TGIF March 2010: Scores
| 1. IMPs. Both vul.
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A Q J 10
---
A J 10 7
A Q J 7 5
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| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
|
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1
| |
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Pass
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1
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Pass
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
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2
| 14
| 100
|
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3
| 3
| 70
|
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4
| 1
| 40
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1
| 0
| 0
|
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3
| 0
| 0
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Moderator: It doesn't take much from the North hand to make a slam. The panel majority, therefore, was not willing to make a direct diamond raise or a splinter raise.
Jeff Meckstroth: 3. I could start with 2, but I prefer the 3 splinter bid, which raises diamonds immediately.
The Joyces: 2. We must establish a game force - then we can bid at leisure.
Michael Dimich: 2. A jump shift in spades allows partner to evaluate their black king(s) in the diamond grand slam investigation.
Stephen Vincent: 3. There are still minor holes to be filled before slam is good. Starting with a splinter, even though this one is a big underbid, will help tell partner where they are.
Larry Meyer: 2. Tell pard about my shape and my strength.
Gilbert Lambert: 3. Splinter of course!
Eurydice Nours: 2. Will show my diamond fit on next bid.
Martin Henneberger: 2. Starting with 2 forcing spades looks right and describes a hand with longer clubs. I can't see any alternatives. The real bidding problem comes later.
Rock Yan: 2. I make a game-forcing bid first and then try to show diamonds later.
Roy Li: 2. Dunno if 1 is forcing.
Kai Zhou: 2. Natural reverse by agreement, later 2 would clarify 3145 or 4045 shape, 1 or 2 also a reasonable choice.
Mike Hamilton: 2. A jump-shift shows 4 spades and sets up a game force. Bidding up the line means partner might have 4 spades, but if not, I have 19 working HCP and a void in support of diamonds yet to be shown.
Jacky Wang: 1. Forcing, then 3.
Robin Hart: 3. Splinter.
Ronald Kuiper: 2. Reverse to show club / spade shape and point count. Can show diamond fit later.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 3. Certainly not an easy choice, but the splinter does the most to help partner evaluate his hand. (Partner rates to have some hearts since no one has pre-empted yet.)
Yu Wang: 2. Simply describe my hand, not good enough for splinter yet.
Mike Roberts: 2. If 1 was 100% forcing, I'd do that. But I don't think it is, and I can't risk a pass.
Perry Khakhar: 3. 6 looks to be a good possibility if partner has a black king and a decent suit. So a splinter should help get us there.
John Gillespie: 2. Followed by 5 over any weak continuation should put pard in the picture. They may have little but short clubs.
David Gordon: 2. Sometimes 1 is a convienient bid. Show the reverse then support diamonds next bid.
Chris Buchanan: 3. A splinter seems fitting here.
Brian Zietman: 1. Slowly slowly who knows where we will end up. I will be delighted if the opponents bid hearts and then I can cue bid.
Chris Diamond: 2. Don't need much for slam so force with 2 and raise diamonds next. Exclusion keycard would be perfect, but I'm not sure it's played here.
Tim Francis-Wright: 2. I need to establish a game force, and I'm not worried about going past 3NT next round if partner raises on her decent 3=4=5=1 hand.
Amiram Millet: 2. GF. We may belong even in grand Slam.
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| 2. Board-a-Match. N-S vul.
| |
J 9 3
K J 10 7 2
9 8 7 3
A
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| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
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2
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3
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Pass
(1)
| |
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4
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Pass
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Pass
| ? |
| (1) Two queens or better.
|
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
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5
| 9
| 100
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6
| 2
| 80
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5
| 1
| 70
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5NT
| 1
| 60
|
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4
| 3
| 50
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Dbl
| 2
| 20
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4NT
| 0
| 0
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Moderator: South had a chance to bid 3 at his first turn, but passed. Some play that a positive response shows a five-card or longer suit with two of the top three honors. When the opponents interfere, that's a luxury you can't afford, especially at this vul. Several experts state they would not have passed originally. The majority try to catch up by making a 5 cue.
Barry Rigal: 5. I think it was a clear error not to bid 3 over 3. In fact, I will be disappointed if you do not get half the panel telling you this. Now, I cannot ever show a suit this good in a hand this good. I considered 5, but that should show the majors.
Larry Cohen: 5. Why didn't I bid 3 the first time? Now, I have an unsolvable problem.
Steve Robinson: 4. I don't understand not bidding 3. It would have made this problem simpler. Partner also has short clubs, so this may not be a good-fitting hand.
