Discussing some hands of this event with my friend Ilai Baniri (ISR), we decided to consult some hands with friends. I for my side and he for his, combining experience with youth, and the results are as follows.
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Problem 9: Bulgaria against China Category U26
Dealer North. E/W Vul
A 9 3 
J 7 4 
A J 
J 10 6 5 4
| West | North | East | South |
|
4
|
Pass | Pass | |
|
5
|
Pass | Pass | ? |
Zia Mahmood (USA) WGM 5
Zia Mahmood
Marcelo Castello Branco (BRZ) WGM: 5
Marcelo Castello Branco5
5 Normal bid.
Giovanni Donati (ITA) 5
Giovanni Donati
5. A clear defence: they are likely to make their game and I expect to pay 300 or 500 in the worst case.
David Bakhshi (ENG) WIM: 5
David Bakhshi
5– Maybe depends a little on our partnership style, but I would expect them to make 5and would hope that 5goes for at most 500 and more likely 300.
Krzysztof Martens (MON) WGM: 5
Krzyztof Martens
– No doubst.
Brian Senior (ENG) WM: 5
Brian Senior
5,I know – the five-level belongs to the opponents and all that – but 5could be cold, while 5 is certain to be cheaper than their game. And, yes, facing the wrong 4opener this could be a phantom, turning a plus into a minus.
Ida Grönkvist (SWE) WIM 5
Ida GRONKVIST
5.Most likely a good sacrifice. Sometimes we will beat 5a trick but then 5is not too expensive either. I think the likeliest result on the board is -300/-500 against -600.
Benjamin Robles (CHI) WM Pass
Benjamin Robles
Pass. The game is theirs and I do not intend to push them to a possible 1370.
Liam Milne
. I can see 9 likely tricks for us and 11 likely tricks for them. I would sacrifice in 5S. If they bid on to 6D, I will let them play there and hope we take two tricks.
Christian Bakke
.
BBO Nick:
BBO Nick: tol23
5Very tough to make educated decisions. However, when opening in spades, as opposed to hearts, it pays off to exercise some discipline. If that is our style, we should be fairly confident that 5makes. Surely, 5is a good save. I deem the risk of pushing opponents to a making slam negligible.
Answers:
4= 11 experts
Pass = 1 experts
