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BRIDGE Number Ninety-seven
October 2009
Springtime Mediterranean Cruise with Bernard Magee See overleaf for further details.
Springtime and Mediterranean with Bernard Magee DISCOVERY CLUB MEMBERS
SAVE AN EXTRA 5%
SEE THE WORLD
IN ITS TRUE COLOURS
-INOTAUR LEGENDS HIDE INLAND FROM #RETES BLEACHED SEAFRONT #REAMY COLOURED RAMPARTS MARK OUT -ALTAS CAPITAL 6ALLETTA 3ICILIAN -ESSINA OVERLOOKS THE STRAIT WHERE /DYSSEUS FACED 3CYLLA AND #HARYBDIS 4HERE ARE 6ATICAN TREASURES CRAFTED BY -ICHELANGELO AND 2APHAEL PLUS .APOLEONIC ECHOES THAT RESONATE AROUND !JACCIO %NLIGHTENED BY THE ON BOARD LECTURERS YOULL GO ON UNRAVELLING THE MYSTERIES OF 0OMPEII THE !LHAMBRA AND ,ISBONS LOVELY !LFAMA QUARTER
MR BRIDGE "ERNARD -AGEE AND HIS TEAM WILL HOST THIS DAY VOYAGE 4HE EVENING SESSIONS WILL BE SPLIT INTO TWO WITH THE l RST l NISHING IN TIME FOR THOSE WISHING TO SEE THE EVENING SHOW )N ADDITION TO BRIDGE EVERY EVENING THERE WILL BE MORNING SEMINARS AND AFTERNOON BRIDGE SESSIONS WHICH ARE HELD WHILE THE SHIP IS AT SEA SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE PORTS OF CALL
EUROPEAN EXPLORER
9 MAY 2010 ~16 DAYS FROM ONLY £995PP Date
Port
9 May
Depart UK by air to ISTANBUL, Turkey Embark on mv Discovery 10 May Cruise the Mediterranean Sea 11 May HERAKLION, Crete, Greek Islands 12 May Cruise the Mediterranean Sea 13 May VALLETTA, Malta 14 May MESSINA, Sicily, Italy 15 May SORRENTO, Italy 16 May CIVITAVECCHIA, (Rome) Italy 17 May AJACCIO, Corsica 18 May Cruise the Mediterranean Sea 19 May ALMERIA, Spain 20 May GIBRALTAR 21 May LISBON, Portugal 22-23 May Cruise the Atlantic Ocean 24 May HARWICH, England
EXCLUSIVE MR BRIDGE FARES Inside
£995PP
Outside
Your Voyage Includes: s )NSPIRING DESTINATIONS AND ENLIGHTENING EXCURSIONS s #OMPREHENSIVE LECTURE AND GUEST SPEAKER PROGRAMME s 4 RAVEL WITH AROUND LIKE MINDED PASSENGERS IN STAR COMFORT s !LL MEALS ENTERTAINMENT AND GRATUITIES ON BOARD INCLUDED WITH NO HIDDEN EXTRAS s &RIENDLY AND RELAXED ATMOSPHERE ON BOARD s !LL PRICES ON BOARD IN "RITISH POUNDS s #APTAINS COCKTAIL PARTIES AND GALA DINNERS s &LIGHT FROM THE 5+ INCLUDED s !LL PORT AND PRE PAID AIRPORT TAXES s /VERSEAS TRANSFERS BETWEEN AIRPORT AND SHIP WHERE APPLICABLE
£1,195PP
Hurry – Last few cabins available at these fares!
MR BRIDGE !LL -R "RIDGE PASSENGERS WHO HAVE PAID THE a PER PERSON BRIDGE SUPPLEMENT WILL BE PART OF THE EXCLUSIVE BRIDGE PARTY 4HIS WILL MAKE THEM ELIGIBLE FOR THE SEMINARS DRINKS PARTIES QUIZ COMPETITIONS OCCASIONAL AFTERNOON AND DAILY EVENING DUPLICATES AFTER l RST SITTING DINNER 4HE BRIDGE PROGRAMME IS FULLY OPTIONAL AND YOU MAY PARTICIPATE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS YOU WISH -R "RIDGE ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES SINGLES TO JOIN THE PARTY AND THEY WILL ALWAYS BE FOUND A PARTNER FOR A GAME
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GUARANTEED
01483 489961 for brochures and bookings Fares shown are per person based on two people sharing lowest inside/outside twin/single cabin category as shown and include all applicable discounts for new bookings only. All offers are capacity controlled, subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time. Cabin numbers will be allocated prior to departure. Please note that there is a bridge supplement of £30 per bridge player to be paid with cruise deposit. Terms and conditions apply, see brochure for details. Voyages of Discovery is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd.
FEATURES
BRIDGE Publisher and Managing Editor Mr Bridge Ryden Grange Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.mrbridge.co.uk
Associate Editor Julian Pottage Technical Consultant Tony Gordon Bridge Consultant Bernard Magee Proof Readers Danny Roth Hugh Williams Richard Wheen Software Support ( 01483 485345 Events & Cruises ( 01483 489961 Jessica Galt Rachel Everett Club Directory and Charity Support [email protected]
Address Changes ( 01483 485342 All correspondence should be addressed to Mr Bridge. Please make sure that all letters, e-mails and faxes carry full postal addresses and telephone numbers.
3 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee
46 Dave Huggett says Make the Long Hand Ruff
5 47 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage
10 Bidding Quiz Answers by Bernard Magee
ADVERTISEMENTS
12 Bernard Magee says Leave the Master Trump Out
15 The Waiting Game by Michael Scarrott
4 North African Treasures Cruise on Board Discovery
18 No-Trump Openings by Freddie North
6 Tutorial and Play Software
19 Julian Pottage says Watch Your Entries
7 Mail Order Form 8 Bridge Weekends with Bernard Magee
21 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions
9 Tunisia 2009/2010 26 A Walk in the Autumn by Countryman
West North East South ?
2. Dealer East. Game All. ♠ Q75 ♥ K862 © 742 ® 872
1®
28 Freddie North says If One of Your Options is 3NT, Bid it
14 Rubber/Chicago Bridge Events 20 Eric Hill
29 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions
24 Summer 2010 Cruises on Board Discovery
32 Double Dummy Answer by Richard Wheen
27 Single-suited Design Pens
Bridge Breaks
31 Charity Bridge Events 32 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified 36 Bernard Magee Tips for Better Bridge
Pass
?
3. Dealer West. N/S Vul. ♠ AQ5 ♥ A762 © A98 ® A75 West North East South 1♥
Pass
2♥
Pass
?
4. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ AQJ6 ♥ 875 © K7654 ® 2 West North East South 3♥
38 2010 Diaries
Dbl
Pass
?
37 Readers’ Letters
39 Stamps
42 Bridge with Victor Meldrew by David Mullineaux
40 Global Travel Insurance
44 Seven Days by Sally Brock
1. Dealer West. Love All. ♠ AKQJ9832 ♥ Void © 832 ® 42
West North East South
27 Declarer Play Quiz by Dave Huggett
35 Lèse Majesté by Dick Atkinson
Y
ou are West in the auctions below, playing 'Standard Acol' with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
11 QPlus 9.1 13
34 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett
by Bernard Magee
(Answers on page 10)
2 Springtime Mediterranean Cruise on Board Discovery
14 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage
33 Heather Dhondy says Bid on with a Two-suit Fit
BIDDING QUIZ
48 Africa and the Red Sea Cruise on Board Discovery
5. ♠ ♥ © ®
Dealer North. N/S Vul. A92 76 43 QJ6543
West North East South
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor.
Page 3
1♥ ?
1♠
Pass
North African Treasures Exclusive Mr Bridge fares DISCOVERY CLUB MEMBERS
SAVE AN EXTRA 5%
SEE THE WORLD
IN ITS TRUE COLOURS 3TAND IN %L !LAMEIN WHERE &IELD -ARSHAL -ONTGOMERYS MEN FACED 2OMMELS PANZERS 2EDISCOVER THE TREASURES OF 4RIPOLI THE 2OMAN CITY OF ,EPTIS -AGNA 'IZAS 0YRAMIDS AND 'AUDIS 3AGRADA &AMILIA -ARVEL AT (ANNIBALS ACHIEVEMENTS IN ANCIENT #ARTHAGE ,EARN ABOUT THE EIGHT POINTS OF THE -ALTESE #ROSS AND WHY 0ALERMOS &ONTANA 0RETORIA WAS DUBBED THE @&OUNTAIN OF 3HAME 2IGHT ALONG THE -EDITERRANEAN ENJOY EXTENSIVE EXOTIC MENUS COLOURFUL SOUKS AND TRADITIONS THAT GO BACK CENTURIES
MR BRIDGE !LEX $AVOUD ,INDA ,AZARUS AND THEIR TEAM WILL HOST THIS DAY VOYAGE 4HE EVENING SESSIONS WILL BE SPLIT INTO TWO WITH THE l RST l NISHING IN TIME FOR THOSE WISHING TO SEE THE EVENING SHOW )N ADDITION TO BRIDGE EVERY EVENING THERE WILL BE MORNING SEMINARS AND AFTERNOON BRIDGE SESSIONS WHICH ARE HELD WHILE THE SHIP IS AT SEA SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE PORTS OF CALL
NORTH AFRICAN TREASURES 2 NOV 2009 ~13 DAYS INSIDE CABIN FROM ONLY £995PP*
OUTSIDE CABIN
FROM ONLY £1,095PP*
Date
Port
2 Nov
Depart London Gatwick by air Arrive ALEXANDRIA, Egypt and transfer to mv Discovery ALEXANDRIA, Egypt Cruise the Mediterranean Sea BENGHAZI, Libya Cruise the Gulf of Sirte, Libya AL KHUMS, Libya TRIPOLI, Libya VALLETTA, Malta PALERMO, Italy LA GOULETTE, Tunisia Cruise the Mediterranean Sea BARCELONA, Spain BARCELONA, Spain Disembark and transfer to airport for flight home
3 Nov 4 Nov 5 Nov 6 Nov 7 Nov 8 Nov 9 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov
Your Voyage Includes: s )NSPIRING DESTINATIONS AND ENLIGHTENING EXCURSIONS s #OMPREHENSIVE LECTURE AND GUEST SPEAKER PROGRAMME s 4 RAVEL WITH AROUND LIKE MINDED PASSENGERS IN STAR COMFORT s !LL MEALS ENTERTAINMENT AND GRATUITIES ON BOARD INCLUDED WITH NO HIDDEN EXTRAS s &RIENDLY AND RELAXED ATMOSPHERE ON BOARD s !LL PRICES ON BOARD IN "RITISH POUNDS s #APTAINS COCKTAIL PARTIES AND GALA DINNERS s &LIGHTS FROM AND TO ,ONDON 'ATWICK ONLY INCLUDED s !LL PORT AND PRE PAID AIRPORT TAXES s /VERSEAS TRANSFERS BETWEEN AIRPORT AND SHIP WHERE APPLICABLE
SPECIAL SINGLES PRICES O CATEGORY inside cabin £1,299 K CATEGORY outside cabin £1,499 II CATEGORY porthole
£2,079 £2,289
GG CATEGORY window
MR BRIDGE !LL BRIDGE PASSENGERS WHO HAVE PAID THE BRIDGE SUPPLEMENT WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENING BRIDGE PROGRAMME 4HERE WILL ALSO BE A QUIZ AND EXCLUSIVE BRIDGE PARTIES 4HE BRIDGE PROGRAMME IS FULLY OPTIONAL AND YOU MAY PARTICIPATE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS YOU WISH -R "RIDGE ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES SINGLES TO JOIN THE PARTY AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FOUND A PARTNER FOR A GAME
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GUARANTEED
01483 489961 for brochures and bookings *Fares shown are per person based on two people sharing and refer to the lowest category cabins available. For all fares shown, cabins will be issued with final details or upon embarkation, excluding categories II and GG. All offers are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. Please note there will be a bridge supplement of £30 per bridge player to be paid with cruise deposit. Terms and conditions apply, see brochure for details. Voyages of Discovery is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd.
BEACH CLOSING
2009 REMNANTS
COVER STORY
As always at this time of the year, there are only a few unsold places at our weekend events. These I have listed on page 13. If you are interested do ring before sending in your booking form and payment. Any weekends that are not listed, are sold out.
The Beach Hotel is to close at the end of next year. Book for 2010 at this delightful venue. One weekend date not included is 29-31 January. This is a weekend for improvers hosted by Ned Paul. It will cover all types of doubles. £199 full-board. The party is limited to 60 guests.
GATWICK ONLY The adjacent advert has a snag. Connecting flights are only available out of and into Gatwick. However, if you are still interested, put this magazine down now and phone ( 01483 489961.
VENICE Neither Mrs Bridge nor I have been to Venice, so when I saw the itinerary including sailing into Venice and then out of Venice two days later, I was completely sold on the idea. This 2010 cruise starts from Malta in late September, so it shouldn’t be too hot. Idyllic ports along the Croatian coast are the icing on a really gorgeous cake.
This year the summer weather has reverted to something close to normal. This may account for the demand for green-covered versions of my 2010 bridge players diary. Pillar-box red, navy, tan, maroon, black and Cambridge blue are all in stock and available £5.95 each including p&p. See order form on page 7.
Listed on page 13, with the remnants referred to above, is the Christmas programme. Rubber/Chicago is on page 14 along with the new dates of 2010.
SAVING SPACE No re-registration form is included in this issue. This means readers can enjoy an extra page of bridge. If your friends haven’t been in touch with my office in the last two to three years they will have been deleted.
Bernard Magee is on Discovery, from 9 May sailing from Istanbul all the way back to Harwich. Blow away your winter cobwebs with a Mediterranean breeze. 16 days from only £995pp. Bridge supplement £30.
GOFF GAFF
NEW CARD With this copy of BRIDGE there is an insert promoting my current credit card. These are being replaced by my new card as they expire. All new applications will be issued with the new design. In addition to drawing attention to card-playing in general and being a conversation point so you can talk about bridge, it will have other benefits which I will spell out next time. The issuing company will be helping to fund BRIDGE.
WET SUMMER
Shock, horror, alas, alack-aday. I forgot to include Clive Goff’s advert in the last issue of BRIDGE. He is a geat sponsor and supporter. Profuse apologies Clive. I am sure readers will remember your service with Christmas once again on the horizon. At least 10% off the face value of British postage stamps. Telephone ( 0208 4224906 for further details and order with confidence.
This cruise will be a sellout. I have already booked my cabin and reserved a number for those of you who might find the itinerary just as irresistible as I do. Fares start from £1199 pp sharing a twin-berthed cabin. £1399 pp outside. Bridge supplement £30. Delay and I can guarantee disappointment. Page 5
BIT OF FUN A Spanish teacher running a Spanish language class explained that, unlike English, nouns are designated either masculine or feminine. ‘House’ for example, is feminine: la casa. ‘Pencil’, is however masculine: ‘el lapiz’. A member of the group then asked ‘What gender is a computer? Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the group into two groups, men in one and the women in the other. Each group then had to decide whether a computer should be masculine or feminine, backing up their decision with four reasons for their recommendation. The men’s group decided that ‘computer’ should be of feminine gender (la computadora’) because: l
No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
l
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
l
Even the smallest mistakes are stored in the long term memory for possible later retrieval;
l
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your salary on accessories.
BERNARD MAGEE’S INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ACOL BIDDING l l l l l l
l
l l l
Opening Bids and Responses Slams and Strong Openings Support for Partner Pre-empting Overcalls No-trump Openings and Responses Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids Minors and Misfits £62 Doubles Competitive Auctions
MORE (ADVANCED) ACOL BIDDING l l l l l l l l l l
Basics Advanced Basics Weak Twos Strong Hands £92 Defence to Weak Twos Defence to 1NT Doubles Two-suited Overcalls Defences to Other Systems Misfits and Distributional Hands
DECLARER PLAY l
l
l l l l l l l l
Suit Establishment in No-trumps Suit Establishment in Suits Hold-ups Ruffing for Extra Tricks Entries in No-trumps Delaying Drawing Trumps Using the Lead Trump Control Endplays & Avoidance Using the £72 Bidding
ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY l
l
l l l l l l
l l
Making Overtricks in No-trumps Making £77 Overtricks in Suit Contracts Endplays Avoidance Wrong Contract Simple Squeezes Counting the Hand Trump Reductions & Coups Playing Doubled Contracts Safety Plays
DEFENCE l
l l
l
l l l l l l
Lead vs Notrump Contracts £72 Lead vs Suit Contracts Partner of Leader vs Notrump Contracts Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts Count Signals Attitude Signals Discarding Defensive Plan Stopping Declarer Counting the Hand
System Requirements: Windows XP or Vista, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM
Q PLUS 9.1 l l l l l l l l l l
Friendly Interface Hint and Help Buttons Easy Installation Manual Rubber, Duplicate and Teams Scoring Instant results playing in teams mode 2,500 pre-played hands for teams 2,000 pre-played hands for match-pointed pairs Check your pairs percentage and ranking Systems include: Acol, including Bernard Magee’s system, Standard American or create your own.
TRADE-IN OFFERS Trade-in any previous version of Q Plus. Just post in the booklet and disk and a cheque for £32. Trade-in any other bridge software before 30 November 2009 and send it with a cheque for £49. Order with absolute confidence.
Make your cheque payable to
( 01483 489961
Still the very best Acolplaying Software available
Happy BRIDGE reader, Gill Smith writes: I love my QPlus Bridge. As a learner, I always have a faithful partner whenever I want one. She is always available (late at night too) and she bids and plays perfectly. She has never kicked me under the table, rolled her eyes or taken a sharp intake of breath. If I bid or play badly she is on hand with sound advice yet she doesn’t take offence if I ignore it. There is also a use which I didn’t realise when I bought the CD. It is the facility to feed in the real hands that we deal, and see how it would have bid and played them. I have done
this on arriving home, usually cross with myself, after a duplicate session. My faithful friend gives me a sensible perspective on the matter. When playing Chicago or rubber at home, at the end of the bidding and playing a difficult hand, I have opened up my laptop and switched on QPlus. With fellow learners, I have looked at hands and seen how our electronic friend would have bid and played. We still have lots to learn. I bracket my QPlus disc together with the dishwasher – an essential luxury that I would find difficult to live without.
and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
Fax 01483 797302
The women’s group, however, concluded that computer should be masculine (el computador) because: l
In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
l
They have a lot of data but can’t think for themselves.
l
l
They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem; and As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited just a little longer, you could have got a better model.
DOUBLE DUMMY by Richard Wheen ♠ ♥ © ® ♠ ♥ © ®
J Void Q 10 8 AK ♠ ♥ © ®
32 Void A4 32 N W
E S
♠ ♥ © ®
KQ 2 J97 Void
A AK K32 Void
North is on lead in a notrump contract, and North/South need to make all six tricks against any defence. Five tricks are easy: how to make the sixth? (Answer on page 32.)
HARD LABOUR Labour of love, indeed. Just as players, new and old, find defence the hardest aspect of the game, so it is for teachers. Bernard’s new interactive CD is now ready and in stock. To see the subjects covered by the program, go to the advertisement on the facing page.
PATIENCE It will come as a great surprise to those of you who know me, to learn that I have developed the necessary patience to sort out computer problems. This service is confined to the support of QPlus and Bernard Magee’s Tutorial software. If it were otherwise, I would never be able to maintain my new found virtue.
QPLUS TIPS If your QPlus is running too slowly, click configuration and go to playing strength, reset the memory at 9 and the playing level at 27. That should speed it up as a powerful computer will always spend all day thinking about a problem if you give it half a chance. To further enhance your enjoyment of QPlus, go to Deal, then to Match Control and put a black dot in deal number. Reset the scoring method to Team by putting a black dot in that box too. Finally, at the bottom of the panel, go to comparison and put a black dot in the closed room box, setting the number of boards at 16. These adjustments will enable you to have a result after the play of each board. If you do badly compared to the computer, you can always replay the hand automatically and see how the computer had played the hand in the closed room. This is a great way to learn from your mistakes and at your own pace... all in the privacy of your home. ( 01483 489961.
( 01483489961 PLAYSOFTWARE QPlus 9.1 QPlus 8.8 (second hand) Trade-in any previous QPlus Book & Disk and just send
£82.00 ....... £52.00 ....... ONLY £32.00 .......
TUTORIALSOFTWARE Acol Bidding More Acol Bidding Declarer Play Advanced Declarer Play Defence
£62.00 ....... £92.00 ....... £72.00 ....... £77.00 ....... £72.00 .......
BOOKS Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified £5.95 ....... Club Offer 10foronly£35.00 ....... Simple Directing at the Club – Dr Gurr £4.75 ....... Better Hand Evaluation – Bernard Magee £14.00 ....... Bernard Magee’s Bridge Quiz Book £14.00 ....... Bernard Magee’s Quiz and Puzzle Book £14.00 ....... Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge £14.00 ....... Ask Sally – Sally Brock £14.00 .......
2010DIARIES Standard Maroon ..... Light Blue ..... Red ..... Navy ..... Green ..... Tan .... Black ...... £5.95 ....... Club Offer 10foronly£35.00 ....... Luxury Bottle Green .... Ruby Red .... £12.95 .......
SINGLE-SUITEDBALL-POINTPENS Boxed Set of Four (Spade, Heart, Diamond, Club) £19.95 ....... All prices are fully inclusive. I enclose a cheque for £............. Mr/Mrs/Miss ................................................................................................ Address.........................................................................................................
CRACKED ......................................................................................................................
Sometimes disks get cracked or scratched in the course of time. QPlus and tutorial software can be replaced by sending the disk back to us together with a cheque for £10 for each replacement. Page 7
Postcode ..............................................( .............................................
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH.
www.mrbridge.co.uk/ mrbridge-shop
2010 WEEKENDS
BRIDGE WEEKENDS with Bernard Magee © Full-board © All rooms with en-suite facilities © No single supplement
with Bernard Magee Full Board £235 per person No single Supplement
© Sea View Option (Beach Hotel only) © Tuition with Supervised Play, bidding quiz and two seminars.
6 - 8 August Blunsdon House Hotel Hand Evaluation 20 - 22 August Blunsdon House Hotel Better Defence
Please book me for ..... places at £235 per person, Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Sea View* .....
1 - 3 October The Beach Hotel Declarer Play
Venue ................................................................................. Dates ..................................................................................
The Beach Hotel, Worthing
1 - 3 January 2010 The Beach Hotel Doubles
Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address...............................................................................
5 - 7 February Blunsdon House Hotel Splinters and Cue-bids
............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................
19 - 21 March The Beach Hotel Signals and Discards
( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige)
26 - 28 March The Beach Hotel Thinking Defence
...........................................................................................
16 - 18 April Blunsdon House Hotel Leads and Defence
Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking ...........................................................................................
23 - 25 April The Olde Barn Hotel Signals and Discards
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. *£30 supplement per room (Beach Hotel and Marsham Court Hotel only).
8 - 10 October The Olde Barn Hotel Game Tries 22 - 24 October Denham Grove Doubles 29 - 31 October Denham Grove Splinters and Cue-bids 12 - 14 November The Beach Hotel Better Defence 26 - 28 November The Beach Hotel Further into the Auction 3 - 5 December The Beach Hotel Sacrificing
4 - 6 June The Beach Hotel Suit Establishment 18 - 20 June Blunsdon House Hotel Signals and Discards 25 - 27 June The Beach Hotel Game Tries
Blunsdon House, Swindon
Expiry: ............................ CVV.................... Issue No. ............... (CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302
Bernard’s New Year’s Eve Party 29 December to 1 January 2010
e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
The Beach Hotel £395 Page 8
CO-INCIDENCE
Ken Rae, pictured above, is a Scottish International bridge player, a fact which only emerged after I had approached him to create the silver pendant and earrings.
FAILING CLUBS
SAVING TREES
Club committee members with numbers falling away should focus on why? In the not too far distant past it was cigar and pipe smoking members, then just any sort of smoking.
Several requests from readers as to how to suppress junk mail. Not BRIDGE of course, but all that unwanted material that you find somehow dropping regularly onto your doormat.
Some people have personal hygiene problems i.e. they stink. Members just say nothing and quietly drift elsewhere.
You need the Mailing Preference Service. Register your name address and postcode with them and most, if not all of your junk mail will die away within three or four months.
Almost as bad are constantly bickering partners, you know the sort I mean, frequently a husband and wife partnership. Make your club committee address these and similar problems before it’s too late. You know I’m right.
BACK COVER
LUCKY DIP
Every club committee needs public liability insurance cover. Ring Moore Stephens for a competitive quotation. Do speak to Sylvia Donovan who will be only to pleased to help you. ( 020 7515 5270. Do let her know you heard it from Mr Bridge.
Those needing travel insurance can consider Global Travel whose terms and conditions can be found on pages 40 & 41.
DIRECTORS Just as the yellow book is a real help to club directors, Simple Directing at the Club by Dr Gurr, £4.75 including postage and packing, can also be a great boon. For several years, Sally Brock was our bridge agony aunt, diligently answering everyone’s questions by drawing on her experience as an international player. The best of these are to be found in her latest book, Ask Sally. 192 pages, £14 including postage.
TUNISIAN DATES Try a fortnight in Tunisia, or just a week if that’s all you can fit in. Bernard Magee is at the Royal Kenz in November and February. There’s a lot to see, a lot to learn and lots to play in sunny Tunsia.
2009-2010 Two-week half-board duplicate holidays
CLUB COVER
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Mombasa to the Red Sea. Another great cruise. Last year, on the same run, this picture was snapped by a passenger from the rear deck.
KENZ, TUNISIA
Freepost 29 LON 2077 London W1E 0ZT.
See his website for prices: www.shetlandjewellery.com Indeed, Ken was a member of the victorious Scottish team, in the recently contested Camrose Seniors. Co-incidence indeed.
AT THE ROYAL
The form provided is for a single holiday – those wanting an annual policy should download the form from my website or if it’s easier, phone and I’ll post you one.
PLEASE MENTION MR BRIDGE This publication is funded by advertisers and sponsors. Unless you mention me or the magazine or both, I will not receive the funds to develop the magazine and its associated services. It’s as simple as that. Thank You
Page 9
1-15 November £699* Tony & Jan Richards 15-29 November £749* Bernard Magee 21 Feb – 7 Mar £749* Bernard Magee 7 Mar – 21 Mar £699* Crombie & Helen McNeil 21 Mar – 4 Apr £699* Chris Barrable *per person half-board sharing a twin-bedded room and is inclusive of bridge fees. Single supplement £5 per night. These prices are based on air travel from Gatwick to Monastir. Flights from other UK airports are available at a supplement. All prices are firm until 30 November 2009. Prices for seven-night stays are available on application. Pay £70 per fortnight per person extra and have a poolfacing room, tea & coffee making facilities, bath robe and a bowl of seasonal fruit. These holidays have been organised for by Tunisia First Limited, ATOL 5933, working in association with Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited, ATOL 1179.
DETAILS & BOOKINGS
( 01483 489961
ANSWERS TO THE BIDDING QUIZ ON PAGE 3 by BERNARD MAGEE
♠ ♥ © ®
1. Dealer West. Love All. AKQJ9832 ♠ 74 Void ♥ 763 N W E 832 © A654 S 42 ® A976
West
North
East
South
?
4♠. You have eight playing tricks, but not a very strong hand – whenever you think you can make a lot of tricks with your suit as trumps, but very few tricks if another suit is trumps, you should concentrate on preempting. Of course, this hand is much too good for a 3♠ opening: with eight solid trumps, you must start with 4♠. 4♠ will make with your partner’s hand above; just as important is that, since North had a void in spades, your opponents could make eleven tricks in hearts! If you had opened at a lower level, you would have allowed your opponents in to the auction; over 4♠, they have little chance to compete – you might even end up making 4♠ doubled.
♠ ♥ © ®
2. Dealer East. Game All. Q75 ♠ 643 N K862 ♥ A5 W E 742 © AK63 S 872 ® AK63
West
North
East
South
1®
Pass
?
Pass. How many points do you require to respond to an opening bid? The answer, of course, is six: there is a good reason for this requirement: so that the bidding does not go too high. You can break the rules when you have a good fivecard suit or a six-card suit biddable at the one-level. Here, with a balanced hand and no redeeming features, you do best to pass. You have reasonable club support so 1® should not play too badly. All that is likely to happen if you respond 1♥ is that your partner will jump in no-trumps and you
will finish much too high. 1® should make comfortably, whilst 2NT would need a lot of luck.
♠ ♥ © ®
3. Dealer West. N/S Vul. AQ5 ♠ K82 A762 ♥ K943 N W E A98 © 765 S A75 ® QJ8
West
North
East
South
1♥
Pass
2♥
Pass
?
2NT. The losing trick count is a great form of hand evaluation, but it is not great at evaluating balanced hands – it tends to underestimate their strength. The West hand has just seven losers, which would suggest passing 2♥ – but you should always contemplate upgrading a hand with four aces – change all the aces to kings and you would still get seven losers using the losing trick count. You should certainly invite your partner to game, so why not describe the hand neatly by rebidding 2NT – you both know that you have a heart fit, but now you can say how flat your hand is. This rebid is unlike a notrump rebid after a change of suit because it has been made after a ‘limit bid’. Partner has shown 6-9 points, so with 15-16 points there would be little chance of game, hence the 2NT rebid shows a little bit more: 17-18 points. When partner has only three hearts or happens to be flat as well, he can opt to play in no-trumps rather than hearts. 3NT has a reasonable chance with these two hands, whilst 4♥ has little or no chance.
♠ ♥ © ®
4. Dealer North. Love All. AQJ6 ♠ K 10 9 4 N 875 ♥ 2 W E S K7654 © AQ32 2 ® K J 10 4
West
North
East
South
3♥
Dbl
Pass
?
Page 10
4♠. Partner’s double was for take-out, asking you to bid. Do not forget that it implies the values for a good opening hand and shortage in the opened suit. If you have a good hand, you should not just bid, but jump to game. Remember, you are being asked to respond with zero points so, with ten points and a singleton, you should certainly be getting excited. You need to go for game. Furthermore, your weak hearts are likely to sit opposite a singleton in partner’s hand, which is perfect. Should you bid spades or diamonds? Your partner may very well have support for both suits, but especially the unbid major – 4♠ is one trick fewer than 5©, so you should bid game in the major. If you bid only 3♠, your partner would pass – he has shown his hand already – a 3♠ response could show no points at all.
♠ ♥ © ®
5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. A92 ♠ KQJ63 N 76 ♥ 984 W E S 43 © KQ2 QJ6543 ® 92
West
North
East
South
1♥
1♠
Pass
?
2♠. One fit is nearly always enough: you have six clubs on this hand, but nobody wants to hear about them. Your partner has shown five spades for his overcall and you have good 3-card support; you must show it immediately. An important reason for doing this is to stop North from making a descriptive rebid. If you bid 2® here, North is going to be able to bid 2© or 2♥, but, over a raise to 2♠, North is going to find it difficult. His partner has passed and he is vulnerable so bidding at the three-level is dangerous. The hand is a classic part-score battle with both sides able to make eight or nine tricks in their suit. As often happens, the first side to find a fit wins. 2♠ making scores +110, whilst 3♥ making scores -140: that difference ■ is significant in all forms of the game.
Q PLUS 9.1 Still the very best Acol-playing Software available Happy BRIDGE reader, Gill Smith of Thames Ditton writes: I love my QPlus Bridge. As a learner, I always have a faithful partner whenever I want one. She is always available (late at night too) and she bids and plays perfectly. She has never kicked me under the table, rolled her eyes or taken a sharp intake of breath. If I bid or play badly she is on hand with sound advice yet she doesn’t take offence if I ignore it.
FEATURES l
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Instant results playing in teams mode
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2,500 pre-played hands for teams
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2,000 pre-played hands for match-pointed pairs including 1,000 new hands
W NE
Check your pairs percentage and ranking
W NE
Systems include: several versions of Acol, including Bernard Magee’s system, Standard American or create your own.
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TRADE-IN OFFERS Trade-in any previous version of Q Plus. Just post in the booklet and disk and a cheque for £32. Trade-in any other bridge software before 30 November 2009 and send it with a cheque for £49. Order with absolute confidence.
PS. Bernard Magee’s Interactive Defence Software now ready, £72.
£82 including p&p Make your cheque payable to
( 01483 489961
There is also a use which I didn’t realise when I bought the CD. It is the facility to feed in the real hands that we deal, and see how it would have bid and played them. I have done this on arriving home, usually cross with myself, after a duplicate session. My faithful friend gives me a sensible perspective on the matter. When playing Chicago or rubber at home, at the end of the bidding and playing a difficult hand, I have opened up my laptop and switched on QPlus. With fellow learners, I have looked at hands and seen how our electronic friend would have bid and played. We still have lots to learn. I bracket my QPlus disc together with the dishwasher – an essential luxury that I would find difficult to live without.
and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
Fax 01483 797302
Bernard Magee Says
Leave the Master Trump Out hen there is only one trump out and it is the highest remaining, it will often be best to leave it out rather than use two of your own trumps to draw it. After all, the master trump is always going to make whether by being drawn or by ruffing. Here is a simple example:
W
♠ ♥ © ® ♠ ♥ © ®
QJ3 Q 10 6 Q J 10 7 762
K642 AK72 64 J93 ♠ ♥ © ®
N E
W S
♠ ♥ © ®
10 9 J983 982 10 8 5 4
A875 54 AK53 AKQ
West
North
East
Pass Pass *Stayman
3®* 6♠
Pass End
South 2NT 3♠
West leads the queen of diamonds. You see at once that you need a 3-2 trump split or you will have two trump losers. How should you set about the play? If you win the lead and play three rounds of trumps, you will finish one trick short. This is because you have ‘wasted’ two of your trumps on drawing West’s top trump. Instead, you should win the lead, play just your top trumps and then take all of your winners, eventually cross-ruffing in diamonds and hearts. You do not mind when West makes his trump because that will be the only trick he makes. He will probably overruff when you take your second heart ruff, but when he does so, he takes only one of your trumps rather than two.
♠ ♥ © ® ♠ ♥ © ®
J 10 9 8 K Q 10 9 6 A K72 ♠ ♥ © ®
7543 J7 10 8 7 6 4 QJ ♠ N ♥ E W © S ® AKQ62 A2 KQJ9 A9
♠ ♥ © ® Void 8543 532 10 8 6 5 4 3
♠ ♥ © ®
QJ3 9763 54 10 7 3 2
542 Q52 Q J 10 7 6 Q9 N E
W S
♠ ♥ © ®
♠ ♥ © ®
10 9 AKJ8 982 KJ84
AK876 10 4 AK3 A65
Contract: 4♠. Lead: ♥7. You, South, play in 4♠ after West has overcalled in hearts. West leads the heart king. You win the lead with your ace and play on trumps, but East discards on the first round. What happens if you play a second, third and fourth round to draw the last trump? West wins and leads back hearts, forcing you to ruff with your last trump. When the defenders get in with the diamond ace, they can take their heart winners too. The way to succeed is to avoid drawing West’s last trump. You win the heart, play the A-K-Q of spades and then switch to diamonds. West takes his ace and can draw one of your trumps, but you do not mind. When he plays hearts, you ruff the third round with your last trump. Then, as you have set up the diamonds already, you make ten tricks. By not playing the fourth round of trumps, you have kept ahead of the game – given yourself a ‘tempo’ – so that you have had time to set up your long suit before you ran out of trumps. You have seen two reasons not to draw a master trump: either because it uses up two of your trumps to do so, or it causes you to lose control of the hand. When would you draw it? The most common time is when you have a long suit ready to run and an opposing ruff would prevent you from running it.
Page 12
East wins the first trick with the jack of hearts, continues with the king and then plays a third heart, the ace. You ruff the third trick and draw two rounds of trumps, everybody following. If you choose to leave the master trump out, you will go down. If you leave West with his queen of spades and try to run your diamonds, he can ruff the third round and return a club – you end up losing four tricks. Instead, since making the fourth and fifth rounds of diamonds is worth more than a spare trump, you ‘waste’ two trumps to draw West’s master. He wins, but you can ruff his heart return and make the rest of the tricks with five diamonds and the ®A.
Conclusion It is usually right to refrain from drawing a master trump if it will save you from using up two of your own trumps. It is also right if it gives you better timing for your plan, keeping you in control especially when you still need to establish a suit. However, when you have established a side suit already and have tricks ready to run, it can pay to draw their master trump to avoid having your long suit isolated. ■
2009 Bridge Breaks OCTOBER 2009
NOVEMBER cont
16 – 18 £199
Staverton Park Take-out Doubles Improvers Alex Davoud
27 – 29 £199
The Olde Barn Signals & Discards Ray Hutchinson
16 – 18 £199
The Olde Barn Doubles Alison Nicolson
27 – 29 £199
Wychwood Park Doubles Gary Conrad
16 – 18 £199
Wychwood Park Hand Evaluation Alan Lamb
23 – 25 £199
Wychwood Park Signals & Discards John Wotton
30 – 1/11 £235
Marsham Court Bernard Magee (see page 10)
30–1/11 £150
Staverton Park Gentle / Just Duplicate
30 – 1/11 £199
The Olde Barn Declarer Play Ray Hutchinson
NOVEMBER 2009 13 – 15 £199
Staverton Park Game Tries Crombie McNeil
BRIDGE BREAKS © Full-board
© No single supplement
© All rooms with en-suite facilities
© Tuition with Supervised Play and two seminars.
Please book me for ..... places at £.... per person, Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Sea View* ..... Name of Hotel/Centre ........................................................ Dates .................................................................................. Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address...............................................................................
Wychwood Park, Crewe
............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................
DECEMBER 2009 11 – 13 £199
( ......................................................................................
