Club News Sheet – No. 226    www.pattayabridge.com        4th March 2007

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Mon 26th    1st N-S     Alain & Jean-Charles          64%         2nd    Jeremy & Sally                 57%

                  1st E-W    Ivy & Wolfgang                  59%         2nd    Gastone & Paul Sav..       58%

Wed 28th    1st            Ivy & Wolfgang                  61%         2nd    Bob/Mike = Hugh/Sally    54%

Fri  2nd       1st N-S     Hugh & Sally                      60%         2nd    Bob & Mike                     59%

                  1st E-W    Clive & Dave                     68%         2nd    Gerry & Tony                   58%

 

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           With do you open with Hand A?

 

♠ AKJ2            ♠ 82

♥ AK7532       ♥ 965               With Hand B LHO opens 2NT and RHO bids 3♣, Stayman.

♦ QJ                 ♦ 1065             What do you do?

♣ Q                 ♣ AQJ32

 

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C you open 1♣ and partner bids 1♥. RHO then

sticks in a somewhat inconvenient 2♦, what do you do?

♠ QJ42            ♠ J2                                              

♥ 10                 ♥ 9                   With Hand D partner opens 1♠ and you respond 2♣ (or 2♦).   

♦ AJ6               ♦ K10975        Partner then bids 2♥, what do you bid now?             

♣ AJ532          ♣ AQJ94

                                               

Bidding Sequences Quiz        All of these sequences occurred this week

 

E      1♣     pass   1♥      2♦      How strong is the 2NT bid?

2NT

F      1♣     pass   1♥      2♦      How strong is the 2♠ bid?

2♠

G     1♣     pass   1♥      2♦      What is the double?

dbl

Leading Quiz

H     West                    West          North         East            South

♠ K5                    -                 -                 -                 1♣

        ♥ J8                     pass           1♥              2♦              2NT      

♦ Q852                3♦              3♥              pass           3NT      

♣ KQ876            all pass

You are West, on lead against 3NT. Which ♦ do you lead?

 

J      West                    West          North         East            South

♠ 9643                 -                 -                 -                 2NT

        ♥ 1074                 pass           3♣             dbl             3♦ 

♦ Q742                pass           3NT           all pass

♣ K9                   all pass

What card should West lead after partner has doubled the 3♣ Stayman bid?
Editorial

Problems, problems, problems …

As if I did not have enough problems (finding a suitable venue that everybody will like is an impossible task) a number of players decided to cause me more problems last week.

Without saying who is right or wrong (in my opinion) no less than 5 players were involved in totally ridiculous petty conflicts this week: -

Alain, Jean-Charles, Mike, Bob and Clive all contributed to it being a pretty miserable week for me.

In summary, here are a few of what we had: -

1    Talking (in a foreign language) during the play of the hand.

2    Arguing about the last board instead of getting on with the next board.

3    An opponent walking out for a board when he was sick of the opponents behaving as 2 above.

4    A pair demanding an adjusted score when a board had not been played because of 3 above.

5    A pair not accepting an adjusted score when they sat N-S and a board was fouled at their table.

6    The usual continual complaints about the temperature (too hot – too cold).

 

Here is my opinion and ruling on just these points.

1        Talking during the play is not allowed in the strict rules of bridge. We do make exceptions at this club in that any player may ask any other play if he has revoked and friendly comments that do not pass information to partner are allowed. Indicating that partner has made a bad play is not allowed and speaking in a foreign language that the opponents do not understand during the play is both not allowed and extremely rude. If you feel you need to say something during the play, then say it in English.

2        All post-mortems should be left to the end of the round. This is very clearly written in the club rules. It is rule 5 on the score cards, I suggest that people who religiously fill in these score cards every week read (and obey) the rules written on them?

3        Walking out in the middle of a round is unacceptable – simply call the director and I will tell the opponents to get on with the next board if necessary.

4        Up to now I have always given pairs their average for boards not played. One pair were not happy with this and on this one occasion I (rightly or wrongly) gave then a favourable adjusted score. They were not so happy about accepting an unfavourable adjustment for a different board fouled at their table!

5        It is the duty of every played to ‘defend’ their cards. Only you (or partner if declarer) are allowed to touch your cards. You are responsible for them being returned to the correct slot of the board. If an opponent wishes to see your cards you may show them to him (or on Mon/Fri simply give him the traveller). If a board is mis-boarded with say the E-S hands switched, then everybody at that table will receive an unfavourable adjusted score. If a board is mis-boarded with just the N-S (or E-W) hands switched then that pair will receive an unfavourable adjusted score. This is very clearly stated in WBF rules.

