Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 267

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 16^th Dec 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 10^th 1^st Anne Marie & Olaf 61% 2^nd Sean B & Paul K 59%

Wed 12^th 1^st Kenneth & Ursula 63% 2^nd Dave & Ivy 62%

Fri 14^th N-S 1^st Par Ol-Mars & Hans V 58% 2^nd Frode & Robbie 57%

E-W 1^st Arnt & Terje 63% 2^nd Gene & Terry 53%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

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

♠ KJ6 ♠ 43

♥ A96 ♥ A1063 With Hand B partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1NT (15-17),

♦ AQ876 ♦ KQJ what do you do?

♣ A9 ♣ 10652

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

♠ A1065 ♠ A972

♥ KQ ♥ A52 With Hand D you open 1NT and partner bids 2NT,

♦ A53 ♦ K76 what do you bid?

♣ 10942 ♣ KQ3

Hand E Hand F With Hand E partner opens 1NT, what do you bid?

♠ A97 ♠ A9432

♥ 542 ♥ QJ8 (a) What do you open with Hand F?

♦ J104 ♦ AKJ (b) Suppose you open 1♠ and partner bids 2♣, what now?

♣ K874 ♣ 86

Bidding Sequence Quiz

G 1♠ - 2♣ - 3NT How strong is 3NT?

The Club Championships

The close championship (Gold Cup) race took another dramatic turn this week with Dave overtaking Jan in 2^nd place. So Jan has now dropped from 1^st to 3^rd in the space of two weeks and countered by playing with a professional on Friday, but he failed to get a qualifying result.

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	1855.6 Lewis Berg 1848.9 Dave Cutler 1846.1 Jan v Koss 1833.4 Paul Savelkral 1816.8 Janne Roos 1806.4 Lars Gustaffson 1770.0 Bob Pelletier 1748.7 Ivy Schlageter 1747.1 Wolfgang Foitik 1731.7 Sally Watson	670.5 Lewis Berg 666.8 Janne Roos 655.4 Dave Cutler 655.2 Jan v Koss 647.8 Lars Gustaffson 644.1 Bengt Malmgren 645.3 Paul Savelkral 631.8 Derek & Gerard 627.1 Gunnar Barthel 624.3 Bob Pelletier	350.4 Janne Roos 346.0 Lewis Berg 343.2 Bengt Malmgren 341.1 Jan v Koss 336.7 Paul Savelkral 335.2 Dave Cutler 333.1 Terje Lie 332.5 Lars Gustafsson 331.8 Derek & Gerard 325.6 Gunnar Barthel

A poor take-out double Board 2 from Friday 7^th Nov

This article, and the next two, are left over from last week as the news-sheet was full.

Dealer: ♠ A1065 West North(C) East South

East ♥ KQ - - pass pass

N-S vul ♦ A53 1♣ dbl (1) redbl (2) 1♥

♣ 10942 pass pass dbl (3) all pass

♠ K3 N ♠ Q972 (1) What did you bid with this North hand C in

♥ 72 W E ♥ A963 this week’s quiz? This North does not read

♦ K1086 S ♦ Q74 the news-sheets and so is unaware that a

♣ AQ765 ♣ K9 take-out double should be short in the suit

♠ J84 bid. ♣10942 is not short and pass is obvious.

♥ J10854 (2) My 2^nd favorite bid.

♦ J92 (3) My favorite bid

♣ J3

And what happened? 1♥ doubled went one down, so 200 and a near top to E-W

The bottom lines: -

- Unless very strong, a take-out double should be short in the suit bid and playable in the other three suits.

- Do not double with flat hands, especially when vulnerable against not, and even more especially against an opponent who knows what the double and redouble cards are meant for.