The Beach Hotel Rubber/Chicago Diana Holland
Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige) ...........................................................................................
Christmas & New Year
Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking ...........................................................................................
Denham Grove
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. *£30 supplement per room (Beach Hotel and Marsham Court Hotel only).
Chris Barrable 24-27 December – £395 27-29 December – £199 29 Dec – 1 Jan – £355
The Olde Barn 24-27 December Sandy Bell – £395
The Olde Barn, Marston 13 – 15 £199
The Olde Barn Hand Evaluation Ray Hutchinson
20 – 22 £199
Wychwood Park Stayman and Transfers Improvers John Wotton
27 – 29 £199
Staverton Park Overcalls Ned Paul
27-29 December Sandy Bell – £199 29-31 December Ray Hutchinson – £199
The Beach Hotel
Expiry: ............................ CVV.................... Issue No. ...............
27-29 December Rubber / Chicago Diana Holland – £199
(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302
29 Dec – 1 Jan Bernard Magee – £395 (see page 10)
e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
Page 13
DEFENCE QUIZ
RUBBER / CHICAGO 09/10 at The Beach Hotel, Worthing Hosted by Diana Holland
11-13 December (Fri-Sun) 27-29 December (Twixmas) 12-14 February (Fri-Sun) 28-30 May (Fri-Sun) 30 July-1 August (Fri-Sun)
by Julian Pottage (Answers on page 47) ou are East in the defensive positions below. It is your turn to play.
Y
Please note there are no seminars or set hands at these events
£199 – Full-board – No Single Supplement
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1. ♠ ♥ © ®
AK82 QJ3 KJ6 Q 10 7 ♠ Q 10 9 7 4 3 N ♥ 95 W E S © A3 ®865
West North East South 1♥ 1NT 2♠ 2NT1 1 Pass 3® Pass 3©2 End 1 Lebensohl, asks N to bid 3® 2 single suited with diamonds
Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed) ...........................................................................................
3. ♠ ♥ © ®
4. ♠ ♥ © ®
A7 KQJ8 Q J 10 Q963 ♠ N ♥ W E S © ®
Q J 10 10 5 86543 K72
West leads the ®J covered all around. Declarer cashes the ♠K and ♥A before playing a second trump (West shows out). Next comes the ♥K for a club discard from hand and the ♥Q. What do you do?
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
Page 14
West North East South 2♠1 4♥ End 1 weak
Partner leads the ♥A, ♥K and ♥2. Which card do you play on the third trick?
West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 6♠ (!) End
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.
A972 3 Q9765 Q93 ♠ KQJ843 N ♥ J5 W E S © 843 ® 10 7
Partner leads the ®A-K (®J-5 from South) and continues with the six. Which card do you play on the third trick?
Please book me for .... places, Single .... Double .... Twin .... for the Rubber/Chicago weekend(s) of ...............................
2. ♠ ♥ © ®
AKQ74 Void A K 10 9 3 A 10 6 ♠ 6 N ♥ Q 10 8 5 W E S © J865 ® K932
West North East South Pass 4♥ Pass 6♥ End
Partner leads the ♠10, which runs to the ♠J. Declarer cashes the ♥A-K (West follows low and then discards a low spade), crosses to dummy with a diamond and starts playing on spades. When do you ruff?
The Waiting Game by Michael Scarrott
‘A
twelve hour delay – you’ve got to be kidding!’ exclaimed a very disgruntled Dave. ‘I am afraid so,’ replied Marge making a determined effort to remain calm. ‘It’s a lightning strike by the airport maintenance staff. They have agreed to be back on duty in twelve hours’ time. It affects all outgoing flights. ‘We will get some compensation and the airport authority has promised meal vouchers. It is hardly worthwhile for anyone to go home. Most people will just have to sit it out at the airport. The airport administrators have promised to keep passengers updated with developments.’
Lightning Strike ‘Lightning strike you say,’ muttered an irate Dave. ‘I would give them some lightning where it hurts if I had my way.’ He looked around at his fellow airport passengers and saw looks of anguish coupled with inevitability. ‘The twenty-first century – one of the world’s busiest airports – yet still a relative handful of people can bring the entire operation to a standstill!’ ‘What on earth are we going to do?’ continued Dave. ‘We’ve been travelling since five o’clock this morning to make sure we arrived in plenty of time to check in. Now we are well and truly stuck for at least an extra 15 hours.’ They both listened as announcements confirmed the delay in different languages. Marge looked around and suddenly had an idea. ‘Just how many of these people are bridge players, do you suppose?’ Dave gave his wife a puzzled look and wondered what this had to do with their predicament. ‘Haven’t got a
clue,’ was all he could say. ‘Well, why don’t we find out?’ continued Marge in a very determined tone.
International Match? Slowly warming to the idea, Dave glanced around and replied in an enthusiastic voice, ‘Maybe we could organise something on an International level? Just look around. There must be people from all over just hanging about with nothing to do. Perhaps we could arrange for a message over the intercom system inviting any interested bridge players to meet up outside the duty free shop for a friendly competition. Even non-bridge players might like to watch in an effort to defeat the boredom. They might even make a wager or two!’ Marge grinned and offered to find someone in authority to organise an announcement. ‘I’ll get them to say bridge is a game without frontiers. That should get some interest.’ She soon came back with good news. The event would be broadcast over the internal airport speaker system and they would have an area of the departure lounge cordoned off for the event. ‘I think they really like the idea of passengers fixing up something for themselves and not moaning continually.’ ‘Well, let’s just hope we get some response,’ replied Dave, ‘It would be a shame if this turned out to be just a damp squib.’ He need not have worried. Within minutes of the announcement, a good size group had congregated around the meeting area. A section of the lounge was soon ready and the airport authority promised to provide suitable tables. ‘We ought to have ample time to play a 20-board competition,’ said a delighted Marge. ‘If
Page 15
we aim to have a short refreshment break about halfway through, the whole event should take no more than four hours or so. At the very least it will take a sizeable chunk out of the waiting time.’ Luckily, one of the interested participants was on the committee of a nearby bridge club. This person offered to loan playing cards, duplicate boards, bidding boxes and score cards. A specially arranged courier service would collect the items in question. The internal catering establishments would provide complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. ‘Do you think that chap Branson might provide a trophy?’ said a hopeful Marge. ‘If he gets to know what’s going on, there’s a good chance he might,’ replied Dave, ‘he likes to get involved with all sorts of quirky events and doesn’t miss a chance of a bit of free publicity.’
The Competition Begins The final tally of players came to 40 and a draw took place to decide the order of play. Marge extracted her cards from the first board and took stock of her opponents – a Bulgarian Professor called Georgi in partnership with a friendly Aussie from Queensland. ‘G’day mate. The name is Bruce. This is a fantastic idea. It could completely revolutionise the tedium of hanging around in airports worldwide. Maybe I shall get a chance to use my Boomerang Coup. It is really quite easy. I throw a trick away and, before you know it, a couple come flying back my way in double quick time!’ He looked across at his learned Bulgarian partner and added, ‘Not too bad for the old entente cordiale either!’
The Waiting Game Bruce opened one no-trump (strong, 15 to 17) and Georgi raised straight to game. ‘Life is far too short for deliberation,’ he commented in very good English. These were their hands:
´ ™ © ®
Georgi A3 K84 98653 QJ5 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
Bruce K6 AQ73 A J 10 7 K72
Dave led the queen of spades and Bruce took time to count his winning tricks. He had six top tricks, with diamonds looking good to produce the remainder by means of a double finesse.
A Finesse is a Last Resort He took a second or two to recall his days spent in the outback when he would often hurry a hand in anticipation of a juicy steak from the obligatory barbeque always accompanied by a couple of cold beers! He also remembered a recent article written by one of the great Australian champions, which stated clearly that, ‘One should take a finesse only as a last resort. Far too many players blame the finesse when they go down without realising the contract could have been made on a different line of play.’ Consequently, after winning the opening lead in hand, he played the ace followed by the queen of hearts. Bruce played a heart to the king next, revealing the kind 3-3 break. It remained just to knock out the ace of clubs before making a comfortable contract. ‘You made that contract look easy,’ commented Marge. ‘It’s a good job Dave wasn’t playing it. I’m pretty certain he would have fiddled with the diamonds right from the start and maybe made the outcome rather less certain.’
continued
‘It’s bad to fiddle,’ said Georgi giving Dave a stern look. The Emperor Nero fiddled – look what happened to Rome!’ Good-natured chatter reverberated as everyone prepared to move for the next round.
Moving for the Next Round A colourful couple from Dallas, Texas were soon facing Marge and Dave. ‘Hi, guys. I’m Chad and this is my wife Sue Ellen.’ Dave grinned across the table at Marge as he remembered the hugely successful television soap from years ago when J R Ewing and his wife Sue Ellen were known nationwide. ‘I know just what you’re thinking,’ said Chad in a mesmerizing southern drawl, ‘Our Dallas Bridge group voted JR the most eligible bridge partner anyone could have. Opponents would be bribed or blackmailed into throwing simple contracts and putting up little or no defence.’ ‘The series was a great success over here,’ said Marge. ‘We were always completely amazed at how such a dysfunctional, feuding family could all live and eat together in one big house. I suppose many duplicate bridge clubs are a bit like the Dallas television series. People turn up, week after week, to slug it out for a few master points. They usually all arrive in good humour, but by the end of the evening are more often than not completely disgruntled and ready to ditch their partner! ‘Years ago, you could enjoy a game of duplicate and go home to reflect in solitude on how well or badly the evening’s play had gone. Nothing so relaxed now, I am almost sorry to say. If you don’t have the results pinned up by the door on the way out, they will almost surely arrive by email while you are travelling home.’ ‘Yes,’ joined in Dave, ‘it’s no good trying to slip away unnoticed. There’s always someone wanting to let you know what a pity it was that you had to come bottom!’
The Bridge Doctor Chad was soon speaking again. ‘Sue Ellen’s something of a celebrity back home. She is a practising Bridge Doctor
Page 16
at the Dallas Country Club. Her services are very much in demand. She even has her own local radio show. Listeners can phone in with any type of problem.’ ‘What a super idea,’ said Marge giving Sue Ellen a sideways glance. ‘It keeps me on my toes for sure,’ answered Sue Ellen. ‘I limit everything to bridgerelated queries although, just occasionally, something unusual might creep in. Just a month or so ago, a lady called Teri telephoned in to tell me she had received a proposal of marriage at the bridge table. What a romantic gesture, I said somewhat tongue in cheek. Was there a happy outcome?’
Marriage Proposal ‘Oh, yes,’ she replied. ‘I told Mike if he made the next contract I would accept, but if he went off then the answer would be no!’ ‘Poor chap,’ interrupted Dave. ‘I’d be a nervous wreck playing a hand under that pressure.’ Sue Ellen reached into her holdall and pulled out a slip of paper. ‘This is the deal in question. See what you make of it:’
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Ray A6 KQ964 Q32 963
Teri K 10 9 3 A73 10 5 QJ75
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Cliff 52 J 10 5 A9874 10 8 2
Mike QJ874 82 KJ6 AK4
The auction was quite simple. Mike opened 1´, Teri raised to 3´ and Mike went on to game. Their opponents were Ray and Cliff, two well-known local oilmen. Ray led the king of hearts and Mike played low from dummy. When Cliff encouraged with the jack, Ray continued with the six of hearts, taken by the ace. Then Mike led a spade to the queen and ace. Ray continued with a third heart ruffed by Mike in hand. He led a spade to the king in dummy next, which cleared the remaining trumps. Now Mike pondered the task of avoiding
The Waiting Game two diamond losers in order to seal the contract and his future happiness! He looked across at Teri and gave a boyish grin. She gave an anxious halfsmile in return as she realised the contract might well depend on a lucky guess. Fortunately, Mike was not a hazy thinker. He realised quickly that as Ray had already shown up with the ace of spades as well as the king and queen of hearts, yet had not bid, it was a near certainty for Cliff to have the diamond ace. His mind made up, he led the five of diamonds from dummy and played the king confidently when Cliff played low. With ten tricks made, Mike sat back and sighed with relief. He took a small satin-covered box from his jacket pocket, passed it across the table to Teri and said in an unperturbed tone, ‘Now what’s that they say about diamonds being a girl’s best friend!’
continu ed
Russian steel magnate called Boris and his wife Svetlana. ‘We heard your announcement in the first class VIP lounge,’ announced Boris in a thick Russian accent. He was a formidable looking, heavyset man with dark, wavy hair. A diamond-studded gold Rolex watch stood out prominently on his thick wrist. In complete contrast, Svetlana had a terrific head of blond hair and wore a heavenly tweed hacking jacket over an ivory silk blouse.
The Russian Opponents
With a firm invitation to visit Dallas made, Chad and Sue Ellen moved off to the next table. The refreshment break came round soon and gave players a chance to mingle and chat. Everyone agreed how uncanny it was to play in an open arena with so many onlookers. ‘It tests your powers of concentration to the full,’ remarked Dave to a studiouslooking couple from Vienna called Heidi and Rudi. ‘Yes,’ replied Rudi, ‘the kibitzers can be a distraction, but most are well behaved and realise quickly you are locked mostly in a battle of luck and percentage play. This is unlike chess, for example, which is a game of perfect information where all the pieces are visible.’ Heidi added, ‘I suppose that a particularly observant declarer could judge whether or not a particular line of play might work from the mood of the spectators. Are they looking relaxed or are they alert and tense?’ ‘Ignore them at your peril,’ joined in Marge, making an effort to lighten up the conversation.
‘I bet there is a minder or two keeping an eye on him,’ thought Dave. ‘We play strong no-trump, weak two’s, Roman key-card Blackwood, splinters and some other stuff I can’t remember,’ continued Boris giving Dave a solemn look. All at once, he gave a big grin and added, ‘In my country we always say the road to hell is paved with good conventions!’ Not to be outdone by all this bravado, Dave turned to Svetlana and asked if she favoured the phoney club? ‘Any club will do for me darling,’ she replied in a playful provocative tone! Svetlana reached into her Gucci holdall and produced an ornately engraved silver flask. ‘Essential medicine,’ she murmured while pouring a generous measure of a clear liquid carefully into a matching silver cup. Marge looked concerned at this and was just about to say something sympathetic when Svetlana added, ‘Neat vodka. It helps to keep me frosty.’ Boris boomed with laughter and gave Dave a disturbing wink. Thinking of nothing better to say, Dave commented on the bitterly cold weather forecast for Moscow in the next day or so. ‘No problem for us,’ replied a jovial Boris. ‘Have not been anywhere near Russia for quite some time. We are on our way to Nice to take delivery of my new ocean-going yacht. I stopped off in London only to look at a couple of Premier Division football clubs that might be up for grabs.
The Final Round
Premier Division Footballers
Play progressed smoothly and the final round saw Dave and Marge up against a
‘The players are like thoroughbred horses and cost just about as much to
Refreshment Break
buy. Unlike horses, they expect a fortune in wages every week and are not content with just a good feed and a warm stable to sleep in! When I was a boy growing up in the Urals, my father often talked about the fate of whole football teams that failed to perform for their patrons. Yes, coal mining in the Ukraine was not to be recommended in those bad old days!’ As dealer on the first board, Svetlana opened a frisky 2™. Her partner announced this as weak and Dave chose to overcall 3©. Boris passed and Marge bid 3™, asking for a stopper in the suit. Dave bid 3NT duly and Boris tossed the king of hearts onto the table. This was the deal:
Page 17
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Boris QJ853 K8 875 975
Marge A K 10 2 963 10 4 A J 10 8
N W
E S
´ ™ ™ ®
´ ™ © ®
Svetlana 94 Q J 10 7 4 2 Q62 K3
Dave 76 A5 AKJ93 Q642
With just the single stopper in hearts, Dave’s main concern was to keep Svetlana’s hearts out of the game. To his surprise, Svetlana played the heart jack casually under partner’s king. Dave gave an involuntary glance at Svetlana, who raised her silver cup, gave a big smile and took a long drink. It crossed his mind that if Boris started with a doubleton king-queen of hearts, then a finesse of the club king would not be a problem if Svetlana won the trick. The queen would block the hearts.
False Card Noticed ‘This looks like a bit of false carding to me,’ thought Dave after a moment’s reflection, ‘There has to be an ulterior motive and I am just not falling for it. He decided to duck the first trick and won the continuation. He crossed next to dummy with the ace of spades and ran the ten of diamonds. When this won, a very relieved Dave repeated the
The Waiting Game continued
finesse and played out his diamond winners, plus the spade king and club ace to make nine tricks. ‘You clever boy,’ purred Svetlana. ‘You saw through my little ploy. Many players see me as nothing more than a cute blonde and, when I take a drink or two, they think I am not paying much attention.’ Boris nodded in agreement. ‘Svetlana is sharp as a razor and particularly enjoys deflating all those male egos!’ Marge decided to join in. ‘Quite right too. The Canadian author Charlotte Whitton wrote, in June 1963, that ‘whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good.’
Successful Event With the competition over, Dave and Marge received a standing vote of thanks for instigating and organising such a successful event. They also received a generous gift from the duty free shop. Dave congratulated the winning pair, Molly and Max from Canada, who finished with a very commendable 69%.
Generous Support Marge thanked everyone involved for taking part and praised the airport authorities for their generous support. She went on to say, ‘This proves you are never alone anywhere in the world when you’re a bridge player. It’s like having a special passport.’ She paused and added in a very resolute tone, ‘However, this is one bridge competition we would prefer not to have on a regular basis!’ n
It Happened That Way by Freddie North
No-Trump Openings hile on many hands it is easy enough to choose the opening bid, there will inevitably be the exception on which it is hard to decide. Playing Acol, perhaps you pick up this:
W
´ ™ © ®
A Q 10 KQ9 A J 10 9 6 AQ
Now, is your choice of opening bid really clear-cut? Well, there are twenty-two points in a balanced hand and this fits into your range for a 2NT opening (20-22); but there are also quite a few plus values; a five-card suit, two tens and three aces (aces are undervalued slightly in the point count system). So should you perhaps promote the hand to twenty-three points and open 2® prepared to rebid 2NT? No doubt, in an average pairs’ event there would be a dichotomy of views, but I think most experienced players would rate this hand as just too good for a 2NT opening. What do you think about this next hand?
´ ™ © ®
A3 A93 A Q 10 7 2 632
Would you be happy with 1NT (12-14) or, bearing in mind the plus features – a five-card suit, one ten and those three slightly undervalued aces – would you prefer 1© intending to rebid in no-trumps (15-16)? Let us see what happened when this hand arose in a club duplicate. When the opening bid was 1©, everything proceeded smoothly:
Dealer West. N/S Vul. Pairs. North ´ A3 ™ A93 © A Q 10 7 2 ® 632 West East ´ J 10 9 6 ´ KQ872 ™ J 10 8 7 5 ™ K 6 2 © 85 © KJ93 ® Q8 ® 7 South ´ 54 ™ Q4 © 64 ® A K J 10 9 5 4
West North East South Pass 1© 1´ 2® Pass 2NT Pass 3NT End
After a spade lead, declarer had no trouble in collecting at least ten tricks. Things did not go quite so smoothly when North opened 1NT and East decided to risk bidding 2´. South felt torn between the desire to bid some quantity of clubs or gamble 3NT (Lebensohl not being available). Since 3® was nonforcing, South bid 4® or 5® invariably – and, whatever the result in 5®, it had to lose out to 3NT. In fact, the play in 5® was not without interest, some declarers failing after a nipand-tuck battle. Declarer won the jack of spades lead in dummy, drew trumps and took a losing diamond finesse to the king. East could see that if he cashed the king of spades he would then have an unenviable choice of plays (unless his partner held the queen of hearts), so he escaped by underleading his spade honours. West won duly; the heart switch proved to be the
Page 18
final nail in declarer’s coffin. Declarer won in dummy with the ace and then tried to set up the diamonds; when this suit broke 4-2, he could establish the fifth diamond but had no entry left in dummy to enjoy it. A possible plan, as the cards lie, would have been to squeeze East in the red suits. After the ace of hearts, declarer enters his hand with a club and runs the suit to produce this ending.
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Void 10 8 5 Void
Void Void A 10 7 Void N E
W S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Void K J9 Void
Void Q 6 4
When South leads the four of clubs, dummy discards the seven of diamonds but East cannot spare any of his remaining cards. He has to keep the king of hearts or South’s queen makes and, if he discards a diamond, dummy’s ace and ten take the last two tricks. At one table – in a contract of 5® – South produced a masterstroke by ducking the spade lead! West did her best to get her partner off the hook by switching to a diamond, the queen losing to the king. A spade then went to the ace but declarer was soon in control. The ®A-K, a diamond to the ace and a diamond ruff, a club to the six and a second diamond ruff left a winning diamond in dummy and that vital ace of hearts as an entry. n The game made thus.
Julian Pottage Says
Watch Your Entries ntries are vital. It is no good to set up a winner that you can never reach. Some are obvious, like an ace facing a low card. Others are subtler. Whatever they are, use them carefully.
E
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
K84 K943 8653 52
Q 10 9 5 J85 KJ9 983 ´ ™ © ®
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
A63 Q 10 6 2 74 K764
J72 A7 A Q 10 2 A Q J 10
You are South in 3NT. West leads a low heart to the jack, queen and seven. Your ace wins the second round. With hearts wide open, playing spades does not appeal. Better is to play East for the king of clubs and aim to make nine tricks without losing the lead. If East has K-x-x-x, you need to finesse three times. You can do it if you play diamonds correctly. Lead the two to the nine, the ten to the jack and the queen to the king. Save the ace until later!
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Q 10 9 3 93 72 K 10 8 4 2 ´ ™ © ®
You are in 3NT and West leads a club. If you run the club to your queen, you might never get back to hand. Correct is to play dummy’s ace and drive out the ace of diamonds. A club may come back, setting up your entry. Even if not, you will have time to dislodge the king of clubs and force an entry to hand.
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
K 10 9 3 KJ7 Q 10 6 4 43
W
E S
´ ™ © ®
4 10 7 2 K Q J 10 9 6 QJ7
J76 KQ84 A854 93
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Q4 Q 10 5 4 J82 J652
J2 92 A93 A Q 10 9 8 7
You are in 3NT again. West leads a low diamond. You win in dummy. If you cash the club king and come to hand with a diamond, all will be well if clubs split 3-3 or the jack is short. Better, since you need only five club tricks for your game, is to overtake the king with the ace. Now you can knock out the club jack and get back to hand.
AK852 AJ65 3 A65 N
A8765 A863 K75 K
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
J8 K52 QJ85 A763
´ ™ © ®
´ K93 ™ AQ3 S © K93 ® J 10 8 4 A Q 10 7 6 4 2 764 A7 Q
5 J 10 9 8 10 6 4 2 K952
N
W
E
Page 19
You are in 4´. West leads the heart jack. This wins and East, who opened 1NT (12-14), wins the next two tricks with the A-Q of hearts. A club shift goes to the queen, king and ace. Clearly, you want to finesse East for the missing kings. Start with the queen of diamonds. If East covers, go back to the jack of diamonds and run the spade jack. If the spade jack holds, you can repeat the spade finesse. If the first diamond holds, you run the spade jack at trick six and pick up both suits again.
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
753 AKJ 10 9 4 3 J85
Q 10 8 8542 J5 A964 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
A 10 9 3 8762 Q 10 7 3 2
KJ9642 Q76 AKQ K
You open 1´ in fourth seat and soon arrive in 4´. West cashes the ace of hearts and, when East plays the three, shifts to the ten of diamonds. The danger here is that East has the ace of spades (highly likely in view of West’s initial pass) and comes in to play a heart through your queen. Then you lose three hearts and a trump. To avoid this you need to discard a heart on the ace of clubs before you touch trumps. Have you spotted how to get to dummy? Take two top diamonds and the king of clubs. Then ruff a good diamond. That queen is a red herring! When dummy appears and you make a plan to set up winners and deal with losers, make sure you can get where you want to be. Watch your entries. n
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Page 20
DAVID STEVENSON answers questions on Bridge Laws
When is Eight Playing Tricks not an Acol Two?
Q
The hand below has eight playing tricks but I realise it does not satisfy the rule of 25. I am still unsure whether you can open an Acol 2´ on it. What are the rules and the rationale for them?
´ ™ © ®
A K Q J 10 5 4 2 75 83 7
Raymond Jenkinson, St Albans similar from Terry Hatton.
A
By tradition, an Acol Two is ‘a hand of power and quality, with at least eight playing tricks.’ This hand is nothing like an Acol Two and is a normal 4´ opening. Unfortunately, players have found that by including weaker, pre-emptive type hands in their ‘Acol Two’ openings, or in their ‘Benjamin’ 2® openings, they gain an advantage. Doing so misleads opponents into thinking that they have a strong hand, and thus tending to miss contracts themselves. The EBU has tried to address this by giving a minimum for strong openings. A Benjamin 2®
has to be strong to be legal. A natural two opening is not limited in the same way, so it is legal to play a 2´ opening, for example, to include pre-emptive hands like this. However, one should not describe them as ‘Acol’ (not being a hand of power and quality) nor as ‘strong’, if they can be outside the limits. Alas, this does not solve the problem fully as it is very hard to find a definition that includes all hands of power and quality while excluding all pre-emptive hands. To call a hand ‘strong’ it has to have one of: a) subject to proper disclosure, the high cards for a normal one-level opening and at least eight clear cut tricks, or b) any hand meeting the Rule of 25 or c) any hand of at least 16 HCPs The example you gave is a point short of (a), so you could add a jack and say it was acceptable. I think it a very poor bid, but legal. If you agree that your openings have to be (b) or (c), you can call them ‘strong’ or ‘Benjamin’ or ‘Acol’. If you include (a), you should also say ‘can be quite weak with lots of
playing strength’ or similar. If your openings are natural, but may include pre-emptive hands, they do not have to fit into the above definition, but when announcing them you should say ‘Intermediate to Strong, forcing’. To answer your specific questions: 1) Eight playing tricks never was the definition of a strong two. Pre-empts often contain eight playing tricks. 2) Rule of 25 tends to show a stronger hand and is thus less misleading. You can open a strong hand that is not Rule of 25 so long as it falls under (a) or (c) above. 3) The rule aims to stop people from gaining an advantage by opening pre-emptive hands and describing them as strong. ®©™´
Q
This was our auction when I (North) forgot that we do not play transfers after an intervening call:
Page 21
West North East South 1NT Dbl 2© 2´ Pass 3© 3™ 4© 4™ Pass Pass 5© 5™ Dbl End
When I made 5™ doubled, West started to complain about our bidding. I said that, if she had an issue with our bidding, she should have called the Director. What would have been the ruling if she had? Birthe Johns, Tewkesbury.
A
There is no doubt that you were right about what to do when your opponent criticised your bidding. Criticising someone else’s bidding is rude and a breach of bridge ethics. She should either keep quiet, or call the Director if she thinks something is wrong. Normally, if you forget a transfer, it is worrying if partner seems to allow for it, there being the possibility of partner ‘fielding a misbid’ as the EBU puts it quaintly, which means allowing for the mistake probably because she has seen the mistake a few times before! In fact, the Director might even adjust in such a situation. However, with the bidding as given, East-West have bid and raised diamonds, so it was obvious from their bidding that you had gone wrong. Thus, your partner has done nothing wrong and there is no reason to change the resulting score.
Ask David
continued
Q
Declarer (West) claimed the last two tricks, with spades as trumps. She had the ´Q and the ©A in her hand, with the ´J and the ©J in dummy. North, who held the ©2 and the ´3, disputed the claim. The Director awarded a trick to North on the basis that there was still a trump outstanding. Is this ruling right? Doreen Parrington, Alicante, Spain. It is normal to claim in bridge generally since it is such a waste of everyone’s time to play hands out, especially when all the remaining cards are winners. On this occasion, the Director was quite wrong. Since North would have followed suit to both of West’s winners he cannot get a trick and the Director should not have awarded him a trick.
A
®©™´
Q
East bid and made 4™. The cards were being replaced in the Board, some having been shuffled, when South said that he thought that East had ruffed a spade at trick 10 and had noticed that she still had a spade in her hand (the last two tricks were not played as the winners were on the table). West said that as the cards, or most of them, had been replaced in the board, it was impossible to check. South agreed and withdrew the complaint. North (who is a trained director) insisted that a mistake had been made, otherwise her partner would not have complained. The director
was called and he ruled that as the cards had been replaced, there was no means of checking and the table should sort it out for themselves. West reiterated that as the cards had been replaced and reshuffled, it could not be checked and left the table. North insisted that a mistake was made and scored 100 points (for a penalty of two tricks) for N/S, instead of 420 points E/W (non-vul). What is the correct solution to this problem? Name and address supplied.
A
The story you tell is most upsetting and, of course, if I were really to give a ruling I would hear from all players and the director. However, assuming what you have said is completely accurate, this is the situation. Players make mistakes. Sometimes they revoke. sometimes they think others have revoked but, in fact, they are wrong. In this case, South thought there was a revoke but it seemed too late to check. West should not tell him it was too late since, like any other infraction, it is not up to West to decide, it is up to the director. Furthermore, North’s assertion that there must have been a mistake otherwise her partner would not have complained is also somewhat out of order. Her partner is just as likely to have made a mistake in thinking there was a revoke as East in possibly revoking. It is the old story. Never argue, just call the director. Sadly, when they eventually did, the director failed to do his job. To say that if the cards were back in the board, it is impossible to sort it out is just wrong. He could go through the play. What really worries me is the suggestion that they
should ‘sort it out for themselves’. This is completely unacceptable. It is the director’s job, not the players’, and much of the trouble caused was because the director did not do his job. If he thinks there is insufficient evidence to decide there was a revoke – and he does not seem to have bothered to find out – then he should make a ruling, presumably that there was no revoke. ‘Leaving it to the players’ is absolutely awful. Now we now come to North’s scoring. There was neither an agreement that there had been a revoke nor a ruling from the director to that effect. For North to score it as though there was a revoke and a revoke penalty is awful, dreadful and on the verge of cheating. It is just unacceptable. The club authorities should warn him as to his conduct and threaten him with expulsion if there is any recurrence. ®©™´
Q
An opponent opened 1NT with 11 points, admittedly with two tens as well, which his partner announced as 12-14. Is such an arrangement legal? John Foster by email.
A
You may choose to open any 1NT range you like, so long as it shows at least nine points (ten points at holiday/novice bridge). For example, I play 11 to 14 with several partners. It is fun to try something a little different. Of course, not everyone values their hands the same, so perhaps this pair play 12 to 14 but count two tens as a point. This is legal, and they would not think they had opened light. When you announce a range, this is not
Page 22
an undertaking to the opponents that they can rely on absolutely. The Law book does not allow us to restrict style. If a player wants to count extra points for some things (such as tens, good suits) and deduct points for some things (for example 4333 hands, two honours in a doubleton) then that is indeed legal. ®©™´
Q
I read somewhere that once the players had returned their hands to the board at the end of play North was responsible for the board and any request to inspect the hands. Is this no longer right? Mrs J Robertson, Lundin Links, Fife.
A
I am not sure who stated that North was responsible for the boards after play ends but this is not entirely true, I fear, despite being a wellknown view. North is responsible for moving the boards unless the Director decrees otherwise. He has no responsibility otherwise and he has no right to allow or to forbid someone from examining his own hand or the travelling score-sheet. No player may touch anyone else’s cards, with or without permission. If a player wishes to see other people’s hands, he must ask them to show him. Unless there is a problem over time, I would expect this to happen routinely. David Stevenson answers all queries based on the facts supplied by the letter writer. Neither Mr Bridge nor David Stevenson has any way of knowing whether those facts are correct or complete.
Ask David
continued
Q
A reply in BRIDGE 95 in relation to jump overcalls surprises me. I learnt that a jump overcall (1™ from RHO, 3® from me) shows about 16 points. The reply talked about preemptive overcalls and seemed to dismiss this teaching. Ken Wicks, Morden, Surrey.
A
One thing that annoys me is the failure of many bridge teachers to explain to their students that the way they teach them is by no means the only way to play bridge. I deal with many queries that arise because players expect other people to follow what they believe is right without apparently realising it is just one possibility amongst many. For example, someone taught you that a jump overcall shows about 16 points. Did your teacher not say, ‘but many people play this differently.’? He should have done. A common way to play the bid is weak or even intermediate. Therefore, when I refer to someone describing the jump overcall as pre-emptive, that is a perfectly normal answer. I do not ‘dismiss’ the fact that other people play it as you do, as a strong jump overcall. I just allow for the fact that a large number of people in the British Isles play a jump overcall as weak, in other words preemptive. ®©™´
Q
As East, third in hand, I opened 1©, having 11 points, with ©A-K-10-x-x and the ™A. South overcalled 3NT – no alert. My partner
passed, as did North. I asked North what he understood by the bid and he replied he did not know. I assumed that South was playing the gambling 3NT with a long club suit and doubled. This ended the bidding. Before my partner led (a diamond), I asked South if he could clarify his bid. He replied that he expected to make 3NT. I suspected then that he had a very strong hand, perhaps 23-24 points, and decided that I would need to establish my diamonds, hoping to get in later with the ace of hearts. I assumed he had ©Q-x-x and took the first two tricks with ace and king. I then sent a third diamond back, taken as expected by South’s queen. He then proceeded to run eight clubs and made 10 tricks altogether. Had I known that he had a 1-1-3-8 shape, I would have then played the ace of hearts instead of the low diamond, and beaten the contract by several tricks. A spade was not a sensible return as dummy had ´A-Q-J-x-x. I called the director who ruled that as dummy had not known what the bid meant, that was the end of the matter. (In the heat of the moment, I failed to mention that South had in effect denied that it was the gambling no-trump.) Is this a correct decision? Was South entitled to answer my question in this way? Hugh Fido, Canterbury.
A
You are entitled to a full explanation of an opponent’s agreements, but nothing more. From what you have written in your letter, it appears they had no agreement over the meaning of the bid and this meant
you had to guess what he had just as much as his partner. Therefore, the Director was right, there is no case for adjustment – sorry. Your question to South was improper anyway and the reply, while ambiguous, was merely free extra information to which you were not entitled. ®©™´
Q
If the majority of a club play 5-card majors, but a few play Acol, the Acol players would open on 12 points when some of the 5-card major players would pass, particularly if they are vulnerable. How do you score a game that has been bid and played by those playing Acol, but would not be bid by those playing 5-card majors? Viv Tremeer by email.
A
You score based on the results achieved, regardless of how the players achieved them. While it is true that, on some deals, certain systems are more likely to produce particular results, this is just part of the game and no reason for adjusting the actual scores. The director adjusts the score only in accordance with the rules following an infraction – playing one legal system rather than another is not an infraction. ®©™´
Q
The bidding went:
West North East South 1™ Pass 2® Pass 2™ Dbl
At this point, South and West (but not North) picked up their bidding
Page 23
cards. I (as East) said, ‘Hold on. The bidding hasn’t finished.’ So, it continued: West North East South … Pass 2´ Pass Pass
At this point, South said, ‘I don’t think this is right’ and called the director who said, ‘I see what you mean. There may have been unauthorised information. Carry on.’ South bid 3™, which ended the auction. North was two down. The director came back and he said, ‘I do not need to make a ruling on this one because the score for 1 down doubled is the same as two down undoubled.’ What is your opinion? Dan Crofts, Edgbaston, Birmingham.
A
If the Director believes he should adjust the score from 3™ -2 to 2™ doubled -1 he should do so, not say he does not need to make a ruling. Let us assume he, in fact, decided to make such a ruling. Now, to adjust under unauthorised information Laws he must decide that a player has chosen amongst logical alternatives one suggested by the unauthorised information. Frankly, I am not sure what the unauthorised information is nor what logical alternatives are being considered. If I had been one of the players, I would have asked the Director to explain his ruling, which seems incomprehensible to me. n E-mail your questions on bridge laws to: davidstevenson@ mrbridge.co.uk
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Seasonal Walks with Countryman
A Walk in the Autumn T
his little piece of England where the birds are singing, the sun shining and the air seriously intoxicating – it is all too easy to fall under its magic spell and dream on, contentedly… Is it me, as Terry Wogan would say, or are the autumn tints and colours even more beautiful than ever in this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness? Yes, I suspect it is me, captivated by the moment, because the countryside is almost always a joy to behold at this time of year. As Cindy and I (Cindy is my muchloved golden retriever) make our way across the fields and towards the woods, one cannot help but feeling slightly spellbound by the natural beauty of the surroundings. Many leaves have fallen – the Americans do not call it ‘the fall’ for nothing – but there is still plenty of colour left; browns, greens, yellows, reds and shades of gold. Just as I am thinking that perhaps in a previous life I had been lucky enough to be an artist or a poet, able to record such events, I come back down to earth as we meet a couple out for a ramble with their dogs. I do not know who they are but they have two dachshunds and a Chihuahua with them. Cindy greets the trio with more than a trace of curiosity and I cannot help wondering what she makes of the Chihuahua. This little chap seems a million miles away from her world. However, the encounter passes off without incident and after chatting for a few minutes, we proceed on our respective ways, the Chihuahua hitching a lift from Mrs X.
Forgetting about dogs for a moment, my thoughts turn to a hand that I happened to be kibitzing the other evening. This was it.
Dealer West. N/S Vul. Teams. ´ A63 ™ 532 © KQJ9 ® 843
the moment they sense danger. It is such a pity that they have taken the place of their smaller and much prettier cousin, the red squirrel, whose numbers have dropped so dramatically, though I believe in some areas the red squirrel is making a comeback. Now let us return to our bridge hand where it is obvious that the diamond blockage is a real bugbear.
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
74 AKQJ94 A A752
´ ™ © ®
4™ South. Lead ´K.
