Mold Awareness Month by Marti Ronemus

September is "Mold Awareness Month." While I suspect it's not what the creators intended, we bridge players can use it as a chance to get some of that nasty stuff out of our game. We've got five bidding challenges to help you clean out the corners and a spiffy little hand for you today. Let's get our mold-scrapers and some nice bleach cleanser and get to work!

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K 8 7 4 3
♥ K J 5 4
♦ J 4
♣ Q 3

Q: 1 - As South, how should you respond to Pard's opener?
You and Pard are using transfers today

South	West	North	East
-	-	1 no-trump	pass
?

A: 2♣: With this holding, we always start with Stayman. If Pard bids D-d-diamonds for D-d-denial, we then bid our Spades, guaranteeing a 5-4 shape in the majors. For those who want a sparkly clean game with glowing corners, there's a nifty bid called "Smolen," whereby we would bid the FOUR card major, forcing Pard to bid the five-carder, thereby effecting a transfer. But that's a story for another day.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ J 5 4
♥ Q 3 2
♦ 8 7
♣ Q J 8 5 4

Q: 2 - As South, what's your decision?

South	West	North	East
-	2♠	2 no-trumps	pass
?

A: Pass: We sure do hate that green card, but any other decision would be unhealthy. Partner's 2 No-trumps bid over a two-level preempt shows only a standard 1 No-trump opener with a Spade stopper. Had he opened 2 No-trumps, it would be a different story.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ Q 10
♥ A 10 4
♦ Q J 5 2
♣ 10 4 3 2

Q: 3 - As South, what is your bid?

South	West	North	East
-	1♦	1♠	pass
?

A: 1 No-trump: This is a no-brainer. There are some (dare we say "moldy?") players who would pass this, but honestly! You cannot raise Spades. Naming a new suit? Silly. 1 No-trump shows 6-9 pts with a Diamond stopper. And that's what you've got. Sure, Pard may have overcalled light, but with East passing, chances are he's got something. Passing would tell him you have nothing to contribute, and that's just not so.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - And South opens?

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♣: No one says you MUST open 1 No-trumps with a balanced 17. This hand is sparkly shiny, rich in controls and honorettes (10s, 9s). It's easily worth a 1♣ opener, with a plan to jump to 2 No-trumps as a rebid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ J 10
♥ K 9 8 3 2
♦ 8 7 6
♣ A Q 10

Q: 5 - Your bid as South?

South	West	North	East
-	1♠	double	pass
?

A: 3♥: You cannot bid the same thing with 0 pts that you would bid with this lovely hand. Not showing your point count when you respond to Pard's Take-Out Double is a chief cause of mold (and mayhem) on partnerships. Pard has an opening hand with four guaranteed Hearts. You've got the ninth trump, and re-evaluate enough for a non-forcing jump. Pard will know you've got 8-ish to 11-ish points and make the final decision. What will it be? Well, play the hand to find out.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

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

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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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