Bridge Magazine 92

BRIDGE Number Ninety-two

Christmas 2008

I have a list of people, all of whom are entered in a database. Every year, as Christmas approaches, I take a good look And I realise that these names are a part Not just of a database but of everything I do. Each name stands for someone who has somehow crossed my path. Then the memory of an email or a memo, A friendly face or strongly worded letter is conjured up before me. Still, when I send this magazine to you, It is because you are in this database and one of the many With whom I have had contact and don’t wish to forget. Whether I have known you for many years or just a few months You have had a part in shaping the things I do. So, as Christmas approaches, may its spirit, in whatever shape it takes for you, Leave its richest blessings in your heart.

Q PLUS 9.1 Now Ready

The very best Acol-playing Software available

SYSTEM

FEATURES l

The Usual Friendly Interface (see above)

l

8mb RAM

l

Hint and Help Buttons – always at hand

l

CD-ROM

l

Easy Windows Installation

l

l

Comprehensive Manual

Pentium or equivalent

l

Rubber, Duplicate and Teams Scoring

l

Windows XP or Vista

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 Systems NE

include: several versions of Acol, including Bernard Magee’s system, Standard American or create your own.

l

HANS LEBER

TRADE-IN Trade-in any previous version of Q Plus. Just post in the booklet and disk and a cheque for £32.

£82 including postage Make your cheque payable to

( 01483 489961

and send to: Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop

Fax 01483 797302

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

3 Bidding Quiz by Bernard Magee

56 Dave Huggett says Don’t Rush to Take Finesses

4

57 Andrew Kambites says Look Before You Leap to 4NT

6 Double Dummy Quiz by Richard Wheen 7 Bidding Quiz Answers by Bernard Magee

58 Defence Quiz Answers by Julian Pottage

8 Cruise to the Riveria by Bernard Magee

59 Mike Wenble says Count Your Losers as Declarer

13 Defence Quiz by Julian Pottage 14 Declarer Play Quiz by Dave Huggett

ADVERTISEMENTS

15 The Advantages of Transfers by Freddie North

2 QPlus 9.1 4 Charity Bridge Events Christmas 2009

Associate Editor Julian Pottage Technical Consultant Tony Gordon Bridge Consultant Bernard Magee Proof Readers Danny Roth Hugh Williams Freddie North Software Support ( 01483 485340 Events & Cruises ( 01483 489961 Jessica Galt Holly Cobbett Rachel Everett Club Directory [email protected]

16 A Slam for Santa by Michael Scarrott

Tutorial Software & Mail Order Form

19 Double Dummy Answer by Richard Wheen 20 David Stevenson Answers Your Questions

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.

10 Tunisia 2009

26 Bubble Captions

13 Marsham Court Bridge Weekends

28 A Walk at Christmas by Countryman

14 Beach Hotel Bridge Weekends

32 Julian Pottage Answers Your Questions

15 2009 Diaries

38 Benjaminised Acol and the Lion of the North by Ned Paul

21 Rubber/Chicago Bridge Events

21 The New Yellow Book

22 Blunsdon House Hotel Bridge Events

40 The Baron Outwits the Grand Duke by Dick Atkinson

25 The Olde Barn Hotel Bridge Events

41 Declarer Play Answers by David Huggett

26 Wychwood Park Bridge Events

44 Julian Pottage says Signal Attitude on Partner’s Lead

29 Staverton Park Bridge Weekends

45 Jeremy Dhondy says Don’t Run from the Frying Pan into the Fire 46 David Gold says Don’t Underbid Small Hands

30 2009 Summer Cruises On Board Discovery 39 Denham Grove Bridge Weekends 42 Holiday Diary 47 Stamps

47 Readers’ Letters

Address Changes ( 01483 485342

9 Better Hand Evaluation

50 Barony Castle Bridge Weekends

51 Readers’ Letters on the EBU P2P

50 Single-Suited Pens

53 Freddie North says The Five Level Belongs to the Opponents

54 Global Travel Insurance

55 Liz McGowan says Second Hand Plays Low

60 Voyage to Nice on board Discovery

Club Insurance Form

The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher or its Managing Editor.

Page 3

BIDDING QUIZ by Bernard Magee

Y

ou are West in the auctions below, playing 'Standard Acol' with a weak no-trump (12-14 points) and four-card majors.

(Answers on page 7) 1. Dealer West. N/S Vul. ♠ AK876432 ♥ 4 ♦ 76 ♣ 53 West North East South ?

2. Dealer East. Game All. ♠ Void ♥ K987 ♦ K7632 ♣ 10 4 3 2 West North East South 1♠

Pass

?

3. Dealer West. N/S Vul. ♠ A Q J 10 5 ♥ KQ3 ♦ KQ2 ♣ 74 West North East South 1♠

Pass

4♠

Pass

?

4. Dealer West. Love All. ♠ KQ9 ♥ KQ87 ♦ A832 ♣ K2 West North East South 1♥

2♣

Pass

Pass

?

5. ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Dealer West. Love All. Q3 765 A943 AK87

West North East South 1NT

Pass

2♣

Pass

2♦

Pass

2♠

Pass

?

CLUB INSURANCE

CHARITY BRIDGE EVENTS

I am glad to say that Moore Stephens were so pleased with the response to the little mention I gave them in the last issue that they have prepared an annual policy for £65 to cover clubs of up to 100 members. See the cutout page opposite page 55.

NOVEMBER 2008 14 DISPLACED PEOPLE IN BOSNIA Parish Centre, St John’s Road, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead. 9.30am-2.30pm. Includes lunch. Pat Henry ( 01442 391087 21 AIR AMBULANCE. £13.00. Village Hall, Hemingford Abbotts. Sheila Poval ( 01480 395394 28 WATERAID & CHESTERFIELD CHILDREN’S CHARITY St John’s Church Hall, Chesterfield. 12.30 pm. £12. Wine on arrival & luxury tea. Mrs P Bown ( 01246 200211

DECEMBER 2008 1 ST. TERESA’S HOSPICE Christmas Bridge Party at St. George’s Bridge Centre, Darlington. 1.15pm £5. Generous prizes & afternoon tea. Mrs Bainbridge ( 01325 469785

JANUARY 2009 29 THE HARPENDEN FRIENDS OF CANCER RESEARCH & THE LADY TAVERNERS Park Hall, Harpenden. First session 10am – 1pm. Second session 2pm – 5pm. £40 per table inc. refreshments. Tickets from the Town Hall.

FEBRUARY 2009 5 THAMES VALLEY ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND Eton College Rowing Centre, Dorney. 10.30am – 4pm. £17 per person to include coffee on arrival and lunch. Rosemary ( 01753 642515 Jane ( 01753 644490 17 RIDING FOR THE DISABLED (COURT MEADOW GROUP) Millennium Hall, Scaynes Hill, Sussex. 11am – 3pm £50 per table inc. good lunch. Carolyn Hawkins ( 0845 2414346 Email: [email protected]

MARCH 2009 26 FRIENDS OF FARLEIGH HOSPICE Luncheon Bridge Drive. Julie Renvoize ( 01245 258067

DEAD HORSE

FUND RAISING Last issue I invited readers to send in postage stamps in support of Little Voice, a charity devoted to supporting an orphanage and school in Ethiopia. I have been heartened by your response and I have sent all I have received to Mr Bamberger of Trimley St Mary, Suffolk who is handling their sale.

These days, when legal actions are part of everyday life, committee members should insist that the club has public liability cover.

SECRET SANTA

However, I intend to devote the next four working weeks, with two or three assistants, to get on top of what is turning into hard work. Please make sure that your club downloads and completes the form found at www.mrbridge.co.uk.

When sending me packages please do not enclose any correspondence as some may remain unopened. Please keep saving stamps, especially over Christmas. I will tell you what further arrangements I will make for their collection. Little Voice is part of L.U.C.I.A. Charity Number 1112674 registered with the UK Charity Commissioners. If you would like to send a donation, as some of you already have, please make it payable to LUCIA and not to me. It is just about the poorest country in the world, but every little helps.

CHARITY STRIP Alongside is the current strip of fund-raising bridge dates. Fund-raisers should send in details as far in advance as possible and always ask for some prizes. I never say no.

GLOBAL TRAVEL I am pleased to find space to promote Global Travel insurance. The policy advertised should suit those who are ill but whose symptoms are under control. Global Travel understand and cater for this segment of a growing market.

I feel like I’m flogging a dead horse compiling my directory of bridge clubs and teachers.

If you are having a club party, why not have some fun with a Secret Santa. All those due to attend put their names on a piece of paper and drop them into a hat. These are then drawn and everyone has to buy a gift for the person they have drawn. A modest price limit should be set which should be strictly adhered to and completely spent. Wrap it and put it into the sack for distribution by Santa at the party and believe me, it should create a lot of fun and laughs.

ANOTHER OLD NAG You will see that there is no panel in this issue for the details of your friends or indeed registration. If you would like any of your friends to receive copies, send in their full details including postcode and telephone number and if a friend complains that they haven’t received their copy recently then they probably haven’t reregistered.

POSTAGE SAVINGS

SIGNS OF THE TIMES Until further notice the bubble caption and the prize bidding competitions have been discontinued. I need to find new sponsors, which believe me, are hard enough to find let alone sign up. The bubble caption competition, in particular, attracted an enormous number to take part and I really have enjoyed reading all the entries. Thank you.

Page 4

Clive Goff is a loyal advertiser. He supports this free publication by providing an unusual service. He supplies readers with a discount of at least 10% off British postage stamps. Ring him on ( 0208 422 4906. Do say you heard it from Mr Bridge.

VENUES 2009 The joy that bubbles out of the “Ode to Oxford” makes my job all worthwhile. While I cannot promise everyone the same level of experience, we do try to make it so. The venues for 2009, some old and some new, are listed in this issue. Details of hosts and seminar subjects will be announced later.

DIRECTORS COURSES

BACK COPIES

ERIC HILL

CRIB SHEET

As I hate to throw anything away, I can tell you that I do have some back numbers (from 83 onwards) for which readers should send three first class stamps each.

Eric Hill has a specialist catalogue acting as a mail order boutique offering the best European Fashion brands including Grazia, Finnkarelia and Brandtex. He offers £10 Off to readers, FREE p&p, FREE alterations and FREE returns. This means that readers can try his goods out for FREE – at no risk. And what’s more, can place their order for FREE. It is a pleasure to enclose his booklet. Do say you heard of his service from Mr Bridge.

At last, as promised, Bernard Magee’s crib sheet. It can be found in my website library. mrbridge/co.uk/library.php.

I also have some earlier issues. 10 different for £5. Only a few lots available.

OTHER I have other magazines – English Bridge, Bridge Magazine and ACBL. Any three different for £2. First come, first served.

ODE TO OXFORD by Carolyn Rayner

We’ve just got back from Oxford, from a weekend filled with fun, we’re not entirely truthful, ‘bout just how well we’ve done.

Our resident bridge laws expert, David Stevenson, is to host a series of bridge weekends which involve the training of directors for bridge clubs. Four sessions of training and two evening duplicates. These are designed so that the course student can bring a companion who does not share the same interest, but would enjoy playing bridge in the evening. Full board at only £199 per person. This is an important subsidised initiative. Those interested should register immediately so that I can plan out the venues and the number of courses.

LAITHWAITES

£50 OFF

One of the inserted advertisements is for a case of 15 bottles of red wine for only £39.95 if you use the voucher. With delivery at less than £7 per case, it is a really reasonable price for such a selection. Do please mention Mr Bridge if you take up the offer.

We left our homes on Friday, all packed in Patrick’s car, complete with crisps and wine and port, we wouldn’t need the bar. We spent a happy weekend learning signals and discards, when partner plays the eight of spades you must be on your guard. We listened to the seminar, then played a few set hands, I don’t think that we did them, quite as Bernard planned. The afternoon was long and hard, opponents came and went, did I bid clubs or one no trump, it was three of hearts I meant. The hammer blow came quickly there was no going back, we saw that we’d been shuffled to the bottom of the pack. We were a bit downhearted but with a bit of luck when we played again on Sunday there was only one way – up! And so it proved we all won through and left for home on top weighed down with ties and diaries we journeyed back non-stop.

Page 5

NORWAY AGAIN

I’m going up to the Fjords twice this coming summer to see the scenes and breathe the air and rest. If you haven’t yet tried a bridge cruise on Discovery, you really should try one of these short breaks. I look forward to meeting you on board.

J UST DUPLICATE Following on from the enormous success of Gentle Duplicate Weekends, I am introducing Just Duplicate Weekends at several venues. £150 for the weekend, full board. Six sessions of social duplicate. No prizes, no master points, no seminars, no tuition. Payment in full at the time of booking, either by debit card or by cheque.

TUNISIA 2009 As the party hosted by Bernard Magee at The Royal Kenz is now fully booked, I have added a further fortnight towards the end of the year. 15-29 November 2009. £749 per person inclusive. Holidays outside the euro currency area are proving to be really good value, so I have added another bridge and golf fortnight hosted by Tony and Jan Richards. 1-15 November, £699 pp.

CHRISTMAS GIFT Send in your friends’ names and addresses, so that they can have their own copy of BRIDGE in 2009. Make sure to include the postcode.

COMING SOON. Several new series for 2009. Here is a taster.

DOUBLE DUMMY PROBLEM by Richard W heen (Answer on page 19)

RECOVERY FOR DISCOVERY

BUBBLE CAPTIONS Our wonderful cartoonist Marguerite Lihou has chosen the following six captions as winners in the bubble caption competition.

Christmas this year is hosted by Sandy Bell. She is supported by the usual team.

The good ship Discovery had a number of engine problems earlier this year. All is now repaired and a programme of refurbishment is in hand. These smaller ships really are so much more friendly than the so called giants of the sea.

BERNARD’S CRUISE

Denham Grove, Uxbridge is a comfortable conference centre set in 40 acres.

Don’t bother, you can’t outbid her. George Wells, Olney. Waiting for the queen to drop. Joy Furness, Epsom.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

ou

Y

I can just afford a limit bid. Anne Thomas, Taunton.

A32 2 2 2

10 Void W N E S A K Q J 10 ♠ 654 ♥ 43 ♦ Void ♣ A

are

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

KQJ Void K 98

South,

declarer, in a heart contract. You have arrived at the position shown above, needing to make five of the last six tricks, with dummy on lead. How do you avoid two spade losers?

Q PLUS 7.5 Following recent trade-ins, I now have a small stock of second hand QPlus 7.5 on sale at only £32. Please phone before ordering to avoid disappointment.

Picture cards always have value. Alan Hobday, Solihull. You will no doubt read all about this year’s cruise from Harwich to Nice with Bernard Magee. (See page 8.) He repeats the same itinerary for 2009. Fares from £499 sharing. During the eight-day cruise there are several days at sea, with lots of time to attend seminars and play bridge. There will be tutors on board to teach those wishing to learn to play bridge.

Artful Bidding. Mr W Huggan, Bromley. Whatever he’s bid, I’ll double it. Richard Thorne, Rochdale. Congratulations. Each winner has been sent a boxed set of four Singlesuited Ball Point Pens.

MATERNITY LEAVE

Freddie North first published The Right Path in 1988. He tells me he still has some copies of this splendid primer and they are available from him at £4.50 plus 50p for postage and packing.

All bedrooms are within the main building and half are on the ground floor. There is easy access to all the bridge rooms, leisure pool and other facilities, making this an ideal Christmas venue. Hosted rubber or Chicago bridge will be provided for all those who would like it.

TWIXMAS Chris Barrable and Ann Pearson host 27-29 December. This will follow the established pattern of a two night weekend event. See the adjacent programme.

NEW YEAR Chris and Ann also host 29 December to 1 January, see adjacent advert. As always, Mrs Bridge and I will be present to greet everyone at the Gala Reception on the evening of 31st.

DAY GUESTS Do give the office a ring if you would like to attend any of our weekend events, without bed and breakfast. This can also be arranged for any part of the Christmas and New Year programme, subject to availability.

THE RIGHT PATH

Write to him at: 14 Hammy Way, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 6GG. ( 01273 464204

CHRISTMAS

Leanora Adds has started her maternity leave and we are all patiently awaiting word of the new arrival.

QPLUS QUIZ Solution and winners will be published in full in the next issue. Page 6

SEASONS GREETINGS I wish you all I wish for myself. Love, peace and blessings.

CHRISTMAS AT DENHAM GRoVE Tilehouse Lane, Denham, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire. UB9 5DU. Eight executive rooms: £50 supplement per event. Half the bedrooms are on the ground floor. Please advise if you require a ground-floor room.

CHRISTMAS 24-27 DECEMBER 2008 £395 – Duplicate with Sandy Bell Rubber is also an available option

_ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _

Example Programme ChRiStMAS EVE

Mr/Mrs/Miss ................................................

1500

Welcome Desk open. Mulled wine and mince pies

Address..........................................................

1745

Welcome Reception (Black Tie optional) followed by DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

.......................................................................

ChRiStMAS DAY 1030

SEMINAR or other games (Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble etc)

1230

CHRISTMAS LUNCH

1500

BRIDGE (duplicate pairs) or Queen’s speech

1830

Festive Buffet DINNER followed by BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

BOXiNG DAY 1000

SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

1230

LUNCH then further Supervised Play or (“novelty” bridge, duplicate pairs)

1830

£355 – Duplicate with Chris Barrable

Informal Prize-Giving for Duplicate Section SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

...................................................................... Postcode....................(................................

Example Programme

Please book me for ........... places,

29 DECEMBER

Single ..... Twin ..... Double .....

1500

Welcome Desk open. Mulled wine and mince pies

1745

Welcome Reception followed by DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

30 DECEMBER 1000

SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

1230

LUNCH then further Supervised Play or duplicate pairs

1830

DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

27 DECEMBER 1000

NEW YEAR 29 DEC 2008 -1 JAN 2009

NEW YEAR’S EVE

Executive (twin or double) ..... 24-27 Dec ...... 27-29 Dec ...... 29 Dec-1 Jan ...... All ...... Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking ....................................................................... SPECIAL REQUESTS

1000

SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

These cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige.

1230

LUNCH then further Supervised Play or “novelty” bridge or duplicate pairs

.......................................................................

1745

GALA RECEPTION (Black Tie optional) followed by a GALA DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

2345

See in the New Year

27 DECEMBER

1000

SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

1500

Welcome Desk open. Mulled wine and mince pies

1230

LUNCH then further Supervised Play or duplicate pairs

1745

Welcome Reception followed by DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

1000

SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

1230

LUNCH then further Supervised Play or duplicate pairs

1830

DINNER then BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

1230

Buffet LUNCH followed by BRIDGE (duplicate pairs)

27-29 DECEMBER 2008

£199 – Duplicate with Chris Barrable

Example Programme

28 DECEMBER

29 DECEMBER 1000

SEMINAR followed by Supervised Play

1230

LUNCH then further Supervised Play or duplicate pairs

NEW YEAR’S DAY

EXTRA NIGHT Dinner, bed & breakfast Single £55pp, Double £35pp, payable to the hotel on departure.

23 Dec ...... 1 Jan ...... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per event by cheque payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Gr ange, Knaphill, Sur r ey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 [email protected]

TUTORIAL SOFTWARE

( 01483 489961 PLAY SOFTWARE QPlus 9.1 Trade-in any previous QPlus Book & Disk and just send QPlus 8.8

£82.00 .......

with Bernard Magee

ONLY £32.00 ....... £52.00 .......

ACOL BIDDING

TUTORIAL SOFTWARE Acol Bidding More Acol Bidding Declarer Play Advanced Declarer Play

£62.00 ....... £92.00 ....... £70.00 ....... £75.00 .......

l

Opening Bids and Responses

l

Suit Establishment in No-trumps

l

Slams and Strong Openings

l

Suit Establishment in Suits

£5.95 ....... £14.00 .......

l

Support for Partner

l

Hold-ups

l

Pre-empting

l

l

Overcalls

Ruffing for Extra Tricks

l

No-trump Openings and Responses

Entries in No-trumps

l

l

Delaying Drawing Trumps

l

Using the Lead

l

Trump Control

l

Endplays & Avoidance

l

Using the Bidding

BOOKS Duplicate Bridge Rules Simplified Hand Evaluation

2009 DIARIES Standard Pillar Box Red ..... Navy Blue ..... Ivory ..... £5.95 ....... Maroon ..... Cambridge Blue ..... Luxury with Kidrell Cover & Ball-Point Pen Bottle Green ..... £12.95 .......

PENS Boxed Set of Four Ball Point Pens (Heart, Club, Diamond, Spade)

£19.95 .......

BONE CHINA MUG Bidding Sequence

£14.35 ....... £17.00 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 ....... £5.95 .......

Opener’s and Responder’s Rebids

l

Minors and Misfits

l

Doubles

l

Competitive Auctions

MORE ACOL BIDDING

£11.95 ....... £11.95 .......

All prices are fully inclusive. I enclose a cheque for £.............

l

Making Overtricks in Suit Contracts

Strong hands

l

Endplays

l

Defence to Weak Twos

l

Avoidance

l

Wrong Contract

l

Defence to 1NT l

Simple Squeezes

l

Doubles l

Counting the Hand

l

Two-suited Overcalls

l

Trump Reductions & Coups

l

Playing Doubled Contracts

l

Safety Plays

l

Advanced Basics

l

Weak Twos

l

l

...................................................................................................................... Postcode ..............................................( .............................................

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH.

ADVANCED DECLARER PLAY Making Overtricks in No-trumps

Basics

Mr/Mrs/Miss ................................................................................................ Address.........................................................................................................

£70

l

l

TIES Bridge Players Ties. Red or Navy Bridge Players Novelty Tie (Big Cards)

£62

l

TEA TOWELS Tea Towels – Any four for We are Survivors Ten Commandments for Bridge Players How to know you are growing older Ode to a Pill Thoughts of an older person Bridge Traffic Signs Life’s a game, but bridge is serious Recipe for a happy marriage

DECLARER PLAY

l

Defences to Other Systems

£92

Misfits and Distributional Hands

£75

www.mrbridge.co.uk System Requirements: Windows XP or Vista, 8mb RAM, CD-ROM

ANSWERS TO THE BIDDING QUIZ ON PAGE 3 by BERNARD MAGEE

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

1. Dealer West. N/S Vul. AK876432 ♠ 95 4 ♥ 762 N E W 76 ♦ KQ9432 S 53 ♣ Q9

West ?

North

East

South

4♠. The vulnerability is in your favour – NorthSouth are vulnerable, you are not – and you are first to speak. You should certainly make a pre-emptive bid, but at what level? It is a choice between opening 3♠ and 4♠. When your suit has good quality then the level of your pre-empt should depend on the length of the suit. With seven you should open 3♠, but with eight, as here, you should open 4♠, putting the maximum pressure on the opponents. A 4♠ opener is difficult to deal with because the opponents may be unsure what a double means – is it penalties or takeout? On this particular hand, you would probably go one off in 4♠, whilst your opponents can make at least eleven tricks, if not twelve, in hearts or clubs. At this vulnerability, one off doubled costs just 100 points, whilst a vulnerable game is worth at least 600. When you are nonvulnerable, pre-empt to the maximum!

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

2. Dealer East. Game All. Void ♠ K987 N K987 ♥ A42 W E K7632 ♦ A85 S 10 4 3 2 ♣ KQ5

West

North

East 1♠

South Pass

?

1NT. You have 6 HCP, so you must make a response. How much strength do you need to bid at the two-level? You need ten points including length and at least 9 HCP. You do not have enough, so your choices are coming down! If you have to respond, but cannot bid at the two-level, you have Hobson’s choice and must bid 1NT. Although you do not have a balanced hand, sometimes when you are weak, you have to tell little lies to stop the auction from getting

out of control. Bidding 1NT is a bit like a negative bid – with a weak hand (6 or 7 HCP) and a distribution you cannot show: respond 1NT first and then, if partner shows a second suit, you can play there.

Double. You have a strong hand and the temptation is to bid your hand out by rebidding 2NT. However, your partner might be very weak, as here, and 2NT will make only 5 or 6 tricks.

On this hand, if you respond 1NT, your partner will pass – his flat 16 points does not merit any more action. Finishing at the 1-level is just what you hoped for. 2♦ is a better contract, but you cannot bid to it! If you respond 2♦, your partner would rebid 2NT, taking you much too high. Note how much better 1NT is than 1♠ – passing would be cruel to your partner – after all, would you want to play in 1♠ with these two hands?

In the early rounds of bidding, when just suits have been bid and nobody has limited their hand, doubles are generally most useful as take-out bids, asking partner to show his best suit. This is a prime example illustrating when you can use such a double. Your double expresses to your partner that you are strong and want to bid on, but you must also be short in the opponents’ suit and have some support for the unbid suits.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

3. Dealer West. N/S Vul. A Q J 10 5 ♠ K9876 N KQ3 ♥ 2 E W KQ2 ♦ 54 S 54 ♣ A7632

West 1♠ ?

North Pass

East 4♠

South Pass

Pass. A direct raise to 4♠ over a 1♠ opening is generally a pre-emptive bid, cutting out the opponents. Bearing this in mind, you should be wary of going on past game. This hand exhibits the need to differentiate between pre-emptive raises to game and genuine strong raises. For slam to be a good prospect opposite your hand, you would require at least two aces and the king of trumps, but with such a hand, your partner should take his time, by delaying his raise to game. East’s 4♠ response was excellent – had you had a weaker hand – your opponents might have been able to make something and it cut out their suit. Note that 10 tricks are all you can make, so 5♠ is too high.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

4. Dealer West. Love All. KQ9 ♠ 432 N KQ87 ♥ 32 W E S A832 ♦ J7654 K2 ♣ Q43

West 1♥ ?

North 2♣

East Pass

Page 7

South Pass

With four cards in diamonds and three in spades you have enough support for whatever he chooses, so this hand is ideal for a take-out double. Your partner responds 2♦ and now you should keep your peace – 2♦ is an excellent contract. Note that, once one member of the partnership has bid no-trumps, doubles will more often be for penalties.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

5. Dealer West. Love All. Q3 ♠ J 10 9 8 7 N 765 ♥ KQ42 W E A943 ♦ 2 S AK87 ♣ 432

West 1NT 2♦ ?

North Pass Pass

East 2♣ 2♠

South Pass Pass

Pass. What does your partner have for this auction? Usually one would need 11 points or more for Stayman, but, on a couple of hand types, one can use it with weaker hands. Here is one of those types: 5-4 in the majors and a weak hand. Rather than transferring (or making a weak take-out) the best option is to use Stayman to see whether opener has a fit in responder’s four-card major: the plan is to pass if opener shows a four-card major and otherwise to rebid with two of the five-card major, which opener should pass. Here East tried for a heart fit, but failing that, he ‘signed off’ in 2♠. Although it does not look pretty from your side, once again trusting partner pays dividends because 2♠ is the best contract. ■

Cruise to the Riviera by Bernard Magee

I

n 2007, the sea was calm and the sun shone throughout. The 2008 cruise was very different indeed! The cruise ship was ailing with engine problems and the winds were getting up. Having had such a success in 2007 and with an aggressive pricing structure, Mr Bridge decided to expand the bridge group on board: taking over two lounges, we took a party of 160 players and there were also 30-40 nonplayers in the party.