Karen Walker: 6. Partner should have a balanced hand for his pass, so 6 is a reasonable guess. Bidding 5 will make it sound like I want partner to choose the final contract.
The Sutherlins: Dbl. We should be able to collect 800 on defense if North is balanced. If he isn't, he will bid a suit.
Michael Dimich: 5. North has a flat 22+ HCP hand. 4NT by south showing 2+ places to play will be the popular choice. The south hand is too good for that.
Stephen Vincent: 5. Partner presumably has a flat hand with little or nothing in clubs. 6 looks certain and 7 possible. It's necessary in the problem to specify what 3 would have meant on the first round.
Larry Meyer: 4. No losers in opponent's suit, so go for offense.
Gilbert Lambert: 5. Why didn't I bid 3 first? Now I am stuck with this ridiculous guess at a high level!
Yue Su: 6. 6N too dangerous. I don't know how to check keycards otherwise should try 7.
Martin Henneberger: Dbl. Serves me right for not bidding 3 immediately. Now I've endplayed myself. I love these bid wrong 1st/ how to correct 2nd bidding problems. I will double for takeout and guess next.
Rock Yan: 4NT. Strong take-out. Expecting a 22+ balance hand from my partner, I will try 6 or 6.
Kai Zhou: 5. Small slam is already there, if pard has only 22 for his bid A K Q X A X X A K Q X 9 2, 6 could be to pick a slam, but since 7 is still possible, I would start with the lower level.
Mike Hamilton: 5. I confirmed game, so partner’s pass is forcing. I have more than I have shown so far. A 5-level cue-bid should show club control and slam interest with time for partner to finally show his hand with a real bid and find our best spot.
Robin Hart: 5NT. Pick a Slam.
Ronald Kuiper: 4. Hmm, weird auction, if pard has a suit, why not show it over 4? Figuring him for 22+ balanced hand, so show my 5 card heart suit.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 4. Since partner didn't bid over 4, I expect he is 22+ balanced. We may nail them for down 4 on a good day, but in that case we may have missed slam.
Yu Wang: 5. Very close to 6. If pard bids 5, then bid 6.
Mike Roberts: 5. I would have bid 3 the first time. This is FAR too good for 4.
Perry Khakhar: 6. Partner has not doubled, so nothing wasted in clubs. He did not bid, so no long suit. We should be able to make 6, and we clearly don't have room to explore for 7.
Kees Schaafsma: 6. Slam seems certain, to show the first-round club control works better than an ambiguous 5 and raise.
John Gillespie: 4. Passing 3 instead of bidding 3 was REALLY dumb. 4 is just wimpy consistency.
David Gordon: 5. Partner is at least semi-balanced. Show your strength.
Chris Buchanan: 5. Too much for 4 and a double here is penalty.
Brian Zietman: 5. Partner choose your grand slam.
Chris Diamond: 5. What else can you do but cue bid? Do you raise pard's 5 level bid? I hope he bids 5NT.. pick a slam with a balanced hand.
Tim Francis-Wright: 4. Partner most likely has a balanced hand and it's unlikely that 4 is going to beat our heart game. If she's really got a two-suiter, she'll do something smart.
Amiram Millet: Dbl. Most flexible and space conserving bid, better than 4.
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| 3. Matchpoints. N-S vul.
| |
Q 9 6 5
Q 10 5
J
Q J 8 7 5
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| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
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1NT
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2
(1)
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Pass
| ? |
| (1) One major.
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Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
2
| 10
| 100
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3
| 5
| 50
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2NT
| 1
| 20
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2
| 0
| 20
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3
| 2
| 10
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Moderator: The majority bids 2, meaning pass or correct. South has some values, but North may be just competing.
Mel Colchamiro: 3. . . as pass or correct seems automatic. Not looking for game, just preemption. Who knows how adventuresome partner is being.
The Coopers: 2. There's no reason to bid higher when vulnerable at matchpoints.
August Boehm: 3. . . obviously a cuebid and acts as an invitational raise of either major. I hope my hand is worth it.
Stephen Vincent: 2. Am I supposed to do something clever?
Larry Meyer: 2. Asking pard to pass or correct.
Gilbert Lambert: 2. Pass or correct, what else?
Martin Henneberger: 3. Being a matchpoint tiger means finding your fit and bidding it to the max before the opps compete. 3 here is pass or correct in this multi-defence to 1NT. It is a myth that the opps will let you play a 2 level 9-card fit so I'm bidding 3 now.
