Author Topic: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB  (Read 19461 times)

blubayou

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #15 on: December 04, 2019, 10:40:16 PM »
Jock McQuade
Portland OR, U.S.A.
problem A:      Pass
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM D: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM E: (b1)
PROBLEM F: 3 Hearts
problem G:      Pass
PROBLEM H: Diamond Ace
    Problem A  and G  still give me the creeps;  I especially would hope  that in this imaginary world  I would not be tempted to leave in a reopening double of  1H overcall--  but that is the only consistent second call pointed to by this first turn pass :(
« Last Edit: December 04, 2019, 10:44:09 PM by blubayou »
often it is better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission

Masse24

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #16 on: December 06, 2019, 04:34:55 PM »
A new year! A fresh start!

My initial January guesses:

PROBLEM A: Double. Although 1NT is right on values, it has two flaws: the stiff King and a dubious stopper. 2 !D is tempting, and although BWS does not recognize ELC here, I’m still doubling.

PROBLEM B: 3NT. Fits the definition. If we belong in hearts, partner will know and can correct.

PROBLEM C: 3 !H . Somewhat of a tossup between 2 !H and 3 !H . I’ll go with 3 !H to both convey the nature of my hand (keeping alive our slim shot at game) and to preempt the opps from finding their probable minor fit.

PROBLEM D: 1NT. No need to introduce the !S suit. This conveys more information than the alternatives.

PROBLEM E: 1 !D ; 2 !H . If I “fake” a reverse or jump-shift, I prefer that it be a minor. But I want to force, so I reluctantly reverse into a major. There is a degree of safety here since I have three spades. Partner will most assuredly not support hearts with only three (though I suppose there is an exception), so if he does support, I’ll know he has five spades and I can correct to our spade “fit.”

PROBLEM F: 3 !H . Fit jump. The !H is threadbare, but the extra, unexpected !H somewhat makes up for the lack of honors. Second choice is double.

PROBLEM G: 2NT. Tough choice. 2 !D a close second. This one was very difficult choice and I am not remotely confident.
 
PROBLEM H: !D A. Opening leads are tough. But I’ve got everything in !D except the King, and partner is doubling. This bodes well for not blowing a trick and carries the added bonus of getting a peek at dummy before taking further action.


No change of heart. Submitted the above choices.



SOLUTIONS FOR:
Todd Holes
Glen Ellyn IL
U.S.A.

PROBLEM A: Double
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM D: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM E: (b1)
PROBLEM F: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM G: 2 Notrump
PROBLEM H: Diamond Ace

« Last Edit: December 07, 2019, 09:57:27 PM by Masse24 »
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wackojack

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #17 on: December 08, 2019, 05:56:24 PM »
PROBLEM A:    Double
So what does it mean when I double, then partner bids clubs and I bid diamonds?  I don’t care, I am going to double regardless. Afterthought: OK It goes 1♠-(x)-3♠-(5♣) Would I be worried? Far less so than 1♠-(2♦) -3♠- and partner had ♠ x, ♥ Jxxx, ♦ xxx, ♣AQJxx and had to pass

PROBLEM B:    4♥
I just don’t like 3NT.  If any BWS bid guaranteed a singleton spade and a good ♥ suit, then that would be the bid to go for.  Sadly, not so. So, I go for 4♥ because partner may have an aceless hand and 1 trick in spades say ♠ Q10xx, ♥ xx, ♦ QJx, ♣Jxxx.  3NT is off if a spade is led and 4♥ is far safer.  If partner is stronger say with both minor suit aces, we are in the slam zone.

PROBLEM C: 3♥

I am torn between 2♥ and 3♥.
Case for 2♥:  Given that partner could not find a bid there are so many ways for there to be no game on.  OTOH, west almost certainly has the K♠ for his overcall then partner almost certainly must have a minor suit ace for 4♥ to make.  Would not partner with something like ♠xx. ♥ xx, ♦ Axxxx, ♣ Jxxx make a take-out double with this hand? OTOH with a quacky 6 count ♠ xx, ♥xx, ♦ QJxxx, ♣ QJxx 3♥ is likely to be too high.
Case for 3♥:   Suppose partner has a singleton spade and a hand such as this:   ♠ x, ♥ xx, ♦ Axxxx, ♣ xxxxx.  Perhaps partner would pass with this hand after the 1♠ overcall and even with a trump lead, declarer can make 6♥ + 1♦ + 2♠ + ♠ ruff.  A♠, Q♠ (covered by K) and ruffed.  (East will have at least 2♠s.)

