Bedfordshire Bridge Association BULLETIN No.247 April 2015 THE BEDFORDSHIRE C.C. COAT OF ARMS 1951 - 2009 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 The Devil’s Coup .................22 Recent Results ...................... 3 Answer to Declarer Quiz.......23 You couldn’t make it up!......... 4 Introducing Janis ................24 Bridge Set Puzzle................... 6 Bridge Babies .....................24 Toledo Blade ......................... 7 3NT Steal on BBO ...............25 Signal for Partner .................. 8 Milton Keynes BC ................26 Lebensohl Continued ............ 10 Bert’s Crossword Answered ..28 Don’t take up bridge ............ 13 Beds C.C. Coat of Arms........29 Benito Garozzo .................... 14 Jon Guess ..........................30 Crossword by Clive Corns ..... 20 Brian Ford ..........................31 Partner Wanted ................... 21 The Reunion .......................32 The Spring Declarer Play Quiz A Cunning Plan is required! 7NT ♠ J2 As South, you wind up in an by South ♥ 3 improbable 7NT which West 7♦ led ♦ KJ108 doubles to your dismay. After ♣ AKJ975 the seven of diamonds lead, you survey the dummy to see a ♠ K106 N ♠ 9853 total of only 12 tricks. Your ♥ KJ92 ♥ 108754 worst fears have been realised W E ♦ 97543 ♦ 2 by the double which suggests S ♣ 6 ♣ 1043 West holds both missing kings and both major suit finesses will AQ74 ♠ fail. How are you going to ♥ AQ6 handle this one? ♦ AQ6 ♣ Q82 Answer on page 23 YOUR BULLETIN REPS Bedford............... Alan Cooke Milton Keynes.......David Gilling Cranfield .........Erika Sharrock Wardown ...............Peter Scott Leighton B. ........David Gilling Bulletin Proof Readers: Alan Cooke and Peter Taylor 2 Recent Results Date and Event Winners and high achievers 13th November BBA Mixed Pairs 1st: Alan & Saroj Ellis - 61.1% Wilstead ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 20th November 1st: Dolly Burgess & Anne Page BBA Marsh Trophy with 55.4% Wilstead ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 27th November 1st: Ron Davis & Lynne Emmett Inter-Club Teams of 4 David Woulds & Janis Maurins +72 IMPS Wilstead ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 11th December 1st: Les Calver & Peter Scott BBA Seniors’ Teams of 4 Janet & Derek Marsh +31 IMPS Wilstead ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 6th January 1st Nationally: John Neville & Jackie EBU Winter Sim. Pairs Davies with 73.6% (Leverstock Green BC) ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 18th January 3rd: Iain Roberts & Alan Oddie’s Swiss Teams Team (1 VP behind the winners) National Teams Congress ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 9th February Mixed Pairs 2nd: Alan Cooke & Partner 67.8% Lanzarote Congress ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 22nd February 1st: David Woulds & Janis Maurins BBA County Pairs Final with 68.1% BBA County Plate Final =1st: Janet & Derek Marsh Wilstead Peter & Judi Malpass with 52% 3 By Alan Oddie This is a recent hand where I was one of the players. My position at the table and the identities of the others are being withheld to protect the guilty. You might find it hard to believe, given the events I’m about to describe, but all four players were Grand Masters. Yes, Grand Masters … East – West were silent and the bidding started as follows: The Bidding ♠ K954 South North Dealer South ♥ A754 ♥ 1 1 2NT E/W Vul ♦ AJ6 2 3 ♣ AQ 4♦ 4NT ♠ ♠ ♠4 5 Q10 N J76 5 5NT ♥ - ♥ J832 W E 6♦6 ... ♦ Q953 ♦ K108742 ♣ J1075432 S ♣ - 1. Raise to 3 ♥ or better ♠ A832 2. Splinter, small singleton ♥ KQ1096 or void diamond ♦ - 3. Roman Key-Card ♣ K986 Blackwood 4. 2 of the 5 ‘aces’ + the Q of trumps) 5. Any kings? 6. 1, not counting trumps All reasonably sensible so far. North knew his partner’s king was in clubs (he wouldn’t splinter with a singleton king in diamonds) so the only possible loser was in spades. Since there were several ways in which that might be taken care of (eg the queen of spades in the South hand, or ♣KJxx, or a doubleton spade, etc) North now decided, not unreasonably, that the partnership had enough to take a shot at a Grand Slam. 4 Unfortunately he pulled 7 ♠ out of the bidding box by mistake, rather than 7 ♥. South sat there thinking for quite a while (as well he might) wondering what on earth was going on and whether he should convert to 7NT. Whilst that was happening, North realised his mistake but didn’t correct his bid to 7 ♥ as he was fully entitled to do. (He’s allowed to correct a mechanical error until South has made a call.) Mind you, 7♥ was not going to be a success either. Eventually South passed, deciding that his partner must know what he was