Some Problems from Bridge Week '96: Answers

Today's panelists: Alan LeBendig, Curt Hastings, Ed Davis, Rolf Kühn, Steve Altus
  1. both white, IMPs, short matches

     S:AK98x H:QJ102 D:10xx C:10

    RHO YOU LHO CHO
    PassPass?1NT Pass
    2C: Pass 2H: Pass
    4H: ?

    (1NT was 15-17)

    a) do you pass in 2nd chair?

    ALAN
    Yes
    CURT
    I open 1S:. It meets all my criteria for light opening 1: I have 3+ controls 2: I have 7 or fewer losers 3: Good lead direct
    ROLF
    Only when playing 2/1. [We were. --Jeff]
    STEVE
    No way. First of all, you have an opening hand by my judgment. 5431 is a powerful shape, and you've got all your values in your long suits, and plenty of texture in those suits (the minor-suit tens seem pretty much irrelevant). You have two quick tricks and a comfortable rebid.

    Furthermore, even if you play very sound openers and judge this to fall short, opening slightly light in second seat with lots of majors and concentrated values, especially when your opening bid is a good lead-director, has a lot to say for it. Note that partner might pass the hand out with a reasonably good hand lacking in majors.

    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Pass
    CONSENSUS
    none (seems about right :))
    WINNING ACTION
    Pass. Opening 1S: would get you defending 3NT in a hurry. 3NT is cold for 9 tricks.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    K&R says this is a clear 1S: opening (12.80). I guess I agree, although I didn't open at the table. If we had been playing matchpoints and needed some action, I would have opened it; I think that opening light at matchpoints tends to work OK when possessing both majors and no rebid problems.
    b) what now?
    ALAN
    Dbl.
    CURT
    Now I pass in tempo. You lose only 5 for -300 and +100, but your loss if they make after a double is either the same 5 (590 vs 420) or worse (590 vs -50, lose 12).
    ED
    Dbl 100, Pass 30.
    ROLF
    Pass.
    STEVE
    I think double has good imp odds. It isn't likely to help them make the hand when they'd have otherwise gone down, it's not likely that they'll be redoubling since they're missing the QJT of trumps and have each limited their hand, and I think it's more likely that they're going down two tricks than that they're making it.

    Too bad I didn't open the hand to guarantee getting my spade lead. :-)

    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Double.
    CONSENSUS
    none
    WINNING ACTION
    Pass. LHO sent it back (maniacally) and garnered +880 when partner didn't find the spade lead to get a ruff. Partner had the H:7 stiff, so it was really psycho to send it back...but successful.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    I'd do it again. RHO is a passed hand, so partner is marked with something; he might well supply a trick. The danger of dummy's hitting with a spade singleton is lessened because Walsh has a bid to show 1444 shape; this pair was, in fact, playing that. I looked at their card (fortunately, it was right in front of me, so partner wasn't encumbered with UI) at the table; I'm surprised no one asked here.

    Steve and Curt disagree about the IMP odds. I agree with Steve. I'd guess that about 50% of the time, they are going down 1, so you win 2. About 35% of the time, they go down 2, so you win 5. About 10% of the time they make it, so you lose 5. About 5% of the time, they make because of the double (disaster!) and you lose 12. Net expectation is +1.65 IMPs. Obviously, those are really rough estimates, and in a match in which you are much the stronger team, it's probably bad because you want to avoid losing the big number, but most of the time, it's a net plus, I think. The chance of a redouble seems miniscule. LHO has to believe that trumps are breaking 5-0; he can't have good enough spots to think he can avoid losing two tricks. Once in a long time, he might've opened 1NT with 1444 shape, but the tap might beat him anyway. A bigger danger is that they run to 4NT, but I like my chances there.

  2. favorable, IMPs, long match

     S:AJxx H:Kx D:J C:Q1098xx

    CHO RHO YOU LHO
    3S: Pass4S: Dbl
    Pass5H: 5S: 6H:
    PassPass?

    a) do you agree with your actions so far?

    ALAN
    I am not fond of 5S: bid. I see a strong point for passing 5H:.
    CURT
    I would have passed 5H:.
    ROLF
    No, 5S: instaead of 4S: would be my favorite bid.
    b) what now?
    ALAN
    I don't think I have a choice. I must bid 6S:. I would have made the same call had they voluntarily gone to 6H:.
    CURT
    I'll save now
    ED
    6S: 100, Pass 30.
    ROLF
    6S:. You cannot afford to lose so many IMPS on this board. This bidding sounds funny, but I don't care.
    STEVE
    I take insurance. In a long match, losing 5 imps when we're both going down isn't going to hurt us. This would probably be a lot tougher in a close 7-board match against a good team.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Pass
    CONSENSUS
    6S:
    WINNING ACTION
    6S:. The whole hand was
    S: ---
    H: A1098xx
    D: AQxx
    C: Kxx
    S: AJxx
    H: Kx
    D: J
    C: Q1098xx    		 S: KQ109xx
    H: x
    D: 109xx
    C: xx
    S: xxx
    H: QJxx
    D: Kxxx
    C: AJ
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    I like 4S:, then 5S:. I have enough high card that I don't think they know if I'm saving or bidding to make. As for 6S:, I thought I had some defense against 6H:, but at this vulnerability, when we had had the best of the set so far, it seems wrong to give them a chance to win 13, so I agree with saving. Would LHO have bid slam if I had not bid 5S:? At the table he said, "you took away my cue bid," so I assume so. They might have reached seven, though :( Our teammates played in 5D:, on what I think is a better auction: (3S:)-p-(4S:)-Dbl; 4NT-5D:; Pass. Unlucky. I wouldn't bid 5S: over that, either, although it's cheap if they aren't going to bid slam. It's cheaper still if they bid slam in diamonds.

  3. Stratified pairs, everyone is obviously in outer space.

    Normal (?) bidding, then 3rd hand leads face up out of turn. Dummy puts his hand down. Everyone realizes that something has gone wrong and calls the director.

    How would you rule?

    ALAN
    Lead stands, dummy plays last.
    CURT
    Not sure.
    ED
    Normal declarer options apply but dummy must make the decision as to which one to select and the declarer/dummy partnership is assessed a small penalty (2 IMPs or 1/6 board at MP); I don't want any dummy being tabled to grab the decision from declarer.
    ROLF
    I really haven't the slightest idea ;) At the table I would rule that the lead stands and that declarer has to play to the 2nd trick.
    STEVE
    I'd look it up in the book; what you think I memorized the rules? :-)

    If I had to guess, though, I'd guess that he just accepted for the partnership one of their options on the opening lead out of turn, and off we go.

    DIRECTOR AT THE TABLE
    mumble, mumble, I don't know...opening leader picks up his hand and the right leader leads. ****WRONG****...RTFLB :) This was given to me as a ruling problem and my answer was, of course, "I don't know," but I had a law book handy and looked it up in about 30 seconds. That the director didn't know and didn't look it up was unforgivable, in my opinion.
    RIGHT ANSWER
    Alan has it right, of course, but Ed saw the real problem. The laws prescribe that dummy's action is acceptance of the lead out of turn and play continues. (Law 54C...yes, this is really in there!) The problem is, what if dummy holds something like AQ of the suit led out of turn and hastens to "accept" the lead? Fortunately, not one out of a thousand players knows about 54C, so it's not a real problem, but it is a loophole in the laws.

    [Note from 1998: This loophole has been mostly closed by the 1997 laws. If the director feels that the dummy could have known that putting his hand down was to his advantage, an adjusted score is given. --Jeff]

Jeff Goldsmith, jeff@tintin.jpl.nasa.gov, July 23, 1996