Solution to Scrambling Attributes Yields Conundrum

by Cat Miller and Reid Barton

These are bridge hands whose suits and values are obfuscated. The title clues that the bidding system used is standard SAYC.

The first step is to determine suits.  = NT and  = Clubs are determinable by the consecutive bidding at a given suit level. is forced to be Spades because in board 3 West bids a transfer over NT to . If were Hearts and were Spades then West's correct bidding under SAYC would be to bid Stayman. (The SAYC way to bid the hands if the suits are SHDC in order is 1NT—2C—2D—2H (invite with 5H 4S)—pass.) Since instead West bids a transfer, it must be the case that  = Spades,  = Hearts, and thus  = Diamonds.

It is now possible to solve for the high cards as a logic puzzle using SAYC bidding rules. (Note there is no way to solve for the spot cards.)

The unscrambled hands are shown below. For each hand, add up the high card points and convert to letters via A=1, B=2 to get THE PI OF STARS, which in obfuscated-land is THE QUEEN OF SPADES.

1.
West
♦ K Q 5 2
♠ A 10
♥ K 7 J
♣ 7 A Q J
East
♦ 9 3
♠ K 7 3 8
♥ 8 Q 2
♣ K 9 8 10

West
2 NT
3 ♦
North
pass
pass
East
3 ♣
3 NT
South
pass
All pass

2.
West
♦ 8 2 6
♠ 4 Q 2 6 J
♥ —
♣ 7 3 Q 2 6
East
♦ 3 Q J
♠ A 10
♥ 4 A 10 J
♣ 4 A 10 5

West

2 ♥
North
pass
pass
East
1 NT
2 ♠
South
pass
All pass

3.
West
♦ 4 8 5 6
♠ 4 9 3 8 A
♥ 9 J
♣ A 2

East
♦ 9 J
♠ K Q J
♥ 8 Q 5 6
♣ K 4 Q J
West

2 ♥
2 NT
North
pass
pass
pass
East
1 NT
2 ♠
3 ♠
South
pass
pass
All pass

4.
West
♦ 4 6 J
♠ 4 9 3 8 6
♥ 7 4 A 6
♣ J
East
♦ 3 A 5
♠ K 7 A Q 5
♥ Q J
♣ K 4 5

West

4 ♠
North
pass
All pass
East
1 ♠
South
pass

5.
West
♦ K 3 8 A Q 10 2
♠ 8 A
♥ K Q
♣ Q 2
East
♦ 6
♠ 7 2 6
♥ 9 3 5 6
♣ 9 8 5 6 J

West
1 ♦
North
All pass
East
South

6.
West
♦ K A J
♠ 3 J
♥ K 3 A 6
♣ 7 4 3 Q
East
♦ 9 8 Q
♠ K 4 9 A Q
♥ 5 J
♣ K 8 A

West
1 ♣
2 NT
North
pass
pass
East
1 ♠
7 NT
South
pass
All pass