Bedfordshire Bridge Association BULLETIN

No.252 December 2016

Bulletin Editor: Peter Scott 21 Salters Way, Dunstable, Beds LU6 1BT Tel: 01582 668488 or 07956 820530 Email: [email protected]

In this issue:

Declarer Play Quiz ...... 2 Lionel Black Speaks Out...... 17 Do you feel lucky partner? ...... 3 Two-Suited ...... 18 Recent Results ...... 4 Answer to Defence Quiz ...... 22 Picture Gallery...... 5 Answer: Do you feel lucky? ..25 Alan Oddie’s Defence Quiz ...... 6 Director Please! ...... 26 Play this for your life! ...... 8 Yo! Dudes ...... 28 Trumped by Jocelyn Shaffer .... 9 Freda Cranfield ...... 30 Bob Hamman Part 2...... 10 Answer to Declarer Quiz...... 31 The Bridge Party...... 16 Answer to ‘Play for your life’ .31

The Cool Winter Declarer Play Quiz

The Auction: ♠ K109765 South West North East ♥ 872 ♦ KJ75 1♠ 4♣ 4♠ 5♣ ♣ - X Pass 5♠ End East holds ♦Q1096(xx) West holds 8 clubs and 1 spade and ♠ AQJ84 leads ♣K ♥ A64 ♦ A82 ♣ 92 After South opens 1 ♠, a competitive auction follows and you are pushed one level further than you would have liked. West leads the ♣K and it’s over to you with the clues shown above …

Answer on page 31

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Bedford...... John Hurst Milton Keynes...... Janet Marsh Cranfield ...... Erika Sharrock Wardown ...... Anna Bartlett Leighton B...... Colin O’Hara

Bulletin Proof Readers: Alan Cooke and Peter Taylor 2

By Ron Davis

You are playing in the club duplicate. Your partner, a reasonable card player, opens 1NT (announced by you as 12-14, or thereabouts!) first in hand.

This is doubled by your right ♠ AJ85 hand opponent (almost ♥ 104 certainly the best player in ♦ A108765 the club). You hold: ♣ 4

What do you do? Your methods are that redouble by you forces partner to bid 2 ♣ allowing you to correct to a 5-card suit or longer, and Pass by you forces partner to redouble allowing you to bid 4-card suits in ascending order or to Pass if you think you have enough.

The question you have to ask yourself, dear reader, is ‘Are you feeling lucky?’. Turn to page 25 when you’ve made your mind up

Fowl Play?

The National Bridge Team was practicing when a large turkey came strutting into the room and sat down at the table. “Do you mind if I play?”

The players initially humoured the bird but pretty soon they were awestruck as the turkey bid perfectly and pulled off amazing plays.

This caught the team captain’s attention “You're terrific! Sign up for the team and we will play in the National League, I'll see to it that you get a huge bonus if we win."

"Forget the bonus," the turkey said, "All I want to know is this: Does the season go past Christmas?"

3 Recent Results

Date and Event Winners and high achievers

9th July Championship Pairs B Final 2nd : Eric & Wendy Audsley - 55.4% Summer Seniors’ Congress Eastbourne ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 31 st July Swiss Pairs 1st : Ron Davis & Bill Taylor - 173 VPs Scarborough Congress ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

24 th July 1st : Janis Maurins & David Woulds’ Glos & Here GP Swiss Teams team with 108 VPs Ross-on-Wye ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ EBED Autumn Sim. Pairs: 6th September @ Bedford BC 12 th : Liz Varga & Les Calver - 64.8% 7th September @ MKBC 9th : Janet & Derek Marsh - 64.9%

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Beds & Northants Congress: 10 th September. Pairs 1st : Ron Davis & Adrian Knight 65.1% 11 th September. GP Teams 2nd : Andrew & Pam Mason; Peter & Judi Malpass - 90 VPs

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

13 th October 1st : David Woulds & Monica Lucy BBA Mixed Pairs with 61.5% Wilstead

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

15 th October Two Stars Pairs Final 5th Overall: David Woulds & Janis EBU Autumn Congress Maurins with 53% Peterborough

4 Ron Davis (on right) and Bill Taylor (on left) being presented with the Swiss Pairs Trophy at the Scarborough Congress.

Runners-up in the Swiss Teams at the Beds & Northants Congress were (from the left) Andrew & Pam Mason, Trevor Thrower (Vice- Chair of Northants BA), Judi & Peter Malpass

David Woulds & Monica Lucy (on right) won the BBA Mixed Pairs. Pictured with Liz Varga - BBA Vice Chairman.

5 I think I’m unusual amongst bridge players. (Answers on a postcard, please.) Most of the people I’ve come across during 50 years or so of playing the game simply long for the time when they’re going to be playing the next dummy. However, the part of the game I enjoy most is defending. Although you don’t know the combined assets in the defending hands, you do know if declarer’s suits are breaking and you have information from the bidding, from declarer’s play, from your partner’s signals and from how he has defended so far. Generally this gives the defenders more to go on than declarer and I enjoy the challenge of trying to put that information to good use.

Moreover, I have the advantage over the dummy players in that my favourite bit comes up twice as often as theirs. So, for a change, all my problems in this Bulletin relate to defence.

1. You are West, game all teams, dealer ♠ AQ6 South, who opens 1NT (13 – 15) and is raised ♥ Q72 to 3NT by North. You elect to lead the ten of ♦ J7 spades, and this is what you see: ♣ K8542

Declarer wins the ace in dummy, partner ♠ 107 playing the two. You are playing standard ♥ AJ83 count signals, so this shows an odd number. ♦ AQ82 Declarer then plays the two of clubs to the ♣ J76 three, ten and your jack. How do you continue?

