Bridge: 2023 MSC discussion

[SteveWhite]

                       A     B     C     D     E         F       G         H
procrastinator        5S   2NT    3S    4C    3H        3N      3D        C6
oirg                  5D    3C    3S     P    3C        3N     Dbl        C6
SW                    4S   2NT   3NT    3C   Dbl        4S      3D        C6
Klaymen               5D    3C    3S    3C    3H        3N      3H        C6
ST                    4S    3C   3NT    3C    3C        3N      3H        C6
BTDT                  4S   2NT    4C    3C   Dbl        4S      3H        C6
NN                    5S    2D    3H    3C    3H        3N      3H        C6
veni vidi vici        4S    2D    3S          3C                            

Submitted             4S    3C    3S    3C    3C        3N      3H        C6

@VeniVidiVici

Also, on B, if you need a tie break, my second choice would be 2N.

Alas (?), I was in the process of entering and didn’t see this. Since 2N was my personal pick, I would have been happy to have extra incentive to break the tie with 2N.

[SteveWhite]

                  A           B        C        D        E        F        G        H        Total
procrastinator    5S      50  2NT  90  3S   60  4C   100 3H   50  3N   100 3D   100 C6   100 650  
oirg              5D      100 3C   100 3S   60  P    70  3C   100 3N   100 Dbl  50  C6   100 680  
SW                4S      80  2NT  90  3NT  50  3C   40  Dbl  90  4S   70  3D   100 C6   100 620  
Klaymen           5D      100 3C   100 3S   60  3C   40  3H   50  3N   100 3H   40  C6   100 590  
ST                4S      80  3C   100 3NT  50  3C   40  3C   100 3N   100 3H   40  C6   100 610  
BTDT              4S      80  2NT  90  4C   80  3C   40  Dbl  90  4S   70  3H   40  C6   100 590  
NN                5S      50  2D   50  3H   100 3C   40  3H   50  3N   100 3H   40  C6   100 530  
Submitted         4S      80  3C   100 3S   60  3C   40  3C   100 3N   100 3H   40  C6   100 620  


                                                                                  
                  5D      100 3C   100 3H   100 4C   100 3C   100 3N   100 3D   100 C6   100   
                  4S      80  2NT  90  4C   80  P    70  Dbl  90  4S   70  Dbl  50                
                  5S      50  2D   50  3S   60  3C   40  3H   50           3H   40                
                                       3NT  50                                                    
                                                                                                  

On the bright side, breaking the tie with 3C on B gained us 10 points. We still missed the Honor Roll by quite a bit. Low score on it was 680, achieved among us only by oirg.

[SteveWhite]

Very unusual format for question F

[VeniVidiVici]

A 4N. More worried about being off two keycards than off two clubs tricks. 5 level seems safe. If partner shows four keycards, I will bid 5N so that he can maybe bid 7 with Ax AKxx xx AKxxx

B 4D. Time to agree on trumps.

C 4H. Slight overbid to find the right strain. Second choice 4D.

D 2N. I really want to bid 3D non-forcing…but I’m afraid that’s not BWS.

E Dbl. Thrump, there it is. I hope 4N over 4H will be pick-a-minor.

F f DAD. With a double-stop and a chunky five-bagger, this hand is just good enough to bid 1N in competition. On the second round, 2N seems obvious. On the third round, you have the best possible hand in context apart from not having a 3rd heart. Red at IMPs, I think you commit to game. 3S, 4H, and 5D all seem better than 4D.

G 5D. Seems easy at IMPs.

H S4 (or maybe CJ). This is a strange auction. The answers to 5N should be different when responder has already promised 3 of the top 4 trumps. I don’t know whether I should be more afraid trump are void opposite AKQ10xx or that clubs are A10xxx opposite Kxx.

[Klaymen]

A) 4NT
B) 5D
C) Pass
D) X
E) 4D
F) F
G) 4H
H) S9

[Numbers_Nerd]

A) 5D. Simply too good to pass. But If bid 4NT to ask for key cards, and he shows 3, I don’t have enough to bid 6, since I’m missing the minor suit kings. If I bid 4S instead, allowing partner to bid 4NT, then my 5D reply would not express the strength of my long hearts and club support. It would be nice for 5C to show support, but that is not the case.
B) 3S. Decent suit, not five because I didn’t bid them before. Hopefully partner interprets this as a concentration of strength. I could bid 3H with 62 doubleton, but that isn’t really the feature of this hand.
C) 3NT. This probably won’t make, but it shows values, a heart stopper, and the lack of a four-card spade suit.
D) 2NT. About right on values, anyway. Better than 3D, I think.
E) 4D. I have the right point count. A negative double seems awful. 4C may be better.
F) (e) DAA. I prefer 1NT the first time. The rest seems normal.
G) 4H. The experts always pick this.
H) S9. I have no reason to not lead a trump. Spot shouldn’t matter, I think.

[VeniVidiVici]

Spot shouldn’t matter? I think it might. I think if I lead the highest spot, partner might later abandon hearts, thinking I can guard them.

