150.pdf

BRIDGE Number One Hundred and Fifty

June 2015

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



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

West North East South ?



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

West North East South 1♠ 1NT ?

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



West North East South 3♠ Pass ?

West North East South 1♠ 1NT ?





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

West North East South 2♠1 1 ? 6-10pts & 6 spades Answers on page 9





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

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

West North East South 1♠ 1NT ? Answers on page 11

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

West North East South 1NT Dbl 2♦ ?

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



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

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





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

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass Pass ?

West North East South 1♣ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass ?

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

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

West North East South 1♣ Dbl Pass ?

West North East South 3♥ 3♠ Dbl Pass ?



Answers on page 13



Answers on page 15

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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 Publisher and Managing Editor Mr Bridge Associate Editor and Bridge Consultant Bernard Magee bernardmagee @mrbridge.co.uk Cartoons & Illustrations Marguerite Lihou www.margueritelihou.co.uk Technical Consultant Tony Gordon Typesetting & Design Ruth Edmondson [email protected] Proof Readers Brigid McElroy Mike Orriel Catrina Shackleton Richard Wheen Customer Services Catrina Shackleton [email protected] Events & Cruises ( 01483 489961 Jessica Galt [email protected] Megan Riccio [email protected] Sophie Pierrepont [email protected] Clubs & Charities Maggie Axtell [email protected] Address Changes ( 01483 485342 Elizabeth Bryan [email protected]

BRIDGE June 2015

Features this month include: 1 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX 2 Odyssey to the Cape

5 Mr Bridge 6 Sink the Titanic by Ned Paul

of Good Hope with Voyages to Antiquity

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

3 Clive Goff ’s Stamps

10 Should Players be Penalised? by David Stevenson 11 Bidding Quiz Answers (4-6) by Bernard Magee

4 The Treasures of the Aegean with Voyages to Antiquity

12 Declarer Play Quiz by David Huggett

7 QPlus 11

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

7 Mail Order Form

14 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage

8 Bridge Event Booking Form

15 Bidding Quiz Answers (10-12) by Bernard Magee 16 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions

8 Bridge Events with Bernard Magee

19 Sally’s Slam of the Month

9 Just Duplicate Bridge

20 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett

11 Travel Insurance

21 More Tips by Bernard Magee

12 Denham Grove Filming Weekend 2016

22 Contract Bridge Championship of 1933 – Revisited by Shireen Mohandes 26 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage 27 Wendy Wensum’s Diaries 28 Weak Twos by Heather Dhondy 30 Principles of Leading Against a Suit Contract by Andrew Kambites

13 Denham Grove Festive Season 2015 14 S R Designs Leather Gifts 15 Wyndham Garden Festive Season 2015 18 Charity Events

32 Adventures at Number 10 by David Holden and Roy Rowe

20 Mr Bridge Playing Cards

34 Penalty Doubles by Bernard Magee

21 Tips for Better Bridge

36 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions

31 Better Hand Evaluation

38 The Sheriff ’s Ill-Judged Double by David Bird 40 Defending Against 1NT: Double and so on by Jeremy Dhondy 42 Mary’s Eighteenth Lesson by Liz Dale 43 Readers’ Letters 44 Catching Up with Sally Brock 46 Seven Days with Sally Brock

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]

35 Bernard Magee’s Tutorial Software 37 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified 45 S R Designs Bridge Tables 48 Bernard Magee DVDs

ACOL BIDDING Coming later this year is a new, revised version of this bestselling CD. First published nearly 16 years ago, it will NEW feature extra hands, extra comments and, in addition, feature an app for Android. Next year, apps for iPads and iPhones are planned.

Page 3

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FROM THE HEART

It’s well over a year since I explained that I sometimes construct this column by sitting down and writing with a particular reader in mind. This is because I would say the same to everyone. The only difference is that yours will be signed personally and the envelope addressed in my own fair hand.

NEW TO TRANSFERS I only play bridge with humans when I go on a cruise. I endeavour to play with a different partner every session and I am delighted to find how patient and understanding my different partners are. Having told you over a year ago of my determination to play the great game better, I decided to incorporate red-suit transfers as and when required by my various on-board partners. Last cruise, most but not all, wanted this useful tool included on their convention card. The first couple of games went well enough but the third evening I found my partner playing in 2♥, my having failed to transfer to spades. I resolved to concentrate, but a couple of sessions later, again with a different partner, I opened 1NT, my partner chirps the usual Acol weak no-trump 12-14 announcement and BRIDGE June 2015

bids 2♥ when it comes to her turn to bid. I announce transfer to spades and, in due course, bid spades when it comes round to my turn. Partner puts her hand down as dummy and I discover that I have concentrated so hard on remembering red-suit transfers, that I had forgotten we had no agreement to include transfers in our simple system. I keep a straight face, don’t comment about my mistake and luckily make the contract with only six spades between us. I recall both these incidents because they were mildly embarrassing and, in consequence, amusing at the time. Hopefully, my game will get better. I am telling my readers about this as it may serve to encourage enthusiastic improvers, like myself, to keep on trying.

As a business I have a promotional budget and it is always underspent. There are other companies as well as my own that can be contacted and I will provide you with a list of names and addresses which may be worth trying to tap in support of your good cause.

3–4–5 I have come across a new to me maxim for bidding after partner’s 2NT opening, called 3-4-5. It goes along the lines of, 3 points never, 4 points sometimes, 5+ points ever.

As for prizes, I find it absolutely mind bogglingly staggering that so few organisers and promoters of these charity events bother to write in and ask for donations for spot prizes and contributions to the raffle.

I find myself looking forward once again, this time to a pre-cruise tour of India’s Golden Triangle, the magnificent highlight of which is the Taj Mahal. Bernard Magee recently travelled the same route and tells me, most emphatically, that I must include this on my schedule of essential tourism, disrespectfully referred to by him as my bucket-list.

GOFFIES STAMPS

Not enough space in this issue, but I will get one of my writers to tell you about it in BRIDGE issue 151.

NO FLY CRUISES

CHARITY BRIDGE If your club or local charity is using bridge as a means of fundraising, make a point of sending the details to me well in advance so they may be included in my charity events list, see page 18 in this issue for the current list. You know what a busy life you have and how much notice you need yourself. These days everybody is so busy. If you want a response give people plenty of notice. This is really important.

LOOKING FORWARD

My new partnership with Fred.Olsen has just been launched with a brochure which I have posted far and wide. The response has been really encouraging. On-board gratuities for restaurant and cabin staff are included on all bookings made before 31 May 2015. I repeat, before the 31 May 2015. Just ring my office on ( 01483 489961 and I will pop one in the post if you haven’t already received one.

LOVELY AEGEAN Not to be outdone, the owners of Aegean Odyssey have prepared a mini brochure. If you haven’t had one just give me a call.

Clive Goff’s discounted stamp service is worthy of support as he supplies British postage stamps at a discount off face value. These are supplied as two stamps, combined to make up the 53p 2nd class rate, 2nd class to you at 44p. 1st class at 62p, still only 50p, available to you in 100s. ( 0208 422 4906 or email [email protected] See his advert on page 3.

STILL CLEARING I am clearing shop-soiled merchandise, including the following books, all at £1.95 each to cover postage. Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified Bernard Magee’s Tips Bernard Magee’s Hand Evaluation All good wishes,

Mr Bridge Page 5

Maxims from Ned Paul

Sink the Titanic!

R

ight Hand Opponent (RHO) deals and opens 1♣. Would you overcall on this hand?







♠ 10 4 ♥ K Q 10 9 3 ♦ 7 6 ♣ 8 7 4 2

Well, I would check the vulnerability first and if I were non-vulnerable (and especially if I were non-vulnerable against vulnerable opponents), I would be happy to call 1♥. The values are slender but the points are concentrated in the suit bid; there is lead value in the suit, ie, if we become defenders, this is the suit that you would like partner to lead. There is a little shape to the hand – we have length in the suit our opponent has bid, so partner may be short, thus offering a ruffing value. To bid like this follows a general principal, that one-level overcalls can be quite frivolous. As long as there is some suit quality you are unlikely to be profitably doubled for penalty. When you overcall at the two-level, however, it is a different kettle of fish. Now the opponents are much readier to double. I would strongly recommend that to overcall at the two-level you should have a hand that would have opened the bidding as dealer. If you are contemplating an overcall with fewer than 12 HCP, you should have a six-card suit. Would you be tempted to overcall an opening 1♠ with this?





Page 6

♠ A 6 ♥ 6 4 3 ♦ Q 4 3 ♣ A J 9 7 4

It’s all too easy to bid 2♣ first and then realise one shouldn’t have done it. There are only 11 HCP; you wouldn’t have opened this hand (I hope); the club suit is gappy and has limited lead value and there is no useful shape. 2♣ over 1♠ has no disruption value. It’s also game all, you realise after the event and you wish you hadn’t bid. If you bid like this, you are left hoping that the opponents will ride to your rescue. I liken bidding such as this to being on the Titanic amidst the ice floes. After you have made this bid, you have set your course and it’s too late for the lookout to tell the captain of ice ahead. As you watch Left Hand Opponent (LHO) contemplating their next action, you are feeling afraid. It is as if the temperature has dropped. The sky is clear and icy blue. The sea is calm but cold and the liner is ploughing on. At the bridge table, you are just hoping that LHO will bid and take you off the hook. The inevitable happens: LHO passes. Partner passes. This is awful. Please, please RHO bid something and get me out of here. RHO reaches into their bidding box and pulls out – a red double card. It comes with the metaphorical sound of rending metal as the Titanic hits the iceberg. Of course, it is

a take-out double, but you know what will happen next. LHO has a trump stack sitting over you and is going to pass. Your bluff has been called and you are going to have to play 2♣ doubled. Everyone does pass; LHO opponent leads ♠Q, and as dummy appears your worst fears are confirmed. The full deal is: Dealer East. Game All. ♠ J 10 5 4 ♥ Q 10 8 7 ♦ 10 7 6 2 ♣ 6 ♠ Q 2 ♠ K 9 8 7 3 ♥ K 9 N ♥ A J 5 2 W E ♦ K J 9 5 S ♦ A 8 ♣ Q 10 8 5 3 ♣ K 2 ♠ A 6 ♥ 6 4 3 ♦ Q 4 3 ♣ A J 9 7 4

West North Pass Pass

East South 1♠ 2♣ Dbl All Pass

East has done well to re-open with a double rather than bid 2♥ – look out for opportunities to do this. There is nowhere for declarer to go for tricks and the penalty should be at least 1,100. It is scant consolation to South that the opponents can make game. Bidding like this damages partnership morale and may even cost you your partnership. There is no great compunction to bid on these moderate hands as you or your partner can always enter the auction later, should it die at a low level. So keep a good look out in future and don’t be the player who wrecks the Titanic! ■ BRIDGE June 2015

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12. Endplays ......... 13. Hand Evaluation

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20. Further Into the Auction ......... 21. Weak Twos ......... 22. Trump Control ......... 23. Sacrificing ......... 24. Improving Bridge Memory ......... 25. Defence as Partner of the Leader ......... 26. Aggressive Bidding at Duplicate Pairs ......... 27. Strong Opening Bids ......... 28. Take-Out Doubles .........

14. Pre-Empting .........

29. Suit Establishment in Suit Contracts .........

15. Splinter & Cue Bids .........

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Return any QPLUS CD and booklet with a cheque for £50 and receive wonderful QPLUS 11.

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Page 7

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BRIDGE EVENTS with Bernard Magee PROGRAMME FRIDAY Denham Grove Denham, Bucks, UB9 5DG

Please book ..... places for me at £....... per person,

July 24-26 Thinking Defence

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2015 BRIDGE 1 DUPLICATE PAIRS

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

Chatsworth Hotel Worthing BN11 3DU OctOBER 30 – NovEMBER 1 Sacrificing

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Page 8

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BRIDGE June 2015

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

JUST DUPLICATE BRIDGE 2015 Denham Grove Denham, Bucks UB9 5DU



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

West ?

North

East

South

1♠. The modern style of pre-empt is with a range of 5-9 HCP: the reason for this is because 10 HCP and a good seven-card suit constitute a strong enough hand to open the bidding at the one-level. When evaluating the hand you should include the value of a strong and long suit: 3 extra points for a seven-card suit. 10 + 3 = 13 which is definitely enough for an opening one bid. Here the auction might well proceed: 1♠-2♦-4♠-End. Had you opened 3♠ then your partner would have passed.



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

West North ?

East South 3♠ Pass

4NT. Note the vulnerability: your side is vulnerable and your opponents are not. This means that your partner should be on his best behaviour – he should have a strong suit – it is not worth the risk of pre-empting on bad suits when you are at unfavourable vulnerability. Suspecting that your partner might have seven spade tricks (with the help of your holding), your diamond suit then offers the potential of many more tricks; one ruff might be enough to establish the

BRIDGE June 2015

suit. You have control in every suit, so you should try for slam by using Blackwood (ideally a version that includes the king of trumps in the responses). Playing simple Keycard Blackwood, East would respond 5♥ to 4NT showing two key cards and you would raise to 6♠. The play should be straightforward: draw trumps and play ♦A-K and ruff the third round – your diamonds are now likely to all be winners so you have plenty of tricks for your slam.



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

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West North East ? 1 6-10pts, 6 spades

South 2♠1

Pass. South opens with a pre-emptive style opening at the two-level. It is important to get used to dealing with weak twos: they are becoming much more popular. The most sensible defence against weak twos is to play double for take-out and have a natural 2NT overcall showing a strong balanced hand (about 16-19 HCP). Your overcalls should generally be based around a six-card or longer suit. Bearing in mind the defence described above, you should pass: your hand does not fit any of the given categories. You are not strong enough to bid no-trumps; you do not have good (or long) enough clubs and you certainly do not have the shape for a take-out double (your partner would respond in hearts). The best result your side is likely to get on the hand would be 2♠ going one or ■ two off.

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20-22 November £199 27-29 November £199 Full Board No Single Supplement Booking Form on page 8. Please note there are no seminars, set hands or prizes at these events.

Page 9

David Stevenson answers your Frequently Asked Questions

A

Should Players be Penalised?

ccording to the laws of bridge, a tournament director can penalise a player for most things that he does that do not conform to the laws. The two types of penalty are procedural penalties, which are for players who get the procedure wrong, for example, playing the wrong board, and disciplinary penalties, which are for players who misbehave, for example calling their opponent an idiot. A tournament director has unlimited powers in this respect but, in practice, few penalties are applied, except at the very top of the game. Of course, tournament directors do warn players who do things wrong and some would argue that such a warning is really a penalty; this article concerns penalties awarded that affect the player’s score. There is a standard procedural penalty, namely 10% of a top. This means that if a top on a board is 30 matchpoints, a standard procedural penalty would be 3 matchpoints. For a very bad case a director might give more, but it is usual to give the standard penalty. For disciplinary penalties, the standard is 20% of a top, 6 matchpoints in the above example. In teams events, the standards are 3 imps and 6 IMPs, and at Swiss 0.5 VP and 1 VP. In fact, very few penalties are ever given. Is this the right approach? Many players seem to think that they can ignore the rules and should not be penalised at all. People will argue that we want a friendly game and penalties are unfriendly. Look at the other side: people want a pleasant and well-run game, consider how upset they get if the director tells them they cannot play board 23, not because of anything they have done, but because of another table. Some players are very casual, Page 10

and cause a lot of trouble: should they really be allowed to get away with it because we want a friendly game? I believe the solution lies in the approach: players should readily expect to be penalised if they do something wrong and should accept it with good grace. I believe that more penalties would help the game. If they were not so rare, players would be considerably less upset by them and the game would run more smoothly. Of course, some people will tell you they did not mean to play the wrong board, or whatever. Of course, they do not intend to. But, in practice, people try harder to do the right thing if they know they will be penalised for doing the wrong thing. Does that mean that all infractions should be penalised? No, certainly not. Many things are just accepted. There is a growing habit of making the last pass of the auction without using a green card: while technically illegal no-one really minds. Personally, I get upset when the player on lead puts the contract in the Bridgemate or on his score-card before leading. While this is rude, I just have to tolerate it. Whenever someone does something that prevents another table playing a board, such as putting the hands away in the wrong slot, then I believe a penalty should be automatic. It is so unfair on the other tables. In general, penalties should be applied when another player is seriously disadvantaged. Another example is where a player discusses a board so loudly that the next table cannot play it. In such a case a penalty should be automatic. Slow play is a bane of many bridge clubs. Of course, the director sometimes takes a board away from a table which is late, but he should find out who is at fault to give the right average scores (never the completely

illegal ‘Not played’). Another point often overlooked is that there is often a pair who is regularly late finishing in fact clubs come to find certain pairs are late week after week: it is very important to issue penalties for repeated lateness. It has been said that the slow pair may leave the club: what people do not realise is the number of players who abandon clubs because they are sick of the slow players. In general, the main reason for issuing penalties, apart from where a board is lost, is when a player or pair commits an infraction repeatedly. How about disciplinary penalties? Here, many directors go wrong. If a player is rude to someone else they must be penalised, no exceptions. Sometimes someone is rude, and then someone retaliates: in fact sometimes it descends into a shouting match. Directors often make the mistake of merely trying to calm things down: they must penalise both sides in such a case, it is their responsibility to the rest of the room. If ever I give up this wonderful game, it will be because I tire of the bad behaviour, not for any other reason. It is the director’s job to make sure that bad behaviour is eradicated, and disciplinary penalties are his main weapon. Many years ago I found a scale of penalties on the notice board of a bridge club. This might work, since, if the penalty is automatic, players will be less likely to argue. As they are given, players will be more likely to make sure they do the right thing. Players should accept penalties with good grace, and a further disciplinary penalty should be issued to players who do not. The basic idea is that players who upset others by their actions should be penalised: they are less likely to keep doing wrong and the players disadvantaged will feel better. ■ BRIDGE June 2015

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

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

West North ?