West 3´ End
North Pass
East Pass
South 4™
I shall leave you to decide on your plan to make 4™ and we will come back to the problem a little later. Apart from our last encounter with the couple and their three dogs, the woods seem very quiet as though Cindy and I are the only inhabitants but, of course, there is a certain amount of bird life. A rookery in the distance is just audible with a hoarse cawing noise and wood pigeons are constantly on the move as we approach their resting place. We come across several grey squirrels and they lose no time in scurrying for cover up the nearest tree
Page 26
´ A63 ™ 532 © KQJ9 ® 843 KQJ9852 7 N W E 752 S 10 6 ´ 74 ™ AKQJ9 © A ® A752
´ ™ © ®
10 10 8 6 10 8 6 4 3 KQJ9
4
I wonder if you followed the popular line. The chances look quite good if the trumps divide two-two or the clubs three-three. So declarer wins with the ace of spades, draws trumps, noting there is no joy there, and tackles the clubs. Still no joy when they break fourtwo. Inevitably East-West score 100 – unlucky! At the table I was kibitzing, a husband and wife partnership sat NorthSouth and the husband was the declarer in 4™. This is how the drama unfolded. Declarer took ages before he committed himself to the first trick –
Holiday Time continued and then he ducked the king of spades. West continued with the queen of spades and now he covered with the ace and East ruffed. Dummy was watching closely and, if looks could have killed, declarer would have been dead – very dead! In fact, I think if two men in white coats had been readily available then the wife would have had her partner carted off before even finishing the play. Luckily, this was not the case because declarer won the club switch, cashed two top hearts, unblocked the ace of diamonds and entered dummy with that precious five of hearts. He was now able to enjoy three club discards on the top diamonds scoring no fewer than eleven tricks, +650. ‘Well played!’ I said enthusiastically. ‘Where did you learn that little trick?’ ‘Many moons ago,’ he replied, ‘I read a most interesting article in Bridge Magazine written by Barry Rigal and he cited a situation somewhat similar to this when you actually wanted a defender to ruff your winner so that you could get to dummy with the third trump. It rang a bell so I thought I would try it – thank you Barry.’ As the full artistic beauty of declarer’s play finally registered with his wife, I am
sure she forgave him for giving her such a fright. From her point of view, not knowing about the diamond blockage and problem in reaching dummy, his play of ducking the king of spades (given West’s pre-empt) must have looked completely crazy. However, all was soon sweetness and light – in fact, a warm and loving smile wafted across the table – and I am sure she did not mean it for me! On our way home, a rabbit scampers away long before Cindy can get close. Perhaps it should not be out at this time of the morning but, in any case, it has disappeared underground now, safe but possibly a little frightened. Strange word that ‘underground’ – I think it is the only one in the English language to begin and end with ‘und’. Well, there is a useless piece of information for you. When we get home and settle down with a welcome drink, I say to Cindy, ‘You know – it is a funny old game when you set out to get your ace ruffed and that is the way to make your contract! Now I think of it, declarer would probably have failed had East refused to accept the bait and discarded a diamond. The reactions of both West and North would have been interesting but East might well have had the last laugh.’ Cindy gave a little wag of her tail. Perhaps she was n picturing the scene...
DECLARER PLAY QUIZ by David Huggett (Answers on page 34) ou are South as declarer playing teams or rubber bridge. In each case, what is your play strategy?
Y 1.
Ryden Grange, Knaphill GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
3.
´ ™ © ®
J975 J8 AK5 Q 10 8 3
N
N E
´ ™ © ®
S
´ ™ © ®
AK7 A 10 6 73 A K 10 7 6
You are in 3NT and West leads the ™2, East playing the ™Q. How do you plan the play?
2.
´ ™ © ®
A83 Q 10 Q J 10 9 7 A54
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ®6. How do you plan the play?
4.
976 K Q 10 6 73 AQ96
´ ™ © ®
8754 7432 AKJ9 K
N W
N
E
W
S
´ ™ © ®
E S
´ ™ © ®
A 10 2 J93 AKQ J 10 8 7
North East South
Pass
Pass
Pass
1®
Pass
1™
Pass
1NT
Pass
3NT
End
You are in 3NT and West leads the ´K. (Spades are 4-3). You have only five top tricks. How do you plan the play?
Page 27
E
W
S
West
Available from
864 7543 AQ865 4
W
Single-Suited Design Pens
Boxed Set of Four £19.95
´ ™ © ®
AK932 A965 2 QJ6
West North East South 1´ 1NT
3´
Pass
4´
End
You are declarer in 4´ and West leads the ™K. West holds all the missing trumps. How do you plan the play?
Freddie North Says
If One of Your Options is 3NT, Bid it any maxims are obscure in origin. One that isn’t – the one at the head of this article – emanates from the popular American star, Bob Hamman. While I haven’t done a recent head count, I suspect that Bob has won more world championships than Zsa Zsa Gabor has had husbands. So, when he advised, ‘If one of your options is 3NT, bid it,’ the bridge world sat up and took notice. With only nine tricks needed for game, 3NT is often where you want to play, even when you have only one stopper in your weakest suit. One false move and you have bypassed 3NT or stopped partner from bidding it. The three deals that follow have all been taken from pairs’ events.
M
Love All.
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Q965 10 3 Q QJ7542 ´ ™ © ®
N E S
´ ™ © ®
K8 J8654 10 3 2 K98
A J 10 7 AKQ92 AK7 6
West
North
East
Pass Pass
2NT 4´
Pass End
Game All.
´ ™ © ®
South 2™ 3´
With five quick tricks and a big hand, South should open 2®. However, the above is how it went at one table. 4´ was no success and duly went down. While South’s bidding made 6© too tough to reach, it would have worked OK if North had taken Hamman’s advice. 3NT makes eleven tricks when diamonds behave.
´ ™ © ®
K Q 10 4 2 5 J52 A 10 6 4
5 ´ N KQ86 ™ W E S AQ98743 © 2 ® ´ AJ ™ AJ7432 © K ® KJ75
West 3© End
432 7 J98654 A 10 3
W
The next deal required a little daring. I think South was clearly a Hamman fan.
North Pass 3´
East Pass Pass
exactly. (iii) The opponents are more likely to make a helpful lead away from an ace against 3NT. My final deal tested South’s play again.
Love All. 98763 10 9 10 6 Q983
South 1™ 3NT
´ ™ © ®
A9 K Q 10 9 7 10 8 7 3 74 ´ ™ © ®
West
The first three calls are easy. Then, since East has already passed, the range for West’s overcall is quite wide. North stretches to bid 3´, knowing that his initial pass limits his hand. South has a difficult rebid and there are snags to each contender. With such a strong hand, only a game or forcing bid will suffice but the question is which. If he rebids a forcing 4®, there is a danger of being raised in clubs and that could be a disaster at pairs. Either 4™ or 4´ could be right – or very wrong. Although the king of diamonds has a fragile look about it, only South knows that. So, Hamman rules, OK. West led a low diamond and declarer could see nine tricks. A successful finesse against the queen of clubs gave a tenth – it was pairs, after all. The benefits of playing in and hence bidding 3NT are as follows: (i) You need only 9 tricks for game. (ii) If you make 10 tricks in 3NT, this outscores any suit game made
Page 28
´ ™ © ®
J 10 6 3 42 AJ95 653 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
K875 J853 2 K982
Q42 A6 KQ64 A Q J 10
North
East
1™ Double1 3™ End 1 Shows exactly four spades.
South 1© 3NT
South was not altogether happy with his bid of 3NT. Still, it was one of his options and he reckoned that it was then or never. The trouble is that you need to run nine tricks without losing the lead. When dummy came down, it was clear that the club finesse would need to work – not only that, the suit would have to yield four tricks. Declarer won the king of hearts with the ace. The king of diamonds came next and then the key play – the queen of diamonds overtaken by dummy’s ace. This was safe once West followed to the second diamond, but would have been more of a problem without the nine in dummy. With the actual layout, it mattered not that East showed out on the second diamond, Declarer had the three entries to dummy for three club finesses – essential as the cards lie. n
Ask Julian Pottage
When is a Change of Suit Rebid Forcing?
Q
If when bidding without competition, the dealer/opener’s second bid is a new suit, does responder have to bid? K G Weyers by email.
A
The usual rule is that if the response is at the one level and opener’s rebid is in a lower ranking suit than the first, then the rebid is nonforcing, eg 1™-1´-2® is non-forcing. If the rebid is in a higherranking suit, making it a reverse, then the rebid is forcing, eg 1©-1´-2™ is forcing for one round. If the response is at the two level, then the modern style is to play that a change of suit rebid by opener is forcing, even if it is not a reverse, eg 1´-2®-2© is forcing for one round. If the response is at the two level and the rebid is a reverse, then, in the modern style, this is game forcing, eg 1™-2®-2´ is forcing to game. ®©™´
Q
In an uncontested auction, if I open 1™ and then rebid 2™ it shows 12-15 pts. If I rebid 3™, it shows 16-18 pts. What happens if the opposition intervene and my cheapest rebid becomes
3™? Does that show 12-15 or 16-18 pts? John Hullah by email.
A
You ask a good question. For many pairs, using natural methods, it is a grey area. It depends a bit on the vulnerability and whether the initial response was 1NT or at the two level. Let us suppose the auction has started: West North East South 1™ Pass 1NT 2´ ?
If you are vulnerable, 3™ shows more or less what it would have done without the 2´ overcall. With hands in the 12-15 range, facing a limited response, you are rarely going to be missing game if you pass. Nor, as you are vulnerable, do you expect going down in 3™ to be cheaper than letting them play in 2´. If you are non-vulnerable, or if the response was 2® or 2©, you can afford to be a bit more aggressive. With a good six-card suit, you do not want to let the overcall shut you out. You might then have 14-16 points for 3™. With a better hand, you either jump to 4™, bid 3´ (the opposing suit) or bid a new suit. If you have a minimum opening, you can
afford to pass because, if the partnership has game values, then partner will bid again or reopen with double. In tournament play, many partnerships have a conventional way of showing both strong and competing hands after the overcall. ®©™´
Q
(1) Playing a 12-14 1NT opening, with 15 points, I open 1© (my only 4-card suit) intending to rebid 1NT if my partner bids 1™ or 1´. My partner bids 1NT. Should I pass as this was to be my rebid, or should I bid 2NT to show 15-16 points, i.e. notrumps rebid at the lowest level? (2) My partner opens 1NT (12-14). Next player doubles. I hold 8 points with a 5-card club suit. Should I leave the double in, or take out into 2®? Shirley Rose, Camberley, Surrey.
A
(1) With 15 points facing a presumed 6-9, you should pass the 1NT response. You are not going to have the 2526 points that you need for game. A raise to 2NT would show 17-18. (2) There is no hard and
Page 29
fast rule. With 8 points and no singleton I would tend to pass, expecting partner to make 1NT doubled more often than not. With a shortage somewhere it would be more attractive to bid 2® (or try to show two suits if the system permits) for fear that the opponents will score quite a few tricks in my short suit. ®©™´
Q A
Is it a good idea to play transfers over 2NT? Edward Woodward by email.
Yes, one advantage of a transfer is that it enables the notrump bidder to play the contract if responder’s suit becomes trumps. The stronger the opening bidder’s hand, the greater the positional advantage that transfers bring. It is difficult making an opening lead when you know there is a 2NT opening on your right. It is also difficult to defend when you can see little of the opposing strength. Another advantage to playing transfers over 2NT is that with a very weak responding hand (including a 5-card or longer major) you can make the transfer and pass when opener completes the transfer.
Ask Julian
continued
Q
If partner opens 1NT (12-14) and the next hand passes, can you give some examples of when you should rescue with a very weak hand? Mrs E Chater, Uxbridge.
A ´ ™ © ®
Hand A J743 J743 J854 6
´ ™ © ®
Hand B J9642 J73 4 J862
Hand C 85 Q963 84 J8654
´ ™ © ®
Hand D 10 8 5 Q963 J64 10 7 3
With hand C, you should pass. As 2® is Stayman, you cannot play in 2® if you bid now. If the fourth player doubles, you can bid 2® naturally at your second turn. With hand D, you should also pass. 1NT may not be a good spot but you would need to make a trick more in any two-level contract just to break even. Often the opponents will have roughly half of the missing high cards each, in
lower, in 3NT or 4´. The breaks are rather unkind.
®©™´
®©™´
At the table, North dealt and opened 2®. South called 2™ and the contract was 6NT, going four down. How should the bidding go?
Could you describe the best bidding sequence with these hands? Our sequence was not a success.
Q
Your shape usually determines the best course of action.
With hand A, you can bid 2®, Stayman, intending to pass opener’s rebid. So long as you have support or at least tolerance for every suit apart from clubs, you can employ this tactic. With hand B, you bid 2´ (weak take-out) or, playing transfers, 2™. With a fivecard or longer major, you can show the suit, no matter how weak your hand.
´ ™ © ®
which case neither will be in a position to double.
´ ™ © ®
´ KQJ73 ™ Void © A K 10 8 6 5 ® AJ A9652 ´ 10 J9872 ™ K654 N 3 W E © Q J 9 2 S 94 ® 10 8 6 2 ´ 84 ™ A Q 10 3 © 74 ® KQ753
Sheila McDougall, Birmingham.
A
In Acol, North is not good enough to open 2®. To open 2® with an unbalanced hand, you really need five quick tricks. This hand has only four (one for the ´K-Q, two for the ©A-K and one for the ®A). Opening 2® without the requisite few high cards is asking for trouble whenever the deal is a misfit. The response should have been 3® rather than 2™, though South is always bidding a slam after the 2® opening. Playing Acol Twos, 2©-3®-3´-3NT-4´ seems a sensible start. By bidding diamonds first and then spades twice, North shows 6-5 (or 7-5) in the two suits. With no fitting high cards in either of North’s suits, South should then settle for preference to 5©. Facing a big spade-diamond hand, most of South’s high cards will not be working. As the cards lie, NorthSouth do better to stop even
Q
splinter, showing the club shortage, would be better if the hand were good enough for a slam try. However, especially if you play Acol Twos, it is very rare that you are going to have a hand worth a slam try after an auction starting 1´-2´. ®©™´
´ ™ © ®
AQJ83 AKQ98 N 52 W E S 7
´ ™ © ®
K752 52 964 A843
West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1´ 2® 2´ Pass 3™ Pass 3´ End
3™ was a trial bid. East thought West’s hand was unsuitable for this. West thought East should have accepted and bid 4´. Huw Jones by email.
A
With a 4-loser hand (or 19 points counting distribution), West has a clear-cut bid of 4´ after the raise, so the question of a trial bid should not arise. If I had the West hand, I would not only bid 4´ but also be thinking of a redouble if someone were to double. East’s bidding was cautious too. With four trumps (not promised), an ace and a ruffing value, East should have accepted the game try in any event. West’s pass over 3´ indicates 3™ was not a slam try, though I suppose a slam could be on if East has perfect cards (´K-x-x-x, the ©A, the ™J and at least three clubs). I do not advise looking for a slam that requires perfect cards, so bidding 3™ as a slam try is not a good idea either. Besides, when your suit is this good, it is unlikely that partner can help with it. A 4®
Page 30
Q
In BRIDGE 96, you talk about 4-4-4-1 shape, meaning I think 4 spades, 4 hearts, 4 diamonds and 1 club: i.e. the suits top to bottom of the bidding ladder. How can I tell whether a writer means 4-4-3-2 as.... any hand with two 4 card suits, one 3 card suit and one doubleton, or... precisely 4 spades, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs? Could there be an established format say 4-4-4-1 means a precise order and 4441 means any order of suits? Can you also tell me why spades come first when clubs are first in alphabetical order? Ian Dalziel, Troon, Ayrshire.
A
Yes, if we mean a specific shape, we use dashes; we also use a word like ‘shape’ or ‘distribution’. If we do not mean a specific shape, we omit the dashes and use a more general word like ‘hand’ or’ type’. e.g. ‘5-4-3-1 distribution’ means 5 spades, 4 hearts etc whereas ‘a 5431 hand’ could have the 5-card suit anywhere. Since spades is the highest-ranking suit, it always comes at the top in a diagram (or first in a list). This is something on which both writers and publishers seem to agree. I ask that any readers who submit queries follow the same convention, putting spades first.
Ask Julian
continued
Q
In BRIDGE 96, you show the replies to a Key Card Blackwood enquiry as follows: 5® = 0 or 4 keycards 5© = 1 or 5 keycards 5™ = 2 keycards 5´ = 3 keycards
I prefer to play Roman Key Card Blackwood, to which I understand the official replies are as follows: 5® = 0 or 3 keycards 5© = 1 or 4 keycards 5™ = 2 or 5 keycards 5´ = 2 or 5 keycards + queen of trumps 5NT = even number of keycards + useful void 6 suit = odd number of keycards + void in that suit Why are the two systems different? It seems useful to be able to show the queen. Shirley Rose, Camberley, Surrey (similar from Bill Westmeath).
A
Keycard Blackwood is an older and simpler convention than Roman Keycard Blackwood, which is why it has a different set of replies and a simpler name. In Keycard Blackwood, the king of trumps counts as much as an ace but the trump queen has no special significance. For sure, Roman Keycard Blackwood, in which the queen of trumps is significant, is more accurate. It can also be useful to have a way of showing a void. However, not all players want the greater accuracy at the expense of greater
complexity. The forerunners of Keycard Blackwood, the Culbertson 4-5 NT and Byzantine, both took account of kings but neither took account of queens or voids.
CHARITY BRIDGE EVENTS
®©™´
Q
Please could you advise whether the East hand below is worthy of a 2© opener. At most tables the score was 150 (1©+4); at one table the score was -100 (4´-2). North had Q-x in both red suits but four spades.
´ ™ © ®
West Q63 J985 62 J962
´ ™ © ®
2 RNLI BRIDGE DRIVE Salwarpe Village Hall, Droitwich 10.30 for 11am. £10 per person including buffet lunch. Pam Main ( 01905 381395
30 CHILDREN OF BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA Our Lady Queen of All Creation RC Church, Hemel Hempstead 9.30 for 9.45am. £12.50 per person inc lunch. Mrs Pat Henry ( 01442 391087
3 CHRITIAN AID St Andrew’s Church Rooms, Preston, Weymouth. 2-5pm £6 per person includes tea. Julia Moore ( 01305 776138 7 BRIDGE TEA IN AID OF HELP THE HEROES Edward Road, Market Harborough 2pm £30 per table. Ann ( 01858 465508 7 THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION Colsterworth Village Hall 10am £14 inc coffee & lunch. Liz ( 01476 860018 9 RIDING FOR THE DISABLED WOODHURST GROUP Hemingford Abbots’ Village Hall. 2-5pm includes afternoon tea. Sally Pinnock ( 01223 874508
Howard Stevenson, Glenfield, Leicestershire.
A
OCTOBER continued 30 CAMBRIDGE INNER WHEEL IN AID OF PAPWORTH DAY CARE WARD Great Shelford Memorial Hall. 2pm. £15 for a double ticket. ( 01954 780068 Pat Turner
3 RNLI. Cheltenham Bridge Club 11am-4pm. £14pp includes lunch. Margaret Beverley ( 01242 510193
East AK74 AK4 A J 10 7 4 3 Void
In terms of playing strength and high cards, East could indeed open 2©. Other factors suggest not opening 2©. The relatively weak diamonds and strong majors suggest the best contract may well be in a major, which opening 2© might make harder to find. Another factor may have come into play at some tables: treating the East hand as an Acol 2© is nowhere near as attractive for pairs playing Benjamin. After a Benjamin 2® opening and 2© reply, East cannot show the diamonds below the three level and the strong hand is quite likely to end up as dummy. At matchpoint pairs, you do not want to stretch to bid thin games. 5© is well below 50%, so you really do not want to be in it. As you mention, North had a pair of doubleton queens, which was rather favourable for declarer.
OCTOBER 2009 1 READING ASSOC. FOR THE BLIND St Barnabas’ Church Hall, Reading 2.30pm. £30 per table, includes tea. Paddi Lilley ( 0118 9872759
13 RICHMOND SUPPORT GROUP ‘BRIDGE THE GAP’ AFTERNOON IN AID OF ST TERESA’S HOSPICE 1.30pm Richmond Town Hall Mary Lovell ( 01748 850208 17 ST ANNE’S CHURCH, KEW GREEN 1.30pm for 2–5pm. £12.50. Ian Lewty ( 0208 8763681 21 CHARITY BRIDGE DRIVE IN AID OF THE NORFOLK HOSPICE Norfolk Lavender Centre, Heacham. 6.45pm £7.50 to include buffet and the Lynn Cup. Fundraising office ( 01485 542891 21 HELP FOR HEROES The Old Barn Hall, Church Road, Bookham, Surrey. 10.30 for 11am. £15 includes lunch and wine. Patricia Granger ( 01372 453965 22 SOMERSET CHILDREN’S HOSPICE SOUTH WEST & SOMERSET SIGHT FUND CHARITY BRIDGE DAY Oake Village Hall 10.15am for 10.45am £15 includes coffee & lunch with a glass of wine. Audrey Pike ( 01823 256059 Monica Greenway ( 01823 400091 23 CHESHIRE HOMES Village Hall, Hartford, Hunts. 10am for 10.30am. £13.50. Malcolm Howarth ( 01480 212910
Page 31
30 MARLOW COMMUNITY ASSOC. Liston Hall. 7pm-10.30pm tables £47 inclusive of supper. Keith Brown ( 01628 486138
NOVEMBER 2009 14 FRIENDS OF BROMLEY WELCARE BRIDGE AFTERNOON All Saints’ Parish Church Hall, Orpington. £6 pp tea & cakes. 2-5.30pm. Gillian Scales ( 020 8663 3173 19 RAINBOWS CHILDREN’S HOSPICE LOUGHBOROUGH Tickets £7. 2pm Thurnby Village Hall. Mr B Rowarth ( 01162 414807 Carole Screaton ( 01162 415465 26 CHARITY BRIDGE AFTERNOON Huddersfield Pennine Rotary Club, Outlane Golf Club 12 noon £44 per table, inc. lunch. G Hancock ( 01484 516737 26 STOURBRIDGE ROTARY CLUB IN AID OF THE ERADICATION OF POLIO Blakedown Village Hall 10.30am £12pp includes coffee & biscuits on arrival and two course lunch. Anita Reid ( 01384 372370 27 MARLOW UNITED REFORMED CHURCH EVENING BRIDGE DRIVE Christ Church, Marlow 7pm for 7.30pm start £40 per table including ploughman’s & pud. Barbara ( 01628 486281 27 EAST ANGLIA CHILDREN’S HOSPICE (EACH) Village Hall, Hemingford Abbots. 10am. £14.50. Sheila Paval ( 01480 395394
MARCH 2010 13 MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT Bristol Bridge Club. 10.30am £18.50 per person, includes coffee, lunch & tea. Judy Hall ( 01275 877181 Shelagh Bower( 01275 846512
APRIL 2010 7 CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ and LITTLE VOICE Joint Appeal Jubilee Hall, Little Shore Lane, Bishop Waltham 10.30am–5pm £30 per person includes lunch, coffee, tea, cakes & biscuits and two seminars (take-out doubles and penalty doubles) delivered by Bernard Magee. Margaret Cochrane ( 023 8069 4959
Ask Julian
continued
Q
I have just come across the term ‘Modern Scientific Acol’. What is this? Charles Leveson, Poynton, Cheshire.
A
Broadly speaking, Modern Scientific Acol equates to the form of Acol you would meet if you played in a tournament. Certain conventions, such as Roman Keycard Blackwood, Lebensohl (a way to compete after partner opens 1NT) and Michaels Cue Bids (a way of competing with two suited hands), are more or less standard amongst tournament players but are rather less popular for typical club players. ®©™´
Q
Partner opened 1©, followed by a pass; as I had a weak hand, I passed as did my LHO. After the obvious disastrous result, he said to me, ‘That was a Michaels Cue Bid showing strength in both majors!’ I said sorry but did not continue with my opinion that the Michaels Cue Bid was an overcall. Also: where does the term rubber come from?’ BettyAnne Henderson, Oxfordshire by email.
A
Barring misbids, if partner opens 1© and plays there, I do not see why this would lead obviously to a disaster. Often other pairs have gone overboard. Perhaps the opponents have missed something. A 1© opening
would not show the majors in any system I know. In Acol and most natural systems, it shows diamonds. It would seem that your partner imagined a 1© opening against him and, fixated by the imaginary 1© bid, put down 1© instead of 2©. My historical researchers tell me that the term ‘rubber’ comes originally from bowls. It is also in use in tennis and baseball. ®©™´
Q
Playing transfers, what do you do if you have an intermediate hand with both majors but it does not have six of a major, e.g. five spades, five hearts, two diamonds and a club. John Morley by email.
A
With 5-4, 4-5 or 5-5 in the majors and a wish to invite game, you can start with Stayman. If opener bids a suit in which you have five cards, you raise to game, with the known 5-4 fit. You probably bid game too if opener’s rebid reveals a 4-4 fit. If you get the less helpful 2© rebid, you can jump to 3™ or 3´, showing five cards in the suit and inviting game. Partner knows this is an invitational bid because you could have bid 3™ or 3´ direct over 1NT to force. Of course, if you decide to give up on game after the 2© rebid, you can rebid 2™ (or 2´ if you have five spades but not five hearts) to stop at the two level. A few people play that, after 1NT-2®-2©, a responder’s rebid of 3© says ‘I have 5-5 in the majors. Please give preference between them.’ This convention goes by the name extended Stayman. n
DOUBLE DUMMY SOLUTION by Richard Wheen (Problem on page 7)
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
J Void Q 10 8 AK ´ ™ © ®
32 Void A4 32 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
KQ 2 J97 Void
A AK K32 Void
S
o there we were, in the South-East Surrey Seniors Pro-am Winter Congress. My partner (also my bridge teacher) was the Pro and, despite his fine tuition, I was and always will be an am. I was South, declarer in a no-trump contract, with the lead in dummy, needing the rest of the tricks. I could sense my partner was daring me to fail. I had five top winners, but I knew there were many high cards out against me, so the chances of an extra trick were slim. It seemed that I would have to play off my winners and hope that one or both opponents discarded badly. Then I recalled a couple of tips from my motherin-law: lead the senior suit first (and aces before kings); and discard the junior suit first. So I led a spade to the ace and then cashed my ace of hearts. West threw a club and dummy did the same (junior suit first). I continued
with the king of hearts. On this West threw a diamond, dummy a club (j.s.f. again) and East a diamond. Still muttering ‘mother-in-law’ to myself I led a diamond to the ace and one back to my king. To my astonishment and delight, the three of diamonds won the last trick. I knew my partner would be happy and I mentioned my mother-in-law’s tips; I also commiserated with our opponents for having guessed wrongly to discard diamonds. My partner was furious. ‘You did not succeed because of a wrong guess or your mother-inlaw: it was, clearly unknown to you, a double squeeze. Talk about casting pearls before swine. On the last heart, West could not throw a club or he would set up dummy’s club three; likewise, East could not throw a spade or he would set up dummy’s spade three. Each had to come down to two diamonds, meaning your three was bound to win. You need to come to my ‘basic double squeezes’ class before you insult your opponents again.’ He added something about my mother-in-law, which I will not repeat in polite company. I nearly called the director to calm him down, but my embarrassment at having executed a double squeeze without knowing it soon got the better of me.
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Heather Dhondy Says
Bid on with a Two-suit Fit onsider West’s final bidding decision on the following deal:
C
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
1
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
QJ72 AK94 852 73
N
4♥ ?
E
W S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West
983 10 AQJ64 K J 10 6 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A K 10 6 5 QJ873 97 2
4 652 K 10 3 AQ9854
North East South 1♦ 2♦* 3♣ 5♣ Pass Pass *Michaels cue bid: both majors
High-level decisions are one of the hardest parts of the game. You must decide how many tricks your side can make and how many tricks the other side can. Of course, you will rarely know how many tricks either side can make just by looking at your cards and the bidding. However, certain clues help you judge your hand and the bidding. For example, the vulnerability will help you decide whether your opponents are sacrificing. The existence of a double fit will often indicate that it is right to bid on. It increases the likelihood that the other side has a double fit also. This, in turn, will increase the total number of tricks available on the deal. Often when both sides have a double fit, both can make a game. This is true of the deal above. Even if one side goes down, it is likely to go only one down, which will be cheaper than losing a game. Therefore, it will be wrong to take the push only when both sides are too high.
Returning to our problem, it seems likely that we will lose three tricks in the minors and, if partner has a typical hand, probably nothing else. So our best guess is that we have ten tricks available to us. We must now turn to the opponents’ contract. Unless we have two tricks in one major and a trick in the other, (unlikely given the vigorous opposition bidding) their contract seems favourite to make. This says that we should bid on – even if we are vulnerable against not. We expect to be sacrificing for one down against their making game.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
2
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
7 AKJ62 AQ863 10 8 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West 1♥ *Weak
A Q 10 9 8 5 983 7 K64 ♠ N ♥ W E S ♦ ♣ K432 4 52 AQ9732
North 2♠*
East Pass 3♥
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3
J6 Q 10 7 5 K J 10 9 4 J5
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
South Pass ?
A8652 Q 10 8 J764 6
10 9 7 AK762 3 K J 10 2
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Knowing whether we have a double fit can be vital to making the right decision at a high level. Here you can help partner by telling him about your suit. What does 4♣ by you mean in this auction? Since you are a passed hand, it must include a spade fit. You could not open the bidding at the one level or with a pre-empt: this means you cannot want to play in clubs. Instead, you are telling partner of your suit and implying a spade fit, giving him the option to base his final decision on whether he has a club fit.
Page 33
As you can see from this deal, based on both side’s double fit, you can make eleven tricks in a spade contract. The opponents meanwhile can make ten tricks in their heart contract. The two examples above are both ideal for bidding on. However, just because you have a double fit, it does not always follow that you should bid on. There can be indicators that suggest defending – for example, values in your shorter suits, or a doubleton in their trump suit. You must also take care when there may be no two-suit fit.
QJ J543 AK852 84
K43 9 Q 10 9 AQ9753
West
North
1♥ 4♥
1♠ ?
East Pass 3♦
South 1♣ 3♠
You must decide whether to bid 4♠ as North. East’s 3♦ shows hearts and diamonds. Does this mean the deal is a twosuit fit? No – look at your hand. Partner is going to be short in hearts but is unlikely to be short in diamonds as well, so the opponents do not have a two-suit fit in the red suits. You know for sure with your singleton club that your side does not have a two-suit fit in the black suits. You should pass or maybe risk a double (though that might spare declarer a trump guess). Here, both 4♥ and 4♠ are going down. ■
ANSWERS TO THE DECLARER PLAY QUIZ ON PAGE 27 by DAVID HUGGETT ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
1.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q3 KJ92 K92 Q983
N W
West Pass Pass End
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West Pass Pass Pass
864 7543 AQ865 4 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
J 10 9 5 2 Q8 J 10 4 J52
AK7 A 10 6 73 A K 10 7 6
North Pass 1♦
East Pass Pass
South 1♣ 3NT
You are in 3NT and West leads the ♥2, East playing the ♥Q. How do you plan the play? Bidding 3NT might have seemed a good idea at the time but the contract is very poor. Dummy has little to offer and the chance of making nine tricks is slim. Indeed with only five tricks ‘on top’ outside of diamonds, via two spades, one heart and two clubs, you need to make four diamond tricks to fulfil this ambitious contract. At least there is a small chance. The lead of the ♥2 shows that hearts are probably divided 4-2 and it can do no harm to duck the first trick although this is not essential. Win the heart return and play a low diamond, ducking in dummy. Then, as soon as you regain the lead, you play a low diamond to the queen. On a good day, this will win and, when you play the ♦A next, the remaining diamonds will fall. In summary, you need diamonds to break 3-3 with the ♦K with West – about an 18% chance of success.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
2.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
KQJ8 A2 854 5432
976 K Q 10 6 73 AQ96 N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A 10 2 J93 AKQ J 10 8 7
North Pass 1♥ 3NT
East Pass Pass End
South 1♣ 1NT
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠K. (Spades are 4-3). You have only five top tricks. How do you plan the play? It can do no harm to duck the ♠K or the ♠Q that follows but you have to win the third round, noting that East follows each time. Even if the club finesse works, you still have only eight tricks; likewise, if you knock out the ♥A you will have only eight tricks. Since you have to play both suits, it might seem as if it does not matter whether you play clubs or hearts first. In fact, it is very important that you tackle hearts first! If you lose to the ♥A with East, he may well have no more spades and then you do not much care whether the club finesse wins because if it does lose it is to the ‘safe’ hand. Now what if the heart loses to West, who then cashes the last spade? When this happens, it is madness to take the club finesse because West cannot possibly hold the ♣K. If he did, he would not have passed originally with thirteen points. Instead, lay down the ♣A and hope for a singleton king with East.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
K62 A75 832 J976
J975 J8 AK5 Q 10 8 3 N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q 10 4 K96432 64 K2
A83 Q 10 Q J 10 9 7 A54
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♣6. How do you plan the play? ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
543 8754 J 10 9 6 2 K
You are lucky to have escaped a heart lead but, even so, things are not looking very hopeful. With only seven tricks ‘on top’, you have to hope for a minor miracle and surely you have to try to make nine tricks before losing the lead. The lead of the ♣6 should give rise to some optimism because the rule of eleven shows
Page 34
that, if the lead was originally fourth best, then East has only one card higher than the six. Hope it is the king! Play the ♣8 from dummy and, if East plays the king, you can make three club tricks in all after finessing against the jack. If East ducks the ♣8, the ♣A will fell his king and again you will make enough tricks without losing the lead. Note that you must not play the ♣3 lazily from dummy assuming that East will play his highest card. If you do, he might duck also after applying the rule of eleven.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
4.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q J 10 6 KQJ Q 10 3 A 10 2
8754 7432 AKJ9 K ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
N E
W S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Void 10 8 87654 987543
AK932 A965 2 QJ6
West
North
East
1NT End
3♠
Pass
South 1♠ 4♠
You are declarer in 4♠ and West leads the ♥K. West holds all the missing trumps. How do you plan the play? Maybe the bidding should have gone differently but you can do nothing about that now. After winning the opening lead (there is no point in ducking when West must hold all the entries), you discover that you have two trump losers. This means you have to find a way of disposing of all your remaining hearts, hoping that your only losers will be two trumps and a club. So play a low diamond to the jack – after all, you know from the bidding that West has the queen – and then play the two top diamonds, throwing two hearts. If on the second and third diamonds West contributes the ten and the queen, the nine in dummy becomes a winner on which you throw your last heart, while West can only ruff impotently with a master trump. All the examples this time relate to finding the only chance, however small that may be. ■
Lèse Majesté by Dick Atkinson
‘Y
ou must think very carefully before betting a packet on a Goulash,’ remarked the Baron. ‘And that is doubly true of a Philly.’ ‘You had a flutter on the Oaks, then?’ ‘Not that kind of filly, for heaven’s sake! A Philadelphia,’ he explained. ‘This was the last deal of the 1930 Ruritanian Invitation Knock-out Teamsof-Four Final. Scoring was by total points, of course, and we were playing the common club rule of those days that any hand not bid to game at least – when first dealt – should be redealt as a Goulash, a Philadelphia Goulash.’
A Philadelphia Goulash He handed me what appeared to be the menu for a banquet. When I turned it over, there were two bridge deals recorded, of which this was the first:
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
432 Void A6532 AK643 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
10 6 5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Void QJ9 ♠ AKQJ N ♥ AKQJ32 W E ♦ K4 S ♣ 5 987 Void Q J 10 9 8 7 10 8 7 2
‘It looks boring,’ I remarked, thinking furiously. ‘6NT is solid for East-West. If they go for 7♠ greedily, they will be defeated after a Lightner Double—’ ‘Au contraire. The ill-judged Double
would drive them into 7NT which will make via the obvious double squeeze and can be defeated only by a club lead. However, in the prevailing version of the Philadelphia or Passing Goulash, after the deal, you passed three cards to your partner, with the object of improving one or both hands. West’s pass of three losing spades was automatic, as was East’s pass of his three minor-suit cards. South can do no better than to pass his three spades. North has no prospect of improving to a good hand, so his tactic must be to pass his meagre wealth on to his partner, namely the three goodish clubs. ‘The exchanges are so obvious that they were identical in both rooms, leaving the hands you see written below.’
North 10 9 8 7 6 5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Void Void West East Void ♠ AKQJ432 Void ♥ AKQJ32 AK65432 ♦ Void AK6543 ♣ Void South ♠ Void ♥ Void ♦ Q J 10 9 8 7 ♣ Q J 10 9 8 7 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
‘Though I couldn’t know it yet, of course, our other pair had a minor disaster on the East-West cards. Generally suits will break very badly, so
Page 35
my team-mate, Mr Rassendyl, opened 2♠, intending to fish for heart support later before risking a slam. South decided to Pass, and West called 3♦. East showed his hearts, and West now has an easy call of 3NT—’ ‘With 34 points!’ I jeered, somewhat unwisely. ‘An excellent contract, which would have made exactly. Amusing, don’t you think, that the chance to ‘improve’ the hands reduced the East-West potential from 7NT to only 3NT.’ ‘Surely,’ I interrupted again, with all the self-preservation instinct of a lemming, ‘it’s just that the North-South exchanges have improved their cards defensively.’ ‘I suggest you try defending against 7NT with the changed North-South cards against the unchanged East-West cards – I believe that is what Einstein would call a Thought Experiment. As South alone guards the minors now, there would be a simple squeeze. However, West made the foolish call of 4♣, and East had to repeat his hearts.’ ‘And of course he has four losers in 4♠ . . .’ ‘4♠, of course, would have made exactly also, since South has, by his own choice of cards, to pass, so ‘improved’ his defensive prospects that he has thrown himself in at trick one! North has to ruff the lead and East discards loser on loser.’ ‘North isn’t forced to ruff . . ‘ ‘True, true, he can instead concede one or more overtricks. But let us return to reality. West bid 4NT, natural, and our pair in that room therefore recorded a minus score. Queen Flavia is a very beautiful creature, but has no
Lèse Majesté
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
cont inued
great intellect, I am afraid. Even without that small catastrophe, of which I was of course ignorant at the time, I estimated we were still a few hundreds down from the first half of the match.’ ‘Well . . . I suppose if your opponents bid to slam, you could double them and take them off 500 . . .’ ‘If they bid a Grand we could sting them for 400 under the 1929 Code (100+100+200). But that wouldn’t be enough. I was sitting South, and I had conceived the idea, popularised by the Americans many years later, that a notrump call over a strong bid in a major could hardly be genuine. Since you would make a take-out double with interest in the other major, this alternative take-out ought to show the minors. So after the same exchange of cards, our auction went: West North East South 2♠ 2NT Dbl Pass 3♥ 3NT Dbl Pass Pass ...
