nigel_k

I agree with aardv. There is no reason for anyone to play the queen from Qx or Qxx here. It's quite different from a situation where declarer leads the J from AJ109 towards Kxxxx in dummy. So there is no damage resulting from East's action. Declarer made the wrong choice in the club suit but East's actions didn't make that choice any more likely to succeed.

Reverse Flannery is 5♠ and 4♥ and. IMO it should be just under GF strength, around 8-11 HCP. These are the problem hands because, if weaker, you just respond 1♠ and pass if partner rebids their suit.

This a pretty good method, better than most I think. It's not clear what you bid with both minors in jallerton's variation. I play something like this except that XX is two suits with spades and P then pull XX is two suits without spades. So opener bids 2♠ immediately when there is a 4-4 spade fit which can make things hard for them.

I strongly prefer pass to 2♣. I don't think you can avoid 6♣ now.

I would have said "because 5 - 3 = 2" was the correct choice. The actual choice C is simply stating an answer rather than providing a reason to believe it is correct.

To me this is a normal 3♥ opening. If preempting aggressively you might choose 4♥. I would not agree to a style where this hand is expected to open 2♥ or pass. If vulnerable I would still open 3♥ but it is closer and I'd prefer 2♥ if the ten of hearts was a small one. The only distinction I draw between a two and three level opening is based on how many tricks I can take if doubled.

I am reluctant to answer without seeing the hand because I don't want to pass judgment on someone's ethics based on being told to assume which alternatives are logical, rather than deciding that for myself. To me, this is a negative double auction. Responsive doubles are when partner has doubled, not overcalled. If they have agreed negative doubles to 7♦ then double is not penalty here though it will be passed fairly often. There is also the stop bid issue but we need more facts to know how that affects this auction.

IMO North has the wrong sort of hand to be looking for an 11 trick contract opposite 18-19 balanced, let alone a 12 trick contract. It has no shortage, no spade help and is just too soft. South was entitle to cooperate especially with that spade holding and would have expected something more like x Kxx Kxx Qxxxxx. North's 5♣ does not deny a spade control - he may simply feel he has done enough.

It's more or less standard that double is penalties of one or both suits and North has that. However: 1. North will not be happy if it goes 1♦-(2♦)-X-(2/3♠)-X. North has quite a lot less defence against a spade contract than a double in this situation will usually have. 2. Where would you want to be on this auction looking at both North and South? Probably not 3NT. 3. Playing double this way is not a very good method. The problem is that North had moderate values and doubt about strain. Those are the typical problem hands in this auction and it's just luck that the issue can be avoided here because North also happens to have good defence against hearts. Change North to something like Q Jxxx Qxx KJxxx and passing 2♦ risks a bad result opposite a strong South hand. You need to be able to do something on all these in-between hands without implying a desire to penalize.

When I was studying law, I had a discussion with a professor (about a question in a multi-choice test) that went something like this: Him: You have given the logician's answer rather than the linguist's answer. Me: So is the lawyer's answer usually the same as the linguist's answer? Him: Unfortunately, yes, it is. It sounds like Ken is having a similar experience.

16A1d: 'it is information that the player possessed before he took his hand from the board'

1NT. The heart suit is good enough to overcall but I wouldn't do it on this hand type because it just shifts the problem to the next round in most cases. For me the options are 1NT and pass.

On the first one I would splinter: 1♣-3♥ 3♠-4♦ 4♥-5♣ 6♣ On the second one: 1♦-1♥ 1♠-2♣ 2NT-3♠ 4♠-pass

This is a good hand, 17.2 on Kaplan/Rubens. I would double and lead a spade.

If you are walking by the river and see a kid drowning, do you: A. Save them B. Let the kid drown because 400,000 other people drown every year so rescuing that kid won't fix the problem C. Let them drown but spend some time organising swimming classes because that is more effective D. Let them drown because you never liked the kid anyway but use B and C as excuses if anyone asks questions

I would bid 2♥ as South regardless of what redouble means, and would not pass North's double of 2♠ with a void under any circumstances.

The immediate double raise is much more effective obstructively than anything else because they cannot cue bid and they don't get a second chance after passing. So I think you want to use that as often as possible. But if the range is too wide it's hard for partner to know whether to bid one more. I would suggest a three point range is about right and IMO you get the right balance of frequency and obstruction if you play it as 7-9 support points, so it may be as weak as J10xx x Kxxx xxxx or as good as J10xx xx Kxxx KJx. This can be a problem if partner is considering doubling them but is workable otherwise. The 3♥ bid can then be 4-6 support points and 2NT 10+. That means the first example above is a 2NT bid. It's slightly less than a classic limit raise but partner will be aware of that and has room to make a game try.

I don't think it is silly. It is unsound but still could be very effective if you have a good runout mechanism and don't play a lot against strong opponents,

East has quite a narrow range and West has made a slam try. So East shouldn't worry about going past 4♥ if he has the right cards. It's not like an auction where West has simply forced to game and East wants to show interest in case West has extras. The splinter in this context implies that slam is likely if there is no diamond wastage.

Fluffy is right. East should do more, not West. Two aces, trump queen and jack of partner's suit is a good hand on this auction.

It looks like declarer has a stiff club so ten major suit cards which may be 5-5 or 6-4. If declarer is 6-4 I don't think we can beat it. With the ♦A as a quick entry he surely would have started ruffing hearts. But if partner has the ♦A there is no room for him to have anything else given the pass of 1♠. So I would assume declarer is 5-5. In that case the ♠J works as we can retain trump control and give partner a ruff after dummy's second trump is gone. ♥K will not work because declarer can duck. They ought to be defending 2♦X but even strong pairs sometimes don't get these right. Also, given that the hand is posed as a problem, anyone who has read a sufficient number of books by Kelsey will be struck with an overwhelming urge to lead the ♠J at this point.

This is definitely a limit raise and not a minimum. A mixed raise or constructive raise is not enough even with a very aggressive opening style.

You can't cash the top trumps before playing diamonds because they will win and draw dummy's trump. Unless diamonds are 3-3 they can probably get a ruff. That ruff may be in the long trump hand but then they can get a trump promotion using the club entry. On the other hand these things may not be possible after a club lead but I'd say it is an underdog against strong defenders.

Agree with all the actions except East's final pass. The void makes it worth another move. West is also close to bidding IMO but doesn't appear to have the right cards opposite most likely East hands.

Can 2♦ have a four card major? If not, then he most likely has the black aces and 7♦ is just cold. If it can have a four card major then the most likely explanation for partner bidding 5NT not 4NT is that he has a club void and needs to distinguish the ♣A and ♦K. So I would be worried about something like AKxx QJxx AJxxx -. Which needs some work but looks like a cold grand from his point of view because he thinks our hand is more like Qxx - KQTxxx KQxx. The only fix for that is to not splinter with a pronounced two suiter and just bid 3♣ instead.