Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 323

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 18^th Jan 2009

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

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Mon 12^th N-S 1^st Jean & Sally 58% 2^nd Frode & Johan 57%

E-W 1^st Hans & Janne 70% 2^nd Gene & Paul 60%

Wed 14^th N-S 1^st Bob S & Johan 62% 2^nd Paul Q & Lewis 57%

E-W 1^st Fjacce & Joello 68% 2^nd Tom & Terry 58%

Fri 16^th 1^st Paul B & Phil 66% 2^nd Alain & Jean-Charles 61%

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Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A partner opens 1♥, what do you bid?

♠ 10 ♠ -

♥ Q852 ♥ KQJ9 With Hand B partner opens 1♥, what do you bid?

♦ AQ3 ♦ 7542

♣ K9865 ♣ KQ1052

Hand C Hand D With Hand C everybody is vulnerable. You open 1♥ in 3^rd seat

and LHO overcalls 1♠. This is passed to you, what do you do?

♠ 7 ♠ AQJ8

♥ AQ643 ♥ K102 What do you open with Hand D?

♦ A852 ♦ AJ8

♣ A76 ♣ 854

Hand E Hand F With Hand E you open 1♥ and partner splinters with 3♠,

what do you bid?

♠ AKQ5 ♠ AJ985

♥ KJ9743 ♥ A10762 With Hand F you ‘accidentally’ open 1♥ - presumably you

♦ 4 ♦ 83 had a ♠ mixed up with the ♣’s. Anyway, you open 1♥ and

♣ J10 ♣ A partner splinters with 3♠, what do you bid?

Hand G Hand H With Hand G everybody is vulnerable. Partner opens 1♥ and RHO overcalls 1♠, what do you do?

♠ AQ1043 ♠ AJ1098432

♥ 102 ♥ QJ65

♦ K4 ♦ 4 What do you open with Hand H?

♣ Q1052 ♣ -

Bidding Sequence Quiz

J 1♥ pass 1♠ pass How many ♠’s should the 2♠ bidder have?

1NT pass 2♠

K 1♥ pass 1♠ pass How many ♠’s should the 2♠ bidder have?

2♣ pass 2♠

A few of the club’s less experienced players are gradually getting used to splinters (two examples occured on Monday). But having got the hang of splinters, it’s necessary to know what to do next!

After a Splinter – part 1 Board 27 from Monday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ 10 Table A

South ♥ Q852 West North(A) East South(E)

Love all ♦ AQ3 - - - 1♥

♣ K9865 pass 3♠ (1) pass 4♠ (2)

pass 5♥ pass 6♥

♠ J8732 N ♠ 964 all pass

♥ 10 W E ♥ A6

♦ J9 S ♦ K1087652 ‘Expert’ Table

♣ A7432 ♣ Q West North(A) East South(E)

♠ AKQ5 - - - 1♥

♥ KJ9743 pass 3♠ (1) pass 4♥ (2)

♦ 4 all pass

♣ J10

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand A in this week’s quiz? A 3♠ splinter shows this hand exactly – opening values, 4 card support and shortage in the suit bid.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand E in this week’s quiz? I’m not sure if they knew what they were doing, but no less than three pairs went zooming off to the hopeless slam

‘Expert’ (2) This is the answer to question E – South has a nice hand and should be

Table: looking for slam when partner shows an opening hand with 4-card support. But this is the beauty of splinters, partner has shown shortage and the ♠AKQ are virtually wasted. South should show dislike of the shortage opposite by settling for 4♥.

And what happened? Three pairs all went down in slam. Only two pairs found the optimum contract of 4♥.

The bottom lines: -

- If partner splinters, then your hand improves if you have xxx or Axx etc. in the splinter suit but if you hold something like KQx or AKQ then your hand goes downhill and you should sign off without significant extra values.

