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Bedfordshire Bridge Association BULLETIN

No.237 December 2011

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

Inside this issue:

Declarer Play Quiz...... 3 EBU Club Committee...... 16 Your Bulletin Rep ...... 3 Answer to Declarer Play Quiz ...17 Recent Results...... 4 England Juniors in Bulgaria ...... 18 Readers’ Queries...... 5 Puppet Stayman...... 20 Counting & Elimination ...... 6 Your Queries Answered ...... 23 Brian Keable’s Memoirs...... 10 Useful Space Bids ...... 26 The Scissors ...... 14 Bridge/Poker quotes ...... 28 The Merrimac Coup ...... 15

Editorial: Please note my new hotmail email address on the front cover. The previous Yahoo account was rendered unusable after the spoof ‘I’m in Spain’ email was sent to all my contacts from an unknown source. Apologies to those of you who received the spoof. This Bulletin is packed with features for you bridge enthusiasts. Articles range from bridge basics for improvers to highly advanced features as well as a personal profile and report from abroad. Hopefully you will find something for you. Read on ... and please let me have any of your comments!

“Join your local bridge club for companionship, social interaction, and a jolly interesting evening out!” (cartoon by Chris Hislop) 2 Declarer Play Quiz

♠ KQ103 6♠ by South ♥ 85 Lead is ♥Q ♦ A854 ♣ K96 ♠ 4 N ♠ 852 ♥ QJ103 ♥ K9764 W E ♦ J962 ♦ 10 ♣ 7542 S ♣ QJ103 ♠ AJ976 ♥ A2 ♦ KQ73 ♣ A8

Contract is 6 ♠ by South. Lead is the ♥Q. How will you play the hand?

Answer on Page 17

YOUR BULLETIN REPS

Please note that the following people will be handing out the latest Bulletins at your local club:

Ampthill...... Mike Field Bedford ...... Alan Cooke Clifton ...... Alan Ellis Cranfield...... Erika Sharrock Leighton Buzzard ...... David Gilling Milton Keynes...... David Gilling PM Bridge ...... Ann Pillinger Wardown ...... Peter Scott

Please ask one of them if you have not received your copy.

3 Recent Results

Date and Event Winners and high achievers

26th July BGB Summer Sim Pairs Winners: John Neville & Jackie Davies National UK Event with 74.3% (out of 1953 pairs)

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 3rd-4th September Bell Cup Winners: Rita Keable & Monica Lucy’s National Women’s Teams team

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 8th September Opening Pairs Winners: David Dickson & Alan Shillitoe Wilstead ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Guernsey Congress - September Mixed Pairs Winners: Alan Cooke & Maris Sheppard Seniors’ Teams Winners: Alan Cooke & Maris Sheppard Brian & Maureen Stairs ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ 13th October BBA Men’s Pairs Winners: Colin O’Hara & Les Calver Wilstead ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠ ♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

13th October BBA Ladies’ Pairs Winners: Rita Keable & Monica Lucy Wilstead

4 The following bridge queries were received from our members. Turn to page 23 to see what our panel have to say about them.

1. In 2nd seat with neither side vulnerable, your RHO opens the bidding with 1♦ and you hold:

♠AJx ♥KQJxx ♦Kxx ♣Ax

Should you 1 ♥, X or make another bid? Some say you should X with a strong hand but is there any guarantee you will get the chance to show your 5-card heart suit later?

2. When on lead, holding 987 what is the correct card to lead - top of sequence 9 or middle-up-down (MUD) 8? Would it matter whether leading to a NT or suit contract? What if the sequence was headed by an honour - say K or Q (ie K987 or Q987)?

3. When can one bid a suit naturally that's already been bid by the opponents? I once held seven spades to the AKQ and heard my RHO open 1 ♠ in front of me (on five to the jack). Similarly I once held six diamonds to the AKQ and heard my RHO open 1 ♦ (Precision). Double would have been for takeout and 2 ♦ would have been Michaels.

4. Do the panel have a pet defence against a Precision 1 ♦? I've heard some people use ‘double’ to show a weak NT hand.

5. How can one improve partner's play without offending them?

6. My partner often annoys me by conceding the last few tricks when he thinks declarer has them all ("having no further interest"!). If I protest, what should happen? Does play continue?

5 By Alan Cooke

Counting the Hand: It is said with considerable truth that the ability to count out a hand is what separates the good players from the average. But why is it so hard? On the face of it, all that is needed is to count up to thirteen, but in practice the following obstacles get in the way. a) Time constraints (given half an hour to figure things out it would be a simple matter but not so easy in a few minutes). b) It requires hard work and much concentration. c) On a lot of hands, counting isn’t necessary. d) If defending, one needs help from partner by means of signals.

