Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 337

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 26^th April 2009

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

Mon 20^th 1^st Janne & Hans V 61% 2^nd Jeremy & Sally 60%

Wed 22^nd 1^st Janne & Per-Ake 61% 2^nd Svein & Jean-Charles 57%

Fri 24^th 1^st Dave & Ivy 67% 2^nd Hans V & Sally 60%

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Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A it’s love all. There are three passes to you,

what do you open in 4^th seat?

♠ AJ7 ♠ Q

♥ K8 ♥ J1075 With Hand B everybody is vulnerable. There are three passes to

♦ Q93 ♦ K8 you, what do you open in 4^th seat?

♣ A8742 ♣ KQJ852

With Hand C you open 1♥ and partner shows strong

Hand C Hand D support (say with a 3♠ splinter). What do you bid?

♠ A9 ♠ KQ

♥ KJ10965 ♥ 43 With Hand D partner opens 1NT (15-17). What do you

♦ - ♦ - bid and what is your plan if partner shows two aces?

♣ KQJ85 ♣ AKQ1098643

Hand E Hand F With Hand E you open your strongest bid, 2♣, 2♦ or whatever

it is. But what is your next bid after a negative/relay response?

♠ QJ10 ♠ AK2

♥ AKQJ ♥ KQ987 With Hand F partner opens 1♦ and you bid 1♠. Partner then

♦ AKJ93 ♦ A754 bids 3♣, what do you bid?

♣ AQ ♣ 9

Hand G Hand H What do you open with Hand G?

♠ AQ82 ♠ AQ10984

♥ AQ ♥ AK10 What do you open with Hand H?

♦ AKQ1075 ♦ K3

♣ 10 ♣ A8

Bidding Sequence Quiz

J 2♥ 2NT 2♥ is weak, what is 2NT – natural or for the minors.

K 1♦ pass 1♥ pass Is 3♦ forcing?

3♣ pass 3♦

Editorial

Here are the latest championship standings. Janne and Hans are the first two qualifiers for the Gold cup race so far.

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	1805.7 Janne Roos 1768.3 Hans Vikman	643.2 Janne Roos 638.9 Hans Vikman 625.5 Paul Quodomine 618.5 Sally Watson 612.8 Lars Broman 611.1 Bob Short 607.6 Per Andersson 601.1 Jean Wissing 596.0 Ivy Schlageter 589.5 Jeremy Watson	331.8 Janne Roos 329.0 Hans Vikman 321.7 Bob Short 321.0 Per Andersson 320.9 Paul Quodomine 320.7 Sally Watson 318.2 Ivy Schlageter 316.1 Lars Broman 313.8 Jeremy Watson 312.8 Dave Hurst

Cards

Jean Wissing was kind enough to donate a dozen or so decks of cards, so I had just enough to put new cards in the Mon/Fri boards.

New news-sheet contribution

I’m sure that many of you are getting fed up with me repeating the same thing week after week. So you will be pleased to know that there is a new feature this week – Paul Quodomine’s column, which comments on some of the hands played in the week. This week there is a very interesting throw-in / end play hand which he came up with when Dealmaster Pro said that 5♦ makes but it was not at all clear at first glance.

A 4^th seat opening problem - 1 Board 27 from Monday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ Q9 Table A

North ♥ Q10632 West(A) North East South

N-S vul ♦ K104 - pass pass pass

♣ K105 1♣ (1) 1♥ (2) 1♠ 2♦

pass (3) pass pass (4)

♠ AJ7 N ♠ K8543

♥ K8 W E ♥ 9754 Table B

♦ Q93 S ♦ J6 West(A) North East South

♣ A8742 ♣ Q9 - pass pass pass

♠ 1062 1NT (1) pass (5) 2♣ pass

♥ AJ 2♦ pass 2♠ (6) all pass

♦ A8752

♣ J63

Table A: (1) What did you open with this West hand A in this week’s quiz? 1♣ seems fairly obvious and is what the majority chose.

(2) And North has an easy entry into the auction.

(3) Perhaps West should bid 2♠, but it’s not obvious and he has no idea if partner has 4 or 5 ♠’s.

(4) And it’s also not obvious for East to bid.

