Club News Sheet – No. 162    www.pattayabridge.com   10th  Dec 2005

 

                                    Winner                                                   Runner-up

           

Mon 5th      N-S   1st    Bengt/Bob                      59%         2nd    Sally/Jeremy               52%

                  E-W   1st    Paul Scully/Richard         62%         2nd    Jan/Knud                    61%

Wed 7th      N-S   1st    Bob/Terry                      60%         2nd    Chuck/Tom                59%

                  E-W   1st    Gerard/Derek                 68%         2nd    Kenneth/John             65%

Fri    9th      N-S   1st    Bob/Albert                     58%         2nd    Neil/Terry                   58%

                  E-W   1st    Dave/Tomas                   60%         2nd    Anne/Barry                 58%

 

Well done Bob, I note that you achieved the elusive triple (with 3 different partners).The Gold Cup competition is still close, but Chuck has a fairly decent lead. Currently we have: -

 

1st Chuck     1898.2%        2nd Dave 1890.2%      3rd Bob 1858.9%    4th Clive  1799.3%

 

        in the Silver Plate competition (best 10) we have           1st  Ken Judson        2nd Clive

and   in the Bronze Medal competition (best 5) we have         1st Gerald/Derek     2nd Paul K

 

There’s a new bridge club in town! As I understand it, it’s on Tuesdays and Saturdays. There will be a couple of sessions this year but in order to avoid Christmas and new year they will start in earnest next year. I’m sure that everybody will join me in wishing them (and all of the people who are unable to play at our club for one reason or another) success.

This new club is absolutely nothing to do with Dave or myself and our club is still 3 days every week regardless of Christmas, new year, Soncran or whatever.

 

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated

 

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

 

♠ AKQ7          ♠ J98432         With Hand B partner opens 1NT. You transfer and partner

♥ QJ10964      ♥ AQ9             obediently bids 2♠, what do you do now?

♦ A7                ♦ 75

♣ 7                                                  ♣ 76

 

Hand C            Hand D            What do you open with Hand C?

 

♠ 86                 ♠ 8                                

♥ AKQ1073    ♥ A10965        With Hand D LHO opens 1♠, partner overcalls 2♦ and RHO

♦ A                  ♦ K2                bids 2♠, what do you do?

♣ K1063         ♣ AQ985

 

Hand E             Hand F             What do you open with Hand E?

 

♠ 75                 ♠ AKQ96        With Hand F partner opens 1NT. What do you bid and what

♥ KQ84           ♥ Q1097          do you plan to do next go (partner will simply accept a transfer

♦ AJ                 ♦ -                    or will bid 2♦ over Stayman).

♣ AQJ86         ♣ 10965

                       

What is 2NT?       Some players in the club play weak jump shifts. So in an uninterrupted sequence like 1♣ - 2♥ - 2NT where 2♥ is weak, what is 2NT?

The Jump Shift                                                     Board 4 from Monday 5th   

 

Dealer:             ♠ 963                                             Table A

West                ♥ 87                                               West          North         East(A)    South

Love all            ♦ J1098                                          1♣             pass           2♥    (1)    pass

                        ♣ QJ53                                          4♥     (2)     pass           pass (3)    pass

 

♠ J6                      N             ♠ AKQ7                 

♥ A532              W    E          ♥ QJ10964              Table B

♦ Q32                    S              ♦ A7                        West          North         East(A)    South

♣ AK104                               ♣ 7                          1♣             pass           2♥    (1)    pass

                        ♠ 10842                                         pass   (2)    pass

♥ K                                               

                        ♦ K654                                         

                        ♣ 9862

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you bid with this East hand A in this week’s quiz. This particular East at Table A was a beginner and I suggested 2♥ - a strong jump shift. I covered a similar hand just last week and with these powerful hands it really is best to make a jump shift with a good suit – otherwise you may well have problems finding a suitable forcing bid next go(es). With this particular hand you could just respond 1♥ and then reverse into ♠’s next go, but for inexperienced pairs it’s so much simpler to start with a strong jump shift.

