Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                             Club News Sheet – No. 265 

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880                   2nd Dec 2007

It is best to use my home number to contact me unless I am at the bridge club.

My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com

My MSN messenger ID is tj_quested@hotmail.com

         
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Mon 26th N-S     1st    Jeremy & Sally               63%       2nd    Paul S & Lennart                  60%

                E-W     1st    Derek & Gerard             59%       2nd    Alan P & Arnt                      56%

Wed 28th N-S     1st    Karre & Arnt                 55%       2nd    Margit & Richard                 55%

                E-W     1st    Lewis & Terje                71%       2nd    Jan & Royd                          56%

Fri   30th   N-S     1st    Lewis & Terje                58%       2nd    Alan P & Arnt                      56%

                E-W     1st    Derek & Gerard             69%       2nd    Arve & Geo                         61%

                           

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

                             

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A partner opens 1NT and RHO bids 2, what do you bid?

 

J9                 QJ932

K10              8                   With Hand B LHO opens a Multi 2 and RHO relays with 2,

A10764        AJ984           what do you bid?

AQ52           J4

 

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C RHO opens 1, what do you bid?

 

AQJ              -                   With Hand D it’s love all.

AQ543         954               (a) What do you open in 1st or 2nd seat?

9                   AKJ872        (b) What do you open in 3rd seat?

9762            K763           (c) What do you open in 4th seat?

 

Hand E            Hand F            With Hand E you open 1NT, partner bids 2Stayman and RHO

doubles, what do you do?

A3                K5

A108            AKQ3          With Hand F RHO opens 1. (a) What do you bid?

Q82              AK75           (b)  Suppose you choose to double and LHO bids 1,

KQ1083      987                    partner passes and RHO bids 2. What now?

                       

G     1NT   2      3                What is the 3 cue bid? – It is obviously strong, but is it asking for a stop or what?

H     1NT   dbl     pass   2      What is 2? Is it strong or weak; natural or a transfer?

J      1NT   dbl     pass   2     

pass   2                          What is 2?

K     1NT   pass   2     dbl     What is 2? Obviously it’s no 4 card major, but does it say

2                                   anything about ’s?

L      1      dbl     1      pass   The first double is take-out – often implying 4 ’s.

        2      dbl                         What is the second double? – take-out or penalties?

M    1      pass   2      pass  

        3                                    3 is strong, but is it forcing?


The Club Championships
       The current standings for the top 10 in each competition are: -

 

 

Gold Cup = Best 30

Silver Plate = Best 10

Bronze Medal = Best 5

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

1846.5 Jan v Koss

1845.0 Dave Cutler

1835.3 Lewis Berg

1824.7 Paul Savelkral

1816.8 Janne Roos

1797.0 Lars Gustaffson

1770.0 Bob Pelletier

1748.7 Ivy Schlageter

1747.1 Wolfgang Foitik

1731.7 Sally Watson

 

666.8 Janne Roos

664.8 Lewis Berg

655.4 Dave Cutler

655.2 Jan v Koss

646.9 Lars Gustaffson

644.1 Bengt Malmgren

643.8 Paul Savelkral

631.8 Derek & Gerard

627.1 Gunnar Barthel

624.3 Bob Pelletier

 

350.4 Janne Roos

346.9 Lewis Berg

343.2 Bengt Malmgren

341.1 Jan v Koss

336.7 Paul Savelkral

335.2 Dave Cutler

332.5 Lars Gustafsson

331.8 Derek & Gerard

328.7 Terje Lie

325.6 Gunnar Barthel

 

 

 

Bridge Cryptogram                            Each letter denotes a specific letter in the alphabet.

 

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20

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12

8

 

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1

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16

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2

22

 


Stayman after an overcall                                   Board 8 from Wednesday 28th

Cue bidding the opponent’s suit often asks for a stop, but not in all sequences: -

Dealer:             AQ10542                                   Table A

West                94                                               West          North         East            South

Love all            2                                                 1              2    (1)      3    (2)      pass

                        J1074                                         3NT           all pass

 

K7                     N             J9                         Table B

AQ863          W    E          K10                      West          North         East(A)      South

KQ53               S              A10764               1NT  (3)     2              3    (4)      pass

K9                                     AQ52                  4     (5)     all pass

                        863                                      

J752                                          

J98                                             

863                                                   

       

 

Table A:     (1)  Weak

(2)   This is quite simple. You could play 3 here as asking for a stop but most experienced players play it as a sound raise to 3. The natural 3 is fine as it’s forcing and if partner has a stop he will presumably bid 3NT.

