The Bridge Board Volume 01, Issue 02 July 31, 2020

Welcome to the second issue of The Bridge Board, a bi-weekly newsletter dedicated to supporting beginner and intermediate bridge players.

You will find regular articles dedicated to fundamental concepts of bidding, declarer play, and defence, along with lots of quizzes to test your knowledge.

Our articles are written by leading bridge teachers and professionals, all in an effort to help you get the most enjoyment out of your bridge game whether at clubs, online, or around the kitchen table.

We look forward to hearing from you Rob and Keith

From the Editors Contents

With the arrival of Covid-19, bridge players everywhere were Bidding forced to distance themselves from their friends and the game Gerber …..…...... 2 they love in order to keep everyone safe. Quiz …………...... 2

Almost immediately, the ACBL, in conjunction with Declarer Play bridgebase.com, partnered to create Virtual Bridge Clubs. Setting up winners by losing tricks! …………...... 3 Quiz …………...... 3 The Durham Bridge Club was one of the first clubs to join this venture and is now fully online. As of this week, we have four Defence games a week. Discards …………...... 4 Quiz …………...... 4 To provide further support to the bridge community, we now have two free newsletters Featured Guest: Anne Lloyd Anne of Green Tables ...... 5  The Bridge Board (Beginner and Intermediate players)  The Durham Bridge Newsletter (All bridge players) Quiz Answers Bidding Quiz …………...... 8 .... Declarer Play …………...... 8 Every edition, we will showcase a couple of hands from the Defence …………...... 8 Thursday Beginner/Intermediate game in a video with a link provided here. Weekly Results July 23 and July 30 …………...... 9 Link to video for July 30th: https://www.loom.com/share/6a23c28b724b4093bd940f1 Balcombe’s Bridge Beat …………...... 10

5558db210 About Us 0-99 Masterpoint Race …………...... 11 Event Schedule …………...... 11 Editors and Contributors …………...... 11

Bidding

Gerber Responding to Gerber

Gerber is a common convention that allows a player to ask for aces when their partner’s last bid was in notrump.

Usage: A bid of 4. when partner’s last bid was in notrump ______

4. bid directly after a notrump bid Asking for Kings When your partner opens the bidding in notrump, a bid of 4. is Sometimes you bid Gerber and find yourself with all the aces. Gerber, asking for aces. Now you’re interested in a grand slam, so you want to ask for

Examples: kings. 1) North South 2) North South After asking for aces with a bid of 4., a follow-up bid of 5. 1N . 2N . 4 4 asks for kings. The step responses are exactly the same as for ...... 4., they are just at the 5-level. ______

4. bid later in the auction, but right after a notrump bid

Bidding is about exchanging information with your partner about your distribution in an effort to find a fit. Sometimes, it takes a few bids before you realize you don’t have a fit with your partner. Then you bid notrump.

Partner’s continuation bid of 4. is Gerber ______

Examples: Stopping when you don’t have enough aces 3) North South 4) North South When you are missing too many aces, you can stop the slam-try 1. 1 1 1 by bidding notrump. 1N 4. 2N 4...... Examples: 9) North South 10) North South 5) North South 6) North South 1N 1 1 1 1 2. 2 4. 4 2N 4. 3N 4. 2N 4. 4N Pass 4 4N ...... Pass ______

When 4. is not Gerber A bid of 4. is not Gerber when either player in a partnership Bidding Quiz (answers on page 8) has shown a ‘real’ club suit. A ‘real’ club suit has at least five cards. What is your response to 4.? These examples are not Gerber auctions: a North South South a North South South 7) North South 8) North South 1N  A7 1  A7 1. 1 2. 4. ___  KJ2 1 2N  KJ2 1 2. 2N 3.  A743 4. ___  A743 3N 4. 3N 4. . KQ3 . AQ3 ...... c North South South d North South South 1  AK82 2.  AK85 2. 2  KJ954 2 2N  AQJ3 3. 3N  K3 3. 3  A74 4. ___ . 42 4. ___ . AJ

Page 2

Declarer Play

Setting up winners by losing tricks! A full hand: North  65 We all love to run long suits headed by the AKQ.  654

