KCB - Specific Suit Asks

(Courtesy of Bob Crosby)

The more I think about it, the more I agree with Kantar that suit asking bids can easily fit into the KCB structure. Just follow his rules that it is:

• 1) always through 4NT first
• 2) A suit bid that is not the Queen ask is the SSA
• 3) You forego specific kings if you go this route
• 4) the death response to the SSA is returning to the trump suit.
• 5) Aces are taken out of the equation so steps are defined around the King and Queen.
• 6) 1st step response shows the queen, 2nd Kxx, 3rd Kx and raise of the suit shows both.
• 7) if the King has been denied (via queen ask), the responses are defined around the queen and the jack can be thrown in, 1st shows the queen and raising the suit shows the QJ of the suit.

This hand came up Thurs night.

AJ109xx AKJ10x x x.

Partner opens 1NT and you transfer to 2. You leap to KCB and partner bids 5 showing 3 Aces. You bid 5 which is the queen ask and partner bids 5NT saying she has the spade queen but no kings. You bid 6 which is the SSA in hearts and partner bids 6NT showing the queen or xx. You now bid 7 as you can count 13 tricks.

Change the hand to AQxxxx AKJ10x x x.

Same auction and partner bids 5 over your Blackwood. You ignore queen ask and specific king ask and bid 6. This is not a choice of contracts. You could not bid 5 as that is the queen ask so you bid 6. Partner bids 6NT showing the queen and you convert to 7. In a different auction where you want to give a choice of contracts you can make a phony queen ask (you have the trump queen) and get the 5 response and then bid 6 as the SSA.

There is some memorization involved but once you get the rules down it is quite a handy tool to have in your arsenal.

The Specific Suit Ask (SSA) (Majors)

After an RKB response, 5NT asks for specific kings. However the RKB bidder may not be interested in specific kings, he may be interested in what the responder has in a specific suit. The asker may have losers in only one suit. That suit may be headed by the AKx(x)(x). If so, the ask is looking for third round control, a doubleton or the queen, to play in a grand slam. The asker may have Axxx(x) looking to play in a grand facing a singleton, Kx or KQ(x). The asker may have Kxxx (x) looking to play in a grand facing Ax, or AQ(x). In order to ask partner about a specific suit, called the specific suit ask (SSA), you must first go through 4NT. After the response, a new suit by you that is NOT the queen-ask but is the SSA. In other words, you have decided to forego the 5NT specific king ask to make a SSA. A SSA promises at least the ace or king of the ask suit, frequently both. It also confirms joint possession of the four aces as well as the KQ of the agreed suit. The SSA cannot substitute for the queen-ask, the queen-ask takes precedence.

Consider this sequence:

1	Pass	1	Pass
3	Pass	4	Pass
4NT	Pass	5	Pass
5	Pass	5	Pass
6

4NT (RKB), 5 (1 keycard), 5 (Queen-ask), 5 (Yes, with SK), 6 (SSA, 5NT would ask for another king)

Responses to the SSA are listed below. To facilitate memory problems, the return to the trump suit is the death response. It denies 2nd or 3rd round control in the ask suit and shows (xxx, xxxx, xxxxx).

Responses to the SSA in which the king of the ask suit has not been denied.

A return to trump suit, as ever, denies 2nd or 3rd round control. it is the weakest response and does not count as a step.

• 1st step = 3rd round control (the queen or doubleton)
• 2nd step = 2nd round control (specifically Kxx or longer)
• 3rd step = Kx
• Raise of the ask suit = KQ (x)(x).
• Jump in the trump suit = singleton

Say the SSA is 6, hearts agreed, and responder has Qxx of diamonds, 3rd round control. The proper response is 6, a 1st step response (excluding the trump suit, the denial response). Yes, the response bypasses the six level of the agreed suit, but the SSA bidder is supposedly prepared for that. He should have the Ace and King of diamonds to make the ask.

Looking For Gold And Finding Dust

West AQxxxx A AKxxx x

East KJxx xx xxx AK10x

1	4	4	Pass
4NT	Pass	5	Pass
6	Pass	6

4NT (RKB), 5 (2 without the queen), 6 (SSA in diamonds), 6 (Denies 2nd or 3rd round diamond control)

Not What You Wanted, But No So Bad Either

Opener AJx Kxx AJx QJxx

Responder Kx AQJ10xx x Axxx

1NT	Pass	4	Pass
4	Pass	4NT	Pass
5	Pass	6	Pass
6	Pass	6

4 (Transfer), 4NT (RKB 0314 responses - weak asking strong), 5 (3), 6 (SSA in clubs), 6 (1st step response showing the queen or a doubleton), 6 (No grand today)

Change opener's hand a bit: Say opener has: AJx Kxx AJx Kxxx. The response to 6 is 6, a 2nd step response showing Kxx(x) of clubs. Opener, appraised of a club loser, settles for 6.

Now give opener: Axxx Kxx AJxx Kx. Now a 3rd step response of 6NT shows the Kx leading to a grand in hearts. Of course you may have to ruff two clubs in dummy. In my book I gave the opener the K9x of hearts to make things happier for the paying customers. Here, since you are getting a freebie, realism has set in and opener doesn't have the H9.