I was excited about the cruise and was determined to make sure everybody else was too! The ship was late in, but I made sure I persuaded everybody that things would get better when we were on board. The sun was half out when we left Harwich and the waves were visible but not overly dismaying. However, if you can see the waves when close to port, beware the open seas! With everybody on board, we had our welcome meeting in the Carousel Lounge, many still clutching their life jackets – not because we thought the ship was going down, but because the boat drill had been fitted into a tight timing schedule. We have a beginners’ section, a relaxed section and the main section, I

explained. The beginners would be looked after by Carol during the cruise and would play on Deck 7 in the card room, whilst the Showstoppers (relaxed) section would play in the Palm Court and the main section would play in the Bridge Club. The Showstoppers may sound a grand name, but it means exactly what it says: it stops for the 2nd sitting show. I introduced the Mr Bridge Team, which included helpers from across the country and also a troupe of actors. My sister was on board: Yvie Magee and with her fellow performers, they were to put on two plays but more of that later. After dinner, a few players were starting to sense the ship’s motion, but most made it to the first evening, which I promised would be a little shorter than usual. 37 tables in play and what is wonderful about bridge is that, once you start playing, you do not notice the motion of the ship at all. The standard of play was a little variable due to tiredness. Up and down was perhaps the best description.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Dealer South. Love All. ♠ A75 ♥ 64 ♦ K9876 ♣ A76 6 ♠ 9843 N K9832 ♥ Q J 10 7 W E S 10 5 3 ♦ QJ4 Q J 10 9 ♣ 83 ♠ K Q J 10 2 ♥ A5 ♦ A2 ♣ K542

Page 8

West

North

East

Pass Pass

2♦ 4♠

Pass End

South 1♠ 3♣

The declarer on this hand really felt the effects of the sea. In the bidding, once North knew his partner had five spades (because of his rebid of 3♣), he decided to jump to 4♠. Declarer won the ♣Q lead in dummy and decided to play on diamonds before trumps. He played the ♦A, ♦K and a third diamond which was ruffed high at the same time as the boat moved upwards: all followed and it looked as though overtricks were there: time to draw trumps ending in dummy. The ♠K and then the boat sunk down into the waves, as West discarded on the second round of trumps and now the diamonds were stranded. A third round of trumps could be won in dummy, but when a winning diamond was played East ruffed. Although declarer could overruff, he had to settle for ten tricks. Declarer’s fortunes fluctuated throughout the hand, but he had a certain entry to dummy in the ♣A and that is what he should have conserved. Win the lead in hand with the ♣K, then play on diamonds,

Cruise to the Riviera co nti nued

ruffing the third round, as before. Now you can draw four rounds of trumps and then cross to the ♣A to enjoy the two diamond tricks: 12 tricks made for a top score – plain sailing. The next morning brought a very busy day: seminar, welcome party, afternoon bridge and evening bridge. I emphasized

and the news that we were set for a third day at sea did not cheer many up. However, more sea means more bridge and if you wanted to, you could nearly have managed to do bridge, nonstop. The second day brought our first set of set hands and a chance to practise the subject of the morning’s seminar: 16 tables tried their hand, whilst 14 tables played a duplicate. Here is a deal from the duplicate that could easily have featured in the set hands on overcalling.

Better Hand Evaluation Bernard Magee Introduction Better Hand Evaluation is aimed at helping reader s to add greater accur acy to their bidding. It deals with auctions in which you and your par tner, against silent opponents, can descr ibe your hands to each other fully and, by evaluating them accur ately, find the best final contr act. The emphasis of all good, accur ate bidding is on hand evaluation. There are two gener al types of auction: a) A fit is found and b) No fit is found.

that all the bridge was optional because, as always on cruise ships, there are plenty of other things going on. The seminar went well, but in the Carousel, we were at the very front of the ship and the motion caught a few out. However, the advantage of being in the Carousel is that you are videoed for the cabin television, so a number of clients, who were stuck in bed, were able to watch me from the comfort (or discomfort) of their own cabins. Next followed our welcome drinks for which the turnout was about 50%, which, considering there were free drinks on offer, will tell you that it was getting rough. The singles got together for a meeting to arrange partners for a few different bridge events: this gives everybody the chance to try a few different bridge partners before settling down with one or other. Surely, by the second day, the sea will have quietened, the engines would be roaring and all would be well – not quite! The wind was roaring and the engines were spluttering – I went out on the starboard side at the stern of the ship and could barely stand. The wind was holding us back and at Force 9 with a big swell, it was tossing us this way and that. Undoubtedly an impressive sea, but less so for those stuck in their beds

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Dealer North. E/W Game. ♠ AQ7 ♥ 9 ♦ KQ8762 ♣ 10 9 6 J964 ♠ 32 N Q 10 ♥ J87654 W E S J3 ♦ A5 QJ432 ♣ K87 ♠ K 10 8 5 ♥ AK32 ♦ 10 9 4 ♣ A5

West Pass End

North 1♦ 2♦

East 1♥ Pass

South Dbl 3NT

West led the ♥Q against 3NT and declarer made an easy eleven tricks. The overcalling seminar focussed on the reasons for overcalling. Why had East overcalled this hand? His answer would probably be because it was only at the one-level. Never forget that there are two players in each partnership and you are speaking to your partner. You are vulnerable against not, so you are not looking for a sacrifice. You are not causing much disruption as 1♥ over

Page 9

When you do not have a fit, you are aiming to descr ibe the strength of your hand as soon as possible, most often using no-tr ump bids. This book begins by discussing balanced-hand bidding in Acol, as it is very important that both members of a par tner ship have an accur ate knowledge of how to show hands of different strengths. When a fit is found, there is much reevaluation of the hand to be done; point count, though still important, needs to be evaluated along with distribution. The best way of reaching an accurate assessment is to use the Losing Tr ick Count; this is an impor tant method of hand evaluation and takes up a number of chapter s. Finally, we move on to different for ms of evaluation, including game tries and splinter bids. You can never know enough methods of hand evaluation; the more you learn, the better you get at judging your hand. Although the Losing Tr ick Count is used more easily in tandem with your partner, a large propor tion of the ideas in this book can be used by an individual. For example, evaluating your hand to be worth an extra point is going to help anyone you par tner – as long as you get it r ight!

£14 including postage from , Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH ( 01483 489961

AT THE ROYAL KENZ, TUNISIA

Two-week half-board duplicate holidays 2009 FULL

22 Feb – 8 March with Bernard Magee - £699*

8 March – 22 March with Ray Hutchinson - £699* 22 March – 5 April with Chris Barrable - £699* 1 November – 15 November with Tony Richards - £699* 15 November – 29 November with Bernard Magee - £749* *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 31 October 2008. Prices for sevennight stays are available on application. Pay £70 per fortnight per person extra and have a pool-facing room, tea & coffee making facilities, bath robe and a bowl of seasonal fruit.

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

Cruise to the Riviera con tinu ed

1♦ does not consume space. When it turns out you can have only 7 or 8 points (West hears the opponents bid to 3NT and he holds 7 points which does not leave you with much) it means you were unlikely to be focussed on competing the hand. So that leaves just one good reason: you must have been overcalling because you wanted the suit led! I love to bid; I love to overcall on weak hands, but I only bid on weak hands if my suit is of high quality – I want my partner to think, ‘He overcalled on a weak hand so I must lead his suit.’ If you want your partner to think this, then make sure you only bid with strong suits if you are weak. Had East passed with this hand, West would have led the ♣3 against 3NT and declarer would have been one down, losing four clubs and the ♦A. All I need to do is change one card and the 1♥ overcall is fine: make the ♣K the ♥K instead, now the heart suit is decent and the chances are that a heart lead is best. With the king bolstering your suit, the ♥Q lead would be perfect and would defeat 3NT. The only time I overcall with a weak suit is when I have a strong allround hand that needs to compete (12+ points), but it must be at least five cards long. Learning 160 names was certainly testing me, but for the men, there were so many Johns that if I was in any doubt I could always call them John – easier for me perhaps, but it did cause some problems for the singles. When they said they were playing with John, it was not always easy to partner them up – quite often we were searching from room to room to find the right partners invariably partnering up helpers with some of them – none of the helpers was called John, thankfully! Day four and the sun was out, the sea was calm and the mood on board lightened. After all, it was fine for us

bridge players, endlessly entertained, but for many other passengers, it had been rather glum! Another seminar and more set hands and then, at 4.15pm, the first play: Shakers. I managed to get the play put on after the bridge had finished, so the players could watch it if they wished. I thought I would fall asleep, having been doing bridge non-stop, but I enjoyed every moment: the four actresses were extremely professional and the John Godber Play was entertaining, if a little risqué for some. Everybody was emerging from below: one player who had not yet

made the bridge room appeared and was welcomed with open arms and a kiss! The atmosphere on board was of relief and excitement. With excess energy to disperse after the evening’s bridge, it was dance time. The young actresses were up on the floor and I could not resist joining them, and quite a few of the bridge group joined in too – little did they know that they would get a prize for it – San, Hilary, Jean, Gwen and Gaynor to name but a few. The next morning brought dreams of stepping on dry land, but there was still time for a seminar and plenty of dolphin watching. Great numbers of the mammals were leaping out of the water on both sides of the ship. Groups would stay for a while, swim off and then rejoin us later on – although they may have been different ones; my dolphin

Page 11

recognition skills are none too good. We also had time for a software demonstration. We had two computers available for clients to try out the various pieces of software that could be bought from the on-board boutique, taxfree. There was plenty of interest, especially in the Acol Bidding and the Declarer Play. Jessica, from the office, was on hand to take questions about Mr Bridge’s activities on land and at sea. It was a good chance for her to see how a cruise really works and how bridge sessions run – it was also a good chance for her to have some fun! Land ahoy! The welcome shape of the Rock of Gibraltar brought us our first landfall of the cruise. Lisbon was missed out because of foul weather and engine trouble, but the Captain had done well to get us to Gibraltar. Most of the clients swayed gently as they walked off the ship – trying to walk the sea from their legs. There were plenty of stories to tell when back on board, especially of wonderful bargains in the shops. Clearly a number of players felt the need of retail therapy to recover from the sea’s rocking. The first port of call is always wonderful because it gets people talking about the things they have done during the day. They compare prices for taxis and talk about their tours and walks. The atmosphere at bridge that evening was heightened – and we would have a full day in port the next day. Our main stop of the cruise was Almeira and everybody enjoyed it thoroughly: blazing sunshine and searing heat in the middle of the day. Plenty of people went off to the Alhambra Palace; meanwhile I went off with Jo, one of my helpers and we ventured round the streets of Almeira to find a bar and have a beer! ‘With olives,’ we said to the barman and olives and sardines appeared. It was a wonderful scene, leaning back in the chair in the shade of olive trees, eating fresh fish and drinking cold beer. At the table next to us were two Australians, who had as much

Cruise to the Riviera co nti nued

trouble as us ordering their drinks and snacks. They ordered the same as us, but then another lady came and although they tried to say they had already ordered, she misunderstood! They got the same as us, but then two minutes later a huge platter of seafood arrived. Having just eaten a big lunch around the corner, they had not been prepared for this, but Jo and I were glad to come to the rescue. We joined their table and shared calamari, whitebait, sardines and squid with more beer, of course.

Farewell drinks already, but with the sea calm and the sun going slowly down, the Carousel lounge was filled and the atmosphere was excellent. There were plenty of prizes to distribute, from the best of the bridge players in both sections (Tony & Jo, Dave & Derek) to the best drinkers (Jane & Judi) and the best dancers (the actresses). Plenty of drinks were drunk and with wine at dinner too, there was some innovative bidding and play later on that evening. Of course, there was still a day at sea to go: seminar, bridge, bridge, parties, plays and dancing! The last seminar was on the Bidding Quiz and included some very difficult decisions, one of which was:

Dealer North. Love All. ♠ KQ643 ♥ A75 ♦ KQ65 ♣ 2

West

North 3♥

East Dbl

South Pass

?

I will give you a little time to decide what you bid, as West, with this hand. The play on the last afternoon was another by John Godber, Teechers. Unfortunately, it was scheduled at the same time as bridge, but many of the group chose to see the play and they were rewarded by another excellent show. The feedback about the acting was brilliant and congratulations are due to their great efforts. After the first two days, the actors were wondering why they had come, but by the end of the cruise, they were on their best form – having enjoyed a wonderful ride. Whilst all this bridge was being played by the more experienced players, Carol had four absolute beginners who had had five days at sea to get their teeth into the game and they made great progress. By the end, they were playing a game of Chicago in the bridge room with the rest of us! Captain’s cocktails arrived and everybody was looking splendid, all dressed up with plenty of places to go; including the bridge room, of course. The bridge games finished with no big bangs and the dance floor was waiting. More champagne for me as I shared a bottle with Ethel and Tony as we looked

at some of his ideas on the relationships between high-card points and ability, on the performance in a duplicate. Meanwhile they got up on the dance floor for a jive.

Page 12

Back to the hand above. Most players bid 4♠, but you have a very strong hand: your partner’s double is for take-out and suggests an opening hand at least. Fully evaluating your hand including shortage and length, gives you 17 points (or five losers), which opposite an opening hand is enough to think about slam. Your partner is quite likely to hold a singleton heart for his double, so the hands may well fit together beautifully. If he holds two aces then 6♠ should have a good chance of making, so you should ask your partner how many aces he has: bid 4NT. This was your partner’s hand:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AJ95 2 J932 AQ84

It is the very minimum for a take-out double at the three-level and yet when he shows two aces, you can bid 6♠ and expect to make it. Finally we reached Marseilles, by which time I was very tired. A coach took me through the French countryside to Nice airport in the morning. Along with Liz, Rosemary, Stephanie and Sandra we made our way back to Northern Ireland. What a cruise: the seas and the engines added to the entertainment, but the bridge group was buzzing and it was a great pleasure to be involved. The good news is that the engines are all back working and the ship is cruising in style again. I cannot wait until next year, when the skies will be blue, the sun bright and the sea calm and we will all be wondering what the fuss was about! ■

DEFENCE QUIZ

AT MARSHAM COURT East Cliff, Bournemouth, BH1 3AB

Duplicate Bridge Breaks 2009 3-5 Feb (Tue-Thu) £199 Slam Bidding - Chris Barrable

by Julian Pottage

1-3 Mar (Sun-Tue) £199

(Answers on page 58) ou are West in the defensive positions below. It is your turn to play.

Y

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

1.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 5 2 A 10 6 4 2 J72 10 8

AQJ94 Q9 A84 KJ3 E

W S

You lead the ♥4, which goes to the ♥9, ♥K and ♥5. Partner returns the ♥8, to which South follows with the ♥7. How do you defend?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

N

West North East South 1♠ Pass 1NT Pass 2NT Pass 3NT End

2.

3.

♠ 9 ♥ A9642 ♦ Q J 10 8 4 ♣ 63 Q 10 5 2 N 10 W E S A75 Q 10 8 5 2

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

You lead the ♣5. Partner wins with the ♣A and South drops the ♣K. Back comes the ♦9, covered by the ♦K. How do you defend?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ K874 10 8 7 5 A75 10

E

3-5 Mar (Tue-Thu) £199 Further into the Auction Chris Barrable

23-25 Sep (Wed-Fri) £150 Just Duplicate

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities

♦ Venue non-smoking ♦ Tuition with Supervised Play, bidding quiz and two seminars except on Just Duplicate events

S

West North East South 1NT Pass 3NT End

17-19 Jul (Fri-Sun) £199 22-24 Jul (Wed-Fri) £199

♦ Full-board ♦ No single supplement

N W

2-4 Jul (Thu-Sat) £150 Just Duplicate

Declarer Play Chris Barrable

26-28 Apr (Sun-Tue) £150 30 Oct-1 Nov (Fri-Sun) £235 Bernard Magee Just Duplicate

10 2 A9 K Q J 10 8 4 Q62 2

1-3 Jun (Mon-Wed) £199

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Please book me for ..... places, Day Guests (£115pp) ......

You lead the ♥5. Partner wins with the ♥K and returns the ♥6, as South follows with the ♥3 and ♥J. After the ♥A wins, declarer calls for the ♦K from dummy, on which partner plays the ♦6. What do you play on this trick? What do you expect will determine your play to the next trick?

Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Sea View* ..... at the Marsham Court date(s) of ....................................... Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................

4.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

( ......................................................................................

♠ J72 ♥ A6 ♦ K Q J 10 8 4 ♣ J9 10 8 3 N W E 10 4 S A75 K 10 8 5 2

Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige) .......................................................................................... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

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

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

You lead the ♣5. Partner wins the ♣9 with the ♣A and returns the ♣7, as South follows low once more. Your defence?

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

Page 13

DECLARER PLAY QUIZ

AT THE BEACH HOTEL Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 3QJ

Duplicate Weekends 2009 with Bernard Magee 30 Jan-1 Feb (£209)

Leads & Defence

6-8 Feb (£209)

Declarer Play

5-7 Jun (£235)

Splinters & Cue Bids

12-14 Jun (£235) 2-4 Oct (£235) 16-18 Oct (£235) 4-6 Dec (£235)

by David Huggett (Answers on page 41)

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

Stayman & Transfers with Improver section

Y

Hand Evaluation Signals & Discards

♦ Full-board Friday to Sunday

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities

♦ No single supplement

♦ Venue non-smoking

1.

3. ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K53 762 J5 AQJ62

K984 A2 AK763 J5

N

♦ Tuition with Supervised Play, bidding quiz and two seminars

W

N E

W

S

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Please book me for ..... places,

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AJ7 AK5 A 10 8 3 2 53

Q J 10 7 5 3 3 954 K83

Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Sea View* ..... at the Beach Hotel weekend(s) of ...................................... Mr/Mrs/Miss .....................................................................

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠6. East plays the ♠9. How do you plan the play?

You are declarer in 4♠ and West, who bid hearts, leads the ♥K. How do you plan the play?

2.

4.

Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed)

QJ98 A62 AK752 9

..........................................................................................

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J4 7 A875432 843 N

N W

Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

W

E

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

Page 14

A K 10 7 3 843 4 K Q J 10

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

E S

S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AQ62 A K Q J 10 8 Void A62

You are declarer in 4♥ and West leads the ♣K. How do you plan the play?

It Happened That Way by Freddie North

The Advantages of Transfers he advent of transfers has unquestionably helped the bidding machinery of ambitious players, especially where close contracts are concerned. In pre-transfer days, how would we have coped with these two hands? You might like to put yourselves in South’s shoes with this hand:

T

all sounds very iffy. Now let us see how transfers might help as we look at the bidding from one table in the weekly club duplicate.

Dealer North. E/W Vul. Pairs. ♠ AJ743 ♥ 10 4 2 ♦ 32 ♣ A 10 8

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K 10 6 2 AQ85 Q 10 9 K4

After two passes, South would, no doubt, open 1NT, giving North a small problem. Perhaps North would settle for 2♠ (usually no need to push for thin games at pairs), or maybe he would bid 2♣ (Stayman) and then, over 2♥, bid 2♠ (showing a hand a bit better than a direct sign-off in 2♠). There the bidding might end, although, if South was having a good day, he might raise to 3♠ and give North a further decision. If North was also having a good day, perhaps they would reach game, but it

Dealer North. E/W Vul. Pairs. ♠ AJ743 ♥ 10 4 2 ♦ 32 ♣ A 10 8 985 ♠ Q N 3 ♥ KJ976 W E S A84 ♦ KJ765 QJ7652 ♣ 93 ♠ K 10 6 2 ♥ AQ85 ♦ Q 10 9 ♣ K4

West North East South Pass Pass 1NT Pass 2♥1 Dbl2 3♠3 4 Pass 4♠ End Showing five spades and asking partner to transfer, usually to 2♠. 2 I have a heart suit. If you have a fit, maybe we can compete. 3 I have a maximum no-trump with four spades. 4 Then let us try for game. 1

Probably because of lack of teaching, South’s jump to 3♠ (maximum with four trumps) is not part of many players equipment. On this particular evening, only one pair reached the spade game, which seems to confirm this observation. Of course, one could argue that South’s enthusiasm

2009 Bridge Players’ Diaries

might endanger the plus score and there is a smidgeon of sense in this suggestion – but only a smidgeon! A much more potent argument is that the 3♠ bid feeds partner with enough information to try for game on minimal values whenever that is appropriate. Furthermore, if partner is as poor as the proverbial church mouse, then the opposition will surely have a part-score contract of their own, if not a game. Although understandable, East’s double was unfortunate as it further ensured that the hand would play well when West led the three of hearts, an obvious singleton. Declarer won the nine with the queen and laid down the king of spades, dropping the singleton queen (with heart shortage in the West hand, West was favourite to hold length in trumps). Trumps were drawn and then a small diamond to the ten fetched the ace. Not liking the look of the club suit, West returned a diamond and there was an easy parking place for dummy’s losing heart on the queen of diamonds. Had West not played a second diamond, declarer could have reached dummy and done so himself, thus ensuring the handsome score of +450 for making n eleven tricks.

Luxury version with super-soft kidrell cover, gilded page edges and a ball-point pen attached. Cover colour: bottle green. £12.95 each including postage and packing.

Freddie North is one of Britain’s most popular bridge writers.

Exclusively available from ( 01483 489961. www.mrbridge.co.uk

Page 15

♦ Acol Summary by Ron Klinger. ♦ Updated Laws and Ethics by Mike Swanson. ♦ Scoring Tables for Duplicate and Rubber. ♦ Choice of red, navy, ivory, pale blue 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.

A Slam for Santa by Michael Scarrott

‘I

bet Ted Branch would come as the Marquis de Sade,’ chuckled David. ‘Stop right now,’ interrupted David’s wife Velda. ‘Keep a reign on that active imagination of yours. I like the idea and fancy dress would certainly be a change from our usual Christmas Bridge Party. Let’s also make a stipulation that members and guests have to remain in their costume persona for the duration of the evening.’

Yarborough and Blackwood Readers of BRIDGE may be familiar with David and Velda’s Park Drive Bridge Club through the exploits of their famous ghostly dog, Yarborough, last year. Readers will further be pleased to learn that his successor at the club, Blackwood, is also proving a very popular and intuitive dog! ‘We can’t leave Blackwood out,’ said David while giving the little dog a friendly scratch behind the ears. ‘Maybe something like a little green waistcoat would look appropriate?’ Yarborough looked across at Blackwood and gave a transparent wink. ‘Maybe I could come as the ‘Hound of the Baskervilles,’ he thought. Blackwood thumped his little tail with delight as he sensed this idea.

batch of heart-shaped tarts and hand them round when guests arrive.’ ‘I’ll think about it,’ answered Velda, dismissing this suggestion instantly from her mind.

Sue ♠ AJ4 ♥ K 10 9 ♦ 652 ♣ AQJ6

Approval for Fancy Dress ‘We should have a full house for this evening’s duplicate, so let’s put the idea up for approval.’ Members gave the suggestion a wholehearted thumbs-up and it became a conversation theme throughout the evening. ‘You two might as well dress up as Bonnie and Clyde,’ said a disgruntled Delia Pain to Jack and Janet Brown. ‘You robbed us on that last contract when you led your ace of clubs. You are not supposed to lead out an unsupported ace. Everyone knows that.’ ‘I can only apologise for my error,’ replied Janet with just a hint of pleasure. ‘It’s such a pity it took your singleton king!’

Maggie Thatcher ‘I have just overheard a threat to come as Margaret Thatcher by Maggie Warner,’ said a bemused David. ‘Now that should create quite a stir. Poor old John had better be on his metal or he’ll be out of the Cabinet and onto the back benches in next to no time!’

Fancy Dress The Joker Delighted to have his wife’s approval for the concept, David continued in an innocent tone, ‘perhaps someone will come as Moll Flanders? I believe she was an enthusiastic card player.’ Velda gave an indulgent smile and asked what costume he might favour? ‘Well, I was thinking we should come as the King and Queen of Hearts. You could make a

This was the deal in question:

Colin Sims joined in the fun. ‘Don and Pru seem to win most weeks, so, perhaps, they should come as the Dynamic Duo – Batman and Robin?’ ‘If that’s the case, then you should come as The Joker,’ said Colin’s long-suffering wife, Sue. ‘The way you played that last contract was nothing but a joke!’

Page 16

Don ♠ 10 8 5 2 ♥ 52 ♦ A93 ♣ 10 8 5 3

N E

W S

Pru ♠ K93 ♥ 743 ♦ Q J 10 8 ♣ 942

Colin (Dealer) ♠ Q76 ♥ AQJ86 ♦ K74 ♣ K7

Colin opened 1♥ and, when Sue responded 2♣, he decided to give a good impression of his all round strength with a rebid of 2NT. Sue next bid 3♥, which offered Colin the choice of game in 3NT or 4♥, depending on whether he held four hearts or five. Colin closed the auction with a bid of 4♥ and Don led the two of spades.

Careless Play Without stopping to think or to take heed of Blackwood’s warning cry, Colin called for the four of spades from dummy with every expectation of winning the first trick with the queen. When Pru played the king, he did his best to mask his disappointment. Seeing no future in leading back into the spade strength, Pru returned the diamond queen to the weakness on the table. This proved the fatal blow. Colin’s king fell to Don’s ace and two more diamond

A Slam for Santa losers put the contract one down. ‘Bad luck old chap,’ said a delighted Don anticipating a good board for them. ‘Yes,’ agreed Sue in her best sarcastic tone. ‘You need to be particularly careful if you’ve only 30 points split evenly between the two hands, a solid five-card trump suit, four club winners and the spade ace.’ Even little Blackwood had a despondent look on his face at this unexpected outcome. Yarborough floated over to have a look at the devastation. Go up with the spade ace at trick one and draw trumps in three rounds. Take the club winners and discard two diamond losers from hand. Played that way, you lose only to the spade king and the diamond ace. ‘It’s a good job it’s not raining,’ thought Yarborough, ‘Colin could well be in for a long walk home if I’m not mistaken!’

Party Plans The party would take place on the Saturday before Christmas. Members offered to bring a selection of homemade goodies to go along with David’s mulled wine and to make Velda’s sumptuous seasonal buffet complete with legendary mince pies.

The Identity Club ‘I suppose fancy dress is a bit like a role-playing game,’ reflected David. ‘You become someone else for a short period of time and can act completely out of character without causing offence.’ Velda raised her eyebrows at this, but David continued, ‘if you really do your research, you can say things and blame it all on the person you’re masquerading as. In fact, I read recently about a group of people in New York who have taken this to the extreme. They call themselves ‘The Identity Club’ with members adopting the dress and mannerisms of long dead poets, writers, musicians and artists. It really is quite bizarre as most were chosen for their extreme and ritualistic behaviour.’ ‘That sort of thing might well suit some of our members,’ answered Velda. ‘Have you noticed how Tom Wise always wears the same tie, week after week?’ ‘I should say so,’ chuckled David. ‘Bright blue with big red dots –

continued

what a distraction – it’s the last thing you want to look at when playing a tricky hand. As a matter of fact, I’m seriously thinking of banning it from the club and having it put down humanely!’ Velda chose to ignore David’s riposte and continued, ‘Did you know that the playing cards themselves are rife with superstition? Some people refer to them as the “devil’s picture book” due to their connection with fortune telling. I’d be willing to bet all manner of lucky charms are worn or carried by members.’

The King & Queen of Hearts The big day arrived and following the usual last minute panic, everything was ready for the members and guests. David looked splendid as the King of Hearts and Velda appeared very regal as The Queen. Blackwood came dressed in a specially made waistcoat, while an unseen Yarborough took in the proceedings with his usual pleasure and wagged his phantom tail for all it was worth.

Santa and Rusty Now it may come as quite a surprise for some, but at this very time, Santa Claus was passing over the Park Drive Bridge Club along with Rusty, his trusted elf. He was on one of his many reconnaissance missions, checking out the rooftops for any potential problems well before his big day. He parked his sleigh on a nearby roof and took a clear look at what was going on inside the club. ‘That looks like fun,’ he said in a deep ho, ho, ho type of voice. ‘Everyone is dressed up in different costumes and I can see a long table filled with my favourite mouth-watering goodies.’ Rusty took a small spyglass out of his tunic and looked more closely. ‘I think they might be about to start playing cards. We had such a good game last week when we beat the polar bears. Maybe we could just go down, knock on the door and join in.’ ‘Sounds like a great idea,’ replied Santa. They won’t have a clue who we really are and no one will take much notice of your pointed ears and nose after a glass or

Page 17

two of that strong-looking brew, bubbling away on the stove.’ ‘Answer the door, David,’ shouted Velda, ‘I just knew someone would make a late appearance.’ ‘It’s only Santa Claus and a pixie friend,’ called David from the front door. ‘Come on in and get yourselves a glass of mulled wine; play’s just about to start.’ David winked at Santa and said in a not so sober tone: ‘parked your transport on the roof, I suppose?’ ‘Yes we did, but we managed to slide down without mishap. The reindeers are happily munching the grass in the next door garden.’ ‘Oh, that’s a good one,’ replied David, walking away to join Velda. ‘Everyone’s really getting into the spirit of things.’

Santa and Rusty Play Doctor Who and Cyberwoman Fully fortified with a glass or two of David’s potent wine, Santa and Rusty found themselves facing Doctor Who and a sinister looking Cyberman. ‘That’s a really splendid costume,’ said a cultured voice from across the table. You could easily get some part time work in one of the local department stores. I understand they are always on the lookout for someone to play Santa at this time of the year. You could even take your little friend along with you. He has the most marvellous rubber ears I have every seen. You might even get the prize for the best costume.’

Best Costume? Santa looked up and gave a big smile before speaking. ‘That’s very kind of you. We really like to look the part when we go out.’ Rusty looked across at the Cyberman and waggled his pointed ears. ‘How amazing,’ said a female voice from behind the Cyberman’s tinfoil helmet. ‘Now don’t you worry about my partner,’ interrupted Doctor Who, ‘I made a few adjustments with my sonic screwdriver and now she’s no trouble at all. In fact, she is the first ever Cyberwoman!’