 AK432 But most of the time, we don’t have the AKQ and a loser in the long suit is unavoidable. . 543 West East

Many times, you will be further hampered by a lack of  QJ1087  94 entries to the hand with length in the suit  97  QJ1082 For example:  98  QJ10  K975 E-W will always get a . KJ86 . 1097  Q62  J108 trick in this suit. South

 A43  AK32

   AK3 If you play the A, then the K, then lose the 3rd trick, you will have no direct way to get back to the hearts in the North hand.  765 You will have to use an outside entry. . AQ2 N-S arrive in the standard contract of 3NT after South opens The solution: Let the opponents win the first trick in the suit 2NT. West leads the Q, top of a sequence.

They were going to win one anyway. You will be left with K97 Declarer has 7 tricks on top, with extra possibilities in diamonds  opposite A4. When you get back in, you will have 3 heart and clubs. tricks if the suit originally divided 3-3 and you will not have entry problems Declarer should win the lead and immediately play a small diamond from both hands. Consider this example: Win any continuation from East and try the diamonds. You will

 AK432  765 take four diamonds if the suit originally split 3-2.

 You have 2 tricks on top Declarer ends up with 9 tricks (2 spades, 2 hearts, 4 diamonds and 1 club).  You can take 4 tricks if the suit splits 3-2, as long as you give the opponents 1 trick  You can take 3 tricks if the suit splits 4-1, as

long as you give the opponent’s 2 tricks Declarer Play Quiz (answers on page 9)

And this example: How many tricks can you win and how many would you  A432  K65 have to lose? (Assume you cannot ruff anything, but have lots of entries)  You have 2 tricks on top

 You can take 3 tricks if the suit splits 3-2, as 1)  A9432 K65 2) . K652 . A43 Split Winners Losers Split Winners Losers long as you give the opponents 1 trick 3-2 ______3-3 ______And this seemingly hopeless example: 4-1 ______4-2 ______5-0 ______5-1 ______ 98432  765

 You have 0 tricks on top 3)  K9432 A5 4) . 96352 . A4  You can take 2 tricks if the suit splits 3-2, as Split Winners Losers Split Winners Losers long as you give the opponents 3 tricks and 3-3 ______3-3 ______you still have entries to the hand with the long 4-2 ______4-2 ______suit. 5-1 ______5-1 ______

Page 3

Defence

Discards Example: West North East South Consider this hand: 1 1 1 Pass 2N Contract: 3NT  KJ Pass 3N All Pass Lead: Q  A72 Dummy  KJ  AJ1076 . AKQ973 Lead: Q  105  8652  96  83 . Q85  AQ1082 West East . 62  42  985 Declarer needs 9 tricks to make 3NT. It looks like they have 7  AJ863  K92 tricks in the dummy and the K in their hand (based on the  QJ103  874 lead). . K2 . 10976 Declarer If West has the A, you have a chance... When declarer starts  KQ running the clubs, you must tell your partner to lead a diamond  Q74 so you can beat the contract. Which diamond to you play?  AK52 ______. AJ43 Discard Signals are a way to tell your partner if you want them West finds a safe lead of the Q (top of a sequence). Declarer to lead the suit you are discarding. has 8 tricks on top (5 spades, 2 diamonds and 1 club). They win the lead and runs 5 spade tricks. East discards the 9 on the The signal you send to your partner depends on the size of the 4th spade. spot card you play. Now Declarer tries the club finesse, losing to West who Standard discards are the most common form of discard signals switches to a small heart to East’s K. A heart return through and are used all over the world. When you are discarding from declarer leads to down 2. a suit, play a...

 high spot card to say you like the suit discarded Defence Quiz (answers on page 9)  low spot card to say you do NOT like the suit discarded

