June 2020 - 39

but the minor-suit honors are huge, so
he splinters with 4♥ to show shortness there. That's not the greatest
news for opener, but with an excellent
spade holding to boot, he doesn't need
much for slam and checks on key cards
before stopping in 6♣.
Scores: 6♣ 11; 5♠ 9; 5♣ 7; 3NT (W) 6;
6♠ 5; 6NT (W) 3; 4NT (W) 2
Sokolows 32, Sprungs 24

Problem 5

North deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
♠Q52
♥8
♦AKQ832
♣AJ6

East
♠ A K 10 6
♥AK92
♦4
♣KQ93

David

Tobi
1♣
1♥
1NT
6NT

1♦
1♠
3♦
Pass

Tobi chose not to jump over the 1♦
response with the three-suiter, and
then rebid 1NT cheaply over the artificial, game-forcing 1♠ response to see
what responder's hand-type was. 3♦
showed a one-suiter with slam interest. With no fit for diamonds, opener
opted to just bid 6NT.
Danny
2♣
4♦
5♥
Pass

JoAnn
1♣
2NT
4NT
7NT

The 2♣ response showed diamonds,
either game forcing or less than invitational values. 2NT showed 17-19
balanced. 4♦ asked for key cards with
diamonds as trump, with 5♥ confirming possession of all plus the trump
queen. With four sure additional tricks
outside, opener bid the grand. An
amusing exchange in the postmortem.
Danny: "I was hoping for another diamond." JoAnn: "So was I." Even so, the
grand has excellent chances.

Bridge Bulletin auction: 1♣-1♦;
2♠-3♣; 3♥-4♦; 4NT-5♥; 5NT-7♣;
Pass. While a one-level rebid keeps
options open, the jumpshift gets the
strength across immediately, though
the lack of a fifth club is a drawback.
With a huge hand, responder opts
to support clubs right away: Setting
trumps in slam auctions early is a
sound approach. After cuebidding
and key card, opener bids 5NT to
confirm all necessary controls and to
invite seven. With a source of tricks in
diamonds, a spade filler and a singleton, responder can confidently bid the
grand. A fifth trump opposite would
have made the grand all but unbreakable, though it still has excellent
chances, even with the Moysian fit, due
to the excellent trump quality.
Scores: 7♣ 11; 7NT 10; 6NT 8; 7♠ 6;
6♠ 4; 6♣ 2; 6♦ 1
Sokolows 40, Sprungs 34

Problem 6

East deals. E-W vulnerable.
West
♠KQ86
♥J8
♦543
♣ Q 10 9 2

East
♠ A 10 9
♥A2
♦AJ986
♣874

David

Tobi
1♦
1NT

1♠
Pass

A common auction. Tobi added that
they raise majors on three-card support with a low doubleton outside, but
with ♥A x, 1NT was their systemic
rebid.
Danny
1♥
1NT
Pass

JoAnn
1♣
1♠
2♦

The transfer methods really shined
on this hand. 1♣ was either clubs, any
balanced opening (as here) or, rarely,
4-4-4-1 shape. 1♥ showed spades,
with 1♠ showing a minimum opener
with fewer than four spades. With

no guarantee of a fit there, responder
retreated to 1NT, over which 2♦ then
showed three spades and five diamonds, giving responder the choice of
partscores in those suits and revealing either heart or club weakness in
notrump. Responder opted to pass to
play the eight-card fit.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1♦-1♠;
2♠(?)-Pass. The three-card raise is
slightly preferable here, as responder
may have a five-card spade suit and
the heart suit rates to be a concern in
notrump.
Scores: 2♦ 10; 1♠ 9; 2♠ 7; 1NT 5; 3♦
2; 3♠ 1
Sokolows 45, Sprungs 44

Problem 7

South deals. Both vulnerable.
West
♠ A 10
♥Q97
♦AK764
♣AK4

East
♠K7653
♥ A J 10 8 6
♦ 10 3
♣ 10

David
Danny
2NT
3♥
4♣
4NT
6♥

Tobi
JoAnn
3♦
3♠
4♥
5♣
Pass

Responder's transfer followed by 3♠
showed 5-5 (or longer) in the majors
and at least slam-invitational values.
Opener has a tremendous hand opposite and had a handy gadget available:
4♣ shows a forward-going hand with
hearts (4♦ would show spades) to set
the trump suit. East had done their
all with 3♠ and signed off in 4♥, but
West was always driving to slam after
that start, settling for 6♥ when a key
card was discovered to be missing.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 2NT-3♦;
3♥-3♠; 4♣-4♥; 5♦-5♥; 6♥-Pass.
This is a common way to treat 5-5
hands over 2NT, as the additional level
cramps the auction. (Responder transcontinued on pg. 50
June 2020 Bridge Bulletin

39
June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2020
