August 2010 English Bridge Issue No. 230 The EBU members’ magazine Last call for the Overseas Crete Congress in October! Inside: News, Views, Instruction, Reports & Fun! English Bridge Make your © All rights reserved ENGLISH BRIDGE is published every two months by the views count ENGLISH BRIDGE UNION Broadfields, Bicester Road, Aylesbury HP19 8AZ ( 01296 317200 Fax: 01296 317220 Sally Bugden, Chairman [email protected] Web site: www.ebu.co.uk ________________ Editor: Elena Jeronimidis SINCE my last editorial our membership the strength of a county’s membership is 23 Erleigh Road, Reading RG1 5LR numbers have increased to over 48,000. recognised by the number of votes it has. ( 0118 926 2602 This gives us a great base to grow from – The best way to find out about the dates [email protected] whether it is educating more individuals to of your county’s AGM and their manage - Editorial Board play bridge or developing competitions, ment committee meetings, or equivalent, Sally Bugden (Chairman), Jeremy Dhondy and Elena Jeronimidis events and services which will appeal to all is either to visit your county’s website or ________________ our new members. contact Aylesbury for your county secre - So it is very important that you know tary’s telephone number. If you want to Advertising Manager Chris Danby at Danby Advertising how you can have a say in these things. make a difference, it is important to use Fir Trees, Hall Road, Hainford, Currently there are two channels which your vote. Norwich NR10 3LX Y deal with your representation: your county We set up an interim Club Committee ( / Fax 01603 898678 and the Club Committee. back in the summer of 2008 to ensure that [email protected] ________________ Every individual member of the EBU has clubs’ and their members’ interests are a vote at county level and, rather like the UK represented via a network of regional Printing: St Ives (Andover) plc Parliamentary model, you are represented committee members at national level. We at national level by the people that you vote will now be asking the interim Club on to the county management committee. Committee to work with the counties to INSIDE GUIDE Each year a county will have an AGM ensure that there is a democratically elect - where its officers and management com - ed club representative from each county Duplicate pairs tips 5 n mittee are appointed by votes from the who can feed into the regional and nation - Bridge fiction 7 n membership. The county management al committee’s work. So keep your eyes Ask Heather 9 n committee, or equivalent, deals with all open over the coming months on how you 2010 Seniors Camrose 10 n county bridge matters but also sends rep - can benefit from this network. Fine-tuning 12 n re sentatives to national EBU Share holders One of the promises we made in our Director, please! 13 n Bidding quiz answers 14-15 n meetings where the general business of the business strategy plan was to consult our Bridge with a twist 17 n Union is discussed. At the AGM those members regarding one member one vote. Useful conventions 18-19 n present will discuss an ordinary resolution Currently your county has been asked to Caption Competition 19 n which fixes the subscriptions, including consult all its clubs and members to Bridge People 20 n the pay to play fee for the following determine whether the current system of Traps for the unwary NEW 21 n financial year. Your representatives also democratic representation can be improv - The debate 22-23 n nominate and vote for candidates for the ed. Counties will be reporting back to the Club bidding quiz test hands 24 n Board, who are elected to manage the Board by the end of December this year. On-line bridge 24 n Union on the members’ behalf . So please, make sure you have your say EBU news and diary 25-28 n That means that the people you vote in about this important aspect of your Bidding quiz test hands 29 n to office at county level can materially membership of the EBU. Letters to the editor 31-32 n affect how you are represented nationally. There are many counties which would Heather’s hints 33 n I am often asked what financial rewards welcome more individuals taking part in Around and about 34-35 n shareholders receive. The term ‘share - the administration of their bridge activ - Better defending 36 n holder’ is really a misnomer, in that there ities. These can range from organising com - Ask Jeremy 37 n Standard English 38 n