Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 302

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 24^th Aug 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 18^th 1^st Jeremy & Sally 63% 2^nd Bob & Robbie 56%

Wed 20^th 1^st Lewis & Terry 64% 2^nd Alan & Brian 63%

Fri 22^nd 1^st Bengt & Pedro 58% 2^nd George & Terry 57%

Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A it’s favourable vulnerability. Partner opens 2♥,

and RHO passes, what do you do?

♠ J107 ♠ KJ974

♥ 932 ♥ Q1092

♦ 732 ♦ 8 With Hand B partner opens 1NT, what do you do?

♣ A832 ♣ 1073

Hand C Hand D With Hand C you open 1NT and partner bids 2♣, what do

you bid?

♠ AQ ♠ K962

♥ AJ863 ♥ Q6 With Hand D RHO opens 2♥ and this is passed round to partner

♦ Q93 ♦ Q9865 who bids 2NT, what do you do?

♣ A42 ♣ J10

Bidding Sequence Quiz

E 2♥ pass pass 2NT

pass 3♣ What is 3♣?

F 1NT pass 2♣ pass

3♥ What is 3♥? Is it sound and sensible?

The Club Championships

We now have five contenders qualifying for the Gold Cup competition. There are a lot of very good / expert players around now (Lewis, Paul Q, Jeremy, Hans V, Janne, to name but a few) so I think that there will be a few challengers to Dave emerging soon, there’s a busy four months coming up and more players means higher % winning scores.

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10	1821.3 Dave Cutler 1796.0 Sally Watson 1779.1 Ivy Schlageter 1766.2 Bob Pelletier 1707.4 Jan v Koss	661.8 Dave Cutler 661.1 Sally Watson 661.1 Jeremy Watson 656.9 Hans Vikman 642.0 Lars Gustafsson 641.3 Ivy Schlageter 634.3 Derek & Gerard 626.5 Bob Pelletier 615.7 Janne Roos 613.5 Terje Lie …	342.3 Dave Cutler 341.9 Hans Vikman 341.1 Jeremy Watson 341.1 Sally Watson 336.9 Lars Gustafsson 335.3 Ivy Schlageter 328.5 Derek & Gerard 326.3 Tomas Wikman 320.5 Bob Pelletier 320.2 Terje Lie ...

Open 1NT with a singleton? South hand 25 from Friday 22^nd

♠ Q864 Two people opened this hand 1NT on Friday, this is against the club rules.

♥ KJ93 They both got bad scores and so no adjustments were necessary.

♦ A If you feel that we should allow this, then let Dave or me know and if

♣ AQ107 there are enough people wanting to change the rule, we can have a vote.

It’s Stayman Board 25 from Friday 22^nd

Dealer: ♠ 843 Table A

North ♥ AJ10854 West North East(D) South(A)

E-W vul ♦ K - 2♥ pass pass (1)

♣ Q76 2NT (2) pass 3♣ (3) pass

pass (4) pass

♠ AQ5 N ♠ K962

♥ K7 W E ♥ Q6 Table B

♦ AJ104 S ♦ Q9865 West North East(D) South(A)

♣ K954 ♣ J10 - 2♥ pass pass (1)

♠ J107 2NT (2) pass 3NT (3) all pass

♥ 932

♦ 732

♣ A832

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? A very good basic rule is always raise partner’s pre-empt with three card support.

(2) And West has a fairly clear 2NT bid, had South bid 3♥ then 3NT would not be so clear (or wise).

(3) What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? It’s surely best to look for a 4-4 ♠ fit and 3♣ here is Stayman.

(4) Apparently West (and also the North-South pair at the table) thought that 3♣ was to play. I believe that South said that West cannot have a 4-card ♠ suit as otherwise he would have doubled. Total nonsense. A No-Trump overcall does not deny a 4-card major and most sensible pairs play systems on after a NoTrump overcall, so 3♣ is most certainly Stayman. And it would also be very silly/illogical for East to remove partner’s 2NT to 3♣ as then the opening ♥ lead goes right through partner’s stopper.

Table B: (1) This South also failed to raise – with disastrous consequences.

(3) Presumably this East had a sound reason for not bidding Stayman?

And what happened? 3♣ went -1 for a clear bottom to E-W at Table A. At Table B North led the ♥J which was won with dummy’s ♥Q. Declarer took the losing ♦ finesse but North had no idea that the ♥’s were now good - because partner failed to support at (1). A ♣ switch would have worked but the unfortunate ♠ switch meant that declarer made his contract for the E-W top.

The bottom lines: -

- Always raise partner’s pre-empt with three card support.

- When partner overcalls in No-trumps, then systems (Stayman and transfers) are generally on unless you specifically agree otherwise.

Stayman Super-Accepts Board 13 from Friday 22^nd

Everybody missed an easy 4♥+1 with these N-S cards. It seems that Stayman super-accepts are not well known?

