Our website is www.pattayabridge.com Club News Sheet – No. 475
Our blogsite is www.pattayabridge.wordpress.com
My mobile phone number is 083 6066880 25th Dec 2011
My e-mail is terry@pattayabridge.com or pattayabridge@yahoo.com
My Windows Live Messenger is tj_quested@hotmail.com
Mon 19th N-S 1st Sean & Jeremy 66% 2nd Jubol & Ari 55%
E-W 1st Jan & Alan 62% 2nd Bob S & Jens 57%
Wed 21st N-S 1st Gus & Enzo 61% 2nd Paul Q & Terry 60%
E-W 1st Bengt & Bam 63% 2nd Gerard & Derek 56%
Fri 23rd N-S 1st Bob & Judy Gardham 61% 2nd Sean & Jeremy 57%
E-W 1st Gus & Enzo 60% 2nd Terje L & Petter 56%
Bidding Quiz Standard American (short ♣) bidding is assumed unless otherwise stated.
Hand A With Hand A it is unfavorable vulnerability, what do you open in first seat?
♠ 9
♥ -
♦ KQ643
♣ KQJ8632
Bidding Sequence Quiz
B 2♥ 2NT What is the 2NT overcall, Unusual for the minors or natural?
Dave’s Column
Dealer: ♠ AK32 Bidding
North ♥ 8 West North East South
Both vul ♦ AQ53 pass 1♦ 1♥ 2♣
♣ Q864 4♥ 5♣ pass pass
5♥ dbl all pass
♠ 1086 N
♥ K9432 W E
♦ KJ1098 S You are North defending 5♥ doubled. Partner leads the
♣ - ♦2 (shame he didn’t lead a ♠), plan the defence.
Dave’s Column Answer Board 4 from Wednesday 21st Dec.
Dealer: ♠ AK32 Bidding
North ♥ 8 West North East South
Both vul ♦ AQ53 pass 1♦ 1♥ 2♣
♣ Q864 4♥ 5♣ pass pass
5♥ dbl all pass
♠ 1086 N ♠ 9754
♥ K9432 W E ♥ AJ1075
♦ KJ1098 S ♦ -
♣ - ♣ KJ97
♠ QJ
♥ Q6
♦ 7642
♣ A10532 Plan the defence for North when partner leads the ♦2.
Even looking at all four hands it’s tough to see how to defeat this contract on a ♦ lead. An important clue is in the biding.
How many ♦’s can partner hold? He probably has only one or two ♥’s, did not make a negative double or bid to show ♠’s, and is known to have ♣’s. So partner rates to also have ♦ length.
Declarer is surely void in ♦’s, and dummy’s imposing ♦ spots mean that declarer can easily establish three tricks in the suit by ruffing out your ♦ honours. Declarer can certainly draw trumps in two rounds, so he will get five trump tricks in hand, three ♦ tricks and three ♣ ruffs in dummy. That adds up to minus 850 for you.
Your best chance, therefore, is to put up a smoke screen and lead the ♦A at trick one! Yes, it will make the ♦K an instant winner and declarer will get one pitch but will surely go wrong in the play, attempting a crossruff which fails on the lie of the cards.
Dave’s 2nd Column
North South West North East South
♠ 9 ♠ KQ642 - 1♣ 1♥ 1♠
♥ - ♥ K1085 2♥ 3♣ pass 3NT
♦ KQ643 ♦ AJ9 pass 4♣ pass 5♣
♣ KQJ8632 ♣ 10 all pass
You are North, declarer in 5♣. East leads the ♦7 which you win with the ♦A and West plays the ♦10. Plan the play.
Dave’s 2nd Column Answer Board 5 from Wednesday 21st Dec.
