138.pdf

BRIDGE Number One Hundred and Thirty-Eight

June 2014

Bernard Magee’s Acol Bidding Quiz You are West in the auctions below, playing ‘Standard Acol’ with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and 4-card majors.



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

West North East South ?



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

West North East South 3♣ Pass ?



3. Dealer South. Love All. ♠ A 6 N ♥ 7 3 W E ♦ K 10 3 2 S ♣ A 9 8 7 3

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass Pass ? Answers on page 6



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

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

5. Dealer West. N/S Game. ♠ A 5 ♥ K Q 9 3 2 N W E ♦ K 9 3 2 S ♣ J 7

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



West North East South 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ ?

West North East South 1♥ Pass ?







West North East South 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ ?



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

West North East South 1♠ 1NT 2♥ Pass ? Answers on page 9



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



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

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

West North East South 1♣ 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ 2♦ ?

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass ?

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

12. Dealer East. Game All. ♠ 7 6 N ♥ 4 3 W E ♦ A K 8 3 S ♣ K 9 8 5 3

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

West North East South 1♥ Dbl ?



Answers on page 11



Answers on page 13

V OYAGES A NTIQUITY TO

bridge cruises to

ancient civilisations

Combine a daily duplicate with the best of cultural travel and the comfort of small-ship cruising The philosophy of our bridge cruises is simple – to relax

and play bridge with like-minded people in comfortable surroundings while sampling the culture and the history of each daily destination. With the experience gained from several seasons of working with Voyages to Antiquity, each new itinerary offers the chance to indulge your passion for bridge in comfortable and welcoming surroundings while exploring many of the great classical sites and fascinating cultures of the world.

Classically elegant, but far from formal, Aegean Odyssey provides gracious public rooms, a choice of two restaurants with open-seating dining, generously-sized suites and cabins, and outstanding, friendly service. Her size means she has the ability to visit ports that are too small for larger vessels – from the classical sites of the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea to the great cities of Asia. Accommodating around 350 guests, with a casual and relaxed atmosphere on board, Aegean Odyssey offers the bridge player every comfort at sea.

Cruising with Mr Bridge: Exclusive Benefits Special Mr Bridge fares across all cabin categories – Daily bridge on board and bridge fees included in the fare. Each voyage accompanied by bridge team – Exclusive Mr Bridge cocktail party on board ship. Friendly fares for single travellers (a bridge partner will always be found) – Extra discounts for previous passengers

Also included in your fare:

10093

• SCHEDULED FLIGHTS FROM UK & REGIONAL CONNECTIONS •TRANSFERS AND BAGGAGE HANDLING ABROAD • SHORE EXCURSIONS IN MOST PORTS • EXPERT ANTIQUITY GUEST SPEAKERS • OPEN-SEATING DINING • WINE INCLUDED WITH DINNER ON BOARD • ON-BOARD TIPS & GRATUITIES INCLUDED ABTA No.Y2206

For reservations call

on 01483 489961 or visit www.mrbridge.co.uk

BRIDGE

Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH ( 01483 489961 [email protected] www.mrbridge.co.uk shop: www.mrbridge.co.uk/ mrbridge-shop Managing Editor Mr Bridge Bridge Consultant Bernard Magee [email protected] Cartoons & Illustrations Marguerite Lihou www.margueritelihou.co.uk Commissioning Editor David Huggett davidhuggett @mrbridge.co.uk Customer Services Catrina Shackleton [email protected] Technical Consultant Tony Gordon Typesetting & Design Ruth Edmondson [email protected] Proof Readers Tony & Jan Richards Richard Wheen Hugh Williams Office Manager Rachel Everett [email protected] Events & Cruises ( 01483 489961 Rosie Baker [email protected] Jessica Galt [email protected] Megan Riccio [email protected] Sophie Pierrepont [email protected] Clubs & Charities Maggie Axtell [email protected] Address Changes ( 01483 485342 Elizabeth Bryan [email protected]

BRIDGE June 2014

FEATURES 1 Bidding Quiz

by Bernard Magee

4 Mr Bridge

ADVERTISEMENTS 2 Cruise to Ancient

Civilisations with Voyages to Antiquity

6 Bidding Quiz Answers (1-3) by Bernard Magee

3 Mr Bridge Tie

9 Bidding Quiz Answers (4-6) by Bernard Magee

6 Bridge Events at Elstead Hotel

11 Bidding Quiz Answers (7-9) by Bernard Magee

7 Mail Order Form Names and Addresses

13 Bidding Quiz Answers (10-12) by Bernard Magee

8 Bridge Event Booking Form

14 Guy of Gisburne’s Assignation by David Bird

8 Bridge Events with Bernard Magee

16 Revokes: What Happens? Is it Fair? by David Stevenson 17 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions 23 The Diaries of Wendy Wensum 24 Readers’ Letters 26 Declarer Play Quiz by David Huggett 27 Fall from Grace by Richard Wheen 29 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett 30 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage 30 Bridge and Travel Tips 31 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions 36 Splinter Bids by Andrew Kambites 38 Splinter Bids Quiz by Andrew Kambites 39 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage 40 June 2014 by Jeremy Dhondy 41 Answers to Splinter Bids Quiz by Andrew Kambites 43 Mary’s Sixth Lesson by Liz Dale

4 Tips for Better Bridge

Bridge Tie

9 Subscriptions to BRIDGE

10 Bernard Magee DVDs 11 Tunisia with Mr Bridge 12 Bernard Magee’s Tutorial Software 13 Bridge Events at Blunsdon House Hotel 19 Bridge Events at The Olde Barn Hotel 20 S R Designs Leather Gifts 22 Genesis Choice Travel Insurance 24 Clive Goff ’s Stamps 28 2014 Festive Season with Mr Bridge 29 Mr Bridge Playing Cards 32 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified 33 Charity Events 34 Bridge Events at Clifton Park Hotel 35 Rubber/Chicago Bridge Events 38 S R Designs Bridge Tables 42 QPlus 11 42 We Are Survivors Teatowel 43 Better Hand Evaluation

44 Catching Up by Sally Brock

47 Mr Bridge Just Duplicate Bridge

45 Seven Days by Sally Brock

48 Denham Grove Filming Weekend 2015

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

£15

including postage & packing

From

Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961 www. mrbridge.co.uk

Order Form on page 7

Page 3

Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge

CLEARANCE

If you are tired with your old software, send it in part-exchange for a new piece. You can then practise declarer play or improve your defence. Go for it.

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

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

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

Page 4

TRADE IN

TUNISIA ALL IN

I am back safe and sound after being away from the office for four weeks. What a lot to catch up with, especially as I promised a Spring sale on my return. This is now well and truly overdue, so this is how I propose to handle it. On the back of your carrier (address) sheet, I have provided a list of the in-house merchandise I want to clear, but I only have limited quantities, mostly of shop soiled or second hand products, usually taken in part exchange. If it’s books, you can send in postage stamps. But if it is software, you can phone to check what is available before sending your payment. This will avoid the expense of me having to write back with a double-whammy negative: having to pay the postage to return your payments as well as disappointing you.

SERENITY Dealing with computers and helping people with software has made me patient to the point of serenity and it has rubbed off on all the team here. If you have a problem with your QPlus or Mr Bridge software, please do not hesitate to ask for help. We will see that your programs are reinstalled and you are able to go back to enjoying them.

From this coming November, our policy is to have bed, board, beverages and bridge combined in an all inclusive package. I had thought this would be inappropriate for bridge players as they wouldn’t want to drink too much and spoil their game, but it seems that every hotel in Tunisia is going all in and really, it is by far the most cost effective option. See page 11 for our November and March dates and prices.

POSTAGE SAVINGS Following last month’s rise in postal charges, Clive Goff’s discounted stamp service is worth a try. Value supplied in two stamps, combined to make up the 53p 2nd class rate, 2nd class to you at 44p. 1st class 62p, still only 50p to you. Available in lots of 100. ( 0208 422 4906.

CLUB INSURANCE Members need to be sure their club is covered by insurance for small losses of cash and their club equipment as well as public liability. Just over £63 for a twelve month period for a club of up to 100 members. There are over five hundred clubs in my scheme enjoying peace of mind. There is a new contact at managing brokers, Moore Stephens. Ring Tom Harvey ( 0207 515 5270. It is the unexpected that you need to have covered. BRIDGE June 2014

VERY MODERN Readers may have noticed the new advertisement for Genesis Choice, which has appeared in our recent issues. Genesis Choice are currently advertising their travel insurance in BRIDGE for the season and as part of a special promotion they will be giving Policy holders a very special type of traceable luggage tag in appreciation of their business. To re-coin a phrase, ‘The Acumen Luggage Tracker Tag does what it says on the label’. With a unique bar code on the label, you can add your contact details online. Without the security risk of putting ones name and address on a suitcase, an owner can be quickly and easily identified and contacted wherever their bag is found. The tag is not limited to air travel, but can be used by all and any travel services worldwide. The great thing is that if you register bag ‘A’ and the on the next trip decide to take Bag ‘B’, it is no problem as in a matter of seconds online, you are able to re-assign your personal information to the new bag. You can also renew the label cover annually. If you want to know more about this label go to www. acumenluggagetracker.co.uk If you have ever lost your luggage, you will be only too aware of the agony, time and stress caused in searching for and retrieving the lost item. Using this 21st century technology nobody should ever lose their luggage again, as one swipe of the bar code by a baggage attendant at any airport worldwide will solve the problem. BRIDGE June 2014

STILL SPACES

£50 OFF

Bernard Magee will be again travelling on lovely m.v. Aegean Odyssey, flying to Istanbul on 30 July from whence the ship sails across the Aegean, around Athens and into the Adriatic, visiting Dubrovnik before sailing on to Venice.

I am still committed to the promotion of Just Duplicate Bridge Events. The Clifton Park Hotel, Lytham St. Annes, has been added to our list of venues, see page 47. The price includes two night’s full board and a traditional Sunday roast. It is further reduced by £50 per person to ensure success (now £149). All early bookers will have their invoices adjusted.

BACK COVER AD

PIX ‘N’ MIX

The fifth in the series of these filmed events, in which Bernard Magee deals with specific subjects of real interest to improving bridge players, is set for next January. The price includes 6 lectures, 6 sessions of supervised play and 3 nights full board. For only £399 per person, you will share an experience that you will never forget.

QPLUS HANDS As promised, all the strange, weird and wonderful hands that I have drawn to readers attention in the course of the last 3 years are listed in the adjacent column. I do think you should try some of these and let me know how you get on with them. This is one of the beauties of QPlus. You can type in the number and the same bridge hand will come up on your screen as on mine becoming something we can talk about.

TRAVEL TIP When you go on holiday, try to resolve any problems while you are with the airline or hotel at the time. It may sound obvious, but all too often, the first we hear is when it is too late to do anything about it.

All three series of six DVDs are listed on page 10 with thumbnail descriptions of their content. Playing time is an average of 90 minutes. The wonderful thing about a tutorial DVD is that viewers have a permanent record which they can re-visit over and over again. Individual DVDs, £25 each. Boxed sets of six, £100. Pick and mix. Six for only £105 including postage.

DIANA HOLLAND

The last of our Rubber Bridge Events is at The Olde Barn from 29-31 August. This will be hosted by Diana Holland. If you haven’t been to one yet, this is your chance. All good wishes,

Interesting QPlus Hands 2424-13 7792-13 1600-01 8771-13 5387-06 1370-20 7212-15 8584-06 8724-04 7370-08 8827-05 9355-10 8288-01 9162-04 0219-08 0680-11 8924-13 0680-10 1151-03 6722-82 0001-11 4139-07 3430-07 9474-11 4953-06 4139-03 9885-04 6625-09 0007-02 4576-08 3212-13 0500-02 9423-02 2406-13 9028-13 4048-02 2406-14 2828-09 5390-11 9460-16 2829-11 5290-05 5290-100 5290-54 5290-169 2941-02 1978-13 4616-06 6529-11 6656-01 302-09 5464-09 4607-06 4275-03 8719-19 5613-07 0265-11 611-01 6598-05 1762-10 611-12 5464-09 2769-11 5929-05 5060-07 9680-05 9680-06 3515-04 0721-08 0878-04 2471-14 2471-15 4205-04 5276-09 8605-01 8605-09 0393-02 0097-11 0393-03 6172-11 8949-07 8495-03 4810-09 3390-04 9101-14 5031-01 3059-01 6755-13 0841-01 0244-10 6756-10 4498-01 4498-11 9142-08 3033-11 7354-05 8462-07 9910-14 8495-04 8901-04 2263-04 6001-13 2683-13 8677-12 6071-05 6071-10

Mr Bridge Page 5

Answers to Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quizzes 1-3 on the Cover



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

West ?

North

East

South

4♠. You have a beautiful pre-emptive hand: you expect to make seven tricks if you play in spades, but do not expect to make one trick against any other contract (someone will have at most a singleton spade). If you play weak twos, you will know that you can open a weak hand with six cards at the 2-level. At the three-level, you open a weak hand with a seven-card suit, so naturally, you open an eight-card suit at the four-level. The reason for this extra level is because of your potential for seven tricks as well as your lack of potential elsewhere. Either you will make, in which case you get the game bonus, or, as here, you will go down, but with only two tricks from your partner it will not be a surprise to find your opponents able to make game. It is not easy for them to bid over 4♠ and not even easy to double. -50 will look very good instead of -450 for 4♥ making with an overtrick.



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

West North ?

East South 3♣ Pass

Pass. In question 1, you had the perfect example of a pre-emptive hand and here is another: hands that make a lot of tricks in their own suit, but very few in any other

Page 6

contract. For this reason, without a fit for your partner, you need about 16 points to go forward. It is quite possible that 3♥ might be a slightly better contract than 3♣, but you cannot play in 3♥ because any change of suit is forcing for one round. If you bid 3♥, your partner will bid 4♣ and you will end up in 4♣-1 instead of 3♣ making. Your partner pre-empts to disrupt your opponents, but sometimes it does disrupt you – these are things you just have to put up with – taking the rough with the smooth.



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

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

2NT*. When the auction dies out at the 2-level and your opponents have a fit, then you should try very hard to compete for the deal. If they have a fit, then you usually have a fit and it tends to be right

to bid on to the 3-level: either you go off (-50 or -100) and get a better score than them making (-110) or you might even make your contract. It is understanding that going off will give you a good score, that should persuade you to bid more. But how do you find your fit? A take-out double is the usual option, but this will not work if you are short in an unbid major, because your partner is likely to bid it (here he would reply 3♥). There is one other option which you might not have thought of: 2NT. When a bid cannot possibly be natural, you hope that your partner will try to work out what you mean. There is no way you can have a genuine 2NT overcall when you passed on the first round, so you hope your partner will understand that you want him to bid a minor – it is similar to an unusual 2NT overcall, but in the pass-out seat it is just for take-out, not necessarily showing 5-5. Here, your partner should bid 3♦. Both 2♠ and 3♦ are likely to make: a swing of 220 points from +110 to -110. You might respond that, surely this is not part of natural Acol? You would be right in part, but when a bid cannot be natural, then you hope that partner will find a bid in response. However, I cannot promise that your ■ partner would respond!

Elstead Hotel Bournemouth BH1 3QP

10-12 Oct Just Duplicate Jo Walch

£199

31 Oct-2/11 Just Duplicate Val Passmore

£199

14-16 Nov Just Duplicate Mary Stebbing £199 21-23 Nov Doubles

Bernard Magee £245

Full Board – No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8.

BRIDGE June 2014

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Bridge Baron 24

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Bridge Baron Trade-in for 24

Making the Most of High Cards .........

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BRIDGE June 2014

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BRIDGE  BREAKS

BRIDGE EVENTS with Bernard Magee 21-23 Elstead Hotel £245 Doubles

♦ Full-board

♦ Two seminars*

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities

♦ Two supervised play sessions*

28-30 Blunsdon House £245 Distributional Hands

♦ No single supplement

♦ Four bridge sessions**

JANUARY 2015

Please book ..... places for me at £....... per person, Chatsworth Hotel Worthing BN11 3DU

Single .... Double .... Twin .... Name of Hotel/Centre.............................................................

NEW

23-25 Blunsdon House £245 Competitve Bidding

June

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6-8 Olde Barn Hotel £245 Distributional NEW Hands

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20-22 Olde Barn Hotel £245 Finding Slams

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Elstead Hotel Bournemouth BH1 3QP

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30-1 Holiday Inn £245 Finding Slams

Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige).

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Holiday Inn Newport, S Wales NP18 2YG

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SEPTEMBER

Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice for the balance will be sent with your booking confirmation. On receipt of your final payment, 28 days before the event, a programme and full details will be sent together with a map. Cancellations are not refundable. Should you require insurance, you should contact your own insurance broker.

26-28 Holiday Inn £245 Doubles

OCTOBER

20-22 Inn on the Prom £245 Better Leads and Switches

APRIL 2015 17-19 Olde Barn Hotel £245 Better Finesssing 24-26 Queensferry Hotel £245 Declarer Play

3-5 Chatsworth Hotel £245 Game Tries 10-12 Olde Barn Hotel £245 Endplay/Avoidance

NOVEMber 7-9 Chatsworth Hotel £245 Hand Evaluation

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

14-16 Blunsdon House £245 Further into the Auction

( 01483 489961 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com Please note: Just Bridge events contain no seminars and do not award prizes.

Page 8

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*on tutorial weekends only. **6 sessions on rubber/Chicago events.

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

Full Board. No Single Supplement. See Adjacent Booking Form.

