140.pdf

BRIDGE Number One Hundred and Forty

August 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. Game All. ♠ A 10 8 4 N ♥ 7 6 W E ♦ A 7 6 S ♣ A 10 9 2

West North East South ?



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

West North East South Pass 1NT Pass 2♦* Pass 2♥* Pass 2NT Pass ? *Transfer to hearts



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

West North East South 3♠ ?



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

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣ Pass ?

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



West North East South 1♥ Dbl Redbl Pass Pass 1♠ Dbl Pass ?

West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦* Pass ? *Fourth suit forcing



Answers on page 6



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

Answers on page 9



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

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass ?



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

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



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

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass ? Answers on page 11



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

West North East South 2♣ 2♠ ?



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

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

12. Dealer West. N/S Game. ♠ 8 4 3 N ♥ 7 6 W E ♦ 7 S ♣ K Q J 6 5 4 3

West North East South 3♣ 3♥ 4♣ 4♥ ? Answers on page 13

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V OYAGES TO A NTIQUITY

ABTA No.Y2206

BRIDGE

Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH ( 01483 489961 [email protected] www.mrbridge.co.uk shop: www.mrbridge.co.uk/ mrbridge-shop Publsher and Managing Editor Mr Bridge Associate Editor and Bridge Consultant Bernard Magee bernardmagee @mrbridge.co.uk Cartoons & Illustrations Marguerite Lihou www.margueritelihou.co.uk Customer Services Catrina Shackleton [email protected] Technical Consultant Tony Gordon

FEATURES 1 Bidding Quiz

by Bernard Magee

5 Mr Bridge 6 Bidding Quiz Answers (1-3) by Bernard Magee 9 Bidding Quiz Answers (4-6) by Bernard Magee 11 Bidding Quiz Answers (7-9) by Bernard Magee 11 Declarer Play Quiz by David Huggett

BRIDGE August 2014

8 Bridge Event Booking Form

9 Bridge Events at Elstead Hotel 10 QPlus 11

17 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions

13 Tunisia with Mr Bridge

21 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett 22 Questions and Answers by David Stevenson 26 Bridge and Travel Tips 27 Mary’s Eighth Lesson by Liz Dale 29 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage

33 August 2014 by Jeremy Dhondy

36 The Bridge Lesson by Richard Wheen 39 Readers’ Letters 42 Catching Up by Sally Brock 43 Seven Days by Sally Brock 46 The Diaries of Wendy Wensum 47 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage

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16 Denham Grove Filming Weekend 2015

The Olde Barn Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

18 Genesis Choice Travel Insurance 20 S R Designs Leather Gifts 20 Charity Events 21 Mr Bridge Playing Cards 23 Mr Bridge Just Duplicate Bridge 23 2014 Festive Season with Mr Bridge

29-31 August Hosted by Diana Holland

24 Mediterranean Cruises

with Voyages to Antiquity

26 Bridge Events at The Olde Barn Hotel 26 Bridge Events at Blunsdon House Hotel 27 Subscriptions to BRIDGE

28 Bernard Magee DVDs 29 Tips for Better Bridge 35 S R Designs Bridge Tables 35 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified

£169 Full Board No Single Supplement

38 Cruises to Ancient

Civilisations with Voyages to Antiquity

2 Bangkok to Singapore

39 Clive Goff ’s Stamps

3 Rubber/Chicago Bridge Events

48 Voyage to Antiquity Bridge Fly-Cruises 2015

with Voyages to Antiquity

RUBBER / CHICAGO 2014

8 Bridge Events with Bernard Magee

12 Bernard Magee’s Tutorial Software

34 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions

Address Changes ( 01483 485342 Elizabeth Bryan [email protected]

7 Mail Order Form Names and Addresses

14 Nazir in the Spotlight by David Bird

Proof Readers Tony & Jan Richards Richard Wheen Hugh Williams

Clubs & Charities Maggie Axtell [email protected]

6 Better Hand Evaluation

10 We Are Survivors Teatowel

30 Graysky the Lepidopterist by Shireen Mohandes

Events & Cruises ( 01483 489961 Rosie Baker [email protected] Jessica Galt [email protected] Megan Riccio [email protected] Sophie Pierrepont [email protected]

aboard Minerva

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

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4 Discover Japan & China

41 Mr Bridge 2015 Diaries

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

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Page 3

Discover Japan & China aboard Minerva

with Tony & Jan Richards

Stimulating, informative, relaxing, sociable - just some of the words passengers have used when describing the Swan Hellenic experience. A cruise aboard Minerva is like nothing else, with meticulous attention to the finest details and with a quality and charm that is simply unique. Join your Mr Bridge team, along with the crew and staff of Minerva on a journey of discovery to Japan & China. Enjoy duplicate bridge every evening after dinner. On days at sea there are morning seminars and afternoon bridge sessions. There are also exclusive drinks parties hosted by Tony & Jan Richards.

Japan and China Discovery 3 – 24 January 2015 22 Days from £2,999pp SPECIAL OFFER PRICES

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Additional cruises & Grand Voyages available Call 01483 489961 for brochures & bookings Fares are calculated per person based on two people sharing. Fares apply to new booking only, are correct at the time of going to print and are subject to availability. Saver fares are for unnumbered cabins, which may be berthed on arrival. Payment in full at time of booking, 100% cancellations & amendment fees apply. Cannot be combined with any other offer or loyalty discount, are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. See brochure for full terms & conditions. Swan Hellenic is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd. *Subject to availability. 14_0686

CAKE COUNT

While we were gathered around an extended kitchen table the other day, we tried to count the number of cakes that Mrs Bridge has made for celebrations of one kind or another. The consensus reckoned it must have passed the 700 mark. The occasion for celebration this time was for the second birthday of Zoe, grandchild number 15. The cake was adjudged the best ever or if not the best ever, then certainly in the top ten. It just melted in the mouth. I had a second helping, this time drowned in double cream. Yummie.

new telephone system, new database management software and new postage machine. Well, it will all be plugged in tomorrow and by the time you receive this letter, we should have sorted out all the inevitable teething troubles. However, until I have worked my way through them, there won’t be a chance to talk to you about much else, other than to assure you I will carry on much as before, working on my latest project.

that I have in mind for your amusement and entertainment. Indeed, he will probably ask you to write a regular column yourself if you have a mind so to do. Alternatively, you may choose to use the Readers’ Letters pages as one or two others already do. Oh and send me a photograph of yourself as my illustrator/cartoonist, Marguerite Lihou, will need to get to work on you.

Mrs Bridge has her enthusiasms: babies, grandchildren, dogs, ponies/horses, more or less in that order. She calls some of my projects unreasonable obsessions.

BERNARD 2015

Current state is that I am just calming down about lovely Aegean Odyssey about which I still cannot speak of too highly. Now I am focused upon the development of BRIDGE into a stand alone monthly subscription magazine, but I will tell you more about that next month.

An extra cause for celebration was the arrival of number 16, Rosalind Creasey, pictured above, who had just weighed in at 8lb 15oz. Both mother and Rose, as she will be known, are doing well.

Meanwhile, on the horizon, another siren has just appeared, the m.v. Minerva, pictured above. I will have a bridge team on board 365 days a year while she is at sea, replacing m.v. Voyager once she returns to Portsmouth next spring. There will be exclusive deals and prices for my readers, for the first of which see the facing page.

OBSESSIONS ET AL

WHAT NEXT

When I wrote to you last month, I told you about all my news. New computers, new operating software,

Bernard Magee in his extra job as my Associate Editor, will be investigating all the schemes, plans and dreams

BRIDGE August 2014

Following Twixmas and New Year at Denham Grove, Bernard starts the year with the filming of his fifth series of six films with a live audience at Denham Grove. At the end of February he hosts our annual fortnight in Tunisia and March into April sees him hosting a large cruise party from India to Jordan. In May, he flies to the lovely resort of Rovinj for our second visit to Croatia. June, July and August see him on board Aegean Odyssey (see the dates on the back cover) and all this interlaced with weekend events where possible. Then it is time to pull all the threads of plans for the monthly magazine together. Understandably, he will need to cut down on his travels. So, if you enjoy travelling with him or attending his seminars, make the most of it.

2015 DIARIES

GOFFIES STAMPS

When a new family baby is in the course of production, I put stamps aside to use following its delivery. I get these from Clive Goff and the selection he sends to make up the first or second class rate are really most amusing. Remember, Clive Goff’s discounted stamp service is really 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.

SO SORRY

I needed one of these to remind me of the bits and pieces in this column I have been unable to include, but with the briefest of mentions.

GENESIS Travel Insurance page 18.

CLEARANCES For second-hand software, etc. see the carrier sheet.

TUNISIA Please see page 13. All good wishes, These are now in stock.

Mr Bridge Page 5

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

1. Dealer West. Game All. ♠ A 10 8 4 N ♥ 7 6 W E ♦ A 7 6 S ♣ A 10 9 2

West ?

North

East

is likely to pass. With 14 HCP, you should certainly go for game and with 3-card heart support and a small doubleton, you should choose a heart contract, so your bid is 4♥. Remember the decision is yours: when your partner describes his hand neatly, it is up to you to finish the job.

South

1NT. This might seem an easy question, but there are some players who are circumspect when dealt three bare aces. In fact, when vulnerable, it is not unreasonable to consider a pass. However, this hand is not bare – it has two tens and a nine, which bolster both of your long suits. The potential in your two long suits should certainly persuade you to open 1NT.



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

West North East South 1♥ Dbl Redbl Pass Pass 1♠ Dbl Pass ?

Pass.



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

West North East South Pass 1NT Pass 2♦* Pass 2♥* Pass 2NT Pass ? *Transfer to hearts

4♥. When East makes a transfer bid, he is showing five or more cards in the suit irrespective of what he bids next. His next bid completes the picture of his hand. Here, he has shown five hearts and 11 points and the choice of final contract is left up to you. Whatever you choose, East

Page 6

Better Hand Evaluation Bernard Magee Introduction Better Hand Evaluation is aimed at helping readers to add greater accuracy to their bidding. It deals with auctions in which you and your partner, against silent opponents, can describe your hands fully to each other and, by evaluating them accurately, find the best final contract. The emphasis of all good, accurate bidding is on hand evaluation. There are two general types of auction: a) a fit is found and b) no fit is found. When you do not have a fit, you are aiming to describe the strength of your hand as soon as possible, most often using no-trump bids. This book begins by discussing balanced hand bidding in Acol, as it is very important that both members of a partnership have an accurate knowledge of how to show hands of different strengths. When a fit is found, there is much re-evaluation of the hand to be done; point count, though still important, needs to be evaluated together with distribution. The best way of reaching an accurate assess­ment is to use the Losing Trick Count; this is an important method of hand evaluation and takes up a number of chapters.

An interesting auction so far. You opened 1♥, which was doubled by North and then redoubled by your partner. This call shows that your partner is strong and Finally, we move on to different forms that your side has the majority of points. of evaluation including game tries and It does not show heart support and it splinter bids. You can never know suggests that the opposition might be out enough methods of hand evaluation; of their depth and that doubling might be the more you learn, the better you get profitable. at judging your hand. You pass the redouble, but then North bids 1♠ which your partner doubles. Although the Losing Trick Count is After a strong redouble, all doubles are used more easily in tandem with your for penalties. It might seem a very low partner, a large proportion of the level to be doubling at, but if your partner ideas in this book can be used by an has good spades and your side has the individual. For example, evaluating majority of the points, then it should be your hand to be worth an extra point profitable. At the prevailing vulnerability, is going to help anyone you partner – as long as you get it right. two off would be better than a game score. £14 including UK postage North is not going to have much fun in any contract. Five tricks will be his See Mail Order Form on page 7. maximum, but he might not manage ■ that.

BRIDGE August 2014

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BRIDGE August 2014

Page 7

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Page 8

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

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

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

BRIDGE August 2014

Answers to Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quizzes 4-6 on the Cover

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

West North East ?

South 3♠

3NT. With a very strong hand, you need to take some action and, with no long suit, you really have only two choices: 3NT or double. With a good spade stop, you should go for 3NT. The problem with doubling is that it will only really work if partner has four hearts, otherwise he will bid a minor at the four level and you may well end up in no-man’s-land. Pre-empts are designed to make your life difficult and they certainly achieve their aim on this hand. Generally, when planning a bid over a pre-empt, you are allowed to hope your partner has 7 or 8 sprinkled points in his hand. With 18 in your own hand and a great spade holding you should go for the nine trick game. 3NT might well outscore 4♥ even if you do have a heart fit because your spades might be worth an extra trick in no-trumps. Of course, sometimes you will bid 3NT and North will have most of the remaining points and he will double you: that is how it goes when there is a preemptive bid.

4♠. Unless agreed, 4♣ is not Gerber. It should be a slam try, with control in clubs – a cue bid. Your partner wants you to show anything you have in diamonds or hearts. With a big fat zero in both suits, you should simply rebid 4♠ suggesting that slam is beyond you. East has a good hand which needs a little help from you: a singleton heart would have been delightful. By cue bidding 4♣, East has the opportunity to explore for slam whilst keeping the bidding low. Knowing the number of aces will not help East here – he needs to know whether your side has a heart control first.



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

West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦* Pass ? *Fourth suit forcing

2NT. Fourth suit forcing is a convention which allows a player to keep the bidding open and hopefully learn more from his partner to help make the right decision as to the final contract. You have shown five hearts and four clubs in the auction so far, so is there anything else you can tell your partner? One of the most important things to bear in mind when responding to fourth suit forcing is that your partner will often want to play in no-trumps, so if you have a stop, you should show it. K-x is a stop, believe it or not. If you bid no-trumps, then the lead will be coming up to you and the ♦K will be safe. You should bid 2NT and your partner will raise to 3NT. East had a very strong hand, but did not want to bid no-trumps because of his weak diamond holding. In fact, if he does bid 3NT, it may well be defeated because the opponents may lead a diamond through your king. Instead, East used the fourth suit forcing to ascertain whether you held a diamond stop and whether 3NT was a ■ possibility.