East 1♠

South 1NT

Double. Your partner opens 1♠ and South overcalls 1NT. The answer to this question is relatively straightforward, but surprisingly elusive. Doubles of no-trump bids are used for penalties: you should use them when your side has the majority of points or when you have a strong hand sitting over an opponent. Here, you hold 10 HCP and your partner has opened, so you can be sure of the majority of points and should therefore double. 2♣ would be natural, but would suggest a weaker hand. No-trump bids change the nature of an auction, because one player has accurately described his hand.

overcalls 1NT. South has shown a strong balanced hand (15-18) so the meaning of your bids change. Most strong hands will double for penalties, which leaves two-level bids as weak and competitive: non-forcing. Your hand is suitable for a natural competitive 2♣. Any hand that thinks it can make game in this auction is probably going to start by doubling 1NT and expecting to get it a lot off. All other hands are wanting simply to compete for the part-score, which is why you should use all the 2-level bids for this reason. This hand should be a battle between diamonds and clubs.



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

West North ?

East 1♠

South 1NT

Pass.



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

West North ?

East 1♠

South 1NT

2♣. Your partner opens 1♠ and South

BRIDGE June 2015

Your partner opens 1♠ and South overcalls 1NT. You have no long suit and you cannot be sure your side has the majority of points, so you should keep quiet. A double of 1NT would be for penalties, for which you are slightly too weak; 7+12 is only 19. As it happens on this hand, you do have 20 points between you, but you cannot be sure of getting 1NT down. With no support for your partner and no long suit, you have no choice but to pass and hope you might defeat 1NT. ■

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Page 11

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

8-11 January 2016

DECLARER PLAY QUIZ

£399pp Friday – Monday

by David Huggett

£369pp Friday – Sunday full board Limited places for Thursday night available. £65pp single, £40pp double/twin.

Topics COUNTING DEFENCE Defence is the hardest aspect of bridge, but if you can learn to defend in conjunction with your partner, it becomes the most rewarding element at the same time.

(Answers on page 20)

Y

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

1.

SUPPORTING PARTNER When you hold support for your partner, the two hands can fully evaluate, often allowing the partnership to bid much higher than the high card points might suggest. We will look at a number of conventions that can help you bid to good games and bid to great slams.

FINESSING Finesses come in all sorts of different varieties and come up on almost every hand you play. Getting the most out of your honour combinations is a crucial part of declarer play. Should you lead high or low, finesse to the right or to the left?

BIDDING DISTRIBUTIONAL HANDS Distributional hands can be great fun to bid and to play, particularly when you find a fit. And how do you find a fit… by bidding more!

COPING with PRE-EMPTS How do you defend against pre-empts and weak twos; how do you cope with weak overcalls and jump support? When your bidding space is taken away you have to use a few extra techniques, but most of all you have to use your judgement. Improving your understanding will allow you to collect the big penalties and better scores.

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

Page 12

Not with Bernard Magee

2

3.

N

W E

S



♠ 2 ♥ Q J 10 9 7 6 4 ♦ A Q 5 ♣ A 6

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

2.

♠ 5 3 ♥ 4 3 ♦ 7 3 2 ♣ A K Q 10 4 2

S



4.

N

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

♠ K Q 3 ♥ 5 3 2 ♦ A 6 4 3 ♣ K 9 4 N

W E

S

♠ A 10 7 6 ♥ A K 7 ♦ A 10 6 4 ♣ 5 3

♠ A 5 ♥ K 3 ♦ A Q J 10 ♣ K J 6 5 4

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

W E



♠ 8 7 ♥ A 7 4 2 ♦ 7 6 5 3 ♣ A 7 3 N

W E

Extra TRICKS in NO-TRUMPS Long suits are an integral part of the bidding and the play – developing extra tricks from them will often be the difference between making or going down in your contract.

♠ A 9 8 7 6 ♥ A K 2 ♦ K 8 7 ♣ 5 4

S



♠ A J 10 7 6 ♥ A 6 4 ♦ 7 5 ♣ A Q 6

You are declarer in 4♠ after West has opened 3♦. West leads the ♦K. How do you plan the play?

BRIDGE June 2015

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

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

West ?

North East 1NT Dbl

South 2♦

Double. Your partner has made a penalty double of 1NT, so you should be on the lookout to double again, aiming to hunt them down and get a good penalty. To double at low levels your side needs the majority of points and good trumps. You place your partner with about 16 points for his double so adding your six, you have the comfortable majority of points and your diamonds are excellent, so you should go ahead and double again. After one penalty double all subsequent doubles are for penalties, so your partner passes and you collect a healthy score.



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

West North East South 1♥ 1♠ Pass Pass ?

Pass. This is an interesting situation: you have opened the bidding and then the bidding returns to you after North overcalls. This

BRIDGE June 2015

is very different to the situation when your partner has responded. You had planned to rebid 1NT, but that is based on the fact your partner has shown 6+ points. Here, your partner has done nothing so he may well have no points. You need to be careful in this situation – if you bid 1NT, you might find yourself being doubled and giving away an unhealthy penalty. A 1NT rebid should be much stronger in this situation; showing 17-19 points. With just 15 points you should leave your opponent in 1♠, happy to have length in his suit. North-South do not have much of a spade fit, but they do have plenty of points. Leaving your opponents in 1♠ is much better than going off in a contract of your own.



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

West ?

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North East South 1♣ Dbl Pass

1NT. Your partner has doubled 1♣ for takeout: showing an opening hand with club shortage. Your best suit is diamonds, but your strong holding in clubs should lead you down another avenue: with 7-9 points and a good club holding you can respond 1NT. Remember that you expect shortage in clubs in your partner’s hand, so your club holding should be robust against a singleton. Your jack-ten bolster the club suit and make 1NT sensible. ■

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Page 13

DEFENCE QUIZ by Julian Pottage



(Answers on page 26)

Y

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

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

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

West North East South 1♥ 2♥1 Pass 4♠ All Pass 1 Spades and a minor

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

You lead the ♥A. East plays the ♥9 and South the ♥2. How do you continue?

You lead the ♣3: ♣5, ♣K and ♣4. Partner returns the ♣2, covered by the ♣J and ♣Q. How do you proceed?

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

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

West North East South 1♥ 2♥1 Pass 4♠ All Pass 1 Spades and a minor

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

You lead the ♥A. East plays the ♥9 and South the ♥3. How do you continue?

You lead the ♦K. After taking the ♦A and crossing to the ♠A, declarer leads a low heart to the ♥Q and ♥K. How do you continue?

BRIDGE June 2015

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

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

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

3♣. Your partner has rebid 1NT, showing a strong balanced hand: 15-17 points. You have 8 HCP, a strong five-card spade suit, along with two tens and all the high cards working together. The hand is worth a good nine points and you should go for game. You can describe your hand fully by making a jump bid of 3♣. This suggests your shape and allows your partner to pick the best game. It also highlights the weakness in diamonds and means that 3NT can be avoided. Here, you would finish in 4♠.



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

West North East South 1♣ Pass 2♣ Pass 2♦ Pass ?

2♥. Once your partnership has agreed a minor, if you have extra strength both players should be considering no-trumps. Supporting a minor denies length in the majors (you would have responded 1♥ or 1♠ had you had four or more). With

BRIDGE June 2015

no interest in playing in a different trump suit, all new suit bids are trial bids for a no-trump contract – they show a stop in the suit bid and ask partner to view his assets and either bid no-trumps or, in turn, show a stopper in a suit, or finally return to the original suit (clubs). Your partner has shown a diamond stop and is asking you to show any stopper you hold. Your heart holding will make a certain trick and constitutes a stopper, so you should show it by bidding 2♥. This allows your partner to bid 3NT with confidence.



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

West North East South 3♥ 3♠ Dbl Pass ?

Pass. What does your partner’s double mean? When your side makes a pre-emptive bid of any sort, doubles are for penalties. This is because one player in the partnership has given an accurate description of his hand: you have shown seven hearts and 5-9 HCP. This leaves East in the perfect position to judge the best final contract. Here, holding good trumps and plenty of outside strength he makes a penalty double, hoping to get more points from 3♠ doubled than you might get from a game contract. You might take 3♠ three off for 800 points (nearly twice as much as a ropey 4♥ contract). Penalty doubles are often difficult to identify and they require good partnership trust because one player will be short in the trump suit, whilst the other ■ has the length.

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Page 15

Julian Pottage answers your bridge questions

Should I Respond After a Double if Weak?

Q

On the deal below, people were surprised that I (South) bid with so few points – I have always believed that the weaker you are the more important it is to remove a double. West would have bid 1♦ if I had passed, or he could have passed leaving North in 1♣ doubled.

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

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

Pauline Bailey by email.

A

If you are playing a natural 1♣ opening, it is not terribly likely that your LHO will leave in 1♣ doubled, which means the need to rescue is not a priority. Then again, bidding makes life harder for the opponents than passing does. Some players

Page 16

believe in bidding whenever possible for this reason. Had you passed, I would have expected the bidding to go as follows: West North East South 1♣ Dbl Pass 1♦ Dbl 2♦ 2♠

So you would have had a second chance to show the spades. On the actual auction, I find North’s simple 2♠ raise with 17 points a little surprising. David Stevenson is the person to say whether it is legal for partner to allow for your style of bidding on very weak hands. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Playing pairs, my right hand opponent opened 1♥. I held a balanced hand with 12 points and overcalled 1NT. Others suggested I should have doubled. What do you think? Name and address supplied.

A

When an opponent opens the bidding, the chance of game your way decreases, while the chance that the opponents can successfully double you in 1NT increases. Almost everyone requires at least 15 points for a 1NT overcall.

Some balanced hands with 12-14 points will be suitable for a take-out double; on others, you just have to pass. In the particular case where the opponents have opened 1♥, it is most attractive to double if you have four spades with a doubleton heart and least attractive if you have four hearts or a doubleton spade. On 12-14 point hands, most players would double with 4-2-43 or 4-2-3-4 shape (you have shortage in hearts and four-card support in spades). With 3-2-4-4 or 4-3-3-3 a double is less clear, but with the upper range it is maybe worthwhile. With 3-3-4-3 or 3-3-3-4 shape a double would be unusual as you are flat without four spades. Holding only a doubleton spade, a double is certainly not desirable. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Please can I ask you a variation on a problem I sent you previously? Partner opens 1♣, the next hand overcalls 1♦ and you hold:



♠ K 9 3 2 ♥ Q 9 8 6 ♦ Q J 7 3 ♣ 7

Now that you have the majors, is a double more descriptive than 1NT? Geoff Simpson, Torphins, Aberdeenshire.

A

You are quite right. Having a major – indeed both majors in your new example – affects the situation. Finding a fit in a major increases the chance of buying the contract and increases the chance of making game. Whatever my diamond holding, if I had 4-4 in the majors and the chance to double a 1♦ overcall, I would take it. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Playing rubber for small stakes, my RHO opened 1NT (12-14). I held 22 points and, not having the faintest idea what to do, doubled. My partner left the double in – he had only one point. 1NT doubled went off, but it was no great disaster for the declarer, due to the vulnerability. In the unlikely event that this happens again, please would you tell me what I should do? John Hankin by email.

A

A penalty double of a weak no-trump opening indicates at

BRIDGE June 2015

Ask Julian continued

least 15 points. There is no upper limit. Your double was fine. With 22 points facing 1, it sounds likely that game your way would be a struggle. Even if game was on, you do not need to worry when you are playing rubber bridge. Collecting 500 instead of a vulnerable game is no disaster at rubber bridge (or at IMP scoring). Even at matchpoints, a penalty less than the value of game will be worth something. At most vulnerabilities, if you do have game on, you will be able to collect a penalty worth more than game. ♣♦♥♠

Q

In your book on constructive bidding, you give an example after partner opened 1NT (12-14). You said that your response of 2NT was a transfer to diamonds and the example ended in a small slam in diamonds. In other books, you have used the 2NT response in its traditional way, namely 11-12 points and no interest in a suit contract. How useful is the transfer given that the latter hand type must be more common? John Martin, Glendale, Inverness-shire.

A

There are three common uses of a 2NT response to a 1NT opening. 1. Invitational notrump raise. 2. Asks partner to bid 3♣, usually with a weak hand and a long minor. 3. Transfer to diamonds. Most rubber bridge players and quite a few duplicate club players use the first option.

BRIDGE June 2015

Most people I play with choose the second option. With the second option, a 2♠ response is available for a hand wishing to invite game (and you can use it on slam invitational hands too). Playing 2NT as a transfer to diamonds tends to be more popular in response to a strong no-trump. The chance of a slam increases facing a strong no-trump, which increases the frequency of hands on which it is useful to start by showing a diamond suit. If you play 2♠ as a transfer to clubs and 2NT as a transfer to diamonds, you are right that you do not have a direct way to invite 3NT. You would use 2♣ as nonpromissory Stayman. Admittedly, if you bid 2♣ without a 4-card major, you are giving away information about opener’s hand for no benefit. In practice, players using 4-suit transfers and nonpromissory Stayman rarely use Stayman unless they have a 4-card major. They tend to take a view, either passing 1NT or raising to 3NT. ♣♦♥♠

Q

How should South bid this hand?



♠ A K J 9 4 ♥ K J ♦ K J ♣ A Q 3 2

West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT ?

A

1. South could double and then if North bids 2♦ or 2♥, rebid 2NT. Nothing is perfect. 2. West’s strong sounding rebid suggests that partner has very little while East’s preference to 3♠ suggests the deal is a misfit. I would just give up.

eight tricks with hearts as trumps facing a bust. The big difference is that Hand 2 will be far more useful with another suit as trumps than Hand 1. With Hand 1 the opponents might make a slam in some other suit. With Hand 2, you would be doubling any opposing game.

♣♦♥♠

♣♦♥♠

Q

Please could you give me an example of a hand you would open 4♣ (a strong pre-empt in hearts) and another hand you would open a strong 2♥? Alan Cooke by email.

A

If you are playing 4♣ as a strong pre-empt in hearts, a possible hand is:



Hand 1 ♠ 4 ♥ A K Q J 10 6 4 3 ♦ 6 3 ♣ J 4

Having either a solid suit or a semi-solid suit with an outside ace is quite a common way of defining the bid. If the suit quality is weaker, but you are worried about missing a slam if you open 4♥, you open 1♥. A possible hand for a strong 2♥ is:



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

South doubled and then faced this problem: West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT Dbl 3♥ Pass 3♠ ?

Name and address supplied.

You have too few high cards for an artificial 2♣ but plenty of playing strength. You will notice that both hands are likely to make

Q

I play a system where a 1♣ opening shows 12-19 points without a 5-card major, so I may have only two clubs. It is asking partner whether they have a 4-card major, if not they reply 1♦. Could you please enlarge on this system, which I find moderately successful? Michael Beaumont by email.

A

1. Opening 1♣ on any balanced hand with 12-19 points is unusual. Most people play a 12-14 or 15-17 1NT opening, which would cater for some of the hands in that range. You are in a small minority if you are playing a 1NT opening as 9-11 points or as conventional. A mini no-trump is a risky venture for sure: some call it kamikaze, which gives you the general idea. 2. You have said you would not open 1♣ with a 5-card major, but not commented explicitly on hands with five diamonds. With a 5-card diamond suit in a balanced hand, I think it is better to open 1♦ than 1♣. Partner will often get off to the wrong lead or fail to compete correctly if you open 1♣ on hands with five diamonds. 3. Opening 1♣ with possibly a doubleton is quite common in expert circles, usually in conjunction with a strong no-trump. While a short club opening makes it

Page 17

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Ask Julian continued

harder to find a club fit when opener has real clubs, overall I prefer it to the ‘better minor’ style that Americans favour. Facing a short club, partner tends to assume that opener has a balanced hand too weak for 1NT opening. In your methods (if I have understood them correctly), responder will have a more difficult time because opener has such a wide range. 4. If you respond 1♦ on all hands without a fourcard major, this does free a 1NT response for some conventional purpose. Some top pairs do play a 1NT response as conventional, but again it is non-standard. Sorry I cannot help further. You really need to get hold of a book or the system notes of a pair playing the methods. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Was South right to leave in the double with this hand?



