111

BRIDGE Number One Hundred and Eleven

November 2011

Better Bridge with Bernard Magee DVDs filmed at The Haslemere Festival 2011. £25 each.

No Single Supplements on selected I & G cabins**

European Icons Departing April 27th 2012 – 15 days Incredible cruise offers: Inside from only £999pp, Outside from only £1,499pp Mesmerising Istanbul – a showcase of Byzantine and Ottoman Empires, enthralling Athens – ‘cradle of western civilisation’ and romantic Rome – heart of the mighty Roman Empire. Three of Europe’s most notable cities, whose glorious histories live on through some of the world’s most remarkable edifices. Nasrid princes left opulent footprints in the remarkable Alhambra. Legendary Santiago de Compostela marks the end of the ‘Way of St James’. Brooding Mount Etna watches over Messina, whilst Napoleonic echoes resonate around Ajaccio. Guarding the strait between the Mediterranean and Atlantic, the unmistakable profile of ‘The Rock’. All passengers* will be eligible for seminars, drinks parties, quiz competitions, daily evening bridge after first and second dinner sitting and occasional afternoon bridge sessions. The bridge programme is fully optional and you may participate as much or as little as you wish. Mr Bridge actively encourages singles to join the party and they will always be found a partner for a game.

YOUR VOYAGE INCLUDES: • Evening bridge available for first and second diners

portsmouth

• Afternoon duplicate bridge when at sea and in port • Bridge seminars when at sea and in port la coruÑa civitavecchia ajaccio

• Exclusive Mr Bridge drinks parties • All meals, entertainment and onboard gratuities

messina

gibraltar

istanbul

piraeus

almeria

• Comprehensive lecture and guest speaker programme • Captain’s cocktail parties and gala dinners

01483 489961 for brochures and bookings www.bridgecruises.co.uk

Fares shown are per person based on two people sharing lowest inside twin-bedded cabin category and include all applicable discounts for new bookings only. All offers are subject to availability, cannot be combined with any other offer or loyalty offer, are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. Fares shown include current fuel supplements correct at time of printing, but subject to change. Fares shown are based on a guarantee fare, where a cabin number may not be allocated at time of booking. See brochure for full terms and conditions. *Only bookings made directly with Mr Bridge are eligible to be part of the Mr Bridge Group. **No single supplement applies to selected I and G cabins and is subject to availability. Voyages of Discovery is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd.

BRIDGE Publisher and Managing Editor Mr Bridge Ryden Grange Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.mrbridge.co.uk

Associate Editor Julian Pottage Technical Consultant Andrew Kambites Bridge Consultant Bernard Magee Proof Readers Tony Richards Danny Roth Hugh Williams Richard Wheen Office Manager Catrina Shackleton Events & Cruises ( 01483 489961 Jessica Galt Rachel Everett Sophie Pierrepont Megan Riccio

FEATURES 4 Mr Bridge 10 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions 14 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions 15 Prize Crossword 2 by Sputnik 18 When Holding Up, Use ‘The Rule of Seven’, but only if you think that the lead is from a fivecard suit by Robert Baker 21 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee

23 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage 24 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage 25 Declarer Play Quiz by Dave Huggett 26 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett 27 Lead Quiz by Andrew Kambites

Address Changes Elizabeth Bryan ( 01483 485342

44 Liz McGowan says Defend Passively if Dummy is Lifeless

[email protected]

All correspondence should be addressed to Mr Bridge. Please make sure that all letters, e-mails and faxes carry full postal addresses and telephone numbers.

45 Justin Corfield says Love All is the Best Time to Compete the Partscore

5 Egypt 2012 6 Haslemere 2011 DVDs 7 Mail Order Form 8 Voyages of Discovery 2012 Summer Cruises 11 Bridge Event Booking Form 12 Haslemere 2012 13 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified 16 Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge

22 Stamps

33 Stephen Cashmore says Stay Low on a Misfit

41 Seven Days by Sally Brock

4 Table and Tablecloths Offer

22 Mr Bridge Playing Cards

31 Bernard Magee says Bid No-Trump Early if you are Balanced

Clubs & Charities Maggie Axtell

3 Bernard Magee’s Better Hand Evaluation

20 Bridge Weekends with Bernard Magee

29 Swansea Charity by Gwynn Davis

40 Catching Up by Sally Brock

ADVERTISEMENTS 2 Voyages of Discovery European Icons

19 Bernard Magee’s Interactive Software

28 Lead Quiz Answers by Andrew Kambites

35 The Poor Man’s Ace by Dick Atkinson

47 Heather Dhondy says Lead Trumps Against a Grand Slam

5 Tunisia 2012

22 Bidding Quiz Answers by Bernard Magee

34 David Huggett says Give False Preference

46 David Gold says Double 1NT With 15 Points

23 Mr Bridge Rubber/ Chicago Events 25 Mr Bridge Christmas and New Year 27 Mr Bridge Tutorial Bridge Breaks 30 Voyages to Antiquity Cruise to Croatia 37 Mr Bridge 2012 Diaries 38 Global Travel Insurance 43 Pot Boiler Tea Towel Solution 43 Charity Bridge Events 48 Bernard Magee’s Five-Card Majors CD 48 QPlus 10

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor. Page 3

Better Hand Evaluation Bernard Magee Introduction Better Hand Evaluation is aimed at helping readers to add greater accuracy to their bidding. It deals with auctions in which you and your partner, against silent opponents, can describe your hands fully to each other and, by evaluating them accurately, find the best final contract. The emphasis of all good, accurate bidding is on hand evaluation. There are two general types of auction: a) a fit is found and b) no fit is found. When you do not have a fit, you are aiming to describe the strength of your hand as soon as possible, most often using no-trump bids. This book begins by discussing balanced hand bidding in Acol, as it is very important that both members of a partnership have an accurate knowledge of how to show hands of different strengths. When a fit is found, there is much re-evaluation of the hand to be done; point count, though still important, needs to be evaluated together with distribution. The best way of reaching an accurate assess­ ment is to use the Losing Trick Count; this is an important method of hand evaluation and takes up a number of chapters. Finally, we move on to different forms of evaluation including game tries and splinter bids. You can never know enough methods of hand evaluation; the more you learn, the better you get at judging your hand. Although the Losing Trick Count is used more easily in tandem with your partner, a large proportion of the ideas in this book can be used by an individual. For example, evaluating your hand to be worth an extra point is going to help anyone you partner – as long as you get it right.

£14 including postage See Mail Order Form on page 7

ANNIVERSARY

It is very nearly twentyfive years since I first set out on my journey as Mr Bridge and to mark this anniversary, I have decided to promote several events in 2012. The first of these will be a Festival Of Bridge on board m.v. Discovery, sailing from Istanbul on 27 April back home to Portsmouth (see the advert on page 2). I have negotiated a really special lead-in fare of £999 per person sharing. This includes all bridge fees. And it won’t all be bridge... only if that’s what you want it to be. In addition to the usual onboard entertainment

and port lectures, there will be bridge seminars and supervised play every morning, both when in port or when at sea. Likewise, afternoon duplicate sessions. Best of all, a daily duplicate for those on first and second-sitting dinner.

TABLE OFFER My black vinyl covered metal tables are ideal for club use, as they can serve the needs of several different groups at the same venue, especially as most clubs use green table cloths these days. For those that feel the need for a green playing surface, I draw the special table and cloth offer to the attention of clubs and individuals alike.

There will also be cut-in rubber/Chicago sessions for those who prefer that form of the game. Indeed, something bridgewise to suit everyone, even those wanting to start to learn this great game. I am confident this Festival will be well supported, so I do hope you will sign up for the cruise and be part of my celebrations.

SINGLES NOT FORGOTTEN And singles, I’ve remembered you. Indeed, how could I forget as there are so many of you writing regularly to remind me. Inside cabins for single occupancy start from only £1234 each.

FLASHING

At last, Bernard Magee has completed his sequel to Acol Bidding, for those who want to play fivecard majors with a strong no-trump, just like almost everyone else in the world.

I have a surplus of promotional ball point pens. In addition to having a good weight and a solid feel they also have an attractive to some, flashing multi-colour light and, as such, make excellent club prizes or stocking fillers for grandchildren. A mind-boggling bargain not to be missed, 5 for £5 while stocks last. Please telephone to order.

The advert on the back cover of this magazine gives the full list of contents, which is supported by a user-friendly manual. Bernard Magee has completed yet another labour of love.

The cloths are made in the north of England of locally spun cotton velvet.

Only us here in the home countries together with parts of New Zealand, Western Australia, Denmark and Holland play the Acol system.

BRIDGE TABLE AND TABLECLOTH OFFER Black vinyl-covered table surface with strong, stable metal legs. Matching padded black vinyl-covered folding chairs especially designed for comfort while playing cards. Mr Bridge tablecloths are a generous 48 inches square. They are made in England from British spun cotton velvet. They are available in bottle green (shown) as well as in dark blue or burgundy.

SPECIAL OFFER Table+Cloth £75 saving £18.45

Page 4

Table £63.50 4 Chairs £199.00 Tablecloth £29.95 prices include VAT and UK mainland delivery

See Mail Order Form on page 7.

Mr Bridge AT THE 5* KIROSEIZ THREE CORNERS, NA’AMA BAY EGYPT 2012 A 5* spacious resort hotel complex with a friendly atmosphere situated 3km from the resort centre of Na’ama Bay and a 15 minute courtesy bus ride from the hotel’s private beach.

OLD POT BOILER

CLUB INSURANCE

By popular request, the double dummy problems previously printed on tea towels are being repeated for your interest and amusement. You will find the solution on page 43.

With the new season just started, club insurance is coming up for renewal and if it isn’t, it should be. Cover for the average club is still less than £63 per annum from 1 November.

♠ A Q 7 ♥ A K Q J ♦ Q J 10 9 8 7 ♣ Void ♠ K J 10 8 6 ♠ 9 5 4 3 2 N ♥ 5 4 3 2 W E ♥ Void ♦ Void S ♦ 6 5 4 3 2 ♣ K Q J 10 ♣ 4 3 2 ♠ Void ♥ 10 9 8 7 6 ♦ A K ♣ A 9 8 7 6 5 Contract 7♥ by South. West leads the ♣K.

For a full range of bridge tea towels, ring Art Screen Print on ( 01287 637527. www.artscreen.co.uk/ customizeArea/shop.html

Duplicate Bridge Bernard Magee

GOFF STAMPS

from £1099*

*per person full-board sharing a twin-bedded room and is inclusive of bridge fees. Single supplement £220 per fortnight. These prices are based on air travel from Gatwick. Flights from Manchester, Newcastle and East Midlands are available at a supplement. This holiday is arranged in conjunction with Thomas Cook Holidays ATOL1179.

DETAILS & BOOKINGS

( 01483 489961

Over 400 bridge clubs use this Mr Bridge service. To learn more, please ring Simon at the brokers, Moore Stephens. ( 020 7515 5270

Conventional postage will never get cheaper, so buying valid British stamps below face value must be a bargain. It also helps support this publication. For Clive Goff’s unique service, telephone him on: ( 020 8422 4906.

THANKS Altogether, over three thousand shop-soiled books and booklets were cleared in my first e-sale. Well done everybody, you deserve your bargains.

Two-week half-board duplicate holiday

£769*

Bernard Magee will once again go to Na’ama Bay, Sharm-el-Sheik, in January where the lovely penetrating dry heat helps revive the spirit. Last year, several in the party enjoyed a game of tennis every day, so pack your racquet.

GOLDEN TWIN BOX A pair of red/blue backed Mr Bridge Premium Quality Cards, in a goldcoloured drop-lid box, makes an ideal Christmas gift. £10.95 per box.

TRADE INS

[email protected]

AT THE ROYAL KENZ TUNISIA

WINTER SUN

In February, Bernard Magee goes to Tunisia with his team, (see the left hand advertisement) and bring your golfplaying friends with you.

15-29 January 2012

All inclusive board includes: buffet-style breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks served at selected times between meals, ice cream served in the afternoon and afternoon tea. An unlimited amount of hot, soft and alcoholic drinks (excluding international brands and cocktails) served 10am to midnight.

If your club wants to start right away, a pro rata payment for the weeks up to the annual commencement will ensure you are covered.

Mr Bridge

You may still trade-in any old QPlus for the very latest version for only £35. Please send in your old version, booklet and disc together with your cheque. Those wanting Bridge Baron may similarly upgrade. £36.

Page 5

19 Feb – 4 March 2012 Golf available Bernard Magee and his team *per person half-board sharing a twin-bedded room and is inclusive of bridge fees. Single supplement £6 per night. These prices are based on air travel from Gatwick to Enfidha. Flights from other UK airports are available at a supplement. All prices are firm until the end of October 2011. Prices for sevennight stays (November only) are available on application. Pay £70 per fortnight per person extra and have a pool-facing room, tea & coffee making facilities, bath robe and a bowl of seasonal fruit. These holidays have been organised for Mr Bridge by Tunisia First Limited, ATOL 5933, working in association with Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited, ATOL 1179.

DETAILS & BOOKINGS

( 01483 489961

SCOTLAND 2012

QPLUS 10

BETTER BRIDGE

For those who already have QPlus, here are a few more hands that I think you might enjoy. By popular demand, Bernard Magee will be returning to the Brook Queensferry Hotel for the weekend 9-11 March 2012 when the subject matter of the tutorials will cover the ever popular subject of doubles and doubling. This date has been squeezed into his already crowded programme and Scottish enthusiasts are advised to book his only visit to Scotland in the year as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

DIARIES 2012 There are two types. Standard, with Black, Navy, Light Blue, Red, Maroon or Tan covers. £6.95 each. The Luxury version has a built-in ball point pen and soft kindrell cover. Choice of Ruby Red, Bottle Green or Navy Blue. £14.95 each.

CALENDAR 2012 An A4 size cartoon calendar, produced by Hitchin Bridge Club, has been sent to me and I am happy to draw this to the attention of readers. The committee are to be congratulated on their enterprise, as they have achieved charity status and are busy raising funds to acquire a site and build their own club house. These calendars, £6 each plus £1 postage and packing may be ordered from the treasurer 01462 433750 or the chairman 01462 623447. This project is worthy of your support.

5290/05 5290/54 5290/100 5290/169 I should explain for those without QPlus that every possible deal of 52 cards has a reference number. Put that number into the program and hey presto, the hand comes up on your screen at the touch of a button. Magic.

Bernard Magee at Haslemere Hall 2011 DVDs Six DVDs record the seminars from Haslemere. Each seminar is divided into two halves: designed to look at subjects from two different perspectives.

The Bernard Magee bridge seminars, staged in Haslemere Hall as part of 2011 Haslemere Festival, proved to be even more successful than I had hoped for, even in my wildest dreams.

TUTORIALS Some of the first editions of these wonderful products were made just before 2000, so they are almost antique, at least as far as modern IT goes. Until now, I have supported every title with each new version of Windows, but from now I am supporting only Windows XP, Vista and 7. Nor can I provide replacements for discs that been stolen, scratched, cracked or misused. In future the charge for a replacement pack is £35. Return the old disc and booklet with your cheque.

MAC FOR BRIDGE If you’ve a Mac and want a play program, then Bridge Baron is for you. £63.

All the happenings have been faithfully filmed and made into a series of six DVDs by an experienced television film crew led by Hugh Dehn, the well know television director. Take a hall filled with enthusiasts, eager and willing to learn; mix in the technical support of the theatre and then add Bernard Magee on top form and you have the perfect ingredients for six highly entertaining DVDs. Buy with confidence.

HASLEMERE 2012 Book early – book now. For subject matter, see the advertisement on page 19. All six seminars will again be filmed in full.

MINERVA NEWS

SUPPORT Do support our advertisers where you can. It is they who help me pay the bills.

This well-loved ship is being taken into dry dock at the end of November for a three month refit. Brochures are now available for the 2012/2013 sailings.

All good wishes.

Mr Bridge

Page 6

1. Ruffing for £25 extra tricks This seminar deals with declarer’s use of ruffing to generate extra tricks and then looks at how the defenders might counteract this. 74 mins. 2. COMPETITIVE £25 AUCTIONS This seminar focuses on competitive auctions from the perspective of the overcalling side to start with and then from the perspective of the opening side in the second part. 86 mins. 3. MAKING THE MOST £25 OF HIGH CARDS This seminar helps declarer to use his high cards more carefully and then looks at how defenders should care for their precious high cards. 83 minutes. 4. Identifying £25 & BIDDING SLAMS The first half of this seminar is about identifying when a slam might be on – one of the hardest topics to teach, because as soon as you announce the topic everybody is looking for slams. The second half covers some of the techniques used to bid slams. 96 minutes. 5. PLAY & DEFENCE £25 OF 1NT CONTRACTS This seminar looks at the most common and yet most feared of contracts: 1NT. The first half looks at declaring the contract and the second part puts us in the defenders’ seats. 88 minutes. 6. DOUBLING & DEFENCE AGAINST DOUBLED£25 CONTRACTS The first half of this seminar explores penalty doubles and the second half discusses the defence against doubled contracts. 88 minutes.

All 6 for £100 See Mail Order Form on page 7.

✄

Mr Bridge MAIL ORDER PLAY SOFTWARE

TUTORIAL DVDs

QPlus 10 QPlus 9.1 (second hand) Bridge Baron 21 – Mac compatible

£86.00....... £62.00....... £63.00.......

TUTORIAL SOFTWARE Begin Bridge – Acol Version Acol Bidding More Acol Bidding Declarer Play Advanced Declarer Play Defence Five-Card Majors with Strong No-Trump

£66.00....... £66.00....... £96.00....... £76.00....... £81.00....... £76.00....... £89.00.......

SOFTWARE BUNDLE OFFER Any two software pieces

£120.00.......

BOOKS Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified Better Hand Evaluation – Bernard Magee Bernard Magee’s Bridge Quiz Book Bernard Magee’s Quiz and Puzzle Book Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge

£5.95....... £14.00....... £14.00....... £14.00....... £14.00.......

TABLES, CHAIRS and tablecloths Mr Bridge exclusive design black metal chairs, padded back and seat covered in black vinyl Set of four £199.00....... Mr Bridge exclusive black metal tables £63.50....... Mr Bridge tablecloth green ...... dark blue ...... burgundy ...... £63.50....... Table and tablecloth Offer both for £75.00.......

Ruffing for Extra Tricks Competitive Auctions Making the Most of High Cards Identifying & Bidding Slams Play & Defence of 1NT Contracts Doubling & Defence to Doubled Contracts All 6 DVDs as a boxed set

£25.00....... £25.00....... £25.00....... £25.00....... £25.00....... £25.00....... £100.00.......

2012 Bridge Players’ Diaries Standard: Navy Blue ...... Light Blue ...... Ivory ...... Red ...... Tan ...... Green ...... Burgundy ...... Black ...... £6.95....... 10 or more each £3.50....... Luxury cover with ball point pen: Ruby Red ...... Navy Blue...... Green ...... £14.95.......

LUXURY PLAYING CARDS One red back / one blue back in a gold-coloured drop-lid box 2 boxed pairs of luxury cards 10 refill packs (5 red / 5 blue)

£10.95....... £20.00....... £20.00.......

PENS Multi-suited Ball-point Pens Boxed set of four £19.95....... Refills

set of four £2.99.......

Prices are inclusive of VAT and postage to UK mainland. I enclose a cheque for £.......... Mr/Mrs/Miss .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... Address................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Postcode................................................................................................. ( ...........................................................................................................

