Club News Sheet – No. 228    www.pattayabridge.com        18th March 2007

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Mon 12th    1st N-S     Per-Ake & Paul N             57%         2nd    Hugh & Sally                    55%

                  1st E-W    Dennis & Phyllis                 65%         2nd    Gerry & Gastone              57%

Wed 14th    1st N-S     Bob & Mike                       59%         2nd    Phil & Tomas                   53%

                  1st E-W    Jan & Kjarthn                     65%         2nd    Dave & Malcome             59%

Fri  16th      1st N-S     Gastone & Vivian               56%         2nd    Claudia & Tony                55%

                  1st E-W    Per-Ake & Paul N             64%         2nd    Flurio & Pezzini                60%

 

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A it is love all and you are in first seat. What do

you open?

♠ AQJ10876    ♠ AKJ875                                    

♥ J2                 ♥ -                   With Hand B partner opens 2♣ (or 2♦ playing Benjamin) and

♦ 8                   ♦ 974               you respond with either 2♠ or a waiting bid, as is your style.

♣ J85               ♣ 9865            Partner then bids 3♣ (game forcing), what do you bid?

 

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C you open 1♥ and partner responds 1NT, what do you bid?

♠ AQ2             ♠ K3

♥ AQ10854     ♥ 3                   With Hand D LHO opens (a) 3♠, or (b) 4♠ and this is passed

♦ A92              ♦ AKQJ105     round to you. What do you bid in either scenario?

♣ 8                  ♣ K932

                       

Hand E            Hand F            What do you open with Hand E?

                       

♠ AK8753       ♠ QJ854          (a)  What do you open with Hand F?         

♥ AQ92           ♥ AQ               (b)  Suppose you choose 1♠ and partner responds 1NT, what do

♦ AK3             ♦ KJ2                     you do now?

♣ -                   ♣ K53

 

Hand G           Hand H           What do open with Hand G, in 1st seat, love all?

                                                                       

♠ KJ                ♠ 93              

♥ 3                   ♥ J54               With Hand H LHO opens 1♦ and RHO bids 1♥, what do  

♦ KJ1098763   ♦ KQJ874        you do?          

♣ 96                ♣ AQ

 

Hand J            Hand K           With Hand J partner opens 1♠, what do you bid?

 

♠ 1052             ♠ A763                   

♥ K108            ♥ K                  With Hand K partner opens 1♥ and you bid 1♠. Partner then

♦ A8                ♦ Q105            bids 2♦, what do you bid?

♣ K8653         ♣ 97653

 

The Bidding Sequence quiz is on the next page.                  
Bidding Sequences Quiz        All of these sequences occurred this week

 

L      1♦      pass   2♦      pass   What is the 3♦ bid – constructive or pre-emptive?

3♦

M    1♦      pass   1♥      2♦      What is the 2♦ bid?

N     1♦      pass   2♦      pass   What is the double – penalty or take-out?

3♦      dbl

P      1♠      pass   2♣     pass   How many points for 3♠, and how many ♠’s?

2♦      pass   3♠

Q     1♠      pass   3♠                How many points for 3♠, and how many ♠’s?

R     4♠      pass   pass   4NT   What is 4NT – natural or ace ask?

S      1♥      pass   1NT   pass   Is 3♥ invitational or forcing?

3♥     

T      1♥      pass   1NT   pass   Is 3♣ invitational or forcing?

3♣    

U     1♠      pass   1NT   pass   How strong is the raise to 2NT?

2NT  

 

 

Editorial

People have reacted favorably to the move downstairs. It’s downstairs, washrooms are near, the room has windows and it is generally a nicer room. So I propose to keep the club at the Tropicana for now unless I get a great deal of requests to move.
It’s take-out                                                         Board 8 from Monday 12th

When the opponents bid and support a suit at a low level, then double is take-out.

 

Dealer:             ♠ KQ54                                        

West                ♥ A93                                            West          North         East          South

Love all            ♦ 93                                               1♦    (1)      pass (2)      2♦    (3)    pass (4) 

                        ♣ Q1094                                       3♦    (5)      dbl   (6)      pass         pass (7)

pass

♠ A86                   N             ♠ 73                        

♥ Q84                W    E          ♥ J6                  

♦ KQ875               S              ♦ AJ1062               

♣ K5                                     ♣ 7632                   

                        ♠ J1092                                  

♥ K10732                                     

♦ 4                                          

♣ AJ8                                           

 

(1)  Promising 4+ ♦’s in their system (they play a short ♣)

(2)  Double is a reasonable option (it’s playable in the other 3 suits). Presumably this North considered it not quite good enough. I would double but not argue with this pass chosen.