Ok, so it’s hard work and why should you bother? Briefly, you will become a much better player and achieve much better results. For example, on some hands counting as declarer can turn a 50% two- way into a 100% certainty, and in defence you will find it much easier to keep the right cards when having to find discards. Every time someone shows out, you have a complete count on that suit, so instead of thinking “wow, declarer has a lot of trumps” make a mental note that they started with exactly six or seven as the case may be.

As well as counting the suits, you often need to count declarer’s points, especially when their hand is limited by the bidding. As declarer I have often noticed defenders not cashing their tricks because they didn’t want to lead from AQx, when counting my points would have told them I could not possibly have the king. Counting one’s own tricks as declarer sounds obvious but is equally important. Recently, against us in a Swiss Teams match, an otherwise competent player took an unnecessary (and losing) heart finesse in 3NT to go off, not realising they had nine tricks on top. The hand was as shown opposite:-

6 The was a spade which declarer was allowed ♠ J62 to win with ♠Q. He now had nine tricks available by way ♥ AKJ of four diamonds, two clubs, two hearts and a spade. ♦ KJ53 However, he chose to take the losing heart finesse and ♣ AK8 subsequently lost four more spade tricks to go one off. N

If you do decide to have a go at discovering the S distribution of the unseen hands, to avoid annoying ♠ Q108 opponents with long trances I suggest you begin by ♥ 1097 practising at home first where you can take as long as you ♦ AQ86 like. When you do try it out at the bridge table, a good ♣ 954 idea is to start by counting trumps plus one other suit until you feel confident enough to extend your efforts to all four suits. After a time you will find the whole process becomes fairly automatic. Most better players think in terms of hand shapes, for example: 5-3-3-2, 4- 4-4-1, 6-4-2-1 etc and this approach is recommended.

Example Hand 1.

First a classic counting hand for you to try as South. You are declarer in 7NT, on a heart lead.

Unfortunately, for all your combined 38 points there are ♠ AKQ2 only 12 tricks on top, so you will need to find the ♣Q to ♥ AKJ bring home your contract. Obviously, before committing ♦ KQ2 yourself in clubs you will play on the other suits to discover ♣ A102 as much as you can about the opponents‘ distribution. N Winning the first heart in dummy, you start on the spades: East follows three times but West discards ♣5. On the S fourth spade East discards ♦4 and West ♣4. Turning to ♠ J543 hearts, each defender follows twice more but when you ♥ Q43 play diamonds West discards another club on the second ♦ AJ3 round and discards the thirteenth heart on the third round. ♣ KJ3 Time to take stock and decide how to tackle the clubs. West has already thrown three clubs but is it a bluff? Have you been counting? West has shown up with exactly two spades, four hearts, and only one diamond so must have started with six clubs, leaving only one club for East. Double checking, East is known to have started with exactly three spades, three hearts and six diamonds, again leaving room for

7 only one club. You therefore cash ♣K and confidently finesse dummy’s ♣10 when West plays low. Well played!

Example Hand 2.

This hand finds you, South, in 4 ♠ after West has opened 1 ♥ (all vulnerable).

West kicks off with ♥AKQ, East following three times. You and play high trumps, East winning the second round ♠ J1062 ♥ J32 while West discards ♥4. East gets off lead with the last ♦ K92 outstanding , West throwing his last heart and when ♣ KJ2 you cash your club winners both opponents follow three times. N

S Time to tackle the diamond suit. Have you been counting? Ok, West started with one spade, five hearts and at least ♠ KQ543 three clubs but this time it’s points you must consider. ♥ 98 Surely West, who opened first in hand vulnerable and so ♦ AJ8 far has shown up with only ♥AKQxx (9 points), must hold ♣ AQ3 ♦Q so a simple finesse of ♦J is doomed to failure. Luckily there is another chance. Lead ♦J from hand forcing West to cover with ♦Q. This you win with dummy’s ♦K and then run ♦9 hoping that East holds the ♦10. In practice this succeeds and you acknowledge partner’s sincere ’well played!’

“Your play was much better tonight, and so were your excuses.”

8 Elimination Play: Elimination play is an elegant way of making your contract by avoiding losing (or indeed winning finesses). The main requirement is to have sufficient trumps in each hand so that when you have eliminated the side suits and stripped your opponent of exit cards, you can take advantage of the resultant ruff and discard. Here is a classic example:

You are South as declarer in 6 ♥ after the lead of ♠K.

