[uva72uva72]

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IMPs ACBL robot individual

Two concerns with the display hand:

1. The range for South's bid of 3NT is much too large. If South, in fact, has anything close to 22 HCP, he/she will drive the hand to slam. The fact that North will act as if South has the max means that South will never bid 3NT in this auction (won't even think of it if he/she has the big hand since slam is a certainty and will bid it quickly; won't dare bid it with the low end of the range for fear of being hung.) Something like 14-17 HCP seems about right to me, but anything would be an improvement. The 3NT bid needs to be available not only to show the range but also to emphasize the desirability of playing the hand in NT. There is a very real risk of a ♦ ruff on this hand, while ♦KQ96 is probably a rock-solid stopper in NT.

2. South has every bit of what is described in the system notes for a 3NT bid. That being the case, North should not unilaterally conclude that South has the high end of the range and jump to slam. In fact, I think that no small part of the problem is that North underbid at its first opportunity. As my partners and I play, with 8.5 playing tricks, North is good enough for 3♥ over 2♦ , in which case it can pass South's 3NT without concern for undisclosed values. Having bid only 2♥, North should only raise to 4NT to check if partner holds more than the minimum.

A number of South's bid 2NT, showing only 11-13 HCP. They gained 10+ IMPs over those who fell into the trap by bidding 3NT as the notes would seemingly suggest. The comment sometimes made in these situations is "those of us who have been around just know not to bid 3NT in this auction." That reminds me of the Easter Eggs and gold coins hidden embedded in my sons' video games long ago. They benefitted from the fact that they had secret knowledge that would enable them to do better than their less-in-the-know friends. I wonder if there is a version of Super Mario Brothers that is scored at IMPs.

[1eyedjack]

Note also that North's 6N is described as (inter alia) 18+ HCP, and he is not close.