A) as a reverse - dislike NT with ace singleton
b) 3N
c) 3h
d) 2nt
E) 2n showing stoppers in M
F) 3nt
G) 1n
h) !D K
I see Feb 2022 on MSC page not January
A: Splinter, looking for Axxx, Kx, Axx, xxxx dummy, since we can easily end in 4 !S if it's not "Christmas"
Okay, I'll go along with 4♣ as a splinter bid since it doesn't cost and we can still
come to roost in 4♠.
B: 2!S
I prefer the equally sick 2♣, preferring to play in a 5-1 fit than a 4-2 fit.
C: Was so happy to leave in 1S X I can't resist declaring in !S now.
Double. Do you think opener psyched the 1♠ bid?
D: So, they have AJxxxx and Kxx trumps; where will they find 3 more tricks if we can make 4-something? pass
Pass. With the spade queen a potentially worthless value I'm reluctant
to show any encouragement - and the hand is too flat to try for 4♦.
E: Easy pass, and they didn't ask, "Will you leave in a reopening double?" [ yes I will ]
Pass is not forcing, so partner is not obliged to bid again. Hence I double.
F: Double, THEN if partner squeaks " !H " off to 3NT
What if partner squeaks 4♥? Now 4NT is surely keycard and 5♦ is a
control bid. Nope, I'll probably settle for 5♦.
G: Partner skipped probing in !D s, so 3NT despite wide open spades here (WHY did I bother to show clubs in the first place, you might well ask. ;D )
Here's my take, but I can understand J's point: 3♣ shows a club suit (in
addition to one four-card major) and partner's 3♥ bid is a control bid,
showing club support. So I bid 3♠ to show first or second round control
in spades - with slam interest in clubs.
H: "Take a peek" still looks ok 3 weeks later -- !D Ace
Partner doesn't seem to have much at all, so I look for a passive
lead: the three of spades.
A) as a reverse - dislike NT with ace singletonThese can't be right, at least one of them is insufficient
b) 3N
c) 3h
d) 2nt
E) 2n showing stoppers in M
F) 3nt
G) 1n
h) !D K
I see Feb 2022 on MSC page not January
H - AD. This will be the second time in history that an MSC has only ONE answer...(but someone tell me what the lead is in BWS from AKx. is it ace or king?)
Against suit contracts:
(i) Honor leads: ace from ace-king; top from a sequence; highest equal from an interior sequence
Quote from Yleexotee:
C - 2D. I'm not passing and letting them play in 2C, pard now knows I have a big hand, and they can punch in a NT bid with spades stopped twice.
Partner left in our double of the 1 S opening so he has QJT97 or better there, if not a 6th one as well. There's no need to punt the notrump declaration to him, if you are craving to get to notrump :) . She did elect to take 7 or more tricks in spades opposite some 11-count 3 suiter over here, and with 16 guns, I was betting on the "or more".
Problem G: The way I see it partner's hand is not limited.
I'm regretting pulling the trigger on "G" too quickly, but it's too late.
If I had the chance to choose again, it would be 4 !D. I think partner has a 3=3=5=2 or similar with spade weakness. If my Stayman was looking for a spade fit, I would now bid 3NT. So 4 !D should show four hearts and either 3 or 4 diamonds.
Hoping that 4 !H does not get hammered in the panel voting.
I'm regretting pulling the trigger on "G" too quickly, but it's too late.
If I had the chance to choose again, it would be 4 !D. I think partner has a 3=3=5=2 or similar with spade weakness. If my Stayman was looking for a spade fit, I would now bid 3NT. So 4 !D should show four hearts and either 3 or 4 diamonds.
Hoping that 4 !H does not get hammered in the panel voting.
In this Contest I usually regret not bidding the 4D, so I'm sure it will be the same here too.
Edith Piaf played O-Hell, as well as eucre and similar continental games. So I was told by her grand-niece in a bistro on the Place Pigalle in my senior year.
NAME | BW-SCORE | RANK | MPs |
Masse24 | 700 | 1 | 30 |
KenBerg | 700 | 1 | 30 |
CCR3 | 650 | 3 | 10 |
Also participating this month were: BabsG, BluBayou, FlueretteD, Hoki, JCreech, MarilynLi, Peuco, VeeRee, WackoJack, YleeXotee. Congratulations to all! |
Last month when the bidding on the "companion deal" went : "1NT, 2C; 2D, 3D; THREE HEARTS", that call was based on doubleton AJ [with a spades stopper waiting in the wings]. Well--as it's your birthday and you have the jack yourself, you deserve a doubleton ace-QUEEN this month -- and a writeup in the acbl bulletin when you bring home this sub-moysean heart game!
I have also thought a bit more about problem G.
The auction begins 1NT-2C-2D-3C-3H
I am not bidding 3S unless pard and I have had a very clear discussion. For purposes of NT, there are two suits in question, spades and diamonds. Imo, standard is that 3S says "Look, I can handle the spades but I can't handle diamonds", If diamonds had already been handled then yes, 3S would ask, not show. Perhaps we can say that since pard's 2D denied a major we should treat his hand as having stoppers in both minors so that only spades are at issue. I have a stiff spade and a good three-card diamond holding, but I would have bid Stayman and then 3C if I had a stiff diamond and a good-three card spade holding, in which case I am worried about diamonds, not spades.
Anyway, I bid 4H. Suppose pard does have only Ax. Does he have a problem? I doubt it. He has at most three spades (probably exactly three spades) and so he has eight cards in the minors. He presumably has three clubs, so he bids 5C. If he has only two clubs then he has six diamonds. Ok, he can open 1NT with a six-card minor but I think that then ever my 3C he would have bid his six-card diamond suit instead of his two-card heart suit. At least I am not choosing my bid on the assumption he skipped over his six diamonds to bid his two-card heart suit. No doubt he will explain afterward why I should have figured it out.
I think msc is useful for prompting discussions of what various bids mean to each of us. What does 3S mean over 3H? For me, it shows a spade stop. But I do see why a person with KJ8 in spades and a stiff diamond might just bid 3NT, trusting N to take care of the diamonds, and with that agreement then 3S could ask. I see that 3NT scored 90. I believe in optimism but that's over the top for me.
February MSC SUMMARY (Part 2)– Jeff Rubens, Director(b) After our minor-suit opening and an overcall: (a) a double is negative through three spades;
Problem E Double/Pass (Double: FlouretteD, Hoki, CCR3/Pass: BluBayou, KenBerg)
Matchpoints Both sides vulnerable
You, South, hold:
♠ J 9 7 ♥ A 6 4 ♦ K Q J 9 ♣ J 5 4
SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST
—— —— 1 ♣ 2 ♠
?
What call do you make?
Double 100 BWP 38% BWS 41% IAC 27%
Personally, I like to still play this double as negative, but that is not true with BWS 2017.