♠ A Instead of drawing trumps and relying on the double ♥ KJ973 finesse in diamonds (albeit it a 75% chance) you can ♦ 5432 make a certainty of your contract by eliminating clubs and spades (after drawing trumps of course). So, draw ♣ QJ2 trumps, cash all three clubs ending in hand, ruff your N losing spade in dummy and only then take a diamond finesse. It may lose to the ♦Q but now you don‘t care S who has the ♦K as West is forced either to return a ♠ 74 diamond into your ♦AJ or give you a ruff and discard. It ♥ AQ1042 is worth noting that this end-play works equally well if ♦ AJ10 your diamonds are as poor as ♦AQ9. You simply cover ♣ AK3 whichever diamond is played by East.

Here is another classic theme. You are South again, this time in 4 ♥, on a trump lead.

You are in danger of losing four tricks (three diamonds ♠ AQ and the ♠K if the spade finesse is wrong) but elimination ♥ KJ975 play again comes to the rescue. Draw trumps, play off ♦ J42 the three clubs, and then cut adrift with ♠A and a ♣ Q32 second spade. You don’t care who has the ♠K as they N will have to open up the diamonds or concede a ruff and discard. Curiously this strategy would have been easier S to spot had dummy’s spades been ♠Ax and not ♠AQ. ♠ 43

♥ AQ1086 Not every hand will be as perfect for an elimination as ♦ Q53 those shown but from now on I’m sure you will be ♣ AK3 looking for ways to avoid taking finesses by making the opponents solve your problems for you.

9 Brian Keable’s

Bridge Memoirs (Part 1)

When Peter Scott commissioned this article, I think he expected me to tell the Bulletin readers more about my non-bridge career than about my efforts in trying to become a bridge player. I don’t think that many of you will find my working experiences interesting but here is a short summary:

1957-1958: Laboratory Assistant, ICI Paints Division, Stowmarket. 1958-1961: BSc Special Chemistry, London University. 1961-1970: Industrial Chemist, mainly organic and polymer chemistry for BTR Industries (Silvertown) and BICC ltd (Shepherds Bush). 1971-1972: Computer Programmer, Sumlock Comptometer (North Finchley). 1972-1977: Systems Analyst, Nixdorf Computer (Hounslow and Holborn). 1978- 1993: Systems Analyst, Pre and Post Sales Consultant, Project Manager, and Support Manager for Sperry Univac, Unisys Ltd (Stonebridge Park, Solihull and Milton Keynes).

No, I didn’t think that would be very interesting, so let’s tell you a little about my involvement in . I first tried to play bridge in 1959 at university, after a year of playing Hearts with my classmates. Armed with the latest Charles Goren book “Point Count Bidding in ”, I sought to enter the main college game in the common room. The college team were not impressed.

One memory from that era is bidding 6NT after discovering via Blackwood or maybe Gerber that our side possessed all the aces and kings, only to find that I could only manage to make nine tricks! On graduating I found that my first boss was a keen bridge player and he formed a team that played in the London Business Houses League in the early sixties. My involvement as his regular partner may have been partly responsible for my first promotion!

10 My main interest at the time was playing rugby and one day a fellow player suggested that we go to the Eccleston Hotel in Victoria, where there was a bridge club for young people called the “Under 30’s” (a sort of early version of Young Chelsea). I played there for a while, along with the regular members, mostly posh near debutant young ladies and public school twits. One day one of the less posh girls, Vera, suggested that I should go along to the Grand Slam Bridge Club in Paddington, run by her father where real bridge players played duplicate.

Vera was right: the ‘Slum’ in Praed Street was a real bridge club, where some of London’s best (and worst players) played duplicate and . Not a very salubrious venue, many years later I was told by a lady at the Norfolk Congress that there was a brothel in the basement! How she knew I don’t know. At the time I didn’t either, but on reflection I’m sure she was right, there were loads of dodgy people around.

Luckily for me and other young players at the time, the club ran a ‘young players duplicate’ every Wednesday to encourage new blood into the game. The game was organised by Joe Amsbury (then married to my wife Rita) who taught and cajoled us into becoming better players. One of my first partners was Chris Dixon, who wandered into the club one evening clutching a bridge book and announced that he was going to win the the following year! (the premier knockout teams event in Great Britain) He didn’t of course, but made incredible progress and by the early seventies was playing for Great Britain with Robert Sheehan.

I played with Chris for sometime but eventually we swapped partnerships. Chris started to play with Robin Belcher, and I began to play more regularly with Rita Amsbury as well as a variety of other people. Two particular memories stand out: winning the Mixed Pairs at the Croydon Congress with Rita, our first success, and winning my first Green Point (as did Chris Dixon), playing the last set of round one of the Gold Cup with Bob Rowlands as partner. This after our team had built up a sufficiently large enough lead to virtually ensure that we could not lose whatever Chris and I did.