2. Your opponents are vulnerable and you open 1NT (15 – 17) as dealer, East. After two passes ♠ A86432 North bids 2 ♠. You pass and South bids 3 ♥, ♥ 85 passed out. Partner leads the two of hearts: ♦ Q ♣ A432 Your queen is headed by the ace and declarer ♠ KJ7 runs the nine of spades to your jack. Since you ♥ Q94 have the ace of diamonds, there is no rush to ♦ AJ85 play a second and you switch to the king ♣ KQJ 6 of clubs. That goes 7,5,2 (standard count from partner). You continue with the queen of clubs, and that’s ducked too (declarer playing the seven and partner the eight). Now what?

3. You are East, love all teams, dealer ♠ Q1096 South. Your opponents are playing 5-card ♥ J9863 majors and with your side silent they bid 1 ♠ ♦ 87 (South) – 3 ♠ – Passed Out. Partner leads the ♣ AQ king of diamonds and you see: ♠ KJ3 How are you going to beat this? ♥ Q1074 ♦ A10643 ♣ 9

4. You are vulnerable playing teams. You ♠ Q1064 open 1 ♥ as East. South overcalls 1 ♠, ♥ J partner bids 2 ♥ and North 4 ♠ which is ♦ KQJ98 passed out. Partner dutifully puts the two ♣ K93 of hearts on the table. ♠ A5 What do you do after winning the first trick ♥ AQ10643 with the ace of hearts? ♦ 102 ♣ AQ7

Answers on page 22

7 By Peter Scott

With no opposition bidding, you reach the ♠ AJ3 not unreasonable contract of 6 ♣ by South. ♥ Q1042 West leads the king of diamonds to your ♦ 95 ace and you survey the dummy. You have ♣ 9542 a possible heart for your 12 th trick or a two-way finesse in spades will also N bring home the bacon. However, this is not without risk: if the heart finesse fails and you guess wrongly on S the spades you are down. This hand was 20, ♠ K1096 played at Regis club on 23 rd August at Match-Pointed ♥ AJ Pairs but let’s assume you are playing rubber bridge or ♦ A in a teams match and your life depends on making the ♣ AKQJ108 contract (the overtrick is unimportant). How will you go about your business?

Answer on page 31

* * * BRIDGE BABIES * * *

“Can I be your partner?” “Quit talking and let’s play bridge”

8 Trumped!

by Jocelyn Shaffer

To be sung: And very soon she was winning Nellie the Elephant took her cards Gaining overtricks And said hello to the others The opps were sore as they put Then she sat down with a up with more trumpety trump They said the match was fixed Trump, trump, trump Nellie the Elephant played her Nellie the Elephant played her cards cards Just like a grand master And she couldn’t help grinning She played like she’d never before She knew she was good and her Trump trump trump partner understood Trump trump trump Then Nellie opened two diamonds Slam might be on The opps were visibly fuming It was a good start she knew in The way Nellie played her heart They said they’d never play again That she would have some fun If Nellie the Elephant stayed So Nellie the Elephant packed her Nellie the Elephant made the slam trunk And then another straight after And said goodbye to the others She played like she had never Off she dashed with a trunk full of before cash Trump trump trump Trump trump trump

Partner Wanted

Partner wanted to play on any evening – twice a week – playing location within a 10 mile radius of Luton. System: 5-card majors (SAYC). A good player can learn SAYC in a week or so.

Contact: Samee Qayum – 07932 566119 or [email protected]

To the Optimist, Pessimist and Realist, While you were all busy arguing about the glass of water, I drank it. Signed: The Opportunist. 9 No.8 Bob Hamman Pt.2 Gleaned by Bob Denby

Bob Hamman (1938 -) Oft quoted as the greatest player in the world, perhaps of all time, the seemingly unremarkable, quietly intense septuagenarian from Dallas has the unruffled ability to play bridge like a human computer by not sorting his hand. He is so good that Paul Burka has said “How do I know he is? It is that every time I have played him, he has inspired the same emotion: FEAR ”.

How it all began: Bob says it all started harmlessly enough. “A friend asked if I played bridge. I said ‘No, but I’ve seen you play hearts and other games and I fancy I can beat you at bridge too, so what are the rules?’ Thus I made a fool of myself and thought: Damn, there’s a lot to this game.” So, the long journey began, sharpening his skills including the game’s psychological side by playing money bridge for stakes he could ill afford. Within five years he was competing with the best in the USA.

This mind set is probably testimony to the fact that in 1986 Bob created SCA Promotions , a unique prize-indemnity insurer which is now one of the world's largest companies for prize insurance.

Never, ever, give up: There is ♠ Q654 a famous sports saying, it ain’t ♥ J876 over till it’s over, first uttered by ♦ K84 American baseball legend Yogi ♣ K3 Berra and it is so true in bridge. ♠ J109 ♠ 72 The following hand was played ♥ AKQ4 ♥ 1093 by Bob, as South, over forty ♦ 52 ♦ AQ1073 years ago, against Lew Mathe ♣ 9876 ♣ 1054 who later became Bob’s partner. ♠ AK83 ♥ 52 After three passes, Bob, opened ♦ J96 a strong 1NT and the Stayman ♣ AQJ2 10 response led to the spade game. Mathe, sitting West, began with the two top hearts, East giving count. Bob deduced from the way the hearts were played that Mathe held the top three but not the diamond ace, as he would have opened, and probably not the queen of diamonds as well. Therefore the contract was doomed if West switched to diamonds. But Bob never gives up and when, at trick three, Mathe played the spade jack, won in dummy, Bob then ruffed a heart, cashed the spade ace and ran four clubs throwing dummy’s diamonds. This was the position with four tricks to play:

When Bob played a diamond to ♠ 65 the king, East was hamstrung. If ♥ J he won and played the queen, ♦ K that would be ruffed in dummy ♣ - and a spade to the king would mean Bob would have the ♠ 9 ♠ - diamond jack for his tenth trick. ♥ Q ♥ - Under-leading the queen would ♦ 52 ♦ AQ107 result in a similar outcome with ♣ - ♣ - the jack winning, the trump king ♠ K then drawing West’s last trump, ♥ - leaving the final trump in dummy ♦ J96 as the tenth trick. ♣ -

Even allowing for the defensive error, Bob had made an apparent hopeless contract.