BRIDGE June 2014

Answers to  Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quizzes 4-6 on the Cover Pass. Your partner’s 2♣ response

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

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

3NT. A new suit at the three-level is unconditionally forcing: your partner should have about 19 total points for his bid, underwriting a game contract (East has 18 HCP and a strong five-card suit). Trusting your partner, you should show an important aspect of your hand if you can. You do have a fit in clubs, but more important is your stop in the fourth suit. Your side has bid three suits so, with your holding in diamonds, you can suggest a no-trump contract: your 3NT bid ends the auction. You can see why your partner needs to be so strong, since you are allowed to bid 3NT with such a weak hand. East does not disappoint: you hope to make four clubs and four more top tricks, with the ninth trick coming from diamonds or hearts.



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

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ 2♠ ?

BRIDGE June 2014

shows a good hand: 10+ points, so it seems to be your hand, but be careful. Your partner knows the same as you – he has seen you open the bidding so will also know that it is your hand. You need to make a bid only if you have something important to say. Here, you have little to say: you have a minimum hand with just a little distribution. Your partner will be in a good position to compete for the deal if he feels the need to: either making a take-out double, or bidding 3♣ as here. A take-out double from you is OK but, with a minimum hand, you do better to leave things to your partner.

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

l Tales from Sherwood Forest by David Bird l Things You Should Know... l Catching up

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

Pass. What does your partner’s 2♥ bid mean? Usually, two-level responses are strong, but no-trump bids change all auctions. If your partner opens 1NT, twolevel responses are weak and the same is true if there is a 1NT overcall. With strong hands, you can double your opponents’ no-trump overcall for penalties. So your partner’s 2♥ bid is an attempt to compete for the contract: it shows a long suit and a relatively weak hand, 5-8 points. Generally, you should pass unless you have a lot of strength or a lot ■ of distribution.

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Page 9

BERNARD MAGEE Boxed Sets of six DVDs Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

1 Ruffing for Extra Tricks

7 Leads

13 Hand Evaluation

This seminar deals with declarer’s use of ruffing to make extra tricks and then looks at how the defenders might counteract this. (74 mins.)

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. (95 mins.)

Going beyond just the point-count is important if you want to improve. Reaching & making 3NT on 24 HCP; and avoiding 3NT on 26 HCP when there are only 7 or 8 tricks. (110 mins.)

8 Losing Trick Count

The art of pre-empting is so important in the modern game. Understanding the right types of hand to bid up on and realising the importance of position and vulnerability. (96 mins.)

2 Competitive Auctions This seminar focuses on competitive auctions from the perspective of the overcalling side and then from the perspective of the opening side in the second part. (86 mins.)

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 high cards. (83 mins.)

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 slambidding techniques. (96 mins.)

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. (88 mins.)

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. (88 mins.)

Individual DVDs. £25 each. Boxed Set of 6. £100.

A way 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. (92 mins.)

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. (87 mins.)

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. (93 mins.)

14 Pre-Emptive Bidding

15 Splinter & Cue-Bids Take your slam bidding to another level. Splinter bids are a vital tool to add to your armoury & try your hand at Italian style cue-bidding. (116 mins.)

16 Avoidance Play As declarer, an important tactic is to be in control of the defenders: avoiding a particular defender getting the lead. As a defender, you can try to make sure the right player gets the lead at the right time. (88 mins.)

17 Play & Defence at Pairs

This seminar deals with Count, Attitude and Suit-preference signals: aiming to get you working as a partnership in defence. (92 mins.)

Duplicate Pairs is the game most of us play and getting used to the tactics will make a lot of difference to your performance. Making more overtricks and making sure you do not give away tricks as a defender. (90 mins.)

12 Endplay

18 Thinking Defence

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. (80 mins.)

By far the hardest aspect of bridge, but if you can improve your defence your results will quickly improve. Learn how to think through the defence and get your mind in gear for the decisions that await you. (87 mins.)

Individual DVDs. £25 each. Boxed Set of 6. £100.

Individual DVDs. £25 each. Boxed Set of 6. £100.

11 Signals & Discards

PICK AND MIX. A BOX OF ANY 6. £105 Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961 email: [email protected]

Answers to Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quizzes 7-9 on the Cover Double. Everybody has managed to

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

West ?

North East South 1♠ 2♣ 2♠

3NT. I hope you noticed the vulnerability: your side is vulnerable. This means that your partner should have a decent hand for his 2♣ overcall: about the equivalent of an opening hand with a six-card suit. Listening to the auction and noting your 13 points suggests that someone is a little short of strength: if it turns out to be your partner, then he will have a strong six-card suit, which means your ♣K-Q will be like gold dust. You have a stop in spades and expect to have eight running tricks – these tricks are much more valuable in no-trumps than in clubs. Surely your partner will supply an extra trick given his vulnerable overcall, so bidding 3NT has to be a good gamble. Your partner is minimum so he would pass a 2NT response. Your diamonds are weak, but you expect a spade lead and some outside strength in your partner’s hand.



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

West North East South 1♣ 1♦ 1♥ 1♠ 2♣ 2♦ ?

BRIDGE June 2014

ALL INCLUSIVE

Mr Bridge AT THE ROYAL KENZ TUNISIA 2014/2015

show their suit at the one-level, your partner has continued the process by rebidding 2♣ and South has followed in his wake. Should you continue the pattern? To rebid your suit in an auction like this, you would need a six-card suit. However, do you expect 2♦ to make? With all the suits bid and partner having rebid 2♣, there is no possible need for a take-out double; your double would be for penalties and you should use it now. Do not worry about North running to spades, because it is unlikely they have a fit there either. On a good day, you might take 2♦ doubled three off for 500 points.



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

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

Pass. Another question that relies on you identifying your partner’s bid. You have made a penalty double of 1NT showing 16+ points: it is important to remember that your partner knows this too. Your partner will add his strength to your strength and bid to the appropriate level (or perhaps even double 2♥ for penalties). If your partner chooses the two-level, he does not expect a game to make, he is merely competing for the partscore. East can see that the points are relatively evenly divided between the two sides, so it makes sense for him to bid 2♠ to compete for the partscore. With a minimum hand, you should pass: with ■ 19+ you could try for game.

Two-week All-Inclusive Duplicate Bridge Holidays 2-16 November 2014 £899* Golf available Tony and Jan Richards 1-15 March 2015 £935* Golf available Bernard Magee and his team *The prices shown are per person on an all inclusive basis, sharing a twin-bedded standard room and are inclusive of bridge fees. Standard rooms all come with private bath, toilet and balcony. Single rooms are double rooms for sole occupancy at a supplement of £6 per night. You can add a pool view supplement for £3 per person per night or a superior garden view room with bath robe, tea/coffee making facility for £5 per person per night. These prices are based on air travel from Heathrow to Tunis. Flights from other airports are available at a supplement. For details of what is included as part of the all inclusive package please call for an information pack or view the website. Prices for seven-night stays are available on application.

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Page 11

BERNARD MAGEE’S INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ACOL BIDDING

BEGIN BRIDGE ACOL VERSION l Card

Play Technique

l Planning l Bidding

Card Play

Balanced

Hands l Bidding

Suits

l Responding l Supporting

to a Suit

Partner

l Responding l Stayman

Bids and Responses

l

Support for Partner

l

l Defence

l Doubles

against No Trump Contracts against Suit Contracts

Overtricks in No-trumps Making Overtricks in Suit Contracts

l Endplays

Contract

£81

l Simple

l

Partner of Leader vs No-trump Contracts

l l

Trump Reductions & Coups Playing Doubled Contracts Safety Plays

Defence to 1NT

l Two-suited

Overcalls

l

Misfits and Distributional Hands

Strong No-Trump l

Opening Bids & Responses

l

No-Trump Openings

l

Support for Partner

l

Slams & Strong Openings

l Discarding

l

Pre-empting

l

Defensive Plan

l

Doubles

l

Stopping Declarer

l

Overcalls

l

Competitive Auctions

£76

l Counting

the Hand

Ruffing for Extra Tricks

l

Entries in No-trumps

£76

l Delaying

Drawing Trumps Using the Lead

l Trump

Control

l

Endplays & Avoidance

l

Using the Bidding

FIVE-CARD MAJORS &

Minors & Misfits

Signals

l

l

Defences to Other Systems

l

l Attitude

£96

l

Rebids

Suit Establishment in Suits

l Hold-ups

Strong Hands

l

Signals

the Hand l

Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts

l Count

Squeezes l Counting

Lead vs No-trump Contracts Lead vs Suit Contracts

l

Twos

l Doubles

Minors and Misfits

l

l Avoidance l Wrong

l

DEFENCE l

l

to Weak Twos

Auctions

ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY l Making

l

l Competitive

l Defence

l

£66

Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids

l Pre-empting

Establishment in No-trumps

l Defence

Openings and Responses l

£66

l Doubles

l Weak

l Pre-empting

Two Opening and Response

l Suit

Basics

Slams and Strong Openings

l Strong

DECLARER PLAY

l Advanced

l

l No-trump

l Overcalls

l Basics

l Opening

l Overcalls

to 1NT

ADVANCED ACOL BIDDING

BETTER BRIDGE l Ruffing

for Extra Tricks

l

Doubling and Defence Against £69 Doubled Contracts

l

Play and Defence of 1NT Contracts

l

Finding and Bidding Slams

l

Making the Most of High Cards

£89

l Competitive

Auctions

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

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Answers to  Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quizzes 10-12 on the Cover

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

West North ?

East South 1♥ Pass

1NT. An interesting hand, which was prompted by a similar example from a recent bridge weekend. You have a choice between two calls: Pass or 1NT. Yes, that is right, there is no sensible diamond bid available because you are playing in a partnership. 2♦ and 3♦ show strong hands and 4♦, even if you do not play Splinters, is much too high. Passing is perfectly reasonable and will work fine as long as the opponents bid again, but, with a singleton heart, it is quite possible to imagine them being happy to leave 1♥. I prefer to bid 1NT and then follow with a diamond bid. When you bid this way, you show a hand with a long minor but without the strength to bid at the twolevel. Here the auction will be: 1♥-1NT2♣-2♦. Your partner should really pass 2♦, but even if he bids 2NT, you can then rebid 3♦ and now he will surely pass.



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

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass ?

BRIDGE June 2014

Blunsdon House Hotel Swindon SN26 7AS

Pass. You open the bidding with a plan: you expect to rebid in no-trumps to show your balanced 15 points, but, when your partner responds 2♥, the situation has changed. He has shown his strength, so you take control. 2♥ shows 6-9 points, which means you can be sure that game is not on and should therefore pass. Remember that after the first limit bid in an auction, the partner usually takes control.



BRIDGE EVENTS 18-20 July £199 Just Duplicate John Ronan 10-12 October £199 Just Duplicate Sheila Rogers 14-16 November £245 Bernard Magee Further into the Auction

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

West North ?

Redouble.

28-30 November £245 Bernard Magee NEW TOPIC Bidding Distributional Hands

East South 1♥ Dbl

23-25 January 2015 £245 Bernard Magee Competitive Bidding

This answer is often overlooked by many players because it does not occur to them to use the dark blue card in the bidding box. When your opponents double your partner’s opening suit bid, your set of responses changes. With support, you tend to stretch a little, supporting your partner to half a level higher (or even a whole level if the vulnerability is in your favour) than without the double. Without support, you can respond naturally, but with 9 or more points, you should give your partner the message that your side has the majority of points by redoubling. This allows your side to pursue a penalty from your opponents – any double after a strong redouble is for ■ penalties.

Full Board No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8.

Page 13

Robin Hood’s Bridge Adventures by David Bird

Guy of Gisburne’s Assignation

T

he Sheriff of Nottingham sat back in his chair with a look of great satisfaction. Five tops above average already and three rounds still to be played. Anyone who could achieve such a score opposite that miserable under-performer, Guy of Gisburne, must surely be the finest player in the land. The castle servants valued their employment and usually made no attempt to score well against him. That much was true. Still, had he not scored just as highly against members of the court? With a less imbecilic partner, his score would have been close to 80% on this occasion. Two malodorous serfs took their places at the table, not daring to look up at their illustrious opponents. ‘You do not greet his Lordship?’ demanded Gisburne. ‘Er… yes, it’s an honour to play against you, my Lord,’ said Percy Halfpiece. ‘Please forgive our appearance, my Lord,’ said Fred Graines. ‘The price of soap and fresh clothing is beyond our means in these troubled times. Only yesterday my wife was telling me…’ ‘Be silent!’ commanded the Sheriff. What interest did he have in such scum? If they couldn’t manage their finances properly, it was hardly a concern of his. This was the first board of the round: Page 14

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

West

North

East

South

Percy

Guy of

Fred

The

Halfpiece

Gisburne

Graines

Sheriff

Pass Pass Pass

2♣ Pass 2♥ 3♦ Pass 3♠ 4NT Pass 5♦ 7♠ All Pass

West led the ♣J and Gisburne looked nervously across the table before displaying the dummy. ‘I’ve taken a slight risk in the bidding, my Lord,’ he said. ‘My diamonds are not exactly…’ ‘You appear to be confused,’ intervened the Sheriff. ‘It is sheep that are meant to bleat pathetically. The sole purpose of the dummy is to lay down his cards, preferably as quickly as possible.’ The Sheriff was relieved to see such powerful trumps hit the table. Yes,

with reasonable breaks, thirteen tricks would be easy. ‘Ace,’ he said. ‘And the ace of spades.’ When West showed out on this trick, Gisburne was somewhat alarmed. Was it his fault if trumps broke 5-0? Surely his Lordship wouldn’t blame him for that? The Sheriff paused to assess the implications of the bad trump break. If the three side-suit AK combinations could be cashed without an adverse ruff, he would have to score six more trump tricks on a cross-ruff. He would need to ruff the third round of hearts with the ♠2. If East’s shape was something like 5-3-2-3, it seemed it could be done. The Sheriff cashed dummy’s remaining club honour. He then crossed to the ♥K and played the ♥A, discarding dummy’s last club. On this trick, East followed with the ♥Q. The Sheriff winced. It could hardly be more obvious that East had begun with only two hearts. The plan of ruffing a heart with the ♠2 would have to be abandoned. What else could he try? The Sheriff led a low diamond from his hand. ‘Play the jack,’ he commanded. When East followed impotently with a low diamond, the Sheriff returned to his hand with a trump to the nine and repeated the diamond finesse, East following suit. These cards remained: BRIDGE June 2014

Robin Hood continued

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

♠ 10 8 6 ♥ — ♦ — ♣ Q 8

‘Diamond ace,’ said the Sheriff. The defence was at an end. If East ruffed one of the top diamonds, declarer would overruff and draw the remaining trumps. Dummy would then be high. If, instead, East declined to ruff either diamond, declarer would discard two hearts and score his three trump honours with a high cross-ruff. The Sheriff displayed his cards. ‘The rest are mine,’ he said. ‘Yes, indeed, my Lord,’ said a relieved Fred Graines. His five-card trump holding had been burning like hot coals in his hand. Just imagine the consequences if they had caused the downfall of the Sheriff’s grand slam! His wife would be lucky to see him again. ‘But the serf still has three trumps, my Lord,’ said Gisburne. ‘Yes, also sufficient grey matter to realise that he will have no defence when I play dummy’s top diamonds,’ retorted the Sheriff. Gisburne blinked. ‘Quite so, my Lord. You played it well.’ The last round of the evening saw the arrival of the Bishop of Leicester at the Sheriff’s table. A larger than life character, with his midriff swathed in purple, he was a respected player of the cards. ‘Is Your Worship enjoying his session with us?’ enquired the Sheriff. ‘Well enough,’ replied the Bishop. ‘Four tops over would win any game back in Leicester. I hear that the serfs toss in their cards against you and BRIDGE June 2014

we’re likely to come second.’ Gisburne leaned forward. ‘Name the man who tells such lies and before nightfall he’ll be suspended by his thumbs in the castle dungeon!’ he declared. The Bishop chuckled to himself. ‘Very well,’ he replied. ‘It was Lady Berenice de Gautoy.’ ‘Er… well, it was surely remarked in jest,’ stuttered Gisburne. ‘My Lord Sheriff’s cardplay is the finest in the land. It is well known.’ The players drew their cards for this board: Dealer South. E/W Game. ♠ Q J 10 9 3 2 ♥ Q 4 3 ♦ A 7 ♣ 10 3 ♠ K 8 6 4 ♠ 7 5 N ♥ 6 ♥ J 10 7 W E ♦ 10 9 8 3 S ♦ K Q J 6 5 4 2 ♣ K J 8 4 ♣ Q ♠ A ♥ A K 9 8 5 2 ♦ — ♣ A 9 7 6 5 2 West

North

East

South

Guy of

Father

The

Bishop of

Gisburne

Locke

Sheriff

Leicester

1♥ Pass 1♠ 2♦ 3♣ 3♦ 4♥ Pass 6♥ All Pass

Gisburne led the ♦10 and down went the dummy. The Bishop paused to

plan the contract. If trumps were 2-2 and clubs 3-2, he could simply draw trumps and establish the club suit with a ruff. Still, there might be a better line. Perhaps he could give up a spade trick and discard all his club losers on the spades. ‘Win with the ace,’ he instructed his partner. The Bishop discarded the ♠A on this trick and then ran the ♠Q, discarding a club. Gisburne won with the ♠K and had no constructive return. The Bishop ruffed the diamond continuation, drew trumps with the ace, king and queen and then discarded his remaining club losers on dummy’s spade winners. ‘Lead a club!’ cried the Sheriff. ‘Then he has no chance.’ ‘But, my Lord, he bid clubs,’ Gisburne replied. ‘I took your diamond bid as asking for a lead.’ The Bishop turned towards Gisburne. ‘It should go down, anyway,’ he said. ‘You must let my ♠Q win.’ Gisburne’s mouth fell open. ‘But you continue with the ♠J,’ he replied. ‘Let that win too,’ said the Bishop. ‘Surely you continue with the ♠10,’ persisted Gisburne. ‘Would my Lord Sheriff not then discard his singleton club?’ retorted the Bishop. ‘If I run the ♠10, then you will give him a club ruff.’ The Sheriff glared blackly across the table. ‘I have rarely seen such an obvious defensive hold-up!’ he exclaimed. ‘What think you, Lord Bishop? Should I have my partner suspended alongside Lady Berenice de Gautoy tonight? What a handsome couple they would make!’ ■

Page 15

David Stevenson answers your Frequently Asked Questions

Revokes: What Happens? Is it Fair?

