TGIF April 2026: Scores
| 1. Matchpoints. N-S vul.
|
J 7 4 2
8 6 4 3 2
---
K J 5 2
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
2
|
Pass
| |
|
Pass
|
2NT
|
Pass
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
3
| 7
| 100
|
|
3
| 6
| 100
|
|
Pass
| 5
| 80
|
|
Moderator: Joe Barnard of Mt Vernon Ohio was last year's ACBL-wide winner. They will join the panel April, May and June this year. This problem presents a risk/reward venture: Do you pass 2NT or seek greener pastures?
Joe Barnard: 3. Wouldn't it be nice if partner bids 3? With a 5-4 fit and a void, my hand would certainly go up in value.
Jeff Meckstroth: 3. Tough choice here, pass could be the winner. Can't afford to bid 3 and get a 3 response, so will just transfer to hearts.
Barry Rigal: Pass. Game our way is highly unlikely. Facing a 1NT opener, you'd be able to stop in a partscore via crawling Stayman and would not think about game, and this is an auction where partner has known diamond wastage. Here, 2NT may not be best but it may be our least worst achievable partscore.
Michael Dimich: Pass. Miserable choices. I will play for a plus or a small minus.
Marco Paladino: 3. Transfer.
Christopher Diamond: 3. Try to find a major fit, but it risks getting to high.
Robert Sauve: 3. Stayman.
Larry Meyer: 3. I think we will take more tricks if a major suit is trump.
Perry Khakhar: 3. Hope this is Stayman! Pass a major or play the 5-2 heart fit, I guess!
Paul McMullin: 3. I have fits for everything, but no values. I need to hear more from partner.
Louk Verhees: Pass. Partner seems loaded in diamonds.
|
| 2. Matchpoints. None vul.
| |
A 7 6 5
9 8 3 2
K
J 9 6 5
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
1
|
Pass
|
1
| |
|
Pass
|
3
|
Pass
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
3
| 6
| 100
|
|
3NT
| 4
| 90
|
|
3
| 3
| 80
|
|
4
| 2
| 70
|
|
5
| 2
| 70
|
|
Pass
| 1
| 50
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Moderator: There's lots of disagreement about the best way forward with this one.
Daniel Korbel: 4. I think slam is still in the mix, for example: K Q x x A x x A K x x x x. I'm giving up on 3NT. It will be too hard to sort out if we have both red suits stopped anyway.
Joe Barnard: 3. Should we try for 5 or should we bid and/or try for 3NT? It is matchpoints, but I am not yet ready to make that decision myself. Let's see if partner now bids 3NT; if not, we will move towards at least game in clubs.
Larry Cohen: 3NT. I am worried about a lot of things, but this is matchpoints and 3NT came to mind, so there it is.
Roger Lee: 3. I'm willing to play 3NT (especially at matchpoints), but bidding it myself would be careless. If partner has short hearts, we may even have a slam.
Steve Robinson: 5. The opponents did not bid diamonds so partner probably has at least three diamonds. He could have: K Q x x A x x A K x x x x. I'd really like to jump to 4 if that was a Bluhmer, showing no heart honours.
Michael Dimich: 3NT. Unanimous.
Anssi Rantamaa: 3NT. If partner goes to 4 I will raise to 5.
Christopher Diamond: 3NT. Not leaving 3NT behind at MPs.
Larry Meyer: 4. Support with support.
Perry Khakhar: 3NT. A guess at best! I think the 5-level is too high.
Paul McMullin: 4. Two primes and a fourth club warrant another bid.
Louk Verhees: 3NT. . . or pass. At IMPs it would never occur to me to pass.
|
| 3. IMPs. None vul.
| |
A 4
K J 2
A Q 10 8 4
J 10 5
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
|
1NT
| |
|
2
|
Dbl
|
3
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Pass
| 16
| 100
|
|
4
| 1
| 50
|
|
Dbl
| 1
| 50
|
|
Moderator: The problemsetter offers a mea culpa to the readers. The hand that inspired this was from the qualifying round of the Jacoby Swiss Teams at the recent Saint Louis NABC. The actual hand was worse than this one, but our opponents found a 4 call that got to a very tasty 5 contract.