‘Now I redoubled, which is, of course, an absolute command to my partner to pick a suit.’
Pick Better Minor with Both Void! ‘How on earth did he decide which minor to pick?’ I mused, weighing up the relative merits of the two voids. The old man shook his head and replied, ‘He picked neither. He passed.’ ‘Unforgivable!’ I exclaimed. ‘Oh no, it was my fault, entirely mine. No ruling monarch worth his salt could obey an ‘absolute command’ from a mere Baron. That’s
Page 36
where your King John went wrong, and look where it led you: Tony Blair.’ His complexion was becoming dangerously livid, but he took a sip of Goldwasser, exhaled slowly, and pronounced, ‘Ah, well, there’s no use crying over spilt milk. His Majesty exercised the Royal Prerogative and passed, whereupon East passed out the redouble with an unseemly guffaw, I seem to remember. I have never liked those von Henzaus. That led to a four-figure score—’ ‘Well, it serves you—’ ‘—in our favour, since the contract is absolutely solid.’ I checked, and it was true. He had actually made his 6-point 3NT! West, who was on lead, made his two acekings, but nothing else. ‘We won the match and I swore never again to repeat the dangerous experiment of the Unusual No-trump, as they call it these days.’ ‘But why? Even though the result was a little bizarre, the bid actually made you a huge profit.’ He gazed balefully at me. ‘Did you ever hear of the man who survived the hangman’s noose when the rope broke?’ ‘It’s not quite the same thing, Unc—’ ‘He became so obsessed with his celebrity that he agreed to do it again for the photographers! I suppose if you ever win this National Lottery thing, you will start spending your millions on further tickets? No, no, you must learn when to quit while you are ahead, ■ Dummkopf.’ Previously published in BRIDGE 43. Reprinted to satisfy popular demand.
READERS’ LETTERS FROM NED PAUL Fleur Waters (see letters, BRIDGE 96) seems to think that I don’t have much interest in the future of bridge. Those who have actually met me will know that there are few things that I am more passionate about, and that I back up this passion with a very full programme of teaching, organisation and play. I run a number of duplicates each week and they have a reputation for being friendly. I am delighted to say that within my clubs there are a number of players who are very happy to play with newcomers and encourage them through the first difficult sessions of club duplicate. My clubs are growing. I run lessons and I also organise supervised play groups that have ambition. So I can look about my duplicates and see players that a few years ago came to my beginner classes and have now graduated to be regular club players. Some of them, shock, horror, are in their twenties and thirties. Fleur, does your club operate an escalator of bridge in this way? Do you put yourself out to play with new players? Can single players even come to your club unannounced? Does your club welcome young adults, or does your youth policy consist wholly of hoping someone else will teach local school children minibridge?
Fleur says the decline in EBU membership can be explained because the world is changing and that fewer people are taking up bridge. But has she not noticed that bridge is changing too and that the great majority of active players now get all the tournament bridge they want at their club. You don’t need, as you once did, to go outside the club unless you want to play higher level county and national bridge, and increasingly few do. The EBU has reacted to this like a spoilt child. Instead of asking players what kind of EBU they want, they have simply said that if your club members won’t join the EBU, then we will make you. There is no gloss on P2P that Fleur or anyone else can put that makes the scheme other than horrible, divisive and anti-developmental. In London the major proprietorial clubs will not be playing P2P; maybe in future years the EBU will be irrelevant in London. Just what is in P2P for the ordinary player? As Peter Hasenson writes, if the scheme is meant to be revenue neutral then the ordinary player is being asked to subsidise tournament players. The benefits for this? A diary which is just a competition brochure for tournaments – and unlikely to produce an upsurge of entries; a magazine which despite many attempts is still not
engaging ordinary players; and master points you will never see – but at least electronic-only registration will save a job for the players at my clubs who just throw certificates in the bin. P2P is a tax on active clubs and a disincentive on small clubs. It has all the hallmarks of a bad tax: it is outrageously poor value for money for those clubs that are well run; it is going to change people’s behaviour; and it will require every club to report to the snooping police via electronic submission to make sure the EBU is getting all the money to which it thinks it is entitled. In my case, I currently don’t even collect some of the data that the EBU wants. Fleur should think that if I didn’t care passionately about bridge and didn’t think the game deserves better management policies, I wouldn’t be shouting ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ in this way. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if your club has signed up to P2P ‘by default’ then you should review your decision while there is still time, before the scheme comes into operation next April. Ned Paul, Twickenham.
WHOSE BENEFIT If Jane Spence (see letters, BRIDGE 96) is ‘fed up with hearing the negative comments about P2P’ she can simply stop reading them. I do not see anything in the EBU proposals to ‘redirect resources to introducing more young people to the game’ – it seems more like a desire to subsidise county and national tournament players at the expense of “ordinary” club players, most of whom appear to have no interest in such events. Anyway, please do not delete me from your
Page 37
mailing list as I find the reader’s letters fascinating. Richard Hutty, Burgess Hill, West Sussex.
WORTHY OF NOTE We are the only rubber bridge club in Ramsey in the Isle of Man. The club plays every Wednesday and Friday afternoon. The first Wednesday and third Friday of each month are designated partnership days. We also compete for the Grand Slam prize throughout the year. On Friday 19 June, a partnership day, our secretary John Atkinson was partnering his wife Tokie, and early in the afternoon they bid and made 7 diamonds non-vulnerable. After our tea break and with different opponents, they again bid 7 Diamonds and made the contract, this time vulnerable. The odds of this happening twice in one afternoon we do not know, however I thought that this feat would be of interest to your readers. Mr M J Brown, Ramsey, Isle Of Man.
TRAVEL INSURANCE I was first introduced to your magazine by a fellow bridge player when I moaned that no one wanted to give me holiday insurance now that I am an octogenarian, despite the fact that I have no medical conditions. Global Travel Insurance fitted the bill beautifully, plus the bonus of your most welcome magazine. Freda Day, Bridgewater, Somerset.
POLITE REQUEST Please could more bridge weekends be held north of Watford? Preferably Liverpool or Morecombe. Could a weekend be arranged on the Isle of Man? Mrs Barbara White, Douglas, Isle of Man.
READERS’ LETTERS continued
2010 Bridge Players’ Diaries
NEW BLOOD I write on behalf of the Westmeads Duplicate Bridge Group in Bognor Regis, to thank you very much for printing a notice in the June issue of your magazine, asking for new members. It has been very successful. So far we have eight new members and lots of enquiries. Miss Ray Attwells, Eastgate, Chichester.
THRIVING ♦ Acol Summary by Bernard Magee ♦ Laws and Ethics by Mike Swanson. ♦ Scoring Tables for Duplicate and Rubber. ♦ Red, navy, green, tan, pale blue, black or maroon covers. ♦ All covers printed in gold-coloured ink. ♦ Individual diaries £5.95 each inc p&p. ♦ Special concession to bridge clubs. 10 or more copies £3.50 each including p&p, subject to availability.
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Exclusively available from ( 01483 489961. www.mrbridge.co.uk
I read your magazine and try to learn something new each time. I was interested in your response to the letter headed TEACHING on page 35 of BRIDGE 95. My mother was a dedicated bridge player, so we were taught to play cards almost before we could speak. But, as is often the way, she was too good a player to teach us bridge. Us being three daughters and a cousin who lived with us. We all are now bridge players of varying ability. I began with Begin Bridge and then did a week at summer school at Marlborough College in 2007. I purchased book one Beginning Bridge – the complete learn and play programme from the EBU. I also started playing at a friendly bridge club in Marlborough. I have often thought that people who want to learn bridge should be allowed to develop card playing skills slowly and at a pace that suits them. In 2008, the Pewsey U3A was set up and I offered to do complete beginners bridge. I now have two groups, all enjoy the pace we are working at and some are now playing at the newly formed friendly bridge
club in Pewsey. Some of the class were completely new to the idea of bridge whilst others had been put off by being taught too quickly. All my pupils know that I do not know all of the answers and I use the book to guide me as I teach. Libby Newman, Pewsey, Wiltshire.
FREE ON REQUEST Whilst I very much wish to continue to receive your excellent magazine, I have most issues between 33 and the present which I will happily let any reader have on application. Mr Michael Marshall, Edinburgh. ( 0131 447 7039.
NOT WHAT IT WAS I'm writing after reading all the letters about the EBU rules being implemented today. I feel that downgrading the game with the present announcing system will not encourage young people to enter the game. In the past, when we used verbal bidding, all bids had to be memorized and leads made from them. Now we have bidding boxes, where the bids must be left on the table until the opening lead is made. No need to memorize the bids. That’s the first downgrade. Now with the announcing system we have to tell each other what our 1NT opening bid means. Basic Acol 1NT is 12-14 points, this I learned years ago and don't need to be told what I already know. If playing a strong 1NT, people knock the table or play an alert card. With these, I know what the bid means. So, why do I need to be told. That’s the second downgrade. I have now become completely disillusioned. John Hendrich by email.
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THE DRY DRAYTON THREESOME – POSTSCRIPT
T
here were additional applications of the Threesome principle which may be of interest. When the club was in the formative stage (1994) there were quite a number of submissions on preferred evenings, period of play and starting time. The evening was settled very quickly as the village hall was available on Mondays. The period of play was established on the basis that we aimed to give local points, so a minimum of 18 boards was fixed by the EBU regulation at that time. (The Green Book 1998, masterpoint handbook now caters for as few as twelve boards). A refreshment break of 15 minutes midway through the then playing period gave a three hour session. Initially the organiser ran lessons before sessions with practice to follow. The club attracted players from nearby villages and, as it became known, further afield. Finishing time became important to older players and those with longer journeys, particularly those who were picked-up by friends and family. There were others who returned home from their working day too late to eat and start playing early. A compromise of 7.00 for 7.15 start was adopted, largely because experience was that if there was a large gap between daytime and evening activity, people put other things in the time which then threatened the aim of regular attendance. Parents of school children also did not like them being out late in term time. So a further application of the Threesome was tried, an early player shared with a late player to make a triple with a full-time partner. It may also be applied to parents with babysitting problems, provided the changeover took little time requiring homes close to the village hall and the change taking place either at a sit out position in a movement with a half table or at the refreshment break. In principle these applications depend upon the full-time bridge partner and should work well in a small accommodating community. It is a facility which comes under pressure when the part-time players wish to play longer. With goodwill from all and the director’s indulgence it helps keeping players and may attract more timid newcomers. Back the Threesome, and make it work for your club. Brian Copping, Dry Drayton, Cambridge.
READERS’ LETTERS continued
CREDIT WHERE DUE I have received the last two copies of your magazine but to my knowledge I have never requested a copy and as I do not play bridge it is a waste sending it to me. One thing I would say, however, is how good it is to see the names of your proof-readers mentioned in the editorial credits. As a former proof-reader myself, I think I can say this is the first time I have ever seen an acknowledgement to that fine body of scrutineers. Peter Hillman, by email.
INCREDIBLE My husband and I play bridge on a weekly basis with two friends. Last Sunday cutting for who should deal first this occurred. West: ♣A North: ♦A South: ♥A East: ♠A What are the odds? Kate Wood, Ainsdale, Southport.
STRANGE I wondered if some of your readers might be interested in the strangest hand I have ever been dealt.
Butlins at sea! Discovery’s sister ship Minerva would be perfect though – I’d be booking a Mr Bridge cruise on her 3 or 4 times a year.
I opened 5♦. I look forward to sending you, in due course, the stamps I have collected. Jill Staples, Storrington, West Sussex.
Elizabeth Lonkhurst, Folkestone, Kent.
USED STAMPS The letter from Mrs Dennis, see letters BRIDGE 96, who was 'in the process of cutting off the surplus paper' from the stamps she and her husband had saved for charity, reminded me of a quantity of postage stamps I collected some time ago. I carefully snipped off all the paper surrounding the stamps, but was later advised to leave about an inch of paper surrounding each stamp as that was preferred by stamp collectors. Edith Pleasance, Wymondham.
RECOVERED Would you be so kind as to re-include me on your posting list. Only recently have I noticed that it has not been arriving. The reason is that since the beginning of this year I have had health problems plus an operation. Now being quite recovered and back to playing bridge, I am missing my copy of BRIDGE. Morah Sidebotham, Alsager, Cheshire.
HARD LINE ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
x x A K Q J 10 x x x x AK
Mr G Smith (see letters BRIDGE 96) asks for Mr Bridge parties on Fred Olsen ships. Heaven forbid! Fred Olsen ships are like
I think you are being far too hard on Fred Olsen Lines.
GLOSSARY NEEDED As a relative newcomer to bridge, I find it helpful to work my way through Q & A pages to further my knowledge of the game. This works well and I understand most of the answers but I do find some of the jargon used off-putting. K G Lowery by email.
USE A LABEL I am a hard-of-hearing bridge player (see letters BRIDGE 96), who decided to learn the game some two years ago. I don’t think I could manage at all without bidding boxes, which were originally designed for deaf people. However, I play duplicate bridge and find them a Godsend but agree the table does get slightly cluttered, what with the score cards as well. The best solution I can offer you is to do as I do and take the matter into your own hands. Label yourself as hard-of-hearing by wearing a badge for all the other players to see. It is part of the current Deaf Awareness scheme and different designs can be obtained from Hearing
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.
Concern 0207 700 8177. This charity offers much practical advice. Good luck and don’t give up. Mrs C Turley, Gerrards Cross, Bucks.
GREAT MEMORIES The last time I saw my mother was when I spent the weekend with her, playing bridge at Blunsdon House Hotel in June. I know how much she enjoyed the weekend, in no small part due to the company of fellow bridge players and the Mr Bridge team directed by Bernard Magee. The fact that I managed to spend my last weekend with my mother, indulging in the pastime that we both enjoyed so much but so rarely shared, has given me great comfort and I shall continue to both play bridge and hopefully attend many more Mr Bridge events with the memory of that last weekend always with me. Name and address supplied.
DOING OUR BEST I am emailing to say ‘thank you’ for the exceptional customer service you provide. Yesterday afternoon I telephoned to say I had not yet received my 2010 Diary. I spoke to Rachel, she was very helpful and polite and I duly received my diary in this morning’s post as promised. Life would be so much more pleasant if only others would provide your level of customer service. Gwynneth Nalepa, Killin, Perthshire.
Write to Mr Bridge at: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH or e-mail [email protected] E-mail correspondents are asked to include their name, full postal address, telephone number and to send no attachments.
Values supplied in 100s, higher values available as well as 1st and 2nd class (eg 1st class: 100x35p+100x1p)
(/Fax 020 8422 4906 e-mail: [email protected]
Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
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Bridge with Victor Meldrew by David Mullineaux
A
t his local bridge club – which looked strikingly like the Bourne Club at Farnham, with a pleasant bar and lounge – that well known, irritable old crank, Victor Meldrew (somehow he had infiltrated himself into club membership some years back) was sounding off to his partner in characteristically grumpy frustration as they sat down together and imbibed after one of the evening bridge sessions. ‘I’m confused,’ he said. ‘I only want to play cards and enjoy it without being weighed down by a lot of rules that get ever more complicated and that some of the members don’t understand. If it carries on like this, I’ll have to pay to bring my lawyer with me every time I come to the club, even though I can scarcely afford the subscription as it is, not to mention the VAT that gets lumped on to it. The laws of bridge in that new book are just incomprehensible to ordinary club players like me – they’re written for argumentative types at congresses grubbing for green points where there are non-playing TDs, and for international bridge conflicts. Why can’t they produce something in plain English for ordinary club members to use instead of all this legalistic verbiage? And that damned Orange Book gets bigger every time they publish it; some of it’s useful, but there’s a lot of obscure tripe that’s not the least bit relevant to club bridge. With all that paperwork, it’s no wonder bridge is not recognised as a sport. And,’ he continued to fume, ‘don’t mention the EBU Universal Membership Strategy, which just means that they’re going to hijack me into their organisation and claim that they have increased membership numbers. Huh!’ ‘Calm down, Victor,’ said his partner, who was quite used to this sort of outburst. ‘This is a friendly club. Would you like another block of ice in your double whisky? We’ll forget the EBU
Strategy for the moment, but what is it that’s troubling you about the Laws and the Orange Book?’ ‘Well,’ said Victor, taking a quick swig before he launched into his next tirade, ‘there’s all this announcing and alerting – I’m still confused. And do you know, I recently went on a bridge holiday abroad with a group? There were some Scottish people there, flown in from Glasgow, very nice lot, but north of the border they don’t do announcements. What a muddle it was. I didn’t know the Scots had got their independence yet!’ By way of emphasis, this statement was followed by another, somewhat longer swig, Victor intending obviously to get the best from his drink before the extra block of ice diluted it. ‘Yes,’ said partner in soothing tones, ‘it is a bit strange that the EBU, after all these years of bridge, seem to have convinced themselves of the need for announcements. It is a bit confusing with this extra layer of complexity that has made it more difficult for the average club player to digest and the Scottish Bridge Union having different rules. One can meddle too much. But let me try and explain announcements. ‘As you know, the point count range of an opening bid of 1NT is announced, although at our club, because it became so monotonously repetitive, we have decided that it needs to be announced only if it is anything other than the Standard English 12-14 points – clubs can do that sort of thing, you know. Then there follow announcements about either ‘Stayman’, or transfers when you have to say ‘hearts’ or ‘spades’.’ ‘Yes, yes, I understand all that,’ said Victor, ‘but then it gets more complicated. What about these opening two-level bids? If they are two-of-a-suit some are announced, and some are alerted. And if you open 2NT – well, they don’t say anything about that in the Orange Book – but I believe that, quite Page 42
the opposite of a 1NT opening, it is not announced and if you use Stayman and transfers they are now alerted instead of being announced. Why can’t they stick to one method, instead of confusing those who come only to play bridge once or twice a week for pleasure? And who would want to take up bridge if they had to learn all this gobbledegook before playing in a club?’ ‘It is confusing, I agree,’ said partner. ‘Perhaps it would have been better to stick with one method rather than have two and, at pretty well any bridge club I know, we did manage until recently with just alerting, but there you are. They think they know best so that’s what we’ve got. Now, to answer the question you asked a few moments ago, two-of-asuit bids are announced as ‘strong’, ‘strong, not forcing’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘weak’. ‘I know that,’ interjected Victor a little impatiently, ‘but what about these people who play other two-level systems? As you know, there are one or two pairs at the club who play funny things such as Lucas twos and Multi 2♦. I think they go to congresses where they pay lots of money to indulge in all this frippery, but most club members have never heard of such conventions and don’t understand them. I thought the Multi 2♦ had been buried by sensible people about a decade ago. All things like that do is to muddle everybody, often including the pairs who use them. It’s all too clever by half. In the club it just puts people off – and then that lot at Aylesbury wonder why membership levels are dropping!’ ‘Well, Victor, those sort of two-of-asuit conventional bids are alerted these days, as they always were and you know that you can ask for an explanation of exactly what the convention means,’ replied his partner. Unconvinced, Victor nodded, took another swig of his rapidly diminishing drink and, by now in full flight, continued unabated, ‘Yes, OK, but they have now abolished alerting anything over three no-trumps. In the old days, if you didn’t alert Blackwood 4NT and so on, you got chewed off; now they’ve stopped it. And another thing. About twenty years ago, that lot at the EBU stopped you, as a defender, asking partner if you had revoked; now they’ve brought it back again. Can’t they make their minds up? ‘What’s more, you mentioned
misunderstanding and, in some cases, ‘scenes’ at the club and the less experienced players are intimidated by it all.’ His patient partner, also by now needing the comfort of his drink to deflect the barrage, continued, ‘It is confusing, Victor, I agree and they do keep changing things. Generally though, at the club, you need no longer alert a Sputnik double which, to confuse you a bit more, is also sometimes called a negative double. All doubles of suit bids are generally for take-out so do not need an alert; if they are played for penalties then they will be alerted. I hope that
courtesy of the BBC picture library
conventions. Conventions need convention cards, although not everybody bothers with them at clubs because filling in one of those forms is worse than doing your annual income tax return. I know you’re supposed to have one and you’re supposed to exchange it with your opponents at the start of the round – the Orange Book says so. But then you read this other tome – the Laws of Contract Bridge, the one they published that says 2007 on the front cover, but actually didn’t come into force until August 2008 – and it says something different. It says, in Law 40.A.2.(b) that during this other new thing they’ve invented – the Clarification Period – declarer may consult his system card. Well how can he if he’s exchanged it with his opponents, as he’s told to in the Orange Book?’ ‘I have to say, I rather agree with you,’ said his partner in empathy. ‘All this chopping and changing for no good reason just creates confusion in clubs and it does rather turn people off when they should be trying to make the game more attractive.’ After a short period of rumination, and still on his high horse, Victor continued, ‘Then there’s doubling. I really don’t understand which doubles have to be alerted or not. I tried to look it up in the Orange Book and was not much the wiser afterwards. They talk, on page 25, about doubling : ‘Suit bids that show the suit bid’; ‘Short, nebulous, prepared, and phoney minor openings’, and so on, none of which I could understand. So I kept on reading, hoping things would get clearer and, a few pages later, on page 28, I came to something that said, ‘The following doubles must be alerted,’ so I thought this was just what I was looking for. But it wasn’t. That didn’t help either, because they babbled on about such nonsense as ‘co-operative and optional doubles,’ and all sorts of other things I still didn’t understand. I once went to a seminar on doubles, so I thought I understood about take-out doubles, competitive doubles, Sputnik doubles, and penalty doubles, but none of this other twaddle they print – nebulous is the right word. Why can’t they keep it simple for club players? All it does is leave people bewildered, so they don’t know what is the right thing to do and that leads to arguments and
simplifies things, but if you’re not quite sure what the opponent’s double means, you are quite entitled to ask for an explanation at your turn to call. Is that OK?’ Victor harumphed again as he emptied his glass and went to the bar for further strong sustenance. On returning and having thought about things further, he launched forth again. ‘This evening,’ he said, ‘when we were playing against that pair, one of whom was a rather inexperienced visitor, there was a muddle. She failed to alert one of her partner’s bids, although I thought at the time that it was a bit strange as it is usually played as a convention. Perhaps she was in an understandable muddle about whether to
Page 43
announce, or alert, or say nothing. When, after the auction ended and play began and nothing had been explained, it became obvious to me that she should have alerted and it was possible that we had been damaged so, as you saw, I called the director – better to do that than get in an argument yourselves. And there’s another thing – this was only a club evening, so we don’t call him the TD. It’s not a tournament, it’s only a normal club evening and we’re all trying to enjoy ourselves and the director, as a player himself, doesn’t have the time to sort out all the ‘rectifications’ they talk about in this new-fangled Law Book. ‘Ramifications,’ I call them.’ ‘Yes, Victor, she didn’t alert when she should have done and, like you, I imagined to begin with that her call was probably conventional,’ agreed partner, ‘but I would like to say two things to you. First, you became extremely stroppy about all this, which was quite unnecessary – you could see that she was inexperienced and that she had probably got things a bit wrong, but that is no excuse for becoming so belligerent – this is a friendly club and if it weren’t, we wouldn’t have so many members. You’ll put people off if you carry on in that abrasive manner; it’s not pleasant. Secondly, don’t you know that if you suspect that a conventional call has not been alerted you are entitled to ask its meaning, so long as you have good reason to and are not creating unauthorised information for your partner. And you also ought to know that when the error becomes evident and the director is called, your claim to have been damaged will fail if you were aware of its likely meaning. That is one thing it does say quite clearly in the Orange Book, on page 28. Didn’t you know that?’ Brought to heel for a moment, Victor sulked quietly. Before he could muster a reply, partner brought the evening to a conclusion. ‘The bar has closed and anyway we’ve had enough to drink. It’s time I drove you home, Victor’. As they drove home, Victor cogitated then said, ‘I think we need a little booklet in plain English that club players can read and understand, and it should be called the Tangerine Book – you know, something like the Orange Book, but smaller and tastier. I think I’ll start writing it tomorrow.’ And with that he lapsed into silence – until next time. ■
Sally Brock’s Blog
Seven Days by Sally Brock Monday Dash in from the gym (I try to go three times a week, but this visit particularly necessary after a week’s holiday in France – I need to lose enough of the weight I put on in order to dare to go to Weightwatcher’s tomorrow) to find the answer machine blinking and a message from Mr Bridge. Actually he has left a message while I was away and ringing him was quite near the top of my ‘to-do’ list anyway. Would I be interested in writing a regular blog in his magazine? Apparently there are millions of readers out there interested in my life. OK … if he really thinks so. We are also working on a book version of the Ask Sally articles that used to appear in BRIDGE. Roughly half of my income comes from bridgerelated activities. For a day job, I typeset travel guides for a local company called Bradt. They specialise in slightly obscure holiday destinations. So the rest of my day is spent working on a guide to Sudan. And I start on Botswana tomorrow. A quiet evening with my kids. I have two teenage children living at home: Toby who is 15 and has a
year to go till his GCSEs and Briony who is 13 and just going into Year 10. Perhaps more excitingly, I have a 32-year-old, Ben, whose wife Gemma is shortly, all being well, going to produce my first grandchild. It might be this week or you might have to wait until the next issue to hear all about that.
Tuesday Up early because they are coming to clean my oven at 8am! One of my highpriority luxuries! Botswana more interesting than Sudan. At least it’s somewhere I might visit. The weigh-in is not too bad considering it includes a week of French food: +2lbs. In the evening I play bridge at New Amersham with Richard, a semi-regular partner. As usual, we have a really good time, but don’t do as well as usual. When Nicola (Smith) and I were practising as hard as we could in the build-up to playing in Beijing last year, Richard very kindly offered to play our system with me. His mandate was to pretend to be Nicola! However, his knowledge of what it is like to be Nicola is not complete! In addition – as if his role was not difficult
enough – I forget to tell him some bits of the system we have changed since last year. Consequently we arrive in one or two somewhat outlandish contracts… One of the consequences of my new-found interest in rubber bridge (more about that later) is a heightened awareness of ‘honours’. I hold, with both sides vulnerable:
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A42 K Q J 10 832 A 10 7
South’s one diamond opening bid is passed around to me. Without giving the matter too much thought, I bid one heart. South bid two clubs and North’s two diamonds preference is passed out. The full deal is in the next column. Partner leads a trump and now, provided we are careful, which we are, there is no way declarer can come to more than the six tricks that are his by right. +200 to us. On opening the traveller we find a whole list of –200s from people playing in two spades our way, which is, I imagine, what would happen to anyone
Page 44
who balanced with a double rather than my one heart.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ K653 98 K54 Q632 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
J 10 9 8 7 6542 J6 85 ♠ A42 ♥ K Q J 10 N W E S ♦ 832 ♣ A107 Q A73 A Q 10 9 7 KJ94
Wednesday After an early gym visit and more Botswana, I rush into London for lunch with Debbie, Peter and Howard. Debbie is an excellent cook so such lunches are always eagerly anticipated, particularly when I have nearly a week before Weightwatcher’s again! Afterwards we play some rubber bridge (Chicago). Usually I go to TGR’s (more about that next time) and play for £15 a hundred but here it was just friendly and we play for only £1 a hundred. That is just as well because I hold no cards all afternoon and lose £32 (good job it isn’t £480! plus table money).
Sally’s Blog
continued
Towards the end of the afternoon Peter gives us a lesson on Barbu. This is a game played by quite a lot of bridge players and Debbie and I have been wanting to learn for a while. He writes out the rules for us and we play a few practice hands. It does indeed seem a good game, but you need to play 28 deals at one go, so not something to be entered into too casually. Then out to dinner with my best friend Margaret. We used to play bridge together regularly, both as partners and team-mates but she plays less now, having turned her attention to poker. We have found it too easy to let things slip so try to make a regular lunch or dinner date. This time her husband Martin joins us too and as usual, the time races by and I am soon running to catch the last train home.
Thursday Botswana goes well and I finish it towards the end of the afternoon. I also have an hour with my counsellor. My sister Amanda died in May after a two-year struggle with a brain tumour. There was a time when she was ill that things got on top of me a bit, especially since it wasn’t so long since my husband Raymond died. So I picked the nearest counsellor to me geographically from the Yellow Pages. Although it is pleasant enough sitting talking about myself, I feel fine now and don’t really feel I need her any more.
But, I respect her integrity and she thinks I need her so I keep going. It is quite strange spending time with someone about whom I know practically nothing, while she probably knows more about me than anyone else. Also, finally manage to make contact with David who proofreads my Sunday Times articles for me. He’d rung me and I was out, I rang him and he was out, etc, etc. Just as well really as I’d had a gently nagging email from Hilary, who is in charge of the layout of the games page. So manage to finish and send off eight more articles, taking me up to the middle of October.
Friday I played in San Remo in the European Open at the end of June and over the intervening weeks have spent some time trawling through the hand records, score cards and bulletins for material for my Sunday Times column. Now, with no Bradt work to do, there is no real excuse but to turn the material I sorted out into articles. My incentive for doing this is small because of sending them a big batch yesterday. But if I don’t do it now, I’ll forget and won’t be able to put all the stuff away. Still, when Briony (bored to tears after all of five days at home!) suggests we do a major sort-out of various rooms in the house, she is greeted with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. So we spend most of the day rearranging the kitchen, lounge, dining room, visiting charity shop and tip etc. She is spending the evening with a friend, so
then I have to choose between continuing tidying the house and writing the articles. Not surprisingly I spend quite a lot of time playing Spider Solitaire on the computer!
Saturday I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’m having a party tomorrow: 20 people coming for a barbecue. It started with just one family, then it was a good weekend for my brother-in-law (Martin) to visit, then I thought of some compatible friends who would fit in, then I kept on asking people and they could all come, etc … So the day starts with a visit to the pick-your-own fruit farm for raspberries. Then some food shopping. Around lunchtime Martin, Briony and I take Martin’s labrador for a walk. We go to Cookham, intending to do a four mile walk, ending with a pub lunch. However, the day has rather run away with itself and it’s one o’clock before we get to the start of the walk. So we start with lunch, then do the walk, then home for some preparatory work for the party. In the evening, Martin (who doesn’t play bridge) and I have been invited to a neighbour’s house for dinner. Jenny plays bridge regularly at Burnham Bridge Club, but I know her because she is mother of a local friend and also my chiropodist. She was a bit nervous about inviting me but promised lots of good food, wine and company. She certainly delivered all three. Having arrived at 7.30, eventually dinner is over at about 10.30. Martin
goes home (it’s just around the corner) and the other eight of us play 12 deals. I’m glad no-one pays attention to the score because I am certainly minus (I guess it’s quite good to get bad cards when I’m not playing at TGR’s).
Sunday There is still quite a lot to do before guests arrive at 12.30 so there’s no lie-in. Unfortunately, as the morning progresses, numbers dwindle. Our starting point was 21 but seven people cry off for one reason or another. At least the weather is good. It’s a good party but I have over-catered to a ridiculous degree. We’re going to be eating cold barbecue all week (and then still throw a lot away). I’m sure to make a pig of myself which means I won’t be able to go to Weightwatcher’s! People leave at about five o’clock, but they’ve been very good at helping tidy up so there isn’t a great deal to do. The evening is spent with the children and the TV, watching the programmes we all like: House, The Mentalist and Lie to Me. (This is separate from the programmes only Briony and I like: Casualty and Holby City.) My taste in television is nearly as low-brow as it could be (Briony is even worse than me, her preferences also including Neighbours, One Tree Hill, Big Brother and Britain’s Got Talent!) Stop Press: Just as I put the finishing touches to this article my grandson, Hayden Thomas Sowter, is born. More about that next time. ■
Sally Brock is a multiple women’s world bridge champion and has written many bridge books, the most recent of which is Ask Sally, published by and available by mail order £14 including postage and packing.
Page 45
Dave Huggett Says
Make the Long Hand Ruff efenders sometimes get confused, thinking that letting declarer make ruffs in his hand is bad. In fact, declarer is usually only winning tricks he would have made anyway – but at a price of shortening his trump holding. This can be good for the defenders as this example shows:
D
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A832 KQJ82 82 10 7
N E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
764 953 AQ KQ864
W
A lot of the time, it is best to stay ‘passive’ as a defender so as not to keep opening up suits to declarer’s advantage. You can often achieve this by just letting declarer ruff in the long hand as the following example shows.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
5 A74 10 9 6 5 3 J532
K Q J 10 9 10 6 KJ74 A9
South arrives in 4♠ and West leads the heart king. When it holds, he follows up with the queen. When this wins also, it is clear that declarer started with two hearts and can ruff a further round. This makes it tempting to switch. Now consider the effect of a third round of hearts. Declarer has to ruff and will be down to four spades – the same number as West. He will, no doubt, try to draw trumps and play the king in an effort to persuade West to win, but West refuses. He refuses the next round also and then declarer has to abandon playing trumps. If he plays a third round, West will win and lead a fourth heart, making declarer use up his last trump! Two down! The best declarer can do is give up on trumps after two rounds and play on the minor suits. West will ruff with his low trump and the game will be only one down. Notice that, with any other defence, the declarer will prevail.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
10 3 K95 AKQ98 Q97
KJ9 J73 7532 K63 N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q76542 4 J4 10 8 5 4
A8 A Q 10 8 6 2 10 6 AJ2
West started with two top diamonds against South’s confident 4♥. Placing East with hardly any values, West continued with a third diamond, which declarer ruffed. He now entered dummy with a club to the king and ran the jack of hearts. West won and played another diamond, forcing declarer to ruff once more. Declarer now had a choice of losing options and, with both black-suit finesses offside, he suffered a one-trick defeat. If, at any time, West got too ‘busy’ and switched to a black suit, this would have given declarer an extra trick – and the contract! It might seem that it is always right to reduce declarer’s trump holding. This is not so. You may need to cash out quickly, in which case you do not want to lose the lead. Another time arises when declarer is embarking on a crossruff or your trump(s) are masters; it is usually better to play a trump yourself to cut down declarer’s ruffing ability. On the following deal, South plays in 4♠ after East has opened 1♥.
Page 46
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
42 753 10 9 7 6 2 865 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
K75 10 8 6 4 85 A Q J 10 ♠ ♥ W E ♦ S ♣ A Q J 10 9 8 Q2 AJ4 74 N
63 AKJ9 KQ3 K932
Of course, you must have a reason for making declarer ruff; sometimes it is more imperative to make a switch. Here West leads the five of hearts against 4♠. East wins with the king and cashes the ace, on which West plays upwards with the seven. Knowing that West holds a third heart and thus that South is out of hearts, it would be wrong for East to persist in leading the suit for two reasons. Firstly, doing so would set up the ten of hearts as a winner in dummy; what is more, the defenders would lose a vital tempo. Declarer would ruff the third round, draw trumps with the ace and queen, cross to the ace of clubs and discard a club on the winning ten of hearts. Then a ruffing finesse in clubs would pick up your king, resulting in not just ten tricks, but eleven. So the defenders must keep a step ahead and East should switch to the king of diamonds at trick three after cashing the second heart. Then, when the club finesse fails, declarer will lose two hearts, a club and a diamond. This defeats the contract by one trick. Making the long hand ruff is a good way to make declarer run out of trumps and is often a good way of playing safe – but beware of doing so without looking first into the dangers. ■
ANSWERS TO THE DEFENCE QUIZ ON PAGE 14 by JULIAN POTTAGE ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
1.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
J6 A K 10 8 2 82 KJ42 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Partner leads the ace-king of clubs (jack-five from South) and continues with the six. Which card do you play on the third trick?
AK82 QJ3 KJ6 Q 10 7 N E
W S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q 10 9 7 4 3 95 A3 865
5 764 Q 10 9 7 5 4 A93
West North East 1NT 2♠ 1♥ Pass 3♣1 Pass End 1 Lebensohl, asks North to bid 3♣ 2 single suited with diamonds
South 2NT1 3♦2
Partner leads the ace, king and two of hearts. Which card do you play on the third trick? If you do not ruff, dummy’s queen will win. You do not want this. Here, the natural play is right – ruff with your lowly three of diamonds. If South has a third heart, you score a cheap trick. If not, you have surely lost nothing. You do not want to ruff with the ace as that can win later. If you play any card but the three of trumps, you will find that 3♦ makes. Having ruffed the third heart low, you switch to a club (partner’s two of hearts – clearly low – is a suit-preference signal asking for a club). You make two hearts, a ruff and a trick in each minor to beat the contract by one.