♠ Q 5 2 ♥ A 6 ♦ A 8 6 3 2 ♣ 8 7 5

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass

North had intended the double for takeout. Would it make any difference if the auction started like this? West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ Dbl Pass

[email protected] Name and address supplied.

Page 18

A

1. In general, if a player declines the chance to make a take-out double of a suit on one round of the bidding and then doubles the same suit on the next round, it is a penalty double. This sequence, however, is an exception. When the opponents have a free run, find a fit and subside at a low level, it is important to be able to get into the bidding. You should have a fit your way and be able to make something or at least push the opponents up a level. North’s delayed double shows a hand that was too weak for doubling on the previous round. North can infer that South has fair values because East-West, despite their fit, have not even tried for game. This is why North can double 2♥ despite being too weak to double 1♥. South should take-out the double to 3♦. 2. A double of a suit on the first round of bidding after partner has passed (or not had the chance to bid) is for take out. Again South should bid – but what? I recommend playing Lebensohl in this situation. Playing Lebensohl, a 2NT reply to the double says ‘please bid 3♣ – I probably have a weak hand and wish to play in my suit’. With a weak hand, you would pass 3♣ or, if you wish to play in 3♦, correct to 3♦. On your actual hand, you could bid 3♦ confident that partner would place you with some values (because you would go via 2NT with a weak hand). Not playing Lebensohl, you face a ticklish problem. It could be right to bid a simple 3♦. A jump to 4♦ better expresses your values. 3♥,

asking for a stopper, could be the winning action too. Nonvulnerable, I would bid a simple 3♦ and not punish partner for competing. Vulnerable, I would place partner with sound values and jump to 4♦. ♣♦♥♠

Q

In these sequences, is 4NT quantitative or a slam try in the major suit?

1. Opener Responder 1NT 2♣ 2♥/2♠ 4NT 2. Opener Responder 1NT 2♥ (transfer) 2♠ 4NT

Is this a decision for the partnership or is there accepted practice? Tony Richards, Woking.

A

The accepted practice tends to depend upon the standard of the players. At the higher level, these bids would be quantitative; on a hand wishing to check on key cards, responder would take another route. On the Stayman sequences, responder might bid 4♣ or 4♦ and then 4NT on a hand wishing to ask. On the transfer sequences, responder would not use a 2♦/2♥ transfer on a hand that wished to ask. At club level, I have very rarely seen these 4NT bids passed. The thing to do is to discuss the sequences with your partner. Having an agreement, even if it is a slightly inefficient one, is invariably better than not having an ■ agreement.

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

BRIDGE June 2015

Sally’s Slam of the Month

A Well Bid Slam and How to Play a Poor Slam

I

’d like to present you with two slam hands this month. The first, sent in by Dave Simmons of Royston, was well bid but there was little to the play. It was:



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

West North East South 2♦ Pass 4NT* Pass 5♠* Pass 7♦ All Pass

This worked well for his system of three weak twos (rather than the ubiquitous Benji). West opened 2♦ and East went straight to 4NT. West bid 5♠ to show two ‘aces’ and the queen of trumps and that was enough for East to go straight to 7♦. In truth, at pairs he might have gambled on hearts coming in and tried 7NT, but 7♦ was enough for a complete top as all the other pairs languished in game. Well bid! If West passes as dealer, it is all too tempting for East to open a straightforward 4♥, not expecting partner to have such a good source of tricks. ♣♦♥♠

The same cannot be said about our second offering which was sent in by Roger Barnacle. He says it came up during an evening’s social bridge after a glass or two of wine. I’d have said a bottle or two. Or something even stronger. I’ll give you the full deal and you can have fun working out how it can be made on any defence. BRIDGE June 2015

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

West North East South 1♥ Pass 2NT 3♠ 4♥ Pass 5♥ Pass 6♥ Pass Pass Dbl All Pass Lead: ♦10.

Quite what possessed North to think he had any reason to bid over his partner’s 4♥ bid I will never know, but the play’s the thing. There are two key points to the play: The first is the handling of the trump suit. With the 4-0 break the suit can be picked up, but declarer needs to ruff something (a club after he has discarded one on a spade) high in the dummy, and might need to preserve high cards there. To this end, it is important that South keeps the five of hearts in his hand so he can underplay the six at a later stage. The second point is how to play the spade suit and that is via an ‘intrafinesse’ (though declarer might be forgiven for thinking that spades were breaking worse than 4-2 after East’s three-level entry into the auction and West’s failure to lead one –

I wouldn’t like to calculate the penalty three spades might have gone for). So, declarer first plays a spade to dummy’s eight, losing to East’s honour. On the next round the jack is led, pinning West’s ten. With the six already gone he then has a finesse position with the 9-5 poised over East’s 7-4. So, to put the whole play together. Ruff the diamond lead with the seven of hearts and play a spade to the eight and queen. Ruff the diamond return with the eight of hearts. Now play the nine of hearts (there are other winning options at this stage) to dummy’s queen, followed by the jack of spades, covered by the king and ace (dropping West’s ten). Two top clubs ending in the dummy are followed by a finesse of East’s seven of spades and a club discarded on the nine of spades. Now a club is ruffed high in the dummy. All declarer has left is A-10-5 of trumps while East has J-43 of trumps and dummy the six of trumps and two diamonds. Declarer plays the six of hearts, underplaying it with the carefully preserved five, and then plays a diamond picking up East’s remaining trumps. That would be an entry for the best played hand of the year. Suffice it to say that, unsurprisingly, the real life South went two down. ■ I am sure that all of you out there have slam auctions that you are proud of. So send them to [email protected] and I’ll publish the best few and choose a winner each month.

Page 19

Answers to  David Huggett’s  Play Quiz on page 12 1. ♠ A 9 8 7 6 ♥ A K 2 ♦ K 8 7 ♣ 5 4 ♠ K Q J 10 ♠ 5 4 3 N ♥ 8 3 ♥ 5 W E ♦ J 6 4 S ♦ 10 9 3 2 ♣ Q 10 8 7 ♣ K J 9 3 2 ♠ 2 ♥ Q J 10 9 7 6 4 ♦ A Q 5 ♣ A 6

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♥Q. How do you plan the play? You only need five club tricks to make the contract and, therefore, you must cater for a bad break in the suit. If you immediately play a low club and finesse the ten, you will make your contract nearly all the time, but that isn’t the correct way to play the hand. Once West follows to the club lead the contract is assured – but only if you duck. Now, even if clubs break 5-0 you will still be able to make five tricks in the suit simply by taking the marked finesse against the jack.

You are declarer in 7♥ and West leads the ♠K. How do you plan the play? Grand slams are usually easy to play because there is little room for manoeuvre and that is the case here. With twelve tricks on top, the thirteenth can only come from spades. That will only happen if the spades break 4-3 as then you can set up a long spade in dummy. So, win the lead, ruff a spade high and enter dummy with a trump. Ruff another spade high and repeat the process, by which time you will have set up a winning spade in dummy, which you can reach with the ♦K. You discard the ♣6 from hand and thirteen tricks are yours.

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

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

Page 20

♠ K 9 3 2 ♥ Q 10 9 6 ♦ 9 8 ♣ 10 9 8

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠Q. How do you plan the play? The defenders have hit your weak spot and you have to take nine tricks before losing the lead. A successful finesse and break in either minor will give you enough tricks, but which finesse should you tackle? As always in these situations, you should try and combine your chances and, here, there is certainly a chance of the club queen being doubleton. So, win the lead and play the king of clubs followed by a low club to the ace. If the queen has appeared you have nine tricks, but if not, then you are in dummy to take the diamond finesse and can later

return to dummy with the ♥K to repeat the finesse, should it work. If you had played the top clubs in a different order, then you would only be able to take the diamond finesse once.

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

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

You are declarer in 4♠ after West has opened 3♦. West leads the ♦K. How do you plan the play? If you play the ace from dummy at trick one, you haven’t been listening to the bidding, for East is surely void and will ruff. You actually have ten tricks via five spades, one heart, one diamond and three clubs – but only if you make them all. So play low from dummy at trick one and do the same again if another diamond is led. You can ruff a third diamond lead in hand, whereupon you draw trumps and claim, conceding one heart trick to go with the two diamonds already lost. Only a 5-0 trump break will defeat you, but the 7-0 diamond break ■ shouldn’t.

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BRIDGE June 2015

More Tips from Bernard Magee Your Blackwood should include the King of Trumps There are many versions of the Blackwood convention, some straightforward and some slightly more complicated. However, to bid accurate slams, you do need to include the king of trumps in your responses. The reason for this is simple: when you are aiming for a trump slam, the king of trumps is just as valuable as the other aces. You would not want to play in a slam missing an ace and the king of trumps. My recommendation is to play the simplest version possible: Blackwood including the king of trumps – keycard Blackwood – it has the same responses as Blackwood, it just includes the king of trumps as well: 4NT: How many key cards (four aces and the king of trumps) do you have? Responses: 5♣ = 0 or 4 5♦ = 1 (or 5) 5♥ = 2 5♠ = 3 The responses are exactly the same as normal Blackwood. The ‘or 5’, of course, is different, but I have never seen that response come up. The only added complication is ‘Which is the trump suit?’ You should have this simple rule: either it is the agreed suit (both players have bid it) or it is the last suit bid naturally.



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

♠ K 4 3 2 ♥ A 7 6 2 ♦ 9 7 4 ♣ A 3

BRIDGE June 2015

West East 1♠ 3♠ 4NT 5♠ 6♠

West bids Blackwood, with spades agreed and with just one key card missing, he bids the slam. With normal Blackwood, he might have been missing the ♠A-K. The key to good Blackwood bidding is to make your decisions before using the convention. Generally, you should only bid 4NT if you want to be in slam when missing one key card.



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

West East 1♠ 2♥ 4NT 5♠ 6♥

This time, West is so excited over his partner’s 2♥ response, he wants to try for slam: he can only see four losers – the four missing key cards (including the ♥K). Hearts have not been bid by both players, but a leap to 4NT agrees the last suit bid, so partner’s response should include the king of hearts. Once again, missing just one key card, West goes for the small slam. Without knowing about the king of trumps, you will often have to guess whether slam is on or not. Use a version of Blackwood that includes the king of trumps – I hope you can see how straightforward ■ keycard Blackwood is.

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 take-out 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 21

A Blast From the Past 12 by Shireen Mohandes

Contract Bridge Championship of 1933 – Revisited

T

he excitement and worldwide media attention of the challenge matches of the 1930s can hardly be overstated. Ely Culbertson (1891-1955) was one of the greatest self-promoters in history (Mohammed Ali perhaps pales into insignificance in comparison) and the world lapped it up. As an author/publisher, it was hugely in his interests to convince everyone that his bridge system was superior to others. Outstanding marketing, being a better player to start with and choosing good teammates meant that Ely and his wife, Josephine (1898-1956), dominated and crushed opponents. They became commercially successful, travelling the world and earning millions of dollars. Amidst the many happy times there were sad times too – see Ely’s autobiography ‘The Strange Lives of One Man’ (1940). Mr Bridge owns a very special copy of the book of the match, which he purchased from a reader of this magazine about a decade ago. It is entitled Contract Bridge Championship

of 1933. First match for The Charles M. Schwab Trophy. The subtitle is Complete Official Hands, reviewed and explained by Ely Culbertson. But there is something very special about this copy. Every deal in it has been re-reviewed by Guy Domville

Schwab Trophy controversy The England Team: Lt. Col. ‘Pops’ Beasley and Sir [Gerald] Guy Domville, Percy Tabbush and George Morris, Graham Mathieson and Lady Doris Mary Rhodes. The America Team: Ely and Josephine Culbertson; Theodore Lightner and Michael Gottlieb. An article in The Times (8 June 1933) describes protests from various officials because this event was promoted as an international match. The objection was that it was not a representative event, as neither team had been selected by the bridge authority of the country. For the second Schwab Trophy the home team wised up. An article in October 1933 explains that trials were held for the second Schwab Trophy match. It was considered that a stronger British team took on the Americans at The Dorchester, in October 1933, the Americans finally winning on 19 October 1933.

Page 22

First Schwab Trophy: the home team ‘Pops’ Beasley (Lieutenant Colonel Henry Mountifort Beasley DSO (1875 – 1949), was a leading bridge personality and correspondent at the Daily Mail. He, along with teammates EE Mayer, HH Renshaw and Percy Tabbush, won the inaugural Gold Cup in 1932. Guy Domville (1896-1981) was handsome and debonair, according to Terence Reese, and a popular society and sporting figure. Along with his teammates Graham Mathieson, E Summer and T Simmons he won the inaugural Pachabo Trophy (an event that is open to the holders of the teams-offour championship of each county). According to Reese, in Bridge at the Top, ’George Morris was a famous gambler at every card game and also an athlete; he made a channel-swimming attempt and played marathon golf for big stakes. Tabbush followed a course that is not common amongst bridge players: he joined a religious sect and turned his back on the ‘Devil’s playthings’. Lady Rhodes (birth name Doris Mary Adams, married Sir John Phillips Rhodes, 2nd Bt) featured on the front cover of the June 1947 Contract Bridge Journal. The article tells us that she is ‘…a deceptively dangerous opponent; a misleadingly modest partner…’. Her adopted daughter Anne later married Claude Rodrigue, one of the next generation of top English players.

BRIDGE June 2015

and marked up in his handwriting. He has used coloured ink to praise or discredit a player. The handwritten notes on the inside front cover are illuminating: I am taking each hand separately and adding any comment (if any) of the English bidding & play. Where, in my opinion, a definite mistake is made, I name the player in Red – where a player has shown particular brilliance he is named in Blue. – Guy Domville To The great English player Guy Domville. With all admiration. – Jo Culbertson I certainly do not subscribe to these sentiments! – Michael T Gottlieb Poor misguided Joe! She was too grateful for all of Guy’s gifts and psychics … – Ely Culbertson This is all a load of bunk. – Theodore A Lightner.

The ACBL website has some wonderful material about Culbertson at: http://www.acbl. org/about-acbl/hall-of-fame/ members/culbertson-ely/ In 1933, when a newspaper reporter asked: ‘Mr Culbertson, how did you get ahead of those other bridge authorities?’ He answered: ‘I got up in the morning and went to work.’

History of the Culbertson challenge matches Culbertson was triumphant in all of these matches l Culbertson-Lenz: ‘The Battle of The Century’, a rubber bridge match, took place in New York City between December 1931 and January 1932. Culbertson offered odds of 5-1, the money going to charity whoever won. l Anglo-American matches started in 1930 in London, with a challenge by Lt. Col. Walter Buller. Culbertson’s team beat Buller’s team. l Still in London, Culbertson’s team played a match against ‘Pops’ Beasley at Crockfords.

Alfred Sheinwold (1912-1997) worked for Ely Culbertson, and on the ACBL site there is a lovely interview with Sheinwold describing his relationship with and memories of Culbertson. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=UFb7PWvVvb0

l The Schwab Cup matches were played in 1933 (and 1934), with the trophy donated by American steel magnate Charles M. Schwab* (1862-1939). These also took place in London. The July 1933 event was staged at Selfridges, and was watched by some 27,000 people who, with the help of periscopes and mirrors, managed to glimpse some of the 6-day event. Culbertson brought with him an ‘an electrical device’ which allowed 1,000 spectators to view the event in an auditorium, seeing all four hands and being informed of the bidding and play. Within 36 hours of the completion of the match, a book was published by Culbertson, detailing, and with his commentary on, all the bidding and play. The book of 400 pages gives details of 300 hands.

Injuries

l The Times reported that 90% of the spectators were women. Another article explained that the late arrival of Culbertson was due to the fact that the door attendant did not recognise him, and refused to admit him without a ticket. Despite his protests the official was adamant, but Culbertson finally made a dash past him into the lift.

Mathieson’s part in the match was curtailed when he fell through a glass roof, to be rescued swinging from a girder above a 40-foot drop! (source: Wikipedia). Lady Mary Alice Montagu (1901-1962), official scorer, daughter of the 9th Duke of Manchester, fell off her chair and broke her arm.

BRIDGE June 2015

l In 1935 Culbertson was challenged by P Hal and Dorothy Sims to a match. This did take place, but with much less publicity than any of the others. *Schwab was a self-made multi-millionaire who spent most of his fortune before the Great Depression. The crash hit him badly and in his final years he lived modestly. It is against the backdrop of these events that he was involved in the above-mentioned trophy.

