Author Topic: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB  (Read 10585 times)

Masse24

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2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« on: July 15, 2020, 11:55:20 AM »
SEPTEMBER 2020 MSC

Deadline: AUGUST 10 at 9:00 a.m. (ET)

Submit your SEPTEMBER MSC responses here: The Bridge World - MASTER SOLVERS CLUB

BWS 2017 System: BWS 2017
BWS 2017 POLLS, CHANGES AND ADDITIONS: BWS 2017 - Polls, Changes, and Additions
  • Bridge World Standard 2017 (BWS or BWS2017) is effective beginning with the January 2017 Master Solvers' Club problems. This page shows (1) the results of the panelist polls that were used to adjust the system; and (2) the changes in and the additions to Bridge World Standard 2001 (BWS2001) that were made.
    In the listings of the questions and answers, an asterisk indicates the BWS2001 agreement; the proportion of the expert votes for each item, rounded to the nearest percent, is shown in brackets.


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« Last Edit: August 09, 2020, 09:03:21 PM by Masse24 »
“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.” Abraham Lincoln

jcreech

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2020, 02:00:48 PM »
copied into this month's discussion
---Rough draft for "september" quizz


problem A:>>    If I had to place the ontract on this very bid,  it would be "4 Spades",   but i don't have to.  We all can picture the deals where partner has beaucoup running winners,  if  we will just  fess up to the heart stopper,  but when he does not, well,  "3NT ends all auctions"  they say,  and that would be too bad   especially  if they cannot beat 4 spades. SO my bid is THREE SPADES  which will likely give pard a fat headache.   Who knows-- HE may come up with the 3NT  bid!  another  fun thing we might hear is 4 Diamonds,  then I have good hope for 5 Clubs making.  But frequently,  he will be end-played into raising spades with 0-1 trump  and that should be fine   [fingers crossed]


problem B:>>  Do you protect with a "perfecto" 7-count?   I don't , at least   not without the boss suit      PASS


problem C:>>  This quizz should be about the NEXT round of bidding,  after pard bids <whatever, even 3 Spades>  to our negative double.  3NT NOW, nor 4 Clubs never crossed my mind.         DOUBLE


problem D :>>  I can't bear to watch them scramble  6 to 8  tricks in spades  with this hand,  and assuming they  cannot manage eight,  still doubling now does not mean this hand-- it further promises the heart support i do not have.  So,  i am assuming partner's yarborough  has 4 diamonds , plus-or-minus.      THREE DIAMONDS ( and whack three spades  for sure)


problem E:>>  We are about a queen heavy  for a non-jump reply,  so does that mean we must bid 4 hearts?   I am chicken  and bid only    3 HEARTS.   Jumping in DIAMONDS  may win the day   but good luck with that .    IF somebody bids something and i can say 4 diamonds, I hope it means pard has 4 pieces when he goes back to hearts!


problem F:>>  2nd easy one:   UNT for me,  and jump to FIVE harts  ( SIX, if five H is not a jump ) --even if pard  preferences clubs--   2 NOTRUMP

problem G:>> No fake reverses this month !   poster-child  for plain old jump-rebid.   THREE DIAMONDS

problem H:>> haven't a clue in hell;  mark me down for DIAMOND ACE, for now
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

Masse24

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2020, 02:12:18 PM »
Submitted on behalf of Marty (Aloha9):

PROBLEM A  4 !C
PROBLEM B  2NT
PROBLEM C   X
PROBLEM D  4NT
PROBLEM E  4 !H
PROBLEM F   X
PROBLEM G  2 !H
PROBLEM H  !C 2
« Last Edit: August 04, 2020, 03:34:48 PM by Masse24 »
“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.” Abraham Lincoln

jcreech

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #3 on: July 16, 2020, 11:37:53 AM »
No problem Jock.  Todd had not created the September location until after you prompted him to catch up with you.

I just thought since you put so much effort into giving us your preliminary thoughts, they deserved to be a part of the correct poll.

Glad to make the assist.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

jcreech

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2020, 03:52:38 PM »
My initial thoughts:

Problem A: 3H  For now, I will show my stopper, and try to get to 3NT.  By the time I make my final decision, it may be back at my current second choice 3S.  I expect 3S to be a decent score because it is such a powerful suit, but 3H or 3NT to be the 100.

