I'll be in St Augustine, Florida when this column comes out, so I thought I'd include some warm, soothing pictures for all of you that are freezing your District 8 whatchamacallits off in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Northern Illinois, plus some of our geographically farther away but still chilly solvers in Canada, UK, Iceland, Denmark, and Eastern Europe.

And a moment of silence for Santa's Toy Factory which, as we all know, broke through the thinning ice at the North Pole and is now located at the bottom of the Arctic ocean. Although depressed and desolate, Santa has declared himself as now clearly being the owner of the North Pole, and he'll be making a comeback by selling oil leases and becoming the Western toll booth for the Northwest Passage.

Anyway...

Sunrise

Nice time to take a walk. If you run into one guy walking his dog in the other direction, the beach feels crowded. A good time to ponder the complexities of Problem 1.

1. IMPs, Both Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
1	Pass	1	?

As South you hold:  AQJT75   AKQ9   J4   J

What's your bid?

That annoying East stole our suit. With such a good suit we probably still want to bid it, the question is, how?

BAKER: 2S. BWS plays this as natural.

DODD: 2S. Natural in BWS. Sure, 4H may be cold if North has something like 10- sixth and nothing else, but how in the name of heaven do we get there?

MAYNE: 2S. Clear-cut. This is natural in any sensible system, and I can bid hearts next.

SPEAR: 2S. If this is not natural, change my bid to pass, and I will bid spades naturally next time.

Yup, it's natural, so bidding spades isn't a problem, at least not yet, but as Tom points out, the real problem is the heart suit. We have so many HCP, we could end up in 2S cold for 4H.

NELSON: DBL. I held this hand and know the results, that's why I sent it in.

Hmm...she knows the results in real life and now DBLs. Sounds like partner had hearts. But that isn't what happens to me when I make a bid like DBL. Bob Bernhard tells that sad story.

BERNHARD: PASS. If I DBL and partner bids clubs, all spade bids thereafter will sound like cue bids. I'll get another chance, this auction is not over.

PAVLICEK: PASS. I play 2S as natural, but that's likely to end the bidding, perhaps missing a cold 4H. After passing I hope to make a takeout double of clubs or diamonds to see if partner can bid hearts, and if not I can still bid spades naturally.

I was hoping someone would tell us how they thought the auction would proceed after PASSing.

The Back Yard

It's nice to sit on the deck and contemplate the beauty and majesty of the ocean, or maybe I was contemplating the beauty and majesty of Problem 2!

2. Matchpoints, Both Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
--	--	--	1
Pass	1	Pass	?

As South you hold:  92   843   AKQ2   AJ63

What's your bid?

4432 distribution and 14 HCP sounds like a perfect 1NT rebid. Of course we know that if we're declarer West is going to lead spades up to our anemic 92 and through whatever spade values partner has. Maybe it's time to diverge from the standard response.

Let's see what the panel thinks, we'll start with those keeping to the party line.

MERRITT: 1NT. Am I missing something here? I would need much better hearts to raise, and I always want at least 9 cards in the minors and a singleton to bid 2C.

WALSH: 1NT.  It's matchpoints and neither opponent bid spades. They might not even lead one!

Dream on Bill, but opponents not bidding might mean that they can't take many spade tricks on defense.

WALKER: 1NT. Certainly not ideal, but the hearts are too weak for a raise and 2C is just asking to play a 4-2 diamond fit. Stoppers or not, 4432 patterns should be described as balanced hands.

DODD: 2C. I refuse to try the "automatic" anti-positional 1NT just because its matchpoints.

Did Tom just take the name of "Matchpoints" in vain? I'm shocked!

The 2H bidders are going for the throat.

RABIDEAU: 2H. When raising with only three, I really like to have a top honor, but 1NT is "wrong-sided" and 2C isn't matchpoints. Hopefully, the prime cards will compensate.

PAVLICEK: 2H. Eccentric perhaps, but at matchpoints I'll aim for a good score. In my younger days, I'd bid 1NT, claiming the S9 had positional value (AJx in dummy and a lead from KT or QT), but now I can't even convince myself.

