DSBA 1st Quarter 2003 Bidding Contest Results!
Edited by Jess Stuart

Our apology to those who may have submitted answers to the bidding contest via the web site after March 24. An error by our internet service provider caused those entries to be irretrevably lost.

Top scores of 470 by Jeff Ruben and Dave Smith are excellent on a very hard set of hands.

PANELIST SCORES

IMPs	Q75	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: E/W	75432		2	Pass	21	Pass
Dlr: West	83		2	2	3	Pass
You are: S	642		4	Pass	5	Pass
			5	Pass	6	Pass
			6	Pass	7	?

This problem, which I took from a 1966 THE BRIDGE WORLD, is the most subtly complex one I have seen in a bidding contest.

Many solvers and panelists read the heart suit distribution as 6-0-2-5 around the table, then passed and led a heart expecting partner to ruff. Among this group are Dave Treadwell, Jeff Ruben, Dave Smith, Janusz Lysko, Greg Burch, Bill Erwin, Jim Saxon, Stefan Basinski and Charlie Tupper. The problem is that the auction isn't over with your pass. Can partner be expected not to double for a heart lead if he can set 7 Diamonds, especially if he isn't sure other grand slams will make? For example, from partner's perspective, the following hand would be consistent with the opponents' bidding and your Heart holding wouldn't suggest a Heart lead without the Double: A AK98765 AKQ2 2.

Let's hear from those who expect partner to double for a Heart lead.

Jeff Goldsmith (with Gareth Birdsall similarly): Double. Unless you are playing against VERY shrewd opposition with a clever partner, double to prevent his doing so. Zia would figure out why you doubled, but then again Zia might think you have a Diamond void and are trying to chase him INTO Hearts!

Those who expect partner to be discilpined enough not to double with a Heart void and expect you to find the lead anyway are represented by:

Dave Smith: Pass. Lead a Heart and try to beat it, no sense bidding now. Do I double to shut partner up? No, partner should know not to double and that I'll find that lead. If he doubles, they'll run to something that might make. Let's just take our +100.

Bill Erwin: Pass. You know your partner is void in Hearts so you can beat 7 Diamonds, therefore it is tempting to double in front of him to avoid his doing so. The problem is that the opponents surely have 13 tricks in Hearts or NT and may run from YOUR double. Yes, YOU know that the opponents don't have a Heart loser, but your partner doesn't know that and the opponents can't be sure.

The 7 Spade bidders thought they might hold damages to 1700 or 2000 against 2140. They didn't put much weight on the possibility of beating 7 diamonds.

Matchpoints	4	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: N/S	KJ865		1	Pass	Pass	Double
Dlr: West	AQ63		2	3	Pass	?
You are: S	AQ7

Action	Score	Votes(Panel)	Votes(Solvers)
3	100	3	13
3	90	1	12
4	80	1	3
4	70	0	3
5	60	1	1
Pass	40	0	1

Ivar Stakgold (with Jeff Ruben, Richard Popper, and Greg Burchsimilarly): 3. My 3 Hearts is forcing and the most flexible bid available (but not perfect.) With 3 hearts or a doubleton A or Q, partner will raise. Otherwise, Diamonds and NT are still in the picture. Pard does not have a double stopper in Spades.

Dave Treadwell (with Bill Muir and Paul Amer similarly): 3. Partner couldn't overcall at first turn so his hand is limited, but came in freely at his second turn, showing some values. So, I will cue-bid 3 Spades, showing a good hand in support of Diamonds. The real problem may come next round if partner bids 3 NT (do I leave it in?) or 4 Diamonds (do I raise to game?)

Pete Filandro: 4. This is easy with my BWS "expert" partner. If partner has the values to accept my invitational raise, he is expected to bid a 3-card heart suit on the way to 5 Diamonds. That is how we find our 5-3 fit. (My hearts are not good enough to bid 3 Hearts.) I looked very hard, but couldn't find this treatment in my copy of Bridge World Standard. If I am wrong, Pete and other 4 Diamond bidders get an adjustment.

Five of the six panelists made a game try. One jumped to 5 Diamonds. Rob Maier found an immaginative splinter on the way to 5 Diamonds and I scored this slightly higher than the direct jump to 5 Diamonds. While it seems unlikely that a Diamond slam will make, West could have opened and rebid Spades with AKQJxx(x) and the Heart Q, leaving partner with all the remaining high cards.... not enough for a vulnerable 2 Diamond overcall, but enough to bring home a slam opposite my hand.

Four of the six panelists bid NT as did over half of the solvers. Good decisions. This is the rare hand where the Ax of an overcaller's suit should be in declarer's hand, not on the dummy. This makes dummy's Qx or Jxx a likely second stopper. The question seems to be whether to bid game or invite with 2 NT.

Jeff Ruben (with Dave Treadwell and Ivar Stakgold similarly): 2 NT. We belong in no trump in matchpoints, and I will not mind if partner raises, but I do not think I have enough to bid game opposite a passed partner. If the Diamonds do not run, we could be in trouble, not to mention our lack of a Heart stopper.

