October 2012 English Bridge Issue No. 243 The EBU members’ magazine European Champions in June and Olympiad Champions in August – there’s no stopping our Lavender Girls! English Bridge Annual Report © All rights reserved ENGLISH BRIDGE is published every two months by the ENGLISH BRIDGE UNION 1.4.2011 – 31.3.2012 Broadfields, Bicester Road, Aylesbury HP19 8AZ ( 01296 317200 Fax: 01296 317220 Sally Bugden, Chairman [email protected] Web site: www.ebu.co.uk ________________ Editor: Elena Jeronimidis I AM DELIGHTED to introduce the our fellow national bridge organisations 23 Erleigh Road, Reading RG1 5LR English Bridge Union’s first annual report and governing European and World asso - ( 0118 926 2602 which you can now access on our website ciations at our achievement of reaching [email protected] www.ebu.co.uk . Here you will read about such a great age! I believe, however, that Editorial Board the progress that has been made in taking we are young at heart and that we invig - Sally Bugden (Chairman), Jeremy Dhondy and Elena Jeronimidis forward the EBU for the benefit of its orate our game and stimulate interest in it ________________ members, including the activities under - while providing appropriate services to taken by all our departments and national our current and future members. Advertising Manager Chris Danby at Danby Advertising committees in the year 1 April 2011 to 31st The report covers the following head - Fir Trees, Hall Road, Hainford, March 2012. ings: The Board, Finance, Club Services, Norwich NR10 3LX Y The English Bridge Union provides the Education and Development, including ( / Fax 01603 898678 infrastructure, regulation and develop - the All Party Parliamentary Group, the [email protected] ________________ ment of the game of duplicate bridge in EBU’s place in the world of duplicate England. We hope this report demon - bridge including international competi - Printing: Wyndeham Group strates that what we do at national level tion and international bridge admin is tra - ensures that these services are delivered tion; Regulation, Tournament Directors promptly and effectively locally. We exist Development Group, Tournament Com - INSIDE GUIDE to serve all members, whatever their level mittee, English Bridge, the EBU Head - of interest, and we are dedicated to quarters at Aylesbury, and General Meet - Pairs Tactics 5 n encouraging more people to take up the ings and Shareholdings. Bridge Fiction 7 n wonderful and compelling game of I would like to thank all of the Heather’s Hints 9 n duplicate bridge. I hope that this report volunteers who make up our national Director, Please! 11 n Traps for the Unwary 13 n will be of interest to all our clubs, team – the Directors of the Board and all World Mind Sports Games 14-15 n counties and members along with those the members of its standing and sub World Youth Championships 16 n individuals and organisations that pro vide committees – as well as the dedicated team Teams Tactics 17 n us with support to develop the game. of staff under our General Manager, Barry National Grading Scheme 18-19 n It reinforces our values, which are to: Capal, at Aylesbury. A full list of national Top Table 19 n volunteers and staff appears at the end of Basic Cardplay 20-21 n • Always act in the interests of our the report. Club Bidding Quiz Test Hands 21 n membership; The report has already been sent to our Brighton Report 22-23 n • Take pride in delivering quality and shareholders and will be discussed at the Stage 2 Conventions 24-25 n value for money; Annual General Meeting on 3rd October In a Nutshell 25 n Respect each other and celebrate 2012. Bridge with a Twist 26 n • diversity so that everyone can give of If you cannot access the report online Ask Jeremy 27 n their best. and would like to receive a copy through EBU News and Diary 29 n Minibridge 30 n the post, please send an A4 stamped Bidding Quiz Test Hands 31 n This has been an exceptional year for the addres sed envelope to Annual Report, EBU, Letters to the Editor 33 n EBU, with a special message from Her Broadfields, Bicester Road, Aylesbury, Prize Leads Quiz Qs & As 34-35 n Majesty the Queen congratulating us on Bucks, HP19 8AZ and we will be happy to Bidding Quiz Answers 36-37 n our 75th anniversary, and