Our website is www.pattayabridge.com                       Club News Sheet – No. 472
Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com                                    
My mobile phone number is 083 6066880                                                            4th Dec 2011
My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com
My Windows Live Messenger is tj_quested@hotmail.com

Mon 28th N-S      1st   Olaf & Ivy                     60%            2nd  Paul Q & Tobjorn S       54%
                 E-W     1st   Jens & Henry                63%            2nd  Jan & Alan K                 59%
Wed 30th  N-S     1st   Robbie & Bob S            59%            2nd  Harry & Frode               57%
                 E-W     1st   Janne & Jan                            =               Alan K & Per-Ake          61%
Fri 2nd       N-S      1st  Paul Q & Hans V          64%            2nd Bengt M & Lars B         54%
                 E-W     1st   Bjorn H & Hallgeir        56%            2nd  Dino & Richard M         54%

 

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

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A partner opens 1NT, what do you bid?

♠ A74              ♠ 87
♥ AQ103         ♥ AQ103        With Hand B partner opens 1NT and RHO overcalls 2♠,
♦ 1052             ♦ 10542           what do you bid?
♣ A83             ♣ A83

 

The New Year’s Teams

Sat 24 Dec, which was the majority choice, is unacceptable to the Bowling Green management.
But Sun 8 Jan is OK if people want to play on that day. Please contact Dave Cutler.
                                     

 

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

1876.2 Hans Vikman
1838.5 Bob Short
1817.0 Janne Roos
1809.2 Sigurd Zahl
1792.0 Paul Quodomine
1771.9 Gerard Hardy
1766.6 Lars Broman
1763.7 Derek Tyms
1761.3 Alan Kleist
1758.0 Paul Scully

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

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


3NT or 4? – Advanced Stayman in Doubt                       Board 5 from Friday 25th Nov

Dealer:             ♠ A74                                            Table A
South               ♥ AQ103                                       West          North(A)   East           South
both vul           ♦ 1052                                           -                 -                 -                 1NT
                        ♣ A83                                           pass           ?       (1)    
                                                                             
♠ 532                     N               ♠ KJ106                Using ASID
♥ 64                   W    E            ♥ J82                     West          North(A)   East           South
♦ QJ96                   S                ♦ 873                     -                 -                 -                 1NT
♣ QJ75                                    ♣ 1096                  pass           2♣    (1)     pass           2♥
                                                                               pass           3♦     (2)     pass           3♥     (3)
                        ♠ Q98                                            pass           3NT  (4)     all pass
                        ♥ K975                                   
                        ♦ AK4                                    
                        ♣ K42                                          
                                                                                                        
Table A:    (1)  What did you bid with this North hand A in this week’s quiz? This hand is totally flat
                        and some will simply forget Stayman and bid 3NT directly. I disagree with this concept
                        (because partner may not be totally flat) and will only do this with a stronger hand where
                        I think there are eleven tricks in either contract.
                        There is, however, a way to find out if partner is also completely flat…
Table B:     (1)  Stayman, which is what I bid whether playing SID (or ASID) or not.
                  (2)  Now that the ♥ fit is uncovered, North wants to know more about partner’s shape
                        (in particular if he is exactly 3433). 3♦ here is Advanced Stayman In Doubt (ASID)
                        and asks partner to clarify his shape.
                  (3)  3433 and minimum when playing ASID.
                  (4)  with known total duplication in shape, North opts for 3NT.

And what happened? 3NT and 4♥ both make 10 tricks.

The bottom lines:

  1. Stayman in Doubt (SID) is an old established convention for finding duplication after a major
    suit fit has been found using Stayman. It does not seem to be widely used these days but the
    enhanced version Advanced Stayman In Doubt (ASID) is a powerful tool after the sequence
    1NT - 2♣ - 2M - 3♦ , it is fully explained on the website.
  2. It certainly helps to get to the best contract but may help the defence as declarer’s shape is known.

Dave’s Column

West                 East                       West        North       East         South
♠ 632                ♠ AKQ4                1♥            3♣           4♥            pass
♥ AKQJ1054    ♥ 9873                  4NT         pass          5♥           pass
♦ Q10                ♦ A654                  5NT         pass          6♦            pass
♣ A                   ♣ 4                        6NT         pass          7♥           all pass
                         
You are West, declarer in 7♥. North leads the ♣K, plan the play.


