July 2011 - 31

Robert Lebi and Nader Hanna are
two of Canada's top players. Lebi has
three NABC titles (1989 Kaplan Blue
Ribbon Pairs, 2006 Fast Open Pairs,
2008 Silodor Open Pairs), Hanna one
(2005 Wernher Open Pairs), and they
both have multiple Canadian national
wins.
The Toronto pair plays 2/1 with a
12-14 1NT range.
Joe Grue and Justin Lall are part of
the U.S. squad that recently qualified
for a berth at the Bermuda Bowl in
October (see story on page 14). Grue,
of New York City, is a three-time
NABC champ. Lall, of Dallas, has one
NABC title.
They play Precision: strong, forcing
1 openings, limited 1, 1 and 1
openings, and a 14-16 1NT range.

Problem 1

North deals. None vulnerable.
West
J74
 K Q 10 9 2
Q7
AJ4

East
K83
AJ4
 K 10 6 2
K63

Lebi

Hanna
1NT
2NT
3
4
Pass

2
3
3NT
4

Over the weak 1NT opening, Lebi
bid 2, which is game-forcing Stayman in their methods. 2NT shows no
four-card major or five-card minor.
3 is natural, and Hanna's 3 shows
a spade control (the king), implying
a good hand for hearts. 3NT offers
a choice of games. 4 is another
control bid, but Lebi, with such soft
values, had no slam interest, and
signed off.
Grue
2
2
3NT

Lall
1NT
2
2NT
Pass

After the transfer to hearts, Grue
bid 2. This acts as a relay to 2NT,

The
Bidding
Box
Moderator: Paul Linxwiler
Scores: Bobby Wolff

See the East and West hands that appear on pages 29 and 57 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.
allowing the 2 bidder to show a
variety of hand types. When Grue bid
3NT, he revealed a 5-3-3-2 pattern
and offered Lall a choice of games.
Despite holding three-card heart
support, Lall chose to pass 3NT.
Their methods allowed Lall to make
the right choice: If Grue had transferred and bid 3NT directly, it would
have told opener to pass 3NT with a
doubleton, but bid 4 with three or
more. When Grue used the 2 relay
and followed up with the choice-ofgames 3NT, it told opener to use his
judgment on which game was better
regardless of heart length.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-1;
1NT-3NT; Pass
Scores: 3NT 10; 4 6; 2NT 4; 3 3
Lebi-Hanna 6; Grue-Lall 10

Problem 2

East deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
AJ9872
 J 10 8 3
7
AK

East
K6
AK752
A54
 10 9 6

Lebi
4
4NT
5
6

Hanna
1
4
5
5NT
Pass

The 4 splinter (game values, heart
fit, short diamonds) was music to
Hanna's ears. The 4 control-showing bid is a slam probe. Lebi took over
with Roman Key Card Blackwood
(RKCB): 5 shows three key cards,
5 asks for the Q, 5NT denies it
and 6 is the conclusion.
Grue
2
3
4
5
6

Lall
1NT
2
3NT
4NT
5
Pass

1NT is 14-16 HCP. Grue used Stayman to discover the heart fit, then
jumped to 3 to show a game-going
hand with unspecified shortness. 3NT
asked which suit the shortness was in,
and when Grue indicated a singleton
diamond, Lall made a slam try with ➤
July 2011 Bridge Bulletin

31
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2011
