DSBA 2nd Quarter 2001 Bidding Contest Results!
Edited by Jeff Ruben

Apparently, the word is out about the Unit 190 Website. We received entries from across the U.S. and around the world. One of the winners of this contest is from Ahmadabad, India! We welcome everyone’s participation and hope you will continue to enter. And next time you are in Delaware, stop in for a game.

IMPs	KT87	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: Both	KJ43		-	-	Pass	3
Dlr: South	Q865		Double	Pass	?
You are: S	7

A tough problem. There was support for each of the four actions. Listen to the arguments for each and decide for yourself:

Pete Filandro: 4. Partner bids over preempts expecting 7-8 HCPs from me. With my HCP’s and shape, I have just enough more to bid game. To choose between 3NT and 4, I give partner a “perfect minimum” such as A986, x, A98x, A97x. 4 has chances, but 3NT is hopeless even with a) a heart lead AND b) spades breaking AND c) diamond king onside

He convinced me. I agree that by using the "perfect minimum" exercise for this type of problem, you will come out ahead in the long run. The only downside I see to 4 is that partner may have a less than perfect double, say 3=2=3=5 with lots of points but no heart stopper, and a bad spade break could cause 4 to be inferior to 3NT.

Jess Stuart: Pass: I think 3 will go down and I will take the plus. A spade game might run into a bad trump break and I might not have anything to do with my four hearts, as they are likely to get over-ruffed by RHO.

Randy Berseth: Pass. I don’t expect to get rich by passing, but if I bid I am not sure of the strain or level. Whichever side declares will find poorly breaking suits.

Harold Jordan: Pass. My hearts look like great cards to defend with and their value as offensive tricks is approximately nothing at all.

If you agree that partner can’t have less than that perfect minimum, it looks like 3 will be down at least a couple. Good partners show up with a stiff or doubleton heart honor in these situations, and then the fun really begins.

Rick Rowland: 3. KJxx of hearts doesn’t carry its full value. If partner has soft values in clubs, then stiff isn’t so great. Might be a diamond ruff lurking. Trumps might not be splitting. (Not to mention “The sky might be falling.” -JR) Partner can carry on with a better hand.

But will he? You could have a lot less (even nothing) for your bid. Seems like it is taking a big position to stay out of game with your hand when partner has doubled at the 3-level.

Richard Popper: 3NT. A very close decision, but I think this is the most likely game to make holding no aces. 3 is too timid, and 4 may fail on a bad break or from a lack of tricks. At matchpoints, I might be inclined to bid some number of spades.

Paul Amer: 3NT. Bidding 3NT shows values, keeps the double heart stopper protected from a heart lead, and still leaves partner the chance to pull.

Anything could be right, but I’ll go with Perfect Minimum Pete on this one.

IMPs	J	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: N-S	J95		-	-	-	Pass
Dlr: West	AJT653		1	Pass	1 NT1	Pass
You are: S	Q87		2	Pass	?

I can’t think of a Perfect Minimum for partner that would make game a good bet, but what about a Perfect Maximum for her 2 bid? Something like: AQTxx, AKQxx, x, xx (though some people would jump to 3 with that hand). A claimer in 4 with normal breaks. Even though most of the panel and solvers opted for the safe pass, it is hard to criticize those who want to give partner another shot at a vul. game, though when I make a move my partners usually show up with an Imperfect Minimum.

The minority views first:

Randy Berseth: 2NT. Partner can have a good hand on this auction so I need to keep the bidding alive. I hope to have a better idea where to place the contract on the next round, and if he passes we should be in a reasonable contract.

Greg Burch: 2NT. It’s IMPs, so you MUST bid since you may still make 3NT, 4, 5, (or even 6!)

Richard Popper: 3. I can’t bid diamonds now that partner has hearts. This hand is not strong enough to jump to game in what may be a Moysian, but certainly merits a raise.

Dave Smith: 3. It’s IMPs and you may have a game so you must bid again and I like 3 better than anything else.

The majority felt that the risk of getting too high was greater than the reward for making game:

Pete Filandro: Pass. In Hollywood movies, maybe pictures are worth something. But in Delaware bridge, fuggedaboudit. (I think Pete has been watching The Sopranos way too much. Come to think of it, he does look like an older Tony Soprano – JR) I estimate there will be a missed game only 2% of the time.

Rick Rowland: Pass. With a fourth trump, I think it’s an automatic raise. Here I’ll settle for a plus score.

Jess Stuart: Pass. The odds are about 5 to 2 that partner’s hand won’t produce game.

Andy Kaufman: Pass. At matchpoints I may try 3, but it is imperative to ensure a plus score at IMPs so it is okay to play in your 4-3 fit with ruffing values in spades. By passing you have added another option – if the opponents balance with 3 you can now try 3.

The bottom line is that bidding over 2 is aggressive, but far from outrageous at IMP’s. May your partner always hold the Perfect Maximum.

IMPs	A65	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: E-W	5		1	Pass	2	Pass
Dlr: North	AJT64		2	Pass	3	Pass
You are: S	AKQ9		3	Pass	?

All dressed up and nowhere to go …

Andy Kaufman: 3NT. Partner is full of majors with a likely 4=6=?=? distribution. You have plenty of values between the two hands but no fit in sight. Partner may also be a little light on the HCPs with a distributional hand (QT9x, AKJxxx, x, xx) so I will initially settle for 3NT. If partner bids again I will drive on to slam.

