Posted 2011-June-03, 17:47
IMO, the worst mistake people make is leaping to RKCB innecessarily. Responder has lots of space to explore slam before launching into RKCB, and that sometimes answers the questions.
The key issue, however, is in reaching definite understandings as to what calls mean when seeking slam. As a general rule, some sort of cuebidding often is used, whether Aces-first or "Italian." Either may have helped tremedously.
Take Aces First cuebidding. Using this method, Responder has no Aces to cuebid, except in trumps. Many use 3NT as a cue of the trump Ace when using this method. This would lead to the following start:
1NT-2♥(transfer)
3♠(max 4-piece)-3NT(trump Ace, slam interest)
4♦(diamond Ace, but not the club Ace)...
This already suggests caution. Responder next bids 4♠ to deny the heart Ace. The slam interest message is not revoked -- Responder simply notes the lack of the heart Ace (and that the club Ace being missing probably troubles him -- otherwise he'd bid 4NT himself). Opener, lacking the heart Ace also, should pass.
How about Italian-style?
Here, Responder often will have 3NT available as "serious slam interest," showing no specific control but just slam interest. Suppose Responder is aggressive. Opener will bypass 4♣, again, because he has no control there (no Ace or King). Opener will instead bid 4♦. Responder, having shown serious slam interest, is caught in a problem, because he has the club control but does not have a heart control. But, "Last Train" kicks in -- he bids 4♥! The last possible cue, after bidding serious 3NT, shows possession of any control denied by partner (here, clubs) but insufficient info to commit to slam. Opener might judge to back out.
If Responder is more timid, he makes a courtesy cue instead. This is a bypass of 3NT (meaning, non-serious, or mildly slam oriented). He would cue 4♣, as others have mentioned. Opener might take a stab with a 4♦ cue, and Responder might then sign off, deying the heart control but not cancelling the "I'm interested" message. Opener might respect that.
The point of all this, however, is that either Responder or Opener might be too aggressive later anyway. This happens. Judgement fails at times. But, asking questions along the way often gives you a chance to stop early. Suppose, for instance, that Opener had the club ace (great card) but lacked any heart control. Some form of cuebidding might allow a stop because no one has a heart control, whereas RKCB would launch this into slam.
Similarly, if Opener had the same exact hand, but Responder's club King was the Queen and the hearts A-x, a "better hand" perhaps, the club hole would likely be found, again allowing a stop where RKCB would not.
"Gibberish in, gibberish out. A trial judge, three sets of lawyers, and now three appellate judges cannot agree on what this law means. And we ask police officers, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and citizens to enforce or abide by it? The legislature continues to write unreadable statutes. Gibberish should not be enforced as law."
-P.J. Painter.