Expiry: .......................... CVV .......................... Issue No. ..........................

(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)

Make your cheque payable to Mr Bridge and send to: Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop

✄

( 01483 489961

Page 7

Fax 01483 797302

Inspiring Summer Cruises Experience Voyages of Discovery’s Summer 2012 programme, encompassing 15 captivating cruises around Northern Europe, The Baltic, The Mediterranean & The Black Sea. Next Summer, Discovery’s exciting cruise itinerary includes a National Trust cruise around the British Isles, a three day stay in glorious St Petersburg, with the unique opportunity of spending a day in Moscow and, on the anniversary of D-Day, an inspirational journey of remembrance and discovery to the landing beaches of Normandy, little-visited Heligoland in Germany and beautiful Amsterdam. All passengers are eligible to attend the exclusive drinks parties. When Discovery is at sea there are morning seminars and afternoon bridge sessions. Those Mr Bridge passengers choosing to pay the £30** per bridge player supplement will be eligible for the evening duplicate after the first dinner sitting. The bridge programme is fully optional and you may participate as much or as little as you wish. Mr Bridge actively encourages singles to join the party and they will always be found a partner for a game.

YOUR VOYAGE INCLUDES: • Evening bridge • Afternoon bridge when at sea • Bridge seminars when at sea • Exclusive Mr Bridge drinks parties



• All meals, entertainment and onboard gratuities • Comprehensive lecture and guest speaker programme



• Captain’s cocktail parties and gala dinners

01483 489961 for brochures and bookings

£ 20 0

UP TO

ONBO AR CREDI D T

when b ooked by 15th O ctober*

Discovery club members save an extra 5%

Summer 2012 No~fly cruises

Bridge Hosts

BALTIC ICONS May 11, 2012 ~ 16 days Portsmouth ~ IJmuiden (Amsterdam) ~ Copenhagen ~ Stockholm ~ Tallinn ~ St Petersburg (2 nights) ~ Helsinki Warnemünde (Berlin) ~ Kiel Canal transit ~ Portsmouth HERITAGE of the BRITISH ISLES

May 26, 2012 ~ 11 days Portsmouth ~ Isles of Scilly ~ Douglas ~ Belfast ~ Oban ~ Port of Tyne ~ Greenwich ~ Dover ~ Portsmouth

cabins selling fast

D-DAY, NORMANDY, DUNKIRK and BEYOND June 5, 2012 ~ 9 days Portsmouth ~ Cherbourg ~ St Peter Port ~ Rouen (overnight) ~ Dunkirk ~ Heligoland ~ IJmuiden (Amsterdam) ~ Harwich SPITSBERGEN and the NORTH CAPE

June 13, 2012 ~ 16 days Harwich ~ Trondheim ~ Leknes ~ Honningsvåg ~ Magdalenafjord ~ Ny-Ålesund ~ Longyearbyen ~ Barentsburg ~ Tromsø ~ Bergen ~ Harwich

BALTIC TREASURES

June 28, 2012 ~ 15 days Harwich ~ Kristiansand ~ Copenhagen ~ Tallinn ~ St Petersburg (2 nights) ~ Gdynia ~ Szczecin (Berlin) Sassnitz ~ Kiel Canal transit ~ Harwich

Fares From

Gary Conrad

GTY

£1,549pp

Alison Nicolson

GTY

£1,199pp

Stan Powell Tony & Jan Richards

GTY GTY

£899pp

£1,749pp

Crombie & Helen GTY £1,649pp McNeil

NORDIC NATURAL WONDERS

July 12, 2012 ~ 14 days Harwich ~ Bergen ~ Flåm ~ Akureyri ~ Ísafjördjur ~ Grundarfjördur ~ Reykjavik ~ Tórshavn ~ Harwich

Alex Davoud

GTY

A NORDIC and WHITE SEA ADVENTURE

July 25, 2012 ~ 20 days Harwich ~ Bergen ~ Bodø ~ Murmansk ~ Solovetsky Islands (overnight) ~ Archangel ~ Kirkenes ~ Hammerfest ~ Trondheim ~ Ørsta ~ Florø ~ Harwich

Gary Conrad

GTY £2,199pp

AROUND BRITAIN and EDINBURGH TATTOO

August 13, 2012 ~ 13 days Harwich ~ St Peter Port ~ Fowey ~ Cobh ~ Galway ~ Killybegs ~ Oban ~ Portree ~ Scrabster ~ Kirkwall ~ Rosyth (Edinburgh) ~ Harwich

Alex Davoud

OSLO and the MAGIC of NORWAY August 25, 2012 ~ 10 days Harwich ~ Oslo ~ Kristiansand ~ Stavanger ~ Flåm and Gudvangen ~ Ålesund ~ Bergen ~ Harwich

Alison Nicolson

GTY £1,049pp

Tony & Jan Richards

GTY £1,599pp

Sandy Bell

£699pp

Tony & Jan Richards

£1,449pp

Crombie & Helen McNeil

£1,849pp

Sandy Bell

£1,649pp

Alex Davoud

£1,999pp

TIMELESS BALTIC September 3, 2012 ~ 15 days Harwich ~ Copenhagen ~ Saaremaa ~ Tallinn ~ St Petersburg (2 nights) ~ Gdynia ~ Szczecin (Berlin)~ Sassnitz ~ Kiel Canal transit ~ Harwich

£1,499pp

£1,399pp cat n

Summer 2012 Fly cruises VOYAGE to the MEDITERRANEAN^ September 17, 2012 ~ 8 days Harwich ~ Leixoes (Porto) ~ Gibraltar ~ Cartagena ~ Barcelona A PORTRAIT of the MEDITERRANEAN^

September 24, 2012 ~ 12 days Barcelona ~ Sète ~ Rapallo ~ Livorno (Florence/Pisa) ~ Civitavecchia (Rome) ~ Castellammare di Stabia ~ Messina ~ Brindisi ~ Dubrovnik (overnight)

ADRIATIC and AEGEAN ODYSSEY^ October 5, 2012 ~ 15 days Dubrovnik ~ Pula ~ Venice ~ Koper ~ Hvar ~ Kotor ~ Durres ~ Itea ~ Katakolon ~ Piraeus (Athens) ~ Canakkale ~ Istanbul (overnight) BLACK SEA EXPLORER^ October 19, 2012 ~ 12 days Istanbul ~ Trabzon ~ Sochi ~ Novorossiysk ~ Yalta ~ Sevastopol ~ Odessa ~ Nesebur ~ Istanbul EAST to the HOLY LAND and RED SEA October 30, 2012 ~ 16 days

Istanbul ~ Canakkale ~ Antalya ~ Haifa ~ Ashdod (Jerusalem) ~ Port Said ~ Suez Canal transit ~ Safaga (overnight) ~ Aqaba (overnight) Sharm el-Sheikh (overnight)

For passengers interested in a higher grade or Sole Occupancy, please contact our friendly team who will gladly assist with current availability and fares.

Further combinations and grand voyages available ~ please call for details

www.bridgecruises.co.uk Fares shown are per person based on two people sharing lowest twin-bedded cabin category currently available, are subject to availability and include all applicable discounts, for new bookings only. Savings shown apply to guarantee fare, where a cabin number may not be allocated at time of booking. Fares shown include current fuel supplements correct at time of printing, but subject to change. *Onboard credit offer applies per outside cabin on Summer 2012 cruises departing 11th May 2012 to 30th October 2012, for new bookings made by 15th October 2011. £200 onboard credit applies when booking a category A to F cabin; or £100 onboard credit when booking a category G to K cabin. Onboard credit offer is non-transferable and non-refundable and not available on Heritage of the British Isles. All offers are subject to availability, cannot be combined with any other offer or loyalty offer, are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. See brochure for full terms and conditions. Only bookings made directly with Mr Bridge are eligible to be part of the Mr Bridge Group. **Those wishing to play evening bridge, please note that there is a bridge supplement of £30 per bridge player to be confirmed at the time of booking. Voyages of Discovery is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd.

David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics

How Should I Adjust the Score After a Wrong Explanation?

Q

A player had given an inaccurate explanation of his partner’s overcall, which had caused his opponent to abandon the auction. When the overcaller became declarer, he made no mention of the mistaken explanation by his partner. Declarer got an outright top. Later, looking at the results, I noticed that the contract could have gone to either side. Could I opt for a remedy of 50%/50%? Janny Snell, Godalming DBC.   When there is misinformation and an opponent suffers damage, you must adjust the score using Law 12C to an assigned score. A score such as 50%/50% is not legal. In essence, you need to decide what would or might have happened without the infraction and give that score, or more usually, two or three scores and a percentage of each.

A

♣♦♥♠

Q

Dealer opened 1NT, I doubled with this hand:



♠ A Q 8 6 ♥ 8 ♦ A 8 4 ♣ A 9 8 5 4

I thought my hand was good, with a five-card suit to lead, control in three suits and probably the ace-queen of spades over the king. I thought I could defeat 1NT almost on my own; declarer duly went three down doubled. Declarer asked me how many points I had and, on hearing 14, called the director saying that I had made an illegal bid as I should have had 15 HCP to double her 1NT. Director agreed and said we would have to take an average. Lynne Roberts, Llandeilo, Carmarthen (similar from Geoffrey Tremlett, Brynamman).

A

The ruling against you appears completely wrong. Firstly, you are allowed to play any defence unless you are playing novice bridge, so you could play a double as 10+ if you wanted, so your double is certainly not illegal.

Secondly, since you have an agreement your double shows 15+, it is not alertable and nothing special needs to be on your system card. A small deviation does not alter your agreement. Since your double was legal and your opponents had correct information, the ruling was wrong; the result should have stood. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Are all the rules the same in Scotland as elsewhere in the UK and Ireland? Patricia Hearns, Bieldside, Aberdeen.

A

Not everything is the same. The Law book is the same in Scotland, so rules about revokes, calls out of turn, claims and so forth are the same. However, regulations deal with alerting and the systems you can play; these are very different in Scotland from the rest of the British Isles. Regulations in Wales are nearly all the same as in England: regulations in Northern Ireland are slightly different from England; those in the Republic of Ireland are somewhat more

Page 10

different. Scotland has the most different regulations. Consider Announcements: after some initial grumbles, people in England find them helpful, useful and easy to use and the only problem is some people announce too much. Wales followed England’s lead on announcements, after which the Republic of Ireland decided to adopt them, though slightly different from the English ones. Now Northern Ireland has adopted them, the same as the Republic’s, but Scotland do not have announcements. Once you are used to them, it feels very wrong not to have them and comes as a shock to a visitor playing in Scotland. I always look at the address when answering queries and tailor my reply to the country concerned. Unfortunately, email queries do not always show where the questioner is from: please will queries by email always say from where they are sent.

David Stevenson answers all queries based on the facts supplied by the letter writer. Neither Mr Bridge nor David Stevenson has any way of knowing whether those facts are correct or complete.

Ask David continued

Q

The North-South agreement was that they play any suit double up to and including 2♠ for takeout. Does East have any redress on the deal below since North decided to pass?

Dealer East. E/W Game. ♠ Void ♥ Q 10 7 5 3 ♦ 9 8 6 ♣ A K 9 8 4 ♠ 7 6 4 N ♠ K Q 9 8 2 ♥ A 9 W E ♥ K 4 2 S ♦ K J 10 4 3 ♦ Q 2 ♣ 10 6 3 ♣ Q 7 2 ♠ A J 10 5 3 ♥ J 8 6 ♦ A 7 5 ♣ J 5

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♦ Dble 2♠ Dble End

Result: East made 6 tricks for 2 down (N/S +500) Mervyn Tudor, Glastonbury.

A

If the agreement is that the second double is takeout, North is correct not to alert and should explain it as takeout. However, I would be highly suspicious. This may be just bad bridge by South, but I would ask them several searching questions, starting with asking South why he doubled and what the double meant. It is a fact that some players, especially poorer players, always double with long trumps even in positions where it is clearly

for takeout. It is really a lack of self-control – but there is no law against that.

BRIDGE  BREAKS

♣♦♥♠

Q

A number of players appear to be opening 1NT with a singleton in a minor. I understand that at one time the EBU banned this. Can you now open 1NT with a singleton, so long as it is a minor? John Glasgow, Erdington, Birmingham.

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A

The rules to allow singletons in 1NT openings were relaxed initially about 15 to 20 years ago, then relaxed completely about 8 to 10 years ago. Any singleton is permissible. When announcing the 1NT range, partner must add ‘may contain a singleton.’ If there are any rules, such as only in a minor, you must show these on the system card (formerly the convention card) and disclose them in answer to any question. In fact, the EBU is happy with a slight extension of the announcement, for example saying, ‘may contain a singleton in a minor.’ ♣♦♥♠

Q

If I have 10 points and a very long suit, is it legal to open 2♣ and then check on aces when I rebid, trying to induce the opponents to double? David John, Harrogate.

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A

No. When you open with a strong bid, you are showing a strong hand, the definition of which we have published recently in this column.

Page 11

(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)

Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH.

( 01483 489961 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com *on tutorial weekends. **6 sessions on rubber & Just Bridge events.

Bernard Magee at Haslemere Hall Haslemere, Surrey

8 - 10 May 2012 Tuesday 8 May Morning Session: 11.00 – 12.30 Leads Afternoon Session: 15.00 – 16.30 Losing Trick Count

Ask David continued

Q

Playing Acol Strong Twos, can I play that 2♣ shows either 23+ points or any hand with 8 playing tricks in clubs? Anne Smith, Stafford.

A

No: to be strong, a bid must show a strong hand, which some 8 playing-trick hands are not. Recently, there has been a trend towards opening pre-emptive hands with a strong bid, which succeeds by fooling the opposition. ♣♦♥♠

Wednesday 9 May Morning Session: 11.00 – 12.30 Making a Plan as Declarer Afternoon Session: 15.00 – 16.30 Responding to 1NT

Thursday 10 May Morning Session: 11.00 – 12.30 Signals and Discards Afternoon Session: 15.00 – 16.30 Endplays

£10 per ticket For advanced booking, please call Haslemere Hall Box Office

( 01428 642161 Please note that all sessions will be filmed.

Q

In an answer to a query about alerting doubles, you said, ‘When a player bids a suit below the four level, a double by his opponent is assumed to be for takeout if not alerted. What could be simpler?’ My answer is to announce or alert all conventional calls. Dennis Chambers, Harare, Zimbabwe.

A

The problem here is that people do not always agree which doubles are conventional. If you ask people to alert all the calls that they think are conventional, your rule will upset and confuse people, especially newcomers to bridge. A simpler rule, such as the one we have now, will cause less upset. ♣♦♥♠

Q

I was declarer and had just won a trick; before playing the next

Page 12

card, I asked if I could have a look again at the cards played. Both opponents said I could not do this because all four of us had placed our cards face down on the table. Were they right? John Olrog by email.

A

You may not look at the cards played to the last trick at duplicate once your card is face down. While players often abuse this rule, your opponents were within their rights. A good habit to get into is not to turn your card face down until you are sure you will not need to see the trick again. ♣♦♥♠

Q

The bidding started as follows:

West North East South 1♣ 1♦ 1NT

West assumed South’s 1NT response was the standard 6-9 points. During the play, it became apparent that South’s hand was in fact stronger. It appeared that North/South had an agreement that 1NT was stronger when there was an intervening bid. Should North have alerted? Brian Davis by email.

A

Unless forcing, notrump ranges are rarely alertable and many people show extra values for a free bid. Even without an intervening bid, many people play a 1NT response to 1♣ as 8 to 10. I am afraid you are going to have to ask more questions when you think it relevant.

Ask David continued

Q A

Can a defender claim for honours? Marta Bodilly, Ascot. Certainly: nothing in the rules says that only declarer can claim honours: anyone can. ♣♦♥♠

Q

In the Bill Hughes simultaneous pairs, South held this hand, second in hand, vulnerable against not:



♠ J 9 ♥ Void ♦ A K J 9 8 ♣ A Q J 6 4 3

West North East South 2♥ 3♣ 4♥ Pass1 Pass 5♣ 5♥ Pass Pass Dble End 1 After an agreed hesitation

players without mentioning the hesitation, give them the sequence up to East’s pass on the second round and ask them what they would call. I would also ask them what alternatives they would consider. Since I believe North would remove a double or 4NT to 5♣, I would treat all the positive actions as the same; 5♣, double and my choice of 4NT. There are two questions. How many would consider pass? How many would actually pass? So long as a significant proportion, say at least one in five, would consider pass, and so long as one or two of the group who would consider a pass actually would pass, pass is a logical alternative. In that case, I would adjust the score to 4♥-2, NS +100. Of course, to adjust, I have to believe that the hesitation suggests action over passing, but that seems clear to me. If fewer than one in five would pass, pass is not a logical alternative, and the result stands. ♣♦♥♠

The result was 5♥*-3, 500 to North-South. How would you rule? Huw Jones, Swansea.

A

It is very close. I would probably rely on a poll: give the South hand to a few

Q

What are the bonuses for making a doubled contract? Are they the same at duplicate and rubber? L Poole, Middleton, Kings Lynn.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE  RULES SIMPLIFIED

(otherwise known as the Yellow Book) by John Rumbelow and revised by David Stevenson

only 95

A

When a doubled contract makes in duplicate, the score includes a bonus of 50. Similarly, there is a bonus of 100 for making a redoubled contract. These bonuses are the same at rubber. ♣♦♥♠

Q

In the bidding quiz in BRIDGE 104, Bernard Magee discusses a possible overcall and says ‘you need a fivecard suit to overcall so you cannot do that’. Is it or is it not legal to overcall with a four-card suit? Mr A Jones, Knowsley, Prescot.

A

While it would be helpful if all bridge teachers used the technically correct terminology and made it clear that what they teach is not the only way to play, this simply does not happen. Bridge teachers who say you cannot make a bid usually mean that the bid would not be good bridge rather than it is illegal. It is the same as when a mother says to her son that he cannot go to a football match: she does not mean that it is illegal for the boy to go; rather she judges it impractical or inadvisable. Bernard Magee teaches what he believes is the best approach and it is certainly by far the majority approach, to play overcalls as at least five cards in length. Much of this magazine addresses the best way to play the game, and experts give their views. My column is different: I

deal with what is legal, and how you go about disclosing it. It applies to people who do not follow the majority view as well as those who do. If you and your partner agree to play four-card overcalls, it is legal but must not be a secret. You must tell the opponents in some way and the two ways are to write it on your system card and disclose it in answer to a question. ♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner opened 1NT and we were playing transfers.



♠ Q 7 6 4 2 ♥ A K Q ♦ K Q 10 ♣ 3 2

I was unhappy with my club holding and did not want to bid 3NT directly. Nor did I wish to bid 3♠ with such a poor spade holding. I bid 2♥, a transfer, and rebid 3NT over partner’s 2♠ to offer a choice of games, 3NT or 4♠. An opponent said I should not use a transfer on a hand this strong as they are a replacement for weak takeouts. Did I do something wrong? Pat Arpino, Great Yarmouth.

A

I think you bid excellently. I am afraid your opponents are just poor players who do not understand transfers: your use of transfers was perfect ■ and normal.

£5

Available from Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961

Page 13

E-mail your questions on bridge laws to: [email protected]

Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions

When Should I Lead an Ace Against a Slam?

Q

I never know whether to lead an ace against a small slam. While I hate doing so in case the king is on my right, I am aware that I might lose the ace altogether if I do not cash it. What should I do? Michael Read, London N6.

