Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 395

Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com

My mobile phone number is 083 6066880 6^th June 2010

My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com

My MSN messenger ID is tj_quested@hotmail.com

Mon 31^st 1^st Gerry C & Ivy 59% 2^nd Hans V & Sean 56%

Wed 2^nd 1^st Hans V & Janne 60% 2^nd Niels K & Peter S 59%

Fri 4^th 1^st Hans V & Paul Q 63% 2^nd Janne & Tonni 61%

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Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A it’s love all. Partner opens 2♥ and RHO bids 3♣,

what do you do?

♠ AQJ5 ♠ QJ96

♥ K ♥ A5 With Hand B you open 1♦ and partner bids 1♥. You bid 1♠

♦ AKQ94 ♦ AJ874 and partner raises to 2♠, what do you do?

♣ A52 ♣ K2

Hand C Hand D With Hand C you open 2♥ and LHO overcalls 3♣. Partner

doubles. What is the double and what do you bid?

♠ 1086 ♠ Q3

♥ AQ8753 ♥ QJ43 With Hand D you open 1♣ and partner bids 1NT. RHO doubles

♦ 107 ♦ A76 (presumably a take-out of ♣’s) and LHO bids 2♥. This is passed

♣ J8 ♣ AJ95 to you, what do you do?

Hand E Hand F With Hand E LHO opens 1♣ and RHO bids 1NT, what do

you do?

♠ K976 ♠ AK

♥ A7 ♥ J984 With Hand F you are in 1^st seat at favourable vulnerability

♦ 432 ♦ A865 (a) What do you open?

♣ KQ74 ♣ AK7 (b) What do you open if playing Acol?

Bidding Sequence Quiz

G 1♥ pass 1♠ pass

3♥ Is 3♥ invitational or forcing?

H 1♥ pass 2♣ pass

3♥ Is 3♥ invitational or forcing?

J 2♥ 3♣ dbl Is dbl penalties or something else?

Overbid Board 3 from Monday 31^st May

Four pairs out of five over-bid on this deal

Dealer: ♠ K742 Table A

South ♥ J9863 West North East South(B)

E-W vul ♦ 1095 - - - 1♦

♣ Q pass 1♥ pass 1♠

pass 2♠ pass 4♠ (1)

♠ 1085 N ♠ A3 all pass

♥ KQ W E ♥ 10742

♦ 62 S ♦ KQ3 Table B

♣ J98753 ♣ A1064 West North East South(B)

- - - 1♦

♠ QJ96 pass 1♥ pass 1♠

♥ A5 pass 2♠ pass pass (1)

♦ AJ874 pass

♣ K2

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this South hand B in this week’s quiz? This jump to game is far too optimistic for me but was chosen by at least two experienced players.

Table B: (1) This pass was chosen by just one player and is fine by me, with an invitational trial bid (whatever your style is) a reasonable alternative as the answer to question B.

And what happened? 2♠ made +1. Everybody else went down, 3♠-1, 4♠-1 twice and 4♠-2.

______________________________________

Dave’s problems are usually quite tricky; this week they are from a different source and fairly easy:

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

North South Book Bidding

♠ Q982 ♠ A43 West North East South

♥ AJ3 ♥ KQ985 - 1NT pass 2♦

♦ K4 ♦ J82 pass 2♥ pass 3NT

♣ AQ53 ♣ 92 pass 4♥ all pass

You are North, declarer in 4♥. East leads a ♦ to West ’s ♦A and a ♦ is returned which you win with the ♦K. Plan the play.

Dave’s Column answer Board 1 from Wednesday 2^nd June

Dealer: ♠ Q982 Book Bidding

North ♥ AJ3 West North East South

Love all ♦ K4 - 1NT pass 2♦

♣ AQ53 pass 2♥ pass 3NT

pass 4♥ all pass

♠ KJ5 N ♠ 1076

♥ 642 W E ♥ 107

♦ A63 S ♦ Q10975 East leads a ♦, West takes the ♦A and

♣ KJ84 ♣ 1076 returns a ♦ won by the ♦K. Plan the play.

♠ A43

♥ KQ985

♦ J82

♣ 92

As declarer you want to go to work on ♠’s but you cannot afford to draw trumps first as that would leave you with a losing ♦. So you might play a ♥ to the ♥Q and a ♠ towards the ♠Q. West can jump in with the ♠K but that’s the end of the defense. With the ♠’s 3-3 and the ♣ finesse working there are numerous ways to take the rest of the tricks.

Terry comment: It looks like virtually any line works as long as you ruff a ♦ before drawing trumps – I think that that is the point of the hand.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♥+1 three times, 3NT+1 and 4♥-1.

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

West East Book Bidding

♠ A7532 ♠ KJ8 West North East South

♥ 1084 ♥ 3 - pass 1♦ 1♥

♦ - ♦ AKQ76 1♠ pass 3♣ pass

♣ J8532 ♣ AQ97 4♣ pass 4♠ all pass

You are West, declarer in 4♠. North leads the ♣4, plan the play.