Final Board of the Round Play progressed smoothly with both sides making a couple of part-score contracts. The final board of the round involved some competitive bidding. This was the deal in question:

A Slam for Santa Santa ♠ J7 ♥ Q5 ♦ Q9842 ♣ A 10 5 2 Doctor Who (Dealer) ♠ K98652 N ♥ Void W E S ♦ AK3 ♣ 8643 Rusty ♠ Q 10 4 ♥ K J 10 9 7 ♦ Void ♣ K7

Cyberwoman ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A3 A86 J 10 7 6 5 QJ9

432

Doctor Who opened 1♠, Santa Claus passed and Cyberwoman responded 2♦. With his eight-card suit and diamond void, Rusty bid stop 4♥. Doctor Who looked dismissively at the stop card, as time after all was his to control, and passed. The auction finished with an ominous double from the Cyberwoman. Doctor Who led the diamond ace; Rusty trumped in hand and took time to assess his chances. At first glance, there appeared to be only three losers – two spades and the trump ace. With his long, pointed, green fingers ready to chase out the heart ace, a movement next to his chair distracted him briefly. Blackwood, intrigued by the big jolly man in the red costume and his rather strange looking companion, had wandered over to see what was going on.

Cutting Communications Rusty took in the mournful expression on the little dog’s face and decided to give a little more thought to his line of play. Cyberwoman was marked with the ace of hearts. If she holds up until the second round and then plays on spades, she may well score a fourth trick for the defence with a spade ruff. Rusty decided the safest way to overcome this threat was to lead spades, with the intention of cutting communications while still retaining the queen of trumps in dummy to protect against an overruff.

continu ed

With the danger now gone, the contract came home to generous praise from both opponents. ‘Where on earth does an Elf learn to play such a clever game?’ said an inquisitive Doctor Who, looking closely at Rusty’s finely woven tunic. ‘He’s my regular partner,’ announced Santa from across the table. We play most weeks at a club up near the Arctic Circle. Current club champions are a couple of long-toothed narwhals.’ ‘I like that,’ joined in an amused Cyberwoman. ‘Before I teamed up with Doctor Who, I played at a rather select club run by a couple of Daleks. Behaviour at the club was nothing but exemplary at all times. Yes, it’s quite amazing how the word “exterminate” can focus the mind!’

Successful Evening ‘What a successful evening!’ exclaimed a delighted David. ‘Is that Keith West over there in the very impressive Henry VIII costume?’ asked Velda. ‘It most definitely is,’ replied David, ‘he’s usually such a quietly-spoken chap, so it’s quite a surprise to everyone when he shouts “off with her head” every time he takes an opponent’s queen. ‘It’s such a shame Yarborough can’t be here to join in the fun,’ continued David with a hint of sadness. Yarborough’s wraithlike outline floated across the room and he laid his big shaggy head on David’s lap. ‘I wish I could find some way of letting him know I’m still here,’ thought Yarborough. He raised his head and looked about the room. His phantom hairs stood on end when he spied Santa Claus and Rusty. ‘Maybe there is a way,’ he thought.

Velda’s Mouth-Watering Banquet ‘Come on,’ said Velda in an effort to cheer David up, ‘it’s time we all stopped for something to eat. If we break off now, we can have one final round to end the evening.’ The sound of merry chatter was soon heard as members and guests tucked into Velda’s mouth-watering banquet. Their good friends, Nick and Joan, soon joined them. ‘The name’s Bond, James Bond,

Page 18

said a well-dressed Nick trying his best not to laugh. ‘This is my able assistant, Miss Moneypenny.’ Joan giggled and added for good measure, ‘we’ve parked the Aston Martin outside the front door!’ ‘You’ll like this,’ said Nick. ‘We’ve just played against young Tim Wilson. You know whom I mean. He has only been playing for a short time. Well, apparently he was up against Alice Sykes sometime last month and she gave him quite a ticking off for slow play, poor concentration and a heap more. When Tim enquired politely how long she had been playing bridge, she seemed to take exception and told him in no uncertain words that she had been playing for 52 years. Tim pondered this for a while and replied, in a hardly audible tone, that he, in fact, had been playing for only 52 weeks!’ Amazingly, they seem to be getting on quite well now. They are even considering playing together at some time in the future. ‘Probably the distant future,’ added a sceptical David.

Final Round ‘Looks like we’re up against Santa Claus on the final round,’ interrupted Velda, ‘so that should be a really cheerful end to the evening.’ Friendly chatter and laughter echoed round the room as players waited for the last boards to arrive. Velda looked across at Rusty and congratulated him on his marvellous outfit. Rusty gave a shy smile and thanked Velda for such a lovely meal. As Santa gazed across the room, the movement of a shadowy outline across the floor startled him for a moment. His extra sensory perception soon made out the shape as that of a disembodied dog. ‘Looks very much like the dog in the photograph on the wall,’ he thought, ‘It must be Yarborough. His spirit never really left the place.’ He gave a sympathetic sigh and wished there was something he could do.

Yarborough Appears Yarborough stared up into Santa’s large friendly face and quivered his whole body with celestial pleasure. Santa looked across at an unaware David and gave a warm smile before speaking in an uncharacteristically soft tone, ‘he’s always close by and knows just how much you miss him.’ David looked

A Slam for Santa up in alarm. ‘Yarborough,’ continued Santa. ‘He wants you to know he is still having a great time and keeps a special watch over little Blackwood.’ David gazed around the room as he took in the implication of this rather unexpected revelation. He glanced across at Santa, who was nodding his head and peering intently at a spot on the carpet just alongside his chair. He looked down and imagined the old dog keeping a watchful eye on the evening’s play. ‘Well, I never!’ was all he could mutter. Yarborough looked up at David and gave a wolfish grin.

The Last Board With honours just about even, the last board saw a competitive auction:

Rusty ♠ AK75 ♥ KQ62 ♦ 74 ♣ KJ4 David Velda (Dealer) ♠ Void ♠ 94 N ♥ A 10 9 7 4 ♥ 53 W E ♦ K 10 8 5 3 ♦ J6 S ♣ Q86 ♣ A 10 9 7 5 3 2 Santa ♠ Q J 10 8 6 3 2 ♥ J8 ♦ AQ92 ♣ Void

Velda opened a pre-emptive nonvulnerable 3♣. Santa overcalled 3♠ and David went straight to 5♣. With fourcard support and a strong hand, Rusty raised Santa to 6♠. David led the six of clubs and Santa took time to assess his chances.

Santa Avoids Too Many Losers Santa knew that the lead marked Velda with the ace of clubs, which meant that both the ace of hearts and the king of diamonds were most likely with David. He scratched his luxurious white whiskers as he tried to fathom a way of avoiding one loser too many. His mind

continued

DOUBLE DUMMY SOLUTION

made up, he played the jack from dummy and trumped Velda’s ace in hand. His next move was to draw trumps ending in hand and lead the eight of hearts. When David played the ace, this set up his own jack as well as the king-queen in dummy. The two heart winners in dummy, together with the king of clubs, were sufficient to take care of the losing diamonds.

by Richard Wheen (Problem on page 6)

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Hold-up? David gave Velda a crestfallen look. ‘Perhaps I should have held onto the heart ace?’ Santa came to David’s rescue. ‘If you hold up the ace, I simply discard my remaining heart on the club king. I would concede a diamond trick, as the finesse fails, before claiming the contract.’ ‘Maybe I should not have played the club ace on the first round,’ said Velda, ‘I read somewhere about doing the unexpected in an effort to confuse declarer. You wouldn’t have known what to discard, would you?’ ‘Quite right,’ continued David with newfound confidence in his voice, ‘Expert players occasionally come a cropper against complete beginners because they just play out their aces and kings at the first opportunity! This often ruins their careful subterfuge when trying to slip a crafty trick through their opponents’ defences.’

Memorable & Magical Party Santa winked at Rusty and said, in a jovial tone, ‘I know just what you mean. It was only last week that we had a couple of juvenile snowmen pop in for a game. They confused our best players and eventually had to be escorted from the premises when they were threatened with melt down by a couple of angry polar bears!’ David gave a friendly chuckle before speaking. ‘A Slam for Santa – this was such an appropriate end to such a memorable and magical party!’ n

Michael Scarrot lives in Cromer, Norfolk and teaches bridge in nearby West Runton.

Page 19

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 Void A K Q J 10

N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

I

A32 2 2 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

KQJ Void K 98

654 43 Void A

was kibitzing one of my pupils playing this hand in the South-East Surrey Senior Novice qualifiers and saw that declarer could easily make four tricks – two aces and two trumps. He also had two spade losers, and I whispered to him that, to save time, he accept one off (we are quite relaxed about protocol in these events). Declarer gave me a look of thunder and led a club promptly to the ace and then a spade to the ace (the cashing of aces, without first considering where the other tricks were to come from, is one of the hallmarks of South-East Surrey Senior Novices). Now he led a diamond from dummy and I grimaced: I had surely taught him that ruffing cards in the long trump hand does not create extra tricks? However, declarer did not ruff: instead, he threw a spade. West, who won the trick perforce, led a club. Dummy ruffed this, while declarer discarded his last spade. South’s two trumps won the remaining tricks. Declarer had made his contract with the aid of a loser-on-loser endplay and forced ruff-and-discard, a play even I had not envisaged. Not only had he not lost two spade tricks, he had not lost even one! As I congratulated him on his card play, I gained the distinct impression that he would shortly be looking for a new bridge teacher.

DAVID STEVENSON answers questions on Bridge Laws

2♣ over 1NT by Partner or Opponent

Q

I opened 1NT and my partner took it out into 2♠. In all good faith, I explained, ‘weak take-out’, and passed. The opposition reopened with 3♦ and my partner competed to 3♠, making four. She had five spades (king high) in a ten-point hand with a singleton – too weak for a jump to 3♠, and unsuited to play in 1NT – so 2♠ seems an intelligent bid. Did we do wrong? Simon Loveday by e-mail.

clubs. Some say this is legal. Others say it is not.

(b) N/S are playing Landy over a 1NT opening. West North East South 1NT* 2♣2 Pass 2♥ Pass 3♣3 End 1 12-14 2 Alerted by South as Landy (both majors) 3 Wrong major partner – he had six clubs and four spades

Q

(i) With ‘Landy’ on the convention card, was this legal? (I was South and thought partner had forgotten we were playing Landy). (ii) If the convention card had ‘Landy or natural’, would that make it legal? Some say the sequence, with Landy on the convention card, is illegal and that South must not pass 3♣. One director says that ‘any defence to 1NT is acceptable’ and the sequence was acceptable. David Hughes, Worthing, West Sussex.

West North East South 1NT1 Pass 2♣2 Pass 2♥ Pass 3♣3 End 1 12-14 2 Stayman 3 Actually, it is a weak take out in

You can play any responses to 1NT, so you can use a Stayman 2♣ response with a weak take-out in clubs. What is more, when Jack Marx invented the convention, now called Stayman, just before

A

The term ‘weak take-out’ means the response of 2♠ shows a hand that is too weak to expect to make game. This is what your partner had, so there could be no complaint if the opponents had misunderstood. ♣♦♥♠ What is your opinion on the bidding below? (a) E/W are playing nonpromissory Stayman and transfers over 1NT.

A

the World War II, it included this sequence. So playing Stayman to include a weak take-out in clubs has been legal and in use in England for the last seventy years! Your second sequence, with the 2♣ overcall, is different. For many years, there were restrictions on defence to 1NT. There still are restrictions at Level 2, which is generally holiday and novice bridge. At Level 3 and above, i.e. club and event bridge, there are no restrictions so you can play whatever defence you like. In club play, it is thus legal to play 2♣ as the majors or clubs, or perhaps the majors, or one major and clubs. If you do play it that way, you must still keep the opponents fully informed, so you must not call this Landy. It is not Landy, where 2♣ shows the majors. ‘Landy or natural’ will not do; it is not Landy. You should say ‘the majors or clubs’. It is not illegal to pass 3♣, since it is legal to play it this way. However, if you have described it as Landy, either in answer to a question or on your convention card, it is misinformation. The opponents will get an adjusted score if they can show that they have suffered damage.

Page 20

Q

Playing duplicate, we had finished a round, scored up our boards and heard the call to move. Our opponents had been discussing one board and suggested that one of us had revoked. After a short, friendly, discussion, we agreed that my partner had indeed done so. We drew the matter to the attention of the director, who deducted two tricks from our result. Is this right? Jane Hickey, Horsell, Surrey.

A

Especially with a new Law book, it is important that directors read rulings from the Law book – it sounds like yours did not! If he had, he might have read Law 64B5, which says that there are no penalty tricks deducted after the end of the round. Of course, if the revoke has gained you tricks then the director should make sure these go back to your opponents.

E-mail your questions on bridge laws to: davidstevenson@ mrbridge.co.uk.

David Stevenson on Bridge Laws continued

RUBBER / CHICAGO 2009

Q

Playing with a competent partner for the first time, we had only a brief system discussion. On the fifth board, North (my partner) dealt and opened 1NT. I announced 12-14. East passed. I bid 2♥, which North announced as a transfer to spades. West hesitated and then passed. North bid 2♠. East passed and I bid 2NT, which made. West called the director claiming that I had received ‘unauthorised information’. The director looked at the hands. I had 9 points including ♠K-x-x and ♥Q-x-x-x-x. He decided that we should be one down (in 2♠). I explained that we were a new partnership and had not agreed to play transfers. I bid 2NT trying to correct the misunderstanding over my bid of 2♥. A Newsome, Bury St Edmunds.

A

When your partner announced your 2♥ bid as a transfer, you knew that you and he were not on the same wavelength. His announcement thus gave you unauthorised information. Without it, you might have thought he was showing five spades and a doubleton heart. With it, you knew that your partner had misunderstood your bid.

Whenever you have unauthorised information from partner, you must do your best to take no advantage; I am afraid that bidding 2NT does not do this. You said yourself that your 2NT was ‘an effort to correct the misunderstanding’, but you only knew of the misunderstanding because of the announcement, so you should not have bid 2NT. The director’s adjustment seems fair to me.

Hosted by Diana Holland Marsham Court

£199

24-26 April

The Beach Hotel

£199

The Beach Hotel

£199

11-13 Sep

(Fri-Sun)

(Fri-Sun)

30 Sep-2 Oct (Wed-Fri) Marsham Court

£199

Full-board – No Single Supplement Please note there are no seminars or set hands on these weekends

♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner, East, opened 2♦, Multi, when I, West, was dealer. North noticed the error. South did not want to accept the bid and called the director. The director said that the 2♦ should remain on the table and that I should pass throughout. This left my partner playing in the wrong contract and we got a poor result. Name address supplied.

Marsham Court

The Beach Hotel

East Cliff, Bournemouth, BH1 3AB

Worthing, BN11 3QJ

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Please book me for .... places, Single .... Double .... Twin .... for the Rubber/Chicago weekend(s) of ............................................................................................ Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address...............................................................................

A

When the next player does not accept a call out of turn, it is cancelled. As the director ruled correctly, you must pass throughout if your partner’s bid out of turn was at your turn to call, but he should have let your partner call whatever he liked.

DUPLICAT EBRIDGE RULESSIMPLIFIED (otherwiseknownastheYellowBook)

only

£5 95

............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed) ........................................................................................... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

by John Rumbelow and David Stevenson

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302

NewEdition.Includes2008LawRevisions.

from

1-3 April (Wed-Fri)

e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

( 01483 489961

Page 21

David Stevenson on Bridge Laws continued

Duplicate Weekends 2009 with Bernard Magee (£235 per person)

19-21 June Suit Establishment

Q

I read somewhere that you do not need to alert if partner replies 2NT to 1NT as a transfer to diamonds. Is this correct? I thought all artificial bids up to 3NT require alerting. Margaret Harris, Rochester.

A

I am not sure what it is that you have read. A 2NT response to 1NT as a transfer to diamonds is alertable, as is a 2♠ response as a transfer to clubs.

6-8 November Game Tries ♦ Full-board Friday to Sunday

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities

♦ No single supplement

♦ Nine hole golf course

♣♦♥♠

♦ Tuition with Supervised Play, bidding quiz and two seminars

Q

BOOKING FORM Please book me for ..... places at Blunsdon House Hotel, The Ridge, Blunsdon, Swindon, SN26 7AS. weekend(s) ......................................................................... Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed) .......................................................................................... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

On the first two boards of a round, our opponents (two men we used to get on well with) went eight down doubled and then five down doubled. On the third, my partner played in 3NT. With about five cards left to play, my RHO (the unsuccessful declarer on the two previous boards) announced ‘this is so slow, so boring; it is always so slow and boring.’ I said, ‘perhaps we had better not come again’, to which he replied, ‘good – that should speed things up a bit.’ I felt so upset that I wanted to go home. Our next opponents (our Chairman and his wife) persuaded us to stay. During the evening, my partner asked the offender for an apology. Apparently, he was rude again and would not apologise. The next day, I telephoned the Chairman, saying I still wanted an apology, and asked what action the club would take. The following week (the offender was not present), the Chairman read out a

Page 22

notice. It ran: ‘If anyone feels aggrieved at the action or inaction of their opponents, they should call the director. As a committee, we will not tolerate outbursts, rude behaviour or a lack of normal courtesy towards opponents.’ My partner wants to continue attending the club but I feel very reluctant to do so in the continuing absence of an apology. Margot Chapman, Letchworth, Herts.

A

It would have been better to call for the director immediately. The English Bridge Union is trying to provide a nicer environment, especially by stopping rudeness; they advise always calling the director. He can apply disciplinary penalties. Players have no right to be rude to each other. Having not done so, your next stage is a written complaint to the club committee. Do not try to settle this by talking to the Chairman. Not having heard the other side, I cannot say for sure that the committee would decide in your favour, though it seems that they should. I would abandon the club only if they fail to deal at all with a written complaint: that is unforgivable.

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.

David Stevenson on Bridge Laws continued

Q

At my local club, I encountered a very aggressive opponent. Firstly, she asked me what my partner’s 4NT meant, to which I replied Keycard Blackwood asking for aces and king of trumps. She informed me that this was Roman Keycard and I should sort it out. Secondly, my partner opened 1♦ and she overcalled 1♥, after which I went 2♥ as I had 11 points and three hearts. She told me that this was an unacceptable bid. I came away feeling upset as I felt sure that I had bid correctly. I try to follow the books that Bernard has written (also Andrew Robson) so could not understand where I had gone so wrong. What do you think? Heather Vale, Street, Somerset.

A

Let me first consider the behaviour issue. Bad manners and aggression that upsets others is illegal at this game. Whether you were in the right or in the wrong does not justify the opponent’s rudeness in any way. If this happens again, do not worry whether you are right or wrong; just call the director and say ‘This opponent is being aggressive and has thoroughly upset me and spoilt my game for me.’ The director will issue disciplinary penalties to your opponent. As to your actual bids, I suspect your opponent expected you to be playing Roman Keycard Blackwood, a very popular convention amongst top club and tournament players. Many players will not have come across the simpler and older version of the convention,

Keycard Blackwood, hence the confusion. Bernard Magee advocates the use of Keycard Blackwood because it is simple and yet still a step beyond normal Blackwood. Both conventions are legal, as is any other 4NT slam convention. As to your 2♥ bid – that seems normal enough: even if it was not, you can legally play 2♥ any way you like. So please try to put this in the past: it is not your opponent’s place to criticise you and if done aggressively, it is illegal. ♣♦♥♠

Q

North opened one of a suit. East, having 23 points, doubled. West took out the double and the final contract was 3NT+4. What came to light after the play was that North had opened with three points. East was disgruntled because he believed that his side had missed a slam (6NT was the top contract) because of North’s opening. Could you please give a ruling? Mr L Borrett, Middlecombe, Somerset.

succeeds than when an opponent’s pre-empt succeeds. ♣♦♥♠

Q

In a ‘friendly’ Acol game, at love all, partner opened 1NT; RHO passed; I had one point and ♥9-x-x-x-x-x. Knowing the opposition had at least 25 HCP and not wishing to tell them anything, I passed only for my LHO to do the same! Partner went five down and all turned on me saying that I should have bid 2♥. I argued that I had saved at least 200 points since they should have got to game in a variety of ways if I had bid. They both had flat hands with 13 and 14 HCP and said they could not bid. Sour grapes . . . does anyone agree with me? Ken Russam, Bracknell, Berks.

A

Hardly a friendly atmosphere, I think! Of course, 2♥ is the book bid on your hand, but you made a different call, were lucky, and got a good result. For the opponents to complain is very rude and against the laws of bridge. ♣♦♥♠

A

Psyches are legal. I presume the player who opened on three points did so deliberately and that is a psyche. While players psyche quite rarely nowadays, it is still part of the game, adding some interest because it is a gamble. It gives a lot of pleasure to opponents who get a good score because of or despite the psyche, and pleasure to the psycher when his bid succeeds in deflecting opponents. There is no reason to be any more upset when a psyche

Q

East played in 3NT and made 10 tricks. At trick six, he called for the ten of diamonds from dummy and discarded a spade from hand. The ten of diamonds won the trick. Declarer then came to hand and won the next two tricks with two top diamonds. At the end of play, the director ruled that only one trick should transfer to our side now that law 64A2 had changed. Under the old laws, two tricks would have

Page 23

transferred. The offender scored a joint top. What is your view on the decision and the change in ruling? David Jones, Ellesmere Port by e-mail.

A

Unless declarer finished with more tricks than he would have made without the revoke (in which case the director restores equity), the ruling seems to be correct. Certainly, it has changed from the last law book – revokes are now less likely to hand out tops but they will make life harder for directors, especially if there are more revokes! ♣♦♥♠

Q

I claimed (by cross-ruffing) the rest of the tricks playing in hearts holding ♥K-Q and two winning clubs in dummy – opponent on my right held ♥10-8-x and a spade – I, declarer, held two hearts and two good diamonds. I miscounted trumps and my RHO claimed two tricks, which were impossible to make. Was he correct? Pat Watson, Ottershaw, Surrey.

A

Was this rubber bridge? At duplicate, your opponent has no right to claim anything: if he disputes your claim, he calls the director, who sorts it out: similarly the club host in a rubber bridge club. In practice, it is not entirely clear from your description. If you just try to crossruff and keep on crossruffing, perhaps he will get both the ten and eight of trumps. All I can say is that, if it is impossible for him to get two tricks, he does not get two tricks; but if the way you have said you will play might give him two tricks, he will get two tricks.

David Stevenson on Bridge Laws continued

Q

One of our members is registered blind but still able to play. As a help, the relevant player at the previous table sorts the hand for her before passing on the board. Will the new rule, for players to shuffle their cards at the end of play, preclude this? John Josephs, Northampton.

A

An organisation can make special rules for players disabled in any way and that includes sorting cards for blind players.

convention card, turning their head (if deaf on one side) or writing on a pad. All this is unchanged. Announcements apply only in specific common auctions and so players expect them; most deaf players accept that announcements are no worse than alerts and are often better. I agree it can be hard for deaf players to discover their opponents’ methods, but announcements do not seem to have added to these difficulties. My deaf friends agree. ♣♦♥♠

♣♦♥♠

Q

I have just found out that alerting Stayman with the silent bidding boxes has been abolished in favour of speaking – another new rule! Is the EBU breaking the law? I understand that the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 prohibits discrimination against deaf people. Mrs Anne Coupe, Felpham, Bognor Regis.

A

After discussions with various deaf organisations and a number of deaf players, the EBU decided that announcements were an improvement. Most of the feedback they have received supports this view. Therefore, the introduction of announcements is not discriminatory. It is unclear how an alert of Stayman is any better for a deaf player than an announcement. If the player needs to know what the 2♣ means, they have to make some arrangement, whether lip-reading, reading a

Q

David Stevenson’s assertion in BRIDGE 88, that the riffle shuffle is far preferable to the overhand shuffle, is only true when done badly. Expertly done, the opposite is the case. You can easily demonstrate this by sorting a pack into suit and rank order, dividing it exactly in half and then reassembling the pack by taking one card from each half in turn. It makes no difference whether you shuffle four, five, six seven or eight times. In each case, the result is a flat 4333 distribution. One or three riffles produce twosuited 7,600 distributions and two riffles produce four straight single-suit hands. Even worse, eight perfect riffle shuffles restore the pack to its original form – like no shuffle at all. In the days before plastic-coated cards, and when social rubber bridge was the norm, players frowned upon riffle shuffles. This was mainly because they shortened the

life of the cards but also because players knew that they often gave rise to flat, dull hands. Jonathan Goodall, Lyncombe Vale, Bath.

A

It all sounds very persuasive. However, every authority without exception, apart from you, agrees that riffle shuffles are far fairer than overhand shuffles. A few riffle shuffles produce quite a random pack: seven or so produce as near to complete randomness as possible. Certainly, you may get strange effects with perfect riffles but, since you do not get perfect riffles, why worry? In contrast, the overhand shuffle does very little shuffling and you need to shuffle for ten to fifteen minutes for decent randomness. The two or three shuffles common in clubs do nothing for randomness, but lead to foreseeable and flat distributions. Experience shows the exact opposite of what you say: hands with riffle shuffles get more interesting because they follow expected statistical distributions reasonably: overhand shuffles lead to flat hands. ♣♦♥♠

Q

A lady friend of mine bid 2♦; her LHO, who was also the TD, asked her partner its meaning. Partner replied that she was unsure. The director then turned to the bidder and asked the strength of the bid. Bidder replied that she thought he could not ask her, only her partner. The director replied that he was entitled to ask her. Bidder stuck to her guns. The lady later asked me, and I said he

Page 24

could only ask the bidder’s partner or consult the convention card. When the director learnt of this, he said that she should read the law book as he was correct. John Dawe, by e-mail.

A

Sometimes one can ask a player the meaning of a call she has made if the partner is unsure. The director should send the partner away from the table so that she does not hear the answer. Furthermore, the director should warn the player that she should reply only as to their agreements: if they have no agreement, she should just say ‘no partnership agreement’. Your director’s attitude worries me. I would never insist on this for my benefit if I were a playing director; also, if a director wishes to show that what he has said is correct, he should read it from the law book, not tell someone to do so. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Could you please clarify the counting of honours? In the Ron Klinger flippers, it says ‘either side can score honours’. What does ‘either side’ mean? Mrs H Dirckze, London, SW15.

A

If a player has, for example, four trump honours in his hand, he scores a bonus of a 100 for honours. Some assume this only applies to declarer and dummy, but this is not so. While it is rare for a defender to hold four trump honours, it is possible and he can get honours. In this instance, ‘either side’ means either declarer and dummy, or the defenders.

David Stevenson on Bridge Laws continued

Q

North opened 2♥, weak. My partner considered his hand (allegedly) for some 10 seconds before passing. South passed too. I was West and had a nice 12 points. I bid 2NT, which my partner raised to 3NT. Although he thought I had a bit more than I did, as he had 14 points, I made the contract. Our score of 3NT was a top. Several pairs had defeated 2♥ by two or three tricks. The director ruled that my partner’s hesitation had influenced my bid and adjusted the score to 150 (2♥ down three). L Chandler, Surbiton.

A

If all is as you describe, you had a raw deal, but it does sound a little strange. 2♥ is a stop bid, so the stop card must be on display, for 10 seconds not just for a moment. Since your partner may not call before the stop card goes away, a pause for 10 seconds by him is not a hesitation. Of course, many people put the stop card back in the box too fast; in fact, some do so immediately. No matter when the stop card goes back, partner should wait for 10 seconds after the bid. As long as he always follows this rule, you cannot tell whether he was thinking or just waiting the required time. Thus, you have no unauthorised information and can call whatever you like. I wonder why the director ruled as he did. Did he forget 2♥ was a stop bid – or did he consider that your partner hesitated for 10 seconds beyond the required 10 seconds? In the latter case, you have unauthorised

information and it would be normal to disallow your bid. Bidding 2NT with 12 points is not normal; most people have a strong no-trump when they bid 2NT over a weak two: if you had unauthorised information that partner had values, you may not bid 2NT with only 12 points.

AT THE OLDE BARN Toll Bar Road, Marston, Lincolnshire, NG32 2HT

Duplicate Weekends 2009 20-22 Feb (£199)

16-18 Oct (£199)

Slam Bidding - Ray Hutchinson

Doubles

13-15 Mar (£199) Improvers*

30 Oct - 1 Nov (£199)

Stayman & Transfers Ray Hutchinson

Declarer Play

3-5 Apr (£199) ♣♦♥♠

Q

Sometimes a table does not play all the boards in a round. How do you score a board not played? Which of the scoring programs best handle this? Mr Geoff Bishop, Fairford, Glos.