Bob’s defensive genius at ♠ Q62 work : The following hand is ♥ 1098742 from Bobby Wolff’s book of his ♦ J85 favourite deals. South ended ♣ 7 up in the contract of five diamonds doubled, having ♠ K1087 ♠ AJ9543 opened a club and East/West ♥ QJ3 ♥ AK5 had bid to four spades. Wolff ♦ 43 ♦ 1092 KQ108 2 on lead led the spade seven, ♣ ♣ dummy played low and Bob ♠ - reading the card as Bobby’s ♥ 6 lowest, correctly inserted the ♦ AKQ76 ♣ AJ96543 11 jack which declarer trumped. Declarer then played ace and another club, ruffed in dummy with the diamond eight. Now what would you do in the East seat? Over- and then play a heart, a spade, or even a diamond? Bob did none of the above. He discarded a spade! Declarer was in dummy. East still had three trumps. What can he do? If he crosses to hand in trumps and ruffs another club, he is finished, as ruffing another spade would result in loss of control and the contract would be down three for -800. If Bob had over-ruffed, which many would do, declarer would be relieved to get out for only one off.

For his memorable defence, Hamman’s team won by 7 IMPs and went on to win this this tight US Trials match by just 5 IMPs.

One for the notebook: ♠ AKJ104 After a four heart opening ♥ 5 by West, South arrives in ♦ A2 the small diamond slam. On ♣ AQ1092 the lead of the heart ace, Bob in the East seat ♠ 52 ♠ 98763 dropped the king. West ♥ AQJ7632 ♥ K9 continued with the heart ♦ - ♦ 10754 queen which declarer ruffed ♣ J875 ♣ K4 with the ace and Bob ♠ Q followed suit with the nine. ♥ 1084 After a lengthy pause, ♦ KQJ9863 declarer led the diamond ♣ 63 two and put up the king - sadly wrong, and another contract bit the dust. So, the question is, how many lesser players would do that? Plays like this are certainly not everyday occurrences, but they tend to confirm that there’s always something new to learn about this wonderful game called bridge. But here is another for the notebook.

In the final session of the 2010 ACBL NABC Orlando: Teams - Senior Knockout there was a big swing on one board (see the hand shown) for Bob and Zia Mahmood, playing on the Meltzer Team. A simple auction where South opened a club, Zia as West bid a diamond, North, two hearts, a “mixed raise” showing club support along with an invitational raise in hearts. Bob naturally jumped to four spades with

12 ♠ 3 his nice 8-card suit and ♥ KQ954 neutral vulnerability, ♦ 652 blocking out the likely ♣ KQ92 heart fit. South doubled ♠ 2 ♠ AQ1098765 with 15 HCP and spade ♥ J632 ♥ 108 tenaces behind Bob. ♦ KJ1073 ♦ 94 ♣ A85 ♣ 6 In the Closed Room East went one off doubled in ♠ KJ4 three spades – a risky ♥ A7 proposition since South ♦ AQ8 opened 1NT and North J10743 ♣ held game-going values.

South led the heart ace and North gave an ambiguous signal with the five. As a result, South switched to ace and another diamond, figuring partner was looking for a ruff.

Winning with the king, Bob saw an opportunity to set up the diamond suit if they split 3-3 North-South, with the club ace as an . After ruffing the third round with the spade ten, Bob then sneakily played the spade five, sure that the finesse was pointless. Finding his subterfuge had succeeded as inexplicably South had played the four, Bob gratefully cashed the spade ace dropping the jack, with the king outstanding. Bob entered dummy with the club ace to play a winning diamond, pitching the losing heart, to make his doubled vulnerable game, and garner a 14 IMP swing.

How about you? Would you have Bob’s flair, creative vision, and steady nerves, to play the spade five?

Hamman's Law is one of Bob's popular contributions to bridge. The adage says, " If you have a bidding decision to make, bid 3NT if it's a plausible choice."

Bols Tip : His second, is “ When in Rome, do as the Romans do .” That is, when you are playing bridge, concentrate on what cards you should play or bids you should make and not waste your energy on what your partner should or should not do.

13 Apologies or Revenge Goldman When you’re the victim of a ♠ J106 lucky declarer who takes two ♥ 7 or three to score a ♦ AJ5 game or slam, the declarer ♣ Q65432 will often apologise afterwards. A typical response Wolff Hamman being “no problem, just ♠ Q4 ♠ A987 swings and roundabouts” or ♥ KQ1063 ♥ A954 something similar. In the long ♦ K964 ♦ Q10872 run, the cards will equal out; ♣ 109 ♣ - if you have patience, you will Soloway be able to exact revenge against the declarer who gave ♠ K532 you a bad result. On one such ♥ J82 occasion in a Vanderbilt Team ♦ 3 match Soloway and Goldman ♣ AKJ87 were up against Bob Hamman and Bobby Wolff. On a previous hand, Hamman had to rely on a hundred-to-one shot to make a slam contract. Then less than an hour later, Soloway took his revenge by scoring a seemingly impossible doubled game contract. Of course, these two pairs facing each other were all veterans and friends, since they played for many years together as members of the famous . Now they were opponents and when friends are opponents, they may joke a bit at the table but their will to win becomes even greater than usual for some strange reason.

