[benellis58]

The GIBBO robot sitting West shifts at trick two, which is obviously not his best defence. To be fair, however, the poor soul is hampered by the fact that the inept robots apparently don't bother with signals. Most HUMAN players, on the other hand, prefer to COMMUNICATE with their partners via signals. This is one of the many reasons that human players are so vastly superior to the incompetent GIBBO robots, because, as it turns out, communication is superior to guesswork! Gee, what a shock - well, at least to the robots.

Besides making the mistake of shifting, however, West shifts to a CLUB, which (not at all surprisingly) is the worst thing he can do. Looking at that dummy (the dummy in North - not the other type of dummy in the West!), it should be obvious that a club is a very dangerous shift that could give up the whole suit, as in practice it did.

And to pile on a bit more: The clown shifts to the FOUR of clubs from 10432, even though the GIBBO robots supposedly lead fourth best. Then again, when did accurate use of spot cards ever matter to a GIB or GIBBO robot? They very often treat all spots as interchangeable equals, because they are so ignorant about bridge that they just don't know any better.

Poor Lorserker: He's done some good things, but he still faces immense challenges in improving these stunningly bad GIBBO robots.

https://www.bridgeba...D9%7Cpc%7CS6%7C

[benellis58]

Spade lead? Spade lead? SPADE LEAD??? WHY a spade lead on THIS auction? I guess that's a question that ONLY a GIBBO robot could answer!

And while we're here, let's look at some of the typically bad GIB definitions:

1S: "Major suit opening - 5+ spades; 11-21 HCP; 12-22 total points". Is it REALLY necessary to begin with the useless, obvious, and downright insulting first three words? Then, how about "11-21 HCP"? That seems innocent and normal enough, BUT: On this hand, West actually has only 10 HCP. In the modern bridge world, many (perhaps most?) bridge players would open 1S, as the robot did...and as the GIBBO robots virtually always do with this type of hand, so...is it really accurate and honest to say "11 - 21 HCP" in the definition? Perhaps not. And as for "12-22 total points", this is just the usual wildly unscientific blather that GIB definitions spew, following their useless "strategy" (ha, ha!) of simply adding a point to the lowest and highest levels of the HCP in the definition.

2C: "New suit by opener - 4+ clubs; 5+ spades; 11+ HCP; 12-15 total points; opponents cannot play undoubled below 2NT". "New suit by opener"? No kidding! Thanks SO much for including that in your definition, Mr. GIB, because otherwise we NEVER would have figured out that clubs was a "new suit". In other words: yet ANOTHER useless, obvious, and downright insulting group of words (four, this time) that are totally unnecessary. I wonder if GIB has trademarked this highly annoying style of introducing definitions? Also, the inaccurate LIE about "11+ HCP" is repeated, but somehow the "total" points have instantly and magically (and, of course, completely unscientifically) morphed from "12-22" to "12-15". Also: Saying that "opponents cannot play undoubled below 2NT" might seem okay...but amusingly does that mean that they CAN play undoubled ABOVE 2NT? If so, consider the implications of THIS scenario: A GIBBO robot doubles you for penalty in, for example, 2S, and you feel that he is "right" to do so, and you fear going for a big number. Maybe you can run to THREE spades and he won't double you! To an extent, I'm just joking here as a way of MOCKING the often very poorly worded GIB definitions, but with GIBBO robots, who knows? My JOKE might even turn out to be what actually happens! ANYTHING is possible, given the oft-demonstrated lack of logic by the robots.

3NT: "4- hearts; 2- spades; 14-21 HCP; stop in diamonds; stop in hearts". "4- hearts": WHY, pray tell? You'll note that here he actually has FIVE hearts. Why CAN'T he have five hearts? And why shouldn't he bid 3NT if he HAS five hearts along with the appropriate values and stoppers?

https://www.bridgeba...S8%7Cpc%7CS7%7C

[benellis58]

I played several GIBBO robot games today and enjoyed them all. I would have enjoyed them much more if the GIBBO robots (ALL of them, whether North, East, or West) were not so consistently, hopelessly, and disgustingly bad.

I play several GIBBO robot games on most days and enjoy them all. I would enjoy them much more if the GIBBO robots (ALL of them, whether North, East, or West) were not ALWAYS so consistently, hopelessly, and disgustingly bad.

