TGIF March 2017: Scores
| 1. IMPs. N-S vul.
|
A 10 7 6 4 3
A 8
A J 9
K J
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
1
|
Pass
|
1
| |
|
Pass
|
2
|
Pass
|
2
(1)
| |
|
Pass
|
2
|
Pass
| ? |
| (1) Establishes game force.
|
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
2
| 9
| 100
|
|
2NT
| 4
| 80
|
|
3
| 1
| 60
|
|
3NT
| 0
| 40
|
|
3
| 0
| 30
|
|
4
| 0
| 30
|
|
4NT
| 0
| 20
|
|
Moderator: Having established a game force, most of the panelists get serious about the search for strain and level by rebidding their six-card suit. Even though partner doesn't figure to have much in the way of support, it's an economical call.
Larry Cohen: 2. For now, I might as well show my long spades and keep the bidding low. It's not like I expect to play in spades, but this leaves the most room for partner to continue the dialogue. Partner doesn't have to have 6 hearts: he might be stuck.
Roger Lee: 2NT. Because it will complicate the auction, I don't want to rebid spades, and I suspect that spades is not a likely home unless partner can bid them over 2NT anyway. 2NT allows us to make a slam try next, without overstating our support.
Jeff Meckstroth: 3. Partner should be short in spades, so I want to set hearts as trump.
Eugene Chan: 2NT. We are in a game forcing auction. Try to elicit more info about partner's hand. Partner should try to tell us more info about his shape.
Stephen Vincent: 3. Hearts looks like the most likely strain.
Hk Ho: 2. Bidding can go slow in a game forcing situation. 2 tells North 5+ spades, hoping to extract a 3-card support. If North rebids 3, investigate for slam. If North rebids anything else, there is enough information to select the final contract, 3NT or 4.
David Waterman: 2NT. We need to find the right strain before we figure out the level.
Eurydice Nours: 4NT. Key card in hearts.
Christopher Diamond: 2. No real idea where we are going yet. So I might as well slow it down and get some idea of his shape.
Larry Meyer: 2. Show my six-card suit, leaving lots of room to explore for our best spot.
Perry Khakhar: 2. K x K J x x x x x A Q x x would bid like this, where 6 has a good chance and 6 sucks. So, I am going to go slow.
Chris Buchanan: 2. Lots of room yet. I will bid hearts at my next opportunity.
David Gordon: 2NT. 2 bid denies 3 spades. Our spade suit needs 2 honours from partner for a slam.
Ig Nieuwenhuis: 2. Tell me more partner. If he doesn't support spades now on honour-doubleton we probably belong in 3NT; but since K x K x x x x K x A x x x is still possible, I will ask for information one more time.
Kf Tung: 2. Tell partner that you have 6 spades before showing the 2-card heart support.
Allan Simon: 3. Setting trumps for now. Let's not get carried away. Opposite x x K Q x x x x x A Q x x, slam is no bargain.
|
| 2. IMPs. None vul.
| |
A K J 9 7 6
---
A K 7 3
A 9 5
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
1
|
Pass
|
1
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Dbl
| 6
| 100
|
|
Pass
| 5
| 90
|
|
3
| 2
| 60
|
|
2
| 1
| 50
|
|
Moderator: Everyone on the panel cites the great strength of the hand, as well as the danger. Most choose to get in immediately.
Daniel Korbel: Pass. My plan is to jump to 3 on the next round, if possible, to convey a very strong hand with spades. Although 2 and 3 would be natural now, neither would do this hand justice.
Jill Meyers: 3. . . natural and invites a game. This hand is much too good for 2.
Josh Donn: Dbl. I will probably bid spades a few times next and find out the hard way if partner thinks it's natural or not. But I kind of have the minors anyway, so how bad can double be?
Eugene Chan: 2. Standard natural call. I am prepared to play in spades!
Stephen Vincent: Pass. 2, while natural, doesn't begin to express the values.
Hk Ho: Pass. Dbl might induce North to take out in my 3-card suit. It is pretty remote for N/S to make a game. Hence, better wait until West has bid again. Then, bid 2 over West's 2 or Dbl East's 2/3/3.
David Waterman: Pass. If the 1 bid was a psych I may be sorry, but otherwise this should work out well.
Gilbert Lambert: 2. I hope two spades is natural here.
Christopher Diamond: Dbl. 2 would be natural but this is too much. Something like 6 small diamonds and out makes slam.
Larry Meyer: Pass. This hand looks like a misfit, and pard must be close to broke.
Perry Khakhar: Pass. Classic trap pass! Best I can do is pass for now and try to back in as high as 2.
Plarq Liu: Pass. Trap pass.
Chris Buchanan: 2. Natural.
David Gordon: Dbl. I am one club light for normal takeout double shape.
Ig Nieuwenhuis: 2. Natural in my agreements.
Kf Tung: Pass. Don't tell them they are in trouble.
Allan Simon: 2. I smell a rat.
|
| 3. Matchpoints. None vul.
| |
9 8 4
A Q J 8 6 5 4 2
8
A
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
|
1
| |
|
Dbl
|
Rdbl
|
2
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
4
| 7
| 100
|
|
3
| 3
| 70
|
|
4
| 2
| 70
|
|
3
| 1
| 60
|
|
Pass
| 1
| 50
|
|
2
| 0
| 30
|
|
Moderator: You were dealt tricks, but not a lot of values. After partner's strong redouble, which option shows your hand?
Mike Lawrence: 4. . . not a strong bid. It describes this sort of hand. The main problem with this bid is that partner will expect more.
Kerri Sanborn: 3. . . then 4. I want to establish the control in clubs and the strength of my suit.
