Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 327

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880 15^th Feb 2009

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 9^th N-S 1^st Jeremy & Sally 68% 2^nd Janne & Kerstin 58%

E-W 1^st Gerard & Derek 65% 2^nd Gun K & Per-Ake 55%

Wed 11^th N-S 1^st Sean & Kennedy 60% 2^nd Dave & Mike G 58%

E-W 1^st Paul Q & Terry Q 60% 2^nd Alain & Fargier 59%

Fri 13^th N-S 1^st Bengt & Eddie 64% 2^nd Janne & Jean 62%

E-W 1^st Hans V & Kerstin V 62% 2^nd Gerard & Derek 56%

Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

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

♠ K1054 ♠ 7

♥ Q1087 ♥ A With Hand B RHO opens 1♥, what do you bid?

♦ K32 ♦ QJ10984

♣ A5 ♣ AKQ85

Hand C Hand D With Hand C it’s vul against not – do you open or pass?

♠ QJ943 ♠ 8

♥ AQ954 ♥ A6532 With Hand D it’s favourable vulnerability. You open 1♥ and

♦ 6 ♦ QJ LHO doubles. Partner redoubles and RHO bids 2♦, what do

♣ 106 ♣ KJ642 you do?

Hand E Hand F With Hand E partner opens 1♣ and RHO doubles.

(a) What do you do? (b) What do you do if RHO had passed?

♠ Q873 ♠ 97642

♥ Q109743 ♥ A874 With Hand F partner opens 1NT. (a) What do you bid?

♦ 64 ♦ AJ104 (b) Suppose you choose 2♣ and partner bids 2♦, what do

♣ 8 ♣ - you bid now?

Hand G Hand H What do you open with Hand G?

♠ K62 ♠ K62

♥ 3 ♥ K What do you open with Hand H?

♦ AQJ2 ♦ AJ32

♣ AQ976 ♣ KQ976

Bidding Sequence Quiz

J 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ 3♣ Is 3♦ forcing?

3♦

K 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ 3♣ What is 4♦?

4♦

L 1♦ pass 3NT 4♦ What is 4♦ and what is the redouble?

dbl pass pass redbl

Bidding the opponent’s suit Board 7 from Monday 9^th

Bidding the opponent’s suit is rarely natural, but some people seem not to understand this...

Dealer: ♠ QJ653 West North East South

South ♥ K10832 - - - pass

both vul ♦ Q9 pass (1) pass (2) 1♦ pass

♣ 8 3NT 4♦ (3) dbl pass (4)

pass redbl pass 4♥ (5)

♠ AK2 N ♠ 97 dbl all pass

♥ Q74 W E ♥ J

♦ 10652 S ♦ AKJ43

♣ QJ9 ♣ K10765

♠ 1084

♥ A965

♦ 87

♣ A432

(1) This flat hand is not worth an opener – knock off a point for the 4333 type shape or apply the rule of 20. Either way it’s a pass.

(2) Life would have been a lot easier for North if West had opened 1♦ as he could then bid 2♦ and there’s an outside chance that his partner may have recognized this as a Michaels cue bid showing both majors.

(3) North thought that 3NT was making (it did at the other table when it was bid) and so he decided to show his majors.

(4) When asked, South said that he had no idea what 4♦ was.

(5) South again had no clue what the redouble was, but after an agonizing two minutes or so he decided to bid.

And what happened? South’s play was on a par with his bidding. He took absolutely no notice of who had bid NoTrumps and no notice of who had doubled. When he got in he should obviously lead the ♥A and then finesse the ♥Q when the ♥J falls (restricted choice – plus indications from the bidding that West has ♥Qxx). Instead he played to the ♥K and the resultant 800 away was a total bottom. Had he played the ♥’s the obvious way then 500 away would have been a 2^nd top.

The bottom lines: -

- Take inferences from the opponent’s bidding and play accordingly.

- At least this South was consistent – he had no clue during the bidding, and no clue during the play.

Don’t bid after partner redoubles Board 2 from Monday 9^th

When you open, LHO doubles and partner redoubles, it’s usually best to pass a bid from RHO in order to give partner a chance to double for penalties. Nothing is lost as this pass is forcing.

Dealer: ♠ AQ9 West North East(D) South(A)

East ♥ 4 - - 1♥ dbl (1)

N-S vul ♦ 87654 redbl (2) 2♦ (3) 3♣ (4) pass (5)

♣ 10987 3♥ all pass

♠ J7632 N ♠ 8

♥ KJ9 W E ♥ A6532

♦ A109 S ♦ QJ

♣ Q3 ♣ KJ642

♠ K1054

♥ Q1087

♦ K32

♣ A5

(1) What did you bid with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? How many times do I have to say it – a take out double should be short in the suit bid and playable in the other three suits. Doubling with 4 ♥’s is totally ridiculous, South’s excuse was that he has 4 ♠’s.

