Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 284

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 20^th April 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

Mon 14^th 1^st Jeremy & Sally 66% 2^nd Dave & Ivy 61%

Wed 16^th 1^st Bengt & Tomas 68% 2^nd Ian W & Kenneth 61%

Fri 18^th 1^st Bengt & Frode = Dave & Ivy 58%

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Bidding Quiz

Hand A Hand B With Hand A RHO opens 1♠, what do you bid?

♠ 1084 ♠ 9632

♥ AK864 ♥ K105 With Hand B you open 1♣ and LHO overcalls 1♦. Partner

♦ AKJ ♦ 3 bids 1♥, what do you bid?

♣ 76 ♣ AKJ95

Hand C Hand D With Hand C RHO opens 2♠ (weak), what do you bid?

♠ KJ10 ♠ KQJ62

♥ A1085 ♥ Q32 With Hand D it’s unfavourable vulnerability and teams. You

♦ K76 ♦ 3 open 1♠, LHO doubles, partner bids 4♠ and RHO bids 5♦.

♣ AJ8 ♣ K532 What do you do?

Hand E Hand F With Hand E partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1♦, what

do you bid?

♠ AKJ8 ♠ 85

♥ 9843 ♥ KQ64 With Hand F LHO opens 2♠ and partner doubles, what do you bid?

♦ K982 ♦ AJ2

♣ Q ♣ 9543

Hand G Hand H With Hand G you open 1♣, LHO overcalls 1♠ and partner

doubles (negative, promising 4+ ♥’s and 8+ points). You choose

♠ KQ2 ♠ 642 to rebid 1NT and partner bids 2♥, what do you do?

♥ K6 ♥ K852

♦ J2 ♦ AKQ8 With Hand H you open 1♦ and LHO overcalls 1♠. This is

♣ A98762 ♣ 83 passed round to you, what do you do?

Hand J Hand K With Hand J it’s unfavourable vulnerability at teams. Partner

opens 1♦ and RHO overcalls 1♠, what do you bid?

♠ AK983 ♠ J75

♥ Q7 ♥ QJ842 With Hand K partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1♠

♦ 4 ♦ 10863 (a) What do you bid?

♣ KJ976 ♣ K (b) Suppose you choose double and partner bids 1NT,

what do you do?

Bidding Sequence Quiz

L 1♣ pass 1♦ Does the 1♦ bid deny a 4-card major?

M 1♣ pass 1♦ pass

1NT Does the 1NT bid deny a 4-card major?

N 1♣ 1♠ dbl pass The double is negative, promising 4+ ♥’s.

1NT pass 2♥ Is the 2♥ bid weak, invitational or forcing?

P 1♣ pass 1♦ 1♠ 1♦ is standard (may well also have a major suit).

dbl What is the double?

Q 1♣ pass 1♦ 1♠ 1♦ is standard (may well also have a major suit).

pass pass dbl What is the double?

Underbid/Overbid Board 20 from Friday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ AQ6432 West(F) North East(C) South

West ♥ 2 pass 2♠ dbl (1) pass

Both vul ♦ 983 3♥ (2) pass 3NT (3) pass

♣ Q102

(1) What did you bid with this East hand C in

♠ 85 N ♠ KJ10 this week’s quiz? Should you look for a 4-4 ♥

♥ KQ64 W E ♥ A1085 fit or should you show your ♠ stops with 2NT?

♦ AJ2 S ♦ K76 I won’t argue with dbl, but I would bid 2NT.

♣ 9543 ♣ AJ8 (2) What did you bid with this West hand F in

♠ 97 this week’s quiz? This is basic beginners stuff -

♥ J973 with 10 points opposite a double you have to

♦ Q1054 jump. 3♥ here shows 0-8 points. Correct is

♣ K76 either to bid 4♥ or 3♠, depending upon your agreements.

(3) East now decided to bid NoTrumps in a sequence that now shows 19+ points. Fortunately his partner did not realize this either.

