Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 260

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 28^th Oct 2007

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 22^nd 1^st Bob & Werner 62% 2^nd Hans & Lars 61%

Wed 24^th 1^st Jean & Lars 70% 2^nd Jan & Royd 60%

Fri 26^th 1^st Lars & Jean-Charles 59% 2^nd Derek & Gerard 56%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A LHO opens 1♣ and partner doubles.

(a) What do you bid?

♠ 872 ♠ A2 (b) Suppose you choose 1♥ and partner bids 2♥, what now?

♥ K853 ♥ AJ4

♦ K54 ♦ J652 With Hand B you open 1♣ and partner responds 1♥, RHO bids

♣ A83 ♣ Q932 1♠, what do you do?

Hand C Hand D With Hand C partner opens 1♣ and you respond 1♥. LHO bids

1♠ and partner bids 1NT, what do you bid?

♠ J86 ♠ KJ96

♥ 7652 ♥ AJ109 With Hand D RHO opens 1♣ and you double. Partner responds

♦ AK4 ♦ AQ109 1♥ and this is passed to you, what do you do?

♣ A106 ♣ Q

Bidding Sequence quiz

E 1NT dbl pass 2♣ What is 2♣?

F 1♣ dbl pass 1♥

pass 2♥ How strong is 2♥?

The Club Championships The current standings for the top 5 in each competition are: -

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

1841.3 Jan v Koss 666.8 Janne Roos 350.4 Janne Roos

1822.1 Dave Cutler 655.2 Jan v Koss 343.2 Bengt Malmgren

1816.8 Janne Roos 646.0 Lars Gustaffson 340.3 Jan v Koss

1768.4 Bob Pelletier 644.2 Dave Cutler 332.9 Paul Savelkral

1725.8 Phil Lovell 644.1 Bengt Malmgren 332.0 Lewis Berg

Responding to partner’s double Board 4 from Friday 19^th

The date on this board is correct. I was told the bidding details too late for inclusion in last week’s news sheet. N-S missed an easy game at Table A, who would you blame?

Dealer: ♠ 872 Table A

West ♥ K853 West North(A) East South(D)

both vul ♦ K54 - - 1♣ dbl

♣ A83 pass (1) 1♥ (2) pass 2♥ (3)

pass pass (4) pass

♠ 10543 N ♠ AQ

♥ Q6 W E ♥ 742 Table B

♦ 762 S ♦ J83 West North(A) East South(D)

♣ 7652 ♣ KJ1094 - - 1♣ dbl

♠ KJ96 pass (1) 2♥ (2) pass 4♥ (5)

♥ AJ109 all pass

♦ AQ109

♣ Q

Table A: (1) I would bid 2♣ here, make it slightly difficult for N-S

(2) But this North made it difficult for their partnership all by himself. What did you bid with this North hand A(a) in this week’s quiz? This is far too strong for a feeble 1♥ which shows about 0-8 points. Even deducting a point for the 4333 type shape it’s too good, especially with the good ♣A (the ♣K would be bad) and two more kings. 2♥ is clearly called for.

(3) What did you bid with this South hand D in this week’s quiz? This raise to 2♥ shows a good hand, about 17-18 points, and is spot on. A jump to 3♥ is totally unjustified as partner has promised absolutely nothing.

(4) What did you bid with this North hand A(b) in this week’s quiz? Having underbid last go, North compounded the error by failing to bid game now. South is inviting game if North has 6-8 points and this pass is totally wrong.

Table B: (2) This North got it right.

(5) And South has an easy raise to game.

And what happened? 2♥ made +2, everybody else was making game. North at Table A tried to blame South, saying that South should have jumped to 3♥ at (3). This is TOTALLY incorrect and North made the errors.

The bottom lines: -

- Responding to partner’s double is all written up on the web site: basic bidding > doc 133

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

North South You are North, playing in 6♠ after East has opened with a weak

♠ AQJ53 ♠ K82 2♥. How do you play on the ♥Q lead?