HUMAN players usually demonstrate at least some growth in ability. HUMAN players usually learn from at least SOME of their mistakes. The GIBBO robots, apart from a recent small set of improvements by Lorserker, and in spite of that small set of improvements, are still - after being in existence for many years - absolutely and stunningly hopeless at bridge. They reek of ineptitude. It doesn't help that they are saddled with a joke of a system, a set of the worst definitions I have ever seen, and an overflowing trunkload of bad habits.

[benellis58]

3S making exactly three, for plus 140 NS, was by far the most common score on this board, with 78 pairs getting that result. There was one pair that stopped in 2S, making an overtrick, for the same plus 140. There was only one NS pair that scored better, and it was for beating East-West in 3H doubled one trick and collecting plus 200.

There were 16 NS pairs that did worse than plus 140. Two of them allowed EW to make 3H, thereby scoring minus 140. One of them beat 3H, but not doubled, so they scored only plus 100. The rest went down in spade contracts. One pair got to 5S (!) and went down two, for minus 100. One pair got to 4S and somehow went down two (?), also for minus 100. Ten pairs got to 4S and went down one, for minus 50. One pair in the (most common) contract of 3S somehow went down one (?) for minus 50.

The reason I am posting this hand is the bidding by the GIBBO robot sitting North. While it actually turned out WELL (on the random layout of this random hand) that he bid ONLY 3H (transfer to spades) and then PASSED South's 3S, I think he was very lucky (and I, along with 77 other humans, was the beneficiary of his luck). 4S happened to have no play, since West was on lead with AKJ87 of hearts, so it was normal and easy for him to cash two top hearts at the start, and he still had two natural trump (spade) tricks with AJ6 behind South's KQ doubleton. Thus, North's timidity turned out well...but it WAS timidity and would probably turn out poorly more often than not. Although North had only one HCP, he had EIGHT spades facing a partner who, having opened 2NT, was marked for at LEAST two spades and 20-21 HCP. I think North's "winning" call over South's 2NT would more often than not be FOUR hearts, transferring to spades. Note that even on this hand, it took a 3-0 trump break to hold NS to 9 tricks.

https://www.bridgeba...CDQ%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

The GIBBO robot sitting West leads a heart for no particular reason instead of a diamond. Then at trick two he makes the amazingly stupid play of popping his club king, crashing his partner's ace, turning their two "guaranteed" club tricks into one, and basically blowing the hand. Like all his GIBBO brethren, he has absolutely no idea of how to defend. Hopeless, pathetic, pitiful.

https://www.bridgeba...DT%7Cpc%7CST%7C

[benellis58]

I have written before about how absolutely atrocious the GIBBO system is for auctions that begin with a strong artificial 2C. Here is the latest example I've seen.

After I opened 2C and West bid 3C, followed by passes from North, and East, I would have liked to bid 3NT, but that was defined as showing "25-27 HCP", so I had to double, defined as "22-24 HCP". I think this definition is also bad, but conveniently the entire GIBBO definition of the double did fit the hand I happened to have. West passed, and now my partner, the GIBBO robot sitting North, bid...FOUR (!)...CLUBS (!)! Before even looking at the definition, I assumed that this was insanity - perhaps on the part of the GIBBO robot in the North, perhaps because of the hopelessly unworkable 2C structure foisted on GIBBO players, or perhaps a combination of the two.

After reading the laughable definition of 4C, it became evident that my use of the word "insanity" was a good vocabulary choice, because the incredibly foolish definition of 4C was "3+ total points". That's it, that's ALL! It says NOTHING useful - NOTHING at all about ANY of his cards. Does he have a "suit" anywhere? Who knows? Is he pancake flat...or is he 7-6 in two suits...or is he 4-4-4-1...or does he have the minors...or the majors...or...or...or...WHAT? We know NOTHING about his hand other than that he has "3+ total points". Note that "3+" LITERALLY means "three or more, with NO upper limit", so he could have 3...or 6...or 19...or 22...or just about anything! Note that it's not even 3+ HCP - it's "3+ TOTAL points"...so it could theoretically be FEWER than 3 HCP. AND: Why does the definition even MENTION "total" points when we have not identified any fit? This definition AND this 2C structure are not just ridiculous and useless - they are RESOUNDINGLY ridiculous and useless.

Note also that the ENTIRE three level - which MIGHT have been used for hand descriptions and scientific investigation - has been WASTED...so that this meaningless and useless 4C call could be made! And not only that, but the imbecilic system means that we have BYPASSED 3NT, which will often be the right spot!