SPEAR: 2H.  I don't expect to be in the majority, but we may get more matchpoints in hearts. And if we belong in notrump, North will declare.

KNIEST: 2H.  Tempting to bid 2C and convert 2D to 2H. That auction might also make it tough for lefty to compete right away.

Kniest is a 2H bidder, not a 2C bidder, but he mentions an auction, 2C-2D;2H, which shows about the HCP we have or maybe a bit more, but absolutely guarantees a singleton spade with who-knows-what consequences. Walker obliquely mentioned this auction when she talked about a 4-2 diamond fit.

The Old Shell Game

Perhaps as illustrated in Problem 3.

3. Matchpoints, Neither Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
--	--	--	1
Pass	1	2	3
Pass	3	Pass	?

As South you hold:  A43   AQ   T42   AKJ62

What's your bid?

Partner's spade bid probably doesn't show bunches of spades. More likely, it just shows that he doesn't have a diamond stopper but does have some spade cards. So we know we're not going to play in 3NT, but where are we headed? Let's see where the panel is going.

MERRITT: 4S, I don't see anywhere else to go. Partner should know this is a Moysian, or else I would have bid spades myself.

The Moysian would be ok, but I'd be a bit worried about the Micro-Mini-Moysian when partner has: [KJx Jxxx xxx Qxx]...or some such. I guess maybe he should likely probably pull to 5C.

BERNHARD: 4C. Partner has shown at least 5 hearts and 4 spades, but what about clubs? Let's find out more.

WALKER: 4C. 4H is out, as that promises at least 3-card support (and partner probably would have bid 3H with a 5-card suit). He may or may not have 4 spades, and even if he does, this isn't the right hand for a 4-3 fit, so I'm "stuck" with making a natural bid in my long suit.

MATHENY: 4C. Tough problem, but North does not have to hold long hearts.

Bob, Karen and Larry may be assuming that 4C is forcing, but I'm not so sure. The 3D Q-bid was a try for 3NT that could have been based on a long, running club suit and nothing else.

PAVLICEK: 4H. Not happily, but options are running low. I'm worried that partner might be 4-4 in the majors, but even then there's potential for a matchpoint top opposite Jxxx KJTx xxx Qx (switch his majors for the score I deserve).

MAYNE: 4H. Even a 4-2 might play OK. If partner makes a further move, I'll bid 6C.

None of the panelists seem happy with the bids they selected. Is there no one who made a bid that they really like?

NELSON: 4D. Gosh, how about another Q-bid...I dislike 4C, I hate raising partner's four-card spade holding and I only have two hearts, so therefore I believe another Q-bid is just fine.

Me too! You gotta love Q-bids; they mean whatever you want them to mean. Our previous Q-bid meant, "Do you have a diamond stopper?" and this one (might well) mean, "Pick a suit."

South Beach Grill:  This is my favorite lunch place in St Augustine, great food, and then you can sit in the sun with a glass of Pinot Gris and try to figure out Problem 4.

4. Matchpoints, Neither Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
--	1	DBL	?

As South you hold:  7   J943   KJ976   KQJ

What's your bid?

RDBL would show our HCP, but could make it awkward to show our distribution. 1D would begin showing our suits, but then we may have trouble showing our HCP later.

BAKER: 1D. I'd love to shut out West's probable spade bid, but I can't. Redouble is the other option, but I have a suit of my own and no plans to penalize.

MATHENY: 1D. A redouble might tempt a spade double from partner.

Paulo: RDBL. My hand's strength is above average, so I should advise partner that we have the balance of power.

I think Dan Baker mentioned the key point, "...no plans to penalize." RDBL doesn't just show HCP; it tells partner we're at least somewhat interested in smacking 'em. If we're not, we should start looking for a contract to play and show our HCP later.

Also not RDBLing, but not bidding 1D either.

WALKER: 1H. It's now or never for showing 4 hearts, as the auction may be at 2S or higher before I get another chance to bid. Redouble is pointless when I have no desire to penalize their obvious 8+-card spade fit.

