Problems from a Club Game 3/96: Answers

All at IMPs, short matches, weak opponents

1. no one vul, you hold

    xx --- AK10xxx KJ109x

   YOU	LHO	CHO	RHO
   1	2	3NT	Pass
   4	Pass	5	Pass
   ?

   LHO shows you her spade suit: KQ8...
   Now what?

   ---

   ALAN:

   Partner didn't cue. I think he is less than perfect and I'm done. It's amazing how often information such as I now possess will cause me to go wrong.

   BOBBY:

   Pass. Partner had a chance to express slam interest here and didn't.

   ED:

   Pass. You are missing 5 useful cards... 3 aces and 2 minor queens. If partner had four of them you would have certainly heard a cue bid.

   GEORGE:

   pass, I think partner could have made a slam try.

   ROLF:

   6. Slam rates to be good. Even if partner just holds Jxxx, stiff A might block the suit. There isn't enough room to find out partner's , and -holding for grand so I bypass a 5 cuebid. I would bid 5 against good opposition.

   JEFF AT THE TABLE:

   6. I was playing with a partner who always keeps a King in his pocket. I wonder: does overbidding to compensate get him to bid his hand faster than being too low all the time? Probably not; he'll just underbid more because he expects me to overbid.

   CONSENSUS:

   Pass.

   WINNING ACTION:

   Pass. Partner had  AJxxx KQx xx Q8x. Not surprisingly, the A was offside. Note that 5 is enough even if the A is onside, since it can win vs. a 3NT contract that goes down at the other table.

   JEFF UPON REFLECTION:

   This is a clear pass playing with a real partner. The info about seeing the KQ ought steer you away from slam, since she's going to lead a high spade.

2. both vul, you hold

    xx Q9xx AKJ1086 A

   RHO	YOU	LHO	CHO
   1	Pass	Pass	Dbl
   Pass	Pass	1	Pass
   Pass	?

   ---

   ALAN:

   3. I'm not quite ready to force to game. Partner can see we are vul.

   BOBBY:

   2

   ED:

   2. I want to force to game and a jump to 3 isn't forcing since I could have started with a 2 cue bid. I'll follow 2 with 3 with the intention of playing 3N or some number of hearts.

   GEORGE:

   Double. I think this should be an action double indicating 2-way values.

   ROLF:

   2 - seems to be the most flexible forcing. Let's hear what partner has to say.

   CONSENSUS:

   none

   JEFF AT THE TABLE:

   3

   WINNING ACTION:

   most---get to 4. Partner held  KJx KJ10x 9 QJ109x.

   JEFF UPON REFLECTION:

   This is a theory question of sorts. What do the bids mean? Is double "action" or business? I don't see the need for an action double here; partner has failed to double them and would if he could. On the other hand, a penalty double by you could well be useful. This isn't a case of your trumps being under the bidder, because LHO has no high cards.

   2 is natural. Is it forcing? I don't think it is. 3 ought to be.

   Is 3 forcing? Because partner failed to double 1, he almost surely has four hearts. That means 3 ought not be forcing, although it's pretty strongly invitational. If partner doesn't have four hearts, you are getting to game, since you might as well play 3NT instead of 3 on the 4-3. If the inference about partner's heart length were less sure, 3 would be forcing de facto, I think, since you couldn't know enough to bid it with an invitational hand.

   2 is forcing to game. Partner will bid 2NT, then 4 over 3.

   No one chose 4. That's odd.

   There wasn't much consensus about the meanings of the bids; these are just my opinions.

3. none vul, you hold

    Axx A6xx 97xxx Q

   LHO	CHO	RHO	YOU
   1	Dbl	1	2
   3	Pass	3	Dbl
   Pass	3	Pass	?

   ---

   ALAN:

   Pass. Why is this a problem?

   BOBBY:

   Pass. I feel I've bid my hand.

   ED:

   Pass. LHO rates to have 1-2-5-5 distribution. I'll try for 9 tricks rather than 10... can partner be as good as  KQxx KQxx x Kxxx? Maybe but that is not much of a play for ten tricks and partner could be worse. [Why would he pull 3x with that hand? --Jeff]

   GEORGE:

   pass.

   ROLF:

   Pass - I don't like to bid my hands three times.

   CONSENSUS:

   pass, unanimously.

   JEFF AT THE TABLE:

   Pass

   WINNING ACTION:

   4. Partner held  Q108x KJ1087 --- A10xx.

   JEFF UPON REFLECTION:

   It's clear that partner ought to have bid 3 over 3. (Told you he had a king in his pocket.) I don't see how this would help get to game. The actual sequence more strongly suggests a diamond void, which is the key to reevaluating our hand. If diamonds are 5-2 against us, this might not play well, but if they are 5-3, that's much better. Does this mean we ought to bid on? I don't think so, but I think it's closer than the panel does. If partner were 5404, game wouldn't be good. I guess we can't reach all 20 HCP games, but we know about the stiff vs. void so we ought to have a chance.

4. no one vul, very weak opponents

   	Kxxx Jxx AK10 K10x
   	AJ A108x Q9xx QJx

   1-1; 1NT-3NT. Opening lead is the 3; 2 not visible. Plan the play.

   ---

   Some took the spade hook now, but I think that can wait. The only downside to waiting is that we might go down two or three, but white, that's not a big deal.

   Ed's line, also taken by the LOL at our table, is a heart to the 10 now. I think that's best, particularly against weak opposition. One key to this play is that you can recover later if need be by cashing three rounds of diamonds ending in dummy and if they don't break, take the spade hook. You have no entry to the K, but if you cash the A and exit with the fourth diamond to RHO, it's quite likely that she'll have to give you the K in the end, losing only 1, 1, and 1-2 .

   The best play in the heart suit is a low heart to the Jack (LHO is pretty likely to have Kx or Qx with clubs 5-2) but that's not part of the best combination of plays available on the hand. Ed liked this play at matchpoints.

   My teammate tried a heart to the 8, which didn't work well this time, but when he cashed the A, he knows that RHO doesn't have KQx (she would give it away) so he should have tried the recovery play.

   Most lines will work on the actual layout. The spade hook is on, Qx are in the slot, and diamonds are 4-2 on the right, so the recovery play works no matter what line you try.