March 2024 - 40

outside suits for 3NT to likely be the
right contract.
Scores: 5c 11; 4c 7; 3s 5; 4s 4
Hudson-Boyd-Bowman 18,
Bauer-Reitman 16
Problem 5
North deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
East
s Q 6 4
h K Q 9 8 7 5 3
d K 9 4
c -
Hudson
1h
5c
7h
s A K J 2
h A 6 4 2
d -
c A K 9 6 5
Boyd-Bowman
1c
4d
5NT
Pass
East opened 1c, and West responded
1h. 4d was a splinter bid, a common
convention showing a strong hand
with a heart fit and diamond shortness.
Despite a wasted dK, West had a
ton of playing strength with the long
heart suit. 5c showed a control. East
bid 5NT, the old-fashioned grandslam
force. It instructs partner to bid
a grand slam with two of the top three
honors in trumps. West obliged, and
an excellent grand slam was reached.
Bauer
1h
3h
5c
6h
Reitman
1c
3d
3s
5s
Pass
After the 1c-1h beginning, East
rebid 3d. This is another version of
a splinter bid that some pairs play.
West rebid hearts, and 3s showed
a control in that suit. 5c was exclusion
key card Blackwood, asking for
key cards outside of clubs, implying
a void. 5s showed two key cards
outside of clubs and no trump queen.
In this sequence, West never learned
about the diamond void. That gave
40 | Bridge Bulletin | March 2024
Problem 6
East deals. E-W vulnerable.
West
s 10 5 2
h A K Q 8 6
d J
c A Q 5 4
Hudson
1h
2c
2h
3s
5c
East
s J 9 8
h 9
d A K 9 4 2
c J 9 4 3
Boyd-Bowman
Pass
1NT
2d
2NT
4d
Pass
East passed, and West had a normal
1h opening bid. East responded 1NT,
and West rebid 2c. This is a convention
common in Europe called Gazzilli.
The 2c rebid is either a normal 2c
rebid, or a variety of strong hands. 2d
was artificial showing 8 or more HCP,
and forcing to game if opener had one
of the strong options. 2h said that
opener had a normal minimum hand
with hearts and clubs. 2NT by East
was invitational with a club fit, an
aggressive choice given that East had
already showed some values. West had
a complete maximum for the auction
this far. 3s bid was intended as
natural-ish, but East seemed to think
it showed some kind of spade control.
Scores: 7h 11; 6h 7; 6NT(W) 4
Hudson-Boyd-Bowman 29,
Bauer-Reitman 23
West little option but to sign off in 6h.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1c-1h;
4d-5c; 5d-6h; 7h-Pass. There
are two key points to this auction.
First, 5d strongly implies a control
in spades (and it's likely from the 4d
splinter anyway). Because West bypassed
spades, East should not make
further slam tries if spades are a concern.
Second, 6h must contain good
trumps. This is the information that
allows opener to bid a grand slam.
4d also showed a control, and opener
could only sign off in 5c over that.
Bauer
1h
2c
3d
5c
Reitman
Pass
1NT
3c
4d
Pass
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March 2024

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