Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 275

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 17^th Feb 2008

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 11^th N-S 1^st Jeremy & Sally 66% 2^nd Jean-Charles & Richard M 63%

E-W 1^st Bill & Holger 65% 2^nd Gastone & Vivian 55%

Wed 13^th N-S 1^st Richard M & Ken 66% 2^nd Jean-Charles & Philip 55%

E-W 1^st Derek & Gerard 61% 2^nd Ose & Ole K O 56%

Fri 15^th N-S 1^st Bob & Jo 63% 2^nd Bill & Tomas 61%

E-W 1^st Kees P & Paul S 64% 2^nd Bob G & Judy G 56%

Bidding Quiz Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A you open 1♦, LHO overcalls 2♣ and this is passed

round to you, what do you bid?

♠ 10953 ♠ 4

♥ AKQ10 ♥ K743 With Hand B partner opens 1♠ and RHO doubles, what

♦ KQJ5 ♦ AK76 do you bid?

♣ J ♣ J986

Hand C Hand D With Hand C partner opens 2NT (20-21), what do you bid?

♠ KQ2 ♠ K72

♥ K643 ♥ 9742 With Hand D partner opens 1♦ and RHO overcalls 2♣, what

♦ AQ7 ♦ 3 do you bid? Note that this hand was originally typed incorrectly,

♣ 432 ♣ A10962 it was corrected on 19/2/08

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

♠ KJ92 ♠ KQ1042

♥ Q1092 ♥ Q6 With Hand F LHO opens 1♦ and partner overcalls 1♥. You bid

♦ 82 ♦ 9 1♠ and partner raises to 2♠, what do you do now?

♣ KQ10 ♣ A10954

Bidding Sequence Quiz

G 1♦ 1♥ pass 1♠ What is 3♣?

pass 2♠ pass 3♣

H 2NT pass 4♣ What is 4♣?

J 2NT pass 4NT What is 4NT?

K 1♣ pass 1♥ pass

1NT pass 2♦ Is 2♦ weak or strong?

L 1♣ 1♠ 2♣ pass

2♥ Is 2♥ weak or strong?

The automatic re-opening double Board 8 from Monday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ 10953 West North(A) East South(D)

West ♥ AKQ10 - 1♦ 2♣ (1) pass (2)

Love all ♦ KQJ5 pass dbl (3) pass pass

♣ J 2♦ (4) dbl all pass

♠ AJ8 N ♠ Q64 (1) A pretty obvious overcall.

♥ J63 W E ♥ 85 (2) What did you bid with this South hand D in this

♦ 1087642 S ♦ A9 week’s quiz? Playing negative doubles you

♣ 4 ♣ KQ8753 should pass and pass partner’s subsequent double.

♠ K72 (3) What did you bid with this North hand A in this

♥ 9742 week’s quiz? Playing negative doubles a double

♦ 3 is ‘automatic’.

♣ A10962 (4) Hoping for (and finding) a slightly better spot.

And what happened?

- 2♦ doubled went for 300. I note that 2♣ was doubled at two other tables – so presumably my repeated writings about the automatic re-opening double are finally having an effect?

Silly bids by both sides Board 2 from Friday 15^th

Dealer: ♠ KJ92 West North(E) East(B) South

East ♥ Q1092 - - pass pass

N-S vul ♦ 82 1♠ dbl (1) 3NT (2) all pass

♣ KQ10

(1) What did you bid with this North hand E in this

♠ AQ765 N ♠ 4 week’s quiz? This is a very poor double - what

♥ J6 W E ♥ K743 do you do when partner responds in a minor?

♦ QJ109 S ♦ AK76 (2) What did you bid with this East hand B in this

♣ A7 ♣ J986 week’s quiz? Obviously you should re-double,

♠ 1083 the 800 penalty on a partscore deal may teach

♥ A85 North a lesson. 3NT is ridiculous, especially

♦ 543 at this vulnerability – take the vulnerable penalty

♣ 5432 rather than bidding a very dubious non-vul game.

