From: brett@oce.orst.edu (Brett Barksdale)
Subject: Problem Solvers' Panel 15.5
Organization: Oregon State University, College of Oceanography
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 17:38:03 GMT


Problem 5.
Matchpoints (see below)
All vulnerable
Dealer North

You, South, hold, S-K H-432 D-KJT9432 C-32

South  West   North  East
              2C(i)  4H
5D     5H     6H     Pass
?

What call do you make?
What is partner's 6H?

This problem, do not assume you are playing with an alien. Here, you
are a pro, playing with LOL client in the Blue Ribbons. Somehow, despite
your partner, you made the first day cut.

The panel:
----------
(JB)     jbaron@gauss.ssc.gov (Jeff Baron)
(DV)     varvel@cs.utexas.edu (Donald A. Varvel)
(TIBOR)  TIBOR@jhuvms.hcf.jhu.edu
(TW)     tim@theory.lcs.mit.edu (timothy m wright)
(DESJ)   desj%idacrd@Princeton.EDU (David desJardins)
(DK)     Dennis Kibler <kibler@turing.ICS.UCI.EDU>
(PRM2)   "Paul Markowitz (PRM2)" <PRM@brownvm.brown.edu>
(SGM)    "Steven G. Myerson" <sgm@sgfb.ssd.ray.com>
(JTW)    Jaroslaw Tomasz Wroblewski <jwr@math.Princeton.EDU>
(MOJO)   mojo@netcom.com (Morris Jones)
(PM)     Peter Montgomery <pmontgom@math.ucla.edu>
(KP)     as572@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Kevin Podsiadlik)
(ARS)    AVIR@VM.BGU.AC.IL(Aviel Roy-Shapira)
(MB)     msb@sq.com (Mark Brader)
(BRI)    milord@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Milord)
(DD)     valley@gsbsun.uchicago.edu (Doug Dougherty)
(JWH)    hargrove@ASC.SLB.COM
(JR)     gunner1@unix.cis.pitt.edu (Jayant Rajgopal)
(CH)     holzsche@prl.philips.nl
(DOUG)   Douglas Newlands <doug@cm.deakin.OZ.AU>
(JD)     jld1@iwtgp.att.com (Jeffrey L David)
(BV)     ben@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Ben Verwer)
(JC2)    Jim Cox <cox@unx.sas.com>
(RG2)    Raymond L. Gilbert <pi@wam.umd.edu>
(RD)     RDOBER%ESRIN.BITNET@vm.gmd.de
(DG)     dagibbs@quantum.on.ca (David Gibbs)
(AO)     ago@meceng.coe.northeastern.edu (Andrew Ofiesh)
(DAVID)  davidm@Rational.COM
(PBH)    pbhyf!skataba@ns.PacBell.COM
(WU)     Warren Usui <aardvark@locus.com>
(CC2)    chris.chambers@rose.com
(GD)     ding@raj2.tn.cornell.edu (Gary Ding)
(GJA)    G.J.Ackland@edinburgh.ac.uk
(AM)     alex@am.sublink.org (Alex Martelli) 
(ZW)     ZWANGERS@ACFcluster.NYU.EDU
(IM)     Ilene Morgan <morgan@math.psu.edu>


PASS
----

(RD) 5. PASS.  6H is suit, why didn't s/he double!! (I'm not gonna talked out omy suits.) Maybe it's the right decision, our last chance to get a +.
East has bluffed, and I'm afraid that any major suit lead by West will defeat
my 7D contract. (6N might be worth a try, but maybe s/he cannot misplay this
one, or even better: West leads out of turn and I will declare.)

(JD) 5. Pass.  Without the additional information I would have bid
7D.  I'm believe East has psyched and my client is really
bidding a heart suit.  I'm probably wrong.  Neat problem.

SIX SPADES
----------

(JB) 5. 6S.  Partner has the spade ace to go hunting around, and must have
first round heart control as well.  But is it a void or the Ace?  I'll
just bid 6S and let partner decide what to do.
What is 6H?  Hopefully, some sort of heart control.

(DG) 5. 6S.  6H is asking for a Heart stopper for NT :-)  Probably - pick
        Spades or clubs
         a slam (or grand slam).  He avoided grand slam force because
         he doesn't want me bidding seven diamonds with only KQxxx
         in the suit.  I anticipate S AQJTx H - D Ax C AKJxxx
         (in which no slam is superb, but diamonds is best).
 