And what happened? It appears that neither East nor West had any idea what they were doing but they stumbled into the best contract anyway, with West’s underbidding more than compensated by East’s overbidding.

The bottom lines: -

- Double followed but a NoTrump bid shows a hand too strong to overcall in NoTrumps immediately – so 19+ points.

- When partner doubles then you have to jump if you have 9+ points.

- These two topics are all pretty basic stuff and are written up on the website: -

Basic Bidding > Bidding again having doubled (134)

Basic Bidding > Responding to partner's take-out double (133)

Don’t bid when a pre-empt has done its job Board 21 from Monday 14^th

Dealer: ♠ KQJ62 Table A

North ♥ Q32 West North(D) East(A) South

N-S vul ♦ 3 - 1♠ dbl (1) 4♠ (2)

♣ K532 5♦ (3) 5♠ (4) dbl all pass

♠ - N ♠ 1084 Table B

♥ 1075 W E ♥ AK864 West North(D) East(A) South

♦ 1098765 S ♦ AKJ - 1♠ 2♥ (1) 4♠ (5)

♣ AJ84 ♣ 76 pass (6) pass pass

♠ A9753

♥ J9

♦ Q42

♣ Q109

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this East hand A in this week’s quiz? It seems that a number of players are in the habit of doubling rather than making a totally obvious overcall.

(2) It’s unfavourable vulnerability, but I suppose that 4♠ is OK here.

(3) With great shape West ventured 5♦ - this will often make had partner actually had his bid (i.e. his double was showing ♦’s and ♣’s as well as ♥’s).

(4) What did you bid with this North hand D in this week’s quiz? Partner has made a pre-emptive raise which may or may not have worked, who knows? Maybe they have missed 6♦, maybe 5♦ is going down. Bidding again here is terrible, especially vulnerable against not. The only ‘excuse’ there can be for bidding on is a 6^th ♠ which North does not have; but even then I would pass.

Table B (1) This East got question A right, with the obvious 2♥ overcall.

(5) Again, 4♠ is reasonable.

(6) But now West has no reason to gamble with 5♦ as partner has made the sensible overcall rather than the fatuous double.

And what happened? 5♦ doubled went two down for 500 away. 4♠ was one down.

The bottom lines: -

- It is rarely correct to double when you have a 5-card major suitable for an overcall.

- Obey the Law and look at the vulnerability. With 10 combined ♠’s you should not compete above the level of 10 tricks unless it is favourable vulnerability and you are pretty sure that they will make their contract (and not make slam).

- This deal is a good example for the full application of the Law of Total Tricks – which states that the total number of tricks available is equal to the total number of trumps.

Look at it from North’s point of view – he knows that his side has 10 ♠’s and it’s reasonable to assume that the opponents also have 10 ♦’s; so the total number of tricks available is 20. If 5♦ is making then that’s 11 tricks and so N-S will make only 9 tricks in ♠’s and the 500 penalty is too much.

- As it happened E-W had only 9 ♦’s and the Law was spot on – 19 total tricks. N-S can make 3♠ and E-W can make only 4♦.

Members contact details

I keep a list of contact information for bridge club members and regular players on the website. The list is protected by a password which I changed last week when I stupidly gave the password to an unsuitable ex-member. If you would like your details added to the list or would like to know the new password, then please contact me.

Missing the 4-4 major suit fit - part 1 Board 14 from Friday 11^th

E-W missed the 4-4 ♠ fit at Table A, who would you blame?

Dealer: ♠ 1075 Table A

East ♥ QJ76 West(E) North East(B) South

Love all ♦ J65 - - 1♣ 1♦

♣ 1084 1♥ (1) pass 2♥ (2) pass

pass (3) pass

♠ AKJ8 N ♠ 9632

♥ 9843 W E ♥ K105 Table B

♦ K982 S ♦ 3 West(E) North East(B) South

♣ Q ♣ AKJ95 - - 1♣ 1♦

♠ Q4 dbl (1) pass 1♠ pass

♥ A2 4♠ all pass

♦ AQ1074

♣ 7632

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand E in this week’s quiz? It may seem that to bid up the line is correct – but it is not! Table B got it right.

