[Kaitlyn S]

This problem set was originally posted in the N/B forum but I think there are many intermediate players that could benefit from them. While much of the content of this forum is more advanced than this thread, I am guessing that many intermediate players do not look at the N/B forum but may still be interested in these problems.

Hi - these problems should be very easy for experienced players but an intermediate player needs to think about the right things in an auction. If you and get them wrong, don't feel too bad as long as you understand the rationale for the answers. I'll provide the answers later but I'll put a hint as a spoiler. Try to solve the problem without the spoiler. Also, let me know if you would be interested in seeing more of these from time to time.

Assume you are playing Standard American (a natural system with 15-17 1NT openings), IMPS, and nobody is vulnerable.

Some background: When the opponents make a preemptive jump overcall, they are stealing room you need to discuss the trump suit and the level. You may have to guess. Realize that if you bid a new suit below game, it is forcing and think of what partner is likely to do.


1.

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Spoiler

What will happen if you don't have a spade fit?

2.

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Spoiler

What information do you really need to know?

3.

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Spoiler

Is it possible that partner is going to think you bid under pressure?

[/quote]

[MrAce]

Hi Kaitlyn.

Yes they are better for intermediate players.
But as a person who taught bridge and made living, I can tell you that they expect way too much from N/B players in BBF.
Another thing is, there is not many, if any, regular posters here who consider themselves in B/N level.
Regardless, I read these in B/N section and I think you did a great job.

[apollo1201]

+1 for MrAce

[Kaitlyn S]

This is the slightly modified answer post from the thread in the N/B forum.

Answers: Material for more advanced players is in blue. There's a lot of blue in this post because these problems were a bit more advanced than the other sets.

1.

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Hint: What will happen if you don't have a spade fit?

Answer: You have enough for a game, but don't know which game you want to play in. If East had not overcalled, you would plan to play in 3NT or 4S (unless partner showed significant extra values.) You would respond 1S, forcing, [If partner doesn't support spades, you would make another forcing bid (bid a new suit) to give him a chance to show 3 cards.] If you don't find a spade fit, you will likely bid 3NT (unless partner shows a maximum opening hand, in which case you'll bid slam.)

Here you don't have that luxury. The good news is that if you bid 3S here, you are showing all five of them. [This is true whether you play negative doubles this high or not, but if you do, your negative double would show four spades.] However, you should look ahead and consider what will happen if partner does not have a spade fit for you. Partner is very unlikely to have a heart stopper and will bid something higher than 3NT, and you will no longer be able to play 3NT, and no guarantee of finding a minor suit fit, which will require eleven tricks (which may be pretty tough when you consider that West might get a heart ruff.)

Even if partner does have a spade fit, 3NT is a reasonable contract. You have the values for game and two heart stoppers, and it's not likely that the preemptor has enough entries to set up and run hearts. My advice would be to forego the attempt to find spades and just bid 3NT

[With the preempt, 4S is no bargain even if partner does have three. The preempt makes it more likely that spades break 4-1, and there's a good chance that West will have a singleton heart and ruff one of your heart winners at trick 2.]


2.

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Hint:: What information do you really need to know?

Answer: First, let me show you what you don't need to know. There is an excellent diamond fit and this is IMP scoring so even if you knew you had a spade fit, making 5D as compared to 4S or 6D as opposed to 6S is going to cost you 2 IMPs, and considering that one opponent bid 4H, you are probably getting bad breaks, and could easily have a spade loser if partner doesn't have the jack, and the opponents could easily score a diamond ruff in a spade contract. I think it's safe to say that the answer to "where" is diamonds.

Now, you need to answer "how high?". If you strictly counted points, you would say 17 HCP plus 4 for shortness, but since you're pretty sure you have the long hand, you might say 17 HCP plus 2 length points That's 19 points opposite partner's opening bid, and while there's no guarantee of 33 points, if I have to guess, I'm bidding 6D.

But do I really have to guess?

Essentially, the level of the contract you can make is determined by how many aces your partner has. If he has one, you can make 5D. If he has two, you can make 6D. If he has three, you can make 7D. (I wouldn't bid 7NT because partner might need to trump my small spade.)

Can I find that out? Yes - the Blackwood convention will tell you how many aces your partner has. Bid 4NT. His answer will tell you how many aces he has and you will bid the appropriate number of diamonds and collect the largest slam bonus available to you on this hand.

[While it's possible that partner's high cards are the H-AK and D-AJ and you have two club losers, this is highly unlikely, and even if it's so, a non-club lead will allow one of your clubs to be discarded on partner's extra heart winner after drawing trump. I would just pretend that partner has the CA or CQ since there is very little chance that isn't true.]

The search for a trump suit on this acution brings up other interesting points. Without interference, if you bid 1S over your partner's 1D bid, you show four spades and it's forcing Here, after the 4H overcall, if you bid 4S, you are strongly suggesting that 4S is the correct contract - your bid is not forcing and you are very likely to play in 4S regardless of partner's hand. That won't be much fun if partner has a small doubleton spade.

[If you do play negative doubles this high, a negative double looking for a spade fit is misguided for a couple of reasons. First, if partner doesn't bid spades, you will lose your opportunity to ask for aces which is the information you really need. Second, at this high level, the double is often left in, with partner figuring that collecting a penalty is more likely than guessing a game at the 5-level. With your tremendous diamond fit, you really do not relish the prospect of defending.]

[It was pointed out in the other thread that some advanced partnerships have an agreement where 4NT is something other than Blackwood in this sequence. While such an agreement might be optimal, I would assume that 4NT was Blackwood unless I had a specific agreement with this partner on what 4NT meant.]

3.

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Hint: Is it possible that partner is going to think you bid under pressure?

