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 ...... 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 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 ...... 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 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 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 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 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 * *

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 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 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. Partner leads a heart and dummy goes down as shown below.

♠ K109 Declarer wins in hand with the ace. He then leads ♥ Q72 3NT by a diamond to the ace and king, returning to hand th ♦ AK8 South with the queen and then plays his 4 diamond, ♣ J762 pitching a heart from dummy. You to discard …? With your heart holding, depending on your ♠ AJ65 N discard system, you can either signal for a club or ♥ J83 a spade. However, think carefully - or rather E ♦ 963 count carefully! You have 15 hcp, South has ♣ AKQ opened 1NT (12-14) and North has 13 hcp. How many points does that leave for your partner? He can’t have any, and so his chances of gaining the lead are slim to remote. What value then is a suit signal? It can be of no use to your partner and if you signal for a spade, this may well help declarer to play the spade suit. Suppose declarer’s spade holding is ♠Q832. Without your signal, he may have decided to play low towards the 10 (or 9) but by signalling for a spade, you have telegraphed the spade situation and he will then more than likely run the 10 or 9 through you, depriving you of your 5th setting trick!

The moral of the story is: before signalling for a suit, consider carefully whether the signal is likely to be of any value to your partner. If, as in this case, it cannot be, you will do better to either make a neutral discard or signal for a suit you don’t want in an attempt to throw declarer off the scent! 8 Here’s another example to consider: ♠ KJ86 The diagram shows a 6-card ending in ♥ AQ a NT contract when both minor suits ♠ 93 N ♠ Q42 have been eliminated and only the W E ♥ J1084 ♥ K76 majors remain. S ♠ A1075 South will make his contract providing ♥ 95 he loses no more than one trick. You are West and South leads a low spade. Out of habit and without thinking, would you normally give a count signal (indicating an even number of cards in the suit) by playing the nine? Let’s say you do and declarer goes up with the king. He then returns a low spade and when your partner plays the four, after much soul-searching, declarer, seeing your nine on the previous trick, eventually goes against the odds and plays the ace, hoping to drop the doubleton queen. Tough luck - the queen doesn’t appear but an astute declarer notices that you play the three on the second spade, informing him of your doubleton (you can’t hold 4).

Your count signal has told declarer that East is left with just the queen. What useful information has your count signal given your partner? Answer: nothing! Declarer can therefore play a third spade in the sure knowledge that East will be end-played and forced to lead a heart from his king into ♥AQ in dummy, giving him his contract - even if you (West) held the king of hearts. Without your count signal and left to his own devices, declarer may well have cashed the ace of spades and then finessed the jack into East’s queen. East could then safely exit with his third spade and declarer would then have to take the losing heart finesse, going one off in the process.

So, be careful when you signal in defence and only do so when it will be your partner who will benefit from the information it conveys.

Learn to Play Bridge at Buckland Bridge Club

Absolute beginners bridge lessons starting Thursday 10th September 2015 at Buckland Village Hall, Buckland (Near Aston Clinton) from 7.30 pm - 10.00 pm. Interested? If so, contact Viv Barton on 01296 630776 9 by Chris Watson

In my article in the last Bulletin, it was shown that the convention was useful in distinguishing between hands where you just want to compete and those where you want to make a game-forcing or invitational bid when the opposition partner’s 1NT opening bid. The common adoption of weak two opening bids has cut down bidding space and made it difficult to end up in the correct contract. Like any measure, someone soon comes along with a successful counter-measure and this holds true for the use of the lebensohl convention against the now nearly universal application of weak twos. The continuing mystery here is who first thought of adapting the convention for use when the opposition have opened with a weak two-bid.

The auction goes: LHO Partner RHO You How does partner know if it is wise to bid on? Your point count could be 2♠ 3 ♦ X Pass anything from zero to a poor 9 points. If partner has a minimum for his double, he passes but what if he has extra values, he then has to take a shot in the dark by either passing or bidding on.

Using the lebensohl response to partner’s double after an opponent opens a weak two-bid, your bid of 2NT is lebensohl. It asks partner to bid 3 ♣, and you can then pass, sign off in a suit, or make another descriptive bid.

Weak hands (0-6 hcp) The lebensohl 2NT is most useful when you have a very weak hand and want to sign off in a suit that is lower in rank than the pre-empted suit. If your suit is higher in rank than the pre-empted suit (i.e., LHO opens 2 ♥ and you have spades), you make your normal minimum bid at the 2-level. But if you would have to go to the 3-level to make a minimum bid in your suit, you start with 2NT to relay partner to 3 ♣. You can now pass if clubs is your suit, or bid another suit.