Page 23

Let’s take a look at two deals and see how Culbertson’s and Domville’s opinions differ, and what we make of them in 2015. Hand 141: Dealer South, North/South Vulnerable

You’ll notice that the bidding is tabulated in a vertical manner, so the opening bid in Room 1, in 4th seat by East, is 1♥. Culbertson quite rightly points out that when dealer, South, opened 1♠ in Room 2, this prevented EastWest from reaching the ‘lay-down’ contract of 4♥. It seems that at the time Domville’s hand, sitting South for Great Britain, did not meet the opening bid requirements. However, Gottlieb, holding the same cards for the USA, did open 1♠ and saw no need to go beyond the 2♠ response from North. So what does Domville make of all this? He says, ‘In Room 2 here is a wonderful opportunity for East to make a 2NT overcall. He fails to do so.’ Tabbush. What would a likely bidding sequence be today, with North/South playing Acol with a weak no-trump?

to himself: our side is unlikely to have game on, we may have an eight-card fit, but if I double and partner bids 3♦, we might be in trouble. I fancy my chances of defeating 2♠, and may well defeat it by a couple of vulnerable tricks. And, looking back at it all, is 4♥ cold? Well, not on a club lead. Although that helps declarer to locate the ♣Q, he

will lose two major suit aces and two club ruffs. And for the game to make several cards have to be well placed. All in all, Culbertson was wrong to assert that 4♥ is cold and Domville was wrong to berate (red ink) Tabbush. One thing seems not to have changed since the 1930s – even top bridge players can be results merchants.

West North East South 1NT Pass Pass Dbl Pass Pass 2♦ Pass Pass 3♣ Pass 3♦ Pass 3♥ Pass 4♥ All Pass

As an aside, on poor hands such as the North hand, some players will bid Stayman opposite a 1NT opening and pass whatever partner replies. And playing strong no-trump, 4-card majors. Acol style. West North East Pass 2♠ All Pass

South 1♠

Note how effective the swift route to 2♠ is (just as North, Josephine, did – raising to 2♠ with just 4 HCP and a singleton was indeed very effective). Despite Domville’s views, it is too dangerous for East to bid with his 16 HCP, in the so called ‘sandwich position’, vulnerable. East would think Page 24

BRIDGE June 2015

Hand 142: Dealer West, East/West Vulnerable

Culbertson concedes that in Room 1 Domville and Beasley found a good save for two down, doubled in 4♠. Note that the score is 250 for EW. Domville agrees, saying: Good team bidding by N & S in Room 1 – Note

N’s 2♠ in preference to 2♦. Beasley Domville. Maybe Domville misread the auction, because North actually bid 3♠. Looking back it seems strange to the modern player that North did not preempt. Our modern style of pre-emptive bid was not part of the armoury at the USA table, because according to

Culbertson’s Contract Bridge Complete. The Gold Book of Bidding and Play, the non-vulnerable pre-empt requirement is ‘about 7 tricks’. When Josephine chose to bid 3♦ later, she certainly got the message across about her diamonds, but at the same time gave up her chance of supporting her partner’s overcall. Gottlieb, her partner, could not risk bidding again at the three-level with his 9 HCP hand, with poor spade spots. So the verdict is that Domville was broadly correct with his hand-written commentary, and one can approve of him inking his own and his partner’s names in blue. So how might the auction be in 2015? West Pass 4♥

North East South 3♦ 3♥ Pass All Pass

Note that in 4♥ by East on a diamond lead the contract still makes 10 tricks, because after the diamond continuation, ruffed by South, the defence can only make one club trick. Dummy’s losing spade is discarded on the winning diamond honour in East’s hand. If South is declarer in 4♠, then he will normally be defeated by two tricks. Looking at it from declarer’s point of view, he has 5 spades, 1 diamond, 1 top club and 1 club ruff in dummy, to bring the tally to 8 tricks. If you are interested in reading more about the history of bridge, the following books should give you much pleasure: The Walk of the Oysters. An Unholy History of Contract Bridge. Rex Mackey. ISBN 0 86379 123 9. First published 1964. The Golden Age of Contract Bridge. David Daniels. ISBN 0 8128 2576 4. First published 1942. Bumblepuppy Days. Julian Laderman. ISBN 978 1 77140 003 9. Published 2014. Also available as an ebook.

BRIDGE June 2015

Page 25

Answers to Julian Pottage’s  Defence Quiz on page 14 1. ♠ 10 9 8 5 3 ♥ 10 5 ♦ A ♣ A K 10 9 5 ♠ 7 2 ♠ J 6 N ♥ A K Q 8 4 3 ♥ 9 6 W E ♦ K 10 7 S ♦ J 9 6 5 3 2 ♣ 7 2 ♣ Q 8 4 ♠ A K Q 4 ♥ J 7 2 ♦ Q 8 4 ♣ J 6 3

West North East South 1 1♥ 2♥ Pass 4♠ All Pass 1 Spades and a minor

You lead the ♥A. East plays the ♥9 and South the ♥2. How do you continue? Partner’s high ♥9 suggests a doubleton, or it could be a singleton – not a three-card suit, for sure. You should continue with the ♥K. When you see the ♥6 next time, you are certain that partner started with a doubleton. Even though dummy is out of hearts, you play a third round because partner can easily hold the ♠J, ♠Q or ♠K – cards that you do not expect to win if you leave declarer to draw trumps. If partner holds the ♠A or ♣Q-x-x as well, the overruff will beat the contract. If not, at least you will stop a possible overtrick.

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

Page 26

♠ J 6 ♥ 9 6 ♦ J 8 6 5 4 3 ♣ J 9 6

West North East South 1♥ 2♥1 Pass 4♠ All Pass 1 Spades and a minor

You lead the ♥A. East plays the ♥9 and South the ♥3. How do you continue? Again partner’s encouraging ♥9 suggests a doubleton. As before, you lead the ♥K next and see the ♥6, a card confirming that partner did indeed start with a doubleton. As previously, dummy’s weak trumps make it likely that partner can profitably overruff. So do you simply play a third round of hearts? If you play a third round of hearts, a smart declarer will have noticed partner’s high-low and discard dummy’s diamond: a diamond loser is inevitable anyway. Then no overruff is available. Before playing the third heart, you should cash the ♦A.

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

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

You lead the ♣3: ♣5, ♣K and ♣4. Partner returns the ♣2, covered by the ♣J and ♣Q. How do you proceed? What do you make of the play in the club suit? Declarer has hardly ducked the ♣A twice. Partner – no doubt keen to get you on lead – must have underled the

♣A. Two possibilities present themselves. A spade switch might set up the ♠K for your side to cash after you score the ♦A. If partner has no diamonds, a ruff is available. The clue is the lowly ♣2. Whether you read this low card as suitpreference or just as unusual, you should go for the diamond ruff. Lead the ♦A.

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

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

You lead the ♦K. After taking the ♦A and crossing to the ♠A, declarer leads a low heart to the ♥Q and ♥K. How do you continue? Paving the way for a later diamond ruff or overruff, it looks right to play the ♦Q next. Given the strong spades and weak clubs in dummy, you can guess to switch to clubs after that. Your partner might play a low diamond (suit preference) under the ♦Q to help you. When you switch to a club, which club do you lead? You know that a diamond back will beat the contract whereas a club might not. You do best to try the ♣8. At matchpoints, partner may try for two down (attempting to cash a second club). At least you have done your best to get ■ an immediate diamond return.

BRIDGE June 2015

The Diaries of Wendy Wensum Episode 38: Much Ado about Nothing

A

s I walked into the bridge room at the Riverside, Millie and the club secretary were enjoying a discreet but heated debate. I heard Millie indignantly assert, ‘It’s not in the fixture book.’ ‘I know, but it’s been on the notice board for months,’ responded the exasperated Hon. Sec. ‘Maybe, but I don’t look at the notice board,’ was Millie’s insubstantial defence. ‘But it’s also on the website,’ was the riposte. ‘I don’t check the website,’ was the instant reply. ‘I emailed everyone,’ explained the secretary. ‘I don’t read emails, I only send them,’ was the provocative response. ‘The TD announced it at bridge last week,’ was the counter punch. ‘I didn’t hear that,’ said Millie. ‘I know. I saw you talking and not listening. That’s why I told you personally,’ was his final knockout blow. ‘Oh yes, so you did, I forgot, so sorry,’ apologised Millie. The Club secretary disappeared into the bar shrugging his shoulders and rotating his eyeballs in an alarming manner. There may have been steam emanating from his ears. ‘What was that all about?’ I asked. ‘Apparently there is a programme change; it’s teams this week and we’re not fixed up,’ said Millie despondently. ‘Yes, we are, we’re playing with Jo and Kate as usual.’ ‘Well, I’m sure no one told me,’ replied Millie huffily. Millie clearly needed a pick-me-up and I accompanied her to the bar. There we spotted the club secretary with a bottle of wine open beside him. He was chatting to other members of the committee who seemed amused or possibly bemused by his narrative. A drink or two later, Millie and I wandered back to the bridge room to join Jo and Kate just as the director announced that he was pleased that BRIDGE June 2015

everyone had remembered the change of programme and found teammates. When George the Jogger and Sarah arrived at our table, Millie impertinently asked, ‘You always have that tube of cream with you. Where do you apply it?’ ‘Usually in private,’ George assured us to our relief. After a short pause he added unnecessarily that his feet were prone to suffer from a rash caused by his running activities. Fortunately this overload of information ended the conversation. The ensuing deal diverted our attention from jogging to bridge and proved a battle of part scores.

George, West, led the four of clubs, I ducked and Sarah won with the nine. She took her winning ace of clubs and I ruffed the jack continuation. I crossed to dummy via the ace of spades and led the queen of trumps from dummy, the king appeared and the remaining trumps in our opponents’ hands were removed. The contract was home with three spade and five trump tricks. A more concise sequence occurred when our teammates played the board. Kate opened the bidding with one notrump which ended the auction. West

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

At love all, Sarah, East, opened one club. With two four card majors and a borderline opener, I doubled for takeout and George bid one diamond. Millie now doubled to suggest I choose a major and Sarah bid two diamonds. Two hearts by me ended the bidding. West George

North

East

South

Millie

Sarah

Wendy

1♣ Dbl 1♦ Dbl 2♦ 2♥ All Pass

North

East

Jo

Kate



1NT

South All Pass

With only two cards in the majors but admittedly a good stop in each, one no-trump would not have been my choice as opener. However, the manoeuvre worked. On a spade lead from South to the ace and a spade return, Kate made one spade, five clubs after a successful finesse and the ace of diamonds. We won that board but still lost the match to George’s team. With more wins than losses overall, we finished well up the field and were fairly satisfied with our performance. We discussed the board again in the pub later, where Millie kindly pointed out that with more careful play I could have made nine tricks by placing West with the ♦A for his bid. On cross examination she conceded that my mistake had not affected our victorypoint total. With this admission she agreed to buy the next round of drinks and also promised that in future she would check her inbox for emails from the Hon. Sec on a regular basis. ■ Page 27

Heather’s Private Bridge Lessons

Weak Twos W

3 of any other suit = 9-10 points and a high-card feature in that suit (normally bid your strongest suit out of the other three). For example:

hat call do you make on the following hand?



♠ K Q J 8 6 3 ♥ 6 5 4 ♦ 8 3 ♣ 5 3

West ?

N

W E S

North

East

South

A weak two bid is an opening bid of 2♥ or 2♠ and shows 6-10 points and a 6-card suit. Some players also play an opening bid of 2♦ as a weak two bid. Ideally it shows a good suit with few values outside the suit. The hand above is ideal for a weak 2♠.

♠ 9 8 7 5 3 2 ♥ A 5 4 ♦ A 3 ♣ 5 3

West ?

W E S

East

South

This is a horrible hand for a weak two, it is better to pass.

Responding to weak twos To be interested in game you will need around 15 points or more, since partner has shown a weak hand. With an invitational hand (about 15-18 points) and a fit, bid 2NT. This asks partner for more information. There are a variety of methods of responding – I suggest: 3 of the trump suit = 6-8 points. Page 28

♠ K J 10 8 6 3 ♥ K 8 5 ♦ 9 2 ♣ 7 2

N

W E S

West North East South 2♠ Pass 2NT Pass ?

You must rebid 3♠ to show the lower range. However, holding:

N

North



♠ Q J 10 9 8 7 ♥ K 10 3 ♦ K 6 2 ♣ 7

N

W E S

West North East South 2♠ Pass 2NT Pass ?

You can now show a feature as you are in the upper range. You have a choice between red suits, so I would show the marginally better one. Rebid 3♥. Over this partner jumps to 4♠ and this ends the auction.

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

♠ 6 3 2 ♥ A J 7 ♦ A Q J ♣ K 6 5 2

You are in 4♠ by West and the lead is the ♣J. How do you plan the play? There is no way that North has underled the ace of clubs so do not be tempted to play the king. If you do, it will force out the ace but you will have established nothing in the suit. Instead, you should attempt to ruff out the ace, in other words you should organise your entries so that you can trump two clubs in your hand to see if the ace falls. If it doesn’t fall you will need to guess the position of the ♥Q, but you would prefer to be spared that guess, if possible. However, first things first, you will begin by drawing trumps. If the defence switch to diamonds you can ruff a club and continue drawing trumps. If you get no luck in the club suit, you can ruff the fourth round anyway and cash your diamonds. By the time you need to locate the position of the ♥Q, there is a fair chance that you will have a full count of the opponents’ distribution and you will play the hand known to have longer hearts for the queen.

♠ A J 8 7 4 2 ♥ 8 5 ♦ K 9 3 ♣ J 6

N

W E S

West North East South 2♠ Pass 2NT Pass ?

Being in the upper range you can call 3♦, showing your diamond feature. Over this partner jumps to 4♠. These are the two hands: BRIDGE June 2015

Weak Twos continued



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

♠ K Q 9 ♥ A J 4 ♦ A 7 2 ♣ K 8 4 2

The lead is the ♦J. Ideally, you would prefer to be in 3NT since this has nine top tricks, however, it is quite normal to play in your known nine-card major suit fit. With a certain loser in each red suit, the contract looks to depend on the ♣A being with North. Are there any other chances? There is a possibility that North holds the ♥K-Q, but this is unlikely since he would probably have led one. However, there is another possibility: the chance that South holds the ♣Q. Having drawn trumps, lead towards the ♣J. If South holds the queen, you will be able to develop a club trick to dispose of one of your red suit losers, since the defence can only establish a trick in one of them before your club trick is set up. If it loses to the queen in the North hand, the opponents will again be able to establish a trick in just one red suit and you will still have time to lead towards the king of clubs. If you have support for partner, you can make a pre-emptive raise. With three-card support but no game interest, raise to three. With four-card support raise to four. This is designed to make life difficult for the opponents. If you raise to four, they will not know whether you have a good hand that just wanted to be in game, or a bad hand with four-card support. Bidding a new suit is forcing and shows at least invitational values. It suggests a hand without support for partner and is looking for the best game. It shows at least five in the suit bid.

♠ J ♥ K Q 10 9 7 4 ♦ A K 7 ♣ A Q 9

N

W E

BRIDGE June 2015

S

West North ?

East South 2♠ Pass

Respond 3♥. If partner rebids 3♠ (denying heart support) you can try 3NT. A jump in a new suit is a splinter, agreeing partner’s weak two suit and showing a shortage, even if it is a game bid. Hence, holding this hand:

♠ 6 ♥ A K Q 8 7 6 2 ♦ K Q J 5 ♣ 7

N

W E S

West North ?

East South 2♠ Pass

You must begin with a forcing 3♥ bid, since a jump to 4♥ would be a splinter. Your partner raises you to 4♥ and this ends the auction.

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

♠ K Q 10 8 5 3 ♥ J 5 ♦ 7 6 2 ♣ K 6

You are in 4♥ by West and the lead is the ♣Q which holds the trick and is followed by the ♣J which you ruff. How do you plan the play? Think about the whole hand before you start. If you have already drawn trumps, you will be relying on a 3-3 diamond break to make the contract. Instead, you need to consider your entries to dummy. You only have one, and that is the ♥J. If you begin by playing a spade towards dummy, you will establish a spade trick on which to dispose of the potential loser in diamonds. However, you must do this straight away, whilst you have the entry to cash your spade winner.

♠ A K J 7 ♥ A K 10 9 ♦ Q J 10 9 ♣ Q

N

W E S

West North ?

