Walddk

Oh, I hoped someone would ask that question. Your partner played ♣9 (reverse count) if that is of any help. You may interpret this as a suit preference signal for hearts if you prefer, but don't bet your life on it. Roland

[hv=d=s&v=n&n=saqh10652dk10cqj1053&w=s10842hk83d9765ck7]266|200|Scoring: IMP South: 3NT Lead: S2[/hv] On average you will be defending half of the times, and yet we see very few posts on defence. Nice feeling when one does the right thing, just awful when things go wrong and you could and should have done better. Here is a test for you. South opens 1NT (15-17) and is raised to 3. You decide to lead 4th best from your longest and strongest. Declarer wins the ace in dummy, partner following with the 6, and 9 from declarer. Your agreement is reverse attitude. Not unexpectedly, South advances ♣Q next and you are in with the king. Take over please and tell us why you do what you do at trick 3. Hidden text might be a good idea in order to give as many as possible a chance to give it a try without being distracted by other posts. Roland

You may already have seen this in the lobby news, but if not, here is the ad: If you are going to Tenerife for the Open European Championships from June 18 to July 2 and want to volunteer as a vugraph operator, please send an e-mail to fred or me. fred(at)bridgebase.com roland_wald(at)hotmail.com Fred, Sheri, Bénédicte Cronier (patapon) and I will be on site for the duration (we will all be playing), and even if you don't want to work while on holiday, we hope that you have time to approach one or all of us and say "hi". Always nice to put a face to a username and meet the person "in the flesh". I offer a coke to the first 5 who greet me there B) Roland P.S. It's not a must that you speak Danish to be an operator. Swedish will be ok too ;)

Right, partner never supports our 8-card suits. Let's get a new partner, shall we? That reminds me of a cute, true story from my bridge centre about 15 years ago. Grete and Olga were regular partners, both in their late 70's and both rather cautious bidders. Especially Olga. If she bid once, she had very good cards, if she bid twice, she had a powerhouse. On one deal (Grete dealer), the bidding went: 1♣ - 1♥ 2♣ - pass Now you already know that Olga had great cards, since she bid once. So how could anyone be surprised when she tabled ♠A5 ♥AKQJ109754 ♦3 ♣10 Grete was in shock when she saw dummy, I must say, with ♥754 almost falling on to her lap, and the following views were exchanged: "Bu-uu-t Olga dear, honestly, could you not have rebid your hearts? It's a very nice suit". "Well, maybe, but you never supported them, did you? Could easily be a misfit, so I thought it would be best to stay low". Roland

3♦ = 10 3♣ = 5 Pass = 3 Dbl = 1 I think 3♦ is best by far. 3♣ is an overbid, pass is too timid and double is very dangerous with a void and a relatively weak hand. Partner will often convert, and that is too risky at IMPs. In my methods 3♦ is even clearer than it may be for others. 1♣ shows 2+ cards, so for a start 1♦ is always unbalanced, 5+ unless 4441. Since I also play support doubles, I now know for sure that partner has 5+ diamonds, because he has less than 3 spades. Roland

Which problem? In standard you open 2NT and responder inquires if he wishes, asking for 4 or 5-card major(s). Puppet is a fine convention and not difficult at all. Roland

Yes, when it's right, and they won't if it's wrong. Welcome to the union of the VUBPW. I am a life time president, but we could do with a treasurer to count the non existent $. Just a job for you Richie ;) Roland

4♥, unless I have 4♦ available as a very strong (serious) pre-empt in an unspecified major. I will bid more later if I have to. That hand is not suited for defence at any level. Double followed by hearts is waste of time. Partner will never know if he has the right values for slam anyway. By the way, 4♥ could very well be the limit no matter how strong partner is. AKQ, AKQ in the black suits won't help a lot if he is void in hearts. On a very bad day we are even down in 4♥ (partner's void and a diamond ruff). And they can't make anything, because partner is loaded in spades and clubs. Roland

A mere detail, I know, but the last Bermuda Bowl (Venice Cup and Senior Bowl too) was actually in the autumn of 2003 and took place in Monaco. Feel free to ask any questions you like regarding the championships in the past and in the future. I will be happy to help. In this context (future) this link might be useful: http://www.worldbridge.org/tourn/Estoril.05/Estoril.htm Roland

Now is perhaps a good time to tell what this translates to: Nonsense and rubbish Claus! It doesn't sound any nicer in Danish I can assure all of you, perhaps mainly because it's very difficult to pronounce for foreigners. Roland

Example 1: 1. Yes. Natural means a spade stopper. 2. No. 3♣ denies a diamond side suit (3♦). 3. No. 3♦ shows 4-5, 4-6 or 5-6 in diamonds and clubs. Example2: 1. Yes. Natural means a heart stopper. 2. Same as above (no diamond side suit). 3. Same as above (diamond side suit). The continuation is all very natural and logical. And as to your inference: Yes. Unless I have decided to open 1♣ with 4-4 in the minors. I prefer that actually. Roland

3♣ shows a good 6+ card suit, but doesn't promise extras. If opener is strong he could rebid 2NT (invitational) or 3NT. Clear pass for me.