Elstead Hotel Bournemouth BH1 3QP

10-12 October £199 Just Duplicate – Jo Walch 31 October – 2 November £199 Just Duplicate Val Passmore



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

West North East South 1♠ Pass 3♠ Pass 4♣ Pass ?

BRIDGE August 2014

14-16 November £199 Just Duplicate – Mary Stebbing 21-23 November £245 Doubles – Bernard Magee

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

Page 9

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

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Q PLUS 11 Really user-friendly bridge-playing software FEATURES INCLUDE l Help button - explains the features for bidding

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including UK post and packing

l 5,000 preplayed hands for teams l 4,000 preplayed hands for match-point pairs l Pre-programmed systems include Acol,

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BRIDGE August 2014

Answers to  Bernard Magee’s  Bidding Quizzes 7-9 on the Cover

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

West North East South 1♠ Pass 2♦ Pass ?

2♠. Not a nice position to find yourself in, but you do not really have any choice for your rebid. 2NT would show 15+, 3♣ would show 16+ and 2♥ would be a lie in a major. Your spades are poor, but you have to rebid them. East will pass your 2♠ rebid and it turns out to be an OK spot. Since your partner has bid at the two level, he will rarely pass 2♠. With less support he might well have bid 2NT to suggest a better final contract.



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

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

3♣. What does partner’s double mean? When your opponents find a fit early in an auction, you should play doubles for take-

BRIDGE August 2014

out in order to allow your side to compete for the deal. Almost always if they find a fit at the two level, you should be aiming to outbid them in your own fit because -50 will be a great score, better than letting them make their contract. You must not pass 2♠ doubled: your trumps are not good enough; instead, you bid 3♣, your best suit other than spades. 3♣ will probably drift one off for the golden -50. North-South should be able to make 2♠ comfortably.



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

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass ?

Pass. Your partner has made a simple 1♠ overcall. The situation is not the same as responding to an opening bid, when you should try to keep the bidding open with 6+ points because your partner might be very strong. Here, if East was extremely strong, he would have started his auction by doubling, forcing us to respond. With a weak hand, you should pass partner’s overcall: no great support and no reason to show your own ■ suit.

DECLARER PLAY QUIZ by David Huggett (Answers on page 21)

Y

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

1.

♠ A 3 ♥ K 7 5 ♦ 9 8 6 4 ♣ K J 9 3

3.

N

N

W E

W E

S



♠ K 8 5 ♥ A 6 4 ♦ A 2 ♣ Q 10 8 7 5

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♦Q. East follows with the ♦3. How do you plan the play?

2.

♠ 6 5 4 2 ♥ Q 9 ♦ A Q 10 9 6 ♣ K 3

S



4.

N

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

♠ A 7 3 ♥ Q J 7 5 ♦ K 6 3 ♣ K J 2 N

W E

S

♠ A K ♥ K J 10 7 ♦ J 8 2 ♣ A 8 7 2

♠ A 8 7 6 5 ♥ A K 7 ♦ A 5 ♣ A K Q

You are declarer in 7♠ and West leads the ♥J. How do you plan the play?

W E



♠ K Q 9 2 ♥ Q 4 ♦ 7 6 4 ♣ J 9 8 3

S



♠ K 8 ♥ A K 9 8 2 ♦ A 7 2 ♣ A 10 3

You are declarer in 6♥ and West leads the ♠5. How do you plan the play? (Trumps are 2-2.)

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

( 01483 489961

www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop

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

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

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

West North ?

East South 2♣ 2♠

Pass. Your partner opens 2♣, your strongest opening bid, and you are just about to respond 2♦ (negative) when you notice South’s 2♠ overcall. Although it disrupts your thoughts, it should not disrupt your bidding: you must show how weak you are and to do that you pass. The only reason you normally respond 2♦ (negative) is to keep the bidding open for your very strong partner, but now that South has bid, your partner can bid again so you are off the hook. It is important not to bid 3♥ because, if you do, your partner might get over-excited. Instead, you pass first and will show your hearts later, allowing you to finish in 4♥ rather than 6♥. When an opponent overcalls a strong opening, then passing denies strength.



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

West North 1NT Pass ?

East South 1♥ Pass 2NT Pass

3♥. Your partner’s 2NT bid is inviting you to game. You have shown 6-9 points and your partner thinks that game will be on

BRIDGE August 2014

if you are in the upper range: 8-9 points. Therefore, with 9 points, you should bid game, but you should make sure you give your partner all the options: with three hearts in your hand, you should tell him and leave the choice to him. East is very glad to hear 3♥ and raises to game. East cannot rebid his hearts over your 1NT because that would promise six hearts. Some players might even have responded 2♥ to 1♥, but with such a flat hand, I prefer the 1NT response, but I like the 3♥ bid on the way to game, giving partner the final say. As you can see, 3NT will likely go down on a club lead, whilst 4♥ is a much better contract.



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

West North East South 3♣ 3♥ 4♣ 4♥ ?

Pass. With the vulnerability in your favour and your partner supporting you, there is surely no doubt that you should push on to 5♣ for a great sacrifice? No! Even if your partner supports you it does not give a pre-emptor permission to bid again: your partner is in charge and he makes the final decision. If he thinks 4♥ is making, he will bid 5♣, but here he will either pass with hope, or double, depending on his mood. 4♥ may well go two off: ♦A-K, ♣A, a diamond ruff and a trump trick. 5♣, meanwhile would be three off: -500 instead of +500. Just because your partner supports you, it does not give you permission to speak again: perhaps East bid 4♣ in the hope that the opposition would push on to 4♥ and his plan worked. ■

Mr Bridge AT THE ROYAL KENZ TUNISIA 2014/2015

ALL INCLUSIVE

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.

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

DETAILS & BOOKINGS

( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/abroad

Page 13

Robin Hood’s Bridge Adventures by David Bird

Nazir in the Spotlight

R

obin Hood and Nazir had just won the fifth rubber of their crown-a-100 game against two wealthy merchants. It was fast approaching midnight and only the hardest-drinking of the Weary Pilgrim’s clientele remained. ‘We had the luck on that last one,’ declared Robin Hood adding yet more coinage to his swollen, deer-skin purse. ‘Have you had enough?’ Rupert Locke peered deeply into Hood’s eyes. ‘You’ve been taking us for fools, haven’t you?’ he exclaimed. ‘If ever I’ve seen a pair of professional card players, it’s you two. Scarcely a single mistake.’ ‘You play a strong game, too,’ Hood replied. ‘Shall we call it a day?’ Locke looked across at his partner. ‘What d’you reckon, Jeb? One more rubber?’ ‘To get back what we’ve lost, we would need a big win,’ Jeb Silver replied. ‘Can’t be done at crown stakes.’ Rupert Locke turned once more towards Robin Hood. ‘Let’s see what you brave boys are made of,’ he declared. ‘How about one more rubber at… let’s see… one guinea-a-100 stakes?’ Hood paused. He and Nazir were the better players, as had already been proved, but should they put at risk the princely sum they had already claimed? It would be enough to feed a dozen villages handsomely until the early harvest. ‘We will take you on, one more Page 14

time,’ said Nazir, making up Hood’s mind for him. The well-worn cards were shuffled and this was the first deal: Dealer South. Love All. ♠ A 8 7 ♥ 7 6 5 ♦ 7 6 3 ♣ A 10 8 2 ♠ 3 ♠ 9 6 5 2 N ♥ J 3 ♥ Q 10 9 4 2 W E ♦ K Q 9 4 S ♦ J 10 8 5 ♣ K Q 9 5 4 3 ♣ Void ♠ K Q J 10 4 ♥ A K 8 ♦ A 2 ♣ J 7 6

West

North

East

South

Jeb

Robin

Rupert

Nazir

1♠ 2♣ 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

Silver

Hood

Locke

Jeb Silver led the ♣K and Nazir nodded as he studied the dummy. The spade game was a good one. If the ♣A emerged unruffed at Trick 1, he could draw trumps and establish at least one further trick in clubs. Nazir paused for further thought. What if West held six clubs for his overcall? If he covered the opening lead with dummy’s ♣A, East would ruff. If it subsequently transpired that he had started with four

trumps, it would not be possible to draw the remaining trumps and then score the two club tricks that were necessary. Nazir leaned forward and detached the ♣2 from dummy, East discarding a heart. When West led a low club to the second trick, the ♣8 was played from dummy and East ruffed. On this trick, Nazir was careful to unblock the ♣J, clearing the way for a subsequent finesse of dummy’s ♣10. When East switched to the ♦J, Nazir won with the ♦A and drew trumps in three rounds, ending in his hand. He then led the ♣7 to dummy’s ♣10 and discarded a diamond on the ♣A. The game was his, with the defenders taking an eventual heart trick. Jeb Silver recognised a well-played hand when he saw one. Goodness me, one more deal like that and it would be the most expensive day of his life. Why on earth had he agreed to play for such exalted stakes? The somewhat unkempt landlord of the establishment approached the table. ‘Will you gen’lmen be playin’ much longer?’ he asked. ‘You ain’t exactly been orderin’ heavily.’ ‘Depends on how the cards fall,’ Rupert Locke replied. He reached into his pocket. ‘Here’s half a crown for your trouble.’ The Landlord caught the silver coin spun towards him and returned to the bar. After a few failing part-scores, Nazir arrived in a potentially rubberwinning game on the deal below: BRIDGE August 2014

Robin Hood continued

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

West

North

East

South

Jeb

Robin

Rupert

Nazir

1♥ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ 4♥ All Pass

Silver

Hood

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



Locke

Jeb Silver scored his ♠A-K against the heart game and continued with a third round of spades, ruffed by declarer. Nazir surveyed the dummy, disappointed to see only one trump there. Well, there was nothing much to the play. He would have to lead one round of trumps towards his hand and hope for a big slice of luck. Nazir crossed to dummy with the ♣K and led the ♥5. The ♥J appeared from East and he covered with the ♥K, winning the trick. Allah be praised! Playing one of the most valuable contracts of his life, it seemed that he had been granted a trump break from Paradise. Surely, East held ♥A-J doubleton and the gold-tinged rubber would be at an end. It would be too cruel if East had started with ♥A-J-10. Nazir led the ♥9 from his hand, wincing as East won with the ♥10. ‘You make the trump ace too,’ he said to Rupert Locke. ‘One down.’ ‘The trump ace is over there,’ Locke replied. Nazir’s mouth fell open as he realised what had happened. West had deceived him by holding up his ♥A smoothly. If he’d taken the ace on the first round, declarer would have no option but to lead the ♥Q next, BRIDGE August 2014

picking up East’s bare ♥10. Nazir looked apologetically across the table. ‘Allah himself could not read such a lie of the cards,’ he declared. A few deals later, Nazir had a chance to redeem himself.

West

North

East

South

Jeb

Robin

Rupert

Nazir



Hood

Locke

Silver

1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass

Jeb Silver led the ♣Q and Robin Hood laid down his cards. Nazir was in no hurry to play the contract. If he could land ten tricks, he and Hood would return to the Forest with the biggest pay-packet in memory. What joy they would bring to the poor villagers who’d been short of food for many weeks. Even if the trumps broke reasonably, he would like to score a club ruff in the dummy. This might be possible after discarding one of dummy’s clubs

on the ♠A-K-Q. To further this aim, Nazir ducked the first round of clubs. He won the next club with the ace and crossed to the ♥A, an ominous ♥J appearing from East. Three rounds of spades stood up and he discarded dummy’s last club. A club ruff was followed by the ♦A and a diamond ruff. These cards remained: ♠ — ♥ 6 ♦ 8 6 3 ♣ — ♠ 10 ♥ K 10 9 N W E ♦ — S ♣ — ♠ 4 ♥ Q 8 5 ♦ — ♣ —

♠ — ♥ — ♦ Q J 10 ♣ K

Nazir led his last spade, delighted to see West follow suit. He ruffed with dummy’s ♥6 and continued with a diamond, ruffed with the ♥5. Jeb Silver had to overruff in the West seat and then concede the final trick to declarer’s ♥Q. The game had been made. ‘Bravo, Nazir!’ exclaimed Robin Hood. ‘A fine play, indeed.’ When the two merchants heard the name Nazir, light dawned on them. For four hours or more they had been facing two of the shire’s finest card-players: the outlaw cut-throats, Robin Hood and Nazir. A draining experience financially, yes, but what a story to tell their grandchildren. ■

Page 15

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

1

Not with Bernard Magee

2

Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions

How do we Reach a Grand Slam?

Q

On the following deal it is apparent that several slams make, including 7NT. I cannot see how to bid it. Can you?

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

At matchpoints you should score very well just bidding 6♥ and making an overtrick. Reaching 6♣ is easy because a natural start to the auction identifies that North is 5-6 in the black suits: North South 1♣ 1♥ 2♠ 3♥ 3♠ 4♣ 4NT1 5♥2 5NT3 6♣4 1 Asking 2 2 key cards/aces 3 We have all the key cards 4 No kings

If you can do better than that, well done.

singleton or void in it), you should normally respond 1NT (the exception being with 9 points and a 5-card suit). The 1NT response does not promise a balanced hand, it simply says you have the values to keep the bidding open but the inability to do anything more helpful. A fellow contributor uses the term ‘dustbin’ bid for the 1NT response, which may help with your picture of the bid.

West, after East’s second bid, still could not be sure that East was not 4-4 in the majors. Should East have bid 4♥ over 3NT, knowing that West must have 3 cards in at least one of the majors? If he had been 5-4 in the minors, he would have bid his clubs on the second round. Rupert Timpson by email.

♣♦♥♠

The way East has bid suggests 4-5 in the majors, not 4-4 and not 5-5. With only 4-4, East should simply raise 2NT to 3NT or (if available) make a 3♣ enquiry. With a flimsy club holding, West’s 3NT rebid was unwise. West should have given preference to 4♥. Yes, East was at fault too. An initial 1♠ response would be better. East can then rebid 3♥, over which West gives preference to 3♠, making it easy to avoid 3NT.

Q

Please would you kindly comment on the bidding with these hands?

♣♦♥♠ Steve Bailey, West Surrey.

