June 2009 - 31

Moderator: Paul Linxwiler
Scores: Bobby Wolff

Leonard Helman of Santa Fe NM
and Mark Horton of Bath, England,
are longtime partners. Helman, affectionately known by many as "the
Rabbi," is a noted philanthropist for
bridge causes and recently spearheaded the opening of a club in Santa
Fe. Horton is a noted writer and
editor who frequently helps produce
daily bulletins for world championship events.
They play a familiar 2/1 style.
David Berkowitz and Larry Cohen
of Boca Raton FL are one of the most
successful and enduring partnerships
in the world. They are also authors
and many-time NABC champions.
Berkowitz and Cohen play Precision with a 14 to 16 HCP 1NT. 1
shows at least two diamonds.

Problem 1

North deals. None vulnerable.
North opens 2 (weak).
West
Q7543
 Q J 10 7
J7
J5

Helman North
(2)
3
(Pass)
4
(Pass)

East
A62
A
 A K Q 10
AQ976
Horton
3
4
5

South
(Pass)
(Pass)
All Pass

Modern expert theory is to use
leaping Michaels over a weak twobid in a major to show a powerful
two-suiter with the other major (for
example, a jump to 4 over 2
would show a 5-5 hand with spades
and clubs), while a cuebid asks for
a stopper. If neither of these bids is
in your arsenal, the cuebid simply
shows a powerful hand, and that was
Horton's action.
It left West with an awkward choice
between spades and notrump. When
the Rabbi opted for the former, East
June 2009

See the East and West hands that appear on pages 28 and 46 respectively,
and try bidding them with a regular partner. The North-South players are
silent unless otherwise noted. Compare how you performed with the expert
pairs whose auctions you can read about in this month's column. The form of
scoring is matchpoints with a 12 top.
revealed a very powerful hand with
a second cuebid. West rebid his
spades and there is now a very strong
case for passing, as the West hand
could be completely worthless. But
Horton, invoking Oscar Wilde's "I
can resist everything except temptation," pressed on with 5, which was
passed out.
Berkowitz North
Cohen South
(2)
Dbl
(Pass)
2
(Pass) 3
(Pass)
3NT
All Pass
Cohen doubled initially and continued with a cuebid to show a very
powerful hand without clear direction. Berkowitz, who was tempted
to pass the double of 2 at his first
turn, had an easy 3NT call.
Bridge Bulletin auction:
(2)-Dbl-(Pass)-2; (Pass)-3-
(Pass)-3NT; All Pass
5

Scores: 3NT 11; 4NT 9; 4 8; 5

Helman-Horton 5, Berkowitz-
Cohen 11

Problem 2

East deals. E-W vulnerable.
South bids 3 if possible. North
raises to 4.
West
AQ972
-
A432
 Q J 10 2
Helman North
3

(4)

East
K84
5432
J5
AK76
Horton South
1
(3)
4
All Pass

The partnership style is to open
light, so 1 was more or less automatic for Horton.
The auction up to 4 suggested
that East's clubs would be a real suit,
so there was a strong case for the
Rabbi to bid on. He was concerned,
however, that there would be bad
breaks.
Berkowitz North Cohen
Pass
Dbl
(4) Dbl
4
(Pass) 5

South
(3)
(Pass)
All Pass


Cohen passed with the East
31
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2009