(3)  If you play inverted minors then 3♦ is the bid. Unfortunately this pair do not play them.

(4)  It’s in the sandwich seat and double is dangerous, 1♥ is reasonable but I prefer to pass for now – you have a partner and the bidding will not stop at 2♦.

(5)  This is a good bid – it is best played as pre-emptive as here.

(6)  Now both opponents are limited and so North can make a take-out double. It’s reasonable, but I prefer to pass if your partner understands balancing (if he doubles then you have a 4-4 ♠ fit). The problem with North doubling is that you may end up in a 4-3 or 5-3 ♥ fit when you have a 4-4 ♠ fit.

(7)  Unfortunately South mis-understood the double and thought it was for penalties.

 

And what happened? 3♦ doubled made exactly for a rare top to this E-W. 3♠ is the best spot for N-S; nobody found this but one pair did bid and make 4♠.

The bottom lines:

-         When the opponents bid and agree a suit, then double is normally take-out.

 

Don’t get mad at the opponents for your own cock-ups              Board 9 from Monday 12th

If you make the wrong bid (accidentally pulling out the wrong card) then you are allowed to change it. But if you make the wrong bid (not a mechanical error) then you cannot change the bid.

Dealer:             ♠ Q1043                                        Table A

North               ♥ Q10952                                      West          North         East          South

E-W vul           ♦ 1063                                           -                 pass           2♦    (1)    pass

                        ♣ 7                                                3♥    (2)      pass           4♣           pass (6)

4♠              pass           4NT (3)    pass

♠ AKJ875             N             ♠ -                           6NT (4)      pass           7NT (5)    pass (6)

♥ -                     W    E          ♥ 643                       all pass

♦ 974                     S              ♦ AKQ                  

♣ 9865                                  ♣ AKQJ1032          ‘Expert’ Table   

                        ♠ 962                                             West(B)     North         East          South

♥ AKJ87                                       -                 pass           2♦    (1)    pass

♦ J852                                           2♥    (2)      pass           3♣           pass

♣ 4                                                4♥    (7)      pass           4♠    (8)    pass

5♥    (9)      pass           7♣           al pass

 

Table A:     (1)  This pair play Benjamin twos, so 2♦ is game forcing.

(2)   Having made this silly bid West tried to retract it, North said that he could not. I was East at the table and agree with North. 2♥ is automatic in their version of Benjamin twos and it is difficult to believe that West pulled out the wrong card, we don’t usually have 5 bidding cards stuck together.

(3)   In this sequence this must be normal Blackwood.

(4)   West was annoyed at North who would not let him take his silly bid back, so he decided to make the most silly bid possible again.

(5)   Since West, for some strange reason, did not give his number of aces, East assumed that he must have a very good hand with two aces.

(6)   South was on lead, but did not double as E-W have a good save in 8♣ which only goes one down? Perhaps he felt sorry for East having to put up with this West for a partner?

‘Expert’      (1)  Our experts play Benjamin twos…

 Table         (2)  … with an automatic 2♥ relay response.

(7)   What did you bid with this West hand B in this week’s quiz? 4♥, a splinter agreeing ♣’s and showing ♥ shortage is easily the best shot.

(8)   A cue bid (1st round control).

(9)   A cue cid of a splinter suit shows a void.

(10)   That’s all East needs to know for the grand, the ♠AK are superfluous cards.

 

And what happened? 7NT was not quite a bottom as another pair were in 6NT doubled (guess they should have run to 7♣?). Four pairs out of nine reached the good 6♣ contract, all making +1. Nobody bid 7♣. The bottom lines: -

-         If you play Benjamin twos then I prefer to always relay with 2♥ over 2♦.

-         If you make a bad bid, you cannot retract it.

-         You may only retract a bid if it is a ‘mechanical error’, i.e. not the bid intended.

-         If you bid 6NT over partner’s ace ask, then you will find yourself without partners.

-         With 4 card support for partner, splinter with shortage.

-         A cue bid of a splinter shows a void.