doing, a mistake of which all bridge players have been guilty at some time in the past. The cavalry now attempted to come to the rescue, because West doubled. This was a Lightner double asking partner to make an unusual lead. The idea was that if East could be persuaded to fish out a heart, the contract would be off at trick one. The flaw in this argument, as the discerning reader will have noticed, is that the response to Blackwood meant that South was going to be declarer in 7♠, not North. North had little hesitation in removing the contract to 7NT. East led a spade. Now, this is not a great contract. For starters it needs the ♣J10 to come down in three rounds so that there are 12 tricks on top. Then cashing the top tricks in hearts and clubs will inflict a squeeze on West if he holds the ♦KQ as well as at least three spades. To bring this in you would need to have been saying your prayers regularly for some considerable time, and if you ended up writing 1520 in the plus column you would have no right to complain about bad luck for at least the next year and a half. So North won the spade lead in dummy (South) and cashed the ♣AQ. No miracle appeared in the shape of the jack or ten of clubs, so the contract was now hopeless … … except that East had provided manna from heaven by discarding a spade on the first club. There were now 13 tricks on top, but the drama was not over. North continued with the king of hearts on which West sneakily threw a card of the same colour, namely a diamond. But being so hacked off by his faux pas in the bidding and by being in a hopeless contract, North had failed to notice (a) that 5 East had discarded a spade on the first club (well, it is the same colour) and (b) that West had discarded a diamond on the first heart. So North now played a heart to his ace and even though West discarded a black card on this trick, making the finesse in hearts even more marked than it was before, he ‘cashed’ the queen and ten of hearts and went one off when East unsportingly produced the jack. A complete disaster? Well, yes and no. This was a hand from a simultaneous pairs event and although it’s true to say that +1520 would have been an inter-galactic top, N-S scored 40% of the match points for -50, doubtless because lots of people were going off in 6 ♥ or 6♠, some of them doubled. You really couldn’t make it up. Devised by Tim Sharrock Here are 20 words. Sort 16 of them into four sets of four so that each set includes words with a bridge association and which have something in common. You will then have four words left over. Baboon * Bid * Cheetah * Dummy * Finesse * Hedgehog * Idiot * Jump * Lead * Limpopo * Raise * Ruff * Scissors * Serpent’s * Suicide * Trick * Umbrella * Vice * Vienna * Winkle The initial letters of the four surplus words can be arranged to spell a word associated in two ways with bridge and the ultimate letters of those same words can be arranged to spell a name associated with water. What are those two words? Answered in next (August) issue 6 Tannah Hirsch, editor of the Bulletin, official magazine of the American Contract Bridge League, is also editor of the daily Bulletin issued at the National Tournaments. In the Bulletin, he occasionally records amusing incidents that happen during a tournament. Here is one dated December 26th 1971 from a tournament in Phoenix. It happened in the Mixed Pairs. The auction had gone: West North East South 1♥ Pass 2♥ Pass 4 North turned to his right hand opponent and asked: “Four what, Madam?” “I don’t know if you’re entitled to ask that question!” retorted the lady indignantly. “Well, Madam, if you won’t complete your bid, I have no alternative but to summon the director,” North said. “Call him, then” retorted the lady, in high indignation. The TD arrived at the table, heard the story, and, in an attempt to pacify both parties, turned to North and said: “I think it’s quite clear what the lady’s intention was.” “In that case,” North replied “I bid 5.″ Is your bidding system as confusing as this? 7 By Peter Scott Do you play a discard system with your partner? There are several to choose from (McKenney, HELD, Dodds, Italian, Revolving), each with their own pros and cons. However, as always in bridge, nothing fits the bill on every occasion. Depending on what cards you are holding at the time, one system may be more suitable than another. When employing a new toy (especially a new bidding convention) there is often the temptation to want to use it as often as you can. However, this enthusiasm to play with your new toys at every possible occasion can be a big mistake! Consider this example: South is the dealer and opens 1NT (12-14) and North bids straight to 3NT.