Tales of the Wild West

Modern-day bridge owes a lot to the Wild West, from the rush to win Gold Points, to gunfights at the OKbridge Corral. My old sidekick “Wild Bill” Root used to warn me that most defenders of today are like horse thieves of yesterday, and it takes a “quick draw” to get trumps out before they can ruff something. But I digress; never mind.

These six bidding problems are from a past tournament. Perhaps my clues will help you guess the location and year, but don’t worry about that. As South, simply select your call.

In January 2005 these problems were presented as a poll, with 1450 entrants from 127 locations.
The poll is closed, but you can still try it as a quiz and find your score immediately.

Assume both sides use Standard American bidding (unless noted otherwise) with 15-17 notrumps,
five-card majors and weak two-bids. The object is to determine the best calls based on judgment,
so only basic conventions are allowed. For a system reference, see Standard American Bridge.

So grab your six-shooter, and draw on the count of three. You get six shots, so make them all count!

Problem 1

IMPs		E-W vul		You, South, hold:
West 1	North Dbl	East Pass Pass	South Pass ?	7 9 8 3 A K 9 7 Q 8 5 4 3
			Your call? Pass 1  1 NT 2  2  2 NT 3

Problem 2

IMPs		N-S vul		You, South, hold:
West Pass 5	North 1 5	East 2 Pass	South 2 ?	3 A K 9 8 7 5 3 — A J 7 4 3
			Your call? Pass 5 NT* 6  6  6  6

*pick a slam

Problem 3

IMPs		Both vul		You, South, hold:
West	North	East Pass	South ?	— 9 4 Q 10 9 8 7 4 3 A K 9 2
			Your call? Pass 1  2  3  4  5

Problem 4

IMPs		Both vul		You, South, hold:
West 1	North 1	East 2	South 1 ?	A K 8 A Q 5 4 — A 10 9 6 5 3
			Your call? X* 2  3  3  3  4 ** 4

*support **splinter

Problem 5

IMPs		None vul		You, South, hold:
West 1 Pass	North Dbl 3	East 3 1 Pass	South Pass ?	9 8 7 6 4 A 9 6 3 7 4 2 2
1. weak			Your call? Pass 3  3  4  4  4  5

Problem 6

IMPs		E-W vul		You, South, hold:
West Pass	North 1 1	East Pass Pass	South 1 ?	Q 4 K J 9 8 K J 6 4 J 7 4
			Your call or calls?	A. 1 NT B. 2 then 3 (over 3 ) C. 2 then 3 NT (over 3 ) D. 2 E.  2 NT (forcing) F.  3 (forcing) G. 3 NT

 Click to see how you did

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© 2005 Richard Pavlicek