November 2011 - 33

The Bidding Box

Andrew
1
3
4

Richard
1
1
4
Pass

Andrew believed his jump to 3 on
the second round asked his partner to
bid 3NT with a heart stopper. Richard,
however, thought that the call was
natural and forcing, so he continued
with 4. Unsure where to land, Andrew guessed to play the 4-3 spade fit
with 4.

Bridge Bulletin auction: Pass-1;
1-2; 2NT-3NT; Pass
Scores: 6 11; 4NT 8; 5 6; 6NT 5
Weisman-Engle 31; Jengs 37

Problem 7

South deals. N-S vulnerable.
South opens 3.
West
9532
64
 A K 10
AQ82

Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-1;
1-3 [invitational]; Pass

Weisman North

Scores: 3 12; 5 10; 4 8; 2 7;
3 6; 5 4; 4 3; 1NT 2; 2NT 1
Weisman-Engle 23; Jengs 29

Pass
4
5

Problem 6

East deals. E-W vulnerable.
West
A
A5
A74
 K 10 9 7 6 5 3

East
J8654
 K J 10
K6
QJ2

Weisman

Engle
Pass
1
2NT
Pass

1
2
3NT

A completely natural sequence to
a good spot: Weisman took the low
road at his second turn, and Engle (a
passed hand) was able to show a balanced hand in the good 10 to 12 range
with the 2NT rebid.
Andrew
1
3
Pass

Richard
Pass
1
3NT

Andrew took the high road (3) for
his rebid, but Richard's soft 11-count
persuaded him to bid the obvious 3NT
instead of chasing after a possible
club slam.

East
AKQ84
 K Q 10 8 7 2
-
97
Engle

(Pass)
4
(Pass)
5
All Pass

South
(3)
(Pass)
(Pass)

Despite holding 13 points, the West
hand has no good action over the
3 preempt, so Weisman passed.
Engle bounced into the auction with
4, showing the majors, and Weisman chose a simple 4, a conservative stance that works well in cases
where partner has strained to reenter
the bidding, a real possibility when
an opponent preempts. When Engle
stuck his neck out with a 5 followup, however, Weisman believed his
diamond honors would be wasted in
a slam opposite a likely void, so he
signed off in 5.
Andrew North
Pass
4

(Pass)
All Pass

Richard South
(3)
4
(Pass)

Problem 8

West deals. Both vulnerable.
West
 10 3
K7
KJ96
 A Q 10 5 3

East
A4
 A J 10 6 5
Q83
KJ9

Weisman
Andrew
1
1NT
3
Pass

Engle
Richard
1
2
3NT

Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-1;
1NT-2 [new minor forcing]; 2NT-
3NT; Pass
The same auction was conducted by
both pairs. The West players opened
1 and rebid 1NT, and the East players created a game force with 2,
two-way checkback.
Lacking three-card heart support or
four spades, both Wests grabbed the
chance to bid a pattern-showing 3,
suggesting a 2=2=4=5 pattern. The
East players simply bid 3NT, although
a temporizing 3 - showing a fivecard suit - might tempt the Wests to
avoid 3NT and instead opt for 4 on
the 5-2 fit.
Scores: 4 11; 5 8; 6 6; 3NT 5;
6 3; 5 2
Final score: Weisman-Engle 41;
Jengs 47

The Jengs used the same campaign
to counter the preempt, but Richard
gave up when Andrew showed no
interest in slam.
Bridge Bulletin auction: (3)-Pass-
(Pass)-4 [majors]; (Pass)-6-All
Pass
Scores: 6 10; 6 7; 6NT 6; 5 5;
5 4; 5NT 3
Weisman-Engle 36; Jengs 42

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November 2011 Bridge Bulletin

33
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2011