10 The auction will go: The doubler may accept LHO Partner RHO You your relay with any hand of 2♠ X Pass 2NT intermediate strength but Pass 3♣ Pass Pass or 3 ♦ or 3 ♥ can refuse it if he has a very powerful hand. With a hand that will make game opposite an average of about 4-5 points in your hand, partner should refuse the relay and make another descriptive bid. If partner bids higher than 3 ♣, it is forcing and you are obliged to bid again, even if you are very weak.

Medium-strength hands (7-10 hcp) If you bid a suit at the 3-level (instead of using the 2NT sequence), it is encouraging, but not forcing. It shows a hand with constructive values (a good 7 to about 10 points), but not enough to jump to game. Doubler can pass with a minimum or bid on with extra values. You can also use the lebensohl 2NT bid as an invitation when your suit is higher in rank than the pre-empted suit. If LHO opens 2 ♥ and you have spades, you can sign off in 2 ♠ if you are weak. If instead you use the lebensohl 2NT sequence, it shows invitational values (8-10 hcp).

This full auction would be: LHO Partner RHO You If LHO opens a weak 2 ♦, you can use the sequence to invite in 2♥ X Pass 2NT hearts or spades. Pass 3♣ Pass 3♠

Forcing hands (11+ hcp) The lebensohl 2NT sequences above all show limited values. If you have invitational or forcing-to-game strength, your jump responses can all retain their standard meanings.

Here are some examples of the use of lebensohl: LHO Partner RHO You

2♥ X Pass ?

♠52 ♥8643 ♦J942 ♣Q53 -- Bid 2NT. Over 3 ♣, you bid 3 ♦ to show the very weak sign-off hand. ♠J7 ♥Q852 ♦Q53 ♣Q643 -- This is a very poor 7 points, so devalue it and use the lebensohl 2NT. You pass partner's 3 ♣.

11 ♠K76 ♥432 ♦AJ652 ♣84 -- Bid 3 ♦ to show constructive values. If partner has extra values, he will bid on. ♠AQ92 ♥843 ♦K982 ♣J7 -- Bid 2NT. You plan to invite game by bidding 3 ♠ over partner's 3 ♣. ♠AQ1093 ♥5 ♦A1098 ♣1042 -- Bid 4 ♠. This hand is too good for a lebensohl sequence, which partner can pass. ♠AQ1092 ♥5 ♦J1098 ♣1042 -- Bid 3 ♠. This shows a minimum of a 5-card suit. ♠1093 ♥AQ9 ♦KJ98 ♣QJ2 -- Bid 3NT. This shows two stoppers in the opponents' suit and usually denies four spades in the bidding sequence. ♠A93 ♥Q98 ♦KJ98 ♣QJ2 -- Bid 3 ♥. This asks partner to bid 3NT if he has a stopper in hearts.

There are more complicated sequences available but they are perhaps the subject of a further article.

12 Please Don't Take Up Bridge!

By Jocelyn Shaffer

If you've time for pursuits All my time's spent playing bridge And you've got the inclination Next year’s matches booked! Please don't take up bridge For your relaxation. Bridge is like a spider's web It sticks to all it touches Because if you take up bridge You can’t escape although you try Your life will surely change It draws you in its clutches. Constant thoughts of squeezes Muddling your brain. You'll have time for nothing else And you'll be hooked for life And if you take up bridge And woe betide you if you've got You'll be learning new conventions Children and a wife. Such as Stayman and Blackwood And other such inventions. When my family come home I'm thinking of discards My head is full of bridge The table's set for dinner Non-stop throughout the day Not with cutlery but with cards! And even when I'm sleeping I dream about the play. So take up tiddlywinks Nothing wrong with banality It's all encompassing But please don't take up bridge And I'm completely hooked If you want to keep your sanity.

Jane and Larry Redmond recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on 4th November 2014 at Regis Bridge Club.

13 Part 4. Gleaned by Bob Denby

Benito Garozzo (1927 - ) is regarded by many as the greatest player in the 60s and 70s. His main partners were until 1972, then with until 1976, the most feared pair in the world at that time. Benito won three World Team Olympiads and ten Bermuda Bowls and was never on a losing side in international competition until 1976.