(2)   Now a jump shift from partner is game forcing and interested in slam. With good 4 card support East should co-operate with a 3♥ bid (slow arrival). This jump to 4♥ is unnecessary and I would take it as a very weak opener with minimal ♥ support.

(3)   East could make another effort, but I sympathise with pass.

Table B:     (1)  Another player correctly chose the jump shift.

(2)   But unfortunately his partner thought it was weak and passed. Even if 2♥ was weak, I would still bid with this West hand – with 10 combined trumps West should raise the ‘pre-empt’.

 

And what happened? Most pairs bid 4♥. Just one pair bid 6♥ and 13 tricks were pretty easy.

 

Now I really have to say something about the jump shift. I stated just last week ‘A jump in a new suit over partner’s opening shows a very strong hand/suit unless you have an agreement to the contrary’. A weak jump shift is most certainly not standard. One distinguished club member apparently disagreed with this statement and wandered off in order to find some sort of documentation to prove me wrong, muttering ‘I know more about Standard than anybody else in this club’. I’ll save him the bother of any more searching – here is an extract from the latest ACBL notes on alerts etc: -‘Weak jump shifts are unexpected and therefore Alertable.’

 

Person(s?) who believe that I don’t know what I am talking about and believe that they know more about ‘Standard’ than anyone else in the club may also like to look at an ACBL convention card. Weak jump shifts not in competition are in red and thus alertable. So the weak jump shift is most certainly not standard and I agree with the ACBL that it should be alerted.


What’s more, I do not recommend playing the weak jump shift to any but the most experienced pairs. To start with, it is usually abused (bid with a hand far too strong) but more importantly if you do not play strong jump shifts then responder will often have problems later in the auction in finding a suitable forcing bid at every turn. If you really do want to play the weak jump shift I have produced a few pages on it and it’s on the web.

Now there are, as our distinguished member points out, a number of pairs who do use (and abuse) the weak jump shift. I advise against it and it is not standard and needs alerting.

 

Weak Jump Shifts

 

The weak Jump Shift is not standard and is alertable. That is also clearly stated in our club rules (and has been for a long time). If you want to play the weak jump shift then it is best played as a very weak hand (about 2-5 points) which is too weak for a normal response to partner’s opening.

Now anybody who reads the news-sheets fairly regularly should know about strong/weak jump shifts. Here are a few exerts from past news-sheets: -

 

News Sheet 4         Playing weak jump shifts, 2♠ (2-5 points, 6 card suit) is an alternative.

News Sheet 64       Weak Jump shifts are alertable.

News Sheet 82       The weak jump shift can be a very useful bid. Some play it only after a double, others play it even without interference (strong is standard).

News Sheet 102     In Standard American, a jump shift shows a good suit and is game forcing.

                              Many more advanced players prefer to play the jump shift as weak but then you have to know how to show a game forcing hand (often via 4th suit).

News Sheet 103     A word about the weak jump response. This is not standard, but some more experienced players play that when partner opens with 1♣/♦ then a jump to 2♥/♠ is pre-emptive. And by pre-emptive it is meant a 6 or 7 card suit that is too weak to reply at the one level; so about 2-5 points.

                              The weak jump shift is weak, it is much weaker than an opening 2♥/♠ since partner has opened.

News Sheet 135     A weak jump shift (2♥) is an option here – ♠but only if you have agreed it!

                              Standard is that a jump shows a good hand and a good suit.

News Sheet 161     1♦ - 2♥. Unless you have an agreement to the contrary, a jump shift like this is strong.

 

So it looks like I’ve been saying the same thing pretty regularly for the last 3 years. Funny how some people like to dispute the most basic of facts.

Anyway, as I mentioned, I do not recommend weak jump shifts to anyone but experienced/established pairs as you have to know how to show a very strong responding hand by other methods - often via 4th suit forcing or by manufacturing a reverse or bidding a non-existent suit.

But for those of you who really do wish to play them I have written a few special sheets (and I’ve put it up on the web) as I don’t believe that many players know what opener should do opposite partner’s weak jump shift (as demonstrated by the West at Table B).

