Club News Sheet – No. 230 www.pattayabridge.com 1^st April 2007

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 086 6089887

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Mon 26^th 1^st N-S Jean-Charles & Alain 57% 2^nd Phil & Tomas 56%

1^st E-W Dave & Kenneth 60% 2^nd Jan & Wolfgang 59%

Wed 28^th 1^st N-S Wolfgang & Ivy 60% 2^nd Bob & Mike 51%

1^st E-W Dave & Terry 63% 2^nd Gene & Paul S 57%

Fri 30^th 1^st N-S Cornelia & Sean 60% 2^nd = Ivy & Wolfgang 53%

2^nd = Paul S & Ursula 53%

1^st E-W Jan & Richard 54% 2^nd Barbara & Bev 57%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A RHO opens 3♦, what do you bid?

♠ J1054 ♠ A32

♥ AKQ976 ♥ K3 With Hand B you open 1♦ and partner responds 1♥. You bid

♦ 5 ♦ 109763 1NT and partner bids 2♥, what do you do?

♣ K9 ♣ AK10

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

♠ 4 ♠ 4

♥ Q1073 ♥ AQ642 With Hand D RHO opens 1♠, what do you bid?

♦ QJ6 ♦ QJ6

♣ AQ642 ♣ Q1073

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

♠ 4 ♠ AK32 (a) What do you open with Hand F?

♥ QJ6 ♥ KQ (b) Suppose you choose 1♣ and partner responds 1♠, what

♦ Q1073 ♦ AQ7 do you bid now?

♣ AQ642 ♣ J1075

Hand G Hand H With Hand G RHO opens 2♥, what do you bid?

♠ A105 ♠ K10876543

♥ K5 ♥ 3

♦ AJ652 ♦ Q1083 With hand H you are dealer at favourable vulnerability, what

♣ A32 ♣ - do you open?

The Bidding Sequence Quiz is on the next page.
Bidding Sequences Quiz All of these sequences occurred this week

J 1♦ pass 1♥ pass (a) What is the 2♥ bid – Weak, invitational or forcing?

1NT pass 2♥ (b) How many ♥’s for the 2♥ bid?

K 1♦ pass 1♥ pass

1NT pass 2♥ pass What is the 3♦ bid?

3♦

L 1♣ pass 1♠ pass (a) How many points is 4♠?

4♠ (b) How many ♠’s for the 4♠ bid?

M 1♣ pass 1♠ pass (a) How many points is 2NT?

2NT (b) How many ♠’s for the 2NT bid?

N 1♣ pass 1♠ pass is 3♠ weak, invitational or forcing?

2NT pass 3♠

Don’t ask for kings unless you are looking for the grand Board 27 from Monday 26^th

They got into a poor spot at Table A when South passed North’s king ask – but then North deserved it as there was absolutely no point in asking for kings anyway!

Dealer: ♠ AJ2 Table A

South ♥ AK West North East South

Love all ♦ J105 - - - 1♣ (1)

♣ AKQJ9 pass 4♣ (2) pass 4♦

pass 5♣ (3) pass pass (4)

♠ 753 N ♠ 1084

♥ 42 W E ♥ J98653

♦ A8642 S ♦ 73 Table B

♣ 874 ♣ 63 West North East South

♠ KQ96 - - - 1♣ (1)

♥ Q107 pass 4NT (2) pass 5♣

♦ KQ9 pass 6NT (5) all pass

♣ 1052

Table A: (1) It’s 12 points and totally flat, so not normally worth an opener, but these two tens and good intermediates make it sound.

(2) Apparently asking for aces in their methods.

(3) So asking for kings? But what’s the point – with an ace missing North should simply bid 6NT.

(4) Presumably South should bid 4♠ to show two kings.

Table B: (2) Most pairs play 4NT to ask for aces (or keycards).

(5) And with just one ace missing 6NT is clear.

And what happened? Everybody but Table A bid as Table B with 6NT making or making +1 on two occasions. The bottom lines: -

- Don’t ask for kings unless you are looking for a grand slam.