Benito burst on to the international stage, when less than two weeks into the start of the 1961 in Buenos Aires, the Italian had a problem. Forquet's partner could not go. The replacement was a 33 year-old Fiat salesman, unknown internationally. Was the Azzurri finally vulnerable? There may have been serious doubts if it were known that the new recruit, one Benito Garozzo, had been forced to learn the Neapolitan Club system in 10 days. Although experienced as a bridge player, Garozzo recalls, "I had never played any conventions before."

Far from being a liability, Benito helped the Italians to a runaway victory as they vanquished the U.S., Argentina and France by an average margin of 123 IMPs in three 144- matches.

Benito is known as one of the 4♠X by ♠ 74 most deceptive and dangerous South ♥ 42 defenders in the game. The hand on the left became known ♦ Q8 as ‘The Hand of the Year’ and Forquet ♣ K1098642 Benito in 1963 helped Italy win the ♠ QJ103 N ♠ 2 World Championship against the United States. ♥ Q1095 W E ♥ A8763 ♦ 107 ♦ A532 S ♣ QJ5 ♣ A73 In both rooms the final contract was 4 ♠ doubled. In ♠ AK9865 the closed room Giorgio ♥ KJ Belladonna was down one, ♦ KJ964 losing the obvious four tricks, ♣ - two red aces and two trumps. 14 In the open room the play turned out to be eventful. The heart five was led by Forquet to Benito’s ace who returned his singleton , won with declarer’s ace. He then led a diamond to dummy’s queen and Benito casually ducked. The diamond eight was then led and Benito ducked again, since he could not lose by ducking as declarer could only trump one diamond in dummy.

Confusion then reigned as Benito had managed to create a problem for his American opponent who had judged correctly that Forquet was short in diamonds and was convinced he had the ace. So, he elected to play his nine, hoping Benito had the 10532. Forquet, surprised to win the diamond ten, returned a trump and the result: down two.

Away from the table he is the most polite and unassuming of men, but with thirteen cards in his hand Benito becomes a demon, his brain never resting from attempts to cause alarm and uncertainty. Essentially he is a ‘pressure’ player, constantly involving his opponents in difficult decisions.

His Bols Tip, typically, is entitled ‘Against a Slam Contract, ATTACK!’

‘Heroic measures are rarely needed when leading against a game contract. The defenders can expect to get the lead again after the dummy has been exposed, and the early play offers further clues as to what they should do.

‘Not so against slams. Unless two tricks can be cashed immediately, the defence must develop the setting trick by the . Later is too late. As West you hold:

♠ Q952 ‘The one factor that works in favour of the The Bidding ♥ K84 defence is that declarer is rarely willing to South North risk immediate defeat if any alternative J532 1♣ ♦ seems attractive. And sometimes such an ♣ KJ alternative can be created by the lead itself. 2 ♦ 3♣ For example, your opponents have bid to six diamonds 3 ♦ ♠ as shown opposite: 3

5♥ ‘In most ways your defensive outlook is poor. The 4NT clubs look dead, beneath the rebid suit, and the king of 5NT 6 ♦ hearts is unlikely to take a trick. But you do have one asset which the dealer is not aware of, your trump End trick. 15 ‘Lead the jack of clubs. The fact that you let him see the jack makes it even more likely that he will be able to establish the suit with no more than a single loser. In fact, the jack would be the right card from KJx.

The full deal: ♠ A8 ‘Declarer knows that he can QJ3 establish the clubs by giving up ♥ a trick to the king, but why ♦ 4 should he risk doing so when You (West) ♣ AQ108632 there is a danger of a ruff? He ♠ Q952 N ♠ J10763 goes up with ace and by the K84 97652 ♥ W E ♥ time he finds out he must lose ♦ J532 ♦ 8 a diamond it is too late. On any ♣ KJ S ♣ 54 other lead he must make the contract. ♠ K4 ♥ A10 ♦ AKQ10976 ♣ 97

The Bidding ‘Not quite so clear is how you (West) should attack South North South’s slam contract after the bidding shown on the 1 ♦ 1♠ left. It appears as though the opponents have rolled to a slam, which may not be reached at the other table. 2♣ 3 ♦ So it is even more important for you to defeat it with your lead. How much do you know? NT ♣ 3 4 ‘North is surely short in hearts as is declarer in spades, 4NT 5♥ so a trump lead seems promising. But neither 6 ♦ End opponent has indicated long trumps and both have similar length in clubs. On such deals the need to ♠ AQ108 stop a cross-ruff is rare because ♥ 7 declarer is unable to cash enough ♦ KJ42 tricks in his long side suit – in this You (West) ♣ A1074 case, clubs. However, if he needs to pick up a twelfth trick, a spade ♠ K762 N ♠ J943 K1083 A542 finesse is going to succeed. So ♥ W E ♥ how can this line of play be ♦ 975 ♦ 106 S diverted? ♣ 62 ♣ J53