I now took my best shot by bidding 4NT, which basically told North nothing more than what he already knew from my earlier double. He passed, with NEITHER of us knowing much about the other's hand, and with me knowing basically NOTHING about NORTH'S hand. We were in a game contract in NT...but ENTIRELY needlessly in FOUR NT rather than THREE. What a remarkably ludicrous system! Forgetting anything else about this JOKE of a 2C structure, wouldn't it have made a LOT more sense for North to bid 3D over the double, showing his...duh (!)...DIAMOND suit?

The result was fine: a shared top for bidding the NT game (despite ridiculously being unnecessarily in FOUR no trump, thanks to the abominable system) and making 11 tricks, so this is not a complaint about getting a bad score. It's a complaint about the incredibly atrocious 2C structure that is forced on people who play in GIBBO robot games. Just about everything in the GIBBO system is inferior, but its 2C structure is probably the worst of all...and that is saying a LOT!

https://www.bridgeba...ST%7Cpc%7CSJ%7C

[benellis58]

Typically bad defence by the GIBBO robots sitting East-West. No surprise!

https://www.bridgeba...CS9%7Cmc%7C7%7C

[benellis58]

A common theme: NOT complaining about the result, since it was a shared top scoring 95 %, BUT complaining about the silly bidding by the GIBBO robot sitting North. Why FOUR clubs? Surely a freely bid THREE clubs should suffice with his MODEST values. This type of needless overbidding (often involving foolish jumps to the FOUR level...in a MINOR...bypassing 3NT) is yet another of the excruciatingly bad habits beloved by the GIBBO robots.

https://www.bridgeba...CC8%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

More insanity with the despicable 2C structure used by the GIBBO system:

After South opens 2C and West doubles, showing good clubs, North bids 2D. Is he showing...uhh...DIAMONDS...which would make SENSE? No. His 2D call is "2D bid waiting - forcing to 2NT". What the HELL is the point of THAT? Yes, in the GIBBO system, if West had passed, North's 2D would indeed be "waiting"...but after West doubles, it is neither necessary nor intelligent for North to have to make the "waiting" bid. It shows NOTHING about his hand, gains NOTHING, and will sometimes needlessly wrongside the contract OR waste a level of bidding space (if, for example, SOUTH happens to have long, strong diamonds as the main feature of his 2C opener, and otherwise could have been the FIRST member of the partnership to bid the suit).

Not surprisingly (considering that this is the GIBBO system and GIB definitions!) it quickly gets even more comical, because after East passes, check THIS out:

If South now bids TWO hearts, it's defined as "5+ hearts; 19+ HCP, 23+ total points", but if he bids THREE hearts, it's also defined as "5+ hearts; 19+ HCP, 23+ total points", and if he bids FOUR hearts, it's AGAIN also defined as "5+ hearts; 19+ HCP, 23+ total points"!

That's right: In this utterly BRILLIANT GIBBO 2C structure, THREE different calls at THREE different levels all mean exactly the same thing! It is laughable, of course, but it also shows ZERO intelligence to waste TWO calls that could be used to provide valuable information instead of being CLONES of a previous definition. Why would ANYONE devise such a system?

Many of the other definitions in this auction (for both EW and NS) are poor also, as is SO often the case with GIB definitions, but I won't even bother mentioning them, because NONE of them are as gloriously hideous as the ones I discussed.

https://www.bridgeba...C5%7Cmc%7C10%7C

[benellis58]

Is anyone looking for MORE examples of how bad GIB definitions are? If so, I'm happy to oblige.

On this hand, North's 2NT is defined as "Invitational to 3NT game - 5+ hearts; 8+ HCP; 8- total points; stop in spades". Let's dissect this unappetizing slice of poorly written nonsense piece by piece:

"Invitational to 3NT game". First (sigh!) it is NOT necessary to mention that 3NT is "game". It is NOT necessary to insult the human players by effectively insinuating that they are unaware that 3NT is "game". More importantly, where oh where is the LOGIC in saying that this bid is invitational to 3NT? After South's opening bid of 1NT, North's 2D transfer to hearts, and South's obedient call of 2H...all at that point in an uninterrupted auction, North ...passed! Surely, if North actually wanted to invite a game, he would have done so THEN. He would not have passed! So now that East has competed in the passout seat by bidding 2S, followed by passes from South and West, it makes absolutely no sense for North to NOW, belatedly, be inviting a game! A correct and DECENT definition (not that we would expect such a thing from a GIB definition!) would say something to the effect of "competing for the part score in either 2NT or 3H".

"5+ hearts:. Okay, fair enough (almost)...but VERY probably "only" five, NOT "5+", because with six or more, North would be FAR more likely to bid 3H than 2NT if he wanted to compete.

