March 2024 - 41

East passed, West opened 1h, and
East rebid 1NT. For this pair, the 2c
rebid was a natural bid. East is close
between passing and raising, but here
decided to raise. With 16 HCP, West
couldn't really pass. The 3d call was
undiscussed, but intended in this
instance to show a diamond control.
4d looked like a logical choice with
responder's hand at this point, propelling
this pair to 5c as well.
Bridge Bulletin auction: Pass-1h;
1NT-2c; 3c-3s; 3NT-Pass. It's hard
to avoid game convincingly on these
cards. Here, opener can imply short
diamonds, leaving responder no real
choice but to bid 3NT. The lack of a
spade stopper isn't a huge problem
because often the opponents can only
take four. The bigger issue is that a
club loser is likely as well.
Scores: 1NT 11; 2NT 10; 3c 6; 2h 4;
3NT 3; 4c 2
Hudson-Boyd-Bowman 29,
Bauer-Reitman 23
Problem 7
South deals. Both vulnerable.
West
s -
East
h K J 9 6 4
d A 4
c K Q J 5 3 2
Hudson
1c
2h
4s
6d
Pass
The 1c opening is a typical choice,
even holding five hearts. This allows
for opener to eventually show
the complete 5-6 distribution. East
responded 1s, and West rebid 2h.
This reverse shows extra strength,
normally more than the 14 this hand
has, but there is obvious distributional
compensation. 3s by East was intends
A K J 9 8 5 4
h A
d Q J 9 8
c 8
Boyd-Bowman
1s
3s
5s
6s
ed to set spades as trumps; that is why
West raised with the void. Because the
trump suit was already determined in
a forcing manner, raising was actually
the least encouraging action possible.
Even so, East had a promising-looking
hand, so he bid 5s. On a strong auction
like this, raising a major suit to
the five level invites slam but denies a
control in the unbid suit, diamonds in
this case. West obediently showed the
dA, and then they finally managed to
put on the brakes in slam.
Bauer
1c
2h
4h
Pass
At this table, West rebid hearts
after the 3s jump-rebid by East. This
showed five hearts and, by inference,
six clubs. East appreciated that the
hands didn't fit well, thus he signed
off in 4s.
Bridge Bulletin auction: As Bauer
and Reitman. With opener being 5-6,
the possibility of two or three losers
in spades and diamonds is very real,
despite East's exciting hand.
Scores: 4s 11; 5s 6; 3NT 5; 5c 4;
6c 2
Hudson-Boyd-Bowman 29,
Bauer-Reitman 34
Problem 8
West deals. None vulnerable.
West
s 6 3
h 8 6
East
s A Q 10
d A K 9 2
c K Q J 9 8
Hudson
Bauer
1c
2c
2NT
3NT
1h
2s
3c
Pass
March 2024 | Bridge Bulletin |
41
h A K Q J 5
d 6 3
c 7 6 2
Boyd-Bowman
Reitman
Reitman
1s
3s
4s
Both pairs had the same auction.
After 1c-1h, the West players rebid
2c. Opener would prefer a six-card
suit, but this strong five-card suit can
do in a pinch if a player is stuck. Both
responders now rebid 2s. This is a
forcing bid implying spade strength,
but it need not be a four-card suit
because opener already denied four
or more spades. Both Wests rebid
2NT because the diamonds were
well stopped. The East players next
showed some club support. Because
West had only five, they both decided
to rebid 3NT rather than encourage
further. East had some extra values,
but in the face of partner's discouragement,
they both decided to leave
matters in 3NT.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1d-1h;
2c-2s; 3c-4c; 4d-4NT; 5s-6NT;
Pass.
Opening the West hand 1d and rebidding
2c is another viable strategy.
When East learns a key card is missing,
it seems notrump will be at least
as good of a strain as clubs.
Scores: 6NT(E) 12; 6c(E) 11;
5NT(E) 8; 5NT(W), 6NT(W) 6;
6c(W) 5; 5c(W) 3
Final score: Hudson-Boyd-Bowman
35, Bauer-Reitman 40 2
Score correction
In the February " Bidding Box "
column, the scores for Problem 8
were incorrect. The scores should
have been as follows:
6NT 12; 6d 9; 5NT 6; 5d 3; 7d 1
March 2024

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