Open or rebid 1NT and partner’s in charge Board 7 from Monday 26^th

We all know by now, I hope, that when you open 1NT then partner is the captain. The same is true if you open, partner responds and you rebid 1NT (showing 12-14 points): -

Dealer: ♠ QJ764 Table A

South ♥ Q West North East(B) South

Both vul ♦ K54 - - - pass

♣ J632 pass pass 1♦ pass

1♥ pass (1) 1NT pass

♠ 98 N ♠ A32 2♥ (2) pass (3) 3♦ (4) all pass

♥ AJ842 W E ♥ K3

♦ Q8 S ♦ 109763 Table B

♣ 9875 ♣ AK10 West North East(B) South

♠ K105 - - - pass

♥ 109765 pass pass 1♦ pass

♦ AJ2 1♥ pass (1) 1NT pass

♣ Q4 pass (2) 2♠ (5) all pass

Table A: (1) It’s a bit dangerous to bid 1♠ here in the sandwich seat.

(2) West knows that partner has at most 3 ♠’s and that NoTrumps will probably not play well, so he elected to rebid his 5 card suit.

(3) 2♠ here is reasonable as both opponents are limited.

(4) What did you bid with this East hand B in this week’s quiz? Any bid here other than pass is diabolical, especially when holding ♥Kx.

Table B: (1) This West chose to pass 1NT, also quite reasonable.

(2) This West chose to pass, fine.

(5) This is the balancing seat with both opponents limited and 2♠ is a good bid.

And what happened? 3♦ by East at Table A went two down for an absolute bottom. Deep Finesse says that 2♥ makes and so was the top spot. 2♠ by North as at Table B was bid 3 times and made exactly every time, scoring well - but not as well as the 200 gift that N-S got at Table A.

The bottom lines: -

- When you open and then rebid 1NT (balanced 12-14) then partner is the captain. If he elects to rebid his suit then it’s usually a 6-carder and a pass by you is mandatory.

- Partners do not like being taken out of the top spot into the bottom spot.

- Even if you are not obliged to pass, a suit like ♦109763 is most certainly not rebiddable.

Pass partner’s 2♣ Stayman bid? Board 1 from Monday 26^th

Of course you should never pass 2♣ Stayman, but there are always exceptions? …

Dealer: ♠ K109 Table A

North ♥ 765 West North East South

Love all ♦ J1093 - pass pass 1♣

♣ 865 1NT (1) pass 2♣ (2) pass

pass (3) pass

♠ QJ7 N ♠ 543

♥ A8 W E ♥ 10932

♦ 74 S ♦ AQ652 Table B

♣ AKQJ42 ♣ 9 West North East South

♠A862 - pass pass 1♣

♥ KQJ4 1NT (1) pass 2♣ (2) pass

♦ K8 2♦ (3) pass pass (4) pass

♣ 1073

Table A: (1) A rather off-beat 1NT overcall, but it does have a ♣ stop!

(2) Garbage Stayman, with a singleton ♣ East plans to pass any response.

(3) But East is a passed hand and West took the rather strange view to pass.

Table B: (1) This West also chose the offbeat 1NT overcall

(3) But this time he responded.

(4) And they played in the 5-3 fit.

And what happened? 2♣ made for an average, 2♦ was one down.

The bottom lines: -

- This passing Stayman is a very dangerous option as partner may well have enough for game, even if he is a passed hand.

Dave’s Column Boards 9 (& 18) from Wednesday 28th

Here is this week’s Dave input involving a play to ensure the contract.

♠ K10876543 You open 4♠ as North and all pass.

♥ 4 How do you play on the lead of a ♦?

♦ - Assuming you ruff and decide to pull trumps, which ♠ do you lead?

♣ Q1083

♠ -

♥ A8632

♦ Q10962

♣ AK6

Dave’s Column answer

Look at the missing spots Boards 9 (& 18) from Wednesday 21^st

Dave put these virtually identical two boards in on Wednesday. East hand the 4♠ opener when it was board 18

Dealer: ♠ K10876543 North opens 4♠ (Hand H) and all pass, how

North ♥ 3 do you play the hand on the ♣A lead?

E-W vul ♦ Q1083

♣ - Hint: You certainly can afford only 3 trump

losers and you have to worry about a possible

♠ AQJ2 N ♠ 9 ♦ loser.

♥ K1092 W E ♥ QJ7

♦ J6 S ♦ 9742 Tip: When you have a broken sequence

♣ J75 ♣ AK843 opposite a void it is often best not to start

♠ - with the top card.