And what happened? 3NT went two down. Had East redoubled then N-S have nowhere to go (because North has length in ♠’s!) and South’s best spot is 2♣ doubled which goes three down for 800 to E-W

The bottom lines: -

- When partner opens and RHO doubles, then redouble with 9+ points, shortage in partner’s suit and values outside – go for the penalty.

- A take-out double should be short in the suit opened and playable in the other three suits.

- Do not double 1♠ just because you have 4 ♥’s: You should normally have 4 ♥’s to double 1♠, but that does not mean that you should double 1♠ just because you have 4 ♥’s!!!

- A large number of bridge players need to re-read the last sentence!!!!

A help-suit game try? Board 13 from Monday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ 6 Table A

North ♥ A32 West(F) North East South

Both vul ♦ KQJ1082 - 1♦ 1♥ pass

♣ Q83 1♠ pass 2♠ pass

3♠ (1) pass 4♠ all pass

♠ KQ1042 N ♠ AJ5

♥ Q6 W E ♥ J9854 Table B

♦ 9 S ♦ A76 West(F) North East South

♣ A10954 ♣ KJ - 1♦ 1♥ pass

♠ 9873 1♠ pass 2♠ pass

♥ K107 3♣ (1) pass 3NT (2) pass

♦ 543 pass (3)

♣ 762

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand F in this week’s quiz? West should surely make an effort and 3♠ is the simple bid.

Table B: (1) But this West is not simple, so he chose 3♣ - presumably a help suit game try.

(2) I believe that East was not on the same wavelength and so showed his ♦ stop.

(3) With 5 ♠’s West should probably correct to 4♠.

And what happened? Most E-W’s were in 4♠ making or making +1 for 620 or 650. Our intrepid East in 3NT got a top when he guessed the ♣’s right and made +2 for 660.

The bottom lines: -

- When a major suit has been agreed, a new suit at the three level is a help suit game try.

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

West East You are East, declarer in 6♠. North had doubled West’s 5♥

♠ AJ102 ♠ KQ9873 response to Blackwood and South dutifully leads a ♥.

♥ 97 ♥ AJ Plan the play.

♦ K2 ♦ A53

♣ AQJ104 ♣ 72

Dave’s Column answer Board 8 from Wednesday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ 54 West North East South

West ♥ KQ104 1♣ pass 1♠ pass

Love all ♦ 9876 3♠ (1) pass 4NT pass

♣ K98 5♥ dbl (2) 6♠ all pass

♠ AJ102 N ♠ KQ9873 (1) The good trumps and good 5-card ♣ suit

♥ 97 W E ♥ AJ make this worth a jump.

♦ K2 S ♦ A53 (2) For a lead.

♣ AQJ104 ♣ 72

♠ 6

♥ 86532 South leads a ♥, plan the play.

♦ QJ104

♣ 653

The ♥ lead has complicated matters. Note that if North was not alert enough to double the 5♥ response to Blackwood then East would have an easy make on the ♦Q lead as he can afford to take a losing ♣ finesse.

With a ♥ lead a throw-in is the best line. Draw the trumps, strip the ♦’s by ruffing one in dummy, and exit with a ♥. North has to win and then has to either give you a ruff and discard or lead into dummy’s ♣’s.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? A number of players bid just 2♠ at (1) and stopped in 4♠. Five pairs reached the 6♠ slam; three made and two went down.

The bottom lines: -

- Don’t forget to double a response to Blackwood if you have a good holding in that suit.

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

North South You are South, declarer in 6NT. Plan the play on the ♠10 lead.