After a Splinter – part 2 Board 5 from Monday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ AJ985 Table A

North ♥ A10762 West North(F) East South(B)

N-S vul ♦ 83 - 1♥ (1) pass 3♠ (2)

♣ A pass 4NT (3) pass 5♦ (4)

pass 5♥ pass 6♥ (5)

♠ KQ763 N ♠ 1042 all pass

♥ 84 W E ♥ 53

♦ AQ6 S ♦ KJ109 ‘Better’ Table

♣ J76 ♣ 9843 West North(F) East South(B)

♠ - - 1♥ (1) pass 3♠ (2)

♥ KQJ9 pass 4♣ (6) pass 4♠ (7)

♦ 7542 pass 5♥ (8) all pass

♣ KQ1052

Table A: (1) I assume that North had his hand mis-sorted when he opened 1♥ instead of 1♠.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand B in this week’s quiz? A 3♠ splinter shows this hand exactly – opening values, 4 card support and shortage in the suit bid.

(3) What did you bid with this North hand F in this week’s quiz? Now when you wish to investigate slam after a splinter then there are two main ways – cue bid or RKCB. But bidding RKCB with a weak doubleton in which partner has shown no values is bad practice – you may well end up in a small slam missing AK in the suit (as here).

(4) 1 keycard. The alternative bid is 6♥ which shows 1 or 3 keycards and a ♠ void.

(5) With a void, South decided to over-rule the Blackwood bidder.

‘Better’ (1) Let’s assume that this North also mistakenly opened 1♥.

Table: (6) This is the answer to question F – a cue bid showing the ♣A and asking partner to cue bid in return.

(7) A cue bid, and a cue bid of a splinter promises a void. Also note that this cue bid denies the ♦A.

(8) Knowing that there could easily be 2 ♦ losers off the top, North signs off in 5♥.

And what happened? 6♥ rather luckily made +1 when East did not find a ♦ lead. The rest of the field were in 4♥ or 5♥ making anything from +1 to +3.

The bottom lines: -

- If partner splinters and you want to continue, then cue bid if you hand is not suitable for RKCB.

A Defence problem Board 20 from Monday 12^th

♠ A95 N West North East South

♥ 43 W E pass 1NT pass 3NT

♦ Q9543 S all pass

♣ 753

♠ K107 You are West, defending 3NT. Partner leads the ♠4 and

♥ K92 dummy plays the ♠10. You win with the ♠A, declarer

♦ 76 playing the ♠2. What do you lead to trick two?

♣ QJ984

Defence problem answer Board 20 from Monday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ 62 West North East South

North ♥ AQJ6 pass 1NT pass 3NT

E-W vul ♦ AJ102 all pass

♣ K62

♠ A95 N ♠ QJ843 This was the very reasonable bidding at ½ of

♥ 43 W E ♥ 10875 the tables and the ♠4 was led. Dummy played

♦ Q9543 S ♦ K8 the ♠10 and West won with the ♠A, declarer

♣ 753 ♣ A10 playing the ♠2. How should West continue?

♠ K107

♥ K92 I saw three West’s switch to the ♦4, what do you think of

♦ 76 this play? Not much! Even if West can set up ♦’s, he has no

♣ QJ984 entry. No, the answer lies in the ♠ suit and specifically dummy’s play of the ♠10. That marks partner with the ♠QJ! For if declarer had either of these cards he would not have played the ♠10 at trick one. So, return the ♠9.

And what happened? The three declarers who received a ♦ switch all made the contract +1 (up with the ♦A and play ♣’s – thus scoring 1 ♠, 4 ♥’s, 1♦ and 4 ♣’s). Other results were the usual spurious ones, with many not in game.

The bottom lines: -

- 3NT is often a race – the defence must try to get their five tricks before declarer gets his nine; and this is a classic example. Given lots of time, declarer has 11 tricks (1 ♠, 4 ♥’s, 2 ♦’s and 4 ♣’s) and the defence can develop 7 tricks (4 ♠’s, 2 ♦’s and 1 ♣). But here time is the major factor and both sides have to aim to get their required number of tricks before the opposition does.