Answer: You pick up a hand and hear partner open 1S. This should be a nice easy hand to bid - 11 points (counting 1 for the doubleton - you're going to be dummy in a trump contract), and four trump. 3S, a limit raise fits perfectly. [If anybody plays Bergen, you have a different bid to show a limit raise. I suspect that most novice readers of this post have never heard of the Bergen convention, and that's quite all right.]

So if you were going to bid 3S, isn't it right to still do so? No problem!

But wait, there is a problem. While the preempt hasn't taking your 3S bid away, it has taken your 2S bid away, and you will want to bid 3S now on many of the hands which would have bid 2S without the overcall.

As NickRW suggests, what would you do here?

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With at least nine trump, you want to compete to 3S, but partner may have a hand that makes reopening the bidding dangerous opposite a responder who has passed. Passing may very well let the opponents make 3H when you can make 3S.

This is what I meant about bidding under pressure. You don't really have the values to play at the three level if partner is minimum (two minimum hands try to stay below 2NT unless pushed by the opponents), but you do really want to compete to 3S and if you bid 3S here, it is strictly competitive.

So if you bid 3S on the actual 11-point hand, how will partner know whether you are just trying to compete or you have a solid invitational hand? He won't. He will probably pass when you can make four.

I believe you should resolve partner's dilemma and bid 4S yourself. You may not make it, but your chances are pretty good. The point of the hand is that you know you are close to a game, and partner doesn't know that, and a 3S bid won't tell partner that. So bid the game yourself and blame the well-timed preempt if it doesn't make.

[This hand is better than the point count indicates. For your opponent bid 3H and you have four small hearts. Partner has short hearts. How much can he have wasted in the heart suit? Quite likely, very little. Your partner has short hearts and needs you to have values in diamonds, clubs, and trump. You have no wasted high cards in hearts, and your high cards are in just the suits where he needs them. I would be very surprised to go down in 4S with this hand. That doesn't change the point of this hand, I would still bid 4S with an "average" 11 point hand in this situation, but good hand evaluation makes the decision a lot easier.]

[How will partner know that you are stretching to bid 4S, and aren't interested in a slam if partner has more than a minimum opening bid? You bid 4S. If you had spade support and a better hand, for example about 16 points, you would bid 4H, a cue bid, instead. This is an advanced bid so don't pull it out unless you're sure that partner will understand you.]
[/quote]

[Kaitlyn S]

Those that wish to see the full discussion can go here:

Bidding after the opponents preempt

The problem set is called "Bidding Problems for Novices - Part 7" but could be appropriate for players far more advanced than novices.


I think that all of the problem sets could be appropriate for intermediate players but they currently reside in the Novice/Beginner forum. They are all called Bidding Problems for Novices; if you try them, you can weigh in on what you think the level is (send me a message if you don't want to post.) Here are the links:

First problem set

partner rebids his suit

partner rebids notrump

Advancing a takeout double

Try not to rebid a five-card suit

Initial defensive action

You pass, partner backs in with 1NT after opening

[Kaitlyn S]

MrAce, on 2016-October-17, 14:32, said:

Hi Kaitlyn.

Yes they are better for intermediate players.
But as a person who taught bridge and made living, I can tell you that they expect way too much from N/B players in BBF.

I am strongly inclined to agree with you. I looked at some of the bridge movies in the BBO Store. I tried a movie intended for "Beginners". As a potential beginner, I was expected to know that 1S (3D) 4D was a spade slam try, and to be able to manage my trump entries so that I could properly finesse in a side suit. I can honestly say that I would expect almost all of the students in my advanced class to go down on that "Beginner" hand. I tried an "Intermediate" hand and it was far from obvious to me how to play the hand. So in my opinion, those are mislabeled, but as long as you know what the labels mean, you can find appropriate hands for yourself.

To me, a beginner is someone taking the initial set of lessons, that may or may not have learned basic rebids, takeout doubles, and preempts, and likely only remembers a fraction of what he was taught.

I would expect that most players in an "intermediate" class would get most of my "problems for novices" wrong, and I only labelled them that way because of what I perceived to be the expected knowledge for a novice here. The thing that strikes me really funny is that with such high expectations for beginners and novices here, I would expect many of the self-designated advanced players and experts to get many of these "novice" problems wrong, even a few which I have found in the more competitive team games.

MrAce, on 2016-October-17, 14:32, said:

Another thing is, there is not many, if any, regular posters here who consider themselves in B/N level.

Good to know. In any event, based on the readers' responses, I'll decide in a few days which forum to continue this series in. Number of views will be taken into account. Regardless of where they land, I probably should rename them Bidding Problems for I/N's.

[Tramticket]

Hi Kaitlyn, I encourage you to continue setting problems.


For what it's worth, this would be my dividing line between Novice/Beginner problems and Intermediate/Advanced problems:

Novice/Beginner problems should be those where there is a straight right or wrong answer - e.g. "What is the correct bid in accordance with standard systems for this type of holding".

I would expect discussion to be limited to attempted answers and then the correct solutions by you. With maybe a few follow-up questions. There shouldn't be scope for players to tell you that you are wrong!


Intermediate/ Advanced problems should usually involve judgments, meaning there is no right or wrong answer. You might have one judgement, I might have another judgement and we can discuss the merits of our different positions and (hopefully) learn from the discussions. And of course I understand that not all judgments are equal - judgments made by World Championship level players are more likely to lead to the better results than those made by mortals such as me.

Discussion at this level should be encouraged and players will be entitled to hold differing opinions.

[Using my definitions, it is not surprising that there are few Novice/Beginners on the site. Since this is a discussion forum, most users will want to discuss their opinions, but novice/beginners are not at the stage to engage in discussions involving judgments].


Good luck with these problems.