Problem B:  Pass Not anxious to double or overcall.  2NT is my second choice, but the risk of balancing them into a game or us into a penalty is greater than finding a good strain

Problem C: Dbl  This one I have to check whether negative doubles are played this high.  I intend to get to game or slam opposite, but may run out of space to explore.  I will have to rethink if this is a penalty double.

Problem D: Pass  This call is unsastisfactory, but 2NT opposite no entries is worse, as are double without hearts and 3D without assuarances that partner has length.  Perhaps I will get lucky and have partner balance with length in one or the other red suit and shortness in spades.  I now sort of wish I had lied by bidding a very heavy 1NT; at least I would not feel so helpless now.

Problem E: 4C To show strength and at least two places to play.  Patner could have a 3-card major, so I want to cater to that instead of jumping to game in my Jxxx.

Problem F: 2NT  I want to be in slam opposite the least encouragement.  I will start by showing both suits, then listen to what happens next.

Problem G: 3D  Never been a fan of manufactured reverses, and outside of diamonds, the hand does not revalue upwards.  If the diamonds were AKQTxx, I probably would have rebid 3NT.  They are not, so I will make the normal value bid.

Problem H:  SJ  I will not lay down the DA - too easy for it to set up something in dummy while having the ace be ruffed away.  I also will not lead my trump, automatically pickling anything partner might have.  A club is a possibility, but which one - the 10 to retain the lead if possible, the 6 2nd from nothing, or low to imply something in the suit?
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

Masse24

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #5 on: July 17, 2020, 05:05:38 PM »
I never do this, usually preferring the scientific approach.
Partner needs very little for us to have grand. But I am thinking this little jump may get in the way of the opps auction just a bit.
Looking at my hand, this will definitely be an action auction. Why not get in the first lick?

PROBLEM F: 6 !H

I am also contemplating 5NT. If I could be sure partner would field it properly, I would be more tempted. Still, a possibility.
“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.” Abraham Lincoln

yleexotee

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #6 on: July 19, 2020, 05:45:36 PM »
I just have a complaint!  Why am I working on September MSC and I'm not really finished with the month of July yet!  Hello MSC, time to catch up with the digital age of publishing.

jcreech

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #7 on: July 19, 2020, 06:31:54 PM »
Personally, I like to have a bit of closure on the previous months problems before opening up the new set, but Todd is getting slower in providing a summary of the comments and Pat is getting faster with her complaints about no activity on the new month's problems.  I keep looking around for Major Major Major, to ask if he got his promotion to Major yet.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

blubayou

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2020, 01:57:55 AM »
The quizz closes on August 10th.  Then they give the moderator a couple weeks to adjudicate and compose his comments,  and we are close to September,  then  it's off to the nuts and bolts guys  to fit this mastepiece into an actual magazine ---  that's why we see "September"  in mid-July :)
often it is better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission

ccr3

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #9 on: July 24, 2020, 04:12:12 PM »
Well Jim, looks like my complaint last month did some good. Much more activity earlier this month.

hoki

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2020, 05:39:21 AM »
A - 4♠ fwiw, I'll put it out there since no one has mentioned it yet. I'm not interested in a minor-suit slam nor 3NT where my heart stopper will be knocked out at trick 1. So I shall bid what I think I can make. After responder's reverse this is weaker than 3♠.

B - torn between pass and 2NT, the former being right if opps have the balance of power, the latter if pard has got a minor as well as the implied spade stack.

C - dble with 4♣ a good second choice. Double has the advantage of flexibility and keeping 3NT in the picture if pard can bid it.

D - dble and pass if pard tries 3. My first thought was to bid 2NT but despite the points I really only have five tricks and six if I'm lucky.

E - too many possibilities, but maybe 4 is the simplest (considered 4♣ and 4).

F - dble, but am toying with Todd's idea of 6, may change my choice because Todd always scores so highly.

G - 3

H - A

jcreech

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #11 on: August 01, 2020, 12:04:40 PM »
On Problem A, my thinking was that 3H can be a pattern bid, but more importantly a potentially useful fragment in hearts.  Partner clearly has a minor two suiter, and 3H shows opener's reluctance to favor either.  On the other hand, even a singleton HK could bolster opener's QJx into a double stop.  At the same time, I believe 3H now guarantees the sixth spade, which 2S did not.  In hands like this, I like to show what I have until one of us can determine the strain.  I am still uncertain, so I show a bit more of my hand.