East South 2♠ Pass

Make a splinter bid of 4♣. Over this partner cue-bids 4♦ and you can now try Roman keycard Blackwood. Partner owns up to one ace by calling 5♦. What now? You are missing one key card,

so a grand slam is out of the question. The only try you can make without committing yourself to a small slam is 5♥, which asks for the queen of trumps. There is little point in doing this, since you are known to have a ten-card trump fit and you would be happy to gamble on the queen falling in two rounds (or taking a finesse if North discards on the first round). Therefore, you might as well bid 6♠.



♠ A K J 7 ♥ A K 10 9 N W E ♦ Q J 10 9 S ♣ Q

♠ Q 10 8 4 3 2 ♥ J 5 ♦ A 4 ♣ 9 7 3

You are in 6♠ by East and the lead is the ♣A, followed by the ♣K. How do you plan the play? You have eleven tricks: six trumps, two club ruffs in dummy, the ace and king of hearts and the ace of diamonds. There are various possibilities that could give you your twelfth: a successful diamond finesse, a successful heart finesse or ruffing heart finesse, a red suit squeeze, or ruffing the ♥Q down in three rounds. How can you possibly tell which one to go for? In situations such as these you want to keep your options open, if at all possible. If you take one of the finesses and it fails, you will be down in your contract. However, if you play to ruff down the ♥Q and it fails to appear, you have not yet gone down in the contract. It is true that you can no longer play for the heart finesse, the ruffing heart finesse, or the squeeze. However, provided you have still left an entry to dummy via the club ruff, you are in a position to take the diamond finesse. In this way you can combine two chances to make the contract, which is better than going all out for one chance. ■ Page 29

Improve Your Defence with Andrew Kambites

Principles of Leading Against a Suit Contract Passive Defence If you set up length tricks against notrumps, your opponents will have to watch helplessly if you can cash them out. Length tricks are far less likely to be useful if you are defending against a suit contract, because provided your opponents have picked a sensible trump suit they will use their trump suit to interrupt the flow of your length winners. Broadly speaking the follow principles are sound: 1) You are far less inclined to lead away from a broken honour sequence (or interior sequence such as ♠K-J-103-2) than would be the case if you were leading against no-trumps. In particular, it is virtually never correct to underlead a side suit ace at trick 1. I wouldn’t want to put it quite as strongly with respect to underleading other honours, but it is still the case that leading from a holding like ♥K-7-4-3 after a bidding sequence of 1♠-3♠-4♠ is more likely to give away a cheap trick than to do anything clever. 2) Cashing unsupported aces is usually unsound. The purpose of your ace is to capture an opponent’s honour, not to squash minnows. Of course, there are exceptions, for example it may (or may not) be right to cash a side suit ace if you are on lead against a suit slam. I will look at exceptions in a later article. 3) You are more likely to aim to defend passively than would be usual Page 30

against no-trumps. After a bidding sequence of 1♠-3♠-4♠, a lead of ♥6 from a suit of ♥8-6-3 is unlikely to do much good, or much harm. It might sound negative, but that is usually a satisfactory outcome against a suit contract. 4) The best leads after 1♠-3♠-4♠ are healthily solid sequences, like ♥K-Q-J-10. They build tricks with no risk. However, beware of short sequences, particularly in a suit where you don’t have great length. Suppose you lead a heart from ♥KQ-7. So often the layout is:

♥ J 5 4 N

♥ K Q 7 W E S



♥ 10 8 3 2

♥ A 9 6

Declarer wins your ♥K lead with his ♥A and subsequently gets an easy second heart trick by leading towards dummy’s ♥J. Generally speaking, the more solid the sequence is, the safer your lead. Equally, leading from a longer suit tends to give less away, for example leading the ♦K from ♦K-Q-4-32 is less likely to cost a trick than leading the ♥K from ♥K-Q-7. You might remember that in an earlier article I discussed leading against no-trumps. I advocated leading the king from K-Q-J-3-2 or K-Q-10-3-2, but the 3 from K-Q-4-

3-2. The conclusion was that against no-trumps, the lead of a king promises the queen and either the jack or the ten. The reason was that with K-Q-4-3-2, you needed partner to hold an honour to fulfil your objectives of setting up length tricks and in that case, you didn’t want to block the suit. Your objectives in leading from this suit against a suit contract are very different. Length tricks usually won’t be a factor. You are trying to ensure one trick in the suit. Somebody at the table has a doubleton, so you must make sure you don’t lose trick 1 to declarer’s jack. If you are really lucky, partner might have the doubleton and may be able to ruff the third round. There are a number of combinations where, if you decide to lead the suit, the lead against notrumps is a different card. With ♠A-K-4-3-2 lead the ♠3 against no-trumps but the ♠A against a suit contract. With ♠K-Q-4-3-2 lead the ♠3 against no trumps but the ♠K against a suit contract. With ♠Q-J-4-3-2 lead the ♠3 against no trumps but the ♠Q against a suit contract. With ♠J-10-4-3-2 lead the ♠3 against no trumps but the ♠J against a suit contract. 5) There is one situation where length tricks can come into play. Looking at all four hands can you see how the defenders can beat 4♠ in the layout below? BRIDGE June 2015

Leading Against a Suit Contract continued

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

♠ 6 ♥ A 8 3 ♦ 6 5 4 3 ♣ 10 9 8 5 4

South North 1♠ 2♦ 2NT 3♠ 4♠

Suppose West leads the ♥6. East wins the ♥A and continues hearts. Declarer must ruff the third heart and starts on trumps. West allows declarer to win the first two rounds and declarer is now without resource. If he continues with a third trump, West takes the ♠A and plays a winning heart. Declarer has to ruff with his last trump, but he has now lost trump control. The best declarer can do is to abandon trumps and start cashing minor suit winners, but, of course, that allows West to beat the contract with a ruff. How ironic that if West starts the defence looking for a ruff by leading a minor suit, he never gets his ruff, but if he starts attacking declarer’s trump length declarer has no option but to allow him a ruff. All the clues are there for West to get the defence right: the bidding makes it obvious that declarer is in a 5-3 trump fit. The fact that West has four trumps means that if he can make declarer ruff twice, he will have more trumps left than either declarer or dummy. If you are on lead with four trumps, it is worth considering leading your longest suit, particularly if you have trump control (eg the ace). By attacking declarer’s trump control, effectively, you are trying to turn a suit contract into a no-trump contract. BRIDGE June 2015

Looking for a Ruff Everybody loves the feeling of leading a singleton against a slam, finding partner with the ace and ruffing at trick 2. I must warn you that if you lead a singleton and you don’t get a ruff there is often a price to pay. You might help declarer by exposing partner’s queen, or consider this layout: ♥ K 7 3 2 N ♥ 8 W E S



♥ J 10 6 5

♥ A Q 9 4

Left to his own devices, declarer would need X-ray vision to finesse twice against East’s ♥J-10. However, if West is on lead against a spade contract and leads the ♥8, it falls into declarer’s lap. Dummy plays low and East must split his honours to prevent declarer’s ♥9 winning. Later, having drawn trumps, declarer enters dummy with the ♥K and West shows out, leaving declarer with a marked finesse against East’s other heart honour. So if you lead a singleton, you must have some expectation that partner will have entries to give you a ruff. For example, leading a singleton against a slam when you have an ace is pointless. You have a trick; if partner has an entry, the slam will be beaten whatever you lead. South North 1♠ 3♠ 4♠

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

After the bidding sequence shown, the ♥8 is an excellent lead with Hand A. Indeed, you might even get two ruffs. The ♥8 is a very poor lead with Hand B. You may easily have three tricks in your hand. Partner is most unlikely to have a quick entry. Your best prospect is a passive trump lead. ■

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

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

Page 31

Bridge Adventures by David Holden and Roy Rowe

Adventures at Number 10

M

argaret just finished making a pot of tea as Dennis returned from the latest business meeting – he was on the board of several companies. ‘How was the meeting? Dry as usual?’ she asked. ‘Actually they had a rather sickly Sauternes with the dessert. But they did have a very good Claret,’ replied Dennis. ‘Not quite what I meant, Dennis. Well you better keep a clear head; you know we are having one of those cross party evenings tonight. I hate to do it, but I have invited two senior members of the Labour party over to play some bridge this evening, and I need you to be there.’ she demanded. ‘But Margaret, you know I hate playing that game, I am a golf and cricket man; and two damn socialists as well, you do not want me to sit down and play with them?’ he begged. ‘No Dennis, I have asked Willie Whitelaw to play with me, but I need you to be there as an independent adjudicator – just in case we have a dispute. You know what those lefties can be like, so stay sober,’ was the command. ‘Oh, if I must, Boss. I have a copy of the EBU regulations on bridge; I will swot up on it over a glass of Gordon’s. Who have you asked over to play – not too extreme are they?’ ‘Well I had to ask Privy Councillors, one does have standards to maintain. Viscount Stansgate, I know he prefers to be called Tony Benn, but if you have a pedigree you really ought to respect it; and Michael Foot – you know he was one of the few socialists who Page 32

supported me over the Falklands,’ she added. ‘You could have done worse, Margaret. Foot should have stuck with his Liberal background – and Benn’s father made the same mistake, of course. Both are very good orators I have to say – even if they talk red rot half the time. I guess Willie Whitelaw is all right, though I would not trust his judgement sometimes.’ ‘Willie is always loyal to me, you know, Dennis, even when he thinks I am wrong. Anyway, go and study your rule book and make it just the one glass of Gordon’s – they will be here in half an hour.’

Tony Benn arrived at Number 10, promptly on time and was pleasantly greeted by Mrs Thatcher. ‘Very good of you to agree to come Viscount Stansgate, sorry, Mr. Benn. I know you prefer that title, but I have a strong sense of history.’ ‘Thank you for asking me, Prime Minister, but please call me Tony – at

least in this house.’ he replied with grace. ‘Of course, Vi.. um, Tony and you must call me Margaret, not Prime Minister here,’ she added, through slightly gritted teeth. Michael Foot arrived on Benn’s heels, and Mrs Thatcher asked an aide to deal with his, ‘um, top-coat’ as she described his unfashionable and infamous duffle coat. They gathered over a few drinks and awaited the arrival of William Whitelaw – who had been called to deal with a minor revolt of Tory backbenchers in the House. Benn commented that Whitelaw was a good man to have at the Prime Minister’s side. Margaret repeated her aphorism, ‘Every Prime Minister needs a Willie.’ With remarkable presence of mind, Michael Foot added, ‘I think Ted Heath first said that when you defeated him in the Tory leadership election in 1975!’ Only a few minutes late, Whitelaw joined the party and they sat down to play; he partnered Margaret, with Tony Benn on her right. Willie commented, ‘Well, we might expect Michael to be left of the Prime Minister.’ (He never called her Margaret in company.) ‘But Tony Benn to the right! Who would have thought it?’ To make for an interesting evening, they had agreed that the pair with the overall minus score should pay £100 to a charity as nominated by the winning pair. The evening passed pleasantly enough; politics were not on the agenda, of course. Margaret was a forceful bidder – taking control whenever possible. Willie was somewhat BRIDGE June 2015

Adventures continued

more conservative and their styles balanced each other out. Likewise, Michael tended to be a little impulsive and inaccurate, whereas Tony was the epitome of precise and logical bidding and play. The Tories were slightly ahead when they came to what would be the final hand of the evening. Dealer West. Game All. ♠ 6 5 4 3 2 ♥ A 7 6 5 4 3 ♦ 2 ♣ J ♠ Void ♠ A K ♥ K Q J 10 9 8 N ♥ Void ♦ K Q J W E ♦ 10 9 8 7 6 S 5 4 3 2 ♣ 5 4 3 2 ♣ 10 7 ♠ Q J 10 9 8 7 ♥ Void ♦ A ♣ A K Q 9 8 6

The bidding was somewhat lively – considering the shapely hands this was not surprising. West

North

East

South

Thatcher

Foot

Whitelaw

Benn

2♠ 3♥ 4NT Pass 5♠ Pass 7♠ Dbl All Pass

Tony had a difficult choice, he could not open at the one level with such a powerful playing hand, and 2♣ would

BRIDGE June 2015

have excited his partner too much, so he settled for 2♠. Margaret, always wanting to have her own way, butted in. Michael thought for a long time before launching into Blackwood. His reasoning was, ‘Tony must have at least five spades, probably six, to a couple of

honours, so at most we have one spade loser. The Iron Lady must have seven hearts for her bid, Tony (and Willie) must be void, so Tony can ruff all my losing hearts – overruffing Willie. So if partner has the aces, we ought to be safe for a grand slam.’ Then things went slightly awry. Tony’s reply of 5♠ was Roman keycard showing two aces and the queen of trumps. But Michael took it as straight Blackwood, showing three aces – which was enough (for him) to bid the grand slam. Willie safely doubled – he had two sure tricks after all. Margaret led the ♥K, covered by the ace. With glee, Willie trumped with the ♠A, cashed the ♠K and exited with a club, uttering, ‘At least two down doubled vulnerable, not bad Prime Minister.’ Benn won, cashed the ♦A, on which both Michael and Willie played a red two. Of course, Willie’s two was the ♥2 – he had missorted his hand and had clearly revoked when he ruffed the opening lead. Tony took the rest of the tricks with ease. Tony knew the rules and suggested that there ought to be a penalty for the revoke. The PM, who did not know the rules, said, ‘It hardly matters, Willie would make his two top trumps anyway.’ Tony insisted they consult the rule book and Dennis was summoned

from his study, with the EBU book in one hand and a large glass of Gordon’s in the other. After a few moments of page turning, he ruled, with a slight stumble here and there, that, ‘if the trick on which the revoke occurred was won by the offending player, at the end of the play the trick on which the revoke occurred is transferred to the non-offending side, together with one of any subsequent tricks won by the offending side. So two tricks should be transferred.’ Margaret was not pleased, neither with Willie, nor the rule, but had to accept the situation as Tony, missing ace and king of trumps, recorded a score of 2,470 for 7♠ doubled and vulnerable and a victory for the left on the night. Michael Foot who, although of Plymouth origins, represented a coal mining region in South Wales, requested that the agreed wager of £100 be paid to the South Wales Area Miners Benevolent Fund. Margaret could hardly object and ordered Willie to make the arrangements (she could not bear the publicity of a cheque in her name going to the miners) and the evening ended on a sour note.

Later Margaret, still angry, said to Dennis, ‘Those damn EBU bureaucrats in Brussels have no right to make such nonsense laws to govern how we play our games. Remind me in the morning to raise the issue at the next cabinet meeting.’ Dennis quietly concurred; thinking now was not the time to correct the Boss by pointing out the ‘E’ in EBU stood for ‘English’, not ‘European’. ■ Page 33

Bernard Magee DVDs – Number Six

Penalty Doubles P

enalty doubles are one of my favourite topics: so few players are ever taught about doubling, it is as if the call does not exist. Other than doubling 1NT for penalties, there is very little knowledge. Very few players double other partscores because they are worried of ‘doubling them into game’. Of course, I explain in the DVD that when you double for penalties, you are not aiming for your opponents to make the contract. I reckon that most players should double between five and ten times the amount they do now. Of course, I explain that most doubles of suit contracts at low levels are for take-out and the most common type of penalty double actually comes from your partner making a take-out double, which you choose to pass. Passing a take-out double is a positive bid: you only disobey your partner for a very good reason. As you see on this hand, it usually means that you are sure of a nice penalty:

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

Page 34

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

The requirements for low-level penalty doubles are: the majority of points between your partnership and good trumps. Points are not enough to defeat a low-level suit contract, it is important to have trumps to back them up. South opens 1♠ and West overcalls 2♥, which is passed back round to South. As the last player to bid, South tries hard to keep the auction open, particularly when short in the opponents’ suit. Surely, either EastWest have a fit or your partner is sitting with a trump stack. If they have a fit, then you should compete: a takeout double allows your side to find its best fit, rather than simply relying on bidding 2♠. North chooses to pass your takeout double, expecting to collect more points from 2♥ doubled than from trying to make 3♦. The play is relatively straightforward: the defence are likely to make five tricks outside trumps and two trump tricks. On a spade lead, South takes his four black suit winners and then probably plays a trump. Declarer does best to take his two top trumps and then endplay North by leading another trump. However, this still leaves West two off and losing 300 points. Doubling is crucial because 300 beats any partscore you can make, but 100 is a poor return: your side might well make 3♦, scoring 110. When your opponents overcall and

trumps break badly for them, there is often a chance to collect a very healthy penalty: it is important to punish them because their overcalls so often make life difficult for you. The more you double your opponents, the less they will want to bid. In the second part of the DVD, I move on to the tricky aspect of defending these contracts and making sure you get the score you want. So much will focus around the trump suit, making sure you make the most of your holdings. ♠ 2 ♥ 10 5 4 3 ♦ K 5 4 3 ♣ Q 10 6 5

