2023 APRIL MSC

[Masse24]

APRIL 2023 MSC
Deadline: FEBRUARY 28 at 11:59 p.m. (ET)

Submit your APRIL 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.

IAC Forum MSC Scores

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[blubayou]

Having trouble diving into this batch of problems; how about you folks?          But that's changing.

Problem A  marks the return of the 100-deal SIMULATION    
The first thing that stood out was that having silent opps when we have these two hands is suprisingly rare!  west, and even east keep turning up with hands rating  a michael's, Jump-overcall or even a double.  The fact that they are silent  improves our chances of not get murdered if staying in notrump.  (Simulation deals with opponent passing when it is not realistic for them to do so are discarded)
   The second thing is that PASSING 2NT  is totally off the page. None of my acceptable examples scored exactly 120, without retreating to diamonds scoring 130(150), nor was surrendering a minus 50 less bad  than what would happen if we correct to 3!D
   So,  the two horse race was a battle between correcting to diamonds and RAISING notrump!  So far this is a tight battle.  The panel  will go for the game bonus, counting on 3NT being cold  or sneaking home by a less than double-dummy  opening lead
                 ---for Feb 9th,  I am RAISING ---


PROBLEM B:>>  The hint sent me running to the OKB system notes!   IT made me think that both cuebids show "strong diamond raises", which is odd.
   But no.  Turns out that 2   has two legs.  It can be the usual invite+ in diamonds, but also a really strong hand  (in context)  coming in a different suit.   With that possibility in mind,  I see no haarm in bidding my club suit, in case partner has a 1H opener which will be lovely,  or even a club-heart two-suiter--even lovelier.  I really expect we are headed for 4 or 5 hearts or 5 clubs.
            ---Three Clubs---

PROBLEM C:>>  They're having a little joke here-- this is last month's  problem D with the heart noise coming from righty instead of lefty!  March problem D had a stunning 25 votes to  become declarer.  Will a majority be sucked in by the heart  AQ even though  "right-siding" is not an issue anymore? 
It depends on whether or not after doubling, we are willing to lie down for partner's runout to 2 of either minor.   It is IMPS,  so I am OK with being dummy  to 2 clubs or playing 2  diamonds......
            ---Double---

PROBLEM D:>>  This bucket of loosers  is what Michaels' cue was meant for, IMO.  Hoping to bid 2 suits one at a time is a poster child for  "making the last mistake".  MAKE them catch you after a SINGLE intervention if they can.  Remind your partner that the bid that means "show my your minor"  is TWO NOTRUMP,  not three clubs; Then it's possible  to come to a safe port,  should he mave 6+ clubs without any red support

[blubayou]

PROBLEM E:>>  Leaving in  1NT  can't be hideous,  but 2 , 2, [size=78%] or 2[/size]   should be fine too.  The trouble is  when I hear 2 diamonds, after my retreat to 2 clubs, I am gonna raise it.  That could get embarrassing.  But I have learned that the 6-9 point-range for pard's 1NT rebid turns out to be 10 points really often.
                   ---Two Clubs---

PROBLEM F:>>  Last month's companion board ( Problem E)  was  AKQxxx, ---, K, AKJTxx.   There probably won't be serious objection from the panel  with the assigned 2    opening with this 21-count,  but there will be with the o-so-similar 16-count here. 
                  ---One Spade---

PROBLEM G:>> 

[DickHy]

Well, the fire started by Blu seems to be guttering, so here's some petrol:

A.  3 (or pass).  Partner has 11/12 (1N would have been 6-10) and something like Axxx KJx xx QJxx.  Where do we want to be?  If partner has the spade T or 9, 3N might be decent, as he can win the opening spade trick x-Q-K-A knowing that West can’t run the suit.  Without a good spade spot, West, after winning the opening spade lead with the K can carry on with the suit (if he has an outside entry) or can switch … to a heart across partner’s holding.  That looks gloomy.  At least if it comes down to a heart guess, partner is more likely to get it right than I am.  At matchpoints is choosing a fairly certain part-score better than opting for a fraught game?  I hope you wizards will tell me.  Meanwhile, I can chew over whether it’s better to pass 2N or play 3 in a 6-2 fit. 