On Problem F, my initial thought was to jump to 6H as suggested by Todd and now echoed (at least in consideration) by Hoki.  If the HJ were the Q, I would be more inclined to do exactly that.  At the table, I particularly like the bid because it leaves the clubs undisclosed so that on a run of the hearts, it becomes easy to pitch a club from Jxxx or Txxx in order to save something in spades.  I once held a 5-8-0-0, with the 8 bagger headed by AKQJT and the spades by AKQ; I bid 7H on the same general theory.  But there is a difference between having an absolutely solid holding and a broken holding where you need enough luck for the Q to be in partner's hand, falling doubleton, or an entry to partner and find the Q can be finessed.  6H may be the panel view, but I think it may be more of a table action than a panel action.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

blubayou

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #12 on: August 03, 2020, 01:49:11 PM »
Almost half of these deals are not worthy of rethinking--very sad. --- As usual,  problem A  is not one of those:).   Two weeks ago,  I did not consider seriously  3rd bid of 3 hearts---thinking it is  "patterning out"  a 6-4 shape,   but Jim has convinced me  that ship has left port, so it shows a feature, not necessarily. a suit.   BUT WAIT!  If pard bids 3NT  ON MY heart stopper,  we are right back where Hoki (and myself)  don't want to be!  [ see Hoki's short post].    So... I will stay with my  3rd bid of spades,  and only  if pard can find a 3NT call  will we sit there. Please DO realize  that bidding spades twice  DOES NOT show this  [usually] self-sufficient  trump suit  (and don't tell,  but I will bid it  FOURTH time  if pard rebids 4 clubs)  :) 

About PROBLEM B:       I ran Sonya's deal-generating program thru 128 deals specifying our exact hand South,  and "under 6 points [any]"  East.   40 of these could have produced the auction given, and it turns out passing out was a big looser, or potential looser  on 30 of those..  Most of the time we owned the deal, and the main problem to getting an actual plus  was our partner's taking us seriously and bidding higher than the par three or four-level!      but even so  we improved on the -140  etc  that passing would produce.  The main loosing deals  had the opener sitting on a 'playing trick strong two"  happily  correcting himself to 4 spades and often making it (4 instances).   So, after 50 years of being a passer,  I am a convert --  2NT will be my vote, and Devil take the hindmost.
« Last Edit: August 03, 2020, 08:47:54 PM by blubayou »
often it is better to beg forgiveness, than ask permission

kenberg

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #13 on: August 03, 2020, 05:02:00 PM »
I am just getting started, a bit late as usual.

For A, I think 3H is the natural choice. What does it mean? It can hardly be an attempt to play in hearts, partner has had enough time to show hearts if he had them. I think it shows about what I have. If I had AQx in hearts I could just bid 3NT. If I had xxx in  hearts, I would bid 3S trusting partner to bid 3NT if that seems right. So I think 3H says something like: Maybe this belongs in spades, maybe in NT,  I have some help in handling hearts but I am not so enthusiastic about it that I want to bid 3NT all on my own. If partner has no help at all in hearts he can now clarify what he does have. I expect that we belong in either 3NT or in 4S, but he might have the rare hand for which this is not so. So 3H leaves us with options.

On to B: If 2NT meant please bid a minor and then, if the auction continues, please do not bid again, then I would bid 2NT. But while no doubt the 2NT asks for a minor I am not at all confident partner would not carry on in some way if they now find their likely heart fit.  Certainly I could have a better hand than I do and still bid 2NT. I think I will just get out with a pass. I am open to re-thinking this.
« Last Edit: August 04, 2020, 12:42:12 PM by kenberg »
Ken

Masse24

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Re: 2020 SEPTEMBER - MASTER SOLVER'S CLUB
« Reply #14 on: August 04, 2020, 03:36:32 PM »
I never do this, usually preferring the scientific approach.
Partner needs very little for us to have grand. But I am thinking this little jump may get in the way of the opps auction just a bit.
Looking at my hand, this will definitely be an action auction. Why not get in the first lick?

PROBLEM F: 6 !H

Not going this route.
“Kindness is the only service that will stand the storm of life and not wash out. It will wear well and will be remembered long after the prism of politeness or the complexion of courtesy has faded away.” Abraham Lincoln