A

Reaching a making grand slam with confidence is not at all easy. With clubs 4-1, you cannot make a grand slam in your longest suit. You say that 7NT makes; I am not sure how you would make it. If the defender with four clubs held the ♦K-Q or (if West) five spades, a squeeze could yield the thirteenth trick. On the actual layout, only 7♥ would seem to make.

BRIDGE August 2014

Q

If my partner opens a suit and I have 6–9 points, can I respond 1NT with an unbalanced hand without two of my partner’s suit? Ruth Savage by email.

A

If partner opens the bidding and you have 6 -9 points, you should not pass. If you cannot show a suit at the one level and you cannot support partner (which, clearly, you cannot with a



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

♠ A 8 7 5 2 ♥ A 9 6 4 3 ♦ 8 2 ♣ 3

West East 1♦ 1♥ 2NT 3♠ 3NT Pass

A

♣♦♥♠ East should surely respond 1♠. He must have chosen hearts in the hope that partner would support them or bid spades.

Q

How might the bidding best proceed after West, dealer at game all, opens a weak 2♠?

Page 17

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Ask Julian continued



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



♠ 7 ♥ A 4 ♦ K 9 7 6 5 4 2 ♣ A J 9

I do not have the E/W hands, noting only that both the red suits were 2-2, so, unexpectedly, 7♦, 7♥ and 7NT all make. Richard Bird, Sevenoaks.

A

This is not an easy hand to bid. If North overcalls 3♥, South bids 4♦ and North rebids 4♥, I suspect the auction will end there. On a quick computer simulation, 6♦ made 80% of the time and 6♥ made 75% of the time, so it seems you do want to be in a slam. Perhaps North overcalls 4♥ rather than 3♥ (risky with so few HCP) or South bids on over 4♥. When the opponents pre-empt, you do not expect good breaks.

raised to 2♦ and we ended up in 4♦. As it turned out, she had five small spades and 7 HCP. Should I have opened 2NT? Jan Hudson by email.

A

Opening 2NT with a singleton rarely works for me, unless perhaps it is the king. However, I would open 1♣ rather than 1♦ because that makes it easier to find a club fit. Although older textbooks recommend opening the suit below the singleton, the more modern practice is to open 1♣ with a 4-1-4-4 shape. If your partner held 5 spades and 4 or 5 diamonds, she should respond 1♠ whether you open 1♣ or 1♦. Showing the major, especially when it is a 5-card suit, should take priority. You would then do your best to show a strong hand with spade support and short hearts. Playing splinters, you would rebid 4♥. Not playing splinters, as was probably the situation in a social game, you might reverse into 2♦ (forcing for one round) and then jump to 4♠ later. Note that you would not normally reverse with a 4-4 shape or fail to support partner’s major immediately with four; this hand is a bit of a special case.

♣♦♥♠ ♣♦♥♠

Q

In a social game, what should I open having dealt myself the following hand?



♠ A K 6 2 ♥ A ♦ A Q 8 4 ♣ K J 9 3

I opened 1♦. My partner

BRIDGE August 2014

Q

Please could you explain why someone with 11 or 12 points, but no 4-card major, might need to use Stayman in response to a weak 1NT? Peter Calviou by email.

A

If you play four-suit transfers (2♠ transfer to clubs and 2NT

transfer to diamonds in addition to the usual redsuit transfers), you need to find some bid other than 2NT as a way to raise to 2NT. The simplest solution is to go via 2♣ even when you do not want to know about the majors. You then rebid 2NT whether opener bids 2♦, 2♥ or 2♠. ♣♦♥♠

Q

What are your thoughts on how we did and how we should have bid this hand? I, North, dealt.



♠ A K 9 5 3 ♥ K 10 ♦ Void ♣ K Q 10 9 6 3

A

Opening 1♣ is correct, 5-card majors or not. A standard principle of bidding is that you bid your longest suit if you can sensibly. Opening 1♣ and then bidding spades twice without any support does indeed show five spades and longer clubs. Although it is unusual for opener to make a jump shift rebid with only 15 HCP, here your exceptional shape justifies it. If you start adding points for shape (and intermediates) or valuing the hand using the losing trick count, you will appreciate the playing strength. I would rate the hand as worth about 20 points. I would thus rebid 2♠ with the intention of bidding 3♠ next time. As your 2♠ rebid is game forcing, there is no danger of missing game.

N W E S



♠ 7 6 2 ♥ 5 4 ♦ K Q J 9 4 ♣ A 7 4

North South 1♣ 1♦ 1♠ 2♦ 2♠ Pass

I made 12 tricks, which needed a defensive error, but everybody else at the table said I should have opened 1♠ (we play 15-17 no-trump and 5-card majors). I said I thought I had shown five spades with my 2♠ bid and longer clubs. The other players disagreed. Howard Brown, Ulverston, Cumbria.

♣♦♥♠

Q

Playing a 20-22 2NT opener, what would you open with this 19-count hand?



♠ A K ♥ K 9 3 ♦ A Q ♣ Q J 10 9 8 7

Doreen Parrington, Lytham St Annes.

A

With honours in the short suits making the hand suitable for no-trumps and the good 6-card suit warranting an upgrade, a 2NT opening seems reasonable. The alternative is to open 1♣ with a view to rebidding 3NT. ■

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

Page 19

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BRIDGE August 2014

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

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♦Q. East follows with the ♦3. How do you plan the play? I hope you didn’t duck that opening lead. With four certain tricks in clubs, you will make the contract as long as you don’t lose four diamonds and the ace of clubs, but you will lose four diamonds only if the suit breaks 5-2. If that is the case, East – who is the hand likely to be short in the suit – must have K-x and could not afford to unblock the king for fear of setting up another diamond winner in dummy. If you are on autopilot and duck trick one, West will lead a low diamond at trick two and will have enough winners to defeat you when he comes in with the ace of clubs.

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

BRIDGE August 2014

♠ 8 7 ♥ 8 5 3 2 ♦ K 7 4 ♣ J 9 6 5

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠Q. How do you plan the play? If the diamond finesse works you have nine easy tricks, but what if it doesn’t? Suppose you take the diamond finesse at trick two, which loses to East who returns a spade. Now, you need a heart trick to fulfil your contract, but if West holds the ace of that suit and three more spades, you will be defeated. Instead, knock out the ace of hearts first. Whoever wins will doubtless return a spade, but now you take the diamond finesse into the hand which is likely to be out of spades. If he does have another spade, it doesn’t matter because you are losing only two spades, a diamond and a heart.

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

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

You are declarer in 7♠ and West leads the ♥J. How do you plan the play? If trumps are anything but 4-0, you have thirteen tricks on top so you have to direct your mind to the worst-case scenario. If East has all four missing trumps, you will fail, but you can cope if it is West. Win the opening lead in hand and play the ace of spades. If East shows out, play a spade to the ten and king and return to hand with a club in order to repeat the spade finesse. Draw the last trump and cash the two remaining clubs in hand, before entering dummy with the heart queen in order to cash the jack of clubs, throwing the losing diamond from

hand. Finally, re-enter hand with the ace of diamonds to cash the last heart and the last trump. If you had won the first heart in dummy inadvertently, you would find that you were an entry short for the fourth club.

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

♠ Q 10 4 2 ♥ 10 6 ♦ J 9 8 5 ♣ Q 7 4

You are declarer in 6♥ and West leads the ♠5. How do you plan the play? (Trumps are 2-2.) You will succeed if you can guess the position of the queen of clubs, but it is much better to let the opponents find it for you. Win the lead, draw trumps and eliminate spades by ruffing the third one in hand. Now play the ace and king of diamonds and exit with the remaining low diamond. Whoever wins will either have to give you a ruff and discard, when you ruff in dummy and discard a club from hand, or open up the club suit. ■

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Page 21

David Stevenson answers your Frequently Asked Questions

Questions and Answers

D

ealer bids 1♣. The next player looks surprised and says, ‘Is that natural?’ ‘Of course,’ says dealer’s partner, ‘I didn’t alert.’ At the end of the auction, dealer’s partner is declarer in 3NT and the opening lead is a club. When the lead is from a doubleton, declarer accuses his opponents of cheating and World War III erupts. There are other similar examples. A player who is just about to make the final pass asks about a spade bid and his partner leads a spade. Or a player whose partner is on lead asks before a card is led face down and this may affect his partner’s lead. Is this cheating? The rules for asking questions are that you can ask whenever it is your turn to call. You can also ask before the opening lead if you are on lead and after the opening lead is put face down on the table, if your partner is on lead. After that, a defender can ask when it is his turn to play and declarer can ask when it is his or dummy’s turn to play. Dummy should be quiet. So what is wrong with the questions above? While, legally, you can ask questions, there are dangers in doing so. Asking questions, especially surprising or unusual questions, suggests something about your hand and this is unauthorised information to partner: your partner must make every effort not to use the information. So if you ask about an unalerted 1♣ opening, your partner should not lead a club unless it is the obvious lead. The way to avoid unpleasantness and adjustments by the director is not to ask unnecessary questions. If your opponents open 1♣ and it is not alerted, then you know it is natural so why ask? It is rather different with alerted bids because, when you ask, it is more probable you are asking because of the alert rather than what is in your hand. Nevertheless, players often ask because Page 22

they have some obvious reason, for example, they have enough points to double but are not prepared to do so without some answers, while they do not ask if they are weak. I am not suggesting that you do not ask questions at all, but be very careful when you do. If you are merely curious, or want to know because it will help your defence, try getting into the habit of asking all your questions before you lead if you are on lead, or when your partner has put his lead face down if he is on lead. Do not ask before he leads: the same problems as mentioned above apply: if you ask meaningfully about a club bid and he leads a club, the score may be adjusted. Incidentally, do remember always to lead face down, giving your partner the chance to ask questions (and avoid leading out of turn). Generally, declarer also should ask his questions after the auction is finished.  How do you answer questions? While you do not need to go into a wealth of detail, single word answers are unhelpful. For example, suppose you are asked what signals you play: do you ever answer ‘natural’ or ‘standard’? Half the world plays high-low to say they like it and the other half to show an even number: either could be considered natural or standard. How about ‘attitude’ or ‘count’? That is fine, since people know what they are – except that some people play reverse and do not tell you. It is very annoying when someone says, ‘attitude,’ and you assume high-low is encouraging, but it isn’t. Of course, it is not just annoying, it is misinformation. Safest is to say, ‘standard attitude,’ ‘reverse attitude,’ ‘standard count,’ or, ‘reverse count.’ The main point is that your answers should be as accurate and helpful as possible. You want to win by out-playing your opponents, not by confusing them with inadequate answers.

Suppose your partner bids 3♥ in a complex auction and an opponent asks what it is. Obviously, if you know, you tell him. But what happens if you are not sure or do not know? A lot of players say, ‘I am taking it as …,’ but you should not do so. If you have no agreement, then say so: do not invent one. If you have an agreement but cannot remember it, then say so. In that case, the director might ask you to leave the table so partner can explain your agreement to the opposition. The tricky cases are when you do not have a real agreement, but you know what it might be because of similar situations: then you should explain that. Let me give you an example of the last case. You have agreed that 1♥Pass-3♠ is a splinter, showing shortage and agreeing partner’s suit. Furthermore, you have agreed that 1♣-Pass1♥-Pass-3♠ is also a splinter. Now the bidding goes 1♣-Pass-1♥-Pass-1♠Pass-4♦ and you have no agreement. If asked, what should you say? I would answer, ‘We have no agreement in this sequence, however we do play that double jumps are splinters in other situations.’ That is as helpful and fair as you can be. Another thing to avoid is names, unless they are unambiguous and you play them in a standard fashion. Even ‘Stayman’ causes confusion. As invented, it did not guarantee a major and many players have always played that. However, many players think it does show a major, probably because they were taught that way. Suppose you play Stayman asking for 5-card majors? Then say, ‘5-card Stayman.’ Remember that not everyone plays things the same way and opponents need to know your actual agreements. To summarise: be careful before asking questions and be helpful when answering them. ■ BRIDGE August 2014

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BRIDGE August 2014

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Page 23

AEGEAN ODYSSEY BRID

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Bridge and Travel Tips

The Olde Barn Hotel Marston, Lincs NG32 2HT

COVERING UP

T

29-31 August £169 Rubber / Chicago Diana Holland 12-14 September £169 Just Duplicate Bridge Sheila Rogers 26-28 September £179 Declarer Play Gwen Beattie 10-12 October £245 Endplay & Avoidance Bernard Magee 17-19 October £169 Just Duplicate Bridge Patrick Dunham 31 Oct – 2 Nov £169 Just Duplicate Bridge June Dixon and Carol Fisher 14-16 November £179 Doubles Will Parsons 28-30 November £169 Just Duplicate Bridge Michael Haytack Full Board No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8.

Page 26

Swindon SN26 7AS

Bridge tip from Sally Brock: If they don’t cover an honour with an honour, then they don’t have one. his was a very famous bridge tip given by Zia Mahmood many years ago, but a word of warning: it works best against good players. Here is the deal:

1-3 August £169 Just Duplicate Bridge Patrick Dunham

Blunsdon House Hotel



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



♠ A 4 ♥ 6 5 2 ♦ A K 10 9 8 6 ♣ 10 7

You, as South, decided to open a slightly off-centre weak no-trump and your partner uses Stayman before raising you to 3NT. West leads a heart and you duck twice before winning the third (both opponents following). What now?

Maybe you take the diamond finesse, a 50% shot for your game. But look at it from East’s point of view. He doesn’t know that this is your diamond suit. Maybe your hand was:



♠ A 4 ♥ 6 5 2 ♦ A 10 8 5 4 ♣ A 10 3

If he doesn’t cover the jack of diamonds from Q-x-x and you hold this hand, you will make your contract without needing to guess clubs. He doesn’t know that your diamonds are so solid. So, when he doesn’t cover the jack of diamonds, he surely doesn’t hold the queen. So, you go up with the ace, cash the king, dropping West’s queen and make your game with ■ an overtrick or two.