♥ A8654

♦ AK5

♣ Q10962

Play: You need to play the ♠ suit for maximum tricks here. The best line is to ruff the ♣ lead and play the ♠10 [but see my (Terry) comments below]. This restricts your trump losers to three when there is a singleton ace or nine. And still leaves you the chance of only two trump losers when the ace is doubleton. Leading the ♠K is the best line for ensuring only three trump losers, but you do not know yet whether there will be a ♦ loser

______________________________________________________________________________

And what happened at Pattaya Bridge Club? The board(s) was played a total of 12 times and 4♠ by North(9) or East (18) was reached just seven times, doubled on five occasions.

Terry’s comments: I held the long ♠ hand as East on board 18 and ruffed the opening lead and immediately led the ♠K. The main worry is a possible a 4-1 ♠ split and it seems to me that the ♠K is better than the ♠10 as it works when there is a singleton ♠Q or ♠J or ♠9. Playing the ♠10 only works when there is a singleton ♠A or ♠9. Leading the ♠K results in 4 trump losers if it’s a singleton ♠A or ♠2; leading the ♠10 results in 4 trump losers if it’s a singleton ♠Q, ♠J or ♠2; leading the ♠8 results in 4 trump losers whatever the singleton is. I think it’s best to play the ♠K; but I may be wrong and do not pretend to be an expert. Clearly leading a low ♠ (as at least one player did) only works if there is a singleton ♠A and is definitely inferior. Playing the ♠10 rather than the ♠K is more likely to lose 4 trump tricks but it does gain when the ♠’s are 3-2 with a doubleton ♠A.

Actually, I was the only declarer to make 10 tricks, with two declarers making just 8 tricks. I know that some led a low ♠, some failed in a sort of no-win ruffing play and another suffered a ♦ ruff by West when trying to get to hand ½ way through the play with the ♦Q rather than taking a safe ♣ ruff. Dave’s book’s suggested line of leading the ♠10 would also yield 10 tricks.

At my table I led the ♠K which West won; he led the ♦J which I won with the ♦Q in order to lead another trump. West won and I won his second ♦ in dummy (South). I returned to hand with a ♣ ruff (not a ♦ which West may ruff) and led another trump. West led a ♥ which I won with the ♥A, ruffed another ♣ and drew the outstanding ♠2. The ♦ 10 was good and I still had a trump to reach it so that’s 10 tricks.

Double trouble – part 1 Board 19 from Monday 26^th

Double or overcall? - this is a problem on some deals. I was asked about North’s overcall at Table A on this deal. Expert opinion is fairly unanimous – overcall with a 5 card major and double should be playable in the other three suits. But hands C, D and E in this week’s quiz are interesting as they are the same (except that I switched the suits around) and with two I would overcall but with the other one I would double.

Dealer: ♠ 4 Table A

South ♥ Q1073 West North(C) East South

E-W vul ♦ QJ6 - - - pass

♣ AQ642 1♠ 2♣ (1) 3♠ (2) 4♣ (3)

all pass

♠ A109873 N ♠ KQJ5

♥ A W E ♥ 852

♦ A942 S ♦ 1053 Table B

♣ 103 ♣ 985 West North(C) East South

♠ 62 - - - pass

♥ KJ964 1♠ dbl (1) 3♠ (4) 4♥ (5)

♦ K87 all pass

♣ KJ7

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? With four decent ♥’s and playable in the three suits I prefer a double to the 2♣ overcall.

(2) A good bid if you play it as pre-emptive after an overcall – as this pair do.

(3) South has no room to show his ♥’s safely.

Table B: (1) This North correctly chose to double.

(4) And most pairs play that a jump to the three level is pre-emptive after a double.

(5) But this time it’s different for South as he can be sure of ♥ support opposite, so 4♥ is clear.

And what happened? Two N-S’s reached 4♥, making. 4♣ made for about average and there were the usual spurious results.

The bottom lines: -

- Over a 1♠ opening, double if you have 10+ points, 4 ♥’s and are playable in both minors; as this hand C.

- But with 5 ♥’s (the similar Hand D) it’s best to overcall with 2♥.

- And with just 3 ♥’s (the similar Hand E) it’s best to overcall with 2♣ or pass.

