127

BRIDGE Number One Hundred and Twenty-Seven

FROM VENICE TO ROME

Join Aegean Odyssey on an Autumn voyage to the temples of Sicily and the mysterious ruins of Pompeii SEE BACK COVER FOR FURTHER DETAILS

July 2013

JUST DUPLICATE BRIDGE 12-14 July £169 Inn on the Prom

29 Nov – 1 Dec £199 Ardington Hotel

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Ardington Hotel Worthing BN11 3DZ

18-20 October £169 The Olde Barn

28 Feb – 2 March £199 Chatsworth Hotel

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Full Board – No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 6. Please note there are no seminars, set hands or prizes at these events.

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7 Bridge Events at The Inn on the Prom

FEATURES 3 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee 4 Mr Bridge 7 Bidding Quiz Answers by Bernard Magee 9 Andrew Kambites Says Make a Safe Lead Against 6NT

15 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified

10 The Diaries of Wendy Wensum 11 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage 12 Justin Corfield Says Knock Out the Entry to the Danger Hand First 13 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions 19 Declarer Play Quiz by David Huggett

18 Voyages of Discovery Mediterranean Medley on board Voyager 19 Rubber / Chicago Bridge Events 19 Bridge Events at: Denham Grove The Olde Barn Hotel 22 Eric Hill – Kalinda 25 Tutorial Software and QPlus

20 Bernard Magee Says Use the Principle of Restricted Choice 21 The Whole is Less Than the Sum of its Parts by Dick Atkinson 24 Catching Up by Sally Brock 27 Seven Days by Sally Brock 32 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions 37 Readers’ Letters 41 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett 42 Julian Pottage Says Use the Clues from the Bidding

26 Bernard Magee Haslemere DVDs 29 Charity Events 30 Global Travel Insurance 36 Bridge Events at: Cheltenham Regency Hotel Elstead Hotel Queensferry Hotel Blunsdon House Hotel 38 Bridge Events at: Ardington Hotel Chatsworth House 38 QPlus 10 38 S R Designs Bridge Tables

45 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage

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46 Voyages to Antiquity Terms & Conditions

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48 Venice to Rome with Voyages to Antiquity

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.

You are West in the auctions below, playing ‘Standard Acol’ with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and 4-card majors. (Answers on page 7.)

11 Mr Bridge Christmas & New Year 2013/2014

Address Changes Elizabeth Bryan [email protected]

Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quiz

8 Italy, Sicily and Classical Aegean with Voyages to Antiquity

44 Eric Hill – Joanna

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

1. Dealer West. Love All. ♠ K 8 7 3 N ♥ A 9 7 6 2 W E ♦ 4 S ♣ A 3 2

West North East South ?



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

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



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

West North East South 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass ?

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

West North East South 1♣ 1♥ 1♠ ?

BLAME ME

Marmite. You either love it or hate it and it’s the same with Sally Brock’s column. Turn the pages over if it’s not to your liking and if you want to complain, complain directly to me as Ms Brock, (pictured above), is just doing what I commissioned her to do. I asked her to write about the everyday life of an international bridge player and how she fits domestic chores around regularly representing her country, earning a living and coping with two teenage children. I told Sally I wanted to hear about her workouts at the gym and about her bridge training using the internet. I also wanted to know how she allocated her time for her private bridge students and used flexitime to keep up to speed with her day job as a typesetter for a publisher of travel books. When did she find time to write her weekly bridge column for The Sunday Times and for playing rubber bridge at TGRs for what we mere mortals would regard as outrageously high stakes. £1 a point, not the 2p per 100 I am used to. So don’t blame Sally, blame me. Be assured I have lots of other ideas for my promotional publication as it slowly but surely metamorphoses into a really vibrant and even better monthly magazine.

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Last month I ranted about the recent rise in postal charges and discovered I certainly wasn’t the only publisher so doing. If you haven’t received a copy of BRIDGE for a while, you should re-register using the form on the facing page. And if you have friends who would like to receive copies four or five times a year, send me their names and addresses as well. May I also remind you that you can look at a virtual copy online and print off the pages that you want to read or download them on to your tablet. Alternatively, you may take up a subscription to be sure of receiving continuous hard copies. £20 for 12 issues, £35 for 24. See the order form on the facing page.

Publication of the latest version of QPlus is expected towards the end of October this year, following the 17th World Computer-Bridge Championship at the end of September in Bali, Indonesia. This is held at the same time and in the same venue as the human world championships, the mens’ Bermuda Bowl and the ladies’ Venice Cup.

I am still scare mongering, trying to drum up even more business for Moore Stephens. Their insurance package, for bridge clubs of up to 100 members, at a premium of around £60 per annum certainly seems good value. Why every club isn’t covered in this litigious age I just do not know. Club secretaries need to protect their committee members and can do so by ringing Moore Stephens on ( 0207 515 5270.

GOFFIES STAMPS

If you want to save on postage you should try Clive Goff’s discounted stamp service. Value supplied in two stamps, combined to make up the 50p 2nd class rate, 2nd class to you 41p. 1st class 60p, only 50p to you. Available in lots of 100. ( 0208 422 4906. [email protected]

QPLUS 10 I have been using this great software again and here are a few more hands I thought you might like to share. 0721-08 0878-04 2471-14 2471-15 4205-04 5276-09 8605-01 8605-09

Johannes Leber has high hopes of success and he will take a week’s well earned holiday at this famous resort before returning home to Munich. He will then incorporate any extra features before cutting the QPlus 11 CDs. Those readers who would like to buy QPlus should send £92 NOW and receive the current version (QPlus 10). I promise to send you QPlus 11 as soon as it is ready. As both versions are self-contained products, you will be able to give QPlus 10 to a friend once you receive your QPlus 11. If you are looking to upgrade from an earlier version of QPlus, just return the disc with its instruction booklet and a cheque for £43.

BARON FOR MAC As QPlus is for Windows only, to use the software on your Mac, you will need to install Windows for Mac converter software. However, I now stock the latest version of Bridge Baron (23) as the best Mac compatible Acol playing program. To trade-in earlier versions of Bridge Baron, send in an old version and a cheque for £25. You will receive Bridge Baron 23 by return.

Page 4

PLAYING CARDS My wonderful premium quality playing cards are now back in stock. They are available from the London Bridge Centre at £60 for 60 packs unboxed, with or without barcodes. ( 0207 486 7015.

COVER STORY

BRIDGE

1558 MR BRIDGE July cover_Layout 1 05/06/2013 15:12 Page 1

Number One Hundred and Twenty-Seven

July 2013

FROM VENICE TO ROME

Join Aegean Odyssey on an Autumn voyage to the temples of Sicily and the mysterious ruins of Pompeii SEE BACK COVER FOR FURTHER DETAILS

This month’s cover features a cruise from Venice to Rome in balmy October, do see the back cover. A plan of m.v. Aegean Odyssey and a booking form can be found on pages 46 & 47. All good wishes

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Page 6

Answers to Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quiz on page 3

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

West ?

North

East

South

Pass. You have 11 HCP, but at nonvulnerable with a five-card major you might consider opening the bidding. Do not use the rule of such-and-such – use the rules of common sense. The strength of your suit and the shape of your hand are of much more importance than any rule. Will you be able to neatly describe your hand? Imagine you open 1♥ and your partner responds 2♦, what do you do next? Your majors are the wrong way round, so showing your shape will not be easy. By far the most important element of your hand is the strength of your suit. If you are going to open light, then make sure you have a good suit: your hearts are poor and will not necessarily make the best lead let alone trump suit. If you open 1♥, North overcalls 1NT and South raises to 3NT. Your partner leads a heart and the game rolls in.



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

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

Pass. Do you recognise this hand from the last issue? Last time it was only your side bidding,

but I hope the opponents’ bids will clarify the idea that 3♥ is not an invitational bid. Your partner is trying to compete for the hand – he does not want you to bid on to game. If East has a stronger hand that really wants to invite game, then he can bid 2NT, 3♣ or 3♦. Here, East, with his extra heart length, is bidding on in the knowledge that if 3♥ goes one off, it will be a better score than 2♠ making.



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

West North East South 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass ?

3♦. After an Acol 2♣ opening and a rebid in a suit, you are forced to bid until game is reached: you must not pass. Having given one negative response, you should now think of your hand as quite strong. You have suggested 7 or less and you have six, which is close to maximum. Show your longest suit and source of tricks: 3♦. Your 3♦ bid allows your partner to envisage a slam: his ♦A-K are perfect cards and with his solid suit he should bid to at least a small slam.



4. Dealer North. N/S Game. ♠ K Q 9 8 ♠ 10 6 3 N ♥ 7 6 ♥ AQJ43 W E ♦ 5 4 3 S ♦ Q 8 ♣ A K 8 2 ♣ 9 7 6

Pass. Your partner has made a nonvulnerable one-level overcall: he is not promising much; do not get over-excited. Notice also that everybody else has had a bid – it would surely not be a surprise to find your partner with a weak hand and a good heart suit. If you stay quiet, North will have to make another bid: he is surely not strong (there are not enough points in the pack), so he will not be able to rebid 2♦ (a reverse). This means your opponents will probably end up in clubs or spades, which looks good from your side. Why risk a no-trump bid when you can gain so much more by defending against your opponents’ contract? Note the vulnerability: one off vulnerable is better than 1NT making. If you were to choose a bid, then 1NT is enough: opposite an overcall it is a positive response (9-12), not like the forced 1NT response to an opening bid. Had South passed, then 1NT would have been a reasonable bid, but knowing the opponents have reasonable strength should keep you quiet for the time ■ being.

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

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West ?

North East South 1♣ 1♥ 1♠

Page 7

Booking Form on page 6.

Is

ON

CRUISE TO

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V OYAGES TO A NTIQUITY www.mrbridge.co.uk

ABTA No.Y2206

S

Andrew Kambites Says

Make a Safe Lead Against 6NT

A

t the start of a hand, ask yourself what you are trying to achieve. If you defend actively, you want to achieve something positive. You might lead from K-J-4-3-2 against 3NT to set up long cards. Active defence tends to involve risk taking; leading from a broken suit often costs if partner has no high card in the suit. You must weigh up the risk against the potential gain. When the opponents bid to 6NT, partner often has a near bust, making it highly risky to lead from a broken suit. If you defend passively, you aim to give nothing away. A typical passive lead is from a worthless holding. You are unlikely to give declarer anything he could not do for himself. However, Layout A shows that even this is risky.

Layout A

♠ K J 5 N

♠ 9 8 7 4 W E S



♠ Q 6 3

West’s heart lead finds East’s jack for declarer. Yes, declarer could have finessed East for the jack. In practice, he would probably have taken his three top hearts in the hope the jack dropped. For sure, some magical leads are both active and passive. If you have a suit of K-Q-J-10-9, you don’t have to agonise over whether to defend actively or passively, or whether an opponent has bid the suit. You just lead the king and get the best of all worlds. Most players are well aware that the denomination of a contract affects your opening lead. You try to set up length winners against most contracts in notrumps, often taking considerable risks to do so. That is a pointless approach if your opponents have a good trump suit. They will simply draw your trumps and trump any length winners you play. Fewer people know that the level of the contract also makes a difference, in particular the difference between 3NT and 6NT. Look at Hands C and D.

♠ A 10 2



You choose to lead a spade but that allows declarer three easy spade tricks. Left to his own devices, he might have had to take the two-way finesse for the queen and guessed wrongly. While you cannot avoid all risk in life, leading from rubbish is certainly safer than leading from isolated honours. Moreover, the longer your suit is, the safer the lead. A doubleton lead is less safe than leading from three or four low cards, as you can see on Layout B. Layout B

♥ Q 10 2 N

♥ 7 4 W E S



♥ A K 9 8

♥ J 6 5 3

Hand C Hand D ♠ K J 4 3 2 ♠ K Q 3 ♥ A 4 2 ♥ A 4 2 ♦ 9 8 7 ♦ 9 8 7 2 ♣ 9 8 ♣ 6 5 4

With hand C, after a bidding sequence 1NT-3NT a lead of the three of spades is clear-cut. If partner has the queen or ace, you expect that the contract will go down by means of four spade tricks and the ace of hearts for your side. By contrast, if the opponents have bid 1NT-6NT, a spade lead is terrible. If your opponents are at all competent, your partner cannot hold the ace or queen. All a spade lead will achieve is to gift an easy trick to declarer’s queen or even ten. It might well be declarer’s twelfth trick. You should aim to give Page 9

nothing away – lead a diamond on the theory that a trebleton lead is safer than a doubleton, as we saw with Layout B. With Hand D, it would be silly to lead your king of spades against 3NT. You should lead a passive diamond and hope that your spade honours are sitting over declarer’s ace. Against 6NT, it is equally obvious to lead the king of spades. This sets up the queen as a winner, which you can cash when you get in with your ace of hearts. In each case, you have been asking yourself what you want to achieve (five tricks against 3NT – just two tricks against 6NT) and weighing up whether your lead is likely to achieve it. Hand C brings us neatly to our maxim: Lead safely (or passively) against 6NT. In general, you are highly unlikely to gain the lead often enough to establish and cash winners; so just concentrate on giving nothing away. Hand D is a bit of an exception to this. My final hand is also an exception. You have Hand E. The bidding is as shown below. What do you lead? Hand E ♠ K 4 3 2 ♥ 6 4 3 2 ♦ A 5 ♣ 8 7 2

West Pass Pass

North East South 1♦ Pass 2♥ 3♦ Pass 3NT 6NT End

Declarer and dummy have long suits, which declarer will probably run if you give him time. You need to establish a spade trick while you still have the ace of diamonds. Lead your two of spades and pray that partner has the queen. You have nothing to lose. ■

The Diaries of Wendy Wensum Episode 15: History Revisited

A

train journey from Norwich to Gatwick, followed by a flight to Greece and a short ferry ride from Kavala conveyed us to the beautiful island of Thassos. Nestling at the northern end of the Aegean Sea, it was once famous for its gold mines; today honey and walnut jam are the island’s main claim to fame along with its green mountains and picturesque bays. We explored the island, sampling its foods and wines in its many and varied tavernas and restaurants. Towards the end of our stay, Spouse and I caught the morning ferry from Thassos Town back to the mainland, and took a service bus to the ancient city of Philippi. The first impression was its vastness, the site deserted except for a handful of tourists. Around us on that bright summer day, the remains of the white stone buildings sparkled, their walls and columns silhouetted against a perfect blue sky. We walked the excavated streets, admiring the temples, exploring the forum and wandered through the prison abandoned so many centuries ago. Here we rested in the shade of its ruined buildings. As we enjoyed our picnic lunch with a bottle of local wine, I pondered again on events in those distant times when Philippi was a flourishing city, its inhabitants thronging its bustling alleyways with the energy of everyday life. ‘I knew this would happen, Paul,’ said Silas. ‘You’ve really done it this time. We will never get out of here now. You should never have made that speech at the forum. It was too inflammatory, too provocative and too antifeminist. The people are not ready. You must be more PC.’ ‘Faith, Silas,’ Paul replied, ‘all is not lost. We have friends in high places. We may be banged up

here in jail for a few days, but all will be well.’ ‘That may be so,’ said Silas, ‘but I’m bored already.’ ‘No problem,’ responded Paul confidently. In next to no time Paul had arranged a team match over XXIV boards against the Roman prison guards. Paul and Silas teamed up with two other inmates also awaiting trial. On the first XII deals, there were no big swings; at the half way mark, Paul’s team was leading by VIII IMPs largely due to their superior bidding system. The guards were still using the Old Roman system. This had XL points in the pack, which required XIII points to open and, with a good trump fit, counted I, III and V for doubletons, singletons and voids. The players rarely bid slams unless there was an abacus handy. Late in the second half the following deal appeared. ♠ 8 7 6 3 ♥ 8 3 2 ♦ A J 7 5 ♣ Q 4 ♠ A K 10 9 4 ♠ Q 5 2 ♥ K Q J 7 5 N ♥ A 9 6 4 W E ♦ Q 6 S ♦ 8 ♣ 7 ♣ 9 6 5 3 2 ♠ J ♥ 10 ♦ K 10 9 4 3 2 ♣ A K J 10 8

The bidding was reasonably straightforward with South as dealer: West North East South Guard 2 Silas Guard 1 Paul 1♦ 2♦* 3♦ 4♥ 5♦ All Pass *both majors

Page 10

With only two major-suit losers, Paul brought in the contract without difficulty. At the other table, with only XII points, Prison Guard South decided not to open; the auction there went: West North East South Inmate 2 Guard 3 Inmate 1 Guard 4 Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ 2NT* 3♥ 4♦ 4♥ All Pass * both minors

Although the prison guards took their two tricks in the minors, the contract rolled in with an overtrick. This gave a useful double-game swing to Paul’s team, who seemed to be heading for a decisive victory. Abruptly, the contest ended. At the very moment of triumph, an earthquake hit the town throwing open the doors of the prison. In the subsequent confusion, the guards fled, allowing Paul and Silas to continue their travels. Nobody ever confirmed the match score… I woke up suddenly. Spouse was gently shaking my arm. ‘Wakey, wakey,’ he was saying, ‘you have had your siesta.’ Arriving back in Thassos Town, the evening was pleasantly warm. From the ancient Agora, we strolled up the hill to the partly restored amphitheatre and followed a path along the old city walls to the Acropolis and Temple dedicated to Athena at the summit. From there we looked over the harbour and watched the orange sunset reflected in the calm water of the Mediterranean. Spouse put his arm round my shoulders. ‘Ouzo time?’ He inquired, half question, half confirmation anticipating my own thoughts. Slowly we meandered back to our favourite taverna in the town square. ■

DEFENCE QUIZ by Julian Pottage

(Answers on page 45)

Mr Bridge Christmas & New Year 2013/14 Denham Grove

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

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ End

Partner leads the ♠6: ♠10, ♠Q and ♠A. Declarer leads to the ♥10 and plays a second round. What do you discard?