BRIDGE EVENTS 10-12 Oct £199 Just Duplicate Bridge Sheila Rogers 14-16 Nov £245 Bernard Magee Further into the Auction 28-30 Nov £245 Bernard Magee Bidding NEW TOPIC Distributional Hands 23-25 Jan 2015 £245 Bernard Magee Competitive Bidding

Travel tip from Emma Thomson:

W

omen travelling in Middle Eastern countries require wardrobe awareness. Heads need to be covered to gain entry to mosques and other sacred sites, so always pack a pashmina or headscarf. In more relaxed countries, such as Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, this may be sufficient, but in strict states, such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, full-body coverage is required. Loose-fitting, dark-coloured, long-sleeved dresses, trousers, skirts and tops will ensure you don’t cause offence.

Full Board No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8.

BRIDGE August 2014

Beginners’ Bridge Corner

Mary’s Eighth Lesson by Liz Dale

M

ary had speeded up counting her high card points (HCP). Even the mentors had noticed it. She was definitely more confident on her first count of the hand, although still needing to double check the total point count. Funnily enough, it was her grandson, David, who had helped her to speed up. David was always picking up the cards from the TV table, shouting out the honours for Mary to count. David called it, ‘Nana’s homework.’ If Mary got it wrong, then 1p went into the jar. If she took longer than David to count the honours (without David cheating), then another 1p went into the jar. Every day, David counted out the pennies in the jar asking, ‘What are we going to spend it on Nana?’ Alasdair said, ‘Today is the last playing technique lesson before going back to learning more bidding strategies.’ Good humoured mutterings and quick repartee from the group along the lines of, ‘But we don’t need to learn more bidding strategies.’ Mary really enjoyed the play. It actually fascinated her. How could 13 cards in your hand challenge you so much and provide you with so much frustration, confusion and yes, happiness? Although she had never been a card player, Mary found the play

easier than the bidding. Mary was meticulous about doing her homework, which she did in two stages, as Alasdair had suggested. Mary also set herself a target of dealing 13 cards for herself and 13 cards for her imaginary partner three times each evening and tried to work out the bidding sequence, as Alasdair had also suggested in earlier sessions. Tuesday mornings were fun, as were her two evening practice sessions at Joan’s house. Mary was doing everything to give herself the best chance of success and it was becoming noticeable to the others. Last night, at Joan’s, Mary needed to look at her notes only a few times. It had been commented on and Mary went home feeling very happy. What had Liam said? ‘It was only a game of cards.’ Not so, Liam. You have got that very wrong. It’s a lifeline, thought Mary. The fog and pain of the last two and a half years were beginning to lift. Today’s playing technique was about learning to set up your long suits combined with transport. Again, the mentors had guided the players at each of the four tables into the correct 3NT contract to be played by West. Joan had to play the hand at their table and Mary was dummy. The mentor said, ‘I will be dummy if Mary would like to

pull up a stool next to Joan and help her to get the nine tricks contracted for in notrumps.’ Joan was counting her top tricks. Seven. The challenge was to work out where the other two tricks were coming from. ‘Yes,’ pointing quietly to dummy’s five card suit, Joan and Mary agreed the extra tricks would come from the long suit in dummy. They could commence play. Everything was going swimmingly well, except now they had two winners in dummy’s hand that they couldn’t reach. The defenders took their six tricks and Joan and Mary wrote down the score, vulnerable minus 200. ‘How did that happen?’ thought Mary. Only one of the tables had made more than seven tricks and Mary suspected the mentor on that table had told declarer how to play the hand instead of letting her find out from her own mistakes. Going down minus two when 3NT could be made was hard to take. Alasdair was now showing them on the smart board exactly how to make the contract, by ensuring that you left an entry in dummy’s hand so that you could get back into dummy to play out your two winners. Mary decided she was going to practise similar examples of this kind of play before she collected David from school ■ this afternoon.

In no-trumps, remember to leave an entry to the hand with a long suit.

BRIDGE August 2014

BRIDGE Make sure you don’t miss your favourite monthly articles by taking out an annual subscription. l

Acol Bidding Quiz & Answers Bernard Magee

l Ask Julian Pottage l Julian’s FAQs l Misleading Cases as reported by our court correspondent l Ask David Stevenson l David’s FAQs l Mary’s First Lesson

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Page 27

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]

DEFENCE QUIZ by Julian Pottage



(Answers on page 47)

Y

ou are West in the defensive positions below playing matchpoint pairs. It is your turn to play. Both sides are using Acol with a 12-14 1NT and 2♣ Stayman.

1. ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ J 9 6 4 ♥ A J 5 ♦ 10 8 6 ♣ 8 6 4

K5 10 7 4 KJ974 A Q 10 N

W E S

West North East South 1NT Pass 3NT All Pass

You lead the ♠4. Partner takes the ♠K with the ♠A, cashes the ♠Q and continues with the ♠10. What do you do?

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

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

West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♦6 to the ♦J and ♦A. A spade goes to the ♠A and another to partner’s ♠K. Back comes the ♦K and then the ♦2, which you ruff. What do you do?

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

West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass

West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♣4. Partner wins the first two tricks with the ♣Q and ♣A, continuing with ♣2. What is your plan?

You lead the ♥8. Partner wins with the ♥Q, cashes the ♥A and continues with the ♥9. After ruffing this what do you do?

BRIDGE August 2014

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

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

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

Page 29

A Blast From the Past by Shireen Mohandes

Graysky the Lepidopterist M

aurice Harrison-Gray (1900 -1968) almost deserves an entire magazine devoted to him: as an expert player, theorist and bridge writer, but he was also a novelist (during the wars, his writing career included writing novels about American Indians) and lepidoptery. The last of these two interests was not widely known in the bridge world. His Russian wife, Stella (nee Soltz, a Russian linguist by profession), nicknamed him Graysky, but to his bridge friends he was simpy known as ‘Gray’. Tony Priday, his last bridge partner (who now lives in Spain with his wife Vivian), told me about his experience when asked by Stella to say a few words about Gray at his funeral. When Tony walked up to the coffin,

he was surprised to see that Stella had covered it with moths. Although Stella had asked Tony to mention moths, Tony was a little lost for words; for despite having visited the couple at their Hampstead flat many times, he’d never seen the moths in display cabinets nor on the walls and knew nothing of them. Gray was sitting West on the deal below. There’s nothing exceptional about the bidding or final contract – you would expect the same today. Dealer North. N/S Game. ♠ 9 ♥ A Q 10 ♦ K J 9 8 5 2 ♣ 9 8 2 ♠ 8 3 ♠ K Q J 7 6 4 2 N ♥ 9 6 4 3 ♥ 8 7 5 2 W E ♦ A Q 3 S ♦ 7 ♣ K J 5 4 ♣ 6 ♠ A 10 5 ♥ K J ♦ 10 6 4 ♣ A Q 10 7 3

West

North

East

South

Harrison-Gray

1♦ 3♠ 3NT All Pass Lunar Moth

Page 30

Photo: Haig Tchamitch

Gray dutifully led his doubleton spade

and his partner’s ♠J and ♠K won the first and second tricks. Declarer won the third round with the ace. After all, he could not be certain that East held a seven-card suit.

Atlas Moth

Photo: Haig Tchamitch

Analysis After seeing dummy, Gray placed South with the remaining high cards. Counting declarer’s top tricks, it looks like one spade, one club and probably three or four hearts. More tricks are needed and either minor might offer good prospects. Declarer may go for the clubs, hoping to keep the danger hand off-lead, but after East’s pre-empt, he may well play on diamonds, hoping to find West with both honours. What would you, as West, discard on the third round of spades? Decide now before reading on. BRIDGE August 2014

Graysky continued

‘Keep Icy Calm’ This was Gray’s motto. It is reported that when he conceded four redoubled overtricks, defending 3NT, against Iain Macleod, he did not twitch a muscle. Iain Macleod Macleod (1913-1970) was shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and then Chancellor for Heath’s government, for a short while, just before his untimely death.

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

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

♠ K Q J 7 6 4 2 ♥ 8 2 ♦ Q 7 ♣ J 6

So, South entered dummy with a heart and ran the ♣9. Gray won that with BRIDGE August 2014

What is a lepidopterist? A lepidopterist or aurelian is a person who specialises in the study of Lepidoptera, an order encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies and moth-butterflies. The term also includes hobbyists who catch, collect, study, or simply observe lepidopterans. There are approximately 160,000 species of moths. ♠♥♦♣

♠ Q 7 6 4 2 ♥ 8 7 5 2 ♦ 7 ♣ 6

Gray conjured up a dastardly illusion. On declarer’s ♠A, he discarded his ♦A. Declarer fell for it hook, line and sinker. He was convinced that East, the danger hand, held the ♦Q and that Gray’s discard had created an entry to his partner’s hand. Trying to establish diamond tricks would thus lead to doom. Instead, he turned his attention to clubs, hoping that one of the club honours was onside. He was hoping for a layout like this:

his king and played a diamond, the ♦3. Declarer ‘knowledgeably’ declined the finesse, won with the king and then took another losing club finesse. At this point, Gray cashed his ♦Q to defeat the contract. Nowadays people may lead MUD (middle up down), low from three small, or TON (top of nothing). All three have their pros and cons. On this particular deal only a TON leader would create a problem for declarer, who would not know whether to win the second or third round.

Maurice Harrison-Gray

Gray was the bridge columnist in Country Life magazine for fifteen years in the 50s and 60s. Now it has a circulation of nearly 39,000 and readership of 206,000 (yes, the typical copy is read by five people) and the bridge columnist is Andrew Robson. A selection of Gray’s articles was published posthumously in the Country Life Book of Bridge, 1972. What’s special about the articles is that Gray had the luxury of an entire page to devote to news and insight. He was the envy of his friends, for they were not as fortunate in their word limits. In reading his articles as a collection, one can see that he had a lovely way with words – it is almost as though he is sitting next to you on a long train journey and sharing his insight on the latest happenings, tales of joy and woe, on a large variety of topics, including bidding theory and the ‘Losing Trick Count’, which he advocated.

What was Maurice Harrison-Gray’s interest? ‘… Away from the bridge table, Harrison-Gray has one abiding passion – moths. He breeds moths. He nurtures them. From Borneo to Brazil, from Mali to Madagascar, he imports the eggs, fondles the caterpillars and presides over their transformation into cocoons. Finally, he ushers in the magic birth of the exotic moth with brilliantly coloured, diaphanous wings, spanning maybe as much as twelve inches across…’ Victor Mollo. The Bridge Immortals, 1967.

The next deal comes from a 1956 article. Dealer East. Game All. ♠ J 6 5 2 ♥ A Q 6 3 ♦ Q 9 8 3 ♣ 4 ♠ K Q 9 8 3 ♠ 10 4 N ♥ J 10 8 2 ♥ K 9 7 5 W E ♦ K S ♦ 5 ♣ 8 7 3 ♣ A K J 9 6 2 ♠ A 7 ♥ 4 ♦ A J 10 7 6 4 2 ♣ Q 10 5

West North East South 1♣1 2♦2 2♠3 4♦4 Pass 5♦ All Pass

Page 31

Graysky continued

Most players would make the same opening bid now. 2 Now we depart, as fashions change. Weak jump overcalls have become very popular amongst duplicate players, so today’s South is likely to overcall 1♦. 3 West is a bit light for his 2♠ response, but maybe he was used to an up to strength opening bid from his partner, who is vulnerable and opened first in hand. Also, he probably did not have a ’negative double‘ available to him, as this type of double was introduced to the world at large in 1957 by American experts Alvin Roth and Tobias Stone. 4 Opposite a strong jump overcall this was an invitational call. 1

So what would happen in 2014? Some players would probably make their way to 3NT. But, actually, 5♦ is a better contract at teams for two reasons: first, if you are defeated, you will lose fewer points. Second, playing in the diamond contract means that you have the comfort of a safety play, or maybe it should be called a discovery play. West led a club, West took his ♣K and switched smartly to his ♠10, which declarer won in hand with the ♠A.

Analysis There are various ways to try to make eleven tricks. Ruffing clubs in the short hand is ideal (two majorsuit aces, two club ruffs and seven diamonds representing an excellent option), but declarer has two certain – and immediate – black losers and has to ‘find’ the ♦K. Holding eleven cards in a suit, it is almost even money to finesse or play for the drop (that is, with no extra information about the opponents’ cards). But, reflecting on the bidding, it looks as if West has five or six spades headed by the K-Q. And trick one suggests that East has the A-K of

clubs. The opponents have half of the points but where are the red kings? Surely, they must be divided because otherwise the bidding doesn’t seem to add up.

club ruff and finesse East for the other red king confidently. On the other hand, if East plays the ♥K, then declarer plays for the drop in trumps.

N



W E S



♠ 7 ♥ Void ♦ A J 10 7 6 4 2 ♣ Q 10

Tony Priday, Gray’s last bridge partner

Deferring the trump decision, declarer can play a heart to the ace and follow it with the ♥Q, intending to discard his losing spade – a type of ‘loser on (might be) loser play’ that doubles up as a discovery play.

♠ J 6 5 ♥ Q 6 3 ♦ Q 9 8 3 ♣ Void

N

W E S



♠ 7 ♥ Void ♦ A J 10 7 6 4 2 ♣ Q 10

In the diagrammed position, if West wins with the ♥K, then declarer can win the return, reach dummy with a

Notice that if West has the doubleton king of trumps and East the ♥K, then declarer will always be defeated. Even if he was never making, he should still be relieved to be in 5♦ rather than 3NT. Gray’s major bridge achievements European champion in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1963. Gold Cup winner seven times. The first time, in 1937, was with the original Acol team S J Simon, Jack Marx, Iain Macleod and Colin Harding; the last time in 1968 was with Tony Priday, Nico Gardener, Albert Rose and the Sharples brothers James and Robert.