6        We will be moving downstairs next week (from Wed 7th May), so hopefully the temperature issue will be resolved and I am actively looking for a new venue anyway.

 

Running this club peacefully is not easy. It seems that an enormous number of players have grudges against other players. Please try not to make life so difficult for me.
Passed out in 1♥ making 10 tricks                      Board 9 from Monday 26th

What did you open with Hand A in this week’s quiz? In Standard American it’s a clear 1♥ opener (nowhere near good enough for 2♣) and ½ of the field were left to play in 1♥ with 4♥ cold. The answer, of course, is to play Benjamin twos.

 

Dealer:             ♠ 54                                               Table A

North               ♥ J1084                                         West          North         East          South(A)

E-W vul           ♦ 982                                             -                 pass           pass         1♥    (1)

                        ♣ 7543                                          pass   (2)    pass (3)      pass (4)

 

♠ 10987                N             ♠ Q63                      Table B

♥ Q                    W    E          ♥ 96                         West          North         East          South(A)

♦ K43                    S              ♦ A10765               -                 pass           pass         1♥    (1)

♣ A10962                              ♣ KJ8                      dbl    (2)     2♥    (5)      pass         4♥

                        ♠ AKJ2                                          all pass

♥ AK7532                                    

♦ QJ                                              ‘Expert’ Table

♣ Q                                               West          North         East          South(A)

-                 pass           pass         2♣   (1)

pass           2♦    (6)      pass         2♥    (7)

pass           4♥    (8)      all pass

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? It’s nowhere near good enough for 2♣ and unless playing strong twos (or Benjamin twos) I too would open 1♥.

(2)   Pass is fine.

(3)   And North has nowhere near enough to bid in an uncontested auction.

(4)   In the balancing seat I would double, but pass (as found at 4 out of 8 tables) worked very well.

Table B:     (2)  This West chose to double, it’s marginal (the ♥Q is not worth two points).

(5)  But now North has enough for 2♥ after a double (it’s weak).

‘Expert’      (1)  Our experts do not like to play comfortable game contracts in partscores, and so

 Table               they play Benjamin twos. 2♣ here was 8 playing tricks.

(6)   It’s usually best to simply relay over a Benjamin 2♣ and find out partner’s hand type.

(7)   8 playing tricks in ♥’s.

(8)   Our experts not play the Benjamin two as forcing, so 3♥ here would be invitational. Thus 4♥ shows two tricks and no more. If you do not think that this hand is worth two tricks in support of a strong two, then have a look at my article entitled ‘the problem with playing tricks’.

 

And what happened? The deal was played 8 times and four South’s played in 1♥ +3. One more somehow managed to stop in 3♥ (+1) and just three bid game.

The bottom lines:

-         Play Benjamin twos.

 

 

A silly double – I don’t think so                          Board 25 from Monday 26th Feb

What was you answer to question B in this week’s quiz? One experienced player said that double at (3) was ‘silly’. That really is just a silly comment – double is obvious and what at least four players (including me) bid at the table.

 

Dealer:             ♠ 82                                              

North               ♥ 965                                             West          North(B)    East          South

E-W vul           ♦ 1065                                           -                 pass           2NT (1)    pass

                        ♣ AQJ32                                       3♣     (2)    dbl   (3)      3♦    (4)    pass

3NT           all pass

♠ AJ75                  N             ♠ KQ10                  

♥ QJ82              W    E          ♥ AK3                    

♦ 98                       S              ♦ AKJ3                  

♣ 1086                                  ♣ 754                     

                        ♠ 9643                                          

♥ 1074                                          

♦ Q742                                        

♣ K9                                            

 

(1)   With a totally flat 4333 type shape this is a doubtful 2NT opener.

(2)   Stayman.

(3)   Showing good ♣’s and asking for a ♣ lead. This is very obvious – any other lead will likely cost a trick and on a good day dummy or partner will have the ♣K and a ♣ lead may set an eventual 3NT contract.

(4)   East has two extra bids after the double. Redouble generally shows good ♣’s and offers 3♣ doubled as a final contract should responder have reasonable ♣’s. That leaves 3♦ and pass when you have no major and it seems to me that one of these should show a ♣ stop and the other deny one. I do not know if there is a recognized treatment for this. It seems logical to me to use pass as showing a ♣ stop (partner may just wish to play in 3♣ doubled in the knowledge of something in ♣’s opposite). An alternative approach (as stated on the web site for interference over a 2♣ Stayman bid) is to play redouble as showing ♣’s (and so a stop), 2♦ as no 4 card major and pass as both 4 card majors.