So I will go for 3♥ (just) 
 
PROBLEM D.  Redouble

Imagine partner has ♠ xx, ♥ AKJxx, ♦ KQJx, ♣ Qx.  Then how would the bidding go if you responded:
(a)1NT 1♥-(x)-1NT-(p); 2♦-(p)-? You have no alternative but to give a preference response of 2♥ since partner could have an ace fewer. Say ♥ KJxxx when you would not want to be higher than 2♥.
(b) 1♠  1♥-(x)-1♠-(p); 2♦-(p)-? Are you any better off with this response?  On the positive side it is unlimited.  Nevertheless, when it is your turn after partner rebids 2♦, you still have no alternative but to bid 2♥. You are slightly better off here than with (a) because partner knows that you have not yet limited your hand and with a trick better than a minimum opener and good hearts might make a try of 3♥, and then you can bid out your hand with 3NT giving partner choice of game. 

c)  Redouble. On the negative side it is 1 point short of the BWS requirement and this may cause partner to drive you into a poor game contract counting on you having at least 10HCP. On the positive side we will always get to game if there is one.  If we examine more the possible downside, we can give partner a minimum opener:
♠ xx, ♥ KJxxx, ♦ KQJx, ♣ Qx and the bidding goes: 1♥-(x)- xx-(p); 2♦-(p)- 2♥-(p); ?
The 2♥ bid shows a minimum for the redouble (pass would be stronger) so partner will see that game is not on and will pass.  So the negative possibility of redouble is small compared with the positive.

So for me 1NT is out and it is a choice between 1♠ or redouble.  I favour redouble but am aware that I am going out on a limb seeing all the other votes.  Still lets do it.

Of course there is a non BWS solution and that is after 1♥-(x)-1♠-(p); we rebid 2♣ gazzilli.

 
PROBLEM E:  (b1)
Open 1♦, rebid 2♥. This conveys the strength and if partner raises my hearts then I ELC to 3♠ knowing partner has 5♠. 


PROBLEM F: 3♥ fit jump

PROBLEM G: 1NT

 1NT, 2NT, double and 2♦ spring to mind.  But which? Consider partner having a balanced 12-14.  If partner has 12, we would want to be in 1NT or in 2♦.  If 13 maybe the same.  If 14 we would probably want to be in 3N. The odds of getting 14 is nearly twice that of getting 12.  So, game would appear unlikely.  This appears to rule out 1NT or 2♦ particularly in MP pairs. What about double?  We could find partner with ♠ KJ109, ♥ xx, ♦ AJx, ♣ Axxx where 4♠ is a wonderful contract and double is the only way to get there. OTOH we could find partner with something like ♠ Kxx, ♥ xx, ♦ Axx, ♣ KQxxx and what does partner do? 

So I reluctantly go for 1NT.

PROBLEM H: 2♠

wackojack

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #18 on: December 08, 2019, 06:18:37 PM »
Submitted
SOLUTIONS FOR:
Jack Goody
Guildford
England

PROBLEM A: Double
PROBLEM B: 4 Hearts
PROBLEM C: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM D: Redouble
PROBLEM E: (b1)
PROBLEM F: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM G: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM H: Spade 2

jcreech

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #19 on: December 08, 2019, 10:32:16 PM »
SOLUTIONS FOR:
James Creech
Fredericksburg VA
U.S.A.

PROBLEM A: 2 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM D: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM E: (b4)
PROBLEM F: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM G: 2 Notrump
PROBLEM H: Diamond Ace

A couple of changes - thank you to Blu for the research on F (I'd like to think I'd have found it as well, but I am willing to piggyback off of another since I mentioned the desire in my preliminaries).  On G, I had felt like 1NT was a little heavy, so when I relooked at the problem I found that I gave the hand enough to be invitational based on the five diamonds and the !H 9, so I went with my second look rather than my first.

I am again designating Ken as a partner, and hope that we will concur more this go round than last.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

Curls77

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #20 on: December 09, 2019, 12:55:06 PM »
puff puff, am i late?

