Club News Sheet – No. 233    www.pattayabridge.com        22nd April 2007

       
to news-sheet main page Bridge conventions  
    to bridge conventions
to Pattaya Bridge home page  
       

My home phone is 038 422924 and my mobile number is 086 6089887

It is best to use my home number to contact me unless I am at the bridge club.

Mon 16th    1st Jeremy & Sally                              67%         2nd    Bev & Barbara                 60%

Wed 18th    1st Paul S & Ursula                             75%         2nd    Phil & Tomas                   65%

Fri  20th      1st  = (individual) Dave & Jan             60%        

                                                                           

Bidding Quiz                           Standard American is assumed unless otherwise stated.

 

Hand A           Hand B           With Hand A partner opens 1NT, what do you bid?

                                                                                                                 

♠ A107432      ♠ Q8752                                 

♥ 54                 ♥ 63                 With Hand B LHO opens 1♣ and partner doubles, what    

♦ AQ103         ♦ K5                do you bid?

♣ 9                  ♣ AQ108

 

Hand C           Hand D           With Hand C you open 2NT and partner transfers with 3♥,

what do you bid?

♠ KJ63            ♠ J6

♥ AK7             ♥ AQ832         With Hand D LHO opens 1NT and RHO transfers with 2♥,

♦ AK4             ♦ 54                 what do you do?

♣ K74             ♣ 8653

                                               

Hand E            Hand F            With Hand E RHO opens 1♣ (could be short) what do you bid?

 

♠ -                   ♠ J872          

♥ KQJ1076     ♥ KQ42           With Hand F partner opens 1♥, what do you bid?

♦ A10973        ♦ 9

♣ K4               ♣ A1073

 

Hand G           Hand H           With Hand G partner opens 2♣, what do you bid?

                       

♠ 3                   ♠ AQ109                                

♥ A832            ♥ AJ873          With Hand H you open 1♥ and partner responds 1♠, what

♦ A10943        ♦ AQ10           do you bid?

♣ Q62             ♣ 9

 

Hand J            Hand K           With Hand J RHO opens 1♦, what do you bid?

                                               

♠ AK2             ♠ A2

♥ A                  ♥ 976               With Hand K you are in 2nd seat, vul against not. RHO passes,

♦ QJ762           ♦ KQJ9742      what do you open?

♣ AK103         ♣ 8

 

                                                                       

                                                     

                                                     

                                               


Bidding Sequences Quiz        All of these sequences occurred this week

 

L      1♣     pass   2NT                 How many points is the jump to 2NT?

M    1♣     2NT                           1♣ may be short; 2NT is the UNT – but which suits?

N     2♣     pass   2NT   pass       2♣ is strong and 2NT is 8-10 balanced (a terrible treatment).

3♣                                      What is 3♣ - is it natural or Stayman?

P      2♣     pass   2NT   pass       2♣ is strong and 2NT is 8-10 balanced (a terrible treatment).

3♥                                       What is 3♥ - i.e. how many ♥’s?

Q     1NT   pass   2♣     pass       What is the 3♦ bid? – weak or forcing? How many ♠’s and ♦’s?

2♥      pass   3♦                     

R     1NT   pass   2♣     pass       What is 2♠? Weak, invitational or forcing? How many ♠’s

2♥      pass   2♠                    and how many ♥’s?

 

 

 

Super accept                                                         Board 22 from Wednesday 18th 

 

When you open 2NT and partner transfers into a suit in which you hold 4 cards – then bid game. You need very little more than the 5 trumps promised to make game a good bet.

Dealer:             ♠ A104                                          Table A

East                  ♥ 8653                                           West (C)    North         East          South

E-W vul           ♦ 75                                               -                 -                 pass         pass

                        ♣ J1083                                         2NT           pass           3♥            pass

3♠    (1)      pass           pass (2)    pass

♠ KJ63                 N             ♠ Q98752                   

♥ AK7               W    E          ♥ 109                       Table B

♦ AK4                   S              ♦ 983                        West(C)     North         East          South

♣ K74                                   ♣ 95                        -                 -                 pass         pass

                        ♠ -                                                 2NT           pass           3♥            pass

♥ QJ42                                          4♠    (1)      all pass

♦ QJ1062                                      

                        ♣ AQ62                      

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you bid with this West hand C in this week’s quiz? See table B.

(2)  With just two points East correctly passes – he has no reason to think that game is on.

Table B:     (1)  This West got it right – take the pressure off of partner. With a 2NT opener and 4 cards in partner’s transfer suit – bid game.