♥ AK76 ♥ 83

♦ A8 ♦ K763

♣ AK ♣ 10752

Dave’s Column answer Board 18 from Wednesday 24^th

Dealer: ♠ AQJ53 East opens with a weak 2♥ and subsequently

East ♥ AK76 leads the ♥Q against your 6♠ contract by North?

Love all ♦ A8

♣ AK You win the opening lead with the ♥K and must

somehow dispose of one of North’s ♥ losers.

♠ 10976 N ♠ 4 That won’t be possible if you draw trumps straight

♥ 4 W E ♥ QJ10952 away because you need to ruff at least one ♥ in

♦ Q42 S ♦ J1095 the dummy. Suppose you play the ♥A at trick two.

♣ J9863 ♣ Q4 That’s no good either because West will ruff and

♠ K82 still be in a position to over-ruff dummy when you

♥ 83 ruff one of the remaining ♥ losers with the ♠8.

♦ K763

♣ 10752

The correct procedure is to cross to dummy with the ♦K and lead the 2^nd round of ♥’s towards the North hand. There is nothing West can do. If he ruffs a loser then the ♥K will score later and the other ♥ loser can be ruffed with the ♠K. Let’s suppose that West discards instead and you win the 2^nd round of ♥’s with the ♥K. You ruff a 3^rd round of ♥’s with the ♠K, return to hand with a ♣ honour and ruff the last ♦ with the ♠8. Whether or not West over-ruffs at this stage, he will score just one trump trick and will make the slam.

Do you see why it was important to ruff the last ♥ near the end, even though you know that you will be over-ruffed? It is because West’s ♠10976 has been promoted into a trump trick when you ruffed with the ♠K. By forcing him to over-ruff you avoided losing both a ♥ trick and a trump trick.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? The board was played 5 times and nobody was in 6♠ of course. 6NT-1, 4♠+1, 5♣-1, 3NT+1 and 3NT+3 were the usual mixed bag of results that we come to expect.

The bottom lines: -

- If you suspect that a player may be ruffing a suit but you need to play the suit – then lead up to the honour if it is LHO who’s ruffing.

12 points opposite an opener Board 16 from Wednesday 24^th

One very experienced player on Wednesday commented to me that they got a poor score on a board when an inexperienced pair bid just 1NT (with 12 points opposite an opener) when most of the field was going down in 3NT. A poor ill-fitting 24 points will probably not make game and Lewis and myself were the only other pair to stop short of game and we got a complete top at Table B as a result: -

Dealer: ♠ 753 Table A

West ♥ K1083 West(B) North East(C) South

E-W vul ♦ Q109 1♣ pass 1♥ 1♠

♣ 754 1NT (1) pass (2) 3NT(3) all pass

♠ A2 N ♠ J86 Table B

♥ AJ4 W E ♥ 7652 West(B) North East South

♦ J652 S ♦ AK4 1♣ pass 1♥ 1♠

♣ Q932 ♣ A106 pass (1) pass (4) dbl (5) pass

♠ KQ1094 2♥ (6) pass pass (7) all pass

♥ Q9

♦ 873

♣ KJ8

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? It’s 12 points with a ♠ stopper and most (but not me at Table B) bid 1NT.

(2) I would bid 2♠, but then I always support partner with 3-card support.

(3) What did you bid with this East hand B in this week’s quiz? This 3NT was the bid chosen by most. I would devalue for the 4333 type shape and miserable 4 card suit and bid just 2NT (which partner would obviously pass).

Table B: (1) This was my answer to question C in this week’s quiz. Without the ♠ overcall I would bid 1NT but with this ultra weak opening with both 4-card suits virtually pointless and just 1 ♠ stop I think it’s best to pass which usually shows a minimum. If you play support doubles then you can show this hand nicely with a double.

(4) As at (2) above, I would bid 2♠.

(5) An Action Double – saying that E-W have the majority of the points and leaving it up to partner.

(6) I did not like my doubleton ♠ and so supported partner.