A

When pairs do not play all their scheduled boards, the laws say to award averages to them. If both pairs are at fault, you could give average minus (and should do if these pairs are slow repeatedly) but it is normal to give average, saying both pairs are partly at fault. Of course, if they are late because of someone else’s interference, they should get average plus because neither is at fault. If you judge only one pair is at fault, they get average minus, their opponents average plus. All good software allows averages to be entered, average, average plus and average minus. If it does not, get some different software. Personally, I advise Jeff Smith’s software: it is good. If there is a problem, Jeff deals with it, even re-writing the program if need be, and it is completely free. It works with Bridgemates and Anna Gudge’s Simultaneous n Pairs. Page 25

13-15 Nov (£199)

End Play & Avoidance

Hand Evaluation Ray Hutchinson

9-11 Oct (£235)

27-29 Nov (£199)

Leads & Defence Bernard Magee

Signals & Discards Ray Hutchinson

*Improvers’ Weekends are aimed at the novice player and/or those picking up the game after a long break.

♦ Full-board ♦ No single supplement ♦ Use of swimming pool and fitness suite

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities ♦ Room upgrades available ♦ Bidding quiz & two seminars

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Please book me for ..... places, Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... at the Olde Barn weekends of ........................................... Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige) .......................................................................................... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

BRIDGE COVER CAR AT WYCHWOOD PARK Weston, Crewe, Cheshire, CW2 5GP

Duplicate Weekends 2009 3-5 Apr (£199)

23-25 Oct (£199)

Leads & Defence John Wootton

Signals & Discards John Wootton

17-19 Apr (£215)

20-22 Nov (£199) Improvers*

Game Tries Bernard Magee

Stayman & Transfers John Wootton

16-18 Oct (£199)

27-29 Nov (£199)

Hand Evaluation

Doubles

*Improvers’ Weekends are aimed at the novice player and/or those picking up the game after a long break.

♦ Full-board ♦ No single supplement ♦ Use of jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and gym

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities ♦ Venue non-smoking ♦ Bidding quiz & two seminars

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Please book me for ..... places, Single ..... Double ..... Twin ..... at the Wychwood Park weekends of ................................. Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige) .......................................................................................... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

Trumped again! Diana Parish, Crieff. Is she bidding Roman Key Card? Vivien Greenow, Worcester. Any more bids? Miss J M Blankhard, Cheadle Holme. Competitive auction ends with a Slam. Valerie Harrison, Burnham-on-Crouch. Is that a bid, Mrs Yarborough? Peter Ayres, Bedford. Do I alert or announce this bid? Peter Harrington, Stockport. Surely you can bid over one spade? Mr R J Groom, Kidderminster. Do you always overbid? Kenneth Paver, Northallerton. Uncontested auction. Mr M Hall, Llandudno. I hope she passes one this one! Jill Smith, Brentwood. Auctions are all about limit bids. Mr W Roberts, Thornton-Cleveleys. Insufficient bid. Mr R F Kitchener, Biggleswade. She is making a takeout bid! Mr P Skinner, Ipswich. Bid high and bid often. Dr & Mrs Whelan, Woodstock. Is it my turn to bid. John Davies, Eastbourne. The final bid. Mr A W Moore, Alva, Clackmannanshire. Singleton spade opens the bidding. Dr V Navaratnam, Cambridge. Alert, shall we bid for the queen? Jenifer Nixon, Ponteland. Sold to the highest bidder. Gayda Young, Beaumaris. Never hang on to your queen. Mrs J Gwinnett-Sharp, Bury st. Edmunds. Think carefully before you bid. Mrs E S Fuller, Kidderminster. Don’t over bid your hand darling! Joseph Humber, Thornton-Cleveleys. Partner bidding? Derek Notman, Moffat. Too many jokers. Denis Meadows, Dawlish Warren. Bid double at auction. Patti Parker, Great Shelford. No, No! I said where’s the action! Joan Dudley, Hertford. Going! Going! Gone! Mr & Mrs R F Pierrepont, Ludlow. Pre-empting the bidding Madame. Mrs M E Muntus, Swaffham. Spades outbids clubs. Mike Leonard, Northampton. Beware Overbidding. Mr & Mrs I Nunn, Romsey. You won the frame, a great deal. Mrs L M Rule, Weymouth. Not bidding but waving. Chris Peeler, Wendover. Opening bid. Miss Y Dingwall, Uptonby-Chester. Any chance of a trial bid? Mr & Mrs R Salmon, Wilmslow. I say, she’s bidding for her double! Ann Eastham, Bury St. Edmunds. It’s not that kind of auction! Mr K G Berry, Crawley Down. Finessing the queen. Mrs P A Wood, Beaminster. Either red queen for a small slam. Mrs E Kasket, Hitchin. Double trouble. Frieda Simmons, Stanmore. It’s north. Another bid. Lydia Stanford, Hove. I won’t be outbid! Lydia Stanford, Hove. She’s been framed. Mr J J Wood, Torquay. Bidding over. Spades are trumps. Peter Stonehouse, Burnley. Is that a double? Jean Fagan, Hertford. Any more bids. Peter Brackfield, Haslemere. Opening bid. Martyn Lewis, Masham. You should have bid higher. Mrs P S Inkley, Loughborough. It has to be an interference bid. Monica Davies, Sutton. Are you bidding or passing? Roly Burn, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Who taught her to pre-empt? Mr d H Child, Guernsey. Interference bid! Mike Brady, Sheffield. Auction over spades come up trumps. Zena Learner, Ware. A transfer bid? Brian Isherwood, Chalfont St Peter. Going, going, gone! Bought by Mrs Spades. Ms V A Peck, London N19. I shall open the bidding. Dr S E Heath. What do you mean, my bid? Mr P Collins, Selsey. Openers Rebid. Dorothy Dickinson, Cuddington. You always did overbid. Jennifer Broster, Deer Park, Henfield. One down doubles at 200. Clive Hutchinson, Crewe. Rescue bid. V L Prowse, St Albans. Artful Bidding. Mr W Huggan, Bromley. Picture cards always have value. Alan Hobday, Solihull. Over bidding my dear will cost double. Frank Conlan, Mersyside. Wowee, a bid in spades! Graham Warren, Quorn. Whatever he’s bid, I’ll double it. Richard Thorne, Rochdale. I overcall. Mrs B Curtis, Kirkcaldy. Are you bidding or overbidding? Mrs H R Dirckze, London SW15. What’s the value of the Jack? Mr & Mrs G E Burdett, South Anston. Four Spades has won the auction. Mrs M V Coop, Emsworth. A Dutch auction, no hearts! Mr R M Stokes, Chester. Poised for Slam. Alan Chalmers, Kirkintilloch. A major suit always has precedence. Mr P A Birch, Leamingotn Spa. Talk about sixes and sevens. Mr Ganks, Maidstone. I’ll bid but I know it’s duplicate! Irene Diebelius, Romford. Bridge auction. Going to the highest bidder. Mrs M Balen, Newton Mearns. Grossly Overbid! Ron Holton, Stoke on Trent. Six spades, all done? Slam. Mrs M a Jackson, Stamford. Winning bid. Mrs R A Spottiswoode, Letchworth. Does she think it’s a family relation? Ruby Green, Flax Bourton. The queen has it, seven spades, gone! Della Nicholson, Brentwood. Bidding one spade! David Boobier, Plymouth. Any old queen will do. Mrs B Carlyle, Shrewsbury. There’s that queen. Stephen Dixon, South Harrow. Going, going, gone to the highest bidder. Mrs M Hunter, Overstrand. Best auction bridge bid. Ronald Carlisle, West Ferry. High card signal provokes diamond response. Dave Bryan, Chester. Her bidding deserves to be hammered. Alan Chapman, Marlborough. She always overbids. Mr F Price, Swindon. Your play was a picture. Mr J Carew, Northampton. The art of bidding. Sheryl Prince, Batheaston. That’s her double. Mrs K R Street, Woking. Bid out of turn. Mr J M Burrell, Silchester. Learn from the mistakes of others. Ian Dent, Desford. Silent bid. Dr A Paterson, East Lothian. No more bids? Contract to you! Mrs H Connors, Shanklin. Too many faces, not enough aces. John Williams, Angus. I can just afford a limit bid. Anne Thomas, Taunton. Going, going, gone, 3 spades the contract. Dr I Gwyn Evans, Llandeilo. Excellent but insufficient bid Madame! John Wood, Largs. Did she just pre-empt us? Irene Pilbrough, Newcastel-upon-Tyne, Home I bid out of turn? Mr J A Rutherford, Lenzie. Damn spades; they always win the auction. Judy Benson, Sandwich. Hope they don’t drop the bare queen. Ian Taylor, Stratford-upon-Avon. What am I bid. Mr P B Picthall, Storrington. I’m not bidding on that. Mr L Simpson, Macclesfield. Over bidding again! We’ll pay for it. Daphne Lally, Amersham. Yes dear, it’s a ruff painting. Penny Bele, Stoke Bishop. Good card player. Poor bidder. Jean Bowles, Brighton. Ban doubles. Doreen Godfrey, Sunderland. Anyone for auction bridge? Andrew

Page 26

RTOON BUBBLE CAPTION COMPETITION Fairclough, Mulberton. No, stay man! I prefer black wood! Richard Turlington, Hook. Did I hear ‘double’? Elaine Vinten, Bury St. Edmunds. I am the director! Michael Bickers, Letton. Sold to the highest bidder. Linda Coombes, Chilworth. Looks like the queens off-side again. Mr M Brennan, Rotherham. Not a real queen. It’s a dummy. Mrs B M Smith, Bishop’s Stortford. Stop, I have another bid. Margaret Peck, Holywood. Oh dear, she’s overbidding again. Alan Perry, Flackwell Heath. Well bid partner. Mr & Mrs Methven, Deal. Forcing bid. Barry Henderson, Darwen. The spade bid was not challenged. Mr M J Bell, Didcot. Trust her, overbidding again. Mary Hopper, Chathill. The play’s the thing. David Stirling, Westbury-on-Trym. Intervening bid. Mr P Cook, Leatherhead. Do I hear seven spades? Mrs G Goldwater, Chathill. Is that jack a master? Brian Sinfield, St Albans. This lot will drop the queen. Colin Thomas, Newport. Surprisingly she’s not underbidding today. Morag Smith, Edinburgh. Overbidding again, another 1100 given away. Mr I Hill, St Ives. Over bid again. Robert Russell, Burgess Hill. Spades bid and two passes. Your call? Geoffrey Fairhall, Folkstone. We are always outbid at these auctions. Anon. Sorry, the jacks are not for sale. Mrs M E van Rees, Grange-over-Sands. Insufficient bid. Mr J Rogers, Frodsham. Bridge Post-mortem. Mrs D Azariah, Stockport. Competitive Bidding. Mr D J Fishley, Chalfont St Giles. Another successful bid! Mrs P Tillett, Ashford. Madame, that is a reverse bid! Mr D O Parker, Havant. Is that a spade bid? Mr J Hall, Bolton. Careful before bidding! Could be a transfer! Mr A J France, Birstall. Honours worth bidding for. Steven Hirst, Huddersfield. She has just bid three diamonds! R R Davis, Upton-on-Severn. Don’t compete dear, she always overbids. Alex Wiseman, Whitefield. Just one

face card between them. Mrs S Thomas, Littlebury. Splinter bid. Patrick Dunham, Coleorton. Auction won by the spade raised bid. Mrs Y G Horritt, Preston. That bidder certainly has it in spades! Mr D H Linton, London SE9. Sold to spades. Dr J H Naysmith, Cynoed. Four spades has it then. J Twyford, Brentwood. Are you bidding or just waving? Christopher Sales, Totteridge. She never stops bidding. William Holden, Sale. Insufficient bid. Paul Doe, Exeter. Is that a conventional bid? Eva Adamson, Dumfries. Not quite Acol but very effective. Brian Rayment, Ealing. Is that your final bid? Dr R Ehsanullah, Chalfont St Giles. A bid too far? Sybil Cooper, Sutton. I’m told she has it in spades. Pauline Bell, Alderley Edge. Is that your final bid? Mr D Siddall, Brighton. Is it Duplicate or Auction bridge? Marie Bowers, Haslemere. My Goodness, she has doubled their bid. Joyce Knight, Hatfield. Higher than a queen. Christine Leader, Mountsorrel. I think she has stolen my bid. Mr M Jennings, Reigate. A Spade bid. Peggy Thompson, Bracknell. The bids with you Madame. Richard Barratt, Quorn. There! Told you so, overbidding again! Mrs P Schurmann, Highgate. Should I declare my bidding system? Maurice Phillips, Henfield. Waiting for the queen to drop. Joy Furness, Epsom. Single queen. Betty Thorne, Vale of Glamorgan. Any questions partner? Eileen Bushell, Sudbury. Queen high, bidding over, contract agreed. Valerie Wallbank, Sunderland. Do I hear four no trumps? Joan England, Radlett. Well! I declare! Mrs J Stockbridge, Abingdon. Looks like

she’s over bid again. Michael Horton, Newton Longville. The double prompts a spade bid. Eva Tucker, Portishead. Was your bid really double Madame? Phillip Aelberry, King’s Lynn. She’s always overbidding. Rosemary Wheeler, Shipston-on-Stour. I have a bid of five diamonds. Roy Horsnell, Maldon. Would you bid for me. Sandra Dennison, Horsham. Auction...bid...contract. Bert Howard, High Peak. Did I hear four spades Madam? Miss K H McIntosh, Canterbury. Takeover bid in spades. Mr S J Connor, Stevenage. Who is that upstart outbidding me? David Barrows, Lymington. Sorry, you were outbid. Michael Percik, Bolton. Auction lot sold to highest bidder. Mrs R L Legg, Caterham Valley. Don’t bother, you can’t outbid her. George Wells, Olney. An overbid in spades wins the contract! Margery Miles, Minehead. Did you double Madame? Effie Robertson, Chorley. Someone’s got an ace up their sleeve! Colin Taylor, Bollington. Do I hear 7 Diamonds? Dr D O Wilkes, Oxted. Sold to the highest bidder. Mr G Drayton, Liphook. Dummy queen for auction. D J Coltart, Castle Douglas. No hearts! Mrs J Croud, Sidmouth. Insufficient bid Ma’am! Else Baker, Borehamwood. This will surely be a grand slam. John Over, Oxshott. Making an overcall. Marina Palethorpe, Verwood. Grand slam for my queen of hearts. Mr H Marsh, Brighton. Defiantly no bid! Mrs B Barraclough, Bournemouth. No Bid. Sylvia Lowther, Poynton. Highest bid. Mrs M D White, Godstone. No Bid. Mrs B Braithwaite, Ruislip. Over bid in hearts. Anne Smith, Bristol. Am I bid two spades? Miss S V Rothman, Sevenoaks. Any advance on one no trump? Miss J Crossfield, Carnforth. Grand slam contract bid and made! June Chaplin, Eastbourne. I intend to win this auction. Mr R M Palmer, Sevenoaks. So you want a competitive auction? Doreen Elliott, Malvern. No bid for this one. Hanna Goldsmith, Edgware. Forcing bid over a weak two. Mr G F Day, Bideford. It’s a genuine Yarbrough! Tony Mitchell, Shipston-on-Stour. Double the last bid for takeout. Brian Holland, Camberley. Raise her bid and I’ll double him. Mrs V A Golding, Faversham. Contract completed! Mrs A Steele, Ascot. Your bid is psyche. Mrs M Taylor, Stockport. Her bidding was always outrageous. Jay Sutherland, London NW7. That’s right! The higher of a doubleton. Joyce Mitton, Chichester. Alert! Diana Sendall, Farnham. That’s another good auction of royalty. Mr P Sheldon, Barnet. Bidding again more money than sense. Janet Dineen, Eastbourne. I’ll bid one heart. Mr I C Wells, Market Harborough. After bidding, she’ll get the picture. Ray Cornish, Haddenham. Going, going, 6 spades! Lynda Mitchell, Sheffield. Are you bidding this time? Mr B P Heal, Gillingham, Dorset. I have a very strong opening bid. Pamela Gold, Bushey. Your bid. Mr O G Teller, London N21. Insufficient bid. Christine Jack, Bridge of Weir. Auction cue bid. Marion Smith, Beaconsfield. Double! Dr M Wood, Stapleford. Please use the bidding box. George Conn, London NW3. That’s not the Mona Lisa. Mr R F Campion, St Neots. What is your bid? Mrs P M Jackman, Newbury. It’s a duplicate, not worth a bid. Mr J R Smith, South Petherton. Jack makes his point. Margaret Morgan, Chichester. Going, going, gone. Spades have it. Patricia Ollerton, Knutsford. Is that your final bid? Ann Best, Northallerton. That’s an insufficient bid. Peter Gooch, Bath. Bidding is fun, try a jump bid. Mr A G North, Glenfield. How much are you bidding! Derek Wood, New Malden. Bidding a transfer to spades. Michael Tudor-Craig, Petersfield. Have you forgotten your bidding box? Anthony Wann, Nuneaton. Any advance on 7NT? Mrs Beagle, London SW2. Let’s tell her to try contract bridge. Mrs S Rowan, London W14. Spade overcall wins auction. Mr S Lawer, Ipswich. Queen of spades wins competitive auction. Dawn Wheeler, St Albans. Is this what they call auction bridge? Mrs A Roberts, Worcester. Is that you final bid? Mrs M Kaye, Watford. Outbid by spades. Richard Tempest, Othery. The royals usually control the bidding. Mr J Hempshall, Leeds. Going for a slam. Andrew Heaver, Brixworth. Single queens are difficult to bid on. Mrs J W Coalbran. She’s Bid too high again. Joy Rowe, Wroughton. That’s never worth two clubs. Grahame Mabel, Oakmoor. Transfer to the Antiques Roadshow. Ruth Evans, London. Apprentice. Stop! I have a bid. Susan Pople, Enfield. Last bid for the heartless queen. Maggie Beecher, Cardif. I knew all along where the queen was. Jean Cobral, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Under bid: Failed to make reserve. Ted Mattingley, Littlehampton. I bid seven spades. Mr R Hill, Basildon. I knew she would double your bid. Mrs Sims, Littlehampton. Bidding with an isolated queen. Sue McFarlane, Tonbridge. Singleton queen is valueless in an auction. David Maloney, Vale of Glamorgan. One of 52 from the Waddington collection. Mary Butt, Reigate. It’s your bid, Madame. You’ve been doubled! Mrs V M Rhind, Southbourne. That is an insufficient bid. Mr A K Salvage, Canterbury. Everyone loves a last minute bidder. Mrs M Dent, Uckfield. I think mine is the winning bid. Mrs R Thorne, Uckfield. Auction or contract? Pamela Wright, Mowbray. Stop Bidding. Mrs S Bloomsfield, Chelmondston. Spades over bidding again. Joyce Bailey, Cheddleton. Not a lot for a jump bid. Joan Positive, Churchdown. We’ve gone back to action bridge. John Kelly, Walsall. Pulling rank. Luce Green, Reading. Call the Director. Derek Pratt, Upminster. Suits you, Sir! Richard Welch, Denbigh. I have another bid in this auction. Sue Hall, Southport. That must be a take-out bid. Mrs T A Crossling, Poole. I’ll bid having noticed that picture. Mr R G Robinson, Harpenden. That was some overcall. Mr H Small, Shoreham-bySea. No bid, it’s a fake. Mrs D Martin, Portsmouth. Another pre-emptive bid from spades, I see! Rev J Torr, Tewkesbury. But you should have shown Alert. Ilkley. Double the last bid. Epsom.

Page 27

Seasonal Walks with Countryman

A Walk at Christmas 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… It would be a lie if I claimed that the sun was shining today. It is up there somewhere, no doubt looking down on us lovingly as, after all, it is Christmas; for the moment, it is conspicuous by its absence. No matter, Christmas is special, regardless of the weather because there always seems to be a kindly, friendly air of goodwill to everyone. It may not last but, for the time being, let us be happy with that mystical glow of benevolence. Even Cindy, my gorgeous golden retriever, seems to know that there is something rather special about this time of year and is very happy to join in the celebrations. She is impervious to the weather. Walkies is her thing and the national obsession with climatic conditions is really beneath her sniff.

Gung-ho Bridge Gloria, referred to irreverently in the club as ‘Jolly Hockey-sticks’, perhaps because of her somewhat gung-ho approach to bridge, is a delightful character who always has a bridge deal that she wants to talk about. Today, Christmas notwithstanding, is no exception. This is it:

Dealer North. Game All. ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J75 743 J 10 9 7 974

A94 AJ86 Q842 KJ N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q8 952 AK53 Q 10 6 3

K 10 6 3 2 K Q 10 6 A852

Gloria and Mitzi Join us 6♠ by South. Lead: ♦J.

Today, Gloria, a keen member of the local bridge club, and her black spaniel, Mitzi, have joined us. Cindy and Mitzi get on well together, but very much in their own way. As we walk across the fields, they hare around enthusiastically, each enjoying the countryside to the full. There has been quite a dry spell recently so perhaps the scent is good. The outlook this year is very different from all those white, snowy scenes on so many of my Christmas cards; the dogs are certainly making the most of it.

Let us draw a veil over the bidding because Gloria was alone amongst the South players in arriving in 6♠. West led the jack of diamonds, which won the first trick. Subsequently Gloria lost an ‘inevitable’ trump trick for one down.

Impossible Slam? ‘It was impossible to make the slam’, complained Gloria, but she was

Page 28

somewhat nettled when another player told her that one declarer in 4♠ had made twelve tricks after the same lead. What did I think? We will come back to this hand later.

Christmas Wildlife Even though there is little colour around at this time of year, Gloria is most impressed with the bright scarlet of the rose hips in the hedgerows. They reach their peak in December and, although they are favourite delicacies for some species of wildlife, who have already been dining out on them, there is plenty of colour remaining. Birds, especially those of the thrush family, and wood mice, who curiously do not hibernate during the winter, are the main enthusiastic consumers. I notice a plentiful supply of mistletoe this year, another favourite with bird life when those luscious white berries develop gradually. However, we should not begrudge the birds their tasty snack as they are themselves responsible for spreading the seeds around as they scrape sticky leftovers off their beaks and onto branches of other trees.

Twelve Tricks Made Time to get back to Gloria’s hand and see how one declarer made twelve tricks. After winning with the jack of diamonds, West continued with a second diamond, ruffed by declarer who continued like this: the king of clubs, ace of clubs and a club ruff. Now a second diamond ruff, followed by

Christmas continued

2009 AT STAVERTON PARK Staverton, Daventry, Northants, NN11 6JT

three rounds of hearts, finishing in dummy, and a third diamond ruff leave the following position:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J75 Void Void Void

A9 J Void Void N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q8 Void Void 10

K 10 Void Void 8

South is on lead and plays the eight of clubs. If West ruffs low, the nine of spades wins and declarer must take the last two tricks. If West tries the jack of spades, the ace wins and then a simple finesse against East’s queen is equally productive. The name for this particular gambit – as I explain to Gloria – is the Devil’s Coup. To succeed, the side suits always have to be kindly distributed.

Devil’s Coup When we get home, I inform Cindy that Gloria could have made her contract via the Devil’s Coup. Maybe I am imagining it, but I think Cindy gives me a disapproving look. Ah! The Devil at Christmas, I see; that is what Cindy thinks is inappropriate. Maybe she is right. ‘I’ll tell you what,’ I say to her, ‘Let’s give it our own name. How about calling it the Paul Daniels Coup in honour of that famous magician? After all, declarer did make that trump trick disappear!’ Cindy wags her tail, which settles it. n

♦ Full-board Friday to Sunday

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities

♦ No single supplement

♦ Venue non-smoking

♦ Use of swimming pool and fitness suite

♦ Bidding quiz and two seminars

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23-25 Jan (£209) Suit Establishment Bernard Magee

Single ..... Double ..... Twin .....

30 Jan - 1 Feb (£199) Signals & Discards

for the Staverton Park weekend(s) of.................................

27 Feb - 1 Mar (£199) Leads & Defence

............................................................................................

Please book me for ..... places,

13-15 Mar (£199) Slam Bidding

Mr/Mrs/Miss .....................................................................

27-29 Mar (£209) Sacrificing Bernard Magee

Address...............................................................................

3-5 Apr (£199) Further into the Auction

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

25-27 Sep (£199) Declarer Play

...........................................................................................

16-18 Oct (£199) Take-out Doubles Improvers*

Please give the name(s) of all those covered by this booking ...........................................................................................

13-15 Nov (£199) Game Tries 27-29 Nov (£199) Overcalls

Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

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 *Improvers’ Weekends are aimed at the novice player and/or those picking up the game after a long break.

Page 29

e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

Ask Julian Pottage

Bidding the Opponents’ Suit Q

On the following hand, I was North and, being baffled and suspecting a misfit, I left my partner in a hopeless contract. I suspect we were both partly at fault. How would you have bid the hands?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

7 K J 10 6 5 A Q 10 7 2 75 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A 10 6 4 Q7 843 AQ63

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

W E Kaye, East Wickham, Kent.

A

For a start, I would have responded 2NT on the South hand rather than 2♣. With one bid, this shows the values (10-12 points), the shape (balanced) and the spade stoppers. If the correct contract is in clubs, opener can bid 3♣ over 2NT. In theory, North should pass over 2NT, though I suspect I would rebid 3♦ (forcing).

Lacking three-card support, but with a maximum for the 10-12 range, South would then bid 3NT. On your actual sequence, you had a misunderstanding about what the double of 2♦ meant. You must have meant it for penalties while partner took it for take-out. As both of you have bid, the normal meaning of the double is for penalties, in which case South has an easy pass. As you suggest, your final pass was wrong. Even if you thought partner had a lot of black cards, you could have given preference to 3♣ or tried to say you thought the deal was a misfit by bidding 2NT. Unless you have agreed to the contrary, a bid in the opponent’s suit is forcing. ♣♦♥♠

Q

If partner bids a suit that an opponent has bid already, how do you know if partner has the suit also? David and Janet Strange, Ipswich.

A

Without partnership agreement, a bid of the opposing suit is rarely natural (it usually shows strength and forces

partner to bid). However, if your partner has not bid and you have previously turned down the chance to double the suit for take-out then the bid is natural: West North East South 1♣ Pass 1♠ Pass 1NT 2♣

2♣ is natural. If you did not have clubs, you might have doubled 1♣, bid one of the red suits or an unusual 2NT. West North East South 1♦ Pass 1♥ Pass 2♦ Pass Pass 2♥

2♥ is natural. If you did not have hearts, you could have doubled at either turn, bid one of the black suits or made an unusual 2NT. A bid of the opposing suit is also natural if the suit is responder’s and partner has doubled opener’s suit for take-out: West North East South 1♦ Dbl 1♠ 2♠

East is likely to have spades for the double, so you may want to play in the suit even if South has four (and 1♠ might be a psyche, of course). If you want to

Page 32

make a general force, you bid opener’s suit, 2♦. ♣♦♥♠

Q

1. On page 47 of BRIDGE 89 why does West not lead the ace of clubs (from A-x-x-x) rather than a diamond from Q-J-10-x-x? 2. On page 17 of BRIDGE 89, when East plays the ten from K-10-x-x when dummy has Q-x, is this not finessing against partner? Mrs P A Bailey, Guildford.

A

1. With some opponents, it can be a good idea to bash out an ace against a slam since they might be missing the ace-king of the suit. In general, however, it works better to try to set up a winner in some other suit that you can cash when you get in with your ace. Here West hopes to set up a diamond trick. 2. When the player in third seat has K-10-x-x, playing the ten is a finesse against dummy if dummy has the queen or jack (i.e. a card ranking above the ten but below the king) but a ‘finesse against partner’ if dummy has only low cards (or the ace but neither the queen nor the jack).

Ask Julian Pottage

Q

Playing rubber bridge in an unfamiliar partnership, my partner and I bid these hands to 7NT:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AK753 A AQJ743 K N E

W S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Void 9543 K852 AJ753

continued

key cards (to bid 5♥) was if one was the king of diamonds: you had three aces and both black kings. Having shown the king of diamonds already by bidding 5♥, I would expect partner to deny any kings in response to 5NT – perhaps you had agreed that the way to show no kings was to sign off in six of the agreed suit, in which case I agree with the 6♦ bid. Apart from the final bid, which should have been 7♦ rather than 7NT, you seem to have had a very good auction. ♣♦♥♠

North 2♣1 3♦ 4NT3 5NT5 7NT Acol 3 KCB 5 for kings 1

South 3♣ 4♠2 5♥4 6♦6 End 2 see below 4 two key-cards 6 one king

Clearly, we should have been in 7♦, which I would have bid if partner had bid 4♦ instead of 4♠ (though we had agreed to play splinters). How should we have bid? Dr Segall, London.

