Club News Sheet – No. 185    www.pattayabridge.com   20th  May 2006

 

Mon 15th   Pairs   1st    Dinie & Terry                   67%       2nd    Dave Cutler & Emil            62%

Wed 17th    Indiv   1st equal             Jan v Koss = Phil Lovell                                                 59%

Fri    19th    Indiv   1st    Ivy Schlageter                   60%       2nd    Bill Noe                              57%

 

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           Do you open with Hand A?

 

♠ AK107         ♠ KJ3              With Hand B partner opens 1♠,

♥ QJ1092        ♥ J109             (a) What do you bid?

♦ 95                 ♦ A4                (b)  Suppose you choose 2♣ and partner bids 2♥, what now?  

♣ 103              ♣ Q7654         (c)  Suppose you choose 2♣ and partner bids 3♥, what now?  

 

Hand C           Hand D           It’s love all, 1st seat. What do you open with Hand C?

 

♠ Q                  ♠ 82                                              

♥ AQJ10632   ♥ AK3             With Hand D LHO opens 1♥ and this is passed round to you,

♦ 7                   ♦ AQ10           what do you bid?   

♣ 8653            ♣ AQJ64

 

Hand E            Hand F            With Hand E you open 1♠, LHO overcalls 2♥ and this is passed

                                                round to you, what do you do?

♠ A9652          ♠ AQ1062      

♥ Q                  ♥ AQ6             (a)  What do you open with Hand F?

♦ A1087          ♦ 72                 (b)  Suppose you choose 1♠ and partner responds 2♣, what now?

♣ A76              ♣ A82

 

Hand G           Hand H           With Hand G you open 1♣ and partner responds 1♦. RHO then comes in with 1♠, what do you do?

♠ -                   ♠ A4

♥ AJ108          ♥ A1065          With Hand H you open 1♦ and partner responds 1♠. RHO then

♦ Q95              ♦ K642            comes in with 2♣, what do you do?

♣ A109654      ♣ Q97

 

Bidding Sequences Quiz

 

J      2♦      2NT                       2♦ was multi (so usually a weak ♥ or ♠ hand). What is the 2NT overcall? Is 2NT forcing?

K     1♣     pass   1♦    1♠       

dbl                                   what is dbl?

L      1♦      pass   1♠    2♣      

2NT                                 how many points is 2NT?

M    1♦      pass   pass 2NT     how many points is 2NT? Is it unusual?

There is no interference in the following sequences: -

N     1♠ - 2♣ - 2♥ - 3♠            What is 3♠?

P      1♠ - 2♣ - 3♥ - 3♠            What is 3♠? Is it weakish (+-11 points) or stronger?

Q     1♠ - 2♣ - 3♥ - 4♠            What is 4♠? Is it weakish (+-11 points) or stronger?
It’s not unusual                                                    Board 20 from Monday 15th

 

 What was your answer to bidding sequence M this week? There is no such thing as a pre-empt in the pass-out seat: -

 

Dealer:             ♠ QJ63                         

West                ♥ 64                                               West(A)     North         East          South(D)

Both vul            ♦ J6432                                          1♥    (1)      pass           pass         2NT (2)

                        ♣ K8                                             pass           3NT (3)      all pass    

 

♠ AK107              N             ♠ 954                      

♥ QJ1092          W    E          ♥ 875                      

♦ 95                       S              ♦ K87                     

♣ 103                                    ♣ 9752                   

                        ♠ 82                                              

♥ AK3                                          

                        ♦ AQ10                                        

                        ♣ AQJ64        

 

 

(1)   Did you open this West hand A in this week’s quiz? It’s 19 (for the rule of 20) but that solid ♥ suit, 3 tens, and the great intermediates make it well worth an opener in my opinion.

(2)   What did you bid with this South hand D in this week’s quiz? Double would be a poor bid with a doubleton ♠ and 1NT is a gross underbid. But fortunately 2NT in this position shows this hand exactly – it is not unusual in this seat by a non-passed hand.

(3)   3♣, Stayman, would be a better bid here but N-S had not agreed that Stayman and transfers applied over 2NT.

 

And what happened? Every N-S pair reached 3NT, with results ranging from +3, +1, exact and -1(!).

 

The bottom lines: -

-     2NT in the balancing seat is not unusual by an unpassed hand.

