mfa1010

In Copenhagen we do have an even older annual tournament but it probably doesn't qualify as a "league". Foreningernes Turnering was first held in 1927 and has been played every year since. It is open for any non-bridge association and participants compete for the Politiken trophy (Politiken is a major Danish newspaper). The tournament is being played over 5 mondays during the season and the system restrictions are strict. Originally no conventional bids were allowed, but now stayman, transfers, neg. dobl and blackwood are ok but that is it. Another traditional tournament here is the Warburg tournament played with same format since 1934. It is an indivdual tournament for 20 players, of which the buttom 4 in the standings are kicked out and replaced for the next season. The top 16 continues and there are players who have played consequetively now for a lot of years. It is a private tournament with strict formalities, such as dress codes, significant (money) penalties for being late etc. but the tradition seems to create a special atmosphere for this tournament.

My minimum requirements for 2♥ are a little higher that what gnasher describes. I agree with the focus on suit quality.

That is too convoluted. If partner huddles he has a hand where he might have had a foot. Or not even a foot.

Why is nobody talking about the opponents balancing anyway? It seems naive to base a lot on hoping to buy it in 2♥ making 8 when partner is minimum so that we have a 9-card fit and barely half the deck. Support with support. That will get us to game when partner has a good hand or when it really improves after being raised.

I agree with campboy, mgoetze etc. Such a thought-experiment is not necessarily fair. It is my impression that it is generally accepted that if the bidding looks sufficiently illogical then we are allowed to cater to a misunderstanding in spite of UI. Because of the AI also present. But with the thought-experiment as you describe it that would not be possible because of the assumption that partner reveals that there is no misinformation (however absurd the bidding may look). And in principle we can always play partner for having found a couple of extra aces or something like that.

3NT is not such a hot bid. South is overlooking the fact that if partner has only three spades he should be expected to be unbalanced. Whether it is short hearts or short diamonds it will be very bad in 3NT. With extremely strong spades south should accept to play a 4-3 if he has only one guess now. North's pass of 3NT is fine, since partner could easily have something like ♠Jxxx and north even has a strong source of tricks on the side for notrumps. Using 2NT as a forcing inquiry bid is recommendable.

Invitational with clubs would not be unreasonable. I would probably just bid 3NT though.

2♣ Hearts are usually just 4441 or RHO is weak with 5+. Partner is still a big underdog to be strong with hearts but it could happen.

I would roll back to 1NT undoubled. Likely a penalty to west. It is very unacceptable to bully an opponent not to act. It is crucial that west keeps his mouth shut until south has made his call. (With the usual reservation that we only have one side's version of the story).

Sounds like a really awful recommendation. The "then"-part clearly shows why. Instead players should be encouraged to develope a style where they transmit as little UI to partner as possible. Against lowlevel competitive alerted bids or doubles this is better done by asking often and a lot of the time at random. Nobody needs to ask always or anywhere close because very often one knows in advance or has looked at the CC. Some randomization should be sufficient to throw partner off.

That is nothing to be ashamed of. Just kidding. :P But do the regulations actually say directly what happens if a player fails to follow the correct procedure for passing? I think they don't, but show me if I am wrong about this. So we don't know what should happen. We can only interpret, and ruling that there was no pass is just one out of several possible interpretations of the imprecise rules. A different possibility is to rule that the intended pass stands but as the player has violated correct procedure she should be warned or penalized. We need to evaluate the situation with all its facts to make a decision. And then I think most points to the latter of the two consequences mentioned above.

Something is wrong here. If east doubles 2♣, then 2♥ is corrected back to 2♣ because X is illegal. And if east passes 2♣, then 2♣ is corrected to 2♥ because the CC has damaged EW. So the director will adjust the score to the opposite of the table result regardsless of east's bid. Or...?

I think the pass was made. I agree with gnasher's thoughts. There is no clear regulation that covers this. Picking up or tapping on the bidding cards is universally understood as a pass. So it becomes binding to do so just as if she has flashed the green card (which only a minority does in practice - sad but true).

Raise clubs -> RKC -> Ask for ♣Q -> 6NT -> Next board please.

True.

Still forcing. I would pass smoothly here. 4♠ is barking mad. B)

I would also say no.

It seems wrong that west accepts to play 3NT with a singleton spade and a suit oriented hand but no particularly good source of tricks in clubs. Without a double EW would have been past 3NT, so east shouldn't have a model hand for 3NT. XX would not show ♠A as I play it (it would ask for a stopper, since west could pass and then bid 3NT when in doubt).

Tough. I don't see that east knows enough to stick in the 8. But he should have continued diamonds. Switching to hearts is not giving enough weight to partner's encouraging ♦3.

The janitor doesn't read union contracts, he relies on common sense. So when it wouldn't occur to him that a pass here could be played as forcing then it isn't.

Maybe I'm resulting but I don't think that east should pull a second double to 4♥. Bidding a very bad 4 card suit so often goes wrong. Perhaps partner only has three. Or perhaps he has four, but RHO turns up with some very annoying holding like QJxx. The 10-9 helps in some scenarios though, but having KT9x or something would be a very different thing.

3♣ shows heart support. It doesn't set hearts as trumps. We should still be able to get to 4♠ and 3NT. This is much more important than having yet another way to make a slam try. East's hand type is acceptable for 3♣. It is just a tad too weak imo. I agree that the cue can easily be the best bid on only a doubleton, especially when it is Hx. But the actual east hand is a little skimpy.

The TD should not protect them when the do abuse UI (nigel questions if they did, but that is a different discussion). Here if just west doesn't abuse UI, then they would get all the protection they need. The drawback of having to protect oneself is when we ask about a bid that turns out to be natural (which is not the case here). Therefore the principle of protecting oneself can only be applicable when there is a very strong reason to suspect something fishy. Either with a missing alert or when somebody says something that clearly sounds wrong. Accordingly I don't think that east is required to protect himself in this case. He can't rule out a spade suit just because he has Kxxxxx. But I think the principle as such is indispensable to avoid players from acting 'unreasonable' (bluejacks word from the other thread) when they really know better. Say east had eight good spades. If he then didn't act (ask or bid) he would be on his own.

Actually all this is your own interpretation. If responder chooses to bid stayman for some other reason that would not automatically constitute a psych. A few examples: 5. With a strong 3154 planning to play a 4-3 spades. 6. With a weak 2443 hoping to catch a 2♦/2♥ reply but having to live with 2♠. Yes a bad gamble but not a psych. 7. With a weak 3415 planning to bid 2♥ over 2♦ and then 3♣ over 2♠.

West's hand improves when he get supported because his weak suit is not such a big concern anymore. Contrast to ♥AQJTxx in a 6322 type. Yes, west should probably just pass 3♣X. But if partner has a sound style of good raises then driving to game is ok.