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conversation, I have learned that those experts who have considered the matter use a freakish jump raise to five notrump, for example OPENER RESPONDER 1NT 5NT as a quantitative invitation to seven notrump (forcing to six notrump). The partnership retains some room for suit-fit probing in this method, but not enough for any true scientific investigation. Also, opener accepts the invitation any time the partnership has the "magic" total of 37 HCP. No attention is paid to the possibility of a key king or queen being missing, which would often make the grand slam a poor gamble. About the best thing one can say for the five-notrump invitation to seven is that it is better than having nothing. Pseudo-balanced hands in the grand-slam range are so rare that I would recommend to most partnerships that they avoid learning a new convention to deal with them alone. However, any partnership that has already learned CONFI will have no difficulty learning the not-very-different details of SUPERCONFI, an analogous convention that follows the CONFI pattern but is adjusted to grand-slam considerations. The underlying theory of SUPERCONFI is as follows: (1) With no void or singleton in either hand, all 12 controls are almost essential to a good grand slam. It is possible to investigate grand slams with only 11 controls, but the method required is of a much higher order of complexity than CONFI. In fact, I choose not to use such a convention on the grounds that the frequency of applicability does not justify the amount of memorization required. (2) The queen of the trump suit (or any other key queen) is necessary to a good grand slam. (3) When the partnership is considering bidding seven, it bas assets substantially above those normally required for six notrump, and under these circumstances six notrump is almost always the best small-slam contract, even if there is a 4-4 fit. (When there is a 4-4 fit, the chance of a bad trump break beating the slam is much greater than the chance that a ruff will be necessary on offense.) Keep these conditions in mind while you go over details of SUPER CONFl. Each partnership must pick out the cheapest available bid for SUPERCONFI, in much the same manner it did for CONFI. It is not effective to use the same bid for both CONFI and SUPERCONFI. However, since the security level of a SUPERCONFI auction is six notrump, the method works adequately even if the original SUPERCONFI response is quite high (though not as high as, say, five notrump). Assuming for linguistic simplicity that opener shows a balanced hand, after the SUPERCONFI response opener shows his 104 IBPA <strong>Handbook</strong> 2010 controls using exactly the same scale as in CONFI (predetermined as a function of his known HCP range). If responder learns that a control is missing, he bids six notrump, a signoff. Six notrump is always responder's only sign off bid. Any lower bid encourages grand-slam possibilities, although perhaps only in a limited way. It follows that if responder learns that the partnership does have all 12 controls, he starts the search for a fit by bidding a suit. As in CONFI, responder shows the suit that corresponds to the lowest possible bid. Unlike CONFI, it is not necessary to have one of the top three honors in a suit in order to bid it. The mechanics of SUPERCONFI assure that a grand slam will not be bid if a high trump honor is missing. If opener fits responder's suit, he either raises if lacking the queen of that suit; or, with the queen, cuebids another queen (notrump with none) by making the cheapest "impossible" bid (that is, a bid that could not correspond to a suit length he wants to show -- this is sometimes a jump) in the suit of a queen. If opener does not fit responder's suit, he shows a suit of his own and the same bidding rules apply. If either partner learns that there is no fit, he jumps to six notrump to sign off, or: (a) if responder, he makes an otherwise-meaningless bid as a quantitative invitation to seven (opener, if tentatively accepting, should cuebid queens up-the-line); (b) if opener, he makes an "impossible" bid to show a maximum HCP total. As in CONFl, if opener makes the ambiguous cheapest control response, he must next make the cheapest notrump bid unless he has the maximum number of controls for his first response. This method may seem a bit strange at first, but after a few trial auctions you should find that it fits the CONFI mold with adjustments to suit grand-slam bidding. In the examples that follow, opener's two notrump shows 21-22 RCP, and the presumed responding system is: 3♣ Stayman (4♣/ rebid natural) 3 / Transfers 3♠ CONFI 3NT Signoff 4♣ Gerber 4 SUPERCONFI 4 /♠ Minor two-suiter; fragment (or splinter if you prefer) in bid suit (I do not necessarily recommend this system. This particular example was picked because it shows how easily CONFI and SUPERCONFI can blend in with methods used by most experts.) Let us consider possible sequences for some responding hands following a 21-22 HCP two-notrump