Table B: (1) One nameless player does not always go along with the majority. His thoughts went along the lines ‘if I open 1♣ then the opponents will have an easy entry into the auction and since I am rather short in the majors they probably have a fit there. I have a reasonable ♣ suit and so I’ll make it difficult for the opponents by opening a rather light strong 1NT.’

(5) And here we see that West’s thoughts were pretty much correct. North does not have enough to bid at the two level and N-S were shut out of the auction.

(6) Showing a weak hand with 5 ♠’s and 4 ♥’s.

And what happened? 2♠ made +2 for the only +ve E-W score. Other results were 2♦(S)=, 1NT(W)-1, and 2♠(E)-1.

The bottom lines: -

- In 4^th seat with a minor-suit orientated hand, it may be a good idea to stretch to a strong 1NT opening in order that the opponents cannot come in easily.

- Playing a weak NT, a 1NT opening is obvious of course.

A 4^th seat opening problem - 2 Board 4 from Monday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ J853 Table A

West ♥ AQ632 West North East South(B)

Love all ♦ J643 pass pass pass (1) 1♣ (2)

♣ - 1♠ 2♥ 2♠ 3♥

all pass

♠ A10972 N ♠ K64

♥ 8 W E ♥ K94 Table B

♦ A97 S ♦ Q1052 West North East South(B)

♣ 10974 ♣ A63 pass pass pass pass (2)

♠ Q

♥ J1075

♦ K8

♣ KQJ852

Table A: (1) This hand does not conform to the rule of 20and pass is fine.

(2) What did you open with this South hand B in this week’s quiz? With 12 points and a good ♣ suit this is 22 for the rule of 20 and most opened 1♣.

Table B: (1) But here we have the same nameless player from the previous deal. He has read somewhere that the rule of 20 only applies in 1^st and 2^nd seat and that the rule of 15 applies in 4^th seat. So add up the points and the length of the ♠ suit and the answer comes to just 13. The ♣ suit is great but the ♠Q is a pretty miserable card and the odds are that the opponents have a ♠ fit if you open, so pass was the bid found here and is quite correct in my opinion.

And what happened? Unfortunately things did not work out quite so well for South this time and the pass-out scored a total bottom. Other results were 4♥=, 3♥= and 2♠(W)-1. However, Deep Finesse says that N-S can make just 3♥ and E-W can make 3♠. So the decision by South at Table B to pass was correct – he was just unlucky that the other players in the N-S direction were having a bad day?

The bottom lines: -

- In 4^th seat the rule of 15 applies.

Blackwood with a void? – part 1 Board 17 from Monday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ A9 Table A

North ♥ KJ10965 West North(C) East South

Love all ♦ - - 1♥ pass 4♥ (1)

♣ KQJ85 pass 4NT (2) pass 5♣

pass 6♥ (3) all pass

♠ KQ104 N ♠ J87532

♥ Q4 W E ♥ 3 “Expert” Table

♦ KQ1032 S ♦ 654 West North(C) East South

♣ 64 ♣ 973 - 1♥ pass 3♠ (1)

♠ 6 pass 5♦ (4) pass 5NT (5)

♥ A872 pass 7♥ (6) pass pass (7)

♦ AJ987 pass

♣ A102

Table A: (1) This is stone-age bidding of course, but some players still play 4♥ as a strong hand and do not play splinters.

(2) What did you bid with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? This 4NT, RKCB, is a terrible bid with a void. You do not know if a two keycard response includes the ‘useless’ ♦A or not. If you do not play Exclusion RKCB, then a 5♦ cue bid is far better than gambling with Blackwood.

(3) North has lucked out and found partner with all three missing keycards, why he did not bid the grand slam is beyond me.

“Expert” (3) Our experts play splinters of course, and a 3♠ splinter is clear here; promising

Table: ♠ shortage and 4 ♥’s.

(4) And this is the answer to question C. Exclusion RKCB, asking for keycards outside ♦’s (and thus promising a ♦ void of course).

(5) The step responses to ERKCB are the same as normal, and this 3^rd step shows 2 keycards without the ♥Q (the ♦A is not counted).

(6) With an extra ♥ (and so 10 ♥’s between the hands) there is no need to ask for the trump queen with 6♣. 13 tricks are fairly certain.