11 During the sixties and early seventies, I gradually improved. I played with a variety of people, some at my own level, and as a result of playing at the Grand Slam and later the bridge club, with some of the better players of that era. In 1970 I was good (or lucky) enough to rack up 70% playing in the Acol money duplicate with Tony Clark (known as the Nark). What was special was that first prize was £100; alas the bad news was that we were only second. No second prize!

I was never a great card player, and gained much of my enjoyment of the game from learning to bid well. This was encouraged by the better players such as the Sharples twins whom I sometimes played with in minor team events.

I remember the first time I used a squeeze to make a contract. Playing in a game, I noted that I had ten tricks and could see no way of making the contract, so I ducked a trick ‘to rectify the count’ for a possible squeeze. When we scored up at half time and we had gained on the , no one said a word, and slightly put out that I received no credit for the swing, I muttered that I had made the contract on a squeeze, which was supported by Chris Dixon. My teammates were not impressed. There was an automatic for twelve tricks said team mate Ian Frances (later married to Vera) putting me firmly in my place.

… to be continued in April’s Bulletin

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13

by Peter Scott

Please cover the East/West cards for now. After a competitive auction, South ends up playing in 4 ♥, although 4 ♠ may have been better, but that’s another matter. West starts with the ace of clubs and then switches to the two of spades at trick two. From the South seat, would you spot the danger? Think about it for a while before uncovering the East/West cards.

What is the two of spades led from? You hold all the spade honours - so the two must be a singleton - and if you let East in, he will lead a spade for West to ruff taking you off. How can you prevent this? Can you spot the winning line? If you risk the heart finesse, West may win the king and switch to a diamond which East wins with the ace and returns a spade - whoops! To secure your contract, after winning the spade in dummy, play the queen of clubs at trick three and throw the ten of diamonds from hand - the scissors coup - a classic ‘’ play which cuts your opponents’ communications . Now the coast is clear and there is no longer a danger of East gaining the lead. If West now wins the king of hearts and switches to a diamond, you will ruff in hand and comfortably come to your ten tricks - 4 ♥ made with impunity! ♠ AK5 4♥ by South ♥ 8765 Lead is ♣A ♦ KJ ♣ Q876 ♠ 2 ♠ 863 N ♥ K104 ♥ 3 ♦ Q432 W E ♦ A98765 ♣ AKJ109 S ♣ 542 ♠ QJ10974 ♥ AQJ92 ♦ 10 ♣ 3 14 ♠ 43 3NT by South ♥ 542 Lead is ♠J ♦ A3 ♣ KQJ1054 ♠ J10987 ♠ A52 N ♥ K76 ♥ Q1098 ♦ 10984 W E ♦ K65 ♣ 2 S ♣ A93

♠ KQ6 ♥ AJ3 ♦ QJ72 ♣ 876 Please take the East seat for this deal where South plays in 3NT. You play the ace of spades on your partner’s jack - then what? The club suit in dummy looks rather threatening but can you prevent declarer running the suit? If you return partner’s spade suit, declarer will simply win with the king (or queen) and play clubs to knock out your ace. You do best to for three rounds but you cannot then stop declarer getting to the established clubs with the ace of diamonds . Can you spot the winning defence?

At trick 2 you must play the king of diamonds - the Merrimac Coup - to remove dummy’s entry. Declarer must either take this with the ace, losing his entry in the process, or , and you then continue with a small diamond (saving your king) to achieve the same result. This play sacrifices your king of diamonds which you would otherwise have made, but deprives declarer of three established club tricks in dummy - so you are well in profit! 3NT then goes down one, assuming your partner keeps his diamond guard.

15 EBU Eastern Region Club Committee Report September 2011

The inaugural meeting of the East of England Regional Club committee took place on 7 th October 2011 at Peterborough Bridge Club.

The EBU has identified that there needs to be a structure in place to enable it to keep in touch with affiliated clubs to ensure it best serves our needs and assists in promoting the game within our area. There are 5 UK regional committees in total. Each meeting will send a representative to the National Club Committee meeting, the next one of which is to be held on 29 th November 2011. I shall be attending this meeting on behalf of the East of England

News from the EBU The National Grading System, which has been referred to in past editions of English Bridge, is expected to go live by the end of this year or early in 2012.