Postscript Of course, a less flashy line is to play the ♦A and see what happens. Then you’ll know if the heart finesse is needed. But don’t you think the first line is more fun? ■

Make sure you don’t miss your favourite monthly articles by taking out an annual subscription to BRIDGE. www.mrbridge.co.uk/shop

Page 32

♠ J 6 5 ♥ Q 6 3 ♦ Q 9 8 3 ♣ Void

£20 12 monthly issues

BRIDGE August 2014

2014 with Jeremy Dhondy, Chairman of the EBU

August 2014: Charity Begins at Home

T

o many of us, charity means giving money or time to something we think is a deserving cause. It might be a cancer research charity, Oxfam or one of many others. Generally, people like making their own decisions and people who stand on high streets waving tins at us, or knocking on doors uninvited, or perhaps sending us mail we didn’t ask for, annoy us. Many of us have a working definition of a charity in our heads and are sometimes surprised when looking at a list of charities. Charitable status is determined by the Government and the rules governing this have broadened in recent years. This affects bridge. On April 1st, the education arm of the English Bridge Union became a charity. That means a different tax treatment, possible access to donations from bodies that would not consider a non-charity and a number of other advantages. It’s early days but one of the requirements is that bridge is opened up to a wider audience. One obvious idea is that the EBU courses for trainee directors and those who want to be teachers will be thrown open to more people. The teaching of bridge not just to the young but also to those coming up to retirement and also those who are retired and who, perhaps, experience a sense of social isolation will benefit from this conversion to a charity. The increasing number who will be in retirement, looking for new hobbies, is likely to give many opportunities to clubs which have been struggling to retain membership and also to people who want a challenging activity to help keep their brain and social life active. Later this month, English Bridge Education and Development (EBED), the charity, will be running a junior teach-in at Loughborough University. BRIDGE August 2014

It is for those who have never played before, those who are beginners and also more experienced players up to and including junior internationals. Those who are doing the teaching have all volunteered their time. Attendees sometimes come with parents and there are bridge activities which also involve them. If you or someone you know is interested, then there is more information at http://www.ebu.co.uk/ youth/Junior-Teach-In. You don’t need to be an EBU member to take part. The weekend is subsidised as a result of a charity donation. Around ten affiliated clubs and one county have become charities in the last few years. The first club in the country to gain charitable status, Hitchin, became a charity some time ago. Their switch to their new status has led to a wider involvement in the community and, good for the club, an increasing membership with a stronger teaching arm. Other clubs who have followed the same route have also noticed these effects. As the pioneers in this area, Hitchin has been generous in helping other clubs wishing to follow a similar route. In May, one of our counties, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, gained permission to become a charity. The upshot of this is that it will allow them to receive a sizeable donation which will lead to a purpose built bridge centre for the county. At least one club has received permission to have its membership dues for the year gift aided. There are some hoops to jump through first, but this possibility is looking promising for other clubs. The Club Liaison Officer for the EBU, as part of his job, has to keep up to date on all these initiatives so that advice and help can be offered to affiliated clubs who wish to go down this route. That is a new and additional benefit

of affiliation for some. It doesn’t, of course, stop unaffiliated clubs going down the same route if they wish to do so, although thus far membership of a national body seems to have some advantage in converting to charitable status. This may be because of an assurance that there are rules and regulations that govern the game properly and that the club contributes to this. I’ve heard it said by some that they have their own definition of what constitutes a charity and it doesn’t include bridge clubs. Fortunately, their own personal definition and what the Charity Commissioners believe are not the same thing. Bridge has a role to play in our society. It is a useful activity for the young to learn, it is a way for our clubs to become more involved in the community and it is a way for older members of society not only to become involved in a social activity but also to keep their brain active. It isn’t only the UK that is following these sorts of initiatives. In Poland, where bridge is fully recognised as a sport and therefore has greater access to funding, there is a large junior section of players and a programme for involving older members of society that has been developing for some time now. In France, they have run a series of (expensive) TV adverts on their equivalent of BBC2 to get more members from the section of the community coming up to retirement. The adverts all show a small green stick man exercising in the brain area making a simple, but effective, point. The charitable link has the capacity to make a big difference to bridge so let’s hope we can take advantage. If you have constructive comment or feedback on these or other topics, I will be pleased to hear from you at [email protected]. ■ Page 33

David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics

Must I Pause After a Stop Bid?

Q

I have been criticised by an opponent on more than one occasion for placing my pass card on the table without waiting 10 seconds after he made a ‘stop bid’ ie 1♦- pass-stop 3♦-pass (from me). Ten seconds seems a long time to wait when it is apparent to me that I have no bid to make. What are the reasons for this wait before passing and, if a wait is required, do the rules specify 10 seconds? Name and address supplied.

A

It is true that you are required by the regulations of the game to pause for a reasonable time whenever your right hand opponent makes a jump bid. The recommendation is that the pause should be around ten seconds. You say it is apparent to you that you have no bid to make: by not waiting the required time, you have made it clear to the opponents and, more importantly, to partner, which may create ethical difficulties for him. Suppose, to take the simplest case, you have a shapely 10 points, LHO bids 3♥-pass-pass to you. Do you double? If you are ethical, you will not want your decision to be affected by knowing whether your partner has a near bid or not: unethical players will now double if

Page 34

partner thought for a time, but pass if he passed quickly. Ethical players will tend to do the reverse. But if partner takes a fair time to pass whether he has a near bid or a complete bust, there are no ethical problems whatever. Note that your opponent should control the time so you do not have to worry about it: he is required to leave the stop card out for about ten seconds and you may not call until he has removed it. Sadly, too many club players take the stop card away immediately, creating further ethical problems. ♣♦♥♠

Q

During a rubber bridge game, the declarer drew a card from the dummy and placed it into play. Immediately dummy pointed out that declarer had not followed suit and indicated the card which should have been played. Ron Nabarro, Poole.

A

This is tricky: dummy is not allowed to draw attention to an irregularity, so should keep quiet. For example, too many dummies point out to declarer that he has led from the wrong hand, which is not allowed. However, the world body that writes the laws also pointed out, many years

ago, that dummy should not play a card from dummy that constitutes a revoke. This seems to me to contradict what I have just said! Perhaps, since he is not allowed to play it nor draw attention to it, he should just sit there and do nothing. I believe the practical answer is that since the world body has spoken we should treat this as an exception. So if you are dummy and partner calls for a card that would constitute a revoke, you should point out it cannot be played. Quote this article if anyone challenges your right to do so. Note that this reply would be just the same at duplicate. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At my local club last night, I revoked. I had not realised until the end of play when the opposition pointed it out. The declarer, also the director, awarded himself four extra tricks at first, then realised he needed only three for his contract and changed it to three. My partner, who has played for a long time, asked the director to have a look in his rule book which he refused to do and stated he would look at the end of the evening. My revoke won the trick, but if I had fol-

lowed suit, I still would have won with my card left in my hand later on. His abrasive attitude upset our game for the last two tables. I am relatively new to the game and very much appreciate your advice on this matter. Dorothy Jackson by email.

A

Few clubs would even have directors if they were not allowed to play, so playing directors are normal. But such directors need to be very careful indeed when ruling at their own table and it does not sound as though your director exhibited such care, especially when ruling against less experienced players. It is recommended that rulings should be read from the law book: in practice, directors often do not, but failure to go and get the book and read from it when asked is unacceptable. Nevertheless, without seeing the whole hand, I cannot tell you whether the ruling is correct or not. Since you won the revoke trick and assuming your side won a later trick, two tricks are automatically transferred to the other side. But if the revoke actually cost the other side four tricks, then four tricks are transferred; if three tricks, then three tricks are transferred. So the ruling is possibly correct. If he had ruled this way he should also have explained it carefully.

BRIDGE August 2014

Ask David continued

Q

Would you please help me with a query I have concerning the new rules (out about 6 or 7 years ago) regarding alerting after a 2NT bid? Is it required to alert 3♣, stayman, at this level? June Arditti by email.

A

There was no change in alerting responses to 2NT 6 years ago. Stayman, as all other conventional responses, was alertable. However, there has been a recent change and now Stayman is an announcement. So if you play Stayman in standard fashion, asking for four card majors, you just announce, ‘Stayman,’ instead of alerting. ♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner opened 1♥ and I held:



♠ A 5 2 ♥ A Q 8 3 ♦ Q 10 8 ♣ J 9 7

I was too strong for 3♥ or 4♥ (we play the

latter as weak) and we don’t play Jacoby 2NT, so I temporised with an invented bid of 2♦, followed by a delayed game raise to 4♥. Our opponents felt that 2♦ should have been alerted, saying they expected me to have five diamonds. My partner who, equally, did not expect me to have such a diamond holding said he couldn’t be expected to alert every such bid just in case I was inventing something. I certainly don’t think two of a minor over one of a major promises five cards and is not therefore alertable. In the end, it made no difference, since every pair bid and made 4♥. David Barker by email.

A

Too many players assume everyone else plays what they play. It is not normal to play a 2♦ response to 1♥ as showing five cards so a response showing four cards is not alertable. When you invent a bid which your partner has no reason to understand, as people have been doing when raising their partner’s major indirectly for seventy years, it is not alertable since it is not one of your ■ agreements.

E-mail your questions to: [email protected]

DUPLICATE BRIDGE  RULES SIMPLIFIED (otherwise known as the Yellow Book) by John Rumbelow and revised by David Stevenson See Mail order form on page 7

BRIDGE August 2014

only

£595

Page 35

Misleading Cases Number Eight

THE BRIDGE LESSON Trout v. Halibut before his Honour Judge Kreuz, in the Small Claims Division of the Erehwon County Court After the evidence and Counsels’ closing speeches, his Lordship gave judgment as follows:

“T

his case involves (a) the game of bridge (which I have not hitherto played but have learned a bit about during the case), (b) a bridge teacher named Mr Horatio Halibut (the Defendant) and (c) his erstwhile pupil, Mr Thomas Trout (the Claimant). On retirement from the Civil Service, Mr Trout decided to take up bridge. In the witness box today, he said that many people take up the game at that time of life, though from what I have learned of it during this case, I am doubtful if I will myself. Mr Trout got Mr Halibut’s name from the website of the English Bridge Union (the bridge teachers’ regulatory body) and sent him the following email (Exhibit A): ‘Dear Horatio (if I may so address you), I understand that you are a bridge tutor and I would be pleased if you would teach me the game, preferably next Thursday – say 6pm? I imagine half an hour would be long enough (I have a PhD in Applied Mathematics from Cambridge and I learned chess from scratch in ten minutes). My friends tell me that, having learned the game, I should join a bridge club, so could we go on after the Thursday lesson to play at the Erehwon Duplicate Bridge Club (their website says play starts at 7pm) and perhaps you could propose me as a member while we are Page 36

there? Also, as I am retired now, I hope you will be able to give me a discount on your usual teaching fee. Thanks J Thomas Trout.’ Sadly, Mr Halibut’s precise response to this enquiry has not survived (he must have had fun composing it), but in any event Mr Trout received (and apparently accepted) the message that bridge could not be learned (even by him) in half an hour. In the end, he signed up for a series of 12 weekly lessons of two hours each with Mr Halibut, postponing meanwhile his application to join the Bridge Club. And come September, when Mr Halibut’s next beginners’ class started, Mr Trout was there (along with a number of others) with bus pass and cheque book. There was quite a variety of students in the class, including some who played kitchen bridge from time to time, one or two who had studied the game in the past but not kept it up, one woman who left after the first lesson because she thought she was joining a course on advanced dentistry and a man who had been under the impression that the course was part of Continuing Professional Development for civil engineers, but stayed on to learn bridge anyway. Mr Halibut got the learners to introduce themselves to each other and say what experience, if any, they

had of bridge (or even whist). He then introduced himself, saying that he had started to learn bridge with friends on the shores of the Caspian Sea 50 years ago and, although bridge lessons did not exist in those days, he had been addicted to the game ever since. He went on to explain where the emergency exits, the loos and the first aid kits were located and the lesson began. The lesson was certainly not what Mr Trout was expecting. For sure, he knew the suit symbols, but to begin with he objected to the fact that an ace (which he initially called a one) was senior to a two and said he was going to launch a petition to change this. When Mr Halibut started teaching about the shape of hands, Mr Trout said that in his view, a hand of 5224 shape was just as balanced as one of 5332 and, anyway, was there not a proper mathematical way of determining whether a person’s hand was balanced or not? Quick as a flash, Mr Halibut said yes, of course there was: if p > 34 (where p = the product of the lengths of his four suits) then his hand is balanced: otherwise it is not. That kept Mr Trout quiet while he worked out its ramifications. When Mr Halibut started teaching how to value a hand of cards, Mr Trout said that he did not accept that a jack was worth a whole point. BRIDGE August 2014

Misleading Cases continued

He had worked out on his way to the lesson that there were about 13 tricks in a hand of bridge (clearly, he was a brilliant mathematician): obviously, he said (aware now that aces were the most valuable cards in the pack), four of these tricks (presumably the first four) would be won by aces and almost all the rest by kings and queens. So a jack was pretty worthless and he personally would be ignoring his jacks in valuing his hand and would expect his partners to do likewise. As recommended by the English Bridge Union, the class played minibridge (essentially bridge without the bidding) during their first lesson, with an initial demonstration by Mr Halibut of how it was played. Mr Halibut sat down in the South seat at a table with three of his pupils and, after shuffling the cards, the hands were dealt: ♠ A K 2 ♥ J 9 4 3 ♦ A J 3 ♣ 7 5 4 ♠ Q 10 8 6 ♥ 8 6 N W E ♦ 9 5 2 S ♣ Q J 8 2 ♠ J 9 4 3 ♥ A K 5 ♦ K 8 7 ♣ A K 10

♠ 7 5 ♥ Q 10 7 2 ♦ Q 10 6 4 ♣ 9 6 3

Contract: 3NT. Lead: ♣Q.