‘Y

ou reneged!’ ‘No, I didn’t!’ ‘Yes, you did!’ ‘I am afraid you did, partner.’ ‘Well, I didn’t mean to.’ ‘That’s two tricks to us!’ ‘No, it isn’t, it’s one trick.’ ‘Well, anyway, it made no difference, it isn’t fair.’ Does any of this sound familiar? In my fifty-plus years of playing bridge, I have heard these sort of things many times and many such arguments have been made. So let us consider what should really happen. Let us look at the basics. First, ‘renege’ is a very old term. The modern term is ‘revoke’; it changed in about 1940 but the old term is still occasionally used. Second, never argue with your opponents in a duplicate: just call the director and let him sort it out. It can be more difficult in rubber bridge, or in a match played privately: then the players will have to sort it out. Following suit is the most basic rule in the game and players who fail to follow suit spoil the hand for other players. As a result, it was decided that there would be some sort of automatic penalties for players who revoke to persuade them to take more care. However, it was also realised that they should never gain, so if they have gained any tricks because of the revoke, these should be given back and the Laws allow for that. So, if a player revokes and it is established, then there is a combination of penalty and redress that can lead to none, one, two or more tricks being transferred. If a revoke is discovered in time it can be corrected and in time means before it is established: but when is it established? Normally, it is established when the revoker or his partner plays to the next trick; though the revoking side claiming, conceding or agreeing to a claim will also establish it. If the revoke is not established, then Page 16

it must be corrected by changing it for a legal card. If the revoker was a defender, then the revoke card becomes a major penalty card and the penalties for that apply. Any cards played after the revoke by the other side may be changed and, if they are changed, subsequent cards played by the revoking side may also be changed, again defender’s changed cards becoming major penalty cards. If the revoke is established, the revoke card remains played and the hand is played out. At the end of the hand, the director decides on the automatic penalty tricks. Tricks won before the revoke are safe and are never transferred. If the revoker won the revoke trick and his side won another, then two tricks are transferred. Note, it has to be the actual revoker: for example, if declarer revokes and the trick is won by dummy, then this is not a two trick revoke. If the revoker does not win the revoke trick, then only one trick is transferred, assuming he or his partner win either the revoke trick or a later trick. Also, only one trick is transferred if the revoker wins the revoke trick but that is the last trick his side wins. Finally, if the revoking side win neither the revoke trick nor any subsequent tricks, no tricks are transferred. So the automatic revoke tricks might be none, one or two. In some cases, the revoke makes no difference and any automatic tricks are to penalise the revoker. In other cases, the revoke made a difference of one or even two tricks and the automatic tricks give those tricks back. So the automatic tricks sometimes penalise and sometimes give redress for tricks lost. What happens if a revoke costs more tricks, for example, when declarer is able to run a long suit in dummy that would not run without the revoke, costing the other side, maybe, four

tricks? Then the director adjusts the score to give the four tricks back. Note, he does not add any penalty tricks: he adjusts it for redress only. When your opponents revoke, you may or may not gain, but you can never lose. Some players think it is ridiculous that you could lose your ace of trumps when defending a grand slam if you or your partner revoke. But it is a penalty and you can never lose it if you and your partner always follow suit. Perhaps safest is to lead your ace of trumps before your partner can revoke! Remember that tricks won before any revoke are safe and will never be transferred. ‘Dummy can’t revoke.’ This is a wellknown but totally incorrect saying. If dummy fails to follow suit when able, then he has revoked. However, automatic revoke tricks are not transferred, but redress may be given. ‘There is no such thing as a revoke at trick twelve.’ Again, this is an incorrect saying, since if someone does not follow suit at trick twelve then he has revoked. But the rules dealing with it are different: after a trick twelve revoke, the last two tricks are replayed without the revoke, though an adjustment will be given if a defender has gained from seeing his partner’s revoke card. Finally, let me return to the argument that it is not fair. Sadly, in the modern era, players often think that they should not suffer even when they do something wrong. But bridge is a much better game if the rules are followed and the rule about following suit is so important that the law makers feel some sort of real penalty is a good idea. It also means that life is much easier for directors: rarely do they worry about redress for revokes because the automatic penalties usually cover redress as well as penalise. ■ BRIDGE June 2014

Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions

Should I Respond in a 4-Card Major or a Longer Minor?

Q

If partner opens one of a minor, should I respond in a major even if I have a longer minor? Name and address supplied.

A

The correct approach depends upon the strength of your hand and whether you can show your minor at the one level. If, as is the case facing a 1♦ opening, you would need to go to the two level to show your minor, you need to be strong enough for a responder’s reverse to justify showing your clubs. In traditional Acol, 11 points is enough for a responder’s reverse. If, as some do these days, you play a responder’s reverse as game forcing, you would need opening values to do that. If partner has opened 1♣ and your long suit is diamonds, the situation is slightly different because you can respond 1♦ and still find a 4-4 fit at the one level. In this case, if you are strong enough to rebid 1NT (if partner rebids in the major you do not have), it is fine to respond in the minor. So 8 points would be fine in the case of a 1♦ response to 1♣.

BRIDGE June 2014

Q

In a teams event, I held the North hand:



♠ J 2 ♥ J 3 2 ♦ A Q J 3 ♣ Q J 5 3 N W E S



♠ K Q 9 4 ♥ A 9 ♦ 10 9 8 2 ♣ K 7 4

North South 1NT 2♣1 2♠ 2NT End Non-promissory Stayman

1

The bidding led to a non-spade lead, which ensured that 2NT went off. Should I have bid 3NT with 12 points? Martin Epstein by email.

A

Given how poor your intermediates were, merely inviting game seems reasonable, certainly if you were not vulnerable. 3NT does not seem a very good contract with these two hands in any case. You are

quite likely to lose three heart tricks and the two black aces. If the diamond finesse loses or if hearts are 5-3, even 2NT might fail, as happened.

pass. Responder will often try to keep the bidding alive, partly in case opener has a good hand and partly to keep the opponents out.

♣♦♥♠

Q

At a class at the Deva Bridge Club, the principal said that you need 19 HCP to give a jump rebid 3♣, i.e. 1♥-1♠-3♣. I know the 1♠ might be on 6 points only, but partner can have more. Someone thought you could jump in a new suit with 16+. When did this change please? Kate Beckett by email.

A

The requirement to have 19+ points for an opener’s jump shift is not a new one. All About Acol, published in 1969, gives three examples of such a rebid, all of them containing 19 points in high cards alone. As I was not playing then, I cannot answer your question exactly but can tell you it was at least 45 years ago. Remember, other change of suit rebids, despite being non-forcing after a onelevel response, are not a command for partner to

♣♦♥♠

Q

If partner opens a minor and I have support for partner and a 4-card major, should I bid the major even if I hold 5 (small) cards in partner’s suit? John Hamilton by email.

A

With a weak responding hand, one where game is only likely if partner is strong enough to bid again after a single raise, I would feel inclined to raise the minor. This is especially the case if your style is to open the major on hands with 4-4 major-minor. With a stronger hand, one where you are happy to bid three of partner’s minor next time, I recommend showing the major first. If you have a game going hand and are not playing inverted raises then you have no choice in the matter – you have to respond in the major because a limit raise would not do the hand justice.

Page 17

Ask Julian continued

Q

I opened 1♣ sitting South and West overcalled 1NT. My partner, North, doubled – is this for take-out or penalties? Beryl Pattinson by email.

A

It is customary to play that doubles of notrump bids, especially after your side has bid, are for penalties. The double suggests 9+ points and almost any shape. It would be impractical to play a takeout double in this situation because partner can hardly hold support for all four suits. ♣♦♥♠

Q

I opened 1NT (12 points); my partner responded 2♣ (Stayman); I replied 2♦. My partner then bid 4NT and I passed, thinking this was quantitative as there was no suit agreement. If I had 14 points, I would have raised her 4NT to 6NT. I made 12 tricks. Partner (who had 22 points) said that her 4NT was Blackwood. What should the raise to 4NT mean? Doreen Brewer by email.

A

As you had not agreed a suit, indeed you had not even mentioned a suit, treating 4NT as natural seems entirely reasonable. Too many players are obsessed with checking on aces. Having the right values is the most important thing. With 34 points between the two hands, how did your partner think two

Page 18

aces might be missing? If your partner really needed to know about aces, it would have been sensible to bid a suit first (jumping to create a force) before bidding 4NT.

not pre-empt facing an opening bid, especially with the misfit. It is very hard for West to avoid the fatal 4♥ rebid over South’s 3♠. The table results give a fair reflection of the difficulty of the deal.

to sacrifice. It would not be impossible to construct a hand for partner where 6♥ is cold but a 3♠ opening would end the auction. Hand B, despite the outside ♥K, seems a textbook 3♦ opening to me.

♣♦♥♠

Q

The following deal, caused problems at almost every table:

Dealer East. Game All. ♠ A Q 10 8 6 ♥ K J 3 ♦ 6 4 3 ♣ 10 8 ♠ K 5 ♠ 9 3 ♥ A 10 9 7 5 4 2 ♥ 8 ♦ Void N ♦ A K J 10 W E 9875 S ♣ J 9 5 2 ♣ A 3 ♠ J 7 4 2 ♥ Q 6 ♦ Q 2 ♣ K Q 7 6 4

The only making contract, at 1 table out of 7, was 4♦ by East. How should the bidding have gone? Margaret Williams by email.

A

If North-South enter the bidding, which you would expect them to with their nine-card spade fit, this is a difficult hand to bid. I see that nobody played in 3NT at the table, not that 3NT is a great contract – it happens to make because the ♦Q drops doubleton. Here is a possible auction: West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♥ 1♠ 3♦ 3♠ 4♥ All Pass

With only 12 HCP, East is too weak to make a strong opening bid. West does

♣♦♥♠

Q

Guidance for a 3 level preempt states that there should be no 4 card major on the side, (I understand why) but no outside aces or kings. Please can you explain why not? Kevin Dawson, Nantwich.

A

The idea of a preemptive bid is to make life difficult for the opponents. On occasion, rather than making life hard for them, it poses a problem for your partner. The latter is an especial consideration in second seat after one opponent has already passed. If you have a weak hand with too many values outside your suit, your long suit is necessarily going to be weak. The ideal hand for a pre-emptive bid has good playing strength, poor defence against opposing contracts and poor suitability as dummy. If your values are outside your suit, this reduces your playing strength while increasing your defence to an opposing contract and increases your hand’s usefulness in support of partner’s suit. A requirement to have no aces or kings outside does seem a little extreme however. With Hand A (below), it would indeed be poor judgement to open 3♠. You do not want partner to lead a spade from K-x or



Hand A ♠ 10 7 6 5 4 3 2 ♥ A 9 4 ♦ A 2 ♣ 2

Hand B ♠ 7 ♥ K 4 ♦ K J 10 8 6 4 2 ♣ 8 5 3

♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner and I (North) got into a mess with these hands:



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



♠ A K 9 2 ♥ 6 ♦ A Q 8 3 ♣ A 8 7 2

North South 1♦ 1♥ 2♠1 3♦2 End Reverse, I think Unable to bid 3NT with no club stopper 1

2

What point count should 3♦ show? Would 1♦-1♥-1♠-1NT-2NT-3NT be a better auction? John Dunbar by email.

BRIDGE June 2014

Ask Julian continued

A

Partner’s 2♠ rebid is not what most people understand by a reverse. It is a jump rebid or opener’s jump shift rather than a reverse. In answer to your question, since 2♠ creates a game force, there is no specific point count for your 3♦ rebid. If you had four diamonds and clear slam interest, you would jump to 4♦. However, if you have only three diamonds, you might have quite a strong hand for 3♦. With the hands you give, I would recommend 1♦-1♥-1♠-2♦-2NT-3NT. Although the responding hand is flat, ♣J-x-x is a rather shaky stopper in the unbid suit. The auction you suggest is not a bad one. I agree that with 17 HCP and no 5-card suit, opener is too weak to jump to 2♠. While 1♠ is not forcing, responder will pass only with a minimum responding hand and little fit. The only significant improvement I can suggest is that because the 1NT rebid should show 8-10, opener should raise all the way to 3NT. ♣♦♥♠

Q

I am beginning to wonder whether the computer my club uses is producing truly random deals. On a Friday session, there were two hands where a player had 12 cards in two suits and a slam was makeable on 7 deals out of 30. The high cards points, however, were very even; N/S averaged 19.93, E/W 20.07. Then, on the next Wednesday, one

BRIDGE June 2014

player had a hand with two voids (7600 shape). Ivor Moore, Plymouth.

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

A

You need to bear in mind that unusual things do happen. People buy lottery tickets each week. They know that, while they have a minuscule chance of winning the jackpot, it is possible. Likewise, if enough bridge hands are about, some of them will contain the rare shapes. It would be abnormal if the freak shapes never came up. Ruffing values are a factor in making a slam, so it is no surprise that a shapely set contains more slam deals than usual. On average, a slam is makeable (double dummy) on about 1 deal in 10. I reckon that the chance that a set of 30 boards contains 7 makeable slams is thus about 1 in 55 (.1^7 x .9^23 x 30! / (23! x 7!)). Given that there are far more than 55 clubs in the UK, there must be sets of boards dealt every day on which 7 slams are available. In other words, it is an everyday occurrence – not always at your club of course – but somewhere. Although the high card distribution does not bother you, it may provide the answer. Some card-dealing programs allow the user to select a strong equality of high cards between E/W and N/S. It is possible that selecting such an option makes the hands shapelier than you might expect. I do not use that option myself, even when I need a set with the high cards evenly split; I simply keep dealing until I get the desired set. If this is not the answer, my advice is to enjoy the shapely hands while you have them. Believe me, they are more fun to play than 4333 and 4432 shapes.

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Page 19

Ask Julian continued

Q

♣♦♥♠ How should this hand have been bid?

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

West North East South 1♥1 2♦ 2♠ Pass 3♣2 Pass 3♥ All Pass 1

Playing 5-card majors Not wishing to rebid the hearts

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3♥ went two off. A spade contract was better. My partner says that I should have known he had six spades. Is that right? Serena Court by email.

A

3♥ – rebidding 3♠ would have shown the sixth spade.

You have said you were playing fivecard majors but not what no-trump range you were playing. If you were playing a weak no-trump, you should have opened 1NT rather than the mouldy heart suit to avoid any rebid problems. If you were playing a strong no-trump, you should have rebid 2NT, which would not show any extra values. Opening 1♥ and rebidding 3♣ hardly describes your hand. Your partner might have bid differently as well. Assuming you play disturbed bids as forcing, which most people do, 2♠ was a very aggressive move. It shows at least game invitational values (say 10+ points) but promises only five spades. Pass would have been a reasonable alternative. Your partner might also have chosen to rebid 3♠ rather than give you preference to

Q

This deal comes from rubber bridge:

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

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

The contract made with an overtrick. What do you think of North’s bidding, particularly the 1♠ bid rather than double or 4♥? Chris Dicker, Tavistock, Devon.

A

Nothing fits perfectly – I suspect I would bid 1♠, too – partner is likely to be short in hearts and therefore have some fit for spades. With a collection of low spades, partner is unlikely to get very excited. North seems to have bid the hand as well as seems possible under the circumstances. North must have had some assistance to make 10 tricks. It looks as if there are two hearts, one spade and one diamond to lose. Finally, I must comment on West’s reopening action. Double is a far better call than 2♣; it brings three suits into play rather than two.

BRIDGE June 2014

Ask Julian continued

Q

What would you bid on the following matchpoint pairs deal?

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

Lloyd Lewis by email.

A

This looks like a competitive partscore deal:

West North East South Pass Pass 1♥ 1NT Pass 2♥1 Pass 2♠ Pass Pass Dbl2 Pass 3♥ 3♠ All Pass Transfer to spades; with the poor suit, North did not open a weak 2♠. 2 Take-out – with a 6-4 shape, East does not want to defend 2♠. 1

Intended as natural (preference for diamonds over clubs) but announced as a transfer

2

Please could you advise? Heather Vale by email.

A

Since it is rare to hold a hand with 20 points when both the opponents are bidding, a natural 2NT overcall does not come up very often. A two-suited hand will come up much more frequently. In a tournament, almost everyone would play 2NT as the minors. However, in a casual game, many would play it the way you intended, as a natural overcall – though in such circumstances it might be uncommon to play transfers as well. As usual in cases of a misunderstanding, I suggest you discuss with your partner how you will play the bid if it comes again. In this situation, I recommend playing it the way your partner does. ♣♦♥♠

Q

The following hand comes from a duplicate pairs.



♠ A Q 9 2 ♥ A ♦ Q J 10 5 4 2 ♣ K 7

♣♦♥♠

Q

N W E S

I was playing North with 20 points and a flat hand. The bidding proceeded as follows:



West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♠ 2NT1 Pass 3♦2 Pass 3♥ …

North South 1♦1 5♦ 6♦

Intended as natural but taken as both minors

1

BRIDGE June 2014

♠ K 8 3 ♥ K 5 ♦ A K 9 8 7 3 ♣ 6 2

Playing five-card majors and a prepared 1♣

1

Is it possible to reach 6NT? Can you suggest an alternative sequence? Mike Pinnington by email.

