Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 294

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 22^nd June 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 23^rd 1^st Bob & Robbie = Dave & Ivy 59%

Wed 25^th 1^st Janne & PerAke 65 % 2^nd Dave & Terry = Bob & Nick 56%

Fri 27^th 1^st Janne & Jan 63% 2^nd Oli & Sally 57%

Bidding Quiz Stand American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

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

♠ A542 ♠ K86 With Hand B what do you bid if:

♥ A43 ♥ 1075 (a) partner opens 1NT?

♦ 9873 ♦ AQ42 (b) partner opens 1♦?

♣ AK ♣ J52

Hand C Hand D With Hand C partner opens 1♣ and RHO bids 1♠, what do

you bid?

♠ K2 ♠ Q6

♥ A10 ♥ AKQJ9732

♦ KQ10863 ♦ Q8 With Hand D partner opens 1♣ and you bid 1♥. Partner then

♣ J83 ♣ 5 jumps to 2♠ (game forcing), what do you bid?

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

♠ 7 ♠ AQ97 ♠ KJ1072 With Hand F you open 1♣ and LHO overcalls 1♠.

♥ A852 ♥ K754 ♥ 5 What do you do if: (a) partner bids 2♦?

♦ AKQ10865 ♦ J7 ♦ A92 (b) partner bids 3♦?

♣ 9 ♣ Q64 ♣ AQ63

With Hand G you open 1♠ and partner bids 2♥, what do you bid?

Bidding Sequence Quiz

H 1♣ 1♠ 2♦ Is 2♦ forcing?

J 1♣ 1♠ 3♥ What is 3♥?

K 1♠ 2♣ 3♦ What is 3♦?

L 1♣ pass 1♥ pass 2♠ is natural and strong, 3♦ is 4^th suit and 3NT shows a ♦ stop.

2♠ pass 3♦ pass (a) What does 4♣ mean?

3NT pass 4/5♣ (b) What does 5♣ mean??

M 1♣ pass 1♥ pass The jump to 2♠ is strong, but is it passable, forcing for one

2♠ round, or game forcing?

Hand Evaluation Board 13 from Monday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ QJ73 Table A

North ♥ KJ2 West(A) North East(B) South

both vul ♦ K65 1NT (1) pass 3NT (2) all pass

♣ 764

Table B

♠ A542 N ♠ K86 West(A) North East(B) South

♥ A43 W E ♥ 1075 1♦ pass 1NT (3) all pass

♦ 9873 S ♦ AQ42

♣ AK ♣ J52

♠ 109

♥ Q986

♦ J10

♣ Q10983

Table A: (1) What did you open with this West hand A in this week’s quiz? Before evaluation it is 15 points; but read any book on hand evaluation and you will discover that AK doubleton is not worth 7 points - points are good in long suits. By the same token ♦xxxx is very bad - you need points in your longer suits. This hand has 4 quick tricks and that’s about it - with very few possibilities of generating extra tricks. It is not worth 1NT and should bid as table B.

(2) What did you bid with this East hand B(a) in this week’s quiz? I think it’s borderline. Knock off a point for the totally flat shape but add on a bit for the ten. I would not argue with 2NT or 3NT but would probably settle for 2NT at pairs (maybe 3NT if vulnerable at teams).

Table B: (1) This West got it right and opened just 1♦.

(3) What did you bid with this East hand B(b) in this week’s quiz? It’s not good enough for 2NT and raising ♦’s is not attractive with this flat shape, 1NT is best.

And what happened? 1NT made +1 for a joint top. At two other tables 2NT and 3NT both went one down.

The bottom lines: -

- Understand Hand Evaluation. This West hand IS NOT worth 15 points. This deal demonstrates why perfectly. East has a fairly reasonable raise to 3NT, suits split reasonably well and the ♦K is onside – yet 3NT stands no chance! Put the ♦K with South and even 2NT goes down. Why, with a combined 25 points and no bad splits, is 3NT not making? It is not unlucky - the main reason is that the West hand is not worth a 1NT opener; ♣AK doubleton is a waste of 7 ‘points’ – points belong in long suits. The other reason also concerns hand evaluation; this East hand, because of the 3343 shape, is only worth 9 points, but it does have a ten and so the raise to 3NT is not as bad as the opening 1NT bid.

Don’t bid Blackwood with a weak suit Board 11 from Wednesday 22^nd

Nobody likes to have A,K cashed against their slam and so it is unwise to bid Blackwood if you have a wide open suit in which partner has promised nothing.