Sanya
PROBLEM A: 2D
PROBLEM B: 4H
PROBLEM C: 3H
PROBLEM D: XX
PROBLEM E: (b3)
PROBLEM F: X
PROBLEM G: 2NT
PROBLEM H: !S 2


And I hope none will mind me posting Hoki's answers as well, he sent them thru email, and now is away, I hope from next month on he will post his solutions directly here.

So solutions by Oliver Hoffmann (Hoki):

A/  Pass – and rely on being able to back in with a double if a 1NT response gets passed back to me or rely on partner balancing if 1S is passed around the table.

B/  3H – surely the ‘book’ bid?

C/  2H – and prepared to compete up to 3H.

D/  1NT – since 2C in this sequence would be Drury with a three-card raise.

E/  b(3) – that is, boring (nothing fancy).

F/  2H – and if I get no encouragement from partner and if I get another turn I’d support diamonds.

G/  2D – standard, forcing for one round.

H/  DA – but I would have doubled again since I disagee with the pass over 4H.


jcreech

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #21 on: December 09, 2019, 03:58:22 PM »
Not too late by roughly a day.  Nice to have you back and bringing a friend along with you to play.

Welcome Oliver, and good luck.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

toasterln

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #22 on: December 09, 2019, 05:25:51 PM »
Happy Holidays to all
A.      2 S   Michaels to show H and D    :  anything else may lose the H suit
B.      3 N   9 tricks are easier than 10    3 H may be the winning bid
C.      3 H    my LHO rates to have a good hand, I am trying to make it harder for him to bid again
D.      Rdbl   I am a point short but 1 N and 1 S do not seem better
E.      b3    3 D     although I  considered 2 N for a long time
F.       4 C  (splinter)   my p must have 5 decent Diamonds:  I have first round control in 3 suits.
G.      2 N  11 hip     I considered 1N but we are non vulnerable v. Vul at Matchpoints
H.      Ace  !D  The K rates to be on my left anyway....  and now I can look at dummy

kenberg

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #23 on: December 09, 2019, 10:14:03 PM »
   MASTER SOLVERS CLUB SOLUTIONS RECEIVED


Your solutions have been received. This copy is for your records.

SOLVER: Kenneth Berg
        Sykesville MD
        U.S.A.

Your Solutions for the January 2020 Contest
-------------------
PROBLEM A: 2 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM D: 1 Spade
PROBLEM E: (b1)
PROBLEM F: Double
PROBLEM G: 2 Diamonds
PROBLEM H: Spade 2


Thoughts below:


A: 2 !D
I am comfortable with this.  If Lho bids 2 !S and this is passed back to me, I can double. If partner then  bids the likely 3 !C I can convert to 3 !D. After my 2 !D he will not be be thinking this is stronger than it is.

Of course there are many ways the auction might go after my 2 !D

B: 3NT
I guess that is pretty much what 3NT shows. A long good heart suit and a reasonable hope that I can take 9 tricks. If I wait until I am sure I can take 9 tricks I will be waiting too long.

C: 3 !H
 
Firstly, I am not going to try to catch Lho in a psych. Maybe he is, but usually he isn't. Still, this does raise the question of just what partner has for his Pass. With values and hearts he would have raised hearts. With values and both minors he would have made a negative double. It is not completely crazy to think that partner is really pretty broke and than the opponents can make 5m. So maybe passing this out in 1 !S is right. It's also possible that 3 !H will be doubled and off 300. Still. Bridge is a bidder's game. But another maxim is that Pass is the most underused card in the game. Which platitude do I go with? I bid 3 !H. Shoot me later.

D:  1 !S

Yes, there are probably four spades on my right but the auction is not over. I have four spades, I have some values,  and 1 !S might be exactly what partner needs to hear to make him comfortable in rebidding 1NT. And 1NT might well be the right contract.

E: b1, open 1 !D and, over a 1 !S response, bid 2 !H.

This is a change from the b4 I chose before (pun unintended).  It's very possible we belong in spades and the 2 !H rebid is much more likely to get us there than a 3NT rebid.
   

F: X
 
The double shows hearts along with support for diamonds. It doesn't show six hearts but I might well have a chance to clarify that later. Even at matchpoints it is sometimes right to play in a minor. For example, if partner ruffs a club  playing in diamonds, it not only stops then from taking the club trick, it increases our trick total by one. If I ruff a club playing in hearts, it stops then from taking the trick but does not increase our trick total. And it weakens a trump suit that is a bit shaky.


