October 2022 - 39

the nice diamonds over that with 3l.
Responder bid 3 just to keep the
auction going, and opener said they
could stand to play in clubs. Responder,
of course, was intending to play a
slam all along, so he bid 5NT as " pick
a slam, " asking partner to choose
where the slam would be played.
Opener chose clubs, knowing that if
diamonds were best, then responder
would have raised at some point.
Sprinkhuizen Mendes de Leon
1l
2k
3l
2'
2
3k
4k
4NT
7'
3NT
4
5l
Pass
1l (again) promised an unbalanced
hand. 2' was an artificial forcing relay
to ask about opener's distribution.
It was only a coincidence that responder
had long clubs. 2k artificially
showed spades, and 2 was again
asking for more information. 3l
showed a minimum opening bid with
six diamonds and four spades (again,
coincidentally looking like a natural
bid). 3k asked one more time, and
3NT showed the exact distribution
of 4=1=6=2. 4k asked opener to look
at his suit quality and suggest a suit
they might be interested in making
trumps, if a fit is there. Opener liked
his spades so offered that suit. 4NT
was a type of key card Blackwood
for clubs. 5l by opener said he liked
his hand for clubs, and had 1 or 3 key
cards. 7' was finally the first natural
bid by responder! A complicated,
yet highly impressive auction from
our European pair.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1l-2';
2l-2k; 2NT-3'; 4'-4NT;
5l-5NT; 7'- Pass.
Scores: 7NT 12; 7 11; 7' 10;
6NT 7; 6 6; 6' 5; 6l 3; games 1
Rice-Stuart 13, Sprink.-MdL 22
Problem 3
South deals. E-W vulnerable.
South opens 2k.
West
East
 A 10 8 7 6
k A Q
l K 5
' K Q J 4
Dbl
 K Q 5 3 2
k 9 2
l A 7 4
' 8 7 5
Rice North Stuart South
(2k)
(Pass) 2NT (Pass)
3NT (Pass) 4 All Pass
West started with a double on this
strong hand. For this pair, invitational
hands with spades bid 2NT
as lebensohl (requesting opener to
bid 3' unless they have significant
extra values) and then bidding 3.
East implemented that plan, but West
rebid 3NT with the extra values and
a double heart stopper. East was not
to be denied from showing the spades
anyway, and West guessed to pass.
Sprink. North M. de Leon South
(2k)
Dbl
(Pass) 3
4' (Pass) 4l
4k (Pass) 4
(Pass)
(Pass)
All Pass
This West also started with a
double, and East bid 3, invitational.
4' was artificial and said that
West liked his hand for a spade slam.
East bid 4l and West bid 4k, which
were both described as a type of " last
train " cuebid, which means they are
suggesting interest in slam without
showing a particular control. East
finally signed off in 4. It seems like
they both knew slam was in the picture,
but no one was able to pull the
trigger. Perhaps West should have bid
Blackwood over 4l, but that is easier
to say after the fact.
Bridge Bulletin auction: (2k)-
Dbl-(Pass)-4; (Pass)-4NT[RKCB]-(Pass)-5[two
with the Q];
(Pass)-6-All Pass.
Scores: 6 12; 5 8; 6NT 5; 5NT 3
Rice-Stuart 21, Sprink.-MdL 30
Problem 4
West deals. Both vulnerable.
West
 A
East
k K Q 8 5 4 3
l Q J 2
' Q 10 9
Rice
1k
2
4k
 K 9 8
k A 6 2
l K 10 7 5 3
' K J
Stuart
2'
3k
Pass
West opened 1k, and East responded
2' which may look peculiar to
many readers. It is a common method
among expert players for the 2l
and 2k response to promise at least
five cards, and so 2' shows other
game-forcing hands and might be
as short as a doubleton. That means
East could have started with 2l, but
he didn't like his suit quality, so he
went for the generic 2' response instead.
2 showed that the other pair
doesn't have a monopoly on artificial
bids, as it showed six or more hearts
with no side suit. 3k was a minimum
balanced game force with support.
Knowing responder was minimum,
opener simply signed off in 4k.
Sprinkhuizen Mendes de Leon
1k
2NT
4'
4k
5
2'
3'
4l
4NT
6k
Pass
An accident happened for this pair,
who thus far had been extremely impressive.
After West opened 1k, East
responded 2'. To no one's surprise,
this was an artificial game-forcing
relay. West rebid 2NT which this pair
plays to be artificial, showing 14 or
more points. These days, 14 points
qualifies as extra values. 3' asked
about opener's distribution, and 4'
October 2022 | Bridge Bulletin |
39
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October 2022

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