Some Problems from the Miami Nationals: Answers

Today's panelists are: Steve Altus, Curt Hastings, Sylvia Summers, Walter Hamilton, and Web Ewell
  1. IMPs, short matches, none vul

     S:AKJ10 H:Ax D:K9xx C:109x

    CHO RHO YOU LHO
    1NT 2H: ?

    1NT was 12-14; 2H: was the majors.
    Double is penalty.

    STEVE
    Double and lead trump
    CURT
    3NT
    SYLVIA
    3NT
    WALTER
    Double and lead trump
    WEB
    DBL and lead the H:A.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    3NT
    CONSENSUS
    none
    WINNING ACTION
    Double and lead trump. 3NT is cold, but 2H: goes for 500 without our breathing hard.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    I think this is a toss-up. It shows the extra value of 2H:'s being for the majors rather than 2D:. I like 2C: for the majors better than either, but 2H: is clearly better than 2D:.

  2. Matchpoints, both vul

     S:K10983 H:A10742 D:A C:A9

    1S:-2S:; ?

    STEVE
    4S:. Seems wrong to try for the perfecto slam.
    CURT
    6S:. If we are cold for grand, so it goes. [He misread the problem. --J]
    SYLVIA
    4S:. A little too good for a game try.
    WALTER
    3H:. maybe partner has 4 hearts and only 3 spades and 4H: is better
    WEB
    4S:. Trying to decide if 4H: would be better is more likely to help get them off to the right lead.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    2NT game try
    CONSENSUS
    4S:
    WINNING ACTION
    4S:
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    3H: seems right if it's a suit. Without a suit, bid game. I made a game try, being willing to play game vs. anything but a "forget it" response, which I got from partner with  S:Qxx H:QJ D:xxxx C:Qxxx. I made five. At IMPs, this would have not even been the vaguest semblance of a problem.

  3. Matchpoints, favorable

     S:K1095 H:854 D:K62 C:543

    CHO RHO YOU LHO
    1NT PassPassDbl
    Pass!Pass?

    1NT was 10-12. Partner's pass denied a five-card suit.

    STEVE
    Let's go. Glad it was a balancing double so I can play 1NT doubled and not redoubled.
    CURT
    Pass. Pray.
    SYLVIA
    Redouble, intending to play diamonds or spades.
    WALTER
    pass
    WEB
    Pass. -100 will probably be a good score, and partner might manage to make 0NT on your combined 17 count.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Pass
    CONSENSUS
    pass
    WINNING ACTION
    bid. 1NT is booked for 800 vs. best defense, which isn't all that hard, really. The defense was closer to "worst," blowing three tricks, so we got a near top for -100 vs. their 620. 2S: happens to have a 4-4 fit and goes for -300.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    pass seems clear, but if they don't have a game, I really don't expect to be out for -100, and -300 will be awful. If they have a game, it probably doesn't matter much what I do, so bidding has something to say for it, namely, we might find a spot that allows us to escape undoubled or defending.

  4. Matchpoints, unfavorable

     S:Q H:KJ83 D:862 C:KQ1065

    CHO RHO YOU LHO
    1D: 2NT Dbl Pass
    Pass3C: Dbl 3S:
    Dbl Pass?

    STEVE
    I can't imagine bidding.
    CURT
    I will pass again.
    SYLVIA
    Pass
    WALTER
    pass, I have a bad feeling about this
    WEB
    Pass. I'll take my plus. 3NT might not make
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Pass
    CONSENSUS
    Pass
    WINNING ACTION
    3NT. LHO had, as expected, seven spades and went down one. 3NT makes four.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    I think 3NT is clearly right. LHO has walked the dog on us to try to get doubled. If he thinks 3S:x is the right spot, I'm sure it is not. 3NT will probably make with zero defensive communication available and all these nicely placed cards. Hamman's law. Steve...you forgot!

  5. Matchpoints, unfavorable

     S:AKJxx H:Jxx D:A10 C:652

    YOU Partner
    1S: 1NT!
    ?

    1NT is semiforcing

    STEVE
    Playing semiforcing NT, I can't imagine bidding with this hand.
    CURT
    Pass. Why is this a problem?
    SYLVIA
    2C:. Too sharp to pass.
    WALTER
    2C:
    WEB
    Hand looks too sharp to pass 1NT. I'll bid 2C:.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Pass
    CONSENSUS
    None
    WINNING ACTION
    2C:. 1NT made 2; 2S: made 3.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    There's a better reason to bid: we might find a 5-3 or 6-3 heart fit playing our methods. Passing at the table, however, was an intentional swinging action, because we needed a big score to qualify. Given that very few in the field would be able to play 1NT, this strikes me as a very good hand on which to attempt to swing.