(7) Since South holds the ♦A he could consider 7NT, but partner may be relying on some ♠ ruffs and so pass is much safer.

And what happened? 6♥+1 twice, 7♥*= and 5♥+2.

The bottom lines: -

- Do not use Blackwood if you have a void. Either cue bid or use Exclusion RKCB.

Blackwood with a void? – part 2 Board 18 from Monday 22^nd

Dealer: ♠ J1076 Table A

North ♥ 72 West(D) North East South

N-S vul ♦ KQ10873 - pass 1NT pass

♣ J 4♣ (1) pass 4NT (2) pass

7NT (3) all pass

♠ KQ N ♠ A983

♥ 43 W E ♥ AKJ “Expert” Table

♦ - S ♦ A954 West(D) North East South

♣ AKQ1098643 ♣ 75 - pass 1NT pass

♠ 542 2♠ (1) pass 3♣ (4) pass

♥ Q109865 5♦ (5) pass 5NT (6) pass

♦ J62 7♣ (7) pass 7NT (8) all pass

♣ 2

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand D in this week’s quiz? This 4♣ Gerber bid was found by everybody and obviously worked well – but what you do if partner shows just two aces? If he is missing the ♦A then 7♣ is cold, but if he is missing a major suit ace then you have to settle for 6♣ - you have no idea what is best.

(2) Fortunately partner had all 3 missing aces.

(3) And so West has an easy 7NT bid.

“Expert” (1) Our experts play 4-way transfers and so West can transfer to ♣’s in a forcing

Table: sequence. This is one solution to question D.

(4) This completion of the transfer denies ♣Hxx, ♣xxxx or better.

(5) Having set ♣’s as trumps, this jump to 5♦ is now exclusion RKCB, asking for keycards outside the ♦ suit.

(6) The normal 0/3, 1/4. 2-, 2+ step responses apply and so this 3^rd step shows 2 keycards outside ♦’s and denies the ♣Q.

(7) West can count 13+ tricks.

(8) This is different from the last deal as East has not shown shortage, and so with the ♦A East can safely convert to 7NT.

And what happened? 7NT three times, 6NT +1.

The bottom lines: -

- Do not use Blackwood if you have a void. Either cue bid or use Exclusion RKCB.

Dave’s Column Here is Dave’s first input about the play of the hand.

West East You are West, declarer in 4♠. North leads a small ♥ which

♠ AJ986532 ♠ Q10 you win with the ♥A, how do you continue?

♥ A ♥ Q1065

♦ J43 ♦ Q9

♣ 4 ♣ AQ52

Dave’s Column answer Board 26 from Wednesday 22^nd

Dealer: ♠ K7 West North East South

East ♥ K8742 - - 1♣ pass

Both vul ♦ A76 1♠ pass 1NT pass

♣ J93 4♠ all pass

♠ AJ986532 N ♠ Q10 North leads a low ♥ to your ♥A, how do

♥ A W E ♥ Q1065 you continue?

♦ J43 S ♦ Q9

♣ 4 ♣ AQ52

♠ 4

♥ J93

♦ K10852

♣ K1076

Suppose West leads a ♣ to the ♣A and tries a trump finesse. North takes the ♠K and exits with a trump. Declarer next tries the ♦ finesse with dummy’s ♦9; he loses three ♦ tricks and goes down.

It doesn’t help declarer to finesse ♦’s early since South will win with the ♦10 and shift to a trump, preventing a ♦ ruff in dummy. In the published version of the deal, south led to the ♣A at trick two and then led the ♦9 to the ♦10, ♦J and ♦A.

Since North cannot lead a trump without sacrificing a trump trick, he leads a ♣ which declarer ruffs. Declarer then loses a ♦ to South’s ♦K and wins the trump return with the ♠A and ruffs his ♦ loser.

There is an alternative line that happens to work: Declarer leads a ♦ to the ♦Q at trick two. South wins and leads a trump. Declarer wins with the ♠A and leads a 2^nd low ♦ and declarer prevails.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 5NT-5, 4♠-2, 3♠+1 and 2♠+1.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input concerning the play of the hand.

North South You are South, declarer in 4♥. West leads the ♣7 upon

♠ AQ106 ♠ J7 which North plays the ♣Q. Plan the play.

