From: tnh@sw.stratus.com (Tim Hill)
Newsgroups: rec.games.bridge
Subject: Re: A few problems
Date: 12 Nov 92 21:28:22 GMT
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc.
NNTP-Posting-Host: bigbootay.sw.stratus.com

In article <6020@tivoli.UUCP>, taylor@foraker.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Eric Taylor) writes:
> In article <6019@tivoli.UUCP>, taylor@tivoli.com (Eric Taylor) writes:
> |> South on all hands:
 
> |> First the simple one.  Playing standard 2/1 you hold :
 
> |> QJ10xxx
> |> Kx
> |> Kxxx
> |> x
 
> |> The bidding has gone :
> |> N         E          [S]       [W]
> |> 1H        P          1S        P
> |> 2N        P          3D        P
> |> 3S        P          ??
 
> |> Do you make any slam peeps?

Let's see.  I assume partner's showing 3523 or 3532 and 18-20 HCP.  Is it
possible partner has four keycards but I still have no play for 6S?  I guess
the worst he could have is AKx AJxxx Jxx AJ, and even that has chances.

> I just RKC'ed at this point.

Sounds good.

> I was lucky to find partner with 
> AKx
> Axxxx
> AQx
> Qx

> And the slam was practically a laydown on either :
> 	a 4-2 heart split.
> 	a 2-2 spade split.
> 	a 3-3 diamond split.



> |> Second one.
> |> K10x
> |> xx
> |> Qxxxx
> |> AKx
 
> |> The bidding has gone :
> |> N        E           [S]        [W]
> |> 1C       1H          2D         2H
> |> 2S       P           3C         P
> |> 3S(1)    P           ??
 
> |> Partner's style is to bid Spades with 55 in the blacks.
> |> Therefore he is 56 in the blacks.
> |> How would you go about investigating slam (if at all.)?

So we'll take exactly 10+N tricks, where N is the number of aces
partner holds.  Time for Mr. Blackwood again.  (I hope partner
wouldn't go past 5S with one ace and a void!)

> I was not thinking on this one and blithely bid 4S.
> 6 was absolutely frigid, but I was lucky that no one else
> had the unction to do anything different.

Perhaps other EWs pushed the bidding much higher before North
had an opportunity to paint such a clear picture.



> |> Describe partner's hand on the bidding :
> |> N         E         S        W
> |> 1D        1H        X        P
> |> 2H        P         3D       P
> |> 3H        P         3S       P
> |> 4C        P         4D       P
> |> 6D

Geez, you got me.  I suppose you've got diamonds and clubs and not spades
and lots of points and I don't know whether you've got hearts.  2H sounds
like a general purpose forcing bid that says nothing about hearts one way
or another.  3H sounds like a try for 3NT with either no heart stopper or
a partial stopper (depending on partnership agreement).

> |> Suppose you hold :
> |> 98xx
> |> xx
> |> KJx
> |> Kxxx
 
> |> I did not like partner's 3S call since he
> |> already showed a 4 card spade suit and has now distorted
> |> the holding.

Well, South had to bid something.  Having denied five spades on the first
round of bidding, he can't be showing five spades now.  I guess I'd prefer
4C (assuming the negative double promised four spades but not necessarily
four clubs).

> But besides that, what can the opener be looking for?

A heart stopper.

> I held:
> AK10
> AKxx
> AQxxxx
  void

Oh.  I see.  You and your partner were on different pages.  As soon as
partner bid 3D, you were looking for a diamond slam, but partner didn't
know you had forgotten to open 2C, so he thought you were groping for 3NT.

Even if partner understood that you were cuebidding, you couldn't learn
any more from him.  You had first and second round control of all three
side suits.  Just bid 6D.

> It made fairly easily (actually made 7 on a defensive error).
> I thought by cuebidding hearts twice and cuebidding the club void
> later, I was probably void.
> 
> Comments and/or flames?

With 5.5 QT, 20 HCP, a 6-card suit, a void, and about 9 playing tricks,
open 2C.  After 2C-2D,3D-4D,6D-P, you get to be dummy.


                                    Tim