The Club Management Handbook, an invaluable guide to all aspects of running a Bridge Club, is nearly ready for issue. Sections of the Handbook have been published in previous editions of ‘Club Focus’. The plan is to issue it in electronic form only. This ensures that updates can be made quickly and efficiently at low cost. Club secretaries are, of course, free to print hard copies of the material with the caveat that the information can only be guaranteed accurate on the day of printing.

From April 2012, the EBU will be running the majority of SIM Pairs events in-house. The exception is that ECATS will continue to run the Charity SIM Pairs. Main events will run over 5 days with different hands each day, enabling all clubs to participate. There will also be a marginal reduction in price.

Tell me your news I am trying to compile a list of unaffiliated clubs in the County. The aim of this is to approach them with a view to their affiliating to the

16 EBU. I know of a number in the South of the County but not the North. If any readers know of any in the Bedford area, drop me a line by e-mail at [email protected] along with contact details if possible.

Colin O’Hara Chairman of Eastern Regional Club Committee

A quote from Shakespeare?

“To bid, or not to bid; that is the question: Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer The calls and passes of outrageous partner, Or to make bids against a sea of doubles…”

Answer to Declarer Play Quiz on page 3.

At first glance this might appear quite straightforward. However, whenever such a dangerous feeling of confidence prevails, you know from past experience of that awful sinking feeling which sometimes follows, so look for the possible pitfalls. You must lose a heart trick and so, providing you do not lose a diamond as well, your contract is secure. How many players would take out trumps and then play king (or ace) and another diamond - hoping diamonds split 3-2? If so, down they go! Even looking at all four hands, there doesn’t appear to be a way of avoiding losing a diamond trick if you play them yourself. The solution lies in an elimination and throw in play:-

Win trick one with the ace and take out trumps in three rounds ending in dummy. Now play one round only of diamonds, followed by stripping the club suit - ace, king and ruffing the third - and then exit with your second heart. If West wins, he is end-played and will have to either lead away from ♦J96 giving you your fourth diamond trick or give you a ruff-and-discard in either clubs or hearts. If East wins, he must give you the same ruff-and-discard, on which you pitch your losing diamond. Slam made - you’re a genius! Note that if you play two rounds of diamonds, the end-play in the suit will not work.

17 From Alan Shillitoe

The Junior European Championships were held this year in the Bulgarian Black Sea resort of Albena. Shade temperatures in Albena were over 30 degrees the whole time and the air-conditioning in the playing venue struggled during the afternoon and early evening matches. Thus the arena often bore a closer resemblance to a sauna. Shorts and flip-flops were the de rigueur attire for all – something that can’t be said about most sporting events! Given our results in the build-up, I was anticipating something around 6 th place for us out of the 18 starters.

On the first day we dispatched the Bulgarians and Russians comfortably 24-6 and 25-0, but made a few critical errors that cost highly in the big match to lose it 6-24. International events use a 25 VP scale where 15-15VPs is a draw and a team is limited to a 25VP maximum for the win (I’m not convinced why this is the case), but a team can lose down to 0VPs.

The final morning: a 20-board shootout against the 6 th place Dutch team for all the marbles. In the open room – Tommy Brass and Alex Roberts – Shivam Shah and Basil Letts occupied the closed room. Things got a bit tetchy with the Israeli coach because he insisted on speaking in Hebrew to his players at the table and I disapproved. Everybody is required to speak the most common language – English. In return he was ‘toying with the idea’ of asking for a ruling against one of our pairs on an earlier deal as things got a bit tit-for-tat.

While I was sorting out the online check-in and boarding passes for our flights home I daren’t look at the live scores update. As each is recorded in the bridgemate, the current rankings update themselves. Once I had sorted them, it was after board 12 and we were the equivalent of 23-7VPs up. I wasn’t allowed back into the playing area for security reasons, so I had to follow everything from outside. We

18 were up into a comfortable 4 th place and could still medal if Israel could hammer 3 rd placed Sweden. Unfortunately that didn’t transpire, but we did tack on a few more IMPs to extract a maximum 25VPs from the match and guarantee ourselves qualification for the World Championships next year.

The following hand was probably the most amusing episode from the final set. On the previous board, the Dutch pair Schols-Polak had a terrible misunderstanding and played a slam in a cue-bid suit, which may explain their actions on this one. Tommy opened 1 ♣ (better minor) with his (they play a strong 1NT). South chose this moment to psyche a 1 ♥ overcall! Alex was now completely fixed. He had no way to bid hearts naturally now, so he passed expecting his partner to reopen with a as he was marked with shortage. He could then pass to convert it to penalties. However, with a weak 1NT, Tommy (correctly) saw no reason to reopen. 1 ♥ drifted off 6 for 300 to the English pair but this was scant consolation for their vulnerable slam. Next door, the Dutch were too adventurous and finally alighted at the 7-level. As much as declarer twists and turns, there is no legitimate scope for a 13 th trick anywhere in 7 ♥ or 7NT. The grand slam had to go one off and that meant a 9 IMP gain to the good guys!