are no financial rewards associated with petitions to communications and edu ca - Club bidding quiz answers 39 n being a shareholder: the shares are trans - tion development and much more. If you Your Questions 40 n lated into votes and are based on the would like to get involved, contact your Spring Foursomes 41 n number of members in the county. Thus county secretary as soon as possible. r Reports 42 n Really Easy Bridge 43 n February Master Point Promotions 44 n ARTICLES IN ENGLISH BRIDGE ARE COLOUR CODED County news 45-52 n A day in the life of . / Top Tip 53 n Instruction EBU News Features On-line Bridge Reports A chat with the editor 54 n Prize Leads quiz 55 n n n n n n www.ebu.co.uk August 2010 English Bridge 3 4 English Bridge August 2010 www.ebu.co.uk At pairs don’t take risks S C to turn a good result I T C A into a great result T S R WHEN things are going well, you should tenth trick and 4 ™ would have made – I I not take risks. Try to hold on to your will score better than them. I pass.’ favourable position. A To give you a non-bridge analogy, say P you were in a running race and were Game All. Dealer: South. Andrew Robson leading with a lap to go. You could stay in ´ 4 front and win the race by being sensible, ™ Q 6 5 4 or you could increase your pace and try to t K 8 5 4 last trump. He ruffed a diamond and led win it by a distance (risking cramp or ® K 8 4 2 out good spades, restricting East to two burn out). At pairs, all you have to do is ´ K 7 ´ Q J 9 5 trump tricks plus the ace of clubs. –3™ win the race, even by a small amount. ™ 10 8 N ™ K J 9 plus one. W E Don’t needlessly accelerate, just stay ahead t Q J 10 9 2 S t 7 6 At teams, South would think: ‘Oh rats, of the others. ® 10 9 6 3 ® A Q 7 5 I should have bid 4 ™ and scored the Here is a bidding problem; you hold as ´ A 10 8 6 3 2 (vulnerable) game bonus.’ At pairs, he South: ™ A 7 3 2 should not think this way, rather: ‘I bid t A 3 well and played well, and will have secured ® J 80% of the match-points. There was no ´ A 10 8 6 3 2 need to have risked that for the game ™ A 7 3 2 bonus.’ The traveller (including many t A 3 West North East South scores of 2 ´ minus one and 3 ™ just made) ® J 1´ will surely give confirmation. r Pass 1NT Pass 2™1 Pass 3™2 Pass Pass 3 You open 1 ´ and partner responds 1NT. Pass CORN CAIRDIS – What is to be your rebid: 2 ´ or 2 ™? CUP OF FRIENDSHIP Whichever way you go, you must remem - 1 2´ will work better if partner has two ber that those other players holding your spades and three hearts and passes 2 ™ 2010 cards – your true opponents – will be split. (whether or not he should give false Congratulations to England who have Some will chose 2 ™ and some 2 ´. I prefer preference here is a matter for debate). won this year’s Corn Cairdis (Cup of 2™: normally (on flex ibility grounds) it is 2 Not 4 ™, despite the 7 losers. The lack of Friendship) between Ireland and best to bid a cheaper four-card second suit a ninth trump is normally a big im pe - England by 11 VPs. The final score was than repeat a six- card suit (suit-quality diment in situations such as these. Plus England 179 – Ireland 168. The friendly international is played considerations aside). However, sometimes – at pairs – one should not push for close between the English Bridge Union ™ ™ one will work better; sometimes the other. games. I’d rather pass 2 than bid 4 . and the Contract Bridge Association 3 Say you choose 2 ™, and partner invites The key bid – 2 ™ – has worked well. of Ireland every year, and each coun - game with 3 ™. Aha – he has four hearts You’re ahead – stay ahead. Don’t try to try competes with three teams: a (he would not raise a second suit with turn 80% into 95% by trying to make County Team, a Club team and an fewer). At teams you’d try 4 ™ – for the 4™ – and get 30% if 4 ™ fails. Officials team. game bonus – which you expect to make a This year was a close result for fair amount of the time with your control- West led the queen of diamonds against England, and one possible reason was rich, shapely hand. South’s 3 ™. Declarer played well, win - that the England Club team were missing from the match for the whole At pairs you should reason very ning dummy’s king (preserving entries of Saturday! Their plane was ground - differently: ‘I have chosen well to rebid to hand) and immediately starting on his ed due to technical difficulties at 2™ – hearts are likely to play better than spades.