♠ KQ2 ♠ AJ6

♥ K643 ♥ A72

♦ AQ7 ♦ KJ105

♣ 432 ♣ AKJ

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 7 from Wednesday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ KQ2 Table A

South ♥ K643 West North(C) East South

Both vul ♦ AQ7 - - - 2NT

♣ 432 pass 4♣ (1) pass 4NT (2)

pass 5♣ (3) pass 6♥

♠ 10987 N ♠ 543 pass 7NT (4) all pass

♥ J85 W E ♥ Q109

♦ 632 S ♦ 984 Table B

♣ Q106 ♣ 9875 West North(C) East South

♠ AJ6 - - - 2NT

♥ A72 pass 4NT (1) pass pass (5)

♦ KJ105

♣ AKJ Table C

West North(C) East South

- - - 2NT

pass 6NT (1) all pass

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? 4♣ here is Gerber, asking for aces, but it was not my choice.

(2) Three aces.

(3) 5♣ is always asking for kings playing Gerber.

(4) With all of the aces and kings and a combined 34-35 points North decided that that was enough for the grand. It generally is not without a long suit.

Table B: (1) This North chose 4NT, whether he thought it was asking for aces (it is not) or quantitative I don’t know. Either way it’s the wrong bid.

(5) South assumed it was quantitative and correctly passed with this flat hand.

Table C: (1) This was my bid, and is the answer to question C. With a combined 34-35 points a small slam in NoTrumps is odds-on to make and there is no point in looking for a ♥ fit. This is one of the rare occasions when it’s best not to look for a 4-4 fit. It’s most likely that there is one loser and exactly 12 tricks in any sensible contract.

Anyway, let’s assume you arrive in 6NT after West leads the ♠10. You have 11 top tricks with chances of a 12^th in two suits, ♥’s and ♣’s. If ♥’s divide 3-3 or the ♣ finesse is right you make your slam. Can you combine the chances?

Yes! If you simply duck a ♥ in both hands. Win the return and then test the ♥’s by playing the ♥A,K to see if they break 3-3. If they do not, then fall back on the ♣ finesse.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge Club? 4NT made +2. 7NT was -2. Seven pairs reached the correct contract of 6NT but only one made it.

The bottom lines: -

- If you can afford one loser and have a 4-3 fit headed by just the A and K, then duck a round in that suit and then check if they split 3-3. If you bang down the A,K and try a 3^rd and they do not split, then you are down without being able to try the other option (the ♣ finesse here).

Well done Ken/Richard, the only ones to bid and make 6♠. This contributed to their 66% winning score.

Is it forcing? – part 1 Board 11 from Friday 15^th

One established pair had a disagreement over sequence K? Is 2♦ a strong or weak bid?

Dealer: ♠ K8 West North(D) East South

South ♥ Q875 - - - 1♣

Love all ♦ AJ3 pass (1) 1♥ pass 1NT

♣ AKJ2 pass 2♦ (2) pass pass (3)

pass

♠ 542 N ♠ 109763

♥ AK432 W E ♥ J9 (1) A 1♥ overcall would be reasonable.

♦ Q85 S ♦ 9742 (2) What did you bid with this North hand D in this

♣ 65 ♣ 43 in this week’s quiz? 3NT looks totally obvious

♠ AQJ to me. Anyway, North chose 2♦ assuming that it

♥ 106 is forcing – it is not unless you have agreed

♦ K106 otherwise.

♣ Q10987 (3) With a minimum and good ♦’s, South sensible

passed.

And what happened? 2♦ made + 3 for a bottom, virtually everybody else was in 3NT making +2 or +3.

The bottom lines: -

- Don’t make dubious obscure bids when there is a totally obvious one (3NT here).

- Sequence K is weak unless you have agreed a convention like New Minor Forcing.

Is it forcing? – part 2 Board 14 from Friday 15^th

The same pair had a disagreement again here.

Dealer: ♠ J98 West North East South

East ♥ 102 - - pass 1♣ (1)

Love all ♦ Q8 1♠ 2♣ pass 2♥ (2)

♣ KJ8432 pass 3♣ pass 3NT

all pass

♠ KQ1032 N ♠ 765

♥ Q54 W E ♥ 973 (1) 1♥ is obvious.