In the example at the top of the page, you can tell your partner Dummy Use this dummy with each question below.  to lead diamonds by discarding the 8.  A43 ______Your partner leads the J, won by declarer in  K82 their hand with the Q Note: Most experts only tell their partner what they like if it’s a  73 strong holding, or their partner needs to know . AKQ72 Note: If it’s a trump contract, assume declarer draws trump first. immediately. Declarer starts running the clubs in dummy. What card to you For example, I only signal I like a suit if… discard on the third club?  switching to the suit will allow partner to finesse the hand on my right 1) vs. 3NT a)  52 b)  72  I have a very strong holding in the suit. Something J led  9654  AQ9643 like KQJ or AK or KQ. i.e. it is a very safe suit  AK842  Q84  partner didn’t lead a suit they bid, but I have a . 104 . 65 strong holding in that suit 2) vs. 4 a)  72 b)  752 I don’t signal that I like a suit just because I have an J led  Q953  AQ3 isolated king or queen. That will just help declarer figure  98652  A9842 out who to finesse. . J5 . 83

Page 4

Anne Lloyd

Anne of Green Tables I graduated, started work and continued to play bridge, playing at Kate Buckman’s on Eglinton, pre-fire, and at the Regal, post fire. I formed two regular partnerships and started earning Bridge, Baseball and a Trip to the Dentist Masterpoints. Together, we took lessons, discussed hands long into the night and eventually placed in tournaments. None of My Journey Back to Bridge: Part 1: Abandoning the us were, or ever would be, world class players but we held our own. Constant When I started graduate school, Kate herself taught me to “The one constant through all the years has been direct and asked me to teach a novice class. baseball. … It reminds us of all that once was good and what could be Useful Tip #3: Never pass up an opportunity - again”. you never know where it might lead. James Earl Jones, Field of Dreams, 1989 By the time I completed my Ph.D., I was teaching, directing, I learned about bridge as a teenager and until I quit playing, it playing and needed 2.4 Gold Points to become a Life Master. was my constant. Bridge brought joy and intellectual challenge to my life. This is the story of my journey back to bridge after As my favourite partners had all moved to places far away, I my departure from playing 1989, ironically the year “Field of played with a partner of a former partner. It was a very one- Dreams” hit the theatres. sided partnership, as partner made NO mistakes and blamed ALL poor results on my bad ____ (fill in the blank with lead, Just before I left for university, I started watching my parents defence, play of hand, bidding). play bridge on Saturday nights. When mom went to serve dessert, I was “dummy”, one of my strengths to this day. Once, Useful Tip #4: Always play with someone you I got to bid a hand, based on dad’s crash course - Aces were respect and who respects you. worth 4; if my hand had 13 points, say one of the suit you had the most of. I didn’t know all the suit names, so I said 1; a Bridge no longer reminded me of what was good. I dreaded lucky mistake. Sunday morning, dad handed me Goren’s Bridge playing and was ready to quit. for Beginners and told me to read the first chapter. I was hooked. My thesis supervisor had other ideas. She arranged a visit to her new home in New Brunswick. “We’ll have fun. There’s a I left for university that fall, having read up to Chapter 5 Regional that weekend”. And fun we had, easily earning the (“Responses to an Opening Bid”). That knowledge made me a gold points I needed. star in our common room game, proof positive that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. We ventured out to college I flew home happy and told my ‘perfect’ partner to play with duplicate games and did terribly, as most of the players had not someone else. I cut back my directing but kept up my teaching, only read the whole book, but other bridge books as well. mainly because Barb Seagram, bridge educator extraordinaire, had bought Kate’s. Barb was and still is, an inspiration to those Useful Tip #1: Read the whole book, even if learning the game. you decide later to ignore it. Teaching remained a joy but by 2009, it proved too difficult to They spoke of No Trump, Take-out Doubles, Slams, and juggle teaching at night in Toronto and working during the day, numerous other concepts not covered in Chapters 1 through 5. so it too left my life. Bridge was officially gone as my constant. We vowed that we too would one day play like that.

Useful Tip # 2: Playing with better players can bruise your ego, but makes your game stronger.