A

I am not a big fan of leading out aces against slams, though there are hands on which it is right. Sometimes, the opponents have bid a slam with two fast losers in a suit. Competent opponents will not do this very often, of course, unless pre-emptive bidding by your side has forced them to guess. If your ace is in a suit on which you expect declarer to play (the trump suit or dummy’s main suit), it is rarely right to lead the ace. It is usually better to try to set up a winner in some other suit that you can cash when you get in with your ace. If the opposing hands are balanced, again an ace lead is unlikely to be right. In terms of whether the ace is a safe lead, what you have with the ace is important. The longer and weaker the suit,

the safer the lead. If you lead the ace from A-6-5-4-3-2, it is unlikely to cost a trick even if declarer does have the king. By contrast, a lead from A-Q-x is often going to cost when declarer has the king. The best time for leading an ace arises when you have a trump trick or reason to suppose that your partner does. There is no absolute rule I am afraid. ♣♦♥♠

Q

We play a weak 12-14 no-trump. I have always understood that a response at the three level is forcing to game. My partner opened 1NT, RHO overcalled 2♦. I had a very strong hand and seven clubs and so bid 3♣. My partner passed and we played in 3♣, making 12 tricks. Should I have bid differently? Shirley Rose by email.   Some play the 3♣ bid in this sequence as forcing, some as non-forcing. The 2♦ overcall means your 3♣ is no longer a jump, hence the possible difference. The

A

meaning of a jump bid often differs from the meaning of a non-jump bid. Many duplicate players use a convention called Lebensohl, which allows you to show both strong and weak (competitive) hands. To show the weaker hand, you bid an artificial 2NT, which asks your partner to bid 3♣. You then pass if you wish to play in 3♣. You can use the 2NT Lebensohl bid on other hands too – the principle is that, if you bid a suit directly, it shows a better hand than if you bid 2NT before showing your suit. Playing Lebensohl, your direct 3♣ would be unequivocally forcing. ♣♦♥♠

Q

When making a slam try, please tell me the difference between cue bids and splinter bids. Doreen Brewer, Pinner, Middlesex.

A

The difference is that a cue bid shows a control, which might be either a high card or a short suit, whereas a splinter always shows a

Page 14

short suit. For a cue bid, you would generally have an ace (sometimes a king) or a void (sometimes a singleton) in the suit in which you make the cue bid. For a splinter, you would have either a singleton or a void in the suit. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Can you still play transfers in the two sequences below?

1 West North East South 1♥ 1NT Pass ? 2 West North East South 1♠ 2NT Pass ?

Trudie Daly, Pinner, Middlesex.

A

1. If you play transfers in response to a 1NT opening, it is common to play them also when partner’s 1NT bid is an overcall – some refer to this as ‘system on’. 2. If you play a natural 2NT overcall, you could play them in that situation too. Many people do not play a natural 2NT, in which case the issue of transfers does not arise.

Ask Julian continued

Q

West opened 1♦. My partner, North, overcalled 2♦ with this:



♠ K Q 7 ♥ K 8 5 ♦ A Q J 8 5 3 ♣ K

East passed and I bid 2♥ holding this:



♠ J 10 8 3 ♥ A Q J 7 4 3 ♦ 7 2 ♣ 9

I was unsure what partner meant by his 2♦ overcall or how strong he was. I presumed he was asking for my best suit. How should I have read it? Joan Butfield by email.

A

A bid of the opposing suit is rarely a natural bid. Although your partner happened to have a hand on which he wanted to make a natural bid in diamonds, he will not hold such a hand very often.  The traditional meaning of the 2♦ overcall is a very powerful hand, like a 2♣ opening, nothing to do with diamonds. Nowadays, it is perhaps more common to play the immediate cue bid of opener’s suit as a two-suited hand. Playing Michaels, which is probably the most widely played type of two-suited overcall, 2♦ shows both majors.

Even with a strong hand looking for your best suit, your partner does not need to start with a cue bid – a takeout double and then bidding again caters for such hands. In a tournament, 95%+ of pairs use the cue bid as a two-suited overcall. North should just pass over 1♦.

PRIZE CROSSWORD 2 set by Sputnik 1

Q

If partner opens 1NT (12-14), how many points do I need to respond 4NT, 5NT, 6NT, and 7NT? Niranjan Doshi.   Working on the basis that you need 33-34 points for 6NT and 37 points for 7NT, the answers are as follows:

12

♣♦♥♠

Q

When we play Directional Asking Bids (DABs) are they forcing to game or is it up to partnership agreement? Shirley Durrant by email. In most sequences, it tends to be a matter of partnership agreement. If the DAB (bid of the opponents’ suit to ask for a stopper) is at the three level, it is more likely to be game forcing than if it is at the two level. Some pairs allow the auction to end in four of a minor after a 3-level DAB.

5

6

9

11

13

14

15

16 17

A

5NT invites partner to bid 7NT (or sign off in 6NT), which is why you need more for 5NT than 6NT.

4

8

10

4NT shows 19-20 6NT shows 21-22 5NT shows 23-24 7NT shows 25+

3 7

♣♦♥♠

A

2

18

19

20 21

22

23

ACROSS 1 Hit the bottle to have a good relationship with partner (7) 4 Open _____; perhaps you had 11 points (5) 7 Miserable start of West or East (3) 8 Severe loss of direction leads to cut communication (5) 9 An aristocratic system? (5) 10 A two-suited overcall in the country (3) 11 To have more trumps than your opponents is generally an _________ (9) 12 At the end of a money game you may have to ask, ‘What’s the ______ ?’ (6) 14 No tricks with these cards (6) 17 Lacing one cocktail makes one’s bridge partner friendly (9) 18 Organisation in Aylesbury (3) 19 A trick in the Essex tradition (5) 20 Cast off a loser (5) 21 An honour but only just (3) 22 _____ no-trumps is often the game to aim for (5)

Page 15

23 Ache I’ve suffered to attain green points (7)

DOWN 1 Made safer one hopes, and sort of secured (7) 2 A turn at teams (5) 3 The way every last valid estimate leads to tricks in a small slam (6) 4 Out East Helen Sobel changed to this convention (9) 5 Description of a Yarborough? (7) 6 One may feel thus in a rotten series of hands (5) 11 Scoring system in teams before conversion to IMPs (9) 13 The norm set then adjusted to display a very powerful hand (7) 15 He is there with 20ac. in a regular mix-up (7) 16 A capital coup to unblock a menace (6) 17 A deceiver, but first could he escape at table (5) 18 Escape from a muddled duel with East (5)

Send your solution to Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH before the end of October 2011.

Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge 65 invaluable tips in 160 pages Bidding Tips 1 Always consider bidding spades if you can 2 Bid more aggressively when non-vulnerable 3 Always double when the opponents steal your deal 4 A takeout double shows shortage in the suit doubled 5 ‘Borrow’ a king to keep the auction open 6 After a penalty double, don’t let the opponents escape 7 Halve the value of a singleton honour when opening 8 Only add length-points for a suit that might be useful 9 Isolated honours are bad except in partner’s suit 10 Use the jump shift sparingly 11 Consider passing and letting partner decide 12 You need two top honours for a second-seat pre-empt 13 Put the brakes on if you have a misfit 14 Strong and long minors work well in no-trumps 15 One stop in the opponents’ suit can be enough for no-trumps 16 Keep your two-level responses up to strength 17 Use your normal methods in response to a 1NT overcall 18 Don’t overcall just because you have opening points 19 Overcalls can be quite weak, so be prudent when responding 20 Weak overcalls must be based on strong suits 21 6NT requires 33 points not 4 aces and 4 kings 22 Raise immediately, if weak with four-card support 23 In a competitive auction, show support immediately 24 Bid to the level of your fit quickly with weak hands 25 With strength and support, use the opponents’ bid suit Declarer-play Tips 26 When your contract depends on a finesse, think ‘endplay’ 27 Consider what a defender might be thinking about 28 Always take your time at trick one 29 Establish extra tricks before cashing your winners 30 Use your opponents’ bidding to your advantage 31 Avoid the ‘baddie’ gaining the lead 32 Use the Rule of Seven when holding up in no-trumps

33 A low lead usually promises length and an honour 34 When declaring 1NT, try to be patient 35 Duck an early round when you are short of entries 36 Lead up to your two-honour holding 37 Do not always assume a suit will break well 38 Drop a high card to put off the defence 39 Play your highest card to tempt a defender to cover 40 Draw trumps first unless you have a good reason not to 41 Do not waste your trumps 42 Consider leaving a lone defensive trump winner out Defence Tips 43 Keep four-card suits intact whenever possible 44 Give count on declarer’s leads 45 Keep the right cards rather than signal 46 Take your time when dummy is put down 47 High cards are for killing other high cards 48 Do not waste intermediate cards 49 Pick two key suits to concentrate on during the play 50 If in doubt, cover an honour with an honour 51 If a lead is from two honours, it is best not to cover 52 Keep your honour to kill dummy’s honour 53 Try to show partner your solid honour sequences 54 Lead the normal card when leading partner’s suit 55 Never underlead an ace at trick one in a suit contract 56 Be wary of leading from four cards to only one honour 57 Lead a higher card from a suit without an honour 58 Lead through ‘beatable’ strength and up to weakness 59 Cash your winners before trying for a trump promotion 60 Be patient when defending 1NT 61 Trump leads can be safe throughout the play General Tips 62 Do not put important cards at either end of your hand 63 Avoid being declarer when you are dummy 64 Before you lead ask for a review of the auction 65 Enjoy the Game!

£14 including postage and packing from Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH. ( 01483 489961

Ask Julian continued

Q

What should South bid after East opens 1♣?



♠ A 10 2 ♥ A J 10 4 ♦ A Q J 8 4 ♣ A

to 3♦, you are worth a further move. Whether you then bid 3♥ or 3♠, partner might bid 3NT to show her stopper or jump to 5♦: you cannot have four spades or you would have raised earlier. ♣♦♥♠

Playing Michaels cue bids, I started by doubling. When partner bid 1♠, I considered 3♠ and 3NT. Since my partner could have nothing, in the end I bid 2♦, playing there and making eleven tricks. Partner held:



♠ K 6 4 3 ♥ 3 ♦ 9 5 3 ♣ J 9 6 5 4

Game was on in diamonds, spades or no-trump. How do we get to game? Kate Howland by email.

A

Doubling first is clearly correct. It is a close decision on the next round whether you should bid 2♣ (opener’s suit) to force partner to bid again or show your diamonds. I like 2♦ as it shows your best suit and makes life easier for partner. You cannot bid 3♠ with only three spades. Your partner should definitely not have passed 2♦. She had shown nothing and yet had a king, a singleton and three-card trump support. In the context of what she might have had, her hand was enormous. After your partner raises 2♦

Page 16

Q

Playing Benjamin with no-trump ranges of 2NT = 20-22, 2♣-2♦-2NT = 23-24 and 2♦-2♥-2NT as 25+, my partner and I bid as follows:



♠ 2 ♥ K 10 7 6 4 3 ♦ J 9 2 ♣ A 8 6 N W E S



♠ A K J 9 ♥ A J 8 ♦ A K Q ♣ K 10 9

North South 2♦ 3♥ 3NT End

Name and address supplied.

A

Even if you were playing a more standard system, when opener might have only 23 points, North should have bid again over 3NT. Indeed, it is quite common to play that a positive response is forcing to 4NT. With a sixth heart, the natural rebid is 4♥. South could have cue bid 4♠ over that and then bid 5NT over a return cue bid of 5♣, settling for a small slam when one of the top three hearts is missing. Alternatively, if South is sure that 4NT was asking rather than a sign off, he can bid that over 4♥.

Ask Julian continued

Q

Playing pairs, how should I play the clubs?



♠ A J 2 ♥ 3 ♦ A J 7 4 ♣ J 10 9 3 2 N W E S



♠ K 10 8 4 ♥ A K 2 ♦ K Q ♣ A 8 7 6

West North East South 1♣1 Pass 3♣ Pass 4NT Pass 5♥2 Dble 6NT End 1 5-card majors 2Two aces

West led a diamond, ignoring East’s double. When my partner’s hand went down, I realised that there was work to do. I played a spade to the ace and ran the jack of clubs. This lost to the singleton king. I was unable to get back to dummy without overtaking my diamond king (and then losing a diamond) to finesse again. If I had bid 6♣, I could have trumped the second heart to get into dummy and played the clubs again. Should I have played the ace of clubs first? Audrey Trangmar, Alicante, Spain.

A

As you have spotted, you were in the wrong contract. Even at pairs, it is generally right to play in the safest slam. With 19 HCP facing 11, the

values for 6NT are unlikely to be present. Indeed, partner has an unusually good hand for the 3♣ raise, with good shape and club spots, yet 6NT is still dicey.  In 6NT, you might play one round of clubs from dummy – your RHO could have K-Q-x or even K-Q-x-x. It is a close decision what to do next if you do that. If you overtake the diamond, to maximise your chance of losing only one club trick, you are giving up one of your sure winners. You will need either a squeeze or the spade finesse to make up for the trick sacrificed. I have some sympathy with just laying down the ace. ♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner opened 2NT with 21 points, a 5-card major and a singleton. I raised to 3NT with 6 points. She jumped to 4♠. I said she should have opened 2♠: we play strong twos. Christine Barnes.   Please can I deal with a minor point first? If your partner bid 4♠ over 3NT, that is not a jump. If you play strong twos, it sounds as if your partner should have opened one of those. With 21 points, 1♠ is a bit of an underbid and 2♣ a bit of an overbid. I do not like opening 2NT with a 5-card major and a singleton. Last time my partner did it, we went down in 3NT when we could have made a slam in one of his long suits. However, without seeing the exact hand, I cannot say for sure. Whatever her hand, she must not open 2NT and rebid 4♠, which gives you no choice in the matter.

A

Q

My husband and I play Benjamin, whereby with 23+ points we open 2♦. When my husband opened 2♦, I had only 3 points with no 5-card major and responded 2NT as a negative. He assumed I had a strong hand and we ended up in 5NT, going down by two tricks. What should my response have been? Sue Green, Sherborne, Dorset.

A

The negative reply to a game forcing 2♦ opening is 2♥. This is the next suit up; it follows the same principle that 2♦ is the negative response to an Acol or Benjamin 2♣ opening. As responder, you want to leave the strong hand as much space as possible, hence the use of the most economical bid as the negative response. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Playing Benji Acol with a  21-22 no-trump, I had this North hand:



♠ A Q J ♥ Q J 2 ♦ A Q ♣ A J 9 6 5

I opened 2NT. Partner bid 3♥ (transfer, at least 5 spades). I rebid 3♠ and partner bid 3NT, showing exactly five spades and, in my opinion, sufficient points only for game. I decided to pass, thinking that with my relatively flat hand, 3NT would prove a better score

Page 17

than 4♠. Dummy was:



♠ K 9 6 3 2 ♥ A 10 5 ♦ K 10 6 2 ♣ 7

I made 3NT+3. Many others finished in either 6NT or 6♠ making. Partner criticised me, saying that I should have bid 4♠ to show 3-card spade support and that then he would have gone on to a slam. I said he should have bid 4♦, not 3NT. Who is correct here? David France by email.   I am afraid I think you were both wrong. Apart from the spread of points, there is a difference between the sequence 1NT-2♥ (transfer)2♠-3NT and 2NT-3♥ (transfer)-3♠-3NT. In the first sequence, you know partner will have a reasonably balanced hand because he could have bid a second suit if he had one, below 3NT. In the second sequence, if he has only five spades, he will be loath to go beyond 3NT even if he has a singleton outside. This means you do not want to be passing 3NT when you hold three spades very often. So I think you should have removed 3NT to 4♠ or possibly made a cue bid of 4♣.  Partner, meanwhile, was indeed too good to think a slam was only possible if you had spade support. ♠A-x in your hand could be a magical holding for a diamond slam for instance. He should have rebid 4♦ as you suggest. ■

A

E-mail your questions for Julian to: [email protected]

When Holding Up, Use ‘The Rule of Seven’, but only if you think that the lead is from a five-card suit by Robert Baker

I

n a recent article, Harold Schogger explained the Rule of Seven clearly. The flaw with the ‘Rule’ is that it applies only in limited situations. The purpose of a hold-up play is to exhaust one of the opponents of cards in the suit. We saw the following examples: Example 1

♥ 8 6 N

♥ K Q J 9 3 W E S



the correct answer: six from seven gives the answer as one, so you hold up the ace just once. You may have noticed that in each of these examples West has led from a five-card suit. That is the only time that the Rule of Seven works (unless West leads from a short suit and East has five cards in the suit). Suppose the lead is from a four-card suit instead:

♥ 10 7 2

♥ A 5 4

♥ 10 8 6 N

♥ K Q J 9 W E S



When West leads the ♥K, in order to cut the defensive communications, you wait to take your ace until the third round. This exhausts East of hearts, so that if he gains the lead later in another suit, then he has no further heart to play. This is, of course, perfectly correct. The Rule of Seven indicates that, with five cards in hearts between his hand and dummy, declarer should subtract five from seven. This gives the answer of two – the number of times that declarer should hold up his ace. Example 2 ♥ 10 8 6 N

♥ K Q J 9 3 W E S



♥ 7 2

♥ A 5 4

This time, in order to cut communications, declarer needs to hold up his ace only once. When he wins the second round of hearts, East has no more; if East were to gain the lead, he would be unable to continue the suit. Once again, the Rule of Seven gives



♥ 7 3 2

♥ A 5 4

When West leads the ♥K here, it would be necessary to hold up the ace twice in order to exhaust East of hearts (the whole purpose of a hold up). Of course, once again, the Rule of Seven tells us that you need just one hold up. The Rule lets us down because the lead is not from a five-card suit. Here is a full deal to illustrate the point: Dealer East. E/W Game. ♠ 10 8 6 ♥ A Q 4 ♦ 9 8 4 3 ♣ K 10 5 ♠ J 9 3 2 ♠ K Q 7 ♥ 9 8 7 5 N ♥ J 10 2 W E ♦ 6 ♦ A K 7 5 S ♣ 9 7 6 3 ♣ J 8 2 ♠ A 5 4 ♥ K 6 3 ♦ Q J 10 2 ♣ A Q 4 Opening lead: ♠2

Page 18

West North Pass 3NT

East South 1♦ 1NT End

To trick one, East played the ♠Q, which South ducked. When East continued with the ♠K, South, following the Rule of Seven, won the trick (with six cards between his hand and dummy, you hold up the ace only once). When declarer turned his attention to diamonds, East won and returned his third spade, so the defenders won three spade tricks and two diamonds – one down. Declarer should have ducked the second round of spades as well. The lead (♠2) appears to be fourth highest, which means that East started with three cards in the suit. To exhaust him of spades, you need to duck the first two rounds of spades, in defiance of the Rule. This way, you lose only two spades and two diamonds. When the opening lead is from a four-card suit, the ‘Rule of Eight’ works. Similarly, if the lead were from a known six-card suit (perhaps following a weak two-bid by the opening leader), the Rule of Seven would lead us astray: Dealer West. E/W Game. ♠ 9 5 ♥ 7 5 4 ♦ A Q 10 8 ♣ J 10 6 5 ♠ 4 3 2 ♠ A 8 7 6 ♥ K Q J 10 9 8 N ♥ 2 W E ♦ 5 4 S ♦ K J 7 6 ♣ 9 7 ♣ A 4 3 2 ♠ K Q J 10 ♥ A 6 3 ♦ 9 3 2 ♣ K Q 8

