Oh, the New Year. Many congratulations to those who made the 2019 Honour Roll -- excellent work!
A) 5H. This is such a nasty situation. In my (admittedly meagre) experience, 4N shows two 5(+)-card suits. Chances are slim that p has 5c H (I will leave Ken to tell me exactly what they are) but they are not negligible and if he does we ought to be in 6H. We might also have 6H if p is 0355. But I can’t bid 6H because the likelihood is that p is 1255. Nightmare #1: p has a 5c H suit but believes he can’t raise 5H to 6H. Nightmare #2: He is 1255/2155 so my 5H bid puts him in an uncomfortable position. I suppose he can bid 5S which I can convert to 5N. If he is 0166 or 0265, he can bid his 6c m at the 6-level. I’m damned one way or the other. Actually, that sentence is five words too long, so 5H.
B) 1H. Without looking at anything else, my partners will tell you that this is the sort of hand on which I go totally crazy (as opposed to my default moderate setting). We’re white, West looks to have about 16 so they could have game. I want to get in the way … I’m not sure why I’m bothering trying to rationalise this cos I’m gonna bid 1H, even as y’all throw excellent criticisms and chapters on reverses at my head. We should all be allowed our foibles.
However … here’s what Bridge World Standard says under B. Choice of Suit, “With a minimum-range five-six hand, open in the higher and shorter suit only when the long suits are adjacent.” Returning to a point made earlier in the year, if we choose our answers based on predicting what pros will bid (rather than airing our own preferences) should we be opening 1S?
C) 2H/3N. OK, I’ve not quite settled back to moderately-crazy; the jitterbug in me can see 6H tricks, 1D, and two black suit tricks from partner, just like that. So, let’s just bang out 3N before someone force-feeds me tranks. Back in the straitjacket, I’d count 12 working HCP and meekly slip the 2H card onto the bidding-tray.
D) 3S. I’m with Joe here – partner with 4c S and 5c C and a game-forcing hand will bid 2C first. I know that’s right ‘cos it’s in the IAC 2/1 spreadsheet, and we need to be loyal. Of course, GF p with 2335 or 2236 would also bid 2C, but let’s show the 4c S suit – why not, we’ve got the space.
E) 5S/6S. As Jim and Jock say, 6D might be a successful operation in finding the right major, but the patient will be dead barely after the cutting starts. They must have the 10 HCP in D between them, and probably E has half of those (KQ at the top of 8, possibly, 9 diamonds). That leaves 9 more and surely W must have almost all of those, perhaps at best (for us) except for a Q. Does 6S have much of a chance? Even if I can ruff a H to get them going, I’m still faced with an ugly Kx in C. Which is where the best case for us comes in and p holds the club Q. Now the tranks are biting, I’m tempting to bid a sober 5S and hope partner will raise with a Q outside D.
F) 1S. I’ve got a nice hand for partner in 2H, offering a couple of club ruffs and a trump honour. I become much prettier if he has spade support, so let’s show them knowing that 2H is the safe-haven. Will partner raise S with three-card support? Can’t see that on BWS.
G) QS/HT. Undecided still.
H) ST. Oh, a lead problem that I might not cock up completely. W is 5(332)* and N has denied a 4c spade suit, suggesting p has 5+ spades and, from the auction, 7 HCP. However, his spades aren’t that solid because he spurned the chance to overcall 1S – maybe at best KJxxx, then and an outside entry he can tell me about later. Should I be leading the S8 to show no interest in the suit (a la Eddie Kantar)? Nah, with KJxxx, partner’s life is much easier if I play the T.