"8+ HCP". Eight...PLUS???!!! If he had MORE than 8, wouldn't he have earlier done something other than PASS South's 2H bid? Of course he would! Also "8+" literally means "8-37", since no upper limit is stated.

"8- total points". This literally means ZERO to eight total points, since here no lower limit is stated. Would North REALLY be competing for the partial with ZERO points? Or even one, two...? AND, a frequent error in GIB definitions again puts its ugly face in front of the camera: As I have often mentioned, HCP can be less than or equal to "total" points , but they cannot be greater. Yet here, in this very poorly written and highly inaccurate GIB definition, the REVERSE is implied, since it says that HCP are eight or MORE (with no upper limit) while "total" points are eight or LESS (with no lower limit). GIB has it exactly BACKWARDS!

"Stop in spades". Well, bravo, GIB: FINALLY something that actually makes sense...FINALLY after all the utter nonsense that came before this one single, solitary moment of clarity!

https://www.bridgeba...ST%7Cpc%7CH6%7C

[benellis58]

Stupid, illogical JUMP to FOUR spades by the perennial clueless GIBBO robot sitting North. South's 3D was NOT inviting a game. It was A. Offering a possible alternate strain in case diamonds happened to be a better or safer partnership suit than spades, and B. Offering potentially useful information in case NS ended up defending rather than declaring. If South had any interest in inviting a game, he would not have earlier passed North's 2S!

To further highlight the ignorance and lunacy of North's 4S call, note that the definition of his 4S is "3+ spades; 9+ HCP; 10 total points". He does NOT have "9+ HCP" (which, by the way - sigh - literally means 9-37, since no upper limit is specified); he has (only) 7. He also does NOT have 10 "total" points. And even if he DID have the points that the definition claims he is SUPPOSED to have, it would STILL not justify his jump to 4S when South had earlier PASSED 2S!

On top of everything else, North is disregarding and disobeying his own GIB definition - as GIBBO robots often do. What is even the point of having definitions if the GIBBO robots don't adhere to them? Either HAVE the robots follow their own definitions or (better yet - MUCH better yet!) CHANGE the usually wretched GIB definitions!

https://www.bridgeba...CCA%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

The GIB robots, who were even worse than the new and improved GIBBO robots, used to do fantastically stupid and abnormal things like playing second hand high and third hand low. Those plays CAN sometimes be right, but not often, which is why it's "normal" for players to almost automatically play second hand low and third hand high in most situations.

One of the major improvements that Lorserker made in his upgrade was that the GIBBO robots, quite unlike the repulsively incompetent GIB ones, would now play more logically and "normally" - particularly by stopping their senseless habits of second hand high and third hand low. Bravo! A significant improvement!

And yet...look at East's unutterably foolish play of the JACK of clubs at trick three - backtracking to the brainlessness of his GIB predecessors, and a play that got what it deserved on this hand.

https://www.bridgeba...S3%7Cmc%7C12%7C

[benellis58]

The GIBBO robot sitting West gets pseudo-squeezed and, as the whole world would perhaps expect, pitches incorrectly. Colour me NOT surprised. To be fair, though, I'll cut him some slack, because we've probably all gone wrong in a pseudo-squeeze situation from time to time, and as far as GIBBO errors go, this is definitely one of the milder and more forgivable ones.

https://www.bridgeba...C6%7Cpc%7CCK%7C

[benellis58]

Not my table, but worth posting for both the GIBBO auction and the GIBBO "defence":

This is a mandated auction, meaning that GIBBO presumably thinks the auction is perfect. Well, 1D, 1S, and 1NT do seem entirely normal...but 2NT?! Looking ONLY at North's hand, 3D would seem to be a much better choice...and although one random hand with one random layout (in the always random game of bridge) proves nothing, on this random hand a diamond contract would be vastly superior to a NT contract.

Luckily for the anonymous HUMAN South, however, although he was unlucky enough to have a GIBBO robot as his partner, he was VERY lucky to have two GIBBO robots as his opponents, because he was the beneficiary of a typically horrendous GIBBO "defence".

As you can see, the very bad 2NT contract (arrived at thanks to a mandated GIBBO auction) is slated to go down at least two after West's club lead. (We can compliment the GIBBO robot sitting West for leading a club, however, because prior to Lorserker's upgrade, the execrable GIB robots, who were even worse than the improved GIBBO ones, would probably have led a spade or a heart. The GIB robots were so astoundingly bad that they make the GIBBO ones look like Zia by comparison.