In terms of preventing dummy’s queen from being a winner, it makes no difference whether you ruff with the jack or the five. Indeed, if South is going to follow to this trick, it will not matter which trump you play. You know from partner’s six of clubs (clearly not a low card with the two and four missing) that South has the ace of diamonds. You therefore see very little hope of ruffing a second time. The time when the size of your ruff may be critical is when South holds no more clubs. If West has any of these trump holdings: Q-9-x, K-9-x, A-9-x, Q-8-x-x, K-8-x-x or A-8-x-x, ruffing with the jack will turn it into two winners after declarer overruffs. Ruffing with the jack will effect a trump promotion also if partner has 10-x-x or 9-x-x-x of trumps – you hope, with the king of diamonds on the side for the setting trick. The jack of hearts it is.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3 976432 K2 J 10 8 4 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West
2.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
10 6 K92 10 2 AK8642 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West End weak
1
A972 3 Q9765 Q93 N W
E S
Pass End
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
KQJ843 J5 843 10 7
5 A Q 10 8 7 6 4 AKJ J5
North
East 2♠1
South 4♥
A7 KQJ8 Q J 10 Q963 ♠ ♥ W E ♦ S ♣ K986542 A A97 A5 N
North 1♥ 1NT
East Pass Pass
Q J 10 10 5 86543 K72
South 1♠ 6♠
Partner leads the jack of clubs, covered all around. Declarer cashes the king of spades and ace of hearts before playing a second trump (West shows out). Next comes a heart for a club discard and a third round of hearts. What do you do? You have a sure trump winner that you can make just the once. On some deals, it can be a good idea to wait until you get in with some other card so that you can draw two trumps for one. In a slam and with dummy out of trumps, clearly this idea does not apply. Can you see the benefit of ruffing in? You will stop declarer from playing a fourth heart.
Page 47
With no more clubs to discard, declarer throws a diamond when you ruff this trick. You try a club anyway – no matter – partner takes the setting trick in diamonds. It is a different story if you let the third round of hearts pass. Declarer throws diamonds on both the third and fourth rounds of hearts, losing a trump but nothing else.
4.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ AKQ74 ♥ Void ♦ A K 10 9 3 ♣ A 10 6 10 9 8 5 3 2 ♠ 6 N 6 ♥ Q 10 8 5 E W Q74 ♦ J865 S Q85 ♣ K932 ♠ J ♥ AKJ97432 ♦ 2 ♣ J74
West
North
Pass
6♥
East Pass End
South 4♥
Partner leads the ten of spades, which runs to the jack. Declarer cashes the ♥A-K (West follows low and then discards a low spade), crosses to dummy with a diamond and starts playing on spades. When do you ruff? On the previous deal, you ruffed in to limit the number of discards declarer could take. This time there is no point. Dummy has six top winners – more than enough to take care of South’s five plain cards. What is more, by not ruffing you ensure two trump tricks for yourself with your queen-ten. The only way you could not make two trump tricks is to ruff in and suffer an overruff. Since you cannot be sure that the jack of spades is not a singleton, you should play safe and discard. When South shows out on the second round of spades, you know you have done the right thing. You do not ruff the third round of spades either. Nor do you ruff the fourth. Nor, if they keep coming, do you ruff the fifth round. Eventually, declarer will have to ruff and will end up leading a trump. As long as you wait to play your trumps on a trump lead (or by ruffing in fourth seat – not that you are going to get the chance), you can be sure of making two trump tricks. In short, ■ the answer to the question is ‘never.’
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3 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee
46 Dave Huggett says Make the Long Hand Ruff
5 47 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage
10 Bidding Quiz Answers by Bernard Magee
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14 Rubber/Chicago Bridge Events 20 Eric Hill
29 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions
24 Summer 2010 Cruises on Board Discovery
32 Double Dummy Answer by Richard Wheen
27 Single-suited Design Pens
Bridge Breaks
31 Charity Bridge Events 32 Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified 36 Bernard Magee Tips for Better Bridge
Pass
?
3. Dealer West. N/S Vul. ♠ AQ5 ♥ A762 © A98 ® A75 West North East South 1♥
Pass
2♥
Pass
?
4. Dealer North. Love All. ♠ AQJ6 ♥ 875 © K7654 ® 2 West North East South 3♥
38 2010 Diaries
Dbl
Pass
?
37 Readers’ Letters
39 Stamps
42 Bridge with Victor Meldrew by David Mullineaux
40 Global Travel Insurance
44 Seven Days by Sally Brock
1. Dealer West. Love All. ♠ AKQJ9832 ♥ Void © 832 ® 42
West North East South
27 Declarer Play Quiz by Dave Huggett
35 Lèse Majesté by Dick Atkinson
Y
ou are West in the auctions below, playing 'Standard Acol' with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.
11 QPlus 9.1 13
34 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett
by Bernard Magee
(Answers on page 10)
2 Springtime Mediterranean Cruise on Board Discovery
14 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage
33 Heather Dhondy says Bid on with a Two-suit Fit
BIDDING QUIZ
48 Africa and the Red Sea Cruise on Board Discovery
5. ♠ ♥ © ®
Dealer North. N/S Vul. A92 76 43 QJ6543
West North East South
The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor.
Page 3
1♥ ?
1♠
Pass
North African Treasures Exclusive Mr Bridge fares DISCOVERY CLUB MEMBERS
SAVE AN EXTRA 5%
SEE THE WORLD
IN ITS TRUE COLOURS 3TAND IN %L !LAMEIN WHERE &IELD -ARSHAL -ONTGOMERYS MEN FACED 2OMMELS PANZERS 2EDISCOVER THE TREASURES OF 4RIPOLI THE 2OMAN CITY OF ,EPTIS -AGNA 'IZAS 0YRAMIDS AND 'AUDIS 3AGRADA &AMILIA -ARVEL AT (ANNIBALS ACHIEVEMENTS IN ANCIENT #ARTHAGE ,EARN ABOUT THE EIGHT POINTS OF THE -ALTESE #ROSS AND WHY 0ALERMOS &ONTANA 0RETORIA WAS DUBBED THE @&OUNTAIN OF 3HAME 2IGHT ALONG THE -EDITERRANEAN ENJOY EXTENSIVE EXOTIC MENUS COLOURFUL SOUKS AND TRADITIONS THAT GO BACK CENTURIES
MR BRIDGE !LEX $AVOUD ,INDA ,AZARUS AND THEIR TEAM WILL HOST THIS DAY VOYAGE 4HE EVENING SESSIONS WILL BE SPLIT INTO TWO WITH THE l RST l NISHING IN TIME FOR THOSE WISHING TO SEE THE EVENING SHOW )N ADDITION TO BRIDGE EVERY EVENING THERE WILL BE MORNING SEMINARS AND AFTERNOON BRIDGE SESSIONS WHICH ARE HELD WHILE THE SHIP IS AT SEA SO EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE PORTS OF CALL
NORTH AFRICAN TREASURES 2 NOV 2009 ~13 DAYS INSIDE CABIN FROM ONLY £995PP*
OUTSIDE CABIN
FROM ONLY £1,095PP*
Date
Port
2 Nov
Depart London Gatwick by air Arrive ALEXANDRIA, Egypt and transfer to mv Discovery ALEXANDRIA, Egypt Cruise the Mediterranean Sea BENGHAZI, Libya Cruise the Gulf of Sirte, Libya AL KHUMS, Libya TRIPOLI, Libya VALLETTA, Malta PALERMO, Italy LA GOULETTE, Tunisia Cruise the Mediterranean Sea BARCELONA, Spain BARCELONA, Spain Disembark and transfer to airport for flight home
3 Nov 4 Nov 5 Nov 6 Nov 7 Nov 8 Nov 9 Nov 10 Nov 11 Nov 12 Nov 13 Nov 14 Nov
Your Voyage Includes: s )NSPIRING DESTINATIONS AND ENLIGHTENING EXCURSIONS s #OMPREHENSIVE LECTURE AND GUEST SPEAKER PROGRAMME s 4 RAVEL WITH AROUND LIKE MINDED PASSENGERS IN STAR COMFORT s !LL MEALS ENTERTAINMENT AND GRATUITIES ON BOARD INCLUDED WITH NO HIDDEN EXTRAS s &RIENDLY AND RELAXED ATMOSPHERE ON BOARD s !LL PRICES ON BOARD IN "RITISH POUNDS s #APTAINS COCKTAIL PARTIES AND GALA DINNERS s &LIGHTS FROM AND TO ,ONDON 'ATWICK ONLY INCLUDED s !LL PORT AND PRE PAID AIRPORT TAXES s /VERSEAS TRANSFERS BETWEEN AIRPORT AND SHIP WHERE APPLICABLE
SPECIAL SINGLES PRICES O CATEGORY inside cabin £1,299 K CATEGORY outside cabin £1,499 II CATEGORY porthole
£2,079 £2,289
GG CATEGORY window
MR BRIDGE !LL BRIDGE PASSENGERS WHO HAVE PAID THE BRIDGE SUPPLEMENT WILL BE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE EVENING BRIDGE PROGRAMME 4HERE WILL ALSO BE A QUIZ AND EXCLUSIVE BRIDGE PARTIES 4HE BRIDGE PROGRAMME IS FULLY OPTIONAL AND YOU MAY PARTICIPATE AS MUCH OR AS LITTLE AS YOU WISH -R "RIDGE ACTIVELY ENCOURAGES SINGLES TO JOIN THE PARTY AND YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FOUND A PARTNER FOR A GAME
DUPLICATE BRIDGE GUARANTEED
01483 489961 for brochures and bookings *Fares shown are per person based on two people sharing and refer to the lowest category cabins available. For all fares shown, cabins will be issued with final details or upon embarkation, excluding categories II and GG. All offers are capacity controlled and may be withdrawn at any time. Please note there will be a bridge supplement of £30 per bridge player to be paid with cruise deposit. Terms and conditions apply, see brochure for details. Voyages of Discovery is a trading name of All Leisure Holidays Ltd.
BEACH CLOSING
2009 REMNANTS
COVER STORY
As always at this time of the year, there are only a few unsold places at our weekend events. These I have listed on page 13. If you are interested do ring before sending in your booking form and payment. Any weekends that are not listed, are sold out.
The Beach Hotel is to close at the end of next year. Book for 2010 at this delightful venue. One weekend date not included is 29-31 January. This is a weekend for improvers hosted by Ned Paul. It will cover all types of doubles. £199 full-board. The party is limited to 60 guests.
GATWICK ONLY The adjacent advert has a snag. Connecting flights are only available out of and into Gatwick. However, if you are still interested, put this magazine down now and phone ( 01483 489961.
VENICE Neither Mrs Bridge nor I have been to Venice, so when I saw the itinerary including sailing into Venice and then out of Venice two days later, I was completely sold on the idea. This 2010 cruise starts from Malta in late September, so it shouldn’t be too hot. Idyllic ports along the Croatian coast are the icing on a really gorgeous cake.
This year the summer weather has reverted to something close to normal. This may account for the demand for green-covered versions of my 2010 bridge players diary. Pillar-box red, navy, tan, maroon, black and Cambridge blue are all in stock and available £5.95 each including p&p. See order form on page 7.
Listed on page 13, with the remnants referred to above, is the Christmas programme. Rubber/Chicago is on page 14 along with the new dates of 2010.
SAVING SPACE No re-registration form is included in this issue. This means readers can enjoy an extra page of bridge. If your friends haven’t been in touch with my office in the last two to three years they will have been deleted.
Bernard Magee is on Discovery, from 9 May sailing from Istanbul all the way back to Harwich. Blow away your winter cobwebs with a Mediterranean breeze. 16 days from only £995pp. Bridge supplement £30.
GOFF GAFF
NEW CARD With this copy of BRIDGE there is an insert promoting my current credit card. These are being replaced by my new card as they expire. All new applications will be issued with the new design. In addition to drawing attention to card-playing in general and being a conversation point so you can talk about bridge, it will have other benefits which I will spell out next time. The issuing company will be helping to fund BRIDGE.
WET SUMMER
Shock, horror, alas, alack-aday. I forgot to include Clive Goff’s advert in the last issue of BRIDGE. He is a geat sponsor and supporter. Profuse apologies Clive. I am sure readers will remember your service with Christmas once again on the horizon. At least 10% off the face value of British postage stamps. Telephone ( 0208 4224906 for further details and order with confidence.
This cruise will be a sellout. I have already booked my cabin and reserved a number for those of you who might find the itinerary just as irresistible as I do. Fares start from £1199 pp sharing a twin-berthed cabin. £1399 pp outside. Bridge supplement £30. Delay and I can guarantee disappointment. Page 5
BIT OF FUN A Spanish teacher running a Spanish language class explained that, unlike English, nouns are designated either masculine or feminine. ‘House’ for example, is feminine: la casa. ‘Pencil’, is however masculine: ‘el lapiz’. A member of the group then asked ‘What gender is a computer? Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the group into two groups, men in one and the women in the other. Each group then had to decide whether a computer should be masculine or feminine, backing up their decision with four reasons for their recommendation. The men’s group decided that ‘computer’ should be of feminine gender (la computadora’) because: l
No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
l
The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
l
Even the smallest mistakes are stored in the long term memory for possible later retrieval;
l
As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your salary on accessories.
BERNARD MAGEE’S INTERACTIVE TUTORIALS ACOL BIDDING l l l l l l
l
l l l
Opening Bids and Responses Slams and Strong Openings Support for Partner Pre-empting Overcalls No-trump Openings and Responses Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids Minors and Misfits £62 Doubles Competitive Auctions
MORE (ADVANCED) ACOL BIDDING l l l l l l l l l l
Basics Advanced Basics Weak Twos Strong Hands £92 Defence to Weak Twos Defence to 1NT Doubles Two-suited Overcalls Defences to Other Systems Misfits and Distributional Hands
DECLARER PLAY l
l
l l l l l l l l
Suit Establishment in No-trumps Suit Establishment in Suits Hold-ups Ruffing for Extra Tricks Entries in No-trumps Delaying Drawing Trumps Using the Lead Trump Control Endplays & Avoidance Using the £72 Bidding
ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY l
l
l l l l l l
l l
Making Overtricks in No-trumps Making £77 Overtricks in Suit Contracts Endplays Avoidance Wrong Contract Simple Squeezes Counting the Hand Trump Reductions & Coups Playing Doubled Contracts Safety Plays
DEFENCE l
l l
l
l l l l l l
Lead vs Notrump Contracts £72 Lead vs Suit Contracts Partner of Leader vs Notrump Contracts Partner of Leader vs Suit Contracts Count Signals Attitude Signals Discarding Defensive Plan Stopping Declarer Counting the Hand
System Requirements: Windows XP or Vista, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM
Q PLUS 9.1 l l l l l l l l l l
Friendly Interface Hint and Help Buttons Easy Installation Manual Rubber, Duplicate and Teams Scoring Instant results playing in teams mode 2,500 pre-played hands for teams 2,000 pre-played hands for match-pointed pairs Check your pairs percentage and ranking Systems include: Acol, including Bernard Magee’s system, Standard American or create your own.
TRADE-IN OFFERS Trade-in any previous version of Q Plus. Just post in the booklet and disk and a cheque for £32. Trade-in any other bridge software before 30 November 2009 and send it with a cheque for £49. Order with absolute confidence.
Make your cheque payable to
( 01483 489961
Still the very best Acolplaying Software available
Happy BRIDGE reader, Gill Smith writes: I love my QPlus Bridge. As a learner, I always have a faithful partner whenever I want one. She is always available (late at night too) and she bids and plays perfectly. She has never kicked me under the table, rolled her eyes or taken a sharp intake of breath. If I bid or play badly she is on hand with sound advice yet she doesn’t take offence if I ignore it. There is also a use which I didn’t realise when I bought the CD. It is the facility to feed in the real hands that we deal, and see how it would have bid and played them. I have done
this on arriving home, usually cross with myself, after a duplicate session. My faithful friend gives me a sensible perspective on the matter. When playing Chicago or rubber at home, at the end of the bidding and playing a difficult hand, I have opened up my laptop and switched on QPlus. With fellow learners, I have looked at hands and seen how our electronic friend would have bid and played. We still have lots to learn. I bracket my QPlus disc together with the dishwasher – an essential luxury that I would find difficult to live without.
and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
Fax 01483 797302
The women’s group, however, concluded that computer should be masculine (el computador) because: l
In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
l
They have a lot of data but can’t think for themselves.
l
l
They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they are the problem; and As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited just a little longer, you could have got a better model.
DOUBLE DUMMY by Richard Wheen ♠ ♥ © ® ♠ ♥ © ®
J Void Q 10 8 AK ♠ ♥ © ®
32 Void A4 32 N W
E S
♠ ♥ © ®
KQ 2 J97 Void
A AK K32 Void
North is on lead in a notrump contract, and North/South need to make all six tricks against any defence. Five tricks are easy: how to make the sixth? (Answer on page 32.)
HARD LABOUR Labour of love, indeed. Just as players, new and old, find defence the hardest aspect of the game, so it is for teachers. Bernard’s new interactive CD is now ready and in stock. To see the subjects covered by the program, go to the advertisement on the facing page.
PATIENCE It will come as a great surprise to those of you who know me, to learn that I have developed the necessary patience to sort out computer problems. This service is confined to the support of QPlus and Bernard Magee’s Tutorial software. If it were otherwise, I would never be able to maintain my new found virtue.
QPLUS TIPS If your QPlus is running too slowly, click configuration and go to playing strength, reset the memory at 9 and the playing level at 27. That should speed it up as a powerful computer will always spend all day thinking about a problem if you give it half a chance. To further enhance your enjoyment of QPlus, go to Deal, then to Match Control and put a black dot in deal number. Reset the scoring method to Team by putting a black dot in that box too. Finally, at the bottom of the panel, go to comparison and put a black dot in the closed room box, setting the number of boards at 16. These adjustments will enable you to have a result after the play of each board. If you do badly compared to the computer, you can always replay the hand automatically and see how the computer had played the hand in the closed room. This is a great way to learn from your mistakes and at your own pace... all in the privacy of your home. ( 01483 489961.
( 01483489961 PLAYSOFTWARE QPlus 9.1 QPlus 8.8 (second hand) Trade-in any previous QPlus Book & Disk and just send
£82.00 ....... £52.00 ....... ONLY £32.00 .......
TUTORIALSOFTWARE Acol Bidding More Acol Bidding Declarer Play Advanced Declarer Play Defence
£62.00 ....... £92.00 ....... £72.00 ....... £77.00 ....... £72.00 .......
BOOKS Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified £5.95 ....... Club Offer 10foronly£35.00 ....... Simple Directing at the Club – Dr Gurr £4.75 ....... Better Hand Evaluation – Bernard Magee £14.00 ....... Bernard Magee’s Bridge Quiz Book £14.00 ....... Bernard Magee’s Quiz and Puzzle Book £14.00 ....... Bernard Magee’s Tips for Better Bridge £14.00 ....... Ask Sally – Sally Brock £14.00 .......
2010DIARIES Standard Maroon ..... Light Blue ..... Red ..... Navy ..... Green ..... Tan .... Black ...... £5.95 ....... Club Offer 10foronly£35.00 ....... Luxury Bottle Green .... Ruby Red .... £12.95 .......
SINGLE-SUITEDBALL-POINTPENS Boxed Set of Four (Spade, Heart, Diamond, Club) £19.95 ....... All prices are fully inclusive. I enclose a cheque for £............. Mr/Mrs/Miss ................................................................................................ Address.........................................................................................................
CRACKED ......................................................................................................................
Sometimes disks get cracked or scratched in the course of time. QPlus and tutorial software can be replaced by sending the disk back to us together with a cheque for £10 for each replacement. Page 7
Postcode ..............................................( .............................................
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH.
www.mrbridge.co.uk/ mrbridge-shop
2010 WEEKENDS
BRIDGE WEEKENDS with Bernard Magee © Full-board © All rooms with en-suite facilities © No single supplement
with Bernard Magee Full Board £235 per person No single Supplement
© Sea View Option (Beach Hotel only) © Tuition with Supervised Play, bidding quiz and two seminars.
6 - 8 August Blunsdon House Hotel Hand Evaluation 20 - 22 August Blunsdon House Hotel Better Defence
Please book me for ..... places at £235 per person, Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Sea View* .....
1 - 3 October The Beach Hotel Declarer Play
Venue ................................................................................. Dates ..................................................................................
The Beach Hotel, Worthing
1 - 3 January 2010 The Beach Hotel Doubles
Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address...............................................................................
5 - 7 February Blunsdon House Hotel Splinters and Cue-bids
............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................
19 - 21 March The Beach Hotel Signals and Discards
( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige)
26 - 28 March The Beach Hotel Thinking Defence
...........................................................................................
16 - 18 April Blunsdon House Hotel Leads and Defence
Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking ...........................................................................................
23 - 25 April The Olde Barn Hotel Signals and Discards
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. *£30 supplement per room (Beach Hotel and Marsham Court Hotel only).
8 - 10 October The Olde Barn Hotel Game Tries 22 - 24 October Denham Grove Doubles 29 - 31 October Denham Grove Splinters and Cue-bids 12 - 14 November The Beach Hotel Better Defence 26 - 28 November The Beach Hotel Further into the Auction 3 - 5 December The Beach Hotel Sacrificing
4 - 6 June The Beach Hotel Suit Establishment 18 - 20 June Blunsdon House Hotel Signals and Discards 25 - 27 June The Beach Hotel Game Tries
Blunsdon House, Swindon
Expiry: ............................ CVV.................... Issue No. ............... (CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302
Bernard’s New Year’s Eve Party 29 December to 1 January 2010
e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
The Beach Hotel £395 Page 8
CO-INCIDENCE
Ken Rae, pictured above, is a Scottish International bridge player, a fact which only emerged after I had approached him to create the silver pendant and earrings.
FAILING CLUBS
SAVING TREES
Club committee members with numbers falling away should focus on why? In the not too far distant past it was cigar and pipe smoking members, then just any sort of smoking.
Several requests from readers as to how to suppress junk mail. Not BRIDGE of course, but all that unwanted material that you find somehow dropping regularly onto your doormat.
Some people have personal hygiene problems i.e. they stink. Members just say nothing and quietly drift elsewhere.
You need the Mailing Preference Service. Register your name address and postcode with them and most, if not all of your junk mail will die away within three or four months.
Almost as bad are constantly bickering partners, you know the sort I mean, frequently a husband and wife partnership. Make your club committee address these and similar problems before it’s too late. You know I’m right.
BACK COVER
LUCKY DIP
Every club committee needs public liability insurance cover. Ring Moore Stephens for a competitive quotation. Do speak to Sylvia Donovan who will be only to pleased to help you. ( 020 7515 5270. Do let her know you heard it from Mr Bridge.
Those needing travel insurance can consider Global Travel whose terms and conditions can be found on pages 40 & 41.
DIRECTORS Just as the yellow book is a real help to club directors, Simple Directing at the Club by Dr Gurr, £4.75 including postage and packing, can also be a great boon. For several years, Sally Brock was our bridge agony aunt, diligently answering everyone’s questions by drawing on her experience as an international player. The best of these are to be found in her latest book, Ask Sally. 192 pages, £14 including postage.
TUNISIAN DATES Try a fortnight in Tunisia, or just a week if that’s all you can fit in. Bernard Magee is at the Royal Kenz in November and February. There’s a lot to see, a lot to learn and lots to play in sunny Tunsia.
2009-2010 Two-week half-board duplicate holidays
CLUB COVER
TRAVEL INSURANCE
Mombasa to the Red Sea. Another great cruise. Last year, on the same run, this picture was snapped by a passenger from the rear deck.
KENZ, TUNISIA
Freepost 29 LON 2077 London W1E 0ZT.
See his website for prices: www.shetlandjewellery.com Indeed, Ken was a member of the victorious Scottish team, in the recently contested Camrose Seniors. Co-incidence indeed.
AT THE ROYAL
The form provided is for a single holiday – those wanting an annual policy should download the form from my website or if it’s easier, phone and I’ll post you one.
PLEASE MENTION MR BRIDGE This publication is funded by advertisers and sponsors. Unless you mention me or the magazine or both, I will not receive the funds to develop the magazine and its associated services. It’s as simple as that. Thank You
Page 9
1-15 November £699* Tony & Jan Richards 15-29 November £749* Bernard Magee 21 Feb – 7 Mar £749* Bernard Magee 7 Mar – 21 Mar £699* Crombie & Helen McNeil 21 Mar – 4 Apr £699* Chris Barrable *per person half-board sharing a twin-bedded room and is inclusive of bridge fees. Single supplement £5 per night. These prices are based on air travel from Gatwick to Monastir. Flights from other UK airports are available at a supplement. All prices are firm until 30 November 2009. Prices for seven-night stays are available on application. Pay £70 per fortnight per person extra and have a poolfacing room, tea & coffee making facilities, bath robe and a bowl of seasonal fruit. These holidays have been organised for by Tunisia First Limited, ATOL 5933, working in association with Thomas Cook Tour Operations Limited, ATOL 1179.
DETAILS & BOOKINGS
( 01483 489961
ANSWERS TO THE BIDDING QUIZ ON PAGE 3 by BERNARD MAGEE
♠ ♥ © ®
1. Dealer West. Love All. AKQJ9832 ♠ 74 Void ♥ 763 N W E 832 © A654 S 42 ® A976
West
North
East
South
?
4♠. You have eight playing tricks, but not a very strong hand – whenever you think you can make a lot of tricks with your suit as trumps, but very few tricks if another suit is trumps, you should concentrate on preempting. Of course, this hand is much too good for a 3♠ opening: with eight solid trumps, you must start with 4♠. 4♠ will make with your partner’s hand above; just as important is that, since North had a void in spades, your opponents could make eleven tricks in hearts! If you had opened at a lower level, you would have allowed your opponents in to the auction; over 4♠, they have little chance to compete – you might even end up making 4♠ doubled.
♠ ♥ © ®
2. Dealer East. Game All. Q75 ♠ 643 N K862 ♥ A5 W E 742 © AK63 S 872 ® AK63
West
North
East
South
1®
Pass
?
Pass. How many points do you require to respond to an opening bid? The answer, of course, is six: there is a good reason for this requirement: so that the bidding does not go too high. You can break the rules when you have a good fivecard suit or a six-card suit biddable at the one-level. Here, with a balanced hand and no redeeming features, you do best to pass. You have reasonable club support so 1® should not play too badly. All that is likely to happen if you respond 1♥ is that your partner will jump in no-trumps and you
will finish much too high. 1® should make comfortably, whilst 2NT would need a lot of luck.
♠ ♥ © ®
3. Dealer West. N/S Vul. AQ5 ♠ K82 A762 ♥ K943 N W E A98 © 765 S A75 ® QJ8
West
North
East
South
1♥
Pass
2♥
Pass
?
2NT. The losing trick count is a great form of hand evaluation, but it is not great at evaluating balanced hands – it tends to underestimate their strength. The West hand has just seven losers, which would suggest passing 2♥ – but you should always contemplate upgrading a hand with four aces – change all the aces to kings and you would still get seven losers using the losing trick count. You should certainly invite your partner to game, so why not describe the hand neatly by rebidding 2NT – you both know that you have a heart fit, but now you can say how flat your hand is. This rebid is unlike a notrump rebid after a change of suit because it has been made after a ‘limit bid’. Partner has shown 6-9 points, so with 15-16 points there would be little chance of game, hence the 2NT rebid shows a little bit more: 17-18 points. When partner has only three hearts or happens to be flat as well, he can opt to play in no-trumps rather than hearts. 3NT has a reasonable chance with these two hands, whilst 4♥ has little or no chance.
♠ ♥ © ®
4. Dealer North. Love All. AQJ6 ♠ K 10 9 4 N 875 ♥ 2 W E S K7654 © AQ32 2 ® K J 10 4
West
North
East
South
3♥
Dbl
Pass
?
Page 10
4♠. Partner’s double was for take-out, asking you to bid. Do not forget that it implies the values for a good opening hand and shortage in the opened suit. If you have a good hand, you should not just bid, but jump to game. Remember, you are being asked to respond with zero points so, with ten points and a singleton, you should certainly be getting excited. You need to go for game. Furthermore, your weak hearts are likely to sit opposite a singleton in partner’s hand, which is perfect. Should you bid spades or diamonds? Your partner may very well have support for both suits, but especially the unbid major – 4♠ is one trick fewer than 5©, so you should bid game in the major. If you bid only 3♠, your partner would pass – he has shown his hand already – a 3♠ response could show no points at all.
♠ ♥ © ®
5. Dealer North. N/S Vul. A92 ♠ KQJ63 N 76 ♥ 984 W E S 43 © KQ2 QJ6543 ® 92
West
North
East
South
1♥
1♠
Pass
?
2♠. One fit is nearly always enough: you have six clubs on this hand, but nobody wants to hear about them. Your partner has shown five spades for his overcall and you have good 3-card support; you must show it immediately. An important reason for doing this is to stop North from making a descriptive rebid. If you bid 2® here, North is going to be able to bid 2© or 2♥, but, over a raise to 2♠, North is going to find it difficult. His partner has passed and he is vulnerable so bidding at the three-level is dangerous. The hand is a classic part-score battle with both sides able to make eight or nine tricks in their suit. As often happens, the first side to find a fit wins. 2♠ making scores +110, whilst 3♥ making scores -140: that difference ■ is significant in all forms of the game.
Q PLUS 9.1 Still the very best Acol-playing Software available Happy BRIDGE reader, Gill Smith of Thames Ditton writes: I love my QPlus Bridge. As a learner, I always have a faithful partner whenever I want one. She is always available (late at night too) and she bids and plays perfectly. She has never kicked me under the table, rolled her eyes or taken a sharp intake of breath. If I bid or play badly she is on hand with sound advice yet she doesn’t take offence if I ignore it.
FEATURES l
The Usual Friendly Interface (see above)
l
Hint and Help Buttons – always at hand
l
Easy Windows Installation
l
Comprehensive Manual
l
Rubber, Duplicate and Teams Scoring
l
Instant results playing in teams mode
l
2,500 pre-played hands for teams
l
2,000 pre-played hands for match-pointed pairs including 1,000 new hands
W NE
Check your pairs percentage and ranking
W NE
Systems include: several versions of Acol, including Bernard Magee’s system, Standard American or create your own.
l
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS l
8mb RAM
l
Pentium or equivalent
l
CD-ROM
l
Windows XP or Vista
TRADE-IN OFFERS Trade-in any previous version of Q Plus. Just post in the booklet and disk and a cheque for £32. Trade-in any other bridge software before 30 November 2009 and send it with a cheque for £49. Order with absolute confidence.
PS. Bernard Magee’s Interactive Defence Software now ready, £72.
£82 including p&p Make your cheque payable to
( 01483 489961
There is also a use which I didn’t realise when I bought the CD. It is the facility to feed in the real hands that we deal, and see how it would have bid and played them. I have done this on arriving home, usually cross with myself, after a duplicate session. My faithful friend gives me a sensible perspective on the matter. When playing Chicago or rubber at home, at the end of the bidding and playing a difficult hand, I have opened up my laptop and switched on QPlus. With fellow learners, I have looked at hands and seen how our electronic friend would have bid and played. We still have lots to learn. I bracket my QPlus disc together with the dishwasher – an essential luxury that I would find difficult to live without.
and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
Fax 01483 797302
Bernard Magee Says
Leave the Master Trump Out hen there is only one trump out and it is the highest remaining, it will often be best to leave it out rather than use two of your own trumps to draw it. After all, the master trump is always going to make whether by being drawn or by ruffing. Here is a simple example:
W
♠ ♥ © ® ♠ ♥ © ®
QJ3 Q 10 6 Q J 10 7 762
K642 AK72 64 J93 ♠ ♥ © ®
N E
W S
♠ ♥ © ®
10 9 J983 982 10 8 5 4
A875 54 AK53 AKQ
West
North
East
Pass Pass *Stayman
3®* 6♠
Pass End
South 2NT 3♠
West leads the queen of diamonds. You see at once that you need a 3-2 trump split or you will have two trump losers. How should you set about the play? If you win the lead and play three rounds of trumps, you will finish one trick short. This is because you have ‘wasted’ two of your trumps on drawing West’s top trump. Instead, you should win the lead, play just your top trumps and then take all of your winners, eventually cross-ruffing in diamonds and hearts. You do not mind when West makes his trump because that will be the only trick he makes. He will probably overruff when you take your second heart ruff, but when he does so, he takes only one of your trumps rather than two.
♠ ♥ © ® ♠ ♥ © ®
J 10 9 8 K Q 10 9 6 A K72 ♠ ♥ © ®
7543 J7 10 8 7 6 4 QJ ♠ N ♥ E W © S ® AKQ62 A2 KQJ9 A9
♠ ♥ © ® Void 8543 532 10 8 6 5 4 3
♠ ♥ © ®
QJ3 9763 54 10 7 3 2
542 Q52 Q J 10 7 6 Q9 N E
W S
♠ ♥ © ®
♠ ♥ © ®
10 9 AKJ8 982 KJ84
AK876 10 4 AK3 A65
Contract: 4♠. Lead: ♥7. You, South, play in 4♠ after West has overcalled in hearts. West leads the heart king. You win the lead with your ace and play on trumps, but East discards on the first round. What happens if you play a second, third and fourth round to draw the last trump? West wins and leads back hearts, forcing you to ruff with your last trump. When the defenders get in with the diamond ace, they can take their heart winners too. The way to succeed is to avoid drawing West’s last trump. You win the heart, play the A-K-Q of spades and then switch to diamonds. West takes his ace and can draw one of your trumps, but you do not mind. When he plays hearts, you ruff the third round with your last trump. Then, as you have set up the diamonds already, you make ten tricks. By not playing the fourth round of trumps, you have kept ahead of the game – given yourself a ‘tempo’ – so that you have had time to set up your long suit before you ran out of trumps. You have seen two reasons not to draw a master trump: either because it uses up two of your trumps to do so, or it causes you to lose control of the hand. When would you draw it? The most common time is when you have a long suit ready to run and an opposing ruff would prevent you from running it.
Page 12
East wins the first trick with the jack of hearts, continues with the king and then plays a third heart, the ace. You ruff the third trick and draw two rounds of trumps, everybody following. If you choose to leave the master trump out, you will go down. If you leave West with his queen of spades and try to run your diamonds, he can ruff the third round and return a club – you end up losing four tricks. Instead, since making the fourth and fifth rounds of diamonds is worth more than a spare trump, you ‘waste’ two trumps to draw West’s master. He wins, but you can ruff his heart return and make the rest of the tricks with five diamonds and the ®A.
Conclusion It is usually right to refrain from drawing a master trump if it will save you from using up two of your own trumps. It is also right if it gives you better timing for your plan, keeping you in control especially when you still need to establish a suit. However, when you have established a side suit already and have tricks ready to run, it can pay to draw their master trump to avoid having your long suit isolated. ■
2009 Bridge Breaks OCTOBER 2009
NOVEMBER cont
16 – 18 £199
Staverton Park Take-out Doubles Improvers Alex Davoud
27 – 29 £199
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16 – 18 £199
The Olde Barn Doubles Alison Nicolson
27 – 29 £199
Wychwood Park Doubles Gary Conrad
16 – 18 £199
Wychwood Park Hand Evaluation Alan Lamb
23 – 25 £199
Wychwood Park Signals & Discards John Wotton
30 – 1/11 £235
Marsham Court Bernard Magee (see page 10)
30–1/11 £150
Staverton Park Gentle / Just Duplicate
30 – 1/11 £199
The Olde Barn Declarer Play Ray Hutchinson
NOVEMBER 2009 13 – 15 £199
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BRIDGE BREAKS © Full-board
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© Tuition with Supervised Play and two seminars.
Please book me for ..... places at £.... per person, Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Sea View* ..... Name of Hotel/Centre ........................................................ Dates .................................................................................. Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address...............................................................................
Wychwood Park, Crewe
............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................
DECEMBER 2009 11 – 13 £199
( ......................................................................................
The Beach Hotel Rubber/Chicago Diana Holland
Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige) ...........................................................................................
Christmas & New Year
Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking ...........................................................................................
Denham Grove
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. *£30 supplement per room (Beach Hotel and Marsham Court Hotel only).
Chris Barrable 24-27 December – £395 27-29 December – £199 29 Dec – 1 Jan – £355
The Olde Barn 24-27 December Sandy Bell – £395
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20 – 22 £199
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The Beach Hotel
Expiry: ............................ CVV.................... Issue No. ...............
27-29 December Rubber / Chicago Diana Holland – £199
(CVV is the last 3 numbers on the signature strip)
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302
29 Dec – 1 Jan Bernard Magee – £395 (see page 10)
e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
Page 13
DEFENCE QUIZ
RUBBER / CHICAGO 09/10 at The Beach Hotel, Worthing Hosted by Diana Holland
11-13 December (Fri-Sun) 27-29 December (Twixmas) 12-14 February (Fri-Sun) 28-30 May (Fri-Sun) 30 July-1 August (Fri-Sun)
by Julian Pottage (Answers on page 47) ou are East in the defensive positions below. It is your turn to play.
Y
Please note there are no seminars or set hands at these events
£199 – Full-board – No Single Supplement
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1. ♠ ♥ © ®
AK82 QJ3 KJ6 Q 10 7 ♠ Q 10 9 7 4 3 N ♥ 95 W E S © A3 ®865
West North East South 1♥ 1NT 2♠ 2NT1 1 Pass 3® Pass 3©2 End 1 Lebensohl, asks N to bid 3® 2 single suited with diamonds
Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed) ...........................................................................................
3. ♠ ♥ © ®
4. ♠ ♥ © ®
A7 KQJ8 Q J 10 Q963 ♠ N ♥ W E S © ®
Q J 10 10 5 86543 K72
West leads the ®J covered all around. Declarer cashes the ♠K and ♥A before playing a second trump (West shows out). Next comes the ♥K for a club discard from hand and the ♥Q. What do you do?
, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com
Page 14
West North East South 2♠1 4♥ End 1 weak
Partner leads the ♥A, ♥K and ♥2. Which card do you play on the third trick?
West North East South 1♥ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 6♠ (!) End
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.
