msjennifer

Sirs,I too am not an expert.My only statement (PLEASE do not consider it as a remark or a comment), is that WE would open this hand not one diamond but one club (because of the valuable Spade king) since then we have a safe rebid of 1NT if at all partner responds 1Spade.and a safe raise over any other 1 level response( pass over 1NT).Thanks.

SIRS,what does '"Not Alertable "mean EXACTLY ? Does it leave the option of alerting open or does it mean "MUST NOT be alerted".If the option exists then I feel that , in all fairness ,both the 2NT (some play it as feature asking and some play it as OGUST and which one is practised by you ?) and 2NTx be alerted as 2NTx can have multiple meanings. Thanks.

Sir,what you say is correct absolutely.And that goes for psychic bids too. As long as partner has not the slightest idea and if one is not trying to pass UI .In the given post OP has asked us "FALSE OR TRUE"? My answer is "TOTALLY FALSE"

Sir,I fail to understand why the director was called by your opponents.If there is no infringement the director just asks you to continue the bidding and play.He can not ask you to make a bid which he thinks is correct.If you have alerted the 2/1 response then there is no infringement at all.One can have a system bid alerted. There is nothing in the rules that makes it compulsory to bid as required by the system unless one has the intention of trying to cheat the other three players,(psychic bids excluded.)

Sir.With due apologies ,I learnt a new sequence today.1H-P-1S-P-2D is forcing is something new.Pray what does one rebid with x-AQxxx-KJxxx-Qx ?and if 2D here is also forcing what is the difference between these two hands or is one supposed to rebid 1NT on this hand?.As per my little knowledge 2D is strictly a non forcing bid as it allows responder to pass holding say Qxxx-x-Qxxx-Kxxx. or any other such resembling limited hand where game is not possible.In my personal opinion 3H is somewhat a much better bid although the hand is stronger than that.3H is a passable bid as we think it the way we were taught.And over 3S we would still bid 4H as we certainly do not wish to play in a somewhat ridiculous 3NT.S regards the the 4D bid we can only surmise that the way we play it shows a weakish double suited(he did not bid 4D over 3H) hand.Pardon me if my thought process is incorrect.May be a sequence like 1H-P-1S-P-2C is forcing in the super expert circle.THANX

Sir,Keeping a 1C opening to include strong hands and forcing is almost akin to playing a system like the Polish Club.(Since you mention that you do not play the full Precision System.) .Although the new thoughts appear different than the ones used in a standard system, the scheme will have to be defined to a tee as it appears to be based on other assumptions that do not fit into a Standard system.I wonder how many ordinary players shall accept an entirely new approach and also why.

Sir,We do use this combination of showing two suiters.We also use ROMAN two suited jump overcalls if our partner opts for that method.However ,I feel it is easy for those who are interested to locate articles on either methods online and it is beyond the scope of this column to go into the details here.Thanks.

Sirs,We treat the 1NTx bid of partner as PRIMARILY showing interest in Penalties.Since we play different gadgets over opponents weak /strong 1NT opening, this double shows a 16/18 HCP balanced hand.Knowing this the position is same as if the doubler wanted to open 1NT.We ignore the LHO "s escape redouble and continue our system .Will not everyone make a transfer bid of 2H and then raise to an invitational 3S over partners forced 2S ?We do the same now on this hand .Interchange the spades to diamonds or Clubs and if we wish to play in the minor at 3level we have the usual transfer bids for that also.The redouble has absolved South from any compulsory requirement to make a bid on a very poor hand.

Sir. since the OP has asked the meaning of 2S bid without disclosmg his exact distribution hand pattern ,I shall limit my reply only to the way we define this bid.We play the 2S bid as a forcing bid but NOT NECESSARILY a game force as that will mean contracting for 5D with 3 outright losers.2S shows a mild inmterest in game if opener has a guard in spades and a 15/16 HCP hand IF opener bids 2NT over 2S then we bid 3D to suggest that. and he passes with minimum and may bid a game in NT with a better hand..WE bid 3D on the hand described if we have only xx in spades.and pass if wee have xxx in spades and compete with 3D later.This may not sound very logical to many.If as the responder we have a game forcing hand we either bid 2S or an artificial 3C .It is too lengthy to go into details but perhaps may give a generasl idea of what we play as GF OR SGF.THANKS

Sirs,in our own way we consider the outside SQJ and CK useful in NT only and may not in a 5D contract if partner holds a bare 6-7 HCP so our bid is 1D and then 3Nt if partner bids 1NT (a limited hand)and 3D over any other bid as they can be unlimited hands.I know it is difficult to judge the value of SQJ and singleton CK without hearing partners response.. The hand falls short of a 2C opening and is unfit for a 2NT opening.The old-timers or A=COL fans would find this a good hand =for a strong 2D opening.And to top it all a beginner pair to whom I passed on this hand bid 6D after 1D-1S-4D sequence.Thanks.

Sir,with the given explanations the redouble is gonna make one bid.As played in Spade with only 5 losers my hand is good enough for 3 spades at least.I shall make a waiting PASS right now as that does not NECESSARILY indicate a good defensive hand.Partner has promised 10+ and that + is important.WHY can't he have a hand say xx,Axx,Axxx,Axxx(He is not a passed hand,) , I,personally,think that one does redouble with such a hand.A bid of 2S or 3C may not help us to bid a confident 5S in competition if we decide that a penalty would not be enough.

