Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 402

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My mobile phone number is 083 6066880 25^th July 2010

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

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Mon 19^th N-S 1^st Paul Q & Janne 61% 2^nd Hans V & Per-Ake 55%

E-W 1^st Dave F & Martin K 61% 2^nd Guttorm & Johan 57%

Wed 21^st 1^st Gerard & Derek 58% 2^nd Robbie & Ivy 57%

Fri 23^rd 1^st Guttorm & Paul Sc 61% 2^nd = Dave & Martin K 59%

2^nd = Georges & Jean-Charles 59%

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Bidding Quiz Standard American bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A Hand B With Hand A everybody is vulnerable. Partner opens 1♠ and

RHO overcalls 2♥, what do you do?

♠ 105 ♠ J1097

♥ KJ10986 ♥ AJ

♦ 85 ♦ K5 With Hand B partner opens 1♠, what do you bid?

♣ 854 ♣ A10965

Hand C Hand D With Hand C it’s unfavourable vulnerability. Partner opens 1♦

and RHO overcalls 1♠. What do you bid?

♠ Q9754 ♠ K

♥ AQ3 ♥ 95 With Hand D it’s favourable vulnerability. You open 1♦ and

♦ 96 ♦ AJ976543 LHO overcalls 1♥. This is passed to you, what do you do?

♣ Q32 ♣ A4

Bidding Sequence Quiz

E 2♥ pass 3♦ 2♥ is weak. What is the 3♦ bid, is it forcing?

F 2♥ dbl 3♦ 2♥ is weak and dbl is take-out. What is the 3♦ bid?

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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	1874.0 Janne Roos 1848.9 Paul Quodomine 1846.2 Hans Vikman	669.2 Janne Roos 654.6 Hans Vikman 640.1 Paul Quodomine 626.8 Tomas Wikman 622.1 Sally Watson 619.8 Lars Broman 615.9 Jean Wissing 609.5 Duplessy & Coutlet 607.2 Derek & Gerard 602.4 Jan v Koss	344.6 Janne Roos 337.6 Hans Vikman 329.6 Tomas Wikman 325.4 Sally Watson 323.4 Paul Quodomine 322.9 Lars Broman 322.7 Derek & Gerard 320.3 Jean Wissing 319.5 Duplessy & Coutlet 316.0 Sigurd Zahl

We had three examples of the ‘automatic’ re-opening double when playing Negative Doubles on Monday.

The re-opening double? – part 1 Board 4 from Monday 19^th July

Dealer: ♠ AK962 West North East South(A)

West ♥ - pass 1♠ 2♥ (1) pass (2)

Both vul ♦ 10732 pass dbl (3) pass pass (4)

♣ AK62 pass

♠ Q873 N ♠ J4 (1) I guess that most would make this overcall.

♥ 54 W E ♥ AQ732 (2) What did you bid with South hand A in this

♦ A94 S ♦ KQJ6 week’s quiz? Obviously you want to defend

♣ QJ107 ♣ 93 2♥ doubled but you cannot double if playing

♠ 105 negative doubles, so you have to pass and

♥ KJ10986 hope that partner re-opens with a double.

♦ 85 (3) Many say not to re-open with a double

♣ 854 with a void in trumps, but with top tricks

it worked a treat here.

(4) Thank you partner.

And what happened? 2♥*-3 three times, 2♥*-2, 3♥-1 and 3♣(N)-1

The re-opening double? – part 2 Board 2 from Monday 19^th July

Dealer: ♠ Q9754 West North(C) East South

East ♥ AQ3 - - pass 1♦

N-S vul ♦ 96 1♠ (1) dbl (2) pass 2NT

♣ Q32 pass 3NT all pass

♠ A1086 N ♠ - (1) West is a beginner and presumably had not

♥ 852 W E ♥ 10964 been taught that if you really want to

♦ 4 S ♦ QJ10732 overcall with a 4-card suit then it needs to

♣ KJ1075 ♣ 986 be much better than this one.

♠ KJ32 (2) What did you bid with this North hand (C)

♥ KJ7 in this weeks quiz? This North doubled

♦ AK85 to show points. I do not like this treatment

♣ A4 and this hand is a very clear pass (and pass

partner’s expected re-opening double). Even at this vulnerability this surely is best.

And what happened? South said that North should have passed the 1♠ overcall because he always re-opens with a double. So N-S missed a huge penalty and West’s eccentric 1♠ overcall prevented N-S from finding their 5-4 ♠ fit. But as it happens there are just as many tricks available in NoTrumps and 3NT made +2 for a top to N-S anyway. Results were 3NT+2, 4♠+1 three times, 4♠= and 5♠-1.

