Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                             Club News Sheet – No. 297

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880              20th July 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 14th      1st  Jeremy & Sally             64%       2nd    Jean-Francois & Robbie     58%

Wed 16th      1st  Ivy & Robbie               59%       2nd    Pedro & Sally                     57%

Fri 18th         1st  Jan & Janne = Eddie & Paul B                                                      57%      

       
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Bidding Quiz                    Stand American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

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

                                                     

♠ 1093             ♠ 542              

♥ AK               ♥ K974            With Hand B RHO opens 1♣ and this is passed round to

♦ 4                  ♦ K3                partner who bids 2♠, what do you bid?      

♣ AKJ10984   ♣ A982

                       

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C partner opens 1♦ and RHO overcalls a weak 2♥,

what do you bid?

♠ Q96532        ♠ 63

♥ 1098             ♥ AKJ6           With Hand D you open 1♦ in 3rd seat and partner responds 1♥,

♦ 85                 ♦ AK7652       what do you bid?

♣ A6                ♣ 9

 

 

     

Bidding Sequence Quiz

 

E      2NT   pass   3♦      pass      what is the 3♦ bid?

F      2♣     pass   2♦      pass       2♣ is strong and artificial, 2♦ waiting and 2NT is 22-24

2NT   pass   3♦                    what is the 3♦ bid?

G     1NT   pass   2♥      pass

2♠      pass   4♣                   what is the 4♣ bid?

H     1NT   pass   2♥      pass

2♠      pass   4NT                 what is the 4NT bid?

J      1♠      dbl     2♥      pass       is 2♥ weak or forcing?

K     1♣     2♥      2♠                    how many points does the 2♠ bid promise, is it forcing?

L      1♣     pass   pass   2♠          what is 2♠? Is it weak?  

 

Too high                                                                Board 1 from Monday 14th

 

E-W got too high here at Table A, what went wrong?

 

Dealer:             ♠ J7                                               Table A

North               ♥ -                                                 West(C)     North         East            South

E-W vul           ♦ AJ76                                          -                 pass (1)      1♦              2♥    (2)

♣ KQ98532                                  2♠    (3)      4♣             4♠              5♣  

5♠              pass           6♠    (4)      all pass

♠ Q96532             N             ♠ A108                   

♥ 1098              W    E          ♥ AK43                   ‘Expert’ Table

♦ 85                      S              ♦ KQ943                West(C)     North         East            South

♣ A6                                      ♣ J                           -                 pass (1)      1♦              2♥    (2)

                        ♠ K4                                             dbl   (3)      4♣             4♠    (5)      5♣

♥ QJ7652                                     5♠    (6)      pass           pass (7)      pass

♦ 102                                            

♣ 1074                                         

 

Table A:     (1)  Quite why North did not open 3♣ I don’t know.

(2)   A weak jump overcall.

(3)   What did you bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? This 2♠ bid is wrong as it promises 10+ points.

(4)   East’s hand has improved as the opponents keep bidding ♣’s and so he bid the slam.

‘Expert’      (2)  Our expert South got question C right of course. One cannot bid at the two

 Table:              level with just 6 points, so double to show 4+ spades and bid spades again later to show 5+ and also indicate 9 or less points.

(5)   It may only be a 4-3 fit but it should play well.

(6)   Showing extra length, 5 or 6 ♠’s.

(7)   And knowing that West is limited to 9 points East does not bid slam.

 

And what happened? 6♠ went -1 for a poor score 4♠+2 was the top score.

The bottom lines: -

-         Do not let an overcall by RHO bully you into bidding too high – Negative doubles are designed specifically for this.

-         After partner’s 1♦ opening is overcalled with a weak 2♥, then a negative double promises 8+ points and 4 ♠’s or else a weaker hand with 5+ ♠’s.

-         A 2♠ bid in this sequence promises 10+ points and 5+ ♠’s.

 

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

 

West                East                You are East, declarer in 3NT, South leads the ♦6 upon

♠ AQ5             ♠ KJ42          which North plays the ♦Q.

♥ 1083             ♥ KJ4            (a)  Do you win or duck?

♦ 73                 ♦ AJ5            (b)  Suppose you duck, North continues with the ♦9 which

♣ AQ654         ♣ J109                 you cover with the ♦J and South wins with the ♦K. You win the 3rd round of ♦’s and run the ♣J which loses to East’s ♣Q, back comes a low ♥, do you play the ♥K or the ♥J?

Dave’s Column answer                      Board 26 from Wednesday 16th    

     

Dealer:             ♠ 10763                                         Table A

East                  ♥ A972                                          West          North         East            South

Both vul            ♦ Q94                                           -                 -                 1NT (1)      pass

                        ♣ K7                                             3NT           all pass

 

♠ AQ5                   N             ♠ KJ42                    Table B

♥ 1083               W    E          ♥ KJ4                      West          North         East          South

♦ 73                       S             ♦ AJ5                       -                 -                 1♣           pass

♣ AQ654                               ♣ J109                     2NT           pass           3NT         all pass

                        ♠ 98                                        

♥ Q63                              This was the bidding at two of our tables. You may

♦ K10862                       or may not like the bidding but it’s better than the

♣ 832                              bidding from the book which is terrible and I refuse to reproduce it.