…Continued on page 6

Page 5

Anne Lloyd

Bridge, Baseball and a Trip to the Dentist It was a totally needless worry. When partner arrived, he introduced himself. His first question put me right at ease: “What would you like in your coffee? My Journey Back to Bridge: Part 2 - The Return Begins A brief discussion of what we would play followed: Transfers - Yes or No; Weak Twos? Negative Doubles - Yes or No; A trip to the dentist in August 2019 started me back to bridge. I Stayman? Blackwood? had retired in 2017, keeping active by working on research projects, mentoring adult literacy groups and taking riding Useful Tip #6: Keep it Simple. Only add lessons. Still, something was missing. conventions and treatments when you see the need for a more effective way to handle In August 2019, I pulled out an old filling. Sitting in the dentist’s a recurring situation. waiting room, I flipped through “Scugog This Week” and spotted a small ad: “Substitutes Needed for Marathon Bridge The game that followed was truly magical, filled with laughter League”. How demanding could that be? I tapped the name and challenges and only one wrong bidding card pulled out of and email address into my Blackberry, got my tooth repaired the bidding box. and went home. As the fall progressed, snippets from prior bridge life crept back

Over the years, I had occasionally thought about returning to into my thinking at the table, sometimes as whole ideas and bridge but it was always easier to make excuses than to actually sometimes as tantalizing fragments. Bridge was becoming good do so. Mindful of Useful Tip #3 - “Never pass up an opportunity again. I now very much wanted to play with greater …”, I sent off a reply. understanding, with the fragments completed and the whole thoughts confirmed or modernized. Six weeks later, I got THE call. A gentleman needed a partner for a game that Wednesday at a local club. I told him (a) I had I emailed my friend Barb Seagram and asked her advice, not played in ages and (b) I knew no “modern conventions”. confident she would steer me in the right direction. My constant was returning and I was ready to take the next steps in Neither revelation phased him one bit and we arranged to play. the journey.

Useful Tip #5: Play what you know how to Useful Tip #7: When you need answers, ask a play. And if you have never heard of a true expert, for they not only have great convention, DO NOT agree to play it in an answers but are glad to share their attempt to be agreeable. knowledge.

Nervous beyond belief, I set out to play bridge. Thoughts of the mistakes I would make had me fretting in my car for 15 minutes: what if I revoked? or dropped my cards face up on the floor? or worse, dropped the bidding box?

I was about to leave when someone tapped on my car window: “You must be Anne, the new player. We use the back door. I’ll walk in with you.”

That warm, welcoming greeting made all the difference. I waited for my partner. The nerves only reappeared when I picked up a convention card: what if I had never even heard of any of his favourite conventions? How many points DID you need to bid Stayman? The list of unanswered questions grew by the second.

…Continued on Page 7

Page 6

Anne Lloyd

Bridge, Baseball and a Trip to the Dentist What have I learned so far? Routine decisions are now becoming routine. I am acquiring more knowledge and frames of reference to solve the problems that are not routine. The list My Journey Back to Bridge: Part 3 - The Return is is pleasantly endless but here are my favourite take-aways: Complete - Learn how and when to compete in auctions. This takes When you ask an expert for advice, listen and pay attention. judgement, experience and the being kind to yourself Barbara Seagram was beyond kind: she sent me resources, when you get it wrong. Studying the hands after the fact advice and wise words. She made connections for me, one of (easily done on BBO) will help you develop a better sense which was to someone named Keith Balcombe and to the of when to bid once more to force the opponents higher. Durham Duplicate Bridge Club. I needed to modernize my game Keep at it and the results will come and Barb suggested learning 2 over 1. Perfect - I started reading! - Learn what makes a good overcall and when to make one. Vulnerability is a key factor, as is the answer to the Keith kindly offered to have a game with me. We met before- question “If they wind up in NT, do I really want partner to hand so he could assess the extent of the rust. lead my suit?” I am almost cured of my old bad habit of overcalling shoddy suits with no decent spot cards and I th On Friday, December 13 , I set foot in an ACBL bridge club for feel more in control as a result the first time in thirty years. I had discovered in the meantime that Keith was not only an exemplary teacher but was also - Spend time daily working with card combinations and widely regarded as a world class player, having won an Olympic distributions. Both memorization exercises and working Gold medal in bridge and many Canadian and ACBL with card combinations are not only good brain exercises championships. but help you develop a clearer picture of who has what around the table. No pressure at all – were Aces still worth 4. Nervous quickly became terrified as I set foot in the Lake Vista Club House. I Your declarer play will improve because you will know the know I made many errors that afternoon, but much to my 5 of hearts is good. Your defence will be more accurate surprise, there was no rolling of eyeballs, no pencils were because you will have a more educated idea whether to stabbed through convention cards, no sarcastic comments cash your tricks or if the potential is there to seek more. offered. Not even when I passed my world-class partner in a 4 Diamond splinter bid. I am now less than a month away from the first anniversary of the serendipitous visit to the dentist that started me back to Useful Tip #8: The brief time between rounds bridge. Playing bridge is once again a source of joy and mental is for bathroom breaks and getting coffee, challenge. My only regret is that I did not start back sooner. not tearing apart your partner and/or their game.

