Author Topic: 2021 March MSC  (Read 12202 times)

Masse24

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2021 March MSC
« on: January 18, 2021, 03:24:38 PM »
MARCH 2021 MSC

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

Submit your MARCH 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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blubayou

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #1 on: January 18, 2021, 11:31:53 PM »
Jan 18, and I have no huge manifesto ready to publish.  When soon they close out the contest on the last day of the month, this won't do!
problem A:    If the opps swear to shut up,  i will cue-bid 2C ( 2S is NOT a cue-bid, but a psyche-control ie: natural).  Then we may wander into a good 3NT, or give partner enough information to eventually get us to a nice high number of Diamonds-- I don't think I am to be dummy to a heart game even if I get him to bid them.
   But they won't shut up, and currently I am thinking that a blast to 4D  will be my choice--another 40 quizz points?                                                             ---4Diamonds       
   Oh-- those FOOTNOTES?    Those are yet another piece of BWS-agreement balonie that our current bunch of panelists will ignore totally, in their vast wisdom.
problem B:  4Clubs--  ]I don't know what this will accomplish, but if partner has jump-raised himself, ALONE, at RED VUL,  then i have one for the road here.  I hope to not be taken for some kind of trap-pass by doing this.

problem C: ......Problem C has become the Home of the Unthinkable Underbid, this winter.  Last month the simple rebid of 2Hearts beat out raising partner's 1S rebid  [ 1D, 1H; 1S, ___?] and a gaggle of other aggressive rebids  holding QJT, AJxxxx, Jx, Qx , and who can forget the original "sanja-bid from December where on the same auction [!!]  "2Hearts" again scored 100 on Qx, AKQ98, xx, 6532?!   This time, some non-signoff rebid will be the winner though--not the wimpy 2Spades, nor the TRULY unthinkable 2H[uggh].  It will be mentioned that these 4 club X's will actually be of help if we endplay partner into bidding notrump (or say the N-word ourselves).  The 6542 of the december problem was ahuge dissapointment in that regard in my December simulation.  So, what will it be? 2Spades, 3Spades or Hearts,  2NT--or 3?  time will tell I dunno.                                                                 ---  ??

problem D: We're letting them take their 5 or 6 trump winners,  plus NOTHING.   The alternative is to cue 4S, then bid 6 Clubs on a 4-bagger,  most/all of the time.  Fooie on that plan.    ---PASS
   Rethinking:  We should have at least 25 of the 30 points in H, D, and C so be able to build nine or more winners there without West getting in, making 4NT "safe".  There may be some doomsday scenarios where we need more than one club trick, or more than two diamond tricks to get past 9 winners, and the opnr has the stopper in that suit, but we owe partner the chance to show more points than, say, Jx, AKxx, AQxx, Jxx
[ Is that even a double of 3 spades?]  So, going with the footnote "suggestion" works out if pard has around 17, as well as when he takes 4NT out to a long suit, especially clubs or hearts.   --4NT

PROBLEM E:  Who doesn't get the jitters when they see a quizz problem with "just one answer"?   Well, be afraid;  here must be the granddaddy of all "What's The Problem?" problems?          --2Spades
PROBLEM F:  I don't suppose that reopening with 5 clubs will get us to the really wrong trump suit, but whatever we settle in my well be a phantom sacrifice.  Bidding on does smack of telling the same story twice, but I may end up doing SOMETHING rash all the same. ....19 days left.
       ps.  the better overbid is "4NT" ofcourse, not 5C.

PROBLEM G:   If you can't beat 3 Hearts with this,  you're playing goulash.           --DOUBLE

PROBLEM H:   Drawing trump should always be given a thought when holding diamonds like this under the bidder but if it is a good play, how can pard get in to continue it.  Possibly we need to lead Diamonds, to grab one or two before they sluff one on the thirteener spade?  But I favor the club king (it's hard to imagine dummy having club Jxx as part of his jump raise <famous last words> )     ---KClubs
« Last Edit: January 24, 2021, 05:31:38 AM by blubayou »
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thornbury

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2021, 02:39:02 PM »
PROBLEM A: 2 Spades
PROBLEM B: Pass
PROBLEM C: 3 Clubs
PROBLEM D: 4 Spades
PROBLEM E: 2 Spades
PROBLEM F: Double
PROBLEM G: 5 Clubs
PROBLEM H: Club King

jcreech

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #3 on: January 29, 2021, 04:59:33 PM »
Initial thoughts.