- In this actual example, West’s failure to return a ♠ lost a vital tempo and enabled declarer to set up 10 quick tricks after knocking out the ♣A. Had declarer played the ♦10 at trick two (the usual play from this holding) then that would have been a fatal mistake, returning the tempo and enabling the defence to quickly get 6 tricks (4 ♠’s, 1 ♦ and 1 ♣).

- Unless you have a good reason for a shift, it’s usually best to return partner’s lead.

Dave’s Column Here is Dave’s first input on the play of the hand

North South West North East South

♠ Q106 ♠ A83 - - - 2♣

♥ AKQ42 ♥ - pass 2♥ pass 3♦

♦ 87 ♦ AKQJ1065 pass 3♥ pass 6♦

♣ 864 ♣ AK3 all pass

You are South, declarer in 6♦. West leads the ♣Q. When you bid 6♦ you knew that there may be entry problems to dummy – and there are. Or are there? Plan the play.

Dave’s Column answer Board 14 from Wednesday 14^th

Dealer: ♠ Q106 West North East South

East ♥ AKQ42 - - - 2♣

Love all ♦ 87 pass 2♥ pass 3♦

♣ 864 pass 3♥ pass 6♦

all pass

♠ 952 N ♠ KJ74

♥ J986 W E ♥ 10753 West leads the ♣Q, plan the play.

♦ 32 S ♦ 94

♣ QJ107 ♣ 952

♠ A83

♥ -

♦ AKQJ1065

♣ AK3

One line of play to get to dummy’s lovely ♥’s is to lead a low ♠ and hope that West has the ♠K. Of course if you pull one round of trumps and the ♦9 is singleton, then the ♦8 is an entry. But why take these guesses when you have a 100% entry to dummy?

Lead a low ♦ at trick two to the ♦7 to force an entry with the ♦8 when somebody wins the ♦9. Unless there are some very bad breaks the contract is secure.

Incidentally, you would play 6NT the same way on the ♣Q lead and that actually is a better contract as it makes when there is a bad ♥ split with ♦’s 3-1 or 4-0.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? I don’t know if declarers found this ♦ play, but 6♦ made twice and 6NT made once. 7NT was bid twice and went down and there were a couple of pairs in 3NT.

The bottom lines: -

- Always consider the possibility of giving up an unnecessary trick for the greater good of getting to dummy.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input involving a defensive problem.

♠ KQJ N

♥ AJ10932 W E West North East South

♦ KQ3 S - pass 2NT pass

♣ 2 4♣ pass 4NT pass

♠ 432 7NT all pass

♥ Q65

♦ 109 You are South, on lead against 7NT.

♣ 107653 Hoping to find a safe lead, you choose the ♦10.

Declarer takes three tricks in the suit ending in dummy.

What do you discard (it looks like partner has 5 ♦’s)

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 13 from Wednesday 14^th

Dealer: ♠ 8765 West North East South

North ♥ 4 - pass 2NT pass

Both vul ♦ J7654 4♣ (1) pass 4NT (2) pass

♣ 984 7NT all pass

♠ KQJ N ♠ A109 (1) Gerber

♥ AJ10932 W E ♥ K87 (2) 3 aces

♦ KQ3 S ♦ A82

♣ 2 ♣ AKQJ You are South and lead the ♦10. Declarer cashes

♠ 432 three rounds of ♦’s, ending in dummy.

♥ Q65 What do you discard?

♦ 109

♣ 107653

Declarer has to find the ♥Q to make his grand slam. Notice what happens if you (South) discard the useless ♠2. Declarer takes his black suit tricks, learning that you started with 3 ♠’s, 2 ♦’s and 5 ♣’s – hence three ♥’s. Playing the suit correctly (cash the ♥K and then finesse) becomes automatic.

Go back and throw a ♣ at trick three. Then, after taking his other winners, declarer will not know if you started with 4225 or 3325 distribution. He has to guess.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? Contracts and results were all over the place. 7NT was bid 3 times and everybody guessed wrong and went -1; and the two players in 6NT made exactly. Nobody made 13 tricks in any contract so I guess that every South threw a ♣?

