South African Bridge Federation 2020 Congress – Cape Town

BULLETIN #1 Tues 10 March 2020

Compiled by: Neil Hayward

A Major Problem!

Players must conform exactly to the seating as posted on the notice board. Yesterday, four tables sat incorrectly. There were compensating errors, but to deviate from the official seating makes you liable to have a VP penalty deduction.

Tim Cope Looks at a Hand from Yesterday

Tim came to South Africa from the UK in the 80’s having already won a British Championship and represented England at junior level. Apart from numerous National titles, he has represented SA on `17 occasions, including a quarter-final and semi-final in the Bermuda Bowl, and two appearances in the World pairs final with then long time partner Glen Holman. He has recently retired from his job in financial management, and now pursues bridge teaching from home or mainly on BBO/Skype as his new career.

The 8 was led, against a 6NT contract (East Hand: 5 Vul: NS Dealer: N had bid ’s). Tim won the lead of the in hand,  A10 and ran the T, losing to the J. West has  AQ763  1052 already been set up to be squeezed in the major . J85 suits – no matter what is returned. A  was in  KJ862  543 fact returned, and the key move now was to win  K954  J8 and cash the A, which is known as the Vienna  84  KJ9763 Coup. The cashing of the A is an unblocking . 72 . 93 strategy, setting up the K as a winner. After  Q97  102 the cashing of all . winners, West is forced to  AQ come down to 3 cards, either jettisoning K . AKQ1064 th (Q being 12 trick) or keeping the K and reducing to Kx, with K falling under the A after the finesse. West has been squeezed into submission.

1

Prominent Figures in the History of Bridge

Harold Vanderbilt was an avid yachtsman. He won many prestigious races, reaching a high point in 1930 when he successfully defended the America’s Cup. This led to his being featured on the cover of TIME magazine in September, 1930.

Vanderbilt was also a card game enthusiast. In 1925, while on board SS Finland, he suggested changes to the scoring system, and he introduced the concept of vulnerability. He proposed these new trick values for successful contracts, over the “book” of six tricks: minors 20; majors 30; no trump 35; game 100. The value of a no trump trick remained at 35 points until 1932.

Vanderbilt’s new scoring methods addressed a flaw in the scoring used in auction bridge, where you scored the same if making 10 tricks, whether you bid 1 or 4. As a result, contract bridge, with its new concepts of vulnerability and the requirement to risk more to score more, eclipsed its predecessor, auction bridge, in popularity. Vanderbilt also made a point of getting his suggestions to the right people, ensuring they were widely adopted.

Three years after this cruise, he donated the Vanderbilt Cup, to be awarded to the winners of the North American teams championship (now known as the Vanderbilt Knockout Teams, or simply "the Vanderbilt"). In 1932 and again in 1940, Vanderbilt was a member of the team that won the trophy bearing his name.

Vanderbilt was the inventor of the first strong club system, which has since become known as the Vanderbilt Club. He wrote four books on the subject.

Vanderbilt was one of the first three players named in the bridge "hall of fame", along with Charles Goren and Ely Culbertson.

He built himself a home in Palm Beach Florida called El Solano. John Lennon (yes, that John Lennon) purchased this property a short while before he was murdered in 1980.

Bridge Quotes

Somerset Maugham: "Bridge is the most diverting and intelligent card game that the wit of man has so far devised. I would have children taught it as a matter of course, just as they are taught dancing; in the end it will be more useful to them, for you cannot with seemliness continue to dance when you are bald and potbellied; nor, for that matter, can you with satisfaction to yourself or pleasure to your partner continue to play tennis or golf when you are well past middle age. But you can play bridge so long as you can sit up at a table and tell one card from another. In fact, when all else fails - sport, love, ambition - bridge remains a solace and an entertainment."

Somerset Maugham also described Monaco as "a sunny place for shady people". In the light of recent bridge scandals, this has turned out to be uncannily prophetic.

2

Bridge Humour

“What are your leads?” asks declarer

“We use the Ratings Agency leads,” replies a defender

“What on earth are those?” asks a flummoxed declarer

“Standard and Poor,” replies the defender......

The Flannery Convention is a 2 Diamond opening that shows 4 spades, 5 or more hearts and about 11-15 points.