A

It is marginal whether you open 2♦ or 2♣. If you count the singleton king as half a quick trick, you have the requisite five quick tricks for 2♣. If, as you say, you had agreed to play splinters, partner’s 4♠ was an excellent bid. It showed the diamond support and the spade shortage at one go – 4♦ would show the diamond support, but is less helpful overall. On the next round, you could work out that 4♠ agreed diamonds: the only way partner could have two

Q

This was my hand (West) at a local club duplicate:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

QJ987 10 K872 10 7 5

West North Pass End

2♣

1NT 3NT

I led the queen of spades and declarer made the contract. Partner said I should have led a heart. The contract would still have made on a heart lead. Only a diamond lead would have worked. What was the correct lead? Mike Rennolds, East Wickham, Kent.

A

♣♦♥♠

Q

At a duplicate session at a small, friendly bridge club in Quainton, my partner and I held:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

East South 2♥

either opponent has four cards in the suit, then they are likely to be in a position to double. Therefore partner’s overcall suggests a strong six-card suit. You would need a very good reason not to lead it. Secondly, knowing that dummy is very likely to have four spades, a spade lead is highly risky. Very often, when the ten of spades is in dummy, the lead is going to cost a trick. For example, the opposing holding could be K-10-x-x facing A-x or A-10-x-x facing K-x-x. By the way, the opposing bidding is unusual. In Acol, the 2♣ Stayman enquiry does not promise any values – opener cannot possibly rebid 3NT!

I would have led a heart, the result notwithstanding. There are two main points here. Firstly, it is very dangerous to bid a major after an opponent has used Stayman. This is because, if

West 9854 ♠ A753 ♥ 10 9 6 5 3 ♦ Void ♣

East AKQJ72 8 A7 AJ73

The bidding went 2♠ by East, 4♠ by West. How should we have reached 6♠? Beryl Williams, Whitchurch, Bucks.

A

By tradition, the jump raise of a strong two shows positive values but no ace or void. With both an ace and a void, I would not bid 4♠. A jump to 4♣ used to show a solid club suit, but nowadays it is more common to play a jump to 4♣ as a splinter bid, agreeing spades and showing a singleton or void in clubs. Facing a singleton or void in

Page 33

clubs, East could bash 6♠, expecting to ruff any club losers in dummy and presuming that West will have a high card to cover one of the red losers. It would be more scientific for East to proceed with 4NT, since if West has an ace and a king then 7♠ could be on. It is debatable over 4NT whether West tries to show the club void as well as the ace (by jumping to 6♠ perhaps); simplest is just to bid 5♦ to show one ace. Then East checks on kings with 5NT and gives up on a grand slam when West shows none. ♣♦♥♠

Q

I was on lead after the opponents bid 1NT-2NT-3NT. I had ♠8-7-5-3 and ♦J-5-4-2. I led a diamond, which was disastrous as declarer won cheaply with the ten in hand, having ♦A-K-Q-x in dummy. A spade lead would have worked better because my partner had ♠K-Q-J-x. What would you have led, and why? James Galmont, Leeds.

A

I would have led a spade (the seven). Firstly, the bidding suggests leading a major. This is because with a fivecard major, two four-card majors, or a four-card major and a ruffing value, responder would surely have investigated a possible fit in one of the majors. Secondly, the bidding suggests a passive lead, as the opponents clearly do not have values to spare. The lack of intermediates in your diamond suit provides a third reason for not leading the suit. There is a big difference between J-5-4-2 and J-9-7-2 in terms of what you need from partner to set up tricks in the suit.

Ask Julian Pottage

Q

My RHO opened 1♣. I had 17 points with five clubs and overcalled 2♣. Is this correct in Acol? Mrs C Cheney, Emberton, Bucks.

A

I am afraid you cannot make a natural overcall in a suit the opposition has bid. The traditional meaning of a bid in the opponent’s suit is to show a very strong hand, like an Acol 2♣ opener. Nowadays, most tournament and club players use the cuebid to show a two-suited hand, the majors in this instance. Depending upon the actual hand and the vulnerability, I would either pass (what Culbertson called a ‘trap pass’), in the hope that the opponents go too high, or overcall 1NT. ♣♦♥♠

Q

From Dave Huggett’s play quiz, I have the impression that leading the fourth-highest card of the longest suit against NT helps declarer more than partner. What do the experts think? James Seddon, Kenilworth.

A

Fourth-highest leads are common the world over. If they were so bad, they would be a lot less popular! Most people take the view that defending is difficult and that it is better to give some signals to help partner even if it means giving information to declarer also. In expert circles, it is quite common to switch to third and fifth leads if you are leading a suit partner has bid – this is because you will often be leading from a

continued

three-card suit. Even then, the lead gives information to declarer as well as partner. ♣♦♥♠

Q

What are the guidelines for the number of points and shape in a hand when pre-empting. Is it correct to say it should be between 7 to 11 points and at least 7 cards in the suit called? Does it matter whether the pre-emptor is the first to bid or overcalling? Finally, is it wrong to pre-empt if one holds an outside ace? D Cook, Holmfirth, Yorks.

A

The idea of a preemptive bid is to make life difficult for the opponents because you believe they can make a contract and you do not mind going down a few tricks. You want to have as many values in your suit as possible and as little outside as possible. The better and longer your suit is, the greater the chance that playing in the suit will be a good idea. A textbook threelevel pre-empt when nonvulnerable is K-Q-J-x-x-x-x in your suit and nothing of value outside. Nobody will argue if the suit is ‘only’ K-Q-x-x-x-x-x. Vulnerable you would like to have some chance of making seven tricks, so A-Q-J-x-x-x-x would be preferable. On your ace question, Q-J-10-x-x-x-x and an outside ace would be fine to open at the three level when non-vulnerable. Vulnerable you would again be looking for some chance of making seven tricks for such an opening, so K-J-10-x-x-x-x or better and a trick on the side would be preferable. Point count is not the main

guide for pre-emptive bidding, though if you have enough points to open at the one level (about 10 or 11 with a 7-card suit) you would tend to do that. I would put the range for preempting at more like 5-10 than 7-11. Similar rules apply if the opponents open, though many play a single jump (e.g. they open 1♥ and you overcall 3♦) as a strong bid. If the overcall is a double jump (e.g. they open 1♥ and you overcall 3♠), or if you play weak jump overcalls, the rules are the same for a pre-emptive overcall as for an opening. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At my local club, my partner (West) opened a preemptive 3♦; North doubled for take out; I, East, passed and South jumped to 4♠, which was passed out. My partner had four spades, which surprised our opponents. 4♠ went two off. At most other tables North was in 5♣, making. Was my partner wrong to pre-empt with seven of the suit and 10 points? Maureen Crick by e-mail.

singletons (or a doubleton and a void) is likely to be too strong for a three-level pre-empt (or to pass). For instance with ♠K-J-x-x and ♦A-Q-x-x-x-x-x, you should open 1♦, not 3♦. It would be quite easy to construct a hand for partner that would pass a 3♦ opening but would give good play for a slam in spades. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At love all, rubber bridge, I opened 4♣ on the North hand below. Partner took it as Gerber and we ended in 6♣. East did not lead a spade and we made all 13 tricks (West had ♣K-x). Someone said I should have opened 2♣ rather than 4♣. Who was right?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

83 Q7 9 A Q J 10 5 4 3 2 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q 10 7 5 AK854 A84 9

Mrs M Schwartz, Ilford.

A

The idea of a preemptive bid is to make life difficult for the opponents and to tell partner that you are keen on having your long suit as trumps. If you have a fourcard major on the side, you risk missing a contract in the major. Of course, the weaker your hand (particularly in values outside your long suit), the less the chance that the deal belongs to your side, in which case it will not matter if you miss a fit in a major. In answer to your question, a hand with 10 points in high cards and two

Page 34

A

Non-vulnerable, your 4♣ opening seems fine to me. You have an eight-card club suit and seven playing tricks (thereby obeying the rule of two and three). A 4♣ opening is a pre-emptive bid, like 3♣ but with more playing strength, not Gerber. I shudder at the suggestion that you might open 2♣. In Acol, a 2♣ opening shows a very strong hand, 23 points in high cards or a powerful game-going hand. Had your partner understood your bid correctly, a raise to 5♣ would seem in order.

Ask Julian Pottage

Q

A

continued

If you had fewer than 23 points in an unbalanced hand and three or four losers, would you open 2♣? Mrs Freeman, Chigwell.

weekend, the teaching style is to open the major, so other players are likely to be doing the same thing.

A

With a balanced 4432 with two 4-card majors and 16 points, which of the majors do I open, before re-bidding no-trumps? Eddy Kent by e-mail.

In general, a 4-loser hand is more likely to be an Acol Two and a 3-loser hand a 2♣ opening. Having five quick or defensive tricks are also important – A-K is two, A-Q is one and a half, A or K-Q is one and K is a half. You need five quick tricks in a powerful game-going hand to open 2♣. The losing trick count tells you only whether the hand is ‘game-going’. ♣♦♥♠

Q

I read with interest your reply to a query in BRIDGE 90, as your advice differs from what I have seen elsewhere. The advice to open the major with four clubs and a fourcard major can cause rebid problems. John Martin, Dingwall.

A

Players divide into three camps on the question of what to open when holding a fourcard major. Some always open the major. Some always open the minor. Some vary, depending upon the quality of suits or ease of rebid. The three methods all have their benefits and drawbacks. In each case, you will usually show a balanced hand on the next round rather than introducing the second suit. The most important thing is that you and your partner know what you do and that you do the same thing to avoid the risk of a misunderstanding. On a Mr Bridge cruise or

♣♦♥♠

Q A

You should open 1♥. This way you will not miss a 4-4 fit in either major because you make it easy for partner either to raise to 2♥ or to bid 1♠. If you open 1♠ mistakenly, you will often miss a 4-4 heart fit. You may even miss a 5-4 heart fit if partner lacks the 9-10 points required for a 2♥ response to 1♠.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

West AK65 KJ63 A65 J5

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

East J7 Q 10 7 5 4 KQ4 964

There are a variety of methods on offer. In most, the basic idea is that immediate bids by responder show two suits (including the suit bid) and with a single-suited hand responder redoubles. The redouble asks opener to bid 2♣ and responder then passes (to show clubs) or bids the suit held. If responder bids a suit directly (showing two suits), what opener does depends on how specific the response is; if it just shows the lower of two suits, opener passes with tolerance for the suit and otherwise bids the next suit up. I like to play that responder can pass over 1NT doubled to play there, but in some methods, pass forces opener to redouble. I regard it as unsound to play the pass as forcing. With something like a flat 6 points you do not mind playing in 1NT doubled (rather than play in a 4-3 fit at the two level, possibly also doubled) but you really do not want to play in 1NT redoubled.

With these hands, I much prefer the auction 1♥-3♥-4♥ to 1♠-1NT.

A

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

974 J8643 963 72

B

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

95 J864 J 10 4 3 532

C

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

963 10 7 5 J64 J643

♣♦♥♠

Q

My partner opened a weak notrump. It was doubled and I, with a very weak hand – one point and no five-card suit, passed; the opposition got a very good score. I understand there was a way out of the situation. Can you help? J. F. Lambert by e-mail. (Similar from Michael Rice, Chichester and Carmen Issacharoff, London NW4).

With hand A, you redouble, planning to bid 2♥ over opener’s forced 2♣. With hand B, you bid 2♦, planning to play in 2♦ or 2♥. With C, you have no ideal action. If you play a pass as non-forcing, you can pass, ready to take the

Page 35

medicine, but hoping that LHO removes the double. If you decide to run (the right thing to do against opponents too polite to double anything other than 1NT), you either redouble (planning to show just clubs) or bid 2♣ (pretending you have diamonds as well as clubs). SWINE, which you may come across if you play on the Internet, is slightly different: a direct 2♥/2♠ is single suited (and constructive). You have to use the pass as forcing to redouble with SWINE, so I would not recommend it. ♣♦♥♠

Q

I am confused about when a bid is forcing in a competitive auction. If the bidding round the table is 1♥, 2♦, 3♣, is 3♣ forcing, and does it show support for hearts? Alan Hanson by e-mail.

A

In normal circumstances, 3♣ is forcing but does not indicate support for hearts. In general, a new suit at the three level after partner has bid is forcing. 3♣ would only be nonforcing if 3♣ gave you game (for instance if you were playing rubber bridge and already had a part-score of 40 or more) or perhaps if the player who bids 3♣ had passed previously. Some people play that 3♣ by a passed hand would show heart support (on the basis that you had the chance to open 3♣ and chose not to), but this would be a matter of partnership agreement. If you were doing this, 3♣ would be forcing if it showed club length and 4-card heart support but non-forcing if it showed club length and 3-card heart support.

Ask Julian Pottage

Q

Below are the hands that my partner and I held. How should we have bid?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 7 3 K Q J 10 9 KQ852 Void N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AK A64 A7 A K Q 10 8 4

7NT is better if you swap North’s red suits (when a 4-1 heart split would beat 7♥) and on the actual layout. At rubber bridge, scoring 150 for honours is another reason for bidding 7NT. ♣♦♥♠

Q

A

North 2♥ 3♦ 4♦ 7♥ End

South 2♣ 3♣ 3♥ 5NT 7NT

2♣ is Acol, forcing to game unless followed by a 2NT rebid over a 2♦ negative. North gives a positive response of 2♥ and then shows the diamonds on the next round. South gives preference to 3♥ and North shows more diamonds (the ace or king) with a cue bid of 4♦. South then bids 5NT, the grand-slam force, asking North to bid 7♥ if holding two of the top three hearts. Whether South converts 7♥ to 7NT is a moot point. 7♥ is better if the clubs are not solid and North does not have the queen of diamonds.

♣♦♥♠

Q

KQJ54 K753 A63 7

I opened 1♠ and my partner replied 1NT. What would you have done next? I rebid 2♥ and my partner passed with:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 9 Q84 9752 KJ85

Hearts split 5-1 and we went one down. Most played in 2♠ and did better. Simon Loveday, Wells by e-mail.

A

false preference to 2♠. The thinking is that if opener is 5-4 or 6-4 then the contract is likely to play better in the first suit than the second. Only if opener is 5-5 is the second suit likely to play better. That said, I might well have passed 2♥ on your partner’s hand. With 6 points, there is no hope of game, so responder does not want to give opener the chance to bid again.

I picked up the following hand:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Mrs A Carter, Carlisle. If North deals, you can more or less bid 1♥-7NT. It is hard for South to envisage an opening bid for North that does not offer at least reasonable play for a grand slam. It is tougher if South opens:

continued

Your rebid of 2♥ is correct. With the singleton, a suit contract should play better than 1NT. Besides, if partner really likes hearts, you might make game. A 2♠ rebid would be poor. By opening 1♠ and rebidding 2♥, you promise at least five spades and four hearts. It is much better to show two features than one. I suspect that most of the pairs who played in 2♠ got there because responder gave

I have heard of the system ‘2 over 1.’ Do you publish any articles on it?  Can you include something on this in Mr Bridge? Do you think it a good system? Christine Townend, Chalfont St Giles, Bucks.

A

The ‘2 over 1’ system means that a change of suit response at the two level, e.g. 1♠-2♦, creates a game force. The idea is that, by creating a game force at a low level, you leave the partnership maximum room to explore the right strain and level. When you have the strength to make the twoover-one bid (i.e. an opening bid yourself), the system usually works well. The problem arises when responder has 6-11 or 6-12 points, as then the range for a 1NT response becomes very wide. Normal in the 2-over-1 system is to play that a 1NT response is forcing. This way, with 10-12 points responder will be able to bid again over opener’s rebid. Another snag with 2-over-1 is that, in all but the most experience partnerships, it can be difficult to tell whether partner is trying to show extra values. ‘2 over 1’ is rare in the

Page 36

UK, and even many US experts regard it as unsound. If you search for ‘two-overone bidding’ on the internet, you can find further details. Its lack of popularity in the UK and its relative complexity make it unlikely we will do an article on it. ♣♦♥♠

Q

At our club, some use a response of 2♠ to a 12-14 1NT as 11 points (balanced), and a response of 2NT as 12 points. Others use 2♠ as 11 or 12 points, and 2NT as a transfer to minors. I believe Michelle Brunner recommends a variation: 2NT as natural and 2♠ for the minors. Which do you recommend? Tony Betts, Northallerton. (Similar from J F Lambert).

A

It is wasteful to use both 2♠ and 2NT as ways to invite 3NT. With a good 12 points (e.g. nice intermediates or a decent five-card suit) just bid 3NT. With a poor 12 points (e.g. 4333 shape or unsupported honours), treat it as 11 points. However, rather than playing that 2♠ shows specifically a gameinvitational hand, you can use it to show either game interest or slam interest. Opener has to bid again over 2♠ (2NT with a minimum and 3♣ with a maximum), so responder will get another chance. If responder does anything other than pass 2NT or convert 3♣ to 3NT, it shows a four-card suit (usually a good one) and slam interest. The option to use 2♠ on both game and slam hands illustrates why it is better to play it this way round rather than Michelle’s.

Ask Julian Pottage

Q

What would you open on this hand?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A K J 10 7 Void A 10 8 7 5 3 2 A

B Nothern, Mobberley, Cheshire.

A

Playing standard Acol, I open 2♦. An Acol Two does not have to be a single-suited hand. You have far more playing strength than partner would expect if you opened 1♦, but not enough quick tricks to open an Acol 2♣. Playing Benjamin, the best opening is less clear. If the bidding starts 2♣-2♦, you cannot show your long suit below the three level; also, partner will get to play the hand if you end up in diamonds. I would probably open 2♣ despite this. If the bidding goes 2♣-2♦-3♦-3♥3♠-3NT-4♠ or 2♣-2♦-3♦3NT-4♠, partner will get the idea of a big two-suited hand with longer diamonds than spades. ♣♦♥♠

Q

Have you ever heard of a deal on which one pair had all 40 points between them? This happened to our opponents in the penultimate deal during a friendly bridge evening. Is this as rare as I believe it must be? Gerald Sacks, West Byfleet, Surrey.

A

continued

A

By my reckoning the chance that the opponents have all 40 points between them is 1 in 1,951,000. This is 36 choose 10 divided by 52 choose 26. The 36 is the number of non-picture cards, of which the opponents must have 10 if they have all 16 picture cards. 36 choose 10 means 36! / (10!x(36-10)!) and 36! (36 factorial) means 36x35x34 ... 3x2x1 and likewise for 52 choose 26. ♣♦♥♠

Q

What should I have opened on the South hand below and was a slam makeable? None of our foursome came up with the same answer.

Dealer South. N/S Vul. ♠ J985 ♥ J864 ♦ AQ97 ♣ K ♠ 63 ♠ 10 7 4 2 ♥ A973 N ♥ 52 W E S ♦ 854 ♦ K J 10 6 3 ♣ 9432 ♣ J 10 ♠ AKQ ♥ K Q 10 ♦ 2 ♣ AQ8765

I cannot remember all the calls. I, South, opened 2NT. We did not mention any majors. North at some point called 4♣ asking for aces, then 5♣ asking for kings and we ended up in 6♣ (played from the wrong hand!) going down two. Mrs G R Menzies, Lyme Regis.

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

First, I would like to make a plea to all readers. In card diagrams, spades always come at the top, then hearts, then diamonds and finally clubs. (I misread the question originally as the clubs were at the top.) This is a very tricky hand to bid in Acol. A possible sequence is this: North 2NT2 3♦3 6NT4

South 2♣1 3♣ 3NT

1 If South’s long suit were anything other than clubs, an Acol two would fit the bill. With three losers and 20 HCP, South is too good to open 1♣. 2NT is wrong with the singleton and this much playing strength, while 2♣ is a bit of a stretch with only four and a half quick tricks. Out of 1♣, 2NT and 2♣, I rate 2NT least highly as it is both an underbid and wrong on shape. I prefer 2♣ to 1♣ as 2♣ is less of an overbid than 1♣ is an underbid. Moreover, with 3-card support for both majors, game chances seem very good. 2 This shows positive values and no five-card suit. 3 Since South could have a second suit, North keeps the bidding low. 4 North knows that South might have had to open 2♣ a little light, but often the singleton king of clubs will be enough to make the suit solid. As the cards lie, you can make 11 tricks playing in any denomination other than diamonds. I am not sure you really want to be in a slam – the blocked major suits make life awkward. 6NT by North would fail here even if East kindly leads a diamond into the ace-queen. I did a computer simulation and 6♠ by North seems to be the

Page 37

best (or least bad) slam, making about 50% of the time – though that assumes double-dummy play. If South opens 2NT, North should bid 3♣, whether you play it as Baron (asking opener to bid four-card suits up the line) or Stayman. 4♣, Gerber, is not the right bid (indeed, it rarely is). You only check on aces when you know what suit you intend to play in. You say that you played 6♣ the wrong way up, but most contracts play better by North to protect the diamond tenace. ♣♦♥♠

Q

My bridge partner has posed me a problem. He said that it was in BRIDGE a few issues ago. The contract is 7NT by South and West leads the four of spades. I cannot seem to see how I would get back to my hand!

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

6 AK AKQ A987432 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AKQ Q J 10 J 10 9 8 7 6 6

Susan Lee, Christchurch, Dorset.

A

There is a neat way around the blockages. Take three rounds of spades, discarding dummy’s hearts on the second and third rounds. Then take three rounds of hearts, discarding dummy’s three diamonds. After that, run the diamonds and take the last trick with the ace of clubs. n

Conventions and Conventioners with Ned Paul

Benjaminised Acol and the Lion of the North

C

onsider your opening bid on these hands:

a)

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A AKQ76 AQJ5 A 10 3

b)

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

8 A K J 10 7 6 3 AK2 K6

c)

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

76 KJ9832 642 KJ

Hand a) is the classic game-going hand, a 2♣ bid in standard Acol. Such a bid compels partner to keep bidding until you reach game. As you can see, as little as three small hearts in partner’s hand will make game playable; any useful honour card would make it certain. Hand b) is the classic Acol Two Bid. The hand will play for in excess of eight tricks, but partner does need something to convert this hand to game. Pick what you would like partner to have by way of support: a few hearts; the queen of diamonds; a black ace. Any one of those will be enough for you to make game, yet partner can hold an ace without having the six points needed to scrape up a response to a one-level bid. Hand c) is a standard Weak Two Bid, a hand too weak to open with a normal 1-of-a-suit bid, but at the same time, a constructive limit bid. Rather like when you open 1NT, a Weak Two bid describes your hand within tight parameters at one go and leaves further action to partner. Weak Twos are an effective competitive weapon.

Which of these treatments of Two Bids came first? I am sure that most readers would find the answer surprising. Weak Twos appear in the literature as far back as the 1920s. If Harold Vanderbilt, the ‘inventor’ of modern contract bridge, had had his way, then we would all be playing a strong club system. Indeed, in his book, Contract Bridge, published in 1929, he clearly sets out a form of Weak Two. Vanderbilt’s ideas did not hold sway in the golden era of bridge in the 1930s. Americans en masse followed the ideas of Ely Culbertson. Culbertson espoused the ‘Forcing Two’. Using the Forcing Two, all opening two bids were strong, natural and forcing to game. Thus Culbertson would have recommended an opening bid of 2♥, forcing to game, on Hand a) above. The Acol group of players, led by Jack Marx and SJ Simon, recognised that Culbertson’s idea of having four separate bids for forcing-to-game type hands was inefficient use of precious bidding resources – you have only 35 different bids to describe all the hands you might hold. They devised the Acol 2♣ bid for hands such as a) above and invented the strong Acol Two Bid for the ‘I have nearly a game’ hands. Acol Two Bids are forcing for at least one round, but the bidding may stop below game if partner is completely unsuitable. Acol Two Bids became, and remain, the basis for standard bidding in Britain. In America, the Acol Two Bid never caught on. In the 1950s, it was the new American ‘Mr Contract Bridge’, Charles Goren, who brought Standard American up to date. The popularity of Weak Two Bids began to rise at the same time and eventually Culbertson’s Forcing Two was consigned to history. Modern Standard American has adopted the Acol 2♣ for forcing-to-game hands; it uses the other bids as Weak Two Bids. Players at your club, who say they use ‘Three Weak Twos’, play in this style.

Page 38

The rise of the Weak Two gave European bridge players a problem. Should they start playing the clearly successful ‘American Weak Two Bids’ or stick with the traditional strong two bids, on which most European experience was based? The Scottish bridge international, Albert Benjamin, devised the solution. Benjamin realised that if it was inefficient to play the Forcing Two with separate natural bids for all the rare forcing-togame hands, so it was just as inefficient to have separate natural bids for the just as rare ‘nearly-a-game’ hands. What was his solution? Make 2♣ and 2♦ the big bids, and free 2♥ and 2♠ to be Weak Twos. For reasons I discuss below, 2♣ became the hand for 8+ tricks, with 2♦ the outright force to game. The system, which Benjamin described in a short published article, some time in the 1960s, became known in Britain as ‘Benjaminised Acol’ – or ‘Benji’ for short and is certainly one of the more common systems you will encounter in duplicate bridge clubs. This system of two bids is also normal in France, where, although not attributed to Benjamin, it is included as part of the modern French ‘Super Majeure Cinquième’ as taught throughout France. So much for the Benjamin bids, what of Benjamin the man? Albert Benjamin was one of the foremost figures of Scottish Bridge. He became known as ‘the Lion of the North’. Born in 1909, he discovered bridge at Glasgow University and soon immersed himself in bridge journalism, even launching Scottish Bridge Weekly. After the war, he opened the Ken Muir Bridge Club in Glasgow, which quickly acquired the nickname ‘Benjamin’s’. He continued writing also, contributing a daily hand to a Glasgow newspaper as well as weekly and monthly columns in other publications. As a player, he represented Scotland in the home internationals for the

Conventions continued

Camrose Trophy, mostly in partnership with Victor Goldberg. A Scot through and through, Benjamin’s greatest moment came when his beloved Scottish team bested England and won the Camrose for the first time in 1964. An amusing incident happened during the late stages of the close-fought match against the ‘auld enemy’. Benjamin actually dozed off during a deal. A nudge from the table recorder woke him up with a start. ‘No bid’ he said out of turn and without looking at his hand. He now had to pass despite holding a good take-out double of 1♠, and his opponents then reached 4♠ unopposed. Albert fell asleep again (metaphorically only this time) and missed the killing defence. It looked like a poor time to let chances slip. In the other room, the English pair did double and reached a contract of 3♦ redoubled with a trump suit of jack to four opposite four low. The contract collapsed when Scotland’s Sam Leckie, holding A-K-Q-10 was able to draw trumps. The penalty was 2200 and Scotland won the match. A word about the system – ‘Benji’, as devised, uses 2♣ for the 8+ trick ‘nearlya-game’ hands. Usually partner makes a 2♦ relay response to enable opener to specify the suit opener actually holds. An opening 2♦ is the ‘big’ bid, the equivalent of 2♣ in traditional Acol. Some club pairs play ‘Reverse Benji’, keeping the 2♣ bid unchanged and using 2♦ for the 8+ trick hands. In my opinion, this is unsound. The 2♦ bid tends to trigger a 2♥ relay and opener if holding hearts, one of the important major suits, now has to bid 3♥ to show his suit naturally, a dreadfully high level at which to start bidding a strong hand. Not only that, responder has also ‘wrong-sided’ the contract with the relay. No, Albert was right to publish it how he did and we should all bow to his superior technical insight. Benjamin was a great raconteur and loved to jest. He loved also to mentor younger players. He helped launch the bridge careers of Michael Rosenberg and Barnet Shenkin, both of whom became USA-based bridge professionals. By all accounts, he decried his own bidding system and did not play it. Albert Benjamin died in 2006, aged 96, but n Benjaminised Acol lives on.

2009 AT DENHAM GROVE Tilehouse Lane, Denham, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire UB9 5DU.

Duplicate Weekends 2009 ♦ Full-board

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities

♦ No single supplement ♦ Room upgrades available 30 Jan-1 Feb £150 Just Duplicate 13-15 Feb £150 Just Duplicate

♦ Bidding quiz and two seminars except on Just Duplicate events

♦ Use of swimming pool and fitness suite

17-19 Apr £199

Eight executive rooms: £50 supplement per event. Half the bedrooms are on the ground floor. Please advise if you require a ground-floor room.

