Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                       Club News Sheet – No. 468
Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                    
My mobile phone number is 083 6066880                                                            6th Nov 2011
My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com
My Windows Live Messenger is tj_quested@hotmail.com

Mon 31st N-S      1st   Mike G & Fred              65%            2nd  Bob P & Robbie           54%
               E-W      1st   Dino & Dave                  60%            2nd  Jeremy & Ivy                58%
Wed 2nd N-S       1st  Lars B & Tomas             58%            2nd  Gus & Dino                   57%
               E-W      1st   Gerard & Derek             60%            2nd Peter & Sandra              60%
Fri 4th     N-S       1st  Sigurd & Johan              56%            2nd Bob S & Robbie             56%
               E-W      1st   Bam & Hans V              66%            2nd  Mike G & Fred             63%

 

Bidding Quiz          Standard American (short ♣) bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.

Hand A           Hand B           What do you open with Hand A?

♠ Q106            ♠ QJ6                                     
♥ K63              ♥ KJ3            (a)  What do you open with Hand B?
♦ AKQ            ♦ AKQ10        (b)  Suppose you open 1♦ and partner bids 1♠, what now?         
♣ K654           ♣ K65

Hand C           Hand D           (a)  What do you open with Hand C?
                                                (b)  Suppose you open 1♦ and partner bids 1♠, what now?   
♠ Q6                ♠ 10              
♥ K3                ♥ J1042          With Hand D partner opens 1♥ and RHO bids 2♦,
♦ AKQ1064    ♦ J1054            what do you bid?
♣ K65             ♣ A932                                                                   
                                                With Hand E you open 1NT and partner transfers with 2♥.
Hand E           Hand F           You bid 2♠ and ...
♠ AJ3              ♠ KQ952         (a)  partner bids 3NT, what do you bid?          
♥ AJ5              ♥ Q10              (b)  partner bids 3♦, what do you bid?             
♦ 932               ♦ KQJ4                                   
♣ KQJ10         ♣ 93                With Hand F partner opens 1NT and you transfer with 2♥.
                                                Partner obediently bids 2♠, what do you bid now?
                                                                                     

Bidding Sequence Quiz            
                 
G      1♥     2♦      3♥                    What is 3♥, invitational or pre-emptive?

H      1♥     2♦      3♦                    What is the 3♦ bid?

 

                                                             

 

 


A 2nd suit after a transfer                                   Board 23 from Monday 4th Nov

Dealer:             ♠ 1076                                           Table A
South               ♥ 987432                                       West(E)     North         East(F)      South
Both vul          ♦ A6                                              -                 -                 -                 pass
                        ♣ 85                                              1NT           pass           2♥              pass
                                                                              2♠              pass           3NT (1)      pass
♠ AJ3                    N             ♠ KQ952                 4♥    (2)      all pass
♥ AJ5                W    E          ♥ Q10                     
♦ 932                     S              ♦ KQJ4                    Table B
♣ KQJ10                               ♣ 93                        West(E)     North         East(F)      South
                        ♠ 84                                               -                 -                 -                 pass
                        ♥ K6                                              1NT           pass           2♥              pass
                        ♦ 10875                                         2♠              pass           3♦    (1)      pass
                        ♣ A7642                                       3NT (3)      all pass      
                                                                                                        
Table A:    (1)  What did you bid with this East hand F in this week’s quiz? The majority simply
                        showed game values by bidding 3NT.
                 (2)   What did you BID with this West hand E(a) in this week’s quiz? It is always
                        a guess whether to play in the 5-3 major suit fit or in 3NT, and with good ♠’s
                        and very weak ♦’s the majority chose 4♠.
Table B:     (1)  This East, however, likes to help partner if he may have a guess. With a great ♦ suit
                        it is surely best to bid the suit, not because of any desire to play in ♦’s, but to aid partner if he has to guess between 3NT and 4♠.
                  (3)  Now that West knows that partner has 4 or 5 good ♦’s it is easier for him to choose 3NT rather than 4♠.
                       
The bottom lines:

  1. You should always aim to play in 4-4 major suit fits, but 5-3 is different and NT is often better. So in this situation where partner has opened 1NT, you have game values, have transferred, and have a good 4-card minor suit, bid it in order to help partner to make the correct choice if he holds three of the major.
  2. Note that if you do bid a 4-card minor, it should be a good suit and imply weakness in one or both of the unbid suits.