 

7 ♥’s and 9 pts, so open 3♥ ?                              Board 24 from Monday 15th

 

 

Dealer:             ♠ AK63                                         Table A

West                ♥ 94                                               West(C)     North         East          South

Both vul            ♦ K108432                                    3♥    (1)      pass (2)      pass         pass

                        ♣ 10

                       

♠ Q                       N             ♠ 10842                   Table B

♥ AQJ10632     W    E          ♥ -                           West(C)     North         East          South

♦ 7                         S              ♦ AQ6                     3♥              dbl   (2)      pass         3♠

♣ 8653                                  ♣ AQJ974               all pass

                        ♠ J975                                          

♥ K875                                         

                        ♦ J95                                             

                        ♣ K2              

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? Everybody chose 3♥ on Monday. Now a 4♥ opening normally promises 8 ♥’s, but with these great solid ♥’s and two singletons (and thus a 2nd 4 card suit) I think that it is well worth a 4♥ opener.

(2)  This North hand is not really worth a bid.

Table B:     (2)  This North tried a rather light double as he was not vulnerable, and was relieved when the bidding died out at 3♠.

 

And what happened? 2♠ went two down but still scored a top as every other E-W were scoring 170 in 3♥ +1.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         1714 shape is worth a 4♥ opener if the ♥’s are fairly solid.

-         Note the importance of intermediates making a solid trump suit. 4♥ is an easy make even opposite a void because of the solidity of the trump suit. Change the trump suit to something like ♥AQ108632 and even 3♥ may be in jeopardy.

 

 

Slow arrival?                                                        Board 15 from Friday 19th

 

There are a couple of very instructive points on this deal, where two experienced players got way too high: -

 

Dealer:             ♠ KJ3                                           

South               ♥ J109                                           West          North(B)    East          South(F)

N-S vul            ♦ A4                                              -                 -                 -               1♠    (1)

                        ♣ Q7654                                       pass           2♣   (2)      pass         3♥    (3) 

pass           3♠    (4)      pass         4NT (5)

♠ 87                      N             ♠ 954                       pass           5♥    (6)      pass         5NT (7)

♥ K73                W    E          ♥ 8542                     pass           6♣   (8)      pass         6♠    (9)

♦ KJ106                 S              ♦ Q7632                  all pass

♣ KJ109                                ♣ 3                         

                        ♠ AQ1062                                    

♥ AQ6                                          

                        ♦ 72

♣ A82             

 

(1)   What did you open with this South hand F(a) in this week’s quiz? A balanced hand with 16 points so 1NT is obviously an option. But this South (me!) did not like to open 1NT with a good 5 card major and a very weak doubleton and so opted for the 1♠ alternative.

(2)   What did you bid with this North hand B(a) in this week’s quiz? The hand has values for a raise to 3♠ but that generally promises 4 card ♠ support. The way to show a limit raise with just 3 card support is to bid a minor first with the intention of bidding 3♠ over a minimum response from partner.

(3)   What did you bid with this South hand F(b) in this week’s quiz? Here we see yet again the problem with not opening 1NT with a balanced 16 count – there is no good bid here. So South must ‘invent’ a forcing bid (the hand is too good for 2♠) and so he chose 3♥ in preference to bidding 3♦ which really would be a distortion. Note that playing 2/1 would be a lot easier here as any bid would be game forcing.

(4)   And what did you bid with this North hand B(c)? North’s intention was to bid an invitational 3♠ next, but partner’s game forcing 3♥ bid has changed that. The auction is now game forcing and so slow/fast arrival apply. With a minimum for his two level response North should jump to 4♠, fast arrival.

(5)   South took the 3♠ bid as encouraging. He could have cue bid as a prelude to Blackwood but with an unfamiliar partner chose to bid RKCB.

(6)   Two key cards.

(7)   With all the key cards present South investigates the grand with a king ask.

(8)   0 or 3 kings in their methods (the trump king does not count)

(9)   South does not know if it’s 0 or 3 and signs off. If partner indeed had the missing 3 kings he would correct to 7♠.

 

And what happened? West led a trump and the contract went one down.

The bottom lines: -

-         With a limit (to 3) raise of partner’s major, bid a minor and then 3 of his major,

-         But if partner jumps then jump to game (fast arrival) to show the minimum for a two level response.

-         Sometimes it is necessary to ‘invent’ a suit in order to make a forcing bid.

-     Play 2/1? Then the above sentence is rarely true and you certainly do not need to jump.
The ‘automatic’ re-opening double                     Board 12 from Friday 19th

 

E-W got way too high on this deal, what went wrong?

