DSBA Bidding Contest Results!
Edited by Jeff Ruben

Thanks to all entrants.

All of the hands in this contest are from real life. Problem 5 was suggested by Rick Rowland.

MPs	985	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: None	A4		Pass	1	Pass	2
Dlr: West	K		Double	Pass	2*	?
You are: S	AKJT643

The main question is which is stronger – passing or bidding 3? I agree with

Marie Filandro: Pass. I believe the only bid that is not a game force is an immediate rebid of 3, so I pass, setting up a game force so that if I next bid 3 it will be forcing.

Pete Filandro agrees with Marie. He assumes the 2 bid is natural and the opponents have a misfit, and hopes partner can double for +500 or more.

Certainly, pass must be forcing, but is 3?

Richard Popper: 3. This call at least gives us a chance to play 3NT when it is right. My fear is that partner may treat this as nonforcing, but even if he does, 3 might be the right spot.

Rick Rowland: 3. We are forced to game by my 2 call. Don’t think there is any reason to rush. Don’t like bidding 2 to show a stopper since if partner ends up bidding NT, we may be wrong-siding the contract when partner hold JTx of hearts.

My interpretation of BWS is that 2 is not forcing to game if followed by 3. As for 3 being the right spot, anything is possible but it seems that is taking a pretty deep position.

Other choices:

Andy Kaufman: Double. I think I need to start with a double showing cards, since I don’t think 3 is forcing. Bidding 2 or 2 is ambiguous and misrepresents your hand.

Jess Stuart: 2. There is no reason to expect you will get rich defending 2 doubled (if 2 was natural) or 2 of a major (if 2 was a cue bid). 2 is forcing and offers the most flexibility to get to the right spot. Partner can bid NT with a spade stopper or raise clubs.

Steve White: 2. There is nothing to be gained by passing, which is the only other remotely sensible call. This will make it clear that you have a game force, presumably with a heart stopper.

Tom Grabowski: 3NT. Partner’s points have to be somewhere.

Double should work out fine if partner understands it as card-showing, but he will never know if it is right to pass for penalties. 2 does send the message that you have a game force, but there are the issue of possibly wrong-siding the contract and partner raising hearts – yes, you can keep rebidding your clubs, but any shot at 3NT will be lost. As for 3NT, it could certainly be right, but why rush? I think that passing and hearing one more round of bidding is the sensible way to go.

MPs	K	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: Both	AKQ2		Pass	Pass	Pass	?
Dlr: West	KJ83
You are: S	6532

Action	Score	Votes(Panel)	Votes(Solvers)
1	100	4	12
1	80	1	6
1NT	70	1	10
1	50	-	2

Bidding any suit begs the dreaded 1 response (and a 1NT response would not thrill you either). The 1 bidders felt they could cope:

Marie Filandro with Pete agreeing): If I bid 1 and partner bids 1, no number of no trump describes my hand. After 1, if partner bids 1 I will bid 2 and hope partner can invite in NT if that is where we belong.

Jess Stuart would also rebid 2, as would:

Dave LeGrow: 1. I can tell the “best lie” with a 2 rebid. If partner bids 2 I won’t feel bad bidding 2NT with the singleton spade.

Not everyone who opens 1 intends to rebid 2:

Rick Rowland: 1. Easier to open 1 and reverse into hearts than to open a 1 and guess what to do over the expected 1.

Making the case for 1:

Richard Popper: 1. Gives me much more rebid flexibility over the expected 1 response. I don’t like 1-1-2, but I do like 1-1-2.

Bruce Lieberman: 1. My 4 hearts look like 5 to me.

Craig Robinson: 1. Is it a greater sin to open 1NT with a singleton or 1 with 4? Goren would open 1 and he did fairly well.

There is certainly something to be said for bidding your two best suits. The other choice:

Andy Kaufman: 1NT. Obviously I don’t like having a stiff, but at least it is a top honor and may gain you a trick if that suit is led. By opening 1NT you describe your high card strength right away, leaving partner well placed.

I agree, unless partner can’t take a joke and transfers to 2 with his 5-bagger.

For amusement purposes only: At the table, I tried 1NT and found partner with a 2-count that included T9xx of spades. Very friendly defense allowed 1NT to make, and the opponents can make 2, so opening 1NT worked for its preemptive value.

IMPs	Q	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: None	T87532		-	-	5	Pass
Dlr: East	K86543		Pass	Double	Pass	?
You are: S	-

Do we pass and hope for a small plus, or hope our extreme shape will make it right to bid? If we do bid one of our suits, how will we know if we are in the right suit or at the right level?

Jess Stuart: Pass. Partner’s double is penalty in BWS. While our chance of game in a red suit is decent if we find a fit, there is no clear-cut way of making sure we play in our best red-suit fit.

Rick Rowland: 5. If partner pulls to 5, I will assume he has two places to play and will gut out 6. The nonvul 5 bid could be on almost anything. Partner may very well have wasted club values.

They wouldn’t be wasted on defense.

Richard Popper: Pass. Double is card showing; I am not necessarily going to make at the 5-level, but we should set the opponents.