(2) What did you bid with this East hand E in this week’s quiz? When dummy went down the opposition stared at him (me) as if I had committed a cardinal sin (not bidding a 4-card major), but this 2♥ bid is best in my opinion. Partner’s 1♥ bid has denied 4 ♠’s (unless he is 4-5) and in that case the 5-3 ♥ fit will play fine as the ♦ ruffs can be taken in the short trump hand. Should partner have just 4 ♥’s then the Moysian fit should play well anyway.

(3) Quite why West passed with 13 points opposite an opener is a mystery.

Table B (1) This West got question E right, a negative double showing 4 ♥’s and 4 ♠’s.

And what happened? 2♥ made exactly for a complete bottom. 4♠ made +1 twice and 3NT made +2.

The bottom lines: -

- If partner opens 1♣ and RHO overcalls 1♦ then negative double if 4-4 in the majors.

Missing the 4-4 major suit fit - part 2 Board 1 from Friday 11^th

N-S missed the 4-4 ♥ fit at Table A, who would you blame?

Dealer: ♠ KJ85 Table A

North ♥ AQJ4 West North East South

Love all ♦ 86 - 1♣ (1) pass 1♦ (2)

♣ A105 pass 1NT (3) all pass

♠ Q64 N ♠ A1032 Table B

♥ 76 W E ♥ 985 West North East South

♦ 942 S ♦ AQ3 - 1NT (1) pass 2♣

♣ 98732 ♣ QJ6 pass 2♥ pass 4♥

♠ 97 all pass

♥ K1032

♦ KJ1075 ‘Walsh’ Pair

♣ K4 West North East South

- 1♣ (1) pass 1♦ (2)

pass 1NT (4) pass 2♥ (5)

pass 4♥ all pass

Table A: (1) Looks like a 1NT opener to me, apparently this North does not like to open 1NT with two 4-card majors.

(2) I went all through this in news-sheets 280 & 281. Unless you play an advanced system like Walsh then most people will respond 1♦ to 1♣ with a 4 (or 5) card ♦ suit and a 4 card major.

(3) It appears that Sally believes that a 1♦ response to 1♣ denies a 4-card major. She does not play Walsh so I guess that ♦ suits just get lost or are unimportant? Anyway, this bid is very poor as it shows 12-14 points playing Standard American.

Table B (1) This North had a simple auction to the top spot when he opened 1NT.

‘Walsh’ (1) Let’s suppose that our experts are playing a weak NoTrump today and so

Table North opens 1♣.

(2) Our experts play Walsh; playing Walsh one responds 1♦ with a hand worth two bids (as this one) and 1♥ with a weaker hand.

(4) And playing Walsh 1NT is correct here (showing 15-16 if playing a weak NoTrump) – you can bypass one or two 4-card majors because partner has denied a major unless he is strong enough to reverse into it next go.

(5) In this case East is strong enough to bid this way. This reverse is forcing for one round with invitational or better values.

And what happened? 1NT made +5 for a bottom as everybody else was in 4♥ making or making +1. The bottom lines: -

- Standard is that one responds up the line (including ♦’s) to a 1♣ opening.

- If you play Walsh and so frequently by-pass a 4 or 5 card ♦ suit in order to bid a 4-card major then this bid has to be alerted with the explanation, if asked, ‘could be bypassing a 4 or 5-card ♦ suit’. And the 1NT bid over a 1♦ response needs to be alerted with the explanation ‘could be by-passing one or two 4-card majors’.

- Walsh is not that common, but I do play it with Lewis. Note that when playing Walsh the 1♦ response does not deny a 4-card major and so does not need alerting.

- I have no idea what system Sally plays but her 1♦, 1♥ and 1♠ responses to 1♣ and the 1NT rebid in the 1♣ - 1♦ - 1NT sequence all need to be alerted.

