September's issue is a pdf, please note this is a large document
2017 Newletter September.pdf
The recent County Newsletter contains an article on Trial Bids.
At the end of the Newsletter, there is a Prize Quiz, based on this
article. Two prizes, one of £20 and one of £10, are on offer.
Why not have a go?
Question 1 (5 marks)
You open 1H and partner responds 2H. What should you rebid, holding each of the following hands :
(i) A42 AK63 QJ9 KJ6
(ii) 42 AK632 Q92 AJ6
(iii) AK53 AK964 K63 5
(iv) A54 AKJ76 K84 K5
(v) 64 AKJ7532 74 KQ2?
Question 2. (2 marks)
Partner opens 1S and you respond 2S. If partner rebids 3C , what should you bid holding each of the following hands:
(a) J642 J853 K932 7
(b) J642 7 K932 J853 ?
Question 3. (2 marks)
Partner opens 1S and you respond 2S. If partner rebids 3D, what should you bid holding each of the following hands:
(a) J642 KQ75 753 Q9
(b) J642 Q9 753 KQ75 ?
Question 4. (1 mark)
Partner is dealer and the auction starts 1S 2D 2S 3D 3H P
What should you bid holding K642 753 742 AQ8 ?
Question 5. (2 marks)
Partner is dealer and the auction starts 1S 2H 2S 3H X P
What should you bid holding the following hands
(a) 10642 943 J6 KQ75
(b) 10642 943 J6 AK75 ?
Question 6. (3 marks)
North is dealer and the North/South hands are as shown:
N 6 KJ42 K83 AJ753, S 752 AQ753 QJ4 Q6.
Describe a sensible auction.
The winner was LLOYD EAGLING and the runner up PAUL ROYLE
Quiz Answers
Q1. (i) 2NT You have only 4 Hearts, but have 18 HCPs.
(ii) P You have 7 losers, so your hand is too weak to make a trial bid.
(iii) 4H You have 5 losers, so should bid 4H directly.
(iv) 2S Your hand contains 5 Hearts and 6 losers, so you should make a trial bid.
There are 2 suits in which you can make such a bid, namely Spades and
Diamonds, each containing 2 losers. You should make the cheaper bid.
(This improves partner’s chance of making a counter trial bid.)
(v) 3H This hand is not covered in the article. It gives you an opportunity to display
your judgement. The hand has 6 losers, but no suit in which to make a trial bid.
Also it contains little defence against a Spade or Diamond contract by your
opponents. So you should make the pre-emptive bid of 3H, designed to
make it more difficult for your opponents to protect.
Q2. (i) 4S You have a poor hand, but have a singleton in Clubs, the trial suit.
(ii) 3S You have a poor hand and 3 losers in Clubs.
Q3. (i) 3H This hand has 3 losers in Diamonds, an TPC of 9 and a good holding in Hearts.
So you should make this counter trial bid. The fate of a 4S contract probably depends
on partner’s holding in Hearts. It is always a sound idea to inform and consult partner.
(ii) 3S As above. You would like to bid 3C, but partner has already bid 3D.
Q4. 4S Partner has made a trial bid in Hearts, the only suit in which he can make such
a bid. So he is just asking me if I have, or have not, a good raise to 2S. My
hand has a TPC of 9. (That my hand has 3 losers in Hearts is not relevant.)
Q5. (i) 3S Partner could not make a trial bid, so his double is just asking me if I have,
or have not, a good raise to 2S. The first hand has a TPC of 7, and the
second a TPC of 9.
(ii) 4S
Q6. Auction 1C 1H 2H 2S 4H (assuming East/West are silent throughout)
The first 3 bids are obvious. At this stage, South knows that North has an opening hand and
a Heart fit. S has an 8 loser hand, which is fewer than it might have been, so wonders if he
might make 4H. But how should he investigate that possibility? Ah – of course. He should consult
partner by making the trial bid of 2S. Although N is minimum for his bids, he has just 1 loser in
Spades, so is happy to bid 4H.(S will make 4H, and will even make an overtrick if West holds CK.)
(In the article, only trial bids by opener were discussed. But there is no reason why responder
should not make such bids.)
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