 

Dealer:             ♠ K4                                              Table A

West                ♥ AK9862                                     West(E)     North         East          South

N-S vul            ♦ Q53                                            1♠              2♥              pass (1)    pass

                        ♣ J8                                               3♦    (2)      pass           4NT (3)    pass

5♣   (4)      pass           6♠            all pass

♠ A9652               N             ♠ QJ3                     

♥ Q                    W    E          ♥ J10754                 Expert Table

♦ A1087                S              ♦ KJ62                     West(E)     North         East          South

♣ A76                                    ♣ 10                        1♠              2♥              pass (1)    pass

                        ♠ 1087                                           dbl   (2)      pass           pass (3)    3♣   (4)

♥ 3                                                 pass (5)      pass           3♠    (6)    pass

                        ♦ 94                                               4♠    (7)      all pass

♣ KQ95432   

 

Table A:     (1)  East wants to collect a vulnerable penalty, so playing negative doubles he passes and awaits partner’s ‘automatic’ re-opening double.

(2)   Unfortunately West forgot that he should double here.

(3)   East took West’s 3♦ bid as showing a huge unbalanced hand, so with a double fit he went off slamming.

(4)   0 or 3 key cards (for ♦’s).

‘Expert’      (2)  ‘automatic’.

Table        (3)  thank you partner.

(4)  But luckily for N-S they have somewhere to run.

(5)   These ♣’s are not good enough to double (penalties).

(6)   East’s hand is probably not quite good enough for 4♠.

(7)   But with 3 aces, good shape, known probable ♣ shortage opposite, and a 14 count West’s shot at game is very reasonable.

 

      And what happened? 6♠ went down. One N-S pair managed to land in 4♥ doubled going for 1100. The other E-W pair stopped in 3♠ making +1.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         If you play negative doubles, don’t forget about the ‘automatic’ re-opening double.

A negative double by opener?                             Board 13 from Friday 19th

 

N-S missed a comfortable 4♥ on this deal, what went wrong?

 

Dealer:             ♠ -

North               ♥ AJ108                                        West          North(G)    East          South

Both vul            ♦ Q95                                            -                 1♣             pass         1♦    (1)

                        ♣ A109654                                    1♠              2♣   (2)      pass         3NT (3) 

all pass

♠ AQJ103             N             ♠ 98752                  

♥ 543                 W    E          ♥ Q9                       

♦ K103                  S              ♦ 764                      

♣ K8                                     ♣ J32                      

                        ♠ K64                                           

♥ K762                                         

                        ♦ AJ82

♣ Q7              

 

(1)  Most players will bid ‘up the line’ here and bid 1♦ in preference to 1♥.

(2)  What did you bid with this North hand G in this week’s quiz? That depends upon your answer to bidding sequence K in this week’s quiz. Double here is penalties (showing ♠’s) as ‘standard’ but to play it a similar to a negative double (thus showing 4 ♥’s) is obviously a very sensible treatment, but it would have to be agreed. With no such agreement North was a bit stuck and chose to rebid his ♣ suit.

(3)  Clearly the value bid, and if NT is correct then South probably wants to be declarer. A forcing 2♥ would be an alternative but perhaps South thought that North had denied a 4 card ♥ suit?

 

And what happened? 3NT went one down, 4♥ is cold.

 

The bottom lines: -

-     You have to agree on sequence K. I think it’s probably best to play it as similar to a negative double, showing 4 ♥’s.

 

2NT rebid opposite a 1 level response shows a big hand            Board 7 from Friday 19th

 

South                     West          North         East            South(H)

♠ A4                      -                 -                 -                 1♦

♥ A1065                pass           1♠              2♣             2NT   (1)     

♦ K642                  pass           3NT           all pass

♣ Q97                  

 

(1)  What did you bid with this South hand H in this week’s quiz? Now you could play double here as similar to the previous deal, so sort of negative showing 4 ♥’s, but there is little point as partner has presumably denied ♥’s. So standard is that double is penalties. But what is 2NT here (sequence L)? Partner has only promised 6+ points and so 2NT must be a big hand, it most definitely is not 12-14. See table B for the correct bid.

 

      And what happened? Partner happened to have 13 points and so 3NT was comfortable.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         If you open, partner responds at the one level and RHO overcalls at the two level (so sequence L in this week’s sequence quiz); then 2NT by you shows a big hand. In principle it is 18-19 but you could shade this slightly with a very good holding in RHO’s suit. It most definitely is not 12-14.

