BID WITH THE EXPERTS -- SET 2000-01 (January 2000)

The winner of the first competition of the year 2000 is:

Aran WARSZAWSKI from Israel with a score of 77

Answers and Marks:

1.	Pass	10
	2ª	7
	2¨	5
	2NT	4
	3ª	1
2.	2¨	10
	4¨	8
	4§	7
	3¨	5
	5§	2
3.	Pass	10
	Double	9
	5ª	1
4a	Agree 3¨	10
	Prefer 4¨	2
4b	4NT	10
	6¨	7
	5§	4
	4ª	3
	7¨	2
5	4§	10
	Pass	6
	4ª	4
6	2ª	10
	3ª	8
	2¨	6
	2NT	4
	2§	3
	PASS	2
	2©	1
7	§ 3	10
	§ Q	8
	© 10	3

How the experts voted:

	1	2	3	4a	4b	5	6	7	Total
Sharyn REUS (Canada)	Pass	2¨	Pass	3¨	4NT	4§	3ª	§ 3	78
Marc UMENO (USA)	Pass	4¨	Pass	3¨	4NT	4§	2ª	§ 3	78
Larry COHEN (USA	2¨	2¨	Pass	3¨	4NT	4§	2ª	§ 3	75
Morten/Lars MADSEN (Denmark)	Pass	4§	Dbl	3¨	4NT	4§	2ª	§ Q	74
Marty BERGEN (USA)	2ª	2¨	Pass	3¨	4NT	4§	2ª	§ 3	73
Eddie KANTAR (USA)	2ª	4§	Dbl	3¨	4NT	4§	2ª	§ 3	73
Victor SILVERSTONE (Scotland)	Pass	2¨	Dbl	3¨	4NT	Pass	2ª	§ Q	73
David BIRD (England)	Pass	2¨	Dbl	3¨	6¨	Pass	2ª	§ Q	72
Irving GORDON (Scotland)	Pass	3¨	Pass	3¨	4NT	4§	2¨	§ 3	71
Boye BROGELAND (Norway)	2¨	3¨	Pass	3¨	4NT	4ª	2ª	§ 3	70
Tamas SZALKA (Hungary) **	Pass	2¨	Pass	3¨	5§	Pass	2ª	§ 3	70
Tim COPE (South Africa)	Pass	2ª	Dbl	3¨	4NT	4ª	2ª	§ 3	69
Karren McCALLUM (USA)	2NT	4¨	Pass	3¨	6¨	4§	2ª	§ 3	69
Andrew ROBSON (England)	Pass	4¨	Pass	3¨	6¨	Pass	2ª	§ Q	69
Tim BOURKE (Australia)	2NT	3¨	Dbl	3¨	4NT	4§	2ª	§ 3	68
Marshall MILES (USA)	2¨	4§	Dbl	3¨	4NT	4§	2NT	§ 3	65
Maria ERHART (Austria)	2ª	4§	Dbl	3¨	4NT	Pass	2§	§ 3	62
Prakash PARANJAPE (India)	2ª	3¨	Dbl	3¨	4NT	4§	2©	§ 3	62
Martin HOFFMAN (England)	2ª	4¨	Dble	3¨	7¨	4ª	3ª	§ 3	58
Julian POTTAGE (England)	Pass	3¨	Pass	3¨	4ª	4ª	2¨	§ 3	58

** Guest Panelist

A slightly smaller panel than usual this month, as many of our panelists spent most of the month either playing or writing in Bermuda. The hope that one of our regular panelists would collect a major prize in Bermuda went unanswered, but seven of them did reach the knockout stages. Congratulations to Zia Mahmood & Michael Rosenberg and to Maria Erhart (who reached the semi-finals of the Bermuda Bowl and Venice Cup respectively), and to Boye Brogeland, Magnus Lindkvist, Sharyn Reus and Sabine Auken on getting to the quarter finals.

We are pleased to welcome Marc Umeno, who was the runaway winner of our 1999 annual competition, to the panel as a regular member. We are also happy to announce that two new panelists are scheduled to join us starting next month. The first is Wietske van Zwol, a member of the Dutch Ladies team that won the Venice Cup in Bermuda, and the second is Matthew Granovetter, multiple winner of US national titles, acclaimed author, and the Editor of "Bridge Today" magazine.

Our guest panelist this month is Tamas SZALKA, from Hungary, the winner of the November competition. Tamas is a 29-year old EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) consultant with Hungary's largest IT company. He has been playing for 15 years and he has represented his country four times in European Junior Championships. Later this year, he will make his full international debut as a member of the Hungarian Open team at the World Bridge Olympiad in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

This month. Problem 4a produces our very first unanimous panel in more than a year. For the first time too, Victor Silverstone did not predict unanimity, but Tim Cope did successfully manage to do so at his first attempt. From what I have seen so far of the entries to the competition, many readers have lost marks on Hands 1 and 2 but, thereafter, a high proportion score well and thus there will be a number of high scores. More than half of the panel broke the 70/80 barrier, with Sharyn Reus & Marc Umeno leading the way on 78 and Larry Cohen close behind with 75. Every month here, we congratulate the panelists who lead the pack, but it is worth mentioning that the backbone of our feature is those panelists who choose the bid they think is right, often knowing that it will not be a popular choice. Without them, there would be little to discuss, and few new ideas thrown about. Of all our regular panelists, Karen McCallum is the one who most often goes out on a limb to throw out some gem from which we can all gain. Our thanks go to all of our panelists for sharing their ideas and experience.

1. North-South Game. Dealer East. IMPs

ª J 8 6 5 2

© 7 5

¨ Q J 9 7 4

§ 6

West North East South

- - 1§ 1NT

Pass Pass Dbl Pass

?

VOTES: Pass 10, 2ª 5, 2¨ 3, 2NT 2.

MARKS: Pass 10, 2ª 7, 2¨ 5, 2NT 4, 3ª 1.

The crux of this problem is, "What does partner's double show?" Personally, I think it shows a good hand that thinks 1NT will go down on a club lead, so something like AQJ10xx clubs and two aces. The panel expressed various views. Obviously disagreeing with me is...

BOURKE: 2NT. This seems right, showing an unexpectedly good 2-suiter. This will be right unless partner has a six-card club suit - unlikely, given the 1NT bid.

REUS: Pass. I would never double in this auction with a balanced 18-19 count, but with a trick-taking hand. So, as my own partner, I am happy to Pass. I am glad this is not a lead problem, though.

COHEN: 2¨. Partner's double, to my way of thinking, is not 18-19 balanced. It is usually an unbalanced hand — typically a 3-suiter. I'll bid my cheapest suit and hope he corrects with 4=4=0=5 or the like.

PARANJAPE: 2ª. LHO has passed, and is therefore unlikely to have a long suit, so there is little chance of us having a double fit. Partner's double suggests a more or less balanced hand. We are more likely to have a spade fit than a diamond fit after the 1§ opening. A game does not seem likely unless partner has a real monster, hence 2ª seems to be the best bet.

Hmmm. So double shows either a one-suited hand, a balanced hand, or a 3-suiter. Some panelists di