The bottom line: -

- Jean Besse’s quote from his 1994 Bols bridge tip: “Don’t play an idle card thoughtlessly. If played at the wrong time, an idle card may betray your whole hand”

Playing Negative Doubles Board 13 from Monday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ AQ1043 Table A

North ♥ 102 West North(G) East South(C)

Both vul ♦ K4 - pass (1) pass 1♥

♣ Q1052 1♠ pass (2) pass 2♦ (3)

pass 2NT all pass 6♥

♠ KJ982 N ♠ 65

♥ KJ5 W E ♥ 987 ‘Expert’ Table

♦ Q7 S ♦ J10963 West North(G) East South(C)

♣ K63 ♣ 984 - pass (1) pass 1♥

♠ 7 1♠ pass (2) pass dbl (3)

♥ AQ643 all pass

♦ A852

♣ A76

Table A: (1) A 1♠ opening is the alternative, the hand confirms with the rule of 20 and also has three tens. I would open 1♠, but then there would be no story to tell.

(2) What did you bid with this North hand G in this week’s quiz? With this glorious ♠ stack and no fit with partner you obviously want to defend 1♠ doubled, so pass and pass partner’s ‘automatic' re-opening double.

(3) What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? I believe that this South is not a regular reader of the new-sheets, or else thinks that I write a load of rubbish. One of the excuses given in the postmortem was that partner was a passed hand – totally irrelevant. 2♦ is a terrible bid from an experienced player, double is ‘automatic’.

‘Expert’ (3) Our Expert South understands Negative Doubles of course. This hand has

Table: excellent defence and double is the only sensible bid. In the unlikely event (where are the ♠’s and where are the points?) that partner does not have a penalty hand then he will bid and you do not mind what he bids.

And what happened? 2NT made +1 for an OK score, but 1100 would have been nicer. As no E-W pair were doubled in anything then I suspect that North opened at most tables. 3NT was a popular contract; it made twice and went -1 three times

The bottom lines: -

- With vulnerable opponents, it’s usually best to take the vulnerable penalty rather than bid a risky 3NT.

- If you play Negative Doubles, then you have to re-open double with a double at (3) with most hands or you will miss penalties. If you disagree and think that 2♦ is fine, then excavate a stone-age book and do not play negative doubles.

- The (few) exceptions when you should not re-open with a double are given on the website.

That infamous 4333 type shape again Board 30 from Wednesday 14^th

Dealer: ♠ 96 Table A

East ♥ 963 West North East(D) South

Love all ♦ Q1032 - - 1NT (1) pass

♣ A1097 2♣ (2) pass 2♠ pass

♠ 1042 N ♠ AQJ8 2NT all pass

♥ AQJ5 W E ♥ K102

♦ 9765 S ♦ AJ8 Table B

♣ J3 ♣ 854 West North East(D) South

♠ K753 - - 1♣ (1) pass

♥ 874 1♥ pass 1♠ pass

♦ K4 1NT all pass

♣ KQ62

Table A: (1) What did you open with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? Six out of eight East’s simply added up to 15 and opened 1NT.

(2) With this West hand it’s pretty clear to bid Stayman and then invite.

Table B: (1) This was the auction at our table. My partner, Tom, correctly deducted a point for the 4333 shape and opened 1♣. The intermediates are not good enough to compensate for the lousy shape. If you play better minor (as opposed to short ♣) then I guess 1♦ is an alternative although I would open 1♣ playing either.

And what happened? Two players bid as table B and both made +1 due to inaccurate defence. Everybody else overbid to 2NT and three out of six went one down.

The bottom lines: -

- Sensible defence should hold declarer to 7 tricks against 2NT. The defence should take 4 ♣’s, ending in the North hand, and then the obvious ♦ switch means that the defence get a ♦ and a ♠ and so six tricks before declarer gets his eight. Note that the ♦ switch against 2NT with bidding as Table A is clear as declarer has bid ♠’s.