15-17 May £199

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _

19-21 Jun £199

Please book me for ..... places,

10-12 Jul £199

Single ..... Double ..... Twin .....

24-26 Jul £199

at the Denham Grove weekend(s) of ..............................

7-9 Aug £150 Just Duplicate

.......................................................................................... Mr/Mrs/Miss ...................................................................

21-23 Aug £199

Address.............................................................................

23-25 Oct £199

..........................................................................................

30 Oct-1 Nov £199

Postcode ..........................................................................

13-15 Nov £199

( ....................................................................................

27-29 Nov £199 4-6 Dec £150 Just Duplicate

Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige) ........................................................................................ Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302 e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

Page 39

The Baron Outwits the Grand Duke by Dick Atkinson

E

veryone has his favourite partner. Most of us, I suspect, also have a favourite opponent. My uncle. Baron von Münchausen, is no exception. Every year, he plays in a discreet but prestigious event held in Luxembourg, the Almanach de Gotha Tournament. There it used to be his pleasure, in the middle years of the century, to meet Grand Duke Vassily Romanov at a green velvet battlefield. I get the impression that their enmity is not unconnected with the fair sex and perhaps, with that mysterious duelling scar. This, as you will remember, disfigured the Grand Duke’s otherwise handsome features. The deal below illustrates the Baron’s ability to reject smoothly a play that an opponent tries to force on him. On this particular occasion, from the final session of the pairs, my uncle held a particularly moderate hand as dealer at Game All:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

642 Q7 987643 10 2

N W

E S

He passed, as did North and East, the Marquis de Sade. The Grand Duke was playing with an exiled Baltic Margrave, and their auction was allegedly Culbertson: West Baron Pass Pass Pass Pass End

North B.M. Pass 2♠ 5♣ 6♦

East M.S. Pass Pass Pass Pass

South G.D. 2♣ 4NT 5NT 6NT

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

642 Q7 987643 10 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

KQJ53 J3 J52 963 N E

W S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 9 8 7 986542 K 87

A A K 10 A Q 10 AKQJ54

The Grand Duke’s Analysis The lead was the ♠2 to the ♠A and the G.D. was horrified to find that the B.M. had virtually nothing outside his advertised suit. He fingered the ♣A for a moment, before absorbing the fact that 7♣, a likely contract, would presumably be rock solid if the ♣10 fell in two rounds. This made that line a poor one in terms of profit and loss. 7♠ would be the likely top score for anyone who stumbled into it. 6NT would be solid on a friendlier lead. The G.D. considered playing the ♦Q, but that would be rather obvious and whoever held the king would presumably hold off. Then he conceived a simple plan to get back into the money. 6NT could be an excellent score, if the majors broke badly and one opponent held, say, ♣10-x-x and a doubleton in one of the majors. Still, it couldn’t hurt to take the ♣A first, could it? It certainly couldn’t gain in the scenario envisaged; but what if East held ♣l0-8-7, and also the red suit honours? He could be thrown in, with the lead of any of the four suits providing access to dummy. Cashing the ♣A first would give him the Page 40

easy option of returning his top club. Having analysed the hand to his own satisfaction, the G.D. led a small club immediately towards the nine. My uncle followed low smoothly. Well now, could it be right to put up the nine? The G.D. realised that would ruin his throw-in line. The six lost to the seven, and back came the eight! The G.D. hesitated only a second before following low, losing to the ten. One down. Even those timid souls in 6♣ plus one outscored the Grand Duke.

Two Tricks Lost in Easy Slam ‘You seem a little agitated, Vassily Vassilievitch. Perhaps you foresee some embarrassment in explaining to our acquaintance how you managed to lose two tricks in a suit holding nine cards to the A-K-Q-J? Don’t give it a second thought. Have no fear – it shall be my pleasure to explain – to everyone. It was just that unfortunate break. Two-two... You know, I thought I’d gone to bed with my ten for a moment there! I would have had a hard time explaining that one away.’ ‘Sorry partner,’ piped up the B.M. at last, anxious to justify his positive response. ‘If I’d only stuck to my guns and bid 7♠, we’d probably have a top!’ ‘Come, come, mein Herr, you insult me,’ returned the Baron. ‘I am capable of ruffing the third heart high in a good cause!’ His little ♠6 would promote a trick in the Marquis’ hand. ‘No, it’s only in no-trumps that you have 17 tricks on top... and clubs, of course.’ n

Previously published in BRIDGE 39. Reprinted to satisfy popular demand.

ANSWERS TO THE DECLARER PLAY QUIZ ON PAGE 14 by DAVID HUGGETT 1.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ Q 10 8 6 2 Q8 K964 84 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

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

K53 762 J5 AQJ62 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

94 J 10 9 4 3 Q7 K 10 9 7

AJ7 AK5 A 10 8 3 2 53

You are declarer in 3NT and West leads the ♠6. East plays the ♠9. How do you plan the play? The lead has done you no harm and a quick tally of the tricks shows that if you can make three club tricks you will make the contract. That is true but you have to be careful how you go about trying to achieve this aim. Suppose you win the first trick in hand and play a club to the jack, which wins the trick when East correctly holds up. What do you do now? You might come back to hand with a spade and repeat the finesse. Unfortunately, if it now fails and it turns out that East started with four clubs, you will never be able to establish the clubs and enjoy them because you will be an entry short to dummy. The key is to duck a club at trick two, making the opposition win the trick. Then, when you regain the lead, you can take a club finesse, not minding if it loses. As long as clubs break no worse than 4-2, you will be able to make three tricks in the suit. If dummy had started with ♣A-K-x-x-x, the initial duck would somehow seem much easier.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

2.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

64 KQJ7 Q 10 8 3 854

QJ98 A62 AK752 9 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A K 10 7 3 843 4 K Q J 10

Clearly, you cannot afford to duck the opening lead. With the ace of clubs to knock out at some stage and the player with that card very likely to have a second heart to play, you have to rid yourself of the two losing hearts before touching clubs. One will go on a top diamond and the other will go on dummy’s fifth diamond if you can establish the suit. So win the lead, play the two top diamonds and ruff a diamond high. Re-enter dummy with a trump and ruff another diamond high, establishing the fifth diamond in the process. Then you can enter dummy once more with a trump and dispose of your losing heart on the long diamond. All that then remains is to knock out the ace of clubs. What do you need to make the plan work? Well, diamonds have to be 4-3 but trumps have to break 2-2 as well or the closed hand will run out of trumps before the clubs are good. Note also that you cannot afford to draw trumps before playing on diamonds. Having a top diamond ruffed is not a worry here because you need the suit to break kindly anyway.

3.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ A KQJ974 10 2 A Q 10 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ W E ♦ S ♣ Q J 10 7 5 3 3 954 K83

62 10 8 6 5 QJ8 9764

You are in 4♠ and West, who bid hearts, leads the ♥K. How do you plan the play?

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

52 10 9 5 J96 A7632

Apparently, you have an inescapable loser in trumps and diamonds, so you have to hope that you can restrict your club losers to just one. East might hold the ace, though, with West in the bidding, perhaps this is wishful thinking. Of course, you could establish the diamond suit if they break 3-2, but then you have to lose one in the process; if you lose that trick to East then a club through your king could prove embarrassing. You might manoeuvre to let West win the

Page 41

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

4.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

753 632 KJ9 KQJ7 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J4 7 A875432 843 ♠ N ♥ E W ♦ S ♣ AQ62 A K Q J 10 8 Void A62

K 10 9 8 954 Q 10 6 10 9 5

You are declarer in 4♥ and West leads the ♣K. How do you plan the play?

K984 A2 AK763 J5 N

diamond loser if he has the queen or any three diamonds, keeping East off lead. Fortunately, there is a much better way that offers a good chance of success. Just duck the first trick! Then you can discard a diamond on the ace of hearts later and ruff the third round of diamonds. As long as West has the ace of trumps, you will find that East is effectively out of the game and therefore unable to make a damaging club switch. In the meantime, you will discard the two low clubs in hand on the two established diamonds in dummy.

This hand is frustrating because you can count ten tricks via two spades, six hearts, one diamond and one club. The trouble is that you are isolated from dummy and unable to gain access to the ace of diamonds – or so it seems. One plan might be to win the club and play a low spade in the hope that West holds the king. Even if East holds this card, there is the chance that he might not have the nous to return a trump, in which case you could ruff the third round and reach dummy that way. The opposition would have to be poor for that second option to work and there is in fact a neat solution. Win the club and play the queen of spades! If this loses to the king, you can gain access to dummy with the jack later. If instead the queen holds, you can play the ace of spades and ruff one in dummy. It would take a very hostile break somewhere or a defender with only two spades and the nine of hearts to thwart this plan. All the examples this time involve a long suit in dummy that you need to utilise in the most ■ efficient manner.

Bridge H Cruises and

Looking for a holiday, short break or a cruise? Why not choose one from our exte

Christmas & New Year Denham Grove, Uxbridge, Buckinghamshire 24-27 December 2008 Sandy Bell £395

JANUARY 2009 10 – 30 Antarctica & the Chilean Fjords 1

MARCH cont

APRIL cont

3–

5 Marsham Court

3–

5 Staverton Park

6–

8 Barony Castle

3–

5 The Olde Barn

3–

5 Wychwood Park

23 – 25 Staverton Park 24 –13/2 Antarctica & the Chilean Fjords 2 30 – 1/2 Denham Grove

12 – 26 Red Sea & the Eastern Mediterranean

30 – 1/2 Staverton Park

17 – 19 Denham Grove

30 – 1/2 The Beach Hotel

17 – 19 Wychwood Park 24 – 26 The Beach Hotel Rubber/Chicago Marsham Court, Bournemouth

27-29 December 2008 Signals & Discards Chris Barrable & Ann Pearson £199

26 – 28 Marsham Court

8 – 22 Tunisia 13 – 15 Staverton Park 13 – 15 The Olde Barn

MV Discovery

13 – 29 Jewels of the Indian Ocean 22 – 5/4 Tunisia

29 Dec – 1 Jan 2009 Chris Barrable & Ann Pearson £355

FEBRUARY 2009 3–

5 Marsham Court

6–

8 Barony Castle

6–

8 The Beach Hotel

7 – 1/3 Cape to Cape 13 – 15 Denham Grove

27 – 29 Staverton Park 27 –12/4 India & the Persian Gulf

APRIL 2009 1–

3 Marsham Court Rubber/Chicago

26 –10/5 Black Sea, Turkey & Greek Isles

MAY 2009

20 – 22 The Olde Barn

Denham Grove, Uxbridge

Staverton Park, Daventry

22 – 8/3 Tunisia

10 – 24 European Odyssey

27 – 1/3 Staverton Park

15 – 17 Denham Grove

27 –15/3 South Africa & the Indian Ocean

24 – 31 Norwegian Fjords 1

MARCH 2009 1–

3 Marsham Court

Wychwood Park, Crewe

31 –14/6 St Petersburg and the Northern Capitals

Holidays, d Weekends

ensive list. Cruises are in blue, overseas holidays in green and UK breaks in black.

JUNE 2009

JULY cont

SEPTEMBER cont

OCTOBER cont

1–

3 Marsham Court

17 – 19 Marsham Court

23 – 25 Marsham Court

16 – 18 The Olde Barn

5–

7 The Beach Hotel

19 – 2/8 North Cape, Arctic Circle & Russia

25 – 27 Staverton Park

16 – 18 Wychwood Park

12 – 14 The Beach Hotel

23 – 25 Barony Castle 23 – 25 Denham Grove

22 – 24 Marsham Court

23 – 25 Wychwood Park

24 – 26 Denham Grove

30 –1/11 Denham Grove

AUGUST 2009

30 –1/11 Marsham Court

2 – 13 British Isles Discovery

30 –1/11 The Olde Barn

Antarctica

NOVEMBER 2009 1 – 15 Tunisia

Port El Kantaoui, Tunisia

30 –2/10 Marsham Court Rubber/Chicago

14 – 24 Land of the Midnight Sun

OCTOBER 2009

19 – 21 Blunsdon House

2 – 14 North African Treasures 6–

8 Barony Castle

1 – 12 Black Sea Discovery

19 – 21 Denham Grove Barony Castle, Nr Peebles

2–

4 The Beach Hotel

9 – 11 The Olde Barn 7–

9 Denham Grove

13 – 26 Baltic Capitals 21 – 23 Denham Grove 26 – 3/9 Norwegian Fjords 2 Blunsdon House, Swindon

24 – 6/7 Faroes, Fire & Ice

JULY 2009 2–

4 Marsham Court

6 – 19 Baltic Treasures 10 – 12 Denham Grove

12 – 26 Black Sea & Aegean Adventure 16 – 18 Staverton Park 16 – 18 The Beach Hotel

The Olde Barn, Marston

6–

SEPTEMBER 2009

8 Blunsdon House

3 – 10 Cruise to the Riviera

13 – 15 Denham Grove

10 – 19 Italian Odyssey

13 – 15 The Olde Barn

11 – 13 The Beach Hotel Rubber/Chicago

15 – 29 Tunisia

19 –1/10 Adriatic & Aegean Treasures

13 – 15 Staverton Park

20 – 22 Barony Castle 20 – 22 Wychwood Park The Beach Hotel, Worthing

27 – 29 Denham Grove

Julian Pottage Says

Signal Attitude on Partner’s Lead ne thing that makes defending hard is that you cannot see all of your side’s assets. One way the defenders make life easier for each other is with a signal. Most signals involve the play of cards that cannot win a trick – usually spot cards. The most basic signal is of attitude – you encourage or discourage a suit that partner has led by playing high or low respectively.

O

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Layout A A85 A852 K5 Q 10 7 3 ♠ N ♥ W E ♦ S ♣

K72 K97 Q 10 7 2 J64

South’s exact contract is not critical to your play on layouts A and B. It might be 3NT or 4♥. Partner leads the queen of spades and dummy’s ace wins. On A, you should play the seven of spades – this is the highest spot card you can afford to play. It says ‘I like spades, please continue the suit.’

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Layout B A85 A852 K5 Q 10 7 3 ♠ N ♥ W E S ♦ ♣

742 K97 A Q 10 7 J64

Again, partner leads the queen of spades and dummy’s ace wins. This time you have no help in spades and so send a very different message on B.

You play the two of spades – your lowest card in the suit. It says, ‘sorry partner; I cannot help you in this suit. Please try something else.’ On this hand, you hope for a diamond switch. On layout A, you held the king of spades – the highest card you could possibly hold in the suit given the dummy. You do not have to have a top card to encourage partner to lead the suit again. On C and D below, South is in 3NT. Partner leads the queen of spades and dummy’s ace wins.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Layout C A8 QJ5 Q J 10 5 Q 10 7 3 ♠ 10 7 2 N ♥ K97 W E S ♦ 9762 ♣ A64

Your ten of spades will help to set up the spades. If you get in with the ace of clubs, you intend to return the suit. Perhaps declarer will play on diamonds before clubs and partner will gain the lead first. In this case, you are still happy to see spades led again. To tell partner this, you play the seven of spades on the first trick.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Layout D A8 QJ5 Q J 10 5 Q 10 7 3 ♠ 742 N ♥ A97 W E ♦ 9762 S ♣ A64

Page 44

This time, you cannot offer any help in spades and play the two on the first trick. Partner, if holding ♠Q-J-9-x-x, may well switch to a heart after getting in to put you in for a lead through South’s remaining ♠K-10. Attitude signals can apply after the first trick and to either defender. The rule is that, if your side leads the suit before declarer does, a signal usually indicates your liking or otherwise for the suit.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Layout E ♠ J8 ♥ 85 ♦ K Q J 10 5 ♣ K973 K942 N J9762 W E S 87 42

South plays in 5♣. You lead the six of hearts to the five, king and ace. Declarer plays a trump. Partner wins with the ace and switches to the ace of spades. You would very much like to see spades continued and encourage with the highest card you can afford, the nine. If you do not encourage spades, partner may well revert to hearts, playing you for the queen of hearts rather than the king of spades. Indeed, if you held J-9-4-2 of spades and a queen-high heart suit, you would play the two of spades to discourage spades. Looking at dummy, partner would surely get the right message.

Summary To recap, usually you signal your liking (attitude) for a suit if partner leads it. You play a high spot card to say that you like the suit (encourage) or your lowest card to say that you do not. ■

Jeremy Dhondy Says

Don’t Run from the Frying Pan into the Fire omething bad has happened. The opponents have sharpened their doubling axes and are looking to penalise you. What should you do? As a rule, it is rarely right to try to escape: you may make things even worse. Suppose you pick up this:

S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

432 9853 J63 765

Your partner opens 1NT (12-14) and the next hand doubles. Do you run? It is likely that the opponents have game on, so a penalty of 500, if you are not vulnerable against vulnerable, is not the end of the world; even 800 at teams scoring will see you lose only a few imps. If you decide to run away, then the downside is that a) You may not find a fit b) Going to the two level will see you having to make one more trick before you start – unlikely with a hand so flat. Some of the time when it is right to move from 1NT doubled, your partner may do so anyway: he may have a fivecard minor, for example and bid it. The plus side of removing arises when you believe your opponents do not know what they are doing and may let you off the hook. Things to think about if you decide to run are: a) What are the conditions of contest? If it is teams, then running away and getting it wrong can be very expensive. If it is pairs then, of course, a bottom is a bottom so you may take a bit more of a risk.

b) What is everyone else playing? If nearly everyone in your club plays a 12-14 1NT, then you are likely to be in good company and taking a big risk is not worthwhile. If many of the pairs play strong no-trump, you are more exposed and likely to get a poor result in 1NT doubled.

E/W Vul. Pairs.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q 10 Q 10 7 6 4 9872 KJ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K86 A2 K Q 10 4 Q 10 4 2 N E

W S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

West 1♥ Dbl

7532 Void KJ742 Q 10 8 5

North 2♥ Pass

East Pass Pass

South Pass ?

Now what do you do? You are vulnerable

Page 45

KJ743 65 Q 10 8 5 4 3 Void

The auction goes like this:

432 9853 J63 765

Your left-hand opponent opens 1♠ at Game All and the auction continues: West 1♠ Dbl

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AJ975 KJ A5 A983

-300 in 1NT doubled on a low spade lead was a joint top. Those who ran conceded a bigger penalty or a game. Another common time when you have to decide whether to run arises when partner has overcalled and someone has doubled. You hold as South:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

and you have no hearts. This is going to be awful. Partner might hold a minor to go with his hearts, but if he does not (and that will be more often), you will be turning a penalty into a very big penalty. Partner knew he was vulnerable when he bid. He should have a six-card suit of decent quality. Take your medicine and go quietly. By contrast, now suppose you held this as South:

North 2♣ Pass

East Pass Pass

South Pass ?

Now you have such good length in the other suits that the fire may well be more attractive than the frying pan. In addition, any escape will be at the same level (i.e. still at the two level). On this sort of hand, an SOS redouble (i.e. asking partner to rescue you) is ideal – but be aware that such hands are rare. Finally, here are some points to consider on whether to run when someone doubles your partner. l

Are you playing teams or pairs? Be much less willing to run at teams. The upside is very much smaller.

l

Are you playing with a sound overcaller? Be more inclined to let him have his way if you are.

l

Are you at least 5-5 and preferably 65 in the other suits? Do not run unless you have extreme distribution. ■

David Gold Says

Don’t Underbid Small Hands ometimes you pick up a hand that looks small but, as the auction proceeds, it can grow. In a money game as dealer at game all, you pick up:

S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q 10 6 5 3 6543 763 5

West

North

East

1♥ 2♥ 5♥

2♣ 2♠ Pass

2♦ 4♥ Pass

South Pass Pass 4♠ ?

The hand is weak but you bid 4♠ last time as your prospects seem to have improved. It is your turn again after 5♥ from LHO and two passes. Well, you have only a queen but partner has bid twice vulnerable and is favourite to be 5-6 in the blacks. You try 5♠ bravely, which RHO doubles on the way out. This is the full deal:

Still in a money game, you pick up:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

This is typical, another small hand! Your gloom is short-lived when your partner deals and opens 2♣ (your big bid). You respond 2♦ (negative/waiting) dutifully and partner surprises you again by rebidding 2♥. Now it is time to re-evaluate. Partner has announced a game-forcing hand with hearts as its primary suit. In that context, your hand has become very powerful as you have four-card trump support and a singleton. Do not underestimate the power of this hand. Best is 3♠, a ‘splinter bid’ showing a spade shortage and good heart support. Partner next bids 4♣ as a cuebid; now you have nothing more to say so should sign off in 4♥. To your surprise, partner leaps to 6♥! Fear not, the full deal:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AJ974 Void 42 A 10 8 7 4 3 K ♠ N A Q J 10 9 7 ♥ W E KJ8 ♦ S J92 ♣ ♠ Q 10 6 5 3 ♥ 6543 ♦ 763 ♣ 5

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ 82 K82 A Q 10 9 5 KQ6

5♠ makes easily and 5♥ will make too if you miss your club ruff. Your hand grew in value once you knew that partner had a black two-suiter, so do not underbid just because it is small!

3 QJ43 65432 752

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

3 QJ43 65432 752

Q652 5 KJ7 J 10 9 8 6 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A 10 9 A K 10 9 8 7 A8 AK

North

South 2♣ 2♦ 2♥ 3♠ (splinter) 4♣ 4♥ 6♥

Page 46

KJ874 62 Q 10 9 Q43

South was in fact looking for a grand slam with his 4♣ cue-bid. Once he heard you show your spade shortage, he knew that the small slam was a virtual certainty. Now that you are getting the idea:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J7653 10 9 2 652 Q2

Partner opens 1♥ and RHO overcalls 1♠. You pass and LHO passes too. Partner bids 3♣ and RHO passes. It looks natural to give preference to three hearts, but think! Re-evaluate your hand. You have three-card support when you might not have and you have a useful card in partner’s second suit so you should take the pressure off partner and bid 4♥. The full deal:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ A K Q 10 9 76 KJ98 10 3 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J7653 10 9 2 652 Q2 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

84 A85 Q 10 4 3 7654

2 KQJ43 A7 AKJ98

As you can see, partner really does not have anything special for his actions and 4♥ is a great contract, making easily with the even heart break. So remember; be prepared to reevaluate your hand as the auction progresses and ‘don’t underbid small hands’! ■

READERS’ LETTERS CORRECTION While it is good to see Mr Atkinson's Uncle Leo returning to your pages, it is sad that he seems to be losing his memory, though fortunately not for the cards. In his Elegy Thomas Gray wrote: ‘Full many a flower (not ‘Rose’) is born to blush unseen....’. The good Baron might find it helpful to remember that ‘Full’ and ‘Flower’ are nicely alliterative. John Field Evans, Cambridge.

NO RE-DEALS I was surprised to read that the prevention of re-dealing of flat hands could generate such objections. When I used to direct, I did not support such re-deals because I thought it arrogant to assume that everyone would bid in the same way as the first table. But from my viewpoint, it also to helped to speed up play. There was usually one table persistently behind in play and a blank hand could bring the circuit back into line without the need to be dictatorial. Brian Isherwood, Chalfont St Peter, Bucks.

LET’S BE MORE POSITIVE Keep up the good work, we always enjoy the magazine, although perhaps getting a little tired of all the bad comments about the EBU P2P proposal from ‘readers’, but these comments are perhaps preferable to those about ‘dress in the club etc’.

It seems that in all things, people are ready to go into print with criticism, but rarely praise… you may not be a golfer, but the negatives about the European team in the recent Ryder Cup Match, were rather sad: our team played well, but the Americans just played better. It was a super week’s golf. Mr Gordon Lawrence, Wilmington, Kent.

BRIDGE OVERSEAS Apologies if this isn't the correct site for my comments. A varying number of international bridge 'Die Hards' who are partially resident on this Island get together each Tuesday, in the afternoon, to play bridge. Two (at least) of us receive BRIDGE every other month, but only if we are lucky as Thailand’s post is at best unreliable. It tells us, when reading the magazine, that we are not alone, other players have the same problems and experience the same difficulties as ourselves. Mr Bridge, especially your on-line version, helps us to understand the problems and read the possible solutions, as published by your experts, of bridge players throughout UK. My part in our 'Club' is one of administration. I suggest movements and competitions, depending on how many members arrive for a session, print out relevant documents and

calculate the scoring (which is done the next day and transmitted via email to all members. We don't have Bridgemate or any equivalent so everything is ‘Hands On’). We do not have a director as such, but any problem arising during play is quickly discussed and a solution arrived at which is binding. So what am I trying to say here? We are proud to say there is a bridge club on Koh Samui, even though it is very small. We are pleased to accept visitors and we will find a partner for single visitors. We feel an affection with Mr Bridge even though we are far from (UK) home. We appreciate the advice, articles, comments, stories and advertisements from Mr Bridge. Long may you continue. Martin Bagnall, Koh Samui, Thailand.

ANY OLD IRON I have today posted to you a packet of used stamps – freepost. I would also like to know if you collect silver foil, such as milk bottle tops etc., or maybe you could tell me who will accept such? P Ward, Nuneaton, Warwicks.

Let me see what I can raise with used stamps before starting into the salvage and recycling business.

AIDE MÉMOIRE As a new reader I find your magazine very interesting. But as an average player I

find a lot of it hard to grasp! So your new bridge player should hear how I got to grips with bidding. A set of blank postcards with all the calls listed, sheet by sheet, starting with opening bids and responding bids. You can refer to these each time, if other players have no objection. It certainly helps to fix the bids in your mind. Hope this helps. Mrs M Christie, Chingford.

JUDICIAL In response to Mr R Hill of Fleet, BRIDGE 91, ‘Over the Limit’ I expect good entries are granted a bit of judges’ license. Mr John Crosher, Royston, Herts.

MORE CORRECTION The quotation from Gray’s Elegy on page 38 of the current issue is incorrect. It is: ‘Full many a flower is born to blush unseen. And waste its sweetness on the desert air’ If Baron Leopold von Munchausen had any academic qualifications, they certainly weren’t in English literature! He has used the incorrect quotation once before in your publication and this is the second time I have written to correct it. Mind you, I think the aristocratic gentleman is a better player than I am! Mr Peter Mohan, Bedford.

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.

Page 47

Values supplied in 100s, higher values available as well as 1st and 2nd class (eg 1st class: 100 x 35p + 100 x 1p)

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

SHORTIES Please delete my name from your database, as I have recovered from bridge. Mr T. Johnson, Leicester.

Useful advice from pleasant experts. Fair balanced coverage of the EBU ‘Wars’. Mr Ian Potts, Harrogate.

Can we have a bridge poetry competition? Mr W F McCloskey, Belfast. Details next year.

I miss the small adverts listing items ‘For Sale’. Mr Nightingale, Maidstone.

Do you know how many players under the age of 30 are sent copies of BRIDGE? Miss Cook, Macclesfield.

If there are financial problems with free distribution I, for one, would willingly pay a regular sub. Mr R. Knight, Harlow.

I look forward to receiving your magazine and the first thing I do is Bernard Magee’s Bidding Quiz. Mrs Johnson, Amersham.

Do you ever hold bridge weekends at Bournemouth? Mrs Potter, Burgess Hill. See Marsham Court Hotel ads.

Could David Stevenson give a full description of the law on revokes? Mr W. J. Bartlett, Harrow.

An article on ‘Leading from weak suits when you have dangerous suits’ please. Mr Peel, Horsforth, Leeds.

Fewer bubble cartoons. Mr George Thornton, Colne.

An article on duplicate scoring would be appreciated. Mr Delaney, Taunton.

Any chance of including a regular cryptic bridgethemed crossword? Mr A Davies, Brixham. Starts in the next issue. On your weekends it would be appreciated if you sometimes played rubber/Chicago bridge. Mrs Fromm, London, N14. See the regular advert. Please stop the silly stories. They detract from the quality of the magazine. Mr Campbell, West Kilbride. I would like a brief ‘Rules for Rubber Bridge’. Is there such a thing? Mrs Cumming, Edinburgh. Please accept a quiz entry from a recycled teenager. Mr Juggins, Strood, Kent. I am delighted that Andrew Kambites has joined the magazine. His articles are a joy to read. Mrs A Buston, Banchory. Glad ‘Bubble’ captions down to one page. Sorry you plan to put it back to two! Mrs S Knapman, Dunblane. Try to carry on your magazine. If in trouble, launch a plea to readers. Mr Airey, Pangbourne. List long established adages often proven wrong. eg. ‘Declarer can do no wrong’. Mr Taylor, East Grinstead.

