Club News Sheet – No. 250 www.pattayabridge.com 19^th Aug 2007

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880

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

My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com

My MSN messenger ID is tj_quested@hotmail.com

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Mon 13^th 1^st Lewis & Terry 67% 2^nd Dave & Jan 63%

Wed 15^th 1^st Paul Sc.. & Sid 65% 2^nd Lewis & Terry 64%

Fri 17^th 1^st Bob & Dave 64% 2^nd Gastone & Jan 60%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

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

♠ K53 ♠ 9543 (a) What do you open with Hand B?

♥ A54 ♥ 5 (b) Suppose you choose 1♦ and LHO overcall 2♥. Partner bids

♦ Q732 ♦ AKQ8654 2NT (11 points with a ♥ stop), what do you do?

♣ J93 ♣ 2

Hand C Hand D With Hand C LHO opens 1♣ and partner doubles. You bid 1♠

and partner jumps to 2NT, what do you bid?

♠ Q943 ♠ 102

♥ 95 ♥ AKJ82

♦ K5 ♦ AJ83 With Hand D RHO opens 1♣, (a) What do you bid?

♣ 76432 ♣ AJ (b) Suppose you double and partner bids 1♠, what now?

Hand E Hand F With Hand E you open 1NT and partner transfers with 2♥. You

bid 2♠ and partner bids 2NT, what do you do?

♠ A98 ♠ A75

♥ K1083 ♥ K942 With Hand F it’s unfavourable vulnerability. You pass as dealer

♦ K106 ♦ A852 and partner opens 4♠, what do you do?

♣ AQ10 ♣ 86

Hand G Hand H With Hands G and H you are in 3^rd seat, vulnerable against not…

♠ KQJ632 ♠ KQJ986432 … what do you open with Hand G?

♥ A ♥ A

♦ 10 ♦ 10 … what do you open with Hand H?

♣ AK1054 ♣ 105

Hand J Hand K What do you open with Hand J?

♠ AK63 ♠ K976 With hand K partner opens 1♣. It’s probably best to pass but

♥ Q65 ♥ J973 you are afraid of being left in 1♣ with no fit there and so decide

♦ AJ8 ♦ 105 to bid 1♥, that’s fairly reasonable I suppose. Anyway, you bid

♣ J103 ♣ 653 1♥ and partner bids 2♦, what do you do now?

Bidding Sequences Quiz All of these sequences occurred this week

L 1♣ dbl pass 1♠ How many points is the jump to 2NT having doubled?

pass 2NT

M 1♥ 1♠ dbl pass dbl is negative, showing both minors and 6+ points;

4♥ how strong is the 4♥ bid?

N 1♣ pass 1♥ pass Is 2♦ forcing?

2♦

P 1♣ 1♥ pass 1NT How many points is 1NT opposite partner’s 1-level overcall?

Q pass pass 4♠ How many tricks does the 4♠ opening show, vul against not?

_________________________

That 4333 type shape again – part 1 Board 12 from Monday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ K2 Table A

West ♥ 7654 West(E) North East South

N-S vul ♦ A95 1NT pass 2♥ pass

♣ 9762 2♠ pass 2NT pass

4♠ (1) all pass

♠ A98 N ♠ J10743

♥ K1083 W E ♥ QJ2 Table B

♦ K106 S ♦ Q82 West(E) North East South

♣ AQ10 ♣ K8 1NT pass 2♥ pass

♠ Q65 2♠ pass 2NT pass

♥ A9 3NT (1) all pass

♦ J743

♣ J543

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand E in this week’s quiz? Here we need to do some hand evaluation: it’s 16 points so knock off a point for the 3433 shape, but those three tens are worth well over a point and the ♠98 makes it an easy accept. So this West chose to bid 4♠.

Table B: (1) The other two West’s presumably went through the same hand evaluation process but, with excellent cards in all of the unbid suits elected to bid 3NT. I was one of them and that’s my answer to question E.

And what happened? 3NT looks like the best contract to me; but one made just 9 tricks while the other made 10 tricks for the top. 4♠ made exactly for an average.