After two passes, Soloway as South bid one club and Wolff over-called one heart. Goldman was North and jumped to three hearts, a in support of clubs. In this case, the splinter showed massive trump support for partner because one club could have been made on a three-card suit.

Bob, East, holding a terrific hand, bid the heart game. Soloway, appreciating his good trumps and weak heart holding facing shortness, now bid five clubs and the competitive auction ended when Hamman doubled the final contract and everyone passed. (Note with careful play, West can make twelve tricks in hearts, with two jack finesses.)

14 The was the heart king. Bob allowed that to win because he did not mind if partner shifted, but Wolff continued with another heart at trick two which was ruffed in dummy. Soloway now took stock. He could see only two distributions that would allow him to make his contract: (1) the ace-queen of spades doubleton in the East hand and (2) the queen doubleton in the West hand. Can you see how he made his contract?

He proceeded to strip the hand of red cards. He cashed the diamond ace and ruffed a diamond. Then he drew two rounds of trumps, ending in dummy and ruffed another diamond. Next came his last heart, ruffed in dummy. Finally he led the spade six from dummy. It was important to lead the six and not an honour. Hamman followed with the seven and Soloway put up the king. His only chance to make the hand was queen-doubleton on his left, so he played for it. After winning the king he played another spade and Wolff had to win his queen and provide a ruff and discard. Whatever red suit Wolff exited with, declarer could ruff in hand while discarding a spade from dummy. (If Soloway led the jack or ten of spades instead of the six, Wolff would play the queen under the king, unblocking the spades.)

Notice that if Hamman overtakes the heart at trick one to play a low spade (which is quite a reasonable defence), declarer will still succeed if he rises with the king. He can then strip the hand and exit with a spade, end-playing West.

At the end of this hand, Soloway turned to Hamman and said, “Now we’re even.” Hamman replied, “Wait ‘til next year!”

At the recent 2016 , the Senior Teams provided the 30th World Championship medal for Bob Hamman. He is now a full ten medals ahead of the next two players (Bobby Wolff and Giorgio Belladonna) on the all-time list. Well then, next year, one who bests the boys. Warrior yes, but no Amazon.

15 THE BRIDGE PARTY

“How kind of you to invite me.” The luck of the draw

“Why the hell didn’t you trump trick 5.” “Heavens, man! Couldn’t you lead your knave?.”

“That’s it - Make me go to bed with “Why the devil did you want to the ace of clubs!” finesse that heart?”

“Good-bye, and thanks awfully; such Farewell to two-pounds-eighteen-and-six an enjoyable afternoon!”

It is clear from this 1932 Punch magazine cartoon that apart from the currency, nothing much changes at the bridge table ! - Ed 16 A Letter to the Editor

Lionel Black is Back! Hi folks! It’s Lionel Black from Leighton Buzzard here again. My wife Lottie and I, and our friends Martin & Mary King from MK, Bill & Ben from Bedford, Bertie Beckett from Bedford, Walter from Wardown and Caroline Carter from Cranfield would all like to thank Jane Jenson (from Jersey?) for featuring us in her article in April’s Bulletin. As County Director Jane does an excellent job of running the county’s tournaments, often single handedly. Speaking of which, why don’t more of you enter county events? It is invariably the same thirty or forty players who turn up, which from a total membership of over 300 is rather disappointing. I’m sure the editor will award a cheap bottle of wine for the best reply. Shining exceptions are relative newcomers Stephen & Jocelyn Binks who as well as entering local events, spent three days in August at the Eastbourne Really Easy Congress, gaining valuable experience and winning one of the team sessions. Well done to them.

On a topic associated with the laws, I have noticed a peculiar phenomenon. Whenever declarer incorrectly leads from hand instead of from dummy and their lead out of turn is accepted by a defender, why do they then object so vehemently? After all it must have been the card they intended to play at the time but no, now it has been accepted by the enemy it has somehow become the worst lead in the world and they want to retract it and play from dummy instead. All very strange. (Maybe when the opponents accept the lead out of turn, they realize they must have made a mistake? Ed)

Returning to Jane’s article, one of the downsides to our new found fame was having our mistakes exposed to public gaze with the perception that we are poor players. Bill and Ben from Bedford are particularly miffed as they have been dropped from the County ‘C’ Team while Caroline Carter from Cranfield has only just started showing her face again at her local bridge club. To counter this erroneous impression, I should tell you that Bertie Beckett from Bedford executed a perfect squeeze and throw-in only the other day.

17 ♥♠ ♦♣ An extract from Chris Watson’s new book entitled ‘Bridge from Square 1’

Normal overcalls tend to be single-suited hands of various strengths and everyone is familiar with their own particular style and strength requirements. We all use 3-suited overcalls; they are called take-out doubles. Not everyone uses two-suited overcalls but when you come across them you will find all sorts. Some players use them with weak and intermediate strength, others either weak or strong but not intermediate.

The latter style is recommended independently by both Andrew Kambites and . It is thought that this enables the bidder to show a wider range of hands with more success. Many players use them whatever the strength of their hand.

Michaels Cue Bids – simple version as in advanced Standard English Acol. Normal range for points is 8-15.