‘What is partner going to ♠ 5 contribute to defence? From the ♥ QJ96 fact that South didn’t bid 5NT (as ♦ AQ83 ♣ KQ98 16 he did on the previous deal) it is possible that his side is missing an ace – not unreasonably, the ace of hearts, if not, then perhaps the queen of hearts. Yes, the king of hearts is the best lead!

‘When your king of hearts holds the first trick, you shift to a spade. Declarer may decide that your lead has made it unnecessary for him to rely on the spade finesse. All he needs is a ruffing finesse through your marked ace of hearts, because he can ruff two spades and throw one of the established hearts – except that when he runs the queen of hearts your partner takes the trick!

‘Given any other lead, declarer simply must take the winning finesse in spades’.

In 2012 at the 24th Monte Carlo International Team Tourney, Benito aged 85, and reverently called Papi on Bridge Base Online, username sillafu (BBO: www.bridgebase.com) gave Antonio Sementa, half his age, a lesson in dummy play. Just look at the hand opposite. Bocchi In both rooms South opened a E/W Vul ♠ 953 weak no trump, West over- Dealer South ♥ J8 called showing hearts and a minor, and East bid game in ♦ J832 hearts. Lauria ♣ 10752 Garozzo

♠ 4 N ♠ AJ762 In the closed room Versace led ♥ A962 ♥ Q754 W E the spade king. Sementa won ♦ 976 ♦ KQ4 the ace, cashed the club jack ♣ AKQ83 S ♣ J and played the heart queen to the king, ace and eight. He Madala continued with a diamond to ♠ KQ108 king and ace and won the K103 diamond return with his queen. ♥ Sementa ruffed a spade in ♦ A105 dummy and threw a diamond ♣ 964 and a spade on two high clubs. On the play of the club queen he ruffed with the heart four, with Versace sensibly throwing his last diamond.

Now Sementa ruffed another spade in dummy, then led and ruffed the last diamond with the heart seven, and now South over-ruffed with his ten and returned his last trump to his partner Angelini’s jack, who then cashed the diamond jack for down one.

17 At his table Benito followed a different line after winning the lead of a top spade. He played the heart four to three, six and eight. North switched to diamonds, king and ace. When Madala returned the diamond ten, declarer won the queen, cashed the club jack, played a trump to the ace, cashed the high clubs and claimed ten tricks, when clubs and trumps behaved.

This hand is a classic from a 6♥ by West. Lead is ♦K Pairs event in Rabat Morocco ♠ QJ9 N ♠ A1083 1973. The problem revolves ♥ AQ10843 ♥ J7 around not losing a trick in W E ♦ J2 ♦ A hearts and diamonds. S Declarer won the ace and ♣ Q5 ♣ AKJ742 promptly played the seven of hearts, intending to finesse. Imagine his surprise when South, Benito, played the king of hearts!

This was pairs. "Wow 13 tricks now" he must have thought. He won the ace and played a second heart to the knave, intending to pick up North’s 9xxx. South followed with the 5! "What is going on?", he mused. He then played a small club to hand intending to draw the trumps and claim, but.... South ruffed, and then cashed a diamond! Result, calamity. ♠ 7652 Benito, South, started with the hand opposite and this ♥ K65 brilliant defence finds its source in his extraordinary ♦ 987653 ability to reconstruct the unseen hands. - ♣ As this was a Pairs event, where an overtrick can be of paramount importance, declarer’s line of play cannot be condemned or even criticized.

Finally, yes, a defensive problem from the 1979 Bermuda Bowl. You are East, Benito, defending a 3NT contract:

♠ QJ732 Partner leads the club four, ♥ J102 The Bidding won by dummy's king. South North ♦ AQ8 Declarer plays a spade to 1 ♦ 1♠ his ace, then a diamond to ♣ KJ the queen. When you next ♣* 1NT 2 capture the spade queen N ♠ K10965 (should you?), declarer ♥ A5 2♥ 3NT W E ♦ 965 discards a low heart. So, S * ♣ 853 Checkback what next?