Rule of Seven continued

West North East South 2♥1 Pass Pass 2NT2 Pass 3NT End 1

weak, 5-9 points, 6-card suit 15-18 balanced

2

BERNARD MAGEE’S INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ACOL BIDDING l Opening Bids and

Responses

Although North has been optimistic in the bidding, as the cards lie declarer could succeed in his contract. Unfortunately, the Rule of Seven lets him down. With six hearts between his hand and dummy, the Rule of Seven says to hold up the ♥A once, so declarer ducked the opening lead and won the heart continuation (East discarding a low spade). Declarer proceeded to take a deep diamond finesse, won by East with the ♦J. East then led a low club. Declarer needed a second diamond trick to bring his total to nine (three spades, once the ♠A had gone, one heart, two diamonds and three clubs, again once the ♣A had gone), so he won the club switch in hand and took a second diamond finesse. If West had started with either of the missing diamond honours, the contract would have made. Declarer’s luck was out: East took his ♦K and made his two black aces to take the contract one down. With the hearts 6-1, the defenders are helpless if declarer wins the first heart (in defiance of the Rule) and plays on diamonds. Declarer will come to three spades, one heart, two diamonds and three clubs, just losing two aces and two diamond tricks. Since the hearts were 6-1 and West had led from a 6-card suit, the ‘Rule of Six’ would have given the right answer (N.B. the number in the ‘Rule’ added to the number of cards that the opening leader has in his suit always adds up to 12). So please beware – the Rule of Seven (like many ‘Rules’ in bridge) is not a substitute for thinking. It provides a useful shortcut to doing the right thing if and only if a defender has five cards in the suit led. ■

MORE (ADVANCED) ACOL BIDDING

Openings

l Suit Establishment

in No-trumps

l Basics

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DECLARER PLAY

£96

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Basics

l Suit Establishment

in Suits

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l Hold-ups

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l Ruffing for Extra

£66

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Openings and Responses

l Defence

to Weak Twos l Defence

Responder’s Rebids l Minors and Misfits

l Two-suited Overcalls l Defences to l Misfits and

l Competitive

Distributional Hands

Auctions

ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY l Making Overtricks

in No-trumps l Making Overtricks

in Suit Contracts l Endplays l Avoidance l Wrong

DEFENCE l Lead vs No-trump

Contracts l Lead vs Suit Contracts l Partner of Leader

vs No-trump Contracts l Partner of

£81

Contract

Leader vs Suit Contracts l Count

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£76

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& Coups

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l Stopping Declarer l Counting

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No-trumps

£76

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Other Systems

l Doubles

l Entries in l Delaying

to 1NT

l Opener’s and

Tricks

the Hand

l Using the Lead l Trump Control l Endplays &

Avoidance l Using the Bidding

BEGIN BRIDGE ACOL VERSION l Basics of Bridge l Card Play Technique l Bidding

Balanced Hands l Bidding Suits l Supporting Partner l Responding to 1NT l Stayman Convention l Strong Two Open-

ings and Response l Overcalls l Doubles

£66

l Pre-empting l Defence against

No-trump Contracts l Defence against

Suit Contracts

Make your cheque payable to Mr Bridge and send to: Mr Bridge, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista or 7, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM

Page 19

PROGRAMME

2011/12 BRIDGE EVENT

This is the format for all Bernard Magee hosted events.

FRIDAY 1500 Mr Bridge Welcome Desk open Afternoon Tea 1745 to 1830 Welcome drinks reception 1830 to 2000 DINNER 2015 BRIDGE 1 DUPLICATE PAIRS

SATURDAY 0800 to 0930 BREAKFAST

November 2011

MARCH 2012 continued

4 - 6 £235

Inn on the Prom Hand Evaluation

23 - 25 £245

11 - 13 £245

Blunsdon House Suit Establishment

18 - 20 £245

Chatsworth Hotel FU LL Finding Slams

30 - 1/4 Blunsdon House NEW £245 Finding SEMINAR Slams

25 - 27 £245

Denham Grove Squeezes

NEW SEMINAR

1000 to 1230 SEMINAR & SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS (tea & coffee at 1100)

Denham Grove Near Uxbridge UB9 5DU

1230 to 1330 COLD BUFFET LUNCH 1400 to 1645 BRIDGE 2 TEAMS of FOUR or FURTHER SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS 1815 to 2000 DINNER 2015 BRIDGE 3 DUPLICATE PAIRS

SUNDAY 0800 to 0930 BREAKFAST 1000 to 1230 SEMINAR & SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS (tea & coffee at 1100) 1230 to 1400 CARVERY LUNCH 1400 to 1645 BRIDGE 4 FURTHER SUPERVISED PLAY of SET HANDS or DUPLICATE PAIRS

Chatsworth Hotel NEW SEMINAR Squeezes

Brook Queensferry Hotel Fife KY11 1HP

DECember 2011 2 - 4 £245

FU Brook LL Queensferry Hotel Signals and Discards

APRIL 2012 20 - 22 £245

The Olde Barn Hotel NEW SEMINAR Squeezes

27 - 29 £245

Inn on the Prom Losing Trick Count

JANUARY 2012 6 - 8 £245

Chatsworth Hotel Leads and Defence

MARCH 2012 9 - 11 £245

Brook Queensferry Hotel Doubles

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

Full Board - No Single Supplemen Page 20

Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quiz

S with Bernard Magee

You are West in the auctions below, playing ‘Standard Acol’ with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors. (Answers overleaf)

MAY 2012 8 morning £10

Haslemere Hall Leads

8 afternoon Haslemere Hall £10 Losing Trick Count 9 morning £10



Haslemere Hall Making a Plan as Declarer

9 afternoon Haslemere Hall £10 Responding to 1NT 10 morning Haslemere Hall £10 Signals and Discards 10 afternoon Haslemere Hall £10 Endplays

Inn on the Prom St Annes-on-Sea FY8 1LU

October 2012 5 - 7 £245

Blunsdon House Landy Defence to 1NT

19 - 21 £245

Chatsworth Hotel Signals and Discards

November 2012

9 - 11 £245

West North East South ?

Denham Grove Splinters and Cue bids

12 - 14 £245

2 - 4 £245



Blunsdon House Squeezes NEW Inn on the Prom SEMINAR Declarer Play

Chatsworth Hotel Worthing BN11 3DU



2. Dealer East. Game All. ♠ K Q 3 2 ♥ 3 2 N W E ♦ A Q J 6 4 3 S ♣ 3

West North East South 1♠ Pass ?



3. Dealer East. Love All. ♠ 6 5 N ♥ A 2 W E ♦ K Q 10 5 4 S ♣ 8 4 3 2

West North East South 2♣ Pass ?

June 2012 8 - 10 Blunsdon House NEW £245 Playing Suit SEMINAR Combinations 15 - 17 £245

1. Dealer West. Love All. ♠ K 8 6 5 N ♥ A 7 3 2 W E ♦ A 7 6 5 S ♣ J

Chatsworth Hotel Doubles

Blunsdon House Swindon SN26 7AS

nt - See booking form on page 11 Page 21



4. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ 4 N ♥ A 10 7 W E ♦ A J 7 6 S ♣ Q 8 6 3 2

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass ?

Answers to Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quiz on page 21

1. Dealer West. Love All. ♠ K 8 6 5 ♠ Q 9 7 N ♥ A 7 3 2 ♥ J 5 W E ♦ A 7 6 5 S ♦ K Q 9 3 2 ♣ J ♣ 9 8 7

West Pass Dbl

North East Pass Pass 2♣ 2♦

South 1♣

Pass. When opening the bidding, you count only high-card points and length points – count shortage points only when you have found a fit. You have 12 high card points but should not count a singleton honour at its full value (except the ace) because it might be worthless (as your ♣J turns out to be). I cut the value of a singleton honour in half and then reassess; doing so yields a total of 11½ points. You have the least expressible shape in the Acol system. Not only is it 4-4-4-1 but, with the singleton club, you are usually obliged to open one of your majors, which can lead to bad results. You should pass – if the opponents bid your short suit, you can re-enter the auction later with a takeout double, describing your hand neatly. 4-4-4-1 hands do not work well in Acol, so consider passing as opener unless you have a ‘good’ 12 points.



2. Dealer East. Game All. ♠ K Q 3 2 ♠ A J 10 6 4 ♥ 3 2 N ♥ A 10 5 4 W E ♦ A Q J 6 4 3 S ♦ K 2 ♣ 3 ♣ 9 2

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♦ Pass 3♥ Pass 3♠

3♦. In Acol, few hands justify a jumpshift response to a suit opening. Normally, you need either 16+ points and a good strong and long suit or 12+ HCP, four-card support for partner and a good strong suit outside. Both types of hand show slam potential and the descriptive nature of the bidding makes it worth wasting one level of the auction. This hand fits the second description: you should jump to 3♦ and support spades next time; this shows primary spade support and a source of tricks in the diamond suit. The only way for the hands to realise their potential is for East to know how valuable his ♦K is. A possible auction is 1♠-3♦-3♥-3♠-4♦*-4NT-5♥-6♠. 4♦ is a cue bid (for partner to show a king in your suit is good idea whatever your cue-bidding style) and 4NT is Keycard (Five Ace) Blackwood. There are twelve tricks on the top in 6♠, yet the two hands contain just 25 high card points.



3. Dealer East. Love All. ♠ 6 5 ♠ A K J ♥ A 2 N ♥ K 9 8 4 W E ♦ K Q 10 5 4 ♦ A J 7 2 S ♣ 8 4 3 2 ♣ A K

West North ?

Mr Bridge Premium Quality Cards

East South 2♣ Pass

3♦. With 9 HCP and a five-card suit, you have a very powerful hand facing a strong 2♣ opener; you need to tell your partner this. While 2NT is one option, this would suggest a balanced hand with a spread of honours. Better is to show your long suit because this will help the partnership evaluate whether your strength lies in the right places. 2♦ is a negative response, so you need to jump to 3♦.



4. Dealer North. E/W Game. ♠ 4 ♠ K Q J 10 5 ♥ A 10 7 N ♥ 6 4 3 W E ♦ A J 7 6 S ♦ K 9 2 ♣ Q 8 6 3 2 ♣ 7 4

West ?

North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass

1NT. When you are bidding after your partner’s overcall, it is important to remember that an overcall can be a lot weaker than an opening bid, so you should tailor your actions accordingly. With support, you can raise on some very weak hands; without support, more care is necessary. Without support and with nine points or fewer, you should generally pass; with 10-12 points, you can bid 1NT. This keeps the auction at a low level and potentially starts a conversation – your partner could bid a second suit, try for game, or rebid spades. On this occasion your partner should simply pass – 1NT is high enough. Do not overbid in reply to an overcall – partner can be quite weak. ■

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(/Fax 020 8422 4906 e-mail: [email protected] Page 22

DEFENCE QUIZ

Mr Bridge

RUBBER / CHICAGO

by Julian Pottage



(Answers overleaf)

Y

ou are East in the defensive positions below. It is your turn to play. Both sides are using Acol with a 12-14 1NT.

1. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ 4 N ♥ AKJ8432 W E ♦ 10 8 S ♣ 6 5 4

3. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ 4 N ♥ AKJ8432 W E ♦ A 10 8 2 S ♣ 6

West North East South 3♥ 3♠ Pass 4♠ End

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♥* 3♥ 4♠ End * value raise



West win cash West How

leads the ♥6. You with the ♥K and the ♥A, on which throws the ♣9. do you proceed?

4. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ 4 N ♥ AKJ8432 W E ♦ A 10 8 2 S ♣ 6

West North East South 3♥ 3♠ Pass 4♠ End

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♥* 3♥ 4♠ End *value raise

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♣3. How do you proceed?

17-19 February 2012

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♣3. How do you proceed?

2. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ 4 N ♥ A K J 8 4 3 2 W E ♦ 10 8 S ♣ 6 5 4



Brook Waterloo, Crowthorne RG45 6DW hosted by Diana Holland

Ardington Hotel, Worthing BN11 3DZ hosted by Sheila Rogers

20-22 April 2012 3-5 August 2012 23-25 November 2012 Please note there are no seminars or set hands at these events.

£199 Full-board No Single Supplement

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♦9. How do you proceed?

Please see booking form on page 11. Page 23

Answers to Julian Pottage’s  Defence Quiz on page 23 1. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ 7 6 5 ♠ 4 ♥ 6 N ♥ A K J 8 4 3 2 W E ♦ A 9 4 2 S ♦ 10 8 ♣ K J 9 8 3 ♣ 6 5 4 ♠ A K J 10 9 3 ♥ Q 7 ♦ 7 6 ♣ Q 10 7

West North East South 3♥ 3♠ Pass 4♠ End

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♣9. How do you proceed? Your partner has suggested a club switch by discarding a high club. You have no reason to veto this suggestion. You lead a club (say the five). Whether declarer plays the ten or the queen, partner will cover and will then have a club trick to cash after getting in with the ace of diamonds.

2. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ J 9 5 ♠ 4 ♥ 6 N ♥ A K J 8 4 3 2 W E ♦ A 9 4 2 S ♦ 10 8 ♣ Q 10 9 8 3 ♣ 6 5 4 ♠ A K 10 7 6 3 ♥ Q 7 ♦ 7 6 ♣ K J 7

West North East South 3♥ 3♠ Pass 4♠ End

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K

and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♣3. How do you proceed? This time, partner has discarded a low club, which suggests that you turn your attention elsewhere. Given the strong diamonds in dummy and that partner has shown out of hearts, the logical alternative is to continue hearts. While it is true that declarer must also be out of hearts, partner will be playing after declarer. This state of affairs is often to your side’s advantage. If declarer ruffs the third round of hearts with the ace or king, partner will discard and make the jack later. If declarer ruffs with the ten, partner will overruff and make the jack at once. Either way, you promote your partner’s trump holding into a trick. That trick, with the ace of diamonds and the two hearts you have already made, means you beat the contract. Playing a third round of hearts also achieves a trump promotion on other layouts, for example if partner held four spades to the ten.

3. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ J 9 5 ♠ 4 N ♥ 6 W E ♥ A K J 8 4 3 2 ♦ 9 6 4 S ♦ A 10 8 2 ♣ Q 9 8 5 4 3 ♣ 6 ♠ A K 10 7 6 3 ♥ Q 7 ♦ 7 ♣ K J 10 7

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♥* 3♥ 4♠ End *value raise

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♣3. How do you proceed? Dummy is the same as on the two previous problems. Your hand has changed

Page 24

slightly. It is easy to think, ‘I shall play a third round of hearts to try for a trump promotion.’ Indeed, if declarer ruffs high or low, partner will make a trump trick of some description. However, an astute declarer will not ruff at all, preferring instead to discard the singleton diamond. If this happens, your ace of diamonds does not make – having become void in the suit, declarer will take a ruffing finesse against it. To avoid this scenario, you cash the ace of diamonds before playing the third round of hearts. This way, declarer has no loser to discard and the trump promotion works.

4. ♠ Q 8 2 ♥ 10 9 5 ♦ K Q J 5 3 ♣ A 2 ♠ 9 6 5 ♠ 4 N ♥ 6 ♥ AKJ8432 W E ♦ 9 6 S ♦ A 10 8 2 ♣ Q 10 9 8 5 4 3 ♣ 6 ♠ A K J 10 7 3 ♥ Q 7 ♦ 7 4 ♣ K J 7

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♥* 3♥ 4♠ End *value raise

West leads the ♥6. You win with the ♥K and cash the ♥A, on which West throws the ♦9. How do you proceed? Partner clearly holds a fistful of clubs, yet has chosen to discard a diamond. There must be some reason for this unusual choice. You can see nine diamonds between your hand and dummy. Partner may have started with a doubleton diamond. You should play the ace followed by another diamond. The diamond ruff is the ■ setting trick.

Mr Bridge Christmas & New Year 2011

DECLARER PLAY QUIZ by David Huggett (Answers overleaf)

Y

ou are South as declarer playing teams or rubber bridge. In each case, what is your play strategy?

1.

♠ Q 10 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A 8 7 6 3 2 ♣ A 2

3.

N

N

W E

W E

S

S



♠ A K 7 3 ♥ J 5 ♦ Q J 10 9 4 ♣ K 8





♠ 8 4 3 ♥ K 9 5 ♦ A Q J 9 2 ♣ 7 4

Denham Grove

♠ A 9 8 2 ♥ 7 ♦ A K Q 8 6 ♣ A K Q

Near Uxbridge, UB9 5DU 24-27 December £355 Just Bridge & Any Questions Jo Walch

You are declarer in 4♠. West leads the ♥K and follows up with the ♥Q. How do you plan the play?

You are declarer in 6♦ and West leads the ♣Q. How do you plan the play?

2.

♠ 7 6 5 3 ♥ 9 8 5 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 10 7 2

4.

27-29 December £199 Suit Establishment Crombie McNeil

♠ A 10 6 ♥ 8 3 ♦ A 7 5 4 2 ♣ 7 5 4

N

W E

N

S



♠ A 6 ♥ A 7 6 ♦ 10 8 3 ♣ A K J 10 3

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠5. East plays the ♠Q. How do you plan the play?

29 Dec – 1 Jan £355 Develop at Duplicate Pairs Crombie McNeil

W E S



♠ 3 2 ♥ A K 7 ♦ K Q 9 8 ♣ A J 3 2

( 01483 489961 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠K. How do you plan the play?

Please call if you would like a sample copy of the programme

Page 25

Answers to David Huggett’s  Play Quiz on page 25 1. ♠ Q 10 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ A 8 7 6 3 2 ♣ A 2 ♠ 9 5 2 N ♥ 8 7 2 W E ♦ K 5 S ♣ Q J 10 5 4 ♠ A K 7 3 ♥ J 5 ♦ Q J 10 9 4 ♣ K 8

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠5. East plays the ♠Q. How do you plan the play?

♠ J 8 6 4 ♥ K 10 9 4 3 ♦ Void ♣ 9 7 6 3

You are declarer in 6♦ and West leads the ♣Q. How do you plan the play? While the contract is clearly a good one, at first sight it might appear that you could lose both a diamond and a heart. In fact, the contract is more or less unbeatable! Win the first club in dummy and then play to the king of clubs in hand before leading the diamond queen. If West follows with the five, just duck in dummy. Even if East started with the singleton king, he will be hopelessly endplayed, for any return will be to declarer’s advantage. A spade return yields four spade tricks, a heart return ensures no heart losers and a club return gives a ruff and discard. If West shows out on the first diamond, just play the ace and another and East will be in trouble just the same.

2. ♠ 8 4 3 ♥ K 9 5 ♦ A Q J 9 2 ♣ 7 4 ♠ K J 9 5 2 N ♥ J 8 3 W E ♦ 7 6 4 S ♣ Q 5 ♠ A 6 ♥ A 7 6 ♦ 10 8 3 ♣ A K J 10 3

You know from the Rule of Eleven that East has at least three spades so there might not seem much point in holding up. One benefit if you do duck is that East will return the ♠10 and West will follow with the ♠2 so you will know for sure that West started with a five-card suit. Suppose you then take the diamond finesse: there will be ten top tricks if it works – but you will go down if you take a losing finesse. Fortunately, you can improve your chances by cashing the ace and king of clubs first, just in case either opponent holds the queen doubleton. In such an eventuality, you do not need the diamond finesse at all.