(2) Showing the balance of power and often looking for a penalty, and at this vulnerability that should have worked out fine.

(3) Showing a 5-card suit, with no 5-carder North should pass and leave it to partner; that is if you want to leave anything to this particular partner.

(4) What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? There is absolutely no need to bid and 3♣ is an overbid anyway. Pass is forcing and that’s what East should do – wait and see what happens, N-S may be in a lot of trouble (they were).

(5) We will never know what this intrepid South would have done had East passed. It would not surprise me if he bid his glorious ♠ suit.

And what happened? South got away with his appalling double - 2♦* or 2♠* would have been disasters. Note that at this vulnerability West would possibly double 2♦ (and certainly 2♠) for penalties. Anyway, South got away with it and East mis-played the hand as he did not know that this particular South was capable of making a take-out double when holding four trumps. Take it from me, this South is capable of anything – including raising partner’s splinter bid to the six-level (see next article).

The bottom lines: -

- A take-out double should be short in the suit bid and playable in the other three suits (or else very strong).

- So obviously a double of 1♥ should normally be playable in ♠’s and often have 4 ♠’s – but that does not mean that you should double 1♥ just because you have 4 ♠’s!

Raising partner’s splinter! Board 12 from Monday 9^th

It’s not usually a good idea to raise partner’s splinter bid, especially to the six level!

Dealer: ♠ QJ943 West North(C) East South

West ♥ AQ954 - 1♠ (1) 2♣ 2♥

N-S vul ♦ 6 3♣ 4♦ (2) pass 4NT (3)

♣ 106 5♣ pass (4) pass 6♦ (5)

pass 6♥ (6) all pass

♠ 86 N ♠ A1072

♥ 7 W E ♥ 2

♦ Q10872 S ♦ 95

♣ AJ542 ♣ KQ9873

♠ K5

♥ KJ10863

♦ AKJ43

♣ -

(1) Did you open with this North hand C in this week’s quiz? It’s only 19 for the rule of 20 but with all of the points in the long suits and an easy rebid, I think that 1♠ is fine.

(2) A splinter agreeing ♥’s.

(3) Bidding Blackwood with a void! – our intrepid South from the previous two articles is up to his tricks again! 5♣ is the best bid whether you play it as a cue bid or Exclusion RKCB.

(4) One keycard (for ♥’s) playing DOPI.

(5) With no idea what’s going on, South raised partner splinter to slam!

(6) Fortunately there was no harm done.

And what happened? Virtually everybody was in 6♥ making.

The bottom lines: -

- A splinter is an unnecessary jump – generally one above the natural forcing bid, and it can be made by either opener or responder.

- As 3♦ at (2) would undoubtedly be natural and forcing, 4♦ is very clearly a splinter agreeing ♥’s.

Another one bites the dust.

This is the last time that this particular South from the previous three articles will be written up. He is rude to partners and disliked at the club. On Friday he called his partner a ‘prat’ and Dave suggested that he be banned from the club if he does not come with a pre-arranged partner. I agreed and he was duly informed of his rights. Bad manners will not be tolerated at our club.

Dave’s Column Here is Dave’s input about the play of the hand.

North South You are South, declarer in 5♦ after East has opened 1♥ and

♠ QJ43 ♠ 7 West bid ♠’s and later supported ♥’s. The ♥7 is led to the

♥ Q1083 ♥ A ♥8, ♥9 and ♥A. How should South continue?

♦ K62 ♦ QJ10984

♣ 104 ♣ AKQ85

Dave’s Column answer Board 10 from Wednesday 4^th

Dealer: ♠ QJ43 West North East South(B)

East ♥ Q1083 - - 1♥ dbl (1)

both vul ♦ K62 1♠ dbl (2) 2♥ 3♦

♣ 104 3♥ 4♦ pass 5♦

all pass

♠ A109652 N ♠ K8

♥ 75 W E ♥ KJ9642 (1) This is the bidding from the book, but what

♦ 3 S ♦ A75 did you bid with this South hand B in this

♣ J973 ♣ 62 week’s quiz? I play that 2NT (Unusual) is

♠ 7 either weak or very strong. This 3 loser hand

♥ A is very strong and so I would bid 2NT and

♦ QJ10984 then bid ♦’s later.

