Walddk

If that is your concern (I can understand that without prior discussion), then jump to 4♦. Over partner's heart cue-bid, proceed with 4NT, and so on. Roland

February and March are crowded with vugraph broadcasts. Three of the big ones, the NEC Cup in Japan, the Yeh Bros Cup in Australia, and the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams in Houston, Texas, are now listed on our vugraph page. Several other interesting events are also there. We will definitely be adding some before too long; one is the second (and decisive) weekend of the Camrose Trophy in England. At this point we are guaranteed broadcasts from 16 countries. Iceland, Chinese Taipei, India, Hong Kong, Hungary, Spain, Japan, Israel, Norway, Russia, Northern Ireland, Netherlands, Australia, Bulgaria, USA and England. Have fun! Roland

The moderators have the power to remove threads they find inappropriate. Uday found the tone in the Gaza thread inappropriate. His call. One's got to accept that. Roland

I just realised that I do not belong to "people" :blink: Roland

What he said.

I think Harald made a valid point (the same Kit Woolsey made when the hand was played). Without revealing what actually worked, it's not just a heart problem in isolation. You must also consider the spade suit. Roland

[hv=d=s&v=b&n=s92hk73dak3c108742&s=sakq63ha9842d8cq9]133|200|Scoring: MP S: 4H Lead: CK[/hv] This was a most interesting hand from last night's Open Pairs in the Icelandair Open in Reykjavík. NS: Joe Grue-Curtis Cheek EW: Þorlákur Jónsson-Jón Baldursson As South you have reached the normal 4♥ after you have shown 5-5 in the majors. West leads ♣K and continues the suit to East's ace. Now a third club comes back, and you ruff with the 8, overruffed with the 10. West exits in diamonds, you win the ace in dummy and play a heart. East follows with the queen, you win, West following with the 5, and lead a heart toward dummy's K7. West contributes the 6. Over to you. Roland

This is, generally speaking, not true. The world has learned and will still learn a lot from USA, but the biggest mistake the Americans have made is that too many have failed to realise that they can also learn a lot from the world. I appreciate that this can be difficult to get used to when you are so much bigger than the rest of us. A change of mentality is what's called for in this context, but it is not an impossible task. Roland

I think the speech was powerful and articulate, with a great deal of substance. Obama reached out for every peace loving individual in the world. Congratulations to America on having a president who rates to be great, not only inside the American borders, but also globally. Roland

Non-forcing. I would have bid 2♦ over 1♠ with a D/S two-suiter and a good hand. The hand in question could be .... ♠ AQ974 ♥ 82 ♦ J8732 ♣ 10 Roland

January will be another very busy vugraph month. All weekends are covered with plenty of simultaneous broadcasts. We will be visiting (at least) 12 countries: Italy, China, Wales, Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Portugal, Denmark, Iceland and India. As always, details can be found at ... http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/sched...?order_by=event Sweden (Jan 17th and 18th) is the only nation missing at this point. We are waiting for an exact timetable. And who knows, maybe we will add a broadcast or two later this month. Roland

I agree with Wayne and Paul; 2♥ is not a reverse on this auction. Opener has been forced to bid above the cheapest rebid of his opening suit. That is not the case for a normal reverse, for example ... 1♣ - 1♠ 2♥ Opener could have rebid 2♣ to show a minimum hand. When he does not, he promises extra values (reverse). The auction in this thread is different ... 1♣ (1♠) 2♦ pass ?? Partner's 2♦ has prevented opener from rebidding 2♣, and 3♣ becomes the cheapest rebid of own suit. As a consequence, it is cheaper for opener to rebid 2♥. Opener can have a minimum hand, like here. It can also be a stronger hand, because 2♥ (new suit by opener after a 2-over-1 response) is a one-round force. There is no need to jump to 3♥ to show extras. Opener is in control, because he will get another chance. Roland

Same happens to Danish/Norwegian æ and ø.

Mr. Bartlett said something useful. You don't know who Bartlett is? You will by the end of January :) Roland

No, a 6-loser hand with no 'body' is not a reverse for me. I raise to 2♠ but will not criticize 2♦. Roland

I agree with Roger and I like to add that 6♠ is very good despite the wasted ♣KJ. In an ideal world responder has the two red queens instead, and we all want to be in 7. 15 hcp is a minimum for a reverse (some prefer 16 or 17+), but this hand is worth an upgrade for two reasons: - 1. Very strong diamonds. - 2. Kxx in responder's suit. Roland

Make that 11. England (the Channel Trophy for juniors in three categories) has been added; London, Dec. 19-21. France, Belgium, the Netherlands and England. Roland

If you thought 2008 is over as far as vugraph is concerned, you are wrong. We will still be visiting 10 nations. Italy, Scotland, Spain, Morocco, France, India, Poland, Israel, China and Finland. This will make 2008 the busiest vugraph year ever, both in terms of nations visited and number of broadcasts presented. Provided that we don't get more than stated above, we will have occupied 317 of 365 days with vugraph presentations. Then add the many days we had simultaneous broadcasts, often 4-6 at a time. Quite amazing I think. I still get many questions about where and when, so let me give the link to our vugraph schedule web page once more ... http://online.bridgebase.com/vugraph/sched...?order_by=event Don't forget to bookmark it! Roland

Saturday is a remarkable day in the vugraph theatre. As the last nation that broadcasts from their major events, Sweden will be joining BBO. For many years Denmark and Sweden had an exclusive agreement with another bridge site, but those days are gone now. Denmark joined BBO in September, and Sweden follows suit Saturday and Sunday with the last four rounds of their Premier League. The organisers in both countries have realised that they get more value for (no) money by using BBO. Sweden has several of the world's strongest individual bridge players as well as some truly outstanding partnerships. I am sure that many thousands of bridge fans from around the world will greatly appreciate the opportunity to watch the country's best in live action on BBO vugraph. Roland

They are actually, because they can't get spectators (except yellows) to the table if they start a broadcast as invisible. That's why all practice is done in invisible mode. Then no broadcast will be announced on print or via the flashing banner. With this said, your solution is excellent. Roland

I had indeed, sorry. Edited now. Josh would open 1NT? I doubt it. How can he foresee this auction? Roland

To Frances and Josh: ♠ KJ83 ♥ 9 ♦ AQ103 ♣ AQ54 1♦ pass 1♥ 1♠ ?? So you can't bid 1NT or 2NT, and you can't double. Do you temporise with 2♣? I assume that pass is not an option. Roland

You play a 15-17 NT, and you have agreed on support doubles. The bidding goes ... 1♦ pass 1♥ 1♠ 1N What do you expect for 1NT now? - 1. 12-14 balanced, not 3 hearts. - 2. 13 good-14 balanced, not 3 hearts. - 3. 18-19 balanced, not 3 hearts. - 4. 14-17 semi-balanced, 4144, 4252 or 4153 - 5. Something else. Do you have a clear agreement? Apologies if this topic has been up before. Roland

3NT. I am one of the "I have a great? gadget here" voters. Good pre-empt in a minor. Good = good suit first of all. 4♣ would be a bad pre-empt. This hand is too good for that. Roland

It will be difficult to control unless 4♦ shows the majors specifically. You will often end up at the 5-level. By the way, did OP write that leaping Michaels is excluded? He asked overcall or double. 4♣ is an overcall. Roland