The rest of the class crowded round to watch. The four players picked up their cards, except that North’s cards were placed face up on the table for all to see. Mr Halibut explained that he was South (declarer) partnering North (dummy) and his task was to make at least nine tricks for North-South, without a trump suit (trumps would be covered in lesson 2) and without his seeing East’s and West’s cards. He asked West to lead a card – any card – and West led the queen of clubs. BRIDGE August 2014

As it happened, Mr Halibut made only eight tricks, but he laughed it off, saying that even experts cannot always make their contracts. Mr Halibut then asked if anyone else would like to play the same deal again, but with the East and West hands shuffled and redealt. Mr Trout volunteered and, on being selected, sat down in the South seat. The hands, as redealt, were now: ♠ A K 2 ♥ J 9 4 3 ♦ A J 3 ♣ 7 5 4 ♠ 8 7 6 5 ♥ Q 10 N W E ♦ 10 6 5 4 2 S ♣ Q J ♠ J 9 4 3 ♥ A K 5 ♦ K 8 7 ♣ A K 10

♠ Q 10 ♥ 8 7 6 2 ♦ Q 9 ♣ 9 8 6 3 2

Contract: 3NT. Lead: ♣Q.

Again the queen of clubs was led and Mr Trout simply played each suit ‘from the top’ (as Mr Halibut derisively put it in his evidence), making 14 tricks easily (four spades, four hearts, three diamonds and three clubs). He then turned to Mr Halibut and said that he had not been at all impressed by the latter’s earlier card play, in particular because he had not always played a high honour when he could – Mr Halibut had called this approach a finesse, but Mr Trout called it ‘carelessnesse’ or ‘forgetfulnesse’. Mr Trout then announced to the class that, from what he had seen so far, he personally would not gain any benefit from further lessons with Mr Halibut so would not be coming to bridge classes again, though he would be going to the bridge club to finetune his technique. Meanwhile, he said, turning back to Mr Halibut, he would be grateful for the return of his cheque. Mr Halibut says he was embarrassed and insulted, not to mention surprised, by this request (which he rejected) but worse was to follow.

A few days later, a letter (Exhibit B) arrived from Mr Trout’s solicitors, Messrs Tite, Lynes & Co. They alleged that Mr Halibut was a poor bridge player and a worse teacher and pointed out, having enquired of the English Bridge Union, that Mr Halibut had no bridge teaching qualifications and was not even a grandmaster. They went on to demand a refund of Mr Trout’s course fee and travelling expenses, as well as compensation for wasted time. Mr Halibut again declined to pay up. And now the matter has come to the Small Claims Court. Having heard the details of this dispute and the evidence of both parties, I have to decide whose evidence to prefer. I am bound to say that I prefer the evidence of a retired senior Civil Servant (especially one who is an advanced mathematician and even more especially one who was at my own Alma Mater) to that of a mere (unqualified and, indeed, untrained) bridge teacher. Also Mr Halibut did not present the bridge-teaching profession (if indeed it can be called a profession) in a good light. It was not clever of him to conduct the lesson in the way he did and surely a bridge teacher should have taken at least as many tricks with the North/South hands as his pupil, a total beginner. I sympathise, too, with Mr Trout’s criticism of the point count system and no doubt his views on the subject will be considered very carefully when he next plays at the Erehwon Duplicate Bridge Club. As for the formula to ascertain whether a hand is balanced, I am not sure whether it is valid, but if it is,* then some good will have come out of this case and no doubt the formula will be found very useful in beginners’ bridge lessons in future. Judgment for the Claimant, Mr Thomas Trout. Under the rules of the Small Claims Court, each party bears his own costs, which no doubt explains why neither party is legally represented here today.” Reporter: Richard Wheen, after A.P. Herbert *It is. R.F.W.

■

Page 37

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Benefits of cruising with Mr Bridge: 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 – Mr Bridge welcome and farewell drinks parties Friendly fares for single travellers (a bridge partner will always be found) – Extra discounts for previous passengers

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READERS’ LETTERS IDEAL WAY Christopher Dicker raises some relevant points in his letter to BRIDGE 138. He is correct that, in many small clubs, the unpaid and playing director is the general dogsbody, responsible for doing everything from collecting money to putting up tables and making the coffee. Total reliance on one person is the sign of an unhealthy club. If that one person leaves, the club is likely to die. For many years, I ran director training courses for the EBU. These issues came up frequently. Those attending were frequently rather apprehensive and far from being convinced of their own infallibility and conscious only of a need to help their clubs. My advice for clubs is: 1. The director has two functions. Apply the laws and make sure the movement works. The director may or may not score (after the event) as well. That is quite enough for any nonprofessional director. The director should explain to the club committee that

he will not take part in any other activity. The committee should realise that is in the best interest of the club. 2. The director is in charge of an evening but it is helpful if other directors are willing to answer calls. 3. Even with this relatively limited role, everybody should recognise the director is making sacrifices to his own game for the benefit of the club and has a difficult role. The laws are not straightforward for an amateur director. It is to be expected that the director will make mistakes and I would suggest that if people want to grumble about the director, they might consider whether they are prepared to do the job themselves. 4. All clubs should aim for the norm that as soon as anything goes wrong the director is called. The director may sometimes be wrong but he is unbiased. The alternative is that the players decide themselves and those with the most dominant personalities get their own way. There is a very simple and obvious principle: no player ever has the right

to tell another player what to do at the table. Comments like, ‘You cannot bid after your partner’s hesitation,’ or, ‘You must make your insufficient bid good,’ or, ‘You didn’t specify which card to play so I insist you play the lowest,’ are wrong by law and contradict every principle of justice. The player saying this to an opponent has an obvious conflict of interest. Andrew Kambites by email.

OUR GOLDEN GIRL Please award Jessica 10 Gold Stars for her patience and skill in helping me install QPlus10 on Windows 7. It is tested and everything works. There may be other people with QPlus10, who upgrade to Windows 7 and face the same difficulty as I did. They should give Jessica a call. Philip Medcalf, Trowbridge, Wiltshire.

NEW SUBSCRIBER I enclose a cheque for £20 being the introductory annual subscription for your magazine. I have enjoyed reading free copies of BRIDGE for quite some years and am pleased to subscribe to what I consider to be a very good, informative and educational facility for the majority of bridge enthusiasts. Mrs J Macreadie, Rotherham, South Yorkshire.

REDUCE THE COST OF YOUR POSTAGE Postage stamps for sale at 90% of face-value, all mint with full gum. Quotations for commercial quantities available on request. Values supplied in 100s, higher values available as well as 1st and 2nd class (eg 2nd class: 100x37p+100x16p).

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

BRIDGE August 2014

THE BERNARD OPTION I am trying to improve my bridge. I have been reading your magazine for quite a few years now, have been on a couple of weekends and have bought a copy of QPlus. I have also started playing at a local bridge club. I have only recently started to use QPlus, but I have found it quite difficult to set up. What I think I was hoping for was a program that would take all of the improvements in Acol, which you have taught me: weak no-trump, Stayman, redsuit transfers, weak twos, RKCB, cue bids, splinters, fourth suit forcing, gambling 3NT, double for take-out vs penalties etc. and play those conventions with the additional option of adding, say, Michaels cue bids, when I feel like experimenting. Of course, not all of your contributors play the same system, but I get the impression of a general consensus on these things. I am sure that all of the options I have listed above are possible within QPlus, but there are so many options I have no idea what to set. I am sure I have ended up with a mish-mash. The program certainly does not behave as I would have expected a player schooled in the Mr Bridge system to behave. I would find it helpful to have a guide as to what to set within QPlus to have the program bid and understand my bids according to the broad guidelines that your magazine promotes. Oliver Buckley, London W6.

QPlus versions 10 and 11 have the Bernard Magee options: Acol or Advanced Acol. Go to configuration and take your choice.

Page 39

READERS’ LETTERS continued

THE FUTURE In BRIDGE 138, Christopher Dicker says that computer dealing is out of the question for ‘once-a-week’ clubs who meet in church halls, due to the cost and storage of the equipment needed. I disagree, for I run such a club using computer dealt hands without a Duplimate or any dealing machine. I purchased Dealmaster software and make up the hands manually from the computer print-out. The members like them and hence won’t be thrown when they meet computer dealt hands in tournaments. As well as getting a print-out of the hands, they get computer analysis showing the number of tricks that can be made with best play on both sides. If the cards are pre-suited by the members, it takes about 40 minutes to make up 24 boards. If a non-playing member of the club is not available to do this, then you simply find a bright teenager who wants to make some extra pocket money. Give it a try at your club, you won’t regret it. Once your members get used to more exciting hands with the print-outs, they will never want to go back to the old ways. After all, has any club who introduced bidding boxes ever gone back to silent bidders? Ian Dalziel, Troon, Ayrshire.

A USEFUL BRICK A correspondent in BRIDGE 138 remarks that the cost and storage of computerdealing equipment is out of the question. Orpington Bridge Club is quite small (5

Page 40

or 6 tables) and used to think the same but most members greatly welcome having hand records and the only practical way to get them is with computer dealing. It doesn’t have to be expensive. Next time your club replaces your cards, buy them with bar codes for the same cost as the plain equivalents. Then spend just a few hundred pounds – around a pound a table for a year – for a low cost computer-assisted dealing machine which will work with a cheap windows PC. The 6-year old netbook we use is perfectly adequate. The dealing machine we have (HandyDup) differs from full-priced machines by replacing the automatic card sorter with a light for each compass point: swipe a face down card by hand across the bar code reader and drop it in the indicated pile. Once the knack is acquired, it takes about five minutes to deal three boards, including taking the cards out of the board and putting them back – roughly the same as thorough manual shuffling and dealing. The software is the same as that which powers full-priced machines. It generates provably random hands and gives the same double-dummy analysis of makeable contracts. Storage is trivial: the machine is a little smaller than a litre juice brick. We take ours to the game and have twice used it to correct misboards in a few seconds by re-dealing only the hand with excess cards with no need even to look at a hand record. ( 01689 819228 ( 07519 985547 Tom Smith (or Mike) by email.

BETTER DREAMS Your new insurance company in the BRIDGE magazine, Genesis Choice with Mr Tom Evans, was very impressive – booking with multiple health issues is always a nightmare. Dr Gould, Denmead, Hampshire.

SHE PLAYS BRIDGE I thought this introduction by Martina Navratilova to a new book by Audrey Grant might be of interest to your readers. Syd Zoltie, Edinburgh.

Why Play Bridge You may be confused as to why Martina Navratilova is writing the introduction to a bridge book. The answer is that I believe it takes a strong mind, as well as a strong body, to live life to its fullest. Bridge is more than just a card game. It’s a cerebral sport. Bridge teaches you logic, reasoning, quick thinking, patience, concentration and partnership skills. Last year at Wimbledon, when we got rained out, I spent my time playing bridge to keep me sharp and on my toes. An evening of bridge at home with family and friends is so much more fulfilling than sitting watching TV. The American Contract Bridge League has commissioned one of the world’s most successful bridge teachers, Audrey Grant, to write this book. Audrey has taken what many people consider a complex game and made it easy and fun to learn. Bridge has meant a lot to me in my travels. No matter where I go, I can always make new friends at the table. You know, tennis is a sport for a lifetime and bridge is a game for a lifetime. It can be enjoyed by young and old, male and female, weak and

strong. It crosses all barriers. Take this book home with you today. Start learning a game and a sport to last a lifetime. Martina Navratilova.

BEGGING LETTER Myself and lots of different friends (and partners, sometimes) have attended many of your bridge weekends and always found them to be most enjoyable. I belong to a charity committee called Breakaway. We are a registered charity raising money for special needs children nationwide. We have been in existence now for almost forty years and in that time we have raised nearly four million pounds, but to keep doing this we need support. On November 3rd, I am running a Bridge Luncheon at the Hartsbourne Country Club in Bushey. I expect about 120 supporters and we are charging £30 per head. Therefore we would like a very special raffle prize and wonder whether you could help by donating a weekend away. Obviously this would be very well liked and could persuade people to spend more money on the raffle. I would be so grateful if you could send me a voucher so that the winner could choose which weekend would be suitable. Thank you in advance. Angela Goodman by email.

The margins do not allow for such generosity. However I will send you a DVD box set.

SPECIAL NEEDS Having just received your latest brochure on your 2015 cruises, all of which look fascinating, I was very disappointed to note that there is only one disabled cabin on the Aegean

BRIDGE August 2014

READERS’ LETTERS continued

Odyssey, and given that Voyages of Discovery refuse to allow any passengers to board Voyager unless they can walk up the gangplank, I find myself excluded. Having thoroughly  enjoyed your tutorials and bridge sessions in Worthing, Blunsdon and Tunisia, I have since embarked on a number of cruises without any problems. I hope that you will give some thought to alternative ships with suitable accommodation as I am sure I am not the only person who enjoys bridge and cruising, is mentally and physically fit, but confined to a wheelchair. Cruising gives my wife and myself the opportunity to meet people and for my wife to go ashore and see the sights when it is impractical for me to do so.

SCORING For my sins I have taken on the marking of the travellers at our smallish (but very friendly) bridge club. I wondered if Mr Bridge had some software which I could put into the computer to do the scoring. We are not a large sophisticated club, many members haven’t computers, so really what I need is something whereby I could put in the scores and the computer could give me the results. I can finish it off on a sheet we have and show it at the next meeting. They are not interested in percentages etc. just who has come first, second, third etc. I do hope you can help. Janet Whaley, West Bridgford, Nottingham.

Jeff Smith has a free program for scoring duplicate pairs, PairsScorer. Download it from: http://homepages. nildram.co.uk/~jasmith/ download.htm

James Ashton by email.

MANY THANKS

I hope to be able to announce a couple of sailings, catering better for disabled people, in the very near future.

Thank you for sending the information. The years have caught up with me and I am no longer able to undertake journeys. I have very much enjoyed every Mr Bridge event that I have been able to attend and I thank you for what you do. Please know that you enable people to meet and share and enjoy life and bridge together which is a very considerable

MIND BOGGLING We are looking for a movement when our club plays against another club, as follows: 16 players in each team arranged in 4 sub-teams of 4 people with each sub-team to play against all the opposing 4 sub-teams. Is there a movement which allows this, without the need to reshuffle boards on the last round? Mr & Mrs R Odell, Tingewick, Buckingham.

I have sent this on to David Stevenson. If you have similar enquiries, please contact davidstevenson@ mrbridge.co.uk directly.