G: 2 !D

BWS says this commits us to at least the level of 3 !C. That's ok. If partner bids 2 !S I will bid 2NT and pard can do  what he thinks best.


H: !S 2

Any lead requires a prayer. Maybe partner has the !S J. Could be.  As is usual in these lead problems, I can make a case for almost  anything.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2019, 10:15:54 PM by kenberg »
Ken

drac

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #24 on: December 10, 2019, 08:12:06 AM »
Wladislaus Dragwlya
Castrum Sex
Romania

PROBLEM A: 2 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 2 Hearts
PROBLEM D: Redouble
PROBLEM E: (b4)
PROBLEM F: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM G: 2 Diamonds
PROBLEM H: Spade 2

Masse24

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #25 on: December 10, 2019, 03:13:49 PM »
Some additional observations on PROBLEM E.

PROBLEM E: IMPs
East-West Vulnerable
You, South, hold:
!S 863 !H AQ7 !D AKQ954 !C K

Which of these plans do you prefer?
(a) open 2 NT

(b) open 1 !D ;
then, after (Pass) - 1 !S - (Pass) - ??
   (b1) 2 !H
   (b2) 2 NT
   (b3) 3 !D
   (b4) 3 NT



This is another variation on The Bridge World "Death Hand." Six cards in my suit, three cards in partner's suit, extra values. Usually, the other three card suit is the other minor, and the recent trend in panel votes (I've seen it three times in 24 months) seems to be toward staying low. This one is a bit different in that it's a two-part question and our three card suit is a major being dangled in front of us as an option, something I may have done once in my life. I simply don't do it.

Not that this changes my choice--this time--to reverse into a three card major. Simply an observation in the similarity with other "Bridge World Death Hands" we have seen in the MSC.

Lots of information on The Bridge World "Death Hand" on the internet for those who wish to research it. I spent an afternoon a year ago digging into some of the mentions.
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kenberg

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #26 on: December 10, 2019, 06:32:49 PM »
---------
PROBLEM A: 2 Diamonds               70
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump               100
PROBLEM C: 3 Hearts                  100
PROBLEM D: 1 Spade                    60
PROBLEM E: (b1)                        100
PROBLEM F: Double                      80
PROBLEM G: 2 Diamonds              80
PROBLEM H: Spade 2                   60


I had made a scoring error Jim caught (and it even brought the score up!). Thanks!
                                                 650
« Last Edit: December 10, 2019, 07:54:07 PM by kenberg »
Ken

jcreech

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #27 on: December 10, 2019, 06:41:44 PM »
Another Bridge World Honor Roll result for Todd.  Congratulations!

NAMEBW-SCORERANKMPs
Masse24     740   1   30
Blubayou     680   2   15
GG_Bridge     680   2   15
Jcreech     670   4   1
KenBerg     650   5   1
ToasterLn     650   5   1
WackoJack     620   7   1
BabsG     620   7   1
DrAculea     610   9   1
Curls77     610   9   1
Hoki     590   11   1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

GG_Bridge

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #28 on: December 11, 2019, 04:56:53 AM »
Can some kind person explain or point me to some text in the Bridge convention document as to why "minimum equal-level conversions do not apply".  I took that as a prohibition of the double bid.  Is it because you have no tolerance for clubs if they bid that suit?

jcreech

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Re: 2020 January - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB
« Reply #29 on: December 11, 2019, 04:16:41 PM »
Equal-level conversion doubles (ELCD) is a specialized conventional treatment.  Essentially, it comes up when the double is of a major, and the responder to the double bids clubs.  It allows the conversion of clubs to diamonds to show a minimum hand with 5+ diamonds and 4 of the other major.  This involves partnership agreement.

To say that ELCD does not apply, indicates that following a double, the conversion of clubs to diamonds DOES show extra strength - in other words, long-standing undiscussed understandings apply.  So in the context of the problem,
PROBLEM A: IMPs
North-South Vulnerable
You, South, hold:
!S J63 !H KQT8 !D AQJ76 !C K

SOUTHWESTNORTHEAST
   —   —    —  1 !S
  ??*


*BWS: after doubling, minimum equal-level conversions do not apply
What call do you make?

if you considered your hand to be minimum, you should not double because pulling to diamonds would show extras.
« Last Edit: December 11, 2019, 04:28:32 PM by jcreech »
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran