Friday, October 17th 2014

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Board 27 South Deals None Vul	♠ J 9 ♥ 10 4 ♦ A 7 6 4 ♣ J 9 6 5 2
♠ A Q 7 ♥ K 9 7 ♦ Q 9 3 2 ♣ Q 4 3	N W E S	♠ K 5 3 ♥ A Q J 6 3 2 ♦ 10 ♣ A K 10
	♠ 10 8 6 4 2 ♥ 8 5 ♦ K J 8 5 ♣ 8 7

West opens 1D; East has a classic strong jump shift (2H.) If this promises five or more hearts and denies a side suit, West raises and East drives to slam, likely by way of 4NT (Blackwood or RKCB.) East's singleton diamond suggests some wasted values, but it's not hard to visualize a laydown 12 tricks opposite a hand similar to opener's actual holding: AQ of spades, K of hearts and the Queen of clubs -- 11 working high cards. If West were stronger in diamonds, the suit would provide a discard or two for East's black suit losers.

Playing a more flexible style of jump shifts, 2H does not promise a five card suit and West rebids 2NT. On this particular auction East can be assured of at least a small doubleton in support, since with a singleton heart West would perforce have four spades, 5-4 in the minors or six diamonds and would have a clear alternative to 2NT as a rebid. East rebids the hearts, setting trumps, and having limited his hand, West is worth a 3S control bid, which should lead to slam. My partner and I fumbled this one when I raised 3H to 4H, thinking that would be encouraging, while partner felt he had shown his hand and that I was putting on the brakes.

Not playing strong jumps, East responds 1H, West rebids 1NT, and East continues with a gadget 2C (New Minor Forcing.) Even if a jump to 3H would be forcing it is unlikely that West will do more than simply raise to game, so East wants a chance to set trumps and enlist West's help in the slam hunt. West shows delayed (three-card) support; East bids 2S -- ostensibly a game try. West likes his AQ in that suit plus the King of hearts and leaps to game. That should be plenty enough encouragement for East and again 4NT insures that the partnership is not missing two Aces or Key Cards.

Four of nine pairs bid this excellent slam, a laydown unless North has a black suit void or South has a stiff diamond.

Side comment: partnerships who do not play gadgets such as New Minor Forcing and Fourth Suit Forcing should absolutely play strong jump shifts. Taking care of your own good hands should be a high priority.

Board 28 West Deals N-S Vul	♠ K 5 ♥ 10 9 7 6 5 4 ♦ A K Q 8 ♣ A
♠ A J 8 4 ♥ 3 2 ♦ 10 2 ♣ K Q 8 5 2	N W E S	♠ Q 10 9 7 3 ♥ J ♦ 7 5 3 ♣ 9 6 4 3
	♠ 6 2 ♥ A K Q 8 ♦ J 9 6 4 ♣ J 10 7

North opens 1H; "Ask Jerry" made the point recently that an opening one bid does not promise or require any particular suit quality. You should view a poor suit as a minor flaw, not an excuse to completely distort your shape. South has a fine limit jump raise, suggesting about 11-12 in value or about 3.5 "cover cards." North counts 4 or 4.5 losers, depending on whether the jump promised four trumps; either way, that should be enough firepower for slam. This hand is an advertisement for Roman Key Card Blackwood -- North is interested in the top trumps and the Ace of spades and not much else. South replies 5S (2 Key Cards plus the Queen of trumps) and North confidently bids slam despite the crummy suit. Playing simple Blackwood North would do better to cue bid (3S or 4C depending on style) and South should realize he has what partner wants; 4NT confirms opener has two Aces and again 6H is reached.

Turns out slam is a bit dicey -- without an opening spade lead, declarer must hope West has the Ace of spades. This makes slam a better than 50% proposition, however, as sometimes East will lead spades and solve the problem. Six pairs bid and made slam.

Board 30 East Deals None Vul	♠ 10 6 ♥ Q J 6 2 ♦ K 10 4 3 2 ♣ J 4
♠ K Q 7 ♥ 8 ♦ A Q 8 5 ♣ A Q 8 7 6	N W E S	♠ A 3 2 ♥ A K 10 9 5 3 ♦ 6 ♣ K 3 2
	♠ J 9 8 5 4 ♥ 7 4 ♦ J 9 7 ♣ 10 9 5

East opens 1H. While West is strong enough for a strong jump to 3C, such three level jumps are best played as denying a side suit -- there just isn't room enough to explore below the critical point of 3NT. A 2C bid is reasonably strong, however, even playing Standard, so the jump isn't as important. Over 2C East chooses his rebid from among 2H, 3C and 3H. 2H is best played as ambiguous but forcing; it's what opener does when nothing else looks right. 3C and 3H should be game forcing, about 15+ in value opposite responder's 11+ or so. The 10 and 9 bolster the good major and I liked my partner's 3H jump. I continued with 3S, basically inviting partner to bid 3NT with a diamond stopper; opener would've rebid 2S rather than 3H with a spade suit so there was little risk of spades being raised. Partner took a preference back to 4C and I felt confident heading to slam. Over my 4NT partner's 5C showed 0 or 3 key cards; zero wasn't consistent with his strong jump. I could count 10 obvious tricks just based on partner's key cards and expected the hearts suit and partner's strong bidding to provide enough for grand slam. Perhaps that was a bit overconfident -- a singleton in any suit could've been real trouble, but as is I was able to ruff two diamonds, cash the King of trumps and return to hand safely to finish pulling trumps. The Jack of clubs would've improved the odds quite a lot. Only three pairs bid any slam, so while 7C scored a top it probably wasn't worth the risk.

Friday, October 10th 2014

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Board 5 North Deals N-S Vul	♠ K J 9 8 5 ♥ 8 7 4 ♦ 10 9 3 ♣ 9 4
♠ 4 ♥ J 10 2 ♦ A K 6 4 ♣ K J 7 6 3	N W E S	♠ A Q 2 ♥ A K Q 6 5 ♦ Q 8 7 2 ♣ 8
	♠ 10 7 6 3 ♥ 9 3 ♦ J 5 ♣ A Q 10 5 2

East opens 1H, West responds 2C, plannning to support heart later. East rebids 2D. West's standard rebid here is 3H; as the 2/1 bid shows at least game invitational strength, the jump creates a game force. I've seen players leap to 4H here (or bid 4H immediately), understandable when I've also seen players pass 3H, but 3H leaves room for opener to make a slam try. In fact, East control-bids 3S. Does this promise extras? Depends on partnership agreements; both opener and responder are unlimited, a common problem in game-forcing auctions. If opener routinely bids 4H with any minmum range hand, a strong responding hand with slam values can be frustrated by the lack of cooperation. But if opener routinely bids controls, responder with ordinary game-going values won't know whether there's enough for slam.

A popular expert treatment is that after clearly agreeing on a major at the three level, strong hands bid 3NT while ordinary hands control-bid. This is known as Serious 3NT. I've always felt this is backward; why describe opener's controls on a hand that probably isn't going to slam? So I prefer "Courtesy 3NT", where a player bids 3NT to say "I've got some controls if you're interested but I'm in the minmum range for my bidding so far." An additional wrinkle is that it may make sense when hearts are agreed to go ahead and control-bid 3S, passing the buck to responder to use Courtesy 3NT or make a Serious Control Bid. On today's hand West might reason that his hand looks fairly strong for slam in diamonds if not hearts; he also knows opeenr is worried about the top diamonds, so a 4D control bid looks right. Opener has some concern about the shortage in clubs but perhaps responder's clubs can provide discards. A complete auction might be 1H-2C; 2D-3H, 3S-4D; 4NT-5D; 6H. After ruffing two spades in dummy and drawing trumps, opener needs any of a 3-2 diamond split, the Ace of clubs onside or perhaps the Queen, a friendly spade lead or defensive discard, possibly forced by a squeeze.

An interesting note about the 4-4 diamond fit here: either 6H or 6D makes easily if diamonds are 3-2. On a 4-1 split 6D is almost certain to fail while 6H would still have good chances despite a 4-1 split in either red suit.

Board 14 East Deals None Vul	♠ 9 ♥ A J 8 ♦ J 10 8 7 4 3 ♣ Q J 2
♠ A 7 5 ♥ 9 7 6 ♦ 6 5 ♣ 9 8 5 4 3	N W E S	♠ Q J 10 6 4 2 ♥ Q 10 5 4 ♦ 2 ♣ 10 6
	♠ K 8 3 ♥ K 3 2 ♦ A K Q 9 ♣ A K 7

South opens 2C and North responds 3D (natural and slam-positive), 2D (waiting), 2D (semi-positive, playing 2H as a bust), or 2S (steps, 7-9 hcp.) In most cases South rebids 2NT, showing 22+ if responder promised some value or 22-24 over 2D waiting. After an artificial response (2D waiting or steps 2S) the partnership should be playing "systems on", just as if the opening bid were 2NT. North counts a combined minimmu of 31 hcp and adds at least 2 for the long suit, so the overall strength for 12 tricks should be there; biggest worry is the poor diamond suit. How can North show diamonds? Many use 3S over 2NT similar to the SAYC 2S over 1NT gadget: 3S shows a long minor, opener bids 4C or perhaps 3NT, and responder corrects to 4D. Unlike the situation over 1NT, however, the device is not used to stop at a part score (4C and 4D are usually pointless contracts) but is always a slam try. South should have no trouble reaching 6D if North shows diamond length and I think North is too strong not to do so opposite a 2C opening.

What if South's diamonds weren't so great? Could the partnership stay out of a poor slam? Suppose South had AKQx Kxx Kx AKxx. The bidding might begin 2C-2D; 2NT-3S; 4C-4D; 4H (control bid)-4NT (Roman Key Card); 5C (0 or 3 key cards.) North can assume 3 for South's strong opening, but would rather not be in slam if the Queen of diamonds is also missing. I would use 5H (cheapes non-agreed suit) to ask about the Queen, and South bids either 5S or 5NT per agreement to deny her majesty. North can then pass or sign off at 5NT.

Board 22 East Deals E-W Vul	♠ Q 10 5 ♥ K 4 ♦ K 8 5 4 ♣ A Q 6 4
♠ J 7 ♥ J 10 7 6 5 3 2 ♦ 6 3 ♣ K 5	N W E S	♠ K 3 2 ♥ A Q 9 8 ♦ Q 10 7 2 ♣ J 3
	♠ A 9 8 6 4 ♥ — ♦ A J 9 ♣ 10 9 8 7 2

East opens 1D and South overcalls 1S. West has an obvious Weak Jump Shift In Competition (3H.) North bids 4H to say "I have support for you and an opening bid, partner." 4S would suggest a weaker, possibly more distributional hand, including those that had planned to make a limit raise; 3S would be constructive, about 8-10 in value. East is silenced by the vulnerability; South signs off at 4S with his minimum overcall. South can make 12 tricks by normal play in spades and finessing in clubs and diamonds -- a low odds parley for slam. 4S making 6 tied for second behind a pair that collected 1400 against 5H doubled.

Board 24 West Deals None Vul	♠ 6 ♥ A K Q 9 8 5 3 ♦ A 7 ♣ Q J 2
♠ J 9 7 4 ♥ 7 4 ♦ 10 8 5 2 ♣ 7 6 4	N W E S	♠ K Q 8 5 3 ♥ — ♦ Q 4 3 ♣ K 10 9 8 3
	♠ A 10 2 ♥ J 10 6 2 ♦ K J 9 6 ♣ A 5

North opens 1H and East likely bids 2H, Mike Michaels' popular cue-bid (spades + a minor.) 2S by South is best used as showing at least game-invitational values with at least three-card heart support. North smells slam; 3D would sound at first like a game try, so I think the best move is a control-showing 3S. While I normally prefer control-bids to show Aces and Kings a bid in the enemy suit is a reasonable exception -- you don't expect partner to have wasted values there opposite your shortage. South is happy to cooperate with a 4C control-bid, and North rolls out the 4NT machinery. When South replies 5H (two Aces or two Key Cards) North bids 5NT to confirm that all Aces or all Key Cards plus the Queen are held. South shows one side King and North settles for either 6H or 6NT. 6H seems safer as the opening lead may knock out your only spade stopper and it may be necessary to lose a club trick to set up your 12th winner. One pair bid the grand but that seems too risky given that most pairs stopped at game.