How about asking Andrew Robson to contribute? He may not be the ‘cruising’ type but he has so much to offer the aspiring player. Mrs G Yardley, Wirral. Can you please make the pictures of the contributors less dark and glowering? Mr A Low, Croydon, Surrey. Freddie North to explain more conventions used in the modern game. The page heading could be ‘The Locksmiths Key’. Mr Drummond, London NW1. Adverts listing people needing partners by club or area. Mrs Gunn, Gillingham, Kent. BRIDGE has improved recently and is full of interesting and useful material. Rather too many letters, though. Mr L Less, Suffolk. Quite So. I would like to buy eight bidding boxes, any chance of buying them through your magazine? Mrs J Parsey, Northwood. Try 01689 891122. 99.9% of the caption comments are a waste of space. We suggest you only print the best three. Mr and Mrs Potter, Seaton.

READERS’ LETTERS continued

UNBIN THEM I was a little surprised to read ‘Bin Them’ (Pamela Littlejohn’s Letter, October 2008). Our used cards are welcomed by local whist drives, jumble sales, old people’s homes prisons and playgroups. Mrs Anthea Carmichael, Barnstable, Devon.

MORE PASS OUTS With reference to Mr Hugh Williams’ letter in BRIDGE 91 about re-dealing passed hands, he writes ‘the re-deal prevents anybody who plays even small variations to standard Acol from using their bidding judgement. This is obviously to their disadvantage’. I fail to see what possible disadvantage there can be in not seeing a hand which has been redealt, but seeing a different deal instead, on which bidding judgement can be exercised. The other day, on two successive boards where I had passed with a flat hand and 9 or 10 points, the deal was thrown in (and I noticed in the traveller that the deal had been thrown in at most tables). We got an above average score on the first deal and a below average score on the second. It was sheer chance what score we got, and the only chance I had to exercise my ‘bidding judgement’ was in making a routine pass. I feel I have more reason to feel hard done by than a person who would have objected to having the hand re-dealt originally, despite being then given a probably more interesting hand in which to exercise ‘bidding judgement’. Peter Calviou, Amersham, Bucks.

Page 48

DON’T BIN THEM In answer to ‘Bin Them’ letter from Patrick Littlejohns, may I suggest that readers don’t throw all their cards away once they’ve got beyond a few uses; instead, send them off to some of our servicemen fighting abroad, with a friendly note attached. Mrs Hilary Hefferman, Welling, Kent.

LITTLE VOICE AID Hope the enclosed used postage stamps will be of use for your new charity, which I consider is a very good one. In the 1960’s, a friend of mine spent several years in Ethiopia working for the WHO, building and developing the new medical facilities there, which unfortunately were destroyed subsequently in the troubles. Heather Briggs, Portsmouth.

RE-REGISTRATION Maybe you could put some sort of code or date on the address label to tell people when they need to ‘renew’. This would help those like me who have no idea when they last contacted you. Mr J Jennings, Holt, Norfolk.

I have found the best memory jolt is not sending it – it is free after all.

YUK Re Irritating Habits, BRIDGE 91. One of the worst habits that I have come across is the person who licks his finger before taking out his bidding card. Name and address supplied.

CAREFUL NOW I went for a restful read of BRIDGE on my swing hammock in the sunshine (like one does) – when my eyes rested on my name in print I nearly fell off. Mrs Julia Farmer, Truro, Cornwall.

READERS’ LETTERS continued

friendly level. I wonder if we could have a bit more about rubber bridge. Mrs Janet Johnson, Reading.

HAVING NONE I would be grateful if any of your educated readers could tell me how one can possibly have ‘none’. Should the opposition be entitled to ask players to produce ‘none’ as proof that there is no revoke? I wonder also whether any of your readers might be interested in my own variation of Basic Acol?

BASIC ACOL My Blackwood’s Roman Key Card And my diamond’s multi-two And my bidding might be splintered If it hasn’t got a cue And if I’ve got two unbid suits I use a Sputnik double And I always blame my partner If I get myself in trouble And I use this complex bidding ‘Cos I like to win you see So if we don’t get any tops It can’t be due to me. Jack Bignold, South Croydon.

STILL TRYING I started playing in the Army at 18. I am now 85 and still no good. I particularly like the easy to read bold print in your magazine, such a boon for the over 80’s’ with macular degeneration. Mrs M Norman, Kettering.

CARD RELEASE Can nothing be done to stop a player just displaying the hand-held card towards the table centre? Placing the card down on the table is so much more acceptable. Mrs M D Jones, Hove.

SAME GAME Many of us retired and older players enjoy playing rubber and Chicago bridge at a

It really is the same game and there is nothing much different to say except when it is played for money.

TEXT ENLARGEMENT Thank you very much for your kindness ringing me and trying to help me with the enlargement of your magazine print. I really feel so sorry that I was not able to do the work on the computer that you suggested but did pass your information on, which I was so grateful to you for. Alas, I feel it wasn’t possible without a great deal of effort, I was told. Since that time I have contacted our local library and joy, they told me that it would be possible for them to enlarge on the photo copier from A4 – A3 size. Mrs Gardiner, Bognor Regis.

LIKE A PHOTO As I am not an e-mailer, may I use you to thank John Gardener most sincerely for his reply to my query about Lord Yarborough. It was exactly what I recall, and its origin comes as no surprise to me, though the detail is more specific. I came to know it in Beverley, East Yorkshire, in the 1950’s. Tony Barrett, Ipswich, Suffolk.

A YEAR ON We would like to go on one of your holidays – maybe abroad but we are inexperienced players – having only been learning 12 months. Any ideas? Iain Kirkman, Bovey Tracey, Devon.

Plan to go to Tunisia with Bernard Magee next November or even on the Harwich to Nice cruise. There will be a tutor on board dedicated to beginners.

Page 49

SHORTIES When will defence software be available? Mrs Cartwright, Balsall. I so look forward to the stamps from Mr Goff. It’s then fun matching them to the addressee! Mrs Carmichael, Devon. I like to follow the debate on the revision of the rules. Mr Derek Carter, Chester. Entry for your forthcoming Dictionary of Bridge Terms. Endplay: v.intr. Knowing when to stop. Mr Holden, Ottery St. Mary. It is refreshing to see bridge players stand up against the pomposity of decisions, often made unilaterally by the EBU. Mr Harris, Eastbourne. I have a copy of Freddie North’s’ book Learning Bridge – The Right Path Vol. 1 Bidding. Are there any further volumes and can you provide them, please. Mr H Heath, Reigate, Surrey. Sorry, no others. Thoroughly enjoyable publication – I hope the economic downturn won’t affect you too much. Mrs J Clark, Sawbridgeworth. Looking forward to my first Mr Bridge weekend at Barony Castle. Mrs Hosie, West Lothian. You will never be able to retire. Mrs E Salter, Christchurch. I do hope I can find some social chatty afternoon players as I have moved to Botley, near Southampton. Hilary Taylor ( 01489 786930. How about setting up an on-line service for re-registration? Mr Hamilton, Solihull. No, please write in. Have you stopped doing the tea towels? Mrs Nattrass, Pinner. No. Some are still listed. Do you sell duplicate bidding boxes? Mrs Hoy, Cardiff. No, try ( 01672 519219. To whom do I send used postage stamps? Mrs Farmery, Stockport. To me, c/o Ryden Grange.

I found a link to bridge articles in newspapers (free). http://bridgeindia. homestead.com /bridgecolumns.htm. Mr Bastable, Portsmouth. I love your coverage of the P2P issue. Mr Mullen, Basingstoke. Could you please arrange more holidays in Scotland? Mrs M Miners, Glasgow. Are you going to sell cards and cloths again? Mrs Ross, Leatherhead. I will only sell my unique products and services. I have read all the letters on P2P and the only comment I have to make is that I shall be paying at least four times my present subscription. Mrs P Davies, Sandbach. I am very interested in hearing about non-EBU club director training. Mr Barker, Bridport, Dorset. Remember we are not all interested in the EBU. Mr Paterson, Perthshire. Could you insert a permanent appendix containing definitions of such things as rule of 15/20/11 etc. It would be handy for quick reference. Mr Garnett, Keighley. I think the EBU changes things too often. Mr Thompson, Birmingham. Is the EBU the Enron for the card-playing world? Mr Aris, Axbridge, Somerset. I started to learn to play bridge when I retired and I wish I had not left it so late. Mrs B Stamper, Wirral. Is it possible to find a partner in the Enfield area? Margaret ( 0208 366 1518. I am also a fan of Clive Goff’s discounted stamps! Mrs Kath Street, Woking. Ring him on 0208 4224960 An article on Keycard Blackwood please. Mrs E N Lindley, Watford. We enjoy your magazine and also Mr Goffs stamps. Mary Pickering, Haslemere. Not so keen on all the letters and EBU stuff. Dr A Millar, Edinburgh.

READERS’ LETTERS continued

serve as the receipt. Ken Griffiths by email.

DON’T WORRY

AT BARONY CASTLE

MEMORABILIA

Eddleston by Peebles, Peebleshire, Scotland, EH45 8QWJ

Duplicate Weekends 2009 £209 per person full-board 6-8 Feb Slam Bidding - Ray Hutchinson 6-8 Mar Doubles

We have a set of score cards manufactured by Printator, England. Two red, two blue casings, they are in the style of the old-fashioned schoolroom slates with individual markers, all unused. Do they have any value? We do not want the money for ourselves, but would donate any payment to a local hospice.

I play rubber and Chicago. I find when I go to charity drives or other events where rubber is played, people say ‘Stop’. I do not play duplicate and do not approve of this! Mrs Eileen Barber, Moulton.

COMPENDIUM

Bridge players like to play bridge – and are not generally collectors.

Not all your articles are on the website. I would be interested in the explanations behind bridge sayings like ‘eight ever, nine never’, ‘one up, shut up’ being collected together. Mrs Ann O’Reilly, Bath.

WHY ALERT?

RE-USE THEM

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ BOOKING FORM _ _ _ _ _ _ _

When and how should one alert? Surely, if everyone is listening carefully, there is no need to alert. Or, am I missing something?

Please book me for ..... places,

Mrs C J Brooke, West Yorks.

Single ..... Double ..... Twin .....

USEFUL DRAW

Sorry to disagree with your editor but please don’t throw away your old packs of cards – put them to use. Your local infant school will probably take them for use in their junior classes – they help children enormously with number appreciation. Alternatively your local HMP will almost certainly jump at the chance to provide its inmates with an alternative pastime to watching TV. Mr Brian Welch by email. ■

23-25 Oct Suit Establishment 6-8 Nov Stayman & Transfers Improvers* - Ray Hutchinson

Ken Day by email.

20-22 Nov Hand Evaluation *Improvers’ Weekends are aimed at the novice player and/or those picking up the game after a long break.

♦ Full-board ♦ No single supplement ♦ Use of swimming pool and fitness suite

♦ All rooms with en-suite facilities ♦ Venue non-smoking ♦ Bidding quiz & two seminars

The McMillan Nurses came up with an idea to make use of old playing cards. Use them as raffle tickets (which cost money), and tear each card in half as and when it is sold, pop one half into the hat and the other half can

at the Barony Castle weekend(s) of .................................. Mr/Mrs/Miss ..................................................................... Address............................................................................... ............................................................................................ Postcode ............................................................................ ( ...................................................................................... Special requirements (these cannot be guaranteed, but we will do our best to oblige)

Single-Suited Design Pens

.......................................................................................... Please send a non-returnable deposit of £50 per person per place by cheque, payable to Mr Bridge. An invoice 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.

, Ryden Grange, Knaphill, Surrey GU21 2TH

( 01483 489961 Fax 01483 797302

Boxed Set of Four £19.95 Available from

e-mail: [email protected] website: www.holidaybridge.com

Ryden Grange,

Knaphill GU21 2TH ( 01483 489961 www.mrbridge.co.uk/mrbridge-shop

Page 50

READERS’ LETTERS ON THE EBU P2P SUSSEX SHAME I couldn’t agree more with Sandra Landy’s article on P2P in your August issue. As she comes from Sussex I hope she will put some pressure on the county to think again. Mrs Glynn, Shoreham, West Sussex.

WHAT DEMOCRACY? Would the Chairman of the EBU enlighten us with a few details to support his claim that ‘a truly democratic process has taken place’? Who comprised those who produced the 2-1 majority? If it was counties – it is worthless and irrelevant, and reminds me of the big union ‘block votes’ at Labour Party conferences. If it is 2-1 in terms of club committees, it is no better. If it is club committees, may we see a comprehensive list of clubs so that their individual members, who will pick up the tab, can see how their committees voted? Neither counties nor club committees will pay for members to play; it is individual members who would pay. A vote in favour by a county or club committee representing a smaller than average number of members cannot be deemed equal to a vote against by similar bodies representing a higher than average number of members. A similar disparity occurs when a vote in favour is carried in one club by a

narrow margin, whilst another club whose members had voted overwhelmingly against, is also counted as one vote. The only true democratic vote is by all individual members. I am a club member, with no aspiration to play at county levels (much less anything higher), so am not elite. The status quo, if that is what he means by the ‘old EBU’ suits me very well, and, I believe, many club members. Indeed, in the absence of comprehensive proof to the contrary, I believe that we non-elitist, statusquo preferring club members are the majority. Edward Gibbins, Alsager, Staffs.

SHAME It was kind of you to print such a flattering portrait of Mr Stocken to accompany his self-congratulatory reply to Sandra Landy. What is truly astonishing is that by calling the process truly democratic he seems to think that makes it so. Thank you for providing a forum, which English Bridge failed to do – shame on you, Elena. Lesley Colligan, Godalming, Surrey.

MORE DEMOCRACY Two letters in the October issue seemed to imply that the Essex Committee did not consult its members

democratically as to regards P2P. Actually the committee decided that this was not a county committee one, and that it was up to the clubs to consider the proposals and reply accordingly. All affiliated clubs were sent a letter inviting representatives to a meeting last September to discuss and give their opinion as to what they thought their club would do. Twenty-one clubs attended and a straw vote taken. A brief report and the result of the vote were put on the Essex website immediately and a copy sent to each club. The EBU questionnaire was sent to all clubs with a covering letter, and when returned their replies analysed. Fifty-one out of sixty clubs replied. A further meeting was held after the AGM in May, to which all members were invited, and again those clubs represented were invited to confirm or otherwise their possible decision as to affiliate from 2010 or not. Those not present were sent a further letter asking if they were still of the same opinion as to that given in the questionnaire. This was stated in the latest Newsletter sent to all Essex members personally. The last sentence reads ‘It is very important to get the most up-to-date information from clubs, before the Essex shareholders vote at the EGM in June’. A final figure for Clubs’ opinions, who surely consulted their members, was arrived at by two different methods – firstly a straight vote per club, and secondly a method of votes by size of club membership. By both methods the answer was a large percentage in favour of the new proposals.

Page 51

Clubs still have a chance to change their final vote, when contracts are sent out to them in 2009. They alone choose whether to reaffiliate. At no time have the personal opinions of the Essex Committee members been taken into account, except through their clubs. Right from the start, from the first letter sent to the clubs in July 2007, the views of the clubs have been paramount. The letter stated ‘Naturally, the Essex Committee is anxious to have the views of all its members and in particular those of its affiliated clubs...’ ‘We do need your involvement in this. It is vital to know your views’. Mrs M Curtis, General Secretary, Essex Contract Bridge Association.

SADLY LEAVING Oh, that there were more Sandra Landy’s...page 5 of BRIDGE for August. The club of which I am secretary (and generally does everything) will definitely be disaffiliating if P2P is introduced. This will result in the EBU losing out on one club affiliation fee, 15 (or so) membership fees and the sale of circa 4 books of local master points annually. Ok, so that’s only about £400 to £450 per annum and this will, in part, be mitigated by the P2P fees that some of our EBU members will pay when they play at another club (which would be affiliated) of which they are also members. However, I can assure the EBU that P2P income from our club and its members would, under the proposed new regime, be nowhere near what they are getting at the moment. Mr Peter Travers, Oddby, Leicester.

EBU LETTERS continued

MINORITY VOICE Re the EBU P2P proposals, it seems to me we have a similar situation here as we have nowadays whenever any new proposal is made, whether it is for forty two days detention for terrorist suspects, the MMR vaccine, GM crops, a coal-burning power station or a new bypass somewhere. A number of people will be actively promoting the project, a large number, probably the majority, will be more less in favour but not strongly so, and a number will be ‘don’t know’ or ‘couldn’t care less’. Then there will be a minority who are so vehement and vociferous in their opposition, so determined to impose their views on the majority that they will go to almost any lengths to stop the project even, as in the case of Lord Melchett and GM crops, committing acts of illegal vandalism. I don’t think any opponents of P2P have gone that far but they do seem to me to be completely OTT. Ignoring all the arguments as to whether a proper democratic process was followed by the EBU, it seems to me that a system which says ‘the more times you play the more you pay for membership’ is fairer than the present system, where someone who plays just once a week pays the same amount in subscription as someone who plays five times. I just cannot see why Sandra Landy and so many or perhaps so few others have got their knickers in such a twist over such a simple proposal. I allowed my membership of the EBU to lapse as I don’t play very often, didn’t like the amount of the annual subscription

combined with the county one and have long since stopped registering my local points, but I will rejoin willingly if my club approves P2P as I hope they will. Mr A J Glasgow, Birmingham.

DOING THE SUMS So the secret is out, the EBU wishes us to pay 29p per player, per session. So the club that I play at, will now have to find some extra hundreds of pounds per year depending on how many tables are in play for that particular night. Our club does not issue master points, nor are they worried about getting a magazine every two months, or even a diary. So as we average approximately twelve tables per evening of play, we will have the dubious honour now of giving the EBU monies that our club can use in a more social way. We have a Christmas lunch plus two wine-and-eats evenings and I know that the members of this club prefer this to having master points and this is why we are one of the successful clubs in Somerset. 12 tables (48 Players) * 50 weeks *29p =£696.00 This is not a bad little earner for doing so little; I wonder now that the cat is out of the bag whether, when other affiliated clubs do their sums, as we have, will they stay with the EBU? I believe that answer will be a resounding ‘no’. Les Borrett, Bawdrip, Somerset.

clearly not anti the EBU but concerned for its survival. She is against the ‘Pay to Play’ proposals and she makes her case persuasively. Peter was wrong to introduce an unwarranted personal comment in his response to her article. And so to my tale; one of biblical proportions. Mr Victor Savage, Hazlemere.

See adjacent column.

LAST WORD On September 22nd the slate of nominations for the EBU Board and Officers was posted on the EBU website. There had been no previous announcements to the members at large of the elections and certainly no canvassing the membership at large for nominations – it would take detailed studying of the company articles and the board procedures for an outsider to intervene. Why should the Officers bother to tell the members anyway? Ordinary members have no votes and they seem only to want us for our money, or as statistics to show what a big midden they crow over. Using this morally bankrupt method of nomination, Sally Bugden, who is driving perhaps the most potentially damaging and divisive changes in EBU membership policy that could be thought up, is to be returned unopposed to become chairman. Not in my name, Sally. Ned Paul, Twickenham. ■

NOT A PERSONAL ISSUE Peter Stocken criticises Sandra Landy because she points out that players whose club disaffiliates can join an affiliated club and play there once a year, thus becoming an EBU member. Sandra is

Page 52

THe Book oF T RUTH by Victor Savage And it came to pass that in the land where the granary stores were nearly empty and life was constrained by ASBOs and ebays there lived a sect called EBU. The leader of the sect was a Stocken from the Shire of York whose command was that all members should pay a tax called P2P. Many members of the sect were troubled by this. Many were saddened, many could not pay the tax. Many were old, fragile in health and weak. But one member, young in mind and active in spirit resolved to protest against the edict. She was Sandra, wife of Landy. Her testament was that as the chariot of the EBU grew in size, its wheels would fall off, and it would no longer bridge the gap between High Peter and his congress table and lowly conference pairs who would be banished to the wilderness. And yet, it may be – is the fancy fond – Pure play awaits them in the great beyond And they’ll be found when that bright morning breaks, Outbidding seraphs for celestial stakes.

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 and telephone number, and to send no attachments. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Freddie North Says

The Five Level Belongs to the opponents here are good reasons for leaving the five level to the opponents – unless they make exactly eleven tricks, you should do OK. If they make twelve tricks, they have missed a slam; if they make ten, they are going down. Rarely do you want to bid one more. We are going to concentrate here on the norm rather than the exceptions. A common scenario is the battle of the majors. Here is a typical example.

T

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Dealer South. Love All. ♠ 52 ♥ KQJ ♦ K Q J 10 6 ♣ 832 AKJ984 ♠ Q 10 7 N 3 ♥ 62 W E 94 ♦ A8732 S Q964 ♣ J 10 5 ♠ 63 ♥ A 10 9 8 7 5 4 ♦ 5 ♣ AK7

West

North

East

1♠ 4♠

2♦ 5♥

2♠ End

South 1♥ 3♥

After a routine first round of bidding, West embarks on an advance sacrifice as he thinks that 4♥ will succeed. This makes life difficult for North, who has not yet shown the heart support. Seeing all four hands, West was right. 4♥ does succeed, declarer’s losers being two spades and a diamond. On another layout, 5♥ would make, though it might still be right to defend. Trade the black threes and 5♥ is cold, with just one spade and one diamond to lose. 5♠ doubled would then go down three (because North can ruff a club) – too expensive at equal vulnerability.

My next deal, from a teams’ match, gave scope for shrewd judgement.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

My last deal raises several key points.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

2 4 A K Q 10 9 6 J 10 6 4 3 ♠ AQ85 ♠ ♥ A Q 10 8 6 2 ♥ N E W ♦ J2 ♦ S ♣ A ♣ ♠ K76 ♥ K97 ♦ 84 ♣ KQ952

Dealer East. Game All. ♠ AQ853 ♥ 75 ♦ 3 ♣ Q J 10 8 4 742 ♠ Void 62 ♥ KQ943 N W E AKQ642 ♦ 10 9 8 7 S K5 ♣ 9762 ♠ K J 10 9 6 ♥ A J 10 8 ♦ J5 ♣ A3

West

North

2♦ Pass

4♠ 5♠

East Pass 5♦ End

West 1♥ Dbl2 Dbl

South 1♠ Pass

North 2NT1 Pass End

East Pass 4♠

J 10 9 4 3 J53 753 87

South 4♣ 5♣3

This shows at least 5-5 in the minors. West has a good hand with both majors and doubles for take-out. 3 Since the major-suit kings may be no use defensively, South bids one more. 1 2

At the first table, West led the ace of diamonds and everything hinged on his next play. After some thought, he found the heart switch. Declarer had to go down when the club finesse failed. West

North

2♦ End

4♠

East Pass 5♦

South 1♠ Dbl

At the second table, South took the view that his two outside aces and lack of extra shape augured against the five level. He doubled in advance of his partner to express such thoughts. The spotlight was now on North, who found the only killing lead – a trump. South ducked and declarer overtook to lead a heart to the king. South ducked again, won the first club with the ace and returned a trump. Unable to ruff three spades in dummy or to set up the hearts, declarer finished one down.

Page 53

With no void in dummy, declarer had to lose three aces to go one down in 5♣. This raises the question ‘was the bid a good save or was it a phantom?’ Suppose the defenders lead three rounds of diamonds against 4♠. Best is to ruff with the queen and knock out the king of spades. This creates a trump entry for leading the jack of hearts. Can declarer recover if dummy ruffs the diamond low? Yes, but he must time things differently. Dummy leads the queen of spades, which holds. Next comes the queen of hearts, which also holds. South must then capture the ten of hearts. Now declarer has an entry to finesse in trumps and can win the third round in dummy to reach the hearts. We may not know whether 5♣ was on target but the final double was spot on.■

GLOBAL TRAVEL INSURANCE

Amelia House, Crescent Road, Worthing West Sussex, BN11 1RL. ( 01903 203933 Fax 01903 211106 Email [email protected] Website www.globaltravelinsurance.co.uk SUMMARY OF COVER

MAIN EXCLUSIONS AND CONDITIONS

The following represent the Significant and Key Features of the policy including Exclusions and Limitations that apply per person. A full copy of the policy document is available on request.

The following represents only the main exclusions. The policy document sets out all of the conditions and exclusions. A copy of the full policy wording is available on request in writing prior to application.

CANCELLATION & CURTAILMENT up to

£1,500

If you have to cancel or cut short your trip due to illness, injury, redundancy, jury service, the police requiring you to remain at or return to your home due to serious damage to your home, you are covered against loss of travel and accommodation costs. Policy Excess Standard Policy Excess £50. For persons aged 61 to 70 years the excess is increased to £100. For persons aged 71 to 90 years the excess is increased to £150. See section headed Increased Excess for Pre Existing Medical Conditions for increased excesses applicable to claims arising from pre-existing medical conditions.

PERSONAL ACCIDENT up to

£15,000

A cash sum for accidental injury resulting in death, loss of sight, loss of limb or permanent total disablement. No Policy Excess.

MEDICAL AND OTHER EXPENSES up to

£5,000,000

Including LIFELINE 24 HOUR WORLDWIDE MEDICAL EMERGENCY SERVICE

(a) The cost of hospital and other emergency medical expenses incurred abroad, including additional accommodation and repatriation expenses. Limit £250 for emergency dental treatment and £5,000 burial/cremation/transfer of remains. Limit £1,000 for transfer of remains to your home if you die in the UK. Policy Excess £75 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to £150. For persons aged 61 to 70 years the excess is increased to £150 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to £500. For persons aged 71 to 90 years the excess is increased to £300 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to £1,000. See section headed Increased Excess for Pre Existing Medical Conditions for increased excesses applicable to claims arising from pre-existing medical conditions. (b) HOSPITAL BENEFIT up to £300 An additional benefit of £15 per day for each day you spend in hospital abroad as an in-patient. No Policy Excess.

PERSONAL LUGGAGE, MONEY & VALUABLES up to

£2,000

Covers accidental loss, theft or damage to your personal luggage subject to a limit of £200 for any one article, pair or set and an overall limit of £200 for valuables such as cameras, Jewellery, furs, etc. Luggage and valuables limited to £1500. Delayed luggage, up to £75. Policy Excess £50. Money, travel tickets and travellers cheques are covered up to £500 against accidental loss or theft (cash limit £250). Policy Excess £50. No cover is provided for loss or theft of unattended property, valuables or money or for loss or theft not reported to the Police within 24 hours of discovery.

PASSPORT EXPENSES up to

£200

If you lose your passport or it is stolen whilst abroad, you are covered for additional travel and accommodation costs incurred in obtaining a replacement. No Policy Excess.

DELAYED DEPARTURE up to

£1,500

If your outward or return trip is delayed for more than 12 hours at the final departure point to/from UK due to adverse weather conditions, mechanical breakdown or industrial action, you are entitled to either (a) £20 for the first 12 hours and £10 for each further 12 hours delay up to a maximum of £60, or (b) the cost of the trip (up to £1,500) if you elect to cancel after 12 hours delay on the outward trip from the UK. Policy Excess £50 (b) only.

MISSED DEPARTURE up to

£500

Additional travel and accommodation expenses incurred to enable you to reach your overseas destination if you arrive too late at your final UK outward departure point due to failure of the vehicle in which you are travelling to deliver you to the departure point caused by adverse weather, strike, industrial action, mechanical breakdown or accident to the vehicle. No Policy Excess.

PERSONAL LIABILITY up to

MAIN HEALTH EXCLUSIONS: Insurers will not pay for claims arising 1. Where you or any person upon whose health the trip depends are undergoing tests for the presence of a medical condition receiving or on a waiting list for or have knowledge of the need for treatment at a hospital or nursing home. 2. From any terminal illness suffered by you or any person upon whose health the trip depends. 3. From any reoccurrence of any psychiatric disorder, anxiety state and/or depression suffered by you or any person upon whose health the trip depends. 4. From pregnancy or childbirth. 5. If you are travelling against the advice of a medical practitioner or for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment abroad. 6. From any medical condition for which you or any person upon whose health the Trip depends has within 12 months prior to the date of booking of each Trip (for Cancellation) or the date of departure of each Trip (other sections) been diagnosed with a medical condition or have received treatment in a hospital.

