Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                           Club News Sheet – No. 380

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                 

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 083 6066880              21st Feb 2010

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 15th N-S   1st  Janne & Paul Q              58%       2nd    John B & Royd                      58%

                E-W   1st  Duplessy & Coutlet        66%       2nd    Bengt & Lars B                      57%

Wed 17th N-S    1st  Lars B & Tomas             70%       2nd    Paul Q & Terry Q                  63%

                E-W   1st  Duplessy & Coutlet        65%       2nd    Josteinn & Vaiur B                 54%          

Fri  19th    N-S   1st  Gun K & Jan                  63%       2nd    Dave & Tomas                       58%

                E-W   1st  Mike G & Terry Q         60%       2nd    Janne & Lars B                      58%

       
bridge news sheets to news-sheet main page Bridge conventions No Trump bidding book
   
Pattaya Bridge Club to Pattaya Bridge home page
       
recommended bridge books reviewed to bridge book reviews to bridge conventions to No Trump bidding
   
   
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Bidding Quiz                    Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           What do you open with Hand A (2nd seat)?

 

9875             AK32           With Hand B partner opens 1NT and you bid 2, Stayman.

QJ6              -                   Partner bids 2, what do you bid now?

A762            A82                                     

KQ              Q98743      

 

Hand C           Hand D           In what seats would you consider opening this Hand C?

 

KJ43            743                                      

K1032          AJ8             With Hand D partner opens 2, what do you bid?

103               A94

A97              AQJ6

 

 

Bidding Sequence Quiz

 

E      1NT   pass   2     pass       What is 3 - is it to play or forcing?

        2      pass   3    

F      1NT   pass   3     pass       What is 3 - is it to play, invitational or forcing?

 

 

     
Ron Klinger web site
     
 

                                                                      


Passed out?                                                          Board 10 from Monday 15th  

 

The Pattaya bridge club’s aim is to be a friendly club above all – and not too serious; and to that end we endeavour to avoid pass-outs. On Mon/Fri the pre-dealt boards have a parameter that ensures that one hand has 12 or more points and so I am usually curious and have a look at a board that is passed out. I found this one very instructive.

 

Dealer:             10                                               Table A

East                  8754                                           West          North         East          South(A)

Both vul            KQ54                                        -                 -                 pass         1    (1)

                        J865                                           dbl             2              2    (2)    pass

pass           3    (3)      all pass    

KJ43                  N               AQ62                

K1032            W    E            A9                      Table B

103                    S                J98                     West (C)    North         East         South(A)

A97                                      10432                -                 -                 pass         pass (1)

9875                                           pass (4)      pass

QJ6                                           

A762                                        

KQ                                     

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you open with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? Most opened the ‘obvious’ 1.

(2)   This is a free bid and shows values.

(3)   This N-S pair play a short and so North can raise to 3 knowing that partner has at least 4 ’s and that the opponents have at least 8 ’s.

Table B:     (1)  This South thought a bit more about opening with Hand A – this really is a lousy 12 points – the suit is poor and KQ doubleton is a bad holding. So he chose to pass – and I most certainly agree.

                  (4)  Did you open with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? It’s only 11 points and so this West passed. But I would open (1). The hand has both majors and reasonable intermediates with two tens. A decent opener and especially so in third seat.

 

And what happened? 3-1 twice, 2-1, 2=, 2(N)-1 and 3(N)-1.

 

The bottom line:

-         This hand belongs to E-W Deep Finesse says that 3 makes and that N-S can make 2 at most.

-         At my table (I was North at Table A) West rudely criticised my 3 bid. He was wrong – as he usually is in his verbose comments – as 2 makes easily and 3 is only one down.

-         Hand evaluation is not just counting up points, this deal is a classic example, with a 12-pointer that is not worth an opening but an 11-pointer that is.


Finding a minor suit slam after a 1NT opening          Board 31 from Monday 15th  

 

Just three pairs out of seven found a slam on this deal.

 

Dealer:             AK32                                         Table A

South               -                                                 West          North(B)    East          South

N-S vul            A82                                           -                 -                 -               1NT

                        Q98743                                     pass           2             pass           2

pass           3NT (1)      all pass    

J964                   N               1087                  

KJ92              W    E            Q10753              Table B

QJ3                    S                10764                West         North(B)    East          South

J6                                         2                        -                 -                 -              1NT

Q5                                              pass           2             pass         2

A864                                          pass           3   (1)      pass         4

K95                                           pass           6             all pass

AK105                                

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you bid with this North hand B in this week’s quiz? Obviously you bid 3 if your partner knows that it’s forcing. I simply bid 3NT as I ‘knew’ that my partner would consider 3 as weak and to play (he confirmed my suspicions later)

Table B:     (1)  This is the answer to question B. Most Standard American players play this as forcing – showing a 4 card major (so ’s here) and 5+ ’s and slam interest.

                 

 

And what happened? 3NT+4 twice, 3NT+3 twice, 7*= and 6+1 twice.

 

The bottom line:

-         Sequence E is generally played as forcing; however, it should really be agreed. If you play 4-way transfers then there is a case for playing it as weak and many European players play it as a shape ask – that’s what I recommend (SARS) in my NoTrump bidding book.

-         In my book on NoTrump bidding I also recommend transferring to the minor (playing 4-way transfers) and then bidding the major (natural – 4 cards) with this type of North hand. It would work vey well here as South would super-accept the transfer to ’s and a slam would be easily reached.

-         Well done Gun & Lennart Karlsson who were the only pair to reach 7.

