"Beautiful Solution" by Marti Ronemus

On a more serious note today... One of the many problems in refugee camps is the need for firewood to cook. As time goes by, women and children need to travel further and further from camp, and it becomes very dangerous.

Some students at University of Toronto have come up with a win-win solution. They've found a way to combine used coffee grounds, low-quality sugar and wax to make small cakes that burn for 90 minutes. They're contracting with coffee houses for their raw materials and are up for a million-dollar grant. Let's hope they win it.

And speaking of beautiful solutions, there's nothing like a perfect bid. Let us know when you find one!

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ J 9 5 4
♥ 7 5 4
♦ Q J 9 6
♣ J 7

Q: 1 - As South, what should you bid?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♠	2♣
?

A: 3♠: The intervening bid changes everything. Normally you'd have to work hard to squeeze out a 2♠ bid but you'd do it (c'mon... 5 is the new 6, especially with a nine-card trump fit!), but with an intervening bid, you should follow The Law of Total Tricks, and raise to the level of trumps in your combined hands. Remember, raising your partner's suit to ANY level is the weakest response you can give. If you had a NICE hand of 10 pts, you'd cuebid the opponent's suit to show it. Pard won't think you've got anything other than a minimum with four trumps. It's preemptive and descriptive. Who can ask for more?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A K J 8 7
♥ J 3
♦ J 8 7
♣ A 3 2

Q: 2 - As South, what should your bid be?

South	West	North	East
1♠	pass	2♣	pass
?

A: 3♣: You've got a plethora of choices and (almost) all of them can be defended. You could rebid an innocuous 2 No-trumps, but that would suggest some red stoppers. You could rebid your Spades, but you don't have six of them, and you know what they say about people who rebid unsupported five-card suits. You aren't that desperate. Bidding 3♣ doesn't promise four of them, and it strongly implies no red stoppers and no other suit to bid.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

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

Q: 3 - What should you bid as South?

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

A: 3 No-trumps: Honestly, you'd think with all that bidding, you could find a fit somewhere, BUT! Pard has clearly shown (with his Heart rebid) five-five in the majors and you're sitting there with eight cold tricks in the minors. You've got three entries to Pard's hand, which should certainly result in the ninth trick. 3 NT is the only bid that makes sense.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ Q 10 5
♥ A J 3 2
♦ 3 2
♣ A 8 3 2

Q: 4 - You are South. What is your next bid?

South	West	North	East
-	-	1♦	pass
1♥	pass	4♥	pass
?

A: 5♣: Pard has shown 19-21 pts. You've got 12 pts in favor of Hearts. You can't ask for aces though as you don't have first- or second-round control of every suit in your hot little hand. BUT! You can't let this go. A bid of 5♣ is perfect. It is obviously showing a first-round control of Clubs, and denies a first round control of Spades. Pard will either show a control of his own, or with all the other bases covered, bid the slam. Good things happen to people who do things good.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

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

Q: 5 - You're South again. What should you bid?

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♦	pass
2 No-trumps	pass	3♣	pass
?

A: 6♦: What are you waiting for? Pard simply MUST have the ♦A to pre-empt the suit without the honors you're holding. When you asked for a feature with your 2 No-trumps bid, his ♣K covers that loser. Live a little! It's the 4th of July and good things happen. Plus your partner has to play it, right? Wrong! You got into this mess. You're going to play the hand, right now. Let's see if you can pull it off.

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

Rate yourself:

0 - 40%	We applaud your effort. Review the subject and try again. You'll be surprised how much better you'll do. We're here for you!!
41 - 50%	Buy your mentor a cuppa and ask for clarification on the ones you got wrong. No mentor? Make finding one a priority!
51 - 60%	Nice improvement! One more review and you'll have this down solid!
61 - 80%	What a good job! All that's left is some fine tuning
Over 80%	Wow! It's time for you to become a mentor. Find someone who needs help and share your knowledge!