July 2018 - 37

The Bidding Box
MODERATOR: BRUCE ROGOFF
brogoff@gargoylegroup.com

See the West and East hands that appear on pages 57 and 59 respectively, and try
bidding them with a regular partner. Compare how you performed with the expert pairs
whose auctions you can read about in this month's column. The North-South players are
silent unless otherwise noted. The competitors were not informed of any interference by the
opponents before the bidding commenced. The form of scoring is matchpoints with a 12 top.
The Bridge Bulletin auctions are meant to portray possible bidding sequences to one of
the top-scoring contracts using common methods.
JoAnna and Lew Stansby and Sally
and Kit Woolsey are two Bay Area
couples that need little introduction
to most of our readers. Both pairs have
played together for about 30 years,
while enjoying great success in other
partnerships as well. The Stansbys
have won six NABC titles together,
as well as a bronze medal in the 2006
World Mixed Pairs. The Woolseys'
greatest success in partnership was
their victory in the 2009 Grand National Teams.
Some other notes: Lew is an ACBL
Hall of Famer with one of the best
all-time track records for someone
not named Meckwell. He will also be
receiving the Lazard Sportsmanship
Award at this year's HOF ceremony in
Atlanta. Kit is a Hall of Famer as well,
not only for his playing record, but
also for his prolific writing. His classic
works, "Matchpoints" and "Partnership
Defense in Bridge" are considered the
bibles on these topics. JoAnna won the
2010 "Best Bid Hand" award from the
International Bridge Press Association.
Both pairs play a strong club system,
with some variation in their notrump
openings depending on seat and vulnerability (the Woolseys play 10-12
not vulnerable in first and second).
Both pairs also use some relay methods
in game-forcing situations, where the
(usually) strong hand asks a series of
questions with the cheapest bid, and
the other hand "answers."

Problem 1

North deals. None vulnerable.
North opens 1NT (15-17). If doubled,
South redoubles to ask for suits up the
line, and North bids 2♣ if necessary.
West
♠J9843
♥6
♦ Q J 10 5
♣852
JoAnna
Pass
Sally
2♥

North
(1NT)
(Pass)
North
(1NT)
(Pass)

East
♠AKQ
♥ A K 10 9 5 4
♦K73
♣7
Lew
4♥
Kit
2♦
3♥

South
(Pass)
South
(Pass)
All Pass

Both pairs use the Woolsey convention over strong notrump openings,
so neither East had a penalty double
available. A Woolsey 2♦ bid shows
a major one-suiter, so the choice was
whether to invite game or just bid it.
Lew decided his hand was too good to
invite, so with no convenient way to
explore other strains, he just bid the
heart game. Kit preferred to start with
2♦, virtually promising a six-card suit,
and Sally's 2♥ was "pass or correct":
She clearly wanted to stop right there if
his suit was hearts. Kit raised ("I have
to do something, but Sally might be
broke"). Sally had an easy pass with her
short hearts and meager scraps.

Bridge Bulletin auction: (1NT)-Dbl-
(Redbl)-Pass; (2♣)-2♥-(Pass)-2♠;
(Pass)-4♠-All Pass. Thanks to Jon
Shuster of Gainesville FL for sending
this hand from the Common Game.
Not many pairs found spades.
Scores: 4♠ 11; 5♠ 8; 4♥ 5; 3♠ 5;
3♥ 3; (2♣) Dbl 1
Stansbys 5, Woolseys 3

Problem 2

East deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
♠Q62
♥ 10 7
♦K765
♣AQJ9

East
♠4
♥A8
♦AQ9432
♣ K 10 5 2

JoAnna

Lew
1♦
2♠
3♠
4♥
6♦

2♦
2NT
4♣
5♣
Pass
Sally
2♦
4♦
5♣
Pass

Kit
1♦
3♠
4NT
6♣

The opening 1♦ promised only two
diamonds, so the ladies had a tough
choice between a non-forcing 2NT
July 2018 Bridge Bulletin

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of July 2018