 

And what happened? The deal was played 8 times. I know of four auctions where North doubled the Stayman bid, two South’s obediently led the ♣K to set the contracts and two South’s ignored partner’s double and let the contract make with an overtrick. 3NT was reached at all of the 8 tables and went down just the twice.

The bottom lines:

-         A double of 3♣ (or 3♦/♥ transfers) over a 2NT opening shows a good holding in the suit bid and asks for that suit to be led.

-         With Kx in a suit that partner has asked to be led, lead the king.

-         The double is clearly a very good bid. If the opponents run and land in 4♥ or 4♠ on the 4-3 fit then that does not score as much as 3NT making with overtricks which is what happens if you do not get a ♣ lead – and partner most certainly will not lead a ♣ unless you double.

 

Dave’s safety plays                                             Boards 17 & 27 from Wednesday 28th Feb

Dave put in two virtually identical prepared boards on Wednesday involving a safety play to ensure the contract. Here is his write-up, extracted from a bridge book: -

 

♠ 65                      N             ♠ J1093                   East opens 1NT which West raises to 3NT

♥ K54                W    E          ♥ AQ3                     with his long diamonds.

♦ A109763            S              ♦ KQ                     

♣ Q7                                     ♣ A962                    Lead: ♥J

                                                             

How do you play the hand?

Hint:     You have 3 ♥’s, 1 ♣ and at least 5 ♦’s. Think what may go wrong.

Tip:      If possible guard against a 4-1 break which occurs nearly one third of the time.

 

Play (according to Dave’s book): The point is that you need only 5 tricks in the ♦ suit and not 6. So you should win the first trick with the ♥A and play the ♦K. Then play the ♦Q overtaking with the ♦A. You then continue with the ♦10 and you still have the ♥K as an entry to dummy for the remaining ♦’s. The defence can take only 3 ♠ tricks and a ♦ trick which you conceded.

The contract will fail if you don’t overtake the ♦Q and the ♦’s split 4-1.

 

And what happened? Nobody found this safety play either time and usually went down.

 

Terry’s comments: -

I agree with Tomas, who played the hand twice and went down on both occasions. But who are Tomas and I to argue with this esteemed author? It seems to me that the line of play to adopt depends upon the competition type. At rubber bridge or teams it is essential to make the contract and you should play as indicated.

But at pairs scoring things are different. Overtricks are all important and I believe that on this particular deal you should certainly not overtake the 2nd ♦ at pairs scoring.

My reasoning: the author concedes that playing for the ♦’s 3-2 succeeds 2/3 of the time. So at pairs you will get an overtrick (and a shared top) 2/3 of the time and go down (so a bottom) 1/3 of the time. At pairs the size of the top or bottom does not matter.

 

The bottom lines: -

-         Sometimes the best line of play depends upon the scoring in use.

-         Overtricks are not that important at teams but are very important at pairs scoring - which is the type of scoring that we usually use at the Pattaya Bridge Club.

 

Beware of mis-fits                                                Board 16 from Wednesday 28th Feb

A familiar theme: -

 

Dealer:             ♠ A8754                                       

West                ♥ AQJ4                                         West          North         East          South(D)

E-W vul           ♦ QJ2                                             pass           1♠              pass         2♣   (1)

                        ♣ 7                                                pass           2♥              pass         2NT (2)

pass           3NT           all pass

♠ Q3                     N             ♠ K1096                 

♥ 108732           W    E          ♥ K65                     

♦ 64                       S              ♦ A83                    

♣ K1052                               ♣ 863                     

                        ♠ J2                                              

♥ 9                                                

♦ K10975                                    

♣ AQJ94                                      

 

(1)   I don’t think that it makes much difference if you choose 2♣ or 2♦.

(2)   But what did you bid with this South hand D in this week’s quiz? It’s a mis-fit but fortunately you have decent ♠ support, 2♠ is the bid. A bid of the other minor would be 4th suit forcing and 2NT will only lead to problems with a mis-fitting hand. Note that this hand started off as a good 11 points, but partner’s two bids means the hand is now junk.

 

And what happened? 5 tables out of six reached the hopeless 3NT, with the 6th in an equally hopeless 4♠.

The bottom lines:

-         Beware of mis-fits.

-         Bail out ASAP with mis-fits.

-         Do not play mis-fits in No Trumps unless you have points to spare.

-         Note that it’s a combined 25 points but 3NT went anything from one to three down.

 

 

 

Lead Quiz                   Same problem as on the front page, the full deal is on the next page.

