2.  IMPs. N/S Vul

ª-K5  ©-A7632  ¨-K8  §-9874

North	East	South	West
		Pass	Pass
1¨	3§	?

Everyone who bids 3 Hearts gives it a ringing vote of confidence:not

Rich Guarneri:" I hate it but???" 

Geoffrey Mallette: "Not at all a bid I like making. Prefer more and better hearts. But not going to pass with this, and I’m not going to make a negative double with really only one place to play. "

Randy Pettit: "Can’t afford to get timid. Partner should not be opening nonsuits on nonhands." 

Jim Murphy: "Can’t afford to miss Vul games. Not my style to hang partners for reopening doubles without a trump trick, so the RISKY 3© bid is my first choice." 

With glowing endorsements like these, Marvin Shatz seems to sum up things : "3© seems obvious." 

Yours truly doesn’t like the 3H bid for a number of reasons. Your hearts are weak, you have a great deal of strength on the side, and you have length in clubs, so you probably won’t have to contend with further preemption by LHO.

My personal choice is Pass.  

I agree with S. Robinson : "If partner can’t reopen, why do we want to play at the 3 level?" 

These sentiments are echoed by Lance Shull: "Partner should be re-opening on any hand where we can make something. "

It seems to me that if you bid now, partner will be endplayed into bidding 4 hearts with a number of unsuitable 4,2,5,2 average hands because as Mr. Murphy points out, you can’t afford to miss your vully games. If you pass, and partner reopens with a double, you can be pretty sure that it’s a pure hand that will not be embarrassed by a jump to the heart game. Now as to the question of having a slam, I wonder.….

3.  IMP; Both Vul

ª-(void)   ©-KJ84  ¨-KQ6  §-KQJ942

North	East	South	West
			1ª
Pass	2ª	3§	Pass
3NT	Pass	?

The vulnerable game bonus for 3NT leads many a player to try for 9 easy tricks. Most of the passers believe that partner is as pure as the driven snow in his assessment of 3NT potential. 

Dar Afdahl: "Expect partner to have 2 slow spade tricks and 1 or 2 ( !! - really) aces. Typical hand might be KJ109,Q10x,Axx,xxx."  

As Glen Lublin would say, “MOOVIES.” Pard would smack off 3S with that mallet.

Kay Afdahl also passes ( no wonder they do so well) but says that she is very nervous about the bid.

Randy Pettit remarks that pard should have a double stopper or a slow one with 2 aces including the club A. He does point out that if partner holds Axxx, Q10x, xxx, Axx, it’s just too bad.

Jim Murphy states that he is not going to insult partner and override his decision. ( His partner maybe holds KQ10x of spades.) 

I feel that the opponents are bidding a lot on a little, HCP wise. They certainly have quality spades, if nothing else. Partner is trying to show some values, in case there is a cheap game to be had. I agree with S. Robinson (this is twice in one set, almost more than I care to repeat) that no side aces means 3NT will not play well. I disagree with his decision to bid 4§ . Take a pop at 4© , Steve. Bid like Richard Guarneri : 4H. This should be a good 6-4 with short spades. Facing J10xx, Q10x, Axx, Axx, slam should be about cold. 

Marvin Shatz also bids 4H on the theory that opposite Q10xx of hearts and 1 side Ace, game should be about cold.

4.  MP; N/S Vul

ª-AK52   ©-6  ¨-AKJ983  §-T4

North	East	South	West
			1©
2§	2©	3©	4©
Pass	Pass	?

What does it all mean? Does double show, as Mike Kovacich believes, a very good hand after the Q bid with uncertainty as to what to bid? Or is double belatedly looking for a different fit?  

As Steve Robinson points out, "Why didn’t I make a responsive double over 2©?" ( Or is double a sensible way to collect 500-800 on a non-slam hand without risking a minus score?) 

Dar Afdahl would have bid 3 forcing diamonds instead of 3©. 

Kay Afdahl espouses the theory of the 5¨ bidders. "5¨, I might get rich doubling, but will bid the most likely game first. Maybe they’ll bid again; ( I doubt that). Surely I’m still getting a plus score. Partner did make a vulnerable overcall at the 2 level. Perhaps he can envision a slam ( I doubt that, too)." 

The 6§ bidders all state the obvious. Partner must have 6 or 7 clubs to the AKQ for his bid. There is a huge difference in the two suits on this auction. I would guess that clubs rate to be 4-1 at least 50% of the time when partner only holds 6. Any plus would look good, as opposed to the kiss of death minus score on this board. 

Randy Pettit hits the nail pretty much on the head with a 4NT bid and a pull of 5§ to 5¨. This highlights that he has a good suit of diamonds, but a smattering of help for clubs if pard is so inclined. A very thoughtful answer.

5.  IMPS; None Vul

ª-KJ74   ©-983   ¨-KT   §-T842

North	East	South	West
1§	3¨	Pass	Pass
Double	Pass	?

This was an almost unanimous answer, but the comments are quite different as to whether this is a good or bad hand. 