3. ♠ 7 6 5 3 ♥ 9 8 5 ♦ 7 2 ♣ J 10 7 2 ♠ Q J N ♥ K Q J 6 2 W E ♦ J 5 S ♣ 8 5 4 3 ♠ A 9 8 2 ♥ 7 ♦ A K Q 8 6 ♣ A K Q

♠ K 10 4 ♥ A 10 4 3 ♦ 10 9 4 3 ♣ 9 6

You are declarer in 4♠. West leads the ♥K and follows up with the ♥Q. How do you plan the play?

♠ Q 10 7 ♥ Q 10 4 2 ♦ K 5 ♣ 9 8 6 2

Clearly, you have to hope that the missing trumps divide 3-2 or you are sure to go down. Moreover, you wish to remove as many outstanding trumps as possible without losing control – but just see what happens if you ruff the second heart and play the ace of trumps followed by a low one. An unkind opponent might play a third round thus denuding you of trumps and cash a second heart trick. The an-

Page 26

swer is to duck a round of trumps completely at trick three. If the opposition persist in leading hearts, you still have a trump in hand to use – while any other switch you can win in hand. Only then, cash the ace of trumps and play on the minors. Someone will ruff with a master trump at some stage but that is the last trick you will lose.

4. ♠ A 10 6 ♥ 8 3 ♦ A 7 5 4 2 ♣ 7 5 4 ♠ K Q J 9 4 N ♥ J 2 W E ♦ J 10 3 S ♣ Q 9 6 ♠ 3 2 ♥ A K 7 ♦ K Q 9 8 ♣ A J 3 2

♠ 8 7 5 ♥ Q 10 9 6 5 4 ♦ 6 ♣ K 10 8

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠K. How do you plan the play? If you can make five diamond tricks, there will be no problem because then you will have nine tricks on top. Although, in theory, you can cope with finding East with all the missing diamonds, in practice, you do not have the necessary entries to dummy. There is another and much more likely danger. If either opponent holds three diamonds, the suit is blocked (you will have to win the fourth round in hand) and there are only eight tricks available. You need to discard one of those diamonds in your hand, so duck the first spade and the second but win the third round perforce, throwing a diamond from hand. This way, the suit is unblocked and five tricks are available and the contract with it. Should West change his attack at trick two (unlikely), dummy’s entry will remain intact – or you can duck a second round ■ of spades yourself if you so wish.

Andrew Kambites’

Tutorial Bridge Breaks

Lead Quiz You are West in the auctions below. It is your lead. (Answers overleaf.)

January 2012 13-15 The Ardington £245 Declarer Play Sandy Bell 20-22 £245 Ardington Hotel Worthing BN11 3DZ

OCTOBER 2011 28-30 Staverton Park £199 Better Defence Alex Davoud

NOVEMBER 2011 18-20 £199

1 ♠ 3 2 ♥ 9 7 5 3 2

The Ardington Further into the Auction Ned Paul

♣ 2

Staverton Park Nr Daventry NN11 6JT

FEBRUARY 2012 10-12 £245

The Ardington Takeout Doubles Improvers Ned Paul

24-26 £245

The Ardington Suit Establishment Gary Conrad

APRIL 2012 27-29 Blunsdon House Hotel £245 Game Tries Alison Nicolson

JUNE 2012 8-10 The Ardington £245 Endplay & Avoidance Gary Conrad

The Olde Barn Endplay & Avoidance Crombie McNeil

The Ardington Takeout Doubles Improvers Crombie McNeil

DECEMBER 2011 2-4 The Ardington £215 Game Tries Alison Nicolson

SEPTEMBER 2012 28-30 The Ardington £245 Leads & Defence Crombie McNeil

1♠ Pass 5♦ Pass 6♠ End

2 ♠ A 3 ♥ 9 7 5 3 2

N

W E ♦ J 10 9 8 7

♣ 2

S

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass 6♠ End

OCTOBER 2012 The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

MARCH 2012 9-11 The Ardington £245 Hand Evaluation Crombie McNeil

12-14 The Ardington £245 Losing Trick Count Sandy Bell

3 ♠ K Q J

November 2012

♣ 2

9-11 Blunsdon House Hotel £245 Suit Establishment Ned Paul

The Ardington Landy Defence to 1NT Ned Paul

♦ J 9 7 3

N

W E S



West North East South 1♠ End

23-25 The Ardington £245 Sacrificing Ned Paul 30-1/4 £245

♥ A 8 7 3 2

Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠

9-11 Blunsdon House Hotel £245 Signals and Discards Alison Nicolson

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

West North East South Pass 3♠ Pass 4NT

18-20 Staverton Park £199 Stayman & Transfers Improvers Stan Powell 25-27 £215

N

W E

♦ J 10 9 8 7 S



4 ♠ A 9 8 7 ♥ K Q 8 7 2

N

♦ 9 4 2 W E ♣ 2 Blunsdon House Hotel Swindon SN26 7AS

S

West North East South 1♠

See booking form on page 11.

Page 27

Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ End

Answers to Andrew Kambites’  Lead Quiz on page 27 1. ♠ K 9 5 4 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ 6 4 ♣ Q 10 4 3 ♠ 3 2 N ♥ 9 7 5 3 2 W E ♦ J 10 9 8 7 S ♣ 2 ♠ A Q J 8 7 6 ♥ 4 ♦ A K ♣ K J 9 8

♠ 10 ♥ K J 10 8 ♦ Q 5 3 2 ♣ A 7 6 5

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass 6♠ End

Given East’s failure to double 5♦, there is no need to look beyond the obvious lead of the ♣2. Here, East wins the ♣A and gives West a ruff at trick 2 to beat the contract at once. This looks so easy that you might wonder why I included it, so now consider hand 2.

2. ♠ 10 9 5 4 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ Q 4 ♣ K 5 4 3 ♠ A 3 N ♥ 9 7 5 3 2 W E ♦ J 10 9 8 7 S ♣ 2 ♠ K Q J 8 7 6 ♥ 4 ♦ A K ♣ A J 9 8

♠ 2 ♥ K J 10 8 ♦ 6 5 3 2 ♣ Q 10 7 6

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4NT Pass 5♦ Pass 6♠ End

A singleton lead against a suit contract can be very effective if you succeed in

getting a ruff. Less well known is that, if you do not get the ruff, it can do a great deal of damage. You need to follow the play through. If West leads the ♣2, East’s ♣Q forces declarer’s ♣A. Having forced out West’s ♠A and drawn trumps, declarer crosses to dummy’s ♣K and notes that West has no more clubs. A finesse of declarer’s ♣9 becomes marked, so declarer avoids a club loser. If West finds the better lead of the ♦J, declarer is likely to tackle clubs by cashing the ♣K and finessing his ♣J. While this is successful, he has an inescapable club loser. The point is that West is defending against a slam and he has the ace of trumps. Partner is unlikely to have an entry; if he does gain the lead, the contract is down anyway. Aiming for a ruff is irrelevant to beating the contract. In the last issue, we saw that having lots of entries makes it attractive to set up your long suit against no-trumps. Paradoxically, if you are aiming for a ruff against a suit contract, the fewer high cards you have, the better. You need partner to have entries.

3. ♠ 10 6 4 2 ♥ K 10 ♦ A 8 2 ♣ K 8 6 3 ♠ K Q J N ♥ A 8 7 3 2 W E ♦ J 9 7 3 S ♣ 2 ♠ A 9 8 7 5 3 ♥ Q J ♦ Q ♣ A Q 9 7

♠ Void ♥ 9 6 5 4 ♦ K 10 6 5 4 ♣ J 10 5 4

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ End

As is the case in hand 2, West is too strong to make a singleton lead. As in hand 2, a lead of the ♣2 is unlikely to lead to a ruff and severely damages

Page 28

partner’s club holding. Additionally, this time you do not want a ruff because you will be ruffing with a natural trump trick. The best lead is the ♠K: a passive lead, which may sometimes cut down ruffs in dummy.

4. ♠ 5 3 2 ♥ 10 9 4 3 ♦ Q J ♣ Q J 7 6 ♠ A 9 8 7 N ♥ K Q 8 7 2 W E ♦ 9 4 2 S ♣ 2 ♠ K Q J 10 4 ♥ Void ♦ A K 6 ♣ K 10 9 4 3

♠ 6 ♥ A J 6 5 ♦ 10 8 7 5 3 ♣ A 8 5

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ End

Study this deal carefully. If you lead the singleton ♣2, you do no damage to partner’s club holding; indeed, you get your club ruff at trick two. Unfortunately, the ♠A is the only other trick the defenders take. Now examine the play if West leads the ♥K. Declarer ruffs and starts on trumps. West takes his ♠A and continues hearts, making declarer ruff again. Since West has more trumps than declarer or dummy, declarer cannot draw trumps. He plays on clubs. Now West gets his ruff and perseveres with hearts. Declarer cannot prevent a second club ruff. This is a real Gilbert and Sullivan paradox. If West does not aim for a club ruff, he ends up with two club ruffs. The reason is that the heart lead wrests trump control from declarer. The principle here is that, if you are on lead with four trumps, it pays to consider leading your longest suit, aiming to force declarer to ruff. Inexperienced defenders see little point in leading a suit if declarer is going to ruff. It can be ■ a truly deadly defence!

SWANSEA CHARITY by Gwynn Davis

E

ach year, in June, Diana Panniers of Swansea Bridge Club organises a charity bridge weekend (Pairs and Teams) in support of some worthy cause. Wisely, Diana chooses a charity that resonates with her target audience – so this year’s good cause was the Osteoporosis Society. I am afraid Alzheimer’s research cannot be far behind – or maybe that was last year, I cannot remember. Perhaps, on a slightly different tack, the WBU could take a leaf out of Diana’s book, but reverse the process, seeking sponsorship from companies that you might expect to take a close interest in the bridge-playing population, such as undertakers, or funeral expenses insurers. After all, why not put the age profile of our membership to good use before we all kick the bucket? At Swansea, however, they have decided that it is better to give than to receive – which is typical of one of the most welcoming clubs and the friendliest bunch of people one could ever wish to meet. This was a challenging hand from the pairs:

Dealer North. E/W Game. ♠ A K 8 ♥ A 8 7 ♦ Q 10 7 6 ♣ K 9 6 ♠ Q J 10 ♠ 9 7 6 4 ♥ K J 6 5 3 N ♥ 10 9 4 2 W E ♦ 5 2 S ♦ J 3 ♣ 7 4 3 ♣ 10 8 2 ♠ 5 3 2 ♥ Q ♦ A K 9 8 4 ♣ A Q J 5

I opened 1♦ with the North hand and my partner responded 2NT (fit and slam interest). After confirming the suit with 4♦, followed by a couple of cue bids and a Roman Keycard enquiry, I settled for a conservative 6♦.

Not a distinguished effort – and beaten by all those pairs who bid 6NT. As you can see, 7♦ is an excellent contract, but how do you get there? At the time, I felt that I would have made the same 2NT response as my partner with the South hand, but the key to bidding the grand is the solid club suit. This provides a spade discard and hence a spade ruff in the short trump hand, this being the reason why playing the hand in diamonds delivers an extra trick. Employing traditional methods, the only route that I can see to bidding 7♦ is for partner to bid a forcing 3♣ at her first go, before reverting to diamonds. Only then can North feel reasonably confident that dummy will take care of his losers.

Gwynn Davis & Susan Ingham, Mixed Pairs Winners.

We did a bit better on this next one. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ K 9 8 ♥ A Q 9 ♦ Void ♣ A Q J 10 9 8 2 ♠ Q 6 5 2 ♠ A J 7 4 3 ♥ J 10 6 N ♥ K 8 4 2 W E ♦ K 9 5 2 S ♦ Q 3 ♣ 7 5 ♣ 4 3 ♠ 10 ♥ 7 5 3 ♦ A J 10 8 7 6 4 ♣ K 6

Page 29

It is always tricky when partner preempts and you have a strong hand with a good suit of your own. Here, Sue Ingham started with 3♦ as South, as you would. What do you do as North? To my mind, there is only one practical solution, which is to bid 3NT. So, fortified by the knowledge that Sue’s preempts tend to be a trick or two stronger than my own, this is what I did. East led a small spade to the queen and king and to see partner’s ♣K nestling in the dummy was extremely gratifying. With East left to guard both major suits, it was not difficult for declarer then to engineer eleven tricks via a spade endplay. I crossed to the ♣K, cashed the ♦A, throwing a heart and ran the rest of the clubs. For his last four cards, East had to keep two spades and two hearts, allowing me to exit with a spade and score two hearts at the end. It is a lot more fun to be declarer than defender in these situations. Here, to finish, is a hand from the teams. It should have been a triumph but, sadly, it defeated me. Dealer North. E/W Game. ♠ A 2 ♥ 8 ♦ A K 9 7 5 ♣ Q 10 8 7 2 ♠ 10 5 ♠ K J 8 7 3 ♥ A K Q J 10 4 N ♥ 9 5 3 2 W E ♦ J 8 3 2 S ♦ Q ♣ 9 ♣ J 6 5 ♠ Q 9 6 4 ♥ 7 6 ♦ 10 6 4 ♣ A K 4 3

When I showed my minor two-suiter, Sue, sitting South, was happy to compete to 5♣ over the opponents’ 4♥. East/West respectfully declined to double and I found myself trying to make eleven tricks. When the opponents began with the king and ace of hearts, it seemed to me that so long

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Page 30

as the minor suits broke reasonably, with diamonds 3-2, I might be able to achieve an endplay with the third diamond. The opponents would have no choice as to who would win that trick; if whoever won it also held the king of spades my spade loser would vanish, either via a spade led away from the king, or a ruff and discard. That, I am sorry to say, is as far as my thinking went. It just goes to prove that old adage (is it from chess?): when you think you have found a line, take time to try to find a better one. I drew trumps in three rounds (small to the king, cash the ace; back to the queen in my hand) and embarked on diamonds. My ace drew the queen from East, and I experienced that familiar sinking feeling. The principle of restricted choice applies here, making it approximately twice as likely that East’s honour card is singleton rather than from queenjack doubleton. If I were in dummy, I could play now to pick up West’s diamonds for no loser. Unfortunately, I was not in dummy and I had no entry there. Miserably, I played off the king of diamonds, but there was no reprieve. In the fullness of time, I lost a diamond and a spade in addition to the heart at trick one. All I had needed to do was test the diamonds by playing the ace before drawing trumps. It would have been absolutely safe, but unfortunately I missed it. The event as a whole raised the best part of £800 for the Osteoporosis Society – well done Swansea. ■

Bernard Magee Says

Bid No-Trumps Early if You Are Balanced

I

n the auction, a partnership wants to find the right denomination and the right level. To do this, you describe the shape of your hand and its strength. Early no-trump bids are vital because they define your hand closely. Most systems have their own no-trump table. In Acol with a weak no-trump, the table is shown below:

0-11 Pass 12-14 1NT 15-17 Open 1-of-a-suit and rebid no-trumps at lowest level. 18-19 Open 1-of-a-suit and jump rebid in no-trumps. 20-22 2NT 23+ Open 2♣ You use this table if you are balanced: no singleton or void and no more than one doubleton.

Balanced Hand Rule With a balanced opening hand, you must bid no-trumps on your first or second bid except when: (1) you find a fit in a major suit – you support the major, the level you bid defining your strength. (2) you have a strong five-card major and 12-14 points (5-3-3-2 shape) – you can choose to open in your long suit and rebid the suit. What follows is equally important: if the opener does not bid no-trumps in the first two bids, he is unbalanced: when he bids two suits, you can expect his first suit to have five cards.

Hand A ♠ K 7 6 ♥ A K 8 3 2 ♦ A J 9 2 ♣ 4

Hand B ♠ K 7 6 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ A J 9 2 ♣ 4 3

You need to differentiate between hands A and B. Hand A is unbalanced and would prefer playing in a suit, so it opens 1♥ and plans to rebid 2♦ – this is a good description of shape: five hearts and four or more diamonds, but the strength is still largely undefined: 11-17 points. Hand B, meanwhile, is able to describe itself so much more neatly: you open 1♥ and, over a 1♠ response, you rebid 1NT showing a balanced hand with 15-17 points. What is important is that the onus of the system is upon showing a hand’s shape and strength rather than having a stopper in every suit. Hand B has a club weakness, but you overlook this in favour of the accurate description of strength and shape. Let us see how these two hands combine with the responding Hand C:

As you can see, the distinction is key to finding the right contract. After the 2♦ rebid from Hand A, Hand C knows opener has five hearts and thus that there is a good heart fit – he jumps to 3♥, which invites the opener to bid 4♥. After the 1NT rebid, Hand C is balanced too, so is thinking about no-trumps as the likely contract. However, with 3-card support for hearts there might still be an eight-card fit, so he bids 3♥ (forcing). Hand B does not have five hearts, but he does have three spades, so he bids 3♠ and finally with all contracts explored Hand C settles for 3NT. Two balanced hands with no eight-card major fit should finish in no-trumps – the auction needed Hand B to show its balanced nature to make sure the partnership reaches 3NT. Using the no-trump table, you should know how to bid any balanced hand:



Hand C (partner) ♠ A Q J 3 ♥ Q 7 4 ♦ 10 4 ♣ Q 9 8 2



Hand D ♠ 4 3 ♥ A K 6 5 ♦ A Q 9 8 ♣ 7 6 3

Hand C 1♠ 3♥ End



Hand E ♠ 4 3 ♥ A K 6 5 ♦ A Q 9 8 ♣ A K 3

Hand A ♠ K 7 6 ♥ A K 8 3 2 ♦ A J 9 2 ♣ 4

Hand A 1♥ 2♦ 4♥





Hand B ♠ K 7 6 ♥ A K 3 2 ♦ A J 9 2 ♣ 4 3



Hand C (partner) ♠ A Q J 3 ♥ Q 7 4 ♦ 10 4 ♣ Q 9 8 2

Hand B Hand C 1♥ 1♠ 1NT 3♥ 3♠ 3NT End

Page 31

Both these hands are easy to open – do not worry about your weak suits – show your balanced hand. Hand D opens 1NT and Hand E opens 2NT.

Hand F ♠ 4 3 ♥ A K 6 5 3 ♦ A Q 9 ♣ 7 6 3

Hand G ♠ 4 3 ♥ A Q 9 ♦ A K 6 5 3 ♣ 7 6 3

Bid No-Trumps Early continued Hand F is an exception to the rule: with a strong five-card major, you can open 1♥ and rebid 2♥; suggesting a weak single-suited hand. Some choose to open 1NT with hands such as this – I do not, but it is a matter of style. Hand G is not an exception – you should often overlook a five-card minor and just focus on no-trumps – open 1NT.

Hand J ♠ A 4 3 2 ♥ A K J 8 ♦ K 9 8 ♣ 4 2



Hand K (partner) ♠ K Q J 6 5 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A Q 2 ♣ 7 6 5



Hand J Hand K 1♥ 1♠ 2♠ 4♠ End

Your plan with Hand J is to open 1♥ and rebid no-trumps, but when your partner responds 1♠, a fit in a major takes precedence. You raise to 2♠ – your flat hand means that you have many losers; seven. Hand K is able to bid game.

Going Wrong 



Hand L ♠ A 4 2 ♥ A K Q 8 ♦ K 9 8 7 ♣ 4 3 Hand M (partner) ♠ K 8 7 6 ♥ 5 3 ♦ A Q J 2 ♣ 7 6 5

Hand L Hand M 1♥ 1♠ 1NT 3NT End

There will be hands like this when you

finish in a dodgy 3NT, but they will be rare. Even then, they may not end in disaster – if clubs are 4-4 or the opponents do not lead a club, 3NT makes.