Table B:     (3)  This West decided to open 1NT.

(4)   What did you bid with this East hand A in this week’s quiz? 3 (forcing) is reasonable, as is 3NT (hoping that partner has a stop). But the best solution is to play Lebensohl, when a 3NT shows values for game, denies 4 ’s and denies a stop – perfect. This actual 3 bid chosen is incorrect as it is Stayman, showing 4 ’s and game values.

(5)   Obviously West was happy to play in ’s, especially as his K is still protected as he is declarer.

 

And what happened? 4 made +1 and scored just below average; 3NT +3 or +4 were the top spots.

The bottom lines.

-         When partner’s 1NT opening is overcalled then a cue bid is (game forcing) Stayman.

-         This is true whether or not you play Lebensohl.

-         Lebensohl is a great convention and allows you to bid 3NT either showing or denying a stop in the suit overcalled and it also allows you to bid Stayman either showing or denying a stop in the suit overcalled. It is a great convention and well worth the trouble of mastering. It’s written up on the website: Conventions > Section 1 > Lebensohl.


Multi Misunderstandings                                    Board 5 from Friday 30th

 

A familiar tale. This time it’s a defender who got himself into a silly contract – but he should have known better as he himself has played the Multi quite a lot.

Dealer:             QJ932                                        West          North(B)    East            South

North               8                                                 -                 pass           2   (1)      pass

N-S vul            AJ984                                        2    (2)      2    (3)      pass (4)      pass

                        J4                                               dbl   (5)      pass           pass           3   (6)

dbl             3              pass           pass

K                       N             A108754              dbl             all pass

AQJ62           W    E          104                

Q732                 S              K6                 

AQ9                                   1076                  

                        6                                          

K9753                                       

105                                            

K8532                                              

       

(1)   A Multi bid (a D&A two) – either weak with a 6-card major or some sort of strong hand.

(2)   Relay

(3)   What did you bid with this North hand B in this week’s quiz? It’s much the same in this actual sequence or if LHO had opened a multi 2 and RHO relayed with 2. This 2 bid is very silly because: -

(a)    East may have a strong hand.

(b)   East may have a weak hand with 6 ’s

(c)    North has only 9 points and is vulnerable against not.

(d)   North will always get another chance to bid.

(e)    In this actual sequence the 2 relay may well be a very strong hand (as opposed to a 2 relay over a Multi 2 which is weakish).

(4)   Confirming a weak hand with a 6-card (unknown) major.

(5)   West is fairly sure that East has ’s (and if East has ’s he will bid)

(6)   It does not matter what South does, North has dug a very deep hole.

 

And what happened? 3 doubled went for 800 and a complete bottom. Just one E-W pair bid and made game, 3NT +1 (so 430), but deep finesse says that 2NT or 3/ is the limit for E-W.

Incidentally, North complained during the play that he was so ‘unlucky’ with the and AQ’s sitting over dummy. Had he been patient enough to pass rather than make the undisciplined 2 bid, then he would have known just about everything about the opponent’s hands and know that things lay badly for him. Very often, you simply make your own ‘luck’.

The bottom lines.

-         Know how to defend against these multi bids. It is virtually always correct to pass and wait until you find out opener’s hand type.

-         This is especially true when it’s 2 (rather than 2) that shows a hand that may well be weak in a major, as both defenders have a chance to pass and subsequently bid again when the opening side have clarified their holdings.

-         D and A twos are written up on the website – together with the tip about defending against them (wait and see what the opening hand is before interfering).


Open according to the rule of 20                         Board 17 from Friday 30th 

One of the club’s above average players unfortunately feels that the rule of 20 is silly – he will never open with less than 12 points. It cost him an easy game on this deal at table A.