  6. Matchpoints, favorable

     S:8532 H:AQ107 D:AQ C:J104

    RHO YOU LHO CHO
    1S: Pass2S: Pass
    Pass?

    If you pass, what do you lead?

    STEVE
    I think it's losing matcpoints to pass. Steve's Law of Partial Tricks says they'll get 4 more spade tricks on play then they will if we play the hand. So if they're down one on offense, we should be able to at least make something on the 3-level, and if they're making we should only be down 1, and might even be making ourselves! So depending on methods I'll double or bid some kind of scrambling 2NT balance
    CURT
    Pass. Lead trump.
    SYLVIA
    Double.
    WALTER
    B)trumps a) dbl
    WEB
    Pass. (happily if we're playing OBAR bids). I lead S:2.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    Pass, lead C:J
    CONSENSUS
    none
    WINNING ACTION
    double. We can make 3H: and only a trump lead beats 2S: even one trick.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    white at matchpoints, bid. We were playing OBAR bids, but in the context of Overcall Structure, so partner could have a little something. Better still...this is matchpoints and we are not vul.

  7. Matchpoints, none vul

     S:KQJ62 H:AQJ7 D:KQ10 C:8

    YOU LHO CHO RHO
    1S: 2C: 4S: 5C:
    ?

    STEVE
    Double. I don't think they can possibly have 11 tricks, but I have too many losers for partner to cover in 5S:.
    CURT
    5S:. I think that if we are not making this then 5C: is cold.
    SYLVIA
    Double.
    WALTER
    5S:
    WEB
    If 4S: is a no defense raise, I'd pass and hope to beat 5C:.
    JEFF AT THE TABLE
    5S:
    CONSENSUS
    none
    WINNING ACTION
    double. 5S: makes luckily vs.  S:Axxx H:K D:xxxxxx C:xx, but they go for 800.
    JEFF UPON REFLECTION
    The law is unclear; there are probably 20 trumps out there, so if we are making, they are only down 300, a bad matchpoint result. If the law overestimates our tricks, however, nothing good can happen, so maybe it's right to double. My estimate was that we were making and they were down 2, but it's purely a judgment call.

  8. Matchpoints, favorable

    You open 3S: and get raised to game.

    S: Q5
    H: AK6
    D: 92
    C: AJ10963
    S: AJ108732
    H: 92
    D: 1063
    C: 8

    T1: D:Q-x-K-x
    T2: D:A-x-H:3-x
    T3: H:4-2-7-A

    Plan the play.

    The key to the hand is to cash dummy's winners before ruffing a club to hand to ruff a diamond. Then the S:Q will hold from dummy, RHO's showing out on the first round. LHO pitched two hearts on the diamonds, so one needs to guess how to get back to hand to draw trump. My real question (which never got addressed) is, "what is the inference we can take from the heart pitches?" Is LHO pitching hearts because he has zillions of them (4612) or because he wants to get a ruff (4414)? Is there an a priori edge? Judging from RHO's silence seems impossible. He had AKJxxxx and at least a side king and a void, so that he's 0472 or 0274 doesn't seem all that meaningful to me. I have to admit that with his actual hand ( S:--- H:Qxxx D:AKJxxxx C:Kx) I'd've bid 5D:. That would have worked out very poorly.

  9. Matchpoints, both vul

    S: KQ8762
    H: J85
    D: 10
    C: 983
    S: A3
    H: 9743
    D: 95
    C: AKQJ6

    Declarer You Dummy Pard
    1H: 2C: 2H: 3C:
    4H: All Pass

    3C: = weak raise to 3

    T1: C:A-3-4-10

    Standard signals.

    Plan the defense.

    The real hand is
    S: KQ8762
    H: J85
    D: 10
    C: 983
    S: A3
    H: 9743
    D: 95
    C: AKQJ6    		 S: Jxx
    H: x
    D: QJ8xxx
    C: 754
    S: 10x
    H: AKQ10x
    D: AKxx
    C: 102
    The only winning defense is to shift to a trump now, before cashing the club. -620 was worth 21 out of 52 matchpoints on the second day of the LMs. Is it really that hard to find this defense? Only one person I have polled has found it so far, and he wanted to lead trumps off the get-go.

    Would you have bid 2H:?

    All did. I think it's close between 2H: and a negative double. If the spade spots were better (KQ109xx) I'd double, figuring that this hand rates to play better in spades vs. a stiff than it would in hearts, since I'll supply many more tricks. No one else thought it was close.
Jeff Goldsmith, jeff@tintin.jpl.nasa.gov, Aug. 13, 1996