3. ♠ Q 9 4 ♥ 8 6 ♦ K J 9 5 ♣ A Q 9 4 ♠ 7 6 3 ♥ 3 N ♦ A8764 W E ♣ K873 S

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

29 December – 2 January £445

Partner leads the ♥A followed by the ♥K. What do you discard?

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

4. ♠ J 9 4 ♥ 10 7 5 3 ♦ K Q 9 ♣ K Q 8 ♠ 3 ♥ K94 N ♦ 8764 W E S ♣ J 9 7 4 3

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ End

West North East South Pass Pass 1♥ 1♠ 2♠1 Pass 4♥ End 1 Sound raise in hearts

Partner leads the ♠6: ♠10, ♠Q and ♠A. Declarer leads to the ♥10 and plays a second round. What do you discard?

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Partner leads the ♠A and continues with the ♠Q. What do you do?

Page 11

e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com Booking Form on page 6.

Justin Corfield Says

Knock Out the Entry to the Danger Hand First

T

he concept of a ‘danger hand’ refers to when you can lose the lead safely to one opponent, but not the other:



♠ 5 3 ♥ K 6 3 ♦ A J 7 6 ♣ A 5 3 2 N W E S

♠ K Q 2 ♥ A 4 2 ♦ K 10 9 8 5 ♣ K 4

Suppose you are in 3NT and West leads a low spade to East’s jack. You ensure the contract if you win, cross to the ace of diamonds and then run the jack. You play the diamonds this way around because you do not mind losing a trick to West, who can do you no harm. It would be dangerous to lose a trick to East (who can play a spade through your remaining spade honour). East is the danger hand and you have kept him off lead in the play. When you have two high cards to knock out, life is more complicated and this is where the maxim proves useful.



♠ A J 3 ♥ A 3 2 ♦ A 6 4 2 ♣ Q 10 3 N W E S

♠ K 2 ♥ K 5 4 ♦ Q J 10 9 ♣ K J 9 2

West leads the nine of spades against your 3NT contract. You win with the king, while East encourages with the eight. From the play to the first trick, you conclude that West has tried – successfully – to find East’s suit. You will need to set up extra tricks in the minor suits. Would you finesse in diamonds first, or would you rather knock out the ace of clubs first? Does it make any difference? Let us see. Suppose you decide that you will have to lose to the ace of clubs at some point and therefore that you might as well knock it out straight away. The writing is on the wall when West goes in with the ace of clubs and plays another spade. You try the jack from dummy, but East wins with the queen and clears the spades. As a last resort, you cross to your hand in hearts to try the diamond finesse. Unfortunately, it loses to East, who cashes two more spade tricks to defeat your contract. Compare this rather sad scenario with the more cheerful one where you try the diamond finesse at trick two. If the diamond finesse wins, you take a few more diamond finesses then knock out the ace of clubs, making overtricks. If the finesse loses, though, no harm can come. East cannot profitably attack the spade suit from his side of the table. By taking the diamond finesse into East at trick two, you attack the danger hand’s entry before the defenders have set up their suit. This play guarantees ten tricks against any layout. Note that, assuming you place East with long spades, you play the same way if dummy’s spades are weaker, A-x-x. You still want to knock out East’s king of diamonds before the ace of clubs, which may be with West. Another day, another 3NT and another danger hand for you to keep off lead – West, having opened with a weak two in spades, leads a low spade. Page 12





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

♠ A K ♥ K Q 2 ♦ J 10 9 6 ♣ A 4 3 2

Most players would run the jack of diamonds at trick two. Would you? The diamond finesse, appealing as it may look, would be a mistake. If you take it now and it loses, East will return a spade, setting up West’s suit. At this point, you will have eight tricks and still need to knock out the heart ace. If West holds it, you will be in trouble. Resisting the allure of that diamond finesse, you should reason that West is the danger hand, with the ace of hearts his only possible entry. So attack that suit first and play the king of hearts at trick two. What is the worst that could happen? If someone takes the heart ace and knocks out your remaining spade stopper, you then take a diamond finesse into the now safe East hand (you know the spades are 6-2 on the bidding). If the defenders allow your heart king to hold, you simply switch to diamonds – the difference is that you already have a heart trick in the bag. One way to think about this is to consider which layouts threaten your contract. Here, the danger is that the diamond finesse is wrong (East has the king) and West holds the heart ace. You then consider how to make the contract, even against the dangerous layout. Sometimes the obvious play – on the long suit – is wrong. Knock out the entry to the danger hand first. ■

David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics

Could I have Psyched a Multi 2♦?

Q

I have just returned from the splendid congress in Jersey. In one of the tournaments, I was dealt the following hand.  

♠ Void ♥ Q J 10 x x x ♦ x x x x ♣ x x x

  As this was not within our point range (5 to 9) for a multi 2♦ opening bid, I passed. Subsequently, I found one or two had opened 2♦ which worked to their advantage. I am aware that one is not allowed to psyche a multi and believe I was right to pass. Please tell me your view of this situation. George Pilcher, Upper Deal BC.

A

If by the congress in Jersey you refer to the EBU congress, all EBU events apart from novice ones are Level 4 and there is no restriction on psyching a multi at Level 4. Even if it had been a Level 3 event, when the restriction on psyching applies, I

would think most people would consider this such a perfect weak two hand, that they would consider opening 2♦ as a deviation rather than a psyche. Plus, of course, some of the other people may play 3-7 or some other range, in which case it is in range. ♣♦♥♠

Q

What rights do I have as a defender if, during the play, my partner concedes the remaining tricks? Can I request play to continue?  If I am further compromised by my partner, who as well as conceding, throws his remaining cards face up on the table. What rights do I have? Alan Mansell by email.

A

Of course you call the director. He will tell you, reading from the Law book we hope, that no concession has occurred if you object and play continues. It is made worse for you if he throws his hand face up: what you see now is unauthorised information, which may lead to an adjusted score if the director

judges you have used the information even unwittingly. If a defender wishes to concede [or claim] he should show his cards only to declarer until the claim or concession is accepted. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At a recent club playing session, I was sitting North playing one of those tricky 3NT contracts. The club director was playing at an adjacent table. He completed his round and stood up and shouted across the room, ‘Who is pair 10?’. As it turned out, the E/W pair at my table were the pair in question and raised a hand. The director immediately came to the table and began to chastise them about an error on the traveller for a previous board they had played. I said to the director that I was in the middle of playing a hand and would he mind waiting until I had finished playing it as it was tricky. He said he needed to sort this problem out now and began to discuss it with the E/W pair,

Page 13

ignoring my protest. I suggested to him that this was not within the etiquette of the game. Needless to say, I totally lost concentration and failed to make the contract, unlike most of the other pairs. I asked the director, somewhat cheekily, to adjust the score for his interference and he refused. Is this normal behaviour for a director? Surely he should never interrupt the playing of a hand unless he is actually called to that table? Sandy Gourlay by email.

A

Certainly it should be rare for a director to interrupt play, though there are times when it really has to happen. In this case, the director was completely out of line: there is no need to interrupt a board for a scoring error. He seems to have his priorities wrong.

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

While directing on a club night, I was called upon to rule on an unusual situation. I consulted with other directors at the club but we were of differing opinions, and I would welcome your advice on the matter. At table 3, a player who had trouble handling the cards due to a physical problem, dropped a card at some time during the hand. However, the board was played and recorded with no-one noticing a card was missing. Whether they played the board with 51 or 52 cards was not clear. The board was passed down to table 2 where South, who normally counts her cards, failed to notice she was a card short. The hand was bid, played and scored without anyone noticing there was a missing card. The board was then passed down to table 1 where South, who normally counts his cards, failed to notice he was a card short. The hand was bid, played and scored without anyone noticing there was a missing card. Only on returning the cards to the board did South notice he only held 12 cards. The missing card was found on the floor by table 3. It was clear that the particular card made no difference to the bidding or the play and that at no time could it have resulted in a revoke card. Under Law 13C, the

result should be cancelled, an adjusted score awarded and the offending contestant should be liable to a procedural penalty. However, as the results reflected the performance of the players and did not penalise either side, I felt that under Law 12C(c), equity would be satisfied by allowing the actual scores to stand. Was I correct, or should I have penalised the offending N/S pairs? If a penalty should be implemented, how should I treat table 3, as I am not sure whether the card was dropped before or after play? Pam Niven by email.

A

Law 13 is not relevant: it refers to positions where the number of cards held by the players adds up to 52. You want Law 14. According to Law 14, the card is restored to the hand and treated as though it was there throughout. So long as there was no revoke, then the scores stand. The two people who either did not count their cards or counted them wrongly should be reminded of the importance of counting them correctly. Since no board was actually lost, no other penalty is appropriate. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Last night I was playing friendly bridge with friends. We play Acol. My partner opened 1NT (1214), the next hand bid 2♦, I had one point and six hearts to the jack. I couldn’t transfer over the 2♦ bid, so I bid 2♥, which made. The opposition said I

cheated. Did I? I have no idea. I would be grateful for your opinion. Nadia Dowell-Lee by email.

A

You say friendly bridge, but it is not friendly when opponents say you cheated. I strongly suggest not playing with these opponents again. What you did is normal: most people play that transfers do not apply once the opponents make a bid, so many people would bid 2♥. Your opponents are ignorant as well as rude. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Last Saturday at our sociable bridge (not EBU and no masterpoints), my partner bid 2♠ (alertable – 11 points) after my INT opening I pulled out what I thought was an alert card and began to explain the call 11 points etc. While I was explaining the call: my LHO passed. Only when I went to put the card back did I discover that it was a pass card. If this had happened on our club night, what would be the ruling if the director was called? Ron Turner by email.

A

Like any other mechanical error, if you pull a card you do not mean then it may be changed if partner has not called subsequently. Pulling the wrong card for an alert is fairly common and no-one I know has ever called the director: you usually get three smiles and/ or giggles and people telling you not to be a chump, when you look at the card and sheepishly change it.

Page 14

Q

As playing Stayman, Transfers, Gerber and Blackwood has proved in practice to be too complicated for our partnership, my partner and I have agreed to simplify things and play just a strong no-trump (1618 points) and Blackwood at our bridge club. (Incidentally this has improved our ranking in the results). However, while playing in a duplicate bridge session, I opened 1NT and my partner announced, ‘12-14,’ having forgotten our agreement. Do I say something, if so what and when? I realise that the real issue is ageing and that not even Mr Bridge can prevent that, but you could try and help us to abide by the rules and the etiquette of bridge and enjoy this great game a little longer. John Bromhead by email.

A

When your partner describes your system wrongly, whether in answer to a question, by a mistaken announcement, by alerting something that should not be alerted or not alerting something that should be alerted, you should take no action at the time and try to show no reaction. You should then carry on as if partner has done the right thing. If you become declarer or dummy, you tell the opponents at the end of the bidding. If you become a defender, you tell the opponents at the end of the hand. But what he has said or done is unauthorised information to you, so you must do your best to take no advantage from it.

Ask David continued

Q

East, on lead, led ♠8; dummy and West followed low and North discarded a club. East next led the ♦A; dummy and West again followed low. North then admitted to inadvertently playing a club in the previous round instead of the intended ♠A. The director’s ruling was that the three played cards should be returned to hand and the previous trick replayed with no penalties. Now that North had knowledge that East had the ♦A, are there any restrictions that should have been applied? Ronald Pardoe, Weymouth, Dorset.

A

I am afraid the director’s ruling was just wrong: he really should start to read rulings from the Law book. As soon as declarer played low to the next trick from dummy the revoke was established and may not be changed. The hand is played out without the card being changed and declarer has one trick transferred to the defence at the end of the hand (as the defender did not win the revoke trick). ♣♦♥♠

Q

We were playing a teams of four match in a league run by our local bridge club.  The bidding was completed, South being the declarer. West should have made the opening lead but East

tabled a card face up. Normally there would be no problem, the rules cover this situation. However, dummy (North) proceeded to put her hand down. She had fully exposed two suits before declarer said to East, ‘It wasn’t your lead.’ I was called from the other table to sort it out. I had no access to the rule book so I decided that dummy had effectively accepted the lead out of turn on behalf of declarer and had chosen the option of exposing dummy before declarer played his card. This was happily accepted by all four players at the table, but I was left wondering whether I had got it right. Your guidance please. Alan Whitehouse, London N8.

A

You have guessed right on this occasion and ruled right. I suggest you make sure a Law book is available in future. I trust you told East that he is required to lead face down which might have solved the problem, since someone might have noticed before he was told by his partner to face the lead.

a good idea to play Howell for 6, 8, 10, 11 and 12 tables. Howells are thought to be fairer, because at least 75% of the other pairs are played against, whereas with a Mitchell it’s only 50%. So why not a Howell? I would be glad if you would confirm that playing a Howell movement provides more variety and fairness to the game. Your backing would help with my recommendation at the next committee meeting for a change to our movement list. Brian Moakes by email.

relay, seems normal. 10 tables has always been a bit tricky. Easy if you have a half-table, since then you use a Bowman which involves eight 3-board rounds. If not, play nine out of ten 3-board rounds. 11 tables: now you can play a Hesitation Mitchell, twelve 2-board rounds. 12 tables: a straight share and relay. Admittedly, it involves a 2-board share, but alternatives are not very good. Easy if you have a half-table: make one of the sharing tables the one with no North-South pair and now there is no share.

A

Q

Howells are seriously unpopular for large numbers because people like to be stationary. It looks as though your club should be investigating possible movements. For example, sitting out twice just never happens in a well regulated club: your club must stop using any movement where this happens, but that does not mean using Howells. Certainly some clubs use a three-quarter Howell with 6 tables, especially if there is a half-table. But six 4-board rounds seems fine if there is not. 8 tables: eight 3-board rounds, using a share and

♣♦♥♠ If you play a special slam convention to handle voids, such as Exclusion Blackwood (or Voidwood), does one have to alert or announce this to one’s opponents? Evan St Clair Sepion by email.