BRIDGE August 2014

contribution. OK, you make money at it but we too are the richer for it, so a big thank you. Yvonne Wavell by email.

NEW GAME NEEDED On Wednesday 14th May, I got an email from you saying that BRIDGE 138 was now available on-line and printed copies would be posted out the next day to subscribers. I much prefer the printed copy to reading it on-line so looked forward to my copy arriving through the post. However, I was so keen to read my favourite articles that I printed a few each day and read them in advance. By the time the magazine arrived by post on Monday 19th May, I had printed all the 48 pages. What a waste of paper. Perhaps I lead a very sad life but it is such a good magazine I just couldn’t resist peeking. Might it be possible to delay putting the magazine on-line till it arrives through our letter boxes? Ian Dalziel, Troon, Ayrshire.

Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

♦ Guide to the Laws. ♦ Scoring Tables for duplicate and rubber bridge.

♦ Cover colours: Red, Navy, Green, Burgundy.

I have enjoyed BRIDGE very much over the years. I see you now want £20 from me to continue. Sorry, I don’t see the point of paying for a cruise brochure.

E-mail correspondents are asked to include their name, full postal address, telephone number and to send no attachments.

♦ Acol Summary by Bernard Magee.

♦ Hand patterns and fascinating figures.

SO IT’S GOODBYE

Write to Mr Bridge at: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH or e-mail [email protected]

Contents include

♦ Distributional odds.

Perhaps you should take up a new game. Patience is one that springs to mind.

Mrs E Nice, Long Marston, York.

Mr Bridge 2015 Bridge Players’ Diaries

■

♦ All covers printed in gold-coloured ink. ♦ Individual diaries £6.95 each including p&p. ♦ Special concession to clubs and teachers. 10 for £35, thereafter £3.50 each including p&p. ♦ Luxury version with supersoft kidrell cover, gilded page edges and a ball-point pen attached, in ruby red or navy blue. £14.95 each including p&p.

See Mail Order Form on page 7.

Page 41

Catching Up by Sally Brock

I

n the last issue, I left you just before we flew to Ireland to play in the Killarney Congress. Our journey there was uneventful and we picked up our hire car and drove the hour and a half or so from Cork to Killarney. We found our rented accommodation easily enough – and, if I say so myself, I could hardly have done better. It was a spacious, nicely furnished and decorated, fourbedroom house, just over the road from the Lake Hotel where the bridge was to be played. We met up with Roz who was sharing with us. Roz and I went shopping for food while Barry and another couple of friends watched the FA Cup final. We were impressed by the Lidl supermarket – I’d not been to one before. We succumbed to the delicious-looking (and delicioustasting) scones which we took back for tea. The following day, we played in the two-session congress pairs and finished third. This early board gave Barry a fright: Dealer East. Love All. ♠ A K 7 4 ♥ J ♦ 6 3 2 ♣ A K 8 6 4 ♠ Q J 9 8 5 2 ♠ 6 3 N ♥ Q 10 9 8 4 2 ♥ K 5 W E ♦ 8 S ♦ Q J 10 9 5 ♣ Void ♣ J 10 9 3 ♠ 10 ♥ A 7 6 3 ♦ A K 7 4 ♣ Q 7 5 2

After I (East) passed, South opened one club and Barry bid two clubs, showing the majors. North bid four clubs and this was passed around to Barry. Not famous for being able to keep his mouth shut when needed, he bid four hearts. North bid five clubs and I doubled, thinking that Page 42

my trump trick, diamond strength and heart king should be enough to combine with Barry’s values to take three defensive tricks. At this stage, North said to his partner, ‘We agreed that all four club bids were slam tries.’ (This is not the sort of congress where you would ever call the tournament director for this sort of thing.) And there we were. Some people find it difficult to play hands where the longer trumps are in dummy rather than declarer’s hand (actually, I remember struggling with this myself). Declarer’s plan should have been to ruff spades in her hand, but, instead, she tried to ruff hearts in the dummy. As she had drawn one round of trumps at the start, I overruffed the second heart ruff and drew another round of trumps, leaving her a trick short. On the Monday, John arrived and played with Roz with Barry and me in the mixed teams – played over two consecutive evenings. The Manchester Nelson team were in the lead throughout. We did quite well but were 12 VPs behind them going into the last match. We did OK and were the first pair to finish. The news was that Nelson scored only 3 VPs. We scored up anxiously but found that we had just done enough to pip them. Almost as soon as we arrived, there was the bad news that Roz’s father was ill. She finally gave up trying to sort things out long distance and flew home on Wednesday evening, so in the Women’s teams, I played with Kath Nelson, Jean Keen and Suzy Lawson and we won that too. In the Mixed Pairs, I played with John and an indifferent performance by both of us saw us finish an undistinguished fourth. Because my American friend Kate cancelled, we needed a fourth for the teams and were lucky enough to procure Irish international Padraig O’Brian to make up the numbers and play with John. Somehow, everything

went right with this event and we managed to win with two matches to spare. Because we were flying home on the Sunday night, we left the problem of getting whatever prizes we had won back to England with John. Maybe we should open a crystal shop some time soon. The thing about Killarney is the scenery. To start with, the playing area is not some internal room without windows that you generally find in a conference hotel. There is a huge picture window running the whole length of the bridge room and all you can see is the lake and the mountains behind. No houses or other sign of human habitation. It really is glorious and, during the week, the bridge is only in the evenings, so you have the day free to do whatever you like. We drove around the Dingle peninsula one day and the Ring of Kerry another. Perhaps the high spot was the Three Lakes boat trip. There were about a dozen of us in a small motorboat and, at one place, we had to get out so the boat would be light enough to get through a shallow gap. The only problem was that it was very cold on the water, so when we stopped at Lord Brandon’s Cottage for lunch, we took up the offer to return by jaunty cart – a horse-drawn trap. This went up and over a mountain pass and we had to get out and walk the steeper patches to give the poor horse a rest. All in all, a really nice break and I would thoroughly recommend the congress for any of you who fancy a change of scenery for your bridge. Aside from this, there has been a bit of a hullabaloo about the issue of whether Briony can accompany me to Croatia. For various reasons, I felt I did not want to leave her at home for all that time and asked if she could come with me. But the Selection Committee felt that she would be a distraction, so for a while there was uncertainty as to if I would be playing at all and indeed whether the rest of the team would go either, but … ■ BRIDGE August 2014

Seven Days by Sally Brock Friday … at long last, everything is sorted for Croatia. Briony has permission to come with me, provided she brings a friend with her. The time has come to forget all the brou-ha-ha and focus on the European Championships. Just after 11am, the three of us (Toby, Briony and I) set off for Ilmington where we are meeting my parents and other, rather more distant, relatives (aunt, cousin, nephew etc) for lunch. Toby drives. When Toby first passed his driving test, I couldn’t find a company who would insure him (the best – and only – offer I got was to add him as a named driver on my tenyear-old car for £6,600). The converse now seems to have happened. A mere 18 months later, a period in which he has not driven at all, I could put him on the insurance of Briony’s car from the beginning of May until the end of October for a mere £176 (though it would have cost £180 per month to do it a month at a time). Now he is a bit rusty and we welcome the opportunity for him to practise motorway driving with us in the car, prior to driving on his own. We have an excellent lunch and catch up on all the family gossip and start to head back to High Wycombe at about 4pm. The traffic is dire and instead of the hour and 15 minutes it took us to get there, it takes us three hours to get home. I leap in and out of the house again quickly as I have a date in London half an hour later. With clear roads, the journey takes 45 minutes, but BRIDGE August 2014

traffic problems continue and I don’t arrive until 8.15pm. Nicola and I are practising by playing in TGR’s Fridaynight IMP pairs. I arrive after seven boards to find we are lying bottom with –25 IMPs. Things improve slightly but we still don’t manage to finish average. After the game, someone suggests we play a further 12 boards as a friendly team match. Grateful for all the practice we can get, we’re up for that and redeem ourselves slightly despite losing 12 IMPs on the following board rather unexpectedly: Dealer South. Game All. ♠ 10 4 3 ♥ 10 9 6 5 4 ♦ 5 3 ♣ J 7 3 ♠ A Q 9 8 ♠ J 7 5 2 ♥ K 7 3 2 N ♥ J 8 W E ♦ Void S ♦ A 10 9 8 6 2 ♣ A 9 8 6 2 ♣ 4 ♠ K 6 ♥ A Q ♦ K Q J 7 4 ♣ K Q 10 5

If you open one no-trump (or two notrumps) and partner bids Stayman or a transfer and the next hand doubles, what does redouble mean for you and your partner? For me, if partner has bid Stayman, then the redouble suggests we play there; but if partner has transferred, then redouble says, ‘I am maximum with three-card support,’ making it easy for partner to compete

further if needed. The reason for this is that, generally speaking, partner has some values to use Stayman, but often does not when making a transfer. However, on this deal neither NorthSouth were a regular partnership. In both rooms, this is the start to the auction: West North East South 2NT Pass 3♦ Dbl Rdbl Pass 3♥ Pass ?

For some reason, both Souths think three hearts is forcing. At my table, South bids three no-trumps and my double closes the auction. I lead a club. Declarer wins and tries the ace and queen of hearts, which I duck. She then plays the king of diamonds which Nicola wins and switches to a spade. We take four spade tricks, the king of hearts and ace of clubs. +800. In the other room, South raises three hearts to four, again doubled. This is much worse because the defenders manage a cross-ruff. When the smoke has cleared, the penalty is 1,400. South, at this table, is berating his partner for not passing three diamonds redoubled. However, I think that contract should go for 2,200!

Saturday After a nice lie-in we realise that we have two cars in London, which is one too many. Margaret and Martin are coming to dinner in High Wycombe, so we come up with the plan of my Page 43

Seven Days continued

driving home in Barry’s car (a twoseater Mazda MX5) while he drives my car and Margaret and Martin later on. A side benefit, to me, of this arrangement, is that I get to travel with the roof off. The traffic doesn’t seem to have improved since yesterday and it takes me longer than usual, but the sun is shining, so I don’t care. I get home and have a quick salad lunch with Briony before setting off to Waitrose to look for a coconut yogurt (one made with coconut milk, not just coconut flavoured) that Briony has heard about. We are always looking for new foods she can eat (i.e. ones without dairy or wheat/grain products). Toby has been doing most of the cooking in the household since he has been home and we have been enjoying a high standard of cuisine. He was keen to cook for Margaret and Martin, so has taken on the responsibility of the catering for this evening. What a treat for me. He does brilliantly. He has his friend Tom as a sous-chef and Briony as a sous-sous-chef (responsible for the vegetables). We start with artichokes with home-made Hollandaise sauce. Then, it’s venison steaks with red-wine gravy, new potatoes and perfectly cooked sugar-snap peas, baby corn and French beans. For dessert, it is chocolate lava cakes. I am so proud of them all. The food is delicious and it is great to be all together enjoying the evening.

Sunday Today is the Hubert Phillips final. Our team is Barry, Robert Sheehan, Gunnar Hallberg and me. Our opponents are Sheffield-based: Tom Gisborne, Sandy Davies, Mike Pomfrey and Dave Robinson. We meet halfway, in Coventry, to do battle over 60 boards. I had not been to the Coventry Bridge Club before and am quite impressed. It is part of a sports centre and, as well as the playing conditions being excellent, on a Sunday there is a carvery, available all day, in the restaurant. We play 30 boards and break for a Page 44

late lunch. At this stage we are 670 up, but then we lose a few, partly because of this slam deal which our opponents handle very well. Dealer West. N/S Game. ♠ K 9 7 ♥ A 9 6 2 ♦ A ♣ A J 10 8 5 ♠ J 4 ♠ 10 6 2 ♥ 10 8 7 N ♥ K Q 5 4 W E ♦ Q J 5 4 S ♦ 10 3 ♣ 7 4 3 2 ♣ K Q 9 6 ♠ A Q 8 5 3 ♥ J 3 ♦ K 9 8 7 6 2 ♣ Void

The key decision is what to respond initially with that South hand after partner opens one club. Our South decides to respond one spade and this is their auction: West Pass Pass Pass

North East South 1♣ Pass 1♠ 3♠ Pass 4♦ 4♠ All Pass

North, knowing that if he reversed into two hearts he had no agreements about how to proceed, decides to make life simple by jumping to three spades (note that if there is a 4-4 heart fit, then South will always hold five spades). Then, after the four diamond natural slam try, he decides to sign off because he is a trump short. This is the auction in the other room: West Pass Pass Pass Pass

North East South 1♣ Pass 1♦ 1♥ Pass 1♠ 2NT Pass 3♠ 6♠ All Pass

North realised that his hand could hardly be stronger if his partner had some slam interest and expected that if South was weak, then he would have started with one spade. A welldeserved swing of 750 points. With ten boards to go we are behind – by 10 aggregate points. Everyone scours their memories to see if they have missed any honours. I play with

Barry for the last ten boards and they are very flat. Seven flat games and three partscores. It looks as if it’s all going to be down to overtricks. When it is all over, we don’t do so well on the overtricks, but there is one partscore swing in our favour. We win by 180 aggregate points. The match is played in a great spirit and, after having a drink with our opponents, we drop Robert and Gunnar off at the station before heading home. We grab fish and chips on the way, then Barry heads back to London.

Monday I’m up early to squeeze some work in. Nothing on the travel guide scene, but bits and pieces to do: writing and working on ProBridge (if you haven’t had a chance to look at the new site, do go to www.pro-bridge. co.uk and take a look – or follow us on Facebook (ProBridge) and Twitter (@ProBridgeUK). I’m working on putting up an international calendar of events – not everyone wants an organised bridge holiday and just taking a holiday around a tournament in a good location is the sort of thing I like to do. After that, I’m thinking of a ‘Hand of the Day’ to attract web viewers. For lunch, we are joined by Jess, Briony’s friend who is coming to Croatia with her. I enjoy being able to spend a little time with the kids and their friends. In the evening, I have an hour’s online practice with Nicola against Fee and Catherine and then a twohour professional slot with my Irish women. If you are a woman and play online, I will give you a little tip: it’s a really good time to do your nails. You can varnish each one while waiting for someone else to bid/play and there is no temptation to get up while they dry and do something too early.