Friday, October 3rd 2014

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Board 17 North Deals None Vul	♠ J 10 7 ♥ A 10 ♦ 7 6 5 3 ♣ J 10 9 2
♠ K 9 6 5 ♥ — ♦ A K Q J 10 9 ♣ Q 7 3	N W E S	♠ A Q 3 2 ♥ Q 9 7 4 3 ♦ — ♣ A 8 6 5
	♠ 8 4 ♥ K J 8 6 5 2 ♦ 8 4 2 ♣ K 4

East opens 1H, surprising South who was planning to open 2H (weak.) South should be able to pass smoothly -- when they open your only long suit, pass (unless possibly you have enough to overcall 1NT.)

West responds 2D. East must rebid according to the partnership style. Some, playing 2/1 game force, will rebid 2S or 3C, reasoning that they don't "need" extra values for those bids. If the only goal of bidding were to reach game, that would be correct; but American bidding has always given a high priority to slam exploration. If 2S or 3C could be anything from a shapely "Rule of 20" 11 count up to 19 or more, it is difficult to decide sensibly when to stop at 3NT and when to push toward slam. Others might rebid 2NT; this makes it difficult to find a possible spade fit and tends to mislead partner about the diamond situation. I prefer 2NT to show the expected 3523 minimum while 2H is the default with any minimum unsuitable for 2NT; 2S, 3C and 3D would all be natural with extra values, about 15+.

Over 2H West rebids 2S, natural and game-forcing (if 2D itself was not game-forcing.) With less than game-forcing values responder should bid 1S first on a 4-5 type hand. If it is clearly agreed that 2D or 2S creates a game force, opener should not leap to 4S; this would suggest a hand such as AQxx AQxxx xx xx with good cards in hearts and spades but no control in the minors. A simple raise to 3S establishes the fit and leaves room for West to make a slam try. West pictures a near laydown slam opposite AQxx xxxxx xx Ax, but is worried about both clubs and spades: a leap to 4NT could be costly opposite Qxxx AQxxx x KJx. Instead West tries 4D -- with an agreed major suit, this is a slam suggestion, not a proposal to play 4D or 5D. East recognizes partner's trump problem and can proceed with 4NT or a 5C control bid, either of which should lead to the good 6S slam.

Board 18 East Deals N-S Vul	♠ J 8 7 6 4 ♥ 7 2 ♦ A 9 8 5 ♣ 4 2
♠ A K 9 ♥ Q J 10 8 3 ♦ J ♣ J 8 6 3	N W E S	♠ Q 10 ♥ A 5 ♦ Q 6 4 3 ♣ A K Q 10 5
	♠ 5 3 2 ♥ K 9 6 4 ♦ K 10 7 2 ♣ 9 7

East might open 1NT but two tens and a strong five-card suit really make this hand closer to 18 for notrump purposes; a 1C opening will allow East to reverse into diamonds or jump to 2NT to show his values. West responds 1H and East rebids 2D unless he wants to pretend Q10 is a spade stopper. With no special agreements about bidding ovcr a reverse West leaps to 3NT and that likely ends the auction. However, West's hand counts to at least 14 in support of clubs; added to partner's 17+ for the reverse and slam does appear to be possible. Playing lebensohl over a reverse, West might bid 3C to show 8+ with 3+ clubs, forcing to game. This doesn't show slam interest, however, and the bidding may continue with 3S by East (4th suit, "do you have spades stopped?") and again 3NT by West is apt to end the auction. 3NT by East was the popular contract, suggesting most simply opened 1NT.