(BRI)5.6S.Only because of the conditions of the hand.  Still, I've shown that I
have values (bynot doubling 4H), so i'll play partner for a gigantic two-
suiter.  Might as well have her play at the 6 Level.  If partner has three
diamonds (or two good ones) then I expect to either a) be in 7D or b) lecture
partner.

(CH) 5. 6S.  I wouldn't be amazed if partner had  S AQJtxx  H -  D x  C AKQJxx.
       
(AM) 5. 6S. Partner does not have hearts, or she'd gladly double, and if
the cuebid comes from enthusiasm for D's I'll hear about it; she's
probably got some sort of, hopefully REAL huge, black hand; hope it's
spades so I get to be declarer.

(SGM)5. 6S. Ah, the ambiguous cue-bid. Designed to frighten the opponents and
confuse one's partner. This problem might be easier if I knew what (i) was.
6H had better have been a cue in support of diamonds.
I hope LOL reads my 6S as the king of spades.
Maybe LOL wants to play it in NT.

(DOUG) 5. 6S. Who knows? Partner is not 1  suited since she would bid her
       suit,she's not 3 suited since this would be a cue bid which has
       already committed us to 7D and is therefore pointless; it can't
       be a 2 suiter since it gets us to 7C if I prefer clubs and yet
       partner does not have the KS! It's all impossible. With 6S I

(JR) 5. 6S.  I have no idea what 6H means, but I take it as showing a void
        in H with a two suited hand in C and S, asking me to pick one of
        the other two suits.  With any diamond support, partner would
        have bid 7D instead of 6H (or at least will correct 6S to 7D).

SIX NO-TRUMPS
-------------

(ARS)5. 6NT. I suppose 6H is a sort of Blackwood, asking me to bid 7 if I have
        an ace. I don't, so I bid 6NT. Nifty.

(TW) 5. 6NT.
6H is a cue bid, showing first round control.  I expect partner to pass with
the Ace of hearts, and to bid 7D with a void.

(TIBOR) 5. 6N.  This will go down.  The only reasonable meaning for 6H
is do you have the AH, and would be bid with AQx diamonds and
KQ tight hearts.  However, that is one more heart than pard can
have (assuming Blue Ribbon caliber opps.)  7D is likely to be
off less, but I can blame this one on pard.

(MOJO) 5. 6NT. I assume partner is showing the A, maybe AK in hearts, but if
so, I'm not sure why she didn't bid 6NT without something missing.  It
may be foolish, but I'll bid it.

SEVEN CLUBS
-----------

(DV) 5. 7C.  The registrar at the American University in Beirut is
   alleged to have said, "I heard you say you are an athiest.
   Now I want to know whether you're a Moslem, Christian, or
   Jewish athiest."  What *kind* of LOL client?  But I'll pass
   7H.  If I remember correctly, Bob's opponent actually had
   hearts and forgot to double.

(ZW) 5. 7C. I don't think 6H shows diamond support (unless it asks between
7D and 7NT), but more probably shows 6-6 in the black suits and asks me
to choose a slam. I can't tell if partner has AQxxxx or AQJxxx in spades,
so no way to tell how good 7S is. In 7C partner can ruff a spade in my hand
and should have no problem making even on a 4-2 spade split.
 
SEVEN DIAMONDS
--------------

(PRM2) 5. 7D.I'd hate to make a preference on just two cards.
Pard knows I've got diamonds, but might have tolerance for the suit
anyway.  7C is my other choice.

(DD) 5. 7D.  I'm sorry, but I can't really bring myself to do anything else.
	What is (i) ?

(JC2) 5. 7D. I take it as indicating a two-suited hand, spades and clubs. 
He wants me to pick my grand, diamonds, spades, clubs, or no-trump.

(RG2) 5. 7 D.  You don't have anything else intelligent to say.  I take 
partner's 6H as having S & C; X would have been for penalty at this
level.

(DK) 5. 7 D.  Why did  I bid 5D last round?
What is partner's 6H?  Asking about heart control for 7 nt?

JTW) 5. 7D. I cannot pass now.

(AO) 5. 7D. If 6N makes then so does 7D.  The LOL probably has no hearts or the 
stiff ace. Neither contract will make if we are missing a first 
round control or there is a Diamond loser, so we should play for the higher
scoring contract.

(DAVID) 5. 7D.  A complete guess. 7D, if making will probably be worth a near
        top while
        6S, if it makes, rates to be average+, so as I am guessing I should
        try to guess for a top rather than an average.