The more aggressive NT bidders:

Pete Filandro: 3 NT. Why not? I have 7 probable winners. Partner should have the 2 that I need. Since LHO did not bid Michaels, he is unlikely to have a 5-card Heart suit to lead. I had better not get fancy or scientific. If I show concern about Hearts, LHO might lead his 3-card Heart suit and hit his partner's 5-card suit.

Bill Erwin: 3 NT. I ran a 100-deal simulation and found to my surprise that 3 NT makes on almost 70% of the deals consistent with the auction. On many deals, Pard has Jxx or Qx in Spades to help there. With no negative double showing 4 Hearts, partner is marked with some Diamond length to raise the odds of your suit running. In addition, there being no Spade raise by East, Pard is likely to have some Spade length. On the 30% of the hands where 3 NT doesn't make, it is a hole in Hearts that causes the defeat, but on some of those hands it's not clear West will lead a Heart against 3 NT. It would be interesting to see if the simulation would indicate bidding 2 NT would get to most of the 70% of the 3 NT games that make while avoiding some of the 30% that don't.

3 Diamonds risks playing the NT game from the wrong side. Since partner passed initially, he might not keep the bidding open after a 2 Diamond rebid.

Matchpoints	AQ	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: N/S	52		-	1	1	2
Dlr: North	K976542		Pass	2	Pass	?
You are: S	K8

Action	Score	Votes(Panel)	Votes(Solvers)
3	100	3	17
3	90	1	0
3	80	1	14
4	60	1	1
Pass	40	0	1

Pete Filandro (with Jeff Ruben, Dave Treadwell and Dave Smith similarly): 3 . Yes, I know 3 Diamonds is non-forcing. (2 Diamonds forced only to 3 Clubs in BWS. The 2 Spades "reverse" did not promise extra values.) This hand has to be downgraded big-time. Lots of points in short suits. Poor quality of my long suit. No Heart stopper to propose a 9-trick contract. What will I have missed if partner passes?

Ivar Stakgold: 3 . Three Diamonds is not forcing, so I have to make a waiting bid which could land me in 3 NT (although pard should have preferred 2 NT to 2 Spades with a Heart stopper as I am unlikely to have four Spades) or even our 4-2 Spade "fit" if pard bids 4 Clubs (for then I intend to bid 4 Spades!). Pard's hand: KJTx, xx, Qx, AQJxx. Of course, if partner has a good hand we can still land in a higher Club or Diamond contract.

Rick Rowland: 4 . Partner is looking for NT since I most likely don't have four Spades. 3 Clubs and 3 Diamonds could be passed. 4 Diamonds seems like the least of all evils.

Greg Burch (with Bill Muir and Richard Popper similarly) 3 . A tough problem. I like my honors in partner's suits....Wish my Diamonds weren't so trashy.... 3 diamonds is a little of an understatement (of course, that could work out best if pard has something like KTxx, Jxx, J, AQJxx.)

Matchpoints	53	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: Both	A764		-	1	4	Double
Dlr: Nouth	A62		Pass	4	Pass	?
You are: S	KQ72

The majority of the panel and the solvers made a move toward slam with cue-bids, raises or Blackwood. Partner is marked with long Spades and some outside strength because he didn't preempt. Partner's long Spades and your controls sounds like slam is likely to me. Which forward-going bid gives you the best chance of getting to a slam that makes and staying out of one that doesn't?

Dave Treadwell (with Jeff Ruben similarly): 4 NT. Partner has shown a lot of Spades and unwillingness to defend, probably due to Heart shortness and a lack of control cards. If he answers 5 Hearts, showing but two key cards without the Spade Q, I will sign off. Any better response, and I will go on to slam.

Ivar Stakgold: 5 . If Pard interprets this as general strength, fine. If Pard thinks this asks for a Heart control, we are still OK, for with 2 small Hearts, 6 Spades is probably doomed on a Heart lead as my Ace will be ruffed.

Dave Smith (with Richard Popper similarly): 5 . I'm not stopping short of 6 Spades now, so might as well cue-bid along the way in case we have a grand.

Jeff Goldsmith: 5 . In the 60's, 5 Spades was a general invitation and 5 Hearts was considered risqué. Nowadays, 5 spades is a slam try without Heart control and 5 hearts is a slam try with it.

Pete Filandro: Pass. BWS plays negative doubles only through 3 Spades. So I have already made a penalty double (at this level usually "cards", not necessarily a trump stack). Pard showed no interest except to pull over possibly little or no trump support. On a bad day, partner could have AKQxxxx, Jx, Jx, Jx where we are already at our last makeable spot. Not to mention the construction of AKQJxxx, Jx, xxx, J where partner will be going down in 4 Spades even with my better than expected dummy. Wouldn't partner have surely preempted with the later hand? and probably the former? Seven solid Spades and no defense sounds like a text book preempt to me-- either three or four depending upon your style. If partner preempts with these hands, the ones he opens, then pulls your double should have a decent shot at slam.