Problem A:  2 !S  What I lack in HCPs, I make up for in distribution and controls.  How could partner expect more than two bullets and two stiffs when everyone is bidding?  I expect us to end up in 4 !H, but if 4-4-3-2, the contract may end up being in diamonds.

Problem B:  Pass  I suspect the winning call at the table is 3NT, but not in contest.  I have no shape to justify a try for an 11 trick game, but the club support is superb; that is why I think NT may be the best contract - partner's self jump-raise suggests values outside of clubs, so (s)he may have the outside stops, while I have the material to make the 6-7 bagger a running suit.

Problem C:  3 !C  This is IMPs, while I only have 11 HCPs, they are working like they are more, and if partner rebids hearts at this point, I have a powerful doubleton support. 

Problem D:  4 !S  I am far from certain of what to do on this hand.  Regardless, I think we are close to slam here.  The question is strain and level.  Looking at a 4-3-3-3, I can go with any strain, but will partner take me for 16 HCPs without making a cue bid - I don't think so.  Maybe partner's rebid will help.

Problem E:  2 !S  I will start with the obvious response, but I am also thinking of trying 2 !H.  Why?  Because my hand will likely contribute more to the total trick taking in my suit than in partner's.  If we have two 8-card fits, hearts may play a bit better.  If hearts are actually a 9-card fit, then certainly better.

Problem F:  Dbl  Cooperative/penalty.  I have some prime values opposite a 2nd seat opener.  I am not anxious to go to the five-level, but with shortness in hearts, I am willing to try punishing.  If partner has a lot of distribution, (s)he is welcome to pull, but I think we need to double to protect what they took away.

Problem G:  6 !C  This is my at the table bid, but for the contest, I will be giving more thought to double.  If partner has KQ in clubs, we can make slam in some strain, if not, then it will likely be better to double.  How can you tell?  You can't!  So it becomes a leap of faith or a double.  Right now, I feel lucky.  By the 10th, I will probably slip back to the probably 500-800 that I anticipate getting with a double.

Problem H:  !C K  I don't want to make it too easy to set up the diamonds if opener has five or more, or pickle partner's trump holding by leading my heart.  I decided that if the suit is good enough to bid, it is good enough to lead.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

jcreech

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2021, 04:15:06 PM »
WARNING

The time to think about and respond to the April and May contests will be squeezed.  Starting with the May contest, BW will be moving the submission date to the end of the month, two months before the publication date.  That means that the April contest will be the last to be due on the 10th of the month.  The next three submission dates will be as follows:

  • March contest - February 10
  • April contest - March 10
  • May contest - March 31

Hopefully, they will do something to help us through the quick turnaround - drop the lead question for a month, or make most of the problems clearcut - but they will probably be the hardest set for the year.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