18 Being a problem makes you aware something special may be called for, especially as the club return seems normal. Even being forewarned, it is hard to understand why Benito actually returned a diamond. Yet that return defeated the contract.

Declarer won the trick in dummy to cash his eighth trick, the spade jack, while he still could. He would then knock out the club ace to set up his ninth. But Garozzo won the heart ace plus two more spades. (On a strictly double-dummy basis, declarer can make the contract by leaving the high spade in dummy and running diamonds.)

♠ QJ732 How did Benito pull this one out ♥ J102 of the hat; was he able to ♦ AQ8 visualize the whole deal? We will ♣ KJ never know, we lesser mortals can also achieve such feats ♠ 84 N ♠ K10965 rarely, and then only if we Q873 A5 ♥ W E ♥ understand the relevant ♦ 104 ♦ 965 S principle that needs to be ♣ A7642 ♣ 853 applied. ♠ A K964 When defending what may be a ♥ misfit no trump contract, if no ♦ KJ732 clear path to setting the contract ♣ Q109 is available, attack the communication suit. This suit is the one in which the declarer's honours are solid or close to solid, and split between the two hands.

Next time: It’s not only coffee that comes from Brazil!

First Lady (after an altercation): “When you are playing with ladies, you should behave like one”.

Second Lady: “When I am - I do”.

19 1 2 3 4 5 6

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Two Quotes:

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” Henry Ford

“The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.” George S. Patton (U.S. General WW2)

20 CLIVE’S CROSSWORD CLUES:

ACROSS: 1. Ticket seller includes fake (non starting) to date. (4,3) 7. Present day riot aggressively for skilful in play. (6) 8. A turn in military engagement. It’s always at the beginning. (7) 9. This lady has no partner. (4) 10. A ghostly centre for a vast multitude. (4) 12+11D. Player moving from Arsenal to Liverpool or vice versa! (3,4,7) 14. Rubbish on broken seat spins on axis. (7) 16. Lied about where to get food. (4) 18. Moving seats gives present day events. (4) 20. Not beginning skin protection to prevent being stuck in hand. (7) 21. Cut North for a flower. (6) 22. Bridge can drive you round this on occasions (3,4)

DOWN: 1. Cheater reformed and became a source of information. (7) 2. Pleasure or pain. (5) 3. Leave out from to whom it may concern. (4) 4. Extra-terrestrial slang woven for tortuous webs. (7) 5. A 1NT (12-14) opening bid did this. (8) 6, Big trouble if your hand goes down in this suit! (6) 11. See 12 Across 12. Concerning a noble, needed when a trick is misplaced. (7) 13. Thrice shuffled deck to be deceived. (7) 15. No peer group pressure but he can start first. (7) 17. Fail to follow suit after lead is missed and then call to mind. (5) 19. Send a message with no beginning? Can do! (4)

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]

21 From Bob Denby

Charles Baudelaire, poet, wrote "The Devil's finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist." This would appear to have some fact from a bridge perspective when occasionally, what appears to be a sure trick disappears. That is what happened in the North American Fall Championships in 1989. Declarer South was the skilful Haig Tchamitch, who ended up in 3 ♣ after a simple auction, after opening 1 ♥.

West led a low diamond to East’s ace, declarer unblocking the jack. A spade came back, ducked to West's king. West played another spade, taken by South’s ace. Tchamitch finessed the diamond nine at trick four, cashed the king and then the spade queen, pitching hearts, and returned to hand by ruffing dummy's last diamond, East having pitched a heart. The ace and a heart ruff dropped the king. Even so, it looked as though East-West had a sure trump trick with three to the jack in one hand and two to the queen in the other. It didn't work out that way. This was the position when Tchamitch led the spade nine from dummy:

East ruffed with the club queen, but Tchamitch over-ruffed with the king. He then played the club ten to the ♠ 9 jack and ace, pinning East's nine. ♥ Dummy's eight and seven of clubs took ♦ the last two tricks. ♣ A87 If East had ruffed instead with the club ♠ 10 ♠ N nine, South could overruff, cash the king ♥ ♥ J8 ♦ W E ♦ of clubs, dropping the queen, and finesse ♣ J54 S ♣ Q9 against West's jack and five to win the last two tricks. If East had discarded a ♠ heart, Tchamitch would have ruffed with ♥ Q the club six and then led the heart queen. ♦ At that point, West would have held only ♣ K106 22 trumps. He could ruff high or low, but it wouldn't matter. A low ruff The Full would be over-ruffed in dummy Deal and the two top clubs would take the last two tricks. If West ruffs with the jack, North over-ruffs N and finesses against the queen W E and nine for the last two tricks. S

So, there you have it, the Devil's Coup also known as the Disappearing Trump Trick .