• A 2 ♣ of 1 ♣ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ spades. • A 2 ♦ overcall of 1 ♦ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ spades. • A 2 ♥ overcall of 1 ♥ shows 5+ spades and an unspecified minor (5+ clubs OR diamonds) • A 2 ♠ overcall of 1 ♠ shows 5+ hearts and an unspecified minor (5+ clubs OR diamonds)

Responses to 2 ♣/♦ 2♥ is a non-forcing sign-off. May have 0 points, since the Michaels overcall is a . Note that with equal support for both majors (e.g. ♠xxx ♥xxx), the cheaper suit (hearts) should be bid. 2♠ is also a non-forcing sign-off. Raise partner’s suit with good support at equal and adverse vulnerability. Raise to the level of the fit (as per the ) when non-vulnerable versus vulnerable.

Responses to 2 ♥/♠

• A 2 ♠ reply to 2 ♥ is a non-forcing sign-off. • 3♥ reply to 2 ♠ is a natural sign-off. Non-forcing. 18 • A 2NT response asks for partner’s unknown and shows 8+ points. The hand could be game or slam going searching for a two-suit fit. • A bid of 3 ♣ asks partner to either Pass or correct to his minor and shows a poor hand with fewer than 8 points.

Unusual No Trump – used with Michaels cue bids

• A 2NT overcall of 1 ♣ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ diamonds. • A 2NT overcall of 1 ♦ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ clubs. • A 2NT overcall of 1 ♥ shows 5+ diamonds and 5+ clubs • A 2NT overcall of 1 ♠ shows 5+ diamonds and 5+ clubs This is easy to remember as it always shows the two lowest unbid suits.

The full competition version of Michaels cue bids is not shown here but is useful in defending against the now universally popular weak two- bids in Modern Acol and . Weak twos are pre- emptive in nature and thus cue bids must be made at the 3-level. The meanings remain the same as shown previously.

Modified (Michaels style) Probably the most common two-suited overcall is Michaels. The big disadvantage of Michaels is when partner’s bid shows only one of his suits. Modified Ghestem does not suffer from this disadvantage.

Ghestem Cue Bids and the Unusual No Trump

• A 2 ♣ overcall of 1 ♣ shows 5+ spades and 5+ hearts. • A 2 ♦ overcall of 1 ♦ shows 5+ spades and 5+ hearts. • A 2 ♥ overcall of 1 ♥ shows 5+ spades and 5+ diamonds. • A 2 ♠ overcall of 1 ♠ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ diamonds. • A 2NT overcall of 1 ♣ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ diamonds. • A 2NT overcall of 1 ♦ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ clubs. • A 2NT overcall of 1 ♥ or 1 ♠ shows 5+ diamonds and 5+ clubs. • A 3 ♣ overcall of 1 ♣ shows 5+ spades and 5+ diamonds. • A 3 ♣ overcall of 1 ♦ shows 5+ spades and 5+ clubs. • A 3 ♣ overcall of 1 ♥ shows 5+ spades and 5+ clubs. • A 3 ♣ overcall of 1 ♠ shows 5+ hearts and 5+ clubs.

19 Let us examine an example: North is dealer with N/S ♠ 985 ♥ AQ1086 vulnerable: The bidding using ♦ KQ9 Michaels has gone as follows: ♣ Q6 North East South West ♠ 32 ♠ KQJ76 1♥ 2♥ 4♥ End ♥ 4 ♥ 32 ♦ A7542 ♦ 6 The bidding using Modified ♣ A9754 ♣ KJ1083 Ghestem goes:

♠ A104 North East South West ♥ KJ975 ♦ J1083 1♥ 3♣ 4♥ 5♣ ♣ 2 End

The great advantage here is that the responder to the Ghestem overcall knows both of his partner’s suits and is not put off by South’s pre-emptive raise.

Wow! How on earth am I going to remember all of that lot! Not as difficult as it first appears! The always shows the two most senior unbid suits. The unusual no trump always shows the two most junior unbid suits. The 3 ♣ bid always shows the extreme unbid suits and will include clubs if it has not been bid. In previous versions of Modified Ghestem the meanings of the cue bid and the 3 ♣ bid were reversed and it was easy to get into a mess if partner forgot the system and thought that your 3 ♣ bid was a pre-empt in clubs. It happened to me once and I ended up playing in a contract of 5 ♣ with a 2:1 fit in clubs. The opponents could hardly restrain themselves during the play and especially at the end when we were 6 off and 4 ♠ was making 11 tricks. Also with this previous version, it gave rise to more than one quarter of director calls at green-point competitions. The Michaels style Ghestem version has the advantage of nearly always being failsafe.

How strong is a Ghestem bid? As with Michaels, it is probably better to play it either weak or strong but not intermediate. Weak hands are 0-12 and strong hands are 16 plus. Many players play it with hands of any strength as shapely

20 hands are often much stronger in play. With intermediate hands it is preferable to overcall with the senior suit and rebid the junior suit if the chance arises. How does partner know if you have the weak or strong version? With the latter, the overcaller will bid again when the opportunity arises whereas the weak overcaller will be reluctant to say anything further. Please be aware that Ghestem is played also as weak and intermediate; strong hands of this type make use of the . Make sure that you and your partner are on the same wavelength.

Other uses of Modified Ghestem Nowadays many players use weak two bids and pre-emptive three bids. When you cue bid the opening weak two or three bid, it shows the two highest unbid suits with at least 5:5. You cannot use either the unusual no trump at the 2 or 3-levels or the 3 ♣ bid as they are used as part of your normal defence to pre-empts. Let us examine an example:

♠ 85 ♥ J42 ♦ AQ108653 ♣ 2 ♠ 3 ♠ KQJ76 ♥ A96 ♥ KQ1083 ♦ J42 ♦ 96 ♣ KQ10874 ♣ A ♠ A10942 ♥ 75 ♦ K ♣ J9653

The bidding using Ghestem has gone North East South West as opposite: The bidding using takeout doubles 3♦ 4♦ Pass 4♥ goes as below right: End

Similarly if North had opened a weak North East South West two in diamonds because of the vulnerability, 3 ♦ would have been the 3♦ X Pass 4♣ Ghestem bid and the heart game End would have been found.