The bottom lines: -

- Add on ½ a point for a useful ten, especially in NoTrumps; so 3 tens = 1½ points.

- Add on something for good intermediates (9,8) – especially in partner’s suit.

- Knock off a point for the 4333 shape.

- The 5-3 fit does not always play better than No Trumps.

The Club Championships The current standings are: -

Gold Cup = Best 30 Silver plate = Best 10 Bronze medal = Best 5

1816.8 Janne Roos 666.8 Janne Roos 350.4 Janne Roos

1811.8 Jan v Koss 652.4 Jan v Koss 340.2 Jan v Koss

1794.2 Dave Cutler 640.0 Dave Cutler 336.2 Bengt Malmgren

1732.0 Bob Pelletier 634.9 Paul Savelkral 332.9 Paul Savelkral

634.5 Lars Gustaffson 328.0 Dave Cutler

_________________________

That 4333 type shape again – part 2 Board 21 from Monday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ QJ4 Table A

North ♥ J1094 West(A) North East South

N-S vul ♦ 1096 - pass 1♣ pass

♣ 872 1♦ (1) pass 1NT pass

2NT (2) pass 3NT (3) all pass

♠ K53 N ♠ 872

♥ A54 W E ♥ Q62 Table B

♦ Q732 S ♦ AJ4 West(A) North East South

♣ J93 ♣ AK105 - pass 1♣ pass

♠ A1096 1NT (1) pass pass dbl (4)

♥ K83 pass (5) 2♥ all pass

♦ K85

♣ Q64

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand A in this week’s quiz? This hand is worth no more than 1NT – especially with the totally flat shape. With 8-10 points it’s best to bid 1NT directly rather than go via the 1♦ route.

(2) This is an overbid. It shows 11-12 (or a very good 10). This is a very bad 10 and should deduct a point for the totally flat shape.

(3) This hand would appear to be maximum – but not if you deduct a point for the 4333 type shape!

Table B: (1) This West sensible responded 1NT with Hand A.

(4) With a totally flat hand South should pass – why on earth would he want to play in a probable 4-3 fit, vulnerable, when he can defend 1NT

(5) This West new that this South’s bidding was “not to be trusted” but decided not to double. He would have doubled had E-W been non-vul but expected to get them 1 down for a good score anyway.

And what happened? 1NT is the limit for E-W. 3NT at table A went two down. 2♥ by North at table B went one down for a near top to E-W (the 100 penalty is more than 90 for making 1NT).

The bottom lines: -

- After partner rebids 1NT (12-14) you need 11-12 points to invite. A poor 10 is nowhere near.

- Knock off a point for the 4333 type shape. E-W at table A both failed to do so and so went two down!

That 4333 type shape again – part 3 Board 12 from Friday 17^th

The poor 4♠ was bid at three tables on Friday – it goes down for the usual reason.

Dealer: ♠ AK63 Table A

North ♥ Q65 West North(J) East South

both vul ♦ AJ8 - 1NT (1) pass 2♣

♣ J103 2♥ 2♠ pass 4♠ (2)

all pass

♠ J54 N ♠ 98

♥ KJ9843 W E ♥ 1072 ‘Terry’s’ Table

♦ Q S ♦ K1096 West North(J) East South

♣ 974 ♣ KQ82 - 1♣ (1) pass 1♠ (3)

♠ Q1072 pass (4) 2♠ all pass

♥ A

♦ 75432

♣ A65

Table A: (1) What did you open with this North hand J in this week’s quiz? It’s that dreaded 4333 shape again and is not worth 1NT.

(2) With 10 points opposite a 1NT opener and a 4-4♠ fit, South obviously bids game.

‘Terry’s’ I was not playing on Friday, but had I been Lewis’s partner (so North) this is how

Table: our auction would have gone: -

(1) I knock off a point for the 4333 shape and open a prudent 1♣ with hand J.

(3) Lewis and I play Walsh; and as this hand is only worth 1 bid he bids 1♠ rather than introducing the ♦ suit.