Dave’s 2^nd Column answer Board 2 from Wednesday 2^nd June

Dealer: ♠ 94 Book Bidding

East ♥ Q52 West North East South

N-S vul ♦ J985432 - - 1♦ 1♥

♣ 4 1♠ (1) pass 3♣ (2) pass

4♣ pass 4♠ all pass

♠ A7532 N ♠ KJ8

♥ 1084 W E ♥ 3 (1) Generally showing 5 ♠’s if playing negative

♦ - S ♦ AKQ76 doubles.

♣ J8532 ♣ AQ97 (2) A ♥ splinter here should promise 4-card

♠ Q106 support. When I was West on this deal

♥ AKJ976 my partner simply bid 4♠.

♦ 10

♣ K106 North leads the ♣4, plan the play.

The ♣4 looks like a singleton, so you rise with the ♣A and play a trump to the ♥A and back to the ♥K. Then run the ♦’s to throw your losing ♥’s – at least that’s the plan. On this actual layout South ruffs the 2^nd ♦ and takes a ♥ and a ♣ but you still make 4♠.

If you duck the initial ♣ lead then South wins with the ♣K and gives North two ♣ ruffs to set you by one trick (South should return the ♣10 – a Lavinthal suit preference signal – to ask for a ♥ return in order to get the lead with a ♥ to give another ruff).

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♠= three times, 5♣= and 6♣-2.

Raising partner’s 1NT response Board 27 from Friday 4^th June

Dealer: ♠ AJ8 West North East(E) South(D)

South ♥ 1096 - - - 1♣

Love all ♦ K95 pass 1NT dbl (1) pass

♣ 10863 2♥ pass pass 2NT (2)

pass 3NT (3) all pass

♠ 10542 N ♠ K976

♥ K852 W E ♥ A7 (1) What did you bid with this East hand E in this

♦ QJ108 S ♦ 432 week’s quiz? This dbl is a take-out of ♣’s, and

♣ 2 ♣ KQ74 very silly bid with 4 ♣’s and a doubleton ♥.

♠ Q3 I would pass, you have a partner who can

♥ QJ43 balance (and then you find the ♠ fit!).

♦ A76 (2) What did you bid with this South hand D in

♣ AJ95 this week’s quiz? This 2NT is wrong as it shows a good hand, I would say 18-19. A penalty double is also not good as you know

that the opponents have 8+ ♠’s and can run there. Pass is the only sensible bid.

(3) North thought that South had a good hand and was inviting 3NT.

And what happened? The defence was not optimum and 3NT made! Other contracts were 1NT+1, 1NT= and 1NT-1. 2♥ would probably go -2 for a decent result to N-S.

The bottom lines:

- You need a good hand (generally about 18-19) to raise partner 1NT response to 2NT, and this also applies when the opponents intervene.

When partner pre-empts Board 11 from Friday 4^th June

Dealer: ♠ AQJ5 Table A

South ♥ K West North(A) East South(C)

Love all ♦ AKQ94 - - - 2♥

♣ A52 3♣ dbl (1) pass 3♥ (2)

pass 4♥ all pass

♠ 32 N ♠ K974

♥ J W E ♥ 109642

♦ 63 S ♦ J852 Table B

♣ KQ1097643 ♣ - West North(A) East South(C)

- - - 2♥

♠ 1086 3♣ dbl (1) pass pass (2)

♥ AQ8753 pass

♦ 107

♣ J8

Table A: (1) What did you bid with this North hand A in this week’s quiz? This double is wrong as it is generally played as penalties – there is little point in playing a negative double here when partner has shown a weak hand with a 6-card major.

(2) What did you bid with this South hand C in this week’s quiz? Luckily for North, South also did not understand the double and so bid.

Table B: (1) This North also found the meaningless double.

(2) And this is the correct answer to question C – partner has made a penalty double and he is the captain, there is no reason whatsoever to over-rule him

And what happened? 4♥=, 5♣-3, 4♣-2 and 3♣-1. Deep finesse says that 4♥ makes +1 and that 3NT makes +2.

The bottom lines:

- So what should you bid with this North hand A? I would bid 4♥, with 3NT as a dubious alternative (partner may have no entry or you may not be able to run ♥ tricks when playing in NoTrumps). This will almost certainly score better that 3♣* which you would need to set by three tricks.

- When partner pre-empts and RHO overcalls, then a double by you is penalties.

Paul’s Column Friday, April 4 offered some interesting hands.

4 card or 5 card major openings?

For 30 years I played a variety of systems in the U.S. using 5 card major suit openings with good results. Seldom did I encounter 4 card major openings until coming here though I knew the debate has raged for decades over which is superior. Here are a couple of hands where I played 4 card majors with excellent results.

♠Q965 Board 10

♥6 East dealt and passed as did South

♦J108632 and West opened 1♥, all passed.

♣K7

♠AJ42 ♠108

♥AQ1084 ♥973

♦7 ♦KQ94

♣AQJ ♣10863

♠K87

♥KJ62

♦A6

♣9642

East’s decision to pass 1♥ was based both on the fact that this hand was sub-standard for either a raise on 3 small opposite 4 and it simply was below minimum even with the doubleton spade. Result: +140 (played well for a top.) At least one pair reached 4♥ for a shared bottom after an apparent raise by East. (One pair actually played TW0 ♥ –1).