recognition from supply you with a copy. r The Debate 38-39 n Bidding Judgment 40-41 n Caption Competition 41 n Around and About 42-43 n ARTICLES IN ENGLISH BRIDGE ARE COLOUR CODED Review 44 n Hubert Phillips Report 45 n Instruction EBU News Features Laws & Ethics Reports County News 47-51 n Local Master Promotions 52-53 n Club Bidding Quiz Answers 54 n Front Cover Photo: Peter Hasenson n n n n n www.ebu.co.uk October 2012 English Bridge 3 4 English Bridge October 2012 www.ebu.co.uk Pairs Tactics by Andrew Robson Aim High in a Universal Contract IF EVERY table is bound to be in, say, West leads the six of spades; plan the order). You reason that his easy club 3NT, then the number ‘three’ has no play. discard is indicative of an initial holding significance whatsoever. You might as well At rubber or teams, I would be think - of three – he would be reluctant to throw be in 1NT, or a hundred no-trumps or a ing: ‘I have six top tricks; I need three from four with dummy also having four; billion no-trumps (if such things were more’. Not at pairs, where I wouldn’t his sparing of one heart likely means an possible). You are simply in ‘no-trumps’. even bother to count up my top tricks. I initial four-card holding, now matching So do the best you can, but leave such know I need to attack diamonds and dummy’s three. thinking as ‘I have six top tricks, I need would make the best play to avoid a three more for my contract’ to rubber diamond loser which, given that West bridge or teams. rates to be shorter as he has considerably ´ 4 I’ll be honest. When I am declaring a more spades, means running dummy’s ™ K J 5 universal 3NT, I barely know how many queen and hoping East holds king and t — tricks I’ve made at the end, it’s simply not ten (better odds than leading low to the ® 5 4 2 my focus. I am thinking: ‘What do I think jack and cashing the ace hoping East has ´ K J 8 ´ Q my opponents hold?’ and basing my line a doubleton king). ™ ? 8 3 N ™ ? 6 4 W E of play on that. I am not thinking: ‘What First – trick one, though. Have you met t — S t Void do I need them to hold in order to make this position before? West cannot have ® 10 ® Q J 9 my contract?’ That is rubber/teams king-queen-jack of spades – or he’d have ´ 10 9 3 thinking. led the king – so East has one of those ™ A 10 7 cards, probably doubleton. You must rise t Void with dummy’s ace to block the suit. You ® K Game All. Dealer South. do so and East flickers before playing low ´ A 4 – you guess that he is considering ™ K J 5 whether or not to unblock his honour. What is your best play here? t Q 8 4 2 You now lead the queen of diamonds, The answer is a low spade! Let East win ® A 5 4 2 East covering with the king (is this best?) his presumed bare honour (which proves ´ K J 8 6 5 ´ Q 7 and West following with the seven under to be the queen) and lead the queen of ™ Q 8 3 2 N ™ 9 6 4 your ace. You now cross to the ace of clubs to your king, for you surmise that W E t 7 S t K 10 5 3 clubs to lead and run the eight of West is now out of clubs. You can now ® 10 6 3 ® Q J 9 7 diamonds. A third diamond goes to the lead a third spade, happy to let West take ´ 10 9 3 2 nine and you cash the jack, scooping up his two spades (throwing clubs from ™ A 10 7 the suit without loss. You watch West’s dummy) for he must now lead a heart. t A J 9 6 three discards, not only the cards but You now score three heart tricks whether ® K 8 also in which order they were played and or not West began with the queen (yes, with what degree of unease. They were, West would have done better to have in order, an easy club, then an easy heart, thrown a second heart). West North East South then a reluctant spade (the five, indi - How many tricks did you make? If 1NT cating that he likely began with five cards you’re like me, you won’t even know. All Pass 1 3NT All Pass in the suit). you know is that you have read the cards 1 If I were non-vulnerable (particularly if the We have reached the ending in the next correctly and made the maximum opponents were vulnerable), I would con - column and the lead in your (South) number of tricks available. (In fact, for sider making my conventional bid to hand. You think from West’s discards the BridgeMate/Traveller, it was ten show both majors (2 ® Landy for choice).