A

If you do not play inverted raises (whereby a raise to 2♦ is stronger than a raise to 3♦ and is forcing for at least one round), South has no good response to the 1♦ opening. Your actual sequence, even if it was a little agricultural, got you to a decent spot. If you invent a 1♠ response, partner will raise vigorously, perhaps with a 4♥ splinter. You will then have to jump to 6♦ to tell partner that you were not serious about the spades. Whether you want to reach 6NT is debatable, given that the laydown 6♦ will surely score above average. Assuming North declares, you might make 6NT if the spades play for four tricks or if the ♣A is onside. However, you cannot necessarily combine your chances. Suppose you get a heart lead, cash a few diamonds and test the spades. If you find West with precisely four spades, you may go down even with the ♣A onside.

A

The usual meaning of this double is take-out, showing the sort of hand you would have doubled 1♣ for take-out – perhaps a fraction more as partner cannot bid at the one level – a 4-4-4-1 12-count would seem acceptable. Although almost all doubles of no-trump bids are penalties, this one is not. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Neither North nor South knew the strength of South’s no-trump bid below. This resulted in a missed game.



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



♠ K J ♥ Q 10 8 7 3 ♦ K 9 4 ♣ Q J 4

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

♣♦♥♠

Q

On this sequence, should the double be take-out or penalty?

West North East South 1♣ Pass 1NT Dbl

If for take-out, what is the minimum sort of hand you would have? Keith Rickson by email.

Should the players have known better? R Timpson, Chipping Norton.

A

It is usual to play the 1NT rebid by the overcaller as showing a hand a bit too weak for a 1NT overcall, say about weak no-trump strength. Partner, with 13 points, should therefore be raising to 3NT ■ rather than 2NT.

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

Page 21

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The Diaries of Wendy Wensum Episode 26: The Simultaneous Bernard Magee

K

ate and Jo had just returned from a Mr Bridge weekend. ‘It was great,’ announced Kate excitedly. ‘We met Bernard Magee. He was very nice and knows all about bridge,’ Jo interjected. ‘All the ladies love him.’ Kate added. ‘That’s a song from Pickwick,’ observed Millie drily. Kate and Jo looked at her, clearly none the wiser. ‘All the ladies love him is a line from a song about Mr Jingle in the musical Pickwick,’ continued Millie by way of explanation. Kate and Jo still looked mystified. ‘Oh, never mind, we aren’t all opera buffs,’ Millie admitted briskly with a hint of impatience. We were in the bar before a session of simultaneous charity pairs. ‘Can we get started? Seats everyone, please.’ called the director in a vain attempt to start on time. ‘Our TD is a bit of a hunk too,’ Millie decreed without any sign of embarrassment. ‘Millie, behave, you’re engaged to be married to Justin,’ I retorted, admonishing her with mock horror. Millie and I sat at a table with George and Sarah. ‘Table money ready please,’ shouted the treasurer over the general hubbub. ‘I think this pound coin is a forgery,’ proclaimed Millie as three extra pairs of eyes peered at it inquisitively. ‘It’s a funny colour and there’s no queen’s head,’ she continued. ‘That’s because it’s not a coin; it’s a key-ring disc for releasing supermarket trolleys,’ observed George with authority. Play started and this deal appeared (below). Millie in the South seat was dealer and opened the bidding with one club on her poor eleven count, a bid she justified later on the grounds that it met the rule of 20. George overcalled one heart and I had a dilemma. Should I show my five-card spade suit or support clubs? I decided on the former as, if necessary, I could try to show clubs later. East passed and with remarkable circumspection Millie rebid clubs at the minimum level. BRIDGE June 2014

West found two hearts and my three clubs ended the auction. Dealer South. N/S Vul. ♠ Q J 8 6 4 ♥ J 4 ♦ J 5 ♣ K Q 9 2 ♠ A 10 5 ♠ 9 7 3 2 N ♥ A Q 9 7 6 5 ♥ K 10 W E ♦ 8 6 2 S ♦ K Q 9 4 ♣ J ♣ 10 6 5 ♠ K ♥ 8 3 2 ♦ A 10 7 3 ♣ A 8 7 4 3

West

North

East

South

George

Wendy

Sarah

Millie

1♣ 1♥ 1♠ Pass 2♣ 2♥ 3♣ All Pass

George led the jack of clubs. Millie removed trumps in three rounds and played the king of spades to knock out the ace. Our opponents then took two hearts and a diamond, giving us nine tricks for plus 110. In the hostelry later, Kate explained that, on the same board, she had passed as South. West opened one heart and Jo, in the North seat, bid an artificial two hearts showing five spades and at least four cards in an undisclosed minor. East passed and Kate enquired with two no trumps asking for the minor. Jo bid three clubs. With a near opener, five clubs and the king of spades, Kate bid game. West

North

East

Jo

South Kate

Pass 1♥ 2♥1 Pass 2NT2 Pass 3♣ Pass 5♣ All Pass 1 Spades and a minor 2 Enquiry

It was an optimistic contract to say the least. East led the king of hearts, following it with the ten, won by West’s ace. West now took his ace of spades and returned the heart queen. Already one off, Jo panicked and trumped with the king. Now, hoping clubs were two-two, she played for the drop. When this ploy misfired, she lost a trump and a diamond trick. The contract failed by three tricks for minus 300. Perhaps rather tactlessly, Millie noted that ditching a diamond from dummy on the third heart could have saved a trick. The deal had caused problems all evening. The traveller had showed heart and club contracts at all sorts of levels, some doubled, some making, some not. It was time to look at the accompanying booklet and Kate and Jo were particularly delighted to find the commentaries had been written by Bernard Magee. His suggested sequence was: West North East South Pass 1♥ 1♠ 1NT Dbl 2♥ Pass Pass 3♣ Pass Pass 3♥ All Pass

Bernard noted that three hearts should be defeated by one trick and that three clubs was making the other way. ‘His bidding was not much like ours,’ said Kate rather despondently. Jo agreed sadly. ‘No problem, we do it differently in Norfolk,’ responded Millie with unusual sensitivity, continuing with, ‘Bernard Magee’s booklet will be very useful.’ At the mention of his name, both Kate and Jo perked up visibly, murmuring, ‘Ah, Bernard,’ simultaneously. At that response, Millie ordered another round of drinks decisively, but this time included a double brandy. ■ Page 23

READERS’ LETTERS WHAT SUITS There has been a longrunning saga in both the Readers’ Letters and Editorial columns of BRIDGE to the effect that a bridge club should have a telephone number on its website if it wishes to attract new members. The most recent was in Mr Bridge’s response to a letter from Hart Bridge Club in BRIDGE 136 page 35. I, too, welcome Mr Bridge’s concern with declining numbers at some clubs, but feel he is somewhat missing the point. It is self-evident that, in today’s world, a bridge club should have an attractive and informative website which includes a means to contact the club if necessary. Telephones have their place – chatting to an old friend or calling an ambulance in an emergency are two obvious and contrasting examples. However, email is fine in other situations, especially where an immediate response is not required. The key thing is surely the word ‘contact’ and getting a reply. We must all have had experience of an email

that goes into a black hole, or a telephone call to a help line that takes forever to get past an automated call centre dialogue, ending up nowhere. So long as the bridge club responds to an enquiry in a timely manner, I fail to see the problem. I have looked back at the letter that prompted the entire saga, a call for new members from Orpington Bridge Club way back in December 2013 (BRIDGE 132 Editorial, page 5). Using Google to search for that club by name, I have found out everything I needed to know from their excellent BridgeWebs website within a minute or two (session days and times, location, how to find a partner, recent results etc). I even noticed that there is now a prominent telephone number on their home page, as suggested by Mr Bridge. For me, the two top priorities when I was looking for a bridge club were: a) Some sort of host system, so I could turn up initially without a partner and b) results available on a club website, complete with deals.

We are all different and maybe a contact telephone number attracts others, but for me, email is adequate. Dave Simmons, Buntingford, Hertfordhsire.

TWO WORLDS David Stevenson’s article in BRIDGE 136 on the subject of dealing is no doubt flawless, but it shows up the differences which exist in the world of bridge players. I do not know how many bridge clubs there are in the UK, be they EBU affiliated or not, but I am sure the majority of them meet once a week in rented premises, such as church halls. The cost and storage of computer-based dealing and/or table-scoring equipment is out of the question. Bridge, like many other sports and pastimes, is dividing into two or more strata. Those who are ultra-competitive and will do anything legal to win and those who play for the enjoyment and social interaction. Stevenson’s regular column answers queries, most of which are from readers who appear disgruntled, maybe because they fell foul of rules they didn’t understand, or by the attitude of other players or even the director. I think there are few clubs who can have the luxury of a nonplaying director and in many clubs the director is

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Page 24

the dogsbody who puts out the tables, distributes the boards and travellers while keeping an eye on the clock to ensure a smoothly run enjoyable evening. When called upon, it is more than likely that it will be for a lead out of turn or a revoke, rarely to decide on higher matters which are usually settled amicably by the players concerned. I am an avid reader of your magazine in its entirety. However, I do find David’s style in responding to queries rather pompous and superior. A relative novice reading the column could at worst be put off the game and certainly might doubt the wisdom of progressing to a higher level club where competitiveness outweighs enjoyment. Christopher Dicker, Tavistock, Devon.

WHAT A DEAL A few days ago, whilst playing rubber bridge, I dealt myself the most unusual hand I have ever had in over 50 years of playing bridge.



♠ A K x x x x x ♥ Void ♦ K Q x x x x ♣ Void

I would like to know what you would open? All I will say is that my partner gave my bid a positive reply and at gameall I raised to 6♠. My right hand opponent doubled as she had two aces, I redoubled and made the contract. Wow. Mr Peter Green, Barnet, Herts.

I will ask Julian Pottage, Bernard Magee and Sally Brock for their suggestions and include them in the July issue.

BRIDGE June 2014

READERS’ LETTERS continued

are an integral part of his excellent teaching method. Mr Hugo Simpson, St. Albans, Herts.

SET HANDS I am an enthusiastic and long standing attendee at Bernard Magee’s seminars and of sessions of set hands, used to illustrate and reinforce the ideas and techniques covered in the seminars. Bernard has always stressed the importance of the ‘set hands’ sessions and from my experience he is right to do so. It is regrettable, therefore, to find that you seem to have decided not to produce the ‘set hands’ CDs which should accompany the excellent tutorial DVDs (2012 series and 2013 series). People who attended the DVD recording sessions did have the advantage of complementary ‘set hands’ sessions; this experience is denied to those who did not attend but have subsequently purchased a DVD. I possess both the DVD and CD for the 2011 series and they form a well matched pair. When I purchased the DVD for the 2012 series, it was with the expectancy as advertised in BRIDGE in December 2012 that the Better Bridge 2012 CD would be available eventually. It is extremely disappointing to find that this appears to have been quietly dropped from your plans. Although the 2011, 2012, 2013 series DVDs and CDs can be used stand alone, they are much more valuable when used in tandem. The longer term attractiveness of the DVDs will surely be enhanced if each is supported by a corresponding CD. The importance of the set hands is eloquently explained by Bernard at the start of every session. Indeed, they

BRIDGE June 2014

Noted. I will re-assess the project.

CROATIA 2015 I am so sorry not to be on the trip to Rovinj with Bernard next week. I love Croatia, it is such a beautiful place and I so wanted to do this trip. I am sure I was one of the first to respond to the original suggestion of this holiday. I really do not know why I did not book immediately but a subsequent family bereavement eventually made a later decision impossible. I send my very best wishes to Bernard and his team and hope they have a wonderful time. This opportunity may not come up next year but if it does, I will be first in line. Gwen Raison by email.

We await your booking. Dates are 5-20 May, 2015.

MARCO POLO I was delighted to see from his email, BRIDGE 137, that Bill Howe is alive and well. I have very fond memories of the Marco Polo cruise he describes. It was the first we hosted after I retired. Escaping an English November for the sunshine of the Caribbean and the Amazon was so exciting, especially when the five days crossing the south Atlantic were hot and sunny with a flat calm sea. Several of the Mr Bridge group were real bridge addicts. They regularly played in the after-lunch duplicate run by the ship’s bridge host, Bill MacDonald, then went straightaway into the Mr Bridge duplicate between tea and dinner. The after lunch sessions were an opportunity for me to play without the distractions

of directing and I played regularly with Bill. Those games were some of the most enjoyable I have had as we just seemed to click as a partnership. I still use the Orient Lines leather luggage tag we were awarded for top pair, Barbados to Manaus. I wonder if Bill still has his? Tony Richards, Woking, Surrey.

PARANOID I cannot avoid the impression, shared by others that I know, that the QPlus distributions are consistently ‘unfavourable’ ie too many four and five -nil trump splits sitting over declarer. Is this because these are competition boards designed to test the best declarers? If this is the case, I pat myself on the back for avoiding congresses or is it simply paranoia on my part that the cards are loaded against declarer? Still, the program is great and much used but there is still this lurking impression that the normal distributions are not present. Roy Howgill, Canterbury, Kent.

LETTER FROM NZ I emigrated last year to New Zealand, at the age of 80 plus – a time of life when one normally does not make new friends. One has to join a club where there are like-minded people and what better club to join than a bridge club? So I joined the Upper Hutt Bridge Club as a junior player. When I left Australia after 30 years, to live in Carlisle, England, the masterpoints I had earned in Australia were not recognised, but here in New Zealand, they are. The secretary learned that I had represented W.A. in national competitions, so immediately

I leaped from being a junior, past the intermediates, to become an open player – top rank here. As a result, many of the ‘big boys’ want to play with me which is gratifying. There are 3 sessions a week, plus one on Wednesday afternoons from March until August, as well as a learners’ class, which brings new blood into the club. At the Monday and Thursday evening session there is a paid, non-playing director. I was very surprised to find that the Monday director chooses to play one board per table – a movement I have never met before. For every session except the Wednesday afternoon, players must put their names down beforehand, so that the director knows how many tables there will be. I have never met this custom before either and would be interested to know of other clubs using these practises. Thursday evening, with 8-12 tables, is the most competitive session, but Monday evenings and Friday afternoons are the most sociable. There are normally 18-24 tables. On Friday and Wednesday afternoons, the director calls a break somewhere around halftime. One person at each table takes the orders for tea and coffee from the other three and fetches these on a tray; everybody makes a contribution by bringing sandwiches, cakes or biscuits. Sticky cards often result from the breaks, but the players at each table chat and exchange gossip. It’s very sociable and pleasant. Most of the club members are friendly and helpful; I am very happy to belong and to be making new friends. Peggy Millidge, South Island, New Zealand.

Page 25

READERS’ LETTERS continued

CHARITY SUPPORT John and I had an extra week in Tunisia again this year to celebrate our 55th Wedding Anniversary. On our return, we were delighted to receive prizes from you supporting our charity event. What a super team you had representing you this year – we think the best ever. Bernard is always superb – such a wonderful teacher and so kind and considerate to all the guests, especially the very elderly. We would like to have gone to Croatia in May but had already booked to visit family in Bratislava at that time. Whatever, Tunisia and the Royal Kenz will always be a favourite with us – such an easy and good value holiday, good hotel and staff to whom nothing is too much trouble. Jill Blanchard, Secretary, Wolborough Bridge Club.

QMAIL PERHAPS? We much enjoyed Bernard Magee’s DVDs (series 1) purchased in the recent clearance sale. We viewed them with friends and debated the content over drinks afterwards. We thought of a few questions of our own. How about offering a line of contact to Bernard Magee? He could find such feedback useful. Mr M Steward by phone. Norwich, Norfolk.

[email protected]

FOR ANDROID? Will QPlus 11 in the future be available to download for a tablet like an iPad?

DECLARER PLAY QUIZ

Rolf Ramsenius, Teignmouth, Devon.

SALLY BROCK WRITES

by David Huggett (Answers on page 29)

Y

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

I thought your readers might be interested to hear about the latest bridge project I am working on. Simon Cope, Ben Green and I have set up a professional bridge agency. The idea is that all bridge professionals, whether they play for pay or teach, either online or face to face, sign up to the agency and have their profiles on our website. Potential clients can then browse the profiles and find the professional who matches their needs. We are making it much easier for bridge enthusiasts to find out what professional bridge services are available and how to access them. Some people might like to play a local duplicate with an expert; others may like the idea of online lessons while staying in the comfort of their own home. Our website is now up and running, so any readers interested should visit www.pro-bridge.co.uk and have a look. Sally Brock, High Wycombe, Bucks.

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.

■

1.

♠ J 4 2 ♥ K J 10 ♦ K J 7 4 ♣ K Q 2

3.

N

N

W E

W E

S



♠ A 9 6 3 ♥ A 9 8 ♦ A Q 9 5 3 ♣ A

You are declarer in 6♦ and West leads the ♣5. How do you plan the play?

2.

♠ K Q 5 ♥ 7 5 ♦ 9 7 6 3 ♣ A 6 3 2

S



4.

W E S

S

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♥6. East plays the ♥K. How do you plan the play?

♠ 6 3 ♥ A K 7 5 3 ♦ Q 6 ♣ Q J 10 4 N

N

♠ A 10 8 ♥ A 4 2 ♦ A K 5 ♣ K J 5 4

♠ A K 2 ♥ A 9 ♦ 9 4 ♣ A K Q 10 6 3

You are declarer in 5♣. West leads the ♦K-Q and switches to the ♣5. How do you plan the play?

W E



♠ 8 5 3 ♥ K 8 6 4 2 ♦ 7 6 ♣ J 9 2



♠ A K 5 4 ♥ 8 ♦ A K 10 3 2 ♣ 9 8 3

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠2. How do you plan the play?