 

Dealer:             -                                                 Table A

North               954                                             West          North(D)    East            South

Love all            AKJ872                                      -                 pass (1)      1NT           2      (2)

                        K763                                         2    (3)      all pass

 

J10632              N             AKQ                    Table B

Q3                  W    E          J87                       West          North(D)    East            South

105                     S              964                      -                 1    (1)      1NT (4)      dbl   (5)

Q1092                               AJ84                   2              pass           pass           dbl   (5)

                        98754                                        pass           3    (6)      pass           4

AK1062                                     all pass

Q3                                             

5                                                                 

 

Table A:     (1)  Did you open with this North hand D(a) in this week’s quiz? This particular North is of the opinion that shape is irrelevant and that one should always open with 12 points and pass with less. He does not read the news-sheets so there is no fear of my comments offending him. Anyway, this North hand is 21 for the rule of 20 and a very clear 1 opener.

(2)   Both majors (playing Cappelletti). Playing Multi-Landy 2 is the bid.

(3)   Natural and weak

Table B:     (1)  This North made the obvious 1 opening with Hand D(a).

(4)   This hand has the values (just about) for a 1NT overcall, but I can’t see the stop. I would pass, especially as it’s totally flat.

(5)   Penalties

(6)   North, with his ‘light’ opener, correctly removed the penalty double.

(7)   An excellent bid, partner is obviously very short (probably void) in ’s and so he must have something in ’s and South has no wasted values. Apart from their play technique, it’s deductions like this in the bidding that set world-class internationals apart from good club players.

 

And what happened? 4 made exactly for a near top.

The bottom lines.

-         Obey the rule of 20 in first and second seats.

 

 

Terje’s Column        Dave put a hand in as usual on Wednesday, but unfortunately somebody subsequently shuffled it. However, Terje Lie pointed out

North               South             the correct play on this board which I witnessed a couple of players

AKQ            J10854       getting wrong.

A8                Q75

K1087          A63            You are North, declarer in 3NT and you get a lead.

AK74           96              You have 10 tricks on top, what is the best play to safely

                                              try for 11 tricks?


Terje’s Column answer               Board 15 from Friday 30th   

 

   

Dealer:             AKQ                                          West          North         East            South

South               A8                                              pass (1)      2NT           pass           3  (2)

N-S vul            K1087                                        pass           3              pass           3NT

                        AK74                                         pass           pass   (3)

 

3                         N             9762               (1)  At this vulnerability, 2 would be reasonable.

K106432        W    E          J9                   (2)  A transfer, although I did note one very

J54                      S              Q92                     experienced player bidding 3NT - presumably

1085                                  QJ32                    (correctly) hoping that the same number of tricks

                        J10854                                      are available in ’s or NoTrumps.

Q75                                      (3)  This North chose to play in No Trumps but

A63                                            about ½ of the field chose to play in ’s.

96                                       

 

You are in 3NT, get the 2 lead and have 10 tricks on top. What is the best play to safely try for 11 tricks? This is my write-up and is an expansion of a comment made by Terje, I hope it’s 100% accurate.

 

You have two possibilities for an 11th trick – the K with East or the ’s splitting 3-3. The K onside is slightly better odds than a 3-3 split and so playing up to the Q seems a good play. But actually, since you have two stoppers in both black suits you can combine your chances. The best play at trick two is to duck a . You win the return in the North hand and then play a up to the Q. As it happens this loses and West returns a but you then run your winners and have 11 tricks when the ’s break 3-3.

And what happened?

One player played a to the Q immediately and was held to 10 tricks. Another received a lead and then you cannot adopt the line of ducking a to combine chances as you have only one more stop. So this player correctly played a low immediately but did actually make 11 tricks eventually when he got some help from the defence.

One other player made 3NT+1 and other results were 5NT=, 4+1 (twice), 6-1 and 6 making.

It’s interesting to note that the line mentioned above for combining your chances only works if you get a lead. If South transfers then East will probably lead a and North cannot then safely try both ’s and ’s.

 


Take-out or penalty                                             Board 24 from Friday 30th 

I (as director) was called over on Friday when a player made a double that was apparently take-out but the opposition thought it was penalties. What was you answer to this week’s bidding sequence L ?