Rock Yan: 3. 3 might be an over-bid. But even we may go down one, we are unlikely to get doubled and they might be able to make 3.
Kai Zhou: 2NT. Needs perfect hand from pard, if he just has a hand such as K X A K X X X X Q X X 9 X 3 level is still safe, so game try sounds reasonable.
Mike Hamilton: 2. Partner’s range is usually 6-11 HCP, 14 tops, so with my soft values, I choose the conservative form of pass or correct.
Robin Hart: 2. Pard will correct if necessary.
Ronald Kuiper: 2. Can't pass, 2 undoubled could be very bad. Bid 2, if pard has spades they will correct.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 2. Who alerted the 2 bid? If it was me, then I'd presumably know which convention we were playing. In spite of my good shape, my hand has too many quacks for a jump response (even if I knew what the appropriate bid was).
Yu Wang: 2. After pard bid 2, and 3= show shortness, I will bid it.
Judi Carter: 3. What's the major?
Mike Roberts: 3. Standard bump. You could get fancy, and play this as pre-emptive, but I think it's natural.
Perry Khakhar: 2. Let's take our plus! These Quacks can't be good enough for game. Maybe raise 2 correction by partner to 3. At least the Law will be on our side.
Kees Schaafsma: 2. As I trust that East's pass denies diamonds I'm not tempted to preempt.
Merv Adey: 2. The question suggests we might try 3...(really?)
John Gillespie: 2. I can raise spades but want pard to move if it's a heart game.
David Gordon: 3. Should be pass or correct.
Chris Buchanan: 3. I am pretty sure this is pass or correct. 3 would be a stronger hand asking for the major.
Brian Zietman: 2NT. This is the bid playing Lebensohl bidding 3NT when partner transfers to 3, showing stoppers in the majors.
Chris Diamond: 2. Am I missing something? 3 card support for his likely major and a bunch of quacks.
Tim Francis-Wright: 2. I think I'm supposed to assume the worst (partner has hearts and not spades) and bid accordingly. (It would be nice if partner and I knew what the followups were to our mid-chart conventions.)
Amiram Millet: 2. Pass or correct partner.
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| 4. Matchpoints. N-S vul.
| |
A Q 10 6
K 10
A
K Q 10 9 8 4
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| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
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4
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Dbl
| 9
| 100
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5
| 8
| 90
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4
| 1
| 30
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Pass
| 0
| 20
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Moderator: Should you bid your strong, six-card suit or double and try to keep spades in the picture? The panel was divided.
Mike Lawrence: 4. This hand is impossible to bid accurately. Bidding 4 gets us to the high-scoring contract, assuming I can make it. Where is Marshall Miles when I need him? I will take Larry Cohen in a pinch.
Jill Meyers: Dbl. . . and pray that partner does not bid 5.
Kerri Sanborn: 5. Preempts work and I can't risk double and guessing what to do over 5. Of course, double looks brilliant when partner can bid 4.
Michael Dimich: 4. You need courage to play matchpoints. Other bidders may identify with Robert Burns's mouse.
Stephen Vincent: Dbl. Partner will realize this shows general values and will not take out into 5 lightly. Having 4 is nice insofar as it reduces the number of ways double can turn out badly for us.
Larry Meyer: Dbl. Keep the spade option open, plus get my strength across.
Gilbert Lambert: 5. Partner can bid six if he likes his hand.
Eurydice Nours: Dbl. My partnership agreement is T/O up to 4. Partner has option to pass if he has any defensive tricks.
Yue Su: Dbl. Always painful when I have a big hand and opponents preempt.
Martin Henneberger: 5. I know that 5 loses the potential spade fit, but how do I find that? Double is asking for a 5 bid, so I will settle for my long suit and hope that wins the board by making, sacking, or pushing them 1 higher.
Rock Yan: Dbl. Double and hope partner won't bid Diamond.
Kai Zhou: 5. Not an easy hand to handle, would try 5 if 5 comes back.
Mike Hamilton: 5. If I double, what do I bid over partner’s 5? Off 2 aces, the best I can do is overcall my long suit to protect my major-suit holdings from the opening lead in case I declare.
Ronald Kuiper: 5. At IMPs 5 for sure, at matchpoints would hate to miss a spade fit, but double is out, if pard responds 5 I am in big trouble.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 5. Let someone else be the hero. The lack of entries to partner's hand is disturbing. 5 has no chance unless partner has the A or K (and they don't get a heart ruff).