Sirs,I also was watching our match against USA and was surprised that we lost even after a handsome lead.My personal observations of the match are we lost because of brain fatigue .inabiklity to last over a long match requiring the hardest physical stamina , and shortfall of consistency in tactical bidding against powerful opponents.My hearty congratulations to Meckwells ,

Sir.we dislike cappelletti for quite a few reasons,We use LANDY and transfers in the 2nd seat and LANDY and Natural in the 4th seat In the 2nd seat 2S shows a diamond suit And 3C shows a club suit.(Responder may PASS or bid a game in clubs or invite with 4C) 2NT in 2nd or 4th seat shows both minors. ,I know that quite a few,if not all ,may not like this treatment.

My computer is MacBook Pro 2018 and the voice button does exist in BBO and I do listen to the running comments.May be Windows 10 and/or android version miss the button.Thanx.

By the by, an invitational NT type hand is shown via 2C eg 1NT-2C-2 ANY-2NT

Sir,Any bid other than 3D,(IN THE PRESENT CASE 3NT),is at least a game force.(OVER 3C SHOWING A MINIMUM). YES SIR, if North bids just 3D opener passes.I n the present deal the bidding would be 1NT-2NT-3D-3H-3S-3NT(denying any Ace outside but guaranteeing clubK or singleton)-6D.( club king /singleton is known already).

Sir.We will only show a slam oriented hand by our methods. 1NT-2NT(TRANSFER TO D)-3C(min)/3D(max)--3H (Heart Ace) 6card D suit with at least 2 of three tops.If opener can cue spades then only we try and explore a slam.If he does bid 3S then on this hand we bid 3NT to deny any other ACE but guaranteeing 2ND round control in C .Then its upto opener .BY THE BY PS-We do not open 1NT with a five card major .We also do not open 1NT with two suits unguarded.

Sir ,pardon me if I say, the pair did not make a mistake.There was only a misunderstanding and misinterpretation of particularly the 4D bid which followed the earlier 2NT bid.It is correct to say that the real experts are those who make less mistakes.I can think of only the Italian master FORQUET who is (95 yrs) reportedly an Expert who hardly made any mistake during his prime career

Sir,I sincerely hope that no novice or beginner reads this column today.I wonder as to how Lauria and Versace ,a strong partnership, failed to rise to the occasion.What was the 2NT bid for? If Leb.then perhaps he meant to bid an invitational 3H later.It appears that such a position ( a raise to 4C ) left the pair totally unprepared . The six diamond bid after 5Cx is a mystery.A simple redouble to show the Club Ace may, perhaps ,have saved the deal.

Sir.There are many that are my favourites but to mention only two (1)WINNING DEFENCE by BROWN.(May be out of print).((2)FROM A TO Z by George S Coffin. Thanks.

Sir.as West we would pass on the 2D bid by RHO.When RHO passes the 2H bid we bid a TOD.Agreed we may or may not reach 3NTdepending on partners response.

Sir, there is no involvement of preemption in our bids.We shall have to pass all such hands in fourth seat otherwise .I have passed once holding xx-Axx-Axx-Axxx in the 4th seat.But we do not like to pass a 6 carder major suit hand with 2 honours and 6 to 11 HCP.To be frank We do not think we are preempting anyone by these weak bids .They are standard and all aggressive oriented players would like to bid the same way. As already clarified we upgrade the hands if they satisfy rule of twenty and it is certainly not preemption but aggressive but logical bidding. Since there is only a possibility of making only a part game opposite a passed partner better to use PFA and reach the par contract right away.THANX.

Sir,We do not make the weak 2H/S bids any different in 4th seat .However,we guarantee two of the three tops in 4th seat.We open 1H/S with 10+ if the rule of 20 is satisfied (as per our knowledge) in the 4th seat.Since we use Reverse Drury no problem arises.We play 2D Flannery and remains the same.2C ,of course, remains the same as usual..I do not recommend this scheme to the rest ,and it is upto individual partnerships to decide what is what.My daddy uses 2D as multi and 2H/S as 5H/S and 4+C/D in all seats. Thanks.

Sir.I personally feel that the authorities may be requested to make laws/rules about the bidding box etiquettes.One must avoid touching any card from the bidding box till one made up ones mind about the action one wants to take.Touching a card unintentionally does not convey any unauthorised information unless the player is known to do it in specific situations where the final decision is uncertain as in the example given.The opponent was rude in talking to you for the hesitancy.He should have called the director forthwith to protect his rights ( without any words or expression of dissent.)

SIR, We have been trying a modified four card Majors system with ideas borrowed from Blue Club system,. Super Precision along with Canape approach.We also use an entirely new INT-2C Relay (Not Stayman) and Baron 3C response over a 2NT(20/22) opening.We had to abandon Bergen and Gerber(which ,anyhow, we never liked).It appears to be working well.I am submitting this only as a general information and have no intentions whatever of suggesting others try the ideas. THANKS.