(1) West has no room to mention his ♥’s now – but it makes no difference as N-S are not going to overbid to game anyway.

And what happened? 4♠ is a poor contract and went down twice (as Deep Finesse says it does). One pair managed to stop in 2NT with a 4-4 ♠ fit.

The bottom lines: -

- Knock off a point for the 4333 type shape – it does not generate tricks (lack of long suits) and has no ruffing values.

- Even though South has good shape, this is a classic example of why the North hand is not worth 15 points.

Don’t pass partner’s reverse – it’s forcing Board 14 from Monday 13^th

Here we have the same North in action – this time passing Lewis’s forcing reverse bid.

Dealer: ♠ K976 West North(K) East South

East ♥ J973 - - pass 1♣

Love all ♦ 105 pass 1♥ (1) pass 2♦ (2)

♣ 653 pass pass (3)

♠ QJ8 N ♠ A10542 (1) pass is the obvious alternative.

♥ Q1062 W E ♥ K54 (2) a reverse – absolutely forcing.

♦ J986 S ♦ K73 (3) What did you bid with this North hand K in

♣ QJ ♣ 108 this week’s quiz? You did not really have

♠ 3 enough values to respond initially but pass

♥ A8 now – leaving partner in a 4-2 fit – is totally

♦ AQ42 ridiculous. 2NT and 3♣ are the options. If you

♣ AK9742 play Lebonsohl over partner’s reverse then

bid 2NT and pass partner’s ‘forced’ 3♣ response.

A vulnerable 4♠ opening Board 5 from Monday 13^th

And this is Lewis’ partner’s finest moment – a great 4♠ opening. Or a diabolical opening, according to your point of view. Unfortunately this board was mistakenly rotated 180 degrees so Bengt actually had the South hand.

North ♠ A75 West North(F) East South(G)

East ♥ K942 - pass pass 4♠ (1)

Love all ♦ A852 pass pass (2) pass

♣ 86

(1) What did you open with this South hand G in

♠ 10 N ♠ 984 this week’s quiz? It’s a 3-loser hand with 10

♥ QJ873 W E ♥ 1065 playing tricks and Bengt opened 4♠.

♦ J9764 S ♦ KQ3 (2) What did you bid with this North hand F in

♣ J9 ♣ Q732 this week’s quiz? Pass seem totally automatic

♠ KQJ632 to me. Bengt (South) insisted that 4♠ shows a

♥ A very strong hand at this vulnerability and that

♦ 10 North should bid slam. This is total nonsense

♣ AK1054 in my view and is a classic example of ‘doing a Chuck’ (immediately blame partner for your own mistake).

This hand caused some discussion after the play and a lot at the end of the session. Bengt came up to me and asked me to agree that North should bid slam as South has promised 9 playing tricks with his vul against not 4♠ pre-empt. That statement is untrue; even if you do go along with Culbertson’s rule of 2 (that’s vul against not) then 4♠ shows just 8 tricks. Also, a 4♠ pre-empt is normally an 8 or longer card suit, most definitely not a huge two-suiter, with 10 playing tricks, and with two aces and a king outside the pre-empt suit. Look at hand H for a suitable 4♠ opening at unfavourable vulnerability. Bengt was obviously not impressed with my apparent lack of bridge knowledge so he wandered up to Jan and asked how many tricks an unfavourable vulnerability 4♠ opening should show. Jan answered 9-10. Perfect partners?

And what happened? 7♠ is cold but everybody stopped in 4♠; two made +1 and two made +3.

If 3NT is an option … Board 4 from Monday 13^th

With a minor suit of AKQxxxx – think 3NT! – it looks like I was the only one to follow this advice on Monday.