West All Pass

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

♠ A K J 10 5 4 ♥ 9 7 6 ♦ 10 9 ♣ A 2

North East South 1NT 2♠ Dbl

When I teach penalty doubles, I like to give simple rules: one of which is that once your side has bid no-trumps at any point, all doubles are for penalties. The reason for this is because one player has neatly defined his hand so the other should be in control of the auction. After the first two bids of the auction, South knows his side has the BRIDGE June 2015

Penalty Doubles

continued

majority of the points and also knows his side has at least six spades (North opened 1NT), which means the opponents do not have a fit: the perfect situation for a penalty double. You lead the ♥A on which your partner plays the ♥2. Having displayed your strength, you switch to your shortest suit in an attempt to aim for two trump tricks. Your partner wins the ♦J and returns a heart. You cash your third heart and play another diamond to partner’s queen. Five tricks already and then your partner leads the ♦A. It does declarer no good to discard because another diamond would follow, so he ruffs with the ♠J. This is the crucial point of the defence and one that many find intuitively hard. Towards the end of the seminar, the focus was on whether to overruff or not: it is not obvious that it should make a difference. However, play it through: if you overruff, then declarer will be able to draw your last three trumps with his ♠A-K-10. However, if you discard, then when declarer draws trumps, after his ♠A-K your ♠Q-9 will sit over his ♠10-5-4 and be worth two tricks. So you discard on the third diamond and declarer ends up losing a club and two trumps resulting in three down. +500 on a partscore deal: the defence was not easy, but as you double more you will get the chance to practise your defence more and start getting some wonderful scores. The main point of this DVD was double more, much more. ■ BRIDGE June 2015

BERNARD MAGEE’S INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ACOL BIDDING l Opening

Bids and Responses

l l

ADVANCED ACOL BIDDING l Basics

l Weak

Support for Partner

l

£66

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l Doubles

l

l Two-suited

Overcalls

l Making

Overtricks in No-trumps Making Overtricks in Suit Contracts

l Endplays

l

Misfits and Distributional Hands

l

Lead vs No-trump Contracts

l

Lead vs Suit Contracts

l

Partner of Leader vs No-trump Contracts

Contract Squeezes

l Hold-ups l

Ruffing for Extra Tricks

l

Entries in No-trumps

£81

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l Count

Signals l Attitude

£76

l

Using the Lead

l Trump

Control

l

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l

Using the Bidding

FIVE-CARD MAJORS & Strong No-Trump l

Opening Bids & Responses

l

No-Trump Openings

l

Support for Partner

l

Slams & Strong Openings

l

Rebids

l

Minors & Misfits

Signals

the Hand

£76

Drawing Trumps

DEFENCE

l

l Wrong

£96

Defences to Other Systems

l Avoidance

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l Delaying

l

Auctions

ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY

Defence to 1NT

l Doubles

l Competitive

l Simple

Strong Hands

l Defence

Openings and Responses

l

l

Twos

to Weak Twos

l No-trump

l

Establishment in No-trumps

Basics

l Overcalls

l

l Suit

l Advanced

Slams and Strong Openings

l Pre-empting

DECLARER PLAY

£89

Trump Reductions & Coups

l Discarding

l

Pre-empting

l

Defensive Plan

l

Doubles

l

Playing Doubled Contracts

l

Stopping Declarer

l

Overcalls

l

l

Safety Plays

Competitive Auctions

l

l Counting

the Hand

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

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Page 35

David Stevenson answers your questions on Laws and Ethics

Are Very Weak Twos in Benji Allowed?

Q

Playing in a Club league match, the opponents stated they were playing Benji Acol, but had no convention card.

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

West North East South 2♥1 Pass 2NT2 3♥3 Pass 3NT Dbl All Pass 1 Announced as weak. 2 Alerted (Ogust from later comment). 3 Alerted (explained as ‘general forcing bid to be clarified’ when North asked).

3NT doubled went two off for 500 N/S. 1. Is North’s opening bid legal? 2. What rules govern opening a Benji Weak Two? 3. Is North’s

Page 36

enquiry legal?  4. Is North’s final pass legal? 5. If N/S did have an agreement that they open a weak two vulnerable on three points, can they describe the system as Benji, without qualification? Name and address supplied.

A

1. Certainly it is legal. You may open 2♥ by agreement on any hand with at least four hearts and any point count whatsoever. 2. A weak two is a description of a general agreement by which an opening bid of the suit bid shows at least five cards in the suit and less than an opening bid. Most players play more stringent rules, such as giving it a range, demanding six cards in the suit bid, not allowing a side four-card major, not allowing a void, not allowing another five-card suit and so on. However, it is up to each pair whether or not they have such agreements and it is up to opponents to ask for further clarification if they require it. 3. Certainly. You may ask the meaning of any call at any time it is your turn to call. 4. Certainly. Partner

has said that, in his view, 3NT doubled should be the final contract. North has no reason to disagree with South’s decision. 5. Certainly. Benji, or Benjaminised Acol to give it the full name, refers to a method of showing an Acol 2♣ opening by opening 2♦, and by showing an Acol two of a suit opening by opening 2♣, thus allowing people who play it to open weak twos while still having a method of showing Acol twos as well. The weak twos in Benji are no different from any other weak two and can be played in any way the pair agree. I fear that what has happened here is that E/W have made an assumption that N/S would bid the way they do, or the way they were taught, which is a common fallacy in club bridge. While there are rules about what calls are allowed in club bridge, they are not very restrictive and players who do not follow generally accepted formulae often find their opponents surprised (or, I regret, even angry) when they do something that their opponents would not. Certainly, the weak two opened here is one that many people would not bid, but of course, the same could be said of West’s 3♥

bid, which was the direct cause of E/W’s bad result. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Could you kindly settle a friendly dispute please? In duplicate bridge, is it a rule that one should shuffle the cards after a game before placing them in the box? Or is it a courtesy? Or is it so that the next pairs do not receive them in any specific order? Ray Cook by email.

A

It is a requirement laid down in a law. It only appeared in the last law book: before that it was a courtesy. The lawmakers did not want anything to give the next table any impression of what had happened earlier. For example, if there were three passes to you and your hand was sorted, you could be fairly sure it was passed out at the last table. Another example is that if you never received a sorted hand normally, and then one is sorted, it often turned out to be a borderline slam (if it was not a pass-out) where the players had looked at the hand at the end.

BRIDGE June 2015

Ask David continued

Q

In 1NT, declarer found himself with ♥Q-x-x in dummy and ♥A-K-J-x in hand. He called for the top heart from dummy, but dummy, as well as the defenders, misheard him and a low heart was led from dummy. Declarer failed to notice anything amiss and followed low, so the defence won the trick quite cheaply. It was only when declarer requested the lead of a low heart from dummy to the next trick that this ‘misplay’ was revealed. The cards to the first heart trick were restored and declarer was allowed to lead the queen from dummy. All passed off peacefully and with the approval of the director. In a different layout of the cards, could declarer gain unauthorised information? Herbert Potts, Bramhall, Stockport.

A

Declarer’s side is at fault if dummy has played the wrong card. Once the card is corrected, the defenders may correct the card they played

(and if declarer’s RHO changes his card then declarer may also change his card). The cards played by the defenders and changed are unauthorised information to declarer, so if he has gained from seeing them the director can adjust the score at the end. However, if declarer changes his card then the original card is authorised information for the defenders. Note that the card misplayed by dummy can be changed so long as both sides have not played to the next trick. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Is the term ‘reserve our rights’ to question the director’s decision in duplicate bridge? I cannot find reference to it. Name and Address Supplied.

A

It is referred to in the laws (16B2). The idea is that, if a player gives unauthorised information to his partner, for example by a long hesitation, and the hesitation or other unauthorised information is agreed by the pair, there is no need to call the director in the middle of the auction. A player can ‘reserve his rights’ to call the director later. Then, if at the end of the hand, he feels noth-

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by John Rumbelow and revised by David Stevenson

only

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BRIDGE June 2015

ing untoward has occurred, there is no need to bother the director. Alternatively, if he wants a ruling he can summon the director and has not lost any rights by waiting to the end of the hand. In theory, it is a totally unnecessary procedure: if a hesitation or other unauthorised information is agreed, then the director can be called at the end of the hand whether a player has said he reserves his rights or not. Nevertheless, it is quite useful for getting all four players to remember the situation and to keep the facts clear in their minds. If a hesitation or other unauthorised information is disputed, the director should be called immediately to sort out the facts. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At my local club, I opened 1♦ and my LHO bid 1♠. My partner doubled. I said that it was a negative double showing points and hearts. My partner said that he had spades and the opposition politely told me that I didn’t need to explain unless they ask. I knew the rule but at local level these things happen. I felt I had been put in my box. Did I commit a very big error? Sheila Hickey by email.

A

You did not commit a very bad error, but if the opponents told you politely that you had erred, that seems fine. The game runs better when people follow the rules and the simplest rules about alerting and answering

questions should be followed. If your partner makes a negative double then you should not alert or explain, just do nothing. When a natural suit bid (below 3NT) is doubled, it is always for take-out, if it is not alerted. Explaining without being asked causes a fair amount of trouble and you should never do so. Note that your partner should not have said anything either after your explanation. Corrections to wrong explanations should only be made at the end of the auction by declarer or dummy and only at the end of the hand by the defenders. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Please can you help with the bidding on our table which went:

West North East  South 1♣ Pass 1♠ Pass 2♥ Pass 3♦1 Pass 3♣ Pass Pass 1Alerted (FSF)

At this stage, it was noticed that East’s 3♣ was an insufficient bid. Should the hand be played in East’s highest bid, 3♦, or does West have to change 3♣ to 4♣? Penny Eliot by email.

A

Any insufficient bid may be accepted by the next player and is accepted if that player calls. So, once South passed over 3♣, the 3♣ bid became legal and the bidding progressed from there. North, for example, could now bid 3♦, or any higher bid. If North, East and South pass then 3♣ becomes ■ the final contract.

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

Page 37

Robin Hood’s Bridge Adventures by David Bird

The Sheriff’s Ill-Judged Double

T

he Nottingham Castle weekly duplicate was in progress. More often than not, the Sheriff and Sir Guy of Gisburne took first place in this event. They were accomplished cardplayers, it was true, but most of the field held back a bit when facing them. The choice between a couple of bad results and a night in a damp, ratinfested dungeon was not a taxing one. Two cooks from the castle kitchen eyed each other nervously as they took their seats at the Sheriff’s table. Dealer South. E/W Game. ♠ K 6 ♥ A K Q 9 7 2 ♦ A 6 ♣ A 7 5 ♠ 8 7 3 ♠ 4 ♥ 3 N ♥ J 10 8 6 4 W E ♦ K Q J 9 4 S ♦ 10 8 5 ♣ Q J 8 3 ♣ K 10 6 4 ♠ A Q J 10 9 5 2 ♥ 5 ♦ 7 3 2 ♣ 9 2

West

North

East

South

Wilfrid

The

Udolf

Guy of

Perkins

Sheriff

Gumme

Gisburne

Pass 5NT Pass All Pass

3♠ 7♠

What on earth did 5NT mean, wondered Wilfrid Perkins. Still, best not to speak out of turn against the present opponents. There would be plenty of men happy to take his place in the kitchen. Gisburne won the ♦K lead with the ace and saw that the slam could be made by scoring just four tricks from Page 38

dummy’s hearts. He played the ♥A and ruffed the ♥2 with a high trump. On this trick he was delighted to see West show out. A trump to the king allowed him to ruff another low heart with a high trump. He then drew the remaining trumps and crossed to the ♣A to throw three losers on the ♥K-Q-9. ‘Hearts were 5-1, my Lord!’ Gisburne exclaimed triumphantly. The Sheriff made no reply, scribbling the result on the scoresheet. ‘Taking two heart ruffs was the only way to make it,’ persisted Gisburne. ‘If establishing a suit in dummy is ever worthy of note, I will let you know,’ retorted the Sheriff. ‘The key to the deal was my Norwich 5NT bid, asking for two of the three top trump honours.’ A few rounds later, Gisburne was in a heart game: Dealer South. Game All. ♠ 9 5 3 ♥ 10 5 2 ♦ Q 6 5 2 ♣ A 5 4 ♠ Void ♠ Q 10 8 ♥ Q 9 7 3 N ♥ J 8 6 W E ♦ A 10 9 8 S ♦ J 7 4 3 ♣ Q J 10 9 3 ♣ K 8 6 ♠ A K J 7 6 4 2 ♥ A K 4 ♦ K ♣ 7 2

West

North

East

South

Aelfraed

The

Corliss

Guy of

Grime

Sheriff

Grime

Gisburne

1♠ Pass 2♠ Pass 4♠ All Pass

The white-haired Aelfraed Grime led the ♣Q against 4♠ and the Sheriff laid out a meagre dummy. ‘Don’t mess it up,’ he said. ‘My Lord!’ Gisburne exclaimed. ‘Not in front of these commoners.’ Gisburne won the first trick with dummy’s ♣A and played a trump to the ace. His spirits sank when West discarded a club. Surely even the Sheriff couldn’t claim that he should have diagnosed the trump position and finessed against the queen? The opening lead in clubs had been annoying. It had removed the entry to a diamond trick on which he could have thrown his heart loser. By the Saints! What could be done about it? Gisburne tried his luck with the ♦K, but West won with the ace and persevered with clubs. With dummy resembling a dead pigeon, Gisburne could not avoid the loss of a trick in every suit. He was one down. ‘Finesse the jack of trumps, you imbecile!’ cried the Sheriff. Heads turned from the adjacent tables in the Castle Main Hall. It seemed that the unfortunate Gisburne was in the firing line again. ‘If the finesse loses to the queen, my trump nine will be an entry for your diamond trick,’ continued the Sheriff. ‘You really are quite thick-headed at times.’ ‘You would have me make such a play at matchpoints?’ Gisburne queried. ‘If trumps were 2-1, I was cold for an overtrick.’ ‘You think one down will give us a good matchpoint score?’ retorted the Sheriff. Aelfraed Grime surveyed the scene with a worried look. It was well-known that the Sheriff did not take kindly to those who scored a good board against BRIDGE June 2015

Robin Hood continued

him. ‘I’m sure Sir Guy didn’t mean to play it so badly, my Lord,’ he declared. ‘If the ace of trumps was played mistakenly, instead of the jack, then perhaps it is not too late to correct the play and score the game as being made.’ The Sheriff, who had already entered a 620 onto the scoresheet, reached for the next board. ‘No, no, the man must learn his lesson,’ he said. The last round of the event saw the Sheriff facing two well-dressed strangers. ‘Do we know you?’ demanded Gisburne. ‘We hale from York,’ replied Reuben Coatts, the older of the two. ‘Bought a few horses at today’s fair here. Nothing special on offer but the prices were low.’ ‘You don’t see fit to greet my Lord Sheriff?’ persisted Gisburne. ‘We’d no idea who you were,’ said Arthur Hayley. ‘Greetings, anyway.’ Gisburne’s mouth fell open. Such insolence was unheard of. He glanced at the Sheriff to see if some punitive action was in order, but the Sheriff was busy sorting his cards. Perhaps he should let the matter rest. This was the deal before them:

The Sheriff, who had every chance of scoring two diamonds and two trumps, was quick to double the spade game. If Gisburne made some foolish opening lead that allowed declarer to discard diamond losers from his hand, he would feel the sharp end of his tongue. Gisburne led the ♦7 and Hayley laid out his cards. ‘Three trumps for you and some top cards,’ he observed. ‘I assume you weren’t expecting ...’ ‘Be silent!’ commanded Gisburne. ‘Do you think his Lordship and I are interested in your foolish witterings?’ Hayley raised a bushy eyebrow. Goodness me, they were a rude bunch here in Nottingham. The games were much more convivial back in York, wherever you chose to play. The Sheriff won with the ♦K and continued smartly with the ♦A. He was not in the least amused when this card was ruffed by the declarer. ‘You had six of them?’ he exclaimed, glaring across the table. ‘It’s what I was dealt, my Lord,’ Gisburne protested. When a trump was played to the ace, West showed out. Many declarers would assume that there were still two trumps and a heart to lose. Reuben Coatts, a strong cardplayer, had other ideas. He intended to ruff diamonds in his hand, but it was essential to cash his three club winners first, to prevent the Sheriff discarding a club

on the diamonds. After the queen, ace and king of clubs, Coatts led another diamond from dummy. The Sheriff discarded a heart and declarer ruffed with a low trump. The king and ace of hearts left him in dummy with these cards still to be played: ♠ 9 5 ♥ 8 ♦ J ♣ — ♠ — N ♥ J W E ♦ Q 10 S ♣ 9 ♠ K 7 6 ♥ 7 ♦ — ♣ —

♠ Q J 10 ♥ Q ♦ — ♣ —

‘Jack of diamonds, please,’ said Reuben Coatts. The Sheriff had no counter. He ruffed with the ♠10 but declarer then discarded his heart loser. ‘You make one more trump,’ he said. ‘The game is mine.’ ‘Six diamonds the man held!’ the Sheriff exclaimed. ‘How can anyone win with such a partner?’ ‘Very difficult, I agree,’ replied Arthur Hayley, returning the scoresheet to the board. ‘Still your double cost nothing, my Lord. No-one else managed to make it.’ ■

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

West

North

East

South

Guy of

Arthur

The

Reuben

Gisburne

Hayley

Sheriff

Coatts

Pass

1NT Pass 4♠ Pass Dbl All Pass

BRIDGE June 2015

Page 39

Conventions Part 6 with Jeremy Dhondy

Defending Against 1NT: Double and so on

M

ost articles on defending against a 1NT opening concentrate on what various two level bids mean. Do you play Landy, Asptro or natural? When your opponents open 1NT (12-14 HCP), they take up space and make your life harder. Of course, it makes sense to play some sort of defence to 1NT so you can get into the auction, but you should also recognise that there are downsides to a weak no-trump. One of those is that a penalty is risked, but to maximise your chances you have to know not only when to double 1NT, but to know what continuations mean. If partner removes it, what sort of hand has he got? If he doubles the opponent’s removal of 1NT to a suit, is it for penalties or take-out? By the end of this article you should know how you and your favourite partner will maximise your chances of taking a penalty against a weak notrump and also how to cope when they use their pet escape mechanism to seek not only to get to a better contract, but also to confuse!

and you will need to know when to double, when to bid and whether it is different if they use some sort of wriggle to get out of 1NT. In an earlier article in this series (BRIDGE 146), I talked about escaping from 1NT doubled. The success of doing this depends on the opponents finding a fit, but also, sometimes, on the opponents having no clear idea what to do. You should know what you will or won’t double a weak no-trump opening on. I recommend a minimum of 15 HCPs. I might pass some 15 counts with no clear lead or if we are vulnerable, but the risk of this is that partner may also pass and we miss game. If you are in the fourth seat after: West ?