opening; recall that for 21-22 HCP, the controlshowing scale is: one step, 3-6 controls; two steps, 7 controls; three steps, 8 controls, and so on. The fourdiamond response is SUPERCONFI. ♠ x x x x A K K x ♣ A x x x x OPENER RESPONDER 2NT 4 4 1 4♠ 2 4NT 3 6NT 4 Pass 1. 6 or fewer controls. 2. If you have your maximum, 6 controls, we have all 12; I have a spade suit. 3. I don't have 6 controls. This interpretation always takes precedence over all others, but note it applies only after a minimum control-showing bid by opener. 4. This is as high as we belong. ♠ A J x x K Q x A J x ♣ 10 x x OPENER RESPONDER 2NT 4 4♠ 1 4NT 2 5♣ 3 6NT 4 1. 7 controls. 2. We have 12 controls; I have spades. (Responder, if not bidding six notrump, must show a suit. A simple notrump bid is best utilized to show the last-bid suit.) 3. I have clubs. 4. We have no suit fit; I don't think we belong in seven. ♠ K x K x x A 10 x x ♣ K J x x OPENER RESPONDER 2NT 4 4♠ 1 5♣ 2 6 3 7♣ 4 Pass 1. 7 controls. 2. We have 12 controls; I have a club suit but no spade suit. 3. Club fit; club queen; diamond queen. 4. We'll be unlucky not to make it. ♠ A Q x x K x x x ♣ A J x x x OPENER RESPONDER 2NT 4 4♠ 1 5♣ 2 5 3 6 4 6NT 5 Pass 1. 7 controls. 2. OK on controls in clubs but no spades. 3. No club fit; 1 have a diamond suit. 4. I have four-card diamond support, but I don't have the queen of diamonds. 5. Since neither of us has the diamond queen, a grand slam has to be a poor proposition. If opener had the diamond queen plus a major suit queen, he could cue-bid six hearts or six spades; with both minor-suit queens, he could simply bid seven diamonds, since he knows that the club queen is the key one for a grand slam. ♠ A x x x A Q x x x x ♣ A x x OPENER RESPONDER 2NT 4 4 1 4♠ 2 5NT 3 6NT 4 Pass 1. 6 or fewer controls. 2. If you have 6 controls, we have all 12; and I have a spade suit. 3. I do indeed have 6 controls; I have a spade fit, including the spade queen but no other queen. 4. Rats. Obviously, CONFI and SUPERCONFI are not methods for your local rubber bridge club. They require close partnership cooperation, adequate memory, and, in particular, advance preparation. In order to use CONFI/SUPERCONFI, you must not only determine the optimal control-showing responses for the HCP ranges in your method, but also must fit the bids into your already-established methods at the lowest possible level. This may involve juggling your system around a bit, but I think you will find it a worthwhile adjustment. There is a hidden factor that makes any necessary realignment more manageable than it might otherwise appear. When CONFI/SUPERCONF1 are used, "responder" (the potential CONFI bidder) is significantly restricted in the type of hands he can have when he makes a different slam try. A one-suiter must be based on a suit of at least six cards. A two-suiter must include a singleton or void. (So, for example, you can afford to use singleton-asking bids in certain situations IBPA <strong>Handbook</strong> 2010 105
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The International Bridge Press Asso
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TABLE OF CONTENTS President’s for
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IBPA was not built on law, but on a
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70s The seventies is remembered for
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FORMER IBPA OFFICERS Year President
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The IBPA BULLETIN is the principal
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1996/97 Sender Precision
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1971 and the Life Master Women's Pa
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♠ Q J J 10 6 K Q 7 4 ♣ A K 5 3
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The fertile mind that devised the B
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has travelled the world arguing the
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THE 2000 IBPA BRIDGE PERSONALITY OF
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numerous candidates waiting to take
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THE 2008 IBPA BRIDGE PERSONALITY OF
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Caio Rossi THE 1976 SOLOMON AWARD F
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Dominique Pilon Reported by Albert
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THE 1981 SOLOMON AWARD FOR THE HAND
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(1) 0-9 points (2) Transfer (3) Spu
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The Partnership was using the Preci
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THE 1988 SOLOMON AWARD FOR THE HAND
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At both tables West, having pre-emp
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THE 1996 "LE BRIDGEUR" AWARD FOR TH