Dealer: ♠ 1086 Table A

West ♥ QJ10974 West(B) North East South

both vul ♦ - 3♦ (1) pass (2) pass (3) pass (4)

♣ K963

Table B

♠ 9543 N ♠ AJ2 West(B) North East South

♥ 5 W E ♥ K86 1♦ (1) 2♥ (5) 2NT (6) pass (7)

♦ AKQ8654 S ♦ 1032 3NT (8) all pass

♣ 2 ♣ A874

♠ KQ7

♥ A32

♦ J97

♣ QJ105

Table A: (1) What did you open with this West hand B(a) in this week’s quiz? This hand is far too good for a 3♦ pre-empt, and many would be loath to open 3♦ anyway, with a 4-card major. Pass is reasonable I suppose but the hand does conform with the rule of 20 and 1♦ is fine in my opinion. The other very reasonable (perhaps better) alternative is a gambling 3NT.

(2) I would try 3♥, it has great shape and a great suit – but partner may expect more points?

(3) I would bid 4♦ here. It’s not good enough for 3NT (East cannot possibly expect a totally solid 7 card suit opposite) and I always raise with 3 trumps.

(4) With this flat hand and no 4-card major, it’s difficult for South to come in.

Table B: (1) This is one of the two sensible opening options (a gambling 3NT being the other).

(5) A weak jump overcall, fine.

(6) 11 points with a ♥ stop, fine.

(7) I would bid 3♥, but then I always raise partner with 3 decent trumps.

(8) What did you bid with this West hand B(b) in this week’s quiz? If you think it’s only 9 points, so pass, then look again. If you still think it’s just 9 points then read up on hand evaluation. I bid 3NT.

And what happened? 3NT by East is cold and made +1 on the obvious ♥ lead. Note that had West opened a gambling 3NT then he would likely have gone down on the obvious ♥Q lead (unless he plays double-dummy and plays South for ♥Axx exactly, in which case the suit get blocked and West makes 9 tricks). The two other tables played in 5♦ doubled going down.

The bottom lines: -

- AKQxxxx is far too strong for a pre-empt (except 3NT if it’s a minor).

- If 3NT is an option – then bid it (Hammon’s law).

A simple question (before you read the next page)

A 1NT overcall shows 15-18 points.

A double followed by 1NT shows 19-20 points.

So how many points is a double followed by a jump to 2NT?

A huge hand …? Board 14 from Monday 13^th

Answer: Double followed by a jump to 2NT shows 21-23 points!

Dealer: ♠ 102 West North(D) East South(C)

East ♥ AKJ82 1♣ dbl (1) pass 1♠

Love all ♦ AJ83 pass 2NT (2) pass pass (3)

♣ AJ pass

♠ KJ7 N ♠ A865

♥ 1073 W E ♥ Q64

♦ Q6 S ♦ 109742

♣ KQ1098 ♣ 5

♠ Q943

♥ 95

♦ K5

♣ 76432

(1) What did you bid with this North hand D(a) in this week’s quiz? I think it’s close between 1♥ and 1NT and would not argue with either. Double is a very poor alternative because you are very likely to get a 1♠ response and then what? A subsequent 2♥ bid would over-state the ♥’s and 1NT would be an overbid after a double (it shows 19-20).

(2) What did you bid with this North hand D(b) in this week’s quiz? Here we are, as I predicted, with a difficult bid because of the silly initial double. The overbid of 1NT is probably best now. This jump bid of 2NT is totally ridiculous of course.

(3) What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? I would bid 3NT here like a shot – partner has promised a huge hand (21+). However, this example explains why I generally get around 40% if I end up partnering this particular North – I expect my partners to have their bid. Dave (this South) is somewhat more pragmatic in his approach – he knows that this North’s bidding is “not to be trusted” and so he passed!

And what happened? Luckily for North he was playing against a couple of beginners and so made the ridiculous contract for a totally undeserved top. Had he been partnering me he would have got a complete bottom going down in 3NT, probably doubled.

Dave’s Column Here is this week’s Dave input involving the best play for the contract.

West East You are West, playing in 6♥. How do you play on the ♣J lead,

♠ AQ6 ♠ 843 won by South and the ♠J returned?

