District 8 Solvers Forum
June, 2012
 
by Karen Walker

1. Matchpoints, North-South vulnerable

    *Negative dbl

What's your call as South holding  9   K10   Q753   AKQ872 ?

This was a good-looking hand when the auction started. Some panelists still had high hopes for it.

STRITE:  "3NT.  Seems like an obvious shot."

FELDHEIM:  "3NT. No guarantees, but a practical bid based on the likelihood of seven tricks in my hand. The singleton spade should be covered by North's negative double. 2NT is another chicken-like possibility."

SPEAR:  "2NT.  Only at matchpoints."

The big reward could be there -- a heart lead into your king, two aces in dummy and your clubs run for six tricks. Then again, dummy could look more like the example offered by this panelist:  

RING:  "3C.  On the heavy side, but my stiff spade suggests a misfit. I certainly don't want to get to 3NT opposite  KJxxx  xxx  Kxx  Jx . Hopefully, partner will bid again with extras."

The majority shared this pessimism, citing their poor holdings in the majors.

SOKOL:  "3C.  Partner might just have long spades and not quite enough for a 2S free bid. If partner bids 3H, I'll try 3NT."

KESSLER:  "3C.  Most of the time when 3NT is right, partner can bid again. This hand rates to lay poorly for North-South."

MATHENY:  "3C.  My heart king may be poorly placed, so this is still just a nice minimum.  Partner can cue 3H if he's looking for 3NT."

SOPER:  "3C.  I'd bid 2NT if I thought partner wouldn't assume I had at least two spades."

RABIDEAU: "3C. Color me yellow.  Pointed-suit finesses are likely to lose to RHO. There's still room for partner to cuebid hearts." 

ENGEL:  "3C.  I'm not sure I'd bid 3D even if it didn't promise extras." 

Two panelists and almost a quarter of the Solvers did choose 3D.

WARD: "3D. This doesn't preclude 3NT, and also gives a chance to get to clubs or diamonds when right.  If partner passes, am I really missing anything opposite something like KJxx  xxx   AJxx  xx ?"

PAULO: "3D.  I considered 2NT. Against that, I hold a singleton, and the heart stopper is vulnerable from East. On the other hand, by rebidding 3D, I show at least five clubs."  

There's disagreement among experts about whether opening 1C and rebidding 2D in response to a negative double should show reversing values (talk to your partner about this auction). Here, though, your diamond rebid is at the three-level, which will surely convince partner that you have something extra, especially since you're bidding a suit he hasn't promised (his negative double showed only spades, not diamonds). If partner has RING's example hand, he'll have to either leave you in a weak 4-3 fit or look for 3NT, which will be down two at best. On a bad day (spade lead and heart switch), you could be down six (!).

The panel conceded that partner could have the perfect hand for 3NT, but they weren't willing to gamble on it. Based on the assumption that heart honors are on your left and dummy will have wasted values in spades, they thought this hand was looking more like a preempt than an opening bid, and they trusted partner to carry on if game was in the cards.

2. IMPs, Nobody vulnerable

*5+ card suit with 2 of top 3 honors

What's your call as South holding AK7643   A4   A   AKQ5 ?

There was a lot to think about on this deal, and the result was twelve possible solutions from the panel and Solvers. A popular choice among the Solvers was the blast to the small slam:

RING: "6D.  I don't think either 4S or 5C is forcing, so I'll give up looking for the perfect contract and bid what I expect to be a good one. Partner may have no entry to hand in another strain so diamonds look best. Note to self: After session, badger partner about switching to strong club-based system."

Most others had a grand slam in mind, and some thought they already had enough information: 

PAULO: "7D.  After partner's rebid, I count on six diamond tricks, therefore we have 12 tricks. The thirteenth trick will be set up if necessary ... I hope."

FELDHEIM: "7D.  Bidding  diamonds is clear-cut. Ruffs may be needed to be establish the spade suit, and there may be no entry to the dummy in notrump!"