♠ K9865 Dealer N ♥105 E/W Vul ♦ QJ6

♣1043 West North East South ♠ N ♠ AJ102 ♥ KQ9864 ♥ A73 Roberts Schols Brass Polak W E ♦ A93 ♦ 874 Pass 1♣ 1♥!

♣ AQ65 S ♣ K87 Pass Pass Pass

♠ Q743 ♥ J2 ♦ K1052 ♣ J92

If anyone is interested in finding out more, the tournament website can be found at http://www.eurobridge.org/competitions/11Albena/microSite/Albena.htm . It contains full results, scorecards, butlers, hand records and bulletins from the event. 19 (Action over an opening 2NT bid - Five Card Stayman)

The hand opposite came up ♠ 5 recently and led to a ♥ Q2 6♦ by discussion on bidding ♦ Q10986432 South methods over a 2NT ♣ Q8 opening bid. We managed ♠ 932 N ♠ J1074 to end up in the correct ♥ KJ8653 ♥ 1097 W E contract N/S of 6 ♦ which is ♦ Void ♦ KJ7 makeable. I will let you ♣ J1042 S ♣ K75 work out how to play to ♠ AKQ86 ensure 12 tricks with ♥ A4 diamonds as trumps on the ♦ A5 lead of a heart. (answer at end of article) ♣ A963

When your partner opens 2NT, unless you have a very poor hand, the chances of making game are very good and with a good hand, a slam is a distinct possibility. One of the difficulties is that the opener is not guaranteeing a balanced hand and may even have a singleton in one of the suits. The hand could also contain a five card . It is therefore important that you have a good understanding on the meanings of bids by responder to ensure that you play in the right contract. Quite often you will have a very poor hand and where at all possible as responder, you should consider bidding. If partner has a maximum, unless you have only one or two points, game is possible.

In ‘match pointed pairs’ where you have a combined 27+ points, you may well make the same number of tricks in NTs as in a suit contract. If responder makes a 3 ♣ enquiry bid, it is possible the information will enable the defence to ascertain the best lead.

I am assuming that the opening 2NT bid shows a 20 -22 point hand. It should perhaps be considered opening a major at the 1-level with

20 20 points as if partner passes, you are unlikely to have missed game. If responder bids 3 ♣, he is asking his partner to describe his hand in respect of his major suit holdings. I would recommend that an initial bid of 3 ♥ or 3 ♠ shows 5 cards and 3 ♦ denies a five-card major holding but promises at least one four-card major. A direct 3NT bid denies four or five cards in the majors. If opener responds 3 ♦, then responder, if he holds a four-card major, then bids the other major he does not hold allowing opener (the stronger hand) to play in the other major if a fit exists. He bids 3NT if there is no fit. If responder has both majors he bids 4 ♣ to show them. Opener then bids his four card major.

Basic Structure:

Opener: Responder: 2NT 3♣ Enquiry Bid

3♦ I do not have 5 hearts or 5 spades 3 ♥ I have 4 spades but do have 4 hearts or 4 spades 3 ♠ I have 4 hearts 3NT I have neither a 4 or 5-card major 4 ♣ I have 4 hearts and 4 spades 3♥ I have 5 hearts 3♠ I have 5 spades 3NT to play

2NT 3 ♦ I have 5 hearts 3♥ I have 5 spades *3 ♠ I have 5 spades and 4 hearts

*3 ♠ can be played as showing interest in the minors and an initial bid of 3NT would show 5 spades and 4 hearts. A raise to 3NT would go via an initial 3 ♣ response which would be an enquiry or desire to play in 3NT.

An initial bid of 3 ♦ by responder shows a five-card or better heart suit and 3 ♥ shows a five card or better spade suit. That leaves the 3 ♠ bid by responder and there are two possible uses for this bid. It can be used as showing five spades and four hearts (with five hearts and four 21 spades you can transfer and then bid 3 ♠ over 3 ♥ to show this distribution). This avoids by-passing 3NT if no major suit fit exists. The other alternative is to use it as a transfer to the minors as a possible slam try, or with a very weak long minor where the chances of game do not appear good. The use of 3 ♠ as a transfer to the minors is apparently increasing in popularity with very experienced players. On the actual hand shown, this would have probably been a good example of using it as a transfer to the minors. The continuations are obviously important and I will leave it to you to discuss with your partner should you consider using this method. I stress that whatever method you decide to play, it is imperative that you discuss it fully with your partner to ensure there are no misunderstandings.