 

Dealer:             AJ109                                         West          North         East(F)       South

West                6                                                 pass           1              dbl   (1)      1

Love all            QJ1093                                       pass           2              dbl   (2)      pass

K53                                           3              pass           pass           pass

 

87                      N             K5                  (1)  What did you bid with this East hand F(a) in

J8542             W    E          AKQ3                  this week’s quiz? 19 points really is a bit too

62                       S              AK75                  good for 1NT and I think that dbl (with the

QJ64                                  987                     intention of bidding 1NT over 1 from partner)

                        Q6432                                       is best.

1097                                     (2)  What did you bid with this East hand F(b) in           

84                                               this week’s quiz? 2NT now would be too

A102                                          much and I agree with this 2nd double – it’s

quite likely on the auction that partner has a weakish hand with ’s.        

 

And what happened? North-South called me over, saying that they assumed that the 2nd double was penalties and that they would have competed to 3 had they known that it was take-out.

My Ruling. I said that in my opinion the 2nd double was take-out and there was absolutely no problem. I would have bid exactly the same as this East. I later consulted with Terje and he confirmed that the 2nd double was definitely take-out.

The bottom lines.

-         When the opponents bid and agree a suit at the two level, then a double is take-out.

-         A double of 1 usually shows a distributional hand playable in the other three suits but there are other possibilities (including a balanced hand too strong for 1NT – as in this deal).

-         A take-out double followed by another double is usually also take-out.

 


When Stayman gets doubled                               Board 1 from Friday 30th 

If you open 1NT, partner bids 2 and RHO doubles this, you have two extra bids (pass and redouble). They should have meanings but North at Table A did not realise this.

 

Dealer:             A3                                              Table A

North               A108                                          West          North(E)    East            South

Love all            Q82                                            -                 1NT           pass           2     (1)

                        KQ1083                                    dbl   (2)      2    (3)      pass           pass   (4)

pass

985                    N             KQJ6            

J64                 W    E          K9                        Expert Table

A94                    S              K106                   West          North(E)    East            South

AJ94                                  7652                   -                 1NT           pass           2   (1)

                        10742                                        dbl    (2)     redbl  (3)    pass           2    (5)

Q7532                                        all pass

J753                                           

-                                                                  

 

Table A:     (1)  Garbage Stayman

(2)   I would never double with this holding – I would need much better/longer ’s.

(3)   What did you bid with this North hand E in this week’s quiz? This North simply did not realize that he now had two extra bids and woodenly replied 2 just as if there has been no intervention.

(4)   With no discussion, South assumed that North had ’s for his free bid.

Expert        (3)  Our expert finds the correct bid of course. Redouble here denies a 4-card major and

Table:               shows good ’s.

(5)   This South has received no inference that partner has ’s and so bids the obvious 2 to reach the top spot.

 

And what happened? 2 did not score well. Most N-S’s were in 2 making.

The bottom lines.

-         There is a page on the website that suggests what to bid when Stayman is doubled:

Conventions > Section 3 > When Stayman gets doubled.

 

 


Bid again having pre-empted                              Board 8 from Monday 26th 

With a weak hand one should pre-empt to the limit and not bid again; but one possibility is when you have a weak two-suiter which cannot be bid using Michaels or the UNT.

 

Dealer:             Q986                                          Table A

West                K98                                            West          North         East            South

Love all            9                                                 pass           pass           1              3      (1)

                        KJ8733                                      dbl   (2)      pass           4    (3)      5      (4)

dbl             all pass

A53                   N             KJ1042         

10432             W    E          AQJ75                 Table B

AJ108                 S              2                          West          North         East            South

54                                      Q6                      pass           pass           1              3    (1)

                        7                                                dbl    (2)     pass           4    (3)      5   (4)

6                                                 all pass

KQ76543                                  

A1092                                                         

 

Table A:     (1)  Weak. This is much better bid than 2NT (UNT) as the UNT here promises 5 cards in each minor

(2)   Negative, promising 4 ’s.

(3)   With this shape this hand is worth game.

(4)   With this great shape South decided to bid again. Unfortunately he did not realize that he had an alternative to the cardinal sin of rebidding his pre-empt suit.

Table B:     (4)  This South got it right and showed his suit.

 

And what happened? 5 doubled went for 500 and a near bottom. 5 was not doubled but it actually made! Most E-W’s were playing in 4 making 10 or 11 tricks.

The bottom lines.