The rest of the panel chose to go slow and try to collect more information. One approach was a new-suit bid:

ENGEL: "5C.  If partner's suit were solid enough for me to want to be in 7D, he probably would have rebid 5D last time."

SOKOL: "5C.  Partner must have a lot more than just KQxxxx. Otherwise, he should have just bid 2D to get out of the way of the big hand. 5C is absolutely forcing because the big hand is still unlimited. It keeps all slam contracts in play."

STRITE: "4H.  Headed to 7D unless I can get a heart cuebid back from partner to steer us to 7NT." 

Will partner know that 4H and 5C are cuebids and/or forcing? From his side of the table, he may envision a second suit and a diamond void in your hand. The 4H "cuebid" sounds especially passable.

The majority decided to investigate with Keycard Blackwood (confirming diamonds as trumps). Some hoped to eventually convince partner to bid the grand; others already had their hearts set on 7D and were looking for a possible 7NT. 

KESSLER: "4NT, followed by 5NT. This must be a grand-slam try and partner should be able to bid 7D with KQJxxx or KQxxxxx. I think it almost shows the stiff diamond ace, and asks partner to bid the grand with a better-than-minimum diamond holding."

SPEAR:  "4NT. Just checking for the king of hearts to bid 7NT instead of 7D." 

WARD: "4NT. Followed by 5NT, trying to get partner to bid seven with something extra (spade queen or heart king) so I can convert to 7NT. Otherwise, I'll hope he can survive long enough to get to his hand to draw trumps in 7D."

RABIDEAU: "4NT. Then 5NT, of course, hoping partner will appreciate the value of the J and bid 7D. Or maybe I'll bid it myself, hoping for KQTxxx or better.  And his first response will confirm whether we're on the same wavelength regarding the trump suit!" 

These strategies make sense, but they're all based on some hoping and guessing and passing the buck to partner. If you want a more reliable way to ask about partner's diamonds -- and a shorter auction -- how about 5NT? This is the rare "jack-asking" version of Grand Slam Force -- since partner has already confirmed at least KQxxxx, it has to be asking him for a more solid holding (the J or a seventh trump). 

Is 5NT too deep? My partner, Bharat Rao, who had about 150 masterpoints when this hand was dealt years ago, had no problem working it out. Holding 2  K53  KQJ1092  643, he even had the presence of mind to bid 6H on the way to 7D, which got us to the laydown 7NT.

The 5NT call was submitted by two solvers -- Arbha Vongsvivut and Bud Hinckley -- who, as it happens, are this month's contest winners. Nice bid, guys! 

3. Matchpoints, North-South vulnerable

What's your call as South holding  102   76   Q10   AKJ9876 ?

Gee, thanks, partner. Although the redouble is a "command" to choose an unbid suit, only three panelists were willing to follow orders: 

NELSON: "2H. I respect my partner. I hate it, but I MUST make a bid or lose a good partner. I know there's a club stack behind me, so let's hope for the best."

FELDHEIM:  "2H. 2C doubled seems playable (I'm ahead of the game since I didn't bid 3C), but redouble is too expensive. So I'll be obedient but terrified."

STRITE: "2H. Despite my club length and strength, I expect two trump losers and 4-5 losers among my doubletons, so I can't sit. I'd overcall 2C again, however."

If you're going to run, these panelists offer what seems to be a more flexible approach:

PAULO:  "2D. This cuebid allows partner to choose his own poison."

ENGEL: "2D. Hoping we don't end up saving in 3C doubled eventually."

SPEAR: "2D.  Let's see . . . down 1 or 2 is 400 or 1000. I think that 2-of-a-major may get lucky and only go down 200, possibly getting a couple of matchpoints. I'll bid 2D and redouble to get to the better major -- also showing that two can play at this game! At least I won't have to play it."

Forcing partner to declare this mess may be the best reason of all to bid 2D.

Most panelists and an overwhelming majority of Solvers decided to overrule partner and stick with clubs, even redoubled.

BRIDGE BARON:  "Pass.  North asked us to rescue to the suit of the partnership's best fit. It's clubs, so we just did."