A

You do not alert bids above 3NT, while announcements are restricted to a few openings and responses at a low level. So, no, it requires neither alert nor announcement. You should just mention it on the system card (convention card).

♣♦♥♠

Q

My club always plays Mitchell movements. This results in sessions where the same pair is played twice (sometimes two pairs played twice) and even situations where pairs sit out twice, when there is a half table.  I think it would be

Page 15

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Ask David continued

Q

I’ll be grateful if you can throw some light onto parts of Law 16B, which I find difficult to fully comprehend. Firstly, what constitutes an unmistakable hesitation? When a player takes time to consider various options, especially in contested auctions, before taking decisive action, even if that action is to pass – surely that does not constitute, ‘unmistakable hesitation’? Some players naturally play quickly and others invariably take time. Would it not have been clearer if the laws simply referred to abnormal actions? Secondly, reference is made to calls or plays that the player may not make. The clear inference from this is that any call which is not a logical alternative can be made. Is this correct? Why does it not say, ‘the player may not choose any call or play that could demonstrably have been suggested...’? Thirdly, who has to demonstrate that the call or play has been suggested by extraneous information? Is it the player who calls the director, or the director? Mike Scarffe by email.

A

An unmistakable hesitation is one that is obvious. After all, that is what unmistakable means. If a player with a flat Yarborough would pass in two seconds or less, then five or more seconds is an

unmistakable hesitation: sufficient that his partner knows he has not got a flat Yarborough, but has a decision to make. Whatever words the laws use, people will argue. After all, if you open 1NT with a singleton, many people would refer to that as an abnormal action. There is plenty of case law to suggest that if someone chooses an action that is not a logical alternative, but is suggested by the unauthorised information, it is still illegal. As to your suggested wording, that seems to me to lead to great confusion: the current Law covers, very adequately, the 99% of cases where there are only logical alternatives being considered. It is helpful if players can describe why they believe a call to be legal or illegal, dependent on which side is speaking, but the final decision rests with the director and those with whom he consults, or with the Appeal Committee.

case involves a player being reminded by his partner’s lack of an alert, so the player must take no advantage. Furthermore, the player whose partner has misbid must not field his misbid. Thus, he should be able to demonstrate to the director that if he passes a rebid, it is what players would do usually, not that he is doing so because his partner has forgotten before. The pass of 4♠ looks somewhat suspect. ♣♦♥♠

Q

If playing a strong notrump (15-17) and opener bids the better minor (minimum 3 cards), (a) should partner alert and (b) should it be on one’s convention card? Geoffrey Cassen by email.

A

While not alertable, it must be on the convention card and explained in answer to any question. ♣♦♥♠

♣♦♥♠

Q

Q

This sequence occurred in a simultaneous

pairs:

West North East South 1♦ 1NT Pass 2♥ Pass 4♥ Pass 4♠ End

South had intended 2♥ as a transfer. Can North reasonably pass 4♠? Julian Lang by email.

A

A player who is in receipt of unauthorised information from partner must do everything in his power to gain no advantage from such information. This

My regular partner and I play a 2♠ response to 1NT as an enquiry bid, asking opener whether he is maximum. Opener replies 2NT with a nonmaximum and 3♣ with a maximum. We also use 2♠ as the mechanism to exit from 1NT into 3♣/3♦ with a long minor. If asked about the bid, I say, ‘enquiring whether opener is maximum.’ My partner tends to give a somewhat long-winded explanation, describing possible hands, such as, ‘Could be 11-12 HCP without a major

Page 16

or might be a weak hand with a long minor – I do not know which until he bids again.’ Which is better? Alan Mansell, Milford-on-Sea.

A

Your reply is certainly inadequate, while your partner’s is quite good. You are required to tell opponents what a bid means; if you know that it can show two types of hand (balanced game try or sign-off in a minor), you have a duty to tell them so. ‘A balanced game try or sign-off in a minor,’ is what I would say. ♣♦♥♠

Q

During a recent interclub match, I was sitting West:

West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♠ 2♥ Dbl End

I went two off as partner had two small hearts and the suit split 5-1, with five in the North hand. I asked South how he knew to pass the double. He said that the double had been for penalties. How would you have ruled? Alan Long, Virginia Water, Surrey.

A

All doubles of suit bids require an alert except take-out doubles, so South should have alerted. I would have explained this to South, it is such an easy rule. I would only change the score if you could manage to convince me of some way that you or your partner might have bid differently, or how you might have played the hand differently, if there had been an alert.

Ask David continued

Q

I wonder if you could help on the following. Some while ago, my wife used a negative double and, when dummy went down, an opponent observed affably, but critically, that the wording of clause 5G5 in ‘The Orange Book’ had changed and that in this instance the double should have been alerted. The changed wording includes the phrase, ‘played in the traditional manner, such as 1♣-(1♠)-Dbl showing four hearts.’ This begs the question, what is meant by ‘traditional’? I have looked at four publications, viz ‘Really Modern Acol’, Ron Klinger’s ‘Common Bridge Conventions Flipper’, ‘Understanding Acol’ and ‘Conventions Today’, which variously suggest ‘a double of any overcall shows four cards in any unbid major.’ ‘With a 1♣ opening and a 1♦ overcall, a double shows both majors, both minors if both majors have already been bid.’ ‘If both majors have been bid, a double should show both minors, or one minor and a tolerance for partner’s major.’ ‘4-4 in the unbid suits and not enough support for partner to raise him.’ Or even, ‘It tends to be agreed that a negative double promises four cards in an unbid major and this certainly makes partner’s life easier, but this need not be a rigid requirement if you are

made twelve). Should the director credit declarer with the maximum score by other pairs, rather than the most common? Colin Davies, Cheshire.

able to cope if partner supports the major.’ Your comments would be much appreciated and I wonder what led to the inclusion of the amendment last year. David Hickman by email.

A

All the above methods are traditional. Traditional does not mean played in a specific way. The reason for the change is that some people play doubles in a way that is not expected. For example, with my regular partner I play, 1♣-(1♦)-Dbl as showing hearts specifically, and 1♠-(2♥)-Dbl as showing clubs specifically, and I know a pair who play 1♣-(1♥)-Dbl as denying spades. These methods are alertable. But if a negative double shows the unbid suits, or an unbid major, or is just general take-out, it is not alertable. ♣♦♥♠

Q

The contract is 4NT with a combined point count of 31. Winning the opening lead, declarer runs dummy’s five-card diamond suit. On the fourth round, the ten, both defenders show out. On the last diamond, the seven, a defender produces the jack. The director arrives, saying the immediate penalty is one trick. Now on lead, the defenders proceed to take three more tricks. Without the revoke, declarer has eleven certain tricks and twelve on a squeeze. The director returned and, at the end of the evening, awarded eleven tricks as most of the players in no-trumps made eleven (although two

A

No, adjustments do not work that way. The director should not look at other results at all, since he does not know whether the bidding and lead was the same at other tables. He merely calculates what might have happened and then gives a weighting to each possibility. So, if he judged you would have found the squeeze maybe one time in three, he should award: 45% of 3NT+3 + 55% of 3NT+2 Note the slight bias towards the non-offenders in the final figures. That is normal. ♣♦♥♠

Q

May I have your comments on the following incident at a local bridge club: North opened 2♦, alerted. I was sitting East and passed with a Yarborough. South bid 2♥ and my son sitting West immediately asked South for the meaning of the 2♦ bid. South was answering, ‘Multi 2♦,’ when North angrily interrupted, accusing my son of not allowing him to alert the 2♥ bid. My son called the director and told him that he wanted to register his disapproval of North’s behaviour. North then told the director that he wanted to complain that my son had asked

Page 17

a question out of tempo. I calmly questioned whether he was really complaining about a question out of tempo and he confirmed that this was covered by the laws. The director seemed to acknowledge both complaints and left the table. North is an experienced director and a county player, but it seems to me that Law 73 D.1 does not support his view. I cannot see that my son is required to give North time to alert South’s 2♥ bid before he is entitled to ask the meaning of North’s 2♦ bid, but that seems to be the basis for North’s rude interruption and subsequent complaint. To be clear, the question was asked after the 2♥ bid had been made. My son laughs it off, but he would prefer bridge clubs to be less tolerant of such behaviour. Tony Budd by email.

A

North’s behaviour was rude and should have been dealt with by the director by a disciplinary penalty. Any player may ask any question at his turn to call, so North was wrong as well as rude: your son had a perfect right to ask. Anyone who has ever run into the Multi knows that 2♥ is not going to be natural: perhaps North was trying deliberately intimidatory tactics. Whatever he intended, it is a pity the director did not deal with ■ him.

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

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Denham Grove

DECLARER PLAY QUIZ

Denham, Bucks, UB9 5DG

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

by David Huggett (Answers on page 41) 4-6 October – £215 Doubles – Gary Conrad

Y

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

25-27 October – £215 Finding Slams – Sandy Bell 7-9 February 2014 – £199 Just Duplicate Bridge

1.

♠ 6 3 ♥ J 9 7 ♦ K 10 9 4 3 ♣ Q J 2

3.

N

You are declarer in 5♦ and West leads the ♥A and follows up with the ♥K. How do you plan the play?

4-6 April 2014 – £169 Rubber / Chicago Diana Holland

W E

S

♠ K Q J 2 ♥ 3 ♦ A Q J 7 6 5 ♣ A 4

28-30 March 2014 – £199 Just Duplicate Bridge

N

W E



♠ K Q 2 ♥ Q 6 4 ♦ J 7 5 ♣ 8 7 5 4

Full Board No Single Supplement

S



Booking Form on page 6.

♠ A J 10 9 6 ♥ A K 5 3 ♦ 9 6 2 ♣ A

RUBBER / CHICAGO

You are declarer in 4♠ and West leads the three top diamonds and switches to the ♣3. East follows to the diamonds and plays the ♣K on the club switch. How do you plan the play?

N

W E S



♠ A K 3 ♥ A 8 5 4 ♦ K 6 5 2 ♣ K Q

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

16-18 August £179 Declarer Play

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♠ 7 5 ♥ 6 3 2 ♦ A 7 4 ♣ A 10 9 8 4

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Chatsworth Hotel 2.

BRIDGE EVENTS

7-9 February 2014

4. ♠ 6 5 2 ♥ 9 6 ♦ A Q J 7 4 ♣ Q J 6

with Sheila Rogers

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N

W E S

Denham Grove

♠ A 9 8 ♥ A 8 ♦ 2 ♣ A K 10 9 8 7 2

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Bucks UB9 5DG

with Diana Holland

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£169 Full Board No Single Supplement

Full Board No Single Supplement

Booking Form on page 6.

Booking Form on page 6.

4-6 April 2014

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

Page 19

Bernard Magee Says

Use the Principle of Restricted Choice

B

ridge is full of numbers and some are quite complex. The principle of restricted choice is hard to grasp, but it is easy to put into practice.

♠ A K 10 9 8 N W E S



enhance your declarer play: When two key touching honours are missing and a defender drops one, it is more likely to be a forced play from a bare honour than a chosen play from two honours doubleton. So you finesse his partner for the second honour.

♠ A K 10 9 8

♠ 7 6 5 4 ♠ J 3 2

You lead the ace of spades and East drops the queen, what do you do next? Put another way: did East start with a bare queen or queen-jack doubleton? The important layouts are: West East (a) ♠ J 3 2 ♠ Q (b) ♠ 3 2 ♠ Q J

A quick mathematical calculation may suggest that (b) is a fraction more likely. However, this is where the principle of restricted choice comes in. What it states is that half the time East holds Q-J doubleton he would play the jack first not the queen, so this halves the chances that he started with Q-J. Look at this another way: if East has the Q-J, let him play them to the first two spades on four different occasions:

(i) J then Q (ii) Q then J

(iii) J then Q (iv) Q then J

He chooses randomly whether to play the jack or queen first. The principle of restricted choice takes into account that options (i) and (iii) are impossible (as East followed with the queen first). So the chance that he started with Q-J doubleton is only half what it was and you should take the finesse. Knowing why is not necessary, but being able to follow the principle will



N W E S

♠ Q

♠ 7 6 5 4

So, having played the ace of spades and seen East’s queen, you come to hand to lead a spade to North’s ten. Here is a full deal: ♠ K Q 3 ♥ 10 9 5 4 ♦ 8 4 3 ♣ K 7 5 ♠ J 8 7 6 ♥ J N W E ♦ Q J 9 5 S ♣ J 10 9 8 ♠ A 4 2 ♥ A K 8 7 6 ♦ 7 6 ♣ A 4 2

♠ 10 9 5 ♥ Q 3 2 ♦ A K 10 2 ♣ Q 6 3

Contract: 4♥. Lead: ♦Q. To justify the bidding you need to avoid a trump loser. The defence play three rounds of diamonds and you ruff the third round, all following. You cash the ♥A, on which West plays the jack. How do you continue? Using the principle of restricted choice, you play West for having started with a singleton honour. Go to dummy with a spade and lead Page 20

the heart ten, running it when East plays low; your king drops the queen on the next round and you have ten tricks. Here is another example: ♠ A Q 4 ♥ 7 6 4 ♦ 5 4 3 ♣ 9 8 6 5 ♠ 10 3 2 ♥ 10 5 N ♦ K Q J 9 8 W E S ♣ K J 10 ♠ K 9 8 ♥ A K Q 9 ♦ A 6 ♣ A 4 3 2

♠ J 7 6 5 ♥ J 8 3 2 ♦ 10 7 2 ♣ Q 7

Contract: 3NT. Lead: ♦K. You win the second diamond and play hearts. You cash the ace, on which all follow low. Then, on the king, West plays the ten and East the three. How do you play for your contract? This is another instance where the principle of restricted choice can help: you have two touching high cards missing; the jack and ten. You should follow the principle. Since West’s ten dropped, it is more likely that it was his last card in the suit than that he holds the jack as well, so you should cross to dummy’s ♠Q and lead a third heart and, when East plays the eight, you insert the nine which wins the trick. Four hearts along with your other five top tricks allows you to make 3NT.