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Page 26

BRIDGE June 2014

Misleading Cases Number Six

Fall from Grace Plaice v. Erehwon Duplicate Bridge Club before Mr Justice Coeur in the High Court of Justice in the Strand After the evidence and Counsels’ closing speeches, his Lordship gave judgment as follows:

“O

n 31st April last, an elderly widow, Mrs Grace Plaice (née Dace), was playing bridge at the Erehwon Duplicate Bridge Club. Normally, she sat South, so that she would have neither to move nor score. But, on this occasion, a Howell movement was in operation so she had to change tables after each round. While moving to a different table late in the evening, she fell and broke a big toe and both hips and was soon thereafter carted off to hospital. A couple of weeks later, she emerged to, first, a nursing home, then (as a temporary resident) to an old people’s home, then to her own home with a live-in carer. I was pleased to hear her Counsel say that she has recovered completely, is looking after her former carer and has resumed her bridge-playing career. This case is all about who, if anyone, should be liable to Mrs Plaice for causing this accident (or not preventing it). Her expenses and claim for pain and suffering come to some £100,000. Mrs Plaice had no idea that she might be entitled to compensation until, a week or two after the accident, she received a telephone call from an organisation calling itself ‘Claims ‘R’ Us’, who offered to take on her case and obtain enormous compensation for her from whomsoever was liable. Mrs Plaice did a bit of investigation into the credentials of this firm and soon discovered that the owner and sole employee was a Mr Arthur Sweetbread, BRIDGE June 2014

of Cheam. He had no qualifications whatsoever, unless membership of the Association of Croydon Butchers counts as a qualification. She phoned back and politely told him to take a running jump. As a result, you might think that Claims ‘R’ Us should not be involved in this case, but their Counsel says that they gave Mrs Plaice the idea of seeking compensation in the first place and should therefore receive a substantial part of any ‘winnings’. Thereafter, and as a result of numerous phone calls, emails and letters, she involved, in this matter, both the Bridge Club and its Committee and the Erehwon Community Centre (the charity which owns the Clubhouse) and its trustees, all of whom (along with their – and her – respective insurers) deny liability. Her Counsel also alleged (though this was disputed) that somebody (unspecified) had left a handbag on the floor, over which she thought she might have tripped. So what are we to make of all this? Before going into the legalities, I would like to point out that Mrs Plaice is a very promising bridge player. Indeed, in her evidence, which I accept entirely, Mrs Plaice said that, on moving to the next table, she still had her mind on the very tricky hand she had just played so successfully and was not concentrating on looking where she was going. In case there are any bridge players in the jury or among the public in the Courtroom, it would, I think,

be appropriate to consider the hand in question (below), in a bit more detail. Dealer South. Game All. ♠ K ♥ K 10 9 6 ♦ Q J 10 4 2 ♣ A K 2 ♠ 7 2 ♠ Q J 10 9 4 ♥ Q 5 3 N ♥ J 8 2 W E ♦ K 7 6 5 3 S ♦ 9 8 ♣ 7 4 3 ♣ J 8 5 ♠ A 8 6 5 3 ♥ A 7 4 ♦ A ♣ Q 10 9 6

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass 2♠ Pass 3♥ Pass 3NT Pass 4NT* Pass 5♠ Pass 5NT* Pass 6♣ Pass 6NT *Blackwood

West led ♦5, ♦2 from dummy, ♦9 from East and Mrs Plaice won with her singleton ace. She crossed to the ♠K, next leading the ♦Q, won by West with the ♦K (South discarding a spade). West now led a small club to the ♣2, ♣J and ♣Q. Mrs Plaice cashed the ♣A and the ♣K, all following, then the ♦J and the ♦10 (South discarding the ♠6 and the ♥4), resulting in the position shown below: Page 27

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See www.mrbridge.co.uk/ukbreaks for details and itineraries.

Page 28

Misleading Cases continued

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

Mrs Plaice now led the ♥6 to the ace, all following and cashed the ♣10. West threw the ♠7 on this, North the ♥9 and East (needing to keep his spade guard) the ♥8. Declarer now cashed her ♠A and the spotlight was on West. If he threw the ♦7, North would discard the ♥10 and declarer would make the last two tricks with the ♥K and the ♦4. In the event, West threw the ♥5, so declarer pitched the ♦4 and made the last two tricks with the ♥K-10. A textbook positional squeeze. For my part, keen but poor bridge player that I am, I can well accept that, after playing that tricky contract so cleverly and still mulling it over in her mind, Mrs Plaice was not concentrating on her route to the next table. Although it was suggested that she tripped over a handbag, no evidence was given about this and, even if it had been, I am not persuaded that the owner of the handbag would have been liable. In this sphere of the law, there are two of what we lawyers call ‘causes of action’. The first is negligence, in other words where somebody does something careless which causes injury

or loss. I have heard nothing in this case which leads me to believe that anyone was negligent (except possibly, I regret to say, Mrs Plaice herself). The second common cause of action in accident cases of this kind arises under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, described as, ‘An Act to amend the law ... as to the liability of occupiers ... for injury ... to persons ... lawfully on any ... property from dangers due to the state of the property or to things done or omitted to be done there.’ So, if the Bridge Club, or the Erehwon Community Centre, had, for instance, left a carpet in such a state that people might trip over it, they would be liable to anybody who did trip over it. In the present case, there was no carpet in that area of the building and there is no such allegation. These days, people often forget that the occurrence of an accident does not necessarily connote legal liability. Those ambulance chasers advertising their services on television would do well to bear this in mind. (These days some of the advertisers are solicitors – can you believe it?) In the circumstances, I hold that this was a genuine accident, for which there was no ‘guilty party’ and, accordingly, I dismiss the case. All costs to be paid by Claims ‘R’ Us for having so unnecessarily provoked this long and complicated case. It only remains for me to wish Mrs Grace Plaice (née Dace) all the best in her promising bridge-playing career. Who knows, with a bit more practice she may find herself playing for England in due course.” Reporter: Richard Wheen, after A.P. Herbert ■ BRIDGE June 2014

Answers to David Huggett’s  Play Quiz on page 26 1. ♠ J 4 2 ♥ K J 10 ♦ K J 7 4 ♣ K Q 2 ♠ Q 10 8 7 N ♥ Q 5 3 2 W E ♦ 8 6 S ♣ 8 5 4 ♠ A 9 6 3 ♥ A 9 8 ♦ A Q 9 5 3 ♣ A

♠ K 5 ♥ 7 6 4 ♦ 10 2 ♣ J 10 9 7 6 3

You are declarer in 6♦ and West leads the ♣5. How do you plan the play? It looks at first as though you have to find the queen of hearts but maybe you can do better than that. Draw trumps ending in dummy and throw two low spades on the king and queen of clubs. Now play ace and another spade and, if East started with a doubleton king or queen, he will be endplayed to give either a ruff and discard or open up the hearts. As an alert West might pitch the king or queen of spades from a doubleton to avoid this endplay, it would be good technique to cash the ace of spades at an early stage – before the defence have latched on to your plan.

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

♠ J 9 4 3 ♥ K J 9 ♦ J 4 2 ♣ 10 9 8

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♥6. East plays the ♥K. How do you

BRIDGE June 2014

plan the play? With eight tricks on top you have to find only one more but the danger is that, in setting up that extra trick, you might allow the opposition to cash too many hearts. It would certainly be right to hold up the ace of hearts until the third round but you must not take the club finesse in case it loses to West. Basically, if the club finesse works you do not need to take it and, as a safety precaution, you should play out the king and the ace first. On a good day, the queen will be doubleton with West. If all follow low to the first two rounds, you have to hope that it is East who has the queen.

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

You are declarer in 5♣. West leads the ♦K-Q and switches to the ♣5. How do you plan the play? You have ten easy tricks and the eleventh can really come only from the heart suit. As long as the hearts do not break worse than 4-2, you will be fine but you must be careful. Win the trump lead in hand with the ace and cash the ace and king of hearts and ruff a heart high. If both defenders follow, then you just draw the remaining trumps ending in dummy and throw your spade on a heart winner. But, more often than not, one defender will still have a heart left, in which case you enter dummy with the nine of trumps and ruff another heart high. Finally, you re-enter dummy with the jack of clubs

to gain access to the winning heart. If, mistakenly, you had drawn all the trumps earlier, you would lack sufficient entries to cater for the 4-2 heart break.

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

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠2. How do you plan the play? You are looking for two extra tricks and it might look tempting to play on the diamond suit in the hope of making five tricks there. But, if you fail, you are in danger of losing two spades, two clubs and a diamond. If you can believe West’s lead, he will not have more than four spades, in which case it is right to win the opening lead and play on clubs. Most likely, they will clear the spades. Then, you knock out the remaining top club and all you will lose are two tricks in ■ each black suit.

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Page 29

DEFENCE QUIZ by Julian Pottage



(Answers on page 39)

Y

ou are West in the defensive positions below playing matchpoint pairs.

1. ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ K Q J 8 ♥ K J 9 6 ♦ 7 6 5 ♣ K 4

A 10 5 10 5 AQ4 Q J 10 3 2 N

W E S

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

West North East South 1NT1 Pass 3NT All Pass 1 12-14

West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♠K, which holds, partner playing the ♠2. How do you continue?

You lead the ♣A, on which partner plays the ♣2 (low discourages). How do you continue?

2. ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ 8 6 ♥ 9 6 2 ♦ A 7 6 5 ♣ A K J 9

Q 10 5 AKJ5 J84 10 3 2 N

W E S

West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT1 Pass 3NT All Pass 1 15-17

You lead the ♣A, on which partner plays the ♣4 (low to discourage, high to encourage). How do you continue?

Page 30

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

West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♦7, covered by the ♦J, ♦K and ♦A. Declarer crosses to the ♥A and runs the ♠10. Having won, what do you do?

Bridge and Travel Tips

DON’T DESPAIR Bridge tip from Sally Brock: However badly a hand is progressing, it’s not over until it’s over. Don’t give up as there may still be a way to recover.

T

he Netherlands faced USA2 in the semi-final of last year’s world championship. With two boards to go, USA2 had a 4 IMP lead (though they did not know it). This was the penultimate board:

Dealer South. N/S Game. ♠ J 10 ♥ 9 5 ♦ 6 5 4 ♣ A K J 7 3 2 ♠ 9 7 5 N ♠ Q 6 2 W E ♥ Q J 10 ♥ 7 S 8 32 ♦ K Q 10 8 3 ♦ A 7 2 ♣ Q 9 8 6 ♣ 4 ♠ A K 8 4 3 ♥ A K 6 4 ♦ J 9 ♣ 10 5

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♣ 3♥ 3NT All Pass I am not quite sure whether North’s 3♣ was weak or invitational, but it makes little difference. Quite reasonably, West decided to lead her own diamonds rather than her partner’s hearts. She chose to lead the ♦K, which did not invite her partner to unblock (as is the widespread practice in this country). When East followed with the ♦2 (encouraging), it

B

looked straightforward enough for West to continue with a low diamond and for the defence to make five diamond tricks. But this West looked a little deeper and realised that her partner might hold ♦J-x, in which case it would be necessary for her to continue with the ♦Q. After all, if her partner had the ♦A-x-x that she actually had, she would be able to overtake. Time stood still while East contemplated the ♦Q – her partner’s logic was not obvious from her side of the table. Eventually, she let the ♦Q hold. West continued with a third diamond and East was on lead, now painfully aware of what she had done. At this stage, she switched to a heart which declarer won with the king and played the ♣10, covered by the queen and king. When clubs did not break, declarer had no option but to try the spade finesse and, when that suit provided five tricks, she had the rest, plus one, +630 and 12 IMPs when declarer went one down in 3♣ in the other room. We can imagine how fed up East must have been when she was on lead at trick four, but surely a heart switch is giving up. Just think what would have happened if she had switched to a spade instead. Surely declarer would have risen with the ace and pinned her hopes ■ on the club suit.

Travel tip from Emma Thomson:

eing approached by touts or hawkers on holiday can be annoying and, at times, intimidating, but don’t despair. Be polite, but firm. Look them in the eye, say, ‘Sorry, no thank you,’ smile and walk way. Avoid shaking hands, or anything that could be misconstrued as making an agreement. Most will give up at this point. But if they don’t, don’t feel guilty for ignoring them. Never lose your temper, or shout. If you’re arriving at a major tourist destination, book a hotel room and ask your hotel to pick you up from the airport.

BRIDGE June 2014

David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics

May a Defender Hesitate with Two Small Cards?

Q

I have a question for one of your Laws & Ethics experts. In a recent congress my partner, South, had to play:



♠ K Q 10 5 N W E S



♠ 8 7 6 4 2

for one loser (entries were not a problem). He led ♠2 towards dummy and LHO hesitated for a noticeable time and actually ‘fiddled’ with his cards before playing low. The ♠K was played from dummy and RHO won with the ♠A. How should my partner cope with this situation? He chose to play low to the ten which lost to the jack. Afterwards, he said, ‘What else could LHO be thinking about if he did not have the ace?’ LHO held ♠9-3. Your guidance would be appreciated. Kevin Jones, Wrexham.

A

It is illegal to mislead declarer by unnecessary actions and they may lead

BRIDGE June 2014

to an adjustment. This applies whether the action is deliberate or accidental and the director does not need to decide which it was. All he needs to decide is whether the action happened and whether the player might have realised it could mislead declarer. Wondering whether to play high or low from a doubleton in a position where the player knows declarer might be misled is certainly such an action and, at the very least, the player involved should get a strong lecture, possibly a penalty if he has done this before. But to get an adjustment, it also requires declarer to have been misled. What did your partner think was happening? Did he really think that, on the first lead, his opponent was considering playing the jack from J-x-x with K-Q-10-x in dummy? That is not credible, so while LHO should not be hesitating with a doubleton, declarer cannot reasonably claim to be misled. If, in a slightly different arrangement, declarer had played LHO for A-x-x and he did not have the ace, then an adjustment would follow because it is reasonable to play him for the ace when he hesitates, but it is not reasonable to play him for the jack in the actual arrangement.

So a lecture or a penalty is reasonable, but not an adjustment. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Can you offer some advice please? A club I go to has had a rule for some time that, once the movement is called, an average is given unless the declarer can claim or there are fewer than 5 cards to play. There is a new proposal that, instead of an average, the board will be treated as unplayed. I believe that unplayed should be reserved for three situations: when the board cannot be physically started (lights fail, someone taken ill etc), when there is a sit-out, or when the TD calls on the last round, ‘play only the first board of the set.’ Bob Parker by email.

A

Both the current and the proposed rule are completely illegal and totally unnecessary. Once a board is started, it is not permitted for the director to stop it. In practical terms, while the law might be slightly

different, it is generally accepted that this means once the first call is made. In a normal club, with a competent director, he moves the room when between a quarter and a third of tables are still playing. It is perfectly normal, therefore, for tables to keep playing the last board for a few minutes after the round is called. Taking boards away is very upsetting for players. You reach a perfectly good 6♣ contract and you are just starting to play when the director takes it away from you. Why were you late? Because, on the previous board, declarer, with nine perfectly good top tricks, played them out very slowly. What about delaying the room? Moving when boards are still being played is faster than waiting for everyone to finish and leads to less waiting time and happier players. So both your current arrangement and your proposed arrangement delay the room unnecessarily and upset players unnecessarily and both are illegal. It is true that marking the board unplayed, instead of average, is a further illegality. It is easier to win if you play fewer boards, so this provides an incentive to play slowly.

Page 31

Ask David continued

Q

Last night, we had six tables – a Mitchell with four boards a round. Things were moving well. A maximum of 25 minutes was allowed per round, but we were playing faster than this and were finishing the play of the twentieth board (and had enjoyed a 10 minute coffee break) after two hours and 20 minutes. One table – not slow usually – had only just started their final hand. We had plenty of time and in normal circumstances, I would have allowed them a little more time and then moved the boards and players when they had about 6-8 cards left to play. (If they had not started, I would have awarded an average and moved them along). A member indicated to me that we should all move. I said I wanted to give a couple more minutes as it was still early and we had plenty of time. I was surprised then to find that he had organised boards be-

ing moved and people were changing tables. I told him that as director this was my decision. He told me that if I had been on a director’s course – which I have – I would know that it was my responsibility to ensure that players enjoyed their game and he couldn’t do this if he was waiting for a move. This is not the first time he has done this and two other directors have been over-ridden by him. As it was, play during the whole session took only 145 minutes plus coffee time. If you have a chance, I would be grateful for guidance please. Pat Maycock by email.

A

It is quite normal to move when there are tables in play rather than to wait for them. So it could be argued that he may have a point. However, he is way out of line in his actions. While it is not unreasonable for him to indicate to you that he thinks it ought to be done differently, he has no right to move the room and to do so was completely unacceptable. If he does it again, you should issue him a disciplinary penalty of 20% of a top.

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Page 32

Of course, it is true that helping people to enjoy themselves is part of the job. But different people have different wants and it is the director’s job to decide between them. It is time someone told him this.

so they are definitely and intentionally penalised for not playing to time and why not? If you do not give a pair Average Plus when they are not at fault, you are illegally taking a chance away from them to improve their score. ♣♦♥♠

♣♦♥♠

Q

Could you please explain how boards unplayed due to insufficient time should be scored? I know some directors give averages and others give not played. If the board is treated as not played, then the percentage for both pairs would be calculated using only the actual boards they played. Giving them an average introduces an artificial score for a board they did not play. Name and Address Supplied.

A

There are two answers to this. First, giving not played is illegal. It is like deciding that, if someone leads out of turn, you will apply the penalties only if the director feels like it: perhaps he will not penalise people he likes. Second, it is easier to get big scores if you play fewer boards. So, if you give not played, then pairs who want to win should deliberately play slowly so they lose boards and increase their winning chances. A pair who loses a board where they are not at fault gets Average Plus, the better of 60% or their session score, so they are never penalised by following the laws. Only pairs partly at fault get Average and if that decreases their score then that is a penalty for being slow. If they are completely at fault they get Average Minus, the worse of 40% or their session score,

Q

If a playing director is called away to resolve an issue at another table and as a result there is not enough time to play a board at his table, how should this board be scored? Trevor Hobson by email.