Tuesday Today is my birthday lunch. I share a birthday with Michele Barker, who used to play in the English women’s team before she retired to have kids. We decided to have a combined birthday lunch on the Tattershall Castle, BRIDGE August 2014

Seven Days continued

a floating restaurant moored near Embankment tube station. I discovered this place last year and it is excellent and very good value (unlike most of the actual restaurants on the river). You can’t book a table, so we need to get there early to make sure of our place. Briony and I drive in her car which we park at Westfield (that’s good value too, for London, at only £6 for 24 hours). We do a quick shop and then head off on the underground. We get there first as intended and bag three tables on deck as the weather is glorious. There are nearly twenty of us in total and we drink lots of white wine and eat their sharing platters until about four o’clock (though I am not the last to leave). I get back to Barry’s about 5.30pm – just time to soak my aching feet (the problem with heels) for half an hour before setting off again. We are out to dinner with my old friend and bridge partner Steve Lodge and his girlfriend Sophie. He has been living in the US full time but has sold his apartment in New York and bought a riverside one in Battersea. We have a drink while enjoying the glorious river view. Then, we walk along the river to London House, a new Gordon Ramsey restaurant.

Wednesday I had a date to spend today with my very good friend Carol from Nottingham. Amongst other things, we intended to go to the Matisse Cut-Out Exhibition at the Tate Modern. Unfortunately, she had to cancel because of family illness, so Briony and I are going to spend the day together instead. We meet for a coffee at Carluccio’s in Westfield and go directly to Oxford Street for a bit of shopping before getting a tube to Waterloo and walking along the river to the Tate Modern. We have a spot of lunch in the café there and then go to the exhibition. I love the simple lines and bold colours. Then it’s back to Westfield for a bit more shopping. I have to say I’m a bit exhausted by the end of it all. I didn’t sleep very well and BRIDGE August 2014

we have done a lot of walking. Briony drops me off at Barry’s and the first thing I do is sleep. Then Barry cooks me sausages and mash and we watch the athletics on TV.

Thursday

Dramatis Personae Sally Brock lives in High Wycombe with her two teenage children, her husband Raymond having died in early 2008. She works partly as a bridge professional, occasionally playing for pay but more often writing (she is the bridge columnist for The Sunday Times) and teaching online; the rest of the time she works on the production of travel guides – hence the occasional reference to rather obscure countries. She has been a member of the British/English women’s team on and off since 1979.

61 today. I get up slowly. The weather is glorious and I drive home in Barry’s car with the roof down, getting home just after 11.30am. The kids have gone to an enormous amount of trouble to make the day special for me. They take me into the garden with a cold Briony & Toby are Sally’s 18-yeardrink and give me their presents and old daughter and 19-year-old son. cards, as well as a few cards that have Barry Myers is Sally’s new partner, arrived in the post. Have you seen both at and away from the bridge a TV quiz show called The Chase? table. He is a criminal defence barrister Well, a few weeks ago, I was on there and lives in Shepherd’s Bush. as a question, ‘What card game does Nicola Smith is Sally’s current Sally Brock, multiple world champion international bridge partner. They formed and Sunday Times columnist, play?’ a last-minute partnership in 2008 to join (The contestant didn’t get it right). the England women’s team for the World Several people have told me about it, Mind Sports Games in Beijing and they but Briony had managed to get a DVD won the gold medal. Nicola has been of that particular show by writing to playing international bridge since she was 17, which is an awfully long time ago. the relevant person and asking nicely. From Toby, I get a wine glass marked Roz Bavin is a friend who lives ‘small glass’, ‘large glass’ and ‘Sally’s on Jersey and Sally does not glass’! see nearly enough of her. They have also prepared a picnic, so John Holland, long-time friend of both we drive to Marlow and walk along Sally and Barry. Plays for the England the river for a while before sitting Senior team with Gunnar Hallberg. down on the bank and eating it – all Margaret & Martin (Nygren). my favourite food. Then Briony and Margaret is Sally’s best friend, who I saunter along Marlow High Street lives in London. Sally and Margaret while Toby sits in the car waiting for played for England back in the early us. When I get home, I potter about for noughties, winning a European a bit and then they give me a ‘bath set’. Championship together in 2001. They have put together in a box some Fiona (Fee) Brown is a small redhead candles and matches, my favourite who is always smiling, comes from section of the newspaper, a canned Australia, but now lives in Harrogate gin and tonic plus crystal glass and with her boyfriend, Irish international some luxury bubble bath. I’m usually a Hugh McGann. Last year she finished her IT degree and at the moment shower person as I’m always in a rush, works part-time in a pharmacy so it is a real treat to spend an hour – which leaves her plenty of time soaking. Then, we have a barbecue (all to concentrate on her bridge. prepared and cooked by them) using Catherine Draper is Fee’s new partner. the new equipment we had bought at (We needed to replace Susan Stockdale the Ideal Home Exhibition a couple of after the last world championships months ago. Again, all my favourites. as she has decided to retire for a That all takes a long time and it is while to concentrate on running her really nice to relax and chat (using family business.) Catherine was on the wine glass, of course) in the eventhe women’s team that won the World ing sunshine. Afterwards, we move Mindsports Championship in Beijing inside and watch the aforementioned in 2008. She lives somewhere in the quiz programme. A really lovely birthnorthwest with Andrew and five dogs. day. ■ Page 45

The Diaries of Wendy Wensum Episode 28: The County Calls

A

n e-mail from the county captain was the surprise of the week. It invited Millie and me to play for the Norfolk third team in the next inter-county league match. Millie and I accepted the offer happily. Apparently, we were late replacements for a male pair who had dropped out at the last moment. I’m sure the fact that Norwich City were playing at home in a rearranged football match had no bearing on their decision. The switch of the bridge fixture from a home to an away venue was presumably not a contributory factor either. Spouse very kindly agreed to drive and treat us to lunch en route at a newly reopened restaurant that a friend had recommended. We hadn’t booked, so, on our arrival, we stayed in the car while Spouse investigated the menu and table availability. He returned soon, looking puzzled. He explained that there was a notice on the door saying, ‘Sorry, Closed for Lunch, Opening for Dinner this Evening’. We accepted the situation and found a friendly pub further down the road. The roast meal was perfectly acceptable as was the bottle of wine that Millie and I consumed without difficulty. It was probably not the best preparation for the afternoon session of bridge, particularly as Millie drank the lion’s share. A short time later, Spouse deposited us in good spirits at the venue before disappearing into town to visit an art gallery. Team members from both counties drifted into the hall, but, by the official start time, several male players from both sides had not made an appearance. As pairs congregated into their teams, the latecomers stormed in having consumed a few pints of beer in the local pub while watching the Norwich football match on TV. Of the 32 boards, one deal was particularly memorable as it allowed Millie and me to use our latest gadget for the first Page 46

time. After an opening one no trump, our new arrangement is to break red suit transfers holding a maximum with a good fit by cue bidding a control. Subsequent non-trump suit bids are also control showing cues, or so I thought. Dealer North. Love All. Millie ♠ J 7 4 2 ♥ K Q 10 9 ♦ A 8 6 ♣ K J ♠ Q 6 ♠ 10 N ♥ 4 W E ♥ 8 7 6 5 3 2 ♦ Q J 10 7 3 S ♦ K 9 4 2 ♣ Q 10 9 6 2 ♣ 5 4 Wendy ♠ A K 9 8 5 3 ♥ A J ♦ 5 ♣ A 8 7 3

West North East South Millie Wendy 1NT Pass 2♥1 Pass 3♦2 Pass 3♥2 Pass 4♥2 Pass 7♠ End 1 2 Spades Control

Our opponents passed throughout. As dealer, Millie opened one no trump (12-14). I bid two hearts as a transfer to spades. With 14 points and four spades, Millie agreed spades by cue bidding diamonds. At this point, I started to panic. Had Millie remembered the system? Would I get the sequence right? It was too late to worry now. I made a cue bid in hearts showing the ace and Millie bid four hearts showing the king. I thought that with no top losers and the good spade fit the grand slam could well make. With much trepidation and a shaking hand I placed the stop card

on the table. After a slight, unintended pause, I removed the seven spades card from the bidding box and laid it tremblingly on the green baize gently. West led the singleton heart. I won the trick and tested trumps. My worries were over and I claimed the contract. It was very pleasing as it was the first time Millie and I had used the sequence and in our first county match too. I haven’t bid and made many grand slams, but, from my point of view, the real significance of the hand was that the first time spades were mentioned was at the seven level. I congratulated Millie on her three diamond cue bid and explained how the four heart bid showing the king was critical. ‘I wasn’t showing the king!’ she exclaimed, ‘I was supporting your second suit. I wondered why you played the hand in spades and not hearts.’ It was then I realised that Millie had interpreted this latest addition to our system in a rather different way from me. Spouse enjoyed his afternoon and, on his return, was delighted to find that Millie and I were also in a cheerful mood. He suggested that to celebrate our inaugural appearance for the county and to mark the grand slam, we should return to the restaurant that was closed at lunchtime. On our arrival this time, a notice read, ‘Closed for Dinner. Open for Lunch Tomorrow’. I think the establishment is now off Spouse’s must-visit list. We found a Chinese restaurant on the way home and had an excellent supper. Millie and I shared another bottle of wine and, of course, Millie also needed a brandy to calm her after all the excitement of the day. We had learnt several things from our experiences: don’t believe notices in restaurant windows; men like beer and football; but most of all, make sure your partnership agrees all responses to a new convention. ■ BRIDGE August 2014

Answers to Julian Pottage’s  Defence Quiz on page 29 1. ♠ K 5 ♥ 10 7 4 ♦ K J 9 7 4 ♣ A Q 10 ♠ J 9 6 4 N ♥ A J 5 W E ♦ 10 8 6 S ♣ 8 6 4 ♠ 8 7 3 2 ♥ K 9 3 ♦ A Q 5 ♣ K J 9

West Pass All Pass ♠ A Q 10 ♥ Q 8 6 2 ♦ 3 2 ♣ 7 5 3 2

West North East Pass 3NT All Pass

South 1NT

You lead the ♠4. Partner takes the ♠K with the ♠A, cashes the ♠Q and continues with the ♠10. What do you do? You can see an easy way to beat the contract: overtake with the ♠J, then cash the ♠9 and ♥A. Since the cards in dummy make it obvious that you want a heart switch, you can afford to set your sights higher. Let the ♠10 hold. On a good day, partner will hold the ♥Q (or even the ♥K) and you will beat the contract by at least two tricks. A large set is possible if a desperate declarer rises with the ♥K trying to make the contract. (It should be obvious that you hold the ♥A or you would not leave the spades blocked.)

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

BRIDGE August 2014

♠ Q 9 7 4 ♥ 3 ♦ 10 7 5 3 ♣ A Q 7 2

North East South 1♣ Pass 1♥ 3♥ Pass 4♥

You lead the ♣4. Partner wins the first two tricks with the ♣Q and ♣A, continuing with ♣2. What is your plan? For sure, you will ruff the club to give your side a third trick. The ♠A, if you decide to cash it, will be the setting trick. At matchpoints and assuming you read the lowly ♣2 as denying the ♠K, cashing the ♠A is wrong. There is a much better chance that your side will make two spade tricks if you wait for declarer to play the suit. For the ♠A to run away, declarer would need all the missing hearts, jolly good diamonds and a singleton spade. If that were the layout, partner would be 5-0-3-5 and might well have overcalled 1♠.

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

♠ K J ♥ 9 5 3 2 ♦ K J 7 2 ♣ Q 7 2

West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♦6 to the ♦J and ♦A. A spade goes to the ♠A and another to partner’s ♠K. Back comes the ♦K and then the ♦2, which you ruff. How do you continue? Your side has made three tricks already: a spade, a diamond and a ruff. The ♣A looks like the setting trick. Can

you see a way of beating the contract by two? If you lead a low club and declarer guesses incorrectly, your side makes a second club trick. Underleading the ♣A carries no risk if you count the shape. The bidding and play to date tell you that declarer cannot have five spades, five diamonds or four hearts (it is usual to bid 2♥ rather than 2♠ with 4-4 in the majors). Partner’s lowly ♦2, if declarer reads it as a suit-preference signal, may well induce a losing guess.

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

♠ Q 5 ♥ A Q 9 5 2 ♦ K 7 5 3 ♣ 7 2

West North East South 1NT Pass 2♣ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

You lead the ♥8. Partner wins with the ♥Q, cashes the ♥A and continues with the ♥9. After ruffing the third round, what do you do? As on the previous deal, you can beat the contract by cashing your ace. As before, you should look for a second undertrick assuming that you can trust your partner. The ♥9, being the highest heart partner could lead, should be a suit-preference signal for a diamond, showing the ace (which you have yourself) or the king. So underlead the ♦A. Then you get to score the ♠J on an ■ overruff.

Page 47

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Standard Inside from Standard Outside from Premium Outside from

£1,995pp £2,450pp £2,595pp

ODYSSEY CLUB DISCOUNT 5%

*Mr Bridge fares are per person and subject to availability at time of booking. They may be withdrawn at any time without notice. †Single accommodation is available only in certain categories and is subject to availability.

EXCELLENT VALUE – ALL FARES INCLUDE: • SCHEDULED ECONOMY CLASS FLIGHTS • COMPLETE MR BRIDGE PROGRAMME • EXPERT ANTIQUITIES SPEAKERS ON BOARD • SIGHTSEEING EXCURSIONS • MR BRIDGE WELCOME AND FAREWELL DRINKS PARTIES • COMPLIMENTARY WINE WITH DINNER ON BOARD • GRATUITIES FOR ON-BOARD STAFF • OVERSEAS TRANSFERS AND BAGGAGE HANDLING

ADD A CITY STAYS, BEFORE OR AFTER YOUR CRUISE – please ask for details

FOR MORE INFORMATION

CALL

ON 01483 489 961

www.mrbridge.co.uk