Conclusion When you are missing two touching high cards and one of them falls on an early round, you should assume that the other player holds the rest of the cards in the suit and play accordingly. ■

From the Baron’s Archives by Dick Atkinson

The Whole is Less Than the Sum of its Parts

I

leafed casually through the mail. The third envelope immediately caught my attention: airmail, from the United States. I guessed its subject even before I opened it. My ancient uncle, the Seventh Baron von Münchausen, had finally told me one improbable bridge story too many, and I had decided to investigate the truth of the matter. It all started when I raised the subject of conventional bidding yet again. Uncle Leo hates conventions, and claims that sound natural bidding is always best. I suggested that in certain situations conventions are very valuable. ‘Stayman in response to 1NT, for example, or Fishbein in defence to a Weak Three.’ ‘Ah, him. Fishbein. I played against him in the Harvard Teams of Two in 1960.’ ‘Teams of two?’ I asked, ironically and, I intended, rhetorically. The old man looked at me angrily through watery blue eyes. ‘I played with de Sade, and Fishbein with a member of the Psychology staff. D’Urfe, yes, that was it. A sound enough player, but totally under Fishbein’s spell. They played East Coast Scientific, while we played bridge.’ ‘Teams of two?’ ‘Your obvious scepticism is deeply offensive to me,’ he replied, and did not speak for several days. The internet is a marvellous thing. De Sade, I knew, had died quite recently. Fishbein had cut into the great table in the sky many years earlier. But I was able to track down Doctor D. S. D’Urfe, Emeritus Professor of Sport Psychology. I must confess I had believed him to be a mere figment of

my uncle’s imagination, but he had indeed been an active member of the Harvard faculty back in the sixties. He is apparently regarded as the most prominent Sino-Belgian scientist of the Twentieth, or indeed any other, Century. This was his letter:

The Prof’s Letter Dear Mr Atkinson, I read your enquiry with interest, and I can answer your principal query in the positive. I did indeed take part in that ill-fated experiment, and I look back on it with some bitterness. Conceive it: a means of comparing two pairs head-to-head, definitively, without the confusing involvement of other players. We could have turned bridge into a true Olympic sport. The inaugural (and only) match itself should have been a fascinating test of Natural versus Scientific bidding. We were playing a full range of proven gadgets, KCB, DAB, SOS, GSF, SID, ETC. [I didn’t recognise that one at first, until I realised he meant ‘etc.’] We were years ahead of our time, even dabbling with the link between LTC and TNT. But, to continue. The procedure was as follows. In the afternoon, the players would get through thirty-two deals, before breaking for a meal. After refreshing themselves, they would spend fifteen minutes deep relaxation in the SDC (Sensory Deprivation Chamber), followed by fifteen minutes of AVS (Audio-Visual Suggestion) to achieve HIA (Hypnotically Induced Amnesia). In the evening, the same hands could be played with the directions switched, enabling perfect comparison. Page 21

The Baron, however, brought the whole experiment into disrepute. It was obvious from the very first hand that he had found some way to cheat the hypnotist, and was in fact remembering the cards. After a single day the match was abandoned. The Faculty decided there should be no publicity: the whole affair was best forgotten. As far as I am concerned, I hope it stays that way. I am sorry if this is painful – no doubt in his twilight years your uncle has mellowed, and is a beloved patriarch. And, after all, it was so very long ago. Yours faithfully, Dim Sung D’Urfe

The Baron’s Rebuttal A beloved patriarch. Hmm. Well. In one sense my uncle’s honesty was vindicated; but a still more sinister cloud now hung over him. I wrestled with my conscience, then decided he had a right to defend himself. I slid the letter across the breakfast table. ‘I am sorry I doubted you, Uncle Leo,’ I weaselled. He took in the gist of the letter in moments. Then he reversed the flimsy blue sheet and, plucking his custommade Lapis-Lazuli-barrelled Schaeffer from a pocket, he wrote:

♠ J 9 8 ♥ K J ♦ 10 9 8 6 4 2 ♣ Q 2

‘This was that ‘very first hand’. Partner opens 1♣.’ ‘Well . . . 1♦,’ I ventured.

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The Whole is Less... continued

‘Well of course. That is not the problem. Partner forces to game with 2♥.’ ‘Er . . . 3♦.’ He harrumphed as only the Baron can harrumph. ‘3♣, of course! That also is not the problem, for most people . . . Over this, partner calls 3♦. Now you have a choice, perhaps . . .’ ‘You no doubt expect me to bid 4♦ or something. But with two long minor suits, we are obviously feeling our way towards 3NT. I can’t bid it myself with those spades, and nor could partner, but in such auctions a bid of 3♠ is a Directional Asking Bid. Partner could not call 3NT, and neither can I, therefore the fourth suit shows precisely a half-stopper in the suit, i.e. K or Q-x or J-x-x or 10-x-x-x. If partner has the other half, 3NT will be solid with two filled suits to draw on.’ He frowned sceptically. ‘K plus Q-x is a solid stopper, or Q-x plus J-x-x, and so on. Come on. Uncle Leo – it’s science, but it’s not rocket science. I make the DAB.’ ‘I, on the other hand, realising that K-J is better than x-x-x, say, bid 3♥ showing secondary support. Partner raised to 4♥, which – unlike every other possible game – cannot be beaten given normal breaks.’ I shrugged. ‘Then my partner has bid poorly, I suppose. I can’t know he has a fifth heart. What happened in the other room?’ ‘Same room, different seats. The auction went much as in the afternoon, except that a DAB was indeed called, and converted to 3NT by the opener. I was on lead with:

♠ A 6 5 4 3 ♥ 7 5 3 ♦ K ♣ J 8 4 3

‘What do you fancy?’ ‘I suppose you have no choice. A low spade to shift their known stopper. I infer from your remark of a moment ago that you or your partner take a

trick somewhere and you run four spades.’ It didn’t seem a very controversial, nor a very interesting, deal. He nodded with the long-suffering air I know so well. ‘You have unerringly pinpointed the only lead which gives away the contract.’ He helped himself to the last of the coffee, and buttered another pain-au-chocolat. ‘You expect me to finesse my partner’s possible heart winner into the big hand? Or to throw away my trick chances in one of the minors?’ ‘Not at all,’ my uncle intoned after swallowing a generous mouthful. ‘Nor did I. Fully understanding this DAB thing, I found the killing lead of the ace of spades.’ He was scribbling as he spoke. ‘You will see on examining the full diagram that in the arithmetic of no-trump stoppers, a half plus a half does not always equal a whole. You might guess, by the way, from the two singleton kings that this is a very early example of those awful computerdealt hands.’ ♠ J 9 8 ♥ K J ♦ 10 9 8 6 4 2 ♣ Q 2 ♠ A 6 5 4 3 N ♥ 7 5 3 W E ♦ K S ♣ J 8 4 3 ♠ K ♥ A Q 10 9 ♦ A 7 5 ♣ A K 7 6 5

♠ Q 10 7 2 ♥ 8 6 4 2 ♦ Q J 3 ♣ 10 9

The Bitter Truth He was right again. Why had I never noticed that half-stopper paradox? ‘Of course,’ I squirmed, ‘the spades could well have been blocked—’ ‘Indeed – if my partner had failed to encourage with the seven, holding four cards to two honours.’ He interrupted. ‘However, you see my problem. D’Urfe, Fishbein and company suspected that my perfectly normal master defence was based on foreknowledge of the distribution; but if I had produced my master defence in the afternoon, they Page 23

would have been just as suspicious of my master bidding in the evening. Hand after hand it was the same story . . .’ But I had been thinking – a dangerous thing to do. ‘Just a moment. On the same defence in 4♥ you would be forced at trick two. It would have served you both right for picking that crazy four-two fit.’ ‘No, no. That was precisely the defence de Sade got. He discarded his diamond losers on the second and third spades, ruffed the fourth on table discarding a club, played queen of clubs, then king, then ruffed his losing club and re-entered his hand with a diamond to draw—’ But I had been thinking again. ‘Ha! What would he have done if they had killed the re-entry with a diamond switch?’ ‘He would ruff his third club, establishing a long trick, and re-enter hand by overtaking the trump king.’ I was determined to salvage something. ‘It always makes with normal breaks, you said? What if the hand with the singleton diamond also has the doubleton club? Now he discards his diamond on your club ruff, and you have to lead a diamond off table for him to trump. One down.’ ‘The rest of his hand would then be ten cards in the majors . . .’ I must have looked blank. ‘. . . In which case either the spades are at least 6-3 or the hearts 5-2, so that at least one suit has not broken normally.’ He paused for breath. ‘Not that 4♥ is the best game contract. De Sade, great player though he was, should have protected his king of spades by opening 2NT. I would have raised to 3NT, and on the normal spade lead the breaks in all four suits would have been irrelevant.’ The frail centenarian shook his head wistfully. ‘Oh yes, I am afraid my true potential may never be realised until someone invents a method for playing Teamsof-One . . .’ ■ Previously published in BRIDGE 56. Reprinted to satisfy popular demand.

Catching Up by Sally Brock

T

he Lady Milne (women’s home international) was in Edinburgh in the middle of April. Barry and I travelled up on the train with Susanna and captain Simon. Simon was recovering from an operation and was in a fair amount of discomfort – it was touch and go whether he would be up to coming at all. Later we bump into team-mates Lizzie and Pauline who turn out to be on the same train. We whizz through Edinburgh in a taxi and end up in a Novotel on a trading estate near the airport. Although we could have been anywhere in the country, the hotel was surprisingly good: inexpensive, with decent rooms, helpful staff and OK food (though we did drink them out of Pinot Grigio – twice – I hasten to add that this was because of their small stock rather than any excess imbibing on our part). It was next door to a Krispy Kreme doughnut drive-in which seemed to have a constant queue. We met up with other team-mates Jane and Gillian (with husband Joe) for a buffet-style dinner before our first match. I personally started off playing like an idiot: I let a 3NT through on the first board, then underbid a bit to miss a slam, then failed to press on to 3♥ over their 3♦ to lose a partscore swing. Still, someone else must have been doing OK because we were up.



Dealer South. E/W Vul. ♠ A J 9 ♥ 8 7 3 ♦ Q 7 ♣ K Q 10 6 3 N

W E S



♠ K 10 8 7 6 ♥ K 6 ♦ A 4 ♣ J 8 4 2

This was one of our more successful boards. How would you play 4♠ after West leads the ♥A followed by another heart, East playing the ♥Q and ♥J? West North East South 1♠ 2♥ 3♥ Dbl 3♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

When West defends like this you know that she has the ♦K, otherwise, with that source of club tricks in the dummy she would surely have switched to a diamond. So it is clear to play the ♠A followed by running the jack. If West wins the queen she still can’t attack diamonds and you can knock out the ♣A at your leisure. That led to eleven tricks, two more than the declarer made at the other table. We did well on Friday and all day Saturday, giving us a substantial lead going into the Sunday, whereupon we promptly made the competition more interesting by allowing ourselves to be hammered by Scotland, who until then had been showing disappointing form. Never mind, all was well when we finished with a good win against the Republic of Ireland and finished at the top of the table by a respectable margin. After a fairly late night we caught an early train back to London. It was delayed because of some signal work and we got back mid afternoon. In the evening I tried to raise some enthusiasm for a Young Chelsea Knock-out match. After 24 boards there was the worst possible result (for an exhausted person) – an exact tie. We had to play three extra boards, after which it was still a tie. After yet another three boards we lost by a lot. Just what I wanted. I cadged a lift home with an obliging team member and managed a quick cup of tea with Briony before bed. I spend the rest of the week at home, getting on with work and spending time with Briony. And then very early Page 24

on the Saturday morning, I flew off to Japan to play in the Yeh Brothers Cup in Yokohama. I had not been to Japan before and liked it more than I expected. Everything was so clean. You could eat your dinner off the pavements. People are not allowed to smoke in the open air (but public buildings have to have a smoking room). Our (extremely reasonably-priced) hotel was a 15-minute walk from the conference centre, an up-in-the-air mostly covered walkway, much of it on travelators. The best thing was the toilets. At the flick of a switch they change from toilet to bidet and some even had a blow-dry option. Unfortunately, the bridge did not go too well. It is an extremely high standard event and we failed to make the cut (top eight, or second eight out of 24 teams) and then finished in the middle of the field in the Swiss teams. Then there was a three-session IMP pairs: qualifying round, semi-final and final. But the good news was that you paid per session, so if you didn’t qualify you could pack up and go sightseeing. Nicola did well on this deal from the pairs semi-final: Dealer East. E/W Vul. ♠ Q 9 8 7 4 3 ♥ 8 ♦ J 8 3 ♣ A K 6 ♠ K 6 2 N ♥ A 9 6 W E ♦ A K 6 5 S ♣ 9 8 2

West North East South Pass 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 4♥ All Pass

You lead the ♦A (asking for attitude), partner playing the four and

Catching Up continued

declarer the two. How would you continue? Nicola continued with the king and another diamond, won by declarer’s queen. She then won the ♥A on the first round and played a fourth round of diamonds. I ruffed with the ten and her ♥9 was promoted to the setting trick. This was the full deal:

BERNARD MAGEE’S INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ACOL BIDDING l Opening

Bids and Responses

l

Slams and Strong Openings

l

Support for Partner

l Pre-empting

Although we were doing well at one stage, we fell away at the end and didn’t make the final. Instead we braved the Japanese public transport system (tube and then bus) to visit the Sankeien Gardens, a little out of the city. We spent a peaceful couple of hours wandering around this beautiful place. We may have just missed the cherry blossom, but there was plenty in its place and some lovely old wooden thatched buildings that had been moved there en bloc. In the evening there was a victory banquet, but with a 6.30 flight in the morning we didn’t stay up too long. Of course, the young at heart stayed up all night, but I’m getting a bit old for that sort of thing. ■

l

l Weak l

£66

Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids Minors and Misfits

l Doubles l Competitive

l

ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY l Making

Overtricks in No-trumps Making Overtricks in Suit Contracts

l Endplays

Overcalls

Squeezes

£96

Defences to Other Systems

l

Misfits and Distributional Hands

l

Lead vs No-trump Contracts

l

Lead vs Suit Contracts

l

Partner of Leader vs No-trump Contracts Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts

l Count

Signals l Attitude

l Counting

Establishment in No-trumps

l

l

Ruffing for Extra Tricks

l

Entries in No-trumps

£76

£76

Drawing Trumps l

Using the Lead

l Trump

Control

l

Endplays & Avoidance

l

Using the Bidding

FIVE-CARD MAJORS & Strong No-Trump l

Opening Bids & Responses

l

No-Trump Openings

l

Support for Partner

l

Slams & Strong Openings

l

Rebids

l

Minors & Misfits

Signals

the Hand

Suit Establishment in Suits

l Hold-ups

DEFENCE

Contract

£81

l Suit

l Delaying

l

l

l Wrong

Defence to 1NT

l Two-suited

l Avoidance

l Simple

Strong Hands

l Doubles

Auctions

l

Twos

l Defence

Openings and Responses l

Advanced Basics

to Weak Twos

l No-trump

DECLARER PLAY

l Basics l

l Overcalls

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

MORE (ADVANCED) ACOL BIDDING

£89

Trump Reductions & Coups

l Discarding

l

Pre-empting

l

Defensive Plan

l

Doubles

l

Playing Doubled Contracts

l

Stopping Declarer

l

Overcalls

l

l

Safety Plays

Competitive Auctions

l

l Counting

the Hand

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

( 01483 489961

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System Requirements: Windows XP, Vista or 7, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM

Page 25

BERNARD MAGEE Filmed Live at Haslemere Festival 2011

2012

1 Ruffing for Extra Tricks

7 Leads

This seminar deals with declarer’s use of ruffing to generate extra tricks and then looks at how the defenders might counteract this.

Bernard takes you through all the basic leads and the importance of your choice of lead. If you start to think not just about your hand, but about your partner’s too, then you will get much better results.

2 Competitive Tricks 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.

3 Making the Most 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.

4 Identifying & Bidding Slams The first half of this seminar is about identifying when a slam might be on – one of the hardest topics to teach. The second half covers some of the techniques used to bid slams.

5 Play & Defence 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.

8 Losing Trick Count A method of hand evaluation for when you find a fit. Bernard deals with the basics of the losing trick count then looks at advanced methods to hone your bidding.

9 Making a Plan as Declarer Bernard explains how to make a plan then expands on how to make the most of your long suits. The first half deals with no-trumps, the second with suit contracts.

10 Responding to 1NT This seminar deals with Transfers and Stayman in detail. The 1NT opening comes up frequently, so having a good, accurate system of responses is paramount.

11 Signals & Discards This seminar deals with Count, Attitude and Suit-preference signals: aiming to get you working as a partnership in defence.

12 Endplays

6 Doubling & Defence against Doubled Contracts The first half of this seminar explores penalty doubles and the second half discusses the defence against doubled contracts.

Bernard takes you through the basics of the technique before showing some magical hands where you take extra tricks from defenders. In the second half, Bernard looks at how to avoid being endplayed as a defender.

DVDs

DVDs

Each £25. Boxed Set of 6 £100

Each £25. Boxed Set of 6 £100

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( 01483 489961

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Fax 01483 797302

Seven Days by Sally Brock

Wednesday Still a bit tired after the long flight at the weekend. All is quiet on the work front and I faff about doing nothing in particular in the morning – I can quite easily get addicted to ridiculous computer games such as Spider Solitaire and Minesweeper. In the afternoon, I have a Richard and Gerry session. Barry just gets home in time to join us. They have most of the cards and it looks as if they will beat us, but Barry sneaks home a thin three notrumps on the final deal to make it a dead heat. In the evening my parents are coming to stay, so I can take them to Gatwick in the morning. Briony and I spend some happy time together cooking an Indian meal. She makes a Thai chicken curry while I try an okra and tomato side dish. We have it with red rice and poppadums.