Changing Your Plan There are two main reasons to change plan and not bid no-trumps: (1) Your partner has made a limit bid (he has supported your suit or bid no-trumps) (2) Your opponents enter the auction.

Rebidding After a Limit Bid When your partner makes a limit bid in response to your opening (supporting your suit or responding in no-trumps), you have to assess your chances for game. Instead of making a descriptive bid and leaving things up to your partner – he has described his hand – you usually need to make the decision.

Hand P ♠ A 4 2 ♥ A K J 8 ♦ K 9 8 7 ♣ 4 3



Hand Q (partner) ♠ 7 6 ♥ Q 9 5 3 ♦ A 6 5 2 ♣ J 6 5



Hand P Hand Q 1♥ 2♥ End

With Hand P, you planned to open 1♥ then rebid 1NT, but your partner’s 2♥ response changes things: you should be happy playing in the major suit and you cannot possibly have enough strength for game. Had your partner responded 1♠, he could have had any strength, but his 2♥ response shows 6-9 points: adding this to your 15 gives a maximum of 24, suggesting there is no chance for game. A 2NT rebid over a weak limit response should show 17-18 points: it is a balanced game-try. Page 32

Overcalls If the opponents enter the bidding, it is important to adjust: the balanced hand rule does not operate quite the same any more – suddenly, the onus is very much on having a stopper in the opponents’ suit. Furthermore, remember that the rebids in the table assume partner responds to your opening: if partner has passed, he might have no points at all, so you have to drop your level of rebid accordingly.



Hand X ♠ 4 3 ♥ A K 6 5 ♦ A K 3 ♣ A 9 6 3

West 1♥ ?

North 1♠

Hand Y ♠ A 4 3 ♥ A K 6 5 ♦ A K 9 3 ♣ 6 3

East South Pass Pass

Hands X and Y are two different West hands – they both opened 1♥ and heard North overcall 1♠. Your partner’s pass is significant – he might have no points at all. Hand X has no stopper in spades so should not rebid no-trumps, the best call is to double – early in auctions when people have bid only suits, doubles are for takeout, forcing partner to bid again. Hand Y does have a spade stopper so can bid no-trumps, but do not bid the planned 2NT: partner might have nothing – for this reason a rebid of 1NT over an overcall (partner having passed) shows a strong hand: 17-19 points.

Conclusion At some point in an auction, it is important for one hand to show its strength: this you can do by making a limit bid – a bid that closely defines a hand’s potential. Limit bids come in two types: notrump bids or same suit bids. With a balanced hand, you should aim to make a limit bid on one of your first two bids: use the balanced hand table to help you. If you get into the habit of describing your hand accurately, then your partnership should get to better contracts, as long as, of course, you trust your partner. ■

Stephen Cashmore Says

Stay Low on a Misfit

‘S

tay low on a misfit’ probably dates from the earliest years of contract bridge. It is a most useful maxim. By definition, you and your partner do not have a trump fit, so playing in a suit contract is probably not a good idea. The trouble is, you might arrive at an uncomfortably high level before you can figure this out. For example:



♠ A Q 7 6 5 2 ♥ 5 2 N W E ♦ A S ♣ A J 8 5

♠ Void ♥ K J 7 6 3 ♦ Q 10 6 5 2 ♣ K 7 3

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♣ Pass ?

East-West have lurched up to the three level, are still in a forcing situation and have failed to find a trump fit. As you can see, no game contract looks very appetising on these cards. Unfortunately, the chances are that East-West, having failed to find a fit, will end up in 3NT. Of course, that has its own problems. Suppose the defence lead a club. Where are nine tricks coming from? There are only four tricks on top. You will need a lot of luck to bring the total up to nine. With the void in spades, East might have foreseen the misfit and responded 1NT. Why does 3NT fare poorly on this sort of deal? There are two reasons. Firstly, no suit is able to act as a source of tricks – not surprising, given the misfit. Secondly, transport between the two hands is often difficult. With misfitting hands, there tend to be few entries from hand to hand. Even if you seem to have plenty of tricks, it may be hard to reach them. If you set up one hand, the defenders put you in the other.

There are usually warning signs during the auction to indicate that the two hands are a misfit. For example: a Partner bids a suit in which you have a void or singleton. b Partner refuses to support your suit even after you have bid it twice. c An opponent makes a bid (or a takeout double) that shows your suits – you deduce that partner must be short. As soon as you diagnose that the hands do not fit well, my advice is to drop the bidding as soon as possible. The correct auction with these two hands is: 1♠-1NT-2♣-End. Here are two more examples: Hand 1 Hand 2 ♠ 2 ♠ Void ♥ A K Q 8 ♥ A 9 6 5 ♦ A Q 9 6 2 ♦ Q 6 2 ♣ Q 7 3 ♣ Q 9 8 6 5 2

With Hand 1, you open the bidding with 1♦. Partner responds 1♠, which is not very promising. Still, you have a solid 17 points, so your next move is to make a reverse bid of 2♥, which shows both your strength and longer diamonds than hearts. Partner bids 2♠ (non-forcing). What do you do now? It is easy to think, ‘my partner has responded, so game cannot be far away. Even if he has only 6 or 7 points, it must be safe to issue an invitation. Let’s try 2NT.’

♠ 2 ♥ A K Q 8 ♦ A Q 9 6 2 ♣ Q 7 3

N W E S

♠ A K 9 8 5 3 ♥ 5 2 ♦ 8 5 ♣ 9 8 6

Here, you see a typical hand for partner – indeed, it could be worse.

Page 33

What is poor partner to do now? 2NT will play poorly. You will need the diamond finesse and probably a club trick to get close. That is even ignoring the problems of whether or not to cash the second top spade the one and only time you are in dummy. Partner could put you into 3♦ or try a desperate 3♠ but these may fare almost as badly. The root cause of all these problems – both in the bidding and in the play – is that the hands are a misfit. Your best course of action is to stay low and pass 2♠. When you hold Hand 2, LHO opens 1♥, partner overcalls 1♠, and RHO passes. What do you do now? Many players would think, ‘oops, I’d better get us out of this mess,’ and bid 2♣. However, in the modern style, when a new suit after partner’s overcall is encouraging or forcing, partner is likely to continue with 2♠. This just takes you out of the frying pan into the fire. The hands for your side could be like this:

♠ Void ♥ A 9 6 5 N W E ♦ Q 6 2 S ♣ Q 9 8 6 5 2

♠ A K 9 8 5 3 ♥ 8 7 ♦ K 9 8 ♣ 10 3

The best way to ‘get out of this mess’ is to pass. Partner is unlikely to come to much harm in 1♠. The opponents might come back into the bidding anyway. If they double 1♠, then you might run to 2♣ and partner can be sure that you are making a rescue bid. To sum up, if your hands appear to be a misfit, you may not be able to find a great contract. Instead of thrashing about trying to find one, while the bidding escalates ever higher, do the sensible thing and drop out of the bidding as quickly as possible. As the ■ maxim says: stay low on a misfit.

David Huggett Says

Give False Preference

R

eturning to partner’s first suit when you have slightly more cards in his second is ‘giving false preference.’ On all but the weakest of hands, it is usually correct. Take this deal: Love All. Dealer North. ♠ A J 10 9 6 ♥ A Q J 10 ♦ 8 5 ♣ J 3 ♠ Q 3 N ♠ K 7 5 2 ♥ 9 7 4 3 W E ♥ K 2 ♦ A 10 7 6 S ♦ K Q 3 ♣ Q 7 6 ♣ 9 8 5 4 ♠ 8 4 ♥ 8 6 5 ♦ J 9 4 2 ♣ A K 10 2

West Pass

North 1♠ 2♥

East Pass Pass

South 1NT ?

With a hand so limited, it might appear that the best option would be to pass – in fact, you should go back to partner’s first suit and bid 2♠. Why is this? Well the likeliest distribution that partner has in the majors is 5-4, if only because hands that contain a five-card suit and a fourcard suit are much more common than ones containing two five-card suits. If that is the case, then the opposition hold six trumps in both the majors and the most likely distribution of those six cards is 4-2 and not 3-3. This means of course that, if you play with hearts as trumps, then one of the opponents is likely to have as many trumps as declarer and this is never a good thing. What often happens in those circumstances is that the defence will play a forcing game, making declarer ruff in the long trump hand and that is what would happen here.

In 2♥, three rounds of diamonds are nasty: if declarer ruffs, he will be down to three trumps – one fewer than West. The upshot is he loses control and fails in his contract. Instead, if South gives preference to 2♠, North will pass and diamond forces will do declarer no great harm. He will lose at most two spades, two diamonds and a heart. There is another important reason for going back to partner’s first suit – and that is partner might have a good hand and want the auction to continue. Love All. Dealer North. ♠ K Q 3 ♥ A K 7 6 4 ♦ A J 8 5 ♣ 4 ♠ 7 6 5 ♠ 9 2 N ♥ J 8 ♥ Q 9 5 3 W E ♦ Q 10 7 4 S ♦ 6 3 ♣ A Q 8 3 ♣ K J 9 6 2 ♠ A J 10 8 4 ♥ 10 2 ♦ K 9 2 ♣ 10 7 5

West Pass Pass End

North 1♥ 2♦ 2♠

East Pass Pass Pass

South 1♠ 2♥ 4♠

Again, it might look tempting to pass 2♦ or even to bid 2♠, but correct is to give false preference and bid 2♥. See what happens if you do. North then paints a delicate picture by giving delayed support to responder’s suit, surely showing three cards and hence, by inference, a singleton club at most. Responder is charmed and, knowing that all his points are working, should have no hesitation in bidding game. 4♠ makes easily via a club ruff in dummy. Page 34

Note that, by continuing with 2♠ over 2♥, opener is showing a good hand. If he had an ace less, his correct rebid would have been 2♠ and not 2♦. Even if responder gives false preference to opener’s first suit, the second suit may not be lost forever: Love All. Dealer North. ♠ A K 8 6 5 ♥ K J 10 5 3 ♦ 5 ♣ A 2 ♠ 10 4 3 ♠ Q J 7 N ♥ A 7 6 W E ♥ 8 4 ♦ A 10 7 3 S ♦ Q 9 8 2 ♣ Q 10 5 ♣ J 9 7 4 ♠ 9 2 ♥ Q 9 2 ♦ K J 6 4 ♣ K 8 6 3

West Pass Pass End

North 1♠ 2♥ 3♥

East Pass Pass Pass

South 1NT 2♠ 4♥

If South passed 2♥ because he had lost interest, he would no doubt have felt guilty when his partner racked up eleven tricks. As 4♥ is a great contract and North’s first two bids are correct, it becomes clear that South has to bid again over 2♥ and the only forward going move is 2♠. (As an aside, the hand is not good enough to rebid 2NT as some would – it cannot be worth 1NT one minute and 2NT the next.) Thus, once opener repeats his hearts, showing 5-5 in the majors at least, the responding hand is worth a shot at game. Declarer will make eleven tricks by ruffing a spade and finding the suit breaks evenly, but that is just a bonus. You reach the good game by giving ‘false preference’ to start with. ■

From the Baron’s Archives by Dick Atkinson

The Poor Man’s Ace

M

y uncle, Baron Leopold von Münchausen, sat dozing by the fire. He is physically very frail these days, shrunken and wrinkled like an Egyptian mummy. When those wickedly intelligent eyes are veiled, it is hard to remind oneself that inside this decrepit shell lurks the intellect of an Einstein, the ambition of an Alexander and the warmth and generosity of an Attila. I was quietly re-reading one of my favourite golden oldies, Bridge is an Easy Game by Iain Macleod, one of the original Acol team and a probable World Champion if only politics had not curtailed his bridge career. He was also, of course, a probable Prime Minister if only premature death had not curtailed his political career. In time honoured tradition, after an introductory chapter, Macleod’s Chapter 2 was entitled ‘The Opening Suit Bid of One’. Examples were given of the Acol Light Opener. Kenneth Konstam, an English international, had opened 1♠ on this hand:



♠ K 9 7 6 4 2 ♥ A 10 5 3 ♦ Void ♣ Q 8 6

That seemed a little extreme to me. Still, I suppose the six-card spade suit and the natural 2♥ rebid in the fair side-suit make it very unlikely that partner will insist on no-trumps. Also, you have your fair share of control cards: an ace and a king. OK. Maurice Harrison-Gray had opened 1♣ with:



♠ Q 8 6 ♥ Void ♦ A Q 5 3 ♣ Q 9 7 6 4 2

I wasn’t so happy with this. For me, it would be a toss-up between pass and 3♣. No major suit, no alternative to re-bidding the opened suit (since you can’t possibly reverse into 2♦) and you are short of control cards . . . I hadn’t realised it, but I must have been talking to myself. That happens more and more these days . . . The Baron’s eyes flicked open malevolently, exactly like the exhumed corpse in all the best vampire movies. ‘Rubbish!’ He is always hypercritical of my opinions, but this was the outside of enough. ‘For heaven’s sake, Uncle Leo, you haven’t even seen the damned hand!’

Battle is joined Battle was joined, and the moustachioed­Münchausen sneer curled cruelly like a Venus fly-trap. ‘I don’t need to see it. Gray was a fine player – good, intuitive, natural bidder. It makes my blood boil when I hear a real player being bad-mouthed by a palooka who isn’t fit to . . . to . . . count his points for him!’ he concluded in triumphant irony. Bad-mouthed? Has he been watching day-time television or something? ‘I know your opinion of the point count. That wasn’t the issue. It’s about highcard structure. One ace, no kings . . . see for yourself.’ Page 35

I shoved the page under his nose and stabbed a shaky finger at the hand in question. ‘Hmph! Have you never heard of ‘The Poor Man’s Ace’?’ he barked. I had. ‘I have heard that description applied to the void suit – fine. Fine. And when partner insists, as he almost certainly will, on 3NT, your wonderful void suit will mean they have a couple of extra hearts to cash, a couple of extra undertricks. A void is useless in no-trumps. Worse than useless.’ ‘Pen!’ I have become so quick on the draw over the years that I had passed him the antique Onoto from his davenport while he still held my precious first edition in his claw-like grasp. With a practised flip, he opened the volume at the back end-paper and began to scrawl. ‘Teams of four. A select little invi­ta­ tional event for blue-blooded Grand Masters, many years ago now. Every­one who is anyone was there – de Nexon, von Zedtwitz . . . I was playing with Monsieur le Chevalier de Malvoisin, well known as a tricky bridgeur.’ The Baron paused to fortify himself from a huge schooner of dry sherry – he has allowed himself nothing stronger before lunch since his hundredth birthday – and continued, ‘Fourth in hand against a couple of Hapsburg younger sons, I held these cards at favourable vulnerability.’ He showed me the vandalised page:

♠ Void ♥ A ♦ A Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ♣ Void

The Poor Man’s Ace continued

‘Seven—’ ‘My partner opened 1♥. Don’t interrupt! As you were about to observe, the opening is out of turn—’ ‘So you were barred from the—’ His glare would have char-grilled a T-bone steak. ‘Almost before my partner had finished speaking, East – visibly twitching with excitement – confidently leapt all the way to 7♣, thus condoning the opening and therefore restoring my bidding rights. He must obviously have believed he was going to make the contract. Looking at my red aces that meant he had all thirteen clubs, or a hand consisting entirely of top clubs and top spades. I had no choice but to—’ ‘Seven dia—’ ‘Stop doing that! I had no choice but to call 7♦, which would in any event have been my destination. Already it was anybody’s guess who was serious and who was sacrificing. West, however, joined the party with 7♥, almost without a flicker. My partner passed—’ ‘But that’s inconceivable! He must have a double of 7♥!’ ‘The sheer immensity of the number of things of which you cannot conceive never ceases to amaze me. Partner has psyched. This is clearly exposed by the 7♥ call, by the mysterious failure to double that contract and by the demons­trable power of the other three hands. Now, East produces a bid of 7♠. Over to you.’ Could the double be right? I couldn’t see it. I puzzled on. I remember a hand he showed me once when it was essen­ tial for the opening leader to double to pre­vent his partner from making a re­ vea­ling Lightner double. Could that be the point? ‘All right. Double.’ ‘What is East’s hand at this stage?’ ‘Well, as you said, top clubs and top spades.’ He threw up his hands wearily. ‘Yes, yes. How many?’ ‘Oh, I suppose he must have five or six spades, and seven or eight clubs. Seven clubs and six spades, I guess.’ ‘Quite right and it’s no guess. Let us suppose that you do not make this

fatuous double, as, of course, I did not, and that your partner doubles instead. Your right-hand opponent thinks long and hard, then redoubles. What now?’ ‘I see – it’s a lead problem. Partner can ruff something. But it would be over-ruffed, unless it’s a cl—’ ‘It can’t be a club. That would give the declarer’s partner six of them, which means he could not have sufficient length for that very snappy 7♥ bid.’ Six, or at most seven hearts, lacking the ace – he was no doubt right. ‘Then maybe partner has a trump trick,’ I offered. ‘And yet declarer redoubled, which sug­ges­ts his trumps are solid. Quite a conundrum . . . But I let my Münchausen radar reach out and detect the subtle influences. Why on earth did my partner psyche? He has a long weak spade suit – his escape suit when hearts are doubled for penalties. That is a huge risk, if I should raise to four or five or more hearts, even at the score. His hand must be an appalling dummy, a Yarborough no doubt. Then it all clicked – the assurance of my opponents’ bidding, the despera­tion of my partner’s psyche, the trump trick against a solid suit. I called 7NT.’ His stories are more outrageous every time! ‘Preposterous! You are wide open in two suits.’ ‘Not at all. I have first-round control in all four suits.’ ‘In diamonds, yes, but what are your black suit controls in no-trumps?’ ‘The two voids.’ He had finally gone over the edge. Even the great Baron could not escape senility forever. ‘How can your voids control suits in no-trumps?’ I asked gently, as to a confused child. ‘Not my voids, you patronising fool – West’s! This was my tentative analysis, which turned out to be correct in all essential details. ‘East actually had the deuce of clubs and North the eight. Since West was on lead, his two black suit voids provided first round control for my 7NT.’ I looked at the full layout he had been scribbling in the back of my book. South’s two red aces and West’s two black voids gave the Baron all the controls he needed for 7NT – on just 11 points. 7♣ would never be Page 36

left to play, and 7♠, of course, has an inevitable problem in the trump suit, so East-West are bound to record a minus and the Baron had pulled off yet another surreal killing.