blubayou

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #5 on: January 30, 2021, 11:17:49 PM »
Evolving thoughts galore:
   Prob. A:  In support of some high diamond bid [maybe five, not just 4] -- I think that the opponents have someting profitable to say if we use [either] cuebid now--maybe lots profitable to say.  And once again,  I wish to be playing in diamonds rather than an EIGHT card heart fit anyway. So we can get to hearts only if pard manages to bid them TWICE which is (1) a pipe dream, and (2) means we have both a 9+ and a 10+ fit in the reds, and won't get to play in either of those suits at a comfortable level.   So I am now settled on an immediate big jump in !D .                          ---4!D or 5!D
   Prob. C:  An invitational bid will do just fine here, and wrongsiding the club situation is not as ugly as it appears!  There are many layouts wher the 98xx comes to the rescue holding the def to 3 club winners, or trapping the 4th-round winner in a now-dead hand  (QTx and AJxx surrounding pard's club king  ie)  we don't need to WIN a club in imps  just have them be held at bay until the spades can come home:)   Another thought:  hearing partner rebid his hearts after our 2NT is more 'informative'  than hearing same after 4th-suit forcing 3!C,  where it is simply the default 'nothing to add" bid.   Those who want to force to game  arent exactly swinging from tree limbs,  but we are in for inviting only, and
                                                                     ---2NT fills that bill
   Prob. D: We admire those willing to drive to slam in any of the 3 suits via a cuebid,  But we don't trust that partner's 5D reply shows five+.  It is what we would bid with xx, AKxx, AQxx,Kxx . Hey-- wait a moment! On a good day  that does make 12 or 13 off the top.   
                                                              ---4NT MAY NOT BE our final answer!
   Prob. E:  Storm warning:   Do you think pard has classic re-opening double shape?   We think he has at least 3 of Righty's diamonds,  hence is LOADED.  West's pass makes this soo likely in a 'real' bridge game.  All the more reason to make the unmistakably 'broke' 2S call now.  Then when some further bidding endplays you into taking another call, there will be no misunderstanding when you squeek out  "3H".  (we never considered 2H when the quizz came out anyway)   Responding 2H to the double has a higher top end than the 2S does,   and bidding 2H first THEN 3S on the hypothetical next round could lead to a trainwreck.
                                                                 --2S--One Answer, after all.
   Prob. F:  Let's do a little LOTT drill as we contemplate bidding twice on a one-bid hand, ok?...They MAY have 10 trumps--or not;  we MAY have 9 , or two 8's? in the minors. So max likely Law number I call 19.  This is bad news.  It means we can sacrifice for 500 if they are making, and also means we would be bidding to a phantom sac if they are down ONE  [9 for them leaves 10 for us.]  To make matters worse, Law number of 19 also predicts that if we can beat them 2, we are also MAKING 5 of some minor. [8 for them leaves us 11].  Of course (1)  the LAW gets a little sloppy above 17 total trumps  and(2) the LOTT numper could easily be 1 or 2 less than 19.  I do believe we will try for the magical minus 790 and hopefully be pleasantly suprised.                                                       --Double
  P.S:   Cheer up, Lead Hater's Club; This could have been problem H--with 4S X as the conditions!
  Prob H:  Nothing new to report here except that there IS room for partner to have a defensive winner other than the possible deep trump one,  and be able to lead a second round if we get trump started.   Just a tanalizing bit for anyone who is inclined to draw opps' trumps.
                                                                   --- undecided
« Last Edit: January 31, 2021, 01:10:26 AM by blubayou »
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DickHy

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2021, 01:01:23 PM »
A. 2 !S.  At the table or absent the special BWS bids, 5 !D would be my choice.  Partner probably has both majors for his double of 1 !C, and likely 44.  He could have 45xx but would have bid differently with 54xx (1 !S then 2 !H) or 55xx (2 !C).  So 5 !D risks choosing a 73 minor fit over a 44/54 heart fit.  Surely the panel won’t like that? It also rules out 4N (RKC) in the auction or a minor suit RKC – yes, with this hand I’m one excited puppy. 

B.  3 !D (4 !C). I’m not giving partner any ruffs, so am only offering one trick in clubs.  Still, 4 !C is a decent prospect.  But with tail still wagging from Problem A - the majors look to be 5332, with our side having the 3s, and partner could well have stops in both.  After all, only 5 of his 18+ HCP are in clubs.  If I bid 3N, West will lead a heart through North which could be fatal.  Can I make a bid to right-side 3N? How about 3 !D?

C.  3 !C.  4SF is GF in BWS but I’ll live with that.  Partner’s shape offers various games 4 !S (3541), 4 !H (2641) or 3N (1543).  Doubtless, he’ll be 2542 and we’ll end up in 3N hoping opponents will throw us a bone (clubs aren’t running - neither opponent overcalled 2 !C, white - and a couple of cards are well-placed).

