July 2011 - 32

The Bidding Box

4NT, showing a spade control. (This
pair uses 4 as RKCB when hearts
are agreed, so 4NT is the replacement
control bid for spades.) A round of
control bids landed the duo in slam.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-4
[splinter]; 4 [control bid]-4NT
[RKCB]; 5 [three key cards]-5
[queen-ask]; 6 [no queen]-Pass

Grue showed diamonds, Lall's 2
acted as a waiting bid as well as
denying certain holdings, such as five
hearts, four diamonds or six clubs.
Grue simple "patterned out" from
there. Lall made the good decision to
play the 5-2 heart fit.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-1;
2-2NT [lebensohl]; 3-4; Pass

Scores: 6 10; 7 8; 6 4; 6NT 2;
5 1
Lebi-Hanna 16; Grue-Lall 20

Scores: 4 10; 6 6; 3NT 5; 5 4;
5 3; 6 2; 5NT 1
Lebi-Hanna 18; Grue-Lall 30

Problem 3

Problem 4

South deals. E-W vulnerable.

West deals. Both vulnerable.

take a preference one level higher
than his standard-bidding counterparts.
The 1 response to the strong
1 opening shows a hand in the 0-7
range. 1 and 1 are natural, as is
2. Lall, at the top of the range for
an initial 1 response, thought he
needed to make one more try for
game with 2NT. When Grue showed a
side four-card club suit, Lall pressed
his luck by raising. Grue felt his hand
had increased in value opposite a
known club fit, so he showed a solid
suit with 4. Lall scrambled to 5,
but the pair was too high.

West
A
AK854
A98543
A

East
Q932
Q9
Q6
QJ974

West
65
AKQ865
A
KJ87

East
 J 10 8 4 3
-
KJ65
 Q 10 4 3

Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-1;
2-Pass

Lebi
1
2
3
6

Hanna
1
3
5
Pass

Lebi
1
2

Hanna
1
Pass

Problem 5

Lebi opened 1 and reversed into
hearts. Hanna's 3 is forward-going,
but fit-denying. 3 revealed the 5-6
pattern, and Hanna jumped to the
diamond game.
Although most experienced players
will require a good 17 points (approximately) to reverse with a 4-5 pattern,
those standards are relaxed a bit for
hands with 5-6 shape. The West hand,
with a prime 19-count featuring all
four aces, is a monster, especially if
even a mild fit is available in the red
suits. Therefore Lebi, who felt that he
still hadn't fully expressed the value
of his hand, boosted to slam.
Grue
1
2
3
4

Lall
1
2
3NT
Pass

The strong club opening was met
with a conventional 1 response
showing any hand in the 8-11 range
without five or more spades. When
32 Bridge Bulletin July 2011

The West hand is awkward to
handle. The good 6-4 shape and the
excellent heart texture make West's
rebid a guess. 2 would be too
much of an understatement, while
3 would likely kill the possibility
of playing in another strain when it's
right to do so. Lebi, therefore, used
the popular approach of bidding the
four-card suit on the second round
with the hopes of bidding hearts on
the third.
Hanna's pass was a disappointment
to Lebi, who knew that if no game
was possible, then the best matchpoint score would surely come from a
heart partial.
Grue
1
1
2
3
4
Pass

Lall
1
1
2NT
4
5

Describing these types of two-suiters can be a pain in Precision, if only
because responder may well have to

Scores: 2 10; 3 8; 2 7; 3 6; 4
5; 2NT 4; 2 3
Lebi-Hanna 25; Grue-Lall 30
North deals. None vulnerable.
West
 K 10 6 4
A94
87
K962

East
A2
Q76
AQ6542
75

Lebi

Hanna
1
2
3

1
2NT
Pass

2NT is natural and invitational. 3
shows a minimum (but see below).
Grue
1
2NT
Pass

Lall
1
2
3NT

2NT is natural and invitational. 3NT
shows a maximum. In Lall's view,
he would have opened even without
the Q, so the possession of that
card made the East hand more than a
minimum.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-1;
2-2NT; 3-Pass
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2011