♠ 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ♥ Void ♦ Void ♣ 7 6 5 4 3 2 ♠ Void ♠ A K Q J 10 9 ♥ K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ♥ Void N ♦ K W E ♦ Void ♣ Void S ♣ A K Q J 10 9 8 ♠ Void ♥ A ♦ A Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 ♣ Void

The aftermath ‘So you won a swing of, what, 1,300?’ ‘Not so fast. In the other room my nieces Mitzi and Fritzi were East-West. Fritzi opened 4NT – very English, but they do love their conventions, these young girls. They both attended Roedean when your Great-uncle Max was Ambas­sador to the Court of St James, you know. But I diverge. Mitzi went straight to 7♣, and the auction then proceeded much as in the other—’ ‘You mean the board was tied? I find it hard to believe that another South was capable of finding that 7NT bid.’ ‘We shall never know. Much as in the other room, I was going to say – before I was so rudely interrupted – as far as North’s double of 7♠. Mitzi’s Münch­ausen radar was in good form, too, it seems. She called 7NT before South got the chance.’ ‘But . . . Oh.’ After that opening bid, North was on lead of course. ‘7NT bid and made, with no defence, in both rooms.’ The poor man’s ace . . . ‘Did I not mention the doubles and redoubles?’ He chortled, glorying as usual in having the last word. ‘I’m surprised you didn’t try to claim 150 for aces in both rooms!’ He smiled witheringly. But for once, I had actually got the last word. Some­ how that didn’t seem right and so I kindly offered him the opportunity to revel in his triumph, as is his wont:

The Poor Man’s Ace continued

‘Redoubled in both rooms? That must have been about a 5,000-point board?’ ‘Aah . . . More, if the result had stood. The Director was called and it was pointed out that we had profited from a similar Psychic Shut-out bid earlier in the competition.’ ‘Ps—’ ‘If you have an absolute Yarborough and psyche out of turn, you can enjoy the best of both worlds – disrupt the opponents’ bidding, and prevent your partner from getting involved.’ ‘Surely East condoned the bid out of turn . . .’ ‘True. But once I had deciphered the auction, there was the question of Unauthorised Information. Would he have called that way without a Yarbo­ rough – if he had held, for instance, the singleton king of diamonds? That card is crucial in my analysis.’ ‘What was the adjusted score?’ I asked sympathetically. He shook his head. ‘No adjustment. This was a match. The result was void, and we had to play a substitute board.’ ‘Phew! You must have been furious with your partner. The dishonest intent, of course, but also the stupidity of trying to get away with the same ploy twice.’ De Malvoisin was obviously one of those arrogant cheats you come across from time to time. ‘Who did he psyche against the first time?’ ‘That is enough on that subject. Yours, I believe?’ he asked unnec­ essarily, passing back my violated book.

It was unlike the Baron to forego the opportunity to blackguard his partner. And then it dawned on me. ‘I am reminded of ‘the curious incident of the dog in the night’,’ I said archly. ‘You know. Watson replies that the dog did not bark, and Holmes says, ‘That was the curious incident’.’ The Baron shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Ha! ‘Caught you, you devious old psycher. You should have barked, Uncle Leo. ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’.’ ‘I believe you will find the story was ‘Silver Blaze’,’ he retorted with what dignity he could muster, and my small victory was turned to ashes.

Author’s note There have been occasions, reportedly authentic, when a player with three aces has overcalled 7NT against an opening bid at the seven level by the right-hand opponent – who was presumably revea­ ling a thirteen-card suit and therefore a void in his partner’s hand. Some have ended happily, others not. The Baron’s logic is a little more contorted than that. In keeping with his usual style, the hand establishes an unbeatable record. Unless there are penalty cards or other constraints, 11 points is the absolute minimum for a solid 7NT contract. Bridge Is An Easy Game is over fifty years old, now. It was published origin­a lly by Frederick Muller, London, 1952 and ran into several editions. More recently, there was a paperback edition, and more recently still an ‘updated’ version with a couple of chapters

added by Peter Donovan. At least this preserved Mac­ leod’s text leaving it relatively unscathed. Personally, I rate the original as the best ever book on the Acol system, but it is more than a bidding text-book. There is the early History of Acol and half of the book is about the play of the cards. There are tables of odds, twenty-five deals from actual play, a system summary for reference, a chapter on duplicate bridge technique, a chapter on becoming an expert. Perhaps the only bits which have seriously dated relate to slam bidding – cue bidding surely works better than high-level trial bids. (Macleod had in­vented Trial Bids and, like Pygmalion, was overly enamoured of his creation.) And yet it is all entirely readable, stylish without being pompous, erudite without being schoolmasterish and witty without being trivial. I’ve read it maybe half a dozen times. There is even one of the funniest hands ever played, as bizarre as anything the Baron has encountered – but that is Macleod’s true story of the Lithuanian Timber Merchant and I shall not spoil it by telling you any more. This really is a case for the old cliché: ‘If you only buy one bridge book, make it this one.’ Except that you should buy two – one for your partner. Macleod will really show you what Acol is all about and what bridge is all about. ■

Page 37

Previously published in BRIDGE 68

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Catching Up by Sally Brock

T

he main bridge event since I last wrote was the EBU Summer Congress in Brighton. The last time I was down there for the week was in 1973 – before I was married for the first time. Indeed, the midweek Mixed Pairs’ trophy is the only one I won under my maiden name. This year, we have booked an apartment in The Lanes; Briony and her friend Amy are coming with us. The idea is that they more or less do their own thing just slightly supervised by us. I am more than slightly worried that this might prove troublesome. The first weekend does not start well. Barry is working in Brighton on the Friday, so we agree that I will drive down to join him in the afternoon. The night before, he drove over to our house to leave his suitcase with me so he did not have to take it on the train. I get as far as the top of the M23, crawling fairly slowly around the M25 in Friday afternoon traffic, before I remember I have left his suitcase in the boot of his car. So I have to go back for it. In all, what should be a one-and-a-half hour drive takes me over six hours. The flat is fine, over an Indian restaurant, but in a pretty lively area. There are three all-night off-licences in view from our small balcony. The girls

arrive by train on Saturday (Briony now has a Saturday job – waitressing in the café in the shopping centre – which she did not want to miss). The Swiss Pairs goes passably. We achieve a reasonable place at the end of Saturday – lying 11th – but things do not go so well on the Sunday and we drop down to finish 40th or so. This was my favourite moment: At Love All, in fourth seat, I hold:

♠ A K 9 4 3 2 ♥ A K Q J ♦ Void ♣ K 5 3

Pass on my left, pass from Barry, 3♦ on my right. Double is easy for now. 3♥ on my left, double from Barry. This situation is easy for us to handle. When we started playing this game, that 3♥ was a common psyche, so I know that the double is for penalties, and I am happy to pass for now. 5♦ on my left, 5♥ from Barry. Wow! He is doing a lot of bidding for a passed hand. Surely, he has one top card; it seems very likely that he holds the ace of clubs, so 7♥ from me. Double on my right – whoops! Oh well, they might

not lead a club. This is the full deal: ♠ A K 9 4 3 2 ♥ A K Q J ♦ Void ♣ K 5 3 ♠ Q J 7 5 ♠ 8 ♥ 4 N ♥ 10 ♦ Q 10 8 7 6 3 W E ♦ K 9 5 4 2 S ♣ 8 7 ♣ A 10 9 6 4 2 ♠ 10 6 ♥ 9 8 7 6 5 3 2 ♦ A J ♣ Q J

West duly interprets his partner’s double as Lightner and leads a spade, so Barry is able to set up a couple of tricks in that suit on which to discard his losing clubs. As luck would have it, one of Barry’s old university friends and earliest bridge partners, Rodney, and his wife Lorraine had arranged a week’s holiday in the South Downs that coincided with the Brighton week. On the Tuesday, we had a splendid day out with them walking on Beachy Head. The weather was glorious and we did not even mind Lorraine’s map reading too much when the five-mile

FOR NEW READERS AND ANYONE WHO MIGHT HAVE FORGOTTEN… Sally Brock lives in High Wycombe with her teenage children Toby (17) and Briony (15), her husband Raymond having died in early 2008. She now has a new partner, both at and away from the bridge table, Barry Myers, a barrister who lives in Shepherd’s Bush. She works partly as a bridge professional, occasionally playing for pay but more often writing (she is the bridge columnist for The Sunday Times) and teaching online; the rest of the time she works on the production of travel guides – hence the occasional reference to rather obscure countries. Sally has been a member of the British/English women’s team on and off since 1979. These days, she partners Nicola Smith in these events.

Page 40

Catching Up continued

walk turned into at least ten (I might be exaggerating a little). On the Wednesday evening, they came into Brighton and we all visited the Royal Pavilion. If you have not tried that, I would recommend it – always a fan of glitz and glitter, I have never seen more over-the-top décor. Then, after fish and chips on the pier, we played with them in the Mixed Pivot Teams. Lorraine is very much an occasional bridge player, using very simple methods – Acol Twos, no transfers, or Sputnik doubles – and had practised hard for this event (getting worse each time, according to Rodney). She did not have to worry about letting us down – Barry and I managed that all on our own. In the first stanza, we managed the worst set we have ever had together (and that is saying something). Fortunately, when we pivoted, things improved. When Barry played with Lorraine, he held the following hand:

♠ A 8 7 5 ♥ A 3 ♦ A Q J 10 9 3 2 ♣ Void

He saw his left-hand opponent open 4♥ and Lorraine overcall 4♠. How could he possibly investigate with an inexperienced partner? Mindful of my success with leaping to a grand slam earlier, he settled for just that: 7♠. This was the full deal: ♠ A 8 7 5 ♥ A 3 ♦ A Q J 10 9 3 2 ♣ Void ♠ J 6 3 ♠ 2 ♥ 9 4 N ♥ K J 10 8 7 6 5 2 W E ♦ 8 7 6 4 S ♦ 5 ♣ Q 8 6 2 ♣ A 4 3 ♠ K Q 10 9 4 ♥ Q ♦ K ♣ K J 10 9 7 5

Lorraine counted her tricks several times before making a claim. She had never before made a grand slam.

♣♦♥♠

Apart from all the events in Brighton there were two very significant events going on in High Wycombe. The first was Toby’s driving test, which he unfortunately and rather unluckily failed. Approaching a roundabout, he assumed that the driver signalling right was going to turn right when, in fact, he was going all the way around and back on himself. The tester had to apply emergency brakes and that was an automatic fail. Still, he recommended that Toby should apply again immediately. The second significant event was Toby’s AS results. He got ABCD (at his grammar school they all do four A levels). I was reasonably happy with this, even more so when I discovered that, out of his eight or nine close friends, four did not get the three Ds required to stay on at school. On the Friday, the girls went home on the train and we moved from our apartment into a delightful B&B. In the Swiss Teams, I played with Nicola while my Barry and Frank To formed the rest of our team. We were generally playing at the top few tables, eventually finishing 10th to qualify for the B final. Like in the Pairs, the run-up to the final did not go too well. Thinking that it started at 12.30, we were finishing our breakfast just after 11 when we got a phone call asking where we were. We did have some justification from our view about the starting time. Some of the scoring booklets had been misprinted; the ones Nicola and I were using had the cover for the teams but the inside for the pairs where the Sunday starting time had been 12.30 – but not enough to avoid the 9 IMP fine imposed for missing three boards. This was not the best of starts and things went downhill from there; we had to settle for being antepenultimate. In any case, we did enjoy the week and may well do it again. ■ Page 41

Seven Days by Sally Brock Thursday Briony has been staying with my parents in Wiltshire for a couple of days. I start the day in Barry’s flat and meet her at Maidenhead station in order to go to school to pick up her GCSE results. She has become increasingly nervous about these over the last week or so; she gets into the car and hands me the envelope, which we barely dare to open. We are very pleased with her 6 As and 4 Bs (to go with the A in maths last year). Especially pleasing is her history result: she did poorly in her course work, getting a D, although it is one of her favourite subjects. She ends up with an overall A (almost mathematically impossible), by scoring 86%, 86% and 98% on her three written papers. Afterwards, we go to John Lewis, first for a celebratory coffee and cake, then to buy all the goodies we have promised her as a reward (as well as getting some vacuum cleaner bags for Barry). In the evening, we have a roast chicken dinner. Tom and Taylor, a couple of Toby’s friends, join us. They have come to stay the night because …

Friday …Toby and his friends are going to a computer-games playing conference in Telford. Because he has to take camping gear and his computer with him, it is impractical for him to go on the train, so I have volunteered to take them on the condition that someone else brings them back. We are up early, leaving the house at 07.30. The journey is uneventful, though tedious. We stop for breakfast on the way and I get home around 12.30.

Seven Days continued

Besides squeezing in a bit of work (USA by Rail and Kyrgyzstan are on the go as I write), I have an online bridge session with Richard and Gerry in the afternoon. In the evening, Briony and I have a girlie night in with TV and savoury pancakes made from the remains of last night’s chicken.

Saturday I take Briony to work in the morning before going on into London. Barry just has time to vacuum the flat before we rush off to meet up with some northern friends who are visiting London. When we leave, the weather is glorious but, as we come out of the tube station, the heavens open. The plan had been to take their dog for a walk but it is too wet for us so we take him back to the house where they are staying. Of course, as soon as we do that, the rain stops and the sun comes out, so we go for a dogless walk in Highgate and then have lunch in a Greek restaurant. We leave them at three or so, and go to Heather and Jeremy’s in Hendon where they have invited us to a bridge individual tournament and barbecue. It is a fun afternoon/evening. Barry’s success in the slam zone continues when he plays with the most inexperienced player, Debbie, who has been playing only a year. He holds:







♠ 6 5 3 ♥ 10 8 7 6 3 2 ♦ K 7 6 ♣ 5

Debbie opens 2♣; he gives a 2♦ negative and she rebids 2♥. He starts with a simple raise to 3♥, over which she bids 4♥. Knowing that there is no room for delicacy, he tries 4NT and bids 6♥ when he hears of three (real) aces opposite. He knows he has done the right thing: the lead is the queen of clubs, overtaken with the king.

Debbie’s hand is:







♠ A K Q ♥ A K Q J ♦ A 3 ♣ 9 8 6 2

There is no problem in the play and she clocks up her first ever slam. Although the afternoon has been showery, the evening is pleasant enough and we manage to eat outside.

Sunday Sunday is a lazy day with nothing much to do. We vaguely consider getting out and doing something constructive but then think better of it. I spend most of the day reading my book, doing various puzzles from Saturday’s Times and watching the athletics. Barry is a great athletics fan (he has been to several past world championships – when they were in rather more accessible places than Daegu in South Korea) and I am gradually beginning to get the hang of it. I forgot to mention in Catching Up that, at the end of July, we (Barry, Briony, Margaret, Martin and I) went to an athletics meeting at Crystal Palace. In the evening, we go to dinner at Margaret and Martin’s. We spend a fair part of the evening consoling Margaret who is distraught about Usain Bolt’s false start. Around midnight, I get a phone call from Toby in Telford to say he is in A&E at Telford hospital. He managed to tear a soft contact lens while trying to take it out and he thinks he left a bit of it in his eye. After many attempts to get it out, he went to the hospital but they cannot see it; they tell him they do not think there is anything there and he may have just scratched his eye.

Monday Briony and her friend Sam come into London on the train (actually it is a bus replacement service as the much vaunted improvements in the railway line between High Wycombe and Marylebone which were due to finish over the bank holiday weekend are still ongoing). We meet at the flat and Page 42

then off we go to the Notting Hill Carnival. This is something I have always wanted to go to and I am not disappointed. I thought it would be much more crowded than it actually is. Apart from in a couple of places where there is a street rave going on with extremely loud music and people dancing in the street, I am never uncomfortable; it is easy to get a good view of the procession and all the amazing costumes. I enjoy my lunch of curried goat. We arrive home early evening and Toby gets home shortly thereafter, still with a sore and swollen eye, sure that there is a piece of the lens still there. He is due to go to Cornwall with his friend Tom on the 09.30 train from Reading in the morning, so we ring the local A&E to see if they think we should bring him in. They pass us from pillar to post but nobody seems keen to see him on a bank holiday evening, so we decide to wait until morning.

Tuesday We have discovered that Specsavers opens at eight o’clock so we are there when they open but the opticians do not get in until nine. That scuppers Toby’s train. Their advice is to take him to High Wycombe A&E which we do (incidentally, we are in and out in an impressive half an hour – thus still allowing me to take Briony for her dental appointment at 10.30.). They refer us to the eye clinic at Stoke Mandeville, where we go for an appointment in the afternoon. The doctor there says Toby has an ulcerated cornea and prescribes antibiotic drops that he has to use hourly (and some cream to use when he sleeps). We will have to go back on Thursday. In the evening, a friend, Alan, is staying with Barry while he is in London on business. The deal with his company is that they pay the cost of dinner for us instead of for a hotel for Alan, so I drive into London to join them, and we go for an excellent meal at a local Spanish tapas bar.

Wednesday We all leave the flat at nine: Alan and Barry to go to work and I to go

Seven Days continued

home because the parking charges start at nine. I have a 10.30 date with Nicola and Simon, our coach, to practise online. We have recently decided to play that an opening 3NT shows a strong four-level opening in a major. Simon sets up some hands for us and we practise this area of the system. Then we just play some random deals. Simon gives us a combined 22-count or so, and sets about making our lives as miserable as possible. A hand comes up that involves a jump 2NT rebid. I am very uncertain about this area of the system; when it comes up it turns out that we disagree about the system that we actually play. Simon acts as referee for the ensuing discussion and then sets up some hands to practise this. Before we know it, the time is one o’clock. After a bite to eat, I have a two-hour teaching session with Richard and Gerry. Although I had a session booked with them when I was in Brighton (I can do everything away from home on my laptop), the internet connection at the flat was terrible; after losing the connection several times, we eventually abandoned the effort. This means it is a while since we have had a proper session. There is also a bit of a rush to get some work done, both travel guide work and bridge writing – this column and my Sunday Times article – because we are going to Beijing for a week on Saturday. More of that next time. ■

CHARITY BRIDGE EVENTS OCTOBER 2011

NOVEMBER continued

28 CHESHIRE HOMES Village Hall, Hartford, Hunts, Cambs. 10 for 10.30am. £13.50. Malcolm Howarth ( 01480 212910 28 OUR KINDERGARTEN IN BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA Our Lady Queen of All Creation RC Church, Rant Meadow, Hemel Hempstead. 9am tea/coffee. 9.45am bridge starts. Hot lunch. £15pp. Pat Henry ( 01442 391087 28 WESSEX CANCER TRUST SOUTHAMPTON GROUP Rubber bridge at Highfield Church Centre, Highfield Lane, Southampton. 7pm for 7:15pm. £6pp . Light refreshments. Gwen Pearce ( 02380 236145 29 CHRISTIAN AID Church Rooms, Church Road, Preston, Weymouth. 1.45 for 2.00pm Julia Moore ( 01305 776138 [email protected] 31 RNLI. Bridge at Crowborough Beacon Golf Club. £26 per table. Penny Eliot ( 01825 830006 31 FRIENDS OF EAST SUSSEX HOSPICE. Glyndebourne Opera House, The Mildmay Hall. 5.15pm Bridge Supper with champagne reception. Dianne Steele ( 01435 813630

NOVEMBER 2011 7 St Teresa’s HOSPICE Bridge at St George’s Bridge Centre, Darlington. 1.15pm. £5 to include bridge, tea and prizes. Christine Bainbridge ( 01325 469785 11 HEMINGFORD VILLAGE HALL & ADDENBROOKES HOSPITAL CANCER UNIT. Village Hall, Hemingford Abbots. 10.00 for 10.30am. £14.00. Ann Tooher ( 01480 352789 12 FRIENDS OF WELCARE IN BROMLEY. Bridge afternoon. St George’s Church Hall, Bickley Park Road, Bickley. 2 to 5.30pm £6 per person, including tea/ coffee with light refreshments. Gillian Scales ( 020 8663 3173

16 NORFOLK HOSPICE Bridge drive at South Wootton Village Hall. 2pm. £7.50 per player including sumptuous tea. The Fundraising Team ( 01485 542891 or ( 01553 671575 18 BALSCOTE VILLAGE HALL & RED CROSS BANBURY. In the Brand New Village Hall. 2.15pm start  £9 inc. teas. David Stead ( 01295 730230 [email protected] 18 THE NATIONAL TRUST Bridge drive at Little Hallingbury Village Hall. 1.15 for 1.30 start. Tickets £7.50. Brenda Hope ( 01279 758414 [email protected] 19 Ocular oncology equipment (eye cancer). Reynolds Institute, Dorchester Road, Weymouth Dorset. Bridge starting at 2pm. £30 per table including afternoon tea. Gene Hill ( 01305786509 24 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE ROTARY CLUB. Outlane Golf Club. 12 for 12.30pm. £44 per table including lunch. Brian Noble ( 01484 427536 26 VILLAGE HALL Hemingford Abbots. 10 for 10.30am. £14.00. Carol Ombler ( 01480 819307

DECEMBER 2011 5 St Teresa’s HOSPICE, DARLINGTON. Christmas party at St George’s Bridge Centre, Darlington. 1.15pm. Only £5 to include festive tea and luxury prizes. ( 01325 469785

FEBRUARY 2012 15 ROTARY CLUB OF WIMBORNE DORSET. Allendale Community Centre, Wimborne. 2 pm. Teams of Four - £28 per table including high tea & prizes. Don Phillips ( 01202 891801

E-mail your charity events: [email protected]

Page 43

POT BOILER TEA TOWEL ♠ A Q 7 ♥ A K Q J ♦ Q J 10 9 8 7 ♣ Void ♠ K J 10 8 6 ♠ 9 5 4 3 2 N ♥ 5 4 3 2 W E ♥ Void ♦ Void S ♦ 6 5 4 3 2 ♣ K Q J 10 ♣ 4 3 2 ♠ Void ♥ 10 9 8 7 6 ♦ A K ♣ A 9 8 7 6 5 Contract 7♥ by South. West leads the ♣K.