Answer to Declarer Play Quiz on page 2

The solution to what might appear to be an impossible contract lies in a squeeze on West. Your two threat or menace cards (possible 13th tricks) are the jack of spades and the queen of hearts. The successful line of play is as follows:- Win the diamond lead in hand with the ace. ♠ J ♥ 3 Cash the ace of spades and then four ♦ - diamonds and five ♣ 5 top clubs ending in dummy, resulting in ♠ K N ♠ 98 the position shown. ♥ KJ ♥ 10 W E ♦ - ♦ - Now when you lead S ♣ - ♣ - your last club and ♠ - throw the six of ♥ AQ6 hearts from hand, ♦ - West has to either ♣ - discard the king of spades, promoting your jack, or a heart, baring his king, so your ♥AQ will both make. Grand Slam made! The Menace Card

“Modo vincis, modo vinceris” … which is often translated as “some you win, some you lose”

23 I was taught to play bridge in 1990 at the age of fourteen by my maths teacher and I have played ever since. My first success came in 1993 when we won the Latvian Junior (U.25) Pairs Championship.

In mid-late 2010 I was lucky enough to play internationally with the backing of a strong sponsor. Top ten finishes followed in tournaments in Poland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Croatia, as well as reaching the ‘B’ final in the 2009 European Open Pairs in Italy. These were the highlights, besides twice being Latvian National Open Champion during this period.

My passion is to teach beginners to play bridge so that I can contribute to the game that has given me so many great moments.

* * * BRIDGE BABIES * * *

“Whose bid is it?” “I forgot we were vulnerable.”

24 Recorded by ‘The Kibitzer’

Whilst one can get away with a steal at your local club, it’s less likely amongst classy players. But here is one against the “boys”. Declarer, North, was top ranked Sabine Auken who got away with murder, in 3NT, with just seven tricks on top. The Bidding North South Firstly, a bidding explanation: 1 ♣ - at least 2, ♣ ♥ balanced, and not denying any other 5+ suit, 1 ♥ - 1 1 transfer to 1 ♠. 1NT - 17-19 hcp, 2 ♥ - repeat transfer, 1NT 2♥ showing 5+spades. 2 ♠ - waiting. 2NT - transfer to ♠ 3♣, 3 ♣ - waiting, 3 ♦ shortage. 3NT to play. 2 2NT

3♣ 3 ♦ East led the diamond jack, ducked by declarer. East then led the club nine, won after “some thought” by 3NT End Sabine with the ace. Now the key play; the heart five was led with Sabine playing the queen on the six, and won by the 3NT by ♠ A5 Dealer king. Back came another club, won North ♥ Q3 North E/W by the king. The spade five was ♦ AK764 Vul then played, followed by the four, ♣ KJ103 the ten, and ducked by West. Sabine then played the clubs ♠ K963 N ♠ J4 ending in hand, cashed ♦AK and ♥ J1064 ♥ AK82 exited with a diamond to East’s ♦ 1098 W E ♦ QJ32 S queen. Now East was on lead from ♣ 86 ♣ 942 ♠J ♥A8 and elected to play the jack ♠ Q10872 to Sabine’s ace and the ninth trick, ♥ 975 the long diamond, then hit the ♦ 5 deck. And the comments, plus ♣ AQ75 emoticons rained on BBO.

Two Quotes: “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” Francis of Assisi

“I attribute my success to this - I never gave or took any excuse.” Florence Nightingale 25 by Chairman David Gilmore

The Milton Keynes bridge Club is 40 years old this year – and we still have two founder members playing: Anne Gilling and Ron Macer. During these past four decades, the club has given much pleasure and enjoyment to hundreds of local bridge players. We pride ourselves on being a friendly club that is welcoming to players of all abilities. Our attitude is competitive but not combative. We also take great pride in offering tremendous value for money. Our membership fee for the year 2015 is £10. Table money of £2 is charged at each duplicate session (table money for visitors is £3).

