February 2025 - 38

THE
BIDDING
BOX
Continuing with our trend of pairs
that had recent success at a North
American Bridge Championship, we
feature both pairs from the winning
0-10,000 NABC Swiss Teams in Las
Vegas last fall.
First are David Cohen of Thornhill
ON and Ken Collins of Aurora ON.
Cohen is a software engineer, and
Collins is an IT director. The partnership
actually began in 2009 when
Collins began to mentor Cohen. Since
that time, they have gelled into a
cohesive partnership.
Their bidding system is recognizable
2/1 forcing to game with a
strong notrump.
Second are their teammates,
Ana and Miroslav Kovacevic of
Woodbridge ON. As a couple, their
bridge partnership goes back farther
than most, and it shows in their good
results. Not only did they win the
0-10,000 Swiss Teams, but they also
won the 0-6000 Mini-Spingold KO
Teams earlier in 2024.
Their bidding system is also a standard-looking
2/1 forcing to game.
Problem 1
North deals. None vulnerable.
West
East
s A 8 7
h K 9
d 9 5
c A J 10 7 3 2
s J 6
h Q J 10 5 4
d A 7
c K Q 8 4
38 | Bridge Bulletin | February 2025
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.
Cohen
2c
3s
Pass
East opened 1h, and West forced to
game with the 2c response. Although
perhaps not every 12-count is worth
an immediate game force, this one
surely is with the long suit and nice
cards. With four-card support, East
raised to 3c. West bid 3s, showing
a stopper because he didn't hold anything
in diamonds. East had diamonds
stopped, so he bid 3NT. Unfortunately,
there are only eight tricks when the
defense leads diamonds.
Miroslav
2c
3s
4c
4NT
6c
Ana
1h
3c
3NT
4d
5s
Pass
The auction began identically: 1h
opening by East, 2c game-forcing
response by West, 3c raise by East,
3s showing a stopper by West, and
3NT by East. West decided there
was too much potential for a slam
to pass, which could be true if partner's
hearts were stronger. He pulled
to 4c, which also had the effect of
Collins
1h
3c
3NT
Problem 2
East deals. N-S vulnerable.
West
s 9
h K 5 4
d K J 9 8 7
c Q 10 8 4
Cohen
1NT
4d
4s
6d
East
s A K 7 5 4 3
h A 8 3
d A Q 10 3
c -
Collins
1s
3d
4h
5c
Pass
East had a nice hand for the 1s
opening bid. West bid 1NT, played by
this pair as semi-forcing. East upgraded
the 17-count with its great distribution
and controls, rebidding 3d.
West had great support and therefore
raised to 4d. East showed the heart
control next. West bid 4s showing a
control there, although many pairs
wouldn't prefer to show a shortness
control in partner's main suit. East
next showed a club control. This
implied a void because he bypassed
key card Blackwood. West liked his
hand enough to jump to 6d, ending
the auction. 7d may be a slight favorite,
but getting to 6d is still likely to
suggesting the earlier 3s call showed
a control instead of just a stopper.
East cooperated by showing the dA,
which was enough for West to bid
Blackwood. East answered 5s showing
two key cards with the trump
queen, and West was stuck in 6c
with two fairly minimal hands. Only
11 tricks are available in clubs after a
spade or diamond lead.
Bridge Bulletin auction: 1h-2c;
3c-3s; 4c-4h; Pass. The East
hand seems a little slow; East knows
that diamonds are only stopped once.
A pair could squirm into a nice 5-2
heart fit with this auction.
Scores: 4h 12; 5c 10; 3h 8; 4c 6;
2NT 4; 3NT/6c 2; 6h 1
Cohen-Collins 2, Kovacevics 2
February 2025

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