Joe Barnard: Pass. I've shown my values, and we've got the opponents to the three level.
Steve Robinson: 4. Shows a five-card suit. Let partner guess how high we belong. I don't like letting the opponents play at the three level when they have a nine-card fit. His double is wide ranged.
Kerri Sanborn: Dbl. Should be cooperative here. I don't have to make the final decision.
Michael Dimich: Pass. Minimum NT opening, partner had values for the first double. If they have values for a second double I will bid 3NT.
Christopher Diamond: Pass. Why make a decision now when I can make a decision later? (I hope)
Larry Meyer: 3NT. Show my spade stopper.
Perry Khakhar: Pass. Only partner knows what he's got. No point getting ahead of him without a true fit.
Paul McMullin: 4. The fifth diamond makes bidding more attractive.
Louk Verhees: Pass. The Dbl of 2 can be light.
|
| 4. IMPs. Both vul.
| |
A 5
9 8 6 4 3
10 6
A J 7 3
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Dbl
| |
|
3
|
4
|
Pass
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
4
| 10
| 100
|
|
5
| 3
| 70
|
|
4
| 2
| 60
|
|
Pass
| 3
| 60
|
|
Moderator: This one comes from the first round of the recent Platinum Pairs, where finding the right spot was a bit tricky.
Amber Lin: 5. My hand is a minimum on paper, 9 HCP and balanced, but I'm concentrated in the black suits and my partner should really be 5-5 to be competing here vulnerable. If they have a stiff diamond (more likely when my opps are bidding vulnerable, too), my chances look OK.
Joe Barnard: 4. It is easier to take 10 tricks than it is to take 11. Partner has shown a very good hand for spades and clubs, so I'll bid game.
Josh Donn: 4. Choice of games cuebid. At least, that's what I am going with.
August Boehm: Pass. The average-plus strength offsets the minimal shape. Partner was allowed to bid 5; he knows the value of vulnerable games.
Michael Dimich: 4. . . to show my lovely high honour doubleton.
Christopher Diamond: 4. Try the lower game first. Probably finally.
Larry Meyer: Pass. I don't like my doubleton diamond, so I'm passing.
Perry Khakhar: 5. Surely, partner is 5-5 or so with some significant values for that bid. With no wastage in hearts, I'm worried we may be missing a slam.
Paul McMullin: 5. Stretch for games at IMPs?
Louk Verhees: 4. Choice of games.
|
| 5. Matchpoints. E-W vul.
| |
A Q 10 8 6
A 3
J 10 7 6
K 9
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
|
1
| |
|
Pass
|
2
|
Pass
|
2
| |
|
Pass
|
3
|
Pass
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
3
| 8
| 100
|
|
3NT
| 5
| 80
|
|
4
| 5
| 80
|
|
Moderator: A three-way race for the top score, the plurality probe for the best game via 3.
Joe Barnard: 3. I need more input from partner before I choose the contract. If partner bids 3 over this, 4 is likely to be our best spot. Too soon to decide when we can give partner the chance to bid 3NT or not.
Sheri Winestock: 4. This one really depends on how you and your partner see the 3 bid. My partnerships lean heavily on the 2NT rebid, so 3 emphasizes a hand that cares about clubs. If this is the case, I don't mind going past 3NT, as I have some great cards for a club slam.
Harrison Luba: 3NT. I have a heart stopper; might as well try to take nine tricks in notrump.
Michael Dimich: 3. Cover all my fanciful bases so partner can try to make the right decision.
Christopher Diamond: 3. NT is probably better from his side.
Larry Meyer: 3. Asking partner to bid 3NT if he has Q x x.
Perry Khakhar: 3. I think it's best played from partner's hand. Q x (x) pard?
Paul McMullin: 3. I don't know if this shows an Ace or asks about heart stoppers for NT, but I feel obliged to keep the auction open.
Louk Verhees: 3. Seems obvious.
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