And what happened? Seven out of nine chose the inferior 4♠ contract. Eleven tricks are easy in either contract.

 

Dave’s Column

North               South                                  West           North        East            South
♠ AQ4             ♠ K72                                 -                  -               -                  1NT     
♥ A103            ♥ Q64                                 pass            3NT          all pass
♦ 732               ♦ A6
♣ 10542          ♣ AK976                                             
                                                                                               
You are South, declarer in 3NT. West leads the ♥5, plan the play at IMP scoring where an overtrick or two is not that important.                       
                                     


Dave’s Column Answer                           Board 3 from Wednesday 2nd Nov 
     
Dealer:             ♠ AQ4                                           Bidding            
South               ♥ A103                                          West          North         East           South
E-W vul           ♦ 732                                             -                 -                 -                 1NT
                        ♣ 10542                                        pass           3NT           all pass      
                                                                             
♠ 109653               N             ♠ J8                        
♥ J9852             W    E          ♥ K7                  West leads the ♥5. Plan the play for declarer
♦ K84                    S              ♦ QJ1095           at teams scoring where it is important to 
♣ -                                         ♣ QJ83              make the contract.
                        ♠ K72                                           
                        ♥ Q64                                     
                        ♦ A6                                  
                        ♣ AK976                                     

When originally played declarer called for a low ♥ from dummy. Defending well, East switched to the ♦Q after winning the ♥K. Declarer ducked and won the next ♦, West carefully unblocking the ♦K. South needs three ♣ tricks, he played the ♣A and he went down.
At my (Terry/Dave) table the play started as above but at trick four declarer entered dummy and ran the ♣10, this led to +2 for an excellent score.
However, it was very lucky because if West had a ♣ honour the contract goes down.
The correct play is to take the ♥A at trick one and lead a ♣ at trick two to the ♣9 (or lead the ♣10) immediately. The contract is then safe and on the actual layout makes +1.

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? Everybody was in 3NT with every conceivable result from 3NT-3 to 3NT+3 !

 

Dave’s 2nd Column

     N                ♠ K9874                            Bidding
W     E             ♥ J104                              West            North         East           South
     S                 ♦ J98                                  1♦               pass           1♠              pass
                        ♣ J4                                   3NT           all pass
♠ 1032                                                            
♥ Q652                                                     
♦ 72                 Plan the defence for South on the ♥7 (4th highest) lead, 
♣ AQ97          covered by dummy’s ♥J.       
                                                                       
                                                       
                                                                        
Dave’s 2nd Column Answer           Board 20 from Wednesday 26th Oct. 
     
Dealer:             ♠ AJ5                                            Bidding    
West                ♥ A987                                          West(C)     North         East           South
both vul            ♦ 53                                               1♦     (1)     pass           1♠              pass
                        ♣ 10832                                        3NT  (2)     all pass      
                                                                             
♠ Q6                      N             ♠ K9874                 
♥ K3                  W    E          ♥ J104              
♦ AKQ1064          S              ♦ J98                 
♣ K65                                   ♣ J4                  
                        ♠ 1032                                          
                        ♥ Q652                                   
                        ♦ 72                         Plan the defence for South on the ♥7 (4th highest) lead,           
                        ♣ AQ97                  covered by dummy’s ♥J.
                       

(1)  What did you open with this West hand C(a) in this week’s quiz? This hand, with six ♦ tricks,
      is far too strong for 1NT of course.
(2)  What did you bid with this West hand C(b) in this week’s quiz? A 2NT rebid would show
      18-19 and this jump to 3NT is best played as showing a good hand with a long ♦ suit.

One of the most difficult decisions for defenders is to know when certain clichés fit and when
they must be ignored. This example involved that “third hand high” advice. Generally, third hand
plays high to develop high cards in partner’s hand.
Here, evidence is available that suggest third hand should make a variation. Since the lead was 4th best, South can determine (using the Rule of Eleven) that West has exactly one card in his hand that is higher than the ♥7.
Furthermore, West has at most two ♥’s. That being the case, West will have two ♥ tricks if South plays the ♥Q, whether West’s high ♥ is the ♥A or the ♥K. By capturing the ♥Q, dummy’s ♥10 will be promoted.
In fact, if West has the ♥A, he can’t be prevented from winning two tricks. However, if West’s high ♥ is the ♥K, South can prevent West from making two ♥ tricks by holding back the ♥Q. Later, the ♥K will fall under North’s ♥A and South’s ♥Q will be high.
Terry note: This is all true except if North has led from ♥AKx7.
                                                 
And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club?  Everybody in 3NT made it, but many were simply playing in a ♦ partscore.