A972 3 Q9765 Q93 ♠ KQJ843 N ♥ J5 W E S © 843 ® 10 7
Partner leads the ®A-K (®J-5 from South) and continues with the six. Which card do you play on the third trick?
Please book me for .... places, Single .... Double .... Twin .... for the Rubber/Chicago weekend(s) of ...............................
2. ♠ ♥ © ®
AKQ74 Void A K 10 9 3 A 10 6 ♠ 6 N ♥ Q 10 8 5 W E S © J865 ® K932
West North East South Pass 4♥ Pass 6♥ End
Partner leads the ♠10, which runs to the ♠J. Declarer cashes the ♥A-K (West follows low and then discards a low spade), crosses to dummy with a diamond and starts playing on spades. When do you ruff?
The Waiting Game by Michael Scarrott
‘A
twelve hour delay – you’ve got to be kidding!’ exclaimed a very disgruntled Dave. ‘I am afraid so,’ replied Marge making a determined effort to remain calm. ‘It’s a lightning strike by the airport maintenance staff. They have agreed to be back on duty in twelve hours’ time. It affects all outgoing flights. ‘We will get some compensation and the airport authority has promised meal vouchers. It is hardly worthwhile for anyone to go home. Most people will just have to sit it out at the airport. The airport administrators have promised to keep passengers updated with developments.’
Lightning Strike ‘Lightning strike you say,’ muttered an irate Dave. ‘I would give them some lightning where it hurts if I had my way.’ He looked around at his fellow airport passengers and saw looks of anguish coupled with inevitability. ‘The twenty-first century – one of the world’s busiest airports – yet still a relative handful of people can bring the entire operation to a standstill!’ ‘What on earth are we going to do?’ continued Dave. ‘We’ve been travelling since five o’clock this morning to make sure we arrived in plenty of time to check in. Now we are well and truly stuck for at least an extra 15 hours.’ They both listened as announcements confirmed the delay in different languages. Marge looked around and suddenly had an idea. ‘Just how many of these people are bridge players, do you suppose?’ Dave gave his wife a puzzled look and wondered what this had to do with their predicament. ‘Haven’t got a
clue,’ was all he could say. ‘Well, why don’t we find out?’ continued Marge in a very determined tone.
International Match? Slowly warming to the idea, Dave glanced around and replied in an enthusiastic voice, ‘Maybe we could organise something on an International level? Just look around. There must be people from all over just hanging about with nothing to do. Perhaps we could arrange for a message over the intercom system inviting any interested bridge players to meet up outside the duty free shop for a friendly competition. Even non-bridge players might like to watch in an effort to defeat the boredom. They might even make a wager or two!’ Marge grinned and offered to find someone in authority to organise an announcement. ‘I’ll get them to say bridge is a game without frontiers. That should get some interest.’ She soon came back with good news. The event would be broadcast over the internal airport speaker system and they would have an area of the departure lounge cordoned off for the event. ‘I think they really like the idea of passengers fixing up something for themselves and not moaning continually.’ ‘Well, let’s just hope we get some response,’ replied Dave, ‘It would be a shame if this turned out to be just a damp squib.’ He need not have worried. Within minutes of the announcement, a good size group had congregated around the meeting area. A section of the lounge was soon ready and the airport authority promised to provide suitable tables. ‘We ought to have ample time to play a 20-board competition,’ said a delighted Marge. ‘If
Page 15
we aim to have a short refreshment break about halfway through, the whole event should take no more than four hours or so. At the very least it will take a sizeable chunk out of the waiting time.’ Luckily, one of the interested participants was on the committee of a nearby bridge club. This person offered to loan playing cards, duplicate boards, bidding boxes and score cards. A specially arranged courier service would collect the items in question. The internal catering establishments would provide complimentary non-alcoholic beverages. ‘Do you think that chap Branson might provide a trophy?’ said a hopeful Marge. ‘If he gets to know what’s going on, there’s a good chance he might,’ replied Dave, ‘he likes to get involved with all sorts of quirky events and doesn’t miss a chance of a bit of free publicity.’
The Competition Begins The final tally of players came to 40 and a draw took place to decide the order of play. Marge extracted her cards from the first board and took stock of her opponents – a Bulgarian Professor called Georgi in partnership with a friendly Aussie from Queensland. ‘G’day mate. The name is Bruce. This is a fantastic idea. It could completely revolutionise the tedium of hanging around in airports worldwide. Maybe I shall get a chance to use my Boomerang Coup. It is really quite easy. I throw a trick away and, before you know it, a couple come flying back my way in double quick time!’ He looked across at his learned Bulgarian partner and added, ‘Not too bad for the old entente cordiale either!’
The Waiting Game Bruce opened one no-trump (strong, 15 to 17) and Georgi raised straight to game. ‘Life is far too short for deliberation,’ he commented in very good English. These were their hands:
´ ™ © ®
Georgi A3 K84 98653 QJ5 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
Bruce K6 AQ73 A J 10 7 K72
Dave led the queen of spades and Bruce took time to count his winning tricks. He had six top tricks, with diamonds looking good to produce the remainder by means of a double finesse.
A Finesse is a Last Resort He took a second or two to recall his days spent in the outback when he would often hurry a hand in anticipation of a juicy steak from the obligatory barbeque always accompanied by a couple of cold beers! He also remembered a recent article written by one of the great Australian champions, which stated clearly that, ‘One should take a finesse only as a last resort. Far too many players blame the finesse when they go down without realising the contract could have been made on a different line of play.’ Consequently, after winning the opening lead in hand, he played the ace followed by the queen of hearts. Bruce played a heart to the king next, revealing the kind 3-3 break. It remained just to knock out the ace of clubs before making a comfortable contract. ‘You made that contract look easy,’ commented Marge. ‘It’s a good job Dave wasn’t playing it. I’m pretty certain he would have fiddled with the diamonds right from the start and maybe made the outcome rather less certain.’
continued
‘It’s bad to fiddle,’ said Georgi giving Dave a stern look. The Emperor Nero fiddled – look what happened to Rome!’ Good-natured chatter reverberated as everyone prepared to move for the next round.
Moving for the Next Round A colourful couple from Dallas, Texas were soon facing Marge and Dave. ‘Hi, guys. I’m Chad and this is my wife Sue Ellen.’ Dave grinned across the table at Marge as he remembered the hugely successful television soap from years ago when J R Ewing and his wife Sue Ellen were known nationwide. ‘I know just what you’re thinking,’ said Chad in a mesmerizing southern drawl, ‘Our Dallas Bridge group voted JR the most eligible bridge partner anyone could have. Opponents would be bribed or blackmailed into throwing simple contracts and putting up little or no defence.’ ‘The series was a great success over here,’ said Marge. ‘We were always completely amazed at how such a dysfunctional, feuding family could all live and eat together in one big house. I suppose many duplicate bridge clubs are a bit like the Dallas television series. People turn up, week after week, to slug it out for a few master points. They usually all arrive in good humour, but by the end of the evening are more often than not completely disgruntled and ready to ditch their partner! ‘Years ago, you could enjoy a game of duplicate and go home to reflect in solitude on how well or badly the evening’s play had gone. Nothing so relaxed now, I am almost sorry to say. If you don’t have the results pinned up by the door on the way out, they will almost surely arrive by email while you are travelling home.’ ‘Yes,’ joined in Dave, ‘it’s no good trying to slip away unnoticed. There’s always someone wanting to let you know what a pity it was that you had to come bottom!’
The Bridge Doctor Chad was soon speaking again. ‘Sue Ellen’s something of a celebrity back home. She is a practising Bridge Doctor
Page 16
at the Dallas Country Club. Her services are very much in demand. She even has her own local radio show. Listeners can phone in with any type of problem.’ ‘What a super idea,’ said Marge giving Sue Ellen a sideways glance. ‘It keeps me on my toes for sure,’ answered Sue Ellen. ‘I limit everything to bridgerelated queries although, just occasionally, something unusual might creep in. Just a month or so ago, a lady called Teri telephoned in to tell me she had received a proposal of marriage at the bridge table. What a romantic gesture, I said somewhat tongue in cheek. Was there a happy outcome?’
Marriage Proposal ‘Oh, yes,’ she replied. ‘I told Mike if he made the next contract I would accept, but if he went off then the answer would be no!’ ‘Poor chap,’ interrupted Dave. ‘I’d be a nervous wreck playing a hand under that pressure.’ Sue Ellen reached into her holdall and pulled out a slip of paper. ‘This is the deal in question. See what you make of it:’
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Ray A6 KQ964 Q32 963
Teri K 10 9 3 A73 10 5 QJ75
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Cliff 52 J 10 5 A9874 10 8 2
Mike QJ874 82 KJ6 AK4
The auction was quite simple. Mike opened 1´, Teri raised to 3´ and Mike went on to game. Their opponents were Ray and Cliff, two well-known local oilmen. Ray led the king of hearts and Mike played low from dummy. When Cliff encouraged with the jack, Ray continued with the six of hearts, taken by the ace. Then Mike led a spade to the queen and ace. Ray continued with a third heart ruffed by Mike in hand. He led a spade to the king in dummy next, which cleared the remaining trumps. Now Mike pondered the task of avoiding
The Waiting Game two diamond losers in order to seal the contract and his future happiness! He looked across at Teri and gave a boyish grin. She gave an anxious halfsmile in return as she realised the contract might well depend on a lucky guess. Fortunately, Mike was not a hazy thinker. He realised quickly that as Ray had already shown up with the ace of spades as well as the king and queen of hearts, yet had not bid, it was a near certainty for Cliff to have the diamond ace. His mind made up, he led the five of diamonds from dummy and played the king confidently when Cliff played low. With ten tricks made, Mike sat back and sighed with relief. He took a small satin-covered box from his jacket pocket, passed it across the table to Teri and said in an unperturbed tone, ‘Now what’s that they say about diamonds being a girl’s best friend!’
continu ed
Russian steel magnate called Boris and his wife Svetlana. ‘We heard your announcement in the first class VIP lounge,’ announced Boris in a thick Russian accent. He was a formidable looking, heavyset man with dark, wavy hair. A diamond-studded gold Rolex watch stood out prominently on his thick wrist. In complete contrast, Svetlana had a terrific head of blond hair and wore a heavenly tweed hacking jacket over an ivory silk blouse.
The Russian Opponents
With a firm invitation to visit Dallas made, Chad and Sue Ellen moved off to the next table. The refreshment break came round soon and gave players a chance to mingle and chat. Everyone agreed how uncanny it was to play in an open arena with so many onlookers. ‘It tests your powers of concentration to the full,’ remarked Dave to a studiouslooking couple from Vienna called Heidi and Rudi. ‘Yes,’ replied Rudi, ‘the kibitzers can be a distraction, but most are well behaved and realise quickly you are locked mostly in a battle of luck and percentage play. This is unlike chess, for example, which is a game of perfect information where all the pieces are visible.’ Heidi added, ‘I suppose that a particularly observant declarer could judge whether or not a particular line of play might work from the mood of the spectators. Are they looking relaxed or are they alert and tense?’ ‘Ignore them at your peril,’ joined in Marge, making an effort to lighten up the conversation.
‘I bet there is a minder or two keeping an eye on him,’ thought Dave. ‘We play strong no-trump, weak two’s, Roman key-card Blackwood, splinters and some other stuff I can’t remember,’ continued Boris giving Dave a solemn look. All at once, he gave a big grin and added, ‘In my country we always say the road to hell is paved with good conventions!’ Not to be outdone by all this bravado, Dave turned to Svetlana and asked if she favoured the phoney club? ‘Any club will do for me darling,’ she replied in a playful provocative tone! Svetlana reached into her Gucci holdall and produced an ornately engraved silver flask. ‘Essential medicine,’ she murmured while pouring a generous measure of a clear liquid carefully into a matching silver cup. Marge looked concerned at this and was just about to say something sympathetic when Svetlana added, ‘Neat vodka. It helps to keep me frosty.’ Boris boomed with laughter and gave Dave a disturbing wink. Thinking of nothing better to say, Dave commented on the bitterly cold weather forecast for Moscow in the next day or so. ‘No problem for us,’ replied a jovial Boris. ‘Have not been anywhere near Russia for quite some time. We are on our way to Nice to take delivery of my new ocean-going yacht. I stopped off in London only to look at a couple of Premier Division football clubs that might be up for grabs.
The Final Round
Premier Division Footballers
Play progressed smoothly and the final round saw Dave and Marge up against a
‘The players are like thoroughbred horses and cost just about as much to
Refreshment Break
buy. Unlike horses, they expect a fortune in wages every week and are not content with just a good feed and a warm stable to sleep in! When I was a boy growing up in the Urals, my father often talked about the fate of whole football teams that failed to perform for their patrons. Yes, coal mining in the Ukraine was not to be recommended in those bad old days!’ As dealer on the first board, Svetlana opened a frisky 2™. Her partner announced this as weak and Dave chose to overcall 3©. Boris passed and Marge bid 3™, asking for a stopper in the suit. Dave bid 3NT duly and Boris tossed the king of hearts onto the table. This was the deal:
Page 17
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Boris QJ853 K8 875 975
Marge A K 10 2 963 10 4 A J 10 8
N W
E S
´ ™ ™ ®
´ ™ © ®
Svetlana 94 Q J 10 7 4 2 Q62 K3
Dave 76 A5 AKJ93 Q642
With just the single stopper in hearts, Dave’s main concern was to keep Svetlana’s hearts out of the game. To his surprise, Svetlana played the heart jack casually under partner’s king. Dave gave an involuntary glance at Svetlana, who raised her silver cup, gave a big smile and took a long drink. It crossed his mind that if Boris started with a doubleton king-queen of hearts, then a finesse of the club king would not be a problem if Svetlana won the trick. The queen would block the hearts.
False Card Noticed ‘This looks like a bit of false carding to me,’ thought Dave after a moment’s reflection, ‘There has to be an ulterior motive and I am just not falling for it. He decided to duck the first trick and won the continuation. He crossed next to dummy with the ace of spades and ran the ten of diamonds. When this won, a very relieved Dave repeated the
The Waiting Game continued
finesse and played out his diamond winners, plus the spade king and club ace to make nine tricks. ‘You clever boy,’ purred Svetlana. ‘You saw through my little ploy. Many players see me as nothing more than a cute blonde and, when I take a drink or two, they think I am not paying much attention.’ Boris nodded in agreement. ‘Svetlana is sharp as a razor and particularly enjoys deflating all those male egos!’ Marge decided to join in. ‘Quite right too. The Canadian author Charlotte Whitton wrote, in June 1963, that ‘whatever women do, they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good.’
Successful Event With the competition over, Dave and Marge received a standing vote of thanks for instigating and organising such a successful event. They also received a generous gift from the duty free shop. Dave congratulated the winning pair, Molly and Max from Canada, who finished with a very commendable 69%.
Generous Support Marge thanked everyone involved for taking part and praised the airport authorities for their generous support. She went on to say, ‘This proves you are never alone anywhere in the world when you’re a bridge player. It’s like having a special passport.’ She paused and added in a very resolute tone, ‘However, this is one bridge competition we would prefer not to have on a regular basis!’ n
It Happened That Way by Freddie North
No-Trump Openings hile on many hands it is easy enough to choose the opening bid, there will inevitably be the exception on which it is hard to decide. Playing Acol, perhaps you pick up this:
W
´ ™ © ®
A Q 10 KQ9 A J 10 9 6 AQ
Now, is your choice of opening bid really clear-cut? Well, there are twenty-two points in a balanced hand and this fits into your range for a 2NT opening (20-22); but there are also quite a few plus values; a five-card suit, two tens and three aces (aces are undervalued slightly in the point count system). So should you perhaps promote the hand to twenty-three points and open 2® prepared to rebid 2NT? No doubt, in an average pairs’ event there would be a dichotomy of views, but I think most experienced players would rate this hand as just too good for a 2NT opening. What do you think about this next hand?
´ ™ © ®
A3 A93 A Q 10 7 2 632
Would you be happy with 1NT (12-14) or, bearing in mind the plus features – a five-card suit, one ten and those three slightly undervalued aces – would you prefer 1© intending to rebid in no-trumps (15-16)? Let us see what happened when this hand arose in a club duplicate. When the opening bid was 1©, everything proceeded smoothly:
Dealer West. N/S Vul. Pairs. North ´ A3 ™ A93 © A Q 10 7 2 ® 632 West East ´ J 10 9 6 ´ KQ872 ™ J 10 8 7 5 ™ K 6 2 © 85 © KJ93 ® Q8 ® 7 South ´ 54 ™ Q4 © 64 ® A K J 10 9 5 4
West North East South Pass 1© 1´ 2® Pass 2NT Pass 3NT End
After a spade lead, declarer had no trouble in collecting at least ten tricks. Things did not go quite so smoothly when North opened 1NT and East decided to risk bidding 2´. South felt torn between the desire to bid some quantity of clubs or gamble 3NT (Lebensohl not being available). Since 3® was nonforcing, South bid 4® or 5® invariably – and, whatever the result in 5®, it had to lose out to 3NT. In fact, the play in 5® was not without interest, some declarers failing after a nipand-tuck battle. Declarer won the jack of spades lead in dummy, drew trumps and took a losing diamond finesse to the king. East could see that if he cashed the king of spades he would then have an unenviable choice of plays (unless his partner held the queen of hearts), so he escaped by underleading his spade honours. West won duly; the heart switch proved to be the
Page 18
final nail in declarer’s coffin. Declarer won in dummy with the ace and then tried to set up the diamonds; when this suit broke 4-2, he could establish the fifth diamond but had no entry left in dummy to enjoy it. A possible plan, as the cards lie, would have been to squeeze East in the red suits. After the ace of hearts, declarer enters his hand with a club and runs the suit to produce this ending.
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Void 10 8 5 Void
Void Void A 10 7 Void N E
W S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Void K J9 Void
Void Q 6 4
When South leads the four of clubs, dummy discards the seven of diamonds but East cannot spare any of his remaining cards. He has to keep the king of hearts or South’s queen makes and, if he discards a diamond, dummy’s ace and ten take the last two tricks. At one table – in a contract of 5® – South produced a masterstroke by ducking the spade lead! West did her best to get her partner off the hook by switching to a diamond, the queen losing to the king. A spade then went to the ace but declarer was soon in control. The ®A-K, a diamond to the ace and a diamond ruff, a club to the six and a second diamond ruff left a winning diamond in dummy and that vital ace of hearts as an entry. n The game made thus.
Julian Pottage Says
Watch Your Entries ntries are vital. It is no good to set up a winner that you can never reach. Some are obvious, like an ace facing a low card. Others are subtler. Whatever they are, use them carefully.
E
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
K84 K943 8653 52
Q 10 9 5 J85 KJ9 983 ´ ™ © ®
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
A63 Q 10 6 2 74 K764
J72 A7 A Q 10 2 A Q J 10
You are South in 3NT. West leads a low heart to the jack, queen and seven. Your ace wins the second round. With hearts wide open, playing spades does not appeal. Better is to play East for the king of clubs and aim to make nine tricks without losing the lead. If East has K-x-x-x, you need to finesse three times. You can do it if you play diamonds correctly. Lead the two to the nine, the ten to the jack and the queen to the king. Save the ace until later!
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
Q 10 9 3 93 72 K 10 8 4 2 ´ ™ © ®
You are in 3NT and West leads a club. If you run the club to your queen, you might never get back to hand. Correct is to play dummy’s ace and drive out the ace of diamonds. A club may come back, setting up your entry. Even if not, you will have time to dislodge the king of clubs and force an entry to hand.
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
K 10 9 3 KJ7 Q 10 6 4 43
W
E S
´ ™ © ®
4 10 7 2 K Q J 10 9 6 QJ7
J76 KQ84 A854 93
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Q4 Q 10 5 4 J82 J652
J2 92 A93 A Q 10 9 8 7
You are in 3NT again. West leads a low diamond. You win in dummy. If you cash the club king and come to hand with a diamond, all will be well if clubs split 3-3 or the jack is short. Better, since you need only five club tricks for your game, is to overtake the king with the ace. Now you can knock out the club jack and get back to hand.
AK852 AJ65 3 A65 N
A8765 A863 K75 K
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
J8 K52 QJ85 A763
´ ™ © ®
´ K93 ™ AQ3 S © K93 ® J 10 8 4 A Q 10 7 6 4 2 764 A7 Q
5 J 10 9 8 10 6 4 2 K952
N
W
E
Page 19
You are in 4´. West leads the heart jack. This wins and East, who opened 1NT (12-14), wins the next two tricks with the A-Q of hearts. A club shift goes to the queen, king and ace. Clearly, you want to finesse East for the missing kings. Start with the queen of diamonds. If East covers, go back to the jack of diamonds and run the spade jack. If the spade jack holds, you can repeat the spade finesse. If the first diamond holds, you run the spade jack at trick six and pick up both suits again.
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
753 AKJ 10 9 4 3 J85
Q 10 8 8542 J5 A964 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
A 10 9 3 8762 Q 10 7 3 2
KJ9642 Q76 AKQ K
You open 1´ in fourth seat and soon arrive in 4´. West cashes the ace of hearts and, when East plays the three, shifts to the ten of diamonds. The danger here is that East has the ace of spades (highly likely in view of West’s initial pass) and comes in to play a heart through your queen. Then you lose three hearts and a trump. To avoid this you need to discard a heart on the ace of clubs before you touch trumps. Have you spotted how to get to dummy? Take two top diamonds and the king of clubs. Then ruff a good diamond. That queen is a red herring! When dummy appears and you make a plan to set up winners and deal with losers, make sure you can get where you want to be. Watch your entries. n
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Page 20
DAVID STEVENSON answers questions on Bridge Laws
When is Eight Playing Tricks not an Acol Two?
Q
The hand below has eight playing tricks but I realise it does not satisfy the rule of 25. I am still unsure whether you can open an Acol 2´ on it. What are the rules and the rationale for them?
´ ™ © ®
A K Q J 10 5 4 2 75 83 7
Raymond Jenkinson, St Albans similar from Terry Hatton.
A
By tradition, an Acol Two is ‘a hand of power and quality, with at least eight playing tricks.’ This hand is nothing like an Acol Two and is a normal 4´ opening. Unfortunately, players have found that by including weaker, pre-emptive type hands in their ‘Acol Two’ openings, or in their ‘Benjamin’ 2® openings, they gain an advantage. Doing so misleads opponents into thinking that they have a strong hand, and thus tending to miss contracts themselves. The EBU has tried to address this by giving a minimum for strong openings. A Benjamin 2®
has to be strong to be legal. A natural two opening is not limited in the same way, so it is legal to play a 2´ opening, for example, to include pre-emptive hands like this. However, one should not describe them as ‘Acol’ (not being a hand of power and quality) nor as ‘strong’, if they can be outside the limits. Alas, this does not solve the problem fully as it is very hard to find a definition that includes all hands of power and quality while excluding all pre-emptive hands. To call a hand ‘strong’ it has to have one of: a) subject to proper disclosure, the high cards for a normal one-level opening and at least eight clear cut tricks, or b) any hand meeting the Rule of 25 or c) any hand of at least 16 HCPs The example you gave is a point short of (a), so you could add a jack and say it was acceptable. I think it a very poor bid, but legal. If you agree that your openings have to be (b) or (c), you can call them ‘strong’ or ‘Benjamin’ or ‘Acol’. If you include (a), you should also say ‘can be quite weak with lots of
playing strength’ or similar. If your openings are natural, but may include pre-emptive hands, they do not have to fit into the above definition, but when announcing them you should say ‘Intermediate to Strong, forcing’. To answer your specific questions: 1) Eight playing tricks never was the definition of a strong two. Pre-empts often contain eight playing tricks. 2) Rule of 25 tends to show a stronger hand and is thus less misleading. You can open a strong hand that is not Rule of 25 so long as it falls under (a) or (c) above. 3) The rule aims to stop people from gaining an advantage by opening pre-emptive hands and describing them as strong. ®©™´
Q
This was our auction when I (North) forgot that we do not play transfers after an intervening call:
Page 21
West North East South 1NT Dbl 2© 2´ Pass 3© 3™ 4© 4™ Pass Pass 5© 5™ Dbl End
When I made 5™ doubled, West started to complain about our bidding. I said that, if she had an issue with our bidding, she should have called the Director. What would have been the ruling if she had? Birthe Johns, Tewkesbury.
A
There is no doubt that you were right about what to do when your opponent criticised your bidding. Criticising someone else’s bidding is rude and a breach of bridge ethics. She should either keep quiet, or call the Director if she thinks something is wrong. Normally, if you forget a transfer, it is worrying if partner seems to allow for it, there being the possibility of partner ‘fielding a misbid’ as the EBU puts it quaintly, which means allowing for the mistake probably because she has seen the mistake a few times before! In fact, the Director might even adjust in such a situation. However, with the bidding as given, East-West have bid and raised diamonds, so it was obvious from their bidding that you had gone wrong. Thus, your partner has done nothing wrong and there is no reason to change the resulting score.
Ask David
continued
Q
Declarer (West) claimed the last two tricks, with spades as trumps. She had the ´Q and the ©A in her hand, with the ´J and the ©J in dummy. North, who held the ©2 and the ´3, disputed the claim. The Director awarded a trick to North on the basis that there was still a trump outstanding. Is this ruling right? Doreen Parrington, Alicante, Spain. It is normal to claim in bridge generally since it is such a waste of everyone’s time to play hands out, especially when all the remaining cards are winners. On this occasion, the Director was quite wrong. Since North would have followed suit to both of West’s winners he cannot get a trick and the Director should not have awarded him a trick.
A
®©™´
Q
East bid and made 4™. The cards were being replaced in the Board, some having been shuffled, when South said that he thought that East had ruffed a spade at trick 10 and had noticed that she still had a spade in her hand (the last two tricks were not played as the winners were on the table). West said that as the cards, or most of them, had been replaced in the board, it was impossible to check. South agreed and withdrew the complaint. North (who is a trained director) insisted that a mistake had been made, otherwise her partner would not have complained. The director
was called and he ruled that as the cards had been replaced, there was no means of checking and the table should sort it out for themselves. West reiterated that as the cards had been replaced and reshuffled, it could not be checked and left the table. North insisted that a mistake was made and scored 100 points (for a penalty of two tricks) for N/S, instead of 420 points E/W (non-vul). What is the correct solution to this problem? Name and address supplied.
A
The story you tell is most upsetting and, of course, if I were really to give a ruling I would hear from all players and the director. However, assuming what you have said is completely accurate, this is the situation. Players make mistakes. Sometimes they revoke. sometimes they think others have revoked but, in fact, they are wrong. In this case, South thought there was a revoke but it seemed too late to check. West should not tell him it was too late since, like any other infraction, it is not up to West to decide, it is up to the director. Furthermore, North’s assertion that there must have been a mistake otherwise her partner would not have complained is also somewhat out of order. Her partner is just as likely to have made a mistake in thinking there was a revoke as East in possibly revoking. It is the old story. Never argue, just call the director. Sadly, when they eventually did, the director failed to do his job. To say that if the cards were back in the board, it is impossible to sort it out is just wrong. He could go through the play. What really worries me is the suggestion that they
should ‘sort it out for themselves’. This is completely unacceptable. It is the director’s job, not the players’, and much of the trouble caused was because the director did not do his job. If he thinks there is insufficient evidence to decide there was a revoke – and he does not seem to have bothered to find out – then he should make a ruling, presumably that there was no revoke. ‘Leaving it to the players’ is absolutely awful. Now we now come to North’s scoring. There was neither an agreement that there had been a revoke nor a ruling from the director to that effect. For North to score it as though there was a revoke and a revoke penalty is awful, dreadful and on the verge of cheating. It is just unacceptable. The club authorities should warn him as to his conduct and threaten him with expulsion if there is any recurrence. ®©™´
Q
An opponent opened 1NT with 11 points, admittedly with two tens as well, which his partner announced as 12-14. Is such an arrangement legal? John Foster by email.
A
You may choose to open any 1NT range you like, so long as it shows at least nine points (ten points at holiday/novice bridge). For example, I play 11 to 14 with several partners. It is fun to try something a little different. Of course, not everyone values their hands the same, so perhaps this pair play 12 to 14 but count two tens as a point. This is legal, and they would not think they had opened light. When you announce a range, this is not
Page 22
an undertaking to the opponents that they can rely on absolutely. The Law book does not allow us to restrict style. If a player wants to count extra points for some things (such as tens, good suits) and deduct points for some things (for example 4333 hands, two honours in a doubleton) then that is indeed legal. ®©™´
Q
I read somewhere that once the players had returned their hands to the board at the end of play North was responsible for the board and any request to inspect the hands. Is this no longer right? Mrs J Robertson, Lundin Links, Fife.
A
I am not sure who stated that North was responsible for the boards after play ends but this is not entirely true, I fear, despite being a wellknown view. North is responsible for moving the boards unless the Director decrees otherwise. He has no responsibility otherwise and he has no right to allow or to forbid someone from examining his own hand or the travelling score-sheet. No player may touch anyone else’s cards, with or without permission. If a player wishes to see other people’s hands, he must ask them to show him. Unless there is a problem over time, I would expect this to happen routinely. David Stevenson answers all queries based on the facts supplied by the letter writer. Neither Mr Bridge nor David Stevenson has any way of knowing whether those facts are correct or complete.
Ask David
continued
Q
A reply in BRIDGE 95 in relation to jump overcalls surprises me. I learnt that a jump overcall (1™ from RHO, 3® from me) shows about 16 points. The reply talked about preemptive overcalls and seemed to dismiss this teaching. Ken Wicks, Morden, Surrey.
A
One thing that annoys me is the failure of many bridge teachers to explain to their students that the way they teach them is by no means the only way to play bridge. I deal with many queries that arise because players expect other people to follow what they believe is right without apparently realising it is just one possibility amongst many. For example, someone taught you that a jump overcall shows about 16 points. Did your teacher not say, ‘but many people play this differently.’? He should have done. A common way to play the bid is weak or even intermediate. Therefore, when I refer to someone describing the jump overcall as pre-emptive, that is a perfectly normal answer. I do not ‘dismiss’ the fact that other people play it as you do, as a strong jump overcall. I just allow for the fact that a large number of people in the British Isles play a jump overcall as weak, in other words preemptive. ®©™´
Q
As East, third in hand, I opened 1©, having 11 points, with ©A-K-10-x-x and the ™A. South overcalled 3NT – no alert. My partner
passed, as did North. I asked North what he understood by the bid and he replied he did not know. I assumed that South was playing the gambling 3NT with a long club suit and doubled. This ended the bidding. Before my partner led (a diamond), I asked South if he could clarify his bid. He replied that he expected to make 3NT. I suspected then that he had a very strong hand, perhaps 23-24 points, and decided that I would need to establish my diamonds, hoping to get in later with the ace of hearts. I assumed he had ©Q-x-x and took the first two tricks with ace and king. I then sent a third diamond back, taken as expected by South’s queen. He then proceeded to run eight clubs and made 10 tricks altogether. Had I known that he had a 1-1-3-8 shape, I would have then played the ace of hearts instead of the low diamond, and beaten the contract by several tricks. A spade was not a sensible return as dummy had ´A-Q-J-x-x. I called the director who ruled that as dummy had not known what the bid meant, that was the end of the matter. (In the heat of the moment, I failed to mention that South had in effect denied that it was the gambling no-trump.) Is this a correct decision? Was South entitled to answer my question in this way? Hugh Fido, Canterbury.
A
You are entitled to a full explanation of an opponent’s agreements, but nothing more. From what you have written in your letter, it appears they had no agreement over the meaning of the bid and this meant
you had to guess what he had just as much as his partner. Therefore, the Director was right, there is no case for adjustment – sorry. Your question to South was improper anyway and the reply, while ambiguous, was merely free extra information to which you were not entitled. ®©™´
Q
If the majority of a club play 5-card majors, but a few play Acol, the Acol players would open on 12 points when some of the 5-card major players would pass, particularly if they are vulnerable. How do you score a game that has been bid and played by those playing Acol, but would not be bid by those playing 5-card majors? Viv Tremeer by email.
A
You score based on the results achieved, regardless of how the players achieved them. While it is true that, on some deals, certain systems are more likely to produce particular results, this is just part of the game and no reason for adjusting the actual scores. The director adjusts the score only in accordance with the rules following an infraction – playing one legal system rather than another is not an infraction. ®©™´
Q
The bidding went:
West North East South 1™ Pass 2® Pass 2™ Dbl
At this point, South and West (but not North) picked up their bidding
Page 23
cards. I (as East) said, ‘Hold on. The bidding hasn’t finished.’ So, it continued: West North East South … Pass 2´ Pass Pass
At this point, South said, ‘I don’t think this is right’ and called the director who said, ‘I see what you mean. There may have been unauthorised information. Carry on.’ South bid 3™, which ended the auction. North was two down. The director came back and he said, ‘I do not need to make a ruling on this one because the score for 1 down doubled is the same as two down undoubled.’ What is your opinion? Dan Crofts, Edgbaston, Birmingham.
A
If the Director believes he should adjust the score from 3™ -2 to 2™ doubled -1 he should do so, not say he does not need to make a ruling. Let us assume he, in fact, decided to make such a ruling. Now, to adjust under unauthorised information Laws he must decide that a player has chosen amongst logical alternatives one suggested by the unauthorised information. Frankly, I am not sure what the unauthorised information is nor what logical alternatives are being considered. If I had been one of the players, I would have asked the Director to explain his ruling, which seems incomprehensible to me. n E-mail your questions on bridge laws to: davidstevenson@ mrbridge.co.uk
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Seasonal Walks with Countryman
A Walk in the Autumn T
his little piece of England where the birds are singing, the sun shining and the air seriously intoxicating – it is all too easy to fall under its magic spell and dream on, contentedly… Is it me, as Terry Wogan would say, or are the autumn tints and colours even more beautiful than ever in this season of mists and mellow fruitfulness? Yes, I suspect it is me, captivated by the moment, because the countryside is almost always a joy to behold at this time of year. As Cindy and I (Cindy is my muchloved golden retriever) make our way across the fields and towards the woods, one cannot help but feeling slightly spellbound by the natural beauty of the surroundings. Many leaves have fallen – the Americans do not call it ‘the fall’ for nothing – but there is still plenty of colour left; browns, greens, yellows, reds and shades of gold. Just as I am thinking that perhaps in a previous life I had been lucky enough to be an artist or a poet, able to record such events, I come back down to earth as we meet a couple out for a ramble with their dogs. I do not know who they are but they have two dachshunds and a Chihuahua with them. Cindy greets the trio with more than a trace of curiosity and I cannot help wondering what she makes of the Chihuahua. This little chap seems a million miles away from her world. However, the encounter passes off without incident and after chatting for a few minutes, we proceed on our respective ways, the Chihuahua hitching a lift from Mrs X.
Forgetting about dogs for a moment, my thoughts turn to a hand that I happened to be kibitzing the other evening. This was it.
Dealer West. N/S Vul. Teams. ´ A63 ™ 532 © KQJ9 ® 843
the moment they sense danger. It is such a pity that they have taken the place of their smaller and much prettier cousin, the red squirrel, whose numbers have dropped so dramatically, though I believe in some areas the red squirrel is making a comeback. Now let us return to our bridge hand where it is obvious that the diamond blockage is a real bugbear.
N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
74 AKQJ94 A A752
´ ™ © ®
4™ South. Lead ´K.
West 3´ End
North Pass
East Pass
South 4™
I shall leave you to decide on your plan to make 4™ and we will come back to the problem a little later. Apart from our last encounter with the couple and their three dogs, the woods seem very quiet as though Cindy and I are the only inhabitants but, of course, there is a certain amount of bird life. A rookery in the distance is just audible with a hoarse cawing noise and wood pigeons are constantly on the move as we approach their resting place. We come across several grey squirrels and they lose no time in scurrying for cover up the nearest tree
Page 26
´ A63 ™ 532 © KQJ9 ® 843 KQJ9852 7 N W E 752 S 10 6 ´ 74 ™ AKQJ9 © A ® A752
´ ™ © ®
10 10 8 6 10 8 6 4 3 KQJ9
4
I wonder if you followed the popular line. The chances look quite good if the trumps divide two-two or the clubs three-three. So declarer wins with the ace of spades, draws trumps, noting there is no joy there, and tackles the clubs. Still no joy when they break fourtwo. Inevitably East-West score 100 – unlucky! At the table I was kibitzing, a husband and wife partnership sat NorthSouth and the husband was the declarer in 4™. This is how the drama unfolded. Declarer took ages before he committed himself to the first trick –
Holiday Time continued and then he ducked the king of spades. West continued with the queen of spades and now he covered with the ace and East ruffed. Dummy was watching closely and, if looks could have killed, declarer would have been dead – very dead! In fact, I think if two men in white coats had been readily available then the wife would have had her partner carted off before even finishing the play. Luckily, this was not the case because declarer won the club switch, cashed two top hearts, unblocked the ace of diamonds and entered dummy with that precious five of hearts. He was now able to enjoy three club discards on the top diamonds scoring no fewer than eleven tricks, +650. ‘Well played!’ I said enthusiastically. ‘Where did you learn that little trick?’ ‘Many moons ago,’ he replied, ‘I read a most interesting article in Bridge Magazine written by Barry Rigal and he cited a situation somewhat similar to this when you actually wanted a defender to ruff your winner so that you could get to dummy with the third trump. It rang a bell so I thought I would try it – thank you Barry.’ As the full artistic beauty of declarer’s play finally registered with his wife, I am
sure she forgave him for giving her such a fright. From her point of view, not knowing about the diamond blockage and problem in reaching dummy, his play of ducking the king of spades (given West’s pre-empt) must have looked completely crazy. However, all was soon sweetness and light – in fact, a warm and loving smile wafted across the table – and I am sure she did not mean it for me! On our way home, a rabbit scampers away long before Cindy can get close. Perhaps it should not be out at this time of the morning but, in any case, it has disappeared underground now, safe but possibly a little frightened. Strange word that ‘underground’ – I think it is the only one in the English language to begin and end with ‘und’. Well, there is a useless piece of information for you. When we get home and settle down with a welcome drink, I say to Cindy, ‘You know – it is a funny old game when you set out to get your ace ruffed and that is the way to make your contract! Now I think of it, declarer would probably have failed had East refused to accept the bait and discarded a diamond. The reactions of both West and North would have been interesting but East might well have had the last laugh.’ Cindy gave a little wag of her tail. Perhaps she was n picturing the scene...