The automatic re-opening double Board 9 from Wednesday 16^th

Dealer: ♠ -

North ♥ AJ643 West(J) North East(H) South

E-W vul ♦ J10963 - pass 1♦ 1♠ (1)

♣ Q42 pass (2) pass pass (3) pass

♠ AK983 N ♠ 642 (1) With good intermediates this is a very clear

♥ Q7 W E ♥ K852 overcall, especially at this vulnerability

♦ 4 S ♦ AKQ8 (2) What did you bid with this West hand J in

♣ KJ976 ♣ 83 this week’s quiz. At unfavourable vulnerability

♠ QJ1075 it may be tempting to punt 3NT, but game is by

♥ 109 no means certain as this ♠ suit may well yield

♦ 753 only two or three tricks in NoTrumps and it’s

♣ A105 very likely to be a mis-fit with bad breaks. I agree with this West’s decision to go for the penalty.

(3) Unfortunately East is a visitor and did not know about the automatic re-opening double.

And what happened? 1♠ should have gone three down but West mis-defended badly and it went just one down for just 50 to E-W. So a good board for N-S? No! At the other table South failed to overcall and E-W played in 4♠ going one down. As I said, game is by no means clear for E-W because of the bad breaks.

The bottom lines: -

- If you play negative doubles and you open, LHO overcalls and this is passed back to you then you should double 99% of the time.

- The negative double and automatic re-opening double, together with examples of when one should not re-open with a double, are written up on the website.

Conventions > Section 1 > Negative Doubles.

If partner doesn’t like 1NT – he won’t like 2NT! Board 20 from Wednesday 16^th

Dealer: ♠ A10963

West ♥ 75 West(G) North East(K) South

Both vul ♦ AQ94 1♣ 1♠ dbl (1) pass

♣ Q3 1NT (2) pass 2♥ (3) pass

2NT (4) all pass

♠ KQ2 N ♠ J75

♥ K6 W E ♥ QJ842 (1) What did you bid with this East hand K(a) in

♦ J2 S ♦ 10863 this week’s quiz? The hand is nowhere near

♣ A98762 ♣ K good enough for a forcing 2♥ and this negative

♠ 84 double is absolutely correct.

♥ A1093 (2) With good ♠’s this is probably better than 2♣.

♦ K75 (3) This now shows a weak hand with 5+ ♥’s

♣ J1054 and partner is obliged to pass

(4) But West did not see it that way!

And what happened? 2NT went two down for a fully deserved 200 away. At the other table E-W played in the sensible 2♥ which went only one down. West ‘did a Chuck’ and tried to blame East, saying that East should have bid 2♥ on the first round. This is total rubbish unless you have agreed to play negative free bids.

The bottom lines: -

- A negative double followed by a bid of two of the implied major shows a weak hand with a 5+ card suit (sequence N).

- I do not play or recommend negative free bids (and I believe that Sean and maybe Paul Kelly are the only people around that do). Anyway, if you do play negative free bids then a 2♥ bid at (1) would have to be alerted.

- 5-2 fits play quite well, generally better than NoTrumps at the same level.

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

North South You are South, declarer in 3NT after West has opened 1♥.

♠ QJ43 ♠ K102 West leads the ♥K which you duck and he continues with the ♥Q

♥ J4 ♥ A763 which you also duck. You win the 3^rd ♥ upon which East discards

♦ AQ753 ♦ J10 a small ♠. What do you discard from dummy and what is your

♣ 32 ♣ AKQ5 plan?

Dave’s Column answer Board 12 from Wednesday 16^th

Dealer: ♠ QJ43 West North East South

West ♥ J4 1♥ pass (1) pass 1NT (2)

N-S vul ♦ AQ753 pass 2♥ (3) pass 2NT (4)

♣ 32 pass 3NT all pass

♠ A8 N ♠ 9765 (1) This is a bit light for the 2♦ overcall that

♥ KQ1095 W E ♥ 85 I note that one player made.

♦ K62 S ♦ 984 (2) This is the bid in Dave’s book, most players play

♣ J107 ♣ 9864 the 1NT overcall as much weaker in 4^th seat.

