Author: Larry Cohen
Date of publish: 06/26/2018
Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Results for Set 36
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#1) East deals, Both Vul.
Q 5 3
J 7 6 4
K J 7 6 3
A
|
|
A 6
A 2
A Q 4
K Q J 8 6 4
|
Scores for Board 1:
7NT: 10
7
/
: 8
6NT: 6
6
/
: 5
5NT: 3
5
/
: 2
What should East open? I think the hand is too strong for 2NT. I like 2
followed by either 2NT or 3
. (Even 2
then 2NT isn't necessarily doing justice to this powerful trick-taking hand). If East does open 2
, it is easy to reach six, but not as easy to reach the near laydown (needing no worse than 5-1
) grand slam.
#2) South deals and opens 2
, nobody vul.
A K J 5
J 3
A J 4
A 10 6 3
|
|
Q 10 2
A Q 2
K Q 8 7 6
Q 2
|
Deal 2 Scores:
6NT: 10
6
: 8
6
: 7
5NT: 5
5
: 4
5
: 3
West starts with a takeout double and East might bid a conservative 3NT which might end the auction. If playing Lebensohl, East might have various options (starting with either 2NT or a cue-bid) to show his extras. In spite of holding 33 HCP, many East-West pairs will find it hard to reach slam.
#3) West Deals, Nobody Vul.
A J
K J 8 2
10 3 2
A 10 8 2
|
|
K 9 7 2
Q 6 3
A
Q 7 6 5 4
|
Deal 3 Scores:
5
:10
4
: 7
3
: 6
4
: 5
2NT: 4
3NT: 1
After 1
-1
-1NT, it is easy to see East lazily bidding 3NT without exploring alternatives. Maybe "lazy" is unfair--why would East want to give away information about West's hand if he is ending in 3NT anyway? Still, that singleton diamond might tempt East to go another route--showing the
support. However, this will depend on methods--how does East show a GF (or an invite?") in clubs? Typically, he would have to bid the new minor (2
) and then follow with 3
(forcing).
#4) West deals, Nobody Vul.
A K 10 8 6 2
Q 4
A 2
A 6 5
|
|
5 3
A 9 2
K Q J 9 5
K 8 7
|
Board 4 Scores:
6
:10
6
: 9
7
: 8
5
: 6
5NT: 5
6NT: 4
5
: 4
7
/NT: 1
After 1
-2
, West should rebid only 2
(assuming 2/1 GF). East now bids 2NT (though some might use a fast-arrival jump to 3NT to show a minimum). After 1
-2
-2
-2NT, West is worth a quantitative 4NT. Will East make a move (based on his good diamonds)? Not likely.
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