DECLARER PLAY QUIZ by David Huggett (Answers on page 34) ou are South as declarer playing teams or rubber bridge. In each case, what is your play strategy?
Y 1.
Ryden Grange, Knaphill GU21 2TH
( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop
3.
´ ™ © ®
J975 J8 AK5 Q 10 8 3
N
N E
´ ™ © ®
S
´ ™ © ®
AK7 A 10 6 73 A K 10 7 6
You are in 3NT and West leads the ™2, East playing the ™Q. How do you plan the play?
2.
´ ™ © ®
A83 Q 10 Q J 10 9 7 A54
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ®6. How do you plan the play?
4.
976 K Q 10 6 73 AQ96
´ ™ © ®
8754 7432 AKJ9 K
N W
N
E
W
S
´ ™ © ®
E S
´ ™ © ®
A 10 2 J93 AKQ J 10 8 7
North East South
Pass
Pass
Pass
1®
Pass
1™
Pass
1NT
Pass
3NT
End
You are in 3NT and West leads the ´K. (Spades are 4-3). You have only five top tricks. How do you plan the play?
Page 27
E
W
S
West
Available from
864 7543 AQ865 4
W
Single-Suited Design Pens
Boxed Set of Four £19.95
´ ™ © ®
AK932 A965 2 QJ6
West North East South 1´ 1NT
3´
Pass
4´
End
You are declarer in 4´ and West leads the ™K. West holds all the missing trumps. How do you plan the play?
Freddie North Says
If One of Your Options is 3NT, Bid it any maxims are obscure in origin. One that isn’t – the one at the head of this article – emanates from the popular American star, Bob Hamman. While I haven’t done a recent head count, I suspect that Bob has won more world championships than Zsa Zsa Gabor has had husbands. So, when he advised, ‘If one of your options is 3NT, bid it,’ the bridge world sat up and took notice. With only nine tricks needed for game, 3NT is often where you want to play, even when you have only one stopper in your weakest suit. One false move and you have bypassed 3NT or stopped partner from bidding it. The three deals that follow have all been taken from pairs’ events.
M
Love All.
´ ™ © ®
´ ™ © ®
Q965 10 3 Q QJ7542 ´ ™ © ®
N E S
´ ™ © ®
K8 J8654 10 3 2 K98
A J 10 7 AKQ92 AK7 6
West
North
East
Pass Pass
2NT 4´
Pass End
Game All.
´ ™ © ®
South 2™ 3´
With five quick tricks and a big hand, South should open 2®. However, the above is how it went at one table. 4´ was no success and duly went down. While South’s bidding made 6© too tough to reach, it would have worked OK if North had taken Hamman’s advice. 3NT makes eleven tricks when diamonds behave.
´ ™ © ®
K Q 10 4 2 5 J52 A 10 6 4
5 ´ N KQ86 ™ W E S AQ98743 © 2 ® ´ AJ ™ AJ7432 © K ® KJ75
West 3© End
432 7 J98654 A 10 3
W
The next deal required a little daring. I think South was clearly a Hamman fan.
North Pass 3´
East Pass Pass
exactly. (iii) The opponents are more likely to make a helpful lead away from an ace against 3NT. My final deal tested South’s play again.
Love All. 98763 10 9 10 6 Q983
South 1™ 3NT
´ ™ © ®
A9 K Q 10 9 7 10 8 7 3 74 ´ ™ © ®
West
The first three calls are easy. Then, since East has already passed, the range for West’s overcall is quite wide. North stretches to bid 3´, knowing that his initial pass limits his hand. South has a difficult rebid and there are snags to each contender. With such a strong hand, only a game or forcing bid will suffice but the question is which. If he rebids a forcing 4®, there is a danger of being raised in clubs and that could be a disaster at pairs. Either 4™ or 4´ could be right – or very wrong. Although the king of diamonds has a fragile look about it, only South knows that. So, Hamman rules, OK. West led a low diamond and declarer could see nine tricks. A successful finesse against the queen of clubs gave a tenth – it was pairs, after all. The benefits of playing in and hence bidding 3NT are as follows: (i) You need only 9 tricks for game. (ii) If you make 10 tricks in 3NT, this outscores any suit game made
Page 28
´ ™ © ®
J 10 6 3 42 AJ95 653 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
K875 J853 2 K982
Q42 A6 KQ64 A Q J 10
North
East
1™ Double1 3™ End 1 Shows exactly four spades.
South 1© 3NT
South was not altogether happy with his bid of 3NT. Still, it was one of his options and he reckoned that it was then or never. The trouble is that you need to run nine tricks without losing the lead. When dummy came down, it was clear that the club finesse would need to work – not only that, the suit would have to yield four tricks. Declarer won the king of hearts with the ace. The king of diamonds came next and then the key play – the queen of diamonds overtaken by dummy’s ace. This was safe once West followed to the second diamond, but would have been more of a problem without the nine in dummy. With the actual layout, it mattered not that East showed out on the second diamond, Declarer had the three entries to dummy for three club finesses – essential as the cards lie. n
Ask Julian Pottage
When is a Change of Suit Rebid Forcing?
Q
If when bidding without competition, the dealer/opener’s second bid is a new suit, does responder have to bid? K G Weyers by email.
A
The usual rule is that if the response is at the one level and opener’s rebid is in a lower ranking suit than the first, then the rebid is nonforcing, eg 1™-1´-2® is non-forcing. If the rebid is in a higherranking suit, making it a reverse, then the rebid is forcing, eg 1©-1´-2™ is forcing for one round. If the response is at the two level, then the modern style is to play that a change of suit rebid by opener is forcing, even if it is not a reverse, eg 1´-2®-2© is forcing for one round. If the response is at the two level and the rebid is a reverse, then, in the modern style, this is game forcing, eg 1™-2®-2´ is forcing to game. ®©™´
Q
In an uncontested auction, if I open 1™ and then rebid 2™ it shows 12-15 pts. If I rebid 3™, it shows 16-18 pts. What happens if the opposition intervene and my cheapest rebid becomes
3™? Does that show 12-15 or 16-18 pts? John Hullah by email.
A
You ask a good question. For many pairs, using natural methods, it is a grey area. It depends a bit on the vulnerability and whether the initial response was 1NT or at the two level. Let us suppose the auction has started: West North East South 1™ Pass 1NT 2´ ?
If you are vulnerable, 3™ shows more or less what it would have done without the 2´ overcall. With hands in the 12-15 range, facing a limited response, you are rarely going to be missing game if you pass. Nor, as you are vulnerable, do you expect going down in 3™ to be cheaper than letting them play in 2´. If you are non-vulnerable, or if the response was 2® or 2©, you can afford to be a bit more aggressive. With a good six-card suit, you do not want to let the overcall shut you out. You might then have 14-16 points for 3™. With a better hand, you either jump to 4™, bid 3´ (the opposing suit) or bid a new suit. If you have a minimum opening, you can
afford to pass because, if the partnership has game values, then partner will bid again or reopen with double. In tournament play, many partnerships have a conventional way of showing both strong and competing hands after the overcall. ®©™´
Q
(1) Playing a 12-14 1NT opening, with 15 points, I open 1© (my only 4-card suit) intending to rebid 1NT if my partner bids 1™ or 1´. My partner bids 1NT. Should I pass as this was to be my rebid, or should I bid 2NT to show 15-16 points, i.e. notrumps rebid at the lowest level? (2) My partner opens 1NT (12-14). Next player doubles. I hold 8 points with a 5-card club suit. Should I leave the double in, or take out into 2®? Shirley Rose, Camberley, Surrey.
A
(1) With 15 points facing a presumed 6-9, you should pass the 1NT response. You are not going to have the 2526 points that you need for game. A raise to 2NT would show 17-18. (2) There is no hard and
Page 29
fast rule. With 8 points and no singleton I would tend to pass, expecting partner to make 1NT doubled more often than not. With a shortage somewhere it would be more attractive to bid 2® (or try to show two suits if the system permits) for fear that the opponents will score quite a few tricks in my short suit. ®©™´
Q A
Is it a good idea to play transfers over 2NT? Edward Woodward by email.
Yes, one advantage of a transfer is that it enables the notrump bidder to play the contract if responder’s suit becomes trumps. The stronger the opening bidder’s hand, the greater the positional advantage that transfers bring. It is difficult making an opening lead when you know there is a 2NT opening on your right. It is also difficult to defend when you can see little of the opposing strength. Another advantage to playing transfers over 2NT is that with a very weak responding hand (including a 5-card or longer major) you can make the transfer and pass when opener completes the transfer.
Ask Julian
continued
Q
If partner opens 1NT (12-14) and the next hand passes, can you give some examples of when you should rescue with a very weak hand? Mrs E Chater, Uxbridge.
A ´ ™ © ®
Hand A J743 J743 J854 6
´ ™ © ®
Hand B J9642 J73 4 J862
Hand C 85 Q963 84 J8654
´ ™ © ®
Hand D 10 8 5 Q963 J64 10 7 3
With hand C, you should pass. As 2® is Stayman, you cannot play in 2® if you bid now. If the fourth player doubles, you can bid 2® naturally at your second turn. With hand D, you should also pass. 1NT may not be a good spot but you would need to make a trick more in any two-level contract just to break even. Often the opponents will have roughly half of the missing high cards each, in
lower, in 3NT or 4´. The breaks are rather unkind.
®©™´
®©™´
At the table, North dealt and opened 2®. South called 2™ and the contract was 6NT, going four down. How should the bidding go?
Could you describe the best bidding sequence with these hands? Our sequence was not a success.
Q
Your shape usually determines the best course of action.
With hand A, you can bid 2®, Stayman, intending to pass opener’s rebid. So long as you have support or at least tolerance for every suit apart from clubs, you can employ this tactic. With hand B, you bid 2´ (weak take-out) or, playing transfers, 2™. With a fivecard or longer major, you can show the suit, no matter how weak your hand.
´ ™ © ®
which case neither will be in a position to double.
´ ™ © ®
´ KQJ73 ™ Void © A K 10 8 6 5 ® AJ A9652 ´ 10 J9872 ™ K654 N 3 W E © Q J 9 2 S 94 ® 10 8 6 2 ´ 84 ™ A Q 10 3 © 74 ® KQ753
Sheila McDougall, Birmingham.
A
In Acol, North is not good enough to open 2®. To open 2® with an unbalanced hand, you really need five quick tricks. This hand has only four (one for the ´K-Q, two for the ©A-K and one for the ®A). Opening 2® without the requisite few high cards is asking for trouble whenever the deal is a misfit. The response should have been 3® rather than 2™, though South is always bidding a slam after the 2® opening. Playing Acol Twos, 2©-3®-3´-3NT-4´ seems a sensible start. By bidding diamonds first and then spades twice, North shows 6-5 (or 7-5) in the two suits. With no fitting high cards in either of North’s suits, South should then settle for preference to 5©. Facing a big spade-diamond hand, most of South’s high cards will not be working. As the cards lie, NorthSouth do better to stop even
Q
splinter, showing the club shortage, would be better if the hand were good enough for a slam try. However, especially if you play Acol Twos, it is very rare that you are going to have a hand worth a slam try after an auction starting 1´-2´. ®©™´
´ ™ © ®
AQJ83 AKQ98 N 52 W E S 7
´ ™ © ®
K752 52 964 A843
West North East South Pass Pass Pass 1´ 2® 2´ Pass 3™ Pass 3´ End
3™ was a trial bid. East thought West’s hand was unsuitable for this. West thought East should have accepted and bid 4´. Huw Jones by email.
A
With a 4-loser hand (or 19 points counting distribution), West has a clear-cut bid of 4´ after the raise, so the question of a trial bid should not arise. If I had the West hand, I would not only bid 4´ but also be thinking of a redouble if someone were to double. East’s bidding was cautious too. With four trumps (not promised), an ace and a ruffing value, East should have accepted the game try in any event. West’s pass over 3´ indicates 3™ was not a slam try, though I suppose a slam could be on if East has perfect cards (´K-x-x-x, the ©A, the ™J and at least three clubs). I do not advise looking for a slam that requires perfect cards, so bidding 3™ as a slam try is not a good idea either. Besides, when your suit is this good, it is unlikely that partner can help with it. A 4®
Page 30
Q
In BRIDGE 96, you talk about 4-4-4-1 shape, meaning I think 4 spades, 4 hearts, 4 diamonds and 1 club: i.e. the suits top to bottom of the bidding ladder. How can I tell whether a writer means 4-4-3-2 as.... any hand with two 4 card suits, one 3 card suit and one doubleton, or... precisely 4 spades, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs? Could there be an established format say 4-4-4-1 means a precise order and 4441 means any order of suits? Can you also tell me why spades come first when clubs are first in alphabetical order? Ian Dalziel, Troon, Ayrshire.
A
Yes, if we mean a specific shape, we use dashes; we also use a word like ‘shape’ or ‘distribution’. If we do not mean a specific shape, we omit the dashes and use a more general word like ‘hand’ or’ type’. e.g. ‘5-4-3-1 distribution’ means 5 spades, 4 hearts etc whereas ‘a 5431 hand’ could have the 5-card suit anywhere. Since spades is the highest-ranking suit, it always comes at the top in a diagram (or first in a list). This is something on which both writers and publishers seem to agree. I ask that any readers who submit queries follow the same convention, putting spades first.
Ask Julian
continued
Q
In BRIDGE 96, you show the replies to a Key Card Blackwood enquiry as follows: 5® = 0 or 4 keycards 5© = 1 or 5 keycards 5™ = 2 keycards 5´ = 3 keycards
I prefer to play Roman Key Card Blackwood, to which I understand the official replies are as follows: 5® = 0 or 3 keycards 5© = 1 or 4 keycards 5™ = 2 or 5 keycards 5´ = 2 or 5 keycards + queen of trumps 5NT = even number of keycards + useful void 6 suit = odd number of keycards + void in that suit Why are the two systems different? It seems useful to be able to show the queen. Shirley Rose, Camberley, Surrey (similar from Bill Westmeath).
A
Keycard Blackwood is an older and simpler convention than Roman Keycard Blackwood, which is why it has a different set of replies and a simpler name. In Keycard Blackwood, the king of trumps counts as much as an ace but the trump queen has no special significance. For sure, Roman Keycard Blackwood, in which the queen of trumps is significant, is more accurate. It can also be useful to have a way of showing a void. However, not all players want the greater accuracy at the expense of greater
complexity. The forerunners of Keycard Blackwood, the Culbertson 4-5 NT and Byzantine, both took account of kings but neither took account of queens or voids.
CHARITY BRIDGE EVENTS
®©™´
Q
Please could you advise whether the East hand below is worthy of a 2© opener. At most tables the score was 150 (1©+4); at one table the score was -100 (4´-2). North had Q-x in both red suits but four spades.
´ ™ © ®
West Q63 J985 62 J962
´ ™ © ®
2 RNLI BRIDGE DRIVE Salwarpe Village Hall, Droitwich 10.30 for 11am. £10 per person including buffet lunch. Pam Main ( 01905 381395
30 CHILDREN OF BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA Our Lady Queen of All Creation RC Church, Hemel Hempstead 9.30 for 9.45am. £12.50 per person inc lunch. Mrs Pat Henry ( 01442 391087
3 CHRITIAN AID St Andrew’s Church Rooms, Preston, Weymouth. 2-5pm £6 per person includes tea. Julia Moore ( 01305 776138 7 BRIDGE TEA IN AID OF HELP THE HEROES Edward Road, Market Harborough 2pm £30 per table. Ann ( 01858 465508 7 THE BRITISH HEART FOUNDATION Colsterworth Village Hall 10am £14 inc coffee & lunch. Liz ( 01476 860018 9 RIDING FOR THE DISABLED WOODHURST GROUP Hemingford Abbots’ Village Hall. 2-5pm includes afternoon tea. Sally Pinnock ( 01223 874508
Howard Stevenson, Glenfield, Leicestershire.
A
OCTOBER continued 30 CAMBRIDGE INNER WHEEL IN AID OF PAPWORTH DAY CARE WARD Great Shelford Memorial Hall. 2pm. £15 for a double ticket. ( 01954 780068 Pat Turner
3 RNLI. Cheltenham Bridge Club 11am-4pm. £14pp includes lunch. Margaret Beverley ( 01242 510193
East AK74 AK4 A J 10 7 4 3 Void
In terms of playing strength and high cards, East could indeed open 2©. Other factors suggest not opening 2©. The relatively weak diamonds and strong majors suggest the best contract may well be in a major, which opening 2© might make harder to find. Another factor may have come into play at some tables: treating the East hand as an Acol 2© is nowhere near as attractive for pairs playing Benjamin. After a Benjamin 2® opening and 2© reply, East cannot show the diamonds below the three level and the strong hand is quite likely to end up as dummy. At matchpoint pairs, you do not want to stretch to bid thin games. 5© is well below 50%, so you really do not want to be in it. As you mention, North had a pair of doubleton queens, which was rather favourable for declarer.
OCTOBER 2009 1 READING ASSOC. FOR THE BLIND St Barnabas’ Church Hall, Reading 2.30pm. £30 per table, includes tea. Paddi Lilley ( 0118 9872759
13 RICHMOND SUPPORT GROUP ‘BRIDGE THE GAP’ AFTERNOON IN AID OF ST TERESA’S HOSPICE 1.30pm Richmond Town Hall Mary Lovell ( 01748 850208 17 ST ANNE’S CHURCH, KEW GREEN 1.30pm for 2–5pm. £12.50. Ian Lewty ( 0208 8763681 21 CHARITY BRIDGE DRIVE IN AID OF THE NORFOLK HOSPICE Norfolk Lavender Centre, Heacham. 6.45pm £7.50 to include buffet and the Lynn Cup. Fundraising office ( 01485 542891 21 HELP FOR HEROES The Old Barn Hall, Church Road, Bookham, Surrey. 10.30 for 11am. £15 includes lunch and wine. Patricia Granger ( 01372 453965 22 SOMERSET CHILDREN’S HOSPICE SOUTH WEST & SOMERSET SIGHT FUND CHARITY BRIDGE DAY Oake Village Hall 10.15am for 10.45am £15 includes coffee & lunch with a glass of wine. Audrey Pike ( 01823 256059 Monica Greenway ( 01823 400091 23 CHESHIRE HOMES Village Hall, Hartford, Hunts. 10am for 10.30am. £13.50. Malcolm Howarth ( 01480 212910
Page 31
30 MARLOW COMMUNITY ASSOC. Liston Hall. 7pm-10.30pm tables £47 inclusive of supper. Keith Brown ( 01628 486138
NOVEMBER 2009 14 FRIENDS OF BROMLEY WELCARE BRIDGE AFTERNOON All Saints’ Parish Church Hall, Orpington. £6 pp tea & cakes. 2-5.30pm. Gillian Scales ( 020 8663 3173 19 RAINBOWS CHILDREN’S HOSPICE LOUGHBOROUGH Tickets £7. 2pm Thurnby Village Hall. Mr B Rowarth ( 01162 414807 Carole Screaton ( 01162 415465 26 CHARITY BRIDGE AFTERNOON Huddersfield Pennine Rotary Club, Outlane Golf Club 12 noon £44 per table, inc. lunch. G Hancock ( 01484 516737 26 STOURBRIDGE ROTARY CLUB IN AID OF THE ERADICATION OF POLIO Blakedown Village Hall 10.30am £12pp includes coffee & biscuits on arrival and two course lunch. Anita Reid ( 01384 372370 27 MARLOW UNITED REFORMED CHURCH EVENING BRIDGE DRIVE Christ Church, Marlow 7pm for 7.30pm start £40 per table including ploughman’s & pud. Barbara ( 01628 486281 27 EAST ANGLIA CHILDREN’S HOSPICE (EACH) Village Hall, Hemingford Abbots. 10am. £14.50. Sheila Paval ( 01480 395394
MARCH 2010 13 MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT Bristol Bridge Club. 10.30am £18.50 per person, includes coffee, lunch & tea. Judy Hall ( 01275 877181 Shelagh Bower( 01275 846512
APRIL 2010 7 CHRISTIANS IN IRAQ and LITTLE VOICE Joint Appeal Jubilee Hall, Little Shore Lane, Bishop Waltham 10.30am–5pm £30 per person includes lunch, coffee, tea, cakes & biscuits and two seminars (take-out doubles and penalty doubles) delivered by Bernard Magee. Margaret Cochrane ( 023 8069 4959
Ask Julian
continued
Q
I have just come across the term ‘Modern Scientific Acol’. What is this? Charles Leveson, Poynton, Cheshire.
A
Broadly speaking, Modern Scientific Acol equates to the form of Acol you would meet if you played in a tournament. Certain conventions, such as Roman Keycard Blackwood, Lebensohl (a way to compete after partner opens 1NT) and Michaels Cue Bids (a way of competing with two suited hands), are more or less standard amongst tournament players but are rather less popular for typical club players. ®©™´
Q
Partner opened 1©, followed by a pass; as I had a weak hand, I passed as did my LHO. After the obvious disastrous result, he said to me, ‘That was a Michaels Cue Bid showing strength in both majors!’ I said sorry but did not continue with my opinion that the Michaels Cue Bid was an overcall. Also: where does the term rubber come from?’ BettyAnne Henderson, Oxfordshire by email.
A
Barring misbids, if partner opens 1© and plays there, I do not see why this would lead obviously to a disaster. Often other pairs have gone overboard. Perhaps the opponents have missed something. A 1© opening
would not show the majors in any system I know. In Acol and most natural systems, it shows diamonds. It would seem that your partner imagined a 1© opening against him and, fixated by the imaginary 1© bid, put down 1© instead of 2©. My historical researchers tell me that the term ‘rubber’ comes originally from bowls. It is also in use in tennis and baseball. ®©™´
Q
Playing transfers, what do you do if you have an intermediate hand with both majors but it does not have six of a major, e.g. five spades, five hearts, two diamonds and a club. John Morley by email.
A
With 5-4, 4-5 or 5-5 in the majors and a wish to invite game, you can start with Stayman. If opener bids a suit in which you have five cards, you raise to game, with the known 5-4 fit. You probably bid game too if opener’s rebid reveals a 4-4 fit. If you get the less helpful 2© rebid, you can jump to 3™ or 3´, showing five cards in the suit and inviting game. Partner knows this is an invitational bid because you could have bid 3™ or 3´ direct over 1NT to force. Of course, if you decide to give up on game after the 2© rebid, you can rebid 2™ (or 2´ if you have five spades but not five hearts) to stop at the two level. A few people play that, after 1NT-2®-2©, a responder’s rebid of 3© says ‘I have 5-5 in the majors. Please give preference between them.’ This convention goes by the name extended Stayman. n
DOUBLE DUMMY SOLUTION by Richard Wheen (Problem on page 7)
´ ™ © ® ´ ™ © ®
J Void Q 10 8 AK ´ ™ © ®
32 Void A4 32 N W
E S
´ ™ © ®
KQ 2 J97 Void
A AK K32 Void
S
o there we were, in the South-East Surrey Seniors Pro-am Winter Congress. My partner (also my bridge teacher) was the Pro and, despite his fine tuition, I was and always will be an am. I was South, declarer in a no-trump contract, with the lead in dummy, needing the rest of the tricks. I could sense my partner was daring me to fail. I had five top winners, but I knew there were many high cards out against me, so the chances of an extra trick were slim. It seemed that I would have to play off my winners and hope that one or both opponents discarded badly. Then I recalled a couple of tips from my motherin-law: lead the senior suit first (and aces before kings); and discard the junior suit first. So I led a spade to the ace and then cashed my ace of hearts. West threw a club and dummy did the same (junior suit first). I continued
with the king of hearts. On this West threw a diamond, dummy a club (j.s.f. again) and East a diamond. Still muttering ‘mother-in-law’ to myself I led a diamond to the ace and one back to my king. To my astonishment and delight, the three of diamonds won the last trick. I knew my partner would be happy and I mentioned my mother-in-law’s tips; I also commiserated with our opponents for having guessed wrongly to discard diamonds. My partner was furious. ‘You did not succeed because of a wrong guess or your mother-inlaw: it was, clearly unknown to you, a double squeeze. Talk about casting pearls before swine. On the last heart, West could not throw a club or he would set up dummy’s club three; likewise, East could not throw a spade or he would set up dummy’s spade three. Each had to come down to two diamonds, meaning your three was bound to win. You need to come to my ‘basic double squeezes’ class before you insult your opponents again.’ He added something about my mother-in-law, which I will not repeat in polite company. I nearly called the director to calm him down, but my embarrassment at having executed a double squeeze without knowing it soon got the better of me.
DUPLICAT EBRIDGE RULESSIMPLIFIED (otherwiseknownastheYellowBook)
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by John Rumbelow and revised by David Stevenson
E-mail your questions for Julian to: [email protected]
NewEdition.Includes2008LawRevisions.
Availablefrom Page 32
( 01483 489961
Heather Dhondy Says
Bid on with a Two-suit Fit onsider West’s final bidding decision on the following deal:
C
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
1
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
QJ72 AK94 852 73
N
4♥ ?
E
W S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West
983 10 AQJ64 K J 10 6 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A K 10 6 5 QJ873 97 2
4 652 K 10 3 AQ9854
North East South 1♦ 2♦* 3♣ 5♣ Pass Pass *Michaels cue bid: both majors
High-level decisions are one of the hardest parts of the game. You must decide how many tricks your side can make and how many tricks the other side can. Of course, you will rarely know how many tricks either side can make just by looking at your cards and the bidding. However, certain clues help you judge your hand and the bidding. For example, the vulnerability will help you decide whether your opponents are sacrificing. The existence of a double fit will often indicate that it is right to bid on. It increases the likelihood that the other side has a double fit also. This, in turn, will increase the total number of tricks available on the deal. Often when both sides have a double fit, both can make a game. This is true of the deal above. Even if one side goes down, it is likely to go only one down, which will be cheaper than losing a game. Therefore, it will be wrong to take the push only when both sides are too high.
Returning to our problem, it seems likely that we will lose three tricks in the minors and, if partner has a typical hand, probably nothing else. So our best guess is that we have ten tricks available to us. We must now turn to the opponents’ contract. Unless we have two tricks in one major and a trick in the other, (unlikely given the vigorous opposition bidding) their contract seems favourite to make. This says that we should bid on – even if we are vulnerable against not. We expect to be sacrificing for one down against their making game.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
2
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
7 AKJ62 AQ863 10 8 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West 1♥ *Weak
A Q 10 9 8 5 983 7 K64 ♠ N ♥ W E S ♦ ♣ K432 4 52 AQ9732
North 2♠*
East Pass 3♥
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3
J6 Q 10 7 5 K J 10 9 4 J5
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
South Pass ?
A8652 Q 10 8 J764 6
10 9 7 AK762 3 K J 10 2
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Knowing whether we have a double fit can be vital to making the right decision at a high level. Here you can help partner by telling him about your suit. What does 4♣ by you mean in this auction? Since you are a passed hand, it must include a spade fit. You could not open the bidding at the one level or with a pre-empt: this means you cannot want to play in clubs. Instead, you are telling partner of your suit and implying a spade fit, giving him the option to base his final decision on whether he has a club fit.
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As you can see from this deal, based on both side’s double fit, you can make eleven tricks in a spade contract. The opponents meanwhile can make ten tricks in their heart contract. The two examples above are both ideal for bidding on. However, just because you have a double fit, it does not always follow that you should bid on. There can be indicators that suggest defending – for example, values in your shorter suits, or a doubleton in their trump suit. You must also take care when there may be no two-suit fit.
QJ J543 AK852 84
K43 9 Q 10 9 AQ9753
West
North
1♥ 4♥
1♠ ?
East Pass 3♦
South 1♣ 3♠
You must decide whether to bid 4♠ as North. East’s 3♦ shows hearts and diamonds. Does this mean the deal is a twosuit fit? No – look at your hand. Partner is going to be short in hearts but is unlikely to be short in diamonds as well, so the opponents do not have a two-suit fit in the red suits. You know for sure with your singleton club that your side does not have a two-suit fit in the black suits. You should pass or maybe risk a double (though that might spare declarer a trump guess). Here, both 4♥ and 4♠ are going down. ■
ANSWERS TO THE DECLARER PLAY QUIZ ON PAGE 27 by DAVID HUGGETT ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
1.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q3 KJ92 K92 Q983
N W
West Pass Pass End
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West Pass Pass Pass
864 7543 AQ865 4 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
J 10 9 5 2 Q8 J 10 4 J52
AK7 A 10 6 73 A K 10 7 6
North Pass 1♦
East Pass Pass
South 1♣ 3NT
You are in 3NT and West leads the ♥2, East playing the ♥Q. How do you plan the play? Bidding 3NT might have seemed a good idea at the time but the contract is very poor. Dummy has little to offer and the chance of making nine tricks is slim. Indeed with only five tricks ‘on top’ outside of diamonds, via two spades, one heart and two clubs, you need to make four diamond tricks to fulfil this ambitious contract. At least there is a small chance. The lead of the ♥2 shows that hearts are probably divided 4-2 and it can do no harm to duck the first trick although this is not essential. Win the heart return and play a low diamond, ducking in dummy. Then, as soon as you regain the lead, you play a low diamond to the queen. On a good day, this will win and, when you play the ♦A next, the remaining diamonds will fall. In summary, you need diamonds to break 3-3 with the ♦K with West – about an 18% chance of success.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
2.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
KQJ8 A2 854 5432
976 K Q 10 6 73 AQ96 N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A 10 2 J93 AKQ J 10 8 7
North Pass 1♥ 3NT
East Pass Pass End
South 1♣ 1NT
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠K. (Spades are 4-3). You have only five top tricks. How do you plan the play? It can do no harm to duck the ♠K or the ♠Q that follows but you have to win the third round, noting that East follows each time. Even if the club finesse works, you still have only eight tricks; likewise, if you knock out the ♥A you will have only eight tricks. Since you have to play both suits, it might seem as if it does not matter whether you play clubs or hearts first. In fact, it is very important that you tackle hearts first! If you lose to the ♥A with East, he may well have no more spades and then you do not much care whether the club finesse wins because if it does lose it is to the ‘safe’ hand. Now what if the heart loses to West, who then cashes the last spade? When this happens, it is madness to take the club finesse because West cannot possibly hold the ♣K. If he did, he would not have passed originally with thirteen points. Instead, lay down the ♣A and hope for a singleton king with East.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
K62 A75 832 J976
J975 J8 AK5 Q 10 8 3 N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q 10 4 K96432 64 K2
A83 Q 10 Q J 10 9 7 A54
You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♣6. How do you plan the play? ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
543 8754 J 10 9 6 2 K
You are lucky to have escaped a heart lead but, even so, things are not looking very hopeful. With only seven tricks ‘on top’, you have to hope for a minor miracle and surely you have to try to make nine tricks before losing the lead. The lead of the ♣6 should give rise to some optimism because the rule of eleven shows
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that, if the lead was originally fourth best, then East has only one card higher than the six. Hope it is the king! Play the ♣8 from dummy and, if East plays the king, you can make three club tricks in all after finessing against the jack. If East ducks the ♣8, the ♣A will fell his king and again you will make enough tricks without losing the lead. Note that you must not play the ♣3 lazily from dummy assuming that East will play his highest card. If you do, he might duck also after applying the rule of eleven.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
4.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q J 10 6 KQJ Q 10 3 A 10 2
8754 7432 AKJ9 K ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
N E
W S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Void 10 8 87654 987543
AK932 A965 2 QJ6
West
North
East
1NT End
3♠
Pass
South 1♠ 4♠
You are declarer in 4♠ and West leads the ♥K. West holds all the missing trumps. How do you plan the play? Maybe the bidding should have gone differently but you can do nothing about that now. After winning the opening lead (there is no point in ducking when West must hold all the entries), you discover that you have two trump losers. This means you have to find a way of disposing of all your remaining hearts, hoping that your only losers will be two trumps and a club. So play a low diamond to the jack – after all, you know from the bidding that West has the queen – and then play the two top diamonds, throwing two hearts. If on the second and third diamonds West contributes the ten and the queen, the nine in dummy becomes a winner on which you throw your last heart, while West can only ruff impotently with a master trump. All the examples this time relate to finding the only chance, however small that may be. ■
Lèse Majesté by Dick Atkinson
‘Y
ou must think very carefully before betting a packet on a Goulash,’ remarked the Baron. ‘And that is doubly true of a Philly.’ ‘You had a flutter on the Oaks, then?’ ‘Not that kind of filly, for heaven’s sake! A Philadelphia,’ he explained. ‘This was the last deal of the 1930 Ruritanian Invitation Knock-out Teamsof-Four Final. Scoring was by total points, of course, and we were playing the common club rule of those days that any hand not bid to game at least – when first dealt – should be redealt as a Goulash, a Philadelphia Goulash.’
A Philadelphia Goulash He handed me what appeared to be the menu for a banquet. When I turned it over, there were two bridge deals recorded, of which this was the first:
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
432 Void A6532 AK643 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
10 6 5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Void QJ9 ♠ AKQJ N ♥ AKQJ32 W E ♦ K4 S ♣ 5 987 Void Q J 10 9 8 7 10 8 7 2
‘It looks boring,’ I remarked, thinking furiously. ‘6NT is solid for East-West. If they go for 7♠ greedily, they will be defeated after a Lightner Double—’ ‘Au contraire. The ill-judged Double
would drive them into 7NT which will make via the obvious double squeeze and can be defeated only by a club lead. However, in the prevailing version of the Philadelphia or Passing Goulash, after the deal, you passed three cards to your partner, with the object of improving one or both hands. West’s pass of three losing spades was automatic, as was East’s pass of his three minor-suit cards. South can do no better than to pass his three spades. North has no prospect of improving to a good hand, so his tactic must be to pass his meagre wealth on to his partner, namely the three goodish clubs. ‘The exchanges are so obvious that they were identical in both rooms, leaving the hands you see written below.’
North 10 9 8 7 6 5 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Void Void West East Void ♠ AKQJ432 Void ♥ AKQJ32 AK65432 ♦ Void AK6543 ♣ Void South ♠ Void ♥ Void ♦ Q J 10 9 8 7 ♣ Q J 10 9 8 7 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
‘Though I couldn’t know it yet, of course, our other pair had a minor disaster on the East-West cards. Generally suits will break very badly, so
Page 35
my team-mate, Mr Rassendyl, opened 2♠, intending to fish for heart support later before risking a slam. South decided to Pass, and West called 3♦. East showed his hearts, and West now has an easy call of 3NT—’ ‘With 34 points!’ I jeered, somewhat unwisely. ‘An excellent contract, which would have made exactly. Amusing, don’t you think, that the chance to ‘improve’ the hands reduced the East-West potential from 7NT to only 3NT.’ ‘Surely,’ I interrupted again, with all the self-preservation instinct of a lemming, ‘it’s just that the North-South exchanges have improved their cards defensively.’ ‘I suggest you try defending against 7NT with the changed North-South cards against the unchanged East-West cards – I believe that is what Einstein would call a Thought Experiment. As South alone guards the minors now, there would be a simple squeeze. However, West made the foolish call of 4♣, and East had to repeat his hearts.’ ‘And of course he has four losers in 4♠ . . .’ ‘4♠, of course, would have made exactly also, since South has, by his own choice of cards, to pass, so ‘improved’ his defensive prospects that he has thrown himself in at trick one! North has to ruff the lead and East discards loser on loser.’ ‘North isn’t forced to ruff . . ‘ ‘True, true, he can instead concede one or more overtricks. But let us return to reality. West bid 4NT, natural, and our pair in that room therefore recorded a minus score. Queen Flavia is a very beautiful creature, but has no
Lèse Majesté
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
cont inued
great intellect, I am afraid. Even without that small catastrophe, of which I was of course ignorant at the time, I estimated we were still a few hundreds down from the first half of the match.’ ‘Well . . . I suppose if your opponents bid to slam, you could double them and take them off 500 . . .’ ‘If they bid a Grand we could sting them for 400 under the 1929 Code (100+100+200). But that wouldn’t be enough. I was sitting South, and I had conceived the idea, popularised by the Americans many years later, that a notrump call over a strong bid in a major could hardly be genuine. Since you would make a take-out double with interest in the other major, this alternative take-out ought to show the minors. So after the same exchange of cards, our auction went: West North East South 2♠ 2NT Dbl Pass 3♥ 3NT Dbl Pass Pass ...
‘Now I redoubled, which is, of course, an absolute command to my partner to pick a suit.’