(PBH) 5. 7D. (2C bid was not explained, I assume strong artificial). Partner's
6H is either asking me to bid 6NT if I have a heart stopper (a sort of
Western cue), or it shows a heart void. Either way 7D is the only bid I
have.

(WU) 5. 7D.  You said it was a LOL didn't you?  Needless to say, I hate making
   this bid.

(CC2) 5. 7D.  Assume 2C opening was strong.  6H was asking me to bid
notrump with a heart stopper, and is obviously forcing.

(MB) 5. 7D.  I take 6H as showing a void in hearts.  Since partner hasn't
mentioned a suit of her own, this information is not helpful, and
I just try to help us get into the right strain.

(GD) 5. 7D.  6H has to be a Q-bid, as X is clear for north if East 
   had been the one with creative bidding. :)

(GJA)  5. 7D.  Trying to wear my best wtp expression.  Even opposite a huge 
         black two-suiter, we'll need diamond tricks to make 13.  I'm 
         expecting the worst so I bid confidently...

(BV) 5.  7D. With a heart stop I would have bid 6N, but what else can you bid?
If rightie psyched, they got me. Partner's 6H must show interest to
play in 6N.

(JWH) 5.   7D.     I am guessing. I think pard must have a heart void. What
             else might she have? It's hard to construct a hand on
             which she can bid like this without diamond support. If
             she's 7-6 in the blacks she probably shouldn't have
             opened 2C. My guess is that she's something like 5-0-3-5.
             She's willing to play 7D, but is keeping other options open.

(IM) 5. 7D.  I have no clue what partner is doing; I hope he/she does
(yes, a man can be an LOL).

SEVEN SPADES
------------
(DESJ) 5. 7S.  I've already seen this hand, but I play bridge not poker.
Partner should have spades and clubs, and my spade king is a trick.
The fact that partner actually has hearts is immaterial (that's one
reason I'm not a bridge pro).

===========================================================================

Bid tally: 7D - 17
           6S - 8
           6N - 4
           Pass - 2
           7C - 2
           7S - 1 

[For those of you who haven't seen this hand before this PSP (like me), 
 enjoy it. It's quite a story... - BB]

Submitter's Comments (Bob Silverman)
------------------------------------

I was the 4H bidder. The LOL was to my right and the pro to my left.
The full hand is hilarious.

		My Partner
		xxxx
		xxx
		-
		xxxxxx

Pro					LOL
K					-
xxx					AKQJTxx
KJTxxxx					AQx
xx					KJT

		Me

		AQJTxxxx
		-
		xxx
		AQ

Yep. I preempted 4H on a void. After 2C-4H-5D-5H, the LOL was sure that
she was being talked out of her slam and by golly she wasn't going to
let us keep her from it!! So, she bid her heart slam.

I couldn't pass fast enough. I knew what was going on and I knew that the
Pro would never read it. 

As a matter of fact, the Pro DID consider the possibility that we were
psyching and that the LOL's bid was legit, but he thought that even THIS
partner knew how to double!!

Technically the 6H bid can't be a cuebid in support of diamonds because
it forces 7D anyway. The only thing it could really be is a MASSIVE
black two suiter; willing to play 6S opposite nothing. The Pro tanked
FOREVER over his call and finally made what S.J. Simon would call the
'unlucky expert' bid. He believed his partner and bid.............

7S!!!

You see, the only missing card his partner could have was the K spades.
If she could make 6S without it, then they could make 7S with it.

It went pass to the LOL, who also passed [she did trust her partner
after all!] and I could not resist a "Lightner" double for a club lead.
LHO tanked a bit but passed and the LOL tanked some more [clearly
considering 7NT] but was so confused at this point that she passed.

My partner did lead a club and when dummy hit everyone at the table
except the LOL realized what had happened. I won the club Q and
put the A spades on the table.

After I cashed the A spades and the K fell, I cashed the A clubs and
for lack of something better to do I led a diamond. When partner ruffed
it and led back a club I claimed.

A short time later we were asked by a director to verify that our
scoreslip was correct: that the 1-0 fit had played 7S*, and not
our hands.

This is a true story. It happened in the Blue Ribbon pairs at the
Fall Nationals in Atlanta about 10 years ago.

The pro involved has won the McKenney race. 

Hey. It's only 1 board. 

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     "Just waiting for the nuts..."
             Brett Barksdale        brett@porky.oce.orst.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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