♣ AKQ85 (2) Dave’s book says that this shows ♠’s (in

order to expose a psyche by West). It is normally a responsive double – showing the two unbid suits.

West led the ♥7, South has to lose the ♠A and ♦A and wanted to cater for a 4-3 break in ♣’s. He played the ♦Q at trick two which was ducked. He cannot continue with a 2^nd trump as then a 3^rd trump would remove dummy’s ability to ruff a ♣ if necessary. So he led the ♣AK and ruffed a third round with the ♦K. East overruffed and led the ♠8 to West’s ♠A and overruffed dummy again on the ♣ return. Unlucky?...

… or what did declarer do wrong?

To guard against the possibility of East scoring two ♣ ruffs, South should play a ♠ at trick two (a scissors coup). Later, after a top trump from hand, South can play the ♣AK and ruff a third round with the ♦K. The ♣’s are set up and there is no way now way now for East to score a 2^nd ♣ ruff.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 5♦*= and 5♦= twice. I have no idea if anybody actually found the scissors soup – I suspect that East simply played the ♦A on the first round of trumps. The other 6 N-S’s did not bid to 5♦, which should be easy to bid had South started with 2NT (UNT) and then a ♦ bid.

The bottom lines: -

- The UNT (and Michaels Cue Bids) are best played as either pre-emptive or very strong and this South hand, with 10 playing tricks, qualifies for the latter.

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

Dealer: ♠ QJ10 West North East South

West ♥ 873 1♠ (1) pass 2NT (2) pass

N-S vul ♦ A963 3♦ (3) pass 4♠ (4) all pass

♣ A82

You are North, defending 4♠ after West has shown

N ♠ 8763 a singleton ♦. You lead the ♠Q which declarer

W E ♥ K4 wins with the ♠A and cashes the ♠K upon which

S ♦ KQ82 South discards the ♥Q. Declarer then plays his

♣ KJ10 known singleton ♦, plan the defence.
Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 12 from Wednesday 4^th

Dealer: ♠ QJ10 West North East South

West ♥ 873 1♠ (1) pass 2NT (2) pass

N-S vul ♦ A963 3♦ (3) pass 4♠ (4) all pass

♣ A82

♠ AK942 N ♠ 8763 (1) Conforming with the rule of 20, this

♥ A52 W E ♥ K4 opening is fine.

♦ 7 S ♦ KQ82 (2) Jacoby 2NT, I personally prefer a much

♣ 9754 ♣ KJ10 stronger hand to use Jacoby 2NT.

♠ 5 (3) ♦ shortage.

♥ QJ1096 (4) Not what I wanted to hear.

♦ J1054

♣ Q63

So you are North after two rounds of trumps and declarer leading his singteton ♦, what do you do?

You win the ♦A, partner playing the ♦5. Cash the ♠10 (or not). Then if you…

a) … play a ♥ and play low on declarer’s later ♣ play, he will misguess the suit.

b) … play a ♣ and declarer will play the ♣K and make the contract.

How do you know this? Think about the hand from declarer’s point of view:

South signalled a strong holding in ♥’s - ♥AQJ10x or ♥QJ10xx. The vulnerable ♥Kx is in plain view and, especially if you have cashed the ♠10, it would be normal for you to play East for two ♥ tricks to defeat the contract. If you don’t lead a ♥ now declarer will deduce that you know that South cannot have the ♥A because you (North) hold the ♣A and there cannot be enough points left for declarer if he was missing both aces. And so, if you do anything but lead a ♥ now, a competent declarer will always guess the ♣’s correctly.

And what happened at the Pattaya Bridge Club? 4♠ was bid six times and made on five occasions. The three players who stopped in 3♠ all made the contract exactly.

The 2009 Championship Standings

The only change this week is Sally jumping right up there fighting it out with the big boys.

	Gold Cup = Best 30	Silver Plate = Best 10	Bronze Medal = Best 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10= 10=		613.3 Janne Roos 606.4 Hans Vikman 589.9 Sally Watson 574.4 Bob Short 571.7 Johan Bratsberg	321.3 Hans Vikman 320.6 Janne Roos 312.0 Sally Watson 305.0 Derek & Gerard 301.8 Bob Short 298.7 Paul Quodomine 297.8 Johan Bratsberg 296.1 Lars Broman 293.5 Lewis Berg 293.5 Gene Moats 293.5 Paul Scully

Upgrade a good 5-card suit Board 25 from Wednesday 11^th

Dealer: ♠ Q72 Table A

West ♥ K863 West North East South(E)

E-W vul ♦ 98 pass pass pass 1♦ (1)

♣ 9862 pass 1♥ (2) pass 2NT (3)

pass pass pass

♠ K62 N ♠ J854

♥ J754 W E ♥ Q109 Table B

♦ A107 S ♦ 643 West North East South(E)

♣ J103 ♣ A54 pass pass pass 1♦ (1)

♠ A109 pass pass (2) pass

♥ A2

♦ KQJ52 Table C

♣ KQ7 West North East South(E)

pass pass pass 2NT (1)

pass 3♣ (4) pass 3♦

pass 3NT all pass

Table A: (1) What did you open with this South hand E in this week’s quiz? It appears that 4 out of 8 South’s opened 1♦. I prefer the opening at Table C.