Lance Shull: "3ª. I actually like my hand a lot. My ¨-K has a good shot at working. I’m trying not to fall in love with my 10xxx of clubs, but it’s tough. Maybe vulnerable I could cough up a 4ª bid. There’s a chance that partner isn’t done bidding ." 

Marvin Shatz: "3ª. Seems automatic, although 3NT might be right." 

Steve Robinson: "3ª. Why didn’t I make a negative X so that I wouldn’t have this problem?" 

Rich Guarneri: "3ª and hope we have a play." 

Jim Murphy: "3ª. Even though the ¨-K is well placed, I don’t have enough to bid 3NT or jump to game. Partner knows I have at least 6 points on this auction. " 

I feel that most of our solvers want to bid more but just can’t pull the trigger on a 4ª bid. Usually when pard reopens at the 3 level at IMPs, his pattern and HCP are much more disciplined than at the 2 level. If pard has only 3 spades, he will have an exceptional hand to back it up, or he will be able to bid 5C. This should be a suitable dummy in that case. 

Kay Afdahl: "4ª. Partner should suspect my spades weren’t long enough to bid them freely at the 3 level. I’ll be happy if he bids 5§, too. "

Dar Afdahl: "3ª. Partner asked me to pass with a trump stack or bid my best suit ( We always knew who was the tiger in this partnership.)." 

I like Randy Pettit’s answer but am afraid that I would not choose it at the table: "3NT, but not happy about it. Pass is out of the question, and bidding spades doesn’t get us to game or guarantee a fit."

6.  IMPs; N/S Vul

ª-A9752   ©-JT8643   ¨-A  §-A

North	East	South	West
		1©	Pass
1ª	Pass	?

The vote did not back up my view at all on this problem. I thought that you should splinter and then bid your other Ace after a signoff. This would hit partner across the head that you needed spades and hearts for slam. I think that the 4ª bid shows more in the way of HCP and never addresses this massive distribution.

For the majority, Jim Murphy: "4ª. This hand should play easily, especially if partner has a 5^th trump ( I always thought Jim was the master of understatement.)." 

Rich Guarneri: "4ª. Who knows what’s right?" 

Geoffrey Mallette: "4ª. Least of evils. I have a 5^th trump to make up for my lack of HCP. "

I promoted the solitary vote for 5ª. Randy Pettit (5ª) feels that if partner has good spades he will gamble out 2 heart losers. Randy also feels that this is the only way to ever bid 7.  

My favorite response was 4¨ by Kay Afdahl. "4¨-Make it easy for partner to cuebid hearts without being misunderstood. Not perfect, but nothing ever is". 

Along the same lines was 4§ by Mike Kovacich. He also mentions a 4© bid by partner. 

(Note: Steve Robinson & Jerry Popkin obviously did not get this problem or the next in the proper form, so their answers have been deleted )

7.  IMPs; N/S Vul

 ª-8742   ©-AQT97   ¨-KQ4    §-92

North	East	South	West
1§	2©	?

I have to admit that I don’t see the problem on this hand unless you fear that RHO has psyched. I would pass along with most of the rest of the panel and hope that the number reached 4 figures. (Editor Comment: Would you reopen on this vulnerability with ª-Kx  ©-642  ¨-A52  §-AQ843?  Do you expect partner to make a trap pass when vul vs. non-vul at IMPS?  What would plan to bid over a "forced 2ª" bid by partner?  Would you like it if the opponents bid spades now?)

Dar Afdahl: "Pass. Partners are expected to reopen."  

Kay Afdahl: "Pass. This one I’ll defend even at this vulnerability. Partner will be a good boy and reopen." 

Geoffrey Mallette was concerned that he had two club suits but figured that, given a chance, either one would prove adequate as an opening lead.

8.  IMPs; Both Vul

 ª-A942   ©-KT42   ¨-K842   §-9

North	East	South	West
1NT*	2§*	?

* =Marked as "Both Majors"

8a.  Would you make the same call at Match Points?

This hand illustrates some very valuable points of partnership bidding theory. With the proliferation of gadgets to interfere with the normal exchange of information after a 1NT opening, most expert partnerships play double of an artificial  2§ bid as Stayman. When the 2§ bid shows both majors, double is used to show a good hand capable of punishing at least one of overcaller’s suits. Mike Kovacich agrees with this analysis, in other words. 

However, two flies creep into the ointment. First, the opponents may have the ability to play 2§ doubled and escape for little or no damage. If partner holds length and strength in diamonds, it may prove difficult to clobber 2§. Secondly, unless RHO is a confirmed overbidder, he is looking at the vulnerability and conditions of contest, just as you are. Massive distribution may give him the edge he needs to escape with his life.

Jim Murphy sums this up well: "3NT. Yes, I’d let them off the hook, since we are vulnerable. Their bid should help partner play our vulnerable game double dummy if necessary. If, RHO was vulnerable and a known overbidder, then I would double." 

All of the panelists answered “Yes” to 8B.

9.  MP; E/W Vul

ª-KQ6  ©-953  ¨-AQ  §-AKJT4

North	East	South	West
1¨	Pass	2§	Pass
2¨	Pass	2ª	Pass
2NT	Pass	?