(7) East knows that West has a weak hand with just 3 card ♥ support and so correctly does not even try for game.

And what happened? 2♥ made exactly for a clear top (the only +ve E-W score). 1NT went one down and everybody else overbid to 3NT and went one, two or three down.

The bottom lines: -

- Deduct a point for the 4333 type shape – this East hand is only worth 2NT when partner opens.

- A poor 12 opposite a poor 12 does not make game!

A amusing end-play Board 7 from Wednesday 24^th

South thought that this deal was very amusing, and asked me to write it up.

Dealer: ♠ K987

South ♥ A762 West North East South

both vul ♦ 62 1♣ pass 1♠ pass

♣ A65 2♠ (1) pass pass dbl (2)

pass 3♥ pass pass

♠ AQ3 N ♠ 10652 dbl (3) all pass

♥ Q543 W E ♥ J8

♦ 843 S ♦ AQ109 (1) I will sometimes support in this position with

♣ KQ3 ♣ 1082 just three cards but that is generally when I

♠ J4 have a weak doubleton. With this hand I think

♥ K109 that 1NT is clear.

♦ KJ75 (2) South is a firm believer of “not letting the

♣ J974 opponent’s play at the two-level”. But that only applies if they have a fit! Of course he does not know that the opponents only have a 7-card ♠ fit but to push partner to the 3-level in a likely 4-3 ♥ fit is surely dangerous, especially when vulnerable?

(3) A very reasonable double. Looks like 200 or 500

♠ - E-W were heading for a poor score playing in 2♠

♥ A with a 4-3 fit, but South rescued them, leaving

♦ North to play in a 4-3 fit at the three-level doubled,

♣ A65 with the trumps splitting 4-2! So what happened?

East led the ♠10, to the ♠J and ♠A. West returned

♠ N ♠ - a low ♠ which North won with the ♠K. North then

♥ Q W E ♥ - ruffed a ♠, noting the drop of the ♠Q.

♦ - S ♦ Q Declarer then played the ♥K and ducked a ♥ to East.

♣ KQ3 ♣ 1082 East led the ♠6 which North won with the ♠9

♠ - North then led a ♦ which East won with the ♦A.

♥ - East returned a ♦ and declarer won with dummy’s

DUMMY ® ♦ - ♦J. The ♦K was led from dummy, ruffed by West with

♣ J974 the ♥5 and over-ruffed. That left this position.

North knew that there was a trump out and also the ♦Q, but he played for the only distribution that could bring home the doubled contract. He drew the remaining trump and led a ♣ towards dummy, playing the ♣9, and West was end-played.

And what happened? Obviously 3♥ doubled making was a complete top for N-S,

The bottom lines: -

- 4-3 fit generally only play well if you can get a ruff with the short trump hand.

- Thus E-W playing in ♠’s is ill-advised

- But N-S playing in ♥’s is OK (but not generally at the three level!)

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: (a) 2♥. This hand, even though 3433, is far too good for a mere 1♥ which is 0-8.

(b) 4♥. Luckily partner has given you another chance. Partner’s raise shows a strong hand and invites you to bid game with about 6-8 points.

Hand B: Pass. Without the interference 1NT is clear but with just the one ♠ stop I prefer pass to 1NT. 2♥ is a reasonable alternative but I generally only support with three cards if I have a weak doubleton.

Hand C: 2NT. This 4333 type shape hand is not worth a raise to 3NT, especially as LHO is known to hold ♠ length.

Hand D: 2♥. This shows a strong hand and invites partner to bid 4♥ if he has around 6-8 points. 3♥ would be a gross overbid and pass a bit feeble.

Bidding Sequence Answers

E 1NT dbl pass 2♣ What is 2♣? In my opinion it’s obviously natural and weak, but one experienced player said it was Stayman!

F 1♣ dbl pass 1♥ How strong is 2♥? This shows more than a minimum double

pass 2♥ and invites partner to bid game with 6-8; so it’s about 16-18.