April 2021 - 41

The 4 opening bid is part of a
convention called Namyats (which is
Stayman spelled backwards). The point
is to differentiate preemptive hands
with a long major (which are opened
4 or 4) from their stronger counterparts, in which 4 shows hearts
and 4 shows spades. By agreement,
the 4 opening bid showed seven-plus
very good spades and eight or nine
tricks with good high cards. 4 was
artificial and showed interest in a spade
slam. 5 was a control bid, either a
high-card or shortness control, as was
5. Nickell felt he had done enough,
but Katz continued trying in case of
a grand slam, making a control bid at
the dizzying height of 6. Nickell had
seen enough, and they rested in a very
reasonable slam.
Bathurst		Hurd
		1
2		3
4		4NT
5		5NT
6		7
7NT		Pass
A highly unfortunate accident
occurred on this hand. The opening bid
and response were routine for most
pairs. Hurd's 3 rebid showed a completely solid spade suit that can even
play opposite a void, the actual holding
being the worst allowed by their
agreement. Bathurst bid 4 showing
a control, and also denying a club
control because that suit was skipped.
This gave Hurd the chance to make a
creative 4NT call. Blackwood is not
normally bid with a void because if your
side is missing an ace, you might not
know if the missing ace is opposite the
void or not. But in this case, the 4 bid
had already denied the A, thus there
wouldn't be any ambiguity as to which
ace is missing. Bathurst answered 5
showing two key cards (the aces and
the king of the trump suit are the five
key cards), as well as denying the Q.
5NT by Hurd was inviting a grand

slam. Bathurst bid 6 which shows
the K, and Hurd attempted to sign
off in 7. The problem now occurred
because Bathurst wanted to chase the
higher matchpoint score for playing in
notrump - and it might also be a safer
contract if spades split poorly. He didn't
realize that the 4NT bid might include
a club void.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-2;
3-4; 5-5; 6-Pass. It is very
difficult to reach hearts rather than
spades on this combination.
Scores: 7 12; 7 7; 6 6; 6 5;
52; 51
Katz-Nickell 13, Bathurst-Hurd 3
Problem 3
South deals. E-W vulnerable.
South opens 1. North raises to 3
(weak) if possible.
West	East
 A K 7 4 2	
963
 J 10 8	
Q964
 A 9 8 7 2	
J6
-	
AJ62
Katz	 North	 Nickell	South
			(1)
1	(3)	Pass	 (Pass)
3	 (Pass)	3	
All Pass
After a normal overcall by Katz, the
opponent made a preemptive raise to
3. Nickell didn't have quite enough
to bid 3. Katz thought his reopening
decision was close between 3 and
double, slightly preferring 3. Nickell
did have some undisclosed values, but
settled for just 3 because his points
were in the wrong suits. These decisions resulted in a prudent stop in a
partscore.

Bathurst	North	 Hurd	 South
			(1)
1	(3)	Pass	(Pass)
Dbl	
(Pass)	4	(Pass)
4	
(Pass)	4	(Pass)
5	
(Pass)	5	
All Pass
The 1 overcall and the pass over
3 were both duplicated. Bathurst
reopened with a takeout double,
perhaps hoping that Hurd might have
five good clubs and be able to play for
a penalty. Hurd liked his support and
undisclosed strength enough to bid 4.
This bid offers a choice of games, and
he may have felt a heart fit would play
better. Bathurst showed his diamonds
and Hurd went back to spades. Bathurst
decided that this sequence might show
a doubleton spade, so he tried to return
the contract back to diamonds. Hurd
went back to spades once again, and
the auction ended at an uncomfortably
high level.
Bridge Bulletin auction: As
Katz-Nickell.
Scores: 3 10; (3) Dbl 8; (3) 7;
4 3
Katz-Nickell 23, Bathurst-Hurd 3
Problem 4
West deals. Both vulnerable.
North opens 2 if possible.
West	East
 7 3	
QJ
 9 8 3	
AK42
 J 9 5	
AK63
 K Q J 9 8	
 A 10 6
Katz	 North	 Nickell	South
Pass	(2)	Dbl	 (Pass)
3	 (Pass)	3	(Pass)
4	 (Pass)	5	
All Pass
Nickell doubled 2 on his strong
hand. The 3 bid by Katz promised
some values, usually about 8-11, but
he upgraded his nice club suit. Any
weak hand would start with 2NT, the
April 2021 | Bridge Bulletin | 41
April 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2021