-     Once you have pre-empted you have said it all – do not bid your suit again.

-     The only exception is when you have a shapely two-suiter (and are non-vul) when it may sometimes be correct to bid your 2nd suit at a relatively high level.

 


A jump cue bid overcall?                                     Board 27 from Monday 26th 

There are a number of points on this deal. The dubious jump cue bid overcall, a silly opening lead, subsequently leading away from AQx over KJx, and a revoke with the follow-on controversy.

Dealer:             KQ3                                           West          North         East            South

South               AQ982                                       -                 -                 -                 pass

Love all            J543                                            pass           1              3    (1)      pass    

5                                                3NT           all pass

 

985                    N             106                 (1)  East has a difficult bid here, but this bid - the

KJ743            W    E          -                           jump cue bid overcall – is pushing it a bit!

K972                  S              AQ8                    The bid asks partner to bid 3NT if he has a

9                                        AKJ108643        stop in the suit opened; this is pushy as the

                        AJ742                                        minor suit is not solid and also there is no

1065                                           semblance of a stop.

106                                            

Q72                                                            

 

And what happened? West dutifully bid 3NT and North was on lead. On the bidding West obviously has a stop and to me the K lead is totally obvious. North got it half right – he led a but selected the 3! thus blocking the suit when partner won with the A. There was a return and North cashed his KQ and the A and continued with a small . Quite why he donated two tricks to declarer is also a mystery to me, but this North is not the club champion. West won the continuation with the J and then played the A and Q. On the lead of the 3rd to West’s K both North and South discarded. West, assuming that the 9 was good, led it. It is at this point that the problems started; North acknowledged that he had revoked and wanted to take his previous discard back. Of course he could not do this after the revoke has been established and was informed that he has to simply follow suit now. He played the 5 – presumably unaware that he was allowed to win the trick with the J! Declarer now had 4 tricks, and two ’s and would make 9 tricks if the ’s came home. Unfortunately there was a loser but South had been squeezed on the ’s and ’s and so when she won the Q after a finesse she had to give the last two tricks to dummy. So West made 8 tricks and thus the contract because of the revoke.

At the end of the session North complained to me that he has effectively been penalized two tricks (instead of one) for the revoke and said he obviously would have played the J had he realized that he was allowed to.

I agreed, West did not. As I was at the table I obviously should have informed North of what he could play and I failed in my duties. Sorry, but I too sometimes make errors. North said that he would accept one down or an average board, whichever was more favorable to E-W. I think that that was very fair and averaged the board accordingly. Both North and East were happy with this ruling. West is not and claims that North was not penalized enough.

Now I guess it’s fair to say that North defended appallingly (blocking the ’s, gifting the declarer two tricks and then revoking) and deserved to make just the four tricks when eight are easy; but had he been aware of the rules he would presumably have made five which, even though three less than the norm, was enough for 60% with E-W in the poor contract. The bottom lines: -

-         Being a club director is not easy – you can never please everyone!

-         Lead the K from KQx.

-         Do not subsequently play the A and a low from AQx in a No Trump contract when you know that RHO has the K and quite likely the J also.

-         A jump cue bid overcall should be a solid minor suit with at least a ½ stop in the other two suits.


An outright psyche                                               Board 3 from Monday 26th 

North made an outrageous psyche on this board. Had he not got a bottom anyway he would have been awarded one – psyching is not allowed in this club.

 

Dealer:             AQ                                             West          North         East            South

South               103                                             -                 -                 -                 pass

E-W vul           A975432                                    pass           2   (1)      pass           2    (2)

95                                              pass           pass (3)      dbl             pass

2              3    (4)      3              pass

J932                  N             K875                    4              5    (5)      dbl             all pass

KJ862            W    E          Q95                     

K                        S              QJ                       

Q87                                   AKJ6                   

                        1064                                    

A74                                     

1086                                          

10432

 

(1)   This is N-S’s strongest bid and I believe that South must always bid 2 in their system. If so, then this is a controlled psyche and illegal in most competitions.

(2)   I believe that this is mandatory in their system, but it really does not matter.

(3)   Thus revealing the psyche.

(4)   Quite why North wants to bid on now is a mystery to me. His psyche may well have kept E-W out of game (but he would have been awarded a bottom score for psyching anyway).