- Deduct a point for the totally flat 4333 shape. This applies equally well to NoTrump or suit openings despite what some so-called experts may say. 4333 simply sucks and don’t listen to anybody who tells you that 4333 is good for NoTrumps, they have no clue about hand evaluation – it is the worst possible shape for any contact.

- This deal is totally typical; even with the kind ♣ division 2NT goes down.

- Note that this deal is another example of the ‘race’ that I mentioned earlier on page 4 when playing/defending NoTrumps. Here it is imperative that the defence switch to ♦’s to get their ♦ trick before declarer gets his 8 tricks (3 ♠’s, 4 ♥’s and a ♦).

Better Minor? Board 30 from Wednesday 14^th

Hand H What did you open with this North hand H in this week’s quiz?

♠ AJ1098432 4♠ looks pretty automatic to me, and this is yet another example

♥ QJ65 of why I like to play Namyats. 4♠ shows a weak hand and does

♦ 4 not invite partner to go looking for slam.

♣ - But what does this have to do with Better Minor? One player did actually open 1♦, in the belief that that was OK as it is the better of the minors!

That is totally unacceptable of course, an opening 1♣/♦ bid must be at least three cards when playing better minor. Two or less and it’s a psyche.

Hand L Hand M That brings me on to this hand L (North hand 9 from Wednesday).

♠ A65 ♠ A65 I was asked if a 1♦ opening was acceptable. Now the hand does

♥ AQ87 ♥ AQ87 have 3 ♦’s but 1♦ is not acceptable in my view – it has no

♦ 953 ♦ AJ9 advantage over 1♣ except to deceive partner/the opponents and

♣ AJ9 ♣ 953 is clearly semi-psychic in nature (inhibit a ♦ lead).

Hand M is different however, it is very similar to Hand D from the previous page. When 3-3 in the minors most experts agree that you should open 1♣, although a 1♦ opening would be acceptable because this is clearly the better of the two minors and is not semi-psychic.

Hand N Hand P But when 4-4 in the minors things are different. Some experts

♠ A5 ♠ A5 always open 1♦, some always open 1♣, and some open the

♥ AQ8 ♥ AQ8 better. I personally always open 1♣ when 4-4 and would open

♦ 9753 ♦ AJ96 1♣ with both of these hands but I have no problem with 1♦

♣ AJ96 ♣ 9753 with either if that is your style.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 3♠, a splinter agreeing ♥’s and showing ♠ shortage.

Hand B: 3♠, a splinter agreeing ♥’s and showing ♠ shortage.

Hand C: Dbl. automatic. Where are the points and where are the ♠’s? The answer is – with partner. He is sitting there with around 8-11 points and a ♠ stack just waiting for you to double. The fact that partner is a passed hand is virtually irrelevant and you should double with this hand whatever. Note that I said ‘virtually irrelevant’, the fact that partner is a passed hand in fact makes it less likely that you have a vulnerable game and so you should be even more inclined to go for the vulnerable penalty.

Hand D: 1♣ (or 1♦ if you prefer). Knock off a point for the 4333 shape and the hand is not worth a 1NT opener.

Hand E: 4♥. Your hand was great but ♠ shortage opposite is of no use whatsoever, so sign off in game.

Hand F: 4♣, a cue bid. Do not bid RKC Blackwood with a wide open suit (♦’s). Pass is the reasonable alternative if you don’t want to look for slam.

Hand G: Pass, and pass partner’s subsequent automatic re-opening double (assuming that you play Negative Doubles).

Hand H: 4♠. Pass is the only other option but 4♠ seems very clear to me. Note that this is an exception to the philosophy of not pre-empting with a 4-card major. You are already in game and if partner has ♥’s it’s probably still better to play in ♠’s with this hand.

Bidding Sequence Answers

J 1♥ pass 1♠ pass Responder promises only 5 ♠’s for this sequence, the reason

1NT pass 2♠ being that opener usually has 2 or 3 ♠’s for his 1NT rebid.

K 1♥ pass 1♠ pass But things are different here. Opener has shown two suits and

2♣ pass 2♠ is likely to be short in ♠’s. This 2♠ bid promises 6 ♠’s.