Randy Berseth: 3NT. This is timid, but partner could have bid 2 over 2 with a fairly good hand and chose not to. Therefore I will play him for a minimum misfit and tread lightly.

Rick Rowland: 3NT. Partner has only shown 5 hearts. 3 could be an attempt to get to 3NT from the right side or could be a cue bid in support of clubs. Think I’ll bid 3NT and bank on the former. All of these conservative calls are killing me.

Conservative, but the arguments make sense. It is unlikely that partner will bid over 3NT, but if he does you should know what to do next.

Richard Popper: 4. Much too good a hand to give up on slam even with a misfit, but I can’t commit the hand to spades yet; no trump could well be the right strain. 4 allows me to hear from partner one more time before I am forced to choose a strain.

Dave Smith: 4. I will be alone here (almost! -JR) but I have run out of bids. I think partner has a 4=6=1=2 hand. If she has extras then I have shown a pretty good hand and it’s her responsibility to bid again.

At least Dave is ready for the postmortem.

Greg Burch: 4NT. QUANTITATIVE. If you play this as Blackwood, now you know why I don’t.

Tom Ciconte: 4NT. If partner comes up with a couple of key cards, 6NT or perhaps 6 is worth a go.

Harold Jordan: 4NT. Clearly quantitative in this auction (stated profoundly as if everyone would agree).

Tom Grabowski: 4NT. Time to ask for aces.

Scott Brozell: 4. 4NT might be misinterpreted here.

Indeed. Greg and Harold may be on the same page, but clearly not everyone would regard 4NT as natural, and I don’t see how bidding 4NT as keycard for spades will be of much help. The temporizing 4 has some appeal, but what happens after partner bids 4 or 5 (thinking you have a 5-card suit)? I will settle for 3NT unless I can be absolutely certain that my partner will read 4NT as natural.

MPs	J42	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: N-S	743		-	-	1	1
Dlr: South	AQ8		Double	Pass	?
You are: S	AQ95

Dave Smith: 1NT. Automatic.

Tell that to your partner after she raises to 3NT with: Tx, AKxx, KJxx, Kxx, only to see the opponents cash the first 5 (or 6) spade tricks. You can’t say you weren’t warned. Still, are there any reasonable alternatives? With the values for game but no game making, you will have plenty of company. And if partner has a weaker hand and passes 1NT, you are probably in the best strain for matchpoints. The 2 bidders had nothing to say, so let’s hear from the majority:

Richard Popper: 1NT. East did not raise spades, suggesting partner probably has some help in spades. There is no reason to bid hearts on 3 small with this weak a hand.

Rick Rowland: 1NT. An unsolvable problem. I vote for 1NT because East couldn’t scrape up a raise. Any action could lead to minus. Another advantage of 1NT is that partner can correct to 2 when he doesn’t like no trump.

Maybe East didn’t raise spades because West has all of them.

Randy Berseth: 1NT. The jack is close enough to a stopper in this context. Any other bid is a bigger misdescription.

Many solvers: 1NT. Least of evils

IMPs	94	Auction:	North	East	South	West
Vul: E-W	3		-	-	-	1
Dlr: West	AK		2	Double	?
You are: S	AKT87652

A somewhat strange problem, but one that occurred at the table. Most panelists and solvers see no harm in passing for the moment:

Pete Filandro: Pass. As I understand BWS, 3 is “undiscussed” so I won’t bid it and have partner think it is a cue bid. Even redouble (showing 10+ HCP) when followed by 3 is probably undiscussed. If I pass and LHO’s likely 2 is passed around to me, then I can bid 3 natural because at that point 3 would be an unambiguous cue bid.

Randy Berseth: Pass. Club bids at the 3- or 4-level will be taken as heart support.

Rick Rowland: Pass. 3 would be a cue bid, 4 would be a splinter, and 5 would be insane. I’ve got 2 tricks for partner and possibly 3 or 4 depending on the timing, but I’m never raising with a stiff trump.

Raising? I sure hope not, opposite some of the jump overcalls I’ve seen.

Let’s try to analyze what is happening here. If partner has a typical hand for his non-vul. jump overcall, say xxx, AQxxxx, Jxx, x, against 2 we can probably take the ace of hearts, a heart ruff, two top diamonds, and one top club. Making two. If partner has a little more, we may beat 2, but if he doesn’t have the ace of hearts and RHO has a club void, they can make 3 or 4. On offense, we can probably take 7 club tricks (unless LHO has QJxx), 2 diamond tricks, and the ace of hearts if partner has it. So, it is safe to bid 3 if 2 is passed around to you, and a good idea to compete to 4 if necessary.

To those of you who bid 3 or 4 immediately, please refer to the comments of Mssrs. Filandro, Berseth, and Rowland above. If you bid 3NT, where do you think your tricks are coming from after a spade lead, unless LHO opened 1 on xxx?

One panelist has a plan that might work, even if it won’t win many points in a bidding contest:

Richard Popper: 2. I am sure this will not be a popular choice (how did he know? –JR) but it is the best way to confuse the opponents; I suppose there is some chance I might buy the hand in 2, but I am willing to take that risk. I will bid clubs if I get doubled, until partner is convinced to pass (after he takes you back to spades a couple of times JR).

Congratulations to Susan Corbett and Shaishav Parikh, both of whom are welcome to join the panel for the next contest. And once again my eternal pleas: please send in your problem hands for future contests, and if you would like to be co-editor of the bidding contest, please let Harold Jordan know. Till next time.