If you really want a GF bid at the 2-level (other than a jump shift), I suppose it makes little sense trying to tell you that 2♦ gives you more room to manoeuvre than 2NT after 1♣ - 1MA Roland

Could you show this to PO and Barnet please? 3-5 seconds, ha, I don't think the word "second" exists in their vocabulary. :) Other than that: I agree 100% with all you are saying. Roland

Spot on Richie! The only sensible rebid is 2♥. With or without agreements about the continuation, you won't face a problem. Let responder support hearts all he likes; it takes little effort to correct to spades. Your hand is too good for a 3♦ rebid, like the one I posted is too good for 3♣. Richard (hrothgar) put it well when he said that 2♦ is the most economical strong bid after 1♣ - 1MA. Roland

I didn't invent this, so I deserve no credit at all. I am not even trying to convince the members that this is a good treatment. As I said in my initial post: "This 2♦ reverse has been on my convention card for about 2 years now, and I have had nothing but excellent results. Give it a try". No one forces you or anyone else to give it a try. However, I think it is worth a mention; otherwise I wouldn't have posted it in the first place. Roland

I understand the problem. Partner's double shows hearts, and only hearts, to most people, and doesn't say a word about clubs. In an ideal world you have both, but the world is not ideal. Roland

Yes, I think 2♦ is the correct bid even if I don't have an agreement. When will partner support diamonds? When he has 4, right? Well, in that case he has 5 hearts, so what's the problem? I will just correct to hearts. Roland

A good partner, i.e. someone who can count tricks instead of points, will know to bid on with that. He will bid 3♥, a bid which is forcing in my book. But you can also try 3♦ if you're afraid pard might pass 3♥. Well, you lose the natural meaning of 2♦ as reverse. Playing it as artificial means you'd have to put more stuff into your memory for what I judge to be at the very best a marginal gain. 1. And get to 3NT every time it's wrong (look at my response to helene_t). Have fun. 2. Count tricks? Which tricks opposite what could be shortage in hearts, or even a small doubleton? Kx xx KQJ AKxxxx I agree, 3♥ is forcing, and where do we end up in a minute? Right, in a non making game. 3. I think you should read my initial post again. You do not lose the natural meaning of 2♦. It's included; strangely enough it is mentioned in the first of the 4 possibilities. Roland

I have an urgent appointment at my dentist's. Isn't that enough excuse to leave the table immediately? I will rebid 2♠ in tempo and look like a person who has a nice 6-carder and an opener. I am only 2 cards and 3 hcp off B) Roland

Excellent, and your naive partner will raise you to 3NT with xx KJxx Qxx Qxxx But maybe you never get a spade lead, or if you do, they always break 4-4 for you I suppose. By the way, would you also rebid 2NT with xx AQx Ax AKJ10xx It's fair enough if you think the continuation is too difficult if you bid 2♦, but it is no doubt a much better bid than any number of NT's and 3♣. Roland

The same applies to "Smith's claim of 1 tricks is accepted". Would it be possible to remove the "s" when we are down to 1 trick? Roland

3♣ is a serious underbid, and 2NT is probably the worst bid I have seen in about 20 years. Do you think that your partner will bid again over 3♣ with xxx KJ10xx xxxx Q He has a 9 loser hand opposite a non forcing 3♣. Your 3♣ doesn't promise heart support, does it? As always, you are entitled to your opinion, but maybe you could try to be constructive just for once. Please tell me what you lose by adopting 2♦ with a hand like that? Roland

Not sure if we are on the same wavelength. If they knock out your ♥A, you need spades to break 3-3 or 10x with either defender. ♥A, two rounds of clubs, back to hand with a spade to the ace, draw trump(s) - and now you must overtake ♠J. Maybe that is what you mean by a good spade break? Roland

Example 1: 2N: Natural, diamond side suit, not 3 hearts. 3♣: Natural, not 3 hearts, no spade stopper. 3♦: Natural, not 3 hearts, no spade stopper. 3♥: 3-card support, strong club suit. 3♠: 18-19 balanced, no spade stopper. Example 2: 2♠: 3-card support, strong club suit. 2N: Natural, diamond side suit, not 3 spades. 3♣: Natural, not 3 spades, no heart stopper. 3♦: Natural, not 3 spades, no heart stopper. 3♥: 18-19 balanced, no heart stopper. I know that there are more sophisticated continuations, but I want to keep it simple. All the above should be pretty easy to remember. If opps double 4th suit things change a little as far as a stopper in 4th suit is concerned. Now Manco (described by me in an earlier post) applies. Roland