For example, what is 2NT in this sequence   1♣ - 2♥ - 2NT ? where 2♥ is a weak jump shift. I bet you don’t know! Answer at the end of this news-sheet. And ‘obviously’ if your partner makes a weak jump shift and you have 3 or more card support then you should raise just as you would oppoiste a weak two opening.

Who should make the effort?                                 Board 16 from Monday 5th  

 

Dealer:             ♠ A                                                Table A

West                ♥ K10853                                      West          North         East(B)     South

E-W vul           ♦ QJ4                                             1NT  (1)     pass           2♥            pass

                        ♣ 9842                                          2♠     (2)     pass           4♠    (3)    all pass

                                                                                                       

♠ KQ105              N             ♠ J98432                

♥ J64                 W    E          ♥ AQ9                     Table B

♦ K92                    S              ♦ 75                         West          North         East(B)     South

♣ AQ10                                 ♣ 76                        1NT  (1)     pass           2♥            pass

                        ♠ 76                                               2♠     (2)     pass           pass (3)

♥ 72                                              

                        ♦ A10863                                     

                        ♣ KJ53

 

Table A:     (1)  It’s totally flat, but with the two 10’s 1NT is fine.

(2)   Now here’s the first question – should West super-accept or not. Views on what type of hand you need for a super-accept vary. My personal opinion is that I need 4 trumps and a non-minimum. Now this hand is about minimum but I would super-accept because of the excellent ♠’s.

Change the hand to something like ♠J532 ♥KQ10 ♦K92 ♣AQ10 and I would not super-accept.

(3)  What did you bid with this East hand B in this week’s quiz? I was kibitzing behind this East and wondered if he would pass or bid 3♠. I think that 4♠ is a bit pushy but not too bad (much better than pass!), I would bid 3♠.

Table B:     (2)  As I said, I would super accept if you play super-accepts

                  (3)  This is far too feeble for me. A six card major suit opposite a 1NT opener (so guaranteed at least an 8 card fit) is a big plus. An invitational 3♠ looks right to me.

 

How should the bidding go assuming that West does not super-accept? How about

1NT - 2♥ - 2♠ - 3♠ - 4♠. With these great trumps West should accept the invitation.

And what happened? 4 pairs reached the excellent 4♠, 4 pairs did not.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         Play super-accepts

-          Upgrade a hand with a 6 card major opposite a 1NT opener.

-          If the decision to super-accept is close, then look at the quality of your trump support.

-          Two tens are often two good cards.

 

                                                                       

And to answer the question (who should make the effort?) – both (or either)! East should invite and West accept. If you play super-accepts then West should invite (super-accept) and East should accept.
A strong two opener?                                           Board 12 from Monday 5th  

 

Dealer:             ♠ 86                                              

West                ♥ AKQ1073                                  West          North(C)    East          South

N-S vul            ♦ A                                                pass           1♥    (1)      pass         1♠

                        ♣ K1063                                       pass           3♥              pass         4♥

                                                                                                        all pass

♠ K32                   N             ♠ J754                    

♥ 9652               W    E          ♥ 8                          

♦ KJ5                     S              ♦ Q1094                 

♣ 872                                    ♣ QJ94                   

                        ♠ AQ109                                      

♥ J4                                              

                        ♦ 87632                                        

                        ♣ A5

 

This was the bidding at most tables and I can’t really fault it. One pair did manage to bid the good 6♥ slam. But I do have one question, what did you open with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? Playing Standard American then 1♥ is clear but if playing Benjamin I would open 2♣ (so 2♣ - 2♦ - 2♥) to show a strong 2♥ hand (I did note one Benjamin pair not open 2♣ and had the above auction to 4♥). I evaluate this North hand at about 8½ playing tricks and well worth a strong two. Slam probably then has more chance of being reached. If North opens a strong two (via Benji if you play that) then South should support with 3♥ if you play that as forcing and a couple of cue bids later slam is easily reached.