D.  6N/4S.  All North’s HCP are outside spades, and I’d expect him to have 14+, rather than a measly 12, say.  So, we have 26+ HCP in his three suits.  He’s probably 1444 – with 3c spade support East would have bid four spades.  That looks close to 12 tricks to me.  Among the silver linings, they could have a queen and two jacks, East could have the club king or West could have the heart king.  With thick clouds, East may have a red suit ace/heart king to go with his two spades, but if I make a 4N bid and North has 14 – minimum for his bid - he’ll certainly pass.   I'd bid 6N at the table, but that's likely to be a bit too blunt-instrument for pros.  A 4S cuebid may well lead us to a decent 6m contract.

E.  2 !S.  This looks suspiciously straightforward for the MSC bidding quiz.  The diamond queen looks worthless.  Do I really want to yap about anything other than spades?

F.  x/4N.  This problem seems to hinge on whether North’s pass is forcing and, if so, whether a double from me would then be for penalty.  If so, I want to double and then slap down the king of hearts.  Are we likely to make 5m with these my patchy suits?  4N would add to the picture: the original double promised 44/44+, not the 55 I have. 

G.  x.  This looks like Problem E from last month.  Assume the 3 !C is KQxxxxxx, hope for a useful card outside and bid 3N.  Here the useful card doesn’t have to be so good – the jack of diamonds would be just fine.  However, this looks like a good time to start biting - we can take 5 tricks (+) against 3Hx for 500 (+)

H.   K !C.  East (35xx, 34xx, 25xx) may not be ruffing my diamond winners, and if he is, I’m not sure I can stop him.  Neither will partner enjoy a heart lead from me.  The king of clubs is an investment for the future too – reassuring partner that my two-level overcalls are solid and when the table is turned he can lead them safely (thus, the excited puppy transforms into Dr Pavlov).   

peuco

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2021, 04:44:11 PM »
Problem A  5D. I’ve seen a lot of 4-4 contracts with a 7 card side suit go down

Problem B 5C. Pd must have a play for 5C. With an 8 card suit it could be cold

Problem C 3S. Not afraid to play 4S opposite a singleton

Problem D 4S. Let pd know slam is on the radar

Problem E 2H. with 2S the D ruff shortens dummy and there it goes the chance to profit from the long Hs

Problem F 4NT. what else as yleexotee says

Problem G No 6C for me. So the question is how many tricks will East make. With H AQJ seventh and S KQJ he will make 8. But with that holding he might bid 4H. So he has 6 Hs and if he has S KQJ9 the S 10 will prevent the 8th trick. So by a narrow margin Double over 5C

 Problem H D K. perhaps I can play C K later C K lead can give a trick


kenberg

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2021, 03:05:46 PM »
I'll get to the full list soon. I'm playing this morning and we have company in the afternoon, but then I will get on it. In the meantime, I am wondering if I am the only one who would have bid an immediate 2 !S on E. Yes we are vul and yes it is imps but still:

Partner deals and opens 1 !S, Rho bids 2 !D, I hold a 3=5=1=4 shape, the !S being QTx. I don't count any hcps for the stiff !D Q but it is a stiff and it is in their suit. Seems like I should just bid 2 !S, get it out of my system, and then shut up. Stiff in their suit, QTx in our suit, 2 !S sounds right to me.

As it is, after passing, I think partner is doubling to re-open on a three card heart suit. I would guess he is something akin to 5=3=2=3.  He has to be prepared for a 3 !C response to his double so he needs at least 3, I have only one diamond and Lho did not raise diamonds, it seems partner must have a couple of diamonds, and, anyway, if he had a four card heart suit he might well have re-opened by bidding 2 !H. If we are going to play in a 5-3 fit I think spades would be better than hearts.

My first thought was, after the X, I would bid 3 !S to show that I had a max pass. But then I decided passing first and then jumping to 3 is nutty. I would not have passed on the first round, but having done so I think 2 !S is enough.

Ken

jcreech

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2021, 05:16:50 PM »
Hi Ken,

In these contests, I try not to dwell on what might have been.  I've been known to make a call that I later regret as the auction continues, but I have to deal with what is the current situation. 