OTHER GENERAL EXCLUSIONS Claims arising from 1. Winter sports, any hazardous pursuits, any work of a non sedentary nature. 2. Self-inflicted injury or illness, suicide, alcoholism or drug abuse, sexual disease. 3. War, invasion, acts of foreign enemies, hostilities or warlike operations, civil war, rebellion, Terrorism, revolution, insurrection, civil commotion, military or usurped power but this exclusion shall not apply to losses under Section 3 – Medical Expenses unless such losses are caused by nuclear, chemical or biological attack, or the disturbances were already taking place at the beginning of any Trip. 4. Failure or fear of failure or inability of any equipment or any computer program. 5. Consequential loss of any kind. 6. Bankruptcy / liquidation of any tour operator, travel agent, airline, transportation company or accommodation supplier. 7. Travelling to countries or regions where the FCO or WHO has advised against travel. 8. Your failure to contact the Medical Screening Line if travelling in North or Central America or the Caribbean.

POLICY EXCESSES: The amount of each claim for which insurers will not pay and for which you are responsible. The excess as noted in the policy summary applies to each and every claim per insured person under each section where an excess applies.

Increased Excess for Pre Existing Medical Conditions

If you are traveling to North or Central America or the Caribbean you must first contact the Medical Screening Line in order to establish whether we can provide cover for your trip. If you are accepted then the following levels of excess will apply and you will receive written confirmation that you are covered for the trip. The number to call is:

0870 9063142 Unless you are traveling to North or Central America or the Caribbean, there is no need to advise us of your pre existing medical conditions. Provision for the acceptance of pre existing medical conditions has been made by the application of increased excesses in the event of claims arising. For claims arising from the any of your pre-existing medical conditions, other than those that are specifically excluded, the excess is further increased as follows: Under the Cancellation & Curtailment section – double the normal excess. Under the Medical & Other Expenses section – For persons aged 60 years or less the excess is increased to £500 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to £1,000. For persons aged 61 to 70 years the excess is increased to £1,000 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to £2,000. For persons aged 71 to 90 years the excess is increased to £1,500 unless travelling within North or Central America or the Caribbean when increased to £3,000.

PREMIUM RATING SCHEDULE

£2,000,000

Covers your legal liability for injury or damage to other people or their property, including legal expenses (subject to the laws of England and Wales). Policy Excess £250.

LEGAL EXPENSES up to

£25,000

To enable you to pursue your rights against a third party following injury. No Policy Excess.

GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS 1. United Kingdom

England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, including all islands comprising the British Isles (except the Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland).

2. Europe MEMBER OF THE

Area 1 and Continental Europe west of the Ural mountain range, all countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea (except Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Libya & Syria), the Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Madeira, The Canaries and The Azores.

3.

Worldwide excluding North America

Areas 1 & 2 and All countries outside of the above (except the continent of North America, countries comprising Central America and the Caribbean Islands).

4. Worldwide including North America

Areas 1,2 & 3 and The United States of America, Mexico and other countries comprising Central America, Canada, Cuba and the Caribbean Islands.

1 - 3 days 4 & 5 days 6 -10 days 11-17 days 18-24 days 25-31 days Each + 7 days or part thereof

✄

SCHEDULE OF PREMIUMS Valid for policies issued up to 31/3/09 and for travel up to 31/12/09. Areas 1 & 2 - Applicable per person up to age 90 years on the date of return to the UK. Areas 3 & 4 - Applicable per person up to age 80 years on the date of return to the UK.

Area 1 Area 2 Area 3 Area 4 £11.70 £17.90 £37.60 £54.20 £14.10 £22.60 £47.30 £68.10 £16.40 £30.40 £64.10 £91.80 £18.80 £33.30 £71.30 £102.70 £21.10 £38.30 £80.20 £115.60 £23.40 £43.60 £91.30 £131.50 £ 4.20 £ 8.60 £21.50 £30.90 (maximum period of 120 days)

Suitable for individual round trips up to 4 months duration that start and finish in the UK arranged by

Global Travel Insurance Amelia House, Crescent Road, Worthing, West Sussex, BN11 1RL ( 01903 203933 Fax 01903 211106 SINGLE TRIP APPLICATION FORM Please FULLY complete the following in BLOCK CAPITALS. Once complete, return the application panel direct to Global Travel Insurance with a cheque or with card details entered. Insurance is not effective until a Policy has been issued. Please allow at least 5 days before you need to travel.

All premiums include the Government Insurance Premium Tax (IPT), which is 17.5% and is subject to variation.

PREMIUM ADJUSTMENTS

Details of the Applicant

All age adjustments apply to the age on the date of return to the UK The following adjustments apply ONLY to trips in excess of 31 days for all persons aged 65 years and over Geographical Area Area 2 Europe Area 3 Worldwide excl. North America Area 4 Worldwide incl. North America

Single Trip Travel Insurance

Title (Mr/Mrs/Miss)

Premium Increase Plus 50% (1.5 times) Plus 100% (2 times) Plus 200% (3 times)

Initials

Surname House Number/Name

Infants up to 2 years inclusive are FREE subject to being included with an adult paying a full premium.

Street Name

Children 3 to 16 years inclusive are HALF PRICE subject to being included with an adult paying a full premium. Unaccompanied children pay the adult rate.

Town Name

Family Rate is 2.75 TIMES that of the adult price. A FAMILY is 2 adults and their dependant children under the age of 16 traveling with the adults residing at the same address.

Postcode

Sports & Activities – Contact us for a quotation as we can cover a wide range of sporting and other activities.

Telephone No.

Group Discounts – Contact us for discounts available starting at 10 persons.

Date of leaving Home

STATUS DISCLOSURE

Date of arrival Home

Global Travel Insurance Services Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and our status can be checked on the FSA Register by visiting www.fsa.gov.uk/register or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.

Introducer

This insurance is underwritten by AXA Insurance UK plc. Registered in England No. 78950. Registered address: 5 Old Broad Street, London EC2N 1AD. AXA Insurance UK plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Mr Bridge

Geographical Area - See Premium Panel (1,2,3 or 4)

If you have a complaint about the sale of this insurance, you must first write to the Managing Director of Global Travel Insurance Services Ltd. Subsequently, complaints may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. If we are unable to meet our liabilities you may be entitled to compensation under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

1

£

INSURANCE PRODUCT SUITABILITY

2

£

3

£

4

£

5

£

6

£

Names of all persons to be insured

This insurance is suitable for persons whose Demands and Needs are those of a traveller whose: 1 Individual round trip starts and finishes in the UK and is of no more than 4 months duration. 2 Age is 90 years or less and is normally a resident of the United Kingdom. As this leaflet contains the Key Features of the cover provided, it constitutes provision of a statement of demands and needs. If you would like more information or are unsure of any details contained herein, you should ask Global Travel Insurance Services Ltd for further advice.

INSURANCE PRODUCT DISCLOSURE

Credit/Debit Card Details

Premium

TOTAL PREMIUM £

Card No

Cancellation Rights This is your insurance summary. A full policy wording will be sent to you on receipt of your application form and the required premium. Please read it carefully to ensure it meets your requirements.

Start Date

If the cover does not meet your requirements, please notify us within 14 days of receiving your policy documents and return all your documents for a refund of your premium. If, during this 14-day period, you have travelled, made a claim or intend to make a claim, then we can recover all costs that you have used for those services. Please note that your cancellation rights are no longer valid after this initial 14 day period.

End Date

Issue No

Security Code DECLARATION On behalf of all persons listed in this application, I agree that this application shall be the basis of the Contract of Insurance. I agree that Insurers may exchange information with other Insurers or their agents. I have read and understood the terms and conditions of the insurance, with which all persons above are in agreement and for whom I am authorized to sign.

Claims Claims are handled by Towergate Chase Parkinson, PO Box 416, West Byfleet, Surrey KT14 7LF who act on behalf of the Insurers and not the customer in relation to any claim. The telephone number is 0870 906 3144. Applicable Law You and we are free to choose the laws applicable to this policy. As we are based in England, we propose to apply the laws of England and Wales and by purchasing this policy, you have agreed to this.

Signed ............................................................. Date....................... The form MUST be signed by one of the persons to be insured on behalf of all persons to be insured.

✄

For essential travel advice and tips visit the Foreign Office website, www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo or call 020 7008 0232.

Age

Recommended by

Insurance for Bridge Clubs (Arranged by Moore Stephens Insurance Brokers Ltd.) What is the purpose of Members Club Protection Insurance? With the ease with which allegations of negligence can become made through ‘no win no fee’ organisations. Members Club Protection Insurance is there to offer financial protection to the Bridge Club’s Committee as well as Club members against the legal costs involved in a liability claim being made, either by another Club member or the public. Whilst the Bridge Club may feel the chances of a liability claim being made are remote, nevertheless, just the cost of denying liability can be very expensive. It is for this very reason that a number of Bridge Club Committees recognise the need to insure against the substantial costs, time and effort incurred in defending their Club against any potential claim. In other words, let the insurer on the Bridge Club's behalf deal with all the claims correspondence, and if necessary they will settle the claim.

What does it cover? Property Damage: The Bridge Club’s equipment or property £ 2,500 (Single Article Limit £750) Public Liability: Offers Protection against your Bridge Club’s legal liability for bodily injury to members of the public during the period of insurance up to £5,000,000. Employers Liability: Offers Protection against your Bridge Club’s legal liability as an employer for bodily injury to an employee during the period of insurance up to £10,000,000. Bridge Club Money Cover: At a Bridge Club members’ homes: £375. At a Bridge Club’s premises outside meeting hours: £ 375. At a Bridge Club’s premises during meeting hours: £750. Policy Excess £25.00.

How much does it cost? For Bridge Clubs with up to 100 members meeting twice per week, the annual premium is £63.50 this year. Our scheme insurance runs from 1st November for the following twelve months. Provided the standard cover shown above is sufficient for your Bridge Club please complete the form below and return it to us with your cheque for £63.50. For Clubs with more than 100 members or meeting more than twice weekly please contact us on 020 7515 5270.

✄ Bridge Clubs with up to 100 members and meeting up to twice a week A. Total Membership of our Bridge Club is ………………………….. Persons B. Bridge Club member’s ages range between ………….….. and …….………… C. Has your Bridge Club ever suffered any loss or damage whether the Club was insured or not? YES/NO D. Has your Bridge Club ever suffered a liability claim whether the Club was insured or not?

YES/NO

E. I confirm our Club activities are confined to Bridge Club meetings and matches with neighbouring Bridge Clubs. All our Club activities are consistent with what one could expect of a Bridge Club and do not include any hazardous activities. If the applicant is unsure of what constitutes a hazardous activity please call us for a fuller explanation on 020 7515 5270. YES/NO Club Name ..................................................................................................................................................................... Club Officer’s Name Mr/Mrs/Miss ................................................................................................................................ Address............................................................................................................................................................................ .....................................................................................................Post Code .................................................................. Email ..........................................................................................( ................................................................................. Please complete the application form above in FULL (ring each answer) giving full details of your Bridge Club’s activities as a separate statement, if necessary, and return it with your cheque for £63.60 to: Moore Stephens Insurance Brokers Ltd., 6 Raleigh House, Admirals Way, Waterside, London E14 9SN.

✄

Data Protection Act: All personal information supplied by you will be treated in confidence by Moore Stephens Insurance Brokers Ltd and will not be disclosed to any third parties except where your consent has been received or where permitted by law. Moore Stephens Insurance Brokers Ltd may pass our personal data to Sterling Insurance Company Limited for processing on its behalf. The law applicable: The parties to the Policy have the right to choose the law applicable to the Policy. Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing any dispute concerning the interpretation of the Policy shall be governed and construed in accordance with English law and shall be resolved within the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Liz McGowan Says

Second Hand Plays Low econd hand plays low’ means that the second player to a trick plays a small card. This lets partner, who plays last to the trick, make the best use of his high cards, while you keep yours for later use. Take this layout:

‘S

♣ A 10 6 2 N

♣ K84

E

W S

♣ J93

♣ Q65 N

Lead: ♣3

E

W S

♣ K 10 4

Playing low from dummy ensures two tricks. Playing the queen will yield just one if West holds the jack or ace-jack. Second hand low is also wise here:

Removing the ten, as on E and F, alters the picture. This time, you hop up with dummy’s honour. You hope that West has led from K-Q-x-x on E or, on F, from K-x-x-x. If the honour does not score at trick one, it never will. If, on F, East has the king, he will not play it on a low card but will finesse instead. This deal shows both sides of the coin:

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

.

♣ Q75

If South leads the five and West plays the king ‘to force out the ace’, declarer makes three club tricks instead of two. Declarer probably plans to play the ace and back towards his queen. If so, West makes his king and East makes his jack later. If, instead, declarer intends to finesse the ten, East makes the jack and the defenders still make another trick. Playing second hand low ensures that partner’s cards pull their weight. If East cannot beat dummy’s ten, declarer has ♣Q-J-5, his finesse will succeed whichever card West plays. Another example:

A ♣ J5

B ♣ K5

N

N W

E

W

♣ Q62

♣ J84

Playing low on West’s three ensures you one trick – dummy only plays high if you are desperate for an entry or, on B, if you are very keen to gain the lead.

C ♣ J5

D ♣ Q5 N

N

♣ Q 10

E S

S

W

W

E

E S

S N

♣ K943

W

E S

♣J76

♣ A 10 4

♣ A 10 6

♣ A852

If South, playing in 4♠, leads the two of clubs, West may be tempted to grab his king before the rats get at it. That is not the optimum play. Most likely East has the jack – with A-J-x-x, declarer would surely finesse. If West plays second hand low smoothly, dummy plays the ten and East scores his jack – declarer makes only one club trick with his ace. Declarer plays second hand low also.

On C and D, low from dummy on West’s three lead ensures a second trick because of the power of the ten.

E ♣ J5

F ♣ Q5 N

N W

W

E

E S

S

♣ A42

♣ A62

Page 55

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AJ75 J4 J96 J843

K 10 3 N 10 8 6 5 3 E W Q42 S 10 5 ♠ 42 ♥ AK2 ♦ A8753 ♣ AK6

West

North

East

Pass Pass

1♠ 3NT

Pass End

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q986 Q97 K 10 Q972

South 1♦ 2NT

West leads the heart five and declarer tries dummy’s jack – his only chance to score a trick with it is that West has led away from the queen. This time, East covers with the queen, so declarer wins with the ace and leads a low diamond towards dummy. West must remember the maxim and play low nonchalantly: if he grabs his queen, the defenders make only one diamond trick – and declarer makes his contract. Of course, West may not make a trick at all if South has led from ♦A-K-8-3. Even in that case, all is not lost. So long as West plays low smoothly, declarer may conclude that West cannot have the queen and insert dummy’s nine, losing to East’s ten. ■

Dave Huggett Says

Don’t Rush to Take Finesses t takes a new player ages to gain the confidence to take a finesse for the first time but, once the habit kicks in, it can become an obsession. Look at the following deal, playing teams or rubber:

I

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

KJ92 Q3 985 10 9 6 2

W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A73 J76 Q64 AJ75 N

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q 10 8 K 10 9 5 2 J 10 2 Q3

654 A84 AK73 K84

3NT looks obvious. West leads the two of spades, bringing good news and bad news. The bad news is that they have found your weakest suit; the good news is that you expect the suit to break 4-3 as they are playing fourth-highest leads. There can be little point in holding up, so you win and play three rounds of diamonds, happy to see the diamond suit break evenly. A count of top tricks reveals that you need only three clubs for your contract. The correct way to do this is to play off the ace and the king; after that, lead low towards the jack if the queen hasn’t appeared. This means that you can cater for queen doubleton offside as in the diagram. If the diamonds had not broken evenly, you would have needed clubs to break 3-3 with the finesse working. The above example was a matter of playing with the odds, but sometimes there are other factors to consider. It may well be that you are anxious to keep one particular hand off lead. This objective might cause you to think twice about finessing. Assume rubber or teams scoring on our next deal.

83 A Q 10 5 2 832 J 10 5 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

KQ6 764 AK65 763 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J 10 7 4 2 93 Q7 Q982

A95 KJ8 J 10 9 4 AK4

You are in 3NT. The lead is the five of hearts, which goes to the nine and your jack. It looks like West has all the top hearts, making it your priority to keep East off lead. Again, if you count your winners, you can see that you need only three diamond tricks, not four. This means it must be better to play off the two top diamonds in case the queen is doubleton offside. You do not mind losing a trick if West has Q-x-x.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K 10 7 2 K 9843 Q J 10 2

W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

J96 J 10 9 A65 K974

84 AQ753 K J 10 2 A8

You are in 4♥ and win the club lead with your ace. You have two losers in the minors and maybe a spade loser. If you have to lose a spade, you cannot afford to lose a trump. So test the spade suit by playing a spade to the queen.

Page 56

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣ ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

92 KJ42 Q982 J75

A Q 10 6 875 A75 K64 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AQ53 8642 Q7 653 N

You take this finesse early because it dictates how you should play the hearts. With now only two losers outside of trumps, you can afford a trump loser. The safety play is to lay down the ace first, not to take the finesse. The singleton king offside means you hold your trump losers to one, while taking the unnecessary finesse would cause you to have two. Of course, if the play of the trump ace draws small cards, you would cross to dummy with a spade and lead towards the queen of hearts. If the spade finesse failed, you would need East to hold king doubleton in trumps.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

83 963 J 10 6 3 9832

KJ754 A Q 10 K4 A Q 10

You arrive in 6♠ and get a trump lead. With eleven tricks on top, it ought to be clear that the extra trick can come only from hearts. However, if you take two heart finesses early on, you will find the outcome disappointing. You have to take a finesse in hearts it is true – but only at the right time. So draw trumps, play the two top diamonds and ruff a diamond in hand; then play three clubs ending in dummy. Only now, lead a heart to the ten. West wins cheaply but has no safe exit: a heart lead is into your tenace, while anything else gives you a ruff and discard. Either way, you will have ensured your contract. ■

Andrew Kambites Says

Look Before You Leap to 4NT uctions that start 1♠-Pass-4NT (Blackwood) make me cringe. This is not the usual preaching on the faults of using Blackwood without a control in every suit. Most good bridge auctions take place when one player makes a limit bid, telling partner his strength. His partner, knowing the combined assets, becomes the boss. Blackwood takes control of the auction. If you use Blackwood, you reduce partner to the role of answering your questions and accepting your decisions. How can you do this when you have no idea whether he has a bare minimum or a strong opening hand, one almost worth an Acol two-bid? The upcoming layouts show how players misuse Blackwood regularly.

A

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K865 A76 K654 AQ E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

AJ432 QJ4 A32 43

West

North

East

Pass Pass

4NT 5♠

Pass End

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

South 1♠ 5♥

Presumably, North thinks he is too strong just to insist on game. However, to ask for aces and then sign off in 5♠ when the response confirms they are all present, means that the partnership will always play in 5♠ whatever partner holds! As it happens, 5♠ is too high. Indeed, it is easy to envisage how declarer could lose a trick in each suit.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

2 KQ43 AKQJ AKQ3 N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K865 A76 K654 AQ

AQJ65 A J 10 2 42 84

N W

E

West

North

East

Pass Pass Pass

4NT 5NT 6NT

Pass Pass End

S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A Q 10 4 3 2 2 AQ3 KJ2

Although 7♠ is cold, what could South do but pass his partner’s sign off in 5♠? I am not suggesting North should bid the grand slam over 5♠. Indeed, my general stance is to stress the desirability of avoiding grand slams unless you are 100% sure. However, a sensible start to the auction should get you to at least 6♠.

N W

In the absence of any special methods, North should have responded with a quiet 2♦. South would then have rebid 2♠, showing a minimum opening bid. North should then bid just 4♠. To see just how bad this use of 4NT is, the layout could have been as below and the bidding would be identical.

West

North

East

Pass Pass Pass

2♦ 4NT 5NT

Pass Pass …

South 1♠ 3♠ 5♥

Do you see the difference? This time, South has had a chance to show that he has better than a minimum opening bid with a six-card spade suit. Now North has every reason to believe his side is in slam territory and can rebid 4NT sensibly. Even if an ace was missing, he should later bid 6♠ on general values. Here is our last premature leap to 4NT:

Page 57

South 1♠ 5♥ 6♣

North is guessing when he bids 6NT. No doubt he congratulates himself when he takes the spade finesse for thirteen tricks and it fails. Of course, once South has opened the bidding, North knows there are ample points for a slam. However, not only did North not wait for South to show his strength; he committed the cardinal sin of taking control of the auction with Blackwood before trumps were settled. Now see what happens if North bides his time. West

North

East

Pass Pass Pass Pass

2♣ 4NT 5NT 7♥

Pass Pass Pass End

South 1♠ 2♥ 5♥ 6♣

It might not have turned out so well for North. If South had rebid 2♠ then North would have bid to 6NT as he did in our first auction. In practice, when South rebids hearts, North can envisage a thirteenth trick if hearts are trumps. ■

ANSWERS TO THE DEFENCE QUIZ ON PAGE 13 by JULIAN POTTAGE ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

1.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 5 2 A 10 6 4 2 J72 10 8 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

West Pass

You lead the ♣5. Partner wins with the ♣A and South drops the ♣K. Back comes the ♦9, covered by the ♦K.

AQJ94 Q9 A84 KJ3 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

N W

E S

K76 K83 Q63 Q954

83 J75 K 10 9 5 A762

North 1♠ 2NT

East Pass Pass

South 1NT 3NT

End You lead the ♥4 to the ♥9, ♥K and ♥5. Partner returns the ♥8, to which South follows with the ♥7. Firstly, who do you think holds the jack of hearts? This is easy. With the king-jack, partner would win the first trick with the jack, not the king. You cannot, therefore, run the first five tricks. You can hope, though, to find partner with the three of hearts. The return of the eight is consistent with K-8-3. Of course, if you take your ace and clear the suit, you will never get in to make your long hearts. The solution is to duck. This way, when partner gets in with the spade king or (on another layout) the club ace, you will make three more heart tricks to beat the contract.

2.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Q 10 5 2 10 A75 Q 10 8 5 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

9 A9642 Q J 10 8 4 63 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

N W

E S

J86 K73 93 AJ974

AK743 QJ85 K62 K

West

North

East

Pass Pass

1NT 4♥

Pass End

South 1♠ 2♥

Do you want to grab the ace of diamonds in case the king is bare? This is not a good idea. For one thing, partner would most likely return the six from 9-6-3-2. For another, it is not very likely that South has two singletons. Taking the ace in case partner is the one with the singleton is not a good idea either. South, who has shown five spades and four hearts in the bidding and has already played a club, cannot have four diamonds. The thing to do is to play for the nine to be top of a doubleton diamond. Duck the trick, playing the seven to encourage. This way, partner can come in with the king of hearts, play a diamond to your ace and score a diamond ruff.

3.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

K874 10 8 7 5 2 A75 10 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 2 A9 K Q J 10 8 4 Q62 ♠ N ♥ W E ♦ S ♣ AJ5 QJ3 92 KJ953

West

North

East

Pass

3NT

End

Q963 K64 63 A874

4.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

10 8 3 10 4 A75 K 10 8 5 2 ♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

West Pass End South 1NT

You lead the ♥5. Partner wins with the ♥K and returns the ♥6, as South follows with the ♥3 and ♥J. After the ♥A wins, declarer calls for the ♦K from dummy, on which partner plays the ♦6. Have you worked out the heart position? With the king-queen, partner would have played the queen at trick one (lowest from touching honours in third seat). Clearly, you cannot take the ace of diamonds and run the hearts. Since you are going to have to part with your ace of diamonds before South’s second heart stopper has gone, you must accept that the heart suit is not going to run. Perhaps you can arrange for a similar fate to befall dummy’s diamonds. If partner has the king or ace of clubs, declarer has no way of getting to dummy except in diamonds.

Page 58

To shut out the diamond suit you want to play your ace on the same trick as declarer runs out of the suit. The 1NT opening tells you that this is not the current trick. If anyone has a singleton diamond, it is East. Having ducked the first diamond, you expect to see a second round of the suit. To know what to play you simply watch to see whether all follow. When they do, you take your ace. It would be wrong to hold up twice as then declarer might switch to clubs, making four tricks in clubs, two hearts and a spade. Only if East shows out on the second diamond do you hold up your ace until the third round.

J72 A6 K Q J 10 8 4 J9 ♠ N ♥ W E S ♦ ♣ AK5 KQ95 62 Q643

North 1♦ 2♦

East Pass Pass

Q964 J8732 93 A7

South 1♥ 3NT

You lead the ♣5. Partner wins the ♣9 with the ♣A and returns the ♣7, as South follows low once more. On each of the first three deals, you held up (ducked) an ace. On the first two, you did so to maintain a link to partner’s hand. On the third, you did so to cut declarer off from dummy. Do you want to duck again? A glance at the diagram should tell you the outcome if you duck. Partner does not have the hopedfor third club. After the jack wins the second trick, declarer still has a stopper with Q-x and makes the contract. Here your good club spots (the ten and eight are equals with the nine gone) and your sure entry in the ace of diamonds mean you need not worry about trying to give partner a way to reach your hand. You should win the club return with the king and continue with the eight (or ten). When you come in with your ace of diamonds, you can play clubs from the top and run enough tricks to beat the contract. ■

Mike Wenble Says

Count Your Losers as Declarer n some deals, it is better to count losers than winners. This is not simply because there are fewer of them; counting losers can often be the prelude to devising a plan for disposing of them. Take this deal:

O

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Dealer South. Love All. Teams. ♠ AQ ♥ A K 10 ♦ K763 ♣ 9872 J 10 9 8 3 2 ♠ K765 N 32 ♥ J8754 W E A ♦ 9 S KQJ5 ♣ 10 6 4 ♠ 4 ♥ Q96 ♦ Q J 10 8 5 4 2 ♣ A3

The bidding was fast and furious. South opened 3♦, West bid 3♠, North bid 3NT and East 4♠. This went round to North, who bid 5♦. All passed and West led the king of clubs. South counted his losers. One in clubs (the three), one in diamonds (the suit is solid apart from the ace) and none in the majors (the hearts are solid and the ace of spades faces a singleton) gave a total of two. In 5♦ at teams or rubber bridge, having two losers was fine. Declarer simply won the first club and knocked out the ace of trumps. West won and cashed a club, but declarer could ruff the third round of clubs and claim the rest of the tricks. Now suppose that the contract was 6♦ or that, at matchpoint pairs, declarer took the view that 400 for 5♦ just made would not be enough for a good score. In this case, two losers would be too many. Declarer would need to aim to dispose of one of his club losers by discarding a club

on a spade. For this plan to work, declarer would need to play on spades before losing the lead. He would need to win the club and play a spade to the queen. If West held the king of spades, the finesse would win – he could then discard his losing club on the spade ace. When, in fact, East has the spade king, he would be out of luck and lose three tricks. In a no-trump contract, it can be harder to count losers. However, this does not mean that you should make no effort. On the next deal, declarer’s failure to count losers led to immediate disaster.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

Dealer South. Love All. ♠ K9 ♥ J84 ♦ KJ3 ♣ A J 10 9 5 Q 10 8 7 3 2 ♠ A6 A 10 7 ♥ K952 N W E 84 ♦ 9752 S 86 ♣ 742 ♠ J54 ♥ Q63 ♦ A Q 10 6 ♣ KQ3

South opened 1NT and North raised to 3NT. West led his fourth-highest spade. South counted nine top winners: five in clubs and four in diamonds. Perhaps distracted by this good news, he neglected to count his losers. In an attempt to gain the lead to cash all his winners, he hopped up erroneously with dummy’s king of spades at trick one. East won and returned a spade. When West captured the jack with the queen and the suit broke 6-2, declarer finished with six losers and hence seven winners. Declarer should have counted that he had no losers in the minors; he could thus afford four losers in the majors.

Page 59

No matter what the heart layout, the defenders could cash no more than two tricks by attacking the suit. This meant that declarer could afford two spade losers. A moment’s thought would tell him that, by playing the nine from dummy at trick one, he could limit his spade losers to a maximum of two. The following deal shows how determining the number of losers in one suit can dictate the play in another.

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

A9765 A875 J 10 AQ N W

E S

♠ ♥ ♦ ♣

QJ32 Q J 10 9 6 AQ K4

South declared the fine contract of 6♥, and West led the club jack. Declarer could see a possible loser in trumps, and a possible loser in spades. He did not count a possible diamond loser, as he knew he could throw a diamond on the fifth spade. To find out whether he could afford to lose a spade, his correct line of play is to win the lead in hand and run the queen of hearts. If West turns up with the king, the contract is 100% secure. Declarer can draw trumps ending in dummy and make the safety play of a low spade away from the ace to cater for K-10-8-x on either side. If, instead, the heart finesse loses then declarer cannot afford the luxury of a safety play in spades. In this case, he must finish drawing trumps and run the queen of spades, hoping to find West with the doubleton king or K-8-4. ■