I would suggest that using five-card major Stayman over opening bids of 2NT is better than either Baron or ordinary Stayman. I will leave readers to decide what to use 3 ♠ for.

Answer: To make 6 ♦

Win the ace of hearts and cash two top spades (discarding a heart). Now ruff a heart and lead the ten of diamonds. If it is not covered, let it run. If it loses, trumps have broken 2-1 and the ace of diamonds will pick up the outstanding trump. If West shows out, play the ace and lead through East’s king-jack. Leading the queen works on the actual layout but does not cater for a void in the East hand. If the ten wins, lead another trump and eventually concede a trick to the outstanding king of trumps. If East covers the ten with the jack, win with the ace and lead another trump. East can only win one of his trumps. If East continues with a club, win with the ace and discard your losing club on a top spade, ruff a club and draw the outstanding trump.

“Learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.” Alfred Sheinwold

22 by our ‘experts’

David Harris Replies:

1. As a general approach, I prefer to overcall a 5-card major rather than make a take-out double; but it is important to note that I play very wide ranging . However, there is a risk that partner may not have a suitable hand to take any action opposite a simple overcall whilst still having sufficient values (say 7 or 8 pts which could make game a reasonable prospect.

Traditionally by doubling initially and then bidding 2 ♥ (if available) over partner's 1 ♠ or 2 ♣, you should be promising a better hand (as here) with a 5-card heart suit. A 1NT overcall (if you play 15-18) is a consideration but this hand is too good for that in my opinion.

If I only held a doubleton spade I would probably overcall, but with this hand I believe that ‘double’ is the preferred action.

2. It is totally dependent on your agreed methods which need to be disclosed on your . Holding three small cards, with no honour, many players use MUD. However, this can lead to confusion when the second card played is higher than the opening lead and partner may surmise that you have an honour card. Some people play the highest card being ‘top of nothing’; the risk here is that playing a lower card on the second occasion may then suggest a doubleton. Against a NT contract I would lead the 9. So far as the K987 and Q987 combinations are concerned, it is generally accepted that you should lead the 9.

3. Passing at the first opportunity and then bidding your opponents suit on a subsequent round (assuming partner has not entered the auction) is natural.

4. Treat it as a normal opening bid and make a take-out double with your normal methods with the exception that you may not be short in diamonds. 23 5. Don't berate them at the table. Offer constructive assistance if they will respond positively to it. Suggest that you might both benefit from some tuition.

6. Rule 68B2 states that '. . . if a defender attempts to concede one or more tricks and his partner immediately objects, no concession has occurred. Unauthorised information may exist, so the Director should be summoned immediately. Play continues. Any card that has been exposed by a defender in these circumstances is not a penalty card but Law 16D applies to information arising from its exposure and the information may not be used by the partner of the defender who has exposed it.'

David Dickson replies:

1.The hand is a tad too strong for a 1NT overcall. Also 1NT or ‘double’ could easily miss a 5-3 heart fit. We are left with an overcall of 1 ♥ and in my opinion, this would be the choice of most experts.

There is no doubt that having such a wide range for the 1-level overcall can create difficulties later in the auction. In order to cope with this wide range, many well-practised partnerships play ‘Useful Space Bids’ (USB). USB’s are explained on page 26.

2.This is entirely down to partnership agreement. The majority would play MUD and lead the 8. You would certainly do so if you played ‘strong 10s’ as the 9 is the method for showing a suit headed by 1098. Interestingly I play with one partner who insists that we lead the 9 from H987 – there is some merit to this as there is no doubt that the 7 is difficult to read from H987 (H=Honour card).

3. Frequently the answer is to wait and bid the suit later.

Holding ♠ KQJ1073 ♥ 85 ♦ A82 ♣ 64

24 If RHO opened 1 ♠, pass from you , LHO bids 1NT and this was passed back to you, you could now bid 2 ♠ to play in their suit .

4. I have no pet defence, having always treated it as natural.

5. Wait for partner to ask questions i.e. never volunteer a ‘bridge lesson’ especially at the table! Do as I say – not as I do! Most of us have too much to say at the table!

6. Call the director – a few needless bad results should change his habit!

Ron Davis replies:

1. 1 ♥ every time - X is stone age

2. 2nd highest - top is ambiguous, as the rules require you to play your second card in ! 4th from an honour.

3. On the second round - so if they rebid them (and they might) ‘double’ is penalty. Over a precision 1 ♦, have a firm agreement - bid 2 ♦ with good diamonds.