Pre-empt to the limit – part 1                              Board 30 from Monday 12th

High level pre-empts make life difficult for the opponents: -

Dealer:             ♠ K3                                              Table A

East                  ♥ 3                                                 West          North(D)    East(A)    South

Love all            ♦ AKQJ105                                   -                 -                 3♠    (1)    pass

                        ♣ K932                                         pass           3NT (2)      all pass

 

♠ 954                    N             ♠ AQJ10876            Table B

♥ KQ10864       W    E          ♥ J2                         West          North(D)    East(A)    South

♦ 6432                   S              ♦ 8                          -                 -                 4♠    (1)    pass

♣ -                                         ♣ J85                       pass           5♦    (3)      all pass

                        ♠ 2                                          

♥ A975                                         

♦ 97                                        

♣ AQ10764                                  

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this East hand A in this week’s quiz? Of course 3♠ is perfectly sound, but see my choice at Table B.

(2)   What did you bid with this North hand D(a) in this week’s quiz? With a ♠ stopper and a long running suit I much prefer taking a shot at 3NT to any other bid. 4NT, ace asking, is a more optimistic alternative.

 Table B:    (1)  This ♠ suit is really solid and I think it’s worth a non-vulnerable 4♠, so that’s what I bid

(3)  And now North’s bid is not so easy. What did you bid with this North hand D(b) in the quiz? I guess it depends upon whether you consider 4NT (sequence R) to be natural or an ace ask. I would play 4NT as natural and bid that, hoping that partner has a ♥ stop and that West does not get in to lead a ♠ through. But at the four/five level it’s a bit of a lottery (that’s why I opened 4♠) and you cannot really fault North’s decision to bid 5♦ although 4NT may be better even if partner assumes it is Blackwood – what can go wrong?

 

And what happened? 3NT at Table A made with three overtricks. 5♦ at Table B went one down when a ♣ was led. One North reached 6NT for a top and there were the usual spurious results. In fact the board was played 9 times and 5♣+1 was the only result that appeared twice.

The bottom lines: -

-         With a solid major suit full of intermediates, think of opening 4♥/♠ rather than 3♥/♠.

-         With a stop (hopefully) and a long solid minor, think of No Trumps.

 

Pre-empt to the limit – part 2                              West hand 11 from Friday 16th

 

♠ KJ                     What did you open with this Hand G in this week’s quiz? 3♦, 4♦ or 5♦?

♥ 3                         I would not argue with any. If you play 4♦ as Namyats then it’s

♦ KJ1098763         either 3♦ or 5♦ and both have their merits. But the one bid that I

♣ 96                              would argue with is 2♦ (or 2♣ which includes a weak 2♦) which is what my bidding partner on Friday chose.

The bottom line: -  A weak two is 6 cards and most definitely not a very good 8 cards!

It’s only worth an invite                                       Board 7 from Monday 12th

Three out of nine got too high on this deal, what was your answer to sequence S?

Dealer:             ♠ J876                                          

South               ♥ 93                                               West          North         East(C)    South

Both vul            ♦ K86                                            -                 -                 -               pass

                        ♣ KQ102                                      pass           pass           1♥            pass

1NT           pass           3♥    (1)    pass

♠ K105                 N             ♠ AQ2                     pass (2)      pass

♥ 76                   W    E          ♥ AQ10854            

♦ QJ53                   S              ♦ A92                (1)  What did you bid with this East hand C in

♣ 9743                                  ♣ 8                          this week’s quiz? 3♥ is spot on, encouraging

                        ♠ 943                                             but not forcing (sequence S).

♥ KJ2                                      (2)  With a minimum and miserable ♥’s West

♦ 1074                                          has an easy pass.

♣ AJ65                                         

 

And what happened? Six pairs stopped nicely in 3♥ and all made exactly. Three overbid to 4♥ and all went down

The bottom lines: -

-         Sequence S, 1♥ - 1NT - 3♥, is invitational but not forcing.

 

 

2NT by responder is always 11-12 points           Board 16 from Friday 16th

 

Dealer:             ♠ K52                                           

West                ♥ J9653                                         West          North         East(K)    South

E-W vul           ♦ K4                                              1♥              pass           1♠            pass

                        ♣ Q108                                         2♦              pass           2NT (1)    all pass  

 

♠ J                        N             ♠ A763              (1)  What did you bid with this East hand K in

♥ Q8742            W    E          ♥ K                          this week’s quiz? 2NT is incorrect here as it

♦ AJ87                   S              ♦ Q105                   promises 11-12 points. In this sort of situation

♣ KJ4                                    ♣ 97653                  with a weak hand you have three choices:

                        ♠ Q10984                                -     rebid your suit if it’s 5+, usually 6, cards.