… Anne Lloyd

Page 7

Quiz Answers

Bidding Quiz (questions on page 2) Declarer Play Quiz (questions on page 3)

a) 4 (showing 2 aces) How many tricks can you win and how many would you have to lose? (Assume you cannot ruff anything, but have This is a straightforward and obvious Gerber auction. lots of entries) You have two aces, so bid 4.

b) 4N (showing 3 aces) 1)  A9432 K65 2) . K652 . A43 Split Winners Losers Split Winners Losers

Another auction that should be easy to recognize. The 3-2 4 1 3-3 3 1 South hand has three aces, so respond 4N. 4-1 3 2 4-2 2 2

5-0 2 3 5-1 2 2 c) 5.

South has shown spade, hearts and a diamond stopper. North’s 4. bid is not Gerber because North 3)  K9432 A5 4) . 96352 . A4 has shown a ‘real’ club suit. North only wants to play Split Winners Losers Split Winners Losers in clubs. 3-3 4 1 3-3 3 2 4-2 3 2 4-2 2 3 d) 4 5-1 2 3 5-1 1 4 South’s last bid was 3, not notrump, so North’s 4. bid is not Gerber. They are showing spades and clubs! South has four spades, so it’s an easy bid of 4.

Defence Quiz (questions on page 4)

1) a) 8. You have a very strong diamond holding and partner can safely play them if they regain the lead.

b) 9. Your heart values are sitting over the K in dummy. You want partner to lead hearts, finessing the dummy. This also helps your partner figure out what they can discard if they are getting squeezed on the long clubs.

2) a) 2. You don’t have a strong preference, so discard a small diamond to tell your partner you don’t like diamonds.

b) 3. In this case, you should discard a small diamond because you don’t want partner playing a diamond. You are desperate for a heart lead through dummy, but you don’t have a high spot card to play.

Page 8

Results

July 30, 2020 July 23, 2020

Link to ACBL Results page: https://my.acbl.org/club-results/details/170913

Note: All masterpoints earned in this game are silver points Link to ACBL Results page: https://my.acbl.org/club-results/details/167659

Page 9

Balcombe’s Bridge Beat

Bridge news from near (often) and far (sometimes) How to deal with miss-clicks on BBO This new feature of the Newsletter will sometimes appear in In a casual game, the BBO UNDO function can be used to fix The Bridge Board (our I/N publication). My idea is to write miss-clicks. The UNDO function is in the blue "hamburger about bridge and related news. I will sometimes feature "how menu" above the table number. This UNDO button to request a to", especially about BBO. I will also reply to questions. withdrawal of your last bid or played card. There is no set protocol for using this option, but the opponents have to Face-to-Face Bridge resumption approve it. Here is the situation around North America as I see it: In all ACBL tournaments (including the Durham Thursday 0-99 All ACBL tournaments are already cancelled until 2021 game) the UNDO option is NOT allowed. You have another Some clubs have experimented with club games out of people's option on BBO called CONFIRM. This can be turned on in your homes, one table per home with their own set of boards. That SETTINGS in your ACCOUNT (see screen shot). Click on the grey does not seem practical to me, but it's a step. "buttons" on the right and they will turn green and activate

In Ontario, bridge clubs are (I think) a Stage 4 reopening. That CONFIRM. The default options are unchecked. means weeks into the future. Even then, there are numerous precautions necessary that will be legislated, including social distancing, mandatory face coverings, hand sanitizer, contact tracing and much more.

Some bridge clubs in Florida are considering to restart with multiple precautions, including: plexiglass table dividers, cashless sales & advance bookings, no food, personal bidding boxes plus the expected face coverings and social distancing.

