[mike777]

Vul vs. NV MP

Q94...KQT2...2...K7542

P=1D=P=1H
P =1S=P =P
?

Your bid and more importantly what is your thought process?

[luis]

Hey Justin this is by far one of the nastiest problems this month in the forums!

1 over 1 is usually forcing for most pairs so the first thing that comes to my mind is that the opponents may be having a bad missunderstanding. (1 vote for pass)

On assumption opener has 4-x-4/5-x distribution and responder has 4-4-x-x distribution, the only case where we don't have an 8 card club fit is when opener has 4-1-5-3 and responder has 4-4-2-3 then who doubles 2♣ ? (1 vote for 2♣)

Maybe opener bid a fancy 1♠ with 3 cards because it was forcing? (2 votes for pass)

1NT is an option auto-pulling myself to 2♣ if 1NT is doubled. (1 vote for confusion)

I Pass, so bad, so bad

[pbleighton]

Very close at unfavorable.

2C, expecting pd to have 3+ clubs on the bidding.

If not, next hand

Peter

[luis]

Jlall, on Jan 31 2006, 09:42 PM, said:

I don't agree with the premise that most pairs play 1S as forcing in this auction. Even if most pairs do, I won't assume that the opps are having a misunderstanding because of the pass.

Anyways, passing would be easy at imps. At MP I hope that I can push them up a level, usually that's not too hard at the 2 level Or maybe i can go for 1100.

I'm not saying I "expect" them to be having a missunderstanding but they might be in one. Is just one factor.

[whereagles]

My club, heart & spade holdings scream "DEFEND!"

[han]

Responder likely has a fairly minimum response with exactly 3 spades and little in clubs (no 2S bid, no 1NT bid). In the unlikely case that responder has 4 spades they will almost certainly compete to 2S anyway. Given that opener opened 1D he also is unlikely to have a lot in clubs.

I think I would bid 2C. The colors are bad and so are my spades, but this could easily be our hand so I'm not passing out 1S at MP.

[luke warm]

i can't recall the last time defending 1♠ at MPs led to a good result

[whereagles]

luke warm, on Feb 1 2006, 12:21 AM, said:

i can't recall the last time defending 1♠ at MPs led to a good result

This seems to be a good candidate to me

[FrancesHinden]

Yuck. I know why we want to bid, but I don't think I can face it.

Passing out 1S usually means RHO is 3-1 in spades & diamonds. They normally raise with 4-card support. Give partner a 3352 (quite plausible) and it will play like a drain.
Responder could easily be 3415 or 4414 (3316 anyone?), so there's no certainty of a fit. Indeed, if we have a fit it might well be in hearts, not clubs.

The only upside from bidding seems to be if they then go 1 off in 2S, while there are many downsides (not least getting a club lead rather than a heart lead at trick 1).

I'd quite like to be at the table: if I were certain they would bid 2S, I'd bid. It depends so much on oppo - did RHO pass in agony, or happily? Are they the sort of pair who are always sound bidders, or would RHO have raised spades on virtually any 4-card support?

If I do anything how about this: 1NT now, then redouble to imply a 2-suiter? I might try that NV, but 2 off in 1NT undoubled is not my cup of tea.

[Chamaco]

Pass.
I think opener is likely to be in the 17 hcp range with 4=1=5=3 or so, responder likely has 3=5=2=3 with say 6 hcp or so

We are red vs white, we have Qxx in spades and KQTx in a suit of theirs.
The only offensive hints are the club 5 bagger headed by a K, and the diamond singleton.

I might bid, but not today: even if we escape undoubled, 1NT or 2C down 100 or 200 might be a bad score opposite letting them play a contract making 80 or 110.

[luke warm]

whereagles, on Feb 1 2006, 04:49 AM, said:

luke warm, on Feb 1 2006, 12:21 AM, said:

i can't recall the last time defending 1♠ at MPs led to a good result

This seems to be a good candidate to me

i doubt it, but i'm sure we'll find out.. 'course the result of the hand doesn't matter as much as the reasons for bidding (or not)

[FrancesHinden]

luke warm, on Feb 1 2006, 01:21 AM, said:

i can't recall the last time defending 1♠ at MPs led to a good result

It can lead to a good result in three ways:
i) A spade partial is the normal contract and you defend it better (or they play it worse) than the rest of the field.
ii) LHO has a monster and forgot to bid 2S, or RHO is 32 in spades/diamonds and didn't give preference back to diamonds which would have played much better opposite LHO's 6-card suit, or LHO invented a 1S bid on the BW 'death' hand with a 3361 and they are in a 3-3 fit, or RHO should have bid 1NT which is making the same number of tricks, or... (random additional they're-in-the-wrong-contract witterings)
iii) The rest of the room protects 1S on these cards and goes for 200

I defended 3 1-level contracts in a pairs event last Sunday. We had 1 good result from defending well, 1 good result from not going horribly negative our way and 1 average.

[luke warm]

that means you *can* remember the last time you got a good result defending 1♠ at MPs

had you taken action on those hands, do you have any idea where you'd have ended up or how you'd have done?

[Kalvan14]

IMO, Frances is making good sense with her posts. Just for this time, count me in the coop with the chicken: I'll defend 1♠

[luke warm]

she always does, and i absolutely wasn't arguing with her.. all i said was, i can't recall ever having a good result by passing 1♠ in MPs