District 8 Solvers Forum -- December 2016

    by Jack Spear, Overland Park KS

The Forum is back, although our scoring functions are still being repaired. The server lost some submissions after these problems were posted in the June issue, so we have a small panel and group of Solvers. Apologies if your answers were lost.

What is your call as South holding  Q63   2  Q982   KJ964 ?

The first problem basically comes down to a choice between an aggressive 3NT or a conservative 2NT. (Pass and 3C are also possible, but not chosen by any panelist.) Partner has shown a hand too strong to overcall 1H. 3NT was the panel favorite, but I joined the 2NT group because of the single diamond stopper and singleton heart in partner’s suit. 2NT is forward-going here.

Our surprise guest panelist Don Stack had a strong opinion that 3NT was best:

STACK: 3NT. Great club suit, 8 high-card points, diamonds potentially stopped twice. (I’d bid 2NT without the club king.)

The majority also thought that 3NT was the way to go:

WARD: 3NT. I can’t have much more. I dislike bidding 3D because partner may infer I have more heart tolerance than a singleton.

BAKER: 3NT. Partner has my short suit covered, I have a stopper in the enemy suit, and an absolute max for my non-jump bid.

WALKER: 3NT. With eight more points than I’ve shown so far, I have to be the one to get us to game. 2S and 2NT are passable, and 3D risks having partner bid past 3NT.

HUDSON: 3NT. North is showing a very strong hand, and we know where the opponents’ high cards are, so there should be a play for game.

Some are not so sure that 3NT is right here with only a single diamond stop and a misfit for hearts:

KESSLER: 2NT. I would bid 3NT if my diamonds were Q10xx.

HINCKLEY: 2NT. Mildly invitational. Avoiding a diamond lead through my hand will often be advantageous.

2. Matchpoints, EW vulnerable

BAKER: 4C. Partner will often correct to 4H, but 5C might be better if partner fits there.

4. IMPs, both vulnerable

What is your call as South holding  942   Void  AJ102  AKJ863 ?

Problem 4 features more preempting by the opponents, who are in 5H before we can raise partner’s spades.

The bid of 5NT here means, “Pick a Slam” and is the majority choice for a tough problem. There seems to be no perfect solution, but the 5NT bidders are hoping for the right answer:

HUDSON: 5NT. Pick a slam. But will partner know that KJxxxx of spades is bad, while Qxx of clubs is good?

WALKER: 5NT, pick a slam. Very pushy, but 5S doesn’t seem like enough, and 6C could play better than 6S. This suggests long clubs with doubt about the quality of my spade support. I don’t think pass is forcing here.

Those who believe that Pass is 100% forcing here can make a strong invitation by consulting partner. To do that, you start with the (ostensibly forcing) pass. If partner bids 5S, you’ll raise to slam. If he doubles, you pull to 5S, which shows a strong slam invite (often called “Pass & Pull”).

Pulling partner’s double cannot be misunderstood because logically, we’d never pass, leaving the decision to partner, and then over-rule his choice. The only exception would be to use the pull to convey a strong message. I agree with these panelists who chose to use this pass-and-pull tool:

KESSLER: Pass. I really like my hand, so use the “Pass and Pull” here.

BAKER: Pass, forcing. Planning to pull to 5S if partner doubles.

Others chose 5S as their answer to this tough problem:

WARD: 5S. Tough. I do not like three little spades, but I have everything else.

HINCKLEY: 5S. Can’t pass with a heart void and three spades. I’ll apologize later if we belonged in slam.

5. Matchpoints, none vulnerable

What is your call as South holding  Void   K109732  AQ74   1082 ?

We hold a very good weak two-bid or a light opening 1H bid, depending on your perspective. The majority choice was to open 1H with 9 HCP, which I agree with. But I believe this is very aggressive, and I didn’t expect such a large majority of our panel to agree with me. The saner group may be the ones who opened 2H or passed.

Include me in the group bidding 1H without a second choice. Ward also does not expect 1H to be in the majority:

WARD: 1H. No second choice. I am sure Mark Kessler is with me, but we may be the only ones.

KESSLER: 1H. Much closer to a one-bid than a two-bid, and if you pass, your partner will never believe you are this good.

WALKER: 1H. Invoking the new Rule of 19, used when your hand has too much to preempt, but you just can’t stomach a pass. I have apologies ready.

STACK: 1H. This hand has to be opened, so the choice is 1H or 2H. This hand appears to be too strong for 2H, so we will try 1H and hope it works out.

There’s no question this hand is borderline for a one-bid, so opening 2H or passing doesn’t seem unreasonable.

HINCKLEY: 2H. Being non-vulnerable, I’m very close to opening 1H. I’ve learned that passing here because neither 1H nor 2H seems correct is losing bridge.

HUDSON: 2H. What’s the problem? In second seat, it’s okay to be on the strong side. To open 1H would be more misleading.

BAKER: Pass. Too much defense for 2H, not enough for 1H, and second seat is where it pays to narrow your preempts.

6. Matchpoints, none vulnerable

What is your call as South holding  AK984   KJ   AK6   K93 ?

The last problem is an unusual choice of actions, where the opponents are in 2S, our 5-card suit, and we have 21 HCP. That convinced one panelist and the plurality of solvers to make one more stab at declaring:

BAKER: 2NT. I like my chances of setting East if I pass, but I don't think I'll score enough undoubled ... and partner won't leave it in if I double again.

The rest of the panel chose to pass and defend for a sure plus. I agree with that choice, and there are some interesting comments:

RABIDEAU: Pass. Partner could have as much as 5 points on this auction, but if I double, will we find the right contract? And if he has that much, we might be +150 on defense. In any case the opponents, with minimum points, are unlikely to take the push. The bottom line is that this is a defensive hand.

WARD: Pass. I like to go plus at matchpoints, and I think bidding at this point is going to turn a plus into a minus. Partner rates to have some 0-4-4-5 zero-count. If he has a 5-card minor, you may be able to make 3 of that, but if he has a 5-card heart suit, good luck.

KESSLER: Pass. If partner could not bid holding no spades. He has nothing. I try for a plus.

HINCKLEY:  Pass. Even if both opponents are very light, where am I getting 8 or more tricks?

WALKER: Pass. Unusual to make just one low-level bid with a 21-count, but this feels like the right time for it. Another takeout double rates to land you in hearts. A 2NT rebid might work if partner has a 6-card suit to run to, but even that won’t be a sure plus.

HUDSON: Pass. Does partner have a spade void and no points, or did East psych? The latter is more likely, but if so, we may be unable to sort it out. If I pass, at least we go plus. I’m going to stay fixed!

STACK: Pass. I think the opponents have probably psyched us out of a 4S contract, but partner had a chance to bid and didn’t, so I will just go quietly and take my zero even though we get a plus score.

I’ll go quietly too.
 

Thanks to all who sent in answers and comments. Leading all Solvers were Nigel Guthrie of Glasgow, Scotland and Steve Babin of Normal IL. They're invited to join the February panel.

If you'd like to receive an email notice when new problems are posted, please send your request to kwbridge@comcast.net .

I hope you'll give the February problems a try (see below). Please submit your solutions by January 31 on the web form.

    February moderator:  Kimmel Jones    kimmel.jones@gmail.com