Dealer: ♠ KJ73 Table A

South ♥ 1054 West North East(D) South

Love all ♦ 7542 1♣ pass 1♥ pass

♣ 96 2♠ (1) pass 4NT (2) pass

5♥ pass pass (3) pass

♠ A984 N ♠ Q6

♥ - W E ♥ AKQJ9732 “Expert” Table

♦ KJ93 S ♦ Q8 West North East(D) South

♣ AKQ32 ♣ 5 1♣ pass 1♥ pass

♠ 1052 2♠ (1) pass 3♦ (2) pass

♥ 86 3NT (4) pass 5♣ (5) pass

♦ A106 5♠ pass 6♥ all pass

♣ J10874

Table A: (1) A ‘high’ reverse – game forcing.

(2) What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? Jumping into Blackwood is rarely a good idea – it’s usually best to find out more about partner’s hand. Anyway, this East chose Blackwood which is a poor bid for a number of reasons:

(i) If partner has two aces then you don’t know if the opponents have two ♦ tricks off the top or not.

(ii) With this RKCB bid ♠’s are trumps and so there will be two aces missing

if partner responds 5♥ when holding the ♠K (quite likely as he has bid ♠’s).

(3) East had no idea if there were two losers off the top or not and so passed.

“Expert” (2) This is easily the best answer to question D. Fourth suit forcing enables

Table: East to find out more about partner’s hand – and in particular if he has a ♦ stop.

(4) I have a ♦ stop – showing a stop in the 4^th suit (by bidding NoTrumps) is always the first priority.

(5) This is Gerber – a jump in ♣’s after partner’s NoTrump bid. 4♣ would be natural looking for a ♣ slam. The big advantage here over bidding 4NT at (2) at Table A is that not only does East know that partner has the ♦ ace or king, but this Gerber bid asks for aces and the unimportant ♠K will not be included.

And what happened? At the other two tables they did not even make a try and played in 4♥. Everybody made 12 tricks.

The bottom lines: -

- Don’t jump straight into Blackwood if there is a better bid.

- Don’t use RKCB if the ‘trump’ suit king is of no use to you.

- Don’t use Blackwood with a weak suit in which partner has shown nothing.

- It is usually unwise/unsound to bid Blackwood/Gerber unless you are prepared to bid slam with one keycard/ace missing.

- Gerber is always a jump in ♣’s after partner has bid NoTrumps.

40% slams are against the odds Board 21 from Wednesday 22^nd

A slam missing an ace and also QJ10x in the trump suit should be avoided if you have the bidding expertise in your repertoire. Roman Keycard Blackwood will often be sufficient.

Dealer: ♠ J984 Table A

North ♥ Q10 West(E) North East South

N-S vul ♦ J4 - pass 1♥ pass

♣ Q10862 4♣ (1) pass 4♥ (2) pass

6♥ (3) all pass

♠ 7 N ♠ KQ

♥ A852 W E ♥ K9763 “Expert” Table

♦ AKQ10865 S ♦ 9732 West(E) North East South

♣ 9 ♣ A4 - pass 1♥ pass

♠ A106532 2NT (1) pass 4♥ (4) pass

♥ J4 4NT (5) pass 5♥ (6) pass

♦ - pass (7) pass

♣ KJ753

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand E in this week’s quiz? This 4♣ bid was apparently asking for aces and is just as inefficient, perhaps more so, than the RKCB bid at table A on the previous article.

(2) One ace (the 4♣ bid did not even ask about the ♥K)

(3) A total and very silly gamble that is way against the odds.

“Expert” (1) Our experts know to ‘take it slow’ of course. This 2NT bid is Jacoby 2NT, it

Table: sets ♥’s as trumps and asks opener to describe his hand.

(4) This jump to 4♥ shows a total minimum.

(5) West is still interested in slam of course, and he needs to know about keycards and also if partner has the ♥Q (or six ♥’s). RKCB does this perfectly.

(6) two keycards, but not the ♥Q and only 5 ♥’s

(7) Knowing that slam is against the odds, West sensibly stops at the 5-level.

And what happened? 4♥+2 once and 6♥= twice. The miserable slam luckily rolled home when the trumps split 2-2 and East fortunately had the ♥K.

The bottom lines: -

- Don’t jump straight into an ace ask if there is a better bid.

- With a trump suit, one needs to play RKCB and include the trump king in the initial response.