And what happened? Just one table out of 7 reached slam.

 

Dealer:             ♠ 8                                     Now the computer says the 6♥ makes, but there was

West                ♥ AK1073                         some discussion as to whether it does on a trump

N-S vul            ♦ A                                    lead. On a non-trump lead declarer simply ruffs two

                  ♣ K1063                           ♣’s in the South hand; on a trump lead that is not

                                                                  possible.

♠ 32                      N             ♠ J75           Now I do not pretend to be an expert here, but it

♥ 652                 W    E          ♥ -               looks like most lines of play actually work.

♦ KJ5                     S              ♦ Q1094      You can to ruff the 3rd round of ♣’s with

♣ 872                                    ♣ QJ94        dummy’s last trump and then take a losing ♠ finesse

                        ♠ AQ10                             which gets you home because West has no ♣ left.

♥ J                                     So the other ♣ loser goes away on a ♠ after a

                        ♦ 87632                             drawing trumps and a successful 2nd ♠ finesse.

♣ A5                                  There may be better ways?

 

The bottom lines: -

-         Play Benjamin twos.

-         If do you play Benjamin twos – then open 2♣ with 8+ playing tricks in a major.

The Competitive Double                                     Board 3 from Wednesday 7th    

 

Dealer:             ♠ KQ4                                           Table A

South               ♥ J7                                               West          North         East          South

E-W vul           ♦ 10864                                         -                 -                 -               1♠

                        ♣ 10732                                        2♦              2♠              3♥    (1)    pass (2)

                                                                                                        pass           pass

♠ 9754                  N             ♠ 8                          

♥ 8                     W    E          ♥ A10965                Table B

♦ AQ975               S              ♦ K2                        West          North         East          South

♣ KJ6                                    ♣ AQ985                 -                 -                 -               1♠

                        ♠ AJ1063                                       2♦              2♠              3♥    (1)    dbl   (2)

♥ KQ432                                       pass   (3)    pass           pass (4)

                        ♦ J3                                               

                        ♣ 4                                                ‘Expert Table’

                                                                              West          North         East          South

                                                                              -                 -                 -               1♠

2♦              2♠              dbl   (1)    pass

3♣             pass           ?      (5)                             

 

Table A:     (1) What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? You have a nice

hand opposite partner’s 2 level overcall (so presumably 10+ points) and should clearly bid. But I don’t like 3♥, it is not forcing and you may well miss a better ♣ or ♦ fit. See the ‘Expert’ table for the correct bid.

                  (2)  I was South at this table. Double would be for penalties but I did not double as

I know that the opponents may well have more points than us and they may have a safe spot in a minor suit (indeed, the computer says that 5♣ and 4♦ are both making).

Table B:     (1) This poor 3♥ bid was found at a total of 4 tables!

(2)   And this South was greedy. Indeed, two E-W pairs went for 800.

(3)   West could try an SOS redouble here.

(4)   East should try an SOS redouble. With a good ♣ suit, reasonable ♦’s and 13 points opposite partner’s two level overcall there is every reason to believe that a minor suit contract will make.

 ‘Expert’     (1)  This is East’s best bid – a competitive double – showing the two unbid suits

  Table              and (usually) tolerance for partner’s suit.

(5)   And whether East presses on or not will not matter as 3♣ + 2 would have got a good score.

 

And what happened? No less than 4 out of 8 East’s landed in the miserable 3♥, with 3 of them being doubled and usually going 3 down.

 

The bottom line: -

-         Play Competitive Doubles.

-         When the opponents bid and support a suit then double is for take-out in most situations. The Competitive double is simply one case of this.

Which Slam?                                                        Board 6 from Wednesday 7th

 

I was asked about this board; and as it happens I already had it on my list to write up because of the interesting bidding at our table and next door’s.