The re-opening double? – part 3 Board 3 from Monday 19^th July

This was the very next board with the same players, and again an example of where a negative double philosophy was applied.

Dealer: ♠ Q108653 West North East South(D)

South ♥ KQ - - - 1♦

E-W vul ♦ KQ2 1♥ pass (1) pass dbl (2)

♣ K6 pass pass (3) pass

♠ J4 N ♠ A972 (1) Apparently bearing in mind the four digit

♥ AJ10863 W E ♥ 742 penalty that was missed on the previous

♦ - S ♦ 108 board, the fact that West may have just a

♣ Q10752 ♣ J983 4-card ♥ suit, the vulnerability, and the fact

♠ K that N-S have 27+ points, North decided to

♥ 95 go for the penalty. A dubious decision.

♦ AJ976543 (2) What did you bid with this South hand (D) in

♣ A4 this weeks quiz? This is a good example of when to re-open with a double: two trumps and good defensive cards.

(3) Hoping for a big score.

And what happened? There was a big score: but it was +560 to E-W for making 1♥*+2. Other results were 5NT*=, 5♦+1, 5♦= twice and 3♦+3.

The Bottom Lines:

- When playing Negative doubles you cannot double for penalties, so you have to pass and hope that partner re-opens with a double, as he usually will.

- Vulnerability obviously affects your decision, but you generally need five trumps or four very good ones in order to go for the penalty with a pass. Points are not enough – you need trumps!

Dave’s Column Here is Dave’s first problem, on defence.

Problem 1 Problem 2

Dealer: ♠ A52 ♠ A5 Book Bidding

East ♥ 1053 ♥ 10532 West North East South

both vul ♦ A98 ♦ A98 - - 1♠ pass

♣ QJ109 ♣ QJ109 2♦ pass 2NT (1) pass

3♠ (2) pass 4♠ all pass

♠ J96 N

♥ QJ4 W E (1) apparently 15-17 in their style.

♦ KQJ1063 S

♣ 5

You are North defending a 4♠ contract. Partner leads the ♦2 which is clearly a singleton.

Plan the defence (1) if you hold Problem 1 and (2) if your hand is Problem 2.

Dave’s Column Answer Board 10 from Wednesday 21^st July

Dealer: ♠ A52 Book Bidding

East ♥ 1053 West North East South

both vul ♦ A98 - - 1♠ pass

♣ QJ109 2♦ pass 2NT (1) pass

3♠ (2) pass 4♠ all pass

♠ J96 N ♠ KQ1083

♥ QJ4 W E ♥ A82 (1) apparently 15-17 in their style.

♦ KQJ1063 S ♦ 754 (2) forcing, with three ♠’s.

♣ 5 ♣ AK

♠ 74

♥ K97 You are North, partner leads the ♦2 to dummy’s ♦10

♦ 2 and your ♦A. Plan the defense.

♣ 876432

Partner has clearly led a singleton, so you can give him a ruff. With Problem 1 you unfortunately can’t give partner a 2^nd ruff because he can have only two ♠’s and when you get in with the ♠A partner will be out of ♠’s. On the other hand, you can always give partner a ruff when you get in with the ♠A so what’s the rush? Why not try to build up an outside trick in ♥’s first? If partner has the ♥K, a ♥ shift by you is crucial. If you give partner an early ruff, partner can’t lead ♥’s safely and the ♥ trick disappears on dummy’s ♦’s. Leading a ♣ at trick two serves no real purpose as if partner has the ♣A the trick is not going anywhere.

The Bottom Line:

- A good defender should know from the bidding how many trumps partner has and defend accordingly. Here, North knew that South had two ♠’s which allowed North to try to build a ♥ trick without jeopardizing the ♦ ruff. However, if North held ♠Ax (as Problem 2), he would know that partner had three ♠’s and should play to give South two ruffs by returning a ♦ immediately.

- So the answers are:

Problem1: a ♥.

Problem 2: a ♦.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 3NT+2, 3NT+1, 4♠= twice, 3NT= and 3♣*(S)=.

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

North South Bidding

♠ J1097 ♠ AKQ86 West North East South

♥ AJ ♥ Q10 - - - 1♠

♦ K5 ♦ 93 pass 2NT (1) pass 3NT (2)

♣ A10965 ♣ QJ74 pass 4♠ all pass

(1) Jacoby 2NT

(2) A decent opener with no shortage.

