| Click here for hands and results. Board 1 North Deals None Vul |
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North opens 1D; East might not care to open 3C but it makes sense to jam the bidding once an opponent opens. South doubles (negative.) West can raise to 4C but it isn't clear what this will accomplish; N/S can surely make game and West is not shapely enough to try 5C. North has 8.5 playing tricks and South should have 10+ for the double so slam is possible; South's actual hand is a good example. If not, 3NT might make if South has some help in clubs, but there isn't any room to investigate that possibility. North leaps to 4D; South can try 4NT. If that's RKCB, North replies 5C (0 or 3 key cards, clearly not 0 on the auction) and South leaps to 6D. As it happens there is a combined club stopper so 6NT also makes but 6D should score well.
| Board 2 East Deals N-S Vul |
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East opens 1D, West responds 1H and North jams the bidding with 3S. Although a 5-3 heart fit might exist I strongly believe it's a mistake for the player with inadequate support to insist on game in a what may be a very poor suit. With only 3 trumps, East does not have the values for game even if responder does have 5 trumps. East is too strong to pass, however, so 4C looks like the best option. South raises the preempt to 4S and West bids 5D; partner may be able to pitch a club or two on the hearts. East counts 4 or 5 losers, but partner may have stretched for game; some players never stop at five of a minor if there's any chance 6 could make. I think I'd feel I'd done enough, however, so 5D looks like a reasonable spot.
| Board 14 East Deals None Vul |
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East may feel he has an "in-between" hand; with no Ace, this isn't an opening bid, but it may seem strong for a non-vulnerable preempt. I think this is a mistake; let your two and three bids include any hand with a good suit not quite strong enough to open at the one level. Such hands will cause the opponents more problems than very weak hands -- they will less often have the strength to compete or sort out their best fit. To start by deciding what the weakest possible hand you'd preempt with and then compare one such as this to that is going about it the wrong way. In particular, with no weak two available, I think 3C should tend to be a fair hand.
After 3C, West cannot be sure of an entry to run the clubs at 3NT nor quite enough tricks for 5C, so he passes to North. North really doesn't have enough for a three level bid, but I expect many would try 3S, passed back around to West. Now West has an obvious double. East leads the King of clubs to West's stiff Ace; West cashes the King fo hearts and notes East's discouraging signal, based as much on the desire for a diamond shift as the lack of help in hearts. West now shifts to a diamond and lacking any entry to dummy, declarer loses two tricks in every suit for -800.
| Board 22 East Deals E-W Vul |
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East opens 1S; South has a reasonable 3C preempt at favorable vulnerability. West bids 4C as a game-forcing raise; a jump to 4S should show more shape and fewer high cards, such as a normal limit raise. East counts 5.5 losers; there may be a slam (especially if partner's values are outside clubs) but East has no red suit control to cue-bid below game. If East makes a slam try it should be 5C but I think I'd settle for 4S. As it happens trumps split 2-2, dropping the Queen and leaving a trump in dummy to take care of the third heart after pitching one on a diamond. A lucky 12 tricks.
| Board 24 West Deals None Vul |
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West opens 1C; some might jump to 2S with North's hand but I think bidding such weak hands does not, on average, pay. Despite the void in partner's suit East has a fine hand for a strong 2D jump, planning to rebid the suit. Unfortunately our agreements define 2D as a strong club raise so partner had to start with a nebulous 1D. (I noted recently that Aces Scientific included 3 of the other minor as the strong raise when inverted minors aren't being played.) South, having a fair hand with both majors, doubles for takeout. West rebids either 1H or 3C; while a takeout double of a single suit will often have only three cards in a major, a double when two suits have been bid almost always has at least 4-4 in the unbid suits. So I chose 3C. North should view his hand as having terrific support for one of partner's suits; North should certainly bid at least 3S and 4S would not be outrageous. East's hand is too shapely to defend but he has the spades stopped and plenty of diamond tricks so 3NT is a reasonable shot. Partner is likely to have something in hearts for his opening bid or they may be 4-4. 5D or 6D may make if partner has the Aces of hearts and clubs, so East may consider 4NT. However, transportation may be awkward with the club void and West does not promise a solid suit just because he jumped, so it is not clear that West can cover enough losers.
At our table North bid 3S, East bid 3NT and I bid 5C next. This seems somewhat unlikely (3NT looks like it will roll) so perhaps South bid 4S. East bid 5D over 5C and I raised to slam. A heart lead looks natural from South and would've fouled communications but I think South tried a club, hoping partner could ruff.
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