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Dlr: South ♠ A 7 EW Game J 6 3 J
Page 53 and 54: THE 2002 DIGITAL FOUNTAIN HAND OF T
Page 55 and 56: THE 2004 C & R MOTORS HAND OF THE Y
Page 57 and 58: Accordingly, Sadek won the spade co
Page 59 and 60: THE 2009 ROSE CLIFF DECLARER PLAY O
Page 62 and 63: In the replay the same contract was
Page 64 and 65: Declarer ruffed his last heart in d
Page 66 and 67: king. A club was pitched from dummy
Page 68 and 69: THE 1996 SENDER PRECISION AWARD FOR
Page 70 and 71: West North East South Lant’n Jaso
Page 72 and 73: crosses to dummy for another trump
Page 74 and 75: ticed the coup earlier this year. I
Page 76 and 77: THE 2007 GIDWANI FAMILY TRUST AWARD
Page 78: low from dummy. Michelle Brunner ca
Page 81 and 82: contract, together with the solid s
Page 83 and 84: esponse showing an ace plus a queen
Page 85 and 86: Dlr: East ♠ 9 8 4 3 Vul: N-S J 8
Page 87 and 88: West North East South Kaplan Glubok
Page 89 and 90: South West North East Edwin Patters
Page 91 and 92: THE 2000 ROMEX AWARD FOR THE BEST B
Page 93 and 94: about hearts running. Sidney’s ne
Page 95 and 96: 1. Game force 2. Asking you to pick
Page 97 and 98: THE 2009 PRECISION AWARD FOR THE BE
Page 100 and 101: message that responder has enough t
Page 102 and 103: quirement for CONFI is that the par
Page 106 and 107: without fear that the bidding will
Page 108 and 109: auctions. Others may see the threat
Page 110 and 111: THE 1977 PRECISION AWARD Kit Woolse
Page 112 and 113: and bidding three hearts (possible
Page 114 and 115: The Two-Step in Practice A common p
Page 116 and 117: ♠ K Q 9 6 A 9 6 5 2 5 ♣ Q J 6 o
Page 118 and 119: South West North East 1 Pass 1 1♠
Page 120 and 121: North dealer, EW vulnerable ♠ 10
Page 122 and 123: I would not want him to pass two di
Page 124 and 125: Opener Responder ♠ A x x x x ♠
Page 126 and 127: If the RKC bidder wishes to inquire
Page 128 and 129: (a) Transfer (b) Maximum with four-
Page 130 and 131: space to the spade cuebid, and allo
Page 132 and 133: partner will know your double is fo
Page 134 and 135: Lebensohl If the bidding starts, Pa
Page 136 and 137: What sort of hand is partner likely
Page 138: positive bid - overcaller gets anot
Page 141 and 142: didn’t help him very much. Instea
Page 143 and 144: THE 2002 OKBRIDGE AWARD FOR BEST PL
Page 145 and 146: THE 2005 BRAZILIAN AWARD FOR BEST P
Page 147 and 148: Declarer discarded a spade from dum
Page 149 and 150: Chris Owen's two no trump response
Page 152 and 153: Dlr: South ♠ A J 9 7 Vul: N-S K 8
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THE 2005 MASTER POINT PRESS BOOK OF
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THE 2009 MASTER POINT PRESS BOOK OF
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THE 2010 MASTER POINT PRESS IBPA BO
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The billowing sand had made the car
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THE 1985 ALPWATER AWARD FOR THE 2 N
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as also did the play when East chos
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Dlr: South ♠ A 10 6 3 Vul: Both 7
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Brilliant Or Lucky Slam? By Derek R
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He now had to hope that East had be
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Open Room: West North East South G
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x-x rather than J-x-x-x-x. In (4) W
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discarded a heart on the second spa
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THE 1987 BOLS BRIDGE TIPS Steen Mø
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any other weakness — hence Ecstas
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THE 1989 BOLS BRIDGE TIPS Zia Mahmo
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1. The length must be in the concea
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South West North East 1♠ Pass 2 P
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PLAY WITH ALL 52 CARDS By Chip Mart
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the jury put Eric Crowhurst on the
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Dlr: South. ♠ A 5 2 Love All K 4
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admiration for the item. Alexei Var
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(FRA): "Qi Zhou has described the h
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Puczynski brothers still managed to
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top North South score in New York C
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III) THE EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENT T
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the account stating that the Execut
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Once a year the Zonal Representativ
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