February 2020 - 37

The Bidding Box
MODERATOR: JIM MUNDAY
acblbiddingbox@gmail.com

See the West and East hands that appear on pages 53 and 55 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.
Both pairs this month are members
of the USA1 Junior squad who will
compete in the upcoming world championships in Salsomaggiore, Italy.
Sarah Youngquist, who turns 20 this
month, and Harrison Luba, 16, are a
new partnership. They have enjoyed
success separately in previous Junior
events, having represented the U.S. on
several occasions, as well as some high
finishes in open national events. Sarah
won the U26 gold in Croatia in 2019,
while Harrison took home the U21
bronze there, as well as the 2018 U16
bronze in China. Sarah, of Palo Alto
CA, began playing about five years ago,
encouraged by family members who
taught her the basics, ultimately joining the successful Silicon Valley Youth
(SiVY) program. Though still in high
school, Harrison, of Lynnfield MA, has
also been playing about five years and
was taught the game by his grandparents. They play "Junior standard," an
aggressive style with 2/1 base and a
strong 1NT that varies slightly by position/vulnerability.
Michael Xu, 16, and Finn Kolesnik,
15, are also a new partnership. Michael,
of Palo Alto CA, has previously
represented the U.S., winning the U16
bronze in China with Harrison, while
Finn, of Ventura CA, won bronze with
Harrison in Croatia. Finn also made
a splash at the San Francisco NABC
with a third- and a fourth-place finish

in open national pair events. Michael
has been playing for four years, having
been introduced to the game through
a SiVY pizza party. Finn comes from
a bridge-playing family, but began
playing in earnest in 2017. They play a
similar form of Junior standard.

Problem 1

North deals. None vulnerable.
North opens 1♠, rebids 2♠ if possible.
West
♠2
♥Q932
♦Q97
♣ K J 10 7 4

East
♠K9
♥AJ7
♦KJ863
♣A86

Youngquist North
(1♠)
2♣
(2♠)
3♣
(Pass)
4♣
(Pass)

Luba
1NT
Pass
3♠
4♥

South
(Pass)
(Pass)
(Pass)
All Pass

Both players were in sync with 3♣
natural and forcing in competition,
and 3♠ showing uncertainty about
notrump. 4♣ was non-forcing, and
Luba offered Youngquist a choice of
the Moysian 4♥ or 5♣.
Xu
2♠

North
(1♠)
(Pass)

Kolesnik
2♦
3NT

South
(Pass)
All Pass

Kolesnik, not liking the spade stop
for notrump or follow-ups after a takeout double, opted for a 2♦ overcall.

After Xu's cuebid, he intended 3NT to
show notrump overcall strength not
initially suited to a 1NT overcall.
Bridge Bulletin auction: (1♠)-1NT-
(Pass)-2♣; (2♠)-Pass-(Pass)-3♣(?);
(Pass)-3NT-All Pass.
Scores: 4♥ 9; 5♣, 5♦ 7; 3♥ 6; 4♦ 5;
4♣ 4; 3NT 3; 2NT 2
Youngquist-Luba 9, Xu-Kolesnik 3

Problem 2

East deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
♠-
♥8532
♦43
♣ K Q 10 8 4 3 2
Youngquist
2♦
3♣
4♦
5♥
Pass

East
♠AQ87632
♥AQ76
♦A
♣A
Luba
2♣
2♠
3♥
4♠
6♥

Youngquist started with 2♦ waiting, as 3♣ would show something
outside in their methods. Endplayed
into a 3♣ second negative, she tried to
catch up with 4♦ to show a good raise
for hearts. Luba thought he might be
facing five-card support and drove to
slam.
February 2020 Bridge Bulletin

February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of February 2020