The club has a thriving membership and boasts several Grand Masters and one Premier Grand Master (Ron Davis) on its books. We also welcome and support less experienced players. Members of the club have been very successful in many national bridge competitions. The club also enters representative teams into county and national events. We play duplicate bridge every Wednesday evening at the CentreCom Community Centre in the heart of Milton Keynes, and every Friday evening at the South Furzton Meeting Centre (which is on the South- West side of Milton Keynes). Both sites provide free parking. On Monday afternoons, we provide a bridge improvers class at CentreCom run by Brian Keable.

We use electronic scoring and during the duplicate session, player rankings are shown on a display – for those who are brave enough to look. All boards are duplimated and hand records are available to players at the end of each session, complete with a computerised analysis – as well as being posted on the club website (usually) the same evening. Personal scorecards and travellers are available so that a full analysis of performance can be undertaken.

The players’ scores count towards the many competitions that run through the club year – ie from 1st January to 31st December. These competitions cater for all levels of play, including individual and pair trophies with and without handicaps, competitions for Wednesday or Friday nights, for players who rank less than Regional Masters, and 26 also charity competitions. Winners have to return their trophies at the end of the year, but their pride and kudos is kept forever. There is also a special prize (a John Lewis Voucher) for anybody scoring 70% or higher in a club duplicate event. The serious business The chairman from 2002 until 2012 was John Bateman, whose indefatigable enthusiasm and drive brought the club up to its current standard, including instigating the computerised scoring mentioned. Although John relinquished the chairmanship over two years ago, he continues to play an active and supportive role in the club – as do many other members who actively participate in the smooth running of the club. The current chairman, David Gilmore, has reinstated the tradition of holding annual bridge holidays – open to both members and non-members alike. We had an extremely successful weekend at the Lansdowne Hotel in Eastbourne in October 2014, and are looking forward to our holiday at the Ardington Hotel in Worthing in October 2015. We are extremely grateful to the Bedfordshire Bridge Association for sponsoring this event.

The club is affiliated to the (EBU) and to Bedfordshire Bridge Association (BBA). Members are encouraged to join these bodies and to support county and national events. Why Bedfordshire, you may well ask, when Milton Keynes is in Buckinghamshire? Well it is simply a geographical problem – the bridge playing communities of Bedfordshire are a lot closer than those of South Buckinghamshire, such as Amersham & High Wycombe, so participation in county events is easier.

The club participates in the English Bridge Union Pay-To-Play Master Points scheme. EBU Master Points are issued for all duplicate sessions. These are automatically credited to members. All paid up members of the club are de facto members of the EBU and Bedfordshire Bridge Association. 27 The club actively supports the local community through the provision of subsidised bridge classes and simultaneous pair events, as well as raising money for such worthy causes as the local charity Ride High and the national charity Children In Need.

We welcome guests and prospective new members, and people without a partner are able to use our ‘find a partner’ service available through our website. So please feel free to come along and enjoy the hospitality of the Milton Keynes Bridge Club.

From page 16 of the December Bulletin

1 S N 2 A P 3 S 4 O 5 F F 6 E N 7 D Y B E 8 R R X E 9 S Q U E E Z E 10 A M P L E T S D A G R P 11E V E N 12C O M P E T E M 13 F I T E S R 14A 15 L S O 16N E S T 17U A R 18A R T 19 S 20P O R T E N D 21A 22 C O L T G S E 23H O E 24A L E R T 25P R O D U C E K S E T P N P 26E N T I R E 27E N T R Y

28 (as featured on the front cover)

Bedfordshire County Council had its coat of arms created in 1951 as part of the Festival of Britain celebrations. The coat of arms became the symbol of the County being placed on many public buildings and signs. The council used the banner of arms as a flag until it was abolished in 2009.

The division of the filed quarterly or and gules is derived from the arms of the Beauchamps, Constables of Bedford Castle, the leading family in the County after the Norman Conquest and granted a barony at Bedford. The Beauchamp of 1215 was one of the promoters of Magna Carta, and their last male was killed at Evesham in 1265.

The pale charged with three escallops commemorates the services of the House of Russell to the State, the County and the County Council, and is taken from the arms of that family.

The crest is a swan's head and neck and again refers to the Ouse. The lion supporter is taken from a similar supporter to the Russell Coat of Arms. The bull supporter stands for the importance of agriculture in the County.

While the Bedford Arms itself is in Woburn, the Griffin Inn is in Toddington and the Bull is on the London Road (A600) coming out of Bedford. The Swan is in Bedford itself and sits on the Ouse embankment hence the wavy blue lines that represent the Ouse.