Pre-emptive raise of partner’s major.               Board 16 from Monday 4th Nov

Dealer:             ♠ 98                                               Table A
West                ♥ A7                                              West          North         East(D)      South
E-W vul           ♦ K7532                                        1♥              2♦              2♥    (1)      2♠
                        ♣ K874                                         pass           pass           3♥    (2)      pass
                                                                              pass           dbl  (3)      pass           3♠
♠ KQJ2                 N             ♠ 10                         all pass
♥ K9863            W    E          ♥ J1042                  
♦ Q9                      S              ♦ J1054                    Table B
♣ Q6                                      ♣ A932                   West          North         East(D)      South
                        ♠ A76543                                      1♥              2♦              3♥    (1)      pass  (4)
                        ♥ Q5                                              pass           pass
                        ♦ A8                                             
                        ♣ J105                                          
                                                                                                        
Table A:    (1)  What did you bid with this East hand D in this week’s quiz? This single raise is a bit feeble for me.
                 (2)  Now East decides to bid according to the Law of Total tricks and shows his four ♥’s
                 (3)  But North knows that partner has values and  ♠’s and can make a take out double.

Table B:     (1)  This is the modern approach to raising partner after an overcall – do not mess about with 2♥
                        followed by 3♥ later to show the 4th trump, but bid (a pre-emptive) 3♥ immediately. See how well it worked here.
                  (4)  It is not so easy for South to show his ♠’s now and he decided to pass.
                       
And what happened? 3♥ actually made for a top, but even -1 would have been a good score as most N-S’s were making ♠ partscores.

The bottom lines:

  1. Pre-emptive bidding has changed over the decades and now most play that if partner opens 1♥/♠ and RHO overcalls or doubles, then any raise of partner’s suit is pre-emptive.
  2. The law of Total tricks, popularized by Bergen and Cohen, has had a great effect on modern bidding; and in fact, players who play Bergen raises will bid 3♥ with hand D even if there had been no overcall or double.

 


Bidding Quiz Answers  

Hand A:   1NT, obviously.
Hand B:    (a)  1♦, the hand is too good for 1NT.
                  (b)  2NT. This shows a balanced 18-19.
Hand C:   (a)  1♦, the hand is far too good for 1NT. Note that it has the same number of
                        points as hand A but this hand may well be worth three tricks more.
                  (b)  3NT. 2NT here would show a balanced 18-19 but most play that a jump
                        to 3NT shows a good hand with a good long minor suit.
Hand D:   3♥, weak. This is a classic example of why you should play this bid as pre-emptive with four trumps. With an invitational 3♥ hand, bid 3♦.
Hand E:    (a)  4♠ (or pass). You are on a guess and either could be correct. You have good ♠’s
                        and very weak diamonds and I will not argue with the majority choice of 4♠.
                  (b)  3NT. Knowing that partner has good ♦’s makes the choice easy.
Hand F:    3♦, game forcing. Showing this great ♦ suit will make partner’s decision easier if he has three ♠’s (indeed, partner had hand E).

 

Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers  
                 
G      1♥     2♦      3♥           3♥ is best played as  pre-emptive with four ♥’s…

H      1♥     2♦      3♦          … because the 3♦ cuebid is used to show a sound raise to 3♥ or better.

 

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

1857.0 Hans Vikman
1818.0 Bob Short
1812.8 Janne Roos
1784.9 Paul Quodomine
1781.7 Sigurd Zahl
1769.6 Gerard Hardy
1761.0 Derek Tyms
1752.7 Paul Scully
1730.1 Tomas Wikman
1718.3 Bob Pelletier

655.5 Hans Vikman
648.3 Bob Short
648.1 Paul Quodomine
639.8 Per Andersson
631.1 Janne Roos
627.9= Gerard Hardy
627.9= Derek Tyms
627.2 Sigurd Zahl
626.5 Paul Scully
624.0 Lars Broman

335.5 Bob Short
334.2 Hans Vikman
332.2 Per Andersson
328.9= Gerard Hardy
328.9= Derek Tyms
325.8 Paul Scully
324.9 Paul Quodomine
322.6 Dave Hurst
321.7 =Lars Broman
321.7 =Alan Kleist