♥ Q109 ♥ AKJ876

♦ K8 ♦ 742

♣ 9653 ♣ AJ

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 27 from Wednesday 22^nd

Dealer: ♠ AQ106

East ♥ Q109 West North East South

Love all ♦ K8 - - pass 1♥

♣ 9653 pass 1♠ pass 2♥

pass 3♥ pass 4♥

♠ 832 N ♠ K954 all pass

♥ 42 W E ♥ 53

♦ Q93 S ♦ AJ1065

♣ K10872 ♣ Q4

♠ J7

♥ AKJ876

♦ 742

♣ AJ

West leads the ♣7 and when dummy came down declarer surveyed his chances and realised that he was a favourite to make the game and perhaps an overtrick if the ♠K or ♦A were favourably placed.

Sensing no danger, South took East’s ♣Q and cashed the ♥AK. Next he took a ♠ finesse losing to East’s ♠K. East led a ♣ to West’s ♣K and it was easy for West to find the ♦ switch for one down.

To secure the game, South must duck East’s ♣Q at trick one. East can do no better than return a ♣ and South then wins his ♣A. After two rounds of trumps he runs the ♠J. East wins but the game is secure as West cannot gain the lead.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♥= twice and 4♥-1 twice. I happen to know that one player went down perforce when West initially led the ♦9!

_____________________________________

Paul Quodomine has given me some material for this week’s news-sheet. Sensible contributions from anyone will be published if desired.

<Start of Paul’s Column>

Paul’s Column

North South West North East South

♠ AQ82 ♠ 976 pass 1♦ 1♠ pass

♥ AQ ♥ K10875 2♣ 3♦ 4♣ 4♦

♦ AKQ1075 ♦ 6432 pass 5♦ all pass

♣ 10 ♣ 9

East leads a low ♣ which West takes with the ♣A. West switches to the ♠J which you win with the ♠A How can you possibly avoid two more ♠ losers (East has the ♠K,10 of course)?

Loser on loser and an endplay Board 28 from Monday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ AQ82 West North(G) East South

West ♥ AQ pass 1♦ (1) 1♠ (2) pass

N-S vul ♦ AKQ1075 2♣ 3♦ 4♣ 4♦

♣ 10 pass   (3)     5♦ all pass

♠ J N ♠ K10543 (1) What did you open with this hand G in this

♥ J9632 W E ♥ 4 week’s quiz? It is 10 playing tricks and so

♦ 98 S ♦ J qualifies for a 2♣ opening, but with these

♣ AQ864 ♣ KJ7532 gaps I (Paul) prefer a quiet 1♦ as if partner cannot respond then game is remote.

♠ 976 (2) If you don’t play Ghestem, Questem or

♥ K10875 other specific 2-suiter overcall then I

♦ 6432 guess 1♠ is reasonable.

♣ 9 (3) At our table West made a ridiculous double.

So, given that East finds the best lead of a ♣ and West wins and switches to the ♠J, how do you make 5♦? You have lost a ♣ and there appear to be two more ♠’s to lose.

♠ Q82 First of all you draw two rounds of trumps

♥ - and then unblock the ♥AQ.

♦ Q107 Then enter dummy with the ♦6 and what

♣ - do you do in this position with the lead

in dummy (South)?

♠ - N ♠ K105 The ♥K would provide just one ♠ discard

♥ J96 W E ♥ - and so that’s no good.

♦ - S ♦ - The answer is to lead the ♥8 and discard the ♠2

♣ Q86 ♣ KJ7 from the North hand. West wins and must

♠ 97 either give you two ♥ tricks in dummy or else

♥ K108 a ruff and discard. Either way the two

♦ 4 other ♠’s in the North hand disappear. Either

♣ - discarded on two ♥’s or one is ruffed and the other one discarded on the ♥K. Very cute.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♦*+2, 5♣*-1 twice and 7♣*-3.

This is another deal that I find instructive: -

East West(H) Board 28 from Monday 20^th

♠ 32 ♠ AQ10984

♥ Q764 ♥ AK10 What did you open with this West hand H in this week’s

♦ Q10654 ♦ K3 quiz? As you saw from the previous hand I (Paul) am a strong

♣ 96 ♣ A8 believer in a 2♣ opening being up to strength. I opened

1♠ which was passed out making +2 for a joint top.