Anyway, yes, the 2NT contract should go down at least two tricks...but the not-so-brilliant GIBBO robot in the West decides at trick 3 to play his THREE (!) of clubs from his remaining 9543. Let's just say that he might have done better. (And as a side issue, note that if he had led a lower club, such as his fourth-best 5, which is the "normal" GIBBO lead method, even HE could not POSSIBLY have gone wrong at trick 3).

https://www.bridgeba...D8%7Cpc%7CHQ%7C

[benellis58]

This board was played 80 times. Because it was a mandated auction (presumably meaning that GIBBO thinks the entire auction is PERFECT), the contract of 6C by NS was the same at all 80 tables and the mandated GIBBO lead of the 5 of diamonds was also the same at all 80 tables.

73 human Souths went down one, while the remaining 7 human Souths went down 2.

Let's examine the ASTOUNDINGLY stupid auction MANDATED by GIBBO:

South's 1C is normal. West's 2C Michaels bid would be chosen by some humans and rejected by some others, but I don't think we can criticize it.

North's 5C, however, seems like a VERY poor choice. He has no need to jam the auction with his VERY GOOD hand opposite his partner South's one CLUB opening. It would take very little for his partnership to be cold for a GRAND, so his 5C bid is very, very bad.

The GIB definition of 5C is even worse, FAR worse - a completely useless JOKE of a definition, as the absolutely pathetic GIB ones so OFTEN are. What does it say? It says "biddable clubs". That's IT. That's ALL it says. NOTHING about HCP. NOTHING about "total" points. NOTHING about shape. NOTHING about club length. NOTHING about club strength, except for the useless, undefined claim that the clubs are "biddable" - whatever the HELL that means in the context of this specific auction. NOTHING about the AIM of the 5C call: In other words, is it strong (?), weak (?), pre-emptive (?), encouraging (?), discouraging (?), shutout (?), slam interest (?), 13 solid DIAMONDS (ha, ha), WHATEVER (!)? The definition is entirely useless and meaningless. What is even the point of HAVING a definition if it just worthless trash like this?

It now gets MORE comical - or, depending on your perspective, more tragic, as the GIBBO insanity continues in this MANDATED auction presumably RECOMMENDED AND APPROVED BY GIBBO. East doubles, defined as "15+ HCP; 16+ total points". That definition is, of course, utterly ridiculous as a general principle for ANY hand that has had this auction so far...but it's also very amusing (AND sadly TYPICAL for the stunningly inept GIBBO robots) that the GIBBO robot sitting East has totally ignored his own GIB definition and has NOTHING AT ALL like what the definition claims he is supposed to have. "15+ HCP"? He has..FOUR (!!!) HCP. He has a full ELEVEN HCP fewer than the MINIMUM amount of 15 "promised" by the definition - ELEVEN fewer! I've often made this point: Either have the hopeless GIBBO robots adhere to their own GIB definitions (disgustingly useless though those definitions SO often are)...OR, better yet (MUCH better yet!) CHANGE the absolutely pathetic GIB definitions!

Anyway, to continue our explanation of the total madness of the GIBBO world, let's look at the rest of the auction, as...INCREDIBLY...it gets even MORE bizarre.

After East's double, the auction currently stands at 5C doubled, with South declaring. But the auction is not over, as South, West, and North still have opportunities to speak. South passes. West passes. North, in passout seat, with his partnership currently in 5C doubled,...RAISES (!) to SIX CLUBS! Illogical, astounding, mind-blowing...and all the MORE so, since HE was the one who leaped to (only) FIVE clubs, which could easily have ended the auction then and there! On top of his astounding and unfathomable decision to pull FIVE clubs doubled to SIX clubs (!) is the fact that if he thinks six clubs is the "right" spot, why did he previously bid (only) five? And...the humour continues, because East, who has just doubled FIVE clubs, now passes SIX clubs. So the final contract is 6C by South, a contract that has no play EVEN after West FAILS to lead his spade ace, opting instead to STUPIDLY lead his diamond 5 from 54 doubleton. Maybe the poor deluded sap is looking for a THIRD-ROUND diamond ruff (!) on THIS auction???

This ONE hand - all by itself - is a perfect example of how GLORIOUSLY clueless and incompetent the GIBBO world is!

https://www.bridgeba...S2%7Cmc%7C11%7C

[benellis58]

Another mandated auction, so once again the contract and lead are the same at all tables. This time the board was played at 101 tables, with South declaring 3NT and West leading the 10 of diamonds.