[SteveWhite]

A) 4NT
B) 3NT
C) 4NT, expecting it to be takeout. Pass somewhat tempting

Four notrump:
(a) If an undiscussed but clearly forcing noncompetitive four-notrump bid might logically be interpreted as more than one of these alternatives, the priority order of interpretation is: (1) ace- or key-card-asking, (2) general slam encouragement, (3) control-showing;
(b) If an undiscussed competitive four-notrump bid that might logically be interpreted as more than one among these alternatives, the priority order is (1) takeout, (2) key-card-asking, (3) ace-asking.

Whether that means that (b) applies here, who knows? OTOH, perhaps takeout is the only reasonable interpretation.
D) Double. Per BWS:

Doubles subject to no explicit agreement:
(a) when a pass would be forcing, a double discourages further offensive bidding;
(b) when a pass would be nonforcing, a double is penalty if the doubler is limited, cooperative-takeout if the doubler is unlimited.

E) 4S. Really a nightmare. I think double is way too risky, as partner may well think it absolutely promises hearts. 4C slightly tempting, but too likely partner will bid 5C when we belong in diamonds. He’ll certainly expect more than 4 cards in clubs. Second choice 5D, since 4D presumably non forcing
F) DAA. What else?
G) 4H. Since imps, lots of merit to 5D also.
H) Spade 4. [red]Maybe partner can ruff.[/red] Surely if he were ruffing a diamond, he would have doubled. If dummy has a spade void and declarer has only 6, unlucky.

[SteveWhite]

                       A     B     C     D     E         F       G         H
procrastinator                                                              
oirg                                                                        
SW                    4N    3N    4N   Dbl    4S       DAA      4H        S4
Klaymen               4N    5D     P   Dbl    4D                4H        S9
ST                                                                          
BTDT                                                                        
NN                    5D    3S    3N    2N    4D       DAA      4H        S9
veni vidi vici        4N    4D    4H    2N   Dbl       DAD      5D        S4

Leading               4N                                        4H          

[Klaymen]

My vote on F is DAD. If it’s imps and partner is 6-5 I’m chancing 4H. I think it’s worth the risk to go +420 instead of +130. Opponents bidding their black suits makes me think partner doesn’t have much in the way of wasted values. Could make on as little as

x
AKxxx
AKxxxx
x

[oirg]

August guesses:

A. 5D
B. 3N
C. Double
D. Pass
E. 4S
F. (f)
G. 4H
H. Spade 4

[SteveWhite]

From ST by e-mail:

PROBLEM A: 4 Notrump
PROBLEM B: 3 Hearts
PROBLEM C: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM D: 3 Diamonds
PROBLEM E: 4 Clubs
PROBLEM F: (f)
PROBLEM G: 4 Hearts
PROBLEM H: Diamond 2

A couple of my actions on this set are making me ill. Here come
the zeroes.
On A, RKC seems reasonable enuf with the double fit.
On B-I’ve already bid C, S and NT so is it better to show a 2nd heart I
haven’t shown yet (albeit 62) or raise partner’s second suit to 4D,
bypassing the more economical 3H. I’ll give him the room, can al
On C- I seem to have been "punted into 3NT, 3S shows nothing and do I
have to guess which minor?
D- bound to be bad for me, couldn’t resist the extra strength, perhaps
2NT as pickem is better, or obvious pass?
E- Here’s my zero degrees kelvin. bidding 4 card suit at 4 level, but
what, 4S?
F- I’d bid 1NT, then if not, 2NT, then if not, raise to 4H instead of 4D
or pass. so f)DAD
G-do we play it safe or go for the gold. Most of time partner will have
4+hearts, so I risk it
H- Have no idea. Perhaps tricky club honor is best shot. Simply cannot
figure our angle on this one.

[SteveWhite]

                       A     B     C     D     E         F       G         H
procrastinator                                                              
oirg                  5D    3N   Dbl     P    4S       DAD      4H        S4
SW                    4N    3N    4N   Dbl    4S       DAA      4H        S4
Klaymen               4N    5D     P   Dbl    4D       DAD      4H        S9
ST                    4N    3H    3N    3D    4C       DAD      4H        D2
BTDT                                                                        
NN                    5D    3S    3N    2N    4D       DAA      4H        S9
veni vidi vici        4N    4D    4H    2N   Dbl       DAD      5D        S4

Leading               4N                               DAD      4H        S4

We are up to having a leader on 4.

[BTDT]

This set seems really brutal …

A) 5D
B) 3N
C) 4N
D) Dbl
E) 4C
F) AAD
G) 5D
H) Spade 4

[procrastinator]

A. 4NT. Might be off a key card + slow diamond loser if they hit on the go, and no way to find out about the club kind low enough, but don’t see an alternative to figure this stuff out starting so high.
B. 4 diamonds. Partner heard us bid 2NT, and is still exploring best game (and possibly slam). With black aces, diamonds should play well, perhaps 12 tricks kind of well.
C. 4 clubs. Yuck, very low confidence on this one: possible any of the non-heart denominations is right call.
D. Double.
E. 4 spades. Tough problem.
F. (f) - Disagree, Agree, Disagree
G. 4 hearts. 5D close second choice.
H. Diamond 5 (or 2, not sure of spot leads in BWS). LHO may have a long clubs to ruff good, want to attack the entries.