♥ A10                                      -     give preference to partner’s first suit.

♦ 9632                                     -     pass  

♣ A2                                              With this actual hand pass is clearly best.

 

And what happened? 2NT should go two down whereas 2♦ was making or going just one down. The bottom lines: -

-         2NT by responder, initially or at his 2nd turn, promises 11-12 points.

-     With less, give preference (often a doubleton), pass or re-bid your suit.

 

Dave’s Column

Worth a 2♣ opener?                                            Board 26 (and board 1) from Wednesday 14th

Final contracts ranged from 1♠ to 6♠ on this deal, which Dave put in as a play problem in a straightforward 4♠ contract!

Dealer:             ♠ 92                                               Table A

East                  ♥ K64                                            West          North         East(E)     South

Both vul            ♦ QJ102                                         -                 -                 1♠    (1)    pass

                        ♣ QJ104                                        pass           pass

 

♠ 64                      N             ♠ AK8753               Table B

♥ J3                   W    E          ♥ AQ92                   West          North         East(E)     South

♦ 9865                   S              ♦ AK3                    -                 -                 2♦    (1)    pass

♣ A6532                                ♣ -                           2♥    (2)      pass           2♠            pass

                        ♠ QJ10                                          3♣             pass           3♥            pass

♥ 10875                                         4♠    (3)      all pass

♦ 74                                        

♣ K987

Table A:     (1) What did you open with this East hand A in this week’s quiz? This hand is 9˝ playing tricks and well worth a game-forcing opening – you could well make slam with as little as the ♥K and a couple of decent ♠’s opposite.

Table B:     (1)  Most chose their strongest bid – quite right; this pair play Benjamin …

(2)  … with an automatic 2♥ relay response.

(3)  Fast arrival – no slam interest on this mis-fit.

 

And what happened? This was intended, by Dave, to be a straightforward bidding sequence to 4♠ - but this is Pattaya Bridge Club! The board was played 14 times (North had the big ♠ hand when it was board 1). No less than 4 pairs played it in 1♠ and one in 1NT. Three were in 6♠ (all going down of course) and with the usual spurious contracts the end result was that Nobody on board 1 and just 3 pairs out of 7 on board 26 ended up in the ‘obvious’ 4♠!

The bottom lines: -

-         It is generally accepted that you should open 2♣ (or 2♦ Benjamin) with 9˝ playing tricks.

-         I have no idea how three pairs reached the hopeless slam.

Anyway, onto the play (in 4♠!). Contract 4♠ by East, Lead the ♠Q.

Hint: You probably have 5 ♠’s, 2 ♣’s and 2 ♥’s, how do you get to the ♦A?

Tip: Never assume that you have to lead towards a combination like AQ if you have the jack.

Play: East should win the opening lead with the ♠K and immediately lead the ♥Q. If a defender wins then the ♥J is an entry for declarer to get to the ♦A. If the ♥Q is ducked then declarer leads the ♥A and ruffs a ♥ with the same result.

No other line produces 10 tricks on the hand. If, for example, you play the ♥A and another ♥ then North will win and return a 2nd trump and you have lost your ♥ ruff in dummy.

Note from Terry. I note that a number of declarers actually made 11 tricks. This occurred when declarer led the ♥A at trick two and then a small ♥. North won but failed to draw dummy’s remaining trump.

Raising partner’s 1NT response to 2NT            Board 28 from Wednesday 14th

Virtually everybody got too high on this deal, Table A was typical. Who would you blame?

 

Dealer:             ♠ K1097                                        Table A

West                ♥ J9                                               West(F)     North         East          South

N-S vul            ♦ 10753                                         1♠    (1)      pass           1NT (2)    pass

                        ♣ Q76                                           2NT (3)      pass           3NT (4)    all pass

 

♠ QJ854               N             ♠ 32                         Table B

♥ AQ                 W    E          ♥ 107642                 West(F)     North         East          South

♦ KJ2                     S              ♦ A8                       1♠    (1)      pass           1NT (2)    pass

♣ K53                                   ♣ A984                    pass (3)      pass

                        ♠ A6                                       

♥ K853                                         

♦ Q964                                   

♣ J102                                          

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this West hand F(a) in this week’s quiz? I would open 1NT, especially as these ♠’s are so miserable. Open 1NT and you never have a rebid problem.

