First stab. Will probably just submit these unless a good night's sleep opens my eyes to something I've missed.
PROBLEM A: Pass. Making this a race! Do they have six pointy suit tricks before a round suit is played? The upside of Pass is just too great, in my opinion, to consider the other possibility, 3
. Am I missing something? Presumably so, since these problems are supposed to have multiple possible answers. I see two.
PROBLEM B: A1 (2NT/3D/3H). A heavy 2NT? Maybe somewhat. 3
jump-shift? A bit flattish for that, though possible. If I move a club to the hearts, I jump. After 2NT, I simply accept the transfer, so . . . 3
.
PROBLEM C: 2
. Having a max is permitted. My second choice is 2NT, a close call. Double does not interest me.
PROBLEM D: 4
. If I were 6-4, I would introduce the diamond suit. But 7-4 I’ll treat as one-suited. No diamond slam today. The next question to answer is how high? My initial thought was 3
(which I would bid with six), but the suit quality is just too good to risk missing game. Several years ago, I would more closely toe-the-line with regard to HCP, but I’ve evolved my thinking to look at trick taking potential. Like here.
I'll add that I worry about this one.
PROBLEM E: 1NT. No brainer? Unanimous? 😊 LOL.
PROBLEM F: 4
. Unimaginative. The LTC convinces me. And the hearts are still in play.
PROBLEM G: 1
. Although I strongly considered 2
(they teach us, as beginners, not to preempt with a 4-card major, but keep silent about a 5-carder!) 😊 If we preempt first, then in competition show the spades, partner should get a fair idea of our hand. Except as ugly as it is, the hand has 27 ZARs!
A side note: If opened at the one-level, I believe Steve Robinson (I read this years ago in his Dist. 6 articles) would skip the
suit and open 1
. I get that logic if you have the reds, but with one suit being spades, I just do not get not opening 1
. You can show the spades over any response. Twice if given the opportunity.
I seem to recall a previous MSC problem where a hand like this was opened with a weak two that was overcalled. The bidding came round to opener without an advance, and the winning rebid was to introduce the major. Wish I could remember how long ago. Reading it again might have affected my choice to open 1
.
PROBLEM H: J. Safe. Gives nothing away. Let declarer break (and guess) the
suit. Second choice, 4th best spade, which I think will be the plurality choice.