[sceptic]

Scoring: IMP

---

West North East South

 -     -     1♣    Pass
 3NT   Pass  4♦    Pass
 6♣    Pass  Pass  Dbl
 Pass  Pass  Pass  

Can I have your comments on the 3nt bid here please

[luke warm]

it doesn't make much sense to me

[sceptic]

2nd time I have played this world class player and I wondered what system he plays, they made top again, I wondered what convention he plays

[pbleighton]

1) Unbalanced
2) 4 card major
3) Not a true diamond stopper

I can live with 3), and might conceivably bypass a 4 card major if I was totally flat and the suit was bad. Overall, 3NT was terrible.

What "should" have been bid depends on what they were playing.

Peter

[Elianna]

The 3NT bid seems a bit insane, but to be honest, I don't really like the double, either. It sounds like RHO (the 1C bidder) has a hand with AT LEAST 10 minor suit cards (if not more) and is slam forcing (otherwise why pull 3nt?) so I have grave doubts about my hA scoring, much less my K.

I agree that their auction sounds silly, and it's tempting to double based on that, but I've learned not to double on silly-sounding auctions, much of the time people reach the correct place by accident, and a tiny portion of the time, they are trying to engineer the auction to tempt a double (this is usually the case when playing against good juniors).

But yes, I would not have expected LHO's hand based on his 3nt bid.

[Walddk]

In the days of Goren:

3NT = 16-18, balanced (because 2NT was game forcing, 13-15).

In modern bridge:

3NT = 13-15, balanced, no 4-card major. Diamond suit possible.

With the actual West hand, 2♣ is ideal if you play inverted minors (limit or better). If not, I think you must underbid a little and make a limit raise: 3♣. If you prefer to overbid (not my recommendation), then bid 3♦ (splinter).

If you play 5-card majors, it is perhaps worth no more than a limit raise. If you play 4-card majors where 1♣ shows 4+, it's a little too good for a limit raise. You really can't do without an inverted minor raise to 2♣ then.

South's double is, well, a bit optimistic.

Roland

[Walddk]

Sorry, don't know why I have it twice. Believe me, it's not because I am trying to overtake Ben as far as posts in the Forums are concerned

Roland

[inquiry]

Walddk, on Mar 26 2005, 06:35 PM, said:

Sorry, don't know why I have it twice. Believe me, it's not because I am trying to overtake Ben as far as posts in the Forums are concerned

Roland

3NT with such a hand risk missing some good slams.

I deleted one of roland's two identical post to make it that much harder for him to catch me...

[whereagles]

Was 3NT some sort of club raise..???

[FrancesHinden]

sceptic, on Mar 26 2005, 04:33 PM, said:

2nd time I have played this world class player and I wondered what system he plays, they made top again, I wondered what convention he plays

Why don't you ask him?

[sceptic]

I did they ignored me

[whereagles]

Ah, I see it all now. Your pard wanted to play the hand. That's why he bid a straight 3NT.

He ignored your question because he couldn't think of any decent excuse for his bid.

[jahol]

As far as I understand, OPPONENTS were bidding this way.

I think that 3NT is a sort of bid : "My partner is stupid, I WILL PLAY AND SAVE US FROM DISASTER". I would not play with such partner. Hate such bidders.

From technical point of view, such bid is nonsense.

The double is also very bad bid.

Jah