(2) Presumably playing better minor, 3 out of 4 felt that they had to bid here.

(3) A balanced 18-19, totally consistent with the opening bid chosen. 3NT is wrong here as that would show a much better ♦ suit.

Table B: (2) With insufficient points for a response, just this one North elected to pass.

Table C: (1) Now this is the correct opening and the answer to question E. 2NT is 20-21, and with this great ♦ suit that is what this hand is worth. Note also that the ♠A109 is worth much more than ♠Axx!, so about 4½ points.

(4) North has enough to go to game opposite a 2NT opener and obviously tries Stayman first

And what happened? The Four pairs that started with a 2NT opening reached the cold game to share the top. The other 4 scores were spurious contracts fighting over the four bottom spots. The bottom lines: -

- KQJxx is NOT 6 points, it is worth 7 or 8.

- Understand hand evaluation:

KQJ is a poorish holding, worth about 5½ points

KQJx is a good holding, worth 6+ points

KQJxx is a great holding, worth 7-8 points

- Points belong in long suits, and ‘touching honours’ are a great plus despite what a certain Frenchman may say.

- Three touching honours are really great in a 5+ card suit in every country except France?

Opening Lead Problem

♠ A94 West North East South

♥ A865 pass pass 1NT pass

♦ Q1087 2♦ pass 2♥ all pass

♣ A3

You are South, what do you lead?

Open 1NT with a singleton? Board 24 from Friday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ J105 Table A

West ♥ J2 West(E) North East(H) South

Love all ♦ K95 pass pass 1♣ (1) dbl (2)

♣ J10542 2♥ (3) all pass

♠ Q873 N ♠ K62 Table B

♥ Q109743 W E ♥ K West North East(H) South

♦ 64 S ♦ AJ32 pass pass 1NT (1) pass (4)

♣ 8 ♣ KQ976 2♦ pass 2♥ pass

♠ A94 pass pass

♥ A865

♦ Q1087

♣ A3

Table A: (1) What did you open with this East hand H in this week’s quiz? This 1♣ seems fairly obvious, with possibly a reverse into 2♦ to follow; but it would be much nicer if the 3 points in ♥’s were in the minors (as hand G).

(2) Double is quite reasonable here, short in ♣’s and playable on the other 3 suits.

(3) What did you bid with this West hand E(a) in this week’s quiz? This 2♥ is best, it is weak - the only strong bid being redouble or (inverted?) Jordan.

Table B: (2) With Hand G a 1♣ opening is obvious, but this Hand H with the ♥K is a bit more NoTrump orientated and 1NT is a very reasonable option. Note that a 1NT opening is now allowed with a singleton if it is an ace or a king.

(4) South does not have a shapely enough hand to enter the auction over a 1NT opening.

And what happened? 2♥ was a popular and top spot (5 times), making +2 twice, +1 twice and = once. And I note that it was played by East on two occasions, so obviously another player also opened 1NT.

The bottom lines: -

- Opening 1NT with a singleton is not allowed unless it’s a singleton ace or king.

- 1NT overcalls or 2NT bids have no restrictions on shortage.

- Playing Jordan 2NT, 3♣ by West at (3) is weak with ♣’s and 2NT shows a good ♣ raise. Some play it the other way round, see Inverted Jordan over a Minor on the Website.

Opening Lead Answer

Anyway, to answer the opening lead problem on the previous page, RHO is 15-17 and so LHO and Partner have only about 10 points between them. In my opinion leading either of the black aces is foolish. You hope not to give a trick away on the opening lead and I believe that there are only two sensible options. A passive low trump or a ♦ – in the hope that partner has the ♦K or ♦J; I personally would lead a low trump. The ♣A may work out well if partner has the ♣K but that is way below the odds; and note also that there is no need to rush to try to get a ♣ ruff – you always have the ♥A (and the ♠A) to get the lead later and can then try the ♣A if it seems the sensible thing to do. At my table (I was one of the East’s who opened 1NT of course) South led the ♣A which led to two overtricks. Bad lead or just bad luck?