Yes, I would consider making the immediate raise, but I didn't.  Now what do I do?  The obvious choices are to raise or bid hearts; I think of the jump raise as being a bit frisky, so it did not cross my brain's threshold, but the bid is not crazy, just more than I am willing to go with.
A stairway to nowhere is better than no stairway at all.  -Kehlog Albran

kenberg

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2021, 08:41:46 PM »
A.  2S
What's going on? If we give partner at least six red cards for his double then, between us, we have 17 red cards. So they have 17 black cards. And more, if pard has more than six red cards, as seems likely. Very possible opener has sic clubs and four spades and is about to show some of this.  I can see jumping to 5 !D, honestly it's one of those "Take the bull by the tail and fact the situation" bids I often make at the table, but I think I just start with 2 !S.

B   4C
Well, I passed the first time and pard says he can make 3 !C. Seems we should be able to make 4 !C.

C.  3C
BW keeps offering these problems where it won't take much for game, you would like to have a descriptive game invite, but you do not. So I keep making game forcing bids and I keep getting bad scores, Quoting Hank Willians "She warned me once, she warned me twice, but I don't take no one's advice".   Partner plays the cards well I hope.

D. 4NT
Seems right.

E. 2S
I guess that's what I do.

F. 4NT
I'm really sure that this is what I would do at the table. I look forward to hearing what's wrong about it.

G. 5C
I need to think some more about this.

H. club K
That's my choice.
Ken

wackojack

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2021, 05:08:14 PM »
Problem A
A word about the BWS meaning of 2♣ and 2♠.  If 2♠ is a cue, then what do you bid with 4+♠?  Presumably a double is for penalties and not a type of responsive double. I note Blu’s says that in his view 2♠ should be natural is not a cue. 

On the problem itself we must assume that partner’s take-out double was not stupid.  Then we could assume 10+HCP with the most shape specific hand which is 4441.  11+ for 4432 and perhaps 4342, 12+ for 4M333.  Let’s assume for the moment that partner’s distribution is 4432.  This would give us an 8 card ♥ fit and a 10 card ♦ fit and the opponents would have an 8 card ♠ fit and a 10 card ♣ fit. Give partner an almost minimum value take-out double of 12HCP.  This could easily be the whole layout:

          ♠ Axxx
          ♥ KQxx
          ♦ Kxx
          ♣ xx   
♠ Jxxx               ♠ KQxx
♥ xx                  ♥ Jxx
♦ x                    ♦ Qx
♣ AKQJxx          ♣ xxxx

              ♠ 7
            !H Axxx
             ♦ A1096432
             ♣ x   
North’s hand has the most probable distribution and the only thing slightly fortunate about the North hand is that it is rich in controls.  You can see that 6♥ or 6♦ is easily makeable. Some posts favoured a diamond contract over a heart contract because of possible or probable bad breaks in hearts.  This concern I think is bogus because:
1.   A bad heart break destroys a diamond slam just as much as a heart slam.
2.   Hearts will almost certainly break well because East responds 1♠ and so has fewer hearts than spades.  East is very unlikely to have 5♠ +4♥ because that would mean West has 3♠ + 1♥ and therefore 9 minor suit cards.  With a 3127 distribution, west might decide to open 4♣.  So, my money is on hearts splitting 3-2 if partner has 4 of them.

So, I rule out South bidding a number of diamonds.  South needs to find out how many hearts partner has and needs to make the strongest bid possible because West is inevitably going to bid a number of clubs and we don’t want partner to pass. 

So, I bid 2♠.  Hopefully If partner bids 3♥.  Then, I need to know about partners key cards and if she holds the Q♥.  So, if partner shows a 4 card heart suit then there is an opportunity for 4♠ kick-back.  With the hand shown playing 1430 partner bids 5♥ showing 2 + Q♥.  Bidding the 6♥ here pre-supposes that partner has the bidding room to cue the K♦ below game level which may not be possible if West bids aggressively.

Actually, here kick-back is not necessary as a 5♥ response to 4NT will be passed. 

