Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 264

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 25^th Nov 2007

It is best to use my home number to contact me unless I am at the bridge club.

My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com

My MSN messenger ID is tj_quested@hotmail.com

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Mon 19^th 1^st Dave & Lewis 67% 2^nd Hans & Lars 62%

Wed 21^st 1^st Paul & Sean 60% 2^nd Lewis & terry 58%

Fri 23^rd N-S 1^st Magnus & Per-Ake 60% 2^nd Bob P & Lars G 57%

E-W 1^st Dave & Lewis 59% 2^nd Terry & Wolfgang 55%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A (a) What do you open with Hand A (playing Standard American or Acol)

(b) Suppose you open 1♦ and partner bids 1♥, what do you bid now?

♠ Q6 (c) What do you open with Hand A if you play the Multi 2♦?

♥ - (d) Suppose you choose a Multi 2♦ (considering it to be a strong hand with ♦’s)

♦ AQJ1064 and partner bids 2NT, asking. What do you bid?

♣ AJ1076

Hand B Hand C With Hand B partner opens 1♥ and RHO overcalls 2♦, what

do you do?

♠ Q8753 ♠ 104

♥ A6 ♥ AK8654 With Hand C partner opens 1♠ and RHO doubles, what do you bid?

♦ J875 ♦ 2

♣ 52 ♣ AK64

Hand D Hand E With Hand D RHO opens 1♠, what do you do?

♠ 8 ♠ A102

♥ QJ94 ♥ QJ932 With Hand E you open 1♥ and LHO overcalls 2♦ and …

♦ KQ1064 ♦ - (a) Partner passes, what do you bid?

♣ J82 ♣ AK1087 (b) Partner doubles (negative), what do you bid?

Bidding Sequence quiz

F 1NT pass 3♥ What is 3♥ (you play transfers).

You are playing the Multi 2♦ for these two deals: -

G 2♦ pass 2♥ pass 2♦ is Multi (weak with a major, strong with a minor or 25+ balanced)

3¨ 2♥ is a (weakish) relay, what does 3♦ mean?

H 2♦ pass 2NT pass 2♦ is Multi (weak with a major, strong with a minor or 25+ balanced)

3¨ 2NT enquires, what does 3♦ mean?

The Club Championships The current standings for the top 10 in each competition are: -

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	1846.5 Jan v Koss 1845.0 Dave Cutler 1818.6 Lewis Berg 1817.8 Paul Savelkral 1816.8 Janne Roos 1796.5 Lars Gustaffson 1770.0 Bob Pelletier 1748.7 Ivy Schlageter 1731.7 Sally Watson 1725.8 Phil Lovell	666.8 Janne Roos 656.7 Lewis Berg 655.4 Dave Cutler 655.2 Jan v Koss 646.9 Lars Gustaffson 644.1 Bengt Malmgren 643.8 Paul Savelkral 627.1 Gunnar Barthel 624.3 Bob Pelletier 620.8 Wolfgang Foitik	350.4 Janne Roos 343.2 Bengt Malmgren 341.1 Jan v Koss 338.4 Lewis Berg 336.7 Paul Savelkral 335.2 Dave Cutler 332.5 Lars Gustafsson 325.6 Gunnar Barthel 324.8 Derek & Gerard 323.8 Gerry Hulbert

Playing negative doubles Board 14 from Monday 19^th

Playing negative doubles should help you to get to the best spot, But this E-W pair appear not to fully understand them.

Dealer: ♠ J64 West(E) North East(B) South

East ♥ 84 - - pass pass

Love all ♦ AKQ10962 1♥ 2♦ pass (1) pass

♣9 pass (2)

♠ A102 N ♠ Q8753 (1) What did you bid with this East hand B in this

♥ QJ932 W E ♥ A6 week’s quiz? It’s not good enough for 2♠ which

♦ - S ♦ J875 is forcing. But that’s the beauty of playing

♣ AK1087 ♣ 52 negative doubles. Double here shows 4+ ♠’s

♠ K9 and 8+ points and this hand, with a 5^th ♠, is worth

♥ K1075 it. Pass may make life difficult for partner

♦ 43 (2) What did you bid with this West hand E(a) in this

♣ QJ643 week’s quiz? This is a difficult one (thanks to partner’s pass) but pass is out of the question if you play negative doubles. Since there is no clear alternative I would double (semi-automatic).

And what happened? 2♦ made exactly and would normally be a good score for N-S as E-W

have an easy ♠ partscore (indeed Deep finesse says that 4♠ makes).

The bottom lines: -

- If partner opens and RHO overcalls, then remember the negative double.

- If you open, LHO overcalls and partner passes then it is rarely correct to pass (only with a good holding in the overcalled suit). This West hand should bid (I would double) but the fault lays mainly with East who has a clear negative double to show ♠’s.