RABIDEAU: 1H. I'm not good enough to bid diamonds now, then reverse into hearts (perhaps at the 3-level).

So much for the "now or never" argument. This illustrates another advantage of not RDBLing -- subsequent DBLs are takeout, not penalty.

Scoring
The panel was definitely in favor of bidding rather than RDBLing. The 2D bid would be taken by most panelists as a pre-empt. It may have been an entry error for someone intending to bid 1D.
  

Sunset

Sunrise, the beach, lunch, pick up some shells, sunset, ok, time to go back to Chicago. But first, there's Problem 5.

5. Matchpoints, North-South Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
--	1	Pass	1
Pass	1	Pass	2*
Pass	2	Pass	?
* Invitational+

As South you hold:  K   AT9643  Q86   AJT

What's your bid?

We've had a lot of hands where 4th=GF has caused problems and 4th=Invit+ would have made everything easy. Here's a "Return of the Creature" hand where 4th=Invit+ causes some difficulties and 4th=GF would have been no problem.

MERRITT: 6D, I would think that 3D would have to be forcing, but even if I could get partner to show all the key cards, how do I find out about the spade Q?

WALKER: 6D. With no way to check on the quality of partner's spades, I can't see bidding a grand anyway, so 6D is the expedient choice. It would be handy if 3D were forcing (but it's not, since 2C wasn't 4th-suit-GF). Even if I thought 3D should be forcing, I'm not going to risk the chance that partner has a different opinion.

NELSON: 3D, after fourth suit, my 3D bid is 100% forcing...maybe partner can now raise hearts with a strong doubleton. Strong possibilities we have a 6 Diamond contract.

3D isn't forcing when playing 4th = Invit+, hence the problem, but as Scott and Karen say, most roads will probably lead to 6D and bidding 7D will be difficult.

PAVLICEK: 4D. I assume 2S shows 5-6 shape. I intend to bid 6D with my exceptional values, but I'll leave room for Blackwood in case we have a grand. Even if 3D is forcing, I prefer 4D to emphasize my gold mine.

KNIEST: 4D. Since I've been saddled with terrible methods, I take my 2C bid out of the invitational sector into the forcing sector and maybe we can still have an intelligent auction.

I'm not sure what that means. If it means that one way to change a 4th suit = Invit+ bid into a forcing auction is to jump, yes it is.

6. Matchpoints, East-West Vulnerable

West	North	East	South
--	1	1	2
Pass	2NT	3	?

 As South you hold:    3   K54   KJ9   KJT943

What's your bid?

East sounds like he has a load of major suit cards, and it wouldn't come as a big surprise if the next bid we heard was 4S by West. Should we take steps to prepare for the impending 4S bid, or should we go about our business and see what happens.

WALSH: Pass. Should be forcing. 3NT, 5D, or doubling 3S could be the best action. Partner knows more about my hand than I know about his, so I'll let him make the decisions.

MAYNE: Pass. Why not let partner do the right thing? My pass shows light spades, and East sounds 7-5. If we play in 3Sx, I'll lead a trump.

Is this a forcing pass situation? I don't think so. Forcing pass only occurs when we are definitely expecting to make our contract and they are definitely pre-empting/sacrificing. Neither of those is true on this hand. On the other hand, 3S singled might be our best spot!

So let's see, I think Jack is saying that 3NT is a kind of semi-pre-emptive, partially psychic, bid that may really annoy the opponents by actually making.

NELSON: 4C. Got my bidding shoes on, we'll probably hear from West now...after 4S by lefty, I will bid 5 Diamonds.

Right idea, but isn't that backwards? How about?

Paulo: 4D. I'm afraid that East can win game. So, I raise partner's suit, and I'll rebid clubs eventually.

Yup, that seems like the right order to bid the suits.

Heth: 4NT.

Georgia didn't favor us with a comment on this one, but I'm guessing it was intended as a minor suit takeout. If partner takes it that way, it's clearly the best bid for this hand. If not, we're headed for the land of the strange and hairy.