Interesting Hand 38

Playing on Sunday and doing reasionably well, I held AKQ74 K 62 AK863. Partner as dealer opened 2 , a weak two bid, showing 6-10 pts and 6 cards in s. With possible entry difficulties, I called 4, which made 12 tricks for a score. 480. Looking at the traveller, most pairs played in 4 also making 12 tricks. No other pair played in s, but one pair bid the slam in s but failed to make it. Bridge Solver shows that 12 tricks can be made in s but only 11 in s.The contract in s came about because many pairs did not open the weak two in s and passed

Asking a number of "experts" whether a bid of 2 over partners 2 was forcing , the consensus view was it is non forcing , just seeking a better contract. A bid of 3 is forcing, seeking a game contract in s

the full hand was

Board 23 South Deals None Vul	A K Q 7 4 K 6 2 A K 8 6 3
10 6 3 J 9 7 Q 10 7 Q 10 9 7	N W E S	J 5 10 5 4 A J 9 8 5 3 4 2
	9 8 2 A Q 8 6 3 2 K 4 J 5

To make 6 on a lead, you need to unblock the K, draw 2 rounds of trumps and then cash two top s. Then ruff the third in dummy ( hoping that the hand with the long trump also has 3 cards in s), then using the A and Q of s to discard your little s , before giving up a trick at the end