Bottom line, I don't see F2F bridge clubs starting until 2021 and possibly spring or summer 2021.

New ACBL Youngest Life Master record Confirm Bids Andrew Chen, of San Jose CA, attended his first bridge lesson in Checking this box gives you an OK button on the bidding box to September 2018, when he was 6, at Silicon Valley Youth click after you make your bid. The default option is unchecked.

Bridge’s monthly pizza party. Two years later, Andrew became Confirm Cards the youngest Life Master ever. On May 27, just three days after Checking this box requires you to double click on cards to be turning 8, Andrew broke the record – set by Zach Garrison in played as declarer (your hand and dummy), or as a defender. 2012, shortly before Andrew was born – by more than a year.

Bridge resources on the Internet A Newbie’s Journey in the World of Duplicate Bridge There are lots bridge entertainment for you, including: https://bridgefeed.acbl.org/director-please-2 1. Durham Bridge virtual games (VACB249979) Contact Rob or Keith if you need help with BBO Help about self- alerting your bids on BBO: 2. YouTube videos by Peter Hollands https://bridgefeed.acbl.org/bbo-help-desk/ Here's one – Five ways to improve your Bridge memory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SfRUydIveE Local news (contact me if you have some news) "Table of Contents": Congratulations to Jill and Joe de Bruijn who celebrated their 0:34 (5) Make a Prediction About the Shape 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday July 25. 3:43 (4) Plan the Play with Details 7:12 (3) Group Tricks Gentle Hatha Yoga classes in August each Tuesday at 11:30am 11:23 (2) Note When People Show Out one hour FREE from Judy O'Dell. Email [email protected] 16:24 (1) Give Meaning to the Cards for the Zoom links. Also Thursdays at 10:00 am Mix Yoga with Stephanie and Fridays 10 am Pilates level 1 with Denise. 3. Practice bidding at http://www.saycbridge.com/bid/ 4. Bridge Trivia: https://www.funtrivia.com/en/Hobbies/Bridge-5911.html Anne Lloyd is recovering from successful cataract surgery. She 5. Use BBO to review hands you played with your partner expects to be back playing her favourite game next week.

It's (usually) all there, card by card, bid by bid Contact Rob or Keith if you need help with BBO I am Keith Balcombe, kbalcombe on BBO 6. Of course, contact Keith about lessons  [email protected]

Page 10

About Us

0-99 Masterpoint Race Event Schedule

Player YTD Total The Durham Virtual Bridge Club now offers four games a John Karasinski 2.40 week on BBO. Susan Wood 2.40 Each game features: Doug Kincannon 1.47  18 hands with 7 minutes per hand James West 0.99  Certified director in case a ruling is needed Nelly West 0.99  ACBL masterpoints Cynthia Wetmore 0.86 Sally McIlveen 0.86  Free bi-weekly newsletter for beginner and Maju Manek 0.75 intermediate players Amy Grossman 0.72  Free bi-weekly newsletter for advanced players

Ellen Oliver 0.52 ______Pat Stevens 0.52 Durham Virtual Bridge Club (vacb249979) Cathy Lyons 0.45 Eric Martin 0.45 Monday Margaret Van Dusen 0.34 10:30 am Open Pairs (Price: 4.00) Cathy Haas 0.32 Deborah Churchill 0.32 Wednesday Anne Rowlands 0.27 10:30 am Open Pairs (Price: 4.00) Cveta Prgin 0.27 Thursday 10:30 am 0-99 Pairs (Price: 4.00)

Friday ______10:30 am Open Pairs (Price: 4.00)

Editors and Contributors

Robert Hanly BBO ID Landisl Email [email protected]

Keith Balcombe BBO ID kbalcombe Email [email protected] ______

We wish to gratefully acknowledge some of the people

Extended Copyright Notice who have been extremely supportive of our efforts to create this newsletter through articles, promotion, and on-going assistance and ideas. While the newsletter is copyrighted by Robert Hanly and Keith Balcombe, all original content is owned by its  Barbara Seagram creator and is distributed herein with their consent.  Ross Taylor

Page 11