Thursday My parents are off to the south of France. Some friends have taken a house for a month and they are going for a week. My mother is quite frail these days and travel can be exhausting – though my father always has rather grand ideas. He had intended that they should drive to Gatwick from their home near Chippenham, park off site and get a bus to the airport, retracing their steps on the way home. This seemed a bit much, so I persuaded them to come to me in High Wycombe and I would drive them to and from the airport. It’s usually about an hour from my house to the airport. They have an 11.30am flight to Montpellier so we leave at 8am, but don’t arrive

until 10.15am because there has been an accident. I drop them off and keep fingers crossed until I hear that they have arrived safely with their friends. On the way back, I go to the gym and then rush home to shower and change before going out to lunch with my friend Sonya. She is 92 and looks fantastic. We drive around a bit and eventually find a pub where we can sit outside for lunch. In the evening it’s what we’ve all been waiting for with bated breath: the Masterchef final. Barry arrives just before we hear the final verdict: Natalie was the winner, just as we’d hoped.

Friday The weather continues to be glorious, so after a lazy morning I am again inspired to go out for lunch, so the three of us go up the road to our local pub and have a simple lunch in the sunshine. Unfortunately, Barry’s soft-top MX5 is too small for three of us, and even too small for the two of us and our luggage, when after lunch we drive up to Stratford-uponAvon in my rather more cumbersome Vauxhall Zafira. We arrive in time for an afternoon snooze before getting a quick bite to eat and meeting up with team-mates, Cameron and Phil. The event is the Spring Foursomes, the best English weekend bridge event of the year. It is a double-elimination competition – i.e. you lose twice before you are eliminated. In the early stages most teams play in threesomes. This is necessary to reduce the field to the right number for it all to work. We Page 27

play in a threesome with the strong Mossop team and a young team captained by Derek Williams. We need to win the threesome to proceed as an undeafeated team; both the other teams continue as once-defeated. At the end of the day’s play we have a good lead against Williams and are a few up against Mossop’s team of internationals.

Saturday Our room rate at the Holiday Inn doesn’t include breakfast so we go out to Carluccio’s where I have the best scrambled eggs I have ever tasted. Our other team-mates, Margaret and Martin, have now arrived, so we get to sit out in the sunshine from time to time. We continue to flourish against Williams, but unfortunately when the music stops we have lost to Mossop and have to settle for second place in our threesome. We win our second-round match fairly comfortably. It finishes at about 8.30pm and we all go out to dinner. It is quite difficult to find somewhere to eat in Stratford on a summer Saturday evening. Someone should have thought of this problem earlier. In the end, after quite a wait, we find a good Indian restaurant who can squeeze us in.

Sunday After another breakfast at Carluccio’s we get on with our next match. We have drawn a couple of Dutch world champions, Louk Verhees and Ricco van Prooijen, whom we got to know

Seven Days continued

when we were in Omaha for the Buffett Cup last year. They are not playing together, but rather in partnership with a couple of English club players. Things go well for us and we again win fairly easily. We manage to screw up mightily on this hand: Dealer West. Both Vul. ♠ A 6 5 ♥ 9 6 3 ♦ A Q 10 ♣ K 10 8 2 ♠ 9 2 ♠ Q 10 8 4 3 N ♥ A K 8 7 5 4 2 W E ♥ 10 S ♦ 7 4 ♦ J 9 8 3 ♣ Q 9 ♣ 7 5 3 ♠ K J 7 ♥ Q J ♦ K 6 5 2 ♣ A J 6 4

With neither side vulnerable you, East, hold: N W E S

North’s two diamonds is a ‘trash’ Multi, showing a really weak hand with a long (maybe only five-card) major. Your methods dictate a pass on the first round. What now? After a lot of thought, Justin tries five no-trumps which elicits six spades from his partner. What to do now is a complete guess and he opts for six no-trumps. This time there are thirteen tricks. On the next deal I am a bit wild and get lucky. At unfavourable vulnerability I, South, am dealt:

N

West North East South 3♥ Dbl Pass 4♠ All Pass

Remember that West, Barry, can only see his own hand and dummy. He leads the ♥A and has to decide what to do at trick two when declarer plays the jack. He thinks it most likely that I have the queen so continues with a low heart which I have to ruff. I switch to a trump. Declarer wins the jack, cashes the ♠K, plays a diamond to his queen and his last heart from the dummy. I ruff in with the queen and exit with my last trump. Now all declarer needs to do is find the ♣Q. Luckily for us he doesn’t and goes four down. It would have been a trifle embarrassing to let through a game on a 3-3 fit! The next match is against David Ewart’s team: Alex Hydes and the Hackett twins. We do well with a couple of boards in the second set. First, we give Justin Hackett the following bidding problem. West 3NT

North East South 2♦ Pass Pass Pass ?

♠ Void ♥ K Q 9 8 5 ♦ A Q 9 8 7 6 ♣ J 3

W E S



♠ 10 9 7 5 4 3 2 ♥ K 8 5 2 ♦ 3 ♣ 8

West North East South 1♣ 2♠ Pass 4♠ Dbl Pass 5♦ Pass Pass ?

I feel that, at the vulnerability, partner has to have really good trumps to bid four spades and not double five diamonds. Ever the optimist, I can envisage hands where five spades is cold, or maybe a good sacrifice, even at the vulnerability. So I bid five spades, doubled by East. West leads the ♣Q. I discard my diamond and play a spade from the dummy to draw both trumps. (If I don’t do this, West may get a club ruff with his singleton queen of trumps.) Then I cross to dummy with a trump and lead a heart towards my king, making my contract when East, as expected, has the ace. Page 28

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

The match is close but we have a good last set and win this too. It’s a while since I’ve been still going on the Monday. It’s easier to find a restaurant tonight and we have a good meal before later retiring to the bar for a nightcap. One of the nice things about the Spring Fours is the layout of the Holiday Inn where it is held. There is a large bar where you can always find some bridge players you know to sit down with and have a drink. It is this social aspect of the event that makes it particularly enjoyable.

Monday This time it’s Simon Gillis and his team of Norwegian stars. The first set doesn’t go too well and we are 23 down. One deal is not very good for our system. First in hand, vulnerable against not, I hold:

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

It does not seem suitable for any opening bid, so I pass and Barry opens two clubs. This is either Acol strong or a weak two in diamonds. The problem is that a three diamond response would be pre-emptive assuming he is weak with diamonds, i.e. it would show fewer diamonds and a weaker hand. So I bid two diamonds (the normal response) to await developments.

Seven Days continued

He rebids two no-trumps showing a game-forcing balanced hand (25+ HCP). It seems a good idea to start by investigating a spade fit so I bid three clubs, Puppet Stayman. He bids three no-trumps, in our system showing a five-card heart suit. Now I have a real problem because four diamonds would be a re-transfer, asking him to bid four hearts to make sure that the strong hand is declarer. I sat there for at least five minutes looking for some way out of my dilemma. Eventually, I simply bid seven diamonds. Luckily, Barry has a suitable dummy and there are thirteen tricks. The problem with this type of situation is that it makes you feel as if you have had a good result, when in fact it is just normal. Barry and I do well in the next set but team-mates are a little disappointing and we only recover 3 IMPs. Then at the beginning of the third set we have a disaster. My LHO opens one club and RHO bids one heart which is a transfer to spades. I bid two spades which is a Michaels cue-bid. Unfortunately, Barry is not quite with it and he thinks it is natural and passes. So I go four down vulnerable in two spades when four hearts is on for us. Then we are both a bit unsettled for the next board and let one no-trump make when we could have beaten it a couple. We lose another 10 on the set, when we might have pulled back 10. Being 30 down is quite a different situation than 10 down and although we have some opportunities, the boards are really too flat.

We go out into the town (which is really heaving with people on such a sunny Bank Holiday) and grab some street food for a late lunch. Then back to High Wycombe.

Tuesday It’s mid-morning and Barry leaves to go back to London while Briony and I go off to our respective gyms. We spend the rest of the day working and watching television, with me occasionally checking the final stages of the Spring Fours on BBO. My first visit is midafternoon and I am just in time to see Andrew Robson open three clubs at Love All (third in hand) with a 3-44-2 distribution and just two points. He must be a lot down. Sometimes this sort of tactic can work in a desperate situation, but this time he just ends up going for a 1,700 penalty when all his opponents can make is a non-vulnerable game. So team Penfold (Sandra Penfold, Nevena Senior, Kailin Karaivanov and Rumen Trendafilov) have beaten the favoured Allfrey team heavily in the semi-final. I would like this team to do well. They won a couple of years ago, to many people’s surprise. But those Bulgarians are excellent (another pair we met at the Buffett Cup) and Nevena and Sandra have a good record too. The final is between Penfold and de Botton (Janet de Botton, David Burn, Thomas Charlsen, Thor Erik Hoftaniska, Artur Malinowski and Nick Sandqvist). Although Penfold do well in the early stages, all of a sudden it turns and the de Botton team win by 16. Very well done to them. ■ Page 29

CHARITY BRIDGE EVENTS JULY 2013 4 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE ROTARY CLUB Outlane Golf Club. 12 for 12.30. £44 per table. Sam Smith ( 01924 492540 7 RUNSWICK BAY RESCUE BOAT. Bridge Day. Hinderwell Village Hall. 10am. £16 includes lunch. Karen ( 01947 841013 8 ROWANS HOSPICE, PURBROOK Duplicate at Denmead Bridge Club, Community Hall, School Lane, Denmead. 7pm. £2pp. Georgina Erskine ( 01489 878016

11 ST MARGARET’S SOMERSET HOSPICE. Wedmore Village Hall. 10.30 for 11.00am. £16 each to include lunch. Brian Moreton ( 01934 713854 brianjillmoreton @btinternet.com 13 BREAST CANCER CAMPAIGN 1.00 for 1.30pm. Blue Pointed Duplicate Pairs, sponsored by Billericay Mayflower Bridge Club. Two-course buffet supper. First Class Bridge Academy, Barleylands Centre, Billericay. £20 each. Marcia ( 07789003284 marcia @newdirectionstudio.co.uk 19 SALTERS HILL CHARITY Cheltenham Bridge Club 10.30am-4pm. £15pp £60 per table including lunch. Mary Ann Rust ( 01242 245392

11 HYDON HILL CHESHIRE HOMES CRANLEIGH SUPPORT GROUP Bridge Tea at Cranleigh School. 1.45 for 2pm. £36 26 PHYLLIS TUCKWELL HOSPICE per table. Please bring your Guildford Café Bridge. £22 own table & playing cards. per player to include coffee Barry Fear and 2-course lunch. Play will ( 01483 277418 take place at various venues [email protected] in the town centre. 12 GREAT BARFORD CHURCH Village Hall, Great Barford. 10.00 for 10.30am. £13.50. Derek Fordham ( 01234 870324

AUGUST 2013 16 ST IVES DAY CARE CENTRE Hemingford Abbots Village Hall. Tickets £13.50. Don Moorman ( 01480 463444

SEPTEMBER 2013 4 GYDA. Corn Exchange, Faringdon. £15. Steve Braithwaite ( 01367 240929 5 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE ROTARY CLUB Outlane Golf Club. 12 for 12.30. £44 per table. Sam Smith ( 01924 492540

OCTOBER 2013 4 ST ANDREWS CHURCH Mandeville Hall. Kimbolton. £14.00. Mavis Campion ( 01480 860477

[email protected] polly.youngs2 @hotmail.co.uk

NOVEMBER 2013 4 RNLI. Crowborough Beacon Golf Club bridge tea. 1.30pm for 2pm start. £26 per table. Penny ( 01825 830006 14 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE ROTARY CLUB Outlane Golf Club. 12 for 12.30. £44 per table. Sam Smith ( 01924 492540 22 ST MARY’S CHURCH Eaton Socon, St Neots. 10.00 for 10.30am. £13.50. Malcolm Howarth ( 01480 212910

DECEMBER 2013 1 EDP WE CARE APPEAL

which benefits the Norfolk Millennium Trust for Carers. 1.30pm The Costessey Centre, Longwater Lane, Old Costessey, Norwich, Norfolk NR8 5AH. Sue Hutchings ( 01508 494522

E-mail your charity events: [email protected]

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Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions

2NT in the Protective Position

Q

My LHO opponent opens 1♠. My partner and opener’s partner pass. I hold:



♠ A K 10 6 4 ♥ K Q J 7 ♦ K ♣ A Q 5

Should I double, knowing that partner will usually bid 2♦? John Dunbar by email.

A

In the protective seat, it is usual to play 2NT as natural, showing something like 1820 balanced. Here you have a slightly unbalanced 22, albeit with a singleton king that is unlikely to be pulling full weight. If you judge the hand too good for 2NT or do not fancy bidding no-trumps with a singleton, you could indeed double; on a good day, partner will bid 2♥; if not, you can rebid 2NT. The right action perhaps depends upon the vulnerability and scoring method. For example, if it is matchpoints and the opponents are vulnerable,

there is a good case for passing out 1♠ and hoping to collect 200 (or more).

bids showing some form of two-suited hand. ♣♦♥♠

♣♦♥♠

Q

Q

Opening a weak no-trump, what should my partner’s response be if my left hand opponent doubles me? Rex Gascoyne, Winsford, Somerset.

A



Partner’s first thought should be to consider the desirability of playing in 1NT doubled. With a reasonably flat hand and 7 or 8 points or more, it is usual to pass, hoping opener can make 1NT doubled. With a weaker hand, responder usually rescues to a five-card suit, even if it is a minor. 2♣ ceases to be Stayman after the double. Transfers, if you play them, are off too because responder might want to play in 2♦. Of course, some pairs have a specific agreement about what to do after an opponent doubles 1NT. For example, some people play that responder redoubles with a singlesuited hand, with immediate

Neither side was vulnerable when I picked up:

♠ A ♥ J 9 7 6 4 3 ♦ A 2 ♣ A Q 3 2

N W E S

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

I felt that one down (or two down undoubled) would be a better score than our opponents making 2♠. We do play Michaels but never with a 6-4 shape and with the 6-card suit being the other major (despite this anaemic holding in hearts). My partner said that I should have doubled and we might have found 3NT. I felt that it was inevitable that I would bid hearts at some stage and doubling then

Page 32

bidding a suit showed a much stronger hand. With hearts behaving and the club finesse working, we made 3♥; 3NT would have been a disaster. What are your thoughts? Bob Bates, Birmingham.

A

While the 2♥ overcall is fine, rebidding 3♥ is not. Partner is already expecting a six-card or strong five-card heart suit for your 2♥ overcall. A general principle in bidding is that you do not describe the same feature twice. If you bid a second time – and you do not want to sell out to 2♠ with a singleton spade – you either double or bid 3♣. You have said yourself that with 5-5 you would probably make a Michaels cue bid, so bidding 2♥ and then 3♣ gives partner a good idea that you are 6-4 rather than 5-5. Doubling would also be reasonable because if partner bids 3♦ then you can correct to 3♥. I think your partner was suggesting that you double the second time rather than the first; I agree that an initial double would be wrong.

Ask Julian continued

Q

Playing Acol and with South to open, how would you bid these hands? I have given the actual auction.



♠ K Q 6 ♥ K 7 6 ♦ K Q 4 3 ♣ J 8 4 N W E S



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

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ 2♦ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ End

7♥ is a great spot. 7♦ fails only because East can give West a heart ruff at trick one. David Cree by email.