The key element is for South to discard his ace and king of diamonds. One can go on the ♠A, but what to do with the other? The answer is, strange as it seems, on the last trump from dummy, as after South has ruffed two spades, his trumps will be shorter than North’s. 1. Win ♣A (discarding 7♦). 2. Play a trump to ♥A. 3. Ruff ♠7. 4. Play a trump to ♥K. 5. Ruff ♠Q. 6. Play a trump to ♥Q. 7. Play ♥J, drawing West’s last trump, discarding ♦K. 8. Play ♠A, throwing ♦A and North’s hand is high. For a full range of bridge tea towels, ring Art Screen Print on ( 01287 637527. w w w. a r t s c r e e n . c o . u k / customizeArea/shop.html

Liz McGowan Says

Defend Passively if Dummy is Lifeless

T

his theme has been around a long time. In Why You Lose at Bridge, S J Simon highlighted the error of getting busy at the wrong time. He posed the question: ‘Can the declarer, if left in peace, develop enough tricks to make his contract?’ If dummy was lifeless (having no obvious source of tricks), he advised the defenders to stay passive (not to lead from broken suits).



1 ♠ K 10 9 8 ♥ K 9 8 4 ♦ J 7 5 ♣ A 8 ♠ A 7 6 3 N ♥ Q 10 3 W E ♦ Q 8 3 S ♣ K J 7 ♠ Q J 5 ♥ A J 7 ♦ A 10 6 4 ♣ Q 5 2

If West gets busy, looking for tricks in the minors (or at trick four in hearts), he presents declarer with a ninth trick. When declarer and dummy are flat, there are often ‘frozen’ suits like these:



A B C Q 4 2 A 10 5 A 9 4 N W E S

N W E S

N W E S

J 7 3 J 6 2 K 10 8

♠ 4 2 ♥ 6 5 2 ♦ K 9 2 ♣ 10 9 6 4 3

If the defenders open up such suits, they give declarer an undeserved trick. 2 ♠ Q J 7 4 ♥ Q 7 3 ♦ A K ♣ K 9 4 3 ♠ A 8 N ♥ K 10 6 4 W E ♦ Q J 10 8 2 S ♣ 8 6 ♠ K 10 9 6 3 ♥ J 8 2 ♦ 7 5 ♣ A Q 5



3 ♠ A 6 3 ♥ A Q 9 4 ♦ Q 5 3 ♣ A 9 5 ♠ 9 7 5 4 N ♥ 8 6 3 2 W E ♦ 8 7 S ♣ Q 7 4 ♠ J 10 2 ♥ K J 10 7 ♦ K J 9 ♣ K J 6

♠ K Q 8 ♥ 5 ♦ A 10 6 4 2 ♣ 10 8 3 2

West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♥ Pass 4♥ End

West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT End



West led the three of spades. Declarer won in hand and continued the suit. West ducked the second round and won the third, as East threw a club. The bidding marked East with about three points, so any switch looked risky. West got off lead safely with his last spade, declarer discarding a diamond. Next, declarer tried the heart finesse – and, when he took the queen, West continued his policy of passivity with a heart return. Declarer could make eight tricks easily: three spades, three hearts and the aces of clubs and diamonds. When he played in normal fashion, those were the eight tricks he made and he went one down.

South plays in 4♠ after North opened 1♣ (1♣-1♠-2♠-3♠-4♠). West leads the queen of diamonds. Declarer wins in dummy and runs the queen of spades to West’s ace. He can see no future in diamonds, so should West attack hearts? With three small clubs, West might get busy. That would be the right thing if partner had ♥A-J-x and declarer could discard a heart on the fourth club. As West has a doubleton club, that danger is not very likely, so he should get off lead passively with a trump or a second diamond. In the end, South will have to open up the heart suit and lose three tricks there. Page 44

Here is another lifeless dummy. East must defend passively to beat game:

♠ 5 2 ♥ A 9 5 ♦ 9 6 4 3 ♣ J 10 7 2

With such a flat hand, North does better not to look for the 4-4 heart fit, but old habits die hard. Against 4♥, West led the seven of spades, second highest from a poor suit, to East’s queen. If East goes looking for tricks, he may concede the contract. A spade return gives declarer an undeserved trick and a club switch allows him to play low from hand, forcing West to play the queen. A diamond also looks dangerous, so East got off lead with his heart. Declarer drew all the trumps, East discarding a club and two diamonds. After this came a diamond to the queen and ace and East returned a diamond. Declarer ended up taking the club finesse, losing a trick there and a second spade trick. Passive defence can be very satisfying, as you watch declarer toil. Leave him to guess which suits to tackle and which way to finesse. If you do so, he is bound to guess wrong at least as often as you habitually do. ■

Justin Corfield Says

Love All is the Best Time to Compete the Partscore

I

t might seem ideal to have the opponents vulnerable, whilst one’s own side is not. That way, we go off in fifties whilst they go off in hundreds, and that is if nobody doubles... However, not everything is as it appears. The problem is that if your opponents are vulnerable, then any penalty you can get by defending may be larger than any score you can get by declaring. Take this deal:



♠ J 9 7 2 ♥ 8 7 ♦ K J 3 ♣ A 9 4 2 ♠ A 10 4 3 ♥ A J 9 6 5 N W E ♦ 8 7 S ♣ 10 6 ♠ 8 5 ♥ Q 10 3 ♦ A Q 4 2 ♣ K Q 8 7

♠ K Q 6 ♥ K 4 2 ♦ 10 9 6 5 ♣ J 5 3

Consider things from the point of view of West. South, who is vulnerable, opens a weak no-trump. West can choose between getting involved with 2♣ to show the majors, or pass. What should he do? Say West guesses to bid 2♣. East bids 2♦ (asking West to choose) and West bids 2♥. Evidently, West will collect eight tricks, for plus 110. So, did West guess correctly to overcall? No. The problem is that the same eight tricks were available to East-West when defending against 1NT, when cashing them would have netted plus 200. West has chanced his arm to bid 2♣. He was lucky to find such a useful hand opposite and yet is about to get a rotten score for his efforts. East-West’s plus 110 will look rather poor amid a sea of plus 200s.

The right way to reason is this: to survive in two of a major, partner will need to have a couple of useful cards in the major suits. Now hang on a minute – if partner has that, we do not want to be in 2♥; we want to be defending against their vulnerable 1NT and collecting a few hundred on defence. Things are different if North-South are non-vulnerable. Now, East-West get only 100 from defending and do better (at pairs) to compete to 2♥. Whether it is right to bid here depends on the vulnerability, but what matters as much as East-West’s is North-South’s. Playing matchpoints, you hold:







♠ A Q 9 8 6 ♥ Q 5 ♦ Q 2 ♣ K Q J 8

You open 1♠, the next hand overcalls 2♦, partner raises to 2♠, and RHO competes with 3♦. Your go. There are two things to consider: how many tricks we make in spades, and how many they make in diamonds. As to the first, we might make nine tricks in spades, but we may make only eight. The ♦Q, in particular, is likely to be worthless. As to their likely number of tricks in diamonds, we have good defensive values, and it is more likely that they have eight than nine. So what does this mean? Well, let us say nobody is vulnerable. In that case, bidding 3♠ has many ways to be right. It is plainly right if we can manage nine tricks for plus 140. It is also right, though, if they can make 3♦, because going off one in 3♠ gives up only 50, which is preferable to letting them chalk up 110 in diamonds. In short, bidding 3♠ wins when either side can make nine tricks. Page 45

Change the vulnerability so that the opponents are vulnerable and that we are not; now things are different. Suppose we bid 3♠ and make it for plus 140. Did we do the right thing? We did only if they could also make 3♦, because if they were going off, double would have collected 200 or more. No, a 3♠ bid is only right now if their side had nine tricks. When the other side is vulnerable, we need to be confident that they are making their contract before bidding over it. This hand might do better to double and go for the magic plus 200 (‘magic’, as plus 200 rates to be a top at pairs unless someone has bid and made game). If just our side is vulnerable, bidding 3♠ is only right when our side has nine tricks. If we have only eight, they might double 3♠ and collect 200, and we will wish we had left them in 3♦. In practice, 3♠ is on but 3♦ is not:



♠ K 4 3 2 ♥ K 7 6 4 2 ♦ 6 4 ♣ 6 5 ♠ 10 5 ♥ 8 3 N W E ♦ A K 10 8 5 3 S ♣ A 10 9 ♠ A Q 9 8 6 ♥ Q 5 ♦ Q 2 ♣ K Q J 8

♠ J 7 ♥ A J 10 9 ♦ J 9 7 ♣ 7 4 3 2

If we are vulnerable, we need to make 3♠ if we bid it. If they are, we need 3♦ to make for 3♠ to be a good save. By contrast, at love all, bidding 3♠ is right if either 3♦ or 3♠ makes. Do not look only at your vulnerability, but notice also the vulnerability of your opponents. The best time to compete is when neither side is vulnerable. ■

David Gold Says

Double 1NT With 15 Points

I

f one of your opponents opens a weak 1NT, it is essential to double whenever you have 15 or more points. Do not worry about what you will lead. Passing will allow the weak 1NT to steal too many hands from you. You pick up vulnerable against not:









♠ K 6 3 ♥ A 9 7 2 ♦ Q J 2 ♣ K Q 5

RHO (East) opens 1NT. You must double, especially vulnerable since your side may have a vulnerable game on with opponents going down only in 50s. The full deal:



♠ 4 2 ♥ Q 6 3 ♦ K 10 6 5 ♣ J 9 7 2 ♠ Q 9 8 7 ♥ K J 10 N W E ♦ 9 8 7 3 S ♣ 10 8 ♠ K 6 3 ♥ A 9 7 2 ♦ Q J 2 ♣ K Q 5

You may have noticed another factor in your favour: your king of spades was over the ace. This is what you would expect when the 1NT opening is on your right. Here is another example:

♠ A J 10 5 ♥ 8 5 4 ♦ A 4 ♣ A 6 4 3

If you lead your longest suit, hearts, and partner wins with the queen to switch to either minor, you will collect an easy 300. Note that East has 13 points (average for 1NT) while both West and your partner have 6 points (the odds are that the remaining points are divided evenly). Yet, you collect a useful penalty because you have more points than the 1NT opener and because your side is on lead, giving you a vital tempo.





♠ A 9 7 ♥ K 7 6 5 ♦ K Q 4 2 ♣ K 3

RHO opens 1NT at game all. You have 15 points so you double. LHO bids 3♣ (pre-emptive) and partner bids 4♠. Let us have a look at the full deal:



♠ Q J 10 6 5 4 2 ♥ Q 3 ♦ J 6 5 ♣ J ♠ 8 ♠ K 3 ♥ 8 4 2 N ♥ A J 10 9 W E ♦ 9 7 S ♦ A 10 8 3 ♣ A 9 8 6 5 4 2 ♣ Q 10 7 ♠ A 9 7 ♥ K 7 6 5 ♦ K Q 4 2 ♣ K 3

On the bidding, 4♠ is an excellent contract, in essence needing the spade finesse through the opening bidder. If you pass 1NT, West will rescue into clubs and your partner may decide it is too dangerous to come in; then you are in danger of missing 4♠. What happens when you double with 15 points and partner has nothing? This can happen occasionally and your side may be in trouble. However, even with only a few points partner may have a long suit (five cards or better) into which to escape. Page 46

Here is an example of that:



♠ Q 7 3 ♥ 10 9 4 ♦ 3 2 ♣ 10 9 8 7 4 ♠ 10 9 4 N ♥ K 8 5 3 W E ♦ K Q J 5 S ♣ Q 5 ♠ K J 6 ♥ Q J 2 ♦ A 10 8 7 ♣ K J 3

♠ A 8 5 2 ♥ A 7 6 ♦ 9 6 4 ♣ A 6 2

Playing teams, you hold the South hand and RHO opens 1NT at game all. Holding 15 points, you double. You are not pleased when LHO redoubles. However, partner ‘runs’ to 2♣. If the opponents double, it will go one off for -200 – no great disaster at this method of scoring (or rubber bridge) but why should anyone double? Neither of the opponents has much of a trump holding. -100 would be a good score even at pairs with 120 on their way. One word of warning. If playing teams, I suggest you always double 1NT with 15 points. However, playing pairs, with a very poor 15 (e.g. a 4333 shape) and your side vulnerable you might decide to pass occasionally since you want to avoid losing 200 when partner runs with nothing.

Summary A weak 1NT opening will keep you out of the auction on many hands because any overcall would have to be at the two level. To make up for the times when this happens, you need to take full advantage when you have a better hand than the 1NT opener. So get out there and double 1NT with 15 points. ■

Heather Dhondy Says

Lead Trumps Against a Grand Slam

T

radition is to lead a trump against a grand slam. With this in mind, consider the lead problem as West on the following deal at favourable vulnerability:



♠ 9 7 ♥ K Q J 10 9 ♦ Q J 10 3 ♣ J 10

N W E S

West North East South Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣1 Pass 4♥1 Pass 4NT2 Pass 5♦3 Pass 5♥4 Pass 6♥5 Pass 7♠ Pass 1 cue bids 2 Roman Keycard Blackwood 3 one keycard 4 asking for the queen of trumps 5 confirms the ♠Q and additional heart control

You have a number of ‘safe’ options. However, North has opted for 7♠, so presumably cannot count 13 top tricks since, otherwise, he would have opted for the safer 7NT. Instead, he must figure that either a ruff or two in his hand, or a suit ruffed good, will produce the extra trick(s). This takes us surely to the conclusion that, whatever the plan, the best way to attempt to foil it is by leading trumps. If the key to making the contract lies with ruffing in the hand with short trumps, it is easy to envisage how a trump lead could break this. If it is a question of establishing dummy’s long suit, a trump lead could cut down the entries prematurely. At least if you lead a trump, you will not have led dummy’s long suit and begun declarer’s work for him. This was the full deal:

♠ A 2 ♥ A 8 7 6 4 3 ♦ A K ♣ A Q 2 ♠ 9 7 ♠ 5 3 ♥ K Q J 10 9 ♥ 5 2 N ♦ Q J 10 3 W E ♦ 9 8 5 ♣ J 10 S ♣ K 8 7 6 5 3 ♠ K Q J 10 8 6 4 ♥ Void ♦ 7 6 4 2 ♣ 9 4

You will see that only a trump lead defeats 7♠. Without a trump lead, declarer will be able to use both dummy’s trumps to ruff diamonds and the second club will go away under the ace of hearts. On a trump lead, declarer cannot ruff two diamonds and has insufficient entries to ruff the long heart good. The contract is a little unlucky since a 4-3 heart break or a squeeze or the club finesse would be sufficient. However, none of these options work here on the all-important trump lead. On the hand above, a trump lead is necessary to defeat the contract. However, often we lead trumps against a grand slam in order to give nothing away. When the opponents have used Roman Keycard Blackwood, it is rare to find that a trump lead removes a guess in the suit. However, I would avoid leading a trump if you suspect the opponents are in an eight-card fit and you hold only a singleton. Consider the following deal as West:



♠ 10 8 3 ♥ Q 10 9 6 ♦ 10 2 ♣ Q 10 4 3

N W E S

Page 47

West

North

East

South 2NT 3♥ Pass 3♠ 4♦ Pass 4♠ 4NT Pass 5♣ 5NT Pass 6♥ 7♠ End

Pass Pass Pass Pass Pass

3♥ was a transfer and 4♦ a second suit. 4NT was RKCB for spades, 5♣ showed three keycards and 6♥ showed two additional kings. On this hand, you should lead a trump since all other leads are potentially dangerous. You have no lead that you know to be safe and, as you will see from the full deal, all other leads are catastrophic. Here is the full deal:

♠ A Q J 6 2 ♥ 2 ♦ A K 6 3 ♣ J 6 2 ♠ 10 8 3 N ♥ Q 10 9 6 W E ♦ 10 2 S ♣ Q 10 4 3 ♠ K 9 7 ♥ A K J ♦ Q 9 7 ♣ A K 9 5

♠ 5 4 ♥ 8 7 5 4 3 ♦ J 8 5 4 ♣ 8 7

Thirteen tricks are still possible on a trump lead, but declarer has to guess to go for a simple squeeze against you. Make your opponent do the work.

Summary A trump lead is often best against a grand slam so long as you can be sure that partner cannot have a possible trick in the suit. This is either because it is necessary to cut down the ruffs, or simply to give nothing away. ■

NEW

Five-Card Majors

with a Strong No-Trump

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Opener’s & Responder’s Rebids

Slams & Strong Openings

Support for Partner

No-Trump Openings

Opening Bids & Responses

Pre-empting

Minors & Misfits l

Overcalls

Doubles l

Competitive Auctions

£89

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Contents (20 hands each)

The Interactive Way of Improving Your Five-Card Majors Bidding with Bernard Magee Bernard Magee, Britain’s most popular bridge teacher, has joined forces with Q-plus, one of Britain’s best selling bridge software programs, to produce a FiveCard Majors bidding teaching package. Bernard, through 200 deals, evaluates your bids, praising the correct ones and discussing the wrong ones. Bernard explains, in his own inimitable way, difficult bidding sequences. So, if your PC has a sound card and a loudspeaker, you can hear Bernard’s spoken explanations, otherwise they are shown as text on your screen. After the bidding, you may also play the hand. The software is supported by a user friendly manual.

System Requirements 8mb RAM, CD-ROM

Windows XP, Vista or 7,

including post and packing

See Mail Order Form on page 7

BRIDGE

If undelivered or unwanted kindly return to Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey, GU21 2TH

Q PLUS 10 l

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Save deals with automatic file labelling

New save match function

Improvement over two years from version 9

4,000 preplayed hands for match-point pairs

5,000 preplayed hands for teams

Minibridge option

Supports large screens

Displays on HD screen

Updated comprehensive manual

SYSTEM

8mb RAM

Windows XP, Vista or 7

CD-ROM

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including post and packing

£86

Really user-friendly bridge-playing software

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Closed room – new button to view other table

FEATURES INCLUDE

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See Mail Order Form on page 7