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Roman Key Card Balackwood Cont'd. The Trump Queen Ask
You may have noticed some of our members now using Roman Key Card Blackwood (RKCB), as a method of asking for Aces. But what actually is RKCB, how does it work and why should we use it?....well read on and we will attempt to answer all of thses questions for you:

Let’s start at the beginning, when someone bids 4NT, asking how many Aces you have, I now find that not normally advised to beginners.... but usually if your partner employs Blackwood of any type, they are headed for 6 of something and are first checking that the partnership is not missing two Aces. Not the other way round. In other words any form of Blackwood should be a method used to keep you out of a slam when you are missing 2 aces, rather than a method used to get you into a slam.

 

When we are looking for slam, having the right number of Aces is crucial, of course.  But almost as big as an Ace in these situations is the King of the trump suit.  Hence the term “Key Card”, of which there are five … four Aces and that trump King.  From that thought developed Key Card Blackwood, whereby the responses encompassed 5 Key Cards, not just 4 Aces.  Then some Roman chap said, “Hey, what about the Queen of Trumps, that’s pretty important, too, why not throw that into the mix?”  And so was born Roman Key Card Blackwood, which has now become one of the favorite conventions of tournament players, a most valuable slam bidding tool … well, valuable when used correctly, but that comment applies to all conventions, of course.

 

The Responses

 

OK, Partner bids 4NT, it’s RKCB, these are the basic responses:

 

            5♣       0 or 3 Key Cards

            5♦        1 or 4 Key Cards

            5♥        2 Key Cards, without the Queen of Trumps

            5♠        2 Key Cards, with the Queen of Trumps.

 

Quite simple really. No? Well if the responses still look complicated and hard to memorize, think of it step by step, and the whole thing becomes quite logical:

 

                  Logical                           Add The                     Throw in the

               Progression                    Alternatives                 Trump Queen

5♣                   0                                  0 or 3                            0 or 3

5♦                    1                                  1 or 4                           1 or 4

5♥                   2                                   2                                  2 without

5♠                                                                                             2 with

 

Ignore this next section if you wish.

3014 or 1430? 

So, there we have it, the basic responses to RKCB.  Well, not quite, some folks just cannot resist tinkering, and those responses which you have just taken the trouble to memorize, and which we went to some lengths to explain in the clearest way that we possibly could, alas, these responses have now become old hat.  It seems that there is a small advantage to be gained from transposing those 5♣ and 5♦ responses, and now just about everybody who is anybody answers RKCB this way:

 

5♣       1 or 4 Key Cards

            5♦        0 or 3 Key Cards

            5♥        2 Key Cards, without the Queen of Trumps

            5♠        2 Key Cards, with the Queen of Trumps.

 

These are the so-called “1430” responses to RKCB.  “1430” as in “1 or 4, 3 or 0”.  It’s not so important right now to understand why 1430 responses exist, but it is all-important that you and your Partner agree on whether you are playing 1430 or 3014.  There’s nothing quite so chilling as hearing Partner bidding 4NT and realizing that you have no idea whether he or she plays 3014 or 1430.

 

An Example

 

Opener             Responder

♠ AQT654       ♠ K732

♥ KQJ5           ♥ AT74

♦ 7                   ♦ AJ43

♣ A4                ♣ 8

 

   1♠                    4♣

   4NT                 5♣

   7♠                   Pass

 

A pretty simple auction.  That 4♣ bid was a Splinter, showing a Spade fit, Club shortness, and game-going values.  Opener used RKCB (the 3014 method) to discover that Partner held 0 or 3 Key Cards, and it was pretty clear that it was three and not zero.  That was all he needed to know to bid 7.

 

What Suit is Trumps?

 

Playing old-fashioned Blackwood, having agreement on what is the trump suit is not important … an Ace is an Ace, regardless.  But, when we are answering Key Cards, we need to know what card is that 5th Key Card, the King of trumps.

 

How about this auction?

            1♠        2♥

            3♥        4NT

No prizes for correctly divining that Hearts have been agreed in this auction, and therefore that the K♥ is the 5th Key Card.

 

How about this auction?

