[awm]

A couple interesting hands from the local tournament on saturday. Both of these came up in team matches. Partner and I are playing a strong ♦ system, but our methods are not the most important issue for this problem.

Scoring: IMP

---

1♦ (1) - Pass - 1♥ (2) - Pass
1NT (3) - Pass - 2♦ (4) - Double
Pass (5) - Pass - 2NT (6) - Pass
3♣ (7) - Pass - 3♠ (8) - Pass
???

(1) Strong and artificial; 16+ hcp
(2) Either game force (8++) or weak (0-4)
(3) 16-18 balanced
(4) Transfer to hearts; 4+♥
(5) Denies 4♥
(6) Game force with ♥+♣
(7) Relay
(8) 3♠+5♥+1♦+4♣

Admittedly there has been some miscounting of the points here (this hand is really a balanced 15 for most of us), but nothing can be done about that now. It's time to place the contract. Which game do you prefer?

Here's another:

Scoring: IMP

---

1♦ (1) - Pass - 2♣ (2) - 2♥
3♣ (3) - 3♥ - 3♠ (4) - Pass
???

(1) Strong and artificial; 16+ hcp
(2) Natural intermediate and not forcing; 6+♣ with 5 to a bad 8 hcp
(3) Competitive; not forcing. Double at this point would have been takeout.
(4) Natural; almost surely only 4-card ♠ suit.

Again time to make a decision. Pass, 4♣, 4♠, and 5♣ all seem to be possibilities. Where do you want to be?

[benlessard]

5♣

easy





5♣

not so clear

in 4s partner could duck the 2nd round of h but partner rate to have a hand that played much better in clubs then in ♠.



Ben

[han]

1) I don't understand why we should be picking a game at this point, has partner denied slam interest? It seems that our hand is very powerful, even though we are a point light. If I had to pick a game I would pick 5C, I think that it is safest (and I get to play it!).


2) Here I'm choosing the low road. It is hard to construct an 8-count that wouldn't force to game and would make game odds on, I think that Kxxx x xx KQxxxx should certainly force to game. So I'm going to try to go plus, and again clubs seems safest: 4C. At matchpoints I might pass.

[cherdano]

I bid 4♠ on the second, I hope for KJxx x xx Kxxxxx or Kxxx xx x QJTxxx or JTxx x xx KQxxxx. They all look like good games to me (partner can discard a diamond on the second round of hearts if he is 1=2 in the red suits, of course).

Arend

[Free]

First one is not the time to place the contract imo. We might have grand slam since opps don't bid with 10♦s together.

2nd one I'll try 4♠. I hate the doubleton ♥...

[luke warm]

1st one i'd bid 4♣ (what is that in your system, anyway? controls?)

2nd one i'd pass

[pbleighton]

5C.

Pass.

Peter

[Gerben42]

On 1. I'd like to bid a natural 4♣. Although I'm still low on HCP my hand has become very nice! Otherwise 5♣.

On 2. I bid 4♣ also, this time to play hoping we write plus. I'd rather have an odd number of ♥.

It's clear that 3NT is out and any other game is a gamble. Partner may have something like:

♠Jxxx
♥xx
♦xx
♣KQxxx

and 4♣ is not cold.

[awm]

The reasoning on the first hand is that opener's hand is very limited (16-18 balanced). Partner can usually evaluate whether or not to bid slam provided he knows the degree of fit and the amount of wastage opposite the singleton. Probably the best call on this hand is 4♣, which should suggest a strain while denying good stoppers in diamonds or a maximum with no diamond wastage. This would still enable partner to bid 4♥ on a really good suit and play there. We don't generally continue "relays" here because responder is often better placed to gauge slam prospects opposite a limited, balanced partner.

Anyways, at the table we played both hands in 4♠. Here are the hands together:

Scoring: IMP

---

On this hand 4♠ was not a success. The defense started with two rounds of diamonds, north ruffing the second round. The contract has no hope unless spades can be played for two losers, which basically requires a 3-3 break. North continued with the ♠Q, won by east's ace, and then won the heart continuation with the ♥J. He then tried a low spade -- this is perhaps not the best play to make because it creates the possibility of a club or heart ruff, but these are fairly unlikely and the duck may hold down the undertricks if spades do not break. This was won by west, at which point the defense lost its way by returning a club instead of a diamond. Another trump was pulled in the south hand, but the suit broke 4-2 and the contract went one down. Teammates at the other table played 5♦, miraculously undoubled, but still three down.

Scoring: IMP

---

On this hand 4♠ fared somewhat better. The contract basically needs either of a 3-3 spade break, or a 4-2 spade break where the clubs can be picked up for six tricks. This is somewhat better than 5♣, which will basically always fail unless clubs break. As it turned out, east held a void in clubs and could have defeated the contract by underleading the ♥AQ (twice!) to score two club ruffs. At the table though, east lead a diamond and north won the ace and pulled trumps (spades 3-3), then picked up the clubs for one loser (entry situation made it hard to finesse west twice), making four.

[han]

Hmm, you ask us to place the contract and then say that 4C is the best call, was this a trick question? I agree with your analysis though, and I should have chosen 4S on the second hand, I didn't give it enough thought.

[joshs]

awm, on Jan 29 2006, 11:41 PM, said:

A couple interesting hands from the local tournament on saturday. Both of these came up in team matches. Partner and I are playing a strong ♦ system, but our methods are not the most important issue for this problem.

Scoring: IMP

♠	AQ6
♥	87
♦	AQT65
♣	A53

 

---

1♦ (1) - Pass - 2♣ (2) - 2♥
3♣ (3) - 3♥ - 3♠ (4) - Pass
???

(1) Strong and artificial; 16+ hcp
(2) Natural intermediate and not forcing; 6+♣ with 5 to a bad 8 hcp
(3) Competitive; not forcing. Double at this point would have been takeout.
(4) Natural; almost surely only 4-card ♠ suit.

Again time to make a decision. Pass, 4♣, 4♠, and 5♣ all seem to be possibilities. Where do you want to be?

Auction 1: Well its either clubs or hearts. I definitely do not want to be in spades on this weak of a 4 card suit. In hearts, I plan on pitching a spade on the second diamond in many major suit lies.

In any case your methods here are not clear to me. I would assume:
a. if I bid 4C, partner can bid 4D as a generic slam try (or keycard)
b. If I bid 4C, partner can bid 4H (non-forcing) on a good suit
c. I am limited by not bidding 4D, which should show 17-18 working points and over that partner will bid 4H with ANY hand not interested in slam (ot have I already denied 3 hearts?)

Asumming that, I would bid 4C and await developments. If he tries for slam I will bid 6C. If he bids 4H or 5C I will pass.

Auction 2:
4C. This hand is nowhere near strong enough to bid game in the 4-3, especially without knowledge of how good the 4 card suit it is (Note: your strong diamonds are probably opposite a singleton). Partner might have KJxx and good clubs, but then again he might not.....

Pass would be my second choice, but I expect clubs to play almost 2 tricks better than spades on average.

Josh