B.   5 .  According to BWS [C(b)] a passed hand cue-bid guarantees a fit.  I guess in this auction 2 could show a fit but a weak hand, 2 a decent raise (6-9) and 2 (10/11) a good one.  Partner looks to have 4 spades.  With nice spades and Qxx in diamonds, say, he might have bid 1N.  Ergo (these Italian drugs are graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate), he has paltry spades and Axxx in diamonds. Carpe diem!

C.  1N.  At the table I’d bang this out with nary a second thought. 

D.   Pass.  At best this is a 20/20 hand and I love my partner.  I’m not gonna dump him at the 3-level in a (ropey) 5 – 3 (probably 2 knowing my luck) fit with an emaciated hand.  Especially when red v white.  Besides, I don’t know how the spades are distributed yet.   

E.   2N.  According to BWS partner is 6-10.  If he’s at the top end we look to have a decent shot at 3N.  That’s surely a shorter road to fortune than any club contract.

F.  2 .  Yeah, the purist voice in my ear is purring “one spade, honey.”   Who’s got time for pure bridge??

G.  3N/3 .  We’re lacking a spade stop otherwise partner, who seems to have five hearts, would have bid 3N over 3 .  With two useless spades I’m hesitant about raising the temperature with a heart cue bid.  However, could North have Ax KQxxx Axxx Qx, having rejecting Ax as a stop?  Neither East nor West made a 1 overcall (one might hold Kxxx and the other Qxxxx), which seems to place North with a high spade honour.  3 would give North a chance to show Ax in spades (he won’t cue with Kx in spades), so perhaps it’s worth the detour, just in case 6 is on the horizon.

H.    2.  East might be able to pick up the heart suit anyway (certainly with Kxx in hearts and maybe with Kx, having a spade entry into West).  Partner hasn’t got much but whatever he has I will kill it with a non-heart lead.  Leading the    2 might make declarer do the work.  I can always hope partner has the  T !   

[hoki]

A   3♦, have to be consistent with my philosophy that bridge is bridge and poker is poker

B   4♦, changed from 3♦ after reading Jock’s comments – and Dick’s

C   1NT – or double?

D   Dble – and pass 2♣ which I doubt will be left in (but can bid 2♦ if doubled?)

E   2♣, can’t stomach being stuck in NT

F   1♠, “normal” (dare I say that?)

G   4♦, would love to bid 4♥ as a control bid, but is it?

H   ♣7, mol by elimination (what I said last time)

[veredk]

PROBLEM A: 3 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 5 Diamonds
PROBLEM C: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM D: 2 Spades
PROBLEM E: 2 Clubs
PROBLEM F: 1 Spade
PROBLEM G: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM H: Spade 10

[DickHy]

On F, I bow to the wisdom of others.  Opening 1 means I'll be re-bidding  at the 4-level (assuming partner will respond and/or there's a red suit overcall).  Opening 2 means re-bidding  one level higher.

66 hands don't come up often.  Mind you, I can't remember the last time I pre-empted 3 .  I can imagine a scheme for opening 66 hands 3 , responder relays, then 3 shows the reds, 3 the blacks and 3N mixed.  If opponents make a suit overcall, x would show the other colours and 3N mixed.  Over 3N, responder bids Hx/xxx suits up the line (while holding the Book of Common Prayer) [making dodgy bids is bad enough - suggesting systems is way OTT, Ed].


   

[jcreech]

On F, I bow to the wisdom of others.  Opening 1 means I'll be re-bidding  at the 4-level (assuming partner will respond and/or there's a red suit overcall).  Opening 2 means re-bidding  one level higher.

66 hands don't come up often.  Mind you, I can't remember the last time I pre-empted 3 .  I can imagine a scheme for opening 66 hands 3 , responder relays, then 3 shows the reds, 3 the blacks and 3N mixed.  If opponents make a suit overcall, x would show the other colours and 3N mixed.  Over 3N, responder bids Hx/xxx suits up the line (while holding the Book of Common Prayer) [making dodgy bids is bad enough - suggesting systems is way OTT, Ed].