♠ K102 (3) Stayman (so showing 4 ♠’s), and playing

♥ A763 Lebensohl denying a ♥ stop.

♦ J10 (4) Not 4 ♠’s and confirming a ♥ stop.

♣ AKQ5

You win the 3^rd round of ♥’s and have to plan the play. It is quite clear that West has all of the missing high cards to justify his opening bid. Since West started with 5 ♥’s you cannot afford to knock out the ♠A as you would then lose 4 ♥’s and one ♠. The best chance is to try for 5 ♦ tricks. However, this is not so easy as the suit is potentially blocked. Let’s see what happens if you lead the ♦J; West covers and now what? You can win the ♦A and cross back to the ♦10 but you will have to lead a ♠ to get over to the good ♦’s. No, that won’t work.

What if you discard a ♠ from dummy at trick 3 and lead the ♦10 at trick 4? It’s true that West can cover and block the suit. But human nature being what it is, West is more likely to duck the ten than the jack. If West ducks the ♦10. Lead the ♦J and overtake with the ♦Q (if West ducks again) and score 5 ♦’s, 3 ♣’s and a ♥ for the game.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? The board was played twice in a teams match. At both tables the contract was 3NT and South led the ♦J first on both occasions and at both tables West ducked this and also the ♦10 continuation. At one table declarer did not overtake and so went one down. At the 2^nd table declarer overtook the 2^nd ♦ and made the contract.

- If a player has opened the bidding with 1♥ and you/partner have 27 combined points, then play the opener for a missing ace!

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s 2^nd input which is a double-dummy problem.

Dealer: ♠ AKQ1032 This is not a deal from Dave’s book but was dealt

North ♥ A6 by the computer for the Friday 11^th April session.

N-S vul ♦ A8 6♦ is makeable but that is not the point.

♣ A54 Most pairs were in 4♠ by North and the computer

says that North can make 5♠ or 5NT on any lead.

♠ J64 N ♠ 985 Sally disputes this – saying openly that ‘it is

♥ QJ10843 W E ♥ 75 impossible to make 5♠ on a ♣ lead without

♦ 73 S ♦ K6 the help of silly defence’, and she challenged

♣ 103 ♣ KQJ987 anybody to prove her wrong.

♠ 7 I maintain that the computer is never wrong.

♥ K92 What do you think?

♦ QJ109542 Is there a line (with perfect defence) such that

♣ 62 North can make 11 tricks or is Sally correct in

saying that the computer is frequently wrong?

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 21 from Friday 11^th April

Dealer: ♠ AKQ1032 West North East South

North ♥ A6 - 2♣ (1) pass 2♦

N-S vul ♦ A8 pass 2♠ (2) pass 3♦

♣ A54 pass 3♠ (3) pass 4♠

all pass

♠ J64 N ♠ 985

♥ QJ10843 W E ♥ 75 (1) This is one trick short of game and is worth

♦ 73 S ♦ K6 a 2♣ opener. Playing Benjamin it’s also a

♣ 103 ♣ KQJ987 2♣ opener (with a 3♠ rebid).

♠ 7 (2) Game forcing playing Standard American.

♥ K92 (3) Still game forcing.

♦ QJ109542

♣ 62

So can North make 11 tricks in ♠’s on a ♣ lead?

There are two very reasonable lines of play.

1. You can try ruffing the 3^rd round of ♣’s but this fails as West over-ruffs and leads a ♦. North thus loses a ♠, a ♦ and a ♣.

2. You can try the ♦ finesse. Draw trumps, over to the ♥K and lead the ♦Q. Unfortunately this also fails as the finesse is wrong and so North loses a ♦ and two ♣’s.

So has Sally actually proven that the computer is not infallible?

No!

Dave believes me when I say that the Deep Finesse program is never wrong (when put on the full analysis and best lead modes that I use) and he picked up Sally’s gauntlet. I understand that it took him around 10 minutes to solve this one. It matters not if you duck the opening ♣ or not. So suppose you duck and East continues with a ♣ or a trump or whatever (if East finds the weird continuation of a ♥ you win with dummy’s ♥K). You win and play the ♣A and run the trumps. You then cross to the ♥K and return to the ♥A.

