March 2022 - 38

THE
BIDDING
BOX
strong pairs who are easy to root for.
To start, there are Jim Munday of
Albuquerque NM and Larry Sealy of
Owens Cross Roads AL. If the name
Jim Munday looks familiar to readers
of this column, that is because
he wrote it in 2019 and 2020. He is
an accomplished player who won
the 2013 NABC+ Fast Open Pairs
with Larry Sealy, his partner for this
month's bidding contest. Sealy is an
experienced player who has been on
the tournament scene for many years.
Their system is a familiar version
of 2/1 forcing to game, which can be
thought of as something of a more sophisticated
version of Bridge Bulletin
Standard.
Our other pair is Amber Lin of San
Francisco CA and Emma Kolesnik of
Calabasas CA (whose brother Finn
participated in the Bidding Box a few
months ago). Although both of these
contestants are young enough to still
be qualified for Junior bridge, the
team including Lin and Kolesnik just
won the U.S. Women's team trials.
This was a major victory, as the event
is used to select the team to represent
the United States in various world
championships. Their team will play
for the Venice Cup, coming up at the
end of this month in Italy. This surely
foreshadows a bright future in bridge
38 | Bridge Bulletin | March 2022
going to game. Sealy felt he had done
enough.
MODERATOR JOSH DONN
josh@thedonns.com
See the West and East hands that appear on pages 49 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.
This month's contest includes two
for both players.
Their bidding system is 2/1 forcing
to game on its surface, but includes
numerous treatments more common
in Europe than in the United States.
Problem 1
North deals. None vulnerable.
West
East
 9 4 3 2
k J 5
l A 7 3
' Q 9 7 5
Munday
2
3'
3k
Pass
The 1 opening was raised to 2.
This pair plays 2 as constructive,
which means it shows about 8-10
points including distribution. Although
a point light, Munday had an
extra trump to compensate. 2NT by
Sealy was an artificial game try. It
asks partner to bid the lowest suit
in which they have something they
like. Munday admitted to something
in clubs, and Sealy did the same with
his diamond suit. 3k by Munday was
a " last train " type of bid, saying that
he was in between signing off and
 A Q J 10 5
k A 9
l K 5 4 2
' 6 4
Sealy
1
2NT
3l
3
Lin
3
Kolesnik
1
Pass
Lin and Kolesnik reached the same
contract, but much more quickly. The
3 bid was a mixed raise, which is
basically a single raise with an extra
trump. Kolesnik decided not to push
to game.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1-2;
Pass. Playing the more standard
meaning of 2 as 6-9 points rather
than 8-10 would give opener a better
chance to find the winning pass of
2. Admittedly, game could be good
opposite a perfectly fitting hand with
responder.
Scores: 2 11; 3 5; 4 1
Munday-Sealy 5, Lin-Kolesnik 5
Problem 2
East deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
 J 10 7 5 4
k Q 8
l 10 8 4 2
' Q 6
Munday
1
3k
Pass
Munday responded to the opening
bid, which is a common tactic even
when holding fewer than 6 points if
you can bid a five-card major suit. 3'
is ostensibly natural, but it was Sealy's
choice because he considered his hand
too strong for 3k, especially considering
the secondary spade fit. Munday
took a preference to opener's first suit,
and knowing of at least a 6-2 fit, Sealy
bumped the contract to game.
East
 A Q 2
k A K 10 7 6 5
l A
' J 10 5
Sealy
1k
3'
4k
March 2022

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