♠87 Board 12.

♥AKQ2 West opened 1♥, all passed!

♦QJ93

♣985 Terry Comment

♠AK (F) ♠J6542 What did you open with West hand F(b) in

♥J984 ♥763 this week’s quiz playing Acol? I note that

♦A865 ♦7 West opened 1♥ and not 1♦.This is indeed

♣AK7 ♣QJ43 correct playing modern Acol, where a 4-

♠Q983 card major should be opened in preference

♥105 to a 4-card minor. A few club members

♦K1043 believe that you should bid up the line, but

♣1062 that is not the Acol philosophy.

If East’s former hand was sub-standard for a response this CERTAINLY was!! Result? Another top when North led the ♠8 and West was able to ruff 3 ♦’s in dummy (side suits being favorably divided) and claim +170.

A Bols Bridge Tip from years ago. Board 5

When the Bols Corporation of the Netherlands sponsored an annual competition for the best 12 bridge tips of the year this was one of them … virtually ALL being submitted by current or former world top-ranked players. While the entire article is lengthy it can be summarized as thus: “If a player pre-empts over an opening bid he/she will usually have an attacking lead in that suit vs a subsequent game/slam by the opposing side. Thus a SIDE suit lead must send a message to partner … this is a singleton or I want (hope) you can work out what to do! Equal vulnerability.

♠5

♥108742

♦AK963

♣72

♠K1063 ♠AQJ42

♥AQJ953 ♥K6

♦J ♦Q8762

♣A5 ♣J

♠987

♥VOID

♦104

♣KQ1098643

After 1♠ by East South bid 3♣, and West pondered and bid 4♠. Not my choice! Now South led the ♦10 won by North’s ♦K and North had to work out the position. Was South’s lead a singleton, or had he a surprise for declarer? After considering the likely layouts North led back a heart RUFFED by South. +450 for E/W was a bottom since 2 pairs reached 6♠ and were allowed to make on the “routine” ♣K lead, and one N/S pair suffered –500 on what can only be 5♣ doubled. Was this a “top” for us? Well, as we can see it was while even 480 for N/S would be as well, but kudos to South for his enterprising lead and North for working it out and the only lead back which would defeat the slam which made twice!

A Little humor Board 18 East dealt.

♠VOID While East was arranging his cards WEST opened

♥10632 1♠! North was there with a double, an action I

♦1085 consider very poor on that hand ,,, especially now

♣AKJ654 that it condoned the opening bid out of turn.

East redoubled, South passed and West bid 2♠

♠J97632 ♠AQ5 ( 6+ spades and a minimum opener). North passed

♥AK6 ♥Q74 and East raised to 4♠. After the opening lead

♦KQ9 ♦A632 dummy went down and West asked somewhat

♣2 ♣Q107 peevishly “Why didn’t you open that 14 point

♠K1084 hand?? East just smiled and said “I never got a

♥J98 chance to!”

♦J74

♣983

< end of Paul’s Column >

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: 4♥. You could try 3NT but partner may have no entry. Double here is penalties and I don’t think it’s a good bid.

Hand B: It’s close between pass and 3♠ (or whatever game try you play), but the hand is not worth a jump to 4♠.

Hand C: Pass. The double is penalties and partner is the captain. Negative doubles do not apply when partner has pre-empted.

Hand D: Pass. You expect 2♥ to go down but you should not double as you know that the opponents have 8 or more ♠’s and they might run there. 2NT is of course an overbid promising a much stronger hand.

Hand E: Pass. Double with this hand would be take-out of ♣’s and is very silly with ♣ length and only two ♥’s.

Hand F: (a) 1♦, it’s nowhere near good enough for a (20-21) 2NT.

(b) 1♥. Playing Acol you should open a 4-card major in preference to a 4-card minor (assuming 1NT is not possible); with two 4-card minors open 1♣ and with two 4-card majors open 1♥. I like the way Hans Vikman says this: – with two 4-card suits including ♥’s, open 1♥.

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answer

G 1♥ pass 1♠ pass

3♥ 3♥ here is invitational.

H 1♥ pass 2♣ pass

3♥ 3♥ here, after a two-level response, is forcing.

J 2♥ 3♣ dbl double is penalties. Negative doubles do not apply when partner has pre-empted.

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	1845.7 Paul Quodomine 1841.9 Janne Roos 1815.1 Hans Vikman	649.7 Janne Roos 642.1 Hans Vikman 640.1 Paul Quodomine 626.8 Tomas Wikman 619.8 Lars Broman 615.9 Jean Wissing 615.9 Sally Watson 609.5 Duplessy & Coutlet 597.8 Bengt Malgren 591.0 Johan Bratsburg	330.4 Janne Roos 329.6 Tomas Wikman 327.9 Hans Vikman 324.8 Sally Watson 323.4 Paul Quodomine 322.9 Lars Broman 320.3 Jean Wissing 319.5 Duplessy & Coutlet 309.3 Jeremy Watson 308.2 Bob Short