73 human Souths took 12 tricks, 26 took 11, and 2 took 10.

Looking only at the NS hands, the 3NT contract is reasonable. Sometimes South might score 12 tricks, but often he will not. If a spade is led, 11 tricks will be the limit, and even if a spade is not led, South will need, barring some MIRACLE, to have the heart king either singleton or in East's hand, or to have the heart jack singleton or doubleton. So, we should not criticize the CONTRACT that GIBBO reached...but we certainly CAN criticize (for the umpteenth time) the hopeless 2C system espoused by GIBBO.

South reasonably opens 2C and North makes the systemic GIBBO response of 2D waiting. Whether or not that is a good use of 2D is certainly debatable, but it IS a common treatment even outside the bizarre world of GIBBO, so we won't criticize it. South then bids a normal 3C.

North now spurts out 3D, uselessly and incompletely (as we have sadly come to EXPECT from GIB definitions!) defined as "cheaper minor". Yeah, GREAT...but...uhh...what's it MEAN? It means...NOTHING. NADA. SQUAT. BUPKIS. RIEN. It says...NOTHING of use. Presumably it's supposed to indicate a weak hand (although it is so incompetently and incompletely written that it doesn't even say THAT much), but what does "weak" mean? DEFINE it, Mister GIB! AND...if it IS supposed to be some undefined "weak" hand, is it REALLY "weak"...considering that it has an ACE and FOUR CLUBS TO THE JACK...opposite a partner who has opened 2C and subsequently bid three CLUBS naturally? No, no, NO: it is NOT a "weak" hand in that context! And by the way, although some humans also play this "cheaper minor" style, I personally feel that it's a very inferior treatment. Of course, you're welcome to disagree with that, as it's a matter of personal opinion.

South now bids 3NT, which might turn out to be "right" (as it did on THIS random hand)...OR "wrong", as it might well be on many OTHER random hands. But note that South - whatever call he makes - is doing it IN THE DARK, because thanks to the useless GIBBO 2C system, poor South knows exactly NOTHING about his partner's hand.

https://www.bridgeba...D2%7Cmc%7C12%7C

[benellis58]

The good news: I have no criticisms of GIBBO robot play on Tuesday!

The bad news: The reason I have none is that I didn't play with the robots on Tuesday, thanks to the problems with the BBO site.

[benellis58]

The GIBBO robots should be well rested, considering that many players could not access BBO for large periods of time over the past couple of days.

Perhaps that presumed rest has given them more energy and they are now bidding and playing better?

Ha, ha, not a chance: they're still pathetic. In fairness, however, they are burdened by an amazingly poor system and a collection of abominable definitions, so they do have handicaps that other players do not. (Yes, it's "Be Kind to GIBBO Robots Day here in the bashing thread.)

As an example of an abominable GIB definition (although certainly far less abominable than many CIB definitions), South's 2S call is defined as "5+ diamonds; 8-17 HCP; biddable spades; 9-19 total points". Would any competent player holding a mere EIGHT HCP or, even more importantly, a mere NINE total points actually bid 2S on this auction (where his partner North PASSED as dealer and PASSED again at his second opportunity...while South's RHO opened the bidding and South's LHO made an unlimited negative double showing at least 5 HCP and at least 4 spades) and at this vulnerability (red versus white)? And..."biddable spades" - ? - why don't the GIB definitions ever give a more precise explanation of what exactly "biddable" and "rebiddable" mean within the context of specific auctions?

Anyway, West doubles, and the final contract becomes 2S doubled. Since this is Be Kind to GIBBO Robots Day, I will charitably refrain from discussing their "defence" (if you'll pardon the expression!) on the board.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/2p89dyn3

[benellis58]

If East decides to lead a club, which is perhaps a questionable choice on this auction, it seems clear to lead the queen rather than the 4.

Although it worked out fine, North's bidding is also questionable, since he propelled to game on what looks like an invitational hand with his pancake flat 11 HCP. Given that he ended up declaring NT from HIS side anyway, he certainly could and probably should have bid 2NT rather than 2S.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/yc22vnna

[benellis58]

At trick two, the GIBBO robot sitting East panics and turns my eight tricks into nine.

Thank you, Mr. East. I always appreciate gifts, and like anyone who plays against GIBBO robots, I get MANY gifts from those always generous souls. Mind you, my GIBBO robot partner, Mr. North, is also a generous soul and HE very often reciprocates by giving gifts to his East-West brethren.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/yzup4b9n