21 Answers to Alan Oddie’s Defence Quiz on Page 6

1. Declarer’s play in the club suit only makes any sense if he is missing the queen, and since declarer has at least 13 of the missing points, your partner can have at most the jack of spades in other picture cards. A switch to either red suit does not look immediately attractive so should you play a second spade to stay passive? Well, that’s unlikely to be good enough. For example, even if declarer has only three hearts he will be able to win the spade switch in hand and play a heart to the queen to set up a trick in that suit. When the queen holds, he will run his clubs and can succeed in a number of ways depending upon your discards.

To beat this contract you need tricks from the diamond suit and you must hope partner has four (or five) to the ten. The only way to cater for that holding is by switching to the ace and queen of diamonds.

When I defended this hand it AQ6 was actually pairs, not teams. ♠ Q72 Then, a switch to diamonds is ♥ J7 not so attractive in case declarer ♦ K8542 has K10x(x), and I did play a ♣ second spade after winning the ♠ 107 ♠ J9532 second trick with the jack of ♥ AJ83 ♥ 64 clubs. Declarer won in hand and ♦ AQ82 ♦ 10653 ran the nine of hearts! (It’s much ♣ J76 ♣ Q3 better to play a heart to the ♠ K84 queen.) Had the nine lost to the ♥ K1095 jack, a switch to diamonds would ♦ K94 have beaten the contract no ♣ A109 matter who held the ace and queen. But his luck was in, and who am I to argue with success?

Note that a low card from either red suit at trick one presents declarer with his contract. In these days of super-powerful computers, simulations have shown that leading from broken four-card suits is generally a losing tactic in the long run.

2. Declarer’s play in the spade suit marks him with a doubleton and since he was threatening simply to draw trumps and ruff out the

22 spades, you switched to clubs to knock out his entry to dummy. Declarer is now marked with a 2-6-2-3 distribution (he would not have introduced a 5-card heart suit at the 3-level at this vulnerability after you’ve opened a strong 1NT) so playing a third club won’t help. Declarer will just win in dummy, draw trumps and cross to the ace of spades to cash his long club. Playing a spade won’t work either. Declarer will have seen your signals and will know clubs are breaking 3-3, so he just draws trumps and cashes the clubs. Obviously playing a trump is no use, so that only leaves diamonds. Partner is marked with the king (no 2 ♥ overcall from South), so two rounds of diamonds will force dummy to ruff. Then declarer can only get back to his hand by ruffing a black card and if your partner has the ten of hearts, you will have promoted a trump trick for your side.

Note partner’s lead of the two of ♠ A86432 trumps rather than the ten. This ♥ 85 hand is a good illustration of ♦ Q why, if you choose to lead from ♣ A432 a doubleton trump, you should lead the small one. Equally, if ♠ Q5 ♠ KJ7 you and your partner have ♥ 102 ♥ Q94 agreed to signal length as part of ♦ K97642 ♦ AJ85 your defensive methods, you ♣ 985 ♣ KQJ should play ‘’ signals in ♠ 109 the trump suit so that you play ♥ AKJ763 small from a doubleton: ♦ 103 dropping the jack or ten from a ♣ 1076 doubleton (or even the nine or eight in some circumstances) can ruin the chance of a .

3. Declarer will probably only have five spades. (With six he might well have bid game.) In that case you will only make one trump trick because declarer’s correct play in the suit is to run the queen (or the ten) from dummy. So, you have one trump trick, probably two diamonds and no clubs. Two more tricks might come from hearts if, for example, declarer has Kx. However, if you have two heart tricks they can never run away and if declarer has instead Ax you’ll need another trick from somewhere else. A club ruff is your best hope, and since that might not be obvious to your partner you should overtake

23 the king of diamonds and switch to a club yourself. When you win your trump trick you’ll be able to put partner in with the queen of diamonds to score your ruff. Then you can just exit in hearts and wait for the setting trick.

Declarer wins the club switch ♠ Q1096 in dummy and plays the six of ♥ J9863 trumps. You must play the ♦ 87 jack, expecting partner to be ♣ AQ fully understanding (as ♠ 4 ♠ KJ3 partners always are) if ♥ K2 ♥ Q1074 declarer has six trumps and ♦ KQ92 ♦ A10643 was about to play the ace. But ♣ 1087532 ♣ 9 that’s very unlikely – it means A8752 partner would have failed to ♠ A5 find an overcall at love-all ♥ from something like Ax ♦ J5 KJ64 KQxxx Jxxxxx. ♣

4. It looks as if declarer is going to make five diamond tricks, four trumps and a heart ruff in dummy to make his total up to 10. If only partner had led a club!

Fortunately, you have trump control and you can beat this contract if you come to two club tricks before declarer runs his diamonds. Since partner cannot possibly have ♠ Q864 an entry, you will need ♥ J The Full Deal declarer to have at least three ♦ KQJ98 clubs and you must attack the ♣ K93 suit now, no matter how unappealing that looks. If ♠ 72 ♠ A5 partner has the jack, any club ♥ K952 ♥ AQ10643 from your hand will do, but if ♦ 753 ♦ 102 his suit is headed by the ten, ♣ 10642 ♣ AQ7 you should switch to your low ♠ KJ1083 club to give declarer an ♥ 87 awkward guess as to whether ♦ A64 it’s from AQx or A10x. ♣ J85

24 Declarer got this hand wrong at the table, playing low on the club switch. In theory, switching to ace and another club rather than a low one gives declarer the same guess, but somehow he is more likely to consider putting in the jack if you cash the ace first .