Two pairs reached 4♠-1, presumably when West opened 2♣?

<End of Paul’s Column>

The huge balanced hand Board 2 from Friday 24^th

Everybody had problems with this deal and all missed a good slam. The problem at one table was a strong (2♣ or 2♦) opening followed by 3NT. As you probably know, I absolutely hate this strong opening followed by 3NT rebid to show 25+ points as it inhibits Stayman and transfers. Thus I prefer to play Benjam twos or Multi 2♦ or, with only one strong bid available, the Kokish relay.

Dealer: ♠ K874 Table A

East ♥ 86 West North East(E) South

N-S vul ♦ 742 - - 2♦ (1) pass

♣ K653 2♥ (2) pass 3NT (3) pass

pass (4) pass

♠ QJ10 N ♠ A3

♥ 9753 W E ♥ AKQJ “Expert” Table

♦ Q108 S ♦ AKJ93 West North East(E) South

♣ 1087 ♣ AQ - - 2♦ (1) pass

♠ 9652 2♥ (2) pass 2NT (3) pass

♥ 1042 3♣ (5) pass 3♥ pass

♦ 65 4♥ (6) pass 5♦ (7) pass

♣ J932 6♦ (8) pass 6♥ (9) all pass

Table A: (1) This pair play Benjamin twos, so 2♦ is game forcing

(2) 2♥ is simply a relay

(3) What did you bid with this East hand E in this week’s quiz? This is 3NT is nonsense if playing Benjamin twos, 2NT is correct. One of the main ideas of Benjamin twos is that a 2NT response here shows 25+ points, is game forcing, and allows for Stayman and transfers.

(4) West has no idea what is going on and so quite reasonably passed as would I. 3NT by partner in a game forcing sequence is surely fast arrival with a desire to not look for slam; or else it is nonsense, depending upon your point of view.

“Expert” (1) Let’s suppose that our experts are playing Benjamin twos today.

Table: (3) So 2NT, 25+ and game forcing, is obviously the answer to question E.

(5) Stayman

(6) This promises nothing and could be anything from 0 to about 6 points.

(7) This is a slam try, presumably showing all aces and asking for help in ♦’s

(8) West has excellent ♦’s in context and so shows them at the 6-level.

(9) With all of the top ♥’s, East corrects to the higher scoring ♥ slam.

And what happened? Nobody reached a decent (75%) small slam: 5♥+2 twice, 5♥+1 and a totally undeserved top for 3NT+4. The bottom lines: -

- The 3NT rebid having opened with a strong artificial bid really sucks as it uses up too much bidding space and inhibits the use of Stayman and transfers.

- There are three common ways to solve the problem: -

1) Benjamin twos, where 2♦ - 2♥ - 2NT is 25+ and game forcing.

2) Multi 2♦, where 2♣ - 2♦ - 2NT is 25+ and game forcing.

3) The Kokish Relay, where 2♣ - 2♦ - 2♥ - 2♠(forced) - 2NT is 25+ and game forcing. Note that playing the Kokish relay the 2♥ bid does not show ♥’s if followed by 2NT.

- Three Easts did make a effort (with 5♥) but an effort in ♦’s, having agreed ♥’s, is far better as West knows that East has no trump honours and simply needs the ♦Q for a good shot at slam.

An easy 6♦ slam Board 8 from Friday 24^th

One pair reached the small slam with a ridiculous sequence (Table A). It really is easy to reach the small slam by simply setting trumps before using RKCB!

Dealer: ♠ J96543 Table A

West ♥ 54 West North East(F) South

Both vul ♦ 106 1♦ pass 1♥ pass

♣J72 3♣ (1) pass 4NT (2) pass

5♠ (3) pass 6♦ (4) all pass

♠ Q108 N ♠ AK2

♥ - W E ♥ KQ987 “Expert” Table

♦ KQJ83 S ♦ A754 West North East(F) South

♣ AKQ108 ♣ 9 1♦ pass 1♥ pass

♠ 7 3♣ (1) pass 3♦ (2) pass

♥ AJ10632 4♣ (5) pass 4NT (6) pass

♦ 92 5♠ (7) pass 6♦ (8) pass

♣ 6543 all pass

Table A: (1) This game forcing jump to 3♣ would be obvious had partner responded 1♠ or 1NT, but the 1♥ response is bad and so a simple 2♣ is an alternative which I slightly prefer. However, with this great playing strength, 3♣ is also quite reasonable.