Board 20 West Deals Both Vul	♠ Q 10 7 2 ♥ J 10 9 8 7 4 ♦ J ♣ 9 7
♠ A J 8 6 3 ♥ 5 ♦ 10 8 4 3 ♣ A J 6	N W E S	♠ 9 5 ♥ A 3 2 ♦ A K Q 7 6 ♣ K Q 4
	♠ K 4 ♥ K Q 6 ♦ 9 5 2 ♣ 10 8 5 3 2

After two passes, East opens 1D. West can make a beautiful bid here: 2S!. As a passed hand this should promise five spades, four or more diamonds, and a good 9 or more hcp. Some players jump merely to show a near opener, but this is unsound opposite what may be a light third seat opener; support for partner is crucial. Those who play weak jump shifts may treat 2S as a hand weaker than a weak two, but with nothing but passes by the opponents I'm not convinced preemption is all that valuable, and such hands are less common than this sort of fit jump. However, if weak is your normal style, stick with it. Just don't assume that a partner who plays strong jumps (not in completion) intends a passed hand jump to be weak.

East should have little difficulty reaching 6D after West's descriptive jump. On a more routine 1D-1S auction, East jumps to 2NT and West may try 3C (New Minor Forcing, or simply natural and forcing if you haven't agreed to play NMF in this sequence)
or 3D. The latter may propel East toward slam but in practice no pair bid slam. Several reached the poor matchpoint spot of 5D.

Friday, September 19th 2014

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Board 9 North Deals E-W Vul	♠ — ♥ J 10 8 7 4 2 ♦ 8 2 ♣ A K 8 7 3
♠ K 9 7 5 3 ♥ A 9 ♦ J 7 ♣ Q 10 5 4	N W E S	♠ Q 10 ♥ 6 3 ♦ A 10 6 4 3 ♣ J 9 6 2
	♠ A J 8 6 4 2 ♥ K Q 5 ♦ K Q 9 5 ♣ —

Dealer has 6-5 shape and 8 hcp; the hand does not qualify for an opening bid according to Goren or the Rule of 20, and I would not strain to open a suit headed by the J10. I suspect the pairs that reached slam may have opened 1H.

South opens 1S; North responds either 1NT or 2H. The void in partner's long suit is discouraging; I would limit the hand with 1NT. Remember that this bid does not suggest a balanced hand, merely 6+ hcp and no fit for partner.

South rebids 2D; opener should rarely pass 1NT with a second suit and certainly not with a singleton or void. Now North bids 2H, which implies a six-card suit in standard methods. Since North did not open a weak two, South assumes a fairly poor suit, but KQx looks good for support and opener has enough to venture 3H; North continues to game.

The auction suggest North will try to pitch losers on dummy's spades, so East should not consider a spade or trump lead; dummy has shown diamonds and leading an unsupported Ace is usually poor so East leads the two of clubs by default. Declarer ruffs in dummy and leads a high trump; West wins and, not fearing spades, returns another trump -- the fourth-best opening lead marks declarer with club length. Declarer ruffs a spade back to his hand and leads toward the KQ of diamonds, holding the defense to their two Aces.

Board 12 West Deals N-S Vul	♠ J 4 ♥ 7 ♦ A K Q 2 ♣ K Q 8 7 4 2
♠ K Q 10 9 5 3 ♥ K 10 8 6 5 ♦ 6 ♣ 10	N W E S	♠ A 6 2 ♥ A Q J 2 ♦ 10 8 7 5 ♣ J 3
	♠ 8 7 ♥ 9 4 3 ♦ J 9 4 3 ♣ A 9 6 5

Another 6-5, this time with the primary suit headed by the KQ10; basically an ideal weak two if not for the extra playing strength. While 1S, 3S or 4S will often work on such hands, I prefer to open 2S, describing the high card strength and suit quality accurately, and imply the extra playing strength by the unusual step of bidding again freely. (This is common practice among experts, though far from universal.) My plan was to bid the hearts if possible at the three level; I would not act on my own at any higher level. This procedure sacrifices maximum preemption for better description and the possibility that the second suit should be trumps.