A bachelor, who thought of himself as dashing, arrived at one table and asked North: “And who is your pretty partner?” Both North and South ignored him. During the auction South asked about one of the bachelor's bids and his partner explained. South then commented: “I think they are playing Flattery.”

North, ever the serious one: “Shouldn't that be alerted?” ......

A Budding Player

They say you have to be able to count to play bridge well. Here is a flashback to underline the truth of the assertion.

A conversation heard in coffee shop somewhere in the USA during a congress in the year 2000:

Friendly lady to small boy: “How old are you?”

Kevin does not reply.

Mother (Debbie): “Tell them. You’re three and a half.”

Kevin, indignantly: “I’m not, I’m three and five-eighths.”

Which is early proof that Michael and Debbie Rosenberg could eventually have a third world champion in their family. Kevin already has a world under-26 gold medal to his name.

3

Bridge Terminology

Last Train to Clarksville

Those of you who are the designated music buffs in your quiz team will recognise this as a song by the Monkees. As bridge players, you will know that it is also a challenging convention which uses the last level before game in our agreed major as a special bid. So, for example, with hearts agreed, 4♦ is the Last Train to Clarksville bid. It expresses an interest in heading towards slam, but the partner who has just boarded the last train needs something more from partner. Partner must work out what that is.

That’s the idea. But, be warned, while it has great value if used properly, it’s also a tricky convention, which, if added to your system, can easily lead to a derailment.

......

A Trump Reduction

♠ 852 ♥ A4 ♦ AKT74 ♣ KQ2

♠ 943 ♥ KJT753 ♦ 8 ♣ AJ8

You play in 4♥. West (LHO) overcalled 1♠. West leads ♠A, ♠K, ♠Q. RHO follows just twice. Then LHO leads the ♣9. You win with the ♣A, play to the ♥A and take a heart finesse. This works, but LHO shows out on the second heart. How do you proceed?

You cannot afford to lose another trick. The guarded ♥Q is still intact in RHO’s hand, and there are no trumps left on table to repeat the finesse. But, you can cover this problem by reducing your trump length to match that held by RHO. You need to ruff twice. Play to the ♦A, and ruff a diamond. Lead ♣8 to the ♣Q, ruff another diamond. Lead across to dummy’s last club (you have to hope East has a third club). So far, we have played 11 tricks. You are in dummy, where you hold two diamonds, and ♥K-J in hand. RHO is down to two cards: ♥Q-x. RHO must ruff a diamond. You play the ♥K or the ♥J, depending on which card RHO plays. You have finessed RHO’s ♥Q, despite having no heart left on table. This is a trump reduction play, or, in deference to our visitors from France, a trump coup.

4

On a Point of Law

If your partner gives an incorrect explanation, or fails to alert, when required to do so, you need to inform your opponents before they lead that they have not received the information they are entitled to. But note: this is only the case if the auction is over and you are going to be dummy or declarer. If you intervene like this, it may or may not prevent a scoring adjustment. But, at least, you have done your bit. Call a director anyway.

As a defender, do not correct an incorrect explanation, or point out a failure to alert, until the play of the hand has been completed. Otherwise, you would help your partner to defend more accurately. Again, call the director at the end of the hand.

If there has been a mis-bid, but a correct explanation, the player who mis-bid does nothing in terms of correcting anything. The opponents have been given the correct explanation, according to your agreements. However, you are not allowed to take an action based purely on what you have heard partner say.

A simple (perhaps unrealistic) example: RHO opens 1C, you overcall 2H, holding a powerful hand. Partner announces that as weak (which you now remember is correct in terms of your agreements, and your thinking that 2H is strong is an aberration). Although you have heard Partner’s explanation, you have to pretend you did not. As far as you are concerned, Partner’s explanation matches the hand you hold. If you bid again, you are on a losing trajectory: it is likely to be construed that your second bid is an attempt to change the picture in Partner’s mind. The score might be changed to your detriment, and it is, frankly, unethical to use Partner’s explanation as the basis of your next action.

......

SABF Convention Control Regulations

Players are encouraged to visit the SABF website to study the CCR outlined there.

5

6