January 2025 - 40

goes to demonstrate the importance
of having clear partnership understandings
about how the chosen conventions
work.
Aquino
1s
3h
Pass
West opened 1s, which this East
also raised to 2s. West next bid 3h,
which looks like a help-suit game try.
Basically, it asks East to bid game
if they have help in hearts. East did
have an extra trump, but a somewhat
average heart holding and a highcard
minimum. East did well to sign
off in 3s, stopping as low as a pair
could reasonably hope to.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1s-2s;
3d-3s; Pass. It is not especially realistic
for West to pass 2s, as quite a
lot of East hands would make game
an excellent proposition. How West
tries for game is completely up to
style and partnership approach.
Scores: 2s 10; 3s 4; 4s 1
Binder-Watson 23;
Aquino-Cappelli 18
Problem 5
North deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
East
s A 10 9 8 6 s 5
h A K 8 5 h Q 6
d K 7 6
c 2
d 4
c A K Q 9 8 7 6 4 3
Binder Watson
3NT
Pass
East opened 3NT, by agreement
showing a solid minor suit with
little outside. This hand qualifies,
but normally the bid shows a seven-card
suit, or occasionally eight.
A nine-card suit is highly unusual,
and makes it difficult for partner to
count the available tricks. This hand
40 | Bridge Bulletin | January 2025
Problem 6
East deals. E-W vulnerable.
West
s Q J 10 8 3
h K 6 4
d A Q 3
c A J
1s
2d
3h
East
s -
h Q 9 8 3 2
d K J 10
c K Q 7 4 3
Binder Watson
1h
2c
3c
4h
Pass
Scores: 4h 10; 5h 8; 4NT 5; 6h 3
Binder-Watson 36;
Aquino-Cappelli 36
Cappelli
2s
3s
is a good example, as West assumed
there were only 10 or at most 11 total
tricks available and thus passed 3NT,
when actually there were 12 tricks
available in clubs (or notrump by
West, but that ship had sailed).
Aquino
1s
6c
Cappelli
1c
5c
Pass
East here decided to open 1c, as
the hand looks like a sort of extreme
preempt but is a bit too strong. West
responded 1s with plans to show his
hand fully, but those plans went out
the window when East rebid 5c. 5c
is actually a fairly accurate description
of the East hand, showing an
extremely long suit with not much
else. West accurately raised to 6c,
reaching an excellent slam.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1c-1s;
5c-6NT; Pass. Should East bid 6c
or 6NT? That's a hard question to
answer. East could be missing one
of the club honors, but then would
have another honor outside clubs to
compensate. Hopefully that would
make 6NT a good contract, although
admittedly there are times that West
might need a favorable lead.
Scores: 6NT(W) 12; 6c 8; 5NT(W)
5; 6NT(E) 4; 5c 3; 5NT(E) 3
Binder-Watson 26;
Aquino-Cappelli 26
East opened the bidding 1h, perfectly
normal despite holding just 11
HCP, because of the extra distribution.
West responded 1s in the long
suit, which might even find a better
fit than hearts if it were raised. East
rebid 2c, showing the second suit.
West next bid 2d, " fourth-suit forcing, "
an artificial bid creating a game
force. This makes sense as West has
too much slam potential to simply
raise to 4h. East rebid 3c, showing
5-5 distribution. West next bid 3h,
confirming the fit. East was completely
minimum, thus bid 4h; West
did well to pass this opposite a partner
who showed no interest in slam.
Aquino
1s
2d
3h
4h
Cappelli
1h
2c
3c
3NT
Pass
This auction developed in much the
same way as with the other pair. But
aftet West bid 3h setting trumps,
there was a slight deviation. East
bid 3NT, seemingly offering another
contract despite the spade void. East
did have diamonds well stopped,
but a rather slow hand overall. West
returned the contract to 4h, where it
belonged.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1h-2c;
3c-3h; 4h-Pass. Just to introduce
another possible approach, it's
currently a common expert method
to respond 2c on any balanced
game-forcing hand. Establishing an
immediate game force has a lot going
for it. It shortens the auction on these
cards because there is no need for
fourth-suit forcing.
January 2025

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2025
