Lackwood

(Courtesy of Bob Crosby)

KCB is a sophisticated system so playing Italian style cuebids, slams reached by the way of 5 level cuebids are out of the question. 5 level cue-bidding is a no-no playing Italian cuebids as you do not know whether there is 1st or 2nd round controls being bid previously. There is no such thing as cue-bidding at the 5 level playing this style. If cue-bidding starts at the 5 level it should be Exclusion Blackwood. What if you are cue-bidding and you go on to the 5 level in your own trump suit bypassing KCB? There obviously must be some flaw that prevented you from using KCB. You must have a suit that lacks a 1st or 2nd round control and you cannot use KCB or you have bid the ambiguous Last Train Slam Try. This type of Last Train cuebid may or may not have a control in the suit bid.

The creative minds of Meckwell defined a use for the jump to 5 of your major. They called it Lackwood. (lacking a control Blackwood). When you are cue-bidding and you bid 5 of your agreed trump suit it normally asks if you have control of the unbid suit bid 6. Lackwood builds on that concept. When you bid 5 of the agreed suit you do not have control in this unbid suit. However, it is more than the standard treatment. You do pass if you also do not control that suit but respond controls if you do. These are straight KCB responses. You bid 6 of the trump suit if you just have 2nd round control of that suit. For grand slam exploration, if you have 1st round control, you bid KCB responses. 1st step is 1 or 4, 2nd step 0 or 3, 3rd 2 without and 4th step two with the queen of trump.

When you play “Last Train” slam tries you “cuebid” a suit that you do not have or may not have a control in (one under the trump suit) saying that you have a control elsewhere but due the rank nature of cue-bidding you can not show it without passing game. Remember that the “Last Train” cuebid still may have a control in that suit but this cuebid does not necessarily show it. The Last Train bid is showing a cuebid that has been previously unbiddable. The fact that you may have a cuebid in your “Last Train” suit brings in Lackwood. You bid 5 of the major asking for the control in that suit that you cuebid as a “Last Train” slam try!

Some sample auctions:

1Spade Pass 2Diamond Pass
2Spade Pass 3Spade Pass
3NT Pass 4Diamond
4Heart* Pass 5Spade**

* Last Train slam try showing a club control but not necessarily a heart control, ** Lackwood” asking for the heart control

1Heart Pass 2Diamond Pass
2Heart Pass 3Heart Pass
3NT Pass 4Diamond* Pass
4NT** Pass Pass

* Last Train slam try showing a spade control (since partner denied a spade control with 3NT), ** 4NT instead of Lackwood as 1st round control in spades not shown

In “Last Train” auctions, Lackwood is always predicated on the “Last Train” suit. If you are sure of the 1st round controls bid Lackwood otherwise KCB is in order.

Some more examples:

Last Train cuebid sometimes shows a cuebid that is unbiddable and sometimes tells partner that a control is missing but I am still interested in slam. This auction shows that a control is missing.

1Spade Pass 2Heart Pass
2Spade Pass 3Spade Pass
3NT Pass 4Club Pass
4Heart Pass ?

Partner obviously has no diamond control. If you have 1st round diamond and club control, you can bid Lackwood in hearts. With 2nd round diamond control bid KCB or sign-off with none.

Last Train cuebid and Lackwood go together. Partner uses the Last Train cuebid to show:

Try this auction:

1Heart Pass 2Diamond Pass
2Heart Pass 3Heart Pass
4Diamond

You did not make a Serious 3NT bid and you do not have a spade or club control. Meckwell plays this as a subtle Last Train saying that I am still interested and I might have a diamond control. The suit below the trump suit is always Last Train no matter how the auction went. This must be hearts with spades agreed and diamonds if hearts agreed, of course. They say it works!