       

Anyway, the problem arises at Table A when South leads a ♦.

(a)    You duck of course. If you win with the ♦A and the ♣ finesse fails then it’s curtains.

(b)   So you win the 3rd round of ♦’s and play the losing ♣ finesse. North plays a ♥.

Before worrying about which ♥ to play you should know why you ducked the ♥ at trick one, and how the ♦’s are divided.

You ducked the ♦ because the ♣ finesse is going into North and you didn’t want North to have any ♦’s left in case he had the ♣K.

The ♦’s are likely 5-3, if they are 4-4 and the ♣K is offside then there’s nothing you can do anyway (you lose 3 ♦’s, the ♣K and the ♥A). So you have to assume 5-3 which is consistent with the lead and play of the ♦ suit.

So- You have lost 3 tricks and you know that South has two established ♦’s ready to cash. If South has the ♥A you cannot make the contract regardless of which ♥ you play. So you must assume that North has the ♥A. Play the ♥K

 

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? West was declarer once and had no problem on a non-♦ lead. At the other three tables East was declarer. One player ducked twice and played a similar line to above and made the contract, the other two failed at the first hurdle when they both went up with the ♦A and thus went down in the contract.

 

 

 

Dave’s 2nd Column Here is this week’s Dave input involving the play of the hand.

 

North               South               You are North, declarer in 4♠.

♠ AKQJ92       ♠ 543               East leads the ♦K and continues with a ♦ to West’s ♦A,   

♥ 107               ♥ J982             plan the play

♦ 6                   ♦ J74

♣ AQ105         ♣ J92

                                                                       

                                   

                                     

                       


Dave’s 2nd Column answer  Board 25 from Wednesday 16th   

     

Dealer:             ♠ AKQJ92                               In Dave’s book West was dealer and opened 1♦

North               ♥ 107                                       which North overcalled with 4♠.

E-W vul           ♦ 6                                           At our club nobody reached 4♠, but two North’s

                        ♣ AQ105                                 played in 3♠ and one in 1♠.

 

♠ 108                     N             ♠ 76                   Anyway, let’s suppose you are playing in 4♠

♥ AQ                 W    E          ♥ K6543            and East leads the ♦K and then plays a ♦ to

♦ A10985              S             ♦ KQ32             West’s ♦A, plan the play.

♣ K876                                 ♣ 43                 

                        ♠ 543                                           

♥ J982                        

♦ J74                           

♣ J92

 

You have two ♥ losers and a ♦ loser so you need to find West with the ♣K to make the contract. The catch is that you need to reach dummy to take the ♣ finesse. There is only one possible entry and that is the trump suit – if the opponents’ trumps divide 2-2 and if you do not ruff with that precious ♠2 at trick two.

You must ruff with the ♠9 and hope that ♠’s are 2-2. Once they are, don’t relax, your problems are still not over. Take a good look at the ♣ suit. If you lead the ♣J and West ducks you will be forced to win the 2nd ♣ in your hand, When the suit splits 4-2 you end up losing a trick to the ♣K.

Now observe what happens if you begin with the ♣9. West plays low and you underplay with the ♣5. Now lead the ♣J underplaying the ♣10, remaining in dummy if West does not cover. You then make 4 ♣ tricks and 10 tricks in total.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 3♠+1 twice to share the N-S top, 1♠+2 once and 3♥-1 by East for the E-W top. I understand that one North player (Janne) found the book line, the other made 10 tricks when West led away from the ♣K at an early stage.

 

 

 

Play Problem             Here’s another play problem that was randomly dealt.

 

West                East                          You are East, declarer in 4♠ and get a ♥ lead.

♠ 6                   ♠ KQ1098532         How do you play the trump suit?        

♥ K83              ♥ A 

♦ AK95           ♦ J7               

♣ KJ873          ♣ A2             

 

                          
Play problem answer                          Board 8 from Friday 11th   

     

Dealer:             ♠ A                                                West          North         East            South

West                ♥ QJ542                                        1♣             pass           4♠    (1)      all pass

Love all            ♦ Q1062                                       

                        ♣ 1094                                    (1)  Not very scientific, but this was the

auction by our opponents.

♠ 6                       N               ♠ KQ1098532        

♥ K83              W    E            ♥ A                   

♦ AK95               S               ♦ J7                   South leads the ♥10 which you win with the ♥A,

♣ KJ873                                ♣ A2                  how do you continue?

                        ♠ J74                                

♥ 10976                       Obviously you should cross to dummy and lead the ♠

♦ 843                          from Dummy. If North plays low then insert the ♠K.

