goodwinsr

What exactly is East missing to open the bidding?

What is it that they say about a foolish consistency?

P.S. TimG, if you led a spade and I criticized you for it, I retract the criticism!

I would lead a spade, despite the general undesirability of leading a suit they have bid. On this hand they have bid so many of them! I am not attacking, but leading as passively as I can: it is not as if partner is going to have a long establishable suit with side entries. I am hoping he has three good spades, or at least good enough spades to prevent me from blowing up the suit. I would rate the club jack ahead of any red-suit lead.

What is partner expected to have for his second double in the following sequence? (Everything is normal, no special conventions.) 1C Dbl. 1H P 2H Dbl.

I'm a little late to this discussion, but I thought I would add a method from the 1960's, part of the Flint-Pender system (Tiger Bridge, 1970). It's short, so I might as well quote the whole thing: "Responding to three clubs or three diamonds is often difficult because so much may depend on whether the opener's suit will run for seven tricks opposite a doubleton honor. Partner opens three diamonds and you hold: AQx Kxxxx Kx Kxx. Three notrump could be a laydown or preposterous, depending on partner's diamonds. "Our solution is to treat three of the next ranking suit as a conventional inquiry. With two top honors in his long suit, opener rebids three spades; with support for the relay suit, three notrump; with neither he repeats the suit. On the hand above, responder bids three hearts. "Opener holds: xx QJx AJ10xxxx x: bid 3NT. x xx QJ109xxx QJx: bid 4D. xx xx AQxxxxx xx: bid 3S. "Should opener happen to have both support for the relay suit and top honors in his own suit, he should give precedence to the latter and bid three spades, as he will have the opportunity of disclosing his support on the next round." This just shows that somebody was working on this problem 40-odd years ago. T. L. Goodwin

In fact, I have heard them ask, "What's THAT supposed to mean?" and then bid two of the major suit I opened, to play of course.

More often than, "You play four-card majors, right?" I hear them say, "What's THAT supposed to mean?"

It wasn't as close as the final score would suggest.

I think I can take the liberty of confirming TimG and partner (me) for Sept. 22 match. goodwinsr (T. L. Goodwin. Yes, TimG and I are related.)

[never mind]