Double trouble – part 2 Board 2 from Friday 30^th

Here we have a double when I would certainly have overcalled with the solid SIX card major. I was one of the opponents and my partner (Philip - East) said it was ‘stimulating’ playing with me as a partner – nobody else played in 3NT minus 5 for a top!

Dealer: ♠ K972 Table A

East ♥ J5 West(me) North East South(A)

N-S vul ♦ J7 - - 3♦ (1) dbl (2)

♣ AQ873 3NT (3) pass (4) pass pass (5)

♠ AQ8 N ♠ 63

♥ 106 W E ♥ 832

♦ AK6 S ♦ Q1098432 Table B

♣ J10652 ♣ 4 West North East South(A)

♠ J1054 - - 3♦ (1) 3♥ (2)

♥ AKQ976 4♦ (6) 4♥ (7) all pass

♦ 5

♣ K9

Table A: (1) I personally approve of my partner’s 3♦ opening. At this vulnerability you don’t promise much and the suit has the ultimate in solid intermediates. Good bid.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? In my opinion dbl - ‘to show an opening hand’ is totally absurd. When the hand was over South tried to justify his double by saying that he had to double ‘to show his points’. He was asked how many points a 3♥ overcall would have shown? He replied ‘8’. I have never heard of a 3-level overcall in the direct seat not showing at least opening values.

(3) This was me of course – ‘if 3NT is an option, then bid it’. My reasoning was that we have 7 ♦ tricks and since North has no idea what to lead due to South’s absurd double he may well lead a ♠ and the contract would then make!

(4) I have no idea about South’s ‘thoughts’, but he presumably placed West with a very big hand and North with nothing. 4♥ seems obvious but then 3♥ was even more obvious last go.

Table B: (1) This South correctly decided that ♥AKQJxx was a good enough suit to overcall.

(6) And obviously West is not bidding 3NT when he knows that there is going to be a ♥ lead.

(7) This is the good thing about partner bidding a (six card) suit rather than a fatuous double – you can support with a decent doubleton and will lead the suit against 3NT.

And what happened? Most N-S’s bid sensibly to 4♥, making +1. 3NT at Table A went minus 5 (so only 250 away) for a top to E-W as N-S have a cold ♥ game.

The bottom lines: -

- Obviously my message is not getting through to everybody – do not double ‘to show an opening hand’.

- If I was this South’s partner then I would have led a ♠ and E-W would have made 3NT with 5♥ cold for N-S! But it made no difference if 3NT made or went five down – it was still a top for E-W.

- If you have a bidding style where ♥AKQxxx does not even get mentioned – change it!

Double trouble – part 3 Board 21 from Friday 30^th

Here we have another popular topic in the news-sheets – do not double ♥’s without 4 ♠’s (or a very good hand).

Dealer: ♠ 2 Table A

North ♥ Q108763 West North East(G) South

N-S vul ♦ 107 - 2♥ (1) dbl (2) pass

♣ QJ94 4♠ (3) all pass

♠ KJ84 N ♠ A105

♥ AJ4 W E ♥ K5

♦ K98 S ♦ AJ652 Table B

♣ K106 ♣ A32 West North East(G) South

♠ Q9763 - 2♥ (1) 2NT (2) pass

♥ 92 3NT all pass

♦ Q43

♣ 875

Table A: (1) Just 5 points and unfavourable vulnerability – so a 2♥ opener? I guess it depends upon your style/partnership understanding but 2♥ is fine by me; good intermediates and shape.

(2) What did you bid with this East hand G in this week’s quiz? It’s 16 points and a ♥ stop so I prefer the bid at Table B. And I don’t like to double 2♥ without 4 ♠’s unless very strong.

(3) This 4♠ bid looks right to me on this auction.

Table B: (1) This East, with his ♥ stop and just 3 ♠’s, correctly overcalled 2NT.

And what happened? 3NT (+1 or +2) was the best spot. 4♠ made exactly but did not get an outright bottom as two East’s went down in 6NT. Incidentally, Deep Finesse says that 7NT makes by either East or West against best defence. I guess that an against the odds backward finesse in ♦’s (thus pinning the ten) gets 5 ♦ tricks and there are 4 ♠ tricks if you play South for the ♠Q and ♠9 and together with two ♥’s and two ♣’s that’s 13. Simple when you see all 4 hands, eh?