Dave’s Column Answer                           Board 16 from Wednesday 30th Nov 
     
Dealer:             ♠ 5                                                 Bidding at Jeremy/Sigurd’s table    
West                ♥ 6                                                 West          North         East           South
E-W vul           ♦ 8732                                           1♥              3♣             4♥              pass
                        ♣ KQJ10732                                 4NT           pass           5♥              pass
                                                                              5NT           pass           6♦              pass
♠ 632                     N             ♠ AKQ4                6NT           pass           7♥              all pass
♥ AKQJ1054    W    E          ♥ 9873              
♦ Q10                    S              ♦ A654             
♣ A                                       ♣ 4                   
                        ♠ J10987                                      
                        ♥ 2                                          
                        ♦ KJ9                                
                        ♣ 9865                                         

The grand slam seems to depend on a 3-3 break in ♠’s (unlikely) or a singleton ♦K (also unlikely).
Do you see another, realistic, chance of making the contract?
You win the ♣A and pull trumps in one round. You then cash two ♠’s and confirm that that suit is
not breaking, is there still a chance?
Yes, if South has the ♦K to go with his long ♠’s you can indeed make 13 tricks – if you play carefully.

                                                                        The proper technique is to cash the ♦A,
                    not relevant                                  deliberately setting up South’s ♦K, then run 
                                                                        trumps. At trick eleven, this is the position:  
♠ 6                         N             ♠ Q4                       
♥ 4                     W    E          ♥ -                     When West plays the last ♥ and pitches a ♦ from
♦ Q                        S              ♦ 6                     dummy, South is forced to discard and give
♣ -                                         ♣ -                     declarer his 13th trick.
                        ♠ J10                                            
                        ♥ -                                           West’s early play of the ♦A is known as the
                        ♦ K                                          Vienna Coup.
                        ♣ -

And what happened at the Pattaya bridge club? Only the one pair bid the grand, and very well done
Jeremy who played it exactly as in the article. Most of the rest were in 6♥ but nobody else made 13 tricks.

 

Dave’s 2nd Column

North               South                                       Bidding    
♠ K32              ♠ -                                            West          North       East         South
♥ A92              ♥ KQJ75                                 -                 -               -              1♥
♦ A8652          ♦ Q743                                    pass           2♦             2♠           3♥
♣ 54                ♣ AJ72                                    4♠              5♥            all pass

You are South, declarer in 5♥. West leads the ♠10, plan the play.
                                                                       
                                                                       
                                                                 
                                                                              
Dave’s 2nd Column Answer       Board 15 from Wednesday 30th Nov. 
     
Dealer:             ♠ K32                                            Bidding    
North               ♥ A92                                            West          North         East           South
N-S vul            ♦ A8652                                        -                 -                 -                 1♥
                        ♣ 54                                              pass           2♦              2♠              3♥
                                                                              4♠              5♥              all pass
♠ 10975                 N             ♠ AQJ864        
♥ 1086              W     E         ♥ 43                         
♦ KJ                       S  `          ♦ 109                      
♣ K1098                               ♣ Q63                     West leads the ♠10, plan the play
                                                                               
                        ♠ -                                           
                        ♥ KQJ75                                
                        ♦ Q743                                    
                        ♣ AJ72                                         

You must assume that the red suits will be cooperative (♥’s 3-2 and ♦’s 2-2). Can you take
advantage of these lucky breaks?
Even assuming that you are lucky in the red suits, it will not work to play the ♦A and another ♦.
The defender’s will play a 2nd round of ♠’s, shortening you to three trumps. When you later duck
a round of ♣’s a third round of ♠’s will shorten you further. When you then ruff a ♠ in dummy,
each hand will have only two trumps.
The solution is to trump the  opening lead and  play low ♦’s from both hands at trick two.
The defenders will force you again in ♠’s, but when you duck a ♣, you are in control.
If they play a third round of ♠’s, you ruff, cash the ♥KQ, play a ♦ to dummy’s ♦A and pull the
last trump, pitching a ♣ from hand. The fifth ♦ takes care of the other losing ♣.
If the defenders play any suit other than ♠’s at trick five, you can ruff a ♣ in dummy, pull trumps
and run the ♦’s for eleven tricks.

 

Bidding Quiz Answers  

Hand A:   2♣, Stayman. You may be completely flat but partner may not be! Actually, there is
                  a way to find out if partner is also exactly 3433 after 1NT - 2♣ - 2♥ (see article).
Hand B:    3♠, this cue bid is Stayman promising game values and four ♥’s. If playing Lebensohl
                  it also denies a ♠ stop (what a great convention!). A 3♥ bid here promises five ♥’s.