♦ J75 S ♦ 10943 (2) This caused considerable discussion after

♣ 96 ♣ A75 the hand was over. What was your answer to

♠ A4 sequence L? This is, by definition, a reverse

♥ AKJ86 showing a strong hand and forcing.

♦ AK62 North was adamant that it was a weak bid;

♣ Q10 he is wrong.

And what happened? Everybody was in 3NT, making 11 or 12 tricks.

The bottom lines: -

- If you open a suit, partner responds at the one level (or supports you at the two level) and you then bid a new suit that is higher ranking than the first suit, then that is a reverse; strong and forcing.

- Obviously South should have opened 1♥ and rebid 3♦ (or else open 2NT), but then there would be no story.

A 3^rd seat opener? West hand 8 from Wednesday 13^th

♠ 952 At favourable vulnerability, one visitor opened this hand with 1♣ in 3^rd seat.

♥ J I will take this opportunity to remind all that psyches and extremely weak

♦ 8542 opening bids are not allowed at our club. Around 8 or so points for a 3^rd seat

♣ A9432 opening would be acceptable, 5 is not. I was going to adjust the score as this

‘psyche’ prevented N-S from reaching 4♥. But the 4♥ contract went down when bid on the next four occasions and so West got a poor score anyway and so no adjustment was necessary. I did inform West of the club rules.

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

__		__		__			__			__			__			__		__	__		__			__			__		__					__		__				__
4		22		26			14			26			11			18		13	18		4			18			10		13					10		11				3
__		__		__		__		__			__			__				__	__				__			__					__		__		__				__				__		__		__
24		26		15		26		24			21			26				18	21				4			10					9		18		14				3				13		26		1
__	__		__		__				__			__			__		__			__		__			__			__		__		__					__	__			__	__		__		__		__
21	2		18		4				4			22			3		4			11		10			24			16		26		21					5	3			24	4		13		26		24

__		__				__			__					__			__					__		__		__				__			__			__		__		__		__		__		__		__		__
4		10				23			10					4			10					4		22		26				4			22			24		26		26		25		26		15		26		25
__	__			__			__			__		__			__					__			__				__		__		__			__
18	13			10			24			14		26			24					4			10				23		18		15			26
__	__		__		__			__			__		__			__			__		__				__			__				__			__		__		__		__		__		__		__		__
5	24		26		11			26			24		26			13			16		26				4			10				17			10		2		24		11		18		24		21		4
__	__		__				__			__		__			__			.
9	18		14				21			2		18			4

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: Dbl, ‘automatic’.

Hand B: Redbl. Promising 9+ points and usually showing shortage in partner’s suit and indicating a desire to defend a doubled contract.

Hand C: 6NT. There is little point in looking for a 4-4 ♥ fit as it’s likely that 12 tricks will be made in 6NT. Asking for aces (with 4♣) is also pointless as there are insufficient values for 7NT to be a good bet.

Hand D: Pass, and pass partner’s subsequent re-opening double.

Hand E: Pass. If you think that you should double – ‘to show 4 ♥’s and an opening hand’ then have a word with me and I will lend you a book about doubling. A take-out double should be short in the suit opened and playable in the other three suits (unless very strong).

Hand F: Invite. If partner will understand that 3♣ is a help-suit-game-try, then bid that. Otherwise a simple 3♠ will cause no mis-understandings.

Bidding Sequence Answers

G 1♦ 1♥ pass 1♠ 3♣ is a help suit game try.

pass 2♠ pass 3♣

H 2NT pass 4♣ 4♣ is Gerber, asking for aces

J 2NT pass 4NT 4NT is quantitative, asking partner to bid 6NT if maximum

K 1♣ pass 1♥ pass 2♦ is weak and passable. An exception is if you play the

1NT pass 2♦ New Minor Forcing (NMF) convention when it asks about partner’s major suit holdings and 3♦ is then the natural weak bid.

L 1♣ 1♠ 2♣ pass

2♥ 2♥ is a reverse, it is strong and forcing. The 1♠ overcall is pretty much irrelevant.