♥ AJ1054 ♥ KQ32

♦ A103 ♦ KQ962

♣ Q5 ♣ 3

Dave’s Column answer Board 20 from Wednesday 15^th

Dealer: ♠ K7 Book Auction

West ♥ 7 West North East South

both vul ♦ J875 1♥ (1) pass 4♣ (2) dbl

♣ J109762 6♥ all pass

♠ AQ6 N ♠ 843 Table A

♥ AJ1054 W E ♥ KQ32 West North East South

♦ A103 S ♦ KQ962 1NT (1) pass 2♣ (3) pass

♣ Q5 ♣ 3 2♥ (4) pass 4♥ all pass

♠ J10952

♥ 986

♦ 4

♣ AK84

‘Book (1) The ‘obvious?’ opening.

auction’: (2) a splinter

Table A: (1) With tenaces to protect, I prefer a 1NT opening with this hand.

(3) This is what most people would bid, but if you play 4-way transfers I prefer 2NT (a transfer to ♦’s) followed by a natural 3♥ bid. Since West would super-accept the ♦ transfer (so promising ♦Axx here) and then agree ♥’s (with a 3♠ cue bid) East should be able to bid the slam.

(4) This also seems obvious, but if you’ve read the chapter on “Stayman super-accepts” in the No trump bidding bookthen West should bid 3♥ - showing an absolute maximum with a 5 card ♥ suit.

Onto the play after South wins the ♣A and returns the ♠J, here’s Dave’s book answer: -

“ Since you are hoping to score 5 ♦ tricks there is no point in risking the ♠ finesse. You rise with the ♠A, ruff the remaining ♣ and draw trumps in 3 rounds. You must now play the ♦ suit in the best way, how do you do this?

If the suit breaks 3-2 then it’s easy. If South

♦ J8 holds ♦Jxxx then you can do nothing.

♦ 10 ♦ Q96 So you must concentrate your efforts on

♦ - overcoming Jxxx with North. Suppose your first

move is to play the ♦3 to dummy’ ♦K. When you return to the ♦A, South will show out and this position will remain in the ♦ suit. When you now lead the ♦10 North will duck and you have no entry to the ♦’s as the suit is blocked.”

Back to me (Terry). The book then goes into elaborate details of how West should take card to unblock the ♦ suit by playing the ♦10 first.

Terry’s comments: - I guess that there is not actually anything incorrect in what the book says, but I can see no reason whatsoever why declarer should ruff his 2^nd ♣. He then always has an entry to dummy and there is no need to be so precise in the play of the ♦ suit. Playing the ♦’s in the book way is only necessary if South returns a ♣ at trick two – and he did not.

Maybe book writers should take more care about the small details?

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club?

The board was played 3 times, with everybody in 4♥. Two made just +1 and one made +2.

Who needs Blackwood? - cuebidding to slam Board 26 from Monday 13^th

Just one pair bid the grand on Monday – and not a mention of Blackwood!

Dealer: ♠ -

East ♥ KJ103 West North East South

both vul ♦ Q10872 - - pass 2♣

♣ A1085 pass (1) 2♦ (2) pass 2♥ (3)

pass 3♥ (4) pass 3♠ (5)

♠ KQ108654 N ♠ J72 pass 4♣ (6) pass 4♦ (7)

♥ - W E ♥ 984 pass 4♠ (8) pass 5♦ (9)

♦ 64 S ♦ 953 pass 6♦ (10) pass 6♥ (11)

♣ J643 ♣ K972 pass 7♥ (12) all pass

♠ A93

♥ AQ7652

♦ AKJ

♣ Q

(1) A 2♠ overcall would have given N-S less room, especially when East raises to 3♠.

(2) Waiting or negative.

(3) Game forcing

(4) Showing slam interest - 4♥ would be fast arrival and 3♣ a 2^nd negative in their system. 3♠, a splinter agreeing ♥’s, is also a very reasonable perhaps better option.

(5) A cue bid – the ♠A

(6) A cue bid – the ♣A

(7) A cue bid – the ♦A

(8) A cue bid – showing 2^nd round ♠ control; it could be the ♠K, a singleton or a void.

(9) A cue bid – showing the ♦K

(10) A cue bid – showing 3^rd round ♦ control; it could be a doubleton but more likely the ♦Q.