North overcalls 3C and East competes with 3S. This is not at all invitational, so West's rebid of 4S is surprising. Catching perfectly fitting cards, eleven tricks are easy; I don't think it is obvious for N/S to bid on vulnerable vs. not.

If West passes originally, North opens 1C, East and South likely pass and West backs in with either 1S or perhaps a 2C bid. Ordinarily Michaels applies only in the direct seat, but a hand with six good clubs would pass 1C out and West is limited as a passed hand, so I suspect most partners would read 2C accurately for the majors. North doubles to show length and strength in clubs, East leaps to 4H, and South must decide whether to sit for that or try 5C, but West has enough shape to continue to 5H anyway. Several Wests played 3S, perhaps as the opening bid.

Board 18 East Deals N-S Vul	♠ 10 4 3 2 ♥ J 10 2 ♦ J 7 ♣ A 9 4 3
♠ J 8 6 ♥ 9 ♦ K 10 8 6 5 2 ♣ 7 5 2	N W E S	♠ A K 5 ♥ A K Q 8 7 6 4 ♦ A 3 ♣ 6
	♠ Q 9 7 ♥ 5 3 ♦ Q 9 4 ♣ K Q J 10 8

With 20 hcp and ten playing tricks, East has an obvious 2C opening. South may double to show clubs, but it seems likely South will be on lead and the shape and vulnerability are poor for a sacrifice. West responds according to style; 2D negative, waiting, or semi-positive, or 2H "steps" showing 4-6. Over any 2D bid East could set the suit by jumping to 3H, but there is some chance partner has five or more spades so perhaps 2H is best at this point. West continues with a natural 3D and East repeats his hearts. West must be allowed to bid 4H at this point without over-encouraging partner -- remember, East forced the bidding. One advantage of the popular 2H bust method (2D, as here, promising an Ace or King) is that you avoid having a "random" second negative, clubs over a major but diamonds over clubs and hearts over diamonds. However, you must still allow responder to have a minimum 2D response. Four pairs were unable to stop at 4H, but trumps split normally and South was unable to keep guards in both spades and diamonds. Note that 4H or 5H making six gains most of the matchpoints of 6H with far less risk.

Board 20 West Deals Both Vul	♠ 9 6 5 ♥ A 10 8 6 2 ♦ J 10 4 ♣ A Q
♠ Q J 3 ♥ 9 7 5 ♦ 9 5 3 2 ♣ 9 8 4	N W E S	♠ K 10 8 4 2 ♥ — ♦ A 7 6 ♣ J 7 6 5 3
	♠ A 7 ♥ K Q J 4 3 ♦ K Q 8 ♣ K 10 2

Another possible light opening -- North has 2.5 quick tricks, but 6 of 11 points are in a doubleton and the shape is minimal. Wild horses won't keep South out of slam if North opens. After a mundane pass, South opens 1H and North can make a rare passed hand "Jacoby" bid, suggesting five trumps. South's 5332 is little improved by that information and 4H is enough. A routine limit raise or Drury bid should produce the same result -- but opposite a shapelier hand the 5-5 fit could be golden.

Board 26 East Deals Both Vul	♠ K J 7 2 ♥ A J 5 ♦ A K 8 ♣ 10 9 6
♠ A 10 9 4 3 ♥ K Q 10 9 4 2 ♦ 4 ♣ K	N W E S	♠ Q 8 5 ♥ 8 7 6 ♦ J 7 6 3 2 ♣ J 4
	♠ 6 ♥ 3 ♦ Q 10 9 5 ♣ A Q 8 7 5 3 2

Yet another 6-5, but this time South preempts first. Over 3C, West tries 4C despite a bare opening with a singleton in the enemy suit -- the shape begs for action, and West does have two quick tricks and good spots in his long suits. It appears few players found that bid (or perhaps South opened 4C or 5C), so 3NT was the popular contract. Six clubs makes if you guess to drop the stiff King, a poor bet with three trumps out.