠ 3 ♥ AQ65 ♦ QT4 ♣ AKJT2
South - 17 HCP: ♠ KQ82 ♥ KT ♦ AK98 ♣ Q74
With a combined 33 HCP they should definitely be aiming to bid a small slam, but of the 16 NS pairs, only 5 did.
Paying 6NT was easy but ….. as you can see; but how should you have bid it?
There was no bidding from West or East. North opens 1C.
South’s bid is 1D. South should NOT worry about showing their strength at this stage. The change of suit from 1C to 1D is always forcing. The most important thing for South to know is how strong partner is. Partner will tell you with their rebid.
North’s best rebid is 2H. The bid is one level higher than the minimum rebid of 1H, and thereby announces a hand that is 3 or more points higher than a minimum; generally 15-18 HCP.
South, with a double stop in both spades and diamonds now knows that, provided there are not two aces missing, 6NT will probably be the best contract. South now uses whichever ace asking method they are using to ensure that partner has at least two aces.
Partner does so South bids 6NT.
In general remember this:
Holding all the kings and all the aces only guarantees 8 tricks in No Trumps. You need 4 more tricks to make a small slam.
Whether or not you have them is for you to find out by bidding carefully in the first 2 rounds of the auction.