Note that partner should have led the king of hearts at trick 1. It is often right to lead an unsupported king or queen from three or more cards in partner’s suit when you have a weak hand. You hope that it will hold the trick and that you can work out the best switch when you see dummy. On this hand, a club switch at trick 2 will be obvious, particularly after partner plays the three of hearts to the first trick.

Answer to “Do you Feel Lucky Partner?” on page 3

By Ron Davis

Should you elect to takeout, you probably achieve +150. If you bite the bullet and let partner play 1NTXX the minimum you score is +1560 (two overtricks) as long as he gets the diamonds right. At the table, East led the three of Dealer N ♠ Q1073 hearts and defended correctly N/S Vul ♥ AQ8 The Full Deal (I told you he was good!) by ♦ KJ You sit South discarding the ace of clubs to ♣ 9632 hold your partner to 12 tricks and the exotic score of +2760. ♠ 942 ♠ K6 ♥ 9652 ♥ KJ73 A straw poll amongst the best ♦ 92 ♦ Q43 half dozen players in the BBA ♣ KQ108 ♣ AJ75 (not at the table) was evenly ♠ AJ85 split. If there is anyone out ♥ 104 there who reached 6 ♠, I really ♦ A108765 would like a game with you! ♣ 4

Thank You

David Gilling has retired as Bulletin Rep. for Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes clubs after several years of conscientiously handing out the magazines to members. Thank you David for your commitment. This task has now been taken over by Colin O’Hara at Leighton Buzzard and by Janet Marsh at Milton Keynes. Ed 25 Compiled by the Editor

Would the following rectifications for insufficient bids be permitted? How would they affect West’s subsequent actions? a) West North East 1♣ 1♠ 1♥ East missed the 1 ♠ and thought he was replying to 1 ♣. 1 ♣ Pass 1 ♥ shows 4+ hearts and 6+ points. Can East change his call to i) 2♥? ii) Double - which would show hearts and diamonds? b) West North East 2NT Pass 2♣ East thought he was replying to 1NT. 3 ♣ to 2NT and 2 ♣ to 1NT are both Stayman in their system. Can East change his call to 3 ♣? c) West North East 4NT 5♦ 5♣

In an uncontested auction West bids 4NT asking for aces. East doesn’t see the 5 ♦ and replies 5 ♣ showing 0 or 4 aces. East/West play DOPI over interference so Double shows no aces and Pass shows one ace. Can East replace his 5 ♣ with Double? d) West North East 2NT Pass 2♠ Once again East thought he was replying to 1NT 2♠ over 1NT promises five spades and an unknown 4-card minor. 3 ♠ over 2NT just promises a 5-card spade suit. Can East replace his 2 ♠ with 3 ♠?

Answers: Law 27A In each case the insufficient bid (IB) can be accepted. If accepted the auction proceeds and there is nothing else for the director to do. The remaining answers all assume that the next player has not accepted the insufficient bid (IB).

26 Law 27B if the IB is not accepted it must be corrected by the substitution of a sufficient bid or a Pass. If both the IB and the lowest sufficient replacement are incontrovertibly not artificial, the auction proceeds.

This is the case in a) (i). 1 ♥ and 2 ♥ are both natural so the change can be made.

A change in the 2007 laws allows the person who made the IB to make a rectification call that is a call which has the same meaning as or a more precise meaning than the IB. If he makes such a call the auction proceeds and partner can bid. a) (ii) A Double showing hearts and diamonds is more precise than just showing hearts so this change would be ALLOWED without further rectification. Law 27B 1(b) b) Whilst there are some much weaker hands where you might bid 3♣ Stayman to 2NT than you would bid 2 ♣ Stayman to 1NT, the has recommended that regulating authorities (i.e. clubs) interpret this law liberally, so if both 2 ♣ and 3 ♣ are just considered asking bids, the change is ALLOWED without further rectification. Law 27B 1(b) c) The change to Double is ALLOWED without further rectification. Law 27B 1(b) d) The 3 ♠ bid is less precise because it only promises spades, so this change is ALLOWED. But whatever East says, West will have to Pass throughout. Law 27B 3.

27 By Michael Collins - BBA Chairman

My elder son told me when someone says “We must do this again sometime” it means, in new urban-speak: “I have had a boring time with you and you will never hear from me again”. New urban-speak is a mystery to me; he gave me other examples that in the interests of good taste and decorum I will gloss over. Whither Henry Watson Fowler?

SO now I am worried because “we must do this again sometime” is exactly what I said just a week or so ago. The occasion was dinner at their home with friends I have known since the days we used to sit around debating the relative merits of Sgt. Pepper versus Aftermath 1. After dinner, out came the cards for kitchen table rubber and a pleasant time was had by all. I hope they know I meant what I said sincerely.

In similar vein as I write this, wife Lesley and I are about to leave for an autumn trip to Cornwall. We have done it for a few years now. We fly ourselves to Newquay and stay at the lovely Tresanton Hotel in St Mawes. It is a bridge trip I have made passing reference to before in this Bulletin. Most folk there are from London, some regulars at The Carlton, Roehampton or the misnomered 2 Young Chelsea, but some from much further afield including overseas. Lesley and I generally arrive for lunch on Monday and smile smugly as others turn up complaining about the traffic, although many travel by train from Paddington. The hotel reserves a first-class carriage, provides a champagne hamper lunch and bridge paraphernalia. By the time the London lot stumble off the train at St Austell they are well refreshed and have already clocked up a few hours of Chicago.