            1♠        2♥

            2♠        4NT

No trump suit has been explicitly agreed at the point where we bid 4NT.  In such cases, we apply this simple rule:

 

When no suit has been agreed, the trump suit is assumed to be the last suit bid naturally.

 

So, in the previous auction, Spades are agreed indirectly.  Let’s try another one:

            1♠        2♥

            3♥        4♣

            4NT

Not too difficult, Hearts are obviously agreed, and 4♣ was merely a cue-bid in pursuit of a Heart slam.

 

Now, for something rather tricky:

            1♠        2♥

            3♥        3♠

            4NT

First, Opener agreed Hearts, but then Responder seemed to be saying “Wait a minute, maybe Spades are better!”.  For better or worse, we would simply follow the aforementioned rule, and say that, in this auction, Spades looks like a natural bid to us, so therefore 4NT is RKCB is Spades.

 

Next Article: How to ask for the Trump Queen



RKCB Cont'd. The Queen Ask

RKCB – The Queen Ask

By way of introduction to the Queen Ask, here’s a recap of the RKCB responses, the 30/41 variety.

5♣       0 or 3 Key Cards

            5♦        1 or 4 Key Cards

            5♥        2 Key Cards, without the Queen of Trumps

            5♠        2 Key Cards, with the Queen of Trumps.

Whenever we have 2 Key Cards, the responses also allow us to show or deny the Queen of trumps (QT).  But, when we don’t have 2 Key Cards, the presence of that QT remains a mystery.  Which is why they invented the Queen Ask:

After an RKCB response of 5♣ or 5♦, the cheapest non-sign off is the Queen Ask.

Responses

The auction goes as follows:

            1♥        4♣

            4NT     5♦

            5♠

4♣ was a Splinter, agreeing Hearts.  Then, after the 5♦ RKCB response, 5♠ is certainly the “cheapest non-sign off”, so it has to be the Queen Ask.  These are the responses:

            6♥        Returning to the trump suit denies the QT

            5NT     This shows the QT

What about responses of 6♣ and 6♦?  Can we not give them a useful meaning?  Yes, of course, and the most common meaning is for side-suit bids to show the QT and the King of the bid suit.  So, the full set of responses in this auction would be:

            5NT     QT, but no side-suit King.

            6♣       Shows QT and K♣

            6♦        Shows QT and K♦ (and denies K♣)

            6♥        Denies QT (and says nothing about side-suit Kings)

            6♠        Shows QT and K♠ (and denies both minor suit Kings)

Queen Ask in Action

Opener            Responder

♠ KT653         ♠ AQ4

♥ 8                   ♥ A96

♦ A5                ♦ K7632

♣ KQJ83        ♣ A2

    1♠                   2♦

    3♣                  3♠

    4NT                5♣

    5♥                   6♦

    7♠                 Pass

In the above auction, 3♠ was forcing (and stronger than 4♠ directly).  4NT was RKCB in Spades, of course, and 5♣  showed 0 or 3.  Now, 5♥ is the Queen Ask, and 6♦ showed the QT and the K♦ (and denied the K♣).  It looks like 7NT might make, but 7♠ has some extra chances (for example, if Clubs break 5-1, we can maybe make our 13th trick by ruffing out the Diamonds).

Extra Length

When we have a 10-card fit, possession of the QT becomes less important, because, on usual breaks, the enemy’s QT will come down in two rounds.  So, we can pretend that we hold the QT whenever we have reason to believe that our side has a 10-card fit.  Here is an example:

Opener            Responder

♠ KJ865          ♠ AT432

♥ K5                ♥ A87

♦ KQ7             ♦ A432

♣ AQ7             ♣ 6

    1♠                    4♣

    4NT                 5♣

    5♥                    6♠

    7♠                  Pass

Here, we have another Splinter sequence, with 4♣ showing Spade support, game-going values, and Club shortness.  5♣  showed 0 or 3, and 5♥ was the Queen Ask.  Responder does not have the QT, but, if his side is playing 5-card majors, then he knows that the partnership holds at least 10 trumps, making the QT an unnecessary luxury.  So, he bids 6♠ in response to the Queen Ask, pretending to have the QT, and denying all of the side-suit Kings.

So why not give it a go with your favourite partner? Try it out. it is quite simple and easy to follow, it is just a matter of getting used to something different.
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