Bridge Cryptogram Each letter denotes a specific letter in the alphabet.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

__				__		__		__		__	-		__			__		__			__		__		__		__		__			__				__	__		__		__	__		__
20				26		20		2		5			16			10		26			15		16		10		4		1			5				6	14		16		10	1		15
__		__				__		__		__	__			__				__	__				__		__		__				__			__		__	__
4		5				6		14		16	21			26				11	23				26		14		5				6			10		11	26
__	__		__		__		__		__			__			__		__			__		__		__		__		__		__			__		__			__		__			__		__	__
16	22		5		23		5		15			20			23		15			22		1		20		9		20		4			1		5			11		23			26		14	5

__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	__	.
16	26	14	5	21	26	14	21	5	5	6	10	11	26	6

Stuck for a bid? Board 9 from Monday 3^rd Dec

Dealer: ♠ 43 Table A

North ♥ A1063 West North(B) East South

E-W vul ♦ KQJ - pass pass 1♣

♣ 10652 1NT 2♣ (1) all pass

♠ AQ2 N ♠ 10876 “Expert” Table

♥ J54 W E ♥ 98 West North(B) East South

♦ A104 S ♦ 97532 - pass pass 1♣

♣ A983 ♣ QJ 1NT dbl (1) pass (2) all pass

♠ KJ95

♥ KQ72

♦ 86

♣ K74

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand B in this week’s quiz? You cannot show the ♥’s as 2♥ would be a weak hand with 5+ ♥’s, this North thought that he was stuck and settled for 2♣.

“Expert” (1) Our expert knows the answer – with a good 10 points opposite an opener,

Table: apply the (vulnerable) axe! E-W will not make 1NT.

(2) East could try 2♦, but with the useful ♣QJ it is probably best to sit it out.

And what happened? 2♣ by South went -1 for a poor score. At another table South made 9 tricks in NoTrumps so I guess that a double would have worked very well.

The bottom lines: -

- If partner opens and RHO overcalls 1NT, then double (penalties) shows the balance of power.

That 4333 shape yet again (twice) Board 13 from Friday 12^th Dec

Dealer: ♠ K65 Table A

North ♥ K93 West North(E) East South(D)

Both vul ♦ Q93 - pass pass 1NT

♣ 10874 pass 2NT (1) pass 3NT (2)

♠ 1083 N ♠ QJ4 Table B

♥ QJ863 W E ♥ 107 West North(E) East South

♦ A84 S ♦ J1052 - pass pass 1NT

♣ 84 ♣ AJ96 pass pass (1) pass

♠ A972

♥ A52

♦ K76

♣ KQ3

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand E in this week’s quiz? Any regular reader of the news-sheets will know to devalue 4333 type shape hands and pass.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand D in this week’s quiz? Any regular reader of the news-sheets will know to devalue 4333 type shape hands and pass.

Table B: (1) This North reads (and digests) the news-sheets.

And what happened? Just two pairs bid as table B and stopped in 1NT making +1. Two more pairs bid to 2NT (I assume that only one of the pair reads the news-sheets) and made exactly. Two pairs overbid to 3NT and went on or two down. I had a look at the pair numbers who overbid to 3NT - one pair were newcomers; the other play a weak no-trump and obviously have not yet translated the new-sheets into Irish.

The bottom lines: -

- Deduct a point for the totally flat 4333 type shape.

- Playing Acol the bidding should go 1♠ - 1NT - pass.

- Whatever system you pay, a flat 16 is nowhere near enough to raise a 1NT response to 2NT, this comes up fairly frequently when playing Acol and experienced players should know it.

- I believe that our intrepid Acol pair actually bid 1♠ - 2♣ - 3NT; thus both overbidding – North’s obvious response is 1NT but if he chooses the obscure 2♣ then South should bid just 2NT.

Kibitzer’s comment

I happened to be kibitzing Mike Guin when he was North at Table B. Somebody at the table asked him why he did not raise to 2NT with 8 points. Mike said that he “had read ‘somewhere’, or that ‘somebody’ had told him, to deduct a point for the 4333 shape”. He is spot on of course but has a bad memory about the source of this priceless piece of good bidding knowledge.