For the next three days, bridge professional Paul Mendelson teaches and opines in the morning and in the afternoon there is a duplicate tournament. Lesley is not keen on the bridge part but the food is to die for, and if the weather is good the local area delightful. If it is bad, our Christmas cards get written and after dinner even Lesley may be tempted to the bridge table with a post-prandial gin and tonic (or two) and the company of people we now think of as friends. And

28 every year we each say “Let’s not wait until next year, we must do this again sometime.” It never happens – but definitely this year …

On such occasions, one is often playing in a scratch partnership. Imagine a problem like this: You are defending 3NT, partner leads the 2 of clubs, dummy has A10 and you hold K8764. Layout the suit and see what it looks like. Dummy goes up with the ace. What do you play? Now, the experts reading this are saying “It’s obvious. You must unblock the king. When partner is in again he will play the queen of clubs, then his next highest (J or 9), then his remaining low card to my 8 and 7. Bad luck declarer, one down.” Of course the experts know partner started with an outside entry plus a club holding of QJxx or Qxxx at a push, since they would never lead fourth highest from jack high or QJ92. So, declarer must hold 9x or Jx. Really? Are you sure your scratch partner would demur from leading the 2 from Jxx2? Even if you are, what if partner thinks your king is a singleton or Kx and does not continue the suit when in with his outside entry?

Well dear reader, I was faced with that dilemma and fear I did not drop the king under dummy’s ace. We made partner’s outside ace but he did not continue with the queen of clubs and it was Goodnight Vienna for the defence. If only I could use the ‘scratch partnership’ excuse, but on that occasion it was not. I did discover my partner knew some colourful urban-speak of his own though.

By the time you read this, we will be back from St Mawes and it will be Christmas time. Sorry, winter festival. So have a merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, Kwazy Kwanzaa, a tip-top Tet, and a solemn & dignified Ramadan. Whatever. We will be spending the time with the grandkids when I plan to make a determined effort to improve my urban-speak. If you are going on the Madeira trip in January, do not be surprised dude if I try it out on you. But if at the end of the trip I forget and say “we must do this again sometime” then be assured I will really mean it.

1SO which side were you on; Beatles or Stones? 2MS Word tried to autocorrect ‘misnomered’ but I checked my Fowler and it is OK. Goodness knows though what HWF would have made of me starting a paragraph with a conjunction as I did above. I dread to think. Still in urban speak everyone answers a question beginning “SO, …” Even on the BBC Grrr…

29 Freda Cranfield 17th December 1917 - 25th July 2016 By David Harris

Freda Cranfield died on Sunday 25th July 2016 at the age of 98. She was born into a well-to-do farming family. Together with her sister Evelyn she was taught by a governess. Freda was always keen on sporting activities and was an avid rower and tennis player.

Her working life was initially in London before moving to Dunstable in the 1950s. Her organisational skills were considerable and in the late 1960s she became the personal assistant to John Egan (subsequently Sir John Egan of Jaguar cars and BAA fame) the then CEO of AC Delco.

Freda’s great passion was always bridge and she often played during lunch times and in the evenings. She regularly played in organised bridge matches in and around Luton in the 1950s ahead of the formation of the Bedfordshire Bridge Association in 1964. George Goddard recalls how Freda would regularly contact him seeking to arrange bridge contests between local companies and other organisations.

Freda moved to Bedford and became a regular player at the Bedford Club. She played for some years with Mike Sutcliffe from around 1986 and was a member of a league team and played in a couple of KO Cup Finals. In recent years Freda also played with Maris Sheppard who arranged a surprise 90 th birthday party for her; Freda was not amused as she feared people might stop playing with her if they knew how old she was.

Freda was also a keen follower of rugby and was a habitual and loyal supporter of Bedford Blues. Aged 94 she went to Twickenham to see her team competing in the play-off finals.

Freda maintained regular contact with her nephew and niece and fulfilled her duties as godmother to Susan Morris. They all remark on 30 how it was never a chore to visit Freda as she was always welcoming and fun to be with.

All those who knew Freda will remember her for her politeness, her friendly nature and the importance she placed on being well turned out.

Answer to Declarer Play Quiz on page 2

At first glance, this contract might appear to depend on the diamond finesse. However, things are not always what they might first appear - especially at bridge! Ruff the king of clubs in dummy and lead a low spade to your ace to remove the opponents’ two trumps. Now ruff your second (and last) club in dummy, lead a low heart and it in hand. If East wins, he will exit with a heart (best defence) and if West wins, he will switch to a diamond which you duck in dummy and take East’s ten with your ace. If opposition hearts split either 6-1 or 5-2 (East must have the length), you can end-play East with your third heart. Should West have started with three hearts (with a 1-3- 1-8 distribution) you will need to remove his safe diamond exit card with your ace before playing your third heart. Then if he wins the trick, he can only play a club, giving you a ruff and discard for your contract.

Answer to ‘Play This One for your Life!’ on page 8

To take any finesses is a dangerous, possibly unhealthy ploy. The solution is simple and has a 100% chance of success. First remove the three enemy trumps, then cash the ace of hearts, followed by the jack, giving up the king and possibly a winning trick if East held it. You can now throw two spades from hand (and possible loser) on the established queen and ten of hearts without having to worry about where the queen of spades or king of hearts lie. Contract made!

Quote: “It is not the strongest of the species, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” Charles Darwin

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