April 2021 - 40

THE

BIDDING
BOX

MODERATOR JOSH DONN
josh@thedonns.com

See the West and East hands that appear on pages 51 and 57 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.

ur April competition features
two top American pairs,
spanning generations, bidding
some very tricky hands.
Frank " Nick " Nickell is one of the
more familiar names in the world of
high-level bridge. He has captained
the most successful team in American
bridge over the past 30 years, featuring
a Who's Who of great players, from
Meckstroth and Rodwell to Hamman
and Soloway. Nickell has dozens of
North American bridge titles, mostly
in major events, and an additional four
world championship titles. Nickell has
also been highly successful in the world
of business. He is chairman of Kelso &
Company, a private equity firm, where
he has worked for 43 years. He is also
a huge baseball fan. His partner for
the past 12 years has been Ralph Katz,
an absolutely top player. Katz also has
dozens of North American wins dating
back over 40 years, as well as a world
championship title. His son, Sam, and
wife, Martha, have also had their share
of success at bridge. Katz shares being
a huge baseball fan with Nickell, and he
also enjoys trading biotech stocks.
Their competition is Kevin Bathurst
and John Hurd from the high-octane
Warren Spector team. Although their
partnership on this major squad is
relatively new, they have been friends

40 | Bridge Bulletin | April 2021

and occasional partners for years.
Bathurst has two NABC titles and came
in second in the 2011 Bermuda Bowl.
Bathurst enjoys spending time with his
family. Hurd has nine NABC wins, an
impressive total for his young age. He
also played on the same second-place
team as Bathurst in the 2011 Bermuda
Bowl, and has three gold medals in
world Junior events. Hurd bets on
sports in his spare time. Bathurst and
Hurd are both familiar faces at regional
tournaments around the country.
Problem 1
North deals. None vulnerable.
North opens 1.
West East
 J 7 6  10 9 8 5 3
 3  K Q J 5 4
 Q 8 3  A 6 5
 A K Q 8 7 4  -
Katz North Nickell South
(1) Pass (Pass)
Dbl
All Pass
Nickell preferred a better suit to
make a 1 overcall. His patience was
rewarded when Katz decided to reopen
with a double rather than bid 2. This
allowed Nickell to convert the takeout
double into a penalty by passing with

his nice heart stack behind the opener.
Bathurst North Hurd South
(1) 1 (Pass)
2
(Pass) 2 (Pass)
3
(Pass) 3 (Pass)
3
(Pass) 4
All Pass
Hurd overcalled 1, as the distribution gives potential to do well in spades
despite the poor suit. Bathurst cuebid
hearts to show a good spade raise,
which prompted Hurd to sign off for
the time being. Bathurst next bid his
excellent clubs to give the partnership
one more shot to find a game. Hurd
made a counter-try of 3. Bathurst felt
he had done enough and thus bid 3,
but Hurd had good playing strength in
the context of the original 2 signoff,
so he decided to try 4.
Bridge Bulletin auction: (1)- 1-
(Pass)-2; (Pass)-2-(Pass)-3;
(Pass)-3-(Pass)-3; All Pass. It's
easy to duplicate the Bathurst-Hurd
auction, but perhaps at the end, the
overcaller should be cautious, given
that 3 showed values which will be
wasted opposite the void.
Scores: 2 10 (1) Dbl 8; 3 6; 2,
2NT 4; 4 3, 3 2
Katz-Nickell 8, Bathurst-Hurd 3
Problem 2
East deals. N-S vulnerable.
West East
-
 A K Q 10 6 4 2
 A K Q 6 4 2  J 5
 A J 5
KQ87
 Q J 10 4
-
Katz Nickell
4
4 5
5 5
6 6
Pass

April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2021