♣ Q65                         If this wins with South playing low then you play the ♠Q in the hope that trumps are now 1-1. In this actual situation North is forced to play the ♠A and East has no problem at all.

 

So why is this trivial problem in the quiz? Because three out of four got it wrong! What happened? Just the one East (Janne, my opponent) played like this and made +2. Everybody else led a trump from hand and made just 11 tricks. Sometimes you get cold bottoms (or tops) for no reason whatsoever.         

 

 

 

No Pe-empt in 4th seat                                         Board 15 from Friday 18th

 

Dealer:             ♠ 107                                             West(B)     North         East            South  

South               ♥ 532                                             -                 -                 -                 1♣

N-S vul            ♦ A9862                                        pass           pass           2♠    (1)      pass

♣ 754                                            pass   (2)    pass

                                                     

♠ 542                    N             ♠ AKQJ96         (1)  What was your answer the this week’s   

♥ K974             W    E          ♥ 108                       bidding sequence L. There is no such

♦ K3                     S              ♦ 1054                     thing as a pre-empt in the pass-out seat.

♣ A982                                  ♣ QJ                        Some play it as the same as a pre-empt

                        ♠ 87                                              but stronger but most play it as a

♥ AQJ6                                        intermediate strength bid with about 7

♦ QJ7                                            playing tricks.

♣ K1063                                 (2)  What did you bid with this West hand C

in this week’s quiz? It’s worth 4♠.  

 

And what happened? Everybody was in 2♠. Two made +2 and one made just +1

The bottom lines: -

-         A jump overcall in the pass-out seat is not a pre-empt, it shows a good hand.

 

 

 

Worth a jump to game                                         Board 28 from Friday 18th

 

Dealer:             ♠ AQ92                                         West          North         East(D)      South  

West                ♥ 107                                             pass           pass           1♦              pass

N-S vul            ♦ 94                                              1♥      (1)    pass           3♥    (2)      pass

♣ KJ642                                        pass   (3)    pass

                                                     

♠ J874                  N             ♠ 63                   (1)  With 4-4 in the majors, West decided to bid.

♥ Q942             W    E          ♥ AKJ6             (2)  What did you bid with this East hand D

♦ 83                      S              ♦ AK7652              in this week’s quiz? With a fit an a good

♣ Q73                                   ♣ 9                          outside 6-card suit, this hand is worth 4♥.

                        ♠ K105                                         If you are a believer in the Losing Trick Count

♥ 953                                            then it’s 5 losers (a normal average opening

♦ QJ10                                          is 7 losers) and so the LTC says to bid 4♥.

♣ A1085                                        A 4♣ splinter is probably even better.

 

And what happened? Two pairs bid 4♥, only this pair did not.

The bottom lines: -

-         I prefer to count winners, this East hand has a good 8+ playing tricks when the ♥ fit is located and a minimal response should add two more tricks somewhere – so bid game.

-         One can’t really imagine a worse 1♥ response than this West hand, but game is easy.


Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:     1♣. The hand has 5 losers and only 8 playing tricks and is nowhere near good enough for a 2♣ opening. If you play Benjamin style two then 2♣ is quite reasonable.

Hand B:    4♠. Partner’s 2♠ in the pass-out seat is a strong bid, about 7 playing tricks. This hand should be worth 3 tricks, so bid game.

Hand C:    Double. Negative and showing 4+ spades. The hand is not strong enough for 2♠ which should promise 10+ points.

Hand D:    4♥. This hand is worth game once a 4-4 or better ♥ fit is uncovered. A splinter of 4♣ is equally good, perhaps better, but slam is unlikely opposite a passed hand. 3♥ is pathetic.

 

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers

 

E      2NT   pass   3♦      pass       3♦ is a transfer of course.

F      2♣     pass   2♦      pass

2NT   pass   3♦                    3♦ is still a transfer!

G     1NT   pass   2♥      pass       4♣ is Gerber or RKCB, depending upon partnership

2♠      pass   4♣                   agreement. Standard is that it is Gerber.

H     1NT   pass   2♥      pass

2♠      pass   4NT                 4NT is quantitive with 5 ♠’s.

J      1♠      dbl     2♥      pass       2♥ is a weak bid after a double. With a good hand, redouble.

K     1♣     2♥      2♠                    2♠ is forcing and should be 5+ ♠’s and 11+ points.

L      1♣     pass   pass   2♠          The 2♠ jump overcall in the pass-out seat is intermediate. How strong is up to partnership agreement; I play about 7 playing tricks with around 15 points.

 

Editorial

 

My website host company and also my internet have been giving me huge problems these last three weeks. My web host uploaded a 10-day old version when he changed server and TOT thinks nothing when your internet goes down for 3-4 days. At the time of writing my internet is now working so I can update the website but my pattayabridge.com e-mails do not work properly.

If you want to try to e-mail me, then also send a copy to my hotmail or Yahoo account as the pattayabridge.com account has not been working properly for three weeks and I have no idea when it will be working.