North East South 1NT Pass Pass

When to double a 1NT opening

You might shade it slightly (perhaps 14 points), but remember you won’t be on lead and partner will, of course, find the worst lead. Personally, I play a double in fourth seat as also being 15+.

Suppose your right hand opponent opens 1NT and you hold:

Partner doubles 1NT and RHO passes



♠ K Q J 10 8 6 ♥ A 7 2 ♦ K Q 5 ♣ 8

N

W E S

It is easy to double. Importantly you have a good lead. If they stand it, then a penalty is very likely but, of course, some of the time they will remove it Page 40

Suppose your partner has doubled 1NT. What do you do if the next hand passes? When should you remove the double? Suppose you hold: N W E S

♠ 7 5 ♥ J 9 6 5 4 3 ♦ Q 4 3 ♣ 7 4

You might beat 1NT doubled but the odds are that you won’t and you have a six-card suit so should remove the 1NT doubled to 2♥. This shows a weak hand and at least a five card suit. If the auction starts: West North East South 1NT Dbl Pass 2♥ Pass ?

Partner will normally leave this unless he has a very good suit of his own and/ or quite a lot more than his minimum double. If, on the other hand, you have: N W E S

♠ 7 5 ♥ K Q 8 6 4 ♦ K 8 4 ♣ 6 5 4

Your side will have the balance of the points and you are not clear whether game will make, so you should leave 1NT doubled to show partner you have some values. If the opponents remove it and you then bid hearts, partner will know you have some values (or you would have removed it out of weakness earlier). Perhaps you have a small nightmare, holding something like: N W E S

♠ 7 6 5 2 ♥ J 4 2 ♦ 9 7 5 ♣ 10 4 2

Now you are a bit stuck. It is possible BRIDGE June 2015

Defending Against 1NT continued

that your opponents have game on, but removing 1NT doubled could be catastrophic. You may not find a fit and you will be a level higher. You may take the view that losing 280 or 380, if they make it with an overtrick or two, is your cheapest option or possibly you may gamble and hope your opponents don’t know what they are doing and let you off the hook. You will probably take the vulnerability into account when coming to your decision: if you are vulnerable and they are not, I would stand it and pray that partner has a good suit and may somehow come to seven tricks with little help from me.

Partner doubles 1NT and RHO runs to a suit Let’s suppose that the opponents run from 1NT doubled. First, they may simply bid a suit naturally and you now need to decide what to do. West North East Dbl 2♦ ?

South 1NT

If you double 2♦, are you sure whether it is for take-out or for penalties? It’s a key decision. Let’s assume it is for penalties as this is the most common treatment. You hold: N W E S

♠ 5 4 3 ♥ K 7 5 ♦ Q J 9 8 ♣ Q 7 5

It is an easy double. You have good trumps and not necessarily enough for game. If you hold: N W E S

BRIDGE June 2015

♠ 5 4 3 ♥ Q J 10 7 4 ♦ 8 6 ♣ Q 7 5

This time it is an easy 2♥ bid. Not many values but a decent suit. An awkward hand is: N W E S

♠ K J 7 4 ♥ K 7 5 3 ♦ 9 3 ♣ 8 5 2

You have enough to compete, you have no reason to double for penalties and you don’t want to guess which suit to bid. One way round this problem is to play a pass as forcing. It doesn’t necessarily show a great hand but it does require partner to bid again. Typically it is only forcing (for one round) if they remove 1NT doubled to 2♣ or 2♦. You can play it higher than this, but it becomes a bit risky because one day you will hold: N W E S

♠ J 7 5 4 ♥ 9 8 3 ♦ 6 4 2 ♣ J 5 3

You can pass 2♦ and partner will now need to either double for penalties in which case you will remove it to 2♠ and hope; or partner will bid a suit, in which case he will have at least five cards and you will pass and hope. You might even pass the double if it comes round and hope it goes down. If it doesn’t, at least you haven’t doubled them into game.

Partner doubles 1NT and RHO uses rescue methods If your opponents have read a previous article in this series, and even if they haven’t, they may play a rescue mechanism after the auction has started 1NT-Dbl. If they do, then the best thing is to ignore it as far as possible. For example, if the auction goes: West North East South 1NT Dbl Pass1 ? 1 Forcing partner to redouble so a five-card suit can then be shown by the responder.

You need to be prepared. If you were going to pass, you should pass anyway. If you were going to make a weak takeout, you should do it anyway. Change your methods as little as possible. The auction: West North East Dbl Pass 2♥

South 1NT

is the same as the more convoluted one: West North East South 1NT Dbl Pass1 Pass Rdbl Pass 2♣ 2♥ 1 Forcing partner to redouble

except perhaps that you haven’t shown a good six-card suit because you might have bid it on the second round. Sometimes an opponent may redouble as the start of a rescue mechanism, so if the sequence is: West North East Dbl Rdbl ?

South 1NT

the redouble is likely to be asking partner to bid 2♣ so responder can then show his hand. Again, you should just do what you were going to do anyway. The advantage of this is that, when there are lots of redoubles or passes forcing a redouble flying around, you will know what you are doing and not become flustered by it all. When they eventually remove 1NT doubled, you can continue exactly as you would have done before. Part of the merit of playing the rescue systems is that they confuse players. Not you though! Sometimes your opponent will remove 1NT doubled even if he has no clever methods nor any good place to play. It is common knowledge that if an opponent has something like:

♠ Q 10 5 4 ♥ J 9 6 4 ♦ 4 2 ♣ 8 5 3

Page 41

Beginners’ Bridge Corner

Defending Against 1NT continued

he may try 2♣ and if – and when – it is doubled, then redouble to get partner to choose another suit. You should treat the 2♣ bid as natural until you know otherwise. If they do redouble to try another suit then all doubles from your side are for penalties and you should also agree that, if you have doubled 2♣, then the auction can’t end until either you are playing a contract or they are doubled in one. ■

Summary l If partner doubles 1NT and the next hand passes, then only remove it if you are weak and also have some distribution. l If they remove 1NT doubled naturally, then double is for penalties and bids are natural and weak. A pass of 2♣ or 2♦ is forcing on partner to make a call, but it doesn’t show a particularly strong hand. l If they play a rescue mechanism over 1NT doubled, then try not to let it change your system. l If opponents remove 1NT doubled and you double for penalties, then the auction cannot end until either you play a contract or they are playing in one doubled. l One weakness of the weak no-trump is that it (or the rescue attempt) sometimes goes for sizeable penalties, so maximise your chance of taking that penalty. That will help make up for the times when you are kept out of the auction.

Page 42

Mary’s Eighteenth Lesson Responding to Strong 2♣ Opening

by Liz Dale

‘A

n opening bid of 2♣ is an artificial bid showing 23+ points and cannot be passed out until at least a game bid is reached,’ Alasdair said. ‘It rarely means clubs. The responses to 2♣ aren’t the easiest of bids, but being a good partner, you have to learn them so that you do not disrupt what could be partner’s best hand in a long time. If the opposition interfere it’s an annoyance. If you play havoc by passing and leaving opener in 2♣, or giving the wrong information, you won’t keep your partners very long. ‘Opener is asking is there a possibility of a slam? His partner’s first obligatory response bid gives opener a specific point count. Either a 2♦ bid showing 0-7 points, or any other natural bid showing 8+ points. Responder puts opener firmly back where he wants to be, in the driving seat. ‘A second negative is 2NT – responder is showing specifically 0-3 points. A natural second bid by responder in their longest suit shows 4-7 points. ‘In each of these example hands, the bidding starts: West North East South Pass Pass 2♣ Pass ?



Hand 1 8+ points: Positive response. ♠ A J 9 N ♥ 9 8 6 5 4 W E S ♦ Q J 3 ♣ J 10

(9pts) Bid 2♥

Opener can now revalue his hand and with a natural bid investigate the best contract. ‘The partnership know there is a strong possibility of a slam.



Hand 2 0-7 points: Negative response. ♠ 7 6 4 3 N ♥ 9 6 5 W E S ♦ Q 4 ♣ 9 7 5 4

(2pts) Bid 2♦

2♦ is a negative response – keeping the bidding open until a game contract is reached. ‘This allows opener a rebid. Let’s say opener now rebids 2♥. ‘In Hand 2, responder’s second bid is 2NT. This is a second negative showing 0-3 points. Opener now knows a lot more about partner’s hand and can revalue his own hand for his next bid.



Hand 3 0-7 points: Negative response. ♠ Q 7 6 4 3 N ♥ 9 6 W E S ♦ 8 5 4 ♣ Q 7 5

(4pts) Bid 2♦

The first bid is still 2♦ negative, but the second is a natural 2♠, showing 4-7 points with 5+ spades. Opener can revalue his hand before investigating further. ‘Yes it is a lot to take in,’ Alasdair said, distributing the set hands ready for play. ‘The responses aren’t easy because they don’t come up every session. Learn them and you will be in demand as a partner. Opener is excited. He may have picked up the most exciting hand he’s had all year so he knows you won’t have many points. Opener is asking you not to stop bidding until the partnership has at least reached game and to be as specific as you can with point count, so that the partnership can reach the best contract.’ Joan nudged Mary, ‘We can practise some bidding tomorrow afternoon.’ Yes, thought Mary, that will give me time to go over the basics when David is in bed. Liam and Anne are ■ out again tonight.

BRIDGE June 2015

READERS’ LETTERS A GOOD EXAMPLE Richard Wheen, the chairman of Buckland Bridge Club since its inception in 2012, has also a reputation as a bridge teacher. His classes, which have been running now for three years, attract students to Buckland from all over Surrey. The club itself is thriving as a result of his students graduating to full club membership. As a light-hearted addition to one of his highly-prized teaching handouts, Richard included some bridge-related limericks he had composed. This sparked the idea of holding a competition among the class, the aim being to write a bridgerelated limerick which paid tribute to their teacher. A framed version of the entry voted the winner by the class was presented to Richard and goes as follows: Bridge is a difficult sport Regardless of how it is taught But with Wheen at the helm It can’t overwhelm And we play without getting too fraught. John Zetter, Brockham, Surrey.

HAPPENING UP NORTH As regular readers along with numerous friends, I thought you might be interested in an item for inclusion in your monthly magazine, BRIDGE. Morpeth, a small town of about 30,000 inhabitants in Northumberland, is a

hotbed for Bridge, having six bridge clubs including one for beginners and another for improvers – and plenty of classes too. The oldest club – The Morpeth Golf Club Bridge Club – is celebrating its 70th birthday this year, with a party and bridge. Indeed, it predates Acol and the modern EBU-ruled world and is staunchly independent. The founders invented a quite different bridge event, taking place weekly from September to April, an aggregate teams match. We currently have 12 teams of four, of all abilities from beginners upwards. At Christmas, on the basis of performance, each team is also given a handicap and two parallel tournaments are then run, so beginners too can win trophies. The scoring is by adding the total for and total against scores and a system then translates the results into a score of up to 6 points. eg a team can win 6-0, 5½-½, 5-1 etc. Indeed, I contacted the EBU thinking that they might be interested, but as the club is unaffiliated they declined. Their loss, in my view, and no way to encourage membership or affiliation. Best wishes and thanks for all your endeavours for bridge and bridge payers. Otto Meth-Cohn by email.

WORTH THE WAIT Well, what a cruise. Wondering what would become of us after booking a year

in advance and having to live through news of all the problems in the Middle East, the cruise couldn’t have been calmer. Not a pirate in sight!  A superb ship and even better food, first class service and wonderful company, it is difficult to imagine how the cruise could have been bettered.  Even the bridge, with well over 100 players, was superbly organised, as were the numerous seminars during sea days.  My only disappointment was that we didn’t play better.  The highlight was, of course, Petra which needs to be seen to be believed. This was our first bridge cruise and we are now saving up for the next. A final round of applause for all Bernard’s little helpers, without whom it would not have been so slick. John and Carolyn Child by email.

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE I just wish that I had the words to let you understand how impressed I am by your wonderful gesture in sending me those two DVDs. At my age, one watches events in the world with growing trepidation and then something like this happens and you realize that there are still good people in the world. I wasn’t going to admit to my club that I had lost the two DVDs in question but now I have no option but to tell people of your kindness. Name & address supplied.

IN PRAISE OF BERNARD Anne and I really enjoyed our second cruise on the Aegean Odyssey which we were privileged to be invited to join. The enclosed poem

by Anne tells it all. Good luck to Bernard for his next twenty-five cruises. John and Anne Briscoe, Windsor, Berks.

BERNARD’S 75TH CRUISE We left behind the rain and clouds And set off for the sun. We knew without the slightest doubt This holiday would be fun. The journey had its ups and downs We dreaded a disaster But Sheila cheered us on our way To make the time go faster. The ship is fine, good food and wine The lectures somewhat learned. They’re not a patch or even match The ones we’ve had from Bernard. The days are disappearing fast And soon we’ll leave the sea. We’ll take home happy memories All thanks to B. Magee. Bernard’s difficult to rhyme Not like Jack or Victor? Perhaps he could – just for a time Call himself Director. But what’s a name – it’s all the same I speak for all I’ve met A really splendid holiday And one we won’t forget. So, thank you, Bernard and your team For lots of fun and laughter, We’ve learned that PATIENCE is the clue, The skill that we should ■ master.