One way to keep the bidding lower if you fear a red-suit barrage is to open 1 .  This is from Danny Kleinman in last month's Panel:  "I object to the problem, because (a) with equal length and strength in the blacks, I would bid clubs ahead of spades, and (b) because of the rigid BWS requirements for a natural positive two-heart response.  Given the straitjacket, I would have risked a one-club opening."  Playing with Brian Platnik (after his Junior WC, but well before his more recent successes), the one thing he insisted on was that if I were 5-5 or 6-6 in the black suits, I was to open 1 .  This is hardly a consensus expert practice, but there are some who are rigid adherents.  Just as there are those who rigidly insist on the partnership opening a major whenever they have five or longer in a major (Steve Robinson quickly come to mind).  In MSC, to score well, you have to follow the Panel majority; at the table, you have to choose your own partnership path and follow it.

[Masse24]

On F, I bow to the wisdom of others.  Opening 1 means I'll be re-bidding  at the 4-level (assuming partner will respond and/or there's a red suit overcall).  Opening 2 means re-bidding  one level higher.

66 hands don't come up often.  Mind you, I can't remember the last time I pre-empted 3 .  I can imagine a scheme for opening 66 hands 3 , responder relays, then 3 shows the reds, 3 the blacks and 3N mixed.  If opponents make a suit overcall, x would show the other colours and 3N mixed.  Over 3N, responder bids Hx/xxx suits up the line (while holding the Book of Common Prayer) [making dodgy bids is bad enough - suggesting systems is way OTT, Ed].

One way to keep the bidding lower if you fear a red-suit barrage is to open 1 .  This is from Danny Kleinman in last month's Panel:  "I object to the problem, because (a) with equal length and strength in the blacks, I would bid clubs ahead of spades, and (b) because of the rigid BWS requirements for a natural positive two-heart response.  Given the straitjacket, I would have risked a one-club opening."  Playing with Brian Platnik (after his Junior WC, but well before his more recent successes), the one thing he insisted on was that if I were 5-5 or 6-6 in the black suits, I was to open 1 .  This is hardly a consensus expert practice, but there are some who are rigid adherents.  Just as there are those who rigidly insist on the partnership opening a major whenever they have five or longer in a major (Steve Robinson quickly come to mind).  In MSC, to score well, you have to follow the Panel majority; at the table, you have to choose your own partnership path and follow it.

At work, so this will be quick. I've not looked at all of the problems yet, but wanted to chime in on this one.

Jim . . . you beat me to it in mentioning the viability of 1 . I agree that 1 is "normal," and the current practice. And yes, opening 1 then bidding and rebidding shows longer clubs. But importantly imagine how the auction might go. With all those red cards out I can envision a high-level second bid. This possibility makes 1 a more attractive choice. It's because of the possibility of the opponent's overcalling a red suit and a high level raise.

The suit quality also gives the club suit some extra "oomph" over the spade suit. A little squint and it looks like a seven card suit.

As far as opening 2 , it's hard to convey the strength of this hand without doing so. But I open two-suited hands 2 about 1% of the time. With all those missing red cards 2 is not necessary.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet, and while 1 may be "normal" and popular, 1 is a definite maybe!

[bAbsG]

SOLVER: Babs Giesbrecht

Your Solutions for the April 2023 Contest 
-------------------
PROBLEM A: 3 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 3 Spades
PROBLEM C: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM D: 2 Spades
PROBLEM E: 2 Clubs
PROBLEM F: 1 Spade
PROBLEM G: 3 Spades
PROBLEM H: Heart 2

[Masse24]

APRIL GUESSES:

PROBLEM A: 3 Diamonds
My Hamman-o-meter dinged once, then stopped. Although the panel is aggressive, I don't feel it's quite worth the 3NT gamble.

PROBLEM B: 3 Clubs
Game try. Who knows which game.

PROBLEM C: 1 Notrump
A bit of a tease? So similar to last week's "WTP unanimous?" problem. But it's different.