♠ - This is the 4-card ending with the lead in the

♥ A South hand (having just won with the ♥K).

♦ A8 Declarer plays a ♥ to the ♥A but what does

♣ 5 East discard?

Declarer gets the rest if he discards a ♦ so he

♠ - N ♠ - throws a ♣. North then plays his ♣5 to end-play

♥ QJ W E ♥ - East. West is irrelevant.

♦ 73 S ♦ K6

♣ - ♣ J9 QED.

♠ -

♥ 9

♦ QJ10

♣ -

The bottom lines: -

- The computer is never wrong!

- This is not necessarily the best way to play the hands, but it is double-dummy.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 2♥. This is pretty obvious but one player did find a silly double. If you double you will miss a 5-3 ♥ fit as the hand is not strong enough to bid again if partner responds 2♣ or 2♦ as is quite likely.

Hand B: 2♥. It may be a Moysian fit but it should play well as the ♦ ruffs will be taken in the short trump hand. Note that 1♠ is incorrect/unnecessary as partner has denied 4 ♠’s by not negative doubling. If partner does indeed have 4 ♠’s then he must have 5 ♥’s and the 5-3 ♥ fit should play fine in this instance.

Hand C: 2NT. I think it’s best to show the ♠ stops rather than looking for a possible 4-4 ♥ fit. Double is the reasonable alternative but you will find it difficult to stop in 3NT if that is the best spot.

Hand D: Pass. 5♠ is suicidal and partner’s raise may have caused them problems – they may well not be in a good contract (they were not).

Hand E: Double, negative and showing 4 ♥’s and 4 ♠’s. 1♥ is incorrect as that would deny 4 ♠’s (unless 4-5).

Hand F: Either 4♥ or 3♠. You cannot bid 3♥ as that shows a weak hand (less than 9 points).

Hand G: Pass. Partner has shown a weak hand with 5+ ♥’s and he does not like 1NT. 2NT is a really terrible bid here.

Hand H: Double, ‘automatic. Partner probably has a ♠ stack and is going for the penalty.

Hand J: Pass. You have the values for a vulnerable game, but RHO’s overcall indicates that things split badly. You will probably only make two or three ♠ tricks in 3NT and so it’s best to go for the sure penalty (partner will double automatically of course).

Hand K: (a) Double. Negative and showing 4+ ♥’s. The hand is nowhere good enough for a forcing 2♥ bid

(b) 2♥. This shows a weak hand with 5+ ♥’s.

Bidding Sequence Answers L 1♣ pass 1♦ and …

M 1♣ pass 1♦ pass

1NT

Yes, I know that I asked these questions in news-sheet 281, but more information has come to light. Apparently Sally (and presumably Jeremy) play that the 1♦ bid denies a 4-card major and that the 1NT rebid may well bypass one or two 4-card majors. Actually, Lewis and myself play something similar; but note that this is not standard. Note also that sequences L (if denying a

4-card major) and M (if possibly by-passing a 4-card major) and also the sequences 1♣ - 1♥ and 1♣ - 1♠ (if possibly denying a 4 or 5 card ♦ suit) all need to be alerted. OK Sally?

N 1♣ 1♠ dbl pass The double is negative, promising 4+ ♥’s.

1NT pass 2♥ The 2♥ bid is weak, showing a hand not good enough to bid 2♥ directly.

P 1♣ pass 1♦ 1♠ Traditionally the double is ‘penalties’ – showing a ♠ suit.

dbl But these days many (including most at the Pattaya bridge Club) play it as similar to a negative double so showing ♥’s.

Q 1♣ pass 1♦ 1♠ This is an ‘Action Double’. It is not penalties but says that

pass pass dbl the opening side have the balance of power. It is similar to the ‘automatic re-opening double’ in that it enables partner to pass if you play as (P) above and opener has decent ♠’s.