A

This has been discussed many times, but agreement has never been reached. The opponents get Average Plus, that is clear, but some directors give themselves Average, some give themselves Average Plus. An argument can be made both ways. I take Average myself. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Declarer called for a card from dummy and ruffed low in hand before his RHO played. His RHO then played a higher trump. What is the ruling on this? Would the ruling be different if a defender had prematurely played a card and his RHO then played? Graham Lavender by email.

A

The cards they have played stands. If they want to tell their opponents what card they are going to play that is their choice and they may not change it. The ruling is the same for declarer or dummy.

BRIDGE June 2014

Ask David continued

Q

I am confused. Recently, my opponent revoked and I was told that because he had won the trick it was a two trick revoke, but we were only given one trick. Is this right? Jackie Smith, Blue Jackets BC.

A

The revoke Laws often seem quite complicated and it is probably easiest if directors and players realise there are really two basic revokes. If a player wins a trick by revoking, ie he ruffs when he could have followed suit, it is called a ‘Two trick revoke’. If he revokes but does not win the revoke trick that is called a ‘One trick revoke’. But that does not mean the opposition always get two tricks for the first type and one trick for the second type. What it means is that there is the potential for two penalty tricks with the first type, but only one with the second. Why do I say the potential? Because tricks are transferred only if they are the revoke or later, so if a player wins a trick by revoking and his side win no more tricks, only one trick is transferred. Similarly, no tricks are transferred in a ‘One trick revoke’ if the revoking side win neither the revoke trick nor a subsequent one. ♣♦♥♠

Q

After the sequence:

West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT* Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ All Pass *Alerted as forcing

BRIDGE June 2014

It transpired that the 2♣ bid was made on a three card suit which is part of the Forcing 1NT system but I am sure this is not widely known, therefore is ‘unexpected’. I think I was entitled to an explanation of the two club bid. What is your opinion? Graham Clements by email.

A

The reasons for alerting are twofold: you alert if either it is not natural or it has a potentially unexpected meaning. When playing five-card majors and a forcing no-trump, a 2♣ rebid after a forcing no-trump response shows three or more cards: this is natural but unexpected so is alertable. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At a local club duplicate, I overcalled with 2♠, weak, holding:



♠ J 7 5 4 3 2 ♥ 9 5 ♦ 9 2 ♣ 10 8 2

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JULY 3 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE ROTARY CLUB. Outlane Golf Club. Lunch with afternoon tea & biscuits. 12 for 12.30pm. £48.00 per table. Rtn Sam Smith ( 01924 492540 samuelsmith396 @btinternet.com 10 MY SIGHT (formerly Nottingham Society for the Blind) Grange Hall, Radcliffe-on-Trent. 1-5pm. £10 (includes afternoon tea). Diana Jackson ( 0115 7529371 11 GREAT BARFORD CHURCH Village Hall, Great Barford. 10.00 for 10.30am. £13.50. Derek Fordham ( 01234 870324

4 HUDDERSFIELD PENNINE ROTARY CLUB Outlane Golf Club. Lunch with afternoon tea. 12 for 12.30pm. £48.00 per table. Rtn Sam Smith ( 01924 492540 samuelsmith396 @btinternet.com 12 ST MARY’S CHURCH Eaton Socon, St Neots. 10.00 for 10.30am. £13.50. Malcolm Howarth ( 01480 212910

OCTOBER 3 RNLI. Salwarpe Village Hall, Droitwich, WR9 0AH. 10.30 for 11am. £12 including buffet lunch. Pam Main ( 01905 381395 3 ST ANDREWS CHURCH Mandeville Hall, Kimbolton, Cambs. 10.00 for 10.30am. £14.00. Mavis Campion ( 01480 860477

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AUGUST After the event, the opponents said I had psyched and they would put it in the book next time. How often can one psyche before it becomes part of the system? What is the penalty for a repeat offender? Huw Jones by email.

A

Psyching is legal, so there is no question of an offender because no offence has been committed. Your opponent who said, ‘it would be put in the book next time,’ is

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E-mail your charity events: [email protected]

Page 33

Clifton Park Hotel St Annes on Sea FY8 1HN

£50 OFF

Now £149* JUST BRIDGE 27-29 June Kay Adamson 11-13 July TBA 8-10 August Kay Adamson

Ask David continued

merely being offensive and trying to gain a psychological advantage. Assuming you are playing weak jump overcalls, your bid is merely rather weak, probably better described as a deviation not a psyche. If you want to bid 2♠ on it every time, then just make it part of your system and describe your jump overcalls as, ‘weak or very weak.’ Some clubs do keep a psyche book. If so, then it is up to your opponent to draw the director’s attention to it and he will decide whether to put it in the book or not. I would not bother with this one. Frequency of psyching is difficult to judge, but really does not matter on minor deviations like this. But if partner expects it, then it has become part of your system and must be disclosed. ♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner and I open 1NT with a possible 5-card major and have been told that we should alert this. Is this so? Janet Nicolas by email.

A

No, a 1NT that may contain a five-card major is not alertable. You should merely announce the range.

A

The director must be called. He will tell your partner not to interfere in future: dummy is not allowed to call attention to an irregularity that has occurred. Once he has been called, he will deal with it by offering your opponents the chance to accept the lead from the wrong hand. If they do not do so, then the card is replaced and you may lead any card from the correct hand and play any legal card from the other hand after the next opponent has played. ♣♦♥♠

Q

The majority of players at my club select dummy’s cards by touching them. I find this irritating. Is there a case for requesting that they change such behaviour? Brian Moakes, Paraparaumu, New Zealand.

A

Certainly: it is illegal, and has been for many years, except at rubber bridge. Since it is illegal, it is reasonable to ask people to follow the rules. The only times declarer is allowed to touch dummy’s cards at duplicate is either if dummy is not present, being outside having a smoke, getting a drink, finding out the rugby scores or whatever; or if dummy has a medical problem, for example if dummy is deaf or disabled in some way.

♣♦♥♠

Full Board No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8. *call for terms and conditions

Page 34

Q

I called for a card from dummy. Dummy then pointed out that I should have led from my hand. How is this situation resolved? John Dunbar by email.

♣♦♥♠

Q

Playing duplicate, my partner and I, E/W, reached 5♠ doubled. We made eleven tricks but on filling in the traveller, it appeared that N/S on

the first table had bid and made 5♦. This was impossible because, as well as having spades, we also had most of the diamonds. We called the director who found that N/S on the first table had spent time discussing the hands and then swapped N/S and E/W hands when putting them back in the board. The director decided to put the cards back to how they were at the start, giving both pairs at our table Average Plus. At the end, we found that we had received seven matchpoints and the offending pair a top with twelve. It does not seem right that the offending pair received a top while my partner and I (playing in a superior and higher-scoring contract) were penalised. As they were handdealt hands, would it have been fairer to keep the hands as we had played them for the remainder of the play and penalise N/S on the first table? Ken Goddard, Sunderland.

A

There is no set way to correct this, though some would argue that people should play the board as originally dealt, which is what your director decided. Once he had decided this, he has no option but to give you Average Plus; he has to cancel the result you obtained on a board that nobody else played. Note that it is normal for the director to issue procedural penalties to both pairs at the offending table and I am surprised if he did not.

BRIDGE June 2014

Ask David continued

Q

We were playing five-card majors and a prepared club when I, West, held:



♠ Q J 7 ♥ K 10 9 7 3 ♦ K 7 ♣ J 10 6

West North East South 1♣ 1♥ Dbl

North asked whether the double was for penalty or take-out; East replied, ‘not sure.’ North called the director, who said, without looking at any of the hands, ‘play on and I will decide after the play.’ Eventually, North decided to pass. 1♥ doubled went three down. This gave us 800. North said that she would have bid (she had five spades but no hearts) had she known my double was for penalties. She did not call the director back, but did walk away at the end of the round to speak to the director. This did not seem to be correct procedure. The director came back to the table, turning down the chance to see my hand and spoke privately with South. He then awarded an average to both sides. Anthony Rogers, Leigh on Sea.

A

The procedure by the director was definitely incorrect and his ruling illegal. However, that does not

BRIDGE June 2014

mean that a ruling should have gone in your favour. Let us consider the procedure. When your partner said he was not sure, the director should have sent him away from the table and asked you if you had an agreement. If you had said the agreement was penalty, there would have been no further problem: your LHO could do whatever she liked. If you felt there was no agreement, then you would have said so and the matter would have been dealt with at the end of the hand. At least your director did one thing right: he did not look at the hands at the time, which would be very poor practice indeed. Having not sorted the matter out then, when we got to the end of the hand, the director should not have been taking evidence without all four of you present. When the player spoke to him privately, he should have brought the player back to the table and listened to him in front of you and then asked you for your comments. He made his ruling without hearing all the facts, ie anything the remaining three of you wished to say and without knowing whether the facts were correct. One of the main questions he should have asked your partner is, ‘If you did not know what the double meant, why pass?’ He then gave an illegal ruling of Average. I am afraid this was a very poor ruling by the director. He should have found out all the facts, considered and consulted and then either ruled there was no misinformation and

let the score stand, or that there was misinformation and adjusted to a new score, or, more usually, a group of likely scores with a weighting to each. As to the ruling, I cannot be sure what was right without seeing the hands and talking to the players. It is unusual for people not to have an agreement over a double of an overcall. Most people play it as take-out; any other meaning requires an alert. In this instance, it seems likely that the correct explanation was either showing hearts or no agreement, with the former more likely in my view. If so, the director should adjust the score on the basis that North would have bid her spades. Only if there was no agreement would the result stand.

RUBBER / CHICAGO 2014

The Olde Barn Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

♣♦♥♠

Q

If a player makes a mistake in his/her call, such as calling 1♦ when they meant 1♣, are they obliged to say, at any time, that they made a mistake? It seems to me that if they say anything, it constitutes unauthorised information. Derek Allum, Tring, Herts.

A

No, you do not have to change an inadvertent designation. However, if you do, unauthorised information is not involved. If you mean to bid 1♣, bid 1♦ by accident and then change it to 1♣, partner knows nothing about your hand except that you ■ have a 1♣ bid.

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

29-31 August Hosted by Diana Holland

£169 Full Board No Single Supplement

Booking Form on page 8.

Page 35

Things You Should Know by Andrew Kambites

About Splinter Bids H

onour cards opposite a shortage in a suit contract are often wasted.

The concept of wasted values is very important in hand evaluation. Suppose spades are trumps and you have a singleton diamond. You can win the second diamond trick by ruffing. Suppose your partner also has the ♦K-Q. He can win the second diamond trick with the ♦K. Both of you can win the second diamond trick. In most cases, it would be far more helpful if your singleton could do something that your partner couldn’t do. When both partners can win a trick in this way, we say there are wasted values. With the sight of both hands, what contract would you choose for Layouts A and B?

♣K-Q-J but the singleton club in your hand means it doesn’t matter. You are missing all the diamond honours but dummy’s singleton diamond leaves you with just one diamond loser. You have an excellent trump fit: in particular, you have enough trumps in dummy to take care of all your diamond losers. With Layout B, you would not want to venture beyond 4♠. Comparing these two layouts, you will see that in Layout A West’s ♥KQ-5 are excellent cards, but in Layout B West’s ♦K-Q-5 are wasted opposite a singleton. Wouldn’t it be nice if there was some method of bidding which enabled West to know which singleton East has? Read on. ♣♦♥♠





Layout A ♠ A K 8 6 5 4 ♥ K Q 5 N W E ♦ 7 6 3 S ♣ 7

Layout B ♠ A K 8 6 5 4 ♥ 7 6 3 N W E ♦ K Q 5 S ♣ 7

♠ Q 10 9 7 ♥ A J 8 4 ♦ 2 ♣ A 8 4 3

♠ Q 10 9 7 ♥ A J 8 4 ♦ 2 ♣ A 8 4 3

With Layout A, 6♠ is trivial. It is worth understanding the ingredients that make a slam good with just 23 points. You have no wasted honour cards. In particular, you are missing the Page 36

A

double jump in an unbid suit can be conventionally played as a splinter bid, showing four-card support for partner’s last bid suit, the high-card values for game (11+ HCP) and a singleton (or possibly void) in the suit bid. The word splinter suggests something narrow; a singleton seems to fit the bill. Auction C Auction D West East West East 1♠ 3♣ 1♠ 4♣

We must start by being absolutely sure when a bid is a splinter. In Auction C, 3♣ is a single jump, a

natural jump shift, not a splinter. In Auction D, 4♣ is a double jump. It is a splinter, showing 11+ HCP, 4+ spades, 6-7 losers and a singleton club. Note that this means that you cannot play 4♣ as Gerber as well in this sequence. There are two sequences that you need to be particularly aware of: 1♥3♠ and 1♠-4♥. Both are double jumps and should be played as splinters, however both sound natural and late at night your concentration may waver. You don’t really need these bids as pre-empts. Pre-empts are most effective before your side has bid. Suppose partner opens 1♥ and you have the ‘perfect’ spade pre-empt with ♠K-Q-J-9-4-3-2 and nothing else. Why not start with 1♠? You have the highest ranking suit. Opponents are unlikely to be able to outbid you. Equally, suppose partner opens 1♠ and you are convinced you want to play in 4♥. You can easily start with 2♥ and then bid 4♥ next time. Now, I return to Layouts A and B.

Layout A ♠ A K 8 6 5 4 ♥ K Q 5 N W E ♦ 7 6 3 S ♣ 7

♠ Q 10 9 7 ♥ A J 8 4 ♦ 2 ♣ A 8 4 3



Layout B ♠ A K 8 6 5 4 ♥ 7 6 3 N W E ♦ K Q 5 S ♣ 7

♠ Q 10 9 7 ♥ A J 8 4 ♦ 2 ♣ A 8 4 3

BRIDGE June 2014

About Splinter Bids continued

Auction E Auction F West East West East 1♠ 4♦1 1♠ 4♦ 4NT2 5♥3 4♠5 6♠4

Layout A should be bid with Auction E. 1 4♦ shows 11+ HCP, 4+ spades, 6-7 losers and a singleton diamond. 2 Key Card Blackwood. ♦7-6-3 opposite a singleton implies no wasted diamond values. If East has two key cards, West can almost count 12 tricks. 3 Two key cards. 4 Excellent. A perfect slam on relatively few points. Layout B should be bid with Auction F. 5 ♦ K Q 5 opposite a singleton diamond is likely to be wasted. No interest in a slam. ♣♦♥♠

O

pener can splinter after partner’s response.

In Layouts G and H, West’s 4♦ rebid is a double jump, a splinter bid.

Layout G ♠ K Q 5 3 ♥ A Q 10 8 7 N W E ♦ 2 S ♣ A Q 6

♠ A 10 7 6 4 2 ♥ K 4 ♦ 9 6 5 3 ♣ 2

West East 1♥ 1♠ 4♦1 4NT2 5♠3 6♠

16+ HCP (you need enough to bid game opposite partner’s possible 6 HCP), 4+ spades, 4-5 losers and a singleton diamond. 2 Key Card Blackwood. East doesn’t have many points but he knows of a 10-card spade fit and no diamond wastage. If partner has three key cards slam should be excellent. 3 Three key cards: the ♠K, ♥A and ♣A.



Layout H ♠ K Q 5 3 ♥ A Q 10 8 7 N W E ♦ 2 S ♣ A Q 6

♠ A 10 7 6 4 2 ♥ 9 6 5 ♦ K Q 3 ♣ 2

West East 1♥ 1♠ 4♦ 4♠4 End 4 East has more points than in Layout G but they are not the right points for slam. The ♦K-Q opposite a singleton are unlikely to be of any use.

Of course, if opener raises responder to game without a splinter you can deduce a lot. A sequence like 1♦1♠-4♠ is certainly not pre-emptive. Opponents have shown no inclination to bid at a cheap level, they are highly unlikely to venture in over, for example 3♠. So opener has enough high cards for game but didn’t splinter. He is likely to be 4-2-5-2 shape. ♣♦♥♠

I

nitially agreeing partner’s minor suit with a splinter can lead to no-trumps if opener can tell there are wasted values. If you agree partner’s major suit with a splinter, it would be very unusual for the major not to be trumps but look at this hand.



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

♠ 3 ♥ A J 7 ♦ K 10 9 8 3 ♣ A J 7 5

1

BRIDGE June 2014

West East 1♦ 3♠1 3NT2 End3

Game values in diamonds. Singleton spade. 2 If we play in diamonds, West’s ♠K-Q10 seem wasted opposite East’s singleton spade. Maybe it makes sense to try for the nine trick game. Note that West 1

does not worry too much about his weak hearts and clubs. East has shown high card game values, his points must be somewhere. Where else can they be except in hearts and clubs? 3 Partner knows about my singleton spade. If he judges 3NT is best, who am I to argue? Note that, on a heart lead, 5♦ has little chance.

T

here are a number of issues which divide expert opinion.

a) Should you splinter with a hand that is too strong to raise just to game and then bid on over partner’s sign off to show extra strength? b) Should you splinter with a void? c) Should you splinter with a singleton honour? If these issues were clearcut, they wouldn’t generate so much hot air. I will not express an opinion because it probably depends on the rest of your system. For example, if you play Jacoby raises of a major suit, you may have other ways of expressing these hands. You can get along perfectly well without deciding these issues because they are comparatively infrequent. ♣♦♥♠

S

plinters should be alerted, even if they are above 3NT, if they occur on the first round of bidding.

Thus 1♠-4♦ needs alerting, 1♣-1♠4♦ does not, but 1♣-1♥-3♠ does need alerting (artificial and below 3NT). ♣♦♥♠

D

on’t pass a splinter bid.