SOKOL:  "Pass. No bid that I can make is likely to improve the result. I believe in the old bridge adage: 'What do you call a 7 card suit? TRUMP!' "

RABIDEAU:  "Pass. We start with five impregnable club tricks."

RING: "Pass.  My hand is dead opposite a club void, so I gamble that minus 400 here beats minus 500 in 2 of a major doubled (or that minus 1000 here beats minus 1100 there!)." 

SOPER:  "Pass.  Minus 1000 in 2C redoubled or minus 1100 in 2 of a major, merely doubled. Are we having fun yet?"

With all these panelists doing arithmetic, I'm surprised that none chose the unorthodox but logical rebid of 3C. If you decide to stay with clubs as trumps (I agree that's the least of evils here), the best way to limit your losses is to play a club contract without the redouble. I don't think partner will be putting down more than one trick for me, so I'm expecting 2C redoubled to go down two, which is minus 1000 and a sure zero. If I "run" to 3C, I'm down three doubled for only minus 800 (assuming that partner doesn't try to save me again!). At worst, that will tie the pairs who overcalled 3C with this hand, save a few matchpoints and give partner a good story to tell in the bar after the game.

4. IMPs, Both vulnerable

     * Strong jump shift

What's your call as South holding  K  AJ9854   J102   AQ10 ?

Partner is usually the captain after he makes a strong jump-shift response. Your goal as opener is to provide some information and allow him to clarify exactly what type of hand he has. The plurality of the panel decided to emphasize their club values. Their thinking is summed up by:

RING: "3C.  After the strong jump shift, this shows a concentration of values, not necessarily a real suit. Hopefully we are playing Soloway-style jump shifts where partner can only have one of a few hand types, and partner's rebid will reveal the specific type."

Soloway jump shifts are widely accepted as "expert standard" these days, so you can probably count on an experienced partner to be familiar with them. This style defines a jump-shift as showing one of four types of hands:
   1 - Strong (17-18+ pts.) with ONE long, strong suit (at least two of the top three honors).
   2 - Intermediate strength (13-16 pts.) with a long, solid suit (AKQ) and good controls in the unbid suits.
   3 - Balanced slam invitation (17-19 pts.) with a good 5-card suit.
   4 - At least slam-try values (16+ pts.) with a good 5+-card suit AND support for opener's suit (4+-card support for a minor, 3+ cards for a major).

After a jump shift, you're going to be playing game or slam in partner's suit, your suit or notrump. One of the hands partner cannot have is a two-suiter with spades and clubs, as pointed out by:  

SOPER: "3C.  Partner probably knows what strain we'll be playing in, and it's not clubs. I'll show where my outside strength is and hope it helps."

PAULO: "3C.  3S would be a strong raise; 2NT would be rather weak; 3H would emphasize a suit that looks holey. So, I bid the suit where I have some strength, despite its shortness."

ENGEL: "3C.  If partner needs diamond values, this will slow him down."

If you want to show partner where your strength is, how about:

FELDHEIM: "3S.  I'm sure I'm in a minority on this one, but for me, jump shifts are either radically single-suited or contain a fit with partner's opening suit. North needs to know about the spade king."

KESSLER:  "3S.  I'm very old-fashioned and raise with one of the top three honors. If partner bids 4H, I bid 5C."

SPEAR: "3S.  This is okay here, but I don't feel it's mandatory unless discussed. I will bet that my old-fashioned partner (who insisted on strong jump shifts) wants me to bid this instead of a broken heart suit or 2NT with unstopped diamonds." 

WARD: "3S.  This seems pretty normal.  Tougher question is what to bid if partner follows with 3NT."

Many partnerships like to play that a raise of the jump-shift suit promises a high honor, and they'll do it even when the honor is singleton. With spade length but no honor, they'll make a concentration-of-values bid in another suit and show spade support later. Others prefer to guarantee at least a doubleton honor for the immediate raise. If you play strong jump shifts, this is a good topic for partnership discussion.

5. Matchpoints, East-West vulnerable