PROBLEM D: Double
A bit out there but it's flexible. I have the values, but that's all. And I'm only short one club. We're vulnerable and overcalling at the two level on an Ace-empty suit is not my choice. Same with pushing us to the three-level with nothing but shape. I actually think some may pass.

PROBLEM E: 2 Clubs
Do not like my heart void. Not worth 2NT. Almost worth 3 , but my suit quality and void in partner's suit convince me to go low.

PROBLEM F: 1 Club
Risky. Banking on red suit calls at a high level allowing me to stick in a spade bid to give partner a choice. "Normal" is of course opening 1 .

PROBLEM G: 3 Hearts
Control. At least that's how I intend it. I hope it's not taken as Hx.

PROBLEM H: Spade 10
Passive. I see no indication another suit would be better. I assume this will be the popular solver choice. The panel will tell me why a diamond is best.

[ccr3]

 Your Solutions for the April 2023 Contest
-------------------
PROBLEM A: 3 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 3 Clubs
PROBLEM C: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM D: 2 Spades
PROBLEM E: 2 Clubs
PROBLEM F: 1 Spade
PROBLEM G: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM H: Spade 10

[jcreech]

Sorry that my initial responses are also my final responses.  Time slipped away.

Problem A:  3   The Q makes it tempting to bid 3 NT, but I am worried about where the tricks may come from.  With fitting diamonds, partner can retry for 3 NT by bidding hearts, spades or NT.

Problem B:  5 Not sure what 2 means.  As a passed hand, I think it is showing a good passed hand with a fit.  I'm not sure who can make what, but I don't want to guess when the opponents bid 4 , but I think I will get a plus if they bid 5 .

Problem C:  1 NT  The right values and right-siding the hand still outweigh bidding or asking partner to bid the spades

Problem D:  Dbl  This vulnerability scares me to force us to the three-level.  I hope partner will treat this as an equal-level conversion if I pull clubs to diamonds.

Problem E:  2 The void in partner's suit and the jack-sixth length suggest to me be conservative.  This is another hand where if partner can take another move, I will likely bid a game.

Problem F:  1   I would be inclined at the table to bid clubs first, but even with Panel, the clubs feel like a card or two longer than the spades.

Problem G:  3   Bid my outside control, and hope that nine-trick game is a viable alternative.  I really want to bid 4 to continue shape description, but decided to keep 3 NT available

Problem H:  8  The was a who knows sort of lead.  I eliminated the majors first - J may be important stop in that suit and I don't want to pickle any spade holding the partner may have.  The minors seem about equal in terms of both safety and aggession, so I took a bit of negative inference that partner did not double the club keycard response, and decided to play the 8 to be constructive if partner has something in the suit, and suggestive that I don't want the suit led back to me.


SOLUTIONS FOR:
James Creech

FREDERICKSBURG VA 22407
U.S.A.

PROBLEM A: 3 Diamonds
PROBLEM B: 5 Diamonds
PROBLEM C: 1 Notrump
PROBLEM D: Double
PROBLEM E: 2 Clubs
PROBLEM F: 1 Club
PROBLEM G: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM H: Diamond 8

[blubayou]

Heyy,  DickH!   I have never met another  player that  fantsizes about using 3-of-a-minor for freak two-suiters! ......Meanwhile...   PROBLEM G:>>   show  A--'nuff said.


PROBLEM H:>>Todd, the reason they will lead a diamond is that they visualize  West as
  Kx, AQxxxx(x),Qx,xx(x) with East having AQJx, K, AKxx, AKxx.In this case, if we don't block the diamonds, South is doomed when oppo plays all her black winners.  But I am leading to the stiff heart king [or ace] anyway , mercy in my soul.

[blubayou]

SOLUTIONS FOR: Jock McQuade 3 Bag End Hobbiton OR 97030 .
A.PROBLEM A: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM B: 3 Clubs
PROBLEM C: Double
PROBLEM D: 2 Spades
PROBLEM E: 2 Clubs
PROBLEM F: 1 Spade
PROBLEM G: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM H: Heart 6
A copy of these solutions will be