Contract Bridge Themes with a Midwest Accent! 

Test Your Forcing Pass Understandings

Playing IMP’s, red on white, you pick up the following hand as dealer:

Spade Graphic K Q J 7 4, Heart Graphic K T 9 5 Diamond Graphic T 6 3 Club Graphic A.

You open 1Spade Graphic and see LHO bid 3Club Graphic, partner calls 4Club Graphic, and RHO bids 6Club Graphic.

What do you call and why? In particular, does your action refer to hand quality, clubs, or both?

An Interesting Decision

Playing in a KO match you pick up an exciting hand, dealer, both red.

Spade GraphicQ Heart Graphic5 3 Diamond Graphic6 4 Club GraphicA K Q 9 8 7 6 5 4

Let us suppose that you choose to open 4Club Graphic. LHO passes and partner calls 4Heart Graphic. RHO passes.

What is your move?

UPDATE: What actually happened…

Thanks to everyone for offering comments. As several of you suspected, it was not our partnership that bid this way. 4Club Graphic was alerted as showing hearts. The partner, holding Spade Graphic A J x, Heart Graphic A x x xx , Diamond Graphic A Q x x, Club Graphic x bid 4Heart Graphic!! (I would probably still be bidding:)) The opener, hearing the alert, removed to 5Club Graphic, a bid that she viewed as “automatic - just bidding my hand.” The responding hand now passed. To our surprise, the director ruled that this was OK.

Since the issue never went to a committee, it was my hope that some objective commentary from impartial players would provide a little education on this subject. Perhaps it will do no good, but maybe it will.

It is the old lesson — the player with unauthorized information always sees the bid as “automatic.” How hard it is to be objective…

Thanks,

Jeff

When You Must Get It Right

You find yourself in a four-board playoff to win a little KO. The first three boards seemed pretty flat, so it might all hinge on the last hand. You pick up the following hand:
Spade GraphicK J 6 Heart GraphicK 9 6 5 Diamond GraphicJ 8 4 3 Club GraphicJ 7.

With neither vulnerable, partner opens 1Heart Graphic and RHO overcalls 1Spade Graphic. You make a sound raise to 2Heart Graphic. LHO raises to 2Spade Graphic. Partner introduces a new suit with 3Club Graphic.

The auction now diverged at the two tables. What do you do in the following cases:

1) RHO bids 3Spade Graphic?

2) RHO bids 4Spade Graphic?

The match and the event are on the line …..

UPDATE: You had better double 4Spade Graphic if you get the chance. At the other table they failed to do so and partner bid 5Heart Graphic, got doubled and went for 300, guessing hearts correctly. Your partner played 4Heart Graphic undoubled and guessed them wrong for -100, but winning 5 IMP’s.

Partner’s bidding was a bit imaginative, with lead direction in mind. You needed to do your part to win the match.

An Important Partnership Understanding

With neither vulnerable at IMP’s, you hold Spade GraphicA 6 5 4 3 Heart GraphicQ Diamond GraphicK T 6 5 4 Club GraphicK 7.
Your RHO, the dealer, opens 1 Heart Graphic. Your suit quality is poor, but partner will find it difficult to compete with length in the enemy suit. Since you play a wide-ranging Michaels treatment, you decide to show both suits with a call of 2Heart Graphic. LHO says DBL, showing a penalty interest somewhere. Partner and RHO pass.

What is your call?

Play 3NT

As Dealer, with neither vulnerable at IMP’s, you pick up the following:

Spade GraphicA Q 5 Heart GraphicA K 6 Diamond GraphicA 7 6 5 4 Club Graphic5 3.

For Goren point counters, this may seem like a routine 1NT opener. For devotees of the Kaplan-Reuben count this is a 17.9 hand, so it is a bit heavy. The problem is that partner, with club length, may respond 1NT and leave you exposed to a spade lead. Alternatively, if partner responds in a major, you have to rebid 2NT with two small in clubs. I realize that most might not even worry about this, but not vulnerable, you choose to bid a heavy 1NT. You are relieved to hear partner invite (via a non-major showing stayman auction) and you land in 3NT.

The Heart GraphicQ is led, and partner tables the follwing:

Spade Graphic8 4
Heart Graphic7 4
Diamond GraphicK T 8 2
Club GraphicA J T 9 6.

How do you play it?

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