(2) What did you bid with this East hand F in this week’s quiz? Opposite a big hand East is looking for 6(or 7)♦. But the problem is obviously that RKCB here is asking for keycards with ♣’s at trumps!

(3) Two keycards (for ♣’s) plus the ♣Q.

(4) East now realized that the previous bid was futile and he now has no way to find out what useful cards partner had and so simply gambled the small slam.

“Expert” (1) Let’s suppose that our expert also jumps to 3♣.

Table: (2) This is the very simple answer to question F. The sequence is game forcing and so this 3♦ bid is also forcing and sets ♦’s as trumps.

(5) West understandably does not want to cue bid a void in partner’s suit, and so sensibly cue bids the ♣A. This is obviously better than bidding Blackwood with a void and I also prefer it to a 5♥ Exclusion Blackwood bid although that would work on this particular deal.

(6) RKCB, but this time it is for ♦’s!

(7) 2 keycards + the ♦Q. This is better than showing the void (with 5NT showing a void and 0,2,4 keycards) as a ♥ void may not be useful and partner will probably assume that it is a ♠ void.

(8) This time East can bid 6♦ with complete confidence, knowing that just one keycard is missing and that partner has the ♦Q.

And what happened? 6♦+1 twice, 3NT+3 and 3NT+2.

The bottom lines: -

- Set trumps before you use RKCB! This really is just simple logic.

- Hans V says that 3♣ is not game forcing in his system and so 3♦ is not forcing. This is not Standared American and so I guess that if you are playing Hans’ system then you have to bid 3♠ (4^th suit forcing) at (2) in order to set up a game force and then bid 4♦ later if you can to set the trump suit. I have no idea if this is ‘Standard Swedish’ or not.

Quiz Answers

Hand A: 1♣ is fairly obvious. But there is a strong case for stretching to 1NT – because you are short in the majors and if you open 1♣ the opponents will be able to come in cheaply and find a fit somewhere.

Hand B: Pass. This is a very clear 1♣ opener in 1^st, 2^nd or 3^rd seat, but in 4^th seat it’s the rule of 15 (points and ♠ length) that applies. This hand is only 13 and so is a clear pass: where are the ♠’s? The answer is, with the opponents, and on the actual deal you can make 3♥ but the opponents can make 3♠.

Hand C: 5♦. This is Exclusion RKCB asking for keycards outside ♦'s. If you do not play ERKCB then do not bid 4NT RKCB as a two keycard response will be ambiguous about the ♦A, best is 4♦ which would be a cue bid asking partner to cue bid in return.

Hand D: 2♠, provided that you play 4-way transfers and this is a specific transfer to ♣'s. Partner will accept the transfer and you can then bid 5♦, Exclusion RKCB for ♣'s and asking for keycards outside the ♦ suit. You then bid 6♣ or 7♣ when partner shows one or two. Note that an initial 4♣ Gerber bid will be pretty useless if partner turns up with 2 aces as you have no idea if they include the useless ♦A or not.

Hand E: 2NT. That is if you are playing a sensible system where this is game forcing. If 2♣ is your only strong bid (and so 2NT follow up is 22-24 and passable) then play the Kokish relay. To have to jump to 3NT to show this very strong balanced hand really is silly.

Hand F: 3♦. Partner’s 3♣ bid is game forcing (a high reverse) and so you simply set trumps now with the intention of probably using RKCB for ♦’s later.

Hands G and H are from Paul’s Column and here are his answers.

Hand G: 1♦. I (Paul) prefer this to 2♣. If partner cannot respond then there is no game.

Hand H: 1♠. This time it’s quite clear that the hand is way short of a 2♣ opener.

Bidding Sequence Quiz

J 2♥ 2NT 2NT here is natural, promising a ♥ stop.

K 1♦ pass 1♥ pass 3♦ is forcing because 3♣ was game forcing.

3♣ pass 3♦