Multi Misunderstandings Board 24 from Monday 19^th

I am not that keen on the Multi 2♦, but if you insist upon playing it then you really should know the sequences: -

Dealer: ♠ Q6 Table A

North ♥ - West North(A) East South

E-W vul ♦ AQJ1064 pass 2♦ (1) pass 2NT (2)

♣ AJ1076 pass 3♦ (3) pass 4NT (4)

pass 5♥ (5) pass 6♠ (6)

♠ 103 N ♠ J8542 all pass

♥ 109875 W E ♥ 63

♦ K932 S ♦ 75 Table B

♣ 32 ♣ Q985 West North(A) East South

♠ AK97 - 1♦ (1) pass 1♥

♥ AKQJ42 pass 2♣ (7) pass 2♠ (8)

♦ 8 pass 3NT pass 4NT (9)

♣ K4 pass 5♥ pass 6♥

pass 6NT (10) all pass

Table A: (1) What did you open with this North hand A(c) in this week’s quiz? If you play the Multi 2♦ I suppose that 2♦ is OK (good hand with ♦’s) but I still prefer 1♦.

(2) Asking partner to describe his hand.

(3) What did you bid with this North hand A(d) in this week’s quiz? This North thought that he was showing the good ♦ hand type – he is not! This bid (sequence H) shows a weak 2♠ opener in the upper range (about 8-10). The correct bid is 4♦; this gets you a bit high and may make it difficult to get to the correct slam. This is just one reason why I would (did) open 1♦.

(4) Presumably RKCB for ♠’s.

(5) I don’t really understand this unless North was influenced by South’s explanation of the 3♦ bid. With two aces and the trump queen (♦Q) then 5♠ is correct unless you wish to show the void by bidding 5NT (2 keycards and a hopefully useful void).

(6) With this hand opposite 6 ♠’s and two aces I would bid 7♠.

Table B: (1) This N-S pair were new and South a beginner. I was North and opened 1♦.

(7) What did you bid with this North hand A(b) in this week’s quiz? It’s a mis-fit, so I just bid 2♣. I do not want to jump to 3♣ when partner responds in my void suit.

(8) Natural (South is a beginner).

(9) Blackwood (South is a beginner); normally I would play this as quantitive.

(10) Obviously this must be better than 6♥ with a void

And what happened? 6NT made exactly. 6♠ went two down but did not get a complete bottom as all three other N-S pairs ‘overbid’ to 7NT and went one or two down. I use the words ‘overbid’ carefully here – South has 20 points opposite an opener and with an excellent 6 card ♥ suit he could expect 7NT to make - especially if partner jumped at (7). But it’s a misfit - that’s why I did not jump at (7) and 7NT does not make (with sensible play) even with the ♦K onside. The bottom lines: -

- If you choose to play the Multi two diamonds – then understand the sequences.

- Be wary of mis-fits – do not jump if partner responds in your void suit.

Double Dummy Problem

Deep Finesse says that on the previous deal 7NT makes by North or South on any lead. This led to a discussion after the event that the computer (Deep Finesse) was wrong. Of course the computer is never wrong - can you work it out?

A poor double? Board 13 from Monday 19^th

I often write up poor take-out doubles, so to be fair I’ve written up a double which I made and which an opponent said was a poor bid.

Dealer: ♠ AKQJ62 West North East(D) South(C)

North ♥ 72 - 1♠ dbl (1) redbl (2)

Both vul ♦ 9 3♦ (3) 3♠ pass (4) 4NT (5)

♣ 10953 pass 5♠ pass 6♠

pass pass 7♦ dbl

♠ 9732 N ♠ 8

♥ 10 W E ♥ QJ94 (1) What did you bid with this East hand D in this

♦ AJ8753 S ♦ KQ1064 week’s quiz? A take-out double should be close

♣ Q7 ♣ J82 to opening values, short in the suit bid, and

♠ 104 playable in the other 3 suit. It should also

♥ AK8654 have 4 cards in the unbid major unless it

♦ 2 has compensating values. This hand fits the

♣ AK64 description in my opinion; Sean disagreed.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? This redouble is best, 2♥ would be weak and non-forcing after a double.

(3) Weak after a re-double.

(4) Perhaps East should bid 5♦ now but he was hoping that N-S would stop short of slam.

(5) RKCB

And what happened? 7♦ doubled went for 1100 and was a good save against the cold 6♠ (1430). Everybody else played in ♠’s (one in 6♠ and the rest in 4♠) and everybody made 12 tricks easily enough. At the table East received some totally unjustified slack both for his double and the 7♦ bid. Both seem fine to me.

The bottom lines: -

- A take-out double should be short in the suit bid and playable in the other three suits. In my opinion 1453 shape is fine but with a 5-card major I would always overcall. I do agree that the double is slightly light as it forces partner to bid at the two level and it’s probably a matter of partnership style.

Dave’s Column Here is this week’s Dave input involving the best play for the contract.

North South You are South, declarer in 6♣. How do you play the hand safely

♠ K4 ♠ A1062 when West leads the ♦K?

