"Family Stories Month" by Marti Ronemus

We are into the season of family holidays and get-togethers and today celebrates the life stories we share. Good, bad, funny, sad-- these shared histories are what make us what we are.

One thing I've noticed is that no two of us (I'm one of four girls) remember the story the same way. How does this happen? We were both there, and have completely different memories of the event. Hmmm.

And this certainly applies to bridge. Who goofed on that hand? It certainly wasn't US, was it!

And so off we go to our quiz today. Let's see if we end up the hero or bum of these stories....

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A J 8 4
♥ K 9 4
♦ K J 7
♣ A 9 3

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-			2♥
?

A: 2 No-trump: Simple. This means we would have opened 1 No-trump and have stoppers in East's suit. Nice easy warm-up question. We'll all remember this the same way.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A J 9 5
♥ K 9 4
♦ K J 5
♣ Q 6 5

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	1♥	Pass	Pass
?

A: 1 No-trump: In the balancing suit, we can bid No-trump with 12-14 points. We mentally borrow a king from our partner and show our shape and stopper in Hearts.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ 4 3
♥ 9 6
♦ A 9 8 7 4
♣ K 9 3 2

Q: 3 - South:

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

A: 4♦: How will the family remember the story if we Pass? Shame! Pard was willing to enter the auction at the three-level, and we're holding the ♦A. We also like our shortness in the opponents' suits.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K Q 9
♥ J 5 4
♦ K 9 5 4
♣ K Q 8

Q: 4 - South:

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

**cuebid showing Diamond support and 10-plus points

A: 2 No-trump: C'mon, we don't really want to play in Diamonds, do we? Aren't we the audacious side of the family? Our 2 No-trump bid is invitational and promises Spade stoppers. Now Pard can Do the Math, look at his own stoppers and decide where to place the contract. Once we limit our hand, which our 2 No-trump bid does, it's his problem.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - South:

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

**Balancing No-trump, 11-14 pts.

A: 2 No-trump: We hated passing initially, but we couldn't overcall, couldn't double. Now we get another chance. Pard's hand is somewhere between 11 and 14 points. With our flat 12, we aren't sure where the contract belongs. We're going to invite, promising 10-12. It's no longer our problem.

Ready for a nice hand?

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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