November 2020 - 37

Colchamiro has mixed emotions
with such great spades and such lousy
hearts. "3♠. Partner will think I am
showing a three-card limit raise. Opposite a normal minimum:
♠A J x x x ♥A J x x ♦x (x) ♣K x (x),
3♠ is a big favorite. 3♦ could be a big
favorite their way. Plus 140 and plus
110 would mean 6 nice IMPs for us. I
want them. Even if 3♦ is minus 50, we
will win 3."
Rigal retreats to 3♠. "I hope with
5-5, partner can bid 4♥ so we can play
there. Otherwise, my spades look like
three, don't they?"
Meyers shifts a club to the other side
of her hand and acts surprised. "Do I
have only two spades? I thought there
were three and bid 3♠. I apologize,
partner."
"The mysterious choice-of-games
cuebid," is what Sanborn calls 4♦.
"My hand is limited, but I have really
good cards for partner and I don't have
a clear-cut game bid. So let's try to
find our best shot at game. Let's give
partner:
♠A x x x x ♥A K x x ♦x ♣K J x.
They might choose to play the presumed 5-3 or 6-3 club game. We could
also be facing 5=4=0=4 or 5=5=1=2, so
why are we choosing the contract?"
Molson takes the same route. "I
bid 4♦. I have too good a hand to do
anything else and no real idea where
to play this. I hope 4♦ will be read as a
choice of games. Because I started with
1NT and my partner rebid two nonforcing hearts, it's hard to imagine I am
cuebidding towards a heart slam."
Cohen tries 4♦ as a choice of games.
"Slam isn't really in the picture, so
what else could/should 4♦ be?"
Weinstein agrees. "4♦ offers a
choice of games. Partner rates to be
either 5-5 or 6-4 in the majors. Our
hand looks great, so let partner choose
a major."
4♦ by Robinson. "Let partner make
the last mistake. If partner has six
spades or five hearts, he'll bid the correct major. If he has:
♠A x x x x ♥A Q x x ♦x ♣K x x,

he should bid 5♣. Overbid to find the
correct strain."
Donn, God bless him, passes. "I don't
even know what the second choice is
supposed to be."
Korbel passes just as smoothly.
"Double is penalty and we have no fit.
What am I missing?"
Lawrence does the math, and it adds
up to a pass. "I have an extremely good
hand, but it's got dangerous shape.
If partner passes, I may regret it. If
partner bids again, however, I have
the nuts. One call I might consider is
double. But not at IMPs. Good way to
lose a match."
Lee bids 3♥. "I play that partner's
double would be takeout, so by inference, partner is quite likely to be 5-5
given our hand."
Which leaves the doubler: Grossack.
"This, for me, is an extras, no-cleardirection double. The opponents have
bid and raised a suit, so partner should
understand that this is a values double
rather than a pure penalty double.
Partner's 2♥ bid here is not mandatory, and thus should be a nice-looking
5-4 or often, 5-5. Passing risks missing
a good game opposite the right mesh."
3. Matchpoints. None vulnerable.
♠K ♥10 9 6 ♦Q 7 3 ♣J 10 9 7 6 5

Panel's answers
August Boehm
Larry Cohen
Mel Colchamiro
Josh Donn
Zachary Grossack
Daniel Korbel
Mike Lawrence
Roger Lee
Jeff Meckstroth
Jill Meyers
Janice Molson
Barry Rigal
Steve Robinson
Kerri Sanborn
Steve Weinstein

1
3♦
3♦
3♦
3♦
3♦
3♦
3♥
3♦
3♠
3♠
3♥
3♦
3♦
3♥
3♥

2
3♠
4♦
3♠
Pass
Dbl
Pass
Pass
3♥
3♠
3♠
4♦
3♠
4♦
4♦
4♦

West

North

Pass
2♠

1♦
Pass

Call
3♣
2NT
Pass

East
Pass
1♠
Pass

Votes
9
5
1

South
Pass
Pass
?
Award
100
80
60

What? Me pass?
"Fight for the partscores at pairs,"
urges Meckstroth, who bids 3♣.
3♣ by Grossack. "I'll compete even
though partner may well be too short
in clubs. Perhaps I could be convinced
that pass is right with partner often
having four spades here. But the club
spots make the suit playable even opposite shortness."
Donn says 3♣ seems like a no-brainer. "Why let them play in 2♠ when we
have a place to play and might push
them to three?"
Meyers uses the power of inference
to give her 3♣ extra meaning. "I could
bid 2NT, which shows three diamonds
and generally five clubs, but with six
clubs, I don't want to give partner a
choice. I think there is an implication
that I can stand 3♦ just by entering the
auction now."
"As a problem? Really?" Molson, of
course. "I bid 3♣. If partner is 4-4-4-1

3
2NT
3♣
2NT
3♣
3♣
3♣
2NT
Pass
3♣
3♣
3♣
2NT
3♣
3♣
2NT

4
3♠
Pass
3♥
Pass
Pass
3♥
Pass
3♠
3♠
2NT
Pass
3♠
Pass
3♠
Pass

5
4♣
4♦
4♦
3♥
3♥
3♥
4♥
3♥
3♥
4♣
3♥
4♦
4♦
4♣
4♣

Total
460
480
450
480
440
460
390
410
460
430
470
460
480
450
440

November 2020 Bridge Bulletin

37
November 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2020