- Primitive, crude... as I don’t wish to be sued for libel, I shall not say any more about West’s bidding at table A; and anyway, I don’t have enough room on this page.

- A 2-2 split is 40%.

A new suit after intervention Board 22 from Monday 20^th

A couple of people got this fairly basic bidding situation very wrong on Monday:

Dealer: ♠ 84 Table A

East ♥ QJ932 West(C) North East(F) South

E-W vul ♦ 95 - - 1♣ 1♠

♣ 10752 3♦ (1) pass pass (2) pass

♠ K2 N ♠ AQ97 Table B

♥ A10 W E ♥ K754 West(C) North East(F) South

♦ KQ10863 S ♦ J7 - - 1♣ 1♠

♣ J83 ♣ Q64 2♦ (1) pass pass (3) pass

♠ J10653

♥ 86

♦ A42

♣ AK9

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? This West thought that 3♦ was natural, strong and forcing; so he bid it.

(2) What did you bid with this West hand F(b) in this week’s quiz? East thought that 3♦ was weak and so he passed. He has my sympathies and I would do the same as it’s unlikely that it’s a splinter agreeing ♣’s.

Table B: (1) This West got it right and bid a natural forcing 2♦.

(3) What did you bid with this East hand F(a) in this week’s quiz? With these nice ♠’s 2NT looks pretty obvious. Unfortunately East did not appreciate that 2♦ was forcing.

And what happened? 3♦ made +1, 2♦ made +3 but the other two tables bid to 3NT making +1 and +2. The bottom lines: -

- If partner opens and RHO overcalls, then a new suit by you is natural and forcing. This is true unless you have explicitly agreed to play Negative Free Bids, which I do not recommend and few people in the club play them – and if you do then they need alerting.

- The meaning of the jump (as at Table A) has to be agreed. West at table A actually came over to me during the game and asked. I said that 2♦ was natural and forcing, so that 3♦ is then either a splinter or a weak bid, according to partnership agreement. He then went back and said to his partner ‘Terry says either weak or strong – according to partnership agreement’. I am used to being mis-quoted, but to get it wrong in the ten seconds walking from one table to the next really is a bit extreme.

- Anyway, in my opinion it’s probably best to play it as a splinter over a major suit opening and as a weak natural jump shift over a minor suit opening.

Dave’s Column Here is this week’s Dave input involving the play of the hand.

West East You are East, declarer in 6♠ (or 6NT). South leads the ♦Q,

♠ 43 ♠ AKQJ10 plan the play.

♥ AKQ65 ♥ 32

♦ 876 ♦ AK9

♣ 742 ♣ AJ6

Dave’s Column answer Board 18 from Wednesday 25^th

Dealer: ♠ 86 West North East South

East ♥ J987 - - 2♣ pass

N-S vul ♦ 532 2♥ pass 2♠ pass

♣ Q1083 3♥ pass 3NT pass

5NT (1) pass 6♠ all pass

♠ 43 N ♠ AKQJ10

♥ AKQ65 W E ♥ 32 (1) Pick a slam.

♦ 876 S ♦ AK9

♣ 742 ♣ AJ6 South leads the ♦Q, plan the play

♠ 9752

♥ 104

♦ QJ104

♣ K95

There is a ♦ loser and two possible ♣ losers. The bright side is that you did not receive a ♣ lead and you have an extra winner in ♥’s and perhaps more depending upon the division of the suit.

Now count tricks. You have five ♠’s, three ♥’s, two ♦’s and one ♣ for a total of eleven. You need one more trick.

Consider the ♥ suit, if you needed 5 tricks, or had to make your 12 tricks without letting the opponents in (if they had initially led a ♣) then the suit must divide 3-3 (36%). However, you only need 4 ♥ tricks. Do you see it?

Win the opening lead with the ♦A, draw trumps, discarding minor suits, and DUCK a ♥. Win the minor suit return and if ♥’s break 4-2 you make your slam.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? Two pairs were in the better contract of 6NT but both missed the ♥ duck and went one down. The top score was a cautious 2♠+3

Terry’s Comment. 6♥ is the best contract (assuming a ♦ lead) as you can then try the ♥’s from the top as you have an entry to the 5^th ♥ if they split 4-2 (it is a trump).

