"Things You Thought You Knew" by Marti Ronemus

Today we're going to straighten you out on more than bridge. We bet you thought, as we did, that Mt. Everest was the highest spot on earth. Wrong!!

If we define the "highest spot" as that which is closest to the moon, stars, etc., then Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador is an incredible 1.5 miles higher due to the oblate spheroid shape of the earth. Hardly seems possible, does it? (And what is an oblate spheroid, anyway?)

And now you have a new fact to amaze your friends and partners with. Let's see if we can do the same for your bridge game.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K Q J 10 8
♥ A Q 8 4 3
♦ 3 2
♣ 8

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
2♦**	3♦	3♥	Pass
?

**Michaels, 5-5 in the majors

A: 4♥: We need practically nothing from Pard to make game. Let's start climbing!

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K 2
♥ 10 9 8 7 3
♦ 5 4
♣ 5 4 3 2

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	2 No-trump	Pass
?

**Unusual No-Trump, five-five in the two lower unbid suits

A: 3♣: We are not happy climbers. Sadly we cannot possibly pass and expect to not be shoved off a ledge. Pard does NOT want to hear about our Hearts. We know ten of his cards, and we can only make things worse.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ A J
♥ A J 3 2
♦ K 10 9 8
♣ K 9 8

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
1 No-trump	2♠	3♥**	Pass
?

**Natural

A: 4♥: It is very tempting to bid 3 No-trump with the nice Spade, but thanks to the opponents entering the auction, we don't know as much as we'd like to about Pard's hand. We've got such a nice fit with him, it only makes sense to raise his suit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ A K 9 2
♥ 4 3 2
♦ K Q 9 8
♣ A 4

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
1 No-trump	Pass	2♥**	Pass
2♠	Pass	Pass	3♣
?

**transfer to Spades

A: 3♠: Pard elected to pass after we completed the transfer and normally we would obey his wishes. BUT!! We are going to ascend to the next elevation, however, since we've got such a nice Spade fit and the Ax in the opponent's suit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ Q J 10 9 3
♥ A 3 2
♦ 8 3
♣ K Q 8

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
1♠	Pass	2♦**	Pass
?

**Cuebid response, promising a fit and 10-plus pts. Forcing.

A: 3♠: Pard asked us to limit our hand. Did we overcall with 7-10/11? 12-14? 15-17? Our jump to 3♠ shows we have a full opener 12-14. It's his job now to decide how far up the mountain we go.

And now our hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

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