The motto "Constant be" is taken from Bunyan's hymn: "Who would true valour see, let him come hither, One here will constant be, come wind, come weather". It could well be aimed at bridge players. The shells from the Derek Marsh Duke of Bedford's Coat of Arms

29

Jon Guess

12 th June 1951 – 14 th January 2015

After a 5 year battle with cancer, Jon passed quietly away at the St Johns Hospice in Moggerhanger. He put up a very brave and positive battle throughout his struggle with this disease.

Jon and I became bridge partners over 30 years ago and I think we must have played over 30,000 hands together. Jon loved his bridge and was a regular fixture at Leighton Buzzard Bridge Club, having been one of the founder members. He was a larger than life character and everybody knew when he entered the room. Social graces were not Jon’s strong point and I often used to cringe at some of his comments, particularly on visits to the homes of opponents we had never met. It did however give us something to talk about on the journey home.

Jon worked as a Post Office counter clerk for 20 plus years before having to retire 5 years ago. His last job was as the foreign currency clerk at Leighton Buzzard Post Office. No matter how long the queue, he would always find time to talk, and talk and talk to customers, he called it ’old fashioned service.’

Over the last few years I accompanied Jon on many a hospital visit, he always introduced me as his partner and after a pause, would explain that I was his bridge partner; he thought it very funny. After these appointments, we invariably ended up in a pub which was his other great love. He will be sadly missed by the brewing industry.

When I last visited him in the hospice, he asked me to pass on his thanks to all Bedfordshire bridge players for their friendship over many years and their kind words of support in recent times.

Eric Cohen

30 Brian Ford

13 th January 1946 – 6 th January 2015

I first met Brian at Monica’s club six years ago. I recognised him immediately as I had seen him on the TV programme ‘Antiques in the Attic’ a few weeks before, selling Sue’s vast collection of ceramics.

In 2000 Brian took early retirement and began learning bridge. Bridge was already in the family as Sue had been playing for years and their son Richard taught it at a private school. Sue and Brian started playing regularly at Bedford Bridge Club and then had lessons with David Dickson. Apparently, Brian was a very enthusiastic student, keeping David on his toes with his questions and thirst for knowledge about the game. He also volunteered as Treasurer of Bedford Club.

Brian’s love for the game led to the setting up of their Bridge School, which is now in its second year. Not satisfied with that, he and Sue decided that a bridge club for beginners was needed and their ‘No Fear’ Bridge Club was born. The club has grown steadily, with a mixture of regular players, beginners from the Bridge School, ‘winter golfers’ trying duplicate bridge and others returning to the game after many years. It has a continual flow of players, some moving up, on or away, but always new faces appearing. It has given me much joy to be associated with this project. Thank you, Brian.

Away from bridge, Brian’s studies in polymer sciences and an MBA gave him a successful career which resulted in the family moving 10 times in 15 years. He also had success winning the Sunday Times Entrepreneurial Contest and turned down an offer to do a PhD at Harvard. At heart he was primarily a family man. When their two sons were young, Brian spent time with them to do sailing, , archery and karate. In later life he had the joy of three grandchildren, Brian, Jake and Isabelle.

Sadly, Brian Ford passed away in January after a tough battle with cancer. He will be much missed by friends and loving family.

Paul Wiltshire

31 From Jocelyn Shaffer

A group of directors, all aged 40, discussed where they should meet for a reunion lunch. Finally it was agreed that they would meet at the Club because the waitresses had big breasts and wore mini- skirts.

Ten years later, at age 50, the directors once again discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally it was agreed that they would meet at the Four Aces Club because the food and service were good and the beer selection was excellent.

Ten years later, at age 60, the directors again discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally it was agreed that they would meet at the Four Aces Club because there was plenty of parking, they could dine in peace and quiet and it was good value for money.

Ten years later, at age 70, the directors discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally it was agreed that they would meet at the Four Aces Club because the restaurant had wheelchair access and a toilet for the disabled.

Ten years later, at age 80, the directors discussed where they should meet for lunch. Finally it was agreed that they would meet at the Four Aces Club because they had never been there before.

Motto for a bridge club?

“Verberat nos et lacerat fortuna”

… which can be translated as “fortune batters and torments us”.

This was written by the Roman statesman Seneca, who was talking about life in general, although most bridge players are familiar with the feeling!

Seneca was a tutor to Nero, but later in life fell foul of the maniac and was forced to commit suicide. It might be around then that he penned that phrase. (From Peter Taylor)

32