(2)  This is correct – it’s not good enough for a forcing 2♥ response.

(1)   What did you bid with this West hand F(b) in this week’s quiz? This is one of the advantages of playing a strong No trump – you rarely have to think about raising a 1NT response to 2NT (because you normally open 1NT). Anyway, this hand is nowhere good enough to raise to 2NT; a 2NT raise should be a good 16-17 and this is a miserable 16 (points not in the long suit). Pass is the correct bid.

(2)   With 8 points and good intermediates East reasonably raised to 3NT

Table B:     (1)  This West also chose to open 1♠.

(3)  But he got the rebid right.

 

And what happened? The board was played seven times and six E-W’s overbid to the poor game. I was North at Table A where West incorrectly criticised East for going to 3NT ‘with just two aces’. I did not bother to say anything at the table.

The bottom lines: -

-         With a balanced 16 count open 1NT.

-         Most experts allow a 5 card major in their 1NT opening …

-         … especially with a suit as bad as QJxxx and all outside suits covered.

-         Open 1NT and you never have a rebid problem.

-         To raise a 1NT response to 2NT you need a very good 16+ points.

-         Two aces and a ten is easily enough for 3NT after 1♠ – 1NT – 2NT – ?

 

Raising partner’s major with 3 trumps               Board 10 from Friday 16th

N-S got one too high here when South looked for slam. What went wrong?

 

Dealer:             ♠ 1052                                           Table A

East                  ♥ K108                                          West          North(J)     East          South

Both vul            ♦ A8                                              -                 -                 pass         1♠

                        ♣ K8653                                       pass           3♠    (1)      pass         4NT (2)

pass           5♦              pass         5♠    (3)

♠ Q6                     N             ♠ 874                       all pass

♥ 97654             W    E          ♥ J3                  

♦ 654                     S              ♦ K732                   Table B

♣ A107                                  ♣ J942                     West          North(J)     East          South

                        ♠ AKJ93                                        -                 -                 pass         1♠

♥ AQ2                                           pass           2♣   (1)      pass         2♦    (4)

♦ QJ109                                        pass           3♠    (5)      pass         4♠    (6)

♣ Q                                               all pass

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this North hand J in this week’s quiz? Whether you think it’s worth a raise to 3♠ or just 2♠ is close. I would bid 2♠ but this North thought it good enough for 3♠ and I’m not arguing, gut I do argue with the 3♠ bid. If you feel that the hand is worth 3♠ then bid as table B.

(2)   South expected 10-11 opposite with 4 card ♠ support and perhaps optimistically decided to go for slam.

(3)   Quite why he chickened out with just one keycard missing is a mystery.

Table B:     (1)  This North also decided that it was worth a raise to 3♠, and the way to show a limit raise with just three card support is to bid a minor first (if you do not play 2/1, when you bid the forcing NoTrump).

(4)   The hand is worth 3♦ but 2♦ is fine if you play it as forcing.

(5)   And now North shows his sound raise to 3♠ with just 3 card support.

(6)   But North’s 2♣ bid did nothing to improve South’s hand and he knows not to go slamming, especially with just three trumps opposite.

 

And what happened? 5♠ went one down; 4♠ was generally making and there was the usual odd spurious score like 7NT doubled going 4 down.

The bottom lines: -

-         If you can describe your hand perfectly, then do so!

-         An immediate raise of 1♥/♠ to 3♥/♠ promises 4 card support and about 10-11 points.

 

 

Bidding the opponent’s suit is not natural          Board 25 from Wednesday 14th

 

Dealer:             ♠ A7                                             

North               ♥ A72                                            West(H)     North         East          South

E-W vul           ♦ A10652                                      -                 1♦              pass         1♥

                        ♣ 654                                            2♦    (1)      pass           2♠    (2)    dbl

3♦    (3)      pass (4)      3♠    (5)    dbl   (6)

♠ 93                      N             ♠ QJ865                  all pass

♥ J54                 W    E          ♥ 963                      

♦ KQJ874              S              ♦ 9                         

♣ AQ                                     ♣ J872                    

                        ♠ K1043                                 

♥ KQ108                                      

♦ 3                                          

♣ K1093                                      

 

(1)   What did you bid with this West hand H in this week’s quiz? Pass seems totally obvious to me; this 2♦ bid cannot be natural in this sequence and I would take it as asking for a ♦ stop – sequence M. I note that West did ask about the length of the ♦ suit before he bid 2♦ – unethical??