Dealer: ♠ KJ974 Table A

North ♥ Q1092 West North(B) East South(C)

both vul ♦ 8 - pass pass 1NT (1)

♣ 1073 pass 2♣ (2) pass 2♥ (3)

pass pass (4) pass

♠ 853 N ♠ 1062

♥ 7 W E ♥ K54 ‘Expert’ Table

♦ AKJ65 S ♦ 10742 West North(B) East South(C)

♣ KQJ5 ♣ 986 - pass pass 1NT (1)

♠ AQ pass 2♣ (2) pass 3♥ (3)

♥ AJ863 pass 4♥ (5) all pass

♦ Q93

♣ A42

Table A: (1) This is a typical hand for advocating opening 1NT with a 5-card major. Open 1♥ and you have no way to show the strength and balanced nature of the hand.

(2) What did you bid with this North hand B in this week’s quiz? This is a typical Garbage Stayman bid; if partner responds 2♦ then you bid 2♠ to play.

(3) What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? 2♥ is pretty obvious unless you have delved into the theory of Garbage Stayman a little deeper (or have read about it).

(4) North could try 3♥, but it’s really a gamble.

‘Expert’ (1) Again the clear 1NT opening.

Table: (3) Out experts know all about Stayman Super-accepts of course. This 3♥ bid is totally sound even playing Garbage Stayman – you are guaranteed a ♥ fit or else partner has invitational + values and you want to be in a game contract.

(5) South has shown a maximum with 5 ♥’s and North has an easy raise to game.

And what happened? Everybody was in 2♥ or 3♥ and everybody made 11 tricks.

The bottom lines: -

- Most bidding books say that when playing Garbage Stayman (2♣ bidder promises no points) then only the responses 2♦, 2♥ or 2♠ are allowed. This is superficial however, and super-accepts are logical and conform with the Law of Total Tricks. It is all explained in chapter 2.7 of “The Definitive Guide to NoTrump Bidding, Stayman and Transfers” – read it!

- See the website: conventions > Section 2 > Stayman Super Accepts.

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

North South You are South, declarer in 4♥, West leads the ♣Q, plan the play.

♠ 864 ♠ Q93

♥ J5 ♥ AKQ1098

♦ QJ65 ♦ A

♣ A832 ♣ K74

Dave’s Column answer Board 7 from Wednesday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ 864 West North East South

South ♥ J5 - - - 1♥

both vul ♦ QJ65 pass 1NT pass 4♥

♣ A832 all pass

♠ KJ10 N ♠ A752

♥ 732 W E ♥ 64

♦ K104 S ♦ 98732

♣ QJ109 ♣ 65

♠ Q93

♥ AKQ1098

♦ A

♣ K74 West leads the ♣Q, plan the play.

You have three ♠ losers unless East has both the ♠A and ♠K, plus a ♣ loser. Do not despair. You have a hidden treasure in the ♦ suit.

Win the first trick with the ♣K, cash your red aces, enter dummy with a trump and run the ♦Q, discarding a ♠ if the ♦Q is not covered.

Assuming the ♦Q loses to West’s ♦K, the opponents can cash only two ♠ tricks and the ♦J becomes a parking place for the ♣ loser.

You have exchanged a ♣ and a ♠ loser for a ♦ loser. What a bargain.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 4♥= three times, 4♥-1 and 2♥+1.

Dave’s 2^nd Column Here is Dave’s second input involving the play of the hand.

West East You are West, declarer in 4♠, North leads the ♦Q, plan the play.

♠ KJ87 ♠ A1096

♥ AQ10 ♥ K983

♦ 32 ♦ A9

♣ A986 ♣ 542

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 8 from Wednesday 20^th

Dealer: ♠ 32 West North East South

West ♥ J42 1♣ pass 1♥ pass

Love all ♦ QJ106 1♠ pass 3♠ pass

♣ KJ73 4♠ all pass

♠ KJ87 N ♠ A1096

♥ AQ10 W E ♥ K983

♦ 32 S ♦ A9

♣ A986 ♣ 542

♠ Q54

♥ 765

♦ K8754

♣ Q10 North leads the ♦Q, plan the play.

You have a possible ♠ loser, a ♦ loser and two ♣ losers. On the plus side you have a possible extra winner in a 4^th ♥.

You could go all out and take the ♠ finesse one way or the other, if you guess right you make the contract and if you guess wrong you are down.

But there is another play, a play that combines chances (the magic words) in ♥’s and ♠’s. Play the ♠A,K, if the ♠Q drops draw the last trump and try to discard a ♦ on the 4^th ♥. If the ♥’s split 3-3 you make 11 tricks.

However, if the ♠Q does not drop, you can always fall back on the ♥ suit breaking 3-3 or ♥J doubleton or 4 ♥’s with the player holding ♠Qxx. In any of these cases you still make the contract by getting rid of your ♦ before the holder of the ♠Q can ruff a ♥ and cash a ♦.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 4♠+2, 4♠+1 twice, 4♠= and 4♠-1.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 3♥, always raise partner’s pre-empt with three trumps.

Hand B: 2♣, (Garbage) Stayman.

Hand C: 3♥, that’s if you know all about Stayman super-accepts.

Hand D: 3♣, Stayman – look for a 4-4 ♠ fit. If there is none then bid 3NT or pass 3♦ if you are in a pessimistic mood.

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers

E 2♥ pass pass 2NT

pass 3♣ 3♣ is Stayman, obviously.

F 1NT pass 2♣ pass You would have to agree this, but I play that 3♥ here shows

3♥ a good 16-17 with a 5-card ♥ suit. And yes, it is sound.