Pick Better Minor with Both Void! ‘How on earth did he decide which minor to pick?’ I mused, weighing up the relative merits of the two voids. The old man shook his head and replied, ‘He picked neither. He passed.’ ‘Unforgivable!’ I exclaimed. ‘Oh no, it was my fault, entirely mine. No ruling monarch worth his salt could obey an ‘absolute command’ from a mere Baron. That’s
Page 36
where your King John went wrong, and look where it led you: Tony Blair.’ His complexion was becoming dangerously livid, but he took a sip of Goldwasser, exhaled slowly, and pronounced, ‘Ah, well, there’s no use crying over spilt milk. His Majesty exercised the Royal Prerogative and passed, whereupon East passed out the redouble with an unseemly guffaw, I seem to remember. I have never liked those von Henzaus. That led to a four-figure score—’ ‘Well, it serves you—’ ‘—in our favour, since the contract is absolutely solid.’ I checked, and it was true. He had actually made his 6-point 3NT! West, who was on lead, made his two acekings, but nothing else. ‘We won the match and I swore never again to repeat the dangerous experiment of the Unusual No-trump, as they call it these days.’ ‘But why? Even though the result was a little bizarre, the bid actually made you a huge profit.’ He gazed balefully at me. ‘Did you ever hear of the man who survived the hangman’s noose when the rope broke?’ ‘It’s not quite the same thing, Unc—’ ‘He became so obsessed with his celebrity that he agreed to do it again for the photographers! I suppose if you ever win this National Lottery thing, you will start spending your millions on further tickets? No, no, you must learn when to quit while you are ahead, ■ Dummkopf.’ Previously published in BRIDGE 43. Reprinted to satisfy popular demand.
READERS’ LETTERS FROM NED PAUL Fleur Waters (see letters, BRIDGE 96) seems to think that I don’t have much interest in the future of bridge. Those who have actually met me will know that there are few things that I am more passionate about, and that I back up this passion with a very full programme of teaching, organisation and play. I run a number of duplicates each week and they have a reputation for being friendly. I am delighted to say that within my clubs there are a number of players who are very happy to play with newcomers and encourage them through the first difficult sessions of club duplicate. My clubs are growing. I run lessons and I also organise supervised play groups that have ambition. So I can look about my duplicates and see players that a few years ago came to my beginner classes and have now graduated to be regular club players. Some of them, shock, horror, are in their twenties and thirties. Fleur, does your club operate an escalator of bridge in this way? Do you put yourself out to play with new players? Can single players even come to your club unannounced? Does your club welcome young adults, or does your youth policy consist wholly of hoping someone else will teach local school children minibridge?
Fleur says the decline in EBU membership can be explained because the world is changing and that fewer people are taking up bridge. But has she not noticed that bridge is changing too and that the great majority of active players now get all the tournament bridge they want at their club. You don’t need, as you once did, to go outside the club unless you want to play higher level county and national bridge, and increasingly few do. The EBU has reacted to this like a spoilt child. Instead of asking players what kind of EBU they want, they have simply said that if your club members won’t join the EBU, then we will make you. There is no gloss on P2P that Fleur or anyone else can put that makes the scheme other than horrible, divisive and anti-developmental. In London the major proprietorial clubs will not be playing P2P; maybe in future years the EBU will be irrelevant in London. Just what is in P2P for the ordinary player? As Peter Hasenson writes, if the scheme is meant to be revenue neutral then the ordinary player is being asked to subsidise tournament players. The benefits for this? A diary which is just a competition brochure for tournaments – and unlikely to produce an upsurge of entries; a magazine which despite many attempts is still not
engaging ordinary players; and master points you will never see – but at least electronic-only registration will save a job for the players at my clubs who just throw certificates in the bin. P2P is a tax on active clubs and a disincentive on small clubs. It has all the hallmarks of a bad tax: it is outrageously poor value for money for those clubs that are well run; it is going to change people’s behaviour; and it will require every club to report to the snooping police via electronic submission to make sure the EBU is getting all the money to which it thinks it is entitled. In my case, I currently don’t even collect some of the data that the EBU wants. Fleur should think that if I didn’t care passionately about bridge and didn’t think the game deserves better management policies, I wouldn’t be shouting ‘Emperor’s New Clothes’ in this way. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if your club has signed up to P2P ‘by default’ then you should review your decision while there is still time, before the scheme comes into operation next April. Ned Paul, Twickenham.
WHOSE BENEFIT If Jane Spence (see letters, BRIDGE 96) is ‘fed up with hearing the negative comments about P2P’ she can simply stop reading them. I do not see anything in the EBU proposals to ‘redirect resources to introducing more young people to the game’ – it seems more like a desire to subsidise county and national tournament players at the expense of “ordinary” club players, most of whom appear to have no interest in such events. Anyway, please do not delete me from your
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mailing list as I find the reader’s letters fascinating. Richard Hutty, Burgess Hill, West Sussex.
WORTHY OF NOTE We are the only rubber bridge club in Ramsey in the Isle of Man. The club plays every Wednesday and Friday afternoon. The first Wednesday and third Friday of each month are designated partnership days. We also compete for the Grand Slam prize throughout the year. On Friday 19 June, a partnership day, our secretary John Atkinson was partnering his wife Tokie, and early in the afternoon they bid and made 7 diamonds non-vulnerable. After our tea break and with different opponents, they again bid 7 Diamonds and made the contract, this time vulnerable. The odds of this happening twice in one afternoon we do not know, however I thought that this feat would be of interest to your readers. Mr M J Brown, Ramsey, Isle Of Man.
TRAVEL INSURANCE I was first introduced to your magazine by a fellow bridge player when I moaned that no one wanted to give me holiday insurance now that I am an octogenarian, despite the fact that I have no medical conditions. Global Travel Insurance fitted the bill beautifully, plus the bonus of your most welcome magazine. Freda Day, Bridgewater, Somerset.
POLITE REQUEST Please could more bridge weekends be held north of Watford? Preferably Liverpool or Morecombe. Could a weekend be arranged on the Isle of Man? Mrs Barbara White, Douglas, Isle of Man.
READERS’ LETTERS continued
2010 Bridge Players’ Diaries
NEW BLOOD I write on behalf of the Westmeads Duplicate Bridge Group in Bognor Regis, to thank you very much for printing a notice in the June issue of your magazine, asking for new members. It has been very successful. So far we have eight new members and lots of enquiries. Miss Ray Attwells, Eastgate, Chichester.
THRIVING ♦ Acol Summary by Bernard Magee ♦ Laws and Ethics by Mike Swanson. ♦ Scoring Tables for Duplicate and Rubber. ♦ Red, navy, green, tan, pale blue, black or maroon covers. ♦ All covers printed in gold-coloured ink. ♦ Individual diaries £5.95 each inc p&p. ♦ Special concession to bridge clubs. 10 or more copies £3.50 each including p&p, subject to availability.
Luxury version with super-soft kidrell cover, gilded page edges and a ball-point pen attached. Ruby red or bottle green. £12.95 each including postage and packing.
Exclusively available from ( 01483 489961. www.mrbridge.co.uk
I read your magazine and try to learn something new each time. I was interested in your response to the letter headed TEACHING on page 35 of BRIDGE 95. My mother was a dedicated bridge player, so we were taught to play cards almost before we could speak. But, as is often the way, she was too good a player to teach us bridge. Us being three daughters and a cousin who lived with us. We all are now bridge players of varying ability. I began with Begin Bridge and then did a week at summer school at Marlborough College in 2007. I purchased book one Beginning Bridge – the complete learn and play programme from the EBU. I also started playing at a friendly bridge club in Marlborough. I have often thought that people who want to learn bridge should be allowed to develop card playing skills slowly and at a pace that suits them. In 2008, the Pewsey U3A was set up and I offered to do complete beginners bridge. I now have two groups, all enjoy the pace we are working at and some are now playing at the newly formed friendly bridge
club in Pewsey. Some of the class were completely new to the idea of bridge whilst others had been put off by being taught too quickly. All my pupils know that I do not know all of the answers and I use the book to guide me as I teach. Libby Newman, Pewsey, Wiltshire.
FREE ON REQUEST Whilst I very much wish to continue to receive your excellent magazine, I have most issues between 33 and the present which I will happily let any reader have on application. Mr Michael Marshall, Edinburgh. ( 0131 447 7039.
NOT WHAT IT WAS I'm writing after reading all the letters about the EBU rules being implemented today. I feel that downgrading the game with the present announcing system will not encourage young people to enter the game. In the past, when we used verbal bidding, all bids had to be memorized and leads made from them. Now we have bidding boxes, where the bids must be left on the table until the opening lead is made. No need to memorize the bids. That’s the first downgrade. Now with the announcing system we have to tell each other what our 1NT opening bid means. Basic Acol 1NT is 12-14 points, this I learned years ago and don't need to be told what I already know. If playing a strong 1NT, people knock the table or play an alert card. With these, I know what the bid means. So, why do I need to be told. That’s the second downgrade. I have now become completely disillusioned. John Hendrich by email.
Page 38
THE DRY DRAYTON THREESOME – POSTSCRIPT
T
here were additional applications of the Threesome principle which may be of interest. When the club was in the formative stage (1994) there were quite a number of submissions on preferred evenings, period of play and starting time. The evening was settled very quickly as the village hall was available on Mondays. The period of play was established on the basis that we aimed to give local points, so a minimum of 18 boards was fixed by the EBU regulation at that time. (The Green Book 1998, masterpoint handbook now caters for as few as twelve boards). A refreshment break of 15 minutes midway through the then playing period gave a three hour session. Initially the organiser ran lessons before sessions with practice to follow. The club attracted players from nearby villages and, as it became known, further afield. Finishing time became important to older players and those with longer journeys, particularly those who were picked-up by friends and family. There were others who returned home from their working day too late to eat and start playing early. A compromise of 7.00 for 7.15 start was adopted, largely because experience was that if there was a large gap between daytime and evening activity, people put other things in the time which then threatened the aim of regular attendance. Parents of school children also did not like them being out late in term time. So a further application of the Threesome was tried, an early player shared with a late player to make a triple with a full-time partner. It may also be applied to parents with babysitting problems, provided the changeover took little time requiring homes close to the village hall and the change taking place either at a sit out position in a movement with a half table or at the refreshment break. In principle these applications depend upon the full-time bridge partner and should work well in a small accommodating community. It is a facility which comes under pressure when the part-time players wish to play longer. With goodwill from all and the director’s indulgence it helps keeping players and may attract more timid newcomers. Back the Threesome, and make it work for your club. Brian Copping, Dry Drayton, Cambridge.
READERS’ LETTERS continued
CREDIT WHERE DUE I have received the last two copies of your magazine but to my knowledge I have never requested a copy and as I do not play bridge it is a waste sending it to me. One thing I would say, however, is how good it is to see the names of your proof-readers mentioned in the editorial credits. As a former proof-reader myself, I think I can say this is the first time I have ever seen an acknowledgement to that fine body of scrutineers. Peter Hillman, by email.
INCREDIBLE My husband and I play bridge on a weekly basis with two friends. Last Sunday cutting for who should deal first this occurred. West: ♣A North: ♦A South: ♥A East: ♠A What are the odds? Kate Wood, Ainsdale, Southport.
STRANGE I wondered if some of your readers might be interested in the strangest hand I have ever been dealt.
Butlins at sea! Discovery’s sister ship Minerva would be perfect though – I’d be booking a Mr Bridge cruise on her 3 or 4 times a year.
I opened 5♦. I look forward to sending you, in due course, the stamps I have collected. Jill Staples, Storrington, West Sussex.
Elizabeth Lonkhurst, Folkestone, Kent.
USED STAMPS The letter from Mrs Dennis, see letters BRIDGE 96, who was 'in the process of cutting off the surplus paper' from the stamps she and her husband had saved for charity, reminded me of a quantity of postage stamps I collected some time ago. I carefully snipped off all the paper surrounding the stamps, but was later advised to leave about an inch of paper surrounding each stamp as that was preferred by stamp collectors. Edith Pleasance, Wymondham.
RECOVERED Would you be so kind as to re-include me on your posting list. Only recently have I noticed that it has not been arriving. The reason is that since the beginning of this year I have had health problems plus an operation. Now being quite recovered and back to playing bridge, I am missing my copy of BRIDGE. Morah Sidebotham, Alsager, Cheshire.
HARD LINE ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
x x A K Q J 10 x x x x AK
Mr G Smith (see letters BRIDGE 96) asks for Mr Bridge parties on Fred Olsen ships. Heaven forbid! Fred Olsen ships are like
I think you are being far too hard on Fred Olsen Lines.
GLOSSARY NEEDED As a relative newcomer to bridge, I find it helpful to work my way through Q & A pages to further my knowledge of the game. This works well and I understand most of the answers but I do find some of the jargon used off-putting. K G Lowery by email.
USE A LABEL I am a hard-of-hearing bridge player (see letters BRIDGE 96), who decided to learn the game some two years ago. I don’t think I could manage at all without bidding boxes, which were originally designed for deaf people. However, I play duplicate bridge and find them a Godsend but agree the table does get slightly cluttered, what with the score cards as well. The best solution I can offer you is to do as I do and take the matter into your own hands. Label yourself as hard-of-hearing by wearing a badge for all the other players to see. It is part of the current Deaf Awareness scheme and different designs can be obtained from Hearing
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Page 39
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Bridge with Victor Meldrew by David Mullineaux
A
t his local bridge club – which looked strikingly like the Bourne Club at Farnham, with a pleasant bar and lounge – that well known, irritable old crank, Victor Meldrew (somehow he had infiltrated himself into club membership some years back) was sounding off to his partner in characteristically grumpy frustration as they sat down together and imbibed after one of the evening bridge sessions. ‘I’m confused,’ he said. ‘I only want to play cards and enjoy it without being weighed down by a lot of rules that get ever more complicated and that some of the members don’t understand. If it carries on like this, I’ll have to pay to bring my lawyer with me every time I come to the club, even though I can scarcely afford the subscription as it is, not to mention the VAT that gets lumped on to it. The laws of bridge in that new book are just incomprehensible to ordinary club players like me – they’re written for argumentative types at congresses grubbing for green points where there are non-playing TDs, and for international bridge conflicts. Why can’t they produce something in plain English for ordinary club members to use instead of all this legalistic verbiage? And that damned Orange Book gets bigger every time they publish it; some of it’s useful, but there’s a lot of obscure tripe that’s not the least bit relevant to club bridge. With all that paperwork, it’s no wonder bridge is not recognised as a sport. And,’ he continued to fume, ‘don’t mention the EBU Universal Membership Strategy, which just means that they’re going to hijack me into their organisation and claim that they have increased membership numbers. Huh!’ ‘Calm down, Victor,’ said his partner, who was quite used to this sort of outburst. ‘This is a friendly club. Would you like another block of ice in your double whisky? We’ll forget the EBU
Strategy for the moment, but what is it that’s troubling you about the Laws and the Orange Book?’ ‘Well,’ said Victor, taking a quick swig before he launched into his next tirade, ‘there’s all this announcing and alerting – I’m still confused. And do you know, I recently went on a bridge holiday abroad with a group? There were some Scottish people there, flown in from Glasgow, very nice lot, but north of the border they don’t do announcements. What a muddle it was. I didn’t know the Scots had got their independence yet!’ By way of emphasis, this statement was followed by another, somewhat longer swig, Victor intending obviously to get the best from his drink before the extra block of ice diluted it. ‘Yes,’ said partner in soothing tones, ‘it is a bit strange that the EBU, after all these years of bridge, seem to have convinced themselves of the need for announcements. It is a bit confusing with this extra layer of complexity that has made it more difficult for the average club player to digest and the Scottish Bridge Union having different rules. One can meddle too much. But let me try and explain announcements. ‘As you know, the point count range of an opening bid of 1NT is announced, although at our club, because it became so monotonously repetitive, we have decided that it needs to be announced only if it is anything other than the Standard English 12-14 points – clubs can do that sort of thing, you know. Then there follow announcements about either ‘Stayman’, or transfers when you have to say ‘hearts’ or ‘spades’.’ ‘Yes, yes, I understand all that,’ said Victor, ‘but then it gets more complicated. What about these opening two-level bids? If they are two-of-a-suit some are announced, and some are alerted. And if you open 2NT – well, they don’t say anything about that in the Orange Book – but I believe that, quite Page 42
the opposite of a 1NT opening, it is not announced and if you use Stayman and transfers they are now alerted instead of being announced. Why can’t they stick to one method, instead of confusing those who come only to play bridge once or twice a week for pleasure? And who would want to take up bridge if they had to learn all this gobbledegook before playing in a club?’ ‘It is confusing, I agree,’ said partner. ‘Perhaps it would have been better to stick with one method rather than have two and, at pretty well any bridge club I know, we did manage until recently with just alerting, but there you are. They think they know best so that’s what we’ve got. Now, to answer the question you asked a few moments ago, two-of-asuit bids are announced as ‘strong’, ‘strong, not forcing’, ‘intermediate’, and ‘weak’. ‘I know that,’ interjected Victor a little impatiently, ‘but what about these people who play other two-level systems? As you know, there are one or two pairs at the club who play funny things such as Lucas twos and Multi 2♦. I think they go to congresses where they pay lots of money to indulge in all this frippery, but most club members have never heard of such conventions and don’t understand them. I thought the Multi 2♦ had been buried by sensible people about a decade ago. All things like that do is to muddle everybody, often including the pairs who use them. It’s all too clever by half. In the club it just puts people off – and then that lot at Aylesbury wonder why membership levels are dropping!’ ‘Well, Victor, those sort of two-of-asuit conventional bids are alerted these days, as they always were and you know that you can ask for an explanation of exactly what the convention means,’ replied his partner. Unconvinced, Victor nodded, took another swig of his rapidly diminishing drink and, by now in full flight, continued unabated, ‘Yes, OK, but they have now abolished alerting anything over three no-trumps. In the old days, if you didn’t alert Blackwood 4NT and so on, you got chewed off; now they’ve stopped it. And another thing. About twenty years ago, that lot at the EBU stopped you, as a defender, asking partner if you had revoked; now they’ve brought it back again. Can’t they make their minds up? ‘What’s more, you mentioned
misunderstanding and, in some cases, ‘scenes’ at the club and the less experienced players are intimidated by it all.’ His patient partner, also by now needing the comfort of his drink to deflect the barrage, continued, ‘It is confusing, Victor, I agree and they do keep changing things. Generally though, at the club, you need no longer alert a Sputnik double which, to confuse you a bit more, is also sometimes called a negative double. All doubles of suit bids are generally for take-out so do not need an alert; if they are played for penalties then they will be alerted. I hope that
courtesy of the BBC picture library
conventions. Conventions need convention cards, although not everybody bothers with them at clubs because filling in one of those forms is worse than doing your annual income tax return. I know you’re supposed to have one and you’re supposed to exchange it with your opponents at the start of the round – the Orange Book says so. But then you read this other tome – the Laws of Contract Bridge, the one they published that says 2007 on the front cover, but actually didn’t come into force until August 2008 – and it says something different. It says, in Law 40.A.2.(b) that during this other new thing they’ve invented – the Clarification Period – declarer may consult his system card. Well how can he if he’s exchanged it with his opponents, as he’s told to in the Orange Book?’ ‘I have to say, I rather agree with you,’ said his partner in empathy. ‘All this chopping and changing for no good reason just creates confusion in clubs and it does rather turn people off when they should be trying to make the game more attractive.’ After a short period of rumination, and still on his high horse, Victor continued, ‘Then there’s doubling. I really don’t understand which doubles have to be alerted or not. I tried to look it up in the Orange Book and was not much the wiser afterwards. They talk, on page 25, about doubling : ‘Suit bids that show the suit bid’; ‘Short, nebulous, prepared, and phoney minor openings’, and so on, none of which I could understand. So I kept on reading, hoping things would get clearer and, a few pages later, on page 28, I came to something that said, ‘The following doubles must be alerted,’ so I thought this was just what I was looking for. But it wasn’t. That didn’t help either, because they babbled on about such nonsense as ‘co-operative and optional doubles,’ and all sorts of other things I still didn’t understand. I once went to a seminar on doubles, so I thought I understood about take-out doubles, competitive doubles, Sputnik doubles, and penalty doubles, but none of this other twaddle they print – nebulous is the right word. Why can’t they keep it simple for club players? All it does is leave people bewildered, so they don’t know what is the right thing to do and that leads to arguments and
simplifies things, but if you’re not quite sure what the opponent’s double means, you are quite entitled to ask for an explanation at your turn to call. Is that OK?’ Victor harumphed again as he emptied his glass and went to the bar for further strong sustenance. On returning and having thought about things further, he launched forth again. ‘This evening,’ he said, ‘when we were playing against that pair, one of whom was a rather inexperienced visitor, there was a muddle. She failed to alert one of her partner’s bids, although I thought at the time that it was a bit strange as it is usually played as a convention. Perhaps she was in an understandable muddle about whether to
Page 43
announce, or alert, or say nothing. When, after the auction ended and play began and nothing had been explained, it became obvious to me that she should have alerted and it was possible that we had been damaged so, as you saw, I called the director – better to do that than get in an argument yourselves. And there’s another thing – this was only a club evening, so we don’t call him the TD. It’s not a tournament, it’s only a normal club evening and we’re all trying to enjoy ourselves and the director, as a player himself, doesn’t have the time to sort out all the ‘rectifications’ they talk about in this new-fangled Law Book. ‘Ramifications,’ I call them.’ ‘Yes, Victor, she didn’t alert when she should have done and, like you, I imagined to begin with that her call was probably conventional,’ agreed partner, ‘but I would like to say two things to you. First, you became extremely stroppy about all this, which was quite unnecessary – you could see that she was inexperienced and that she had probably got things a bit wrong, but that is no excuse for becoming so belligerent – this is a friendly club and if it weren’t, we wouldn’t have so many members. You’ll put people off if you carry on in that abrasive manner; it’s not pleasant. Secondly, don’t you know that if you suspect that a conventional call has not been alerted you are entitled to ask its meaning, so long as you have good reason to and are not creating unauthorised information for your partner. And you also ought to know that when the error becomes evident and the director is called, your claim to have been damaged will fail if you were aware of its likely meaning. That is one thing it does say quite clearly in the Orange Book, on page 28. Didn’t you know that?’ Brought to heel for a moment, Victor sulked quietly. Before he could muster a reply, partner brought the evening to a conclusion. ‘The bar has closed and anyway we’ve had enough to drink. It’s time I drove you home, Victor’. As they drove home, Victor cogitated then said, ‘I think we need a little booklet in plain English that club players can read and understand, and it should be called the Tangerine Book – you know, something like the Orange Book, but smaller and tastier. I think I’ll start writing it tomorrow.’ And with that he lapsed into silence – until next time. ■
Sally Brock’s Blog
Seven Days by Sally Brock Monday Dash in from the gym (I try to go three times a week, but this visit particularly necessary after a week’s holiday in France – I need to lose enough of the weight I put on in order to dare to go to Weightwatcher’s tomorrow) to find the answer machine blinking and a message from Mr Bridge. Actually he has left a message while I was away and ringing him was quite near the top of my ‘to-do’ list anyway. Would I be interested in writing a regular blog in his magazine? Apparently there are millions of readers out there interested in my life. OK … if he really thinks so. We are also working on a book version of the Ask Sally articles that used to appear in BRIDGE. Roughly half of my income comes from bridgerelated activities. For a day job, I typeset travel guides for a local company called Bradt. They specialise in slightly obscure holiday destinations. So the rest of my day is spent working on a guide to Sudan. And I start on Botswana tomorrow. A quiet evening with my kids. I have two teenage children living at home: Toby who is 15 and has a
year to go till his GCSEs and Briony who is 13 and just going into Year 10. Perhaps more excitingly, I have a 32-year-old, Ben, whose wife Gemma is shortly, all being well, going to produce my first grandchild. It might be this week or you might have to wait until the next issue to hear all about that.
Tuesday Up early because they are coming to clean my oven at 8am! One of my highpriority luxuries! Botswana more interesting than Sudan. At least it’s somewhere I might visit. The weigh-in is not too bad considering it includes a week of French food: +2lbs. In the evening I play bridge at New Amersham with Richard, a semi-regular partner. As usual, we have a really good time, but don’t do as well as usual. When Nicola (Smith) and I were practising as hard as we could in the build-up to playing in Beijing last year, Richard very kindly offered to play our system with me. His mandate was to pretend to be Nicola! However, his knowledge of what it is like to be Nicola is not complete! In addition – as if his role was not difficult
enough – I forget to tell him some bits of the system we have changed since last year. Consequently we arrive in one or two somewhat outlandish contracts… One of the consequences of my new-found interest in rubber bridge (more about that later) is a heightened awareness of ‘honours’. I hold, with both sides vulnerable:
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A42 K Q J 10 832 A 10 7
South’s one diamond opening bid is passed around to me. Without giving the matter too much thought, I bid one heart. South bid two clubs and North’s two diamonds preference is passed out. The full deal is in the next column. Partner leads a trump and now, provided we are careful, which we are, there is no way declarer can come to more than the six tricks that are his by right. +200 to us. On opening the traveller we find a whole list of –200s from people playing in two spades our way, which is, I imagine, what would happen to anyone
Page 44
who balanced with a double rather than my one heart.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ K653 98 K54 Q632 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
J 10 9 8 7 6542 J6 85 ♠ A42 ♥ K Q J 10 N W E S ♦ 832 ♣ A107 Q A73 A Q 10 9 7 KJ94
Wednesday After an early gym visit and more Botswana, I rush into London for lunch with Debbie, Peter and Howard. Debbie is an excellent cook so such lunches are always eagerly anticipated, particularly when I have nearly a week before Weightwatcher’s again! Afterwards we play some rubber bridge (Chicago). Usually I go to TGR’s (more about that next time) and play for £15 a hundred but here it was just friendly and we play for only £1 a hundred. That is just as well because I hold no cards all afternoon and lose £32 (good job it isn’t £480! plus table money).
Sally’s Blog
continued
Towards the end of the afternoon Peter gives us a lesson on Barbu. This is a game played by quite a lot of bridge players and Debbie and I have been wanting to learn for a while. He writes out the rules for us and we play a few practice hands. It does indeed seem a good game, but you need to play 28 deals at one go, so not something to be entered into too casually. Then out to dinner with my best friend Margaret. We used to play bridge together regularly, both as partners and team-mates but she plays less now, having turned her attention to poker. We have found it too easy to let things slip so try to make a regular lunch or dinner date. This time her husband Martin joins us too and as usual, the time races by and I am soon running to catch the last train home.
Thursday Botswana goes well and I finish it towards the end of the afternoon. I also have an hour with my counsellor. My sister Amanda died in May after a two-year struggle with a brain tumour. There was a time when she was ill that things got on top of me a bit, especially since it wasn’t so long since my husband Raymond died. So I picked the nearest counsellor to me geographically from the Yellow Pages. Although it is pleasant enough sitting talking about myself, I feel fine now and don’t really feel I need her any more.
But, I respect her integrity and she thinks I need her so I keep going. It is quite strange spending time with someone about whom I know practically nothing, while she probably knows more about me than anyone else. Also, finally manage to make contact with David who proofreads my Sunday Times articles for me. He’d rung me and I was out, I rang him and he was out, etc, etc. Just as well really as I’d had a gently nagging email from Hilary, who is in charge of the layout of the games page. So manage to finish and send off eight more articles, taking me up to the middle of October.
Friday I played in San Remo in the European Open at the end of June and over the intervening weeks have spent some time trawling through the hand records, score cards and bulletins for material for my Sunday Times column. Now, with no Bradt work to do, there is no real excuse but to turn the material I sorted out into articles. My incentive for doing this is small because of sending them a big batch yesterday. But if I don’t do it now, I’ll forget and won’t be able to put all the stuff away. Still, when Briony (bored to tears after all of five days at home!) suggests we do a major sort-out of various rooms in the house, she is greeted with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. So we spend most of the day rearranging the kitchen, lounge, dining room, visiting charity shop and tip etc. She is spending the evening with a friend, so
then I have to choose between continuing tidying the house and writing the articles. Not surprisingly I spend quite a lot of time playing Spider Solitaire on the computer!
Saturday I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I’m having a party tomorrow: 20 people coming for a barbecue. It started with just one family, then it was a good weekend for my brother-in-law (Martin) to visit, then I thought of some compatible friends who would fit in, then I kept on asking people and they could all come, etc … So the day starts with a visit to the pick-your-own fruit farm for raspberries. Then some food shopping. Around lunchtime Martin, Briony and I take Martin’s labrador for a walk. We go to Cookham, intending to do a four mile walk, ending with a pub lunch. However, the day has rather run away with itself and it’s one o’clock before we get to the start of the walk. So we start with lunch, then do the walk, then home for some preparatory work for the party. In the evening, Martin (who doesn’t play bridge) and I have been invited to a neighbour’s house for dinner. Jenny plays bridge regularly at Burnham Bridge Club, but I know her because she is mother of a local friend and also my chiropodist. She was a bit nervous about inviting me but promised lots of good food, wine and company. She certainly delivered all three. Having arrived at 7.30, eventually dinner is over at about 10.30. Martin
goes home (it’s just around the corner) and the other eight of us play 12 deals. I’m glad no-one pays attention to the score because I am certainly minus (I guess it’s quite good to get bad cards when I’m not playing at TGR’s).
Sunday There is still quite a lot to do before guests arrive at 12.30 so there’s no lie-in. Unfortunately, as the morning progresses, numbers dwindle. Our starting point was 21 but seven people cry off for one reason or another. At least the weather is good. It’s a good party but I have over-catered to a ridiculous degree. We’re going to be eating cold barbecue all week (and then still throw a lot away). I’m sure to make a pig of myself which means I won’t be able to go to Weightwatcher’s! People leave at about five o’clock, but they’ve been very good at helping tidy up so there isn’t a great deal to do. The evening is spent with the children and the TV, watching the programmes we all like: House, The Mentalist and Lie to Me. (This is separate from the programmes only Briony and I like: Casualty and Holby City.) My taste in television is nearly as low-brow as it could be (Briony is even worse than me, her preferences also including Neighbours, One Tree Hill, Big Brother and Britain’s Got Talent!) Stop Press: Just as I put the finishing touches to this article my grandson, Hayden Thomas Sowter, is born. More about that next time. ■
Sally Brock is a multiple women’s world bridge champion and has written many bridge books, the most recent of which is Ask Sally, published by and available by mail order £14 including postage and packing.
Page 45
Dave Huggett Says
Make the Long Hand Ruff efenders sometimes get confused, thinking that letting declarer make ruffs in his hand is bad. In fact, declarer is usually only winning tricks he would have made anyway – but at a price of shortening his trump holding. This can be good for the defenders as this example shows:
D
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
A832 KQJ82 82 10 7
N E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
764 953 AQ KQ864
W
A lot of the time, it is best to stay ‘passive’ as a defender so as not to keep opening up suits to declarer’s advantage. You can often achieve this by just letting declarer ruff in the long hand as the following example shows.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
5 A74 10 9 6 5 3 J532
K Q J 10 9 10 6 KJ74 A9
South arrives in 4♠ and West leads the heart king. When it holds, he follows up with the queen. When this wins also, it is clear that declarer started with two hearts and can ruff a further round. This makes it tempting to switch. Now consider the effect of a third round of hearts. Declarer has to ruff and will be down to four spades – the same number as West. He will, no doubt, try to draw trumps and play the king in an effort to persuade West to win, but West refuses. He refuses the next round also and then declarer has to abandon playing trumps. If he plays a third round, West will win and lead a fourth heart, making declarer use up his last trump! Two down! The best declarer can do is give up on trumps after two rounds and play on the minor suits. West will ruff with his low trump and the game will be only one down. Notice that, with any other defence, the declarer will prevail.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
10 3 K95 AKQ98 Q97
KJ9 J73 7532 K63 N W
E S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q76542 4 J4 10 8 5 4
A8 A Q 10 8 6 2 10 6 AJ2
West started with two top diamonds against South’s confident 4♥. Placing East with hardly any values, West continued with a third diamond, which declarer ruffed. He now entered dummy with a club to the king and ran the jack of hearts. West won and played another diamond, forcing declarer to ruff once more. Declarer now had a choice of losing options and, with both black-suit finesses offside, he suffered a one-trick defeat. If, at any time, West got too ‘busy’ and switched to a black suit, this would have given declarer an extra trick – and the contract! It might seem that it is always right to reduce declarer’s trump holding. This is not so. You may need to cash out quickly, in which case you do not want to lose the lead. Another time arises when declarer is embarking on a crossruff or your trump(s) are masters; it is usually better to play a trump yourself to cut down declarer’s ruffing ability. On the following deal, South plays in 4♠ after East has opened 1♥.
Page 46
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
42 753 10 9 7 6 2 865 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
K75 10 8 6 4 85 A Q J 10 ♠ ♥ W E ♦ S ♣ A Q J 10 9 8 Q2 AJ4 74 N
63 AKJ9 KQ3 K932
Of course, you must have a reason for making declarer ruff; sometimes it is more imperative to make a switch. Here West leads the five of hearts against 4♠. East wins with the king and cashes the ace, on which West plays upwards with the seven. Knowing that West holds a third heart and thus that South is out of hearts, it would be wrong for East to persist in leading the suit for two reasons. Firstly, doing so would set up the ten of hearts as a winner in dummy; what is more, the defenders would lose a vital tempo. Declarer would ruff the third round, draw trumps with the ace and queen, cross to the ace of clubs and discard a club on the winning ten of hearts. Then a ruffing finesse in clubs would pick up your king, resulting in not just ten tricks, but eleven. So the defenders must keep a step ahead and East should switch to the king of diamonds at trick three after cashing the second heart. Then, when the club finesse fails, declarer will lose two hearts, a club and a diamond. This defeats the contract by one trick. Making the long hand ruff is a good way to make declarer run out of trumps and is often a good way of playing safe – but beware of doing so without looking first into the dangers. ■
ANSWERS TO THE DEFENCE QUIZ ON PAGE 14 by JULIAN POTTAGE ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
1.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
J6 A K 10 8 2 82 KJ42 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Partner leads the ace-king of clubs (jack-five from South) and continues with the six. Which card do you play on the third trick?
AK82 QJ3 KJ6 Q 10 7 N E
W S
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
Q 10 9 7 4 3 95 A3 865
5 764 Q 10 9 7 5 4 A93
West North East 1NT 2♠ 1♥ Pass 3♣1 Pass End 1 Lebensohl, asks North to bid 3♣ 2 single suited with diamonds
South 2NT1 3♦2
Partner leads the ace, king and two of hearts. Which card do you play on the third trick? If you do not ruff, dummy’s queen will win. You do not want this. Here, the natural play is right – ruff with your lowly three of diamonds. If South has a third heart, you score a cheap trick. If not, you have surely lost nothing. You do not want to ruff with the ace as that can win later. If you play any card but the three of trumps, you will find that 3♦ makes. Having ruffed the third heart low, you switch to a club (partner’s two of hearts – clearly low – is a suit-preference signal asking for a club). You make two hearts, a ruff and a trick in each minor to beat the contract by one.
In terms of preventing dummy’s queen from being a winner, it makes no difference whether you ruff with the jack or the five. Indeed, if South is going to follow to this trick, it will not matter which trump you play. You know from partner’s six of clubs (clearly not a low card with the two and four missing) that South has the ace of diamonds. You therefore see very little hope of ruffing a second time. The time when the size of your ruff may be critical is when South holds no more clubs. If West has any of these trump holdings: Q-9-x, K-9-x, A-9-x, Q-8-x-x, K-8-x-x or A-8-x-x, ruffing with the jack will turn it into two winners after declarer overruffs. Ruffing with the jack will effect a trump promotion also if partner has 10-x-x or 9-x-x-x of trumps – you hope, with the king of diamonds on the side for the setting trick. The jack of hearts it is.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
3 976432 K2 J 10 8 4 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West
2.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
10 6 K92 10 2 AK8642 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
West End weak
1
A972 3 Q9765 Q93 N W
E S
Pass End
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
KQJ843 J5 843 10 7
5 A Q 10 8 7 6 4 AKJ J5
North
East 2♠1
South 4♥
A7 KQJ8 Q J 10 Q963 ♠ ♥ W E ♦ S ♣ K986542 A A97 A5 N
North 1♥ 1NT
East Pass Pass
Q J 10 10 5 86543 K72
South 1♠ 6♠
Partner leads the jack of clubs, covered all around. Declarer cashes the king of spades and ace of hearts before playing a second trump (West shows out). Next comes a heart for a club discard and a third round of hearts. What do you do? You have a sure trump winner that you can make just the once. On some deals, it can be a good idea to wait until you get in with some other card so that you can draw two trumps for one. In a slam and with dummy out of trumps, clearly this idea does not apply. Can you see the benefit of ruffing in? You will stop declarer from playing a fourth heart.
Page 47
With no more clubs to discard, declarer throws a diamond when you ruff this trick. You try a club anyway – no matter – partner takes the setting trick in diamonds. It is a different story if you let the third round of hearts pass. Declarer throws diamonds on both the third and fourth rounds of hearts, losing a trump but nothing else.
4.
♠ ♥ ♦ ♣
♠ AKQ74 ♥ Void ♦ A K 10 9 3 ♣ A 10 6 10 9 8 5 3 2 ♠ 6 N 6 ♥ Q 10 8 5 E W Q74 ♦ J865 S Q85 ♣ K932 ♠ J ♥ AKJ97432 ♦ 2 ♣ J74
West
North
Pass
6♥
East Pass End
South 4♥
Partner leads the ten of spades, which runs to the jack. Declarer cashes the ♥A-K (West follows low and then discards a low spade), crosses to dummy with a diamond and starts playing on spades. When do you ruff? On the previous deal, you ruffed in to limit the number of discards declarer could take. This time there is no point. Dummy has six top winners – more than enough to take care of South’s five plain cards. What is more, by not ruffing you ensure two trump tricks for yourself with your queen-ten. The only way you could not make two trump tricks is to ruff in and suffer an overruff. Since you cannot be sure that the jack of spades is not a singleton, you should play safe and discard. When South shows out on the second round of spades, you know you have done the right thing. You do not ruff the third round of spades either. Nor do you ruff the fourth. Nor, if they keep coming, do you ruff the fifth round. Eventually, declarer will have to ruff and will end up leading a trump. As long as you wait to play your trumps on a trump lead (or by ruffing in fourth seat – not that you are going to get the chance), you can be sure of making two trump tricks. In short, ■ the answer to the question is ‘never.’
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