(11) I have nothing more to say.

(12) But I have the ♥K which you don't know about!

And what happened? 7♥ once, 6♥ once and the other two pairs stopped in 4♥. Everybody simply claimed the obvious 13+ tricks.

The bottom lines: -

- Good slam bidding is not just using Blackwood to locate missing aces/kings. Here a cold 7♥ was reached missing two kings.

- More established pairs should try cue bidding rather than leaping straight into Blackwood when they have suitable hands - generally shapely hands like these when spurious kings (the black kings in this example) are irrelevant.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 1NT. Some play this as 8-10 (go via 1♦ with 6-7) and others 6-10. Either way the hand is not worth 2NT at any stage (now or after bidding 1♦ and getting a 1NT response).

Hand B: (a) 1♦ or 3NT. 3NT is gambling (a completely solid 7 or 8 card minor with no outside ace or king) and is one of the two sensible options. But the hand does contain a 4-card major and conforms with the rule of 20 and so 1♦ is also reasonable in my opinion (that’s actually what I opened). The hand is far too good for a 3♦ pre-empt and pass would never occur to me.

(b) 3NT. Partner has 11 points and has a ♥ stop. You expect your hand to make 7 tricks, so bid the 3NT game; partner’s 11 points should provide two tricks.

Hand C: 3NT. Partner’s jump to 2NT having doubled shows a huge hand, about 21-23 points, and you have easily enough to bid game.

Hand D: (a) 1NT or 1♥. I prefer 1NT but 1♥ is very reasonable. What is not reasonable is double as you have no decent bid over partner’s expected 1♠ response.

(b) I don’t really know as I would not have doubled at (a), but I guess 1NT (19-20) is the best of the evils now. 2♥ would overstate the ♥ suit. 2NT is ridiculous.

Hand E: 3NT. There are two points to consider: (a) is it worth game, and (b) 3NT or 4♠?

(a) The hand has 16 HCP’s but knock off a point for the 3433 shape and it’s 15. But then there are 3 useful tens and together with the 98 in partner’s suit it’s worth game

(b) With great cards outside ♠’s and no shortage this hand will probably make the same number of tricks in ♠’s or NoTrumps – so bid 3NT.

Hand F: Pass. Even if partner is disciplined and follows Culbertson’s rules of 2,3,4 his 4♠ pre-empt at this vulnerability shows 8 playing tricks. You do not have enough to bid on.

Hand G: 1♠ or 2♣. This is probably a matter of style. Dave chose 1♠ but later thought that 2♣ was better. Lewis would open 1♠. I am not a great fan of opening 2♣ with two-suiters but this hand does have 10 playing tricks. I would open 2♣ but only just – I certainly would not argue with 1♠. But I would argue with 4♠ which is preposterous – you could easily miss a ♣ slam with 4♠ going down.

Hand H: 4♠. This is a classic 4♠ opener and this one is fine even at unfavourable vulnerability as it has 8 playing tricks.

Hand J: 1♣. Knock off a point for 4333 and it’s not worth 1NT.

Hand K: 3♣ or 2NT. You cannot pass (and leave partner in a 4-2 fit) as his reverse is forcing. If you play Lebensohl over partner’s reverse then you can bid 2NT and pass partner’s forced 3♣ reply.

Bidding Sequences Answers

L 1♣ dbl pass 1♠ A 1NT overcall is 15-18 and dbl followed by 1NT is 19-20.

pass 2NT Thus this 2NT jump is around 21-23; a very big hand.

M 1♥ 1♠ dbl pass 4♥ is huge, saying that he has a self sufficient ♥ suit and, by

4♥ inference, short ♠’s and good cards in the minors.

N 1♣ pass 1♥ pass This is a reverse and is 100% forcing?

2♦

P 1♣ 1♥ pass 1NT around 9-11; partner is only promising 7+.

Q pass pass 4♠ According to Culbertson’s rule of two (unfavourable vulnerability) is shows 8 tricks (and usually 8 ♠’s).