Geoff Hampson: 4. I have a great playing hand with self-sufficient hearts, so I will attempt to describe that with my second bid.
Eugene Chan: 4. It is what I would have opened without the A. This tells partner exactly what I have, a hand too good to pre-empt. A hand that does not wish to defend.
Stephen Vincent: 4. The practical bid.
Hk Ho: 4. I have only 5 losers. North's Rdbl should provide 2+ winning tricks, enough for game.
David Waterman: 3. 2 would be hearts and a weak hand, so 3 should show this hand.
Christopher Diamond: 2. Just short of 3.
Larry Meyer: 4. Take the direct route to our most likely contract.
Perry Khakhar: 4. Bid what I maybe should have the first time! x x x says get there, don't look for more.
Plarq Liu: 4. We need to set trump, fast.
Chris Buchanan: 4. To play.
David Gordon: 4. This should be a minimum offensive hand.
Ig Nieuwenhuis: 4. Distributional hand, don't want to defend. Opposite 10+ this should make.
Kf Tung: 4. Forget about a lucky slam. Your job is to buy the contract for 4.
|
| 4. IMPs. None vul.
| |
A K 9 8 3 2
10 2
3
K Q 10 2
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
3
|
Pass
| |
|
Pass
|
4NT
(1)
|
Pass
| ? |
| (1) Club-diamond two-suiter.
|
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
5
| 8
| 100
|
|
6
| 6
| 90
|
|
Moderator: Given the known club connection and lack of bidding space, there are only two viable options, making this a lackluster problem. By a slender margin, the panelists choose to bid minimally.
Sylvia Shi: 5. Partner may have done well to bid originally. I will not bury him.
Jill Meyers: 6. This is a very hard problem because I have no way to find out if partner has heart control, but I will take my chances.
Eugene Chan: 5. Partner asked me to choose. So I prefer clubs. Partner is almost guaranteed to be void in spades.
Stephen Vincent: 6. A guess but there's just no room to explore. I'd really like to arrange things so that it's played from the other side.
Hk Ho: 5. My hand is poor when North's 4NT is takeout. West and North should be void of spades. If pard has 4 clubs and long diamonds, very likely, I'll have to use my clubs to ruff some diamonds and could not clear trumps to enjoy the A K. Besides, North might lose 2 hearts. 5 is the limit. Slam? Very remote.
David Waterman: 5. 4 would be Humpty Dumpty bidding.
Christopher Diamond: 5. Could be a grand, or the limit might be 5.
Larry Meyer: 6. Remember to ruff the spade lead high at trick one.
Perry Khakhar: 5. Hope we make it!
Plarq Liu: 5. Spade is not very useful, resign to club.
Chris Buchanan: 6. This should be interesting but partner isn't preempting here and should have good values.
David Gordon: 5. Spade values might be wasted.
Ig Nieuwenhuis: 5. Conservative, but probably best chance for a plus (especially if partner stretched in 4th position influenced by his short spades).
Kf Tung: 5. Avoid an unsure slam.
Allan Simon: 5. Spade honours are ballast.
Bob Todd: 5. Who knows how good this hand is?
|
| 5. Matchpoints. N-S vul.
| |
A Q 10 9 7 5 2
K Q 8 4
3
5
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
1
|
1
| |
|
1NT
|
Pass
|
2
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
2
| 9
| 100
|
|
3
| 2
| 60
|
|
Dbl
| 2
| 60
|
|
2
| 1
| 50
|
|
2
| 0
| 40
|
|
Moderator: The mix of the majors lean the panel towards stressing only the spades.
August Boehm: Dbl. 2 doesn't begin to suggest my major-suit discrepancy and commits me to rebidding spades at what might be an uncomfortable level.
Mike Lawrence: 2. Given the opponents' bidding and my partner seeing a lot of diamonds in his hand, he won't think this natural. He should default to a hand like this one: really long spades and a good four-card suit.
Barry Rigal: 2. There will be more bidding in the minors and maybe I'll get hearts in next time?
Josh Donn: 3. I would have bid 4 over 1, putting the most pressure on the opponents earlier. I have had huge success with that strategy. But because we have let them figure out what they hold and we're being given a chance to get out, I will take it.
Eugene Chan: Dbl. I am warned off about spades so I will tell partner I also have hearts.
Stephen Vincent: 2. There are indications from the auction so far that partner has some heart length: this may be our last chance to find a heart fit.
Hk Ho: 2. Hope to strike a 4-4 fit. If North has a doubleton spade and fewer than 4 hearts, we should be happy if North puts us back to spades.
David Waterman: 2. Why not? 3 at my next turn, unless partner raises hearts or doubles 3 of a minor.
Christopher Diamond: Dbl. Yeah 7 baggers play better yaba, yaba, yaba. But it seems very unlikely that pard will be able to bid 2 so we can bid 2. More likely that we face a 4 preempt on the way back and I'd like to bring hearts into the equation.
Larry Meyer: 2. Even with 4-4 hearts, after they attack the minors, those spades may not be useful unless they are trump.
Perry Khakhar: 2. I am playing this hand if at all possible. I may bring in hearts at the 3-level but not before.
Plarq Liu: 2. Hope partner has two spades.
Chris Buchanan: 2. 7-card suits = trump.
David Gordon: 2. Show hearts later to complete the minimum 6-4 echo.
Ig Nieuwenhuis: Dbl. Since I bid 1 I must have intended to use the room provided to introduce hearts. I'll follow through. But 1 would not have been my choice on this hand.
Kf Tung: 3. You don't want to defend 3 or 3, and you don't want to be doubled in 4 on this round.
Allan Simon: 2. . . and 3 at my next turn.
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