 

Dealer:             ♠ J10932                                       Table A

East                  ♥ J                                                 West          North         East(E)     South

E-W vul           ♦ Q9832                                        -                 -                 1NT (1)    3♦    (2)

                        ♣ 102                                            4♦     (3)     dbl   (4)      4♥    (5)    pass

                                                                                                        5♥     (6)     pass           pass (7)    pass

♠ AKQ84             N             ♠ 75                        

♥ A732              W    E          ♥ KQ84                   Table B

♦ -                          S              ♦ AJ                         West          North         East          South

♣ 9743                                  ♣ AQJ86                 -                 -                 1♣   (1)    2♦    (8)

                        ♠ 6                                                 2♠     (9)     5♦    (10)    dbl   (11)  pass

♥ 10965                                         pass  (12)  

                        ♦ K107654                                   

                        ♣ K5                                                                                

 

Table A:     (1) What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? I prefer the 1♣ opening chosen at table B.

(2)   It looks like this pair play this a weak.

(3)   This is best played as Stayman, a nice bid.

(4)   Now I see this sort of thing a lot and I really don’t understand it, what is the rational behind a double here? Surely it’s best to throw a spanner in the works with 5♦, especially at this vulnerability.

(5)   With North’s feeble bid, East now has an easy 4♥ bid.

(6)   Another nice bid from West – slam invitational.

(7)   With a super maximum I don’t know why East did not bid 6♥.

Table B:     (1)  I too would open 1♣ as I think it’s a bit good for 1NT and there is no rebid problem (bid 2♥ next go over most responses).

(8)   A weak jump overcall. Some may frown upon this with a 4 card major but I think it’s acceptable here.

(9)   This must be right. Bid the ♠’s with a view to bidding the ♥’s next go.

(10)       Nice one Bob. I was South and this is the sort of bid that my partner (Bob) is renowned for – no holding back. I bet he would have bid 6♦ if pushed.

(11)       East is a bit fixed now.

(12)       And the level is now really too high for West to introduce the ♥ suit.

 

And what happened? 5♦ doubled cost just 300. 4♥ making or +1 was a popular spot. 6♣ makes but only one pair found a ♣ slam - 7♣ going 4 down doubled!

Now I was asked about this deal; the question being how to bid the making 6♣ and not the un-making 6♥ ? Now obviously it’s difficult to accurately bid a slam if Bob is the opposition! If N-S stick their ♦’s in it’s very difficult. But say there was no violent opposition - then I would want to be in 6♥ with the E-W cards! It looks like a great contract to me and only fails because of the bad breaks and the ♣K offside.

With no opposition bidding, it could go something like: -

1♣ - 1♠ - 2♥ (reverse) - 4♦ (splinter) – 4NT etc to 6♥ which would normally be a great spot. With these E-W cards I think that 6♥ is a better slam than 6♣, especially at pairs. The bidding at Table A was also good if you like the 1NT opener and if East had bid 6♥ at (7).

How do you find a minor suit slam after Stayman?              Board 14 from Friday 9th

 

Dealer:             ♠ AKQ96                                      Table A

East                  ♥ Q1097                                        West          North(F)    East          South

Love all            ♦ -                                                  -                 -                 pass         1NT

                        ♣ 10965                                        pass           2♥    (1)      pass         2♠

                                                                                                        pass           3♥    (2)      pass         3NT

♠ J102                  N             ♠ 873                       pass           4♣   (3)

♥ KJ5                W    E          ♥ 864                      

♦ J974                    S              ♦ KQ865                 ‘Expert’ Table

♣ 873                                    ♣ J4                         West          North         East          South

                        ♠ 54                                               -                 -                 pass         1NT

♥ A32                                            pass           2♣   (1)      pass         2♦

                        ♦ A1032                                        pass           3♣   (4)      pass         3NT   (5)

                        ♣ AKQ2                                        pass           4♣ etc to 6♣ (6)                  

 

Table A:     (1) What did you bid with this North hand F in this week’s quiz? It’s up to you how you bid 5-4 major suited hands after partner opens 1NT.

                  (2) A 2nd suit after transferring is best played as natural and game forcing.

                  (3) I guess that North could try 4♣ here but it was an unfamiliar partnership. With the ♦ void North did not fancy 3NT and so understandably went for the 5-2 ♠ fit.