Nevertheless, none of this may be possible if South does not cue 2♠.


blubayou

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2021, 12:27:33 AM »
SOLVER: Jock McQuade,     3 Bag End     Hobbiton  97030,  Eriador Your Solutions for the   March 2021 Contest  (ALMOST trigger-pulled)-----
PROBLEM A: 5 Diamonds ( Wackojack's "perfecto" minimum for red suits scares me all the more to try to shut up the                               winning 5 Spade comp, and might make facing most less-than-handpicked support)

PROBLEM B: 4 Clubs  -- gotta raise if only for partnership solidarity.
PROBLEM C: 2 Notrump  --  4 spades and 4 reds ought to be  as bad as we do

PROBLEM D: 4 Spades -- forcing to slam, in practice: :(    so be it.
PROBLEM E: 2 Spades --  Dick's THREE spades  daydream has me fascinated though
PROBLEM F: Double --  Fearing  a phantom sacrifice,  not hoping for an 800 massacre
PROBLEM G:Double
PROBLEM H: Club King
  TO Jim and Todd: Official entry sent as above, Monday 2/08
« Last Edit: February 09, 2021, 07:49:49 AM by blubayou »
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wackojack

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2021, 05:53:16 PM »
B 3♦
If partner has 7 clubs ♣ AJ9xxxx must have good high cards outside and yet did not rebid 2NT or 3NT.  I reckon he could well have 8 of them.  I think that with 7 or 8 tricks in clubs we could well have 3NT on. And as DickHy observed right siding for 3NT could be crucial.  So, I will go for 3♦.  I will pass 3N or 4♣. 

C 3♣
I have a very good 11 points and so will go for game.  3♣ will find us the best spot.  If partner bids 3NT I will pass.  If partner bids 3♥ or 3♠ I will raise that suit.

D 3NT
We cannot expect much more than 14 HCP from partner for the take-out double and likely nothing in spades.  So, with ♠ xx, ♥ AKxx, ♦ Axxx, ♣ Kxx, we can count 9 top tricks only and likely only 1 extra trick in the red suits.  Can we then try 4N?  Partner no doubt would bid 6NT with about 15 or 16.  It looks right to try 4NT.  However, give partner 16:  ♠ xx, ♥ AKJx, ♦ Axxx, ♣ KJx.  We still need 4 tricks in ♦s opposite ♦ KJ8.  That is unlikely.  So, I think I will take the low road and bid 3NT.   But I may change my mind.

E 2♥
My first reaction was the safe 2♠.  However, we now seem to have a double fit and opponents have got a lot of diamonds between them so west is surely going to compete to 3♦.  So I bid the more forward going 2♥.

F Double
Have we got a 9 card fit in the minors?  Is partner’s shape 2533 or 2542?  So lets be optimistic and assume we have a 9 card fit in a minor.  Then according to LTT there are 19 total tricks:
If they make 4♠ we make only 9 tricks in a minor.
If they are 1 off in 4♠ we make 10 tricks in a minor
If they are 2 off in 4♠ we can make a minor suit game.
I doubt if they can make 4♠ so I double
If partner passed the 4♠ raise with a 5-5 shape she may well pull the double.
I note after writing this that Blu has said the same thing 

G double
If I double for penalties, I reckon at worst +200, likely +500 and even possibly +800 if I can give partner a ♦ ruff.  Playing in 5♣ we may well make for +400 or could go off for -50.  I will double and got for the more certain plus score.

H ♦K     

Masse24

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Re: 2021 March MSC
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2021, 06:11:13 PM »
B 3♦
If partner has 7 clubs ♣ AJ9xxxx must have good high cards outside and yet did not rebid 2NT or 3NT.  I reckon he could well have 8 of them.  I think that with 7 or 8 tricks in clubs we could well have 3NT on. And as DickHy observed right siding for 3NT could be crucial.  So, I will go for 3♦.  I will pass 3N or 4♣.   

There it is!

That's what I've been thinking. 3 !D . . . Wondering if I was the only one. But . . . does this imply my !C holding?

I keep intending to post but am constantly pulled away. Too many irons in the fire right now.
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