This was a hard set for IAC.  The honor roll cutoff was 700, and only JCreech made the honor roll with 750.  Tied for second , and just missing the honor roll, was YleeXotee and Masse24 with 690.

BluBayou, CCR3, and DickHy also participated.

Well  done Todd!!  790 is just about as good as you can get. 

Also making the honor roll with a pair of 730's were Blu and WackoJack.

Congrats to all.

Initial thoughts.   I hate this set because, while I have an Initial thought, very few are firm.

A.  Pass.  Every choice is dangerous.  Pass, the opponents may make the contract.   3 and 3 might be right if partner has five or the right four.  And I even thought of a cue bid to get partner to bid the longer suit, but that might get us too high.  The auction has no guarantee of a fit, so that is why I am changing a pass.

B.  Double.  No fit, though there might be one in diamonds.  Is the 5-level the right place to explore?  I have some potential fast tricks, but my big fear is my third opponent - does he really have a 3-level overcall or a preempt  that was turned into an overcall.

C.  1 NT.  No matter what, I am wrong with these hands.  At least this shows my shape and values, while my club stop is more than suspect.  I  feel I have too much to pass, and I have little faith that partner will help find the right strain if I bid 1 .

D.  2 I  checked. 3 is a full splinter, and a bit rich for my taste.  A simple cue is also a bit rich, but not by much and therefore, becomes my best description/least lie bid.  3 .  Is this a mixed raise for MSC?  I would like it better if it was also a mini-splinter.  It is almost good enough with the void for simple cue.

E.  Double.  I think the negative double show where my points are better than the reasonable 2 NT.  If I was playing with a partner who does not shy away from Moysian fits, I would be fearful of a spade bid on three - I would not wish a 3-3 fit on partner.

F. 2 .  As Jock pointed out, I misread the problem. I hate responding 2 with xxx, but with no 5-card suit I  either bid that or the hearts.  Clubs are frequently abused to create a game force at a low level, so will follow tradition.  1 NT.  I hate overcalling with stoppers and no tricks, but I have too much to pass unless playing with a partner who balances with shape, not points.   And I am too square to double with the wrong 4-card suit.

G.  2 .  Do I emphasize the hearts or diamonds?  Slam is a real possibility.  In hearts, I need partner to have 4(+) really good hearts in addition to the presumed good diamond fit.  In diamonds, what works for hearts also works for diamonds, plus if partner is short in hearts with 1st or 2nd round control, the diamond slam is still possible.  We might find our was to hearts, but the best way to get to a slam is to start with a forcing raise.

H.  5.  Probably wrong, but I don't think I  am risking a trump trick that would not already be lost.  My other choices seem to be black aces, neither of which is enticing.  One thought I am playing with is two rounds of clubs, then when in with the  trump king, underlead the spade ace for a club ruff.

Don't count on more than one or two choices being retained on submission, but these are my early selections for what it is worth.

Final submission
-------------------
PROBLEM A: Pass
PROBLEM B: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 2 Hearts
PROBLEM D: 2 Notrump
PROBLEM E: 2 Diamonds.  My style is generally to overcall with five or more, then double later.  No good reason to change from that style.
PROBLEM F: 4 Hearts
PROBLEM G: Redouble.  I still like splintering, but is 3 or 4 the splinter.  I'm not selling out short of 5 , so I will show extra strength with redouble, which also is the cheapest game, and await developments.
PROBLEM H: Heart Queen

Changes to initial guesses are indicated with reasoning.  HNY all.

So many things were happening last month, I missed the deadline. My guess of what I might have done was very good, but I have second guessed myself out of good decisions before.

Here are my initial thoughts for this month.

A.  Pass.  Partner has pre-empted a sensible auction to a grand, so I will sell out to his choice. I get the post-mortem point here.

B.  1NT. I will take the charge if the downgrade costs us. I also hate doubling with AQ-tight in spades. I haven't checked but I suspect KnR will not rate this as a full 15.  (KnR  = 14.65)

C.  2 . I wanted to make a responsive double but RHO did not cooperate.  The cue will tell partner I have strength and I hope Jx will suffice for fit.

D.  2NT.  I hate this bid, but I have to treat this hand as balanced and it's red at IMPs, so I  need to try for game.

E. Double.  What else?  I have length in the unbids, opening values, and four in the other major. I could overcall my five-bagger, but emphasis on the major is important.

F.  4 .  Torn between game and  slam.  Partner's negative double should put us in or close to slam,  but do I really have my full values? I think not, so I will take the low road and bid the heart game rather than cue and possibly lose the ability to show the suit at a makeable level.

G.  4 .  Splinter. Hopefully, partner will know what to do with a heart  void and club ace.

H.  Q.  The safest lead. A diamond might strike gold, but I just want the contract to go down, and anything else gives the contract a chance, albeit small.  I truly believe that declarer is looking at long spades and, at worst, one outside loser (with the hope of a pseudo squeeze).  I want to avoid a miracle result.

Jim,
On "C," are you suggesting that 3 is a game-force?
I do agree that 3 is most flexible, but believe it to be only a game-try.

Ok, I mistyped.  It is a forcing bid, only one-round, but it forces partner to bid something.  I think that many of the panel making the bid will talk of exploring slam, and that this is the best way to get more information.  I doubt that any are thinking of 3 as a game-try.  They have the hint of 3 is invitational available.  I also felt that 3 and 3 were also game tries, so I made the presumption that with so many game tries available, 3 should be elevated to a game force - silly me.

November Results

JCreech led the IAC solvers with 710. Masse24 came in second with 700. And a three-way tie for third (VeredK, BluBayou and YleeXotee) with 680.  All were within spitting distance of The Bridge World Honor Roll, which required a minimum of 720.

NAME	BW-SCORE
JCreech	710
Masse24	700
VeredK	680
BluBayou	680
YleeXotee	680

Only six participants this month.