Judi Carter: 4NT. Showing 2 suiter.
Mike Roberts: Dbl. So many things can go right, and only 5/6 diamonds can go wrong.
Perry Khakhar: Dbl. We might end up in 6 before it is over, but who says that it won't make!
Bob Todd: Dbl. 5 may be safer but is too unilateral.
Merv Adey: Dbl. Good problem...no right answer between dbl and more unilateral actions.
John Gillespie: 4. Glad it's only matchpoints. Even happier that pard has a sense of humour.
David Gordon: Dbl. Start with showing extra values.
Chris Buchanan: Dbl. Really the only way to keep spades is the picture. I am still not positive what I will do over 5.
Brian Zietman: 4NT. This preempt is really annoying. I take doubling at the 4-level for penalties so I have to show a 2 suiter hand. I have to bid 6 if partner bids diamonds.
Chris Diamond: 5. Same problem, different day. You'd like to double to avoid losing the spade suit but if pard bids 5 you're hooped. And if he passes a X with a balanced hand they might make it with their diamond fit. So 5.
Amiram Millet: Dbl. Agood starting point.
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| 5. Matchpoints. N-S vul.
| |
8 6 5
8
A 9 8 5
A 10 9 7 5
|
| West |
North |
East |
South |
| |
|
|
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Pass
|
Pass
| |
|
1
|
Dbl
|
2
| ? |
Your call?
| Bid | Votes | Award
|
|
Dbl
| 13
| 100
|
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3
| 3
| 60
|
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2NT
| 2
| 20
|
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Moderator: A double is responsive (takeout) when the opponents bid and raise the same suit. If South had spades he could bid them, so the responsive double in the auction above leans toward the minor suits.
Don Stack: Dbl. This is a perfect responsive double. I can't have four spades because I would bid 2 as my first priority.
Betty Ann Kennedy: 2NT. This is takeout for the minors.
Kerri Sanborn: 3. Am I thinking of a responsive double? I suppose that could work, but I'm bidding 3 - that's what I'm looking at.
Stephen Vincent: 3. Close between 3 and a responsive double but the disparity in suit length and strength is just sufficient to bid 3.
Larry Meyer: 3. Making a free bid, so no need to jump.
Gilbert Lambert: Dbl. Am I missing something? Double, showing both minors, denying four spades.
Yue Su: 2. I have good ruffing values, so 4-3 spade fit should be easy to play.
Martin Henneberger: Dbl. Well this is my definition of a responsive double.
Rock Yan: Dbl. This might be the only question for this month. Responsive double shows both minor suits.
Kai Zhou: 3. If 2NT is lebensohl showing a competitive hand then a direct bid show a good hand, looks like pard made a T/O with heart length, most likely he will have a balanced strong no trump hand or a long minor with 4 card spade in which case he plays ELC, game is on.
Mike Hamilton: Dbl. Responsive, suggesting the minors since I’m not supporting partner’s spades.
Robin Hart: Dbl. Responsive for mionrs.
Ronald Kuiper: 3. I have 2 tricks so can compete, bid best suit.
Andrew Krywaniuk: 3. Either the opponents have an extreme fit or partner has a monster. A responsive double would tend to deny spade support.
Yu Wang: Dbl. Responsive dbl: if I had 4 cards in spades, I will bid 2.
Mike Roberts: 3. Maximum (and this is), without 4.
Perry Khakhar: Dbl. Classic responsive double to start. On a good day, a minor suit slam will be cold. I refuse to play this hand in less than 4 even if it is matchpoints.
Kees Schaafsma: Dbl. Following Lawrence this shows both minors.
Merv Adey: Dbl. If this isn't responsive, change me to 2N.
Paul Mcmullin: Dbl. This SHOULD be 'responsive'.
David Gordon: Dbl. Less then 4 spades with both minors.
Chris Buchanan: Dbl. Fairly simple responsive doulbe here.
Brian Zietman: Dbl. The most flexible. My 3 spades may be enough for partner and if he bids a minor then fine.
Chris Diamond: Dbl. Responsive double to show the minors seems obvious. The next bid, less so. If you cue can you pass 4 of a minor? And if he bids 3NT do you have enough?
Tim Francis-Wright: 3. It would be great if 2NT showed the minors. Or was Lebensohlish. Guess what? It doesn't. It's not. Fortunately, 3 shows some values here.
Amiram Millet: Dbl. Responsive. Ready to find the best minor partscore with good 8 HCP.
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