Am I being serious? Yes. On more than one occasion at international level, the following sequence has occurred: 1♠-4♦-Pass. Did opener forget he was playing splinters? No, he agonised about whether to sign off in 4♠ or try for a slam, decided to sign off and instead he passed! ■ Page 37

Things You Should Know About Splinters Quiz by Andrew Kambites (Answers on page 41) 1 Your partner opens 1♥. What do you respond with hands A to D?



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

Hand C Hand D ♠ 2 ♠ A ♥ A Q 6 2 ♥ A Q 6 2 ♦ K Q 3 2 ♦ K Q 3 2 ♣ J 10 7 6 ♣ Q 10 7 4

2 You are West. What is your next bid with hands E to H? West East 1♥ 4♦* ?



Hand E Hand F ♠ J 8 7 ♠ 2 ♥ A Q 6 5 ♥ A K 8 7 5 4 ♦ K Q 6 ♦ 9 8 7 6 ♣ K J 7 ♣ A Q

Hand G Hand H ♠ 2 ♠ 3 2 ♥ A 10 9 8 7 6 ♥ A 10 9 8 7 6 ♦ A 9 8 6 ♦ K Q 8 ♣ A Q ♣ A J

3 You are West. What is your next bid with hands J to M? West East 1♦ 1♠ ?



Hand J Hand K ♠ 2 ♠ A Q 10 9 ♥ A J 10 ♥ A J 8 ♦ A K J 7 5 ♦ A K J 7 5 ♣ A Q 10 9 ♣ 2

Hand L Hand M ♠ A Q 10 9 ♠ A Q 10 9 2 ♥ A J ♥ 9 ♦ A K J 7 5 ♦ A K 7 5 4 3 ♣ 9 2 ♣ 2

4 You are East. What is your next bid with hands N to R?

West East

1♦ 1♠ 4♣ ?



Page 38

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

Hand Q Hand R ♠ A 8 7 6 5 4 ♠ K Q 4 3 2 ♥ 7 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ 6 ♦ 8 7 ♣ A 5 4 3 2 ♣ K Q 8

BRIDGE June 2014

Answers to Julian Pottage’s  Defence Quiz on page 30 1. ♠ A 10 5 ♥ 10 5 ♦ A Q 4 ♣ Q J 10 3 2 ♠ K Q J 8 N ♥ K J 9 6 W E ♦ 7 6 5 S ♣ K 4 ♠ 9 6 4 ♥ A Q 7 3 ♦ K 10 2 ♣ A 7 5

West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 1NT1 Pass 3NT All Pass 1 15-17 ♠ 7 3 2 ♥ 8 4 2 ♦ J 9 8 3 ♣ 9 8 6

West North East Pass 3NT All Pass 1 12-14

South 1NT1

You lead the ♠K, which holds, partner playing the ♠2. How do you continue? Playing matchpoints, the right continuation should be clear. Carry on with high spades to drive out the ace. This is likely to give your side four tricks and a reasonable score. Although a count of points tells you partner just has room to hold the ♥Q, in which case a heart switch could beat the contract, this is an unlikely situation. A desperate heart switch is more likely to allow one or more overtricks, especially since declarer might have won the first trick if fearful of a heart switch.

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

BRIDGE June 2014

♠ J 9 4 3 2 ♥ 10 7 4 ♦ 9 3 ♣ 8 6 4

You lead the ♣A, on which partner plays the ♣4 (low to discourage, high to encourage). How do you continue? Partner’s discouraging ♣4 tells you that declarer holds the ♣Q, in which case playing another club will concede an immediate trick. Nevertheless, at matchpoints, this is what you should do (♣K then ♣J). By doing so, you can be sure of stopping any overtricks. Again, while point count makes it just possible to find the ♥Q opposite, this might be too little to beat the contract. Partner would also need the right shape, two diamonds as well as five spades, to stop declarer from making nine easy tricks. Trying to beat the contract with a passive switch is far more likely to concede an overtrick than defeat the contract.

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

♠ Q 4 ♥ 8 5 4 ♦ J 9 8 4 3 ♣ J 8 2

West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♣A, on which partner plays the ♣2 (low discourages). How do you continue? Since you can see that any trump

finesse is working for declarer, you need to get busy. Dummy’s heart suit will surely take care of declarer’s club losers. Although you would prefer the next club lead to come from the other side of the table, if you are playing matchpoints you cannot afford to risk underleading your ♦A. Declarer, who has shown opening values, probably holds the ♦K, in which case twelve tricks and a bottom (for your side) will result. Just cash the ♣K and ♦A. You still have some chance of beating the contract if partner has the ♠A or ♣Q-x or a singleton club.

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

West Pass All Pass

♠ Q 4 ♥ 8 5 4 ♦ K 10 5 4 3 ♣ J 8 2

North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ 2♠ Pass 4♠

You lead the ♦7, covered by the ♦J, ♦K and ♦A. Declarer crosses to the ♥A and runs the ♠10. Having won, what do you do? As on the previous deal, dummy’s heart suit poses a threat. Prospects are bleaker this time because the diamond finesse has already worked for declarer and it looks as if a trump finesse is working too. At matchpoints, you should simply cash the ♣A and continue the suit just in case partner holds the ♣K. If you lead a low club before the ♣A, playing partner for ♣K-x (and the ♠J or the ♠Q with which to overruff), you risk ■ losing your ♣A.

Page 39

2014 with Jeremy Dhondy, Chairman of the EBU

June 2014: No News is Good News

L

ast time, I spoke about the EBU’s VAT claim getting bridge some publicity. Although we didn’t win in the first appeal, nonetheless the majority of publicity was good. Publicity for bridge is hard to achieve, certainly at national level but, of course, bad news often gives an impetus to our media. I remember bridge making the news programme (Tonight) after the six o’clock news back in 1965. Cliff Michelmore (remember him) introduced an item featuring an allegation of cheating in the World Championships in Buenos Aires. The accusation led to hearings by the World Bridge Federation, an enquiry in England and the consequences reverberated for some time. A bit later, screens were introduced in international events. At first, these were only on top of the bridge table but some optimistic foot tapping by one pair in a World Championship led to them going down to the floor after this. There are two things that come to mind about all this. The first is that it is hard to stop cheating if people are determined enough. In other sports, there is often the incentive of a lot of money. Winning an Olympic title may bring a huge amount in endorsements so some illegal drug taking may be thought to be worth the risk. In bridge, that is almost never the case, simply because there is little serious prize money. However, there is no accounting for people’s pride and desire to show how good they are even if the route they take is not an honest one. Many of us will say, ‘What is the point?’ If you win or seek to win by dishonest means, then surely that takes away the thrill of winning. Perhaps it does for most of us but there are enough cases of dubious conduct to show that it is not the case for everyone. The media had a strong interest in Page 40

events in last year’s World Championship in Bali, where there was an allegation of cheating by a pair of German Seniors. It led to a hearing and a finding of guilt earlier this year. An appeal is possible. The alleged code was based on a series of coughs relating to suit shortages and likely successful leads. This might strike some as a bit crude, but it seemed to have worked for a while. The biggest problem with this sort of occurrence is the lack of trust that follows. No athletics performance can ever be regarded as honest again, no cricket match is free from tainting by illegal betting and so it goes on. They’ve won at the club five weeks running so they must be cheating! In bridge, such allegations are not confined to international events and the EBU has a Laws & Ethics Committee which occasionally has to concern itself with allegations of unfair play at club level. Sometimes, the problem can be that people are too quick to accuse. A lucky lead, dropping a singleton king, bidding an extraordinary slam are not prima facie evidence of unfair conduct. They could be indicators, of course, but only as part of a pattern. One ought to consider the role of pulling the wrong card, making a poor bid which works and taking an anti percentage line which, by the very nature of anti percentage lines, will work sometimes. Making a false allegation can be very damaging for the person accused and it also brings the whole game into disrepute. However, there are times when some investigation needs to happen. Just as the burglar who takes a bag marked ‘swag’ to his burglaries is adding to the chances of being caught so is the potential cheat who chooses a poor method. You often hear about how good Bridgemates are at getting the scores out accurately and quickly, but in my time on the Laws

and Ethics Committee, the use of such machines would have avoided at least two cheating cases where the chosen method was alteration of travellers. The likely success of such methods relies, of course, on players not checking the scores and when they are all available on the web, checking becomes both easier and more likely. I can also think of two cases when the chosen method was to insert a fixed hand into a set in a knock out match. Of course, you and I would not do this, but if we did, we would choose a hand where we knew where one or two cards were. Both cheats caught, that I know about, chose to insert hands where they could play an obscure squeeze to demonstrate how clever they were. Last year, the EBU ran a trial online knock-out tournament. The reason for having online knock-out tournaments is that, if difficulties can be overcome, players may find this more attractive than travelling to a remote part of the country on a wet Thursday evening. Just as there are opportunities for foul play face to face there are also opportunities, albeit different ones, online. Having two computers is the most likely one. You can overcome this to some extent by having East and South and also North and West with a Skype connection and camera, but this becomes technologically daunting for many. Having said this, the 16 teams who played in the online tournament reported a pleasant game with no problems other than a few minor technical ones and the option of playing online is likely to come to one or two knock-out tournaments this year. I stress ‘option’. It will not be compulsory. If you have constructive comment or feedback on these or other topics, I will be pleased to hear from you at [email protected]. ■ BRIDGE June 2014

Answers to Splinters Quiz on page 38 1 Your partner opens 1♥. What do you respond with hands A to D?



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



Hand C Hand D ♠ 2 ♠ A ♥ A Q 6 2 ♥ A Q 6 2 ♦ K Q 3 2 ♦ K Q 3 2 ♣ J 10 7 6 ♣ Q 10 7 4

Hand A: 4♥. Pre-emptive. Get the bidding high before opponents introduce the spades. Hand B: 4♦*. A double jump and typical splinter: 4-card heart support. 12 HCP, six losers and a singleton diamond. Hand C: 3♠*. It sounds natural, but 3♠ is a double jump and shows a high-card raise to 4♥ with a singleton spade. Hand D: 2♣. Too strong for a splinter. I would just wait to hear partner’s rebid. 2 You are West. What is your next bid with hands E to H? West East 1♥ 4♦* ?



Hand E Hand F ♠ J 8 7 ♠ 2 ♥ A Q 6 5 ♥ A K 8 7 5 4 ♦ K Q 6 ♦ 9 8 7 6 ♣ K J 7 ♣ A Q



Hand G Hand H ♠ 2 ♠ 3 2 ♥ A 10 9 8 7 6 ♥ A 10 9 8 7 6 ♦ A 9 8 6 ♦ K Q 8 ♣ A Q ♣ A J

Partner has shown 4+ hearts, 11-15 HCP, 6-7 losers and a singleton diamond.

BRIDGE June 2014

Hand E: 4♥. You have 16 points with no shape, giving you a combined 2830. Your diamond honours may well be wasted opposite his singleton. Hand F: 4NT, Key Card Blackwood. You have just 13 points but the hands fit beautifully. You have no wasted values in diamonds and a 10+ card trump fit, allowing you to ruff at least two diamonds in dummy with the expected 2-1 trump break. If partner has one of the two missing key cards, you can be confident of making 6♥. Hand G: 4NT, Key Card Blackwood. Again, the hands fit well. Note that your ♦A is not wasted opposite a singleton diamond: it is secondary honours (K, Q, J) that are wasted. Hand H: 4♥. Ignore the wasted ♦K-Q and you have only nine points. 3 You are West. What is your next bid with hands J to M? West East 1♦ 1♠ ?



Hand J Hand K ♠ 2 ♠ A Q 10 9 ♥ A J 10 ♥ A J 8 ♦ A K J 7 5 ♦ A K J 7 5 ♣ A Q 10 9 ♣ 2



Hand L Hand M ♠ A Q 10 9 ♠ A Q 10 9 2 ♥ A J ♥ 9 ♦ A K J 7 5 ♦ A K 7 5 4 3 ♣ 9 2 ♣ 2

Hand J: 3♣. The single jump is a game forcing jump shift, showing clubs. Hand K: 4♣. The double jump is a splinter bid agreeing spades. five losers (really better than that with three aces, only one queen and useful intermediates) and a singleton club. Hand L: 4♠. Often, you will have a 4-25-2 shape if you have enough for 4♠ but cannot splinter. Hand M: 4♠. No bid describes this hand well. With only four losers (one in each

suit) you are worth 4♠ but the danger of splintering is that partner will think you have more high card points. However, I don’t strongly object to 4♣. 4 You are East. What is your next bid with hands N to R? West East 1♦ 1♠ 4♣ ?

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



Hand Q Hand R ♠ A 8 7 6 5 4 ♠ K Q 4 3 2 ♥ 7 ♥ A Q 6 ♦ 6 ♦ 8 7 ♣ A 5 4 3 2 ♣ K Q 8

Partner’s splinter shows 4-card spade support, four or five losers and a singleton club. Hand N: 4♠. The ♣K Q are not particularly useful opposite a singleton. Hand P: 4NT. You have a 9+-card spade fit and no wasted values in clubs. Despite your two losing diamonds, it is reasonable to bid Key Card Blackwood; it is not possible for partner to have enough for his splinter unless he has the ♦A or ♦K. This sort of hand is often referred to as a ’30 point pack’, meaning that the ten missing points in clubs will cost you only one trick. Your side must surely have virtually all of the remaining 30 points. Hand Q: 4NT. Key Card Blackwood. You may easily find out enough to guarantee 13 tricks. Hand R: 4NT. Key Card Blackwood. Of course, the ♣K-Q may be wasted, but you have enough strength outside. Remember that your 1♠ response promised only 6 HCP, opposite which your partner went for game – you have 10 more points. You will notice that without the ♣K-Q, you have Hand P. Hence, you can ■ carry on looking for slam.

Page 41

We Are Survivors (For those born Before 1940 . . .) We were born before television, before penicillin, polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, videos and the pill. We were before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens, before dish-washers, tumble driers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothes . . . and before man walked on the moon. We got married first and then lived together (how quaint can you be?). We thought ‘fast food’ was what you ate in Lent, a ‘Big Mac’ was an oversized raincoat and ‘crumpet’ we had for tea. We existed before house husbands, computer dating and sheltered accommodation was where you waited for a bus. We were before day care centres, group homes and disposable nappies. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, artificial hearts, word processors, or young men wearing earrings. For us ‘time sharing’ meant togetherness, a ‘chip’ was a piece of wood or fried potato, ‘hard­ware’ meant nuts and bolts and ‘software’ wasn’t a word. Before 1940 ‘Made in Japan’ meant junk, the term ‘making out’ referred to how you did in your exams, ‘stud’ was something that fastened a collar to a shirt and ‘going all the way’ meant staying on a double-decker bus to the terminus. In our day, cigarette smoking was ‘fashionable’, ‘grass’ was mown, ‘coke’ was kept in the coalhouse, a ‘joint’ was a piece of meat you ate on Sundays and ‘pot’ was something you cooked in. ‘Rock Music’ was a fond mother’s lullaby, ‘Eldorado’ was an icecream, a ‘gay person’ was the life and soul of the party, while ‘aids’ just meant beauty treatment or help for someone in trouble. We who were born before 1940 must be a hardy bunch when you think of the way in which the world has changed and the adjustments we have had to make. No wonder there is a generation gap today . . . BUT

By the grace of God . . . we have survived! Printed in the UK on a 100% cotton tea-towel £7 from Art Screen Prints ( 01287 654481

Page 42

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BRIDGE June 2014

Beginners’ Bridge Corner

Mary’s Sixth Lesson by Liz Dale

‘F

or heaven’s sake, Mother, it’s only a game of cards. It can’t be that difficult for you to cancel,’ Liam said. Mary dug her heels in. These were Mary’s first nights out in two years. It would have been very awkward for her new bridge friends if she hadn’t turned up last night for their practice session. Mary seemed to be upsetting Liam and Anne quite a lot these days. Somehow, she hadn’t expected to be so involved in the childcare arrangements. Although Mary was very quiet during last night’s play, she didn’t mention the fact to Joan and the others that there had been a bit of an ‘upset’ before turning up for the practice session. Alasdair (teacher) said, ‘Today the group is going to work on developing their playing techniques so that they can reinforce the bidding strategies learnt to date.’ Good! Mary was relieved. No new bidding techniques to take on board this week. The group relaxed visibly, heaving one enormous sigh of relief. Lots of quick repartee and laughter. Mary did so enjoy coming to these Tuesday morning sessions. Alasdair, handing a crib sheet to each of the mentors, said, ‘The mentors at each table will ensure that the learners are in the right contract.’ Alasdair pointed out, ‘It is important to remember that the playing of the hands is just

BRIDGE June 2014

as important as the bidding, if not more so, and that real enjoyment of the game stems from developing your card play.’ He said, ‘You can gain an enormous feeling of satisfaction when you make a contract that seemed unlikely when dummy went down.’ So this was what they were going to work on today, in particular developing their finesse skills. Alasdair explained again, ‘Counting top tricks is the first priority of declarer after dummy has gone down and the etiquette of, ‘thank you, partner,’ observed. If you were, for example, one trick short after counting top tricks, then you could try a finesse which had a 50% chance of winning. The idea was that you assessed which card you were trying to promote and you led from the opposite side, the opponents holding a higher card in that suit. Declarer is hoping that the missing higher card is held in the hand of the second player, allowing declarer to win the trick.’ ‘So, for example, if North is dummy and declarer plays the ♣2 from dummy towards the ♣A-Q in declarer’s hand, he plays the ♣Q first. If East has the ♣K and doesn’t play it, then declarer, South, wins both the ♣Q and the ♣A as long as declarer plays the ♣Q first. If East plays the ♣K, then declarer overtakes the ♣K with the ♣A and wins with the ♣Q on the next

Better Hand Evaluation Bernard Magee Introduction

round. A successful finesse. If, however, East plays a low club, declarer, South, plays the ♣Q and West plays the ♣K, the finesse has been unsuccessful but at least there has been a 50% chance of success.’