-         There are lots of green pass cards in the bidding boxes – that’s because pass is often the best bid.

 

A 2NT overcall over a weak two is 15-18           Board 4 from Monday 15th

 

Dealer:             ♠ Q6                                             

West                ♥ QJ5                                            West          North         East          South

Both vul            ♦ AKJ9                                          2♦    (1)      2NT (2)      pass         3NT (3)

                        ♣ KJ104                                        all pass

 

♠ K873                 N             ♠ 9542                    

♥ A109432        W    E          ♥ K                         

♦ 4                         S              ♦ Q7632                 

♣ Q7                                     ♣ A65                     

                        ♠ AJ10                                          

♥ 876                                            

                        ♦ 1085

♣ 9832           

 

(1)  This West decided that with his decent ♥ suit he would ignore the usual advice about pre-empting with an outside 4 card major and effectively opened 2♥ (they were playing the multi).

(2)  2NT here is the same as a 1NT overcall over a 1-level opening, i.e. 15-18.

(3)  South (incorrectly) thought that North’s 2NT was forcing.

 

And what happened? 3NT went two down but scored an average.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         2NT over a two level weak bid (or a multi 2♦) is 15-18.

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:     1♥. The 10’s and excellent intermediates and two major suits make this well worth an opener.

Hand B:      (a)  2♣. You have the values for 3♠ but it’s best to have 4 trumps for the direct 3♠ bid. So bid 2♣ and then 3♠ next go.

(b)   3♠. Showing a raise to 3♠ (+- 11 points) with 3 card ♠ support.

(c)    4♠. Things are different after partner’s game forcing 3♥ bid. You have shown 11 points with the two level response and in a game forcing auction you should jump to game to show a minimum (fast arrival). 3♠ would show a stronger hand looking for slam.

Hand C:     4♥. The solid trumps and 2nd 4 card suit (so great shape) make this worth 4♥.

Hand D:     2NT. This is not the UNT in the pass-out seat, but shows a 2NT opener.

Hand E:      Dbl. ‘Automatic’ when playing negative doubles – and with a singleton ♥ you can be pretty sure that partner is lurking with a ♥ stack.

Hand F:      (a)  1♠ or 1NT. It depends upon your style. I don’t like to open 1NT with a good 5 card major and a weak doubleton but you may have a rebid problem if you open 1♠.

(b)   And here we are – no rebid! This is the problem with not opening 1NT with a balanced hand with 15-17 points. I actually held this hand and opened 1♠ and had this dilemma. Obviously you have to find a forcing bid and so 2♦, 2♥, 2♠, 2NT and 3♣ are out. 3NT is possible but I play that as 18-19. This is one of those situations where you have to ‘invent’ a suit. 3♦ is possible but I don’t like it with a weak doubleton (and who knows, somebody may accuse me of psyching?) and so I chose 3♥, I think that this is best. It’s usually not a good idea to ‘lie’ in a major but if partner does have 4 ♥’s and raised to 4♥ then I would have passed – a 4-3 Moysian fit should play well with the short trump hand being able to ruff a ♦.

Hand G:     Dbl – provided that you have agreed that this is similar to a negative double and shows 4 ♥’s. This is not standard but seems very sensible to me.

Hand H:     Pass. This shows a minimal (12-14) opener. You cannot bid 2NT as that would show a much bigger hand (partner has only promised 6 points).

 

Bidding Sequences Quiz Answers

 

J      2♦      2NT                       2♦ was multi (so usually a weak ♥ or ♠ hand). What is the 2NT overcall? Is 2NT forcing? Ans: 15-18. Not forcing..

K     1♣     pass 1♦      1♠       

dbl                                   what is dbl? Ans: I think it’s best to play this as showing 4 ♥’s.

L      1♦      pass 1♠      2♣      

2NT                                 how many points is 2NT? Ans: 18-19. (could be a shade less).

M    1♦      pass   pass 2NT     how many points is 2NT? Ans: 20-22, it’s not unusual in the pass-out seat by an unpassed hand.

There is no interference in the following sequences: -

M  1♠ - 2♣ - 2♥ - 3♠              What is 3♠? Ans: invitational, +- 11 points with 3 ♠’s.

N   1♠ - 2♣ - 3♥ - 3♠              What is 3♠? Ans: Strong with 3 ♠’s, slow arrival.

P    1♠ - 2♣ - 3♥ - 4♠              What is 4♠? Ans: +- 11 points with 3 ♠’s, fast arrival.