 

And what happened? The board was played just four times. Two bid 4♠ to share the top, one bid a rather silly 3NT but managed to make for less than average and the other stopped in 3♠.

The bottom lines: -

-     When you open 2NT, then super-accept a major suit transfer when holding four trumps.
South African Texas transfers                            Board 1 from Monday 16th  

 

Texas transfers are fairly well known, but a less well known and more effective treatment is South African Texas transfers. It would have worked a treat on this deal.

Dealer:             ♠ KQ9                                           Table A

North               ♥ 76                                               West(D)     North         East          South(A)

Love all            ♦ K862                                          -                 1NT           pass         2♥    (1)

                        ♣ AKJ2                                         dbl   (2)      2♠              3♥            4♠

all pass              

♠ J6                      N             ♠ 85                            

♥ AQ832           W    E          ♥ KJ109                  ‘Expert Table’

♦ 54                       S              ♦ J97                       West          North         East          South(A)

♣ 8653                                  ♣ Q1074                 -                 1NT           pass         4♦    (2)

                        ♠ A107432                                    pass (3)      4♠              all pass

♥ 54                                              

♦ AQ103                                      

                        ♣ 9                             

 

Table A:     (1)  What did you bid with this South hand A in this week’s quiz? Most players chose to transfer with 2♥.

(2)   What did you bid with this West hand D in this week’s quiz? With these nice top ♥’s you want a ♥ led and double is best.

Table B:     (1)  Our experts play South African Texas Transfers and 4♦ is a transfer to 4♠ with no slam interest.

(3)   And West got no ♥ bid to double for a lead.

 

And what happened? At Table A East dutifully led the ♥K and 4♠ made just +1 for a joint top to E-W. At other tables there was no double of ♥’s and East is then obviously not going to find a ♥ lead and so there are 12 tricks (two N-S’s actually bid and made 6♠)

The bottom lines: -

-         Play South African Texas Transfers! Playing SA Texas transfers South has three distinct ways of reaching 4♠. If he has weak ♥’s and fears a double of a 2♥ transfer then he can transfer with 4♦. If he had a tenace to protect he could bid 4♠ himself.

-         Note that South African Texas transfers are different from Texas Transfers. In my opinion they are far superior and are fully explained in the No Trump bidding book.

-         South African Texas transfers are briefly described on the web-site (Conventions>Section 1> South African Texas).

 

 

Dave’s Column                                               Boards 1 from Wednesday 18th

 

Here is this week’s Dave input involving the best play for the contract.

♠ AKQ4                    You play in 7♥ as North.

♥ KQJ7                     What is the best line for making the contract?

♦ K2                         

♣ AJ3                        Answer next page.

 

♠ 3                                                                  

♥ A832           

♦ A10943       

♣ Q62                  

                                               

And what happened at Pattaya Bridge Club? The board  was played a total of 5 times and just one pair bid the good 6♥, with everybody else stopping in game (3NT +2 twice; 4♥ = once and 4♥ + 2 once). Ivy was in 6♥ and made 13 tricks on a line exactly the same as Dave’s book suggests on the next page, well done. I understand that when Dave put this hand in a few weeks ago one ‘expert’ reached 7♥ but went one down and that everybody else again stopped in game.

 

Terry’s comments:  Not everybody at the Pattaya bridge club reached a ♥ slam. 7♥ is a poor contract, 6♥ is spot on and 6NT by North also makes. Bidding just game is simply pathetic. I cannot really see how four pairs (and even more last time Dave put it in) missed slam; here is our (Ivy/me) auction: -

 

Table A                                               

North               South(G)                     

2♣                   2♦    (1)                       

2NT (2)            3♣   (3)                       

3♥                    4NT (4)

5♣   (5)            6♥    (6)                       

 

(1)   What did you bid with this South hand G in this week’s quiz? 2♦ here was waiting. I hate bidding 2NT opposite a 2♣ opener – if the final contract is No Trumps it’s played by the wrong hand, and what is 3♣ in sequence N – Natural or Stayman?

(2)   And here we see one advantage of the waiting bid straight away – the strong hand has defined her hand nicely and will end up as declarer.

(3)   Sequence N is very murky, but this sequence is obviously Stayman unless you play Baron 3♣.

(4)   RKCB

(5)   3 keycards.

(6)   It’s not worth risking the grand and so there's no point in asking about the trump queen..      

 

Dave’s Column answer          Board 1 from Wednesday 18th

South ends up in 7♥. How do you play the hand on the ♠J lead?

Dealer:             ♠ AKQ4                                  After North opens a balanced 23-24 points South