You are South, declarer in 4♠. West leads a low ♦, plan the play

Dave’s 2^nd Column Board 11 from Wednesday 21^st July

Dealer: ♠ J1097 Bidding

South ♥ AJ West North(B) East South

Love all ♦ K5 - - - 1♠

♣ A10965 pass 2NT (1) pass 3NT (2)

pass 4♠ (3) all pass

♠ 42 N ♠ 53

♥ 6532 W E ♥ K9874

♦ Q10862 S ♦ AJ74

♣ 82 ♣ K3 West leads a low ♦, Plan the play.

♠ AKQ86

♥ Q10

♦ 93

♣ QJ74

(1) What did you bid with this North hand (B) in this week’s quiz? This is a typical Jacoby 2NT bid – promising 4-card ♠ support and asking partner to describe his hand further.

(2) Showing a decent opener with no shortage (3♠ would show a strong opener and 4♠ a weak opener).

(3) South needs more than a decent opener opposite in order to investigate slam.

“It was my only chance to win a trick with your ♦K” explained South.

“That’s right” agreed North. “In the process you missed your last opportunity to save the game.

Knowing that he was a big favorite to make the game, South went right up with dummy’s ♦K at trick one. “It’s now or never” he exclaimed.

East took his ♦A and returned the suit to West’s ♦10, allowing West to shift to shift to a ♥. The finesse lost to East’s ♥K and the ♥ return went to dummy’s ♥A. After drawing trumps success rested on the ♣ finesse and when it failed South had to pay for his impulsive play.

What could declarer have done to avert the loss? After all, all three side-suit finesses were losing.

To begin with, the ♦ finesse really was not a finesse. It was extremely unlikely that West had underled the ♦A at trick one. Therefore it was silly to have a stab at winning dummy’s ♦K. Instead declarer should duck in dummy, forcing East to win the trick. East can cash his ♦A for the same two ♦ winners, but cannot give West the lead for the killing ♥ shift.

At trick three, South wins whatever East returns and draws trumps. The ♣ finesse loses as before but the ♥ finesse is not necessary. South’s ♥ loser goes on a long ♣ and the game is safely made.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? 4♠+1, 4♠=four times and 6♠-2.

The Bottom Lines:

- I note the poor 6♠ contract, this would be avoided if playing the Jacoby 2NT convention.

Janne’s Column

On Wednesday there were two interesting boards and nobody reached the perfect contract.

Number 1 RHO opens 1♣. Let’s say you bid 1♦ with the intention of reversing

with a ♥ bid next go. LHO passes and partner bids 1♥. RHO passes, what

♠ KJx do you bid? You look at your hand and now it is very strong. At least 4♥,

♥ AKxx maybe more. I suggest 4♣, showing ♥ support with a singleton or void in

♦ K10xxxx ♣’s. If it was only a singleton ♣ then you should have the ♦AK and maybe

♣ - only two ♠’s. Never Gerber asking for aces.

♠ Ax Now your partner’s hand. Knowing that partner is short in ♣’s he must

♥ Qxxxx have a very good suit. You can cue bid 4♠ but I suggest 4♦, showing

♦ Qx something in the vital suit. You know that partner has a very good ♦ suit

♣ xxxx and the ♦Q must be important. Next you check on aces and partner shows

one. You bid 6♥. If you had a boring hand with no good values or only values in ♣’s you would bid just 4♥ over 4♣.

If you don’t agree with the 1♦ overcall and you prefer double it’s up to you but I think that 1♦ is better because you probably have a chance to bid one more time. If you don’t know if you have a fit, bid slowly. If you have a fit, bid hard. Next hand next week.

<end of Janne’s Column>

Bidding Quiz Answers

Hand A: pass. Obviously you want to defend 2♥ doubled, but you cannot double when playing negative doubles. So pass and pass partner’s up coming ‘automatic’ re-opening double.

Hand B: 2NT – the Jacoby 2NT convention. It really is important to have a conventional forcing raise of partner’s major available which allows partner to describe his opening. Without a convention such as Jacoby 2NT or Swiss you have to bid a minor and then jump to 4-of-the major which makes it difficult to reach a slam unless partner has a very big hand.

Hand C: pass. Even at unfavourable vulnerability it is surely better to go for the penalty as there may well be no game you way and you may possibly get 800 anyway.

Hand D: double. This is a classic example of when to re-open with a double. It is very likely that partner has a penalty hand and, especially at this vulnerability, you should co-operate. If partner does not have a penalty hand he will bid and you can then bid ♦’s, so nothing is lost.

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answer

E 2♥ pass 3♦ This is usually played as natural and forcing, RONF (Raise Only Non Forcing bid – as stated in SAYC).

F 2♥ dbl 3♦ This is up to you, the treatment that I have agreed with Paul Q is that it shows ♥ support and asks for a ♦ lead if defending.

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