January 2007 - 30

The Bidding Box

to 2, and Doub employed the
short-suit game try of 3. Although
Wildavsky knew that some of his values would likely be wasted (the K
in particular), he felt that he simply
had too much to stop short of game.
4 will make on a non-diamond
lead, of course, but even if the opponents lead diamonds and are able to
cash three rounds of the suit, declarer
will still have some chances to pick
up the club suit for no losers.
Weinstein
3
3
4

Garner
1
3
4
Pass

Weinstein's 3 was conventional,
showing a spade raise with three or
four trumps in the constructive to
limit range. It forces opener to rebid
3. The 3 continuation clarified
that the original 3 bid was a threecard limit raise.
4 showed a singleton heart
("Ouch," said Weinstein, "I have the
worst possible hand for him."), and
4 was the conclusion.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-2;
3 (or some other game try)-4
(West has a super-maximum); Pass

5 asked about the Q, and 6
confirmed that card plus the K.
Both partners knew that 7 might
well make, but East didn't know
about the diamond length in the West
hand, while West didn't know about
the Q (or the A) in the East hand.
Weinstein
1
3
4
5
6
Pass

Garner
2NT
3
4NT
5
6

After the game-forcing heart raise
(2NT), 3 showed an unspecified
minimum hand. 3 asked for clarification, and 4 showed a 5-5 (or
longer) pattern in the red suits. 4NT
was RKCB, 5 showed one or four,
5 was the queen-ask, 6 promised
the Q and the K. Garner was
also forced to settle for six because
he didn't know about the club void.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-2NT
(game-forcing heart raise); 4
(good five-card suit)-4NT (Roman
Key Card Blackwood); 5 (one key
card)-5 ("Q?"); 6 ("Yes, and
the K.")-6; Pass

Scores: 4 10; 3NT 9; 2NT, 3 7
Wildavsky-Doub 16, Weinstein-
Garner 20

Scores: 7 12; 6 9; 7 8; 6NT
6; 6 5; 5 4; 5NT 3; 5 1
Wildavsky-Doub 25, Weinstein-
Garner 29

Problem 3

Problem 4

South deals. E-W vulnerable.
West
East
62
A4
QJ9863 AK72
AK432
Q86
-
KQ64
Wildavsky
1
4
5
6
Pass

Doub
2NT
4
5
6

2NT was a game-forcing major-suit
raise (a la Jacoby), and 4 showed a
club void. 4 was Roman Key Card
Blackwood for hearts. The 5 response showed one or four key cards,
30

West deals. Both vulnerable.
North opens 1 and South raises
to 2 (natural) if possible.
West
East
 A 10 8 7 5  6 4
862
 K 10 9 5 4
 A J 10 6
K52
7
KQ6
Wildavsky
Weinstein
Pass
3
Pass

North
North
(1)
(Pass)
(Pass)

Doub
Garner
1
3

South
South
(2)
(Pass)

Identical auctions. The crux of this
problem is whether West has any
way of showing excellent support for
partner's 1 overcall that doesn't get

his side overboard after South's 2
raise.
Both Wildavsky and Weinstein
chose 3 (after passing initially)
to show an invitational heart raise.
Cuebidding the opponents' suit is a
common tactic to show invitational
hands. In this case, however, East's
poor hearts and concentration in the
opponents' suit force East-West to
3, which is in real danger of failing.
Are there any options? Not really.
If, instead of 3, West decides to
try a responsive double (showing the
other two suits), he may have a hard
time persuading his partner later in
the auction that he actually has threecard heart support. It does, however,
give East the opportunity to convert
the double to penalty.
Bridge Bulletin auction: As above.
Scores: 2 10; 3 9; (2)
doubled 7; (2) 6; 2NT 4; 2 3
Wildavsky-Doub 34, Weinstein-
Garner 38

Problem 5

North deals. None vulnerable.
West
East
AJ87
3
 10 9 7
A
AK6
Q9543
 J 10 9
AQ8763
Wildavsky

Doub
1
1
2
2
3
3
5
6
Pass
There are various schools of
thought on how to open minimum
6-5 hands in which the six-card suit
is lower-ranking than the five-bagger.
Some prefer bidding the long suit
first and not worrying about the rebid,
while others prefer to open the shorter
suit intending to rebid the longer.
Doub chose 1 and simply rebid
the suit after the 1 response.
Wildavsky rebid 2 to create a forcing auction. Doub's choice of 3
created a problem for him, however,
since it sounded as if his partner was
6-4 in clubs and diamonds. 3NT
was looking less and less attractive
because of the heart situation. How to
Bridge Bulletin
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2007