[SteveWhite]

                       A     B     C     D     E         F       G         H
procrastinator        4N    4D    4C   Dbl    4S       DAD      4H        D2
oirg                  5D    3N   Dbl     P    4S       DAD      4H        S4
SW                    4N    3N    4N   Dbl    4S       DAA      4H        S4
Klaymen               4N    5D     P   Dbl    4D       DAD      4H        S9
ST                    4N    3H    3N    3D    4C       DAD      4H        D2
BTDT                  5D    3N    4N   Dbl    4C       AAD      5D        S4
NN                    5D    3S    3N    2N    4D       DAA      4H        S9
veni vidi vici        4N    4D    4H    2N   Dbl       DAD      5D        S4

Leading               4N    3N         Dbl    4S       DAD      4H        S4

@procrastinator

Diamond 5 (or 2, not sure of spot leads in BWS).

Changed to 2 based on this from BWS

Against suit contracts:
(i) Honor leads: king from ace-king; otherwise, highest equal from sequences and interior sequences
(ii) Spot-card leads in opening leader’s suit: high from remaining doubleton; low from remaining tripleton
(iii) Spot-card leads in a new suit: third-highest from even length; lowest from odd length
(iv) Trump leads: count (low even, high odd, but preserve the highest spot card except to lead highest of equals)

I don’t even know what that suggests about which trump we should be leading. In any case, I expect trump count will be clear to partner sufficiently soon.

So we have a leader on all except C. Anyone can lobby more, or those who are alone can express a second choice.

[procrastinator]

Since nobody else picked 4C on C, will offer my thoughts.

I think 4H > 4NT >> 3NT > Pass.

I believe take out doubles are to be taken out, and with Ax, do not find pass tempting at all. 3NT is likely to be passed, and unless partner has a surprise second stopper will require 8 runners outside of hearts.

I like 4H more than 4NT since it allows for 4S, which could be best spot (and I would pass if I bid 4H).

[SteveWhite]

Question from SweetTooth via e-mail

Aside from the obviously “safe” trump lead against Grand slam, is there a construction you are catering to where a trump lead actually defeats the GS. ?

Possibly a diamond is best, but assuming dummy has both red aces and long clubs there’s also most no hope anyway. Maybe if dummy has AKxxxx of clubs (no 10) and declarer is void, and you can take an entry out of dummy you can succeed. I’m going with the trump hoping it’s safe.

[SteveWhite]

Answers submitted:

PROBLEM A: 4 Notrump
PROBLEM B: 3 Notrump
PROBLEM C: 4 Hearts
PROBLEM D: Double
PROBLEM E: 4 Spades
PROBLEM F: (f)
PROBLEM G: 4 Hearts
PROBLEM H: Spade 4

Even though 4H had only 1 primary vote on C, procrastinator made it his second choice and it seems reasonable to me. I’m afraid the diamond lead is going to win on H, but even if I switched my vote to it, spades would still have a 5-3 edge.

[SteveWhite]

[code]
	A		B		C		D		E		F		G		H		Total
procrastinator	4N	100	4D	100	4C	30	Dbl	100	4S	60	DAD	100	4H	100	D2	80	670
oirg	5D	50	3N	40	Dbl	0	P	60	4S	60	DAD	100	4H	100	S4	90	500
SW	4N	100	3N	40	4N	10	Dbl	100	4S	60	DAA	90	4H	100	S4	90	590
Klaymen	4N	100	5D	60	P	50	Dbl	100	4D	60	DAD	100	4H	100	S9	90	660
ST	4N	100	3H	70	3N	100	3D	80	4C	90	DAD	100	4H	100	D2	80	720
BTDT	5D	50	3N	40	4N	10	Dbl	100	4C	90	AAD	90	5D	90	S4	90	560
NN	5D	50	3S	90	3N	100	2N	60	4D	60	DAA	90	4H	100	S9	90	640
jeremiahsjohnson
veni vidi vici	4N	100	4D	100	4H	80	2N	60	Dbl	100	DAD	100	5D	90	S4	90	720
Phileas Fogg
Abstract Actuary
bill18
Submitted	4N	100	3N	40	4H	80	Dbl	100	4S	60	DAD	100	4H	100	S4	90	670
		750		580		460		760		640		870		880		790
	4N	100	4D	100	3N	100	Dbl	100	Dbl	100	DAD	100	4H	100	HQ	100	800
	5D	50	3S	90	3S	90	3D	80	4C	90	DAA	90	5D	90	S4	90
			3H	70	4H	80	P	60	4S	60	AAD	90			S9	90
			5D	60	P	50	2N	60	4D	60					D2	80
			3N	40	4C	30
					4N	10
					Dbl	0
[/code]

So much for my theory that the diamond lead would be the winner on H. Well, perhaps it would have been the winner at the table, but not in the MSC. None of us picked the MSC-winning led.

Congratulations to ST and VVV, for our top scores of 720, which was the minimum score to make the honor roll, tying for spots 44-54.

oirg’s impossible double on C would not have been possible if he were entering online, but none of us caught it here.