Any slam is hopeless on a ♣ lead, but these problems are contrived such that the opening lead is obvious.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Board 17 from Wednesday 25^th

This is a hand that Dave played against Bridge Baron. He put it in to see if anyone would emulate the BB’s conservative bidding

Dealer: ♠ KJ1072 Bridge Baron Bidding

North ♥ 5 West North(G) East South

Love all ♦ A92 - 1♠ pass 2♥

♣ AQ63 pass 2NT (1) pass 3NT (2)

♠ Q83 N ♠ 953 Table A

♥ J86 W E ♥ Q1073 West North(G) East South

♦ KJ874 S ♦ 10653 - 1♠ pass 2♥

♣ 98 ♣ 105 pass 3♣ (1) pass 4NT (3)

♠ A6 pass 5♠ (4) pass 7♣ (5)

♥ AK942 all pass

♦ Q

♣ KJ742

Bridge (1) What did you bid with this North hand G in this week’s quiz? It is a matter of

Baron: style/partnership understanding if you bid 2NT here (12-14) and if 3♣ is a reverse showing extra values or not.

(2) With a total of 29-31 and a presumed mis-fit Bridge Baron declined to investigate slam.

Table A: (1) I like to play that after a two-level response a reverse does not show extra values, but simply shape. So 3♣ is what I bid and is my answer to question G. Experts, however, disagree whether the reverse after a two-level response should show extras or not. Playing 2/1, where the sequence 1♠ - 2♥ is game forcing it is perhaps more obvious to play that 3♣ simply shows shape but the experts disagree on that also.

(3) RKCB for ♣’s.

(4) Two keycards + the ♣Q.

(5) That’s all we need.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? Everybody found the ♣ fit; 6♣+1 once and 7♣= twice. When Dave played the hand in partnership with Bridge Baron the bidding was as table A.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 1♦. This hand, with the poor ♣AK doubleton and miserable ♦ suit is not worth 15 points and so not good enough for a 1NT opening.

Hand B: (a) 2NT. Knock off a point for the flat 4333 type shape and it’s not quite worth 3NT.

(b) 1NT. Knock off a point for the flat 4333 type shape and it’s nowhere near a 2NT invite. Supporting ♦’s is a poor choice even if partner promises 4 ♦’s.

Hand C: 2♦, natural and forcing.

Hand D: 3♦, 4^th suit forcing. Leaping straight into Blackwood is rarely a good idea and Blackwood is also a bad idea with a weak suit (♦’s) in which partner has promised nothing. Also, a RKCB 4NT bid here would include the ‘useless’ ♠K in the answer and so gets you nowhere unless partner has all four missing keycards. It’s best to take things slowly with a big hand in a game-forcing auction and 3♦ (4^th suit forcing) is clearly best, especially as the response will tell you if partner has a ♦ control. 3♥ (still game forcing) is a less good alternative but better than 4NT.

Hand E: 2NT. The Jacoby 2NT setting ♥’s as trumps and asking partner to define his hand further. If you do not play Jacoby 2NT or similar there is no satisfactory way to look for slam as you need to set ♥’s as trumps and no ♥ bid is forcing. That just leaves the very crude 4NT bid (which at least asks for keycards in ♥’s) but you have no idea if partner has a shapely 11 count or a good 19 points. Jacoby 2NT followed by RKCB solves everything.

Hand F: (a) 2NT, with these ♠’s that’s fairly obvious as long as you realize that partner’s 2♦ bid is 100% forcing.

(b) Pass. With no agreement to the contrary I think it’s best to play a new-suit jump by partner as weak when you have opened a minor. The other possibility is that it’s a splinter, but that seems unlikely with this hand and also if you play a short club. As 2♦ is forcing it would be silly to play 3♦ as natural and strong.

Hand G: 2NT or 3♣? This depends upon your agreement as to whether 3♣ shows reversing values (15+) or not after a two level response. I play that it does not show extras and so I bid 3♣.

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers

H 1♣ 1♠ 2♦ 2♦ is natural and forcing.

J 1♣ 1♠ 3♥ I would play this as a weak jump shift after a minor suit opening.

K 1♠ 2♣ 3♦ I would play this as a splinter after a major suit opening.

L 1♣ pass 1♥ pass (a) 4♣ is natural and looking for a ♣ slam.

2♠ pass 3♦ pass (b) 5♣ is Gerber. Gerber is always a JUMP in ♣’s (4♣ or 5♣)

3NT pass 4/5♣ when partner’s last bid was NoTrumps.

M 1♣ pass 1♥ pass This jump to 2♠ is called a ‘high’ reverse and is absolutely

2♠ forcing to game.