Marie Filandro: 5. In 37 years of playing bridge, I can’t remember a good result defending with 6-6 distribution, but pass may be right this time.

Pete Filandro: Pass. When you are fixed, stay fixed. Or, if you prefer, “protect the plus.

A hand where Pete and Marie disagree? Probably the first time in 37 years.

John Schwartz and Bruce Lieberman pass, not wanting to overrule partner. Steve White also passes, citing the uncertainty of finding the right spot if you do bid. Craig Robinson bids 5, on the “when in doubt, bid” theory, and Dave Legrow bids 5 to avoid a big swing. What about our other 6-card suit?

Andy Kaufman: 5. I would like to bid 5NT indicating a 2-suiter, which could work well on many layouts. With a lack of intermediates in either suit, slam possibilities are tenuous, so I opt for the conservative call. If partner bids 5, showing a major 2-suiter, I will raise. I don’t think you should ever consider leaving in this double at any form of scoring.

That’s a heap of optimism, thinking partner could bid 5 over 5, but anything is possible. I vote with the passers since I don’t like to pull partner’s penalty doubles when passing is an alternative, but clearly bidding will be right some of the time.

MPs	QT8	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: Both	JT52		-	-	-	Pass
Dlr: South	-		1	Double	3*	?
You are: S	J85432

^*Pre-emptive

Action	Score	Votes(Panel)	Votes(Solvers)
4	100	2	-
Double	90	2	4
3	80	1	11
Pass	70	1	14
4	40	-	1

Most of the panel felt that bidding was the correct course, even though you don’t have much. Do we bid our 4-card major, 6-card minor, make a responsive double, or pass and hope partner can bid again?

Jess Stuart: 4. The free bid shows some values, about what you have. With extras, partner can raise or bid a major with 5 or more.

Andy Kaufman: 4. You have a weak defensive hand, but it is good for offense considering a 4-count. I would like to pass on values and see if partner can reopen with a double, but he may not be able to or West may jam the auction with 4. If I bid 4 and West bids 4, I can now bid 4.

An 'almost' 4 bidder:

Rick Rowland: 3. After writing my explanation of why 4 is right, I am retracting that bid. The majority of the opponents’ points should be in the right place and I have 2 or 3 entries via ruffs to take finesses.

Steve White: 3. Just barely enough to bid 3. Who am I kidding? You don’t have enough to bid 3, but it is important for the short hand to be aggressive, so make the slight overbid.

Marie Filandro: Double. A BWS responsive double seems just about right. If partner is 4-3 in the majors with 4 spades, I want to play in spades so diamonds can be ruffed in the short hand.

Peter Filandro: Double. Responsive. Marie convinced me that my original choice of 3 was inferior.

For Pete, a responsive double means responsive to Marie.

The passers have the strange notion that bidding shows values, defense, or whatever:

Richard Popper (with Tom Grabowski and Dave LeGrow similarly): Pass. Any bid is an overbid at this level. If partner doubles again, I will bid 3.

Craig Robinson: Pass. I am not in doubt.

I favor those who think you should be aggressive with a void. If you don’t bid clubs now, it will be almost impossible later, and a likely 6-3 or 6-4 fit may play two tricks better than a 4-3 major suit fit. If partner can bid a major over 4, your hand will be a quite serviceable dummy.

MPs	K9653	Auction:	West	North	East	South
Vul: N-S	Q		3	Pass	Pass	?
Dlr: West	KQ864
You are: S	A4

Do we have enough to come in, and if so, in which suit? Half of the panel and solvers thought bidding that anemic spade suit was best, though no one was happy about it:

Richard Popper and Steve White, similarly): 3. Yuck! Double is not right because I expect to hear some number of hearts, which I can’t really handle, so I would rather bid the mangy spade suit.

Andy Kaufman: 3. The spade suit does not have particularly good quality or length, but you are not likely to gain many matchpoints passing out 3.

Craig Robinson: 3. 5-5’s play well.

Yes, but with that suit opposite, say, a stiff? If you must bid, why not try your best suit?

Pete Filandro: 3. If partner is weak and will pass my bid, I like having a stronger trump suit. If East takes the push to 4, I want a diamond lead. If partner bids 3, I can bid 3. If partner jumps to 4, showing 7 or 8 hearts, I can pass with confidence.

Taking a 'flexible flyer:'

Jess Stuart (with Dave LeGrow, similarly): Double. Not quite the textbook takeout double, but the most flexible bid. It caters to partner being able to pass with clubs and to finding the best fit between spades and diamonds. If partner bids hearts over the double, I will bid spades and he will figure me for a spade/diamond two-suiter.

There is a lot to be said for:

John Schwartz: Pass. If I bid, what am I hoping for – that 3 is exactly the right contract (with a bad split) and we stop there? At pairs, I will hope everyone has the same problem and that any positive score will be good. Or if East has a decent hand, maybe –110 won’t be that bad.

Rick Rowland: Pass. The winning action at the table. Partner couldn’t bid over 3, and the spade suit stinks.

Sometimes it is indeed best to go quietly, and that is what we are doing with this bidding contest. We have not been able to generate a critical mass of solvers (especially from Delaware!) or editors, so the contest is being suspended indefinitely.