(5)   Carrying on regardless?                                                     

 

And what happened? 5 doubled scored a bottom and so there was no need for me to adjust the score.

The bottom lines.

-         Controlled psyches are not allowed in most competitions. A controlled psyche is where there is no danger to your side, as was the case for North here as he knew his partner would respond 2.

-         Controlled or not, any form of psyching is not allowed at our club.

-         All psyches will receive an adjusted (unfavorable) score.

-         A repeat psycher will be suspended from the club. Be aware that I mean this – Chuck was suspended (It was the 1st of his three suspensions) after he psyched twice in a row and did not gracefully accept my reprimand written in the news-sheet No 42 – he tore up the news sheet in the middle of the room and threw it on the floor! News-sheet 42 is well worth a re-read. The subsequent News sheet 43 explains why Chuck was suspended.

-         If a schoolteacher can be jailed for calling a Teddy Bear Mohamed, then surely the equally outrageous sacrilegious gesture of repeated psyching and tearing up a sacred bridge news-sheet deserves a similar punishment?

-     Note that there is a convention, fairly common in Holland, where a 2 opening is either a strong hand or a weak 2 (2 opening is Multi). I do not like this treatment as it is unclear to me how opener shows the weak hand if partner has a good hand and does not respond 2. I assume that there is a way but I cannot be bothered to find out as I will not play it anyway. But the convention is allowed if it is alerted.

 


Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:     3NT. Unless you play Lebensohl there is no way to show partner that you have values for game with no stop. Playing Lebensohl the correct bid is actually again 3NT – showing game values, denying 4 ’s and denying a stop. What a great convention Lebensohl is! My partner bid 3, mistakenly believing that it was asking for a stop. It is not – whether you play Lebensohl or not the cue bid is Stayman.

Hand B:     Pass. LHO may well have a strong hand or have a weak hand with ’s. You have a partner, and if you pass and opener passes then partner will probably bid unless he has a stack.

Hand C:    1. This is the North hands 27 from Friday. It is short in the suit opened and playable in the other three suits and so one North chose to double. Double is not totally unreasonable, but it’s usually best to overcall with a 5-card major (and only 3 cards in the other major) as you will miss a possible 5-3 major suit fit if you double.

Hand D:    (a)  1. This hand is 21 for the rule of 20 and easily worth a 1 opener. It’s far too good for a weak 2 and pass is simply not playing bridge (feeble).

(b)   In 3rd seat either 1, 2 or 3 may work out best, at equal vulnerability I would open 3 but not argue if you chose 1 or 2.

(c)    Pass. In 4th seat everything is different. If you open with a marginal hand then a competitive auction may well result – and the side with the suit will win. The rule of 15 (point  + ’s) applies and this hand (just 11) is an obvious pass.

Hand E:    Redouble. Showing good ’s and denying a 4-card major. 2 is the lazy bid of somebody that does not realize that he has two extra options (pass and redouble). You have to agree what pass and 2 mean and there are a few suggestions on the website (Conventions > Section 3 > When Stayman gets doubled).

Hand F:     (a)  Double. With the intention of bidding 1NT if partner responds the likely 1. 1NT is possible but the hand really is a bit too good as 1NT is 15-17/18.

(b)   Double, take-out. 2NT would be too high and partner probably has a weak hand with ’s on the bidding.

 

Bidding Sequence Answers

 

G     1NT   2      3                3 is (game forcing) Stayman, promising exactly 4 ’s.

H     1NT   dbl     pass   2      2 is weak and natural of course. Now I know that this is a very easy trivial question, but this is not the first time that I have come across somebody who thought that 2 was a transfer “because partner has shown a balanced 15-18”. This is, of course, total twaddle. 2/// are all weak natural bids (less than 6 points).

J      1NT   dbl     pass   2     

pass   2                          2 is strong and natural of course.

K     1NT   pass   2     dbl     This is up to partnership understanding. Without any agreement

2                                    I would say that 2 shows a suit and no 4-card major.

L      1      dbl     1      pass  

        2      dbl                         This 2nd double is also take-out.

M    1      pass   2      pass  

        3                                    3 is 100% game forcing. It is also forcing in Acol where 2 only promises 8+ points.