A

Either North or South might have bid more. South has first-round control in all four suits and an undisclosed seventh heart. North has an opening hand as well as a threecard heart suit. For sure, North should bid 3♠ rather than 4♥. I admit that there is some ambiguity about whether this is an advance cue bid (agreeing hearts and showing first-or second round control in spades) or asking for a spade stopper. With such extreme shape, South does not want to play in 3NT anyway; so South should continue as if 3♠ is a cue bid, making a return cue bid of 4♣. North then cue bids 4♦ and South cue

bids 4♠. With a hand rich in controls, South avoids taking control and instead manoeuvres North into calling 4NT. However, even if your methods allow you to show three aces/key cards and a void in reply to 4NT, North is likely to assume that South’s void is in spades, so you are not going to reach a grand slam. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Could you please comment upon and suggest a defence to an unusual opposing bidding method? Opponents open to show point count regardless of shape, for example opening 1♣ to show 13 points even with 5-4 in the majors. Rob Roberts, Mold.

A

Bridge authorities the world over agree that it is best to show shape first and strength later. There are exceptions on certain hands. For example, on game forcing hands it is usual to open 2♣ regardless of shape, but this is more because the rarity of hands makes it inefficient to allocate lots of different bids to them, than an inherent belief that showing strength first is best. As you will gather from what I said in the previous paragraph, your opponents are playing an inefficient method, which on average should be to your advantage. You want to get in the bidding when you can, finding your best fit before the opponents even begin to find theirs. However, you cannot be quite as frisky as you might over a strong club (or game-forcing opening). If an opponent has merely promised 13 points, game could easily be on your way.

The fact that the opponents have not shown a suit poses a slight problem. You cannot make a take-out double or a cue bid. With a 3-suited hand, it might work well to pass first time around, intending to come in later with a double if the opponents bid your short suit. On other hands, I suggest you use the same method as you do over a strong 1♣, with the proviso that you bid only on hands with normal overcalling strength.

reaching 7NT rather than 7♦. Some play that a positive response promises two of the top three honours in the suit, in which case South would know the fourth spade can go on a high heart. A possible auction if you do not play that is: North South 2♣ 2♥ 3♦ 4♦ 4NT 5♣ 5NT 7NT

♣♦♥♠

Q

Most N/S pairs reached the small slam. One pair bid and made 7NT.



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



♠ A K Q 3 ♥ A 4 ♦ A K J 10 5 ♣ A K

Most pairs opened 2♣ (Acol). Responder replied either 2♦ or 2♥. If partner responded 2♦, the rebid was 3NT (25 + pts). Is it correct to be in 7NT? What is the correct bidding sequence? Margaret Bleakley, Belfast.

A

With the South hand, there is a distinct possibility that you belong in a suit contract, so I would rebid 3♦ rather than 3NT. In any case, the 2♥ positive creates a game force, so the alternative would be 2NT, not 3NT. North raises 3♦ to 4♦, after which the only issue is

Page 33

South’s 5NT confirms that the side has all the key cards. North, with the vital ♦Q and the source of tricks in hearts, then knows she has whatever South might be looking for and jumps to 7NT. ♣♦♥♠

Q

One session, we had two hands with 2♦ overcalls over 1NT. The first time the overcaller held 15 HCP with ♦A-Q-9-x-x. 2♦ was the final contract, but game was making. The second time the overcaller had minimum points and partner was correct to pass. How can you tell a strong bid from a weak one? Trevor Watts, Guildford.

A

When the opposing opening is a 1214 1NT, it is easy to tell whether partner has a good hand or not. A double shows 15+ points. Other actions deny the ability to double and show a hand weaker than that. In your first example, the correct call was double rather than 2♦.

Ask Julian continued

Q

The hand on my right opened 1NT. What should I do with this hand?



♠ K Q 10 9 7 6 ♥ A K Q J 9 ♦ J ♣ 8

At the table, I bid 2♠ and played there, making 12 tricks. Mary Willoughby, Thetford, Norfolk.

A

The traditional way to show a strong two-suited hand was to bid 2NT. Such a bid could not be natural because you would double if you had a strong balanced hand. These days, many people play 2NT as the minors (and not necessarily strong), in which case you would need to find another route. If you play Landy, 2♣ for the majors, which both Bernard and I recommend, you can do that. If not, you might start with a double or simply overcall 4♠. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Playing a weak NT, I opened 1NT (12-14) in third seat with this hand:



♠ A 9 4 ♥ J 6 5 ♦ A 9 4 ♣ A K 5 2

Because I had 8 losers and partner had passed, I downgraded my hand. My LHO doubled and

partner produced 8 points. I made 8 tricks for 380 and a top. Was 1NT a reasonable opening on this hand? Peter Berlanny, Drayton, Hampshire.

A

If you are playing 12-14 for 1NT, you do risk missing game if you open 1NT on this hand. While it is reasonable to knock one point off given that you have a 4333 shape as well as no tens, deducting two points seems excessive. I would open 1♣. In truth, the merit of opening 1NT with 12 or even 13 points when vulnerable in third seat is debatable. The chance of making game facing a passed hand is low while the chance that LHO has enough to double you is higher than it would be in other scenarios. It is indeed quite common to play a different range for 1NT in third seat vulnerable (for example 14-16). Of course, if you wish to play a stronger range in this position, you need to agree that with your partner and announce accordingly.

suit. There is no need to play both three- and fourlevel rebids as showing a shortage: if you have a void, you can show a shortage at the three level and then bid the suit again to show that the shortage is a void (possibly a singleton ace). The reason for playing that bids at the three level show a shortage is that this enables you to judge whether the hands fit well. It is the same principle as splinter bids. For example, you are responder and hold:

Q A

A popular treatment is that rebids in a new suit at the three level show a shortage and that rebids at the four level show a good second

A

The delayed game raise is something for responder, not opener. Although the classic shape would include four trumps, if opener opens 1♠ and rebids in some other suit, that promises five spades, so 3-card support sounds good enough. ♣♦♥♠



♠ A Q 10 4 ♥ A 10 4 2 ♦ K Q 4 ♣ 4 2

Facing a 1♠ opening, it is likely that you have a slam facing a singleton heart even if partner has a minimum opening. By contrast, if partner has a singleton diamond, the hands will not be fitting so well. So you respond 2NT and take a bullish view if partner rebids 3♥ to show a singleton heart. Partner might hold:

♣♦♥♠ I understand there is more than one system of opener’s rebids after a Jacoby 2NT game forcing raise of 1♥/1♠. Some play a suit at the four level is natural (good five-card suit); some play that it shows a void. What do you recommend? Lloyd Lewis by email.

I bid 4♠. The opposition said it was wrong, only the opener can use the DGR. Was this right? D Y Parringtonby email.



♠ K J 8 5 2 ♥ 3 ♦ J 9 5 3 ♣ A K 5

Swap partner’s red-suit holdings and you would have a sure loser in each red suit. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Can responder do a DGR (delayed game raise)? My partner opened 1♠. I had three, but bid another suit first; my partner rebid in a different suit, then

Page 34

Q

As dealer, I picked up the following hand:



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

I opened 4♦ and played there. My partner had three cards in each red suit, but only one point (the ♠J). Should I have opened 2♦ (as happened at two other tables)? I did not think 2♣ was right. Mrs Barbara Ann Mellor, Budleigh Salterton, Devon.

A

Certainly, 5♦ is a better choice of opening than 4♦. You need very little from partner to make game. Unless you are vulnerable against not, it is better still to open 1♦, as then you might find a slam. I agree that a 2♣ opening would be misleading. Since it sounds as if the opponents could have made a game if not a slam in spades, I imagine 150 was not such a bad score for you.

Ask Julian continued

Q

My partner, North, opened 1♠. I responded 3♣ to show a strong hand (16 points) with a strong 6-card suit – is this correct? North then rebid 3NT and I passed. Should North have bid diamonds or hearts on his second bid and how should the bidding proceed to reach a slam? Most other tables were in 6♥ or 6NT.

bid of 4♦ (showing the ♦A). After that, you can jump to 5NT to ask whether partner has one of the top three heart honours, expecting her to bid 6♣ with 0 or 6♥ with 1 (she cannot have 2, so you know she will not be bidding 7♥). The complete auction is thus as follows: South North 1♠ 2♣ 2♦ 2♥ 3♥ 4♣ 4♦ 5NT 6♥ 7♥

♣♦♥♠

Q

I would appreciate your comments on the following (dealer South).

♣♦♥♠

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



♠ Void ♥ K Q J 4 2 ♦ K 9 ♣ A Q J 10 8 4

Jane Karfoot by email.

A

The accepted wisdom is that you do not make a jump shift with a two-suited hand. If you start with a simple 2♣, North can rebid 2♦. This is forcing after the two-level response – it is not a good idea to rebid in notrumps when holding a void (this applies whether your response was a jump or not). You then rebid 2♥, which partner will initially take as fourth-suit forcing. However, in case your 2♥ is natural, partner should raise to 3♥. You are then off to the races. You can cue bid 4♣ (showing the ♣A), allowing partner to make a return cue

Q

My partner opened 1NT; the next hand overcalled 2♥. I had 12 points, a 4333 shape and stoppers in all but the hearts. My 4-card suit was diamonds: Q-x-x-x. I called 3NT. Partner said I should have said 3♦, diamonds being my only 4-card suit and he would have left me in it. He went four off. Can you please tell me what I should have bid? Olga Hignett by email.

A

3NT (avoids any confusion and shows confidence in partner’s dummy play) and 3♥ (gives partner the chance to show a suit if lacking the ability to bid 3NT). If you play that 2NT asks partner to bid 3♣ and that double shows a raise to 2NT (the Lebensohl convention), you should double.

Bidding 3♦ would be most unwise. A bid of 3♦ would indicate an unbalanced hand. The real question is whether you should insist on game or merely invite it. Since hands with a 4333 shape often play poorly, I think you should be willing to stop short of game if partner is minimum for a 12-14 1NT. If you play 2NT as natural, you could bid that. Other possibilities are double (they are unlikely to make 8 tricks with at most 16 points and at most 8 trumps between them),



♠ A K 10 5 4 3 ♥ J 3 ♦ 10 3 ♣ K Q J N W E S



♠ Q 8 7 2 ♥ A ♦ K Q 7 6 ♣ A 9 8 5

North South 1♣ 1♠ 3♠ 4♠ End

Our bidding system is basic Acol with 4-card majors and our slam convention is Key Card Blackwood. We do not use splinters or cue bids. 1) Is there a safe way of bidding the slam with our current system? 2) Could we bid the hand more accurately if we included splinters and/or cue bids in our system? John Martin, Evanton, Ross-shire.

Page 35

A

The South hand is suitable for a mini splinter of 3♥. As 2♥, a reverse, is forcing for one round you do not need a jump to 3♥ as a natural bid. You can play 3♥ to show a spade raise with exactly one heart (you would jump to 4♥ with a void). Even after South’s actual 3♠ bid, you ought to reach a slam. North has a good six-loser hand and would expect South to have a six-loser hand for the jump raise. If you have a good trump fit and think you have only twelve (or fewer) losers between the two hands, you should be looking for a slam. While it would not be entirely appropriate for North to jump to 4NT with no control in either unbid suit, a cue bid of 4♣ seems ideal. Regardless of your normal cue bidding style, it is fine to cue bid a king in a suit partner has bid. ♣♦♥♠

Q

What is the correct opening for this hand?



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

Muriel McDermott by email.

A

The only sensible opening is 1♦. You are far too good for a pre-emptive opening and too weak for a strong two-level opening. ■

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

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Page 36

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READERS’ LETTERS OVER THE TOP As we all have a duty to promote a fun and friendly atmosphere for all of our fellow bridge players, I was shocked to read David Stevenson’s judgement of how poor Mike James should be treated, having committed the heinous crime of failing to call the director immediately after an incorrect claim had been made, see Readers Letters, BRIDGE 115. If I had been subjected to a ‘thorough telling off’ by the director for such an action, I would certainly never return to that bridge club. Surely the job of the director is to provide advice for these procedural errors and leave telling off for more serious misdemeanours such as aggressive or rude behaviour. Mr Mike Allen, Lindfield, Haywards Heath.

WEAK NOTRUMP Bidding on a poor 12 points. I was interested to see the suggested answer to the latest Prize Quiz. With a 12-point hand and a 5-3-3-2 shape, the ‘book’ opening is indeed 1NT and that is the answer given. However, with 3 bare aces and only one 10, the hand has no ‘middle’. It is a very poor 12 points. In my experience it is better to pass this hand. If partner cannot bid, you do not want to get too high. By a curious coincidence, I notice that the first exercise in Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quiz also has 12 poor points with no cards whatso-

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ever between a queen and a ‘seven’. This hand has even less ‘middle’ and I think you would be well advised to downgrade the hand to 11 points and pass, especially if vulnerable. Pass is often the hardest bid to find. Chris Chatfield, Bath.

I believe a promise is a promise and would open the bidding. It is, after all, a pre-emptive bid not requiring any rebid.

HAVE FAITH I have been a fund raiser for our local community hospital for the past 10 years, mainly helping to run our summer fete and winter bazaar. I have found the generosity of my local community in supplying raffle and tombola prizes, gifts, toys, bric-abrac, cakes, booze for the bottle stall and other items quite humbling. The raffles have been a huge success and many of the purchasers seem familiar to me by now. So Mrs Webster, see Readers Letters, BRIDGE 125, have no fear. They will be glad to participate. Organisers are few and far between. Donors and buyers are plentiful and happy to contribute. Mr R Mitchell, Edenbridge, Kent.

WHAT ODDS? My RHO opens with a weak 1NT. What are the probabilities that I will hold (a) One suit of at least 6 cards? (b) Two suits, both of at least 5 cards?  Lloyd Lewis by email.

My instinctive reaction to both ‘My Recipe’ and ‘Tea & Coffee’, in Readers Letters, BRIDGE 126, is that both are worrying about a problem that does not exist. Mobility plus electronics have wiped out the old playing card days when a ‘Whist Drive and Dance’ was the norm. Most online players are (not so many from what I see) refugees from loss of a compatible partner. It takes two to tango. Bridge will always survive – what do members matter? But that brings in the importance of partnership in bridge. I have always wondered why the subject of a partner is always simply avoided in BRIDGE. Pages of complex conventions which will only be usable subject to having a compatible partner – seminars and lessons are useful but the big divide is partnership. A partner who is totally loyal is an essential aspect of advancement in the game. Partners in a strong long liaison play serenely on totally indifferent to the scenarios that are being played out lower down the pecking order. Plenty of dramas are being enacted out there. Senior players will have to involve themselves more if existing numbers of players are to be encouraged. Systems of ‘host’ players with a charitable element might be one way to go. Mr Edward Clarke, Aberoer, Wrexham.

Mr Clarke is a lively 97 year old. He sent me a picture of himself taken while filming a popular TV show, Zumba dancing with lots of girls.

Unusual hand I thought readers might be interested in the following hand, dealt at the club last night:

Page 37

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

West North East South Me 2♦1 Pass 2♥2 Pass 3♦ Pass 3NT3 1

game forcing, Benji negative 3What else can I say?

2

The lead was ♥4 and I made the contract. Never before have I been in such a contract with a total Yarborough. Very interesting. Name & address supplied.

YARBOROUGHS Had Lord Yarborough offered odds of a shilling to 100 guineas against an honourless hand being dealt, that would have been equivalent to 5 pence to £105 in modern money, not 10 pence to £110 as stated in Julian Pottage’s A to Z of Bridge (BRIDGE 126). His Lordship would thus have been offering odds of 2,100 to 1 against, which, since the true odds against were indeed 1,847 to 1, would have left him out of pocket. Accounts of what odds his lordship did offer vary, some saying 1,600 to 1, but most say he offered a straight 1,000 to 1 against. And the minimum stake he would have accepted would surely have been at least a guinea, not a trifling few pennies. John MacLeod, London SW19.