West                            West          North         East            South

♠ K5                            -                 -                 -                 1♣

♥ J8                             pass           1♥              2♦              2NT      

♦ Q852                        3♦              3♥              pass           3NT      

♣ KQ876                    all pass

 

You are West, on lead against 3NT. Partner overcalled in ♦’s which you supported. Which ♦ do you lead?
Way too high                                Board 3 from Friday 2nd March

N-S got too high on this deal – what was the initial problem?

 

Dealer:             ♠ 9763                                          

South               ♥ AQ97543                                   West          North         East          South(C)

E-W vul           ♦ -                                                  -                 -                 -               1♣

                        ♣ 94                                              pass           1♥              2♦            2NT (1)

3♦              3♥    (2)      pass         3NT (3)

♠ K5                     N             ♠ A108                    pass           pass (4)      pass

♥ J8                   W    E          ♥ K62                     

♦ Q852                  S              ♦ K109743            

♣ KQ876                              ♣ 10                       

                        ♠ QJ42                                         

♥ 10                                              

♦ AJ6                                           

♣ AJ532                                       

 

(1)   What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? There are two reasonable options. If you play double here as negative (specifically 4 ♠’s without reversing values) then you can double, or you can simply pass. This 2NT bid shows a much stronger hand (sequence E – in principle 18+ points but perhaps a shade less). Remember, it is RHO who has pushed the bidding up to the two level and 2NT may well be too high. 2♠ would also be incorrect as it’s a reverse and promises a strong hand.

(2)   I play this as forcing.

(3)   I guess 3♠ is reasonable now; but it’s too high anyway.

(4)   North considered 4♥, but South has bid No Trumps twice and must have good ♦ stop(s)? 4♥ would also be too high if E-W find their ♠ ruff or ♣ ruff or both .

 

And what happened? 3NT went minus four. Virtually every N-S got too high on this board (presumably with similar bidding). 3♥ is the best spot. Five North’s were in 4♥ (with two making); just two N-S’s managed to stop fairly low in 3♥ and 3♠.

 

The bottom lines:

-         A 2NT bid after partner has responded at the one level shows 18-19 points.

-         This is still true if RHO overcalls at the two level although you may shade it slightly with a good holding in his suit.

-         13 points if far too much of a shade.

-         The bidding could have gone 1♣ p 1♥ 2♦ p 3♦ 3♥ allpass.

 

-         What did you lead in the bidding quiz on the previous page? With three or four to an honour you should lead low – it is incorrect to lead an honour in partner’s suit (unless you only have a doubleton). Dorothy (West) correctly led the ♦2; the ♦Q here would have given declarer a trick.

 

-         The answer to the ‘initial problem’ question posed at the top of the page is that South’s 2NT bid is an overbid.

 

 

Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:    1♥. It’s not good enough for a Standard American 2♣. But if you play Benjamin twos then open 2♣ (8 playing tricks in ♥’s).

Hand B:    dbl, asking for a ♣ lead.

Hand C:    pass. If you have agreed to play dbl here as negative (showing 4 ♠’s) then that’s possible but it’s not standard and would have to be agreed. 2♠ is a reverse showing 16+ points and 2NT also shows a strong hand of at least 16+.

Hand D:    2♠. It’s a mis-fit but luckily you do have decent ♠ support. 2NT is an overbid (because of the mis-fit) and bidding the other minor would be forcing and so a gross overbid.

 

 

Bidding Sequences Quiz Answers 

 

E      1♣     pass   1♥      2♦      2NT here is 18-19, partner may have as few as 5-6 points.

2NT

F      1♣     pass   1♥      2♦      The 2♠ bid is a reverse and so is 16+.

2♠

G     1♣     pass   1♥      2♦      In ‘standard’ double is penalties (i.e. showing good ♦’s). Many

dbl                                   experienced players play responsive doubles here, so then the double shows exactly three ♥’s. Another reasonable treatment is that the double is negative, specifically showing 4 ♠’s but insufficient values for a reverse.

Lead Quiz Answers

 

H         The ♦2. Leading the ♦Q will never gain and may well cost a trick if declarer has something like ♦AJx or ♦KJx. The ♦Q is only reasonable if you have reason to believe that dummy may have the ♦K. You should only lead the honour if it’s doubleton or maybe if you think that dummy has a higher honour. On this bidding dummy certainly has nothing in ♦’s.

J          The ♣K. Partner’s double of the 3♣ Stayman bid demands a ♣ lead; and, as I said above, with two to an honour you lead the honour.