Dealer: ♠ 9 Bidding
North ♥ - West North(A) East South
N-S vul ♦ KQ643 - 1♣ (1) 1♥ 1♠
♣ KQJ8632 2♥ 3♣ (2) pass 3NT
pass 4♣ pass 5♣
♠ A83 N ♠ J1075 all pass
♥ J932 W E ♥ AQ764
♦ 10852 S ♦ 7 Note: This is bidding that I invented as the
♣ 95 ♣ A74 article started with a Precision 2♣ and ended
♠ KQ642 up in 5♣.
♥ K1085
♦ AJ9 East leads the ♦7 which you win with the ♦A and
♣ 10 West plays the ♦10. Plan the play.
Anyway, onto the play in 5♣. Everyone at the table knows that East has led a singleton ♦. East no doubt has the ♣A – if West has it you are doomed. East plans to put partner in when he wins with the ♣A and the play of the ♦10 at trick one indicates that he has the ♠A. Can you do anything about it?
The winning play must be made at trick two: play the ♥K and discard your ♠9. East wins and now has another top ♥, but you have severed communications. East will probably play a ♠, but you can ruff and knock out the ♣A, losing only the ♥ and the ♣A.
This play, designed to cut off communication between two opponents, is known as a scissors coup.
Current club championship standings
|
Gold Cup = Best 30 |
Silver Plate = Best 10 |
Bronze Medal = Best 5 |
1 |
1899.8 Hans Vikman |
660.1 Hans Vikman |
335.5 Bob Short |
The New Year’s Teams
The yearly teams event will hopefully be held on Sun 8 Jan, depending on the co-operation of the bowling green management. Please put your name(s) down (as an individual, pair or team) on the sign-up page on the notice board on the right as you leave the bridge room. The entry fee is 100 bht per person regardless of membership. 50 bht is automatically taken by the Bowling Green and the rest will be distributed between the two winning teams. There will be some sort of free buffet or lunch snack which has yet to be determined. BUT, the venue is not yet decided as we had problems with the Bowling Green owners last year and I do not know at the time of writing if this can be resolved this year.
Remember, these results will count towards (next year’s) Championship results and the top teams usually get very good %’s at teams events.
Bidding Quiz Answers
Hand A: 1♣, 5♣, pass or what?
Opinions from some of the club’s top players vary greatly on this hand:
Paul Q: Pass. The hand has no aces, does not have 2½ quick tricks, has no major and has no
good rebid. I may forgive one fault or perhaps two, but not four.
Hans V: 5♣
Terry Q: 1♣. What a huge ‘eleven’ count. The hand is 23 for the rule of 20 and what’s more
it is only three losers. Many will open 2♣ with ten playing tricks, but I like more
points for that opening. So I would open 1♣ with an intention of reversing into ♦’s
next go.
So first, my comments on Paul’s insight: No aces, not 2½ quick tricks – both totally
irrelevant in my view with a hand that has one 1st round control and three solid 2nd round
controls. No major? What has this to do with the price of bananas? No rebid? I consider the
hand easily good enough for a reverse into ♦’s or a jump rebid in ♣’s. Points Smoints, it’s
tricks that are important, not points.
And Hans’ 5♣? Culbertson’s rules for pre-empts assume that partner has one trick and that
(at this vulnerability) you will go two down. But with a trick in partner’s hand you make! This
hand is FAR too good for any kind of pre-empt, even at the five level (in fact if you take
Culbertson’s rule seriously then the correct pre-empt is 7♣!!). Partner needs just two aces for a
cold slam. It’s true that this 5♣ bid may work and keep the opponents out of a major
game/slam, but I think it’s more likely that you have the game/slam. Opposite a passed partner
5♣ has its merits, but not in first seat.
Obviously I have a totally different assessment of the hand from Paul Q and Hans V. So who’s right?
Up to you, but I note that this is a Dave column hand and the expert player did open (with a precision
2♣, showing ♣’s and 11-15 points) with no comment from the authors.
Bidding Sequence Quiz Answers
B 2♥ 2NT 2NT here is natural, good 15-18 with ♥ stop(s). It seems to be a bid that
many miss at the club, usually preferring a totally unsuitable double.