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READERS’ LETTERS continued

MORE YARBOROUGHS I’m sure you have many pedants pointing out a minor mistake in your explanation of a Yarborough in the current edition – there were twenty shillings to the pound, making a shilling equivalent to 5p, not 10p, there were 21 shillings to a guinea, making 100 guineas equivalent to £105, not £110. Chris Wood by email.

EVEN MORE..... A shilling to 100 guineas is 10 pence to £210 not £110. I would get out more often if your magazine was not so entertaining.

125, I have now completed my first cruise aboard Aegean Odyssey and my experiences are all positive – the ship is lovely, the lido area for sunbathing first class, dining arrangements very much to my liking – you can either eat either al fresco or in the dining room and the service is first class. Most of the included trips were a little too testing for my personal walking ability but the feedback from my fellow guests was all good. The bridge room was very pleasant and, as always, your hosts looked after us and made sure the bridge players enjoyed the sessions. I will most certainly be on this little ship again. Pat Davies by email.

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Malcolm Percival by email.

And at least twenty more besides these. It really is helpful that you take the trouble to let me know.

GREAT CRUISE I have just returned from a holiday on the Aegean Odyssey, Venice to Rome. I would like to say it was excellent in every way. The ship, the excursions, the food, the attendance of the staff, the organisations in every aspect of course, not forgetting the bridge. I look forward to seeing your programme for next year. Mrs M Holton, Towcester, Northants.

ALL GOOD NEWS

Having previously extolled the efficiency of the office staff at Voyages to Antiquity, see Readers Letters, BRIDGE

contract bridge (preferably duplicate) games. I am 85, live alone and have been diagnosed as having Parkinson’s disease. I still drive but find it harder and harder to travel. So I am thinking of going into a place where I can use a scooter to get around but where I can have my car (for a year or so) and have my own home. Although I believe many of the people I play with are in my position, there seems to be nothing locally. There is no reason for me to live in Suffolk (apart from the peace, the people and the climate) – I grew up in Cumbria and my parents hailed from Yorkshire. So, perhaps one of your readers could suggest somewhere. Ideally, I would like a quiet home with a terrace or balcony and plenty of bridge. A bonus would be a sunny garden with nice open views. Note: Although I am very keen, no-one would ever suggest I am anything but average as a player.

the two level with only four cards should be alerted. I look forward to the article. Stuart Watson, Hatfield, Doncaster.

ANNIVERSARY The Bourne Bridge Club recently celebrated its 25th birthday. Thirty six of its members enjoyed lunch at The Toft Country House Hotel just outside Bourne. Needless to say, we had a few hands of bridge to finish off a very pleasant event. The club was formed 30 years ago when eight of us completed a course of lessons provided by Lincolnshire County Council and decided we must carry on. We have now grown to nearly 50 but, the club is not able to provide beginners classes for the many in the area who would like to learn. We are now looking to the County for funding... Big Society and all that. Dorothy Alexander, Treasurer, Bourne B.C.

Jack Clayton by email.

MORE ROUTINE CONFUSED De Luxe diary received and I have to say that I must have had 60 pocket diaries in my time and this one, with its smooth soft burgundy leather-like Kidrell cover, gold edging and pen, has to be the best ever and that’s without counting the bridge content. Name & address supplied.

WANTED My travelling abroad days are over and as a widower with 51 years of happy married life behind me, I have only myself to consider. So, having thought about things I wonder, Mr Bridge, if you might include this plea in one of your readers’ letter pages: I am looking for a residential home which has regular

Your response to Tony Simpson’s letter in BRIDGE 126 requesting an article on the required length of a suit for major suit bids is most welcome – but who are you going to get to write it? David Stevenson, on page 16, says Acol players need only four cards but Julian Pottage, on page 39, requires five, or even six, to overcall at the two level. I have even been told by a teacher, that overcalling at

Page 39

The items in your list of Bridge Etiquette in BRIDGE 123 are most helpful. However, occasionally I find 12 or 14 cards in my part of the board. If I have seen all the cards difficulty can ensue. Therefore, I always count my cards blind before sorting them, so that someone who has played the board previously can, if necessary, correct the hand. May I suggest this should be added to your list. Alan Ireland by email.

Write to Mr Bridge at: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH or e-mail [email protected] E-mail correspondents are asked to include their name, full postal address, telephone number and to send no attachments. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

■

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Postage stamps for sale at 90% of face-value, all mint with full gum. Quotations for commercial quantities available on request. Values supplied in 100s, higher values available as well as 1st and 2nd class (eg 2nd class: 100x37p+100x13p)

*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 Heathrow to Tunis. Flights from other UK airports are available at a supplement. Prices for seven-night stays 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.

(/Fax 020 8422 4906

These holidays have been organised for Mr Bridge by Tunisia First Limited, ATOL 5933.

e-mail: [email protected]

Page 40

DETAILS & BOOKINGS ( 01483 489961

Answers to David Huggett’s  Play Quiz on page 19 1. ♠ 6 3 ♥ J 9 7 ♦ K 10 9 4 3 ♣ Q J 2 ♠ 8 7 5 N ♥ A K 6 2 W E ♦ 8 2 S ♣ K 10 9 6 ♠ K Q J 2 ♥ 3 ♦ A Q J 7 6 5 ♣ A 4

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

You are declarer in 5♦ and West leads the ♥A and follows up with the ♥K. How do you plan the play? It looks as though you need the club finesse to work, but you can improve on those odds. Ruff the second heart and play a trump to dummy and ruff the last heart. Re-enter dummy with a trump and now lead a spade. If East has the ace and plays it, you can discard two clubs from dummy on your master spades and later take a club ruff in dummy. Most likely, East will play low but you win in hand, re-enter dummy with yet another trump and lead another spade. If East still withholds the ace, you can ruff both your spade losers in dummy and take the club finesse for an overtrick. If it is West who has the ace of spades, you have to rely on the club finesse after all, unless the ace is singleton when he will find himself endplayed.

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

♠ 9 6 2 ♥ Q 9 ♦ Q 10 9 8 ♣ J 6 5 2

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠Q. How do you plan the play? It is easy to go wrong on this hand, but in fact the contract is 100% guaranteed as long as you take a little care. It may look tempting to play both club honours from hand and then enter dummy with a diamond to play the ace of clubs, hoping of course that the jack falls in two or three rounds. But you only need four club tricks to make this contract, so cash the club king by all means but then overtake the queen in dummy with the ace and continue the suit if the jack hasn’t appeared. When it does, you can win any return, enter dummy with the ace of diamonds and cash the remaining clubs. There is of course no point in ducking the opening lead when West might find the heart switch.

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

♠ 8 4 3 ♥ 10 8 7 2 ♦ 10 8 4 ♣ K J 9

You are declarer in 4♠ and West leads the three top diamonds and switches to the ♣3. East follows to the diamonds and plays the ♣K on the club switch. How do you plan the play? You have nine easy tricks and the heart suit is the only possible source of a tenth, although it may come about in a strange sort of way. Instead of drawing all the trumps, draw two rounds only, happily noting that there is only one trump now out in the opposing hands. Now play three rounds of hearts ending in hand and, if everyone has followed, draw the remaining trump and

Page 41

claim. A lot of the time the hearts will divide 4-2, but on occasion the hand with the four card suit will have the remaining trump, meaning you can safely ruff the last heart in dummy. Then you can get back to hand with a club ruff and draw the last trump.

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

You are declarer in 6♣ and West leads the ♥K. How do you plan the play? Win the first heart, draw one round of trumps noting both defenders follow, and play the ace of diamonds. Now lead the queen from dummy, aiming to throw a heart if East plays low. If East plays the king you ruff, play a trump to dummy and ruff a diamond. Now you re-enter dummy with a trump and cash the diamonds, which are hopefully now high. Looked at another way, you aim to make one spade, one heart, seven clubs and three diamonds and you will do that if the suit breaks ■ 4-3.

BEGIN BRIDGE ACOL  £66 VERSION An Interactive Tutorial CD with Bernard Magee See Mail Order form on page 5.

Julian Pottage Says

Use the Clues from the Bidding

I

n many contracts, you face a guess as declarer. Sometimes you know little and must rely on simple odds. These days, this is rarely the case. People are getting busier and busier in the bidding. While this makes it harder for you to find the right contract, what they did or did not bid often helps you in the play.

Now, suppose I say that you opened 1NT in second seat. In this case, East would hardly pass as dealer with 12 points. You therefore put West with the king of clubs and play to drop it singleton. Although the chance of success would be low, some chance is better than none. You hope the deal looks something like this:



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

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



♠ J 7 2 ♥ A 9 7 ♦ Q 10 2 ♣ A Q 9 4

You are South in 3NT. West leads the spade ten and you lose four tricks when East has A-K-Q-x. West shifts to a diamond. If the bidding tells you nothing – say you dealt, opened 1NT and received a raise to 3NT – you will no doubt take the club finesse and make nine tricks if East holds the king. You hope the full layout is like this: ♠ 6 5 ♥ K 8 5 ♦ A K J 5 ♣ J 10 7 3 ♠ 10 9 8 3 N ♥ Q J 3 W E ♦ 9 6 4 3 S ♣ 8 6 ♠ J 7 2 ♥ A 9 7 ♦ Q 10 2 ♣ A Q 9 4

More commonly a positive action by an opponent is what gives you a clue.

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

♠ A K Q 4 ♥ 10 6 4 2 ♦ 8 7 ♣ K 5 2

♠ A K Q 4 ♥ 10 4 2 ♦ 8 7 ♣ 8 6 5 2

♠ A 7 4 ♥ A 7 ♦ Q 7 ♣ A Q J 9 6 4

You are in 3NT once more. West leads the spade jack and you hold up the ace until the third round (all follow). If the opponents never bid, you may well place West with long spades and take the diamond finesse into what you think is the safe East hand. Page 42

The full deal could be like this: ♠ 8 5 ♥ K 8 5 ♦ A J 10 9 6 5 ♣ 10 3 ♠ K J 10 6 3 N ♥ 10 6 4 W E ♦ 8 3 2 S ♣ K 8 ♠ A 7 4 ♥ A 7 ♦ Q 7 ♣ A Q J 9 6 4

♠ Q 9 2 ♥ Q J 9 3 2 ♦ K 4 ♣ 7 5 2

It does not matter that the diamond finesse loses. East has no more spades and you make nine tricks. You would go down if you took the club finesse. Now, if I tell you that East overcalled 1♠, you put the long spades on your right. In this case, you cross to dummy and finesse in clubs instead. You are catering for a layout like this: ♠ 8 5 ♥ K 8 5 ♦ A J 10 9 6 5 ♣ 10 3 ♠ J 10 3 ♥ J 10 6 4 2 N W E ♦ 8 3 2 S ♣ K 8 ♠ A 7 4 ♥ A 7 ♦ Q 7 ♣ A Q J 9 6 4

♠ K Q 9 6 2 ♥ Q 9 3 ♦ K 4 ♣ 7 5 2

You do not much mind that the club finesse loses. This time West has no more spades. Again, you make the contract in comfort. Now you would go down if you finessed West for the king of diamonds.

Use the Clues from the Bidding



♠ Q 8 5 ♥ K 8 6 4 ♦ A J 5 ♣ A K 9



N W E S



♠ K 10 9 7 6 4 2 ♥ A ♦ 9 ♣ Q J 6 4

You are in 6♠. West leads the heart queen to your ace. The key thing here is not to lose two trumps if someone has A-J-x. Suppose first that West opened 3♥. With long hearts on your left, you put the spade length on your right and lead to the queen: ♠ Q 8 5 ♥ K 8 6 4 ♦ A J 5 ♣ A K 9 ♠ Void ♠ A J 3 N ♥ Q J 10 9 7 5 2 ♥ 3 W E ♦ K 8 4 2 ♦ Q 10 7 6 3 S ♣ 10 5 ♣ 8 7 3 2 ♠ K 10 9 7 6 4 2 ♥ A ♦ 9 ♣ Q J 6 4

Now, suppose East opened 3♦. This makes West favourite for the long spades and you lead the king. In this scenario, the full layout would more likely be as follows: ♠ Q 8 5 ♥ K 8 6 4 ♦ A J 5 ♣ A K 9 ♠ A J 3 ♠ Void N ♥ Q J 10 7 5 W E ♥ 9 3 2 ♦ 8 4 S ♦ K Q 10 7 6 3 2 ♣ 10 5 3 ♣ 8 7 2 ♠ K 10 9 7 6 4 2 ♥ A ♦ 9 ♣ Q J 6 4

continued



N W E S

♠ K J 8 ♥ 8 5 2 ♦ A Q J 8 5 ♣ 7 3



N W E S



♠ A Q 9 7 6 2 ♥ Q 7 ♦ K 7 ♣ K J 6

You are in 4♠. West leads a low heart. East wins the first two tricks with the king and ace of hearts before switching to a low club. You must guess whether to put up the king, playing East for the ace, or to try the jack, playing East for the queen. If East-West never bid, you would try the jack of clubs. For one thing, East’s silence in the bidding (despite holding seven points in hearts) slightly raises the chance that West holds the club ace. For another, West might have led a club with­ out the ace. The other hands could be:

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

♠ 5 3 ♥ A K 10 4 ♦ 9 3 2 ♣ Q 9 8 4

Now, if I tell you that East opened 1♥ or 1NT, you need to reassess. East surely needs the ace of clubs to open, so you go up with the king. The full layout (with the 1♥ opening) could be: ♠ K J 8 ♥ 8 5 2 ♦ A Q J 8 5 ♣ 7 3 ♠ 10 4 N ♥ J 6 3 W E ♦ 10 6 4 2 S ♣ Q 9 5 2 ♠ A Q 9 7 6 2 ♥ Q 7 ♦ K 7 ♣ K J 6

♠ 5 3 ♥ A K 10 9 4 ♦ 9 3 ♣ A 10 8 4

At times, the bidding alone does not resolve a guess. You must dig deeper. Page 43

♠ K J 8 ♥ J 8 5 ♦ A J 9 5 4 2 ♣ Q

♠ A 10 9 6 4 2 ♥ 9 7 ♦ K ♣ K J 10 9

You are in 4♠ after West opened 1NT (12-14). West leads the ♥A-K-Q and you ruff the third round. You still have a club to lose and must find the queen of spades. You do not know yet who holds the queen of spades. To find out, you knock out the ace of clubs. If West has it, this is thirteen points accounted for and East must hold the missing queens: ♠ K J 8 ♥ J 8 5 ♦ A J 9 5 4 2 ♣ Q ♠ 7 3 ♠ Q 5 N ♥ A K Q 2 ♥ 10 6 4 3 W E ♦ 10 7 6 3 S ♦ Q 8 ♣ A 8 5 ♣ 7 6 4 3 2 ♠ A 10 9 6 4 2 ♥ 9 7 ♦ K ♣ K J 10 9

If East has the club ace, West will need the queens to have enough points: ♠ K J 8 ♥ J 8 5 ♦ A J 9 5 4 2 ♣ Q ♠ Q 5 3 ♠ 7 ♥ A K Q 2 N ♥ 10 6 4 3 W E ♦ Q 8 7 S ♦ 10 6 3 ♣ 8 5 2 ♣ A 7 6 4 3 ♠ A 10 9 6 4 2 ♥ 9 7 ♦ K ♣ K J 10 9

If you have ever wondered how good players manage to get their guesses right rather more than half the time, now you know. They do not play blindly but use the clues from the bidding. ■

SEND NO MONEY You are cordially invited to wear and see how much you like the Joanna Top... on approval There are no catches. Simply order your size & send the special coupon below but PLEASE DO NOT SEND MONEY. We'll send your order together with our invoice. Inspect & wear at home for a week. If you are happy with it, simply pay the invoice. If you are not satisfied, return in any condition, post free and you owe us nothing! Why are we making such an offer…we want you to see and feel the quality for yourself, at home and at your leisure.