This hand is very satisfying for me – it appears that the message about the garbage 4333 shape has got through to most people who read the news-sheets. Perhaps it’s subliminal if they can’t remember the source? Or perhaps I’ve said it so often that it’s now just automatic?
Qui Culpa? Board 10 from Monday 3^rd Dec

N-S missed a comfortable 3NT at Table A, who would you blame?

Dealer: ♠ KJ6 Table A

East ♥ A96 West North(A) East South(D)

both vul ♦ AQ876 - - pass pass

♣ A9 pass 1NT (1) pass pass (2)

pass (3)

♠ Q10842 N ♠ 53

♥ KQJ8 W E ♥ 1073 Table B

♦ 3 S ♦ K952 West North(A) East South

♣ J62 ♣ Q1053 - - pass pass

♠ A97 pass 1♦ (1) pass 1NT

♥ 542 pass 2NT (4) pass 3NT (5)

♦ J104 all pass

♣ K874

Table A: (1) What did you open with this North hand A in this week’s quiz? With 18 points and a decent 5 card suit, this hand is too good for 1NT.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand D in this week’s quiz? Eight points is normally enough for a 2NT invitation, but with this flat 3334 shape (knock off a point) pass is certainly best.

(3) West could well compete here (2♣, Multi-Landy, to show the majors) but pass worked out very well.

Table B: (1) Most North’s correctly opened 1♦.

(4) Showing around 17-18 points,

(5) And South has an easy accept.

And what happened? Most N-S’s were in 3NT making +1.

The bottom lines: -

- Do not open 1NT with a good 18 points.

- Deduct a point for the totally flat 4333 type shape.

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♠ and East leads the ♦K, plan the play.

♠ AKQ62 ♠ J43

♥ A72 ♥ K83

♦ 3 ♦ A985

♣ AK83 ♣ Q74

Dave’s Column answer Board 17 from Wednesday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ AKQ62 West North East South

North ♥ A72 - 2♣ (1) pass 2♦ (2)

Love all ♦ 3 pass 2♠ pass 3♠ (3)

♣ AK83 pass 4NT pass 5♦ (4)

pass 5NT pass 6♦

♠ 1087 N ♠ 95 pass 6♠ all pass

♥ QJ64 W E ♥ 1095

♦ 10762 S ♦ KQJ4 (1) 9 playing tricks, so it’s worth a 2♣ opening.

♣ 92 ♣ J1065 (2) waiting

♠ J43 (3) Forcing

♥ K83 (4) One keycard

♦ A985

♣ Q74

East leads the ♦K, how do you play in 6♠ by North?

You win with dummy’s ♦A and play the ♠A,K, pleased to see the 3-2 break. If clubs break 3-3 all will be well, but they never do in Dave’s column. You can give yourself an extra chance by playing on ♣’s before you draw the last trump. You should play the ♣’s in a special way to avoid having one of your honours ruffed should West hold a doubleton ♣. You cash the ♣A, cross to the ♣Q and lead a third round towards your ♣K.

West has no answer to this. If he ruffs then your ♣K will survive. You can use it to discard a ♥ from dummy and eventually ruff a ♥ for the 12^th trick. If instead West declines to ruff you will win the 3^rd round of ♣’s with the ♣K and ruff a ♣ with the ♠J. You can then return to your hand with the ♥A and draw the last trump; thus making 12 tricks with just one ♥ loser.

And what happened?

Two pairs ended up in a rather silly 6NT and both went down. Three pairs bid 6♠ and one made it but I don’t know play. The bottom lines: -

- Lead up to an honour if LHO is likely to be ruffing – he will only ruff a loser if he ruffs in front of Hx.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input involving the best play for the contract.

West East You are East, playing in 7♠ and South leads the ♦K.

♠ 10762 ♠ AKQJ3 What card do you play at trick two? – the contract depends on it.