♥ AK63 ♥ 82

♦ A8752 ♦ J

♣ K8 ♣ AQJ1052

Dave’s Column answer Board 17 from Wednesday 21^st

Dealer: ♠ K4 Dave’s book does not give any bidding and

North ♥ AK63 everybody at the Pattaya bridge club played

Love all ♦ A8752 in 3NT.

♣ K8 Anyway, how do you make 6♣ on the lead of the ♦K?

♠ QJ875 N ♠ 92 You have 11 tricks on top. If you were in 7♣, you

♥ J5 W E ♥ Q10974 would need to ruff two losing ♠’s. You would ruff

♦ KQ32 S ♦ 964 the third round with the ♠8 and this would fail (as

♣ 64 ♣ 973 would a 7♣ contract on a trump lead).

♠ A1062 Playing in 6♣, you need only one ♠ ruff. Look what

♥ 82 will happen if you ruff the 3^rd round of ♠’s with the

♦ J ♣8. East will over-ruff with the ♣9 and return a trump.

♣ AQJ1052 One down.

To play safe in the small slam, you must take the first ruff with the ♣K. You can then draw trumps and concede a ♠ trick at the end (or you seek an overtrick by ruffing the 4^th ♠ with the ♣8 which will not succeed as the cards lie).

Terry’s comment. - I don’t usually agree with safety plays at pairs scoring. But if you are good enough to have reached 6♣ with these cards then it’s best to play safe as the vast majority of the field are probably in 3NT.

Bridge Cryptogram Each letter denotes a specific letter in the alphabet.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

__	__		__		__		__		__			__		__			__		__		__		-	__	__	__	__		__		__		__		__	__
25	22		9		6		26		22			19		3			2		17		4			3	17	7	4		6		14		15		15	19
__	__		__			__		__		__		__			__		__		__		__		__		__	__		__	__		__			__	__	__	__
14	19		7			21		16		2		1			6		25		19		16		7		17	3		18	19		16			23	6	12	22
__		__		__		__		__			__		__			__		__		__		__		__	__	__	’	__		__		__		__	__	.
6		12		19		17		15			17		14			1		6		26		7		14	22	26		4		4		16		17	7

- There’s a clue on the back page.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: (a) 1♦. It’s not good enough for 2♣ in my style. Even though it has 9 playing tricks I like to have at least 16 HCP’s for a 2♣ opener.

(b) 2♣. If partner had responded 1♠ or 1NT then I would rebid 3♣, but I downgrade a hand with a void in partner’s suit and I bid just 2♣. Incidentally, after I wrote this I gave the hand to Lewis and he bid 2♣. Sean bid 3♣ and insists that the jump is easily justified. I disagree and don’t think that this hand is worth a game forcing bid in a mis-fit situation.

(c) 1♦. I guess you could open a Multi 2♦ (strong ♦ hand) but I don’t really like to do that with two-suiters.

(d) 4♦. This shows a strong ♦ hand opposite partner’s 2NT enquiry. If partner has merely relayed with 2♥ then 3♦ would have shown the strong ♦ hand.

Hand B: Dbl. Negative and promising 4+ ♠’s, it’s not strong enough for 2♠.

Hand C: Redbl. Showing 10+ points. 2♥ is wrong because it’s a weak non-forcing bid after a double.

Hand D: Dbl or pass. I think it’s close but that it’s just about strong enough and has a decent 4-card holding in the unbid major and I doubled. Sean commented that it was a terrible double.

Hand E: (a) This one is difficult, but one bid that you cannot make when playing negative doubles is pass. I would double, but 2♥ is an alternative. 3♣ would show a stronger hand.

(b) 2♠. It may be a Moysian fit but you will take ruffs in the short trump hand and ♠’s should play well.

Bidding Sequence Answers

F 1NT pass 3♥ 3♥ is whatever your partnership agrees. In SAYC it is a slam invitation. There are also other possibilities; a splinter, a broken suit slam invite or a broken suit transfer to name but a few. With Lewis I play it as 5-5 in the majors, weak.

You are playing the Multi 2♦ for these two deals: -

G 2♦ pass 2♥ pass 2♦ is Multi (weak with a major, strong with a minor or 25+ balanced)

3¨ 3♦ shows a strong hand with ♦’s.

H 2♦ pass 2NT pass 2♦ is Multi (weak with a major, strong with a minor or 25+ balanced)

3¨ 3♦ here shows a weak 2♠ bid but upper range.

Double Dummy Answer

It’s a typical (against the odds) double dummy problem and not a play you would find at the table. The normal line (at least the one I adopted in 6NT) is to finesse a ♦ and cash the ♦A. When the ♦K fails to appear you give it to them and claim 12 tricks with entries all over the place. In 7NT I don’t know what the best line is (that’s why, with my limited playing abilities, I stopped in 6NT) but the line that works according to Sean is apparently to finesse a ♦, play the ♦A and 4 ♥’s and East is squeezed in the black suits.

Cryptogram clue 25 = B