Joanna Top by Poppy ONLY £25 EACH This easy-to-wear top is a comfortable classic that you'll get loads of wear out of. Cut from Poppy's famous soft, high-quality jersey that keeps its shape and colour, it's smartly finished with a step-neckline that comes up nice and high, short sleeves and a deep hem.

j Sizes 10-28 j Length 23" j Blue or White j 65% polyester, 35% cotton j Machine washable at 40°

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FREEPOST ERIC HILL, Carriage House, Forde Road, Newton Abbot TQ12 4EY Please send me the JOANNA TOP in the size(s) and colour(s) I have indicated below. I understand that I do not need to pay for them now. I can inspect and wear them at home for 7 days. Once I am completely happy with them, I will pay your invoice. A postage and packing fee of £4.95 will be charged on payment. Should I be dissatisfied, in any way, I can send them back POST FREE (in any condition) and I will not owe you a penny. PRODUCT BLUE TOP WHITE TOP BLUE PATTERN SKIRT

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A416MB

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Joanna Top in White

Answers to Julian Pottage’s  Defence Quiz on page 11 1. ♠ J 10 3 ♥ 10 9 6 ♦ A J 10 8 5 ♣ K 9 ♠ 8 6 5 4 N ♥ A 7 5 4 W E ♦ 6 3 S ♣ Q 6 5 ♠ A K 2 ♥ K Q J 8 2 ♦ Q 9 4 ♣ 10 7

♠ Q 9 7 ♥ 3 ♦ K 7 2 ♣ A J 8 4 3 2

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ End

Partner leads the ♠6, covered by the ♠10, ♠Q and ♠A. Declarer leads to the ♥10 and plays a second round. What do you discard? You have plenty of clubs and would like partner to lead one. To encourage a club switch, you should discard the highest one you can afford, in this case the ♣8.

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

♠ K Q 9 ♥ 3 ♦ K 7 2 ♣ J 10 8 4 3 2

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass 2NT Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ End

Partner leads the ♠6, covered by the ♠10, ♠Q and ♠A. Declarer leads to the ♥10 and plays a second round. What do you discard? This time, you would like partner to continue spades rather than switch to clubs. While the clearest way of asking for a spade is to throw a high spade, here you cannot afford to part with any of your spades. Instead, you should discourage clubs and hope that partner gets the message. Discard your very lowest club, the ♣2. This way partner should continue spades when in with the ♥A. This gives you two spade tricks and a trump, with the ♦K to come. Incidentally, if declarer had ducked the first trick, you would have needed to switch to a trump at trick two.

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

♠ 7 6 3 ♥ 3 ♦ A 8 7 6 4 ♣ K 8 7 3

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

Partner leads the ♥A followed by the ♥K. What do you discard? You have values in both minors and need to work out which one you would like led. A diamond, though it will give you a quick winner, will not defeat the contract. You need two more tricks to go with partner’s two top hearts to beat the game. You want partner to switch to a club so

Page 45

that you can cash the ♣K when you get in with the ♦A. Since you want a club switch, you should discard the highest club that you can afford, in this case the ♣8. Without a clear signal, partner might be guessing whether you have your actual hand or some other hand with the ♦A-Q and rubbish clubs.

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

♠ 3 ♥ K 9 4 ♦ 8 7 6 4 ♣ J 9 7 4 3

West North East South Pass Pass 1♥ 1♠ 2♠1 Pass 4♥ End 1 Sound raise in hearts

Partner leads the ♠A and continues with the ♠Q. What do you do? By continuing with the ♠Q, your partner has indicated an A-K-Q holding, which should give your side the first three tricks. If partner has an ace in one of the minors, the contract is likely to fail whatever you do. If not, you will need a trump trick. There is a reasonable chance that your partner has only five spades, in which case you might score your ♥K on an overruff. Fortunately, because you have two discards to make, you can discourage both minors, which you hope will encourage partner to play a fourth round of spades. Discard the ♣3 and ♦4. ■

AEGEAN ODYSSEY DECK PLAN CATEGORY GUIDE 404#

403

507

CAT G

Premium Outside

CAT H

Premium Outside Premium Outside

CAT J

Standard Outside

CAT K

Premium Inside

CAT L

Premium Inside

705

706

707 808

807

LIDO BAR

714

711

716

713

718

715

720

717

722

719

Standard Inside

• Single cabins

723

• •

521

517

520

523

524

518 522

525 ▲ 526 ▲ 527 528

529

531

530

532 534

533

RECEPTION

536

535 537 CHARLESTON LOUNGE

721

POOL

KEY

519

539 543

541

538

545

549

540

INTERNET

542

728

551

544

■ Third/fourth pullman berth

727

730

553

546

555

548

812

813

814

815

816

732

731

734

733

736 735

738

817

818

737

740

819

820

739

742

LIBRARY

821

822

741

744

824

743

746

825

826

745

748

BAR

827

828

747

750

THE TERRACE

LIDO DECK TERMS & CONDITIONS please read carefully: 1. The contract The contract exists between you and Voyages to Antiquity (UK) Limited (the Company) once we have received your signed booking form and the required deposit payment and we have sent you a confirmation/invoice. The terms and conditions apply to all passengers named on the booking form and the person signing the booking form warrants that he or she is authorised to do so. All correspondence will be conducted with the lead person named on the booking form. 2. Deposits and final payment The deposit is 10% of the total holiday cost. Final balance is due 75 days prior to departure. Full payment must be made at time of booking if made within 75 days of departure. We reserve the right to cancel your booking and apply the relevant cancellation charges (detailed in paragraph 4) if we do not receive all payments at the due time. There is no charge for payment of deposit by credit card but a charge of between 1.7% and 2.5% is made for balance payments. No charges are made for payments by debit cards. 3. Changes by you Should you wish to make a change to your confirmed reservation you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will try to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. When we can, a £50 per person amendment fee (£100 within 60 days) is payable plus any other charges imposed by the airline. A change of departure date within 60 days prior to departure will be treated as a cancellation. 4. Cancellation by you You need to notify the Company in writing as soon as possible if you or any member

BRIDGE DECK

PROMENADE DECK

of your party needs to cancel your cruise holiday. Cancellation charges payable to the company are shown here: Period before departure when written notice is received by the Company more than 75 days between 61 to 75 days between 31 to 60 days between 16 to 30 days 15 days or less

Cancellation charge per person cancelling 10% 25% 50% 75% 100%

The cancellation charge is based on the total invoice charge. 5. Insurance We do not sell insurance as there are many good deals available in the market, plus many people now have annual policies. It is however a requirement that all passengers have adequate insurance cover against possible cancellation charges, medical treatment and repatriation and loss of baggage. Details of your policy need to be entered in your booking form in the space provided. 6. Changes and cancellation by us The holidays featured in this brochure are planned many months in advance. Occasionally we have to make changes and alterations to the published itineraries both before and after bookings have been confirmed, as circumstances may change and also to correct possible errors in the brochure. Most changes are minor but occasionally we may have to make a ‘significant change’. A ‘significant change’ before departure is deemed to be: a change to your initial embarkation or disembarkation port to a different geographical area or a change in the duration of your cruise holiday by more than 12 hours. Itinerary or other timing changes are not considered to be

421

417

418

419

422

425

423

429

427 ▲

431 ▲

433

435

437

426 430 434 438

416 420

424 428 432 436 ▲ 440

439

442

441

444

445

443

448

446

449

447

450

452

453

451

454

456

455 459

MARCO POLO RESTAURANT

460 ATHENA HEALTH SPA

464 466

467

470

471

474

475

476

477

478

MEDICAL

554

565

823

415

412

556

563

TERRACE CAFE

414

▲

552

561

SHOP

408

413

550

559

• •

•

• 811

729

557

406 409 410

• •

# Cabin for passengers with disabilities Please note: Category GG, I, II and some HH cabins have partially restricted view Elevator

• •

725

• •

▲ Third pullman berth in these cabins

*

411

463

HAIR DRESSER

547

726 •

CAT M

AMBASSADOR LOUNGE

708

709

•

CAT I*

806

805

704

514

• •

Deluxe Stateroom, Outside

703

712 • 710 •

CAT F

804

803

510

513 516

•

Deluxe Stateroom, Outside

702

724 •

CAT E

515

701

810 •

Deluxe Stateroom, Balcony

809 •

CAT D

508

509 512

511 802

801

407

•

Deluxe Stateroom, Balcony

505 506

•

CAT C

504

•

Junior Suite, Balcony

503

•

CAT B

405

BRIDGE

■

Owner’s Suite, Balcony

■

CAT A

558

567

560

569

562

571

564

573

566

575

568

577

570

BELVEDERE DECK

COLUMBUS DECK

‘significant changes’. We might also have to cancel a cruise in cases of force majeure (war, civil unrest, natural disasters, adverse weather conditions) in the area the cruise is scheduled, or where a travel advisory has been issued by a governmental organisation (UK or US) against travel there. We also reserve the right to cancel a cruise at any time up to ten weeks before sailing if we consider there are insufficient bookings for the cruise to be viable. If we have to make a significant change or cancel a cruise, we will advise you as soon as possible with any alternate arrangements that may be available. You can choose to either accept these alternate arrangements or cancel with a full refund. In the unlikely event that a ‘force majeure’ situation occurs after a cruise has started, causing us to change the itinerary, we would not be liable to pay any compensation other than pass on any refunds received from suppliers. The ship’s captain is responsible for the safety of the ship, passengers and crew and has absolute discretion in making any alterations to the cruise he considers necessary. 7. Consideration for others We expect all passengers to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion the behaviour of any passenger is likely to cause damage, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, the Company reserves the right to terminate that passenger’s cruise without prior notice. In these extreme circumstances no refunds will be made and the Company will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination of the cruise. The departure of the ship from any port will not be delayed for passengers who are not on board by the published departure time.

MARCO POLO DECK

8. Fitness and Eligibility The focus of the cruises featured in this brochure is on the extensive programme of included sightseeing and to fully participate in this you need to be reasonably fit and have no walking difficulties. In any event your mobility should not be an impediment to others on the guided tours. We also reserve the right to refuse to accept a booking without giving a reason. 9. Liability The liability of the Company and any other party that may be involved in providing services in connection with any of the holidays in this brochure may be limited where international conventions apply. These include the Warsaw Convention which relates to carriage by air and the Athens Convention which relates to carriage by sea. Travel on board the Aegean Odyssey is subject to the conditions of carriage issued by the ship operating company and travel on board aircraft to join the Aegean Odyssey is subject to the airline’s standard ticket conditions. Full details are available on request. The Company is not to be held responsible for any act, event or omission during the time passengers are not aboard the vessel. The Company acts only as an agent for the supplier of off-ship services such as airlines and other off-ship transportation carriers, meals, shore excursions, accommodations, air ambulance and shore-side physicians. These may limit or exclude liability. Claims other than for personal injury, death and illness are limited to a reasonable amount. 10. English Law These conditions form part of the contract with the Company and any disputes arising out of it are governed by English Law. All proceedings shall be within the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

VOYAGES TO ANTIQUITY BOOKING FORM CRUISE NAME

UK Departure Date

Booking Reference

Preferred Dept. Airport PASSENGER DETAILS

Lead Name (A)

2nd Passenger (B)

Surname (as shown on passport) First Names (as shown on passport) Mr/Mrs/Miss/other Nationality Date of Birth Place of Birth Occupation Passport Number Expiry Date Issuing Authority Country of Issue Issue Date Home Address

Postcode Telephone Number E-mail address Emergency contact name and relation (next of kin) Contact Number Cabin Grade & Number

SPECIAL DIETARY REQUESTS

PAYMENT DETAILS Non-refundable deposit of 10%. Cheques to be made payable to Voyages to Antiquity (UK) Limited

£

INSURANCE Lead Passenger (A), Second Passenger (B) All passengers must be adequately insured and you should provide your policy details below:

CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS

(A) Policy issued by

Policy No:

MasterCard

Policy No:

Card No:

Policy emergency contact No: (B) Policy issued by

Visa

American Express

Expiry date:

Visa Debit

Name on card: Security code:

Policy emergency contact No:

MEDICAL DECLARATION All the above named persons are fit to travel and are not travelling contrary to medical advice. All pre-existing medical conditions which may require treatment aboard ship must be declared.

NB. A charge of between 1.7% and 2.5% is made for final payments made by credit card

SIGNATURE On behalf of the persons named above, whose authority I have to sign this agreement, I have read the information on this cruise and accept the Terms and Conditions. Name (please print) Signature

Date

VOYAGES TO ANTIQUITY ABTA No.Y2206

MAKING YOUR RESERVATION • Select your Voyages to Antiquity cruise and preferred cabin category. • Contact Mr Bridge office on 01483 489961 who can take care of your booking. • Once you have been given a booking reference number, please complete the booking form, as soon as possible to avoid delays, and send it with a 10% deposit to Voyages of Antiquity (UK) Ltd., 8 South Parade, Oxford, OX2 7JL. • An invoice will be issued within one week of confirmation and the balance of your holiday must be received 75 days before departure. • Your documents will be sent approximately two weeks before departure once full payment has been received.

#

NB. If there is a change in the general health of any of the above named, medical advice should be sought before taking the proposed holiday. A medical certificate may be requested.

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BRIDGE

OCT 4

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Syracuse

Sea

Croatia Split Italy Dubrovnik Civitavecchia Korcula Rome Adriatic

Sorrento

Tyrrhenian Sea

Palermo

Sicily

Premium Outside from £2,895pp

Deluxe Balcony from £4,295pp

from £3,495pp

Deluxe Outside

£2,150pp

Standard Inside

£2,750pp

Extend your holiday with a hotel stay in Rome, please call for details

PAST PASSENGERS CAN SAVE EVEN MORE

NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT

Standard Outside

Premium Inside from £2,295pp

MR BRIDGE SPECIAL FARES

Fly to VENICE Italy Transfer to Aegean Odyssey overnight VENICE Italy overnight SPLIT Croatia KORCULA Croatia DUBROVNIK Croatia At Sea SYRACUSE Sicily PALERMO (Monreale) Sicily overnight SORRENTO (Pompeii) Italy overnight SORRENTO Italy CIVITAVECCHIA Italy Transfer to airport for flight home

13 days departing October 4, 2013

Mediterranean Sea

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

fares from just £2,150 include:

ON 01483 489961

Mr Bridge Passengers The bridge programme is exclusive to Mr Bridge bookings but is completely optional. Mr Bridge passengers can participate as much, or as little as they wish. There will be a duplicate session every evening and bridge every afternoon the ship is at sea. Singles are made especially welcome – a playing partner will always be found.

•FULL BRIDGE PROGRAMME •SCHEDULED FLIGHTS •EXPERTLY PLANNED ITINERARIES •SHORE EXCURSIONS IN ALL PORTS OF CALL •EXPERT ANTIQUITY GUEST SPEAKERS •WINE WITH DINNER ON BOARD •OPEN-SEATING DINING • GRATUITIES ON BOARD •EXCLUSIVE MR BRIDGE COCKTAIL PARTY

CRUISE FROMVENICE TO ANCIENT SICILYAND POMPEII

Enjoy a daily duplicate while exploring dramatic Croatia, monumental Sicily and the Amalfi Coast Spend two days exploring Venice then sail south via the Adriatic's beautiful cities and around the heel of Italy to Sicily. Visit the ancient Greek Theatre at Syracuse, the extraordinary Palatine Chapel in Palermo and explore the ruins of Pompeii from Sorrento while enjoying daily bridge.

Call Mr Bridge to reserve your cabin and take advantage of these special fares, or for a brochure to find out more about our ship, Aegean Odyssey.

www.mrbridge.co.uk

V OYAGES TO A NTIQUITY

All prices, savings and offers shown are subject to availability at the time of booking. Prices are per person, based on double occupancy and available only on certain cabin grades and the sailings shown, and may be withdrawn at any time without notice. Single accommodation is available only in certain categories, and subject to availability.

10093

ABTA No.Y2206