'The most interesting questions of visitors from the Dutch sister site (Bridgevaria.nl)'. 

Dear Ed and Peter.

We play Rubensohl if an opponent overcalls 2♣ or 2♦ over our 1NT opening. If partner has one or two major four-card suits, she has to reply 3♣.
Our problem is that we play 2NT and up as transfer bids (2NT transfers to clubs, 3♣ transfers to diamonds). Or should we only do so without intervention?

Thank you in advance.

Best regards.
Els

'The most interesting questions of visitors from the Dutch sister site (Bridgevaria.nl)'. 

Dear Ed and Peter,

My partner and I open four-card majors. As South I had: 

I assumed partner's 3♠ bid was Splinter (slam try, singleton or void in spades, Ed/Peter) with hearts as the agreed trump suit.
However partner thought his 3♠ bid asked for a guard in spades, in order to play 3NT.
I bid 4♦, control-showing, and the sad ending was 6♥ doubled, down two and a solid bottom.
What is the most practical meaning for the 3♠ bid in this situation?

Thanks, Léon Bijnsdorp

'The most interesting questions of visitors from the Dutch sister site (Bridgevaria.nl)'. 

Dear Ed and Peter.

Partner and I had a bidding misunderstanding.
We open five-card majors and play Walsh* — as described by Ed Hoogenkamp!
I had 17 HCP in a 1♠-4♥-3♦-5♣ shape.
Partner had 17 HCP as well, six diamonds and no four-card major.
The bidding went as follows:

Thirteen easy tricks: we missed 7NT!!
2♦ was game forcing. I decided to show my four card heart suit (reverse) so partner would understand I had 15⁺ HCP and an unbalanced hand.
Partner thought I was asking for a heart guard for 3NT.
My thoughts were now, that partner had understood I held 15⁺ HCP, so he obviously wasn't strong enough to bid 4NT (quantitatively: 'If you have extra strength, please bid a slam').
What went wrong? Should I perhaps have bid 3♥?

Best regards,
Bep Dohmen

Dear Ed and Peter,

Hi. I play 1NT 12-14 and transfers over 1NT and 2NT.
Having 12 points I bid 1NT. There was an intervening of 2♣. Partner bid 2♥: I wasn't sure, but I THOUGHT that after an intervening bid transfers did not apply. We had not played before and were playing online and neither profile made comment about that, so I had to guess.
What was the most reasonable guess?
His response incidentally was to call me: 'Stupid', 'moron', 'fool', so an upsetting interchange, but, what is it best to presume?

In hope, thank you
Anthony Bedell

Dear Ed and Peter,

Do you have any rules or way to play 3 handed bridge??

Thanks!!

Madelon Peck

Dear Ed and Peter,

I 'played along' with Bocchi and Drijver (yesterday's article, read it here) and considered what to bid with the problem hand with heart support when applying the Losing Trick Count (LTC).
The LTC offers a different view on hand evaluation after a fit has been established. It works as follows: every card in your hand is in principle either a winner or a loser. Every top honour (ace, king or queen) is a winner. Every card from the fourth in one suit is a winner too. All other cards are losers.
There are some exceptions:
- A queen is only a winner if it cooperates; either with another honour card in your hand or with partner — if he has bid that suit.
- If you have counted two aces more as winners than queens, you subtract a loser.
- If you have counted two queens more as winners than aces, you add a loser.
- If you have a trump or more extra than needed to establish a fit, you subtract a loser. This way you come up with the number of losers in your hand and so does your partner in his hand. If the total amount of losers between the two of you is 14 or fewer, you bid game.

If I apply this on the problem hand (North):

Best regards, Johannes

Dear Ed & Peter,

I pre-empt 3♦ and my partner bids 3 NT, with 21 points and two diamonds.
I passed because that was game.
However she was using the 3NT bid to ask for a feature.
What should I do in future in a similar position?

You had another question, featured in a previous email a week or so ago, offering Michael Lawrence's computer program called "Overcalls". I downloaded the demo, liked it, and want to buy it, but the order form asked for an ordercode which I couldn't access.
What should I do? I tried emailing Michael Lawrence at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it but it couldn't be sent. The price is £ 12,95 pounds which is about CAN $ 22, excluding tax and shipping. Please advise. 

Thanks for your time and energy.
Goldie Silverman

Dear Ed & Peter,

John refers to the article Play along with ... of 15 March 2010. (Click here to read that article first, though that is not really necessary, since we repeat most of it in the answer, -Ed/Peter).

An alternative, simpler and slightly safer line of play is to draw East's trumps first, cash ♠AK and ♥AK and lead a diamond.
So long as East has the ♦A he will only have red cards left. West has a singleton club so will almost certainly have five spades. By drawing trumps first declarer can avoid the ♠K being ruffed in the unlikely event of West having made a 6th highest lead to confuse declarer.

John Cullingworth

Dear Ed & Peter,

The question is: I need a program to calculate a possibility if (for example) South has 11-21 with five spades, what is the chance that West has 15-17 balanced?
Do you know any free programs?

Dear Ed & Peter,

Playing pairs at a local club. You hold as North:

The auction:

¹ Shows a strong 3-card raise of spades, relatively balanced, about a king light of slam interest
² Exclusion Key Card Blackwood for spades ('partner, don't count the ♥A')
³ Shows 1 Key Card.

My question is, if partner could bid 7♠ missing the ♥A, WHICH I HAVE, when would you correct to 7NT? My thoughts are:

1) At IMPs, never, barring a double for an unusual lead. The cost of being wrong, while unlikely, is too high.
2) At a local club game, I would not. I'll likely get a good enough score for bidding and making a grand slam.
3) At a Regional or National Pairs game, I would lean towards correcting. More pairs figure to get to a grand slam, I want to maximize my result.
4) Board-A-Match. I correct to 7NT.

FYI, partner held:

Your thoughts, please?

Thanks, 
Steve Fama