 

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

 

North               South                               West            North         East          South

743               Q82                              -                   -                 -              2

AJ8              KQ10964                     pass             2NT   (1)    pass         3

A94              K6                               pass             4              all pass

AQJ6           84                                                                                         (1) Ogust

                                           

You are South, declarer in 4 and West leads the A.You false-card with the 8 - by concealing the 2 you hope that West will read East’s card as encouraging. But E-W have their signals under control and West shifts to the Q. How should South play to make 4?


Dave’s Column answer                      Board 11 from Wednesday 17th   

     

Dealer:             743                                            

South               AJ8                                            West          North(D)    East            South

Love all            A94                                            -                 -                 -               2  (1)

                        AQJ6                                         pass           2NT (2)      pass           3  (3)

pass           4              all pass                

AKJ                    N             10965            

532                 W    E          7                     (1)  This South decided to open a top-of-the-range

QJ105                 S              8732                    weak 2. 1 is a reasonable alternative.

732                                    K1095           (2)  What did you bid with this North hand D in

                        Q82                                           this week’s quiz? You want to be in game

KQ10964                                   only if partner is maximum and Ogust

K6                                              is the answer.

84                                        (3)  Good hand and good suit.

                                           

West leads the A. You false-card with the 8 - by concealing the 2 you hope that West will read East’s card as encouraging. But E-W have their signals under control and West shifts to the Q. How should declarer play to make 4?

South won the shift with the K, drew trumps and took the finesse. East won and returned a and down went the contract.

South played well enough in ’s but his finesse was likely to fail as West was marked with the AK and QJ and so it’s more likely that East has the K.

On the Q, declarer should play low from both hands. He wins the next , takes the K and A and discards a on the A. He then leads a for a ruffing finesse, intending to discard a if East plays low. When East covers, South ruffs, returns to dummy with a trump and discards a on the J to ensure the contract.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4= three times, 4-1 five times. At my table I was south and went down when West originally led the Q instead of the A and I had no reason not to try the finesse. At at least one other table the contract was made when West lead out the AK.

The bottom lines:-

-     The Ogust convention is popular in Europe but not so in America (where many play 2NT as asking for a feature). I have no idea how North should bid if not playing Ogust, I guess that South has to open 1.

 

 

Dave’s 2nd Column         Here is Dave’s second problem on the play of the hand.

 

West                East                                 

AQ104         KJ3                  You are West and end up in 4 after a rather contorted  

Q72              AK43               uninterrupted auction.           

AKQ76        432                   North leads the K and continues ’s, plan the play.

8                  543                                           

 

 


Dave’s 2nd Column answer              Board 12 from Wednesday 17th

 

Dealer:             9875                                           Book Bidding

West                9                                                 West          North         East            South

N-S vul            J1085                                         1              pass           1              pass

                        KQ109                                      1              pass           2              pass

3              pass           4              pass

AQ104               N             KJ3                      4              all pass

Q72                W    E          AK43                  

AKQ76              S              432                Not the best of contracts. The 4-3 fit would

8                                        543                normally be better than ’s as you ruff ’s in  

62                                         the short trump hand. 5 is cold, but you end

J10865                                up in 4, so try to make it.

9                                    

AJ762                                       

 

North leads the K and South encourages. North continues with the 9, plan the play for West in 4.

When playing in a 4-3 trump fit, most of the time the critical issue is to keep control of the trump suit. Unless you are intending to cross-ruff and score your trumps separately, it is dangerous to shorten the hand with the greater trump length because trumps will divide 3-3 only about 1/3 of the time. It is always a good idea to consider alternative lines of play that cater for the more common trump division of 4-2 without jeopardizing the contract.

On this deal, you can afford to lose three tricks, so to avoid being forced with the West hand, discard the 6 and 7 on the second and third round of ’s. If the defense continue with a fourth round of ’s, you can ruff high in dummy. You will have four high ’s remaining to draw trumps.

 

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? Not surprisingly, nobody ended up in ’s. 4-3, 4-2 twice, 3NT-1 three times, 3+2 and 3NT=.

 


Bidding Quiz Answers

 

Hand A:    Pass. This is a very poor 12 count – the KQ doubleton is a poor holding and the suit is not anything to be proud of.

Hand B:    3, provided that you are sure that partner will not pass it. In SAYC the bid shows a 4-card major, 5+ ’s and slam interest.

Hand C:    Any seat. It’s very clear in 3rd seat and easily conforms to Pearson’s rule of 15 for 4th seat. In first or second seat I would not argue with pass but with both majors and two tens I personally would open 1.

Hand D:    2NT – the Ogust convention. You only want to be in game if partner is maximum and the way to find that out is to use the Ogust convention. Note that a 3 bid is not invitational but is merely raising the pre-empt and that any other bid is game forcing..

 

 

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers

 

E      1NT   pass   2     pass       Standard American players generally play 3 as forcing -

        2      pass   3                   showing a 4-card major and 5+ ’s. But it’s best to agree it as some play it as weak and others as a shape ask

F      1NT   pass   3     pass       This is again up to partnership agreement but most Standard American players play it as invitational (to 3NT) showing about 7 points and a 6-card suit. Opener is expected to pass or bid 3NT.

 

 

 

 

Current club championship standings

 

 

Gold Cup = Best 30

Silver Plate = Best 10

Bronze Medal = Best 5

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

 

630.9 Hans Vikman

622.4 Janne Roos

614.1 Paul Quodomine

595.5 Lars Broman

 

321.7 Hans Vikman

320.9 Janne Roos

319.6 Sally Watson

319.5 Paul Quodomine

319.5 Duplessy & Coutlet

312.9 Lars Broman

311.2 Tomas Wikman

300.4 Jean Wissing

298.6 Holger Renken

296.0 Gun Karlsson

 

 

       
       

 Ron Klinger web site