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

BRIDGE June 2015

Page 43

Catching Up by Sally Brock

I

t’s been rather a quiet month by my normal standards. On a personal level, the house is tidy and fairly uncluttered but viewers are few and far between. Briony seems happy with her corporate fund-raising work and is beginning to apply for jobs for when her internship finishes at the end of May. She has got herself a bit of freelance work too, research she can do from home. As a family, we’ve been having a rather sad time as my father’s remaining sibling, who at 91 had only cut her daily walk down to eight miles recently, became ill and quite quickly died. I guess it’s probably the best way to go from her point of view, but it’s come as a bit of a shock for the rest of us. My old friend from Yorkshire, Giles Foster, also died in this period. We’ve lost touch a bit recently but when I was married to Mark Horton, in the eighties, we often went on canal holidays with Giles and his wife. I went to Yorkshire for the funeral and also managed to catch up with some old friends. Toby came home on a flying visit which was a treat for us. He seems to be working very hard. We have all our fingers and toes crossed that he might get a really good degree. What happens next has been the subject of a lot of conversations, though. Maybe he’ll stay on and do a Masters. For several years now, I have worked mainly on a desktop Mac, with a large laptop that I carry around with me when I go away. However, it is jolly heavy, and I have been finding that I am more and more choosing to work at the dining room table on my laptop, rather than in my office on the desktop. So I decided to get rid of the desktop and buy a tiny (11inch) MacBook Air to take around with me. I am loving it. It is so light I can just put it in my bag and have it with me whenever I want. Page 44

Bridge-wise, we are still doing well in the knock-outs. We had our Hubert Phillips semi-final match against the Dhondy team. This was a rather spectacular deal:



Dealer South. Game All. ♠ Void ♥ A K Q 7 6 3 ♦ A 9 ♣ A K Q J 5

You (North) pick up this hand and view it with great enthusiasm. But that is not destined to last for long. Partner deals and opens four spades. What do you bid now? There are various possibilities, but the only successful one is to pass. This is the full deal: Dealer South. Game All. ♠ Void ♥ A K Q 7 6 3 ♦ A 9 ♣ A K Q J 5 ♠ K 9 8 3 ♠ A 7 N ♥ 9 8 W E ♥ J 10 5 4 2 ♦ Q 7 3 2 S ♦ 6 ♣ 10 4 2 ♣ 9 8 7 6 3 ♠ Q J 10 6 5 4 2 ♥ Void ♦ K J 10 8 5 4 ♣ Void

We won by 1,400 or so points. It was hard fought, but we generally had the upper hand. Our Crockfords match was a fairly early round. Although we were a few down after the first set, the result was never in real doubt and in the end we won by 84. This deal could have gone in the other direction: Dealer North. East/West Game. ♠ J 10 7 5 4 ♥ Void ♦ A 9 5 2 ♣ 10 8 7 2 ♠ A K 8 3 ♠ Q 9 2 N ♥ A Q J 8 6 2 W E ♥ 10 9 3 ♦ 7 6 S ♦ K Q J 8 4 3 ♣ 5 ♣ 3 ♠ 6 ♥ K 7 5 4 ♦ 10 ♣ A K Q J 9 6 4



At both tables, eventually (and it took a long, long time) the bid found was five spades, asking about trump quality. Against us, South raised to six spades (in my view, a serious error of judgement as surely North would have bid slam himself if he had a top honour) and went two down. Our South was wiser, but took his eye off the ball in the play and also went two down. Any votes for pass?

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

We play a multi two diamonds. First in hand at favourable vulnerability it is usually only a five-card suit and can be a truly dreadful hand. My three clubs was forcing with either clubs or hearts and the rest of the bidding was selfexplanatory. West led a top spade and switched to a diamond, so I made 12 tricks on a complete cross-ruff. In the other room, the stakes were higher as their team was pushed into a slam, again doubled. This time West led a diamond which declarer won with the ace and played a spade. West won and switched to a trump and declarer needs to be more careful. He needs to win in dummy and ruff a spade. With spades breaking 4-3 he BRIDGE June 2015

Catching Up continued

can set up the fifth card in the suit for a heart discard to land his slam. Luckily for us, he mistimed the play and so we gained 13 IMPs instead of losing 13. Otherwise, I spent one Saturday helping Alan Shillitoe with a junior training weekend. I had made up a set of problem boards where some problems were for declarer and some for the defence. It is quite difficult to do this well and easy enough to make errors, particularly because you want to give everyone the same opportunities to shine. I was a bit nervous that I had not got the standard right. However, in the end they seemed to go down well, though the juniors made a lot of points that I had overlooked. The following day, we defended our title in the Portland Pairs (National Mixed Pairs Championship). The trouble with defending your title is that the only way is down. Maybe the whole day hinged on what we did on the first board. Our opponents bid a good 6♦ after a barrage by us in spades. Declarer revoked. We did call the director, but in the end decided to let it go, so she made an overtrick when we could have insisted it went one down. We decided we did not want to win like that, against a nervous opponent. It turned out to be our worst board of the day. We had a reasonable 58% first session with nearly all our boards above average, but no real gifts. The second session did not go well and we ended up a mediocre 79th. Our best board of the second session was the following: BRIDGE June 2015

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

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

West led the king of clubs, East playing the nine. I ducked but won the club continuation (E/W were playing standard count signals). I then played the queen of hearts, covered by the king and ace. I came back to the ten of hearts and played a diamond to the seven. I won the spade return, took another diamond finesse and made eleven tricks. We played the board fairly late on and at the time, in Richmond, we had scored 100%. It seemed a bit unlikely but I guess some people ducked two clubs and held themselves to ten tricks. It would have been  better defence for West to have gone in with the king of diamonds on the first round of the suit. What do I do now? If West has the queen of diamonds I must run for home, settling for nine tricks; only if East has it can I make eleven by knocking it out now, but that seems too dangerous. I would probably have made just nine tricks. Things are beginning to heat up: tomorrow we catch a 9.45 flight to Shanghai ... ■ Page 45

Seven Days by Sally Brock Monday/Tuesday

Wednesday

We have chosen to save ourselves £200 each by flying to Shanghai via Paris rather than direct. So first it’s a short hop, before we settle down to the main course. I seem to have done well choosing our seats, as we have the ones at the very front with lots of leg room. The flight seems endless, of course, though is actually ‘only’ about eleven and a half hours. I spend most of the time working on my new little laptop. As well as being so small and light, it also has a long battery life. I work on preparing the Hands of the Month for our ProBridge website (www.probridge.co.uk). It is a good feature, and completely free, so do go and have a look at it. We land in Shanghai at about eight in the morning, collect our bags and are met by the tournament organisers and taken in a car to our hotel. We have opted to stay in a Holiday Inn Express at about a third of the price of the tournament hotel. We check in, have a cup of coffee with Heather, wait for Binkie who has arrived via a couple of Middle East stopovers without his luggage. Then it’s time for lunch at a truly authentic Chinese canteen-type eatery. Communication is difficult, but luckily a helpful customer speaks English. We have a huge bowl of soup each, full of noodles and a large piece of indeterminate meat which is delicious, also dumplings and spring rolls – all for just over £10. Of course, we have hugely over-ordered and leave at least half of it. After that it’s a couple of hours’ sleep before setting off to the playing venue for the opening ceremony. We run into a problem we have had before in China: getting a taxi in the rush hour. The hotel says it is too difficult for them to order one for us, so we stand on the street and do manage to hail one, but arrive a little late. We meet up with old friends and have a good dinner before getting a taxi back to our hotel, and finally meet up with our other team-mates, Mike Bell and Michael Byrne.

After breakfast (the Chinese have very interesting breakfasts, but I am not so adventurous in the morning and stick to cereal and toast), we run into the taxi problem again. However, the hotel is prepared to help out and take us in their minibus for a mere 200RMB every day (it’s about 30 in a taxi, but peace of mind counts for a lot). Our first match is against a Chinese team. There are a few swings in each direction and we end up the winners by 14 VPs. Little do we know that this is to be the high spot of the day. We play pretty badly and team-mates certainly do not do enough to carry us. This is an interesting deal:

Page 46

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

At our table, Barry (West) opens an off-shape weak no-trump and after two passes South bids four spades. I think there is quite a strong case for leading aggressively on this type of sequence as dummy figures to be quite weak, so leading passively may pick up partner’s honours, while if you lead aggressively and find him at home at least you will achieve something. Anyway, Barry chooses to lead a diamond which declarer wins with the queen and leads a club. Barry wins the ace and continues diamonds. Declarer exits with a low heart, then wins the heart return and continues the suit. With nothing but trumps left declarer has to ruff the return and has no option but to lay down

the ace of spades dropping the king. The play is more interesting on an initial heart lead. Most declarers won and played a club. But now West can (and several did) rise with the ace, cash two hearts and exit with the king of spades, thus ensuring a trick for the king of diamonds at the end. In order to succeed after a heart lead, declarer has to play trumps before playing a club. Now West has no safe exit after taking his heart winners. The venue, the Dongjiao State Guest House, is quite an amazing place. It has a beautiful garden with lots of streams, lakes and bridges into which are set a number of buildings: hotel, conference centre, fitness centre (where the bridge is played), villas etc. We went for a walk when we were sitting out and watched the water: lots of fish and even some turtles. After the bridge we get a taxi back to our hotel and go out for dinner at a nearby posh restaurant. When in Beijing, there were lots of Western faces and generally people seem to speak at least a little English. Here, all the faces are Chinese and often no English is spoken. The food is good, much more expensive than our cheapie lunch, but still we eat well with plenty of beer for less than £20 a head.

Thursday Today is another day and we must hope for better things. At least the weather has improved. I thought it would be warm and sunny, but so far it has been cold and wet. The only remotely warm garment I brought is a hoodie I travelled in which so far has been rather overused. We sit out the first set and they have an excellent set without us. So we let them get on with it in the next, which results in a virtual draw. After lunch we play and for a change play well. After two good wins we are back in contention for a qualifying place. The top eight qualify and go into a knockout where they have two lives, while the next eight also qualify but only BRIDGE June 2015

Seven Days continued

have one life. We are comfortable for the second eight and have great hopes for the first, but it was not to be. An 800 penalty in some other match sees us nudged out into ninth place. However, we are a whole lot happier than we were yesterday.

Friday The Michaels have not slept well (though generally we have all coped well with jetlag) so sit out the first set of our knock-out match against India. It is going OK until this board: Dealer East. Love All. ♠ Q 7 5 3 ♥ A 3 ♦ Q 10 ♣ A 9 7 4 3 ♠ J 2 ♠ K 9 8 4 N ♥ K 9 8 W E ♥ 7 ♦ K 9 7 6 2 S ♦ J 5 4 3 ♣ K 5 2 ♣ Q 10 8 6 ♠ A 10 6 ♥ Q J 10 6 5 4 2 ♦ A 8 ♣ J

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

I think I am a bit good to rebid just two hearts over one spade and think my four heart rebid is just a bit of a punt with a partial spade fit. Barry thinks I have more and there we are at the five level. West leads a club, I rise with the ace and ruff a club, then the queen of hearts holds, a heart to the ace and I ruff another club. Exiting with a heart endplays West. Had he played a diamond now I would have been OK, but he exited with the jack of spades, covered by the queen, king and ace. I try ten and another spade, but East has a spade to exit with so the diamond loser is inexorable. At half-time we are 1 IMP down. We BRIDGE June 2015

sit out the second half and it does not go well, and we eventually lose by 30 IMPs. That means we join the Consolation Swiss. This is no mean event. Our first match is against a very strong young American team and we fail again. Then we play a strong Indonesian outfit who are also too strong for us. In the evening, we take a taxi to a nearby huge new shopping/restaurant complex to look for dinner. This is very new and quite a few of the lots are vacant. The first few places we try are so busy there is no room for us and we don’t fancy queuing. So we cross the road and try again. We go up in a lift to investigate the second floor and finally find somewhere where they have empty tables. It turns out to be a vegetarian restaurant. They are completely charming and find an English speaker to talk to us. We ask them to bring us a selection of their best dishes, which they do. All is delicious and we have plenty to eat for the princely sum of approximately £7 a head. We also are virtually on top of a metro stop. So we decide to brave the public transport, first stopping off at a supermarket to buy wine and chocolate. The tickets were 40p each and the system easy to understand, so we get back to our hotel without problem.

Saturday The rest of the Swiss teams passes by in a bit of a haze. We win a match narrowly, then lose one narrowly, but the last is one where we are terrible in both rooms and lose by the maximum. The pairs is the final event of the tournament. Each team is guaranteed that two of their pairs can play. We drew straws for this and Barry and I lost. So if we only get two pairs, we don’t play. However, whether or not you get a third pair depends on where your team finished in the qualifying round and as we finished ninth that should put us in a good position. At last the lists are up and we are on them. Hurrah! Our session seems to go pretty well and we are quite hopeful of being in the top five (out of ten). Actually our scores turn out to be worse than we thought, and it is nip and tuck. Al-

though we are third in our section, we are actually negative. Still, we hope we are a team of destiny and will move on to do great things in future sessions. After the session we get a taxi back near our hotel and then go on the look-out for somewhere to eat. We are a bit later than usual and many places are closed. In the end, we find a Chinese barbecue place and order them to bring us meat which they cook in front of us. It is all pretty good, but perhaps not quite enough. Later, we adjourn to our room and make a dent in our wine and chocolate stocks.

Sunday Heather and Binkie have not qualified for the pairs semi-final so they have a lie-in, while the rest of us go to the venue in our usual minibus. In the Pairs semi-final, we need to be in the top three in our ten-pair group. We do OK, but finish fourth, but the Michaels manage to make the final. There is a short break and then we are in the Consolation while the Michaels are in the main ten-pair final. We have a reasonable game but when the scores are published we are fifth. I decide to check the scores and on one hand we beat 2NT by two tricks, but it was scored in the minus column. When it is rescored we have moved up to third, and so qualify for a US$750 prize. Meanwhile the Michaels are in the lead, by quite a lot. We are so hoping they will keep it up, and keep it up they do. They win by a huge margin. US$20,000! After lots of photos and congratulations we all move to the bar where it is their round. We then move on to the prizegiving banquet where we are royally feasted with food and drink. All a bit worse for wear, we then get taxis back to our hotel. We finish the last bottle of red wine in my room and then the two Michaels go out on the town – to meet up with other friends in a pub where they are showing the Manchester City vs Manchester United football match. So the bridge comes to an end and it has been an excellent tournament. I do hope we can come again in two years’ time. Barry and I are staying on till Thursday and are looking forward to actually seeing Shanghai in the next three days. ■ Page 47

BERNARD MAGEE TUTORIAL DVDs 1 Ruffing for Extra Tricks

11 Signals & Discards

21 Weak Twos

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.)

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

It is important to bid more in the modern game and weak twos are an important choice for the competitive player. (104 mins.)

(92 mins.)

2 Competitive Auctions

12 Endplay

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

Bernard takes you through the basics of endplays before showing some hands where you can take extra tricks, then looks at how to avoid being endplayed. (80 mins.)

3 Making the Most of High Cards

13 Hand Evaluation

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.)

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

4 Identifying & Bidding Slams

14 Pre-Emptive Bidding

The first half of this seminar identifies when a slam might be on. The second half covers some slam-bidding techniques.

The art of pre-empting is so important in the modern game. Understanding the right hands to bid up on and realising the importance of position and vulnerability.

(96 mins.)

5 Play & Defence of 1NT Contracts

(96 mins.)

This seminar looks at the most common and yet most feared of contracts: 1NT. The first half looks at declaring 1NT and the second part at defending. (88 mins.)

15 Splinter & Cue Bids

6 Doubling & Defence against Doubled Contracts

16 Avoidance Play

The first half of this seminar explores penalty doubles and the second half discusses the defence against doubled contracts. (88 mins.)

Splinter bids are a vital tool to add to your slam bidding armoury & try your hand at Italian style cue bidding. (116 mins.) 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. (88 mins.)

7 Leads

17 Play & Defence at Pairs

Bernard takes you through the basic leads and the importance of your lead choice. If you start to think about your partner’s hand, you will get better results. (95 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. (90 mins.)

8 Losing Trick Count

18 Thinking Defence

A way of hand evaluation for when you find a fit. Bernard deals with the basics of the LTC then looks at advanced methods to hone your bidding. (92 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. (87 mins.)

9 Making a Plan as Declarer

19 Defensive Plan

Bernard explains how to make a plan then expands on how to make the most of your long suits, both in no-trumps and suit contracts. (87 mins.)

Looking at your own hand, then at dummy and envisaging how partner’s hand will allow you to make a plan for the defence. (112 mins.)

10 Responding to 1NT

20 Further Into the Auction

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.)

The first two bids of an auction are usually easy, but beyond that the complications increase. Learn how to ‘talk’ to your partner during the bidding. (95 mins.)

22 Trump Control Handling the play of the hand when trumps break badly is an important attribute: playing calmly and using a variety of tactics to pave the way to success. (76 mins.)

23 Sacrificing An exciting aspect of the auction is outbidding your opponents and going down, but gaining by doing so. Learn to bid more aggressively. (105 mins.)

24 Improving Bridge Memory Remembering every card is a dream for most of us. However, learn ways in which to remember the important things. (90 mins.)

25 Defence as Partner of the Leader Defence is the hardest aspect of the game, it is where most players can make great progress. (104 mins.)

26 Aggressive Bidding at Duplicate Pairs Years ago, you needed 13 HCP to open the bidding and rarely competed for a partscore. Now the norm is to open lighter and compete for every hand. (114 mins.)

27 Strong Opening Bids Managing your strong bids carefully can give you great joy, particularly when you have a neat bidding sequence to a lovely slam. (122 mins.)

28 Take-Out Doubles Bernard deals with basic take-out doubles and their responses, then progresses to talk about competing for every partscore. (99 mins.)

29 Suit Establishment in Suit Contracts 5-card suits (and longer) are powerful things: Bernard tries to get across his passion for them by showing you how to develop your extra tricks through establishment. (81 mins.)

30 Landy / Defending Against a 1NT Opening Competing against a 1NT opening allows you to challenge for the partscore and disrupts your opponents’ conventions. Bernard talks about competing over 1NT in general and then about Landy. (85 mins.)

£25 EACH. PICK AND MIX. A BOX OF ANY 6. £105 Mr Bridge ( 01483 489961 On-line shop: www.mrbridge.co.uk/shop