Finesse Wins

♣ 8 5 2 N

♣ 10 4 3 W E S



♣ K J 7 6

♣ A Q 9

Finesse Loses

♣ 8 5 2 N

♣ K J 7 6 W E ♣ 10 4 3 S



♣ A Q 9

Mary could see the importance of counting top tricks and she was getting used to this in the planning of the play, but she was not too thrilled with this new finesse strategy. Mary still liked to play out her top winners. What if the finesse was unsuccessful, allowing the winning opponents to play out their winners, leaving the contract one down? Alasdair explained, ‘The contract would have gone down anyway but at least this way there was a 50% chance of success.’ Mary said, ‘Ummm.’ She would have to ■ think about this.’

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

£14 including UK postage See Mail Order Form on page 7.

Page 43

Catching Up by Sally Brock

T

he big issue since I last wrote is Briony. She went to India but was very unhappy. The slum school she went to help with in Jaipur was a disappointment. She was in the suburbs and everyone told her it was too dangerous for her to go into the city on her own. The promised internet was patchy at best and there was very little for her to do. After a week, she left and went to Jaipur itself but she was not happy on her own and, after a couple of days seeing the sights of Jaipur and then the Taj Mahal, she went on to Delhi. That was saved from disaster by a wonderful Indian family, friends of friends, who were marvellously hospitable, but they could not solve the underlying problem which was that she was unhappy travelling on her own. So she came home. She is now a lot happier and looking forward to starting work in May. Bridge-wise, the first event was our Hubert Phillips semi-final match against Phil Norman’s team from Blandford Forum. We travelled there and won the match easily. Our friends, Jeremy and Heather, have moved out of London to Blandford recently, so we took the opportunity to visit and spent an enjoyable evening catching up. We also won our second-round Crockfords match, but not quite so easily. We were a little down with eight boards to go and it all came down to this deal: Dealer East. Game All. ♠ A J 6 5 ♥ K Q 8 7 2 ♦ J 6 5 ♣ 6 ♠ Q 8 3 ♠ K 10 9 4 N ♥ A J 3 W E ♥ 10 9 6 5 ♦ 9 4 S ♦ 2 ♣ Q J 8 7 2 ♣ A K 10 4 ♠ 7 2 ♥ 4 ♦ A K Q 10 8 7 3 ♣ 9 5 3

Page 44

West North East South Pass 3NT* Pass Pass Dbl Pass Pass 4♣ Pass 4♦ Pass 5♦ All Pass

out, 1,200 was worth 44 MPs and the overtrick would not have beaten the 1,700 scored by the pair who defeated 3♠ doubled by six tricks.

My 3NT opener showed a solid minor with nothing outside. Barry, thinking I had clubs, was prepared to gamble, but not when we were doubled. When it transpired that I had diamonds, he knew it was unlikely that game was cold our way, but he thought that West might be tempted to lead an ace if she had one. That tipped the scales for him so he bid the game. West did lead the ace of hearts, giving us the game. We gained 12 IMPs, to win the match by 6. We had our last team of eight league match of the season and lost our first match in four years – to Reading A, our main rivals. They need 9 VPs from their last match, against Amersham Community Centre, to win the league and thus qualify for the regional final of the Garden Cities tournament. Our great triumph in this period was to win the Portland Pairs, the National Mixed Pairs Championship. We played at Richmond Bridge Club and put together two 67% sessions to head the field of 376 pairs. I have won this event before but it was a first for Barry. Our performance over the last two years had been rather disappointing, so it was good to win eventually. We started well. On the first board, our opponents went three down in 3NT and we scored 45 MPs out of 46. Then I made a couple of overtricks in 1NT for another 150 and 39 MPs. This was the third board (shown in the next column). It was all a bit of fun really. We pretty much knew what each other had and West was a bit silly to double. I knew Barry, South, wouldn’t have a useful high card, but that he would have five hearts (he did make a forcing pass over five clubs). West led the ace of spades, and perhaps Barry should have risked the trump finesse for the overtrick (to beat any pairs actually bidding slam), but he decided to settle for his contract. As it turned

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

West North East South 1♣ Dbl 2♣ Pass Pass Dbl Pass 2♥ 3♣ 4♣ Pass 4♥ Pass Pass 5♣ Pass Pass 5♥ Pass Pass Dbl Pass Pass Rdbl All Pass

Away from the table, life trundles on. I have instructed some more agents to try to sell the house. Let’s hope something good happens now the weather is improving. I am finding that estate agents are not very good at their job, but perhaps that is just a personal experience. They don’t seem to turn up to see me at the agreed time, they forget to tell me viewings are cancelled and as for making any positive suggestions because we haven’t had any viewers for a while – well, that’s a complete non-starter. The professional bridge agency project that I mentioned last month, is progressing apace now. The plan is to have the website finished by Easter and then test it for a couple of weeks before launching the site on the first weekend of May. As that is before the publication date of this article, I can tell you that the website to look for is www.pro-bridge.co.uk ■ BRIDGE June 2014

Seven Days by Sally Brock Wednesday Up early and off to the gym. I am not doing as much work for Bradt as I used to as they now have someone inhouse, but there is some overflow and at the moment I am working on North Korea – a truly fascinating country. So that is the main task for the rest of the day. Briony goes off to see Ben, Gemma and Hayden in their new house. Later on, I drive in to meet Nicola for supper prior to playing in the London Super League at the Young Chelsea. We play OK but nothing special. Somehow our uninspiring results combine with those of our team-mates to win by 62 IMPs. Richard Hillman and Keith Bennett have a tremendous game. This is one of their good boards: Dealer South. E/W Game. ♠ A 8 6 5 ♥ Q 8 4 2 ♦ A 8 4 ♣ Q 3 ♠ K J 10 9 7 4 ♠ 3 N ♥ 7 W E ♥ A J 9 5 3 ♦ Q 10 3 S ♦ K 9 7 5 2 ♣ J 5 4 ♣ 10 8 ♠ Q 2 ♥ K 10 6 ♦ J 6 ♣ A K 9 7 6 2

West North East South 1♣ 1♠ Dbl Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 2NT Pass 3NT All Pass

BRIDGE June 2014

West leads a spade and I make eleven tricks by finessing the ten of hearts in the ending. In the other room, the bidding is the same, but East doubles the final contract to suggest a non-spade lead (if he had wanted a spade, he could have doubled two spades). West had the ten of diamonds in his hand (maybe), but South removed the double to four clubs, which made exactly for 8 IMPs to us. Afterwards, I decide to stay at Barry’s as Briony is away. I arrive to find him asleep on the sofa – he claims that the bottle of wine he opened so he could put some in his risotto must have had a hole in it as it seems to be empty.

Thursday I have either to leave by nine or go down and feed the meter. As Barry has work to do, I leave early and am home by ten. Briony arrives home an hour or so later. At lunchtime, we have a visit from yet another estate agent who thinks he can sell the house. Everyone thinks my house is lovely and will sell easily – except anyone who is in the market for such a property. I tell him that he is welcome to give it a go provided I pay him only 1%. He tries to persuade me to let him take it on for 1.6%. I hold out. He says he will ring me tomorrow. He leaves it a couple of hours but I still hold out for 1% and get quite short with him on the phone. Five minutes later, he rings back and agrees to 1%. Ooh, that feels good! In the afternoon, I have a session with Richard and Gerry. Barry is working so Nicola plays with me

against them. However, Richard has double booked himself. He is in a business meeting, but we manage with a frequent smooth interchange between Richard and a robot. Though I think Gerry is happier with the robot who is on fine form today. I have started fasting on most days when I have no particular eating commitments out of the house (not that often). So this is a fasting day. The idea is to keep under 500 calories and actually it isn’t hard (not for the occasional day anyway). Brunch is scrambled eggs with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions and peppers. Supper is a huge mound of stir fry – mostly vegetables but with some prawns and scallops thrown in for good measure. In the evening, we finish a jigsaw we bought the other day from a charity shop. It is rather disappointing to find that there are three pieces missing.

Friday The first job of the day is to go shopping for some of the stuff we need for a dinner party I am hosting tomorrow evening. We go to our local butcher to pick up the meat I have ordered, then the supermarket for other bits and pieces. We do some odd bits of cooking and then it is off to Rickmansworth to meet a bank manager. We have had a terrible time trying to open a business account with Lloyds. It has been more than a month already and they said that if we each went to a branch with various pieces of identification, then it would only be another ten days or so. A swift phonecall to Santander Page 45

Seven Days continued

established that if all three of us turned up to this branch armed with our passports, then we would walk away with an account. So that seems the thing to do. Briony comes with me for the ride and we pop into the local Waitrose afterwards for other bits of shopping. We start off some of the cooking for tomorrow and then my friend Roz arrives for supper. We have a great evening catching up with this and that.

Saturday Tea and hot cross buns for breakfast and then Roz gets on her way. She lives on Jersey and when she is over here there are always lots of people for her to visit and chores for her to do. Briony and I then start cooking in earnest. As well as today’s dinner, we have tomorrow’s lunch. Cooking is one of the things we really enjoy doing together. Meanwhile, Barry decides to break the habit of a lifetime and wash his car. Everything is pretty much under control. It makes such a difference having Briony to help me. Our guests arrive at seven and we have a really good evening. There is a suggestion that we play some bridge after dinner but the general conversation is too absorbing for anyone to want to do that. The food goes down well and the wine flows prolifically. When everyone goes home just after midnight, I just have the energy to fill the dishwasher and then my head hits the pillow.

Sunday Although it is hardly the crack of dawn, I have to get up reasonably early to put the house to rights. Simon arrives first, then Ben with his girlfriend Dana. We all have our laptops open on the dining room table and get down to sorting out the details of the ProBridge website. At around 1pm, Paul, the web designer, arrives and we have lunch. This is all done by Briony and she has surpassed herself: as well as yesterday’s leftovers, we have chilli with jacket potatoes, guacamole Page 46

and a wonderful salad that includes roasted grapes. Then to follow she has made a rhubarb tarte tatin. When we are all too full to move, we start work again. Now is the time to discuss the design details with Paul. He leaves after a couple of hours, but there are still several things Ben, Simon and I need to iron out. Eventually, they leave at about 6.30 and Barry goes shortly thereafter. Briony and I settle down to a jigsaw and some TV, pleased to be on our own for a change.

Monday One of the very long jobs we have had to do for ProBridge is to get all the information we can on bridge clubs across the country. We are copying all those details on to the site. This is for two reasons: first, when people have agreed to play together, they need to know where they can play, so all that information needs to be available on the site in an easy-to-use way; second, we want to send information about the agency to all the bridge clubs in the hope that it will generate clients (and maybe some pros) for the site. But locating and copying all that data is a pretty long-winded and tedious affair. And Briony and I have volunteered. That is the chore for today. In the middle of the day, we have a visit from the aforementioned estate agent. He arrives (an hour and a half earlier than agreed) with a camera and we have to clear each room as he gets there so he can photograph it at its best. He is young and confident. Maybe he is the one who will sell it for us. I referred earlier to the Berks & Bucks league of eight. Well, the rules of the league are that you are allowed to play as many matches as there are and do not necessarily have to play them all for the same team. As we have missed the odd A-team match this season, when there is a desperate plea for extra players for our C team, we jump in to the rescue. A second reason for doing this is the Richard Palmer Trophy, which is awarded each year for the New Amersham player who scores most Butler IMPs in the league matches in the season. I won that in some comfort last year, but this year I am 30 IMPs short of Dee

and Peter Lindon who top the table. You might think it slightly unethical to play for the C team in the hope of a good personal score, but they have also played a match for the C team so I feel it is OK. We start off firing on all cylinders, bidding a couple of slams missed by the rest of the field. It is all going swimmingly, but the tide turns at half time. First, they bid a thin but excellent slam against us, missed by both our pairs; then I underbid rather foolishly and we miss a good slam our way. Then, there is this lead problem:



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

West North East South 2♦ Pass 2♥ Pass Pass 3♣ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣ Pass 5♣ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass

Partner’s two diamond opening is a Multi and often only a five-card suit at the prevailing favourable vulnerability. Your opponents’ auction does not sound too convincing so you decide to double. What do you lead? It’s all too easy to lead partner’s suit, isn’t it? And that’s what West does at the table. A second thought should perhaps persuade you that, as you have spades and diamonds tied up and presumably partner has hearts, then a trump lead is called for. ♠ 8 6 5 4 3 2 ♥ A 8 7 ♦ 2 ♣ K Q 9 ♠ K Q 10 9 ♠ A 7 ♥ Q 9 N ♥ J 10 6 5 4 3 W E ♦ A Q J 8 4 ♦ 9 7 5 S ♣ J 6 ♣ 8 5 ♠ J ♥ K 2 ♦ K 10 6 3 ♣ A 10 7 4 3 2

BRIDGE June 2014

Seven Days continued

Declarer wins the heart lead with the king and plays a spade. West wins the queen and plays a trump. Declarer wins in dummy, ruffs a spade, then plays a heart to the ace and ruffs another spade. Now a club to dummy and another spade ruff sets up the suit. With clubs breaking, declarer cannot be prevented from reaching dummy with a diamond ruff to make the doubled game. An initial trump lead takes an entry out prematurely. Declarer wins the lead and plays a spade. West wins and plays a second club. Declarer wins in dummy, ruffs a spade, plays a heart to the ace and ruffs another spade, but the spades are not set up and declarer has only one more dummy entry. To get out for one down, he has to cash the king of hearts and exit with a diamond, eventually endplaying West. In practice, declarer might well have gone for 500 instead of making 750 – a big swing.

Tuesday Nothing much is planned for today, so it’s a fasting day. I wait as long as I can before I have my eggs and then go off to the gym. I’m getting near the end of my book now, so exercise with more enthusiasm. In the afternoon, I continue to enter hundreds of bridge clubs into the database. Late afternoon, I have an online session with Peter – just for an hour. In the evening, after my exciting supper, Briony and I watch TV and do a jigsaw – our latest thing is to buy jigsaws from charity shops. If they are complete, we take them back and buy more. ■ BRIDGE June 2014

JUST DUPLICATE BRIDGE 13-15 June £169 The Olde Barn

31 Oct – 2 Nov £199 Elstead Hotel

27-29 June £169 The Olde Barn

7-9 November £199 Denham Grove

27-29 June £199 Clifton Park Hotel

14-16 November £199 Chatsworth Hotel

4-6 July £199 Denham Grove

Chatsworth Hotel Worthing BN11 3DU

1-3 August £169 The Olde Barn

14-16 November £199 Elstead Hotel

8-10 August £199 Clifton Park Hotel 12-14 September £169 The Olde Barn

Elstead Hotel Bournemouth BH1 3QP

Denham Grove Denham, Bucks UB9 5DU

11-13 July £169 The Olde Barn

21-23 November £199 Chatsworth Hotel

11-13 July £199 Clifton Park Hotel 18-20 July £199 Blunsdon House Hotel

Blunsdon House Hotel Blunsdon, Swindon SN26 7AS

10-12 October £199 Blunsdon House Hotel

28-30 November £199 Chatsworth Hotel 28-30 November £169 The Olde Barn

10-12 October £199 Elstead Hotel 17-19 October £169 The Olde Barn 24-26 October £199 Chatsworth Hotel The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

31 Oct – 2 Nov £169 The Olde Barn

Clifton Park Hotel St Annes on Sea FY8 1HN

Full Board – No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8. Please note there are no seminars, set hands or prizes at these events.

Page 47

BERNARD MAGEE at Denham Grove near Uxbridge, Bucks, UB9 5DG.

9-12 January 2015 £399 Friday – Monday, £369 Friday – Sunday, full board Limited places for Thursday night available. £45pp single, £65 double/twin.

Defence as Partner of the Leader

Aggressive Bidding AT PAIRS

Defence is the hardest aspect of the game, but the one that I love to teach the most: it is where most players can make great progress. You are often taught about opening leads, but what about as the leader’s partner? How do you play to trick one and then what do you do later? Should you continue with your partner’s suit or switch? I will try to give you the answers to all of these questions and more.

Forty years ago, duplicate pairs was in its infancy and you needed 13 HCP to open the bidding and rarely competed for a partscore. Now the norm is to open with 11 HCP and compete for every hand. The reason is largely because of the scoring system. -50 and -100 can score very well, when your opponents can make a contract of their own. Since going off can score well, you should bid more.

Strong Opening Bids

Take-Out Doubles

Much focus is placed on weak opening bids in the modern game which means many strong hands are hard to bid. Managing your strong bids carefully can give you great joy, particularly when you have a neat bidding sequence to a lovely slam. I will talk about your strong opening options and show you how to make the most of them.

Take-out doubles are an increasingly important aspect of duplicate bridge. I will deal with basic take-out doubles and their responses and then progress to talk about competing for every partscore. Aiming to push your opponents higher or looking to get the magic -50, which scores so well when your opponents can make a contract of their own.

Suit Establishment

Landy / Defending Against 1NT

Five-card suits (and longer) are powerful things: I will try to get across my passion for them by showing you how to develop your extra tricks through establishment. Every five-card suit merits your attention, however weak. Once you have seen the opportunities for extra tricks, you will understand why it is important to add strength on for long suits during the auction.

Competing against a 1NT opening allows you to challenge for the partscore and also disrupts your opponents’ conventions. I will talk about competing over 1NT in general and then talk about the Landy Convention, which is a relatively simple method of competing over 1NT. The weak no-trump is a powerful pre-emptive opening, so you need to try hard to overcome it.

6 seminar sessions with Bernard1

6 sessions of supervised play2

Contact Mr Bridge to book your place or for further details: ( 01483 489961 Filmed

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Not with Bernard Magee

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