(2)   With a decent 5 card ♠ suit and no ♦ stop this is clear.

(3)   West has got his side into a mess but decided to dig himself deeper in.

(4)   Obviously North should double – but he was a beginner.

(5)   East thought that West had a huge hand – he has my sympathy.

(6)   South obviously doubled again, and he would have doubled 3♦ had East passed.

 

And what happened? 3♠ doubled went for 500. I note that one other West played in 3♦ doubled also going for an equally fully deserved 500.

The bottom lines: -

-         It’s usually best to pass with length and strength in an opponent’s suit.

-         Even playing better minor, a 1♦ opening is usually 4+ cards.

-         Bidding the opponent’s suit is not natural.

-         Asking the length of an opponent’s minor suit and then bidding it in a natural sense is probably unethical.

 

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:    4♠. This ♠ suit is virtually solid and 3♠ is a bit feeble for me.

Hand B:    4♥, a splinter agreeing ♣’s and showing ♥ shortage.

Hand C:    3♥, invitational. 4♥ is certainly too much and 2♥ probably not quite enough.

Hand D:    (a)  3NT, with a ♠ stop you should bid 3NT and hope that partner has the ♥’s stopped. 4♦ is too feeble for me and double obviously silly with a singleton ♥. 4NT, Blackwood, is also very reasonable.

(b)  4NT, natural and to play. 4NT is also probably best even if partner interprets it as Blackwood, you can stop in 5♦ if partner has just one ace and bid 6NT opposite two.

Hand E:    2♣ (or 2♦ playing Benjamin). This hand is 9˝ playing tricks with just three losers and is well worth a game forcing opening. I consider this hand too strong for a strong 2♠ or Benjamin 2♣.

Hand F:     (a)  1NT, it’s a balanced 16 points. Opening 1NT with a 5 card major is fine, especially with a poor suit like this and cover in all of the other suits.

(b)  Wish that you had opened 1NT! But seriously, if you chose not to open 1NT then this hand is not good enough to raise to 2NT, you need a really good 16-17 and this is a really poor 16.

Hand G:    3♦, 4♦ or 5♦. It’s probably a matter of style, but 2♦ is most certainly not enough.

Hand H:    Pass. With length and strength in an opponent’s suit it’s usually best to pass. 2♦ is not natural and I would play it as asking for a ♦ stop (sequence M).

Hand J:     Either 2♠ or 2♣. If you feel that the hand is worth a limit raise to 3♠ then the way to bid that is to bid two of a minor first and then bid 3♠. A direct 3♠ bid promises four card ♠ support.

Hand K:    Pass. It may be a 4-3 fit, but that’s tough – stay low on mis-fits. 2NT is incorrect as it promises 11-12 points.

 

Bidding Sequences Quiz Answers 

 

L      1♦      pass   2♦      pass       3♦ here is best played as pre-emptive – with any other bid being

3♦                                        constructive. It’s probably best to also play this with ♣’s and ♥’s.

M    1♦      pass   1♥      2♦          The 2♦ cue bid asks partner to bid NoTrumps with a stop.

N     1♦      pass   2♦      pass       Take-out. The opponents have bid and agreed a suit at a low level.

3♦      dbl

P      1♠      pass   2♣     pass       3♠ here is about 11-12 points with exactly 3 ♠’s.

2♦      pass   3♠

Q     1♠      pass   3♠                    A direct 3♠ is about 10-11 points with 4 ♠’s.

R     4♠      pass   pass   4NT       4NT here is best play as natural.

S      1♥      pass   1NT   pass       3♥ is invitational.

3♥     

T      1♥      pass   1NT   pass       3♣ is forcing.

3♣    

U     1♠      pass   1NT   pass       2NT is a very good 16 or 17 points. This sequence is very dicey

2NT                                     as the 1NT bid may be any shape and anything from 6-10 points. But fortunately it rarely comes up playing Standard American if you allow 5 card majors in your 1NT opening.