‘Expert’      (1)  Our experts use Stayman here.

  Table        (4)  But this may be new to many of you. How do you play 3♣ after Stayman has

                        received a negative response? ‘Standard’ is that it’s a good 5+ card ♣ suit and forcing but that is not the best way to play it if you play 4-way transfers. Finding a 4-4 minor suit fit for slam after a 1NT opening is difficult and undoubtedly the best method is SARS (Shape Asking Relays after Stayman). It is, I believe, a Dutch invention and it’s all written up in the NT bidding book on the web.

(5) Showing both minors when playing SARS.

(6)   4♣ is best played as RKCB agreeing ♣’s here but the excellent 6♣ is reached whatever.

 

And what happened? One pair did find the excellent 6♣. 4♥/♠ +2 were popular spots.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         It’s up to individual partnerships how you deal with 5-4’s in the majors opposite a 1NT opening. Some transfer, some use Stayman. My preferred method is Stayman.

-         But whatever scheme you do use, are you able to distinguish between weak, invitational and game forcing hands and also differentiate between 5-4’s and 5-5’s? One scheme is recommended in the NT bidding book but it’s all a bit advanced.

-         Finding minor suit slams is always difficult; and it’s especially difficult after a 1NT opening. MSS (2♠ as Minor Suit Stayman) is one possibility but you cannot use it if responder has a major suit (as he would try Stayman) and MSS is not that efficient anyway.

-         SARS solves everything, whether responder has a 4 card major or not, but it is not that well known. Established/experienced pairs may wish to check it out – it’s on the web.

-         Another possibility with this North hand is to splinter. But I don’t think it’s really suitable with this great ♠ suit and not many people play splinters over a 1NT opening. There is a somewhat advanced scheme described in the NT bidding book but this hand is not really suitable and SARS solves everything anyway.

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:     2♥. Strong (game forcing and usually slam seeking) with a very good suit. This is the standard use of the jump shift. A strong 2♥ really makes life easy as you never have to look for strange forcing bids later. With this particular hand a 1♥ response is also fine as you can reverse into ♠’s next go.

Hand B:      3♠, invitational. Do not listen to the ‘points pundits’ who say it’s ‘only 7 points’. A 6 card major opposite a 1NT opener is a huge plus and this hand is easily worth an invitation in my opinion.

Hand C:     1♥, obviously. But playing Benjamin twos then open 2♣, this hand is easily worth a strong two in ♥’s.

Hand D:     Dbl. This is a competitive double, showing the two unbid suits and usually tolerance for partner’s suit. With ♦Kx this bid is ideal. A 3♥ bid is very dangerous as partner will pass with nothing much in ♥’s (a new suit opposite an overcall is generally played as constructive but not forcing) and it may also be that ♣’s or ♦’s may play better.

Hand E:      1♣. Now I guess that 1NT is possible, but I do not like it because with two doubletons I only really like to open 1NT if they are both reasonable (Qx or better). Also, I think that this hand is a bit too good for 1NT and you have no rebid problem if you open 1♣ (bid 2♥ over either a 1♦ or 1♠ or 1NT response).

Hand F:      It’s up to your partnership how you bid major suited hands over 1NT.

(a)    If you elect to transfer (so 2♥) then bid 3♥ next go, promising 5 ♠’s, 4 ♥’s and game forcing unless you have another agreement.

(b)   If you elect to bid Stayman then you have more options after partner’s 2♦ response. ‘Standard’ is to jump to 3♠ showing 5 ♠’s and 4 ♥’s. It is played as game forcing in the States (some play Smolen) but some Europeans play it as just invitational. 3♣ after bidding Stayman is often played as a good ♣ suit but the best solution is SARS which is written up in the NT bidding book.

 

 

What is 2NT?       In an uninterrupted sequence like 1♣ - 2♥ - 2NT where 2♥ is played as weak (that is not standard), 2NT is best played as Ogust (or whatever you play 2NT as opposite a weak two opener).