4. X = Majors

5. Ask for partner's advice from time to time, whether you need it or not; then one day they might ask you for yours!

6. I believe you can ask to play on BUT partner may have compromised the defence - e.g. he may have exposed his hand or helped you by indicating no interest in the hand.

Correction The e-mail address of the Partner Finder for Cranfield Bridge Club is given incorrectly in the 2011-2012 Local Bridge leaflet. It should be [email protected] Tim Sharrock

25 For the Advanced Player By David Dickson

If you play wide ranging overcalls i.e. rather than ‘double’ with all good hands, this can make life quite difficult for partner. ‘Useful Space Bids’ (USB’s) provide a means of describing your hand more accurately when you are responding to partner’s overcall. In a manner very similar to that used when you play transfers over a NT opening, some transfers are introduced after partner has overcalled.

USB’s are usually played up to and including 1 ♠ - 2 ♥ i.e.

1 any - suit overcall - pass (or ‘double’) - ?

They are played only if RHO passes or doubles. The meaning of bids playing USB’s are:

• All immediate raises of partner’s suit are pre-emptive in nature.

• All no trump bids are natural.

• Suit bids below 2 of the opening suit are natural and forcing. If already a passed hand, the forcing element does not apply – and these bids are merely invitational

• Non-jump bids starting with 2 of opener’s suit (the ) are transfers. This can be used to play in weak suits where the responder thinks this is likely to be a better spot than the over caller’s suit; it can be used to show a suit before showing a fit for partner; or it can be used to set up a forcing sequence with a good two-suited hand.

• After a transfer, rebidding overcaller’s suit is non-forcing but will have invitational implications.

• Bidding a new suit (after making a of a suit or transferring) is natural and forcing. This makes it relatively easy

26 for the partner of the original overcaller to set up forcing sequences when he has a good hand without the need to do something like cue bid or jump bid which tends to raise the auction uncomfortably high.

• If the overcaller is very good for his overcall, he should either jump or use the cue bid.

To illustrate here, with explanations, is an example: 1♣ - 1♥ - pass - ? - 1♠ Natural and forcing - 1NT Natural; 9-12 HCP - 2♣ Diamonds; the over caller can break the transfer with a good hand, and the break does not promise diamonds; the 2♣ bidder can still have a fit for overcaller which he intends to show after the transfer is completed. - 2♦ Hearts: a value raise to 2 ♥ (or better); responder shows extra values by bidding on. - 2♥ Pre-emptive raise to 2 ♥ - 2 ♠/3♦ Fit Jump: showing a good suit and a fit for partner (3 or 4+ card trump support by agreement) - 2NT Natural: about 13-15 HCP (less with a fit) - 3 ♣ UCB showing good raise to 3 ♥ and inviting game (usually 4-card support), stronger than bidding 2 ♦ and then raising 2 ♥ to 3 ♥ - 3♥ Pre-emptive raise - 3♠ splinter - 4♣ splinter - 4♦ splinter - 3NT Natural - 4♥ To play, normally a pre-emptive raise - 4♠ To play - 4NT RKCB

As is often the case in bridge, the ability to handle more different hand types can introduce considerable memory work. However, the more ‘system’ you play then the more there is to forget. Although I thoroughly recommend this method – a word of caution! It should only be adopted by serious partnerships as, fairly obviously, forgetting the system in the ‘heat of battle’ will likely produce some very unusual scores!

27 “ Card sense is when it's technically right to do something, but the little man that sits on my shoulder or anyone else's shoulder says, "Don't do that." And you say to yourself, "Well, wait a minute, that's the right way to play." And he says, "Yeah, but you don't wanna play that way." That instinct is card sense. It's almost an ability to feel where the cards are. It's something that you can't buy, you can't find; you're born with. The ability to do the right thing at the wrong time or really to do the wrong thing at the right time.” Barry Crane

A similar quote by Lancey Howard (played by Edward G. Robinson pictured above) at the end of the 1965 film ‘The Cincinnati Kid’ with Steve McQueen which equally applies to bridge as poker: Lancey Howard: “Gets down to what it’s all about, doesn’t it? Making the wrong move at the right time.” Cincinnati Kid: “Is that what it’s all about?” Lancey Howard: “Like life, I guess. You’re good, kid, but as long as I’m around you’re second best. You might as well learn to live with it.”

Another apt quote from the same film: Slade: “How the hell did you know I didn’t have the king or the ace?” Lancey Howard: “I recollect a young man putting the same question to Eddie the Dude. Son, Eddie told him, all you paid was the looking price. Lessons are extra”.

Ed

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