The bottom lines: -

- Don’t double ♥’s without 4 ♠’s.

- With a stop in the suit opened and 15-18 points, overcall in NoTrumps.

Don’t open 1NT with 19 points Board 11 from Friday 30^th

I had to adjust a score on this board when somebody opened 1NT (15-17) with a decent 19 point hand. And there was another interesting bidding sequence at another table.

Dealer: ♠ AK32 Table A

South ♥ KQ West North(F) East South

Love all ♦ AQ7 - - - pass

♣ J1075 pass 1NT (1) pass ?? (2)

♠ Q74 N ♠ 9

♥ A985 W E ♥ J10742 Table B

♦ J653 S ♦ K1082 West North(F) East South

♣ A2 ♣ 983 - - - pass

♠ J10865 pass 1♣ (1) pass 1♠

♥ 636 pass 2NT (3) pass pass (4)

♦ 94 pass

♣ KQ64

Table A: (1) What did you open with this North hand F(a) in this week’s quiz? It’s a decent 19 count with a working ten and is far too good for 1NT.

(2) I don’t know the exact bidding but N-S ended up in 4♠ redoubled making and I was called over. I said to adjust the score to 4♠ making with no double or redouble.

Table B: (1) This North got it right with a 1♣ opening.

(3) What did you bid with this North hand F(b) in this week’s quiz? 2NT does indeed show an 18-19 point hand – but not with 4 card support for partner’s major!! The correct bid is 4♠, 18-19 with 4 card support and no singleton (else splinter).

(4) Partner’s 2NT is not forcing, but with a 5 card suit and good support for partner’s suit I would bid 3♠ which I play as forcing.

And what happened? 2NT went minus one. Everybody else was in 4♠ either making or going also minus one.

The bottom lines: -

- A 1NT opening is 15-17 (or whatever your agreed range is). One point outside is acceptable, but two is not.

- The jump rebid of 2NT is 18-19 without 4 card support for partner’s major; and, most importantly, it is not forcing!

- As I said, I would bid a forcing 3♠ at (4) but the blame for missing the 4♠ game lies squarely on North’s shoulders.

- The play of the ♠ suit is the key to making 4♠ or not on this deal. Finesse or 8 ever 9 never? When East plays the ♠9 on the first round of the suit it may be best to play for the finesse – it’s very close.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 3♥, obviously. But at least one player did double ‘to show an opening hand’. A 3♥ overcall shows at least opening values and double with this hand is, quite simply, very silly.

Hand B: Pass, totally automatic. This is only in the quiz because one player chose 3♦. This was not a success and he later asked me if he should have bid 2NT instead!!

Hand C: Dbl. The hand has 4 ♥’s and is playable in all three suits.

Hand D: 2♥. With a 5 card major it’s best to overcall rather than double. Pass is a somewhat less aggressive but reasonable alternative.

Hand E: 2♣. I don’t like to double 1♠ with just three ♥’s unless the hand is very strong. Pass is reasonable – especially if partner expects 6 ♣’s for the overcall.

Hand F: (a) 1♣, the hand is far too good for 1NT

(b) 4♠, showing a balanced 18-19 with 4 ♠’s. 2NT also shows a balanced 18-19 but is a poor bid for two reasons – (1) partner may pass and (2) it denies 4 ♠’s.

Hand G: 2NT, 18-20 or so with a ♥ stop. Dbl is a poor alternative with just three ♠’s.

Hand H: 4♠.

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers

J 1♦ pass 1♥ pass 2♥ should show 6 ♥’s (maybe a very good 5 with weak ♠’s).

1NT pass 2♥ It is weak and opener is obliged to pass.

K 1♦ pass 1♥ pass

1NT pass 2♥ pass The 3♦ bid here is simply ridiculous.

3♦

L 1♣ pass 1♠ pass 4♠ here is about 18-19 points, balanced with 4 ♠’s.

4♠

M 1♣ pass 1♠ pass 2NT here is about 18-19 points, balanced with less than 4 ♠’s.

2NT

N 1♣ pass 1♠ pass I play any bid over the strong 2NT rebid as forcing unless I

2NT pass 3♠ have some other agreement and play NMF or CBS.