♥ A75 ♥ KQ63

♦ A64 ♦ 2

♣ Q63 ♣ AK10

Dave’s 2^ND Column answer Board 18 from Wednesday 12^th

Dealer: ♠ 9854 West North East South

East ♥ 104 - - 2♣ (1) pass

N-S vul ♦ 109853 2♦ pass 2♠ pass

♣ 94 4NT (2) pass 5♣ (3) pass

5NT (4) pass 6♦ pass

♠ 10762 N ♠ AKQJ3 6♠ (5) pass 7♠ (6) all pass

♥ A75 W E ♥ KQ63

♦ A64 S ♦ 2 (1) 9 playing tricks, do worth a 2♣ opening.

♣ Q63 ♣ AK10 (2) I would bid 3♠ (forcing) and let partner be captain.

♠ - (3) presumably 3 keycards

♥ J982 (4) Asks for kings (and promises all keycards present)

♦ KQJ7 (5) West chickened out with just a king missing

♣ J8752 (6) But East had a singleton and bid the grand.

You get the ♦K lead which you win with dummy’s ♦A – what now?

All will be well unless trumps are 4-0 because you will be able to draw trumps and ruff your 4^th ♥ loser in dummy, if need be. What will happen if trumps are 4-0? I may seem that you need the defender with long trumps to hold at least 3 ♥’s. But look at the hand from dummy’s point of view; the only losers are two small ♦’s. Ruff them in hand and there are 13 tricks.

And what happened?

Four pairs bid the slam and three made it. So is the standard of play at Pattaya bridge club now really that good? No! Only Ivy found the dummy reversal. The other two declarers drew trumps but then look at that South hand! – He is (pseudo) squeezed in three suits and both defenders threw a ♥. The only time that the defence got it right was when declarer hastily claimed and then South saw declarer’s hand and held his ♥’s.

The bottom lines: -

- With good trumps in both hands, look for the dummy reversal.

Bid what you can make? Board 14 from Friday 14^th

What was your answer to bidding sequence G this week? I have been over this in previous news-sheets and expert opinion is divided. Unless you agree something different, the jump to 3NT promises the standard 18-19 points.

Dealer: ♠ A9432 West North(F) East South

West ♥ QJ8 pass 1♠ (1) pass 2♣

both vul ♦ AKJ pass 3NT (2) pass 6NT (3)

♣ 86 all pass

♠ K N ♠ Q108765 (1) What did you open with this North hand F(a)

♥ 96542 W E ♥ 73 in this week’s quiz? With a very weak doubleton

♦ 752 S ♦ 1064 it’s sometimes best to open 1♠, but I would like

♣ KJ95 ♣ 102 a better ♠ suit. I prefer 1NT with this hand.

♠ J (2) What did you bid with this North hand F(b) in

♥ AK10 this week’s quiz? Now, as is often the case

♦ Q983 when you fail to open 1NT with a balanced hand

♣ AQ743 within your 1NT range, North is in difficulties. North has no really satisfactory rebid and I would bid 2♦.

This North simply ‘bid what he could make’.

(3) South assumed that North hand 18-19, as would I.

The bottom lines: -

- A jump rebid in NoTrumps is 18-19; you can agree something different after a two level response but 18-19 is standard.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 1♦. The hand is too good for 1NT.

Hand B: Double, penalties – they will not make 1NT.

Hand C: Pass. The hand is totally unsuitable for a take-out double.

Hand D: Pass. Knock off a point for the 4333 type shape and it’s not worth an invite.

Hand E: Pass. Knock off a point for the 4333 type shape and it’s not worth an invite.

Hand F: (a) 1NT or 2♠? I have no problem with opening 1NT with a 5-card major but the very weak doubleton is ominous. However, the ♠ suit is also rather anemic (certainly not re-biddable) and there may be a rebid problem if you open 1♠. So I slightly prefer 1NT.

(b) 2♦. Here we see the problem with not opening 1NT. 2♠ would imply a much better or longer ♠ suit, 2NT is 12-14 and 3NT is 18-19. The only sensible bid is to show these ♦ values.

Bidding Sequence Answers

G 1♠ - 2♣ - 3NT 3NT here is a jump and is 18-19.