5-4 in the majors opposite 1NT Board 28 from Friday 13^th

Dealer: ♠ J102 Table A

West ♥ Q1062 West North East(F) South

N-S vul ♦ 97 1NT pass 2♣ (1) dbl

♣ AJ95 2♦ (2) pass 2♠ (3) all pass

♠ AQ5 N ♠ 97642 Table B

♥ KJ9 W E ♥ A874 West North East(F) South

♦ KQ432 S ♦ AJ104 1NT pass 2♣ (1) dbl

♣ Q3 ♣ - 2♦ (2) pass 3♥ (3) pass

♠ K8 4♠ all pass

♥ 53

♦ 85

♣ K1087642

Table A: (1) What did you open with this East hand F(a) in this week’s quiz? This is up to partner ship agreement, but most bid Stayman and then jump in a major to show a game forcing 5-4 (or 4-5) in the majors. You could transfer with 2♥ and then bid 3♥ but most advanced players play that as showing 5-5 in the majors.

(2) Showing no 4-card major, but also indicating a 4+ card ♦ suit (pass otherwise).

(3) What did you bid with this East hand F(b) in this week’s quiz? This 2♠ bid is wrong – it is a weak bid and with a void in the suit that LHO has shown this hand is surely worth a game force (it’s worth game even without the double).

Table B: (3) This is one answer to question F(b). E-W play the Smolen convention and 3♥ here shows 5 ♠’s and 4 ♥’s and asks partner to choose between 3NT and 4♠. If you play natural methods then 3♠ is natural and forcing here, showing 5 ♠’s and 4 ♥’s.

And what happened? One pair reached 6♦ (well done). I cannot see how this can reasonably be bid after a 1NT opening; minor suit slams are notoriously difficult to find after a 1NT opening – especially if responder has a 4 card major and so starts with Stayman. 4♠ +1 was the popular result.

The bottom lines: -

- After 1NT - pass - 2♣ - dbl then opener has many options: -

1. bid a 4 card major if you have one.

2. redouble with a good ♣ holding

3. bid 2♦ with no 4-card major but a good ♦ suit.

4. pass with no 4-card major or ♦’s and not good ♣’s.

- The Smolen Convention is one of my pet hates; it uses up (wastes) bundles of bidding space. A far better convention is Quest transfers, which cater for all Smolen type hands (game forcing) and also cater for both invitational 5-4’s in the majors opposite a 1NT opening. And Quest also has the advantage that if responder is looking for slam, the cue bidding starts a round earlier and he also knows that opener in non-minimum in that scenario.

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: Pass. Double is a terrible bid with 4 ♥’s.

Hand B: 2NT, the Unusual 2NT showing both minors here. I play that the UNT is usually weak but can be very strong (as here). So bid 2NT to get your suits in and then bid ♦’s later to show your strength and shape.

Hand C: 1♠. It’s only 19 for the rule of 20 but all of the points are in the long suits and you have an easy rebid. Of course I won’t argue if you decide to pass, but you may not get a chance to show this hand at this vulnerability at a later stage in the auction if it gets too high (as it may well do with shapely hands around).

Hand D: Pass. This is forcing and you should give partner the chance to go for the vulnerable penalty. 3♣ is also wrong in that it is an overbid – partner has only promised 9 points and usually with no ♥ fit.

Hand E: (a) 2♥, weak.

(b) 2♥, weak, provided that you play weak jump shifts. Otherwise pass.

Hand F: (a) 2♣, Stayman. Transfer and then bid ♥’s is best left for 5-5 hands.

(b) 3♠, showing 5 ♠’s, 4 ♥’s and game forcing. If you play the Smolen convention

(or the superior Quest Transfers) then the conventional bid is 3♥.

Hand G: 1♣. You can always reverse into ♦’s next go to show your strength.

Hand H: 1♣ or 1NT. With the ♥ singleton being a king it’s tempting to open 1NT and this is quite legal these days (singleton ace or king is allowed). This 1NT opening was in fact chosen by two players on Friday.

Bidding Sequence Answers

J 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ 3♣ 3♦ is obviously natural and forcing…

3♦

K 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ 3♣ … and so 4♦ is a splinter agreeing ♥’s and showing ♦ shortage.

4♦ In both of these cases the opponents’ ♣ bids are irrelevant.

L 1♦ pass 3NT 4♦ 4♦ must surely be asking partner to bid a major, and the

dbl pass pass redbl redouble is asking partner to wake up and bid a major.