gordontd

How is 3♦ forcing?

This is a matter of regulation, not law. In the programmes for EBU events it currently says that North (or South) enters the scores into the Bridgemates and East (or West) checks it. This clearly acknowledges standard practice while allowing for it to be varied. It will be included in the next edition of the White Book, but clubs are free to make their own regulations about this. It's hard to see though why a club might want to deny the possibility of South scoring instead of North.

It seems no-one else thinks Pass is an LA, as far as I can see because we have a GF raise and have thus far only shown a Limit Raise or better. Fair enough, but everyone seems to be bidding game because that's what they would have done anyway; no-one seems to be pausing and taking stock in the light of partner's double which ought, to my mind, to be making me more reluctant to bid on. Yes I have a fourth trump and some extra values, but I don't have a shortage and I do have two high cards in their suit.

Even if you think there is no Logical Alternative to bidding 4♠ (as pretty much everyone except me seems to think), you ought to be able to see that the slow double provides UI expressing doubt that 4♥x should be the final contract.

It's matchpoints, so any time 4♠ is not making it would be right to pass 4♥x. That may not be a large amount of the time, but I would have thought it would be often enough to make it an LA (given that partner has doubled), and would render the question irrelevant of whether we can get +800 from defending.

Do we know the strength of the opening 1NT bid?

We don't have to be making 4♠. I think Pass is an LA.

I'm not sure what you're saying here. It seems clear that bidding is suggested by the slow double.

Do they? I can't say I've encountered them.

One of the uses for a Stayman 2♣ response was originally as a way of signing off in clubs by way of a 3♣ rebid. Do you think that makes it a transfer to clubs, Sven?

Perhaps you would extract the clause you think is referred to, as I have done above? I do not see a clause in that sentence that gives the meaning ascribed to it in the White Book.

Then I think you were nuts to make it on this hand, especially because of the good six-card heart suit.:)

"The latter case" is when you don't have a fit. Sure, it's easy enough when you do.

So how do you show extras in that latter case?

Not if you've agreed that reverse bids show extra.

Why did you bid 4♥? Would you have bid it if your partner had alerted 3♣ and explained it as showing ♣ & ♥?

Maybe it's a London variant, but when I checked with the French people who run the French Bridge club in London they confirmed that with a minimum 3532 opener they would rebid 2H after a 1S response, and pass a 1NT response. They were emphatic that 1H-1S-2H does not guarantee six hearts. This, combined with a NT rebid showing extras, and a raise of a 1S response requiring four-card support, means that a 2H rebid is indeed made on a five-card suit more frequently in SEF than in Std Am.

Fortunately some clever wording in the regulations meant we could have resolved that. :)

I know it's their view, and so I follow it, but it's not how I would otherwise read it. I think the clause referred to should be "the director is empowered to assess disciplinary penalties in points or to suspend a contestant for the current session or any part thereof".

Yes, they'd flown from Argentina, Sweden & Spain, but had forgotten to enter! We didn't think it would be friendly to send them back.

Is that really what you meant to say, or is it a typo?

If you change the sentence you quote, it's easy to disagree with the conclusion.

This seems like quite an over-bid. For me, who does have quite a lot of interest in cars, it's one of the dreariest shows ever.

I thought they would pass 1NT, and rebid 2M over 1S. The other notable difference is